Advantage Played

Find Advantage Played at Du Nord

2010-09-08T21:15:00.001-05:00

Hey Advantage Played fans, Bruce from Du Nord has invited me to be a regular contributor to Du Nord.

You can find something new and fresh from me regularly over at http://dunord.blogspot.com.

See you soon!

And the Band Marches On

2010-07-15T23:43:00.001-05:00

Pictures from the Wizards' Stadium Construction

2010-05-31T19:40:00.007-05:00

Over our wonderful labor day weekend that was filled with getting drunk, playing paintball, watching soccer, playing disc golf, and hanging out with friends in a church that's been converted to a bar, I headed over to the Legends area of Kansas City to buy a new pair of Copa Mondial shoes.

Of course, I soon found out that no one carries size 14 soccer shoes, but the trip wasn't a total waste. I took a long walk around the Wizards construction site taking photographs while standing on cement barriers.

Since I'm taking a graduate class on digital archiving, I decided to practice the skill a little and below you will find a map of the stadium I have overlayed with a diagram of the construction area and field and a marker for each place I took a picture.

Click on the photo icon to see the view from each spot. I also marked out where the Wizards webcam hangs from a lightpole.

View Wizards' Stadium Construction 5-31-10 in a larger map

I'd recommend opening the map in a new window for best results.

MOTD: MLS Style

2010-04-06T16:37:00.002-05:00

MLS' answer to Match of the Day, except 5 minutes long instead of 60:

Red Bull Stadium from Above

2010-04-06T08:19:00.004-05:00

As seen on the The Offside and on YouTube and Finally, from the Air Above.

Next time, how would you react if your team went down three goals in 6 minutes?

This Weekend in Major League Soccer Soccer

2010-04-02T22:31:00.005-05:00

The second week of Major League Soccer is arriving, and it's just in time. The first week, for me, basically consisted of an incredible tailgate in the dirt parking lot by the Wizard's stadium.

The wind blew, it poured down rain, but about 15 people chugged summer brew out of a cooler and roasted random food on my awesome little gas grill. I really don't remember a whole lot about the game other than that I saw Bruce from duNord before the game, the Wizard's won, my stupid blue felt cowboy hat turned out to have a practical function (rain defense), and Jimmy Neilson was eager to clap to the crowd.

It was odd to go back and watch the game afterward. Everyone claims the Wizard's totally dominated DC, but DC had some incredibly bad pretty much open net misses plus a super clear penalty waived aside. With two bits of luck, the game could have been incredibly different.

Of course, the same could be said about any game of soccer. "Should have", "could have". But they didn't the Wizards fan cries.

Beating a team with too many "should haves" and "could haves" can signal false hope. I'm not ready to say the Wizards are going to be awesome yet.

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A lot of my attention for the first week was captured by the absolutely horrible release of Major League Soccer Soccer dot Com. It took me awhile to realize they had switched because they forgot to make the http://mlsnet.com url redirect to the new site.

Every designer and coder who follows MLS is living off the buzz of critiquing a major failure with their web designing twitter friends.

However, one man summed it all up with a beat down of epic proportions: Fake Sigi road his giant gut to the rescue with some incredible research.

You'd better read The MLS Website Disaster or Fake Sigi himself will beat you over the head with 404 errors.

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In other blogging news, I'm back. This time I'll make no promises about how often I post. I will continue my favorite format of research, music, pictures, and humor.

If my blog posts make Adam Spangler shed a single tear, mission accomplished.

Knuck if You Buck People

2010-04-02T14:36:00.003-05:00

ESPN with the National Team All Summer Long

2009-08-07T18:51:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, you're going to get a great big update this weekend but for now I wanted to alert you to an ESPN article that is all the rage.

Fevered Pitch follows the US National team as they fight their summer battles. At each game for each game they have a unique write up, very good pictures, as well as video of the team doing all the things we don't usually see them doing. Hanging out, having fun, reviewing tape, getting ready for games, feeling it.

The articles are short, the media is high quality, and you should read it!

A Long-Bow Story: The Parable of The Real Madrid fan and The Wizard's Fan

2009-08-04T21:36:00.004-05:00

One day a Real Madrid fan, was walking along a country road when he overtook a poor Wizard’s fan going in the same direction. Now the Real Madrid fan was very grasping, like most of his class, and was lamenting that he had had no chance of making any money that day; but at the sight of the man in the Jimmy Conrad shirt he brightened up wonderfully.

'That is a piece of luck,' he said to himself. 'Let me see if this Wizard’s fan is not good for something'; and he hastened his steps.

After they had bid one another good day very politely, the Real Madrid fan said to the Wizard's fan:

'I was just thinking how dull I felt, when I beheld you, but since we are going the same way, I shall find the road quite short in such agreeable company.'

'With all my heart,' replied the Wizard’s fan; 'but what shall we talk about? A big soccer man like you will not care to hear about how the Red Bulls are going to be the worst MLS team of all time.'

'Oh,' said the Real Madrid fan, 'I'll tell you what we will do. We will each tell the other the wildest tale we can imagine, and he who first throws doubt on the other's story shall pay him a hundred euros.'

To this the Wizard’s fan agreed, and begged the Real Madrid fan to begin, as he was the bigger man of the two; and privately he made up his mind that, however improbable it might be, nothing should induce him to hint that he did not believe in the Real Madrid fan's tale. Thus politely pressed the great man started:

The Real Madrid Fan's Tale

'I was going along this road one day, when I met Manuel Pellegrini traveling with a great train of footballers laden with Nike boots --'

'Very likely,' murmured the Wizard’s fan; 'I've seen that kind of thing myself.'

'No less than one hundred and one footballers,' continued the Real Madrid fan, 'all tied together by their nose strings -- and stretching along the road for almost half a mile -- '

‘Well?' said the Wizard’s fan.

'Well, a hawk swooped down on the foremost footballer and bore him off, struggling, into the air, and by reason of them all being tied together the other hundred footballers had to follow --'

'Amazing, the strength of that hawk!' said the Wizard’s fan. 'But -- well -- yes, doubtless, yes -- well -- one hundred and one fooballers -- and what did he do with them?’

'You doubt it?' demanded the Real Madrid fan.

'Not a bit!' said the Wizard’s fan heartily.

'Well,' continued the Real Madrid fan, 'it happened that the Sheik of Manchester City, Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was sitting in his private garden, counting his money, when he looked upward and that wretched hawk, with its prey, went soaring overhead; and, as luck would have it, the footballers gave an extra kick just then, the hawk lost his hold, and the whole hundred and one footballers dropped right into the Sheik's left eye!’

'Poor thing!' said the Wizard’s fan; 'it's so painful having anything in one's eye.'

'Well,' said the Real Madrid fan, who was now warming to his task, 'the Sheik shook his head, and sprang up, clapping his hand on his eye. "Oh dear!" he cried, "I've got something in my eye, and how it does smart!

'It always does,' observed the Wizard’s fan; 'perfectly true. Well, what did the poor man do?’

'At the sound of his cries, Robinho came running to his assistance. "Let me look," said he; and with that she gave the Sheik's eyelid a twitch, and out came Cristiano Ronaldo, which Ronaldo put in his pocket --' (' Ah!' grunted the Wizard’s fan) --' and then he just twisted up the corner of his handkerchief and fished a hundred more of them out of the Sheik's eye, and popped them all into his pocket with the other.'

Here the Real Madrid fan gasped as one who is out of breath, but the Wizard’s fan looked at him slowly. ‘Well?' said he.

'I can't think of anything more now,' replied the Real Madrid fan. 'Besides, that is the end; what do you say to it?’

'Wonderful,' replied the Wizard’s fan, 'and no doubt perfectly true!’

'Well, it is your turn,' said the Real Madrid fan. 'I am so anxious to hear your story. I am sure it will be very interesting.'

'Yes, I think it will,' answered the Wizard’s fan, and he began:

The Wizard's Fan's Tale

'My father was a very prosperous man. Five rainbow Wizard’s jerseys he had, and three ticket stubs to the MLS cup, and half a dozen autographs, and memorabilia in abundance; but of all his possessions the thing he loved best was a Wizard’s blue Chevrolet Camaro. Oh she was -- oh, a very fine car!’

'Yes, yes,' interrupted the Real Madrid fan, 'get on!’

'I'm getting on,' said the Wizard’s fan; 'don't you hurry me! Well, one day, as ill-luck would have it, he drove that car to the Wizard’s vs DC United game with a torn seat cover. A six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon sat in the tear and ripped it further, so that when he got home there was a rip as big as the palm of your hand.'

Yes,' said the Real Madrid fan impatiently, 'what next?’

'It was June,' said the Wizard’s fan, 'and you know how, in June, the air is full of dust-storms with rain at times? Well, the poor car got dust in that rip, and what's more, with the dust some grains of wheat, and, what with the dust and the heat and the wet, that wheat sprouted and began to grow!’

'Wheat does when it gets a fair chance,' said the Real Madrid fan.

'Yes; and the next thing we knew was that there was a crop of wheat on that car's seat as big as anything you ever saw in a hundred-acre field, and we had to hire twenty men to help reap it ! '

'One generally has to hire extra hands for reaping,' said the Real Madrid fan.

'And we got four hundred bushels of wheat off that seat!' continued the Wizard’s fan.

