Frank Yallop is gone and rumors are swirling that Steve McClaren will take over. The England coach was at Home Depot Center on Sunday presumable to scout David Beckham and gauge his fitness.
Still, if I had to speculate over a possible replacement, I'd hitch my wagon on Jurgen Klinsmann. The OC resident was spotted at Home Depot Center on multiple occasions this summer.
The Galaxy has a rich tradition of winning, but another tradition the club has is talking to future coaches while other coaches are still employed. Frank Yallop first met with the Galaxy in 2005, before the Galaxy's miracle postseason run that kept Steve Sampson around for the start of the 2006 season.
And Sampson's own hiring was rather questionable. Sigi Schmid was seemingly on solid footing until the club tied Columbus 0-0 and then Schmid was blindsided by the sacking. The next day the club suddenly hired Sampson. You don't bring in a coach like Sampson overnight. Naming an interim coach followed by a search for a coach would have been the norm, especially in the middle of the season.
And a fellow Galaxy writer recently told me, when I mentioned this topic, that the Galaxy met with Sigi while Octavio Zambrano held the job.
If Klinsi is hired, perhaps the Galaxy should change their motto to "Getting Our Ducks in a Row Since 1999."
Monday, November 5, 2007
Seats are getting hotter
I'm constantly amazed by the never-ending turnover within the Mexican coaching ranks. One coach after another after another is fired during each and every season. Not sure what the count is up to this season but I think it was around five when I stopped keeping tabs.
It seems that high turnover ratio seems to be making its way north. In 2007, we've seen two of the three most successful MLS clubs as well as the league's richest team all change coaches.
This year alone, Chicago fired Dave Sarachan, New York (essentially) fired Bruce Arena and the Galaxy (didn't have to but also pretty much) fired Frank Yallop.
I don't know if it's just coincidence or whether certain teams have set their standards high or what but turnover is the word now with some MLS teams. Arena's successor will be the team's fourth (fifth if you count AB, I mean, Richie Williams) since the last part of 2005; Yallop's successor will be the Galaxy's third coach in that same time frame while DC and Chicago are each on coach number two in just the last 12 months.
And through it all, Fernando Clavijo keeps his job. Un-f-ing-believable.
Well, I guess some things never change.
It seems that high turnover ratio seems to be making its way north. In 2007, we've seen two of the three most successful MLS clubs as well as the league's richest team all change coaches.
This year alone, Chicago fired Dave Sarachan, New York (essentially) fired Bruce Arena and the Galaxy (didn't have to but also pretty much) fired Frank Yallop.
I don't know if it's just coincidence or whether certain teams have set their standards high or what but turnover is the word now with some MLS teams. Arena's successor will be the team's fourth (fifth if you count AB, I mean, Richie Williams) since the last part of 2005; Yallop's successor will be the Galaxy's third coach in that same time frame while DC and Chicago are each on coach number two in just the last 12 months.
And through it all, Fernando Clavijo keeps his job. Un-f-ing-believable.
Well, I guess some things never change.
Gato
When the Galaxy used to be the Galaxy, this was their 'keeper.
If there's one guy on KC I'm happy to see succeed on a personal level, it's Kevin Hartman.
If there's one guy on KC I'm happy to see succeed on a personal level, it's Kevin Hartman.
Becks and his battles
Some of the issues facing Beckham now include a new coach, a possible loan arrangement, and convincing McClaren to give him another go with England.
Viv on HU
The guitarist Vivian Campbell (of Def Leppard), took part in the charity game. In this clip, he expounds on what Hollywood United is all about.
Points for anyone who can name all the Galaxy players who pass behind him while he talks.
Points for anyone who can name all the Galaxy players who pass behind him while he talks.
Charity begins at home
Lineups at start of game, which raised over $100,000. Frank LeBeouf is shaking Kelly Gray's hand. 
Anthony LaPaglia is shaking Beckham's hand. Lalas is shaking the hand of Kyle Veris.
David, perhaps subdued with the news of Frank's departure, conducts television interviews after the game.
Two coaches
Both are gone from their present jobs, but one resigned to take another job, while another is unemployed after being fired.
You'd never know from the situations which coach made the playoffs. I wonder if Arena burned some bridges in New York.
You'd never know from the situations which coach made the playoffs. I wonder if Arena burned some bridges in New York.
Frank on Friday
Here's the little sound clip of when I talked to Frank on Friday.
(I'm out of breath because I'm in poor shape and there was some construction on nearby roads that held me up on the drive to practice, so I had to run to get to the practice before everyone left. When Frank started to talk to me, Landon Donovan was leaving, which left me torn, because I wanted to interview him, too. Landon agreed to wait, so I asked Frank one last question.)
It didn't sound to me like Frank was planning to leave the Galaxy then, but everyone knows what a difference a day makes.
(I'm out of breath because I'm in poor shape and there was some construction on nearby roads that held me up on the drive to practice, so I had to run to get to the practice before everyone left. When Frank started to talk to me, Landon Donovan was leaving, which left me torn, because I wanted to interview him, too. Landon agreed to wait, so I asked Frank one last question.)
It didn't sound to me like Frank was planning to leave the Galaxy then, but everyone knows what a difference a day makes.
Frank is gone
Frank Yallop has resigned from the Galaxy. He informed the players after the Hollywood United charity match in a meeting.
When the decision happened is another matter.
I talked to Frank on Friday morning, and he was still chatting about his plans for the team. Later that day, however, the Galaxy training session for Saturday was cancelled.
Some reporters with sources up north found out early Sunday that Frank had agreed to terms with San Jose. The story began leaking out from there, but many reporters, including me, only found out when David Beckham was asked in the mixed zone by one about the change. By the way, the press had to wait for Beckham for about as long as it took the entire match to be played.
Frank didn't appear for the media last night.
Speculation is high that the Galaxy allowed Frank to talk with San Jose about the coaching job because he wasn't in their plans. However, it's possible that it was a preemptive move by Frank - tired of the pressure in Los Angeles and perhaps aware that a firing could happen to him at any time with the Galaxy. With San Jose offering a comfortable three year contract, Frank could have decided to return to his old stomping grounds and forget his Galaxy days as a bad experience.
Beckham seemed genuine in his disappointment over the move, and that intersects with the one criticism he ever offered of his Real Madrid tenure, when he said it was difficult to deal with all the coaching changes the organization went through.
When the decision happened is another matter.
I talked to Frank on Friday morning, and he was still chatting about his plans for the team. Later that day, however, the Galaxy training session for Saturday was cancelled.
Some reporters with sources up north found out early Sunday that Frank had agreed to terms with San Jose. The story began leaking out from there, but many reporters, including me, only found out when David Beckham was asked in the mixed zone by one about the change. By the way, the press had to wait for Beckham for about as long as it took the entire match to be played.
Frank didn't appear for the media last night.
Speculation is high that the Galaxy allowed Frank to talk with San Jose about the coaching job because he wasn't in their plans. However, it's possible that it was a preemptive move by Frank - tired of the pressure in Los Angeles and perhaps aware that a firing could happen to him at any time with the Galaxy. With San Jose offering a comfortable three year contract, Frank could have decided to return to his old stomping grounds and forget his Galaxy days as a bad experience.
Beckham seemed genuine in his disappointment over the move, and that intersects with the one criticism he ever offered of his Real Madrid tenure, when he said it was difficult to deal with all the coaching changes the organization went through.
One more year
Good news for Chivas USA fans: Claudio Suarez said he wants to play one more year.
Bad news: He is uncertain if it will be in MLS.
Seems that Suarez has three standing offers to return to Mexico. He wouldn't divulge what clubs but said that he's mulling the offers.
It will come down to economics for Suarez. He said if he's in Chivas USA's plans and the front office wants him back, he'd be glad to play in MLS. But he could also stand to earn more money in Mexico, and money down there goes a lot further than money in Southern California, especially when you have a wife and children.
Suarez's contract is up so he has the freedom to negotiate terms.
Bad news: He is uncertain if it will be in MLS.
Seems that Suarez has three standing offers to return to Mexico. He wouldn't divulge what clubs but said that he's mulling the offers.
It will come down to economics for Suarez. He said if he's in Chivas USA's plans and the front office wants him back, he'd be glad to play in MLS. But he could also stand to earn more money in Mexico, and money down there goes a lot further than money in Southern California, especially when you have a wife and children.
Suarez's contract is up so he has the freedom to negotiate terms.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Galaxy/United running blog
Hollywood United, that is.
This match is all for charity, folks, with the proceeds going to the ongoing efforts to help those displaced by the California wildfires.
HU starters: Anthony LaPaglia, Oliver Biaggi, Richard Gough, Frank Leboef, Alexi Lalas, Chris Henderson, Maricio Cienfuegos, Jorge Campos, Joe-Max Moore, Jason Boyce
Galaxy starters: Lance Friesz, Cobi Jones, Chris Albright, Troy Roberts, Kyle Veris, Ante Jazic, Kelly Gray, David Beckham, Israel Sesay, Carlos Pavon, Edson Buddle
3- nothing much so far - the Galaxy are actually in their own half a bit. Oh, wait, Pavon just passed to Buddle for a header attempt. Way wide. It was from way outside.
5- Cobi with a shot in the box. It deflects off a defender.
7- Beckham with a nice pass to Sesay- who wastes it with a soft pass to Buddle that is too weak and gets picked off. Galaxy flurry in United's box, but the crosses miss everybody. United clears.
9- LeBeouf tackles ball away from Cobi. HU counter get free kick. Gray clears. Sesay and Beckham lead counter.
10- GOAL! Sesay passes back to Beckham, who smacks a low shot towards goal from 25 yards. LaPaglia dives, but the ball beats him into the corner. Galaxy 1-0
13- CK Galaxy, gets cleared.
14- GOAL! Cobi still has the wheels to beat defenders to a free ball. He sends a through pass to Buddle, who breaks free of the defenders and scores calmly past LaPaglia coming out.
15- Bianchi with a hard shot towards goal. Friesz does well to catch it.
16- The Riot Squad are chanting "One more year" every tiem Cobi touches the ball.
18- Beckham serves a cgeat cross into the area, but his general manager calmly clears it out.
20- Cobi dribbles in, Beckham makes the overlapping run, but his cross overshoots Pavon.
22- GOAL! Long Beckham pass up to Pavon, who heads the ball down to Buddle, who beats Alexi and another defender and shoots from just inside the box.
23- Wynalda comes in for Campos.
24- Gray with a tackle at the top of the arc on Bianchi. FK goes over the bar.
26- Steve McClaren is here at this game, according to others in the press box. I can't see him from where I'm at.
27- GOAL! LeBeouf scores! Nice hard shot from way outside, but it got the benefit of two deflections that send Friesz scrambling and missing on his dive as the ball made it to the side netting.
29- Joe-Max takes a corner for HU. LeBeouf and Roberts go up for it, with Roberts being phycially agressive. LeBeouf wants a call, doesn't get it. Welcome to MLS soccer.
32- GOAL! Beckham and Buddle work the give and go on the counter. Buddle lays the ball back for Beckham, who is still outside the box when he hits it past LaPaglia.
33- Sesay is marking LeBeouf on a play - LeBeouf won the World Cup with France (1998 when Sesay was eight.
35- PENALTY! Wynalda goes down in the box. It was a very soft foul by Albright. I'm surprised it was called at all. Beckham argues with the ref. That's hilarious. LeBeouf puts away the PK to the left of goal.
37- SAVE! LaPaglia saves a shot from Cobi. Not too shabby.
39- GOAL! Buddle skins both Henderson and Lalas with a couple of moves, jukes a diving LaPaglia and puts the ball into the net. Hat trick.
GOAL! Jazic long pass on a counter to Cobi, who touches the ball down just inside the box and calmly chips LaPaglia. Nice touch.
42- Lalas header the other way gets saved by Friesz.
44- Galaxy corner. Becks takes.
45- GOAL! Joe-Max catches Friesz leaning the wrong way and smacks a 30-yarder into the goal.
Halftime - Galaxy 6-Hollywood United 3
Beckham and Gough walk off the field together, chatting. The press box is buzzing about how serious Beckham is for this match.
46- Harmse from way outside. LaPaglia dives for the save. Beckham, Veris and Roberts are the only Galaxy holdovers from the first half.
48- Landon Donovan is on, Josh Tudela is on, Kevin Harmse, Pete Vagenas, Chris Klein, Mike Randolph, Mike Caso.
51- HU lookig more organized this half. Donovan with a leading pass for Klein, but Klein puts his cross over the end line.
52- Beckham shot from way outside saved by LaPaglia. Corner taken by Becks
GOAL! Pete volleys straight into goal from the arc. WOW. GOAL of the night. That was amazing. The press box is arguing. Some say he volleyed the corner straight in. I think it took a deflection in the box, but we don't have the benefit of replay. It never touched the ground, that's for sure.
56- GOAL! Beckham with a nice lateral pass to Caso, who redirects the ball into the goal.
59- GOAL! Beckham pass to Klein, who smacks the ball past LaPaglia on the near post.
61- Beckham is wearing the armband, since Cobi left at halftime.
63- Beckham is playing on the right, by the way.
65- Alan Hopkins is on the field for HU.
68- Beckham is going the full 90 I guess to prove his fitness to McClaren. Of course, the pace of the game has slowed down.
69- GOAL! Peter Gail scores for United. He took the shot just at the edge of the penalty arc after a deflected cross popped out to him.
70- Wynalda comes off for Yari Alhutt. Lalas comes off for Viv Campbell. LaPaglia comes off for Brian Burde.
72- Donovan pass to Harmse's feet in front of goal, but Burde just gets to it.
74- Donovan overshoots Beckham on a breakaway pass. Beckham doesn't look happy about it. He'd have been in alone on goal.
75- GOAL! Klein off the crossbar, but Caso is there to clean up and put the ball in the net.
76- GOAL! Klein gets behind the defense - Donovan finds him with a nice lead pass and Klein picks his spot.
78- Beckham off the crossbar! This leads to a flurry in front of goal, and the Galaxy get a free kick near the box. Beckham finally cracks a smile as Vagenas pretends to want to take it, pleading for it. Beckham takes, but doesn't quite get it around the HU wall.
81- Donovan in the box - but Burde saves - well, Donovan kind of kicked it into him.
82- GOAL! Harmse works a nice give and go with Donovan, breaking into the box to score.
83- Beckham leaving the match. Sesay come in for him.
Sorry guys, work calls, can't blog the rest of the game.
This match is all for charity, folks, with the proceeds going to the ongoing efforts to help those displaced by the California wildfires.
HU starters: Anthony LaPaglia, Oliver Biaggi, Richard Gough, Frank Leboef, Alexi Lalas, Chris Henderson, Maricio Cienfuegos, Jorge Campos, Joe-Max Moore, Jason Boyce
Galaxy starters: Lance Friesz, Cobi Jones, Chris Albright, Troy Roberts, Kyle Veris, Ante Jazic, Kelly Gray, David Beckham, Israel Sesay, Carlos Pavon, Edson Buddle
3- nothing much so far - the Galaxy are actually in their own half a bit. Oh, wait, Pavon just passed to Buddle for a header attempt. Way wide. It was from way outside.
