Major League Soccer

yay for juan agudelo http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/agudelo-a-fresh-face-has-the-red-bulls-smiling/
getting his first mls start at age 17, on the road, in the playoffs. nice work dude

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2010/11/twellman-set-to-announce-retirement.html

as much as brain injuries are terrible and as much as a career cut short is terrible, I personally hate this guy as a player and won't miss him on the field one bit

that's a beautiful tribute

speaking of lovely tributes, here's an email from alejandro moreno.

Columbus was my home. It was my family's home. Leaving was difficult, and so was coming back. I will not apologize for being emotional. I care. My memories of the great times I had in Columbus will always be with me. My relationship with Crew fans, at least from my end, will not change. I understand they will support their team, and I may become more and more unpopular as time goes by; but I will acknowledge them because they took me in, they supported me, they cared, and the memories will always remain.

“So as I walked towards the fans, one more time, like I did for the last few years, it felt like the right thing to do-- like the only thing to do. I was not sure what the reaction would be, but I felt in my heart that whatever connection I had back in my Crew days was alive once again. As they serenaded my name, I was humbled, flattered, and touched. While I walked away, there was a certain realization that one must appreciate these sorts of moments, because they represent the real achievements of one's career. Not goals; not assists; not wins and losses. My grandfather used to call these moments Life Diplomas. Such rewards are only intended to benefit the heart and the mind. Well, my heart and my mind are in a good place today.

GK of the year: Donovan Ricketts
Rookie of the year: Andy Najar <---- leading scorer of DC United at 17, tho DC United has been dogshit for 2 years. still could be destined for big things.

I like that 'who to support' flowchart :D

Who'd you end up with?

TFC hires Klinsi as a consultant, maybe he can magic up some good Canadian players

what flowchart

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5995/mlsflowchart791x1024z.png

I so wish I were going to the game tonight....

I'm really bad at planning ahead for non-normal league games because I've never bought season tickets before so I have to purchase each one individually and only season ticket-holders get access to our section in time to buy seats for big games before they sell out. Awfully complicated.

Buying season tickets was one of the better decisions I have made wrt the Fire. Ownership is so desperate for that solid revenue flow they'll bend over backward to make ppl happy.

Yeah, it's the smart thing to do because it smooths the way for so many other interactions. But it required too much money up front right when I was getting in the hole from moving and etc. Sigh.

McManamanamanaman lolz: When asked if England/Europe is paying attention (by dumbass Max Bretos in classic MLS-as-smallman-syndrome fashion), he responded that the playoffs always draw increased interest, also b/c David Beckham's team is still in it

LA v. NY final would be like the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, and fuckit I dunno the BCS final all rolled into one for these guys

except not at all profitable

Hate that guy.

Where the hell is Shep Messing? Miss him already.

SJ featuring some former PL players in Geovanni and Bobby Convey

And Convey scores

"such an MLS result" - Lalas

in the cold light of morning, and all lols @ redbull aside, that was a really great game

can't believe that henry miss

no kidding

I'm trying to find highlights but they're all mls.com silverlight bullshit

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/new-york-red-bulls-san-jose-earthquakes-7439644/

That looked like a terrific match. Great header for the winning goal.

we are going to PKs here people

Having the cameraman actually walk on and stand behind the kicker is a great idea, I'd never seen that before.

It makes it look so much more difficult - can see more why players bottle it now.

i hope i'm wrong but i can't see any of 5-8 upsetting 1-4

i would just like to point out that i have been off the mark in this thread

yeah lol MLS playoffs afaik

kind of feel like the most important upset isn't going to happen tomorrow

Pele Buddle

man Seattle look like they don't give a fuuuck

shittyass shit team, no will, so clearly *worse* than la in every facet

who did harkes do that terrible accent of, the guy in drew carey's box?

the guy in drew carey's box

sorry

Eric Idle

v v pretty imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uddKZwybzYo

I don't understand why Fernandez isn't playing for Seattle, isn't he one of their best players?

oh there he is

someone thought nyassi would exploit the wing better. yeah

ah fuck, ya never wanna see that.

so then

Colorado v. SJ
LA v. Dallas

an LA v. SJ final would be huge... if it wasn't set to be in Toronto

Haha. How'd you feel about deciding the title by playoffs rather than league table? I know it's standard practice in US sport, but its flaws are kind of obvious right now.

I don't really know how to feel about it. They've tried to make the regular season mean more with the Supporters' Shield winner (team w/ best record, the "real" championship most everywhere) being made eligible for the champions league. Now that only half the league makes the playoffs, and with the entry of more teams in the next few years, the race for the last couple playoff spots makes the regular season come down to the wire a lot more than even like 4-5 years ago where the top teams would coast through to the end of the season and the bottom feeders would give up.

But the East/West thing is confusing for a lot of people and a holdover from the NFL/MLB/NBA/NHL systems where there are 30+ teams in the leagues -- but in MLS Colorado is playing San Jose for the Eastern championship and a berth in the final. A few years ago New York was the (fluke) Western champions. So that's got to be fixed. Some of it is down to regionalism too. MLS doesn't have any teams in the southeast, and one thing you hear again and again from non-North-American players is the travel between games is a huge adjustment. So that plays into it as well.

IMO if the league can keep growing and survive with more teams, a divisional system based on regions (north, south, east, west) makes the most sense. If they hover at 20 teams for a while after Portland, Vancouver, Montreal, and the alleged 2nd New York team enter the league, a single table would make more sense. I'm not even going to talk about promotion and relegation because I don't think it will ever work here.

btw The Don says they're looking at changing the format: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/garber-we%E2%80%99re-looking-changing-playoff-format

then there's this:

Club,Sum of 2010 Guaranteed Compensation,% of total League Compensation
NY ,$15,666,639 ,22.10% out of playoffs
LA ,$10,978,594 ,15.50% still in playoffs
CHI,$5,559,104 ,7.80% didn't make playoffs
TFC ,$5,214,381 ,7.40% didn't make playoffs
SEA ,$3,118,104 ,4.40% out of playoffs
NE ,$2,983,033 ,4.20% didn't make playoffs
KC ,$2,945,107 ,4.20% didn't make playoffs
DAL ,$2,924,318 ,4.10% still in playoffs
PHI ,$2,886,400 ,4.10% didn't make playoffs
DC ,$2,881,530 ,4.10% didn't make playoffs
CLB ,$2,808,204 ,4.00% out of playoffs
COL ,$2,710,114 ,3.80% still in playoffs
RSL ,$2,645,722 ,3.70% out of playoffs
HOU ,$2,565,875 ,3.60% didn't make playoffs
SJ ,$2,518,590 ,3.60% still in playoffs
CHV ,$2,477,548 ,3.50% didn't make playoffs

GOALS! GOALS! GOALS!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJrNKPHN48&feature=player_embedded

partial to angel's oddly just because thank fuck, someone plays to the whistle

allegedly KC Wizards are changing their name to Sporting KC? lame-o

should take advantage of lucrative sponsorship tie-in and name themselves KFC imo

Toronto FC already has a lock on being called KFC