Thursday, March 12, 2009
Friday, July 11, 2008
New Cowboys Stadium 2010: World Cup Final Host?
One of my favorite soccer blogs is the New York Times' GOAL. The most recent post is regarding FIFA's contingency plans being in place in case South Africa doesn't have all its ducks in a row by the end of the year.
One of the countries that could possibly step in to host the 2010 World Cup is the USA. Jerry Jones' new Cowboys Stadium would be an ideal place for the finals. It's a summer tournament, so the finals could be hosted indoors at what will arguably be the finest facility of its kind when it opens in 2009.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Next Stop for Cuban Soccer: the MLS?
Looks like Chivas USA's star Cuban striker Mikel Galindo has started a chain reaction of defections from Cuba's national soccer program. For a country better known for its béisbol, boxing & chess prowess, this must sting. Once these players get their immigration paperwork, look for them to find a place on one of the MLS teams' rosters. 1970's NASL exec, the Cuban exile Raphael de la Sierra, who worked closely with Warner's Steve Ross to make the NY Cosmos the most successful soccer team, must be loving this trend. Eat your heart out, Maradona. (Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)
Thierry Henry to Seattle FC?
It's the most wonderful time of the year. The MLS' 13th season is about to begin this weekend. The EPL season is coming down to a few more heated matches between serious contenders (Man U at 73 points, Chelsea! at 68, Arsenal at 67 & Liverpool at 59 trying to keep its 4th place spot away from crosstown rivals Everton). And the rumor mills are churning at a feverish pace.
If you didn't catch the Chelsea/Arsenal match on the Fox Sports Channel this past weekend, you missed a heckuva game. As busy as things have been of late, I settled for watching it over the course of Monday & Tuesday night (1st half Monday, 2nd half Tuesday). I maintained a soccer media block out. (Admittedly still not that hard to do here stateside). Arsenal have been playing below average - drawing in their previous 4 games. And Chelsea have been surging with their less than popular new manager Avram Grant. The Stamford Bridge faithful booed him loudly in the 2nd half when he made his substitutions. (Quite possibly game-winning substitutions!)
Our beloved FC Dallas will open their season up in Frisco's Pizza Hut Park this Sunday against Preki's Chivas USA at 2pm (Channel 52 - KFWD). Ante Razov & Mikel Galindo will start for the Goats.
Also Sunday: Fox Soccer Channel is showing the Rangers/Celtic match at 6pm CST (delayed) - one of the great sports rivalries - right up there with Yankees/Red Sox, Packers/Vikings, Lakers/Celtics.
The MLS rumor mill has been very active of late what with David Beckham's contract clause for MLS team ownership. I wonder where "The David Beckhams" will play? That's the other source of preseason rumors: Montréal, Quebec might be getting an expansion slot in the next couple of years. Might "The David Beckhams" play in Canada? The MLS has always stated that the league will eventually have a 2nd NYC team. Maybe Beckham will pay Pepe Pinton his $1 million for the NY Cosmos name. It's more likely that Beckham will purchase an existing club.
Then on the most recent World Soccer Daily podcast, Steven Cohen made mention of high level sources indicating that Seattle is in late-stage negotiations with France's all-time leading scorer Barcelona striker Thierry Henry to play for Seattle in their inaugural season next year 2009. This would explain those Gilette ads with Roger Federer, Tiger Woods & Thierry Henry.
If you didn't catch the Chelsea/Arsenal match on the Fox Sports Channel this past weekend, you missed a heckuva game. As busy as things have been of late, I settled for watching it over the course of Monday & Tuesday night (1st half Monday, 2nd half Tuesday). I maintained a soccer media block out. (Admittedly still not that hard to do here stateside). Arsenal have been playing below average - drawing in their previous 4 games. And Chelsea have been surging with their less than popular new manager Avram Grant. The Stamford Bridge faithful booed him loudly in the 2nd half when he made his substitutions. (Quite possibly game-winning substitutions!)
Our beloved FC Dallas will open their season up in Frisco's Pizza Hut Park this Sunday against Preki's Chivas USA at 2pm (Channel 52 - KFWD). Ante Razov & Mikel Galindo will start for the Goats.
Also Sunday: Fox Soccer Channel is showing the Rangers/Celtic match at 6pm CST (delayed) - one of the great sports rivalries - right up there with Yankees/Red Sox, Packers/Vikings, Lakers/Celtics.
The MLS rumor mill has been very active of late what with David Beckham's contract clause for MLS team ownership. I wonder where "The David Beckhams" will play? That's the other source of preseason rumors: Montréal, Quebec might be getting an expansion slot in the next couple of years. Might "The David Beckhams" play in Canada? The MLS has always stated that the league will eventually have a 2nd NYC team. Maybe Beckham will pay Pepe Pinton his $1 million for the NY Cosmos name. It's more likely that Beckham will purchase an existing club.