5- Cobi with a shot in the box. It deflects off a defender.
7- Beckham with a nice pass to Sesay- who wastes it with a soft pass to Buddle that is too weak and gets picked off. Galaxy flurry in United's box, but the crosses miss everybody. United clears.
9- LeBeouf tackles ball away from Cobi. HU counter get free kick. Gray clears. Sesay and Beckham lead counter.
10- GOAL! Sesay passes back to Beckham, who smacks a low shot towards goal from 25 yards. LaPaglia dives, but the ball beats him into the corner. Galaxy 1-0
13- CK Galaxy, gets cleared.
14- GOAL! Cobi still has the wheels to beat defenders to a free ball. He sends a through pass to Buddle, who breaks free of the defenders and scores calmly past LaPaglia coming out.
15- Bianchi with a hard shot towards goal. Friesz does well to catch it.
16- The Riot Squad are chanting "One more year" every tiem Cobi touches the ball.
18- Beckham serves a cgeat cross into the area, but his general manager calmly clears it out.
20- Cobi dribbles in, Beckham makes the overlapping run, but his cross overshoots Pavon.
22- GOAL! Long Beckham pass up to Pavon, who heads the ball down to Buddle, who beats Alexi and another defender and shoots from just inside the box.
23- Wynalda comes in for Campos.
24- Gray with a tackle at the top of the arc on Bianchi. FK goes over the bar.
26- Steve McClaren is here at this game, according to others in the press box. I can't see him from where I'm at.
27- GOAL! LeBeouf scores! Nice hard shot from way outside, but it got the benefit of two deflections that send Friesz scrambling and missing on his dive as the ball made it to the side netting.
29- Joe-Max takes a corner for HU. LeBeouf and Roberts go up for it, with Roberts being phycially agressive. LeBeouf wants a call, doesn't get it. Welcome to MLS soccer.
32- GOAL! Beckham and Buddle work the give and go on the counter. Buddle lays the ball back for Beckham, who is still outside the box when he hits it past LaPaglia.
33- Sesay is marking LeBeouf on a play - LeBeouf won the World Cup with France (1998 when Sesay was eight.
35- PENALTY! Wynalda goes down in the box. It was a very soft foul by Albright. I'm surprised it was called at all. Beckham argues with the ref. That's hilarious. LeBeouf puts away the PK to the left of goal.
37- SAVE! LaPaglia saves a shot from Cobi. Not too shabby.
39- GOAL! Buddle skins both Henderson and Lalas with a couple of moves, jukes a diving LaPaglia and puts the ball into the net. Hat trick.
GOAL! Jazic long pass on a counter to Cobi, who touches the ball down just inside the box and calmly chips LaPaglia. Nice touch.
42- Lalas header the other way gets saved by Friesz.
44- Galaxy corner. Becks takes.
45- GOAL! Joe-Max catches Friesz leaning the wrong way and smacks a 30-yarder into the goal.
Halftime - Galaxy 6-Hollywood United 3
Beckham and Gough walk off the field together, chatting. The press box is buzzing about how serious Beckham is for this match.
46- Harmse from way outside. LaPaglia dives for the save. Beckham, Veris and Roberts are the only Galaxy holdovers from the first half.
48- Landon Donovan is on, Josh Tudela is on, Kevin Harmse, Pete Vagenas, Chris Klein, Mike Randolph, Mike Caso.
51- HU lookig more organized this half. Donovan with a leading pass for Klein, but Klein puts his cross over the end line.
52- Beckham shot from way outside saved by LaPaglia. Corner taken by Becks
GOAL! Pete volleys straight into goal from the arc. WOW. GOAL of the night. That was amazing. The press box is arguing. Some say he volleyed the corner straight in. I think it took a deflection in the box, but we don't have the benefit of replay. It never touched the ground, that's for sure.
56- GOAL! Beckham with a nice lateral pass to Caso, who redirects the ball into the goal.
59- GOAL! Beckham pass to Klein, who smacks the ball past LaPaglia on the near post.
61- Beckham is wearing the armband, since Cobi left at halftime.
63- Beckham is playing on the right, by the way.
65- Alan Hopkins is on the field for HU.
68- Beckham is going the full 90 I guess to prove his fitness to McClaren. Of course, the pace of the game has slowed down.
69- GOAL! Peter Gail scores for United. He took the shot just at the edge of the penalty arc after a deflected cross popped out to him.
70- Wynalda comes off for Yari Alhutt. Lalas comes off for Viv Campbell. LaPaglia comes off for Brian Burde.
72- Donovan pass to Harmse's feet in front of goal, but Burde just gets to it.
74- Donovan overshoots Beckham on a breakaway pass. Beckham doesn't look happy about it. He'd have been in alone on goal.
75- GOAL! Klein off the crossbar, but Caso is there to clean up and put the ball in the net.
76- GOAL! Klein gets behind the defense - Donovan finds him with a nice lead pass and Klein picks his spot.
78- Beckham off the crossbar! This leads to a flurry in front of goal, and the Galaxy get a free kick near the box. Beckham finally cracks a smile as Vagenas pretends to want to take it, pleading for it. Beckham takes, but doesn't quite get it around the HU wall.
81- Donovan in the box - but Burde saves - well, Donovan kind of kicked it into him.
82- GOAL! Harmse works a nice give and go with Donovan, breaking into the box to score.
83- Beckham leaving the match. Sesay come in for him.
Sorry guys, work calls, can't blog the rest of the game.
Ramon at the ready
Whatever happens with Morales, Chivas USA already has a midfielder named Ramon who could develop into a solid contributor.
Kerry Zavagnin brought up Ramon Nunez on his own when I was asking him about Chivas USA's attack.
We had trouble with Nunez tonight, dropping into the midfield. He’s a very savvy player. We addressed that at halftime. He was dropping into our area of the field and was creating a numbers advantage.
Jesse Marsch interrupted the interview I was doing with him to shake hands with a departing Ramon and congratulate him on a well-played game. Ramon did look dangerous, though that one tackle on Victorine was ugly.
Here's some of Ramon's thoughts on the game and his future with Chivas USA.
Kerry Zavagnin brought up Ramon Nunez on his own when I was asking him about Chivas USA's attack.
We had trouble with Nunez tonight, dropping into the midfield. He’s a very savvy player. We addressed that at halftime. He was dropping into our area of the field and was creating a numbers advantage.
Jesse Marsch interrupted the interview I was doing with him to shake hands with a departing Ramon and congratulate him on a well-played game. Ramon did look dangerous, though that one tackle on Victorine was ugly.
Here's some of Ramon's thoughts on the game and his future with Chivas USA.
The original
Francisco Mendoza is the only player to come from Mexico in the first year of Chivas USA's existence who still survives (thrives, actually) with the team today.
Jaime Cardenas has the scoop on how Mendoza could be leaving.
I'm still skeptical about how this would all work out for Chivas USA without a DP slot (they sold theirs to NY Red Bull for three years for the Amado Guevara fiasco). I guess with Mendoza gone and with the salary cap room the team has now (Jesse Marsch alluded to it last night) the team might be able to offer Morales an impressive enough salary even without the DP exemption.
I told Billy Witz that for all the people who think an added designated player slot would be for the L.A. Galaxy's benefit, it would actually help a team like Chivas USA more. The Galaxy would basically use an extra slot to keep Landon Donovan and David Beckham. Essentially, it would be the same team they have now.
Chivas USA, though, after trading away their slot, could use an extra one to really transform their team - bringing in a big-name Mexican player and adding depth to the squad. Morales is a quality player, but the team really needs depth at forward. Razov isn't getting any younger.
I don't think the extra DP slot will happen next year, though. I do think those acting like it's a capitulation to the Galaxy's needs are missing out on the big picture of who else could really benefit.
Anyway, back to Panchito (oops, not supposed to call him that, sorry). I talked to him last night and asked how he felt he'd grown with the team. He smiled and said, yes, he's actually quite a bit taller than he was when he started with Chivas USA. I was tripping over myself explaining that wasn't exactly what I meant, but he was just joking with me.
Mendoza also mentioned that, despite some of his teammates complaining about the MLS playoff format, he much prefers it to the single table option. "It's just more exciting," he said.
Amen.
Jaime Cardenas has the scoop on how Mendoza could be leaving.
I'm still skeptical about how this would all work out for Chivas USA without a DP slot (they sold theirs to NY Red Bull for three years for the Amado Guevara fiasco). I guess with Mendoza gone and with the salary cap room the team has now (Jesse Marsch alluded to it last night) the team might be able to offer Morales an impressive enough salary even without the DP exemption.
I told Billy Witz that for all the people who think an added designated player slot would be for the L.A. Galaxy's benefit, it would actually help a team like Chivas USA more. The Galaxy would basically use an extra slot to keep Landon Donovan and David Beckham. Essentially, it would be the same team they have now.
Chivas USA, though, after trading away their slot, could use an extra one to really transform their team - bringing in a big-name Mexican player and adding depth to the squad. Morales is a quality player, but the team really needs depth at forward. Razov isn't getting any younger.
I don't think the extra DP slot will happen next year, though. I do think those acting like it's a capitulation to the Galaxy's needs are missing out on the big picture of who else could really benefit.
Anyway, back to Panchito (oops, not supposed to call him that, sorry). I talked to him last night and asked how he felt he'd grown with the team. He smiled and said, yes, he's actually quite a bit taller than he was when he started with Chivas USA. I was tripping over myself explaining that wasn't exactly what I meant, but he was just joking with me.
Mendoza also mentioned that, despite some of his teammates complaining about the MLS playoff format, he much prefers it to the single table option. "It's just more exciting," he said.
Amen.
Frustrating farewell
Chivas USA's loss in the playoff series was tough for the team to take.
A writer at the game last night asked me, "What could the team have done differently?"
It's easy to second-guess now, so I will, thanks.
1. Ditch the 4-5-1. Chivas USA could have come out with more confidence against Kansas City in the first road game. They are a classic 4-4-2 team, and they should have stuck with that.
2. Move Johnny Bornstein to forward. Bob Bradley did this to great effect in 2006, including times when Ante Razov was injured, but Preki didn't go for it. I'm not sure why. Bornstein scores goals, and he's comfortable working with his starting teammates, so there's more cohesion than bringing in a little-used bench forward. Plus, Orlando Perez covers the left back spot very effectively. He's not as fast going forward, but defensively very solid.
3. Sub in Laurent Merlin. I asked Preki why Hamilton got the nod instead and he said Hamilton had been training better. Training is a different animal, though, and Merlin has proven his coolness and ability to contribute in actual games. Hamilton has seen very few match minutes, and contributed nothing in them. I don't blame the youngster, but he was obviously nervous last night. Nothing dangerous came from Hamilton in the game - a late game sub should be a crucial threat.
4. Chivas USA was on fire late in the game, pressuring the Kansas City goal. John Cunliffe's header off the crossbar was the closest the team came all game. Yet the team lacked that urgency when the game opened. Without losing their heads or the lead, a more sustained attack mentality from the start of the match would have been useful. Instead, Chivas USA seemed surprised that KC was so defensive, which robbed Chivas USA of the space needed for their usual go-to strategy of quick counterattacks. Bottom line, if a team is bunkering, bomb the crap out of that bunker.
5. Don't count on calls. The handball on Jack Jewsbury was a credible call that was missed, but other calls went in favor of the home team. Chivas USA needed to maintain focus and score on their own, not argue calls or retaliate.
A writer at the game last night asked me, "What could the team have done differently?"
It's easy to second-guess now, so I will, thanks.
1. Ditch the 4-5-1. Chivas USA could have come out with more confidence against Kansas City in the first road game. They are a classic 4-4-2 team, and they should have stuck with that.
2. Move Johnny Bornstein to forward. Bob Bradley did this to great effect in 2006, including times when Ante Razov was injured, but Preki didn't go for it. I'm not sure why. Bornstein scores goals, and he's comfortable working with his starting teammates, so there's more cohesion than bringing in a little-used bench forward. Plus, Orlando Perez covers the left back spot very effectively. He's not as fast going forward, but defensively very solid.
3. Sub in Laurent Merlin. I asked Preki why Hamilton got the nod instead and he said Hamilton had been training better. Training is a different animal, though, and Merlin has proven his coolness and ability to contribute in actual games. Hamilton has seen very few match minutes, and contributed nothing in them. I don't blame the youngster, but he was obviously nervous last night. Nothing dangerous came from Hamilton in the game - a late game sub should be a crucial threat.
4. Chivas USA was on fire late in the game, pressuring the Kansas City goal. John Cunliffe's header off the crossbar was the closest the team came all game. Yet the team lacked that urgency when the game opened. Without losing their heads or the lead, a more sustained attack mentality from the start of the match would have been useful. Instead, Chivas USA seemed surprised that KC was so defensive, which robbed Chivas USA of the space needed for their usual go-to strategy of quick counterattacks. Bottom line, if a team is bunkering, bomb the crap out of that bunker.
5. Don't count on calls. The handball on Jack Jewsbury was a credible call that was missed, but other calls went in favor of the home team. Chivas USA needed to maintain focus and score on their own, not argue calls or retaliate.
Onalfo reaction
Bear with me. I'm trying to post my first audio clip. If it doesn't work, let me know in the comments, because I'm still learning about all this high tech stuff.
Yeah, I know I'm lame. Anyway, Curt Onalfo, folks.
Yeah, I know I'm lame. Anyway, Curt Onalfo, folks.
Poor Luis
Luis dragged himself to last night's game. He's under the weather and it was tough for him to be there. I hope he feels better soon.Send along any get well greetings you might have.
Here's a pic of Luis in happier times at the Honda Player award dinner.
With any luck, he'll be back to his usual chipper self.
Kerry to explain?
I wanted to ask Eddie Johnson about the end of the game, but I didn't have a lot of time in the Kansas City locker room. EJ was still in the shower, so I asked Kerry Zavagnin about it instead.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Empty HDC
Personally, the local reporters are all bummed. Greg Daurio was chatting excitedly just before the final game of the season that if the Galaxy won, there would be a bunch of games here in Carson for all of us to cover. Most of us don't get traveling expenses to go anywhere that's not local. Even when the Galaxy failed to win, Chivas USA still held home field advantage, so we thought there would be a Western Conference final here.
No such luck. The HDC sits empty. Well, there is that little charity game tomorrow. It's not the same as the playoffs though, not by a long shot.
No such luck. The HDC sits empty. Well, there is that little charity game tomorrow. It's not the same as the playoffs though, not by a long shot.
CDCUSA/KCW running blog
It's about to happen folks -the last playoff game of the first round. They're just doing a quick firefighter tribute right now.
They get Chivas USA jerseys - the firefighters.
1 - Kansas City kicks off. All the reporters in the press box are watching Galindo closely. He didn't show his usual speed on that play right there, but he might be playing it smart and conservative.
3. Nunez is up top with Galindo. Kansas City nearly scored. Cross by Arnaud just misses Johnson right in front of the goal.