'A good crop!' murmured the Real Madrid fan.

'And your father,' said the Wizard’s fan, 'a poor wretch, with hardly enough to keep body and soul together -- (the Real Madrid snorted, but was silent) -- came to my father, and he said, putting his hands together as humble as could be --'

The Real Madrid fan here flashed a furious glance at his companion, but bit his lips and held his peace.

"I haven't tasted food for a week. Oh! Great master, let me have the loan of sixteen pounds of wheat from your store, and I will repay you."

"Certainly, neighbor," answered my father; "take what you need, and repay it as you can." '

‘Well?' demanded the Real Madrid fan with fury in his eye.

'Well, he took the wheat away with him,' replied the Wizard’s fan; 'but he never repaid it, and it's a debt to this day. Sometimes I wonder whether I shall not go to law about it.'

Then the Real Madrid fan began running his thumb quickly up and down the fingers of his right hand, and his lips moved in quick calculation.

'What is the matter?' asked the Wizard’s fan.

'The wheat is the cheaper; I'll pay you for the wheat,' said the Real Madrid fan, with the calmness of despair, as he remembered that by his own arrangement he was bound to give the Wizard’s fan a hundred Euros.

And to this day they say in Kansas, when a man owes a debt: 'Give me the money; or, if not that, give me at least the wheat.'

-Taken word for word from The Olive Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Player Profiles: Zoltan and Edgaras

2009-07-30T19:08:00.002-05:00

The MLS transfer window has brought two interesting developments, new players not from South America, but from Western Europe. Hungarian striker Zoltan Hercegfalvi was introduced today as Kansas City’s newest, and much needed, footballer.

Earlier this month, New England added a footballer with a very interesting past and storied carrier. Edgaras Jankauskas hails from Lithuania and has been named the Lithuanian footballer of the year five times.

Let’s look a little closer at each of their pasts, the clubs they have represented, and any video available of them working magic.

A Life in a Few Words: Zoltan Hercegfalvi

Zoltan Hercegfalvi, was introduced today as Zoltan (and shall here forward always be known in the media as Zoltan), was born in Budapest, Hungary.

View Larger Map
If you were a fan of the Hungarian football league, you would know who Zoltan is. Now at age 29 he has arrived in the United States having spent much almost all of his life playing in the tumultuous league.

Zoltan began his playing career with Budapest Hunved in 1998, where he stayed for five years before moving on to two other Hungarian teams, as well as one Czech team, before returning to his first team in 2006. Much of his life he has played in the small confines of Bozsik Stadium, a small but storied 5,000 seat arena.

Video

A Life in a Few Words: Edgaras Jankauskas

Edgaras Jankauskas was born in Vilnius, Soviet Union in 1975.

View Larger Map
By the age of 16 he was picked up by a local youth side and continued to make his ways up the ranks, moving from team to team until he made history by signing with FB Bruges for 2.3 million Euros.

Once in Bruges, Edgaras’ stock continued to climb until he reached the pinnacle of his career, signing with FC Porto, then coached by the special one, Jose Morinho, where he won every trophy imaginable except the FA Cup.

With Porto, Edgaras picked up two Portuguese league trophies, the Portuguese Cup, the Portuguese Super Cup, the UEFA Cup, and most impressively in 2003-2004, the UEFA Champions League, making him the only player currently in Major League Soccer to hold the honor.

Although Edgaras was not a starter, he still played an important part in the victories. After winning the Scottish cup with Hearts, he was about to settle down into coaching when Steve Nichol gave him a shot.

Video
Scoring a cracker for Porto (3 minutes in)

Scoring for the Lithuanuia vs Belgium in 2004

Playing Basketball in a High School gym?

Edgaras scored his first goal in America in this year’s Superliga.

Watch Edgaras as he romps through MLS and remember the storied history and trophies he has gathered along the way.

Beckham vs the Wizards

2009-07-27T17:59:00.001-05:00

Not a full update, but I had to share this insider video of Beckman shaking hands with the KC supporters. It captures exactly what was said that made Beckman so angry.

I love it.

Tweet Tweet: American Soccer Stars on Twitter

2009-07-23T22:04:00.005-05:00

Thanks Sean!

My Twitter evolution is gradual and slow. While most people manage to grab hundreds of followers by following random morons and being awesome people I’ve probably been way too cautions. I first followed the blogs I liked, and then when I felt like blogs were just a big dick contest I tried to just follow the people who didn’t have blogs and just followed me because they probably liked my blog. Lately I realized the best reason of all to use Twitter.

Following the Soccer Stars

For some idiotic reason I’ve spaced up till now probably the best reason to use Twitter. Following the MLS stars I care about. I started by finding a few and then going through all their friends. Because the MLS players generally only friend each other, family, and strippers it’s a good way to track them all down.

Below is my list of all the MLS players and National Team players I’ve found on Twitter so far. Feel free to add the ones you know in the comments.

MLS and Soccer on Twitter

International
Aston Villa
Brad Guzan @bguzan

Benfica
Freddy Adu @FredduAdu11

Villarreal
Jozy Altidore @JozyAltidore17

Sochux
Charlie Davies @CharlieDavies10

Rangers
Maurice Adu @MauriceEdu

Antalyaspor
Joseph Ngwenya @jngwenya

MLS
FC Dallas
Bobby Rhine @RamblinRhino

Chivas USA
Dan Kennedy @1DanKennedy

Sacha Kljestan @SachaKljestan

Columbus
Robbie Rogers @robbierogers

Kansas City
Jimmy Conrad @JimmyConrad

Houston
Kie Kamara @keikamara

Paul Dalglish @pauldalglish

Brian Ching @brianching

Bobby Boswell @littlebobby

Stuart Holden @stuholden22

Danny Cruz @Cruz05 US Soccer Profile

DC United
Bryan Namoff @NAMOFF

What does this list tell us? Someone in Houston really liked Twitter and passed it on. Probabyl Stuart Holden.That was a lot of copying and pasting. Enjoy!

Video Evidence Plus Upcoming

2009-07-21T17:51:00.005-05:00

In case you missed it, David Beckham got two great assists during the Galaxy's friendly vs AC Milan but because of his stupid action, the focus ended up on his confrontation with the fans. Here's the video:

And an even better angle courtesy of du Nord:

And more of him being a douche:

I will be back tomorrow with a brand new post featuring the top MLS players you can follow on Twitter. See you then.

I hereby promise to stop posting about the National team and David Beckham all the time and instead follow the trends and new stars of MLS. Well next time at least.

The Beckham Experiment: Yup, Still a Dick

2009-07-14T17:44:00.004-05:00

Anyone who reads Advantage Played regularly knows one thing about me, I really don’t like David Beckham. The “ultimate professional” has never been a true professional and his actions on and off the field have proven that to every Major League Soccer fan.

A Professional Unprofessional
When exactly did I realize Beckham was nothing more than a passive aggressive punk? I know the exact moment when my genuine dislike for Beckham was pushed over the top. The Wizard’s took on the Galaxy in the Home Depot Center and Eloy Colombano, a short lived Wizard’s forward was zooming around the field. At some point, Beckham and Eloy collided with each other. There was no intention from Eloy, it was not even really a challenge.

Instead of recognizing the situation, David Beckham picked the ball up off the ground, stood in front of Eloy, and pretended to drop kick the ball into his face.

What a dick.

Beckham has long coasted through his stay in Major League Soccer hiding his actions under the title of professional. No longer. Grant Wahl’s book, The Beckham Experiment, clearly exposes Beckham’s lack of professional décor.

What is a Professional?

Hello my name is Sanjeeve Himachali

What exactly is a professional, and does Beckham qualify? For that, let’s turn to an expert, Sanjeeve Himachali. Mr. Himachali eloquently wrote out his thoughts on what makes a professional. I sat down with Sanjeeve and together we discussed Beckham.

AP: Hello Sanjeeve, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. I just read the book "The Beckham Experiment" in which Beckham repeatedly calls himself a professional and then acts like a passive aggressive dick. I realized I didn’t know the official meaning of professionalism so I thought maybe you could help us out.

Sanjeeve: Ah yes, thank you very much Mr. Advantage. It is a great honor to be interviewed by such a honorary and established blog.

AP: Yes thanks Sanjeeve, thanks for that.

Sanjeeve: You are a great writer Mr. Advantage, I can tell we will be great friends, just call me San.

AP: Thanks San, just call me Advantage. So San, What is a professional?

San: I can tell you what a Professional is in just two short bullet points:

Professionalism means not just knowing how to do your job, but demonstrating a willingness to learn, cooperating and getting along with others, showing respect, and living up to your commitments.
It also means avoiding many kinds of behaviors that cause trouble in the workplace.

Advantage: Beckham know how to do his job. He’s proven that many times. He can put his balls into any hole with remarkable accuracy. But you have to be willing to learn, cooperate, show respect, and live up to your commitments.

San: Ah yes that is right Advantage. And by that standard Mr. Wahl has show time and time again in his most excellent new book that Beckham fails. He is a good footballer, but being a professional means excelling in times of hardship. It means taking a new situation and bringing everyone up with you.

It means working and playing with all your heart every day. It means embracing your co-workers strengths. Instead of saying that MLS needs better players, it means leading your teammates to victory through true leadership.