Then on the most recent World Soccer Daily podcast, Steven Cohen made mention of high level sources indicating that Seattle is in late-stage negotiations with France's all-time leading scorer Barcelona striker Thierry Henry to play for Seattle in their inaugural season next year 2009. This would explain those Gilette ads with Roger Federer, Tiger Woods & Thierry Henry.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
20,000 attend pre-season match at Pizza Hut Park
(Photo courtesy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Richard W. Rodriguez)
Thanks to Otto Gol for setting the wife and me up with choice tickets to the big UNICEF Charity Match against the LA Galaxy last night. We had a great time.
A few notes on the game: it felt like a regular season game what with the big Beckham crowd and the English National Team drama. All players were putting their full effort into the game. Coach Ruud Gullit has been busy in his first pre-season as coach of the Galaxy. They look like a different team. We were disappointed not to see Carlos "El Pescadito" Ruiz play for his old/new team, the Galaxy. He has a hamstring issue and didn't make the trip. No Juan Toja last night either unfortunately. Beckham's fit as a fiddle this year. Let's hope he stays fit this season. After his nice performance last night, he'll get his 100th cap vs. France this month. Barring an LA Galaxy MLS Cup win or Supporters' Shield where his play is a key part of team success, it'll be the last time he plays for England.
As for England's National Team scout Franco Baldini scouting Beckham at a charity pre-season match in Frisco, TX, well, it's a more than a bit of a ring toss. This Times of London report says that Becks will be called up for his 100th cap but denies that it will have had anything to do with his performance last night in Pizza Hut Park. The wife and I were in line at half time to get a couple of BBQ sandwiches. In front of us was this Italian guy with a Juventus baseball cap and Versace eyeglass frames. As he ordered his Pulled Pork sandwich, I wondered whether or not we were behind the very scout sent by England to evaluate Beckham's fitness! I hadn't bothered to check Google Images to see what this Franco Baldini looks like beforehand. (It wasn't Baldini after all, but it's good to see an Italian enjoying himself in North Texas at a professional soccer match enjoying the local cuisine.)
LA dominated the 1st half. LA Coach Ruud Gullit has definitely made an offseason impact on this team. They looked very sharp. A couple of players to look out for this year: Mike Randolph from Chino Hills, CA. He's really fast. Becks found him on a long ball to the left of Dario Sala and Randolph almost scored. And the former Red Bulls' goalie Steve Cronin. He looks tough to score against. Beckham & Donovan will find their mojo this season as well. Look for them to combine on some nice plays.
The game is nicely summarized here and here. So I won't bother trying to recap every little detail. FC Dallas finally put the pressure on in the 2nd half. There were a couple of missed shots. New kid Brek Shea made his home debut and scuffed a shot. (I used my digicam to take some very rough quality video of some of the plays. I've got Shea's flub in there too.) It's good that he got that out of the way in a pre-season match. He'll settle down with some more game time experience.
It was my wife's first visit to Frisco's Pizza Hut Park. She was really impressed with the stadium and enjoyed the game.
Frisco Traffic Notes: Driving north on the tollway at 6:55pm, we hit traffic a full mile south of the Main St. exit. So, it took us about 15 minutes to get through that and parking south of PHP & Frisco City Hall. Leaving the park after the game, we tried to avoid Main Street traffic and went south to access the Tollway from Cotton Gin Road. That proved to be a bad idea. Frisco is still a Minor League town traffic-wise. They have stop signs at the tollway & Cotton Gin Road. And right before the stop sign, the 2 lanes squeeze into one. Then you have to hurry across the frontage road to get under the overpass (no northbound stop sign or light) only to have yet another unprotected stop sign with southbound frontage road traffic speeding by as if lives depended on velocity. It's an act of bravery pointing your car into this onslaught.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Los Toros
D Magazine's Frontburner found this post from MLS Underground. We're about a month & a half from the MLS season starting. Is this an FC Dallas viral video?
"Look for us on March 15th and March 30th...
We are Los Toros. We are legion. We will defend our pitch. We will not forget."
From Frontburner:
"Look for us on March 15th and March 30th...
We are Los Toros. We are legion. We will defend our pitch. We will not forget."
