North American Pro Soccer 2020

[GDAWG]

1 hour ago, Dilbert said:

Houston Dash win the NWSL Challenge Cup defeating the Chicago Red Stars 2-0

 

So does this make them the NWSL Champions or is it like the MLS tournament in that the winner gets a CONCACAF spot?

[sportsfan7]

43 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

 

So does this make them the NWSL Champions or is it like the MLS tournament in that the winner gets a CONCACAF spot?

Concacaf doesn't sanction a Womens club tourney and neither does Fifa (yet)

[AnPheitseog]

I hate PRO referees, so much. 

 

https://imgur.com/VhrvyMs

 

That was called a yellow and not a red somehow.

 

 

 

[Dilbert]

5 hours ago, GDAWG said:

 

So does this make them the NWSL Champions or is it like the MLS tournament in that the winner gets a CONCACAF spot?

Kinda. The NWSL regular season and playoffs was cancelled and the Challenge Cup was the only games this season for the NWSL so if you want to call thems the NWSL Champions I guess you could.

[GDAWG]

5 hours ago, sportsfan7 said:

Concacaf doesn't sanction a Womens club tourney and neither does Fifa (yet)

 

Gotcha.  So technically, Houston is the NWSL champion.  

[DG_ThenNowForever]

If it can't be the Sounders, I'm all in for San Jose and their amazing uniforms.

[Red Wolf]

2 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

If it can't be the Sounders, I'm all in for San Jose and their amazing uniforms.

 

Speaking of uniforms, it really messed with my brain that Seattle was wearing black against LAFC.

 

San Jose has been shockingly fun so far, and I'm all for seeing RSL laying in ruin.

 

I feel weird writing this, but I am 100% on board for the fake crowd noise. I hate laugh tracks as much as the next person, but the fake crowd noise in place of just the player noise works so much better for me.

[Digby]

NWSL doing better TV numbers than the MLS return tournament. Kind of a surprise to me, given CBS isn't a soccer channel and the USWNT big names largely opting out.

 

  

[sportsfan7]

37 minutes ago, Digby said:

NWSL doing better TV numbers than the MLS return tournament. Kind of a surprise to me, given CBS isn't a soccer channel and the USWNT big names largely opting out.

 

  

I guess that's what happens when your games are on at a reasonable time.

[Digby]

21 minutes ago, sportsfan7 said:

I guess that's what happens when your games are on at a reasonable time.

 

probably helps! Still don't get why, at a multi-venue complex, they couldn't just run two games at 8pm on different channels. Are there that many passionate MLS fans who legitimately want to watch both a Quakes-Whitecaps game AND an Impact-Revs game? If you're staggered start times are 9am and 10:30pm on the east coast, why bother? Such a long list of why doing this in Florida was maybe not great.

[Sport]

FC Cincinnati lost on penalty kicks to Portland last night at roughly 3:45 am. I stayed up to watch it, but had a hard time keeping my eyes open. Are they playing these games this late because Orlando is the hottest place on Earth?  

 

Better tournament than expected for FCC. Making it to the knockout round is defined as a success for them, but still would've been super cool to get to the round of 8, and go farther than the vile dirty rotten Crew. 

 

The more I watch soccer the more the offsides rule sticks in the ole craw. Why should it be the offense's concern where the defense is?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

29 minutes ago, Sport said:

The more I watch soccer the more the offsides rule sticks in the ole craw. Why should it be the offense's concern where the defense is?

 

Because the alternative is keeping a guy in the opponent's box and kicking long outlets to him all day, right?

[AnPheitseog]

I like the offside rule, but would prefer to see it changed to if any part of you is onside, then you are onside even if you play the ball with a part of you that is offside.

 

Even if that is already the rule, it sure isnt called like it.

[Sport]

1 hour ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Because the alternative is keeping a guy in the opponent's box and kicking long outlets to him all day, right?

 

so you write a rule that you can't keep a guy in the opponent's box. Problem solved. And Defenses would adapt. That's why football teams don't throw a hail mary on every play and basketball teams don't run the fast break on every possession.

 

My issue with soccer offsides is it's inherently antithetical to sport. Why's it the offense's fault if they're faster than the defense covering them? Why's it beneficial for the defense to allow their opponent to get behind them? Anytime they wave the offsides flag I think "Sorry, you are penalized for being better than you're defender". It'd be like if a wide receiver in football had to be in front of the last defensive back at the time when the QB throws ball. That'd be awful, no?