Most importantly it means living up to your commitments. That means you don’t leave practice early every day. It means you don’t run away to the other side of the world and talk, excuse me, shit, on your teammates.

Words are nothing. Professionals show results through their actions.

Advantage: Now San, you say that a professional avoids behaviors that cause trouble in the workplace?

San: Yes yes.

Advantage: So when Beckham leveraged his entertainment group to basically take control of the Galaxy he was not acting as a professional?

San: That is right Advantage, but not all of the fault goes to Beckham here. Sure he may be sleazy and unprofessional but the whole situation was caused by Tim Leiweke, head of AEG. He was taken in by the glam and glitz around Beckham and gave him the respect a professional deserves, instead of a very sneaky rich person.

Advantage: Thanks for you time San. You've got great hair.

San: Anytime Mr. Advantage. I just got it cut and my eyebrows were also refreshed by a good plucking.

Advantage: That about wraps it up for today. I know I’ve learned a lot about MLS and what professionalism isn’t by reading The Beckham Experiment and I know you will too.

Until next time, when I make fun of someone else and then show a random music video, this is Advantage Played signing off.

Good USA v Honduras Highlights Plus Fouling Coaches

2009-07-10T15:25:00.002-05:00

If you didn't see the US goal vs Honduras live you are missing out on the full flow of the attack. Here is the best highlights of the two US goals.

Yesterday Mexico and Panama fought (literaly) to a 1-1 tie, but not before Mexico's coach tried to kick a Panamanian footballer in the groin. You have to watch this one to believe it.

A Brief How To: Spotting the Soccer Douche

2009-07-06T20:11:00.005-05:00

I'm pleased to present my first guest post, and it's by my brother David. He's been playing pickup soccer every night so far this summer and developed the following survival mechanism.

When picking sides in the neighborhood pick up game, spotting the player that will end up hogging the ball, talking inordinate amounts of trash, and eventually storming off the field can be a great advantage. However, in the beginning stages it can be hard to pinpoint this player. In this short How To guide I will outline several basic tenants that most, if not all, soccer douches follow.

Gelled Hair

I am not talking about that you had gel in your hair this morning. I am talking about gelling your hair before the game, styling it in the mirror, and then constantly checking yourself out in any reflective surface that happens to be near the pitch. Oh extra shiny soccer ball, I think I will admire my beautiful hair in you.

Under Armor

Now there is a time and place for under armor, if you are a girl that time is when it is chilly out. However, if you are a man, under armor is only permitted to be worn when it is snowing out. If you happen to spot a player who shows up in 80 degree weather wearing skin tight spandex than you can be 70% sure he takes himself too seriously.

Neon Colored Cleats

This should be taken as a bright flashing warning that says, “This player craves attention!” He will always be open. He will always demand the ball by screaming. He will take shots every chance he gets. He will not pass, because he is, of course, the best player on his team. And you can be damn sure that he is too good for defense.

Now once in your lifetime you will stumble onto a player who walks onto the pitch with a freshly gelled fohawk, neon green Nike’s and skin tight under armor. Run for your life, and do not look back.

The Power of SuperLiga

2009-07-02T21:18:00.007-05:00

This last Sunday night me and my new (first one) wife had the chance to celebrate our marriage by attending our first SuperLiga game, Kansas City vs Santos Laguna. For the first time I’d get to see a Mexican team in action, and I was excited to see Kansas City win.

Or tie, all they needed was a tie.

A Sea of Green

Driving up to the stadium it became apparent that this wasn’t going to be a normal Wizard’s game. Flags were flowing from cars and trucks, colors were represented by the supports marching to stadium, but instead of Wizard’s blue, they were Santos’ green.

Walking up to the stadium, Wizard’s fans were hard to find. A green mass covered the parking lot like algae on the Chinese sea before the Olympics. As we navigated through the crowd to the Cauldron bleachers behind the West goal a glorious vision laid itself out.

Instead of one section of the stadium standing, the whole stadium was on its feet. Wizard’s fans were minorities in their own stadium. Out of the 10,300 that fit into CommunityAmerica ballpark, at least 8,000 were Santos Laguna fans.

CommunityAmerica Transformed

Together we transformed the normal somewhat subdued atmosphere into something loud, spirited, and spiritual. The small mass of Blue in the Cauldron battled the larger Santos crowd. Together a roar emitted from CommunityAmerica that has never been heard before.

Sunday, the Wizard’s faltered. Jimmy Conrad picked up an injury in the 45th minute, effectively leaving a gaping hole in defense that his replacement, McKenzie, just could not fill. Santos took full advantage of the counter and despite good chances by the Wizard’s scored the first goal.

As I stood silent, I looked around me at the crowd, loud cheering, green, standing, happy. They had come together from all over Kansas for a taste of home. To see Santos Laguna run. To love the colors. To move away from rumors, telephone conversations, gossip, radio, and TV. A chance to see your home team after years in the flat fields of Kansas.

From Anger to Laughter

As the game moved on, Santos scored again rousing the crowd into ecstasy. The Wizard’s threw hope into the crowd when Lopez stroked an incredible free kick that floated into the goal.

My anger and frustration at the Wizard’s sloppy play made me yell and scream. It made me sit down and hold my head in my hands. It made me chant and sing.

Then Santos Laguna showed their speed and killed off the game on a lightning fast counter attack. All of a sudden our hopes were gone and my mood shifted from anger to laughter. I threw back my head and laughed. The Wizard’s had lost: we were destroyed, Santos had won, but my anger faded away.

Now was the time to enjoy the incredible atmosphere.

As the Santos Laguna crowd danced and sang, I smiled.

Confederations Cup 2009 Rewind: USA! USA! USA!

2009-06-29T23:01:00.004-05:00

The Confederations Cup 2009 was a great tournament. Especially for US National Team supporters, the Cup provided lows, highs, and highs that quickly turned into despair.

Here at Advantage Played, I like to look to do some of my analysis after the games have all been played. Now that we are moving rapidly away from the Cup, it is easy to look back as the US National Team feed of each other’s negative energy to create something wonderful.

So together with your good pal Graham let’s step back into time and review the games, the highlights, and the emotions.

Game 1: USA v Italy (Group Stage)
The first US game saw a lineup that included familiar faces, some of which US fans were starting to get frustrated and fed up with. After an inconsistent round of World Cup Qualifying, fans and bloggers alike were questioning how we were going to deal with world super power since moments before Costa Rica had slapped us around on a bumpy turf.

The US faced a nemesis in Giuseppe Rossi. He could have been ours, but instead he chooses Italy. His choice really hurt us when he stabbed us over and over. And then he celebrated. How dare he celebrate. Loser.

The Highlights

The Bloggers
Giuseppe Rossi is the devil. He is the spawn of Satan, but he is a beautiful Satan who we would gladly take as our own at a moment’s notice.

Michael Bradley
“Everyone believes in Giuseppe Rossi but no one believes in me, someday I’ll be a real boy”

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played : Let’s Kill Giuseppe Rossi

Game 2: USA v Brazil (Group Stage)
The Highlights

The Bloggers
We just lost to the worst team ever, fire Bob Bradley!

Michael Bradley
“We keep losing and yet no one believes in us. Fuck the world. They don’t know what it is really like in the locker room. Without twirling Hejduk's hair through my fingers and getting my kiss I don't feel comfortable on the pitch."

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played: Brazil vs USA: Salary Version

Game 3: USA v Egypt (Group Stage)
After falling to two great teams the US stood up and decided to play. It all came together, a tired Egyptian team, Brazil laying the beat down on Italy

The Highlights

The Bloggers
Don’t fire Bob Bradley!

Michael Bradley
“I will fuel my success with Soccer by Ives message board posts.”

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played : Doing It the Hard Way

Game 4: USA v Spain (Semifinal)
With hope on the up no one really gave the US a chance vs Spain. Everyone racked this one up to luck and bit of good play. But with one of the most incredible games in US National Team history... well watch and see.

The Highlights

The Bloggers
Bob Bradley is God!

Michael Bradley
“Those stupid heads with their typing can’t keep me down. Take that internet!”

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played: Way too celebratory to write this post

Game 5: USA v Brazil (Final)
For the first time in the history of US soccer, we were in a final. The buildup was huge. Fans watched highlights of Spain losing over and over again while flooding every message board possible. Hope was again washing over the fans but behind all that hope there was still a feeling of dread and dispare.

Two miracles had come and gone, would there be one more?

The Highlights

The Bloggers
Fire Bob Bradley!

Michael Bradley
“Fuck Donavan, I’ll take all the respect I can get.”

This Moment is Brought to You by Advantage Played: Confederations Cup 2009 Rewind: USA! USA! USA!

Of Marriage and SuperLiga

2009-06-23T22:13:00.003-05:00

Well I am off to get married on Saturday! That means I won't be posting for a week or so. I will see you soon as there are all sorts of excited footballing events going on. Just like every American fan I am excited to see if we can break Spain's record breaking run of good play. My head is brimming with ideas about all sorts of MLS stories I want to write.

If you are going to the Wizard's SuperLiga game Sunday look for me. I'll be at the tailgate with my wife!

Here is a picture of me as I ponder why no one in MLS can cross consistently.

See you there!

Doing It the Hard Way: USA v Egypt Highlights

2009-06-21T21:55:00.004-05:00

It's a father's day miracle! The USA pulled out a convincing 3-0 win over Egypt, and combined with Brazil beating Italy by 3 goals, they move on to the next round!