From Frontburner:
A soccery FrontBurnervian sends along a this item of FC Dallas’ latest attempt at stoking the fires of fandom. At least, I assume FC Dallas is responsible for the viral-marketing-inspired campaign, rather than a bored superfan. It’s a take-off on the anti-Church of Scientology vids making their way across the Internet of late. Check out Los Toros’ message, if so inclined.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Futbolandia 2008
2007 is over. The critics did their reviews. I should have done something like a highlight reel of my award winning articles. It is always like a greatest hits compilation from Time-Life. “Hey everybody, look it’s Peter Fonda!” the enthusiastic hostess chimes. PF says, “Just walking by and heard the tunes. Man, they bring back some memories.” Hostess says, “You said it, Pete, good times.” Peter just looks beat down and ready to move on.
Sadly, the hostess was not even born when that music was made and she thinks Peter Fonda is Jane’s dad. Compilations are nice for those who need to relive the glory days. In futbolandia, compilations are a long series of repetitive deja vu’s. This year’s stories are just like last year’s. The names and jerseys change, but the plot does not. Make more money, soccer more goals, win more games, write more blog posts. Anybody listening to this twaddle? “Just walking by, man. Heard the tunes. Right on, brother, right on,” states Peter.
What is to look forward to in 2008? In England, a highly contested table between (drum roll, please) … Man U and Arsenal! Gee, that’s original. In Spain, a highly contested table between (drum roll, please) … Barcelona and Real Madrid. Don’t hold your breath. In Italy, a highly contested table between (drum roll, please) … Roma and AC Milan. Titillating. In Germany, a highly contested table between (drum roll, please) … Bayern Munich and who cares?
The best stories may come from Euro 2008. And, let’s not forget about The African Nations Cup that is going on right now. Everyone has already awarded Ivory Coast the Cup since Drogba plays there. But, host Ghana may have some say as well. But never underestimate Egypt, they always find a way to win. And, no pushover is Cameroon and Samuel Eto’o’s 5 goals. Quarterfinals are Sunday and Monday.
Back to Euro 2008. Austria and Switzerland are the host nations with Vienna hosting the final. Will a powerhouse take it, such as Italy or Germany? Or, will an underdog nip its way to a title, such as Greece or Austria? Call it Bizarro-world rationale, but sport stories are developed through a strange cosmic, poetic force. Here’s how I try to interpret this being.
Euro 2008 is in Switzerland and Austria. Both have long futbol histories, but they have not done much since 1950. Austria is the exception with their impressive semi-final run in last year’s Under-23 World Cup. Both teams should make it out of group play. But, they will not make it to the final. One team that borders these nations will be in the final. The options are Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany and Italy. Croatia and Czech Republic will not be finalists because they used to be part of the Hapsburg Empire, which is in essence, Austria. Germany and Italy will not be finalists because they were part of the Axis Powers with Austria. All of these teams will be granted safe passage from group play, but that is where it will end. Remember, futbol is The Beautiful Game. And, Beauty will rise with this prediction. Not to say that the Hapsburgs were ugly and left ugly buildings, but the country that designed and influenced Austria and the Viennese for centuries is France. So, France is in the final. Headline – “France Continues Reign in Austria!” The other finalist will be Spain. Why? The Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Again, Beauty wins. Who wins? Spain. Why? They do not border either host country and the cosmic, poetic force will allow Spain to paste the Euro 2008 field - Guernica-style. Don’t know what Guernica’s is about? Pablonious does. ¡VIVA ESPAÑA!
Other stories I will be addressing throughout the year are the following:
Jaguares de Chiapas: Two matches into Clausura 2008 and they have a win and draw. They are tied with Toluca at the top of their group. They play Monterrey Saturday, so let’s see if they can break away a bit. ... Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy: Some how they survived and are still in Primera División de Argentina. They are a cyclical team and were down in Apertura 2007. So, be on the look out for a sneak attack in Clausura 2008. ... FC Dallas: Out with the old, in with the new? FC Dallas will have some growing pains with its young draft picks, but may not be too happy with their defensive acquisition, Davino Duilio. Yes, Duilio is a defensive presence and has a good mind. But, he has slowed in recent years. The Texas heat will leave its mark on this chilango who is accustomed to pristine weather of Mexico City. If FC Dallas can survive their July-August lull, then they may be a force in the post season. The injury report at that time will be the determinant. ... US Men’s National and Olympic Teams: New faces, same results? I think the USMNT will struggle at first and come together down the stretch. Don’t expect USA to beat Mexico on February 6th. Hugo Sanchez has called for all hands on deck. He has to get this monkey off of Mexico’s back before qualifiers. Their psyche depends on it. USA has no pressure here and will put it together for the qualifiers. Bob Bradley is bringing in youth to get them experience and see who has the mettle for the long haul. The USMOT has more pressure and needs to make it to the final match to qualify for Beijing 2008. Matches will be in the States, and that should help. But other CONCACAF teams will be just as hungry to take down the host nation. Should be Mexico and USA in the final and in Beijing, but watch out for Honduras and Costa Rica.