 

Hockey offsides needs work (and I don't think I'd hate if it was removed either), but I think the fixed line that neither team has control of is a better system.

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

42 minutes ago, Sport said:

 

so you write a rule that you can't keep a guy in the opponent's box. Problem solved. And Defenses would adapt. That's why football teams don't throw a hail mary on every play and basketball teams don't run the fast break on every possession.

 

My issue with soccer offsides is it's inherently antithetical to sport. Why's it the offense's fault if they're faster than the defense covering them? Why's it beneficial for the defense to allow their opponent to get behind them? Anytime they wave the offsides flag I think "Sorry, you are penalized for being better than you're defender". It'd be like if a wide receiver in football had to be in front of the last defensive back at the time when the QB throws ball. That'd be awful, no?

 

Hockey offsides needs work (and I don't think I'd hate if it was removed either), but I think the fixed line that neither team has control of is a better system.

 

 

If not the box, then still some guy way upfield. You don't need 10 defenders at all times, so it would be easy to just kick the ball upfield for a guy waiting behind the entire defense. And with a one-on-one against the goalkeeper, he'd win 99% of the time. It's different in basketball because you really do want five defenders; it's just less needed in soccer because scoring is so much more difficult.

 

For the football comparison, the better comparison is the wide receiver lining up in the defense. That's not allowed for obvious reasons, which is the same reason offsides is enforced in soccer. It's frustrating on close calls, but if you didn't have it, it would just be a game of cherry picking.

[floydnimrod]

11 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

If not the box, then still some guy way upfield. You don't need 10 defenders at all times, so it would be easy to just kick the ball upfield for a guy waiting behind the entire defense. And with a one-on-one against the goalkeeper, he'd win 99% of the time. It's different in basketball because you really do want five defenders; it's just less needed in soccer because scoring is so much more difficult.

 

For the football comparison, the better comparison is the wide receiver lining up in the defense. That's not allowed for obvious reasons, which is the same reason offsides is enforced in soccer. It's frustrating on close calls, but if you didn't have it, it would just be a game of cherry picking.

I've always likened it to football offsides like you did. Imagine the kick of the ball in soccer is the snap of the ball in football, the start of the play. You can't be behind the defense in football, and you can't in soccer either.

[Digby]

I think the rule is fine, it's the VAR-era replay enforcement that's weird. How do you fix it? I can't really tell.

[Jer15]

https://canpl.ca/article/canadian-premier-league-confirms-charlottetown-p-e-i-as-location-for-2020-season

 

CPL finally announced their plans. Charlottetown is the location. Gimmicky name with "The Island Games". Starts Aug 13

Essentially the league will play a 28 game "season". Top 4 clubs move on to a 6 match round robin. The top 2 clubs in that will play in a 1 game final.

 

For the visual learner (like myself) here is what it looks like. 

 

 

I should add, teams have been training for a while now and are tested regularly and there have been no reported positives. There will be 2 more tests prior to leaving for PEI via chartered plane. (My understanding is that was required by by local government, no commercial flights allowed). 

Upon arrival there will be a 4 day quarantine (this one doesn't make sense to me). I assume there will be testing in that 4 day span. 

[Sport]

26 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

If not the box, then still some guy way upfield. You don't need 10 defenders at all times, so it would be easy to just kick the ball upfield for a guy waiting behind the entire defense. And with a one-on-one against the goalkeeper, he'd win 99% of the time. It's different in basketball because you really do want five defenders; it's just less needed in soccer because scoring is so much more difficult.

 

For the football comparison, the better comparison is the wide receiver lining up in the defense. That's not allowed for obvious reasons, which is the same reason offsides is enforced in soccer. It's frustrating on close calls, but if you didn't have it, it would just be a game of cherry picking.

 

and I've never understood what the big problem with cherry-picking is. 

 

13 minutes ago, floydnimrod said:

I've always likened it to football offsides like you did. Imagine the kick of the ball in soccer is the snap of the ball in football, the start of the play. You can't be behind the defense in football, and you can't in soccer either.

 

But you can? Football is a game of starts and stops, soccer is continuous flow, unless there's a free kick, which is the closest thing soccer has to the snap of the football. Once the ball is snapped the football player can receive the pass anywhere regardless of where the defenders are, not the case in soccer. I don't see how the two are analogous. 

 

 

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

18 minutes ago, Sport said:

 

and I've never understood what the big problem with cherry-picking is. 

 

 

Cherry picking isn't very Sport-ing.