Here are the 10 minute highlights of the USA game:

Of course just as important as beating Egypt was Brazil beating Italy.

Brazil vs USA: Salary Version

2009-06-18T21:45:00.003-05:00

10CC Wall Street Shuffle

With two losses in three days and seven goals scored against its no surprise to find message boards full angry American fans. As they passionately call for Bob Bradley’s sacking and kicking Beasley off the team (I can go for that one) we see the true passion and reactions that football causes. In my head I knew that the US was probably going to lose but I still expect the USA to beat the world. Italy and Brazil may be giants, but we are the USA.

As I thought about the Brazil’s win, I started to think about comparing the salary of US players to Brazilian players.

Just how much is the US National Team worth and how much is Brazil worth?

Adding It Up
Because football is a business, and because the market value of each player is one way to measure quality, I decided to look at the fiscal worth of each player. How far behind is the USA financially?

USA v Brazil
USA
Donovan 900k----------Altidore-10 mill----------Dempsey 4 mill

--------------------Kljestan-170k--------------------

----------Beasley-1.4 mill----------Bradley-4.4 mill-----------

Bornstein-90k--Onyewu-3-4 mill----DeMerit-3-4 mill?----Spector 500k

--------------------Howard—5-10 mill?-------------------

Combined Squad Worth: 40 Million

Brazil
--------Robinho-57.5 mill-----Fabiano-40 mill-----------

-----Kaka-91.5 mill-----------------Ramires—10.4 mill----

---------Gilberto-7.3 mill----Felipe—11.1 mill------------

Santos-??---Lucio-12 mill----Miranda-??----Maicon 12 mill

--------------Julio Cesar??------------------

Combined Squad Worth: 250 Million +

That’s a lot of Money

With 250 million, the Brazil’s National Team could buy the US 6.25 times over. Three Brazilian players make as much as the whole US squad. Combined, Robinho, Fabiano, and Kaka make 189 million, almost 5 times as much as the US squad.

What does that tell us? The market sure thinks Brazil is better than the USA.

Let's Kill Giuseppe Rossi

2009-06-17T20:19:00.003-05:00

Monday afternoon saw US hopes raised, dashed, and slaughtered in quick order. As Bruce over at du Nord pointed out it’s the first time the US has lost when scoring first in over 75 games. It was disappointing but the US still looked strong despite going a man down. Altidore looked ferocious up front and he could have easily put the US up early on but squandered an incredible chance.

(Yes 10 minutes of highlights)

Giuseppe Rossi

In the end an American stole the show, an American playing for the Italians Giuseppe Rossi himself. It hurts to get beat by any team but when you are stuck and then the knife is twisted by a footballer who could have been playing for your team it hurts even more.

Outrage has erupted from within the American fans all over the internet. Calls for blood; cries of traitor; and discussions of inappropriate celebration. "This tournament means nothing,” they say, “why would he celebrate with no regards towards our tender feelings?" In football the politics and vision we hold can be much different than those viewed by those on the pitch.

Friends and Enemies

How do the American players feel about being killed by a former compatriot? Surely they feel disappointed that he is not one of them, especially after his killing shots took over the game. But I don’t think that the US National team players think of him as a real traitor. Rossi had the balls and confidence in himself throw away a sure thing with the USA and prove himself at the highest level on the Italian National Team.

While we hate, we forget that Rossi and Altidore are friends. Altidore has often spoken of how nice Rossi was to him and how he helped him become acclimated to Spain. Although they may be enemies while they have national team jerseys on they are friends when not on the pitch.

What are we Really Feeling?
What place do these emotions of ours have in the basis of real life? Calling for the blood of a young man who did nothing more than go and play for a country that no one on the American team could start for? Football is more of a business than many of us like to realize.

While all players call for fame and glory while playing for their National side often these big tournaments server as places to drive up your price. The real prize is money, not just glory and adoration.

Recently, a German national team player, Jermaine Jones, has switched sides and we welcomed him with open arms. He is basically doing the same thing as Giuseppe Rossi except instead of trying for the best he is falling back on his second choice. There are no cries for how disloyal he is.

We aren’t angry.

We are jealous.

What's Happened To Advantage Played?

2009-06-11T20:19:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone (well those still reading). I'm here to give you a short State of Advantage played.

In the past, the skies were full of magic and wonder. Every day I would update with glorious tales of football and the heros and villians that ran the pitches. Then the skies grew dark. Lightning flashed. Updates came less frequently. Where has Graham and our frequent updates gone? Will he ever return?

Yes its all too true I'm not updating as much recently. But it's a good sacrifice and I still believe I will be back to updating very frequently. Recently I:

Got a professional full time job
Move to Kansas City
Got engaged
Had a death in the family
And I'm getting married at the end of this month

As you can imagine, its severly cutting down on the time and energy I once had to update. Not all is lost though. The sky will clear, and I will decend again in a glorious rain of gold. Post will flow like the cash out of Eddie Johnson's pockets.

I shall return to my frequent posting ways. Really.

USA: Stuck On The Tracks?

2009-06-09T17:41:00.004-05:00

Last night as I was going to sleep the call of the internet got the best of me, and my Blackberry meant I didn’t even have to get out of bed. I thumbed to Soccernet.com and skipped right to the USA section to read the latest soccer news. There I read an interesting, disturbing, and brave article by Steve Davis.

The article, “Current U.S. team no better than the 2006 version”, caught my attention and held it. Steve sets forth a vision of American soccer that calls out the American National team as complacent and having lost its way.

Where Are We In This Dense Fog?

Davis’ main contention is that we are too hopeful. While the American soccer public is ever hopeful that the National Team is on an upward trend he sees the team sitting in the middle or a long straight barren highway. Yes there are occasional oasis but in the end we are right back in the desert.

Has the National Team really stalled out? Are all of our players too old with no replacements in sight? And why do we keep seeing Beasly and Eddie Johnson after they have failed to gain any significant playing time at their current clubs?

The answers to these questions are hard to find the in dense fog of the present. How do the politics of a football team work? Who is really in control and what is Bob Bradley’s vision? When does a former star and the trust that was placed in him expire?

I don’t have the answers to these questions.

Where Are We In This Thick Forest?

The problem with trying to say exactly what the state of the US National team is that the present is hard to judge. The past is easy. Everything has played out. We can judge with almost full knowledge of what has happened.

Do the back and forth qualifying results mean we are back where we were years ago? Is Landon Donovan a better player than he used to be? Are all our experienced players too old and our young stars too young? We don’t know until the games have played out.

Despite all the problems, the to and fro, the ties and losses, we won’t know exactly where the US stands until after the World Cup is played. The US will qualify for the World Cup. Our win over Honduras solidifies our position. At the World Cup we will be tested and our true strengths and weakness will shine.

There is Passion

Davis contends that the US National team has lost its drive and passion. I don’t believe that for one second. In all of the US National team players I see drive and passion. After the winning goal against Honduras we saw the joy. We saw fight and bite after beating Mexico in Columbus. No one can tell me that Franky Hejduk doesn’t have passion and drive.

You can’t go to Costa Rica, lose, and then say that the US is not an underdog. We may be the medium sized fish in a small pond but every single game against quality European opponents brings out that underdog fight.

Do You Still Feel It?
In the end, I will continue to believe. If there is to be a time when I throw aside my love for the team and say, “That’s it, we are done and everything is lost” that time is not now.

When the coaches and players are simply going through the motions, when the press and media make me hate the sport, when I no longer leap from the couch at every goal, then I will turn my back on the National team and walk away.

Hope and passion is the heart of soccer. Hold onto it.

USA vs Honduras Preview

2009-06-05T14:21:00.003-05:00

Hey ya'll, head on over to du Nord and check out my USA vs Honduras preview.

Enjoy your weekend of international and MLS action.

Onyewu Sues: Racism Exposed

2009-06-02T17:53:00.002-05:00

You may not have heard the news that is screaming through the American soccer world right now, but Mr. Onyewu is suing an Andrelicht player for calling him a “monkey” three times during a playoff game. Onyewu reported that he told the referee but he took no action. He wanted to walk off the field but his teammates convinced him to stay.

One week after the incident, I saw on Soccer by Ives that Gooch took his complaint to the legal system. The Soccer by Ives thread was already had almost as many comments as the Galaxy have ties and I knew before I clicked what I was going to find.

There is something about the internet that draws out the racial cowards among us. Most of the people who leave racist Youtube.com comments would never say the same thing in real life. The internet gives racists bravery and a voice. They might just cower in fear when a homeless person walks past their car but give them a keyboard and they become the grandmaster of the Klu Kux Klan.

Onyewu: Typical American?

Over and over I read how Gooch was a typical American who just loved to sue people. He should just have think skin. He has facial hair so he just kinda looks like a monkey. Surely it wasn’t anything personal. Come on get over it, talking racist trash is acceptable on the playing field.

It makes me sick. Onyewu is doing the right thing by standing up for himself. We’ve seen over and over that FIFA will not take any real action for racism. Oh, they fight in name, they may give out minor fines, but in the end money rules all. If it wasn’t for bad press FIFA could care less if whole stadium make monkey chants or throw bananas.

It doesn’t matter the situation. It is never acceptable to use any form of racial slurs.

