Dilbert

DC merged their bid with Baltimore. The issues with FedExField and Dan Snyder were DCs issue so the games were gonna be played in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium with the fan fest events in DC. While not having the nations capitol hosting is a bummer this was the right move. Each venue has its own pros and cons, some outweigh the others but even then some . Baltimore/Washington: Pro: other than Washington being the nations capitol, nothing really special, Baltimore really had no chance even when Washington merged their bid, Con: Games in Baltimore while fan fest activities would be in Washington a little over and hour away, Dan Snyder, FedExField issues Pasadena- Pro: Outdoor LA area venue, previously hosted World Cup games, Con: older venue, competing against SoFi, suburban LA Orlando- Pro: good soccer market, Con: older venue, near Miami bid Denver-Pro: Only Rocky Mountain area bid, larger city than KC, Con: close to KC bid. Honestly I would have picked Denver over KC and give Boston or Phillys bid to Cincinnati Cincinnati-Pro: okay Im biased, its my home, hot soccer market, Venue upgrades were coming, Cons: competing against KC for a midwest spot, no Hunt family here Nashville- Pro: hot soccer market, possible new venue in time for the games but Nissan still very well usable, Con: close to Atlanta bid Boston- Pro: Bob Kraft, Con: Not located in Boston proper Kansas City- Pro: Hunt family, Con: Oldest venue selected San Francisco- Pro: West Coast, Con, Not in San Francisco proper Miami- Pro: recently renovated stadium, heavy Hispanic market, Con: located in suburban Miami Seattle- Pro: Hot Soccer market, Drew Carey, West Coast, Con: Close to the Vancouver bid Philadelphia- Pro: East Coast market, Con: Near New York and Boston bids. Los Angeles-Pro: West Coast, New venue, hot soccer market, second largest US market, Con: in suburban LA Atlanta- Pro: Hot soccer market, Arthur Blank, Con: Indoor venue I guess Houston- Pro: 4th largest US market, large Hispanic population, Con: indoor venue I guess, close to the Dallas bid Dallas- Pro: One of the largest venues, Jerry Jones, Con: not in Dallas proper, indoor New York- Pro: largest market, Con: in New Jersey My issue is many of the venues are located in suburban areas with little to no reliable public transportation. The Northeast is a bit crowded with NY, Philly and Boston. New York was getting in either way though. Two Texas bids may be a bit much. Rocky Mountain and Great Lakes area not represented. Kansas Citys venue is the oldest and may be near the end of its useful life. I would have taken out Boston or Philly and given that spot to Cincinnati, and given Houstons spot to Denver.

Marathon is rolling out a new look. Its being tested at three sites near its Findlay, Ohio headquarters and a full roll out around August. The logo is slightly different as the wordmark is now in lowercase lettering Old branding

The Reds have gone full "Major League" https://twitter.com/ATBBTTR/status/1534322188450295808?s=20&t=UtcH5ZSgtgGr0Qug71Uhhw

Reds had some tarp issues tonight

edit: wrong thread

Does anyone else think its a bit overkill to have 3 of the 8 teams in Texas?

Meanwhile last night in Hamilton, the meaningless 2020 Canadian Championship Final was finally played between Forge FC and Toronto FC. The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the pandemic and instead a single championship game was to be held between the top MLS club (Toronto FC) and the top CPL club (Forge FC) with the winner earning the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League spot. However due to scheduling conflicts and more pandemic mess, the match was postponed again and Toronto automatically being awarded the berth. Forge FC as a consolation would be awarded to host the match whenever it was to take place. So finally 21 months later the 2020 Canadian Championship game was played (after the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League and the 2021 Canadian Championship have already taken place and the 2022 Canadian Championship well underway) with Toronto and Forge ending in a 1-1 draw with Toronto winning on penalties in what was essentially just an exhibition game.

