North American Pro Soccer 2019

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

1 hour ago, Bucfan56 said:

Seems like a strange move. Is second-tier English soccer still really that much better of an opportunity than spending time in MLS? That's rather telling, and not in a good way for US soccer, if that's really the case.

 

For an English player who wants to move into management, it is much better to get coaching experience in England.

As far as playing is concerned, the levels of play in MLS and the Championship are pretty comparable.  And that is no knock on MLS.  A player of Rooney's calibre who was not looking to be a manager someday would probably opt to stay in MLS and play before bigger crowds, not to mention make more money.

[Digby]

All the reporting (and the fact DCU is making a show of it being a move for personal reasons, no transfer fee, etc.) suggests Rooney's going back because his wife is homesick.

[Gothamite]

Absolutely.  And that’s not altogether unexpected. 

[Red Wolf]

Replace St. Louis with Tampa Bay and I'll have reached peak expansion happiness.

[tBBP]

4 hours ago, Red Wolf said:

Replace St. Louis with Tampa Bay and I'll have reached peak expansion happiness.

 

What about Little Rock, though? 

[Red Wolf]

11 minutes ago, Buc said:

 

What about Little Rock, though? 

 

My feelings on such a thing wouldn't be appropriate to share here.

[tBBP]

5 minutes ago, Red Wolf said:

 

My feelings on such a thing wouldn't be appropriate to share here.

Understood.

 

Maybe one day War Memorial will at least get an exhibition game--at least...

[SFGiants58]

3 hours ago, Buc said:

Understood.

 

Maybe one day War Memorial will at least get an exhibition game--at least...

 

Only if they invite Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin for a pre-game ceremony.

 

Spoiler

I'm about 85 to 90% sure of their innocence (I'll take John Douglas' word that the likely perpetrator was a serial offender who possibly committed similar crimes in other states), but I think it'd be a nice reminder of the kind of reputation that much of Arkansas (save Little Rock) has for the MLS fanbase. Of course, that is as a den of bible-thumping hicks who railroaded a mentally-disturbed/violent goth and his friends (one of whom probably had a learning disability) through a shoddy trial and life sentences/the death penalty (even if you believe they were guilty, there's not enough evidence for that outcome).

 

Last Podcast on the Left did an excellent series on the West Memphis Three. In between some of the more "blue" series (don't listen to their Leonard Lake & Charles Ng episodes in public), they put out a lot of well-researched and nuanced material.

 

[WJMorris3]

On 7/31/2019 at 3:55 PM, willmorris said:

Yeah. Given what I've heard he supposedly said, I think he's on his last legs in Utah.

Prophetic, possibly. Petke just got fired.

[Digby]

14 hours ago, willmorris said:

Prophetic, possibly. Petke just got fired.

 

Too bad, and absurd to get fired over a meltdown in a meaningless fake tourney. But hopefully he'll use his newfound free time to go to therapy.

[Jer15]

On 8/12/2019 at 1:04 PM, Digby said:

Too bad, and absurd to get fired over a meltdown in a meaningless fake tourney. But hopefully he'll use his newfound free time to go to therapy.

Sorry but I'm going to have to disagree.

 

I don't care if it's a meaningless tournament or the most meaningful game in club history. It's not about what level of competition it was.

You just don't say that kind of thing.

He's a professional, he should be better. 

[Brian in Boston]

There's been a shake-up in Seattle.

Joe Roth has sold his stake as an investor-operator of Seattle Sounders FC. With Roth's departure, Hanauer Fútbol - comprised of Adrian Hanauer, Paul Barry, and Lenore Hanauer - will increase its overall investment in the club. Additionally, a new contingent of 22 partners will join Hanauer Fútbol, Drew Carey, and Jody Allen amongst the Sounders' investor/operators. 

A full list of the new investors in Seattle Sounders FC can be found here.

 

   

[DG_ThenNowForever]

37 minutes ago, Brian in Boston said:

There's been a shake-up in Seattle.