4- Eddie Johnson with a shot on goal, misses the far corner by a decent margin.
7- Chivas USA hasn't has a credible attack on goal yet, but they're establishing more possession. EJ with a long outside shot. Missed by a less decent margin.
9- Scott Sealy in the box - couldn't quite make anything happen.
11- Now KC with their own run of possession. They certainly haven't come out and bunkered. The crowd is furious that a foul wasn't called on KC just there.
12- Paulo Nagamura dribbles the ball near the arc and lets loose a shot. Hartmancovers pretty easily.
14- Nunez shoots, also from outside. Hatman stretches for this one, misses, but it goes wide.
15- First corner kick of the game goes to Chivas USA. Nunez takes it- Hartman misses the punch, but KC clears anyway.
17- Galindo can't get by Nick Garcia - that's proof he's hurting right there. A healthy Galindo blows by Nic Garcia.
19- Chivas USA regains the possession mometum. They're hitting more of their stride. It seemed like Conrad fouled Nunez with a tackle from behind, but he did get ball. The crowd boos, lustily, but Mark Geiger waves play on. Jesse Marsch fouls Kerry Zavagnin hard almost immediately after - probably retaliation. He gets a yellow card.
22- FK for CHivas. Marsch takes it quickly, but KC recovers. Chivas working the ball around well, though.
24- Conrad cuts the ball off from his own goalkeeper, but does get it out of trouble.
26- CHV with two shots on goalfirst Nunez, then Nagamura, Hartman parries but can't catch either. Nagamura waves his hands up and down at the fans thrying to hype them up.
27- Jack Jewsbury gets called for a hard foul on Panchito Mendoza. FK gets cleared for throw. Nunez into the box, takes shot into Jewsbury's arm. Crowd wants handball.
30- Sasha Victorine falls on the slippery grass, Lawson Vaughn races past him and sends a pass in front of goal. Galindo gets a head to it, but it's wide.
32- Kansas City has lost their previous attacking vibe. They're defending by their teeth now. Galindo in the box, passes to Nunez, who jukes a defender and shoots into Galindo's gut. Hope that didn't hurt the sports hernia any more than it's already injured.
34- EJ with a touch is into the box - where he falls down, probably hoping for that FIFA continuation call. Doesn't happen.
37- Even when Kansas City manages to knock balls loose, they can't maintain possession for any stretch - oh, they nearly got a counter coing there, but Shavar Thomas cuts it off.
38- Sacha slipped. The mist strikes again.
39- Offsides call, right when it looked Sealy got fouled.
42- FK for CHV. It's cleared, but the ball gets sent right back to Galindo, who is in the box with it, but the ball gets toepoked away.
44- The mist is doomy and gloomy for somebody here. Wizards finally have a little run, but blow the final pass bigtime.
45- Sacha has two great chances to put Chivas up. The ball came to him in the box (I thought it hit his hand, actually). Jewsbury looked like he was holding his jersey, but behind Kljestan, so the ref couldn't see, and Sacha had trouble striking the ball at his feet. When he did, it deflected off the bodies arriving in the box. Mendoza claimed the ball and sent it back in. This time Sacha fired faster, but he didn't hit the ball well and it blooped wide.
Halftime
I'm pleasantly surprised by how well Nunez is fitting in and helping Chivas USA be dangerous when Galindo is less than his best. KC started well, but now they seem content to defend. It will be interesting to see which coach manages to fire up the troops at halftime.
KC had four shots in the half, none after the 20 minute mark. Chivas USA had ten, eight coming after the 20 minute mark.
2nd half
Cunliffe, who I thought would be tougher given that he's from Manchester, has a huge winter coat on. It's not that cold.
Anyway, KC is 45 scoreless minutes away from the second round. Then again, we saw how well that thinking worked for FC Dallas. Ante Razov is on the bench, looking pissy. He wants to play.
46 No subs so far for either team.
47- Galindo on the run (this used to be deadly for opponents) seems to pull down Harrington, but he protests when the foul goes against him. "They are a snake without fangs, writhing helplessly in the grass," says a reporter in the pressbox of Chivas USA's attack with Galindo hobbled and Razov on the bench.
50- They don't look so hopeless to me, but that last shot to Hartman was pretty toothless.
51- CK for CHV, goes out for goal kick.
53- Yellow on Mendoza for a foul on EJ
55- Chivas attack stalls at the top of the box. Shot by Nunez bounces off KC defenders.KC remembered how to attack. Arnaud to EJ, who takes a shot at the top of the arc. He had to step back to set it up, so Guzan has time to prepare and smothers the ball nicely. EJ could have found more angle to that shot - made Guzan dive for it, perhaps.
58- A little bit more midfield play developing - KC isn't so far back. A foul on Nagamura gets CHV a FK near the box. Good chance here, but Shavar can't get to the service. CK.
59- Shavar does get to the the corner, but Kurt Morsink saves off the line with a header of his own. Close call for the Wizards.
62- Arnaud with the free kick. Sacha clears, but the ball falls for Morsink, who shoots just a bit wide.
63- Bodies on the field. Nunez with a bad two-footed foul on Victorine.
65- EJ gets a card - not sure why yet. Dissent, apparently.
68- First sub. Pore is coming in for Victorine.
69- The crowd is cheering and chanting, willing CHV to score. They're starting to feel the desperation a bit now.
Galindo and Mendoza answer with a dual attack. They're in the box. Galindo shoots, beats Hartman - Oooooohhhh, it's off the post. Yikes.
70- Another shot - this one Hartman catches.
72- KC counter, EJ to Arnaud. Arnaud shoots wide.
73- Galindo on the break, but Conrad chases him down and tackles cleanly in the box. Galindo is furious with himself and his body's inablity to do what it once did.
74- John Cunliffe in for Nunez.
75- KC on the counter - Nunez and Arnaud work the the ball into the box. Arnaud shoots, but right to Guzan.
77- Going the other way, Galindo gets side netting.
79- CHV working the ball around for another chance, but KC get a counter going first. EJ's cross into the box is cleared out, though.
80- CHV starting to looked gassed. They've pressed the issue all game long, and KC has been content to let them do the work.
81- Sub for KC - Burciaga coming on. Sealy off. Hope Burciaga doesn't do something silly. Mendoza is off for CHV. Anthony Hamilton on.
84- Poor touch by Hamilton, he kicks ball out of bounds.
86- The PA system is blasting "Chivas" trying to get the crowd going again, but they seem bummed. The Legion at least starts up - they are the faithful ones.
88- Shavar tells Claudio Suarez to go forward. Chivas USA are throwing bodies up. It's a three-man backline now.
89- EJ on the break, gets by Bornstein, who is no slouch in the speed department. Borstein pulls him down, and the ref pulls out the yellow.
90- Long balls over the top aren't working for Chivas USA. Things look dire.
90+ A corner for Chivas USA - almost everyone in the box. No go, it's cleared. Galindo toepokes a ball across the face of the goal - it looks so tantalizing, but no one from Chivas USA is able to reach it and it rolls across the end line.
Another flurry in the box. Nagamura collides with hard in the box chasing the ball, but he hit the Wizards guy as well, so no PK. He takes the corner and Cunliffe heads it against the crossbar. The crowd roars and dies. Another corner, but KC clears.
One last Chivas USA effort comes to nothing. Fulltime. KC moves on.
EJ is furious about something right as the whistle blows. Don't know what.
They get Chivas USA jerseys - the firefighters.
1 - Kansas City kicks off. All the reporters in the press box are watching Galindo closely. He didn't show his usual speed on that play right there, but he might be playing it smart and conservative.
3. Nunez is up top with Galindo. Kansas City nearly scored. Cross by Arnaud just misses Johnson right in front of the goal.
4- Eddie Johnson with a shot on goal, misses the far corner by a decent margin.
7- Chivas USA hasn't has a credible attack on goal yet, but they're establishing more possession. EJ with a long outside shot. Missed by a less decent margin.
9- Scott Sealy in the box - couldn't quite make anything happen.
11- Now KC with their own run of possession. They certainly haven't come out and bunkered. The crowd is furious that a foul wasn't called on KC just there.
12- Paulo Nagamura dribbles the ball near the arc and lets loose a shot. Hartmancovers pretty easily.
14- Nunez shoots, also from outside. Hatman stretches for this one, misses, but it goes wide.
15- First corner kick of the game goes to Chivas USA. Nunez takes it- Hartman misses the punch, but KC clears anyway.
17- Galindo can't get by Nick Garcia - that's proof he's hurting right there. A healthy Galindo blows by Nic Garcia.
19- Chivas USA regains the possession mometum. They're hitting more of their stride. It seemed like Conrad fouled Nunez with a tackle from behind, but he did get ball. The crowd boos, lustily, but Mark Geiger waves play on. Jesse Marsch fouls Kerry Zavagnin hard almost immediately after - probably retaliation. He gets a yellow card.
22- FK for CHivas. Marsch takes it quickly, but KC recovers. Chivas working the ball around well, though.
24- Conrad cuts the ball off from his own goalkeeper, but does get it out of trouble.
26- CHV with two shots on goalfirst Nunez, then Nagamura, Hartman parries but can't catch either. Nagamura waves his hands up and down at the fans thrying to hype them up.
27- Jack Jewsbury gets called for a hard foul on Panchito Mendoza. FK gets cleared for throw. Nunez into the box, takes shot into Jewsbury's arm. Crowd wants handball.
30- Sasha Victorine falls on the slippery grass, Lawson Vaughn races past him and sends a pass in front of goal. Galindo gets a head to it, but it's wide.
32- Kansas City has lost their previous attacking vibe. They're defending by their teeth now. Galindo in the box, passes to Nunez, who jukes a defender and shoots into Galindo's gut. Hope that didn't hurt the sports hernia any more than it's already injured.
34- EJ with a touch is into the box - where he falls down, probably hoping for that FIFA continuation call. Doesn't happen.
37- Even when Kansas City manages to knock balls loose, they can't maintain possession for any stretch - oh, they nearly got a counter coing there, but Shavar Thomas cuts it off.
38- Sacha slipped. The mist strikes again.
39- Offsides call, right when it looked Sealy got fouled.
42- FK for CHV. It's cleared, but the ball gets sent right back to Galindo, who is in the box with it, but the ball gets toepoked away.
44- The mist is doomy and gloomy for somebody here. Wizards finally have a little run, but blow the final pass bigtime.
45- Sacha has two great chances to put Chivas up. The ball came to him in the box (I thought it hit his hand, actually). Jewsbury looked like he was holding his jersey, but behind Kljestan, so the ref couldn't see, and Sacha had trouble striking the ball at his feet. When he did, it deflected off the bodies arriving in the box. Mendoza claimed the ball and sent it back in. This time Sacha fired faster, but he didn't hit the ball well and it blooped wide.
Halftime
I'm pleasantly surprised by how well Nunez is fitting in and helping Chivas USA be dangerous when Galindo is less than his best. KC started well, but now they seem content to defend. It will be interesting to see which coach manages to fire up the troops at halftime.
KC had four shots in the half, none after the 20 minute mark. Chivas USA had ten, eight coming after the 20 minute mark.
2nd half
Cunliffe, who I thought would be tougher given that he's from Manchester, has a huge winter coat on. It's not that cold.
Anyway, KC is 45 scoreless minutes away from the second round. Then again, we saw how well that thinking worked for FC Dallas. Ante Razov is on the bench, looking pissy. He wants to play.
46 No subs so far for either team.
47- Galindo on the run (this used to be deadly for opponents) seems to pull down Harrington, but he protests when the foul goes against him. "They are a snake without fangs, writhing helplessly in the grass," says a reporter in the pressbox of Chivas USA's attack with Galindo hobbled and Razov on the bench.
50- They don't look so hopeless to me, but that last shot to Hartman was pretty toothless.
51- CK for CHV, goes out for goal kick.
53- Yellow on Mendoza for a foul on EJ
55- Chivas attack stalls at the top of the box. Shot by Nunez bounces off KC defenders.KC remembered how to attack. Arnaud to EJ, who takes a shot at the top of the arc. He had to step back to set it up, so Guzan has time to prepare and smothers the ball nicely. EJ could have found more angle to that shot - made Guzan dive for it, perhaps.
58- A little bit more midfield play developing - KC isn't so far back. A foul on Nagamura gets CHV a FK near the box. Good chance here, but Shavar can't get to the service. CK.
59- Shavar does get to the the corner, but Kurt Morsink saves off the line with a header of his own. Close call for the Wizards.
62- Arnaud with the free kick. Sacha clears, but the ball falls for Morsink, who shoots just a bit wide.
63- Bodies on the field. Nunez with a bad two-footed foul on Victorine.
65- EJ gets a card - not sure why yet. Dissent, apparently.
68- First sub. Pore is coming in for Victorine.
69- The crowd is cheering and chanting, willing CHV to score. They're starting to feel the desperation a bit now.
Galindo and Mendoza answer with a dual attack. They're in the box. Galindo shoots, beats Hartman - Oooooohhhh, it's off the post. Yikes.
70- Another shot - this one Hartman catches.
72- KC counter, EJ to Arnaud. Arnaud shoots wide.
73- Galindo on the break, but Conrad chases him down and tackles cleanly in the box. Galindo is furious with himself and his body's inablity to do what it once did.
74- John Cunliffe in for Nunez.
75- KC on the counter - Nunez and Arnaud work the the ball into the box. Arnaud shoots, but right to Guzan.
77- Going the other way, Galindo gets side netting.
79- CHV working the ball around for another chance, but KC get a counter going first. EJ's cross into the box is cleared out, though.
80- CHV starting to looked gassed. They've pressed the issue all game long, and KC has been content to let them do the work.
81- Sub for KC - Burciaga coming on. Sealy off. Hope Burciaga doesn't do something silly. Mendoza is off for CHV. Anthony Hamilton on.
84- Poor touch by Hamilton, he kicks ball out of bounds.
86- The PA system is blasting "Chivas" trying to get the crowd going again, but they seem bummed. The Legion at least starts up - they are the faithful ones.
88- Shavar tells Claudio Suarez to go forward. Chivas USA are throwing bodies up. It's a three-man backline now.
89- EJ on the break, gets by Bornstein, who is no slouch in the speed department. Borstein pulls him down, and the ref pulls out the yellow.
90- Long balls over the top aren't working for Chivas USA. Things look dire.
90+ A corner for Chivas USA - almost everyone in the box. No go, it's cleared. Galindo toepokes a ball across the face of the goal - it looks so tantalizing, but no one from Chivas USA is able to reach it and it rolls across the end line.
Another flurry in the box. Nagamura collides with hard in the box chasing the ball, but he hit the Wizards guy as well, so no PK. He takes the corner and Cunliffe heads it against the crossbar. The crowd roars and dies. Another corner, but KC clears.
One last Chivas USA effort comes to nothing. Fulltime. KC moves on.
EJ is furious about something right as the whistle blows. Don't know what.
CDCUSA/KCW pregame
Hi folks!
There's no cold wet rain here in Carson, but it is a misty evening, which should make the field a bit slick.
Chivas USA players are out on the field first, warming up. Here come a few Kansas City guys.