Onward to Court

The Belgium league obviously doesn’t care. Gooch’s former team doesn’t seem to care. You have to fight for yourself. Gooch wasn’t taunted into a physical fight, but that doesn’t mean he’s a coward. By taking the fight to the legal system he is doing the honorable thing and exposing himself to media and personal fire. No doubt this lawsuit will even affect his playing career.

Because the world is filled to the brim with racism, teams will wonder if he can compete in a hostile environment. He will be labeled as a typical American always suing when things don’t go his way.

Don’t be fooled. I support Onyewu. You should to.

Wowza

2009-05-27T19:28:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, I am back, safe and alive. Eight days away, flights across the country, and jet lag have been mine. I am pretty much recovered, and ready to go again... but not today.

I just got back from the first soccer I played in a week. The mist was hanging heavy in the air, the grass was wet, the mud was flying, but I felt like I could run forever. Nothing fights quitting cigarettes like exercise.

In case you missed it, someone else was flying around a pitch today battling it out. Manchester United bit the dust. Barcelona flew high. Highlights follow:

Death in the Family

2009-05-19T17:09:00.001-05:00

Hey ya'll, I have to head out of a town because of a death in the family. I will check back with ya'll in exactly one week.

Don't forget to go vote for the All-Star game. Remember that you should totally vote for David Beckham and Schellas Hyndman.

In the Year 2000 – MLS Edition

2009-05-13T19:54:00.003-05:00

Welcome to a very special Advantage Played with three special guests, Bruce Arena, Preki, and Nick Garcia

In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.

Chivas Guadalajara will no longer be now as Guadalajara, but Chivas Mexico.

In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.

An army of robotic David Beckham’s will hold crossing camps for MLS players.

In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.

Major League Soccer will no longer allow the throwing of streamers, only the throwing of Toronto FC Fans.

In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.

The Major League Soccer players union will decide that 12 thousand dollars a year is no longer enough and will demand higher pay.

In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.

In a shocking reversal, Major League Soccer will remove the salary cap and the English Premier League will impose one.

In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.

The English Premier League will decide that they are jealous of All-Star games and start one of their own. They will invite San Jose to be the first opponent.

In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.

Soccer will overtake baseball in popularity, but the shocking rise of handball will usurp them all.

In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.

Don Garber will officially decide just one Don is douchy and change his name to Don Don “Don” Garber

Add Your Own
Hey this is fun, give it a shot!

The Philosophy Behind Advantage Played

2009-05-12T18:03:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wondered why I format and write like I do? Well probably not, so this only counts as a half update. I wrote a guest blog post over at my buddies blog that focuses on the internet, marketing, and usability.

Go check out the Advantage Played philosophy.

And here is some soccer so this does not totally bore you.

Another RSL Commerical

FCD Juniors

Running Away With It: CD Chivas USA

2009-05-10T20:07:00.004-05:00

Another weekend of games gone by, another group of mixed results for most Major League Soccer teams. This weekend (8th – 10th) saw three ties that held leaders and the teams chasing the leaders in place.

DC 3 Toronto 3
Highlights

New England 1 Chicago 1

LA Galaxy 1 Seatle 1

A round of Wednesday games saw two more ties. While DC United held onto the top of the East and KC decided they would rather muck around in mediocrity than step to the top, both teams could not muster the quality to grab the season around the neck and throttle it.

Despite Real Salt Lakes earlier demolishing of New England, it is obvious they still have a lot of room for growth. RSL is one of my favorite teams to watch. Jason Kries has gathered a diverse and likable group of players who play a fun and attractive style of football. However, they cannot find the key to footballing success, consistency.

Consistency with Consistent Injuries

There is only one team so far this season who has embraced consistency, even in the face of adversity. In case you haven’t noticed, there is a paradigm shift in progress. Despite injuries to key personal that could have been used as an excuse for failure, Chivas USA threatens to run away with the Supporter’s Shield before the season has even really started.

But Graham you say, isn’t it way to early in the season to say that? There are so many games to play, drama that is bound to unfold, and 100 degree surfaces still to play on. Of course you are right, but Chivas is setting up to go where no Major League Soccer team has gone before.

An Unlikely Hero in Goal

I admit it. I’ve asked “Snack” Zach Thorton if he remembered to wear his training bra to a Wizard’s game. But Zach has answered my questions with a display of skill and guile that I did not see coming. He lost 15 - 20 lbs during the off season, is training in crazy new ways, has come out of the gates fit, lean, mean, and playing in a way I never believed he could.

With six shutouts, Zach is leading Chivas to the top. He has kept Chivas 5-0 at home. Best of all, he has only allowed three goals in the first nine games, a league record.

Preki: He Knows What He’s Doing

I previously featured an article on Preki in which I praised his past and his future. He’s not letting me down. Preki has been in Major League Soccer for a long time and he understand how to work within the system. Preki succeeds where coaches like John Carver fail.

I love watching Chivas play. They have a team filled with young, smart sharp shooters. As they win, they build up MLS in the eyes of Hispanic soccer fans. Their success is good for everyone (except when you play them).

Now if only Kljestan hadn’t grown a molester mustache.

Yes that's totally Kljestan and not an image search results for molester mustache

How To: Watch Soccer Online

2009-05-05T17:58:00.005-05:00

There comes a time in everyone’s life who is either in college, doesn’t have the money to pay for multiple TV packages, or is just too damn lazy, that they want to watch some soccer online. Yes this may mean that you have to watch a game in quality so low the ball disappears into the certain parts of the grass and you have to guess where it is by where the pixilated players are perusing.

But that’s soccer on the internet. Sometimes there is no option but to go online to a place that combines the joy of information with the fun of typing (thanks Jon Stewart). As a former poor college student and now as a young professional still too poor to afford a nice TV and some expensive extended cable there is only one choice: the internet.

Here are the four primary methods of watching games.

MLS Direct Kick

There really isn’t a better deal than MLS Direct Kick. 20 dollars for a full season pass gets you hundreds of games. I love being able to spend a whole Saturday parked on my couch switching from game to game. Sure there are downsides. At times, Direct Kick is incredibly frustrating and annoying. Your team is about to play and for no reason and with no notice the game isn’t there.

Instead of communicating, Direct Kick just takes down the “Watch Live” links and laughs inside their Major League Baseball dugout as Big Soccer goes crazy and fans try to enjoy a game by reading match trackers.

Take advantage of Big Soccer going crazy when the game doesn’t work. Visit both teams in game thread. There is a 90% chance someone will post a link where you can watch it.

Justin.tv

Justin TV really is the bomb. If you can’t find a game or it is blacked out on MLS Direct Kick go to Justin TV and search for a team name. Sure you’ll have to listen to the game in Spanish in grainy vision but most of the time that’s waaay better than the American announcers.

Veetle
Now here is a high quality option. Veetle.com is a high quality streaming service that uses very little bandwidth. I am amazed by how good these games look. There is usually a 24/7 stream of Fox Soccer Channel available as well as spotty coverage of Sentanta sports. Warning: some of these stream seem to have been taken down recently. Keep watching the space though.

Myp2p.eu

I used to visit Myp2p.eu all the time to get live game schedules. They have great links to pretty much every live sport and live game ever. These links almost all use 3rd party streaming tools. You will have varied luck. It’s free of viruses though, and great for international and rare soccer. Oh and if you like rugby they have 24/7 rugby channel.

Mininova

I don't have the time to watch English Premier League games but I still like to follow along with the rest of the world. That's why every weekend I take two hours to watch Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2. Match of the Day summarizes all the EPL play in just an hour. They do a great job of being droll and still serving up a great review show. Follow my tweets and I'll send you the mininova links every Saturday and Sunday if I'm not too drunk.

We'll Do it Live Tomorrow

2009-05-04T17:41:00.001-05:00

Fuck it.

How to Motive Goalkeepers

2009-05-01T19:59:00.004-05:00

People are greedy. Goalkeepers in particular. Especially those who drive big SUVs. Threaten to lots of dents in it and watch them save two balls at once.

Question and Answer with Kerry Zavagnin and Eric Kronberg

2009-04-29T20:06:00.002-05:00

The great thing about living in Kansas City is I can finally go to little Wizard’s promos and talk to players. Tonight I went to a combined SPCA and Wizard’s event at a sports bar that was promoting dog night at the next Wizards home game. Wizard’s long time player turned Assistant Coach Kerry Zavagnin and injured backup goalkeeper extraordinaire Eric Kronberg were sitting around chatting. I took the opportunity to ask them both a couple questions.

As with every Major League Soccer player I’ve spoken with so far (sorry about the f’ed up audio Claude Simms), they were super nice.

Kerry Zavagnin

Do you like being an Assistant Coach over being a player?
That’ s a though call, very different. They both have their positives and negatives but coaching was something I wanted to go into and I knew that I wanted to go into it long before I finished playing. To do it in a place I’d played for so long made the transition much easier.

Are you putting in more hours now that you’re a coach?
Many more hours. The average player comes in at nine am and is out by one. Now I come in at 7am and sometimes I’m not out till seven. It’s a longer day.

Eric Kronberg

Are you looking forward to the Open Cup?
Ya If I can play. I’m injured right now.

What did you pick up?
I tore my labrum and my rotator cup in my shoulder. I’m been out the last five months or so. I’m coming back in a month hopefully.