I knew things at the Coliseum were bad. I didnt realize they were this bad though. https://oaklandside.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Coliseum-Concerns-5-22.pdf

I think he is just used to playing to the big crowds with Chelsea and while we have a good soccer environment here in the states, it is nothing compared to what he sees in England.

One of the arguments I always hear is that the US National team (men or women) dont have a home stadium. The US is a big country. If all of the home games were played in one location, say Washington for example, it would be difficult for fans on the West Coast to attend games. I think that playing at varying venues across the country serves the team better. Have they been playing in the midwest alot? Recently yes. Including friendlies, qualifiers, tournaments, cup games here is the hosting breakdown: 8 gms) Los Angeles-Carson 7 gms, Pasadena 1gm 8 gms) Kansas City KS 5 gms )Bay Area-San Francisco 1 gm, San Jose 2 gms, Santa Clara 2gms 5 gms) Philadelphia- Chester 2 gms, Philadelphia 3 gms 5 gms) New York- East Rutherford 2gms, Harrison 3 gms 5 gms) Dallas- Arlington 3 gms, Frisco 2 gms 5 gms) Nashville 5 gms) Orlando 5 gms) Columbus 5 gms) Washington 4 gms) Denver- Commerce City 2 gms, Denver 2 gms 4 gms) Salt Lake (Sandy) 4 gms) East Hartford 3 gms) Chicago 3 gms) Cincinnati 3 gms) Cleveland 3 gms) Austin 3 gms) Houston 3 gms) Phoenix (Glendale) 2 gms) Jacksonville 2 gms) Tampa 2 gms) South Florida- Boca Raton 1gm, Fort Lauderdale 1 gm 2 gms) Baltimore 2 gms) St Louis 2 gms) St Paul 2 gms) San Diego 2 gms) Seattle 2 gms) Boston (Foxborough) 1 gm) Las Vegas (Paradise) 1 gm) Portland 1 gm) San Antonio 1 gm) Atlanta) 1 gm) Cary NC 1 gm) Chattanooga Now while wanting to fill an NFL sized stadium would be nice compared to filling a smaller soccer specific stadium, keep in mind many NFL venues have artificial turf and the teams very rarely will play on them, often bringing in natural grass for the event alone. Ultimately I dont think location has anything to do with the attendance. Its the fact that USSF is charging NFL level prices for games for non marquee opponents for a sport that doesnt have an NFL level following in the United States. When the cheapest ticket for a game against Morocco is $75 for a midweek friendly on a night with the threat of thunderstorms, and during a time in which gas prices are through the roof, fans got to make a decision on if it is financially feasible for them to attend these types of games. When Cincinnati hosted the US vs Mexico (a marquee opponent) game last fall, the venue was sold out. My blame goes solely on the USSF, not the city hosting or the fans. Christian Pulisic may be use to playing infront of large crowds playing for Chelsea but compared to playing in front of crowds in the US vs Europe, its a very different following and support.

The snowflake wasnt great but this isnt that much better. The Fleur needs to be complete and the Impact needs to return.

To be fair at that time they were the only western team. Closest teams to them were San Antonio and Houston. When they joined the ECHL in 2005 they had 10 other western opponents including, Idaho, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Since then many of the western teams moved to the AHL and Utah and Idaho are the only western ECHL teams. If they did join the AHL now, they would have 9 other Western clubs including Colorado, Henderson, Tucson. Would they fit better geographically? Yes, but maybe they are happy with the ECHL costs and level.

Another great round of the US Open Cup. The lone remaining Division 3 club Union Omaha upset an MLS club for the second time this tournament defeating Minnesota United. They now go to Kansas City. NYCFC and Red Bulls both advance to set up a Hudson River Derby in the quarterfinals. Sacramento Republic become the final Division 2 club upsetting the San Jose Earthquakes. They now have a date with the LA Galaxy who beat LAFC in El Trafico. And Orlando City move on to face Nashville SC. Meanwhile up North in the Canadian Championship Toronto FC took care of HFX Wanderers and set up a date with CF Montreal who defeated Forge FC. Vancouver Whitecaps advance on penalties against Cavalry FC. They face the final CPL club York United who advanced on penalties over Pacific FC.