Maykel Galindo is starting, folks. It remains to be seen how his injury will affect him.
The surprise on the Kansas City side is that Jose Burciaga is on the bench.
Oh, and Ramon Nunez is also starting for Chivas USA.
There's no cold wet rain here in Carson, but it is a misty evening, which should make the field a bit slick.
Chivas USA players are out on the field first, warming up. Here come a few Kansas City guys.
Maykel Galindo is starting, folks. It remains to be seen how his injury will affect him.
The surprise on the Kansas City side is that Jose Burciaga is on the bench.
Oh, and Ramon Nunez is also starting for Chivas USA.
NE-NY running blog
The weather in New England is wet, wet. Hurricane Noel is in town. I'm going to blog until I have to leave to go to the stadium for the Chivas USA-Wizards game.
Did anyone see Reading/Fulham? Clint Dempsey scored the second goal for Fulham, helping his team out in there. Let's see if his former teammates can put away the Red Bull threat.
Gritty Joe Vide has earned the start for New York, Francis Doe out - even as a sub. I'm not sure why, unless he's injured. I thought he looked dangerous last week, though he had trouble connecting with the other attackers at times. NE goes with their usual lineup.
The announcers are giddy reviewing the great playoff games on Thursday and Friday. Folks, that just doesn't happen with a single table. Shoot, that rain is coming down sideways. And people want to change the MLS season to play through the winter. Huh.
Shalrie Joseph is being interviewed - he's got a great island accent. He says the team is confident. Matty Reis pitches in his two cents. If it comes to penalties, he's a beast at taking them and stopping them.
What is with Christopher Sullivan's plaid tie? However, I like the details he adds to games - his background as a soccer trainer and former player probably helps him add informative tidbits.
Ralston isn't so excited about playing in this weather. Is that a playoff beard he's sporting? They're all the rage these days.
Streamers slowing kickoff. They fly more in a noreaster.
1- We're off. New England into NY territory first. Jozy and Angel are attacking together.
4- Neither team has much rythm - of course, the game just started. Nice attack for NE - but when Khano Smith crosses in, Taylor Twellman can't reach it. Announcers say that Twellman has a groin injury, while Pat Noonan is slightly hobbled by a gimpy hamstring.
6- High balls are victims of the wind. Both teams are trying to play the ball on the ground.
8- Well Thompson on a long run, but he can't pass to anyone and NY clears all the way back to Reis.
9- Latest NE attack gived up an NY counter that Angels holds up, drawing a foul. Free kick comes to nothing.
10- Ralston combines well with Thompson, but the shot goes wide.
11- Jozy down - he went up for a high ball versus Reis. That's dangerous, as Alecko Eskandarian will tell anyone.
13- Joseph bundles Jozy off the ball. Lengthy Red Bull free kick, and Angel can't put it on frame, though he struck it well.
16- More of a two-way game now - it's not just New England, but more back and forth from both teams.
18- Twellman and Noonan definitely don't look as effective as they normally do. Wells Thompson is trying to pick up the slack - a penetrating run leads to a short pass to Noonan, who crosses to Twellman, but it's too high.
21- NE earns free kick, Ralston hits long shot to goal, but Jon Conway catches.
22- Twellman flicks a ball on for Lawrentowitz, who shoots, beats Conway, but goes wide.
24- Heaps can't get a ball for a throw in. That's not cool, they're the home team.
25- Van Den Berg with a hard shoulder charge on Wells Thompson in the box. Abbey Okulajah is never going to call that.
27- Claudio Reyna out! Probably an injury flare-up. Mr. Metro, Clint Mathis, comes in. Reyna looks miserable, much like his season this year.
29- Angel gets Reis to give up a corner with a tricky header. Mathis takes it, but Angel can't quite make good contact.
31- NY is actually putting more pressure on now that Reyna is out.
32- NE get caught on the counter - Joseph takes down Van Den Bergh and gets a yellow.
33- NY CK, Reis collects the second header.
35- Vide returns the favor on Joseph, hitting him late with a yellow card tackle.
36- Chance for NY - Altidore crosses in front of goal and Van Den Berg nearly reaches it. Another corner for NY comes to nothing.
39- Mathis interchange with Freeman leads to nearpost shot from close range. He nearly makes it. NY just looks more dangerous with him on the field.
41- Shot just outside the box by Thompson, Conway parries. NE have their first corner. It gets cleared.
42- NE with a flurry before the break. Announcers mention the rain has stopped. Twellman nearly gets to a pass in the box.
43- NE with a CK, Ralston sends it too far.
44- Altidore in the box, crosses in, NE clears.
45- Reyna doesn't even look like he's watching the game. He's just staring.
45+ Wells Thompson earns a FK, Ralston hits the service too far.
Tie game still.
90+ Did you miss me? I'm at the HDC now. New England scored the goal that they needed. They are defending their lead with savvy.
Full time. Arena looks grim.
So New England awaits Chicago, while Houston will face the winner of this Kansas City/Chivas USA series.
The hard-core New England fans who weathered the storm were rewarded. It would suck to come out in to support your team in these kind of conditions if they lost.
Stuff I missed in while in traffic - Juan Pablo Angel left the match with a concussion. New England scored after he left.
Did anyone see Reading/Fulham? Clint Dempsey scored the second goal for Fulham, helping his team out in there. Let's see if his former teammates can put away the Red Bull threat.
Gritty Joe Vide has earned the start for New York, Francis Doe out - even as a sub. I'm not sure why, unless he's injured. I thought he looked dangerous last week, though he had trouble connecting with the other attackers at times. NE goes with their usual lineup.
The announcers are giddy reviewing the great playoff games on Thursday and Friday. Folks, that just doesn't happen with a single table. Shoot, that rain is coming down sideways. And people want to change the MLS season to play through the winter. Huh.
Shalrie Joseph is being interviewed - he's got a great island accent. He says the team is confident. Matty Reis pitches in his two cents. If it comes to penalties, he's a beast at taking them and stopping them.
What is with Christopher Sullivan's plaid tie? However, I like the details he adds to games - his background as a soccer trainer and former player probably helps him add informative tidbits.
Ralston isn't so excited about playing in this weather. Is that a playoff beard he's sporting? They're all the rage these days.
Streamers slowing kickoff. They fly more in a noreaster.
1- We're off. New England into NY territory first. Jozy and Angel are attacking together.
4- Neither team has much rythm - of course, the game just started. Nice attack for NE - but when Khano Smith crosses in, Taylor Twellman can't reach it. Announcers say that Twellman has a groin injury, while Pat Noonan is slightly hobbled by a gimpy hamstring.
6- High balls are victims of the wind. Both teams are trying to play the ball on the ground.
8- Well Thompson on a long run, but he can't pass to anyone and NY clears all the way back to Reis.
9- Latest NE attack gived up an NY counter that Angels holds up, drawing a foul. Free kick comes to nothing.
10- Ralston combines well with Thompson, but the shot goes wide.
11- Jozy down - he went up for a high ball versus Reis. That's dangerous, as Alecko Eskandarian will tell anyone.
13- Joseph bundles Jozy off the ball. Lengthy Red Bull free kick, and Angel can't put it on frame, though he struck it well.
16- More of a two-way game now - it's not just New England, but more back and forth from both teams.
18- Twellman and Noonan definitely don't look as effective as they normally do. Wells Thompson is trying to pick up the slack - a penetrating run leads to a short pass to Noonan, who crosses to Twellman, but it's too high.
21- NE earns free kick, Ralston hits long shot to goal, but Jon Conway catches.
22- Twellman flicks a ball on for Lawrentowitz, who shoots, beats Conway, but goes wide.
24- Heaps can't get a ball for a throw in. That's not cool, they're the home team.
25- Van Den Berg with a hard shoulder charge on Wells Thompson in the box. Abbey Okulajah is never going to call that.
27- Claudio Reyna out! Probably an injury flare-up. Mr. Metro, Clint Mathis, comes in. Reyna looks miserable, much like his season this year.
29- Angel gets Reis to give up a corner with a tricky header. Mathis takes it, but Angel can't quite make good contact.
31- NY is actually putting more pressure on now that Reyna is out.
32- NE get caught on the counter - Joseph takes down Van Den Bergh and gets a yellow.
33- NY CK, Reis collects the second header.
35- Vide returns the favor on Joseph, hitting him late with a yellow card tackle.
36- Chance for NY - Altidore crosses in front of goal and Van Den Berg nearly reaches it. Another corner for NY comes to nothing.
39- Mathis interchange with Freeman leads to nearpost shot from close range. He nearly makes it. NY just looks more dangerous with him on the field.
41- Shot just outside the box by Thompson, Conway parries. NE have their first corner. It gets cleared.
42- NE with a flurry before the break. Announcers mention the rain has stopped. Twellman nearly gets to a pass in the box.
43- NE with a CK, Ralston sends it too far.
44- Altidore in the box, crosses in, NE clears.
45- Reyna doesn't even look like he's watching the game. He's just staring.
45+ Wells Thompson earns a FK, Ralston hits the service too far.
Tie game still.
90+ Did you miss me? I'm at the HDC now. New England scored the goal that they needed. They are defending their lead with savvy.
Full time. Arena looks grim.
So New England awaits Chicago, while Houston will face the winner of this Kansas City/Chivas USA series.
The hard-core New England fans who weathered the storm were rewarded. It would suck to come out in to support your team in these kind of conditions if they lost.
Stuff I missed in while in traffic - Juan Pablo Angel left the match with a concussion. New England scored after he left.
Dynamo/FC Retroactive rb
Hi everyone! Relive (or in my case, live for the first time), Houston versus Dallas. Dallas is trying to break their hex of losing in the first round of the playoffs.
History Repeating: If you follow MLS tradition, you're probably aware that Chicago versus DC United, no matter how DC was number one in the regular season, means that Chicago will win. DC actually broke the pattern somewhat by even scoring. They have never beaten the Fire in seven playoff tries.
Meanwhile, Houston versus FC Dallas nearly always means Houston will win. Also, the playoffs versus FC Dallas means that Dallas will lose in the first round, usually on PK's.
So while DC United's one goal disadvantage looked deadly based on the Fire/DC history, the same FC Dallas margin didn't look safe at all versus Houston.
Houston has never lost against FC Dallas at home - they've never even tied. They've always won.
1-NO Goal - DeRosario puts the ball in the net, but he's offside. Sala is down for a good while.
4- Game gets going again. I love you, Robertson Stadium atmosphere, but I hate those football lines.
5- Shot of Richetti on the sidelines - he looked filled with Argentine angst. Ruiz is serious about his playoff beard. Speaking of MLS traditions, I'd like to point out that since 2005, the team sporting the playoff beards has won the championship.
8- Denilson looks useless - knocking a ball out of bounds, but reportedly he wants to stay in Dallas. I'm not seeing this happen unless a major pay cut is involved.
11 - Mullan misses a sitter in front of the goal, sliding and missing the pass, Dario Sala parries another shot, and the post pitches in to block the follow-up try. Wow. The Dynamo should have scored three times in that flurry, but instead, got nada.
12- Dave Dir is the color commentator for the broadcast of this game. This is actually an MLS trend, where ex-coaches call games. Thomas Rongen and Ray Hudson come to mind.
13- GOAL! Bobby Rhine doesn't waste time on the counter attack, sending a long pass up ahead to Kenny Cooper, who knocks it down via header, while Craig Waibel looks lost. The ball reaches Ruiz in front of the goal - and Ruiz is money from that spot with the ball in front of him. 16 playoff goals - which is pretty insane given that Ruiz and his team haven't made it out of the first round the past couple of years.
18- The Dynamo and their fans seemed shocked - their vaunted Robertson Stadium advantage could be in peril, though their team has had by far the better of play.
20-Corner kick for Dynamo- Mulrooney takes. Dallas clears.
22- Ray Burse is putting on a game jersey. Sala has looked hobbled since he went down early in the game. Dallas fans probably won't like this, but Burse has played well for them.
23- Sala gets a card for delaying game. He was coming off the field incredibly slowly.
27- Houston has recovered shape and movement in the midfield. Hey! Denilson with a nice defensive play on Brian Ching. Ok, he's not useless.
30- Waibel tackles Ruiz, who rolls about four times after the contact. Waibel gets a yellow, complaining about Ruiz and his antics the whole time. As much as people say they're tired of Ruiz falling over so much, I'm personally tired of people whining after they've actually fouled a player. Denilson sends in a nice free kick, but Ruiz can't quite reach it.
33- Dir needs to stop jinxing Dallas by talking so much about how he has a feeling about how this year could be different for Dallas and they could advance. Just call the game.
35- Houston CK. It pops out to Mullan, who tries an outside shot, high to the corner, but Burse leaps confidently for it.
36- Bobby Rhine shields Brian Ching off the ball, then goes down after contact with Ching. He holds his hand up for medical assistance even as play continues around him. Houston doesn't care. Heck, his own FC Dallas team has a run of possession and doesn't kick the ball out. The ref finally blows the whistle.
38- Ching with a knockdown pass from Jaqua has the ball in front of goal, but Burse challenges him and blocks the shot, which knocks free in the box, but Dallas finally clears.
40- Ruiz draws a foul from Eddie Robinson, who is furious and gets a yellow for dissent. A fellow LA writer believes Robinson is the best defender in MLS, but he will never see steady national team duty because his temper is so insane.
44- Gbandi with a pointless foul, he pulls on Mullan from behind. That's the kind of card you take when the defender is breaking alone on goal, but that wasn't the case here.
45+ Dallas works the ball around well for an attack, but blows the final pass in to Cooper.
Yi fouls DeRo in the final minute of the half for a dangerous freekick. Dallas clears. Burse punches out the ensuing corner.
Halftime: The Dallas announcers are gleeful that FC has survived the half with the 2-0 aggregate lead intact. 45 minutes from the second round, says Brad Sham. Rhine says the Dallas defense is strong in his halftime interview. He sounds confident.
However, the announcers do note that Dallas is missing three key starters now - Pablo Richetti has a leg injury. Clarence Goodson, suffered a stomach ailment, and then there's Sala, who went out early in the half.
46- Alvarez gets a red. The announcers are guessing, because it wasn't a clear camera angle, but it looks like Alvarez kneed Brad Davis in the groin. Davis may not even have been hit that hard, (I'd have to agree with Dir that Davis recovers far too well if the jewels were actually damaged) but he goes down and the ref pulls the red immediately. Really pointless and foolish of Alvarez.
51- Stuart Holden in for Waibel. Richetti, hamstring injury and all, comes in for Denilson.
53- Houston putting pressure on, but Davis wastes a chance with a high shot from outside. Ruiz wastes time with an ankle injury.
56- Ruiz, back on the field, gets a great lead pass towards the goal. He might actually have an ankle injury, because he doesn't show breaking speed and basically falls down in front of the ball, wasting the chance.
58- Toja with a pair of corners, the second one leading to an Onstad save.
61- Joe Ngwenya on for Nate Jaqua.
65- Burse kicksave versus Ngwenya. Nice.