I don’t get as much news about you.
Ya you don’t hear as much about me right now, or ever.

Hey hey you were awesome in the Open Cup. I think a lot of fans appreciated your performance.
It was the first time I really got to play in a competitive match with a crowd in a long time. I played for Miami FC back in my rookie year and that was really the last time I played in front of a crowd. It’s been a couple of years. It was something special to me really getting my first time with the starting team.

Do you like being a backup goalkeeper?
Do I like it? Ummm. You’ve always got to put your time in. I was a backup in high school; I was a backup in college. I’m putting my time in and being patient. You’ve got to learn from the person above you and keep working at it.

Have you learned much from Kevin Hartman? What have you learned from him?
Oh Absolutely. It’s the little things like positioning wise and communication and little aspects of the game. Taking a step here instead of here.

I would think it would be a really intricate position because you play in such a small area of the field.
Kevin really simplifies what he does. A lot of keepers try and do too much. He really shows that you can take one step instead of three if it’s in the right spot. He knows what he’s doing, he’s been doing it for years and has all the records. It’s a great experience in my mind.

Music for Tuesday

2009-04-28T20:12:00.004-05:00

Sad news today from Seeqpod. They are being sued by several music labels and have filed bankruptcy. Though the CEO says they are just moving servers and are in talks with a major Apple competitor I don't think its going to happen. That's pretty sad, Seeqpod had to be my favorite web app ever.

Well to cheer us up here is a Youtube documentary about a hippy school teacher who recorded a 70s rock album with his kids:
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Six Punches to the Face

2009-04-27T17:44:00.001-05:00

Total Domination

Picture this: A new stadium, a young team, a fiery young coach, the best football of their lives. It sounds like the perfect setting for a drama where a coal company tries to buy out the stadium to start a mine but the whole community comes together to fight the big company off and instill community values and love throughout the atmosphere.

Well it wasn’t quite that, there was a mining company but they sponsored the stadium instead of turning it into a huge pit. I’m speaking of course of the Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution

The Beat Down of a Life Time

Six goals. One half. Saturday night Real Salt Lake played the best football of the team’s young life. This is what new stadium are built for. An almost full stadium cheered on the hero’s as RSL starts to come of age.

It wasn’t just a culmination of soccer culture in Salt Lake, it was a culmination of Jason Kries hard work. Kries has brought together a diverse group of players and taught them to believe in themselves. Kyle Beckerman was a steal from Colorado that I’m sure Jason Smith would love to have back. Yura Movsisyan moved disgruntled and upset from Kansas City to a team and supporters that gave him a second chance.

Clint Mathis looks like his old self. Disparaged in the media, Mathis is bringing it hard. He is transforming yet again into the playmaker of yor. Beautiful passes, hard strikes, Kries has given the old charge renewed energy and ferocity.

New England: Down and Out
Could New England have played any worse? Remember when New England was going to the playoffs no matter what? Well they sure don’t look like that team anymore. New England looked miserable and without hope in the high altitude.

The only players who looked decent were the always stalwart pair of Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz . With Taylor Twellman out possibly forever, will New England find a way out of this slump? Making it all the harder is lack of commitment by their team owner, who would rather go see an NFL game then New England in the Championship.

The Southwest Kansas Greeting

2009-04-22T11:59:00.000-05:00

Someday you will be in Kansas
Towns the size of small anthills
The smell of cow shit

Someday in Kansas
You will grow lonely for a game
Of pickup

Past the railroad tracks
In the back of a park
On an uneven field

Long sticks for goal posts

Run
Move it with your left foot
Charge the ball in the air

In Southwest Kansas
You can play with

el Salvadorians, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans
Beers, loud music, open containers
A Kansas wind behind you

The greeting is the key:
A quick hand slap
and quickly
A solid fist bump

The quick hand slap
The solid fist bump

The quick hand slap
The solid fist bump

BMX Tuesday

2009-04-21T11:59:00.000-05:00

Some inspired riding for your day.

Five Weeks In: Five Questions Answered

2009-04-20T18:13:00.004-05:00

Welcome back ya’ll, I’m still here and updating, I promise to get back on a regular schedule very soon. Big new over on the du Nordfront, Brucio is re-opened for business. That is great news all around. Now we will see some sort of competition between MLS Daily and du Nord. Should be interesting to see how that plays out. Hopefully they will work together for the greater good.

Five Answers
Will Gary Smith Improve Colorado?

Perhaps this question should be: how could Gary Smith not improve Colorado? Gary has everything going for him. He has put in place a system that rights all the wrongs Fernando Clavijo put in place.

Horrible tales were told while Clavijo coached. Absolutely no scouting other teams before they played. Practices with no structure, just open games. Little communication between teammates and the coach. Supporter groups held down and kicked out of the stadium. From the moment Gary took over new air flowed into Colorado. Order was restored, a up and coming coach was getting his chance, and the players were behind him.

A run towards the playoffs resulted and this season Colorado is off to a strong start.

Will the Wizard’s young players produce?

Kansas City’s 09 team is loaded with young players. And unlike some teams in the league, they are getting minutes, Besler, Kraus, Espinoza, and other young stars are expected to step up and fill the gaps. Curt Onalfo is building for the future. He needs his young quick agile players to quickly move into the ebb and flow of his system.

So far it has been a success. The Wizards got off to a rough start losing their first two games (not for a lack of scoring though) and then proceeded to go 2-1-0. Last week saw a jaw dropping come from behind victory at Chicago. When I was leaping through the air in my living room that tie sure felt like a win.

Will Fredy Montero be convicted of rape?

Earlier I reported on Fredy Montero’s rape charge and I am happy to report that all charges have been dropped due to lack of corroborative evidence. Fredy is safe, Seattle can continue to be proud of their nineteen year old star, and the league breathes a sigh of relief as their new model franchise goes unblemished.

Will MLSnet.com’s streaming service be any better?

Yes this is perfect representation of video streaming

I really wish I could say yes to this. I really really, really do. I am a huge fan of Major League Soccer’s media distribution model. They realize that letting their fans see almost every game is a win. They have embraced web 2.0 like no other soccer league in the world. While the Premier League actively tries to stop fans from watching online video, and on their site, provide zero video.

But MLSnet’s streaming service still has large problems. The Wizards game against Seattle that thousands were counting on failed horribly and no one knew why. No details that I am aware of where ever reported.

MLSnet, you need to at least provide a layer of transparency. I know that working with tech and streaming services can be hard and prone to problems, but at least let fans know what is going on. Provide updates on your front page instead of just removing the “Watch Live” links. Send out update emails about current problems. You will find much more forgiveness if you communicate with your paying customers.

How will the economy influence league attendance?

Is Major League Soccer free from the horrible economy? Unfortunately the answer is no. Attendance has been low for the first five weeks, and excuses have been forthcoming. Horrible weather, everyone had the flu, Giants stadium sucks, and your mom. But even with two huge outliers in Seattle and Toronto the attendance is down a bit. Obama, send a stimulus to Major League Soccer.

Now go take care of 4/20.

Sounders Sweet Medicine

2009-04-14T11:59:00.001-05:00

The Offside rules showcased two great adverts for Virginia Mason Medical Medical Center featuring the Seattle Sounders. They are too good for me not to forward. I hope these aren't currently breaking Advantage Played, but if so I do apologize.

Power Rank This

2009-04-12T20:57:00.005-05:00

Power Rankings: A Call for Responsibility

The MLSnet Power Ranking Team

What do all Major League Soccer blogs (even MLSnet.com) have in common? Power rankings. You’ll find them everywhere. Hell it’s fun to make a list. Put teams in order depending on Power. But what exactly is a power ranking? What exactly is power? It could be:

A list of Power
A list of longevity
Teams with the most points
Teams with the most potential
Teams with the best players
Whatever the hell Ives want it to mean

All of the Above

Ives hard at work on his Power Rankings
Really a power ranking is all of the above. Most of all it’s an arbitrary ranking of teams for fun. It’s hard to take any power ranking seriously because they are put together based on bias and personal opinion. Which Power Rankings are the most accurate? It’s hard to tell.

Is there some kind of secret formula? If there is it’s based on the same formula that turns any metal to gold. The middle ages brought us the same formula that powers the Power Rankings.

You want me to take your rankings seriously? Let’s see some transparency. Tell me who your favorite team is and how it figures into your list. Give me your formula. I want to see your rubric.

That’s right, the favorite tool of teachers everywhere can apply to Power Rankings.

A Proposed Rubric

To prove I’m not all bluster and fire with no talk to back it up I’ve developed my very own rubric and point system that is will provide the ultimate Power Ranking. Use as follows:

Points earned is starting number
+1-7 points for conference ranking
+10 points for community shield leader
+2 points for every win in a row
+1 point for every shutout
-2 for every loss in a row
-1 for each tie in a row
+50 for your favorite team

There. A fool proof Power Ranking system. Go forth bloggers and put my incredible system into use.

Or at the very least, tell me your formula.

I wish I was updating

2009-04-08T19:43:00.002-05:00

I really do. But a new job requires working outside of work and that's what I have to do. I hope you won't forget about Advantage Played as I try to get my life in order.