If I remember reading right are the owners of Forward Madison involved in this? I think they are also involved in a new venue/theaters on the Bradley Center site. I think Milwaukee would be a good fit for USL Championship. Louisville, Indy and a future team in the works in Des Moines will be great rivals.

It will be interesting to see how Calgary plays out. Winnipeg has the Jets and Moose (same venue) and WHL Ice, while Toronto has Maple Leafs and Marlies (seperate venues) and multiple nearby OHL teams. I know Canadians love their hockey but do they love it this much?

I saw this coming a little over a year ago. The Flames had the Heat play in Calgary during the shortened 2020-21 season and with the Canucks move to Abbotsford Im not surprised this happened. I would not be surprised if the Oilers pulled out of Bakersfield and put a team in Edmonton.

Reds sweep the Indian/Guardians for the first time ever in Cleveland. It was only a 2 game sweep but it counts.

I meant moving Red Deer or Lethbridge there. No way a pro team would go there, but then again the Senators put theirs in Belleville.

Cranbrook BC? The former home of the Kootenay Ice.

Boise, Billings, Lethbridge, Regina, Saskatoon sound reasonable, however does the Flames want to put an AHL club in a market already housed by a WHL club? I know the Hitmen have a decent following in Calgary already though.

Reds become the first team to lose without allowing a hit since the Angels in 2008 (vs Dodgers). It is per MLB standards an unofficial no hitter because the Reds pitchers did not go a full 9 innings, similar to how Madison Bumgarner had a no hitter in a 7 inning game last year.

Looked like a goal to me. Just barely passed the line. FC Cincinnati picked up their 4th league win in a row. (Yeah, we're not gonna talk about the Open Cup game on Wednesday. Brought PTSD from the Gerrard Nijkamp years) FCC now has a winning record in MLS for the first time ever and has tied the most wins in an MLS season for the club at 6. They look like they may be a legit playoff club. Now 1 point out of first in the east behind Montreal, Orlando and Philadelphia (all tied for first). After three long seasons its time to pass the wooden spoon to someone else.

US Open Cup Round of 16 is set Houston at Kansas City Omaha (final D3 club) at Minnesota Charlotte at NYRB New England at NYCFC Miami at Orlando Nashville at Louisville (battle of former USL rivals) LAFC at LA Galaxy (USOC El Traffico) San Jose at Sacramento Canadian Championship quarterfinals are also set Vancouver Whitecaps at Cavalry FC York United at Pacific FC Toronto FC at HFX Wanderers Forge FC at CF Montreal

The NFL schedule makers were given gold when if came to making the defending AFC Champions schedule. Third toughest in the league, toughest in the AFC. Several games worthy of primetime. Dallas, New Orleans (return to Louisiana for Burrow and Chase), Tennessee (playoff rematch), Kansas City (Burrow vs Mahomes, AFC Championship rematch), Tampa Bay (Burrow vs Brady), Buffalo (Burrow vs Allen), and even New England. Instead the 5 primetime games (prior to flexing) are against Miami and all three road division games against a sometimes iffy Baltimore and the two teams with QB situations in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. They did give Buffalo the primetime treatment but other than that, they completely missed with this schedule. Other than Dallas, and maybe New Orleans all the high profile games are during the last month or so of the season. Other highlights include the Bengals vs the Jets as they take on former Bearcat and 4th overall pick Sauce Gardner. Hopefully he is as stellar with the Jets as he was in college. Another highlight is when former Bearcat quarterback returns to Cincinnati with the Falcons. Not only is the trip to New Orleans a homecoming for Burrow and Chase but the Bengals will visit former QB Andy Dalton who is now with the Saints. Finally the final preseason game for the Bengals is at Paul Brown Stadium against the LA Rams in a Super Bowl rematch.