67- GOAL! Another Houston flurry and Chings knocks down a long pass in front of goal. Holden sidevolleys the ball into the net - a strange bounce on the turf disoriented Burse a little.
70- Sham reviews the disasterous penalty kick history of FC Dallas. Houston, meanwhile, has new momentum and energy in their attack.
72- GOAL! Ching beats his mark to a nifty through pass by DeRo, and buries his shot. The aggregate score is tied.
78- Serioux gets knocked in the knee by Stuart Holden and then goes for payback, knocking Holden down and stepping on his back. He's lucky not to get a red card, though he's shown a yellow.
80- A still-limping Serioux goes out for Dominic Oduro.
83- Corner kick leads to a DeRo header that misses.
85- Dallas players look seriously bummed. They've lost the mental edge.
89- Ruiz with a good defensive tackle, but then he rolls around, delaying things.
90+ Not sure all the delay tactics helped. Ref adds six minutes of stoppage.
Burse with another impressive save - this time smothering a point-blank shot from Brian Ching.
Dallas actually have a deep FK in Houston territory. Bobby Rhine lines it up, serves it right in front of goal, but Onstad came out to punch it out.
Overtime!
What is it with red cards and Dallas in the playoffs? Speaking of tradition - Gbandi got a red card in last year's playoff game. That reminds me that yesterday, I was talking with a local writer about the Galaxy's streak and he pointed out, "How many times did the Galaxy need to go a man up before they scored?" On that logic - Houston doesn't deserve to win this game, because they were losing when both sides were equal. But that's not the game.
2- FC Dallas with an early freekick chance. Cooper sends it over the wall and the goal. Onstad untroubled.
5- Davis off the crossbar, and then Burse saves the point-blank follow from Ching. Wow. Houston isn't discouraged, though, they're attacking even harder. The Dallas defense looks tired.
7- GOAL! Ching scores! It looks like it was offside, but the ball reached Ngwenya by a deflection off a defender, so it wasn't called. It bounced off Ngwenya and then Ching tucked it in. The slo-mo replay shows Ngwenya and Ching even with the defense when the ball was played. Even is on.
8-Moor shoves Ngwenya, and a free kick and card is awarded. Rhine is arguing and gets pushed by DeRo. Finally the free kick gets set up and it's a beaut. Davis bends it around the wall and in. Magic from the left foot.
12- CK for Dallas. It's cleared but Mullan goes down holding his throat. No replay of the knock yet. By the way, I was wrong about Dallas being the only team with the playoff beards. Houston has them, too. Worked for them last year. It's just hard to tell on players like Ching, because his beard is so sparse.
16- Pat Ianni is on for Ching. It cracks me up to see Ianni. His chiseled good looks have turned caveman now with the dark beard.
17- Dallas still getting a chance on the counter. Rhine kicks a line drive toward goal, but Onstad dives to save.
19- Ngwenya's speed is torturing the Dallas defense. Then he gets up in Rhine's face, and DeRo apparently adds his two cents and gets carded for dissent. Rhine looks on the edge of either tears or total destructional meltdown.
22-Ngwenya breakaway on goal and the Dallas defense is too tired to chase him down.Burse comes out and Joe gets too fancy, missing the post by inches into the outside of the netting.
23- These yellow cards could really haunt the Dynamo in the next round. Either they have to play super-careful in the Western Conference final, or they have to risk losing a player for the MLS Cup. FC Dallas may lose versus Houston, but they may have also handicapped the Dynamo so much it will be incredibly difficult for the team to repeat as titleists. No MLS team has done that since DC United in the first two years.
26- Houston, with the lead safe in hand, is content defending. Dir's voice is so downcast and depressed - that is, when he's even saying anything. He's gone very quiet.
29- Rhine has not resigned himself. The frustration he showed earlier has turned to resolve and he is still battling, but the tired legs of all the Dallas players can't mount a credible threat on the Houston goal.
30- Moor shown a second yellow for a tackle - the whole Dallas team argues it, but Pablo Ricchetti probably said something especially insulting, as he is given a yellow for dissent. Dallas is done, and finishes the game with nine men. Final whistle.
Well, the higher seed won this one, and the homefield advantage did what it was supposed to do, but what a tease for Dallas fans to be two goals up on aggregate and then watch disaster strike. Arturo Alvarez had a great season for the team, but can fans forgive such an egregious mistake? I guess Gbandi is still with the team, though.
History Repeating: If you follow MLS tradition, you're probably aware that Chicago versus DC United, no matter how DC was number one in the regular season, means that Chicago will win. DC actually broke the pattern somewhat by even scoring. They have never beaten the Fire in seven playoff tries.
Meanwhile, Houston versus FC Dallas nearly always means Houston will win. Also, the playoffs versus FC Dallas means that Dallas will lose in the first round, usually on PK's.
So while DC United's one goal disadvantage looked deadly based on the Fire/DC history, the same FC Dallas margin didn't look safe at all versus Houston.
Houston has never lost against FC Dallas at home - they've never even tied. They've always won.
1-NO Goal - DeRosario puts the ball in the net, but he's offside. Sala is down for a good while.
4- Game gets going again. I love you, Robertson Stadium atmosphere, but I hate those football lines.
5- Shot of Richetti on the sidelines - he looked filled with Argentine angst. Ruiz is serious about his playoff beard. Speaking of MLS traditions, I'd like to point out that since 2005, the team sporting the playoff beards has won the championship.
8- Denilson looks useless - knocking a ball out of bounds, but reportedly he wants to stay in Dallas. I'm not seeing this happen unless a major pay cut is involved.
11 - Mullan misses a sitter in front of the goal, sliding and missing the pass, Dario Sala parries another shot, and the post pitches in to block the follow-up try. Wow. The Dynamo should have scored three times in that flurry, but instead, got nada.
12- Dave Dir is the color commentator for the broadcast of this game. This is actually an MLS trend, where ex-coaches call games. Thomas Rongen and Ray Hudson come to mind.
13- GOAL! Bobby Rhine doesn't waste time on the counter attack, sending a long pass up ahead to Kenny Cooper, who knocks it down via header, while Craig Waibel looks lost. The ball reaches Ruiz in front of the goal - and Ruiz is money from that spot with the ball in front of him. 16 playoff goals - which is pretty insane given that Ruiz and his team haven't made it out of the first round the past couple of years.
18- The Dynamo and their fans seemed shocked - their vaunted Robertson Stadium advantage could be in peril, though their team has had by far the better of play.
20-Corner kick for Dynamo- Mulrooney takes. Dallas clears.
22- Ray Burse is putting on a game jersey. Sala has looked hobbled since he went down early in the game. Dallas fans probably won't like this, but Burse has played well for them.
23- Sala gets a card for delaying game. He was coming off the field incredibly slowly.
27- Houston has recovered shape and movement in the midfield. Hey! Denilson with a nice defensive play on Brian Ching. Ok, he's not useless.
30- Waibel tackles Ruiz, who rolls about four times after the contact. Waibel gets a yellow, complaining about Ruiz and his antics the whole time. As much as people say they're tired of Ruiz falling over so much, I'm personally tired of people whining after they've actually fouled a player. Denilson sends in a nice free kick, but Ruiz can't quite reach it.
33- Dir needs to stop jinxing Dallas by talking so much about how he has a feeling about how this year could be different for Dallas and they could advance. Just call the game.
35- Houston CK. It pops out to Mullan, who tries an outside shot, high to the corner, but Burse leaps confidently for it.
36- Bobby Rhine shields Brian Ching off the ball, then goes down after contact with Ching. He holds his hand up for medical assistance even as play continues around him. Houston doesn't care. Heck, his own FC Dallas team has a run of possession and doesn't kick the ball out. The ref finally blows the whistle.
38- Ching with a knockdown pass from Jaqua has the ball in front of goal, but Burse challenges him and blocks the shot, which knocks free in the box, but Dallas finally clears.
40- Ruiz draws a foul from Eddie Robinson, who is furious and gets a yellow for dissent. A fellow LA writer believes Robinson is the best defender in MLS, but he will never see steady national team duty because his temper is so insane.
44- Gbandi with a pointless foul, he pulls on Mullan from behind. That's the kind of card you take when the defender is breaking alone on goal, but that wasn't the case here.
45+ Dallas works the ball around well for an attack, but blows the final pass in to Cooper.
Yi fouls DeRo in the final minute of the half for a dangerous freekick. Dallas clears. Burse punches out the ensuing corner.
Halftime: The Dallas announcers are gleeful that FC has survived the half with the 2-0 aggregate lead intact. 45 minutes from the second round, says Brad Sham. Rhine says the Dallas defense is strong in his halftime interview. He sounds confident.
However, the announcers do note that Dallas is missing three key starters now - Pablo Richetti has a leg injury. Clarence Goodson, suffered a stomach ailment, and then there's Sala, who went out early in the half.
46- Alvarez gets a red. The announcers are guessing, because it wasn't a clear camera angle, but it looks like Alvarez kneed Brad Davis in the groin. Davis may not even have been hit that hard, (I'd have to agree with Dir that Davis recovers far too well if the jewels were actually damaged) but he goes down and the ref pulls the red immediately. Really pointless and foolish of Alvarez.
51- Stuart Holden in for Waibel. Richetti, hamstring injury and all, comes in for Denilson.
53- Houston putting pressure on, but Davis wastes a chance with a high shot from outside. Ruiz wastes time with an ankle injury.
56- Ruiz, back on the field, gets a great lead pass towards the goal. He might actually have an ankle injury, because he doesn't show breaking speed and basically falls down in front of the ball, wasting the chance.
58- Toja with a pair of corners, the second one leading to an Onstad save.
61- Joe Ngwenya on for Nate Jaqua.
65- Burse kicksave versus Ngwenya. Nice.
67- GOAL! Another Houston flurry and Chings knocks down a long pass in front of goal. Holden sidevolleys the ball into the net - a strange bounce on the turf disoriented Burse a little.
70- Sham reviews the disasterous penalty kick history of FC Dallas. Houston, meanwhile, has new momentum and energy in their attack.
72- GOAL! Ching beats his mark to a nifty through pass by DeRo, and buries his shot. The aggregate score is tied.
78- Serioux gets knocked in the knee by Stuart Holden and then goes for payback, knocking Holden down and stepping on his back. He's lucky not to get a red card, though he's shown a yellow.
80- A still-limping Serioux goes out for Dominic Oduro.
83- Corner kick leads to a DeRo header that misses.
85- Dallas players look seriously bummed. They've lost the mental edge.
89- Ruiz with a good defensive tackle, but then he rolls around, delaying things.
90+ Not sure all the delay tactics helped. Ref adds six minutes of stoppage.
Burse with another impressive save - this time smothering a point-blank shot from Brian Ching.
Dallas actually have a deep FK in Houston territory. Bobby Rhine lines it up, serves it right in front of goal, but Onstad came out to punch it out.
Overtime!
What is it with red cards and Dallas in the playoffs? Speaking of tradition - Gbandi got a red card in last year's playoff game. That reminds me that yesterday, I was talking with a local writer about the Galaxy's streak and he pointed out, "How many times did the Galaxy need to go a man up before they scored?" On that logic - Houston doesn't deserve to win this game, because they were losing when both sides were equal. But that's not the game.
2- FC Dallas with an early freekick chance. Cooper sends it over the wall and the goal. Onstad untroubled.
5- Davis off the crossbar, and then Burse saves the point-blank follow from Ching. Wow. Houston isn't discouraged, though, they're attacking even harder. The Dallas defense looks tired.
7- GOAL! Ching scores! It looks like it was offside, but the ball reached Ngwenya by a deflection off a defender, so it wasn't called. It bounced off Ngwenya and then Ching tucked it in. The slo-mo replay shows Ngwenya and Ching even with the defense when the ball was played. Even is on.
8-Moor shoves Ngwenya, and a free kick and card is awarded. Rhine is arguing and gets pushed by DeRo. Finally the free kick gets set up and it's a beaut. Davis bends it around the wall and in. Magic from the left foot.
12- CK for Dallas. It's cleared but Mullan goes down holding his throat. No replay of the knock yet. By the way, I was wrong about Dallas being the only team with the playoff beards. Houston has them, too. Worked for them last year. It's just hard to tell on players like Ching, because his beard is so sparse.
16- Pat Ianni is on for Ching. It cracks me up to see Ianni. His chiseled good looks have turned caveman now with the dark beard.
17- Dallas still getting a chance on the counter. Rhine kicks a line drive toward goal, but Onstad dives to save.
19- Ngwenya's speed is torturing the Dallas defense. Then he gets up in Rhine's face, and DeRo apparently adds his two cents and gets carded for dissent. Rhine looks on the edge of either tears or total destructional meltdown.
22-Ngwenya breakaway on goal and the Dallas defense is too tired to chase him down.Burse comes out and Joe gets too fancy, missing the post by inches into the outside of the netting.
23- These yellow cards could really haunt the Dynamo in the next round. Either they have to play super-careful in the Western Conference final, or they have to risk losing a player for the MLS Cup. FC Dallas may lose versus Houston, but they may have also handicapped the Dynamo so much it will be incredibly difficult for the team to repeat as titleists. No MLS team has done that since DC United in the first two years.
26- Houston, with the lead safe in hand, is content defending. Dir's voice is so downcast and depressed - that is, when he's even saying anything. He's gone very quiet.
29- Rhine has not resigned himself. The frustration he showed earlier has turned to resolve and he is still battling, but the tired legs of all the Dallas players can't mount a credible threat on the Houston goal.
30- Moor shown a second yellow for a tackle - the whole Dallas team argues it, but Pablo Ricchetti probably said something especially insulting, as he is given a yellow for dissent. Dallas is done, and finishes the game with nine men. Final whistle.
Well, the higher seed won this one, and the homefield advantage did what it was supposed to do, but what a tease for Dallas fans to be two goals up on aggregate and then watch disaster strike. Arturo Alvarez had a great season for the team, but can fans forgive such an egregious mistake? I guess Gbandi is still with the team, though.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Without a Trace of JOB
Hollywood United insiders told me that John O'Brien played a game for them this year, and I treked out to a match hoping to get him to chat about what he's up to these days. No sign of him. He's not really an H.U. regular, though. LeBoeuf, is, for example, at almost every game.
O'Brien also wasn't one of the Hollywood United players mentioned in the pre-game list for Sunday's charity match. There's a lot of other players, though, including Youri Djorkaeff.
Release:
The Galaxy’s legion of stars, including David Beckham, Joe Cannon, Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones will line up for Frank Yallop’s squad. They will be opposed by actors Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace), Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Costas Mandaylor (Saw IV), Jimmy Jean-Louis (Heroes), guitarist Viv Campbell (Def Leppard), and many other stars of stage and screen, as well as 1998 FIFA World Cup winners Frank LeBoeuf and Youri Djorkaeff, U.S. National Team stars Alexi Lalas, Joe-Max Moore and Eric Wynalda and Mexican National Team legend Jorge Campos, as well as Richard Gough (Scotland), Oliver Biaggi (Switzerland) and many more will represent Hollywood United.