So, let’s all make Peter Fonda proud, compile our lives with sweet Mother Nature, and find yourself by getting lost on the pitch of futbolandia. “These people are going to make it, man,” Dennis Hopper Easy Rider.
Sadly, the hostess was not even born when that music was made and she thinks Peter Fonda is Jane’s dad. Compilations are nice for those who need to relive the glory days. In futbolandia, compilations are a long series of repetitive deja vu’s. This year’s stories are just like last year’s. The names and jerseys change, but the plot does not. Make more money, soccer more goals, win more games, write more blog posts. Anybody listening to this twaddle? “Just walking by, man. Heard the tunes. Right on, brother, right on,” states Peter.
What is to look forward to in 2008? In England, a highly contested table between (drum roll, please) … Man U and Arsenal! Gee, that’s original. In Spain, a highly contested table between (drum roll, please) … Barcelona and Real Madrid. Don’t hold your breath. In Italy, a highly contested table between (drum roll, please) … Roma and AC Milan. Titillating. In Germany, a highly contested table between (drum roll, please) … Bayern Munich and who cares?
The best stories may come from Euro 2008. And, let’s not forget about The African Nations Cup that is going on right now. Everyone has already awarded Ivory Coast the Cup since Drogba plays there. But, host Ghana may have some say as well. But never underestimate Egypt, they always find a way to win. And, no pushover is Cameroon and Samuel Eto’o’s 5 goals. Quarterfinals are Sunday and Monday.
Back to Euro 2008. Austria and Switzerland are the host nations with Vienna hosting the final. Will a powerhouse take it, such as Italy or Germany? Or, will an underdog nip its way to a title, such as Greece or Austria? Call it Bizarro-world rationale, but sport stories are developed through a strange cosmic, poetic force. Here’s how I try to interpret this being.
Euro 2008 is in Switzerland and Austria. Both have long futbol histories, but they have not done much since 1950. Austria is the exception with their impressive semi-final run in last year’s Under-23 World Cup. Both teams should make it out of group play. But, they will not make it to the final. One team that borders these nations will be in the final. The options are Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany and Italy. Croatia and Czech Republic will not be finalists because they used to be part of the Hapsburg Empire, which is in essence, Austria. Germany and Italy will not be finalists because they were part of the Axis Powers with Austria. All of these teams will be granted safe passage from group play, but that is where it will end. Remember, futbol is The Beautiful Game. And, Beauty will rise with this prediction. Not to say that the Hapsburgs were ugly and left ugly buildings, but the country that designed and influenced Austria and the Viennese for centuries is France. So, France is in the final. Headline – “France Continues Reign in Austria!” The other finalist will be Spain. Why? The Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Again, Beauty wins. Who wins? Spain. Why? They do not border either host country and the cosmic, poetic force will allow Spain to paste the Euro 2008 field - Guernica-style. Don’t know what Guernica’s is about? Pablonious does. ¡VIVA ESPAÑA!
Other stories I will be addressing throughout the year are the following:Jaguares de Chiapas: Two matches into Clausura 2008 and they have a win and draw. They are tied with Toluca at the top of their group. They play Monterrey Saturday, so let’s see if they can break away a bit. ... Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy: Some how they survived and are still in Primera División de Argentina. They are a cyclical team and were down in Apertura 2007. So, be on the look out for a sneak attack in Clausura 2008. ... FC Dallas: Out with the old, in with the new? FC Dallas will have some growing pains with its young draft picks, but may not be too happy with their defensive acquisition, Davino Duilio. Yes, Duilio is a defensive presence and has a good mind. But, he has slowed in recent years. The Texas heat will leave its mark on this chilango who is accustomed to pristine weather of Mexico City. If FC Dallas can survive their July-August lull, then they may be a force in the post season. The injury report at that time will be the determinant. ... US Men’s National and Olympic Teams: New faces, same results? I think the USMNT will struggle at first and come together down the stretch. Don’t expect USA to beat Mexico on February 6th. Hugo Sanchez has called for all hands on deck. He has to get this monkey off of Mexico’s back before qualifiers. Their psyche depends on it. USA has no pressure here and will put it together for the qualifiers. Bob Bradley is bringing in youth to get them experience and see who has the mettle for the long haul. The USMOT has more pressure and needs to make it to the final match to qualify for Beijing 2008. Matches will be in the States, and that should help. But other CONCACAF teams will be just as hungry to take down the host nation. Should be Mexico and USA in the final and in Beijing, but watch out for Honduras and Costa Rica.
So, let’s all make Peter Fonda proud, compile our lives with sweet Mother Nature, and find yourself by getting lost on the pitch of futbolandia. “These people are going to make it, man,” Dennis Hopper Easy Rider.
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