A Few Videos

What We Know So Far: Fredy Montero’s Alleged Sexual Misconduct

2009-04-06T17:36:00.004-05:00

This past week it came to light that sexual assault charges have been filed against Fredy Montero by a female in the greater Seattle area. I’m not going to include music or video today, that’s too lighthearted. I’m just going to give the facts.

What We Know
Here is what we know so far. This information comes from an April 2nd report:

On April 2nd the police began investigating when a woman said Montero was stalking her
She reported that he had sexually assaulted her on the 22nd
Police declined to confirm if Montero is under investigation
No charges filed
No bookings

April 3rd brought new information :

The word rape is first used
There were two alleged dates, the 15th and the 23rd
When the woman saw Montero he was with his host family returning from a high-school soccer game
Montero had been under investigation before the stalking complaint

I’m not going to make a judgment. We don’t know all the details. No charges have yet to be filed against Montero.

According to Montero’s agent Montero fell into a trap when he rejected a woman who randomly showed up at his apartment for a sexual tryst.

News Articles

Wednesday
Wednesday brings a lighter note unless you are a Columbus fan. I’ll tell you what and why is going wrong with the Crew.

Match of the Day: Major League Soccer Style

2009-04-03T17:35:00.002-05:00

Welcome Back
Well hello everyone. I’m sure you missed me. I’ve finally moved all my possessions from one end of Kansas to the next and saddled myself with more debt. I’m all about helping the economy. Regular updates will start up again, expect more great Advantage Played features every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

I’m still trying to figure out how to cover the regular season. I’ve got the off season down pat, (I just do whatever I want) but I’m struggling a little to give my updates some form of consistency and that coincides with the happenings on the field.

I just have a small update for you today but things are headed back to normal.

Match of the Day: MLS Style

I’m not a huge fan of the English Premiere League. There I said it. But just because I don’t ever watch full games doesn’t mean I hate seeing all the actions, goals, and how the American players are fairing. I don’t have the time or willpower to watch endless EPL matches, but I still want to know how it all turns out. For that, and my twitter followers will know this, I watch Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2.

For those not in the know, and if you follow me you’ll get tweets to the torrents, Match of the Day is an hour long review show that covers Saturday’s and Sunday’s matches respectively. The commentators do their very best to look absolutely bored, but once in a while they throw out some good analysis. Best of all the matches are well edited, shown in high quality, and have those great English announcers.

I don’t have time to watch the full games, but I sure have time for the review show. So why doesn’t Major League Soccer have an equal?

MLS Needs a Match of the Day
Match of the Day allows both casual fans and rabid followers to get their kicks. It covers all the games, highlights outstanding performances, and generally wraps everything up in one slick comprehensive package.

Sure you can go to MLSNet.com now and watch highlights. You can get commentary. There is some minor analysis. But what it really needs is an hour long review show that really drives to the heart of the matter.

Nominations
I hereby nominate Shep and Greg from Extra Time to move their format from three minute segments to one hour long review show. MLS get your ass in gear, sign these guys, and get an hour long spot on ESPN2 or ESPN Classic in a spot usually reserved for professional bowling.

I don’t care if they run it at 2am, the magic of the internet means it will be widely available. With a show that people are eager to watch, MLS will draw in new fans from around the world.

And that’s awesome.

Still Moving

2009-03-30T17:54:00.001-05:00

And this is an exact representation of my move.

A Small Break for Moving

2009-03-27T16:31:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone. I'm in the middle of moving to Kansas City. I thought I would have enough time to get in an update today, but I guess not. I won't be posting Monday or Wednesday either, due to lack of internet and general crazieness. I should be back on Friday the 3rd.

Upcoming Features
I really feel bad about this, but the audio I did while interviewing Clyde Simms is ruined. I guess that's what I get for using a knock off brand. It's worked many times before, but not this time. Instead of the regular Soccer in America interview I usually do I'll open up again on Friday the 3rd with a player profile of Clyde in which I'll try and share some of the great knowledge he talked to me about.

And a Video to Hold You Over
This is good stuff.

Soccer Kidz from stoiQa on Vimeo.

The AP Global Trend Center with Bruce Arena: The Weekend That Was

2009-03-25T19:26:00.006-05:00

Beep Beep Da Deep Da Bleep Bleep Bleep Bleep

There is no "I" in Bruce Arena

Good evening. This is Bruce Arena live from the Advantage Played headquarters in the Chilie con Caso center the moon. Last weekend’s action was totally exciting and in your face. There were some great goals scored. Oh you didn’t see them? Losers. I guess that’s why the fantastic talent at Advantage Played hired me, Former National Team Coach Bruce Arena, to guide you through, The Weekend That Was.

First I have to say what an incredible performance it was by the young guys on my team. Gee golly did they step up and fight. Two late goals by my Landycakes himself brought us above the previous season’s best home result. If Beckham would have been there I could only imagine what the score would have been. Probably at least 1-2 instead of 2-2. And the fans would eat it up. Suckers.

But that’s not the only surprising result. In fact, the Commissioner has informed me that more than one game was played last weekend. Using my giant head and numerous face scrunches I’ve managed to go through the numbers with the same comb I use on my luscious locks to bring you the analysis you just can’t get from those know-it-alls on Extra Time.

The Weekend That Was: Away Wins

The big story, besides the victory at our SS stadium that is also used for dirt bike racing, is that this season it is more advantageous (or as we hear at AP like to say, “More advantage playedous”) to be the away team this opening weekend. Let’s go to the Big Board and look at the results.

The Big Board

OK Big Board, show us the teams that won away from home
-Chicago v FC Dallas: 3-1
-Toronto v KC: 3-2

-New England v San Jose: 1-0

And the draws
-Columbus v Houston: 1-1

-DC v LA: 1-1

That means only Seattle and Chivas USA captured three full home points. I knew there was no way DC could beat us since we were missing Beckham, but I was almost reminded of my National Team days while we were losing.

What happened to the home team being the most dominate? I know that LA didn’t win because of all of those people who bought season tickets and then for some reason failed to show. What about the other cities?

After a vast amount of concentration with both a magic 8 ball and a snow globe I’ve decided to place the blame solely at the many whims of fate. And that fact that early in the season, home dominance must be started all over again. After a long preseason the rust is still covers the ignition despite the shiny chrome additions of new players.

Time to Step Up

The players must be confident in their home support and field. Us home teams get to eat pasta in bed before a game if we want. We can hop in our 02’ Ford Rangers with only 60 thousand miles and drive to the stadium instead of flying thousands of miles.

The damage is done to Dallas, KC, San Jose, Houston, and LA. The advantage has been played to the away winners. They are granted increased confidence and a sense of accomplishment while the losers feel the opposite. If they can’t win on their first day of play at home, how can they be expected to win away?

Now is the time for men to be men. The away winners must build on their success and make no assumptions next time they play at home. The losers, well, I know that our underwear model overlords will be back to make it right soon.

This has been Bruce Arena bringing you The Weekend That Was. See you soon.

User Stats by Country and State

2009-03-23T20:51:00.006-05:00

I Love OutKast

Where Do You Live?
I'm moving. With a new job in KC comes multiple trips across Kansas to look for apartments. I finally found one but thinking about locations and concentrations of people made me think about the people who read Advantage Played

Here is a small peak into my Google Analytic.

A Month Worth of Page Visits

Here are the top 15-20 in two different categories.

Most Visits by Country: Feb 20th, 2009 - Mar 22nd, 2009
1. United States 1,104

2. United Kingdom 131

3. Canada 67

4. Italy 18

5. Germany 11

6. Brazil 4

7. Mexico 3

8. Macedonia 3

9. France 3

10. Hong Kong 3

11. Sweden 3

12. Indonesia 2

13. South Korea 2

14. Australia 2

15. Spain 2

16. Turkey 2

17. Japan 2

18. Colombia 2

Most Visits by State: Feb 20th, 2009 - Mar 22nd, 2009
1. Kansas 295

2. California 139

3. Missouri 126

4. New York 68

5. Washington 59

6. Texas 58

7. Iowa 49

8. Virginia 30

9. Utah 29

10. Ohio 22

11. Illinois 21

12. Minnesota 19

13. Pennsylvania 17

14. Massachusetts 15

BMX for a Sunday Night

2009-03-22T20:17:00.002-05:00

Because everyone needs to spend a little time watching EXTREEEME sports.

David Beckham's Twig and Berries

2009-03-20T17:59:00.007-05:00

Hey ya'll. I'm headed out of town tonight to make it to the Wizards home opener. If any of you are going to be there please say hi to me at the Calderon tailgate.

I'll be there with my girlfriend, and I have a big bushy beard and slightly long hair. I also like long walks on the beach and small kittens who play in boxes.

Today you just get a few small updates.

David Beckham's Balls
This speaks for itself.

Seattle Win's Home Opener
Highlights

Anyone notice that after the first goal the ball is stuck halfway up the net? Weird.

Some of the outside celebrations matched with horrible drunk singing

See you on Monday. Still be expecting my next interview with a Major League Soccer player (hint: he's not a Wizard).

Three Questions for Seattle and New York

2009-03-18T20:55:00.005-05:00

The birds are singing and eating worms, disc golfers are back on the course, spring soccer practices are starting, and the first game of the 2009 Major League Soccer season opens tomorrow with Seattle vs New York at 8pm central standard time on ESPN2.