O'Brien also wasn't one of the Hollywood United players mentioned in the pre-game list for Sunday's charity match. There's a lot of other players, though, including Youri Djorkaeff.
Release:
The Galaxy’s legion of stars, including David Beckham, Joe Cannon, Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones will line up for Frank Yallop’s squad. They will be opposed by actors Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace), Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Costas Mandaylor (Saw IV), Jimmy Jean-Louis (Heroes), guitarist Viv Campbell (Def Leppard), and many other stars of stage and screen, as well as 1998 FIFA World Cup winners Frank LeBoeuf and Youri Djorkaeff, U.S. National Team stars Alexi Lalas, Joe-Max Moore and Eric Wynalda and Mexican National Team legend Jorge Campos, as well as Richard Gough (Scotland), Oliver Biaggi (Switzerland) and many more will represent Hollywood United.
Playoff Paramour
I'll be shameless and admit I love the MLS playoffs. Yep, yep, I'm having a good time these days. I adore competitive games where everything is on the line. The funny thing is how many people will send me emails saying "Such and such playoff game great! But I don't think playoffs should exist. Single table all the way."
I disagree, but that's nothing new. I've written a defense of the playoffs every year, it seems. OK, I didn't this year, but that's because I'd pretty much said everything before. I didn't want to repeat myself. However, if you missed my column last season, don't bother searching for it - the Soccer365 redesign wiped out all my old columns.
If you're curious as to how I could possibly defend the playoffs - well, here's the text of that article:
I disagree, but that's nothing new. I've written a defense of the playoffs every year, it seems. OK, I didn't this year, but that's because I'd pretty much said everything before. I didn't want to repeat myself. However, if you missed my column last season, don't bother searching for it - the Soccer365 redesign wiped out all my old columns.
If you're curious as to how I could possibly defend the playoffs - well, here's the text of that article:
Playoff Haters (originally published Sept. 2006)
Ten points. 29 to 39. Four wins versus the same amount of losses. That’s all that separates the bottom of the Western Conference (LA Galaxy,
In the Eastern conference, with 47 points, DC United is still sitting pretty even after the ugly loss to the Galaxy. However, only three points separate the grouping of the next four teams – New England,
Folks, we’ve got playoff races on our hands. All fans who give a fig about their team should be nervous, fighting that slight heartburn which comes with both the anticipation and horror of what the future holds.
No one is safe.
Even DC, from its lofty perch in the standings, should be a bit anxious. Last year, the team just seemed to assume holding
No one else is even contemplating the postseason seriously yet. It’s going to come down to the wire, frankly. Every game from here to the last game has playoff implications.
Of course, every game back in April, May, June and July did, too. Teams are probably kicking themselves a bit, thinking, “Man, if we’d just won that one game, back in _______, we wouldn’t be so stressed right now to make the playoffs.”
To which I’d say (if these hypothetical words were ever spoken to me) “Ha!” A laugh of cold sympathy you’ll get from me if the “regular season matters little” line gets trotted out, but then you actually find yourself sweating to get your team to the battle for the hardware.
If it’s so easy to make the playoffs, why have no MLS teams completely assured themselves of it? Of course, one may look at the simple numbers. Eight of twelve teams make it, so the odds are actually in favor of arriving to the playoffs.
That’s simplistic reasoning, though, to take that percentage and then apply the adjective “easy”.
Instead, imagine a context with a goal that competitive people want – say, entrance into the country’s most prestigious med school. Everyone admitted to the premed program has impressive test scores and high grades. Yet there is a mandated attrition standard of 1/3 of the class being dropped from the program. So even if a student is one wrong test question below the line, that person is out, and told to reapply next year, no matter how much work has been already done that particular year.
Some may crack under the pressure and give up, making those who are left breathe a bit easier. In other years, not only are the students bright and hardworking, but they may all happen to be incredibly persistent. Everyone pushes each other, and the outcome for many might not be decided until the final exam of the year, when all the heartbreak and hope is on the line.
The truth about parity is that it hurts. It’s painful to realize that as hard as one might work, others are working just as much. It’s tough to face that the talent one has is matched by the ability of another. No one likes to leave things in the cruel hands of fate.
But that’s life, which is what makes sports such a thrilling metaphor of the struggle for achievement. It’s certainly more compelling than watching a bunch of med students take tests.
In a league where no team fears another overmuch, where so little is decided from top to bottom, it’s a wide-open race to the finish.
I think that drives some people a little nuts. Fans can’t decide who is the top dog or the underdog. Coaches attempt to divine a winning formula. Some believe the uncertainty is part of the excitement of the whole design. It does, however, leave others thinking there’s got to be a better way to structure the playoffs.
Some, of course, want to emulate
Others say that a single table should decide the playoff teams and the playoff number should be reduced to only six. As such, then, this season the Eastern Conference would be in danger of being represented solely by DC United. If people think that soccer struggles to get attention now, imagine the fallout after roughly half the country has no team to root for in the postseason.
Kansas City Wizards coach Brian Bliss couldn’t seem to make up his mind about the format.
“It’s easy to make the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean there’s less pressure to make the playoffs,” he claimed.
The statement seems contradictory because there’s usually less pressure involved in doing anything that’s easy.
“We create our own pressure, because we want to do well,” Bliss tried to clarify.
His proposed change?
“Reduce the amount of teams that get into the playoffs, and give the top teams a bye. Something of that nature would put more emphasis on the regular season.”
Yet Bliss immediately offered evidence that the regular season did have emphasis.
“I don’t think the teams that are fighting for playoff position are taking it any lighter, or thinking, ‘Oh, we can coast into the third or fourth spot.’ If you look at our division, everybody’s still in the mix, going to the last six or eight games.”
The Wizards are probably well aware of how a regular season lapse can hurt a team. The year after they won the 2004 U.S. Open Cup and made the MLS final with a better regular season record than their opponent, the Wizards failed to make the playoffs.
“One of the reasons that I think I got my job is because we didn’t do well at the end of the season,” explained Bliss, who was promoted to interim coach after longtime coach Bob Gansler, a former national team coach, was let go earlier this year.
“We had a good start and then a mediocre middle part and we slipped down in the standings,” recalled Bliss of 2005. “We’ve got all these guys in the locker room who know what happened. I think that’s playing a part in the fight that our guys are putting up in order to hang in there.”
The Wizard’s star defender, Jose Burciaga, apparently believed fortune was partly to blame for the team’s failure to make the playoffs in 2005.
“We’ve been unlucky,” Burgiaca stated. “You need some luck sometimes and I think that’s what we had in 2004. I think if we get into the playoffs, I think we’ll be fine. Teams have to watch out for us.”
Burciaga touches on what to me is a great aspect of the playoffs – the fact that any team who makes it that far then has a shot at the title. It gives every team left both hunger and hope.
Single table provides little incentive for the teams safely in the middle of the pack, but out of the running for the top. That’s not a problem for those who prefer that system, but there are many who do not.
For example, I’ve noticed that many who have experience with Mexican soccer prefer the playoff system – they’re used to it from the MFL. A lot of converted American fans used to playoffs in all the Major League Sports also are accustomed to having one big game at the end of the season.
Still, there are notable adherents of the single-table. Chivas
“In a perfect role, I’d be one who would love to have a single table,” he admitted.
Bradley listed off the needed modifications MLS would have to make.
“That would mean that we can’t have the schedule that we have. You can’t have a single table and have games that many games where you’re missing players, because every game is going to count for who is a champion at the end. You almost have to be on an international schedule. In terms of being on an international schedule, we have work to do in terms of building more stadiums. We have work to do in terms of how to play games when the weather is cold in certain cities.”
With time, though, Bradley believed his plan was possible.
Perhaps it’s all something of a distraction from the heart of issue, though. Maybe it’s easy to blame the system rather than admit where a team wilted.
Frank Yallop played for years under a single-table structure in
“We all know at the beginning of the season how it works,” he pointed out. “Everyone has to play under those same expectations. You either do it, or you don’t.”
Not Again
DC fans may be upset about last night's handball call on Christian Gomez partly because they're used to something different. DC got the benefit of a non-call in another crucial game years ago. Alecko Eskandarian, in 2004, redirected a clearance from Jimmy Conrad with his arm to score his team's second goal in the MLS Cup final.
The Law's way
Chivas USA’s Lawson Vaughn has a tattoo on his left wrist that reads “Win or Die.” I asked him about it recently. I hadn’t noticed it before (can’t say I’ve had reason to study Lawson’s wrists before) so when I saw it I asked him about it.
He told me he got the acronyms from Lou Holtz’s book “Winning Every Day.”
“Win” stands for What’s Important Now.
“Die” stands for Determination Is Everything.
“That’s kind of our team motto, our mentality,” Vaughn said. “The team has really taken to it, win or die, playing at home and improving on the road, we’ve actually done that.”
Vaughn wasn’t a part of the first game in Kansas City. He was suspended after his red card in the season finale. He’ll probably start against the Wizards on Saturday, likely in his usual right back role.
Certainly playing at home will be a plus, Vaughn said.
“The guys are all focused. The guys are all committed. We expect to have three games remaining. We expect to have a huge crowd, a lot of support. Just the mentality we’re going to have in this game is going to be ‘balls to the wall’ for lack of better words.”
He told me he got the acronyms from Lou Holtz’s book “Winning Every Day.”
“Win” stands for What’s Important Now.
“Die” stands for Determination Is Everything.
“That’s kind of our team motto, our mentality,” Vaughn said. “The team has really taken to it, win or die, playing at home and improving on the road, we’ve actually done that.”
Vaughn wasn’t a part of the first game in Kansas City. He was suspended after his red card in the season finale. He’ll probably start against the Wizards on Saturday, likely in his usual right back role.
Certainly playing at home will be a plus, Vaughn said.
“The guys are all focused. The guys are all committed. We expect to have three games remaining. We expect to have a huge crowd, a lot of support. Just the mentality we’re going to have in this game is going to be ‘balls to the wall’ for lack of better words.”
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Sorry
I feel partly to blame for DC's spectacular crash-and-burn from the 2007 MLS playoffs. I've been terrible with my picks since a bad day in Las Vegas on Oct. 13 and I gave DC United my kiss of death.
I will abstain from making any more picks during this postseason to save further fans from premature heartache.
However, I do like South Florida to cover 4 1/2 at home against Cincinnati, South Carolina to win straight up in Arkansas and Arizona State to beat Oregon in the game of the day on Saturday. Take that to the bank.
I will abstain from making any more picks during this postseason to save further fans from premature heartache.
However, I do like South Florida to cover 4 1/2 at home against Cincinnati, South Carolina to win straight up in Arkansas and Arizona State to beat Oregon in the game of the day on Saturday. Take that to the bank.
Fire/DC running blog
Join us, won't you? Blanco, Moreno, Emilio - what more could you want from a playoff game? The pregame is even showing Blanco's Dancing with the Stars (Mexico version) moves. He's no Emmitt Smith, but he looks like a better dancer than "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather.
Haunting the playoffs - David Beckham has already made two appearances in commercials: one for Chivas USA's playoffs, another for Adidas.
Hey, a Pando sighting! They showed his 2005 championship-winning goal, the only MLS goal he ever scored from the run of play.
Nice crowd in DC - the singer dragged out the national anthem - perhaps he knew that's the only way he'd get on the air.
Glen Davis and Eric Wynalda have that "who's kept in better ex-player shape" manly handsomeness thing going on.
Alan Hopkins covers the Jaime Moreno smack-talk before the match. "That's not soccer," Jaime complains about Chicago's style. Chicago doesn't care if it's figure skating, as long as they win.
Bobby Boswell is back on field for DC, instead of Devon McTavish. That defensive mistake versus Chris Rolfe didn't help his case.
1- Kickoff! DC with an early attack, but Pickens handles the rather weak shot easily. Calen Carr is starting for Chicago. His speed could cause DC problems. Wilman Conde is playing on the left, which I think is a mistake for Chicago. Conde is a great distributor of the ball, but he can't do that as well from the left.
4-Chicago now seems stuck on the left, trying to get play going through Wilman Conde. A counter starts for DC from there, but Conde breaks it up. I also don't think Conde defends as well on the left. He's just not as agile versus wingers. Luckily, Ben Olson isn't as fast or as tricky as he used to be.
6- Blanco with a shot after Rolfe fed him on the counter. Pretty close from a ways out. Skims over the top of the net.
7- FK for DC Gomez lining it up. He could be playing in Saudi Arabia next year, according to a rumor out of DC. FK goes wide.
9- The black-clad fans of DC make the Blanco/Club America supporters really stand out in their bright yellow jerseys. Chicago's Chad Barret actually nearly pulls off a dribble pass to himself in front of goal, but Brian Namoff breaks it up.
11- DC is putting pressure on, while Chicago is defending strong, even with some shaky clearances. Ooh, Fred and Chris Armas getting into it - "Why are you grabbing your face if the cleats hit your chest?" Armas is saying. Fred's babyface tries to look innocent. FK goes just wide - Pickens picked poor positioning there.
14 - Tommy Soehn looks worried. Blanco slips in a little pass to the box that has Troy Perkins racing to grab it before any Chicago player can.
15- Corner taken by Greg Vanney - leads to a Dasan Robinson clearance, then another corner that looks good, but drifts long at the far post, missing everybody.
17- Perkins is playing well, but his hair looks funny. He's got little-boy curls drooping on his forehead.
19- Is "recoverability" a word? It is to Glen Davis, who still remains one of my favorite game-callers. Oh look! It's a less-jolly-looking Tom Payne! Actually, it's his brother, Kevin, award-winning MLS exec. Kevin confesses he's given up cigarettes after his stroke. He's lucky he got a second chance on that decision. Quit or don't start while you can, kids.
21- DC corner. Fred takes. Clearance goes to Blanco, who goes down after a foul. DC fans boo, and Wynalda says he's faking.
22-FK leads to CK for Fire. The short corner nearly leads to a close-range Fire shot, but DC clears.
24- Simms is giving me flashbacks of the '70's with his 'fro do. Hopkins reports that Juan Carlos Osorio and Soehn exchanged angry words on the sidelines. Playoff fever, baby.
26- Dasan and Fred in a definite duel. Dasan wins free kick, Blanco takes, leads to foul on Rolfe, Blanco lining this one up. Blanco smacks it pretty well. It skips on the grass in front of Perkins, but Perkins hangs on to the ball.
29-Blanco hits lead pass to Rolfe, who gets to it just before Perkins, but Rolfe's chip is wide. DC goes the other way and Emilio launches a shot right into CJ Brown, who goes down.
31- GOAL! Omigod! The man who couldn't put it in the net a whole bunch of times for Chicago makes no mistake this time. Calen Carr sends in a sweet bending pass right to the top of the arc, where Barrett takes it down with his left and buries it with the same foot.
33-GOAL! Rolfe! So much for the accusation that Chicago was only going to be playing defense. Rolfe puts away goal number two for the Fire! Rolfe volleyed a free ball in front of the goal, using the element of surprise to score.
37- The jinx continues. The question now is - will the Fire outdo their famous 4-0 victory of 2005 versus DC in the playoffs? Will DC get a playoff goal versus the Fire?