Joe Roth has sold his stake as an investor-operator of Seattle Sounders FC. With Roth's departure, Hanauer Fútbol - comprised of Adrian Hanauer, Paul Barry, and Lenore Hanauer - will increase its overall investment in the club. Additionally, a new contingent of 22 partners will join Hanauer Fútbol, Drew Carey, and Jody Allen amongst the Sounders' investor/operators. 

A full list of the new investors in Seattle Sounders FC can be found here.

 

   

 

The list includes Russell Wilson, Ciara, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and a bunch of other MSFT execs. Oh, and Macklemore.

[GDAWG]

2 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

 

The list includes Russell Wilson, Ciara, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and a bunch of other MSFT execs. Oh, and Macklemore.

 

Russell is putting that new contract money to use.

[Digby]

 

this one’s for the non-apology apology hall of shame. Cripes.

 

[Gothamite]

“the Spanish word I used and the different interpretations of it.”  

 

Pathetic. 

[Sodboy13]

"It can mean a bundle of sticks, or a cigarette in British slang. Those were definitely the meanings I had in mind, so sorry if you misinterpreted my words."

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

17 hours ago, mr.negative15 said:

On 8/12/2019 at 1:04 PM, Digby said:

Too bad, and absurd to get fired over a meltdown in a meaningless fake tourney. But hopefully he'll use his newfound free time to go to therapy.

Sorry but I'm going to have to disagree.

 

I don't care if it's a meaningless tournament or the most meaningful game in club history. It's not about what level of competition it was.

 

You just don't say that kind of thing.

 

He's a professional, he should be better. 

 

I will also disagree with the strange assertion that the nature of the tournament somehow mitigates Petke's offence.

 

I will further disagree with the characterisation of the Leagues Cup as "meaningless" and "fake". If something is fake by virtue of being new, then every single competition was once fake.

 

And this tournament is far from meaningless. Pitting MLS clubs against clubs from another league is the best way to gauge the league's rapidly-increasing level of play. 

 

American soccer has an unhealthy fixation with Mexico. (And it also has a shameful hostility, as demonstrated by the openly racist tendencies of large segments of national team fans, as well as the appalling reaction to Landon Donovan's good-natured commercial during the last World Cup.)

 

What would be a lot more interesting in terms of finding MLS's level relative to a comparable league would be a tournament matching MLS teams and teams from the English Championship. It's a pity that such an arrangement would be logistically impossible, owing mainly to distance.

[Jer15]

7 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

What would be a lot more interesting in terms of finding MLS's level relative to a comparable league would be a tournament matching MLS teams and teams from the English Championship. It's a pity that such an arrangement would be logistically impossible, owing mainly to distance.

 

I'd be very interested to see and MLS/English Championship tournament as well. Even a 1-game champion vs champion game could be fun. 

 

[Digby]

20 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

I will also disagree with the strange assertion that the nature of the tournament somehow mitigates Petke's offence.

 

You're reading way too much into that -- the point being that anyone who feels that level of "passion" over glorified friendlies already needs an adjustment, never mind the homophobia -- but I'm sorry if my lack of clarity led anyone to think that Petke's outburst would be okay in a real game.

 

10 hours ago, Gothamite said:

“the Spanish word I used and the different interpretations of it.”  

 

Pathetic. 

 

Wonder what interpretation comes from the culture of white guys with documented anger problems from Long Island!

 

 

6 minutes ago, mr.negative15 said:

 

I'd be very interested to see and MLS/English Championship tournament as well. Even a 1-game champion vs champion game could be fun. 

 

 

Why, though? Why that and not Ligue 2 or the Eriedivisie or anything else?

 

MLS clubs already struggle with lack of depth and schedule congestion, and the Concacaf (thank the lord I don't have to all-caps that anymore) league already takes care of international competition. From a sporting perspective, I don't think anything is added by making MLS clubs go through a second-tier Leagues Cup competition, or arbitrary one-offs against further leagues, or even all-star games against B-squads of elite squads.