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Saturday, April 07, 2007
2007 MLS Season Is Under Way
By VictorM: Today is the start of the 2007 Major League Soccer (MLS) season. After the busiest and most exciting off-season ever, the 2007 season starts with much promise. A few of the major developments:1. Signing of world-class players: English superstar David Beckham, Mexican icon Cuauhtémoc Blanco, and America's most accomplished player, Claudio Reyna will be playing with LA, Chicago, and NY respectively.
2. TV Contracts: All games will be televised, with ESPN2 showing one game every Thursday night during prime-time. There will also be games shown every Saturday and every Sunday.
3. Soccer specific stadiums: Colorado and Toronto will start the season playing in their own stadiums. Chicago will start their first full season in theirs. And stadiums are under way, or will be shortly, in New York/New Jersey and Salt Lake City.
4. SuperLiga: A summer tournament pitting 4 MLS teams versus 4 Mexican teams.
Labels: claudio reyna, david beckham, mls, soccer
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Carlos Villagomez
By VictorM: Notwithstanding David Beckham's signing, the success of soccer in America continues to be an uphill battle. In an effort to contribute to that success, Major League Soccer's (MLS) Houston Dynamo team is looking to built a soccer specific stadium in or around Houston. One of the bidders is the city of Webster. City Councilman Carlos Villagomez said this recently about his support for the bid (emphasis mine):"Soccer is a big sport, especially here in Texas," Villagomez said. "It's getting hot. Every time they've had a soccer team come to Reliant Stadium, it's a sellout. I think soccer is going to be bigger than football."Come on. Statements like this just aren't helpful. That's just an idiotic statement, specially for someone from Texas where some high-school football games draw more fans than many MLS soccer matches.
Mr. Villagomez, please help the Dynamo get a new stadium, but sir, keep your mouth shut about the sport -- you don't know what you're talking about.
Labels: houston dynamo, idiot of the day, major league soccer, mls
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
2007 MLS Season: The future getting closer
By VictorM: Major League Soccer (MLS) will kick-off its 2007 season in early April. Although the off-season is not over yet, this has been the most eventful one in league history. How so? Let me count the ways: 1) David Beckham, 2) TV deals with ESPN, FSC, Telefutura, and HDNet, 3) Toronto debuting in its own soccer stadium, 4) Colorado will open its own soccer stadium, 5) Funding approved for soccer stadium in Salt Lake City, 6) Inaugural InterLiga tournament, 7) Claudio Reyna, 8) Sale of DC United for $33 million, 9) New and committed owners in Kansas City, 10) Likely return of San Jose Earthquakes to its own soccer stadium, 11) Started construction of Red Bull Park, 12) Approval of sponsor logos on team jerseys (extra revenue). Good steps in the right direction to turn this league into a profitable league first, a development league second, and in the years ahead, a true major league.
Labels: claudio reyna, david beckham, major league soccer, mls, red bull, toronto fc
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Beckham is coming
By VictorM: So Beckham decided to listen to my advice (yarite!) and come to America. Good for him; good for us. Forget the amount of money being mentioned – he’ll make nowhere near that much – but the money is of no concern because Beckham will pay for himself via advertisements, t-shirt sales, ticket sales, foreign tours, and above all, visibility for the league. Major League Soccer couldn’t afford the money it would take to get its name out there the way Beckham’s front-page news did. And guest stints by Beckham in the Letterman, Leno, King, and other such shows will follow. So basically, this was a win-win-win move by all parties involved: Real Madrid is better off without Beckham, MLS gets huge publicity and open doors to other world stars, and Beckham doesn’t have to linger on the bench or on the roster of a middle of the table club in England. Besides, even if he’s not at his peak, the man can still play football! Now, let’s get him in April instead of August.Labels: david beckham, major league soccer, mls, real madrid
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
David Beckham: Time for The States?
By VictorM: David Beckham is soccer's best known star in the United States. At 31, he no longer figures in England's National Team's plans and his playing time at Real Madrid has been sparse. A move back to the English Premier League -- it's highly doubtful he'll play for one of the big clubs there -- or a move to the USA would mean the same thing: admission that his career at the highest level of the game is over. So, he can warm the bench at Real Madrid, languish in a middle-of-the table club in England, or he can try to be the man who pushes soccer over the top in the USA. His positive impact on the sport in the USA is almost certain, and it's a nicer epitaph than finishing 9th in the Premiership. But the time to make the move is now. With his effectiveness declining and the level of play in USA's Major League Soccer increasing, Beckham may not be worth nearly as much in 2 years.Labels: david beckham, epl, mls, real madrid, soccer