38- DC nearly pulled one back, but the ball gets cleared off the line. Now DC has a free kick on the edge of the box.
39- FK cleared by Segares. DC is attacking wildly, Osorio is scribbling furiously on his paper pad. Chicago is defending hard. I love the playoffs. Shove the single table.
41- Rod Dyachenko coming into the game - Marc Burch out. First half sub - Soehn will not go gently into the offseason good night.
43- FK for DC. Scrap in front of the goal as Pickens punches out. DC gets called for offsides before they can get a shot off.
45- Bobby Boswell, Internet boy, is doing the yakety-yak hand signal to someone, but I'm not sure who it was intended for. Another DC freekick - Dasan keeps fouling. Fire get away with it, though, as Gomez lofts the free kick over the end line. The Fire seem to have gotten into DC's head.
Ha! Barrett pulls a backheel deep in DC territory. He's not Blanco, though, and the ball goes out of bounds before Blanco can get it. Blanco will probably forgive Chad that one, considering Chad scored the opening goal.
HALFTIME - The crowd at RFK seems stunned. Foudy is still saying that Chicago can't play too defensively. At least the people who were whining about the low amount of goals scored in the playoffs have hushed up about that for this game.
It's kind of neat to see that after all of Chicago's new acquisitions, the old guys are getting it done. I know they're really young, but Barrett, Rolfe and Carr are all Fire boys who have never played for another team.
You know it's the playoffs. . . when the Fire beat DC?
More description on Rolfe's goal - Carr header to Blanco, who headed it forward, where Rolfe picked it out of the air after Barret pulled defensive attention trying to reach the ball.
The shots from the BarraBrava look great. DC need a miracle to pull this off, but their supporters won't let them quit. Announcer Glen Davis is styling with the pink tie and the Mafia pinstripes. I'd go with one or the other - the combo is a little aggressive.
46- Wynalda giving DC fans props.
47- Blanco feeds Rolfe, and Rolfe, at an acute angle, hits side-netting.
49- DC ck, misses the target. Soehn - I've seen his expression before. He had it earlier this year, when DC got off to a bad start before righting the ship and winning the Supporter's Shield.
50- Oh Moreno! He gets a lead pass from Dyachenko, and he's into the box with the ball, but he doesn't shoot immediately and a tracking Brown gets to the ball to clear.
51- DC shot on goal! Olsen lays the ball off for Emilio in the box and Emilio shoots around him, but a diving Pickens saves.
53- Glen Davis states the truth that Moreno is not looking good tonight. A DC corner comes to nothing, but the Fire are so deep, they don't really get far on the counter.
55- Calen Carr goes down on the field, then Gonzalo Segares brings down Moreno with a foul that earns a yellow, though DC wanted a red. Nothing doing, but the free kick looks dangerous, and DC tries a tricky side play that nearly yields a chance.
58- Osorio isn't afraid of going against coaching conventional wisdom - he pulls scorer Chad Barrett for Bakary Soumare.
59-Flurry of activity near the Chicago goal for DC, but they're unable to get a shot off, even when Pickens' clearance doesn't go far. McTavish is on for Boswell, in a role-reversal of a defensive mistake leading to a benching. Boswell lost track of Barrett on the opening goal.
61- Rolfe passes the ball to Blanco, who holds the ball, just daring McTavish to try it. Sure enough, he tries to tackle, and gets Blanco on the leg hard for a yellow card.
63- Blanco goes down again and gets stepped on by Fred.
64- Carr on a breakaway, gets taken down by Perkins on the line of the box. Hey, that's prime FIFA continuation! But Marrufo doesn't call it, giving Perkins a yellow and the Fire a free kick instead. I can believe that Osorio is going nuts on the sideline. Blanco hits the wall on the free.
66- Nicholas Adderly in for Luciano Emilio - MLS' 20-goal man didn't have a good game. He's coming back from injury, though. It was probably too much to ask of him.
68- Blanco feeds Carr on a play that nearly pulls off another goal. Chicago isn't sitting back.
69- GOAL! DC works the ball around and then lays off a ball for Clyde Simms, who scorches it into the back of the net past a diving Perkins. Well, at least DC isn't going down toothless. The game has new life.
73- DC with all kinds of pressure on the Fire. Three DC players in the box, but none can put a shot on goal.
74- GOAL! DC pulls even in the match, still a goal behind on aggregate. A pass out to Christian Gomez catches him almost offsides, leaving the Chicago backline scrambling. Conde has not much chasing speed. Gomez tucks it into the corner - Pickens could have perhaps done better with the hand he did get on it.
77- These last 15 minutes are going to be crazy, but DC has definite momentum now. Carr on a counter, Perkins way out still slows him down a bit - why didn't Carr chip him? Where's John Thorrington when you need him? DC the other way has a corner. Cleared out.
79- Epic game - if any DC fan has a voice left after this game, they're lucky. Alan Hopkins references the most amazing MLS comeback of all - Earthquakes versus Galaxy, but it wasn't a couple of years ago, Alan. It was back in 2003.
80- Corner kick for DC. Another one. Wynalda references the non-PK call as the game-changer. Hindsight. Blanco with a nice individual play, but then he goes down pretty easily. He's furious that there's no call on the play.
82- DC the other way - Gomez with a sweet pass to cut the ball back in the box, but Adderly can't reach it. Close call for Chicago.
84-Olsen tries a long shot - nope.
86- DC pressing, but Dasan has a nice play for a short Fire possession.
87- Dyachenko feeds Olsen on the wing, who crosses it well into the middle, but Gomez is surrounded by Fire defenders, though he still nearly gets a head on it.
88- Osorio sets himself up to be second-guessed by Blanco fans for all eternity. He subs him out for Floyd Franks. Right after the sub, Olsen misses a shot high near the top of the arc.
90- I can only imagine tons of Mexican fans, "Quien es este Floyd Franks?"
Extra time- another corner for DC. It's taken short and gets in front of goal, but it cleared. The return service gets caught by Pickens.
NO GOAL! Gomez behind Dasan Robinson scores, but Marrufo calls a handball and the replays show one. Not blatant, but it was there. With his arm leaning against Dasan's back, Gomez touched the ball down, where it fell nicely for his shot.
DC corner, again. It's taken short and nearly leads to a shot, but the ball falls to Segares, who is forced to dribble out, because there are no Fire players outside the box for him to pass to. He does so quickly enough, until a Rod Dyachenko tackle from behind brings him down. Red card.
Despite the man disadvantage, DC still charges forward. The ball is in the box and Chicago can't quite clear, until Conde gets a head on it. The four minutes of extra time have exceeded five, but Marrufo finally blows the whistle.
DC loses, Chicago wins. The Supporters Shield losing streak continues - the Galaxy were the last team to pull it off, in 2002.
Fire players salute their fans. DC fans nearby throw beer towards them - or some liquid substance.
Rolfe, Man of the Match, mentions he has no New York or NE prefence, given that both teams play on turf. He wants to play at Toyota Park. That would be great, but it's not going to happen, because the Fire are the low seed.
So are the Fire the team of destiny now? They are certainly contenders.
ESPN tries to bring Fire fans back to earth by showing clips of last year's playoff loss to New England. Then they show New York's trouncing of Chicago earlier this season.
Great, solid playoff game. DC dug deep to make a game of it. Chicago hung on. Not sure if this match is going to crack Luis' top MLS games list, but it was a good one.
Haunting the playoffs - David Beckham has already made two appearances in commercials: one for Chivas USA's playoffs, another for Adidas.
Hey, a Pando sighting! They showed his 2005 championship-winning goal, the only MLS goal he ever scored from the run of play.
Nice crowd in DC - the singer dragged out the national anthem - perhaps he knew that's the only way he'd get on the air.
Glen Davis and Eric Wynalda have that "who's kept in better ex-player shape" manly handsomeness thing going on.
Alan Hopkins covers the Jaime Moreno smack-talk before the match. "That's not soccer," Jaime complains about Chicago's style. Chicago doesn't care if it's figure skating, as long as they win.
Bobby Boswell is back on field for DC, instead of Devon McTavish. That defensive mistake versus Chris Rolfe didn't help his case.
1- Kickoff! DC with an early attack, but Pickens handles the rather weak shot easily. Calen Carr is starting for Chicago. His speed could cause DC problems. Wilman Conde is playing on the left, which I think is a mistake for Chicago. Conde is a great distributor of the ball, but he can't do that as well from the left.
4-Chicago now seems stuck on the left, trying to get play going through Wilman Conde. A counter starts for DC from there, but Conde breaks it up. I also don't think Conde defends as well on the left. He's just not as agile versus wingers. Luckily, Ben Olson isn't as fast or as tricky as he used to be.
6- Blanco with a shot after Rolfe fed him on the counter. Pretty close from a ways out. Skims over the top of the net.
7- FK for DC Gomez lining it up. He could be playing in Saudi Arabia next year, according to a rumor out of DC. FK goes wide.
9- The black-clad fans of DC make the Blanco/Club America supporters really stand out in their bright yellow jerseys. Chicago's Chad Barret actually nearly pulls off a dribble pass to himself in front of goal, but Brian Namoff breaks it up.
11- DC is putting pressure on, while Chicago is defending strong, even with some shaky clearances. Ooh, Fred and Chris Armas getting into it - "Why are you grabbing your face if the cleats hit your chest?" Armas is saying. Fred's babyface tries to look innocent. FK goes just wide - Pickens picked poor positioning there.
14 - Tommy Soehn looks worried. Blanco slips in a little pass to the box that has Troy Perkins racing to grab it before any Chicago player can.
15- Corner taken by Greg Vanney - leads to a Dasan Robinson clearance, then another corner that looks good, but drifts long at the far post, missing everybody.
17- Perkins is playing well, but his hair looks funny. He's got little-boy curls drooping on his forehead.
19- Is "recoverability" a word? It is to Glen Davis, who still remains one of my favorite game-callers. Oh look! It's a less-jolly-looking Tom Payne! Actually, it's his brother, Kevin, award-winning MLS exec. Kevin confesses he's given up cigarettes after his stroke. He's lucky he got a second chance on that decision. Quit or don't start while you can, kids.
21- DC corner. Fred takes. Clearance goes to Blanco, who goes down after a foul. DC fans boo, and Wynalda says he's faking.
22-FK leads to CK for Fire. The short corner nearly leads to a close-range Fire shot, but DC clears.
24- Simms is giving me flashbacks of the '70's with his 'fro do. Hopkins reports that Juan Carlos Osorio and Soehn exchanged angry words on the sidelines. Playoff fever, baby.
26- Dasan and Fred in a definite duel. Dasan wins free kick, Blanco takes, leads to foul on Rolfe, Blanco lining this one up. Blanco smacks it pretty well. It skips on the grass in front of Perkins, but Perkins hangs on to the ball.
29-Blanco hits lead pass to Rolfe, who gets to it just before Perkins, but Rolfe's chip is wide. DC goes the other way and Emilio launches a shot right into CJ Brown, who goes down.
31- GOAL! Omigod! The man who couldn't put it in the net a whole bunch of times for Chicago makes no mistake this time. Calen Carr sends in a sweet bending pass right to the top of the arc, where Barrett takes it down with his left and buries it with the same foot.
33-GOAL! Rolfe! So much for the accusation that Chicago was only going to be playing defense. Rolfe puts away goal number two for the Fire! Rolfe volleyed a free ball in front of the goal, using the element of surprise to score.
37- The jinx continues. The question now is - will the Fire outdo their famous 4-0 victory of 2005 versus DC in the playoffs? Will DC get a playoff goal versus the Fire?
38- DC nearly pulled one back, but the ball gets cleared off the line. Now DC has a free kick on the edge of the box.
39- FK cleared by Segares. DC is attacking wildly, Osorio is scribbling furiously on his paper pad. Chicago is defending hard. I love the playoffs. Shove the single table.
41- Rod Dyachenko coming into the game - Marc Burch out. First half sub - Soehn will not go gently into the offseason good night.
43- FK for DC. Scrap in front of the goal as Pickens punches out. DC gets called for offsides before they can get a shot off.
45- Bobby Boswell, Internet boy, is doing the yakety-yak hand signal to someone, but I'm not sure who it was intended for. Another DC freekick - Dasan keeps fouling. Fire get away with it, though, as Gomez lofts the free kick over the end line. The Fire seem to have gotten into DC's head.
Ha! Barrett pulls a backheel deep in DC territory. He's not Blanco, though, and the ball goes out of bounds before Blanco can get it. Blanco will probably forgive Chad that one, considering Chad scored the opening goal.
HALFTIME - The crowd at RFK seems stunned. Foudy is still saying that Chicago can't play too defensively. At least the people who were whining about the low amount of goals scored in the playoffs have hushed up about that for this game.
It's kind of neat to see that after all of Chicago's new acquisitions, the old guys are getting it done. I know they're really young, but Barrett, Rolfe and Carr are all Fire boys who have never played for another team.
You know it's the playoffs. . . when the Fire beat DC?
More description on Rolfe's goal - Carr header to Blanco, who headed it forward, where Rolfe picked it out of the air after Barret pulled defensive attention trying to reach the ball.
The shots from the BarraBrava look great. DC need a miracle to pull this off, but their supporters won't let them quit. Announcer Glen Davis is styling with the pink tie and the Mafia pinstripes. I'd go with one or the other - the combo is a little aggressive.
46- Wynalda giving DC fans props.
47- Blanco feeds Rolfe, and Rolfe, at an acute angle, hits side-netting.
49- DC ck, misses the target. Soehn - I've seen his expression before. He had it earlier this year, when DC got off to a bad start before righting the ship and winning the Supporter's Shield.
50- Oh Moreno! He gets a lead pass from Dyachenko, and he's into the box with the ball, but he doesn't shoot immediately and a tracking Brown gets to the ball to clear.
51- DC shot on goal! Olsen lays the ball off for Emilio in the box and Emilio shoots around him, but a diving Pickens saves.
53- Glen Davis states the truth that Moreno is not looking good tonight. A DC corner comes to nothing, but the Fire are so deep, they don't really get far on the counter.
55- Calen Carr goes down on the field, then Gonzalo Segares brings down Moreno with a foul that earns a yellow, though DC wanted a red. Nothing doing, but the free kick looks dangerous, and DC tries a tricky side play that nearly yields a chance.
58- Osorio isn't afraid of going against coaching conventional wisdom - he pulls scorer Chad Barrett for Bakary Soumare.
59-Flurry of activity near the Chicago goal for DC, but they're unable to get a shot off, even when Pickens' clearance doesn't go far. McTavish is on for Boswell, in a role-reversal of a defensive mistake leading to a benching. Boswell lost track of Barrett on the opening goal.
61- Rolfe passes the ball to Blanco, who holds the ball, just daring McTavish to try it. Sure enough, he tries to tackle, and gets Blanco on the leg hard for a yellow card.
63- Blanco goes down again and gets stepped on by Fred.
64- Carr on a breakaway, gets taken down by Perkins on the line of the box. Hey, that's prime FIFA continuation! But Marrufo doesn't call it, giving Perkins a yellow and the Fire a free kick instead. I can believe that Osorio is going nuts on the sideline. Blanco hits the wall on the free.
66- Nicholas Adderly in for Luciano Emilio - MLS' 20-goal man didn't have a good game. He's coming back from injury, though. It was probably too much to ask of him.
68- Blanco feeds Carr on a play that nearly pulls off another goal. Chicago isn't sitting back.
69- GOAL! DC works the ball around and then lays off a ball for Clyde Simms, who scorches it into the back of the net past a diving Perkins. Well, at least DC isn't going down toothless. The game has new life.
73- DC with all kinds of pressure on the Fire. Three DC players in the box, but none can put a shot on goal.
74- GOAL! DC pulls even in the match, still a goal behind on aggregate. A pass out to Christian Gomez catches him almost offsides, leaving the Chicago backline scrambling. Conde has not much chasing speed. Gomez tucks it into the corner - Pickens could have perhaps done better with the hand he did get on it.
77- These last 15 minutes are going to be crazy, but DC has definite momentum now. Carr on a counter, Perkins way out still slows him down a bit - why didn't Carr chip him? Where's John Thorrington when you need him? DC the other way has a corner. Cleared out.
79- Epic game - if any DC fan has a voice left after this game, they're lucky. Alan Hopkins references the most amazing MLS comeback of all - Earthquakes versus Galaxy, but it wasn't a couple of years ago, Alan. It was back in 2003.
80- Corner kick for DC. Another one. Wynalda references the non-PK call as the game-changer. Hindsight. Blanco with a nice individual play, but then he goes down pretty easily. He's furious that there's no call on the play.
82- DC the other way - Gomez with a sweet pass to cut the ball back in the box, but Adderly can't reach it. Close call for Chicago.
84-Olsen tries a long shot - nope.
86- DC pressing, but Dasan has a nice play for a short Fire possession.
87- Dyachenko feeds Olsen on the wing, who crosses it well into the middle, but Gomez is surrounded by Fire defenders, though he still nearly gets a head on it.
88- Osorio sets himself up to be second-guessed by Blanco fans for all eternity. He subs him out for Floyd Franks. Right after the sub, Olsen misses a shot high near the top of the arc.
90- I can only imagine tons of Mexican fans, "Quien es este Floyd Franks?"
Extra time- another corner for DC. It's taken short and gets in front of goal, but it cleared. The return service gets caught by Pickens.
NO GOAL! Gomez behind Dasan Robinson scores, but Marrufo calls a handball and the replays show one. Not blatant, but it was there. With his arm leaning against Dasan's back, Gomez touched the ball down, where it fell nicely for his shot.
DC corner, again. It's taken short and nearly leads to a shot, but the ball falls to Segares, who is forced to dribble out, because there are no Fire players outside the box for him to pass to. He does so quickly enough, until a Rod Dyachenko tackle from behind brings him down. Red card.
Despite the man disadvantage, DC still charges forward. The ball is in the box and Chicago can't quite clear, until Conde gets a head on it. The four minutes of extra time have exceeded five, but Marrufo finally blows the whistle.
DC loses, Chicago wins. The Supporters Shield losing streak continues - the Galaxy were the last team to pull it off, in 2002.
Fire players salute their fans. DC fans nearby throw beer towards them - or some liquid substance.
Rolfe, Man of the Match, mentions he has no New York or NE prefence, given that both teams play on turf. He wants to play at Toyota Park. That would be great, but it's not going to happen, because the Fire are the low seed.
So are the Fire the team of destiny now? They are certainly contenders.
ESPN tries to bring Fire fans back to earth by showing clips of last year's playoff loss to New England. Then they show New York's trouncing of Chicago earlier this season.
Great, solid playoff game. DC dug deep to make a game of it. Chicago hung on. Not sure if this match is going to crack Luis' top MLS games list, but it was a good one.
Memo to ManU?
Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa has been linked to Manchester United for some time now. Last season, ManU scouts were reportedly in attendance at one or more of Ochoa's league games.
This is the latest affirmation of that rumor, courtesy of Esto. According to the report, ManU offered 10 million Euros for Ochoa's services. Not sure if that's accurate, though, Euros or pounds or dollars or pesos... well, it wouldn't be pesos! But whatever the case, the asking price is probably going to be steep.
Can you imagine Manchester United-Arsenal with Memo Ochoa in one goal and Brad Guzan in the other?
This is the latest affirmation of that rumor, courtesy of Esto. According to the report, ManU offered 10 million Euros for Ochoa's services. Not sure if that's accurate, though, Euros or pounds or dollars or pesos... well, it wouldn't be pesos! But whatever the case, the asking price is probably going to be steep.
Can you imagine Manchester United-Arsenal with Memo Ochoa in one goal and Brad Guzan in the other?
Ex-MLS players in Mexico
I decided to compile a list of players who used to ply their trade in MLS that are now in the Mexican league and have seen action in the Apertura 2007 season.
This list is compiled by yours truly and I probably left some players off. Actually, I'm almost certain I missed a player. In fact, if you can think of the player(s) I omitted, I'll be grateful.
I limited this to players who saw game action in MLS, not just guys who had tryouts or passed through, like Luis Alvarez who was with Chivas USA at the end of the '05 season but wasn't actually on the roster.
And now the list, in no particular order...
Francisco Palencia, Pumas (ex-Chivas USA); 10 games, 7 starts, 637 minutes, 1 goal, 2 assists, 6 yellow cards, 0 red cards
Daniel Hernandez, Puebla (ex-New England); 6 games, 6 starts, 540 minutes, 1 goal, 0 assists, 4 yellow cards, 0 red cards
Alain Nkong, Atlante (ex-Colorado); 14 games, 7 starts, 857 minutes, 4 goals, 0 assists, 2 yellow cards, 1 red card
Johnnie Garcia, Santos (ex-Chivas USA); 12 games, 1 start, 290 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 4 yellow cards, 0 red cards
Juan Pablo Garcia, Tigres (ex-Chivas USA); 3 games, 0 starts, 98 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 yellow cards, 0 red cards
*Jorge Barrera, Santos (ex-Chivas USA); 9 games, 2 starts, 245 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 3 yellow cards, 0 red cards
(* Barrera didn't play a minute for Chivas USA but he was on their roster at the start of the season. I included him because I think it's strange that he couldn't play for Chivas USA but he's gotten plenty of action for the best team in Mexico)
This list is compiled by yours truly and I probably left some players off. Actually, I'm almost certain I missed a player. In fact, if you can think of the player(s) I omitted, I'll be grateful.
I limited this to players who saw game action in MLS, not just guys who had tryouts or passed through, like Luis Alvarez who was with Chivas USA at the end of the '05 season but wasn't actually on the roster.
And now the list, in no particular order...
Francisco Palencia, Pumas (ex-Chivas USA); 10 games, 7 starts, 637 minutes, 1 goal, 2 assists, 6 yellow cards, 0 red cards
Daniel Hernandez, Puebla (ex-New England); 6 games, 6 starts, 540 minutes, 1 goal, 0 assists, 4 yellow cards, 0 red cards
Alain Nkong, Atlante (ex-Colorado); 14 games, 7 starts, 857 minutes, 4 goals, 0 assists, 2 yellow cards, 1 red card
Johnnie Garcia, Santos (ex-Chivas USA); 12 games, 1 start, 290 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 4 yellow cards, 0 red cards
Juan Pablo Garcia, Tigres (ex-Chivas USA); 3 games, 0 starts, 98 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 yellow cards, 0 red cards
*Jorge Barrera, Santos (ex-Chivas USA); 9 games, 2 starts, 245 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists, 3 yellow cards, 0 red cards
(* Barrera didn't play a minute for Chivas USA but he was on their roster at the start of the season. I included him because I think it's strange that he couldn't play for Chivas USA but he's gotten plenty of action for the best team in Mexico)
None for the show
Anyone wanting to watch the Houston-FC Dallas playoff game on Friday will have to get to Robertson Stadium in order to watch it. The game won't be shown nationally nor was it picked up locally.
This can be used as an argument for either eliminating the two-leg semifinal round - or this round altogether - or against Friday night playoff games. I think it's still high school football season in Texas, and that's quite popular there. Don't know if that affected the television deal or not, but regardless, it's a shame the defending champs' home playoff game won't be on TV.
Let's hope that someone has some sort of recording device or something so we can see the goals. With our luck, this game will go down as one of the best games of the year.
ADD: According to FC Dallas' web site, the game will be on channel 52 which I'm assuming is a Dallas TV station. So we won't rely on some grainy video apparently to show us the game. But Houston-area fans are S.O.L.
This can be used as an argument for either eliminating the two-leg semifinal round - or this round altogether - or against Friday night playoff games. I think it's still high school football season in Texas, and that's quite popular there. Don't know if that affected the television deal or not, but regardless, it's a shame the defending champs' home playoff game won't be on TV.
Let's hope that someone has some sort of recording device or something so we can see the goals. With our luck, this game will go down as one of the best games of the year.
ADD: According to FC Dallas' web site, the game will be on channel 52 which I'm assuming is a Dallas TV station. So we won't rely on some grainy video apparently to show us the game. But Houston-area fans are S.O.L.
Jimmy Eat Domingo
Kinda strange pairing but MLS Cup will feature musical performances by Jimmy Eat World and Placido Domingo.
Jimmy Eat World will perform at halftime while Placido Domingo will belt out the national anthem Three Tenors style.
Hmmm... Jimmy Eat World had that one catchy song several years ago but have they done anything since? And I've got to admit, I'm not into opera. But then again, I'm not the target audience the league is trying to pursue with this musical entertainment.
However, if it were up to me, I'd have gotten The Killers and T.I. to perform at halftime. But The Killers are just finishing a world tour and T.I., um, well...
Jimmy Eat World will perform at halftime while Placido Domingo will belt out the national anthem Three Tenors style.
Hmmm... Jimmy Eat World had that one catchy song several years ago but have they done anything since? And I've got to admit, I'm not into opera. But then again, I'm not the target audience the league is trying to pursue with this musical entertainment.
However, if it were up to me, I'd have gotten The Killers and T.I. to perform at halftime. But The Killers are just finishing a world tour and T.I., um, well...
Viewing Hope
Some people questioned why I would see any gender issues in the reaction Hope Solo's comments spawned. They insisted it didn't matter that Hope was female - it was what she had done as a teammate that mattered.
I was skeptical, frankly. It was difficult for me to believe that if a man had made those same statements, the same result would have transpired.
However, I obviously had no way to prove this. Now, though, the results of this latest study on how people react to angry women in the workplace provides something of a clue.
I was skeptical, frankly. It was difficult for me to believe that if a man had made those same statements, the same result would have transpired.
However, I obviously had no way to prove this. Now, though, the results of this latest study on how people react to angry women in the workplace provides something of a clue.
Ever-changing Fire
It's amazing how much the Chicago Fire has changed from one year to the next. I don't cover the Fire obviously so I don't keep as close tabs on them as I do the local SoCal teams, but the turnover at Chicago is substantial.
Chicago Trib writer Luis Arroyave took a look at last year's Fire team and this year's Fire team. At first, I thought there wouldn't be that much difference but it's nearly a complete overhaul the club has gone through.
The Fire may very well pull off the first-round upset, unlike last year's team that lost the return leg to New England by 2-1 and then bowed out in PKs. Still, regardless of what happens tonight, this Fire team is a dependable forward or two away from competing for the Supporters' Shield in 2008.
And here's another tidbit from Arroyave about Blanco's frustration with fouls.
Chicago Trib writer Luis Arroyave took a look at last year's Fire team and this year's Fire team. At first, I thought there wouldn't be that much difference but it's nearly a complete overhaul the club has gone through.
The Fire may very well pull off the first-round upset, unlike last year's team that lost the return leg to New England by 2-1 and then bowed out in PKs. Still, regardless of what happens tonight, this Fire team is a dependable forward or two away from competing for the Supporters' Shield in 2008.
And here's another tidbit from Arroyave about Blanco's frustration with fouls.
Sensational Shavar
Shavar Thomas has been nothing short of remarkable since he arrived at Chivas USA in May.He was plucked away from the Kansas City Wizards by the L.A. Galaxy in the preseason and seemed destined to pair with countryman Tyrone Marshall in the Galaxy's backline.
But Ty Harden started the season at central defense and when the Galaxy learned they were getting Abel Xavier, they traded Shavar away because he was expendable.
Chivas happily took on Thomas and he's been a starter pretty much ever since. He played with Preki in Kansas City so the two have a prior history. Preki as used that to his advantage and has molded Thomas into a top defender.
I finally got around to writing a feature on Shavar Thomas for MLSnet.com. I'd been meaning to do it for a while but other things came up and this kind of sat on the back burner.
One thing I didn't get to mention in the story is Thomas' physique. He's probably still around the 195 range but he's lean. I'd venture to guess his body fat percentage is the lowest it's been in a while. That's something the team's been working with him since he arrived as well and I think that's helped him have his best season.
Of course, don't call it a breakout season. As he points out, he played a lot of games his first four seasons.
Take your best shot
Chivas USA's Jesse Marsch isn't really concerned about Kansas City's potential game plan because he feels their roster is lacking.
"I think that they think that their recipe for success is to pressure teams and make it hard on us, but I don't think they have the personnel to do it in an effective way for 90 minutes."
He had more to say on the matter but I was able to slip that into my Thursday Chivas notebook for the Press-Enterprise.
I'll use the rest for MLSnet.com at some point later this week.
"I think that they think that their recipe for success is to pressure teams and make it hard on us, but I don't think they have the personnel to do it in an effective way for 90 minutes."
He had more to say on the matter but I was able to slip that into my Thursday Chivas notebook for the Press-Enterprise.
I'll use the rest for MLSnet.com at some point later this week.
United in the hole
The 2007 MLS season will end tonight for one force: either D.C. United or Cuauhtemoc Blanco will be sent packing.
After last week's 1-0 win by Chicago over D.C., Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports wrote a brilliant column on Blanco. If you missed it, you should read it. He pretty much sums up how Blanco's teammates feel about him, how his opponents feel about him and how neutral fans feel about him.
It's a good primer for tonight's match, which incidentally I think will... well, maybe I should stop kissing teams to death. But I guess since I picked D.C. to win it all...
After last week's 1-0 win by Chicago over D.C., Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports wrote a brilliant column on Blanco. If you missed it, you should read it. He pretty much sums up how Blanco's teammates feel about him, how his opponents feel about him and how neutral fans feel about him.
It's a good primer for tonight's match, which incidentally I think will... well, maybe I should stop kissing teams to death. But I guess since I picked D.C. to win it all...
On the wagon
Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports also dislikes the current playoff system. He even spoke to an anonymous club official who dislikes the playoff system.
The Galaxy had it right. Why bother messing around with April, May, June and July? Their only problem was they waited until Sept. 19 to get their shit together, and even then they got to the final game before they were eliminated.
The Galaxy had it right. Why bother messing around with April, May, June and July? Their only problem was they waited until Sept. 19 to get their shit together, and even then they got to the final game before they were eliminated.
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