I’ll be tuned into the game, I’m ready to get back into all the MLS action. I started this blog just as the 2008 season ended so I am excited for the storylines that will unfold and I will get to cover as the season progresses.

Ahead of tomorrow’s game I’m doing that old blogger favorite, the three questions. Why three? I guess two seems lazy and four is way too much work.

Three Questions for Seattle

Will Sigi continue wearing scarves?
Rain, shine, sleet, rainbows, hail, or beer showers, Sigi wore his bring yellow Columbus scarf to every game last season. Like a lighthouse, he warned passing ships of eminent danger. What will he wear at Seattle? Will he continue with the scarf? I am for a change in look. How about a hat, or a nice beanie?

Will Fredy Montero produce in the regular season?
Fredy had been outstanding in preseason. Goals have been coming in torrents. His South American flair has been dazzling defenses where ever Seattle has traveled. The real question is will he continue to score when defenses get a solid look at him. Can he adapt when double teamed or he is pressured high every time he touches the ball. If he can he will make his mark on Major League Soccer.

What will Seattle fans throws when the first goal is scored?
Everyone remembers when Toronto FC scored their first goal. Now I am not a TFC fan. But when those seat cushions rained down after the clubs first goals I jumped out of my chair and cheered. It was a heartwarming display of enthusiasm.

Seattle needs an equally memorable moment. Maybe they will hand out CDs. Those would only slice up a couple of players in the ensuing celebration.

Three Questions for New York

Will Osorio’s tactical bookwork pay off again?
I love Osorio because he is a student of the game. Osorio doesn’t just carry around a clipboard and a few notes. He writes constantly during each game, and when he travels he takes a library with him. My favorite story is how he got a room above Manchester United practice pitch and studied them every day for over a year.

Osorio’s studies paid off in full last year with a surprise run to the final. Will he emulate his previous success this year? If so, score one for the ivory tower.

Will Angel continue to be class?
Angel is the anchor of New York. Game after game he works hard, passes well, reads the game with remarkable clarity, and scores great goals. If Angel stays healthy and continues with his always positive attitude he will lead New York far. Conversely, if Angel falls, how will New York respond? The young guns like Macoumba Kandji and Matthew Mbuta need to respond and put in strong performances they provided in the United Soccer Leagues.

Will John Wolyniec score more than one goal this season?
John, John, John, you art a mystery to me. All last season I saw your run the pitch. You provided good passes, you were a hardworking option up front. Osorio continued to put faith in you. Yet the goals would not come. Wolyniec needs to have a strong season, not only for New York’s cause, but for his own career.

Upcoming Soccer in America Interviews
More interviews with MLS players are on their way! Check back next week for my newest installment.

The Home Slices

2009-03-16T20:18:00.003-05:00

Spending time on the internet blogging about soccer leads you down some strange alleyways. As you search for interesting stories you stumbling across soccer blogs focused on soccer that aren’t necessarily the most popular, but are unique and interesting. I’m compiling a list of my favorites as I go. You can find them all on The Home Slices bit on the right column.

Today I’m going to point out a few that you should be reading too. Please leave your favorite unique blogs in the comments.

Jenny From the Block
Nordecke Luchador

Who: The Luchador always wears and mask to hide his true identity. He is a mysterious man of legend and wrestling.
Why: Nordecke Luchador always has great, thoughtful insight into the Columbus Crew. He’ll go through the stats and dig out great reports. He also has music and a good layout which makes him dear to my heart.

From A Left Wing
Who: Jennifer Doyle is an Associate Professor who teaches American Literature, Visual Culture, Gender Studies, and Critical Theory at the Universtiy of California, Riverside.
Why: Doyle explores the world of soccer from a side we don’t usually don’t think about, or perhaps we don’t think about it enough. Doyle examines gender issues in soccer like no one else.

Kick the Balls
Who: Alan Black is the author of Kick the Balls a book about the rough game of soccer.
Why: Alan is funny and clever in his short posts. And he writes about jelly doughnuts being thrown at the pitch.

Crewture

Who: Crewture is the guy who thought up the name Nordecke. And some other people.
Why: Because they love the Crew? Crewture regularly updates all things Crew, bringing video, humor, pictures, and the humor.

Wait 'Til We Get to the Hills

Who: The 1906 Ultras, a San Jose supporters group.
Why: The 1906 Ultras is a unique and organized supporters group. They have a regularly updated blog, forums, pictures, and videos. You can really get a unique behind the scenes perspective from reading Wait ‘Til We Get to the Hills.

O Jogo Feio
Who: Steve Malbasa, a teacher in Ohio who loves soccer and his kids.
Why: Steve mostly write about Fulham. His honest posts put an American spin on the English game and occasionally he writes about American soccer.

You’re Favorites
What should we all be reading? Let me and all thepeople who read this blog know in the comments.

Around the League: March 13th

2009-03-13T15:00:00.001-05:00

You probably figured it out by now, but this is going to be my regular Friday feature. It takes a whole lot less creativity on my part, I get to spread the love around to different sites, and you get some news updates. Everyone wins.

I'm putting every blog that doesn't link to me on notice. Shiver your timbers.

Chicago Fire

Soumare got the call up to the Mali National Team. Congrats!
Brian McBride answers questions on The Red Card

Chivas USA

Lillingston in action (a freakin' half hour worth of highlights)

Colorado Rapids

Scott Palguta has been scooped up by the Rapids. "I finally have (an MLS) club put some faith in me."
A great article on Gregory Richadson, the Joe Public star who signed with Colorado

Columbus Crew

The Crew trademarked Nordecke, and that's got some people pissed off
Crew capitalists paying workers fairer wages

DC United

ED Morgan at the DC United Examiner is giving a sweet A-Z rundown of United players. Just click the arrows to scroll through the articles
Problems with a stadium in PG county. Sigh.

FC Dallas

Houston Dynamo

KC Wizards

Ryan Pore signed with the Portland Timbers
Adam Christman is injured, and Hirsig is still waiting for a work permit

LA Galaxy

Arena signs four players to contracts
A Horley beat bobby is going to coach at LA (what you ask? Come on, everyone knows what a Horley beat bobby is.)

NE Revolution

Red Bull New York

An animated tour of Red Bull Arena

Real Salt Lake

San Jose Earthquakes

Seattle Sounders

Good news, Ljungberg's recovery is ahead of schedule
Wowa, Freddy Montero might not even be with the Sounders, that would be a blow

Toronto FC

WV Hooligan has a TFC season preview
Mr Reed has some problems with the pay Pablo Vitti is getting

Random Stuff

Throw pastries at the pitch
Puma didn't get the skort memo (a must read)

The Secret Rules of Major League Soccer

2009-03-12T16:00:00.005-05:00

We all know that the rules of Major League Soccer are convoluted and hard to figure out. Thankfully you have me! Months ago I went on a secret spy mission toMLS headquarters. I have just now returned from my mission. Pretending to be a developmental player petitioning to receive seven dollars and hour instead of six, I snuck into Don Graber’s office and read the secret tome of knowledge. Here are the secrets contained within.

The Mutiny Desk

As I made my way through the labyrinth that is MLS headquarters I watched interns and men without shirts scurry through marble halls. MLS headquarters is both expansive and intimate. Large TV’s continually broadcasting FSC’s Fox Football Fone-In cover every wall. As I walked passed vast cubical farms chatter floated through the air.

“40 million per expansion team”
“Pucker up”
“David Beckham and Blanco on the same team”
"More rainbows on shirts"
“Grandfathers”
“Poplar Point”
“More national team players on TFC”

I scooted down the hall and came to large mahogany double doors. I pressed my ear to the door I couldn’t hear a thing inside. I turned the knob and stepped inside the door. Inside was an exact replica of the oval office. There in the center of the room was a large desk made out of Tampa Bay Mutiny equipment. The legs were sold goalposts. The top was a solidified mass of Mutiny Jerseys rolled together like a dung beetle rolls shit.

I knew my mission. I walked over to the desk and began pulling out desk drawers.

Click! A secret compartment rose from the desk.

Franky Hejduk’s birthdate. The key to any room or safe in MLS headquarters.

The Book of Secrets

As I opened the book wind filled the air, shaking the room. I opened the book to expose the deeply guarded secrets:

Any underwear model has the option to buy a MLS team
Developmental players are cheap slaves
The purpose of MLS is to build stadiums which will later be used for a new Major League Rugby League
The DB rule is actually named after Deutsche Bank AG the secret rulers of MLS
Loaning players out is done through the Office of Witchcraft and Wizardry
There is a shortage of chicken livers to examine
Every team must have a sister club but only FC Dallas can use their connections
TFC is financed by a Ponzi scheme
Don Garber likes his coffee cold
Silly string are the new streamers
Throwing things at Craig Waibel is encouraged
A developmental player reality series is in the works
Maykel Galindo is the narrator

The Escape
Just then I heard bells ringing and a loud shuffling sound. It had to be the Don and Blanco. I shut the desk and bailed out the window and took the book with me. As I ran backwards through the cornfield I heard the screams coming from MLS headquarters.

They were lost without the book. Now color and emotion would slowly seep back into their world. They would learn what love, pain, war, and joy really is. Sigi Schmitd would have to guide them. As I ducked through the bushes with the book strapped to my bike I stopped for a second but kept going. Days past. Months. Slowly the planes came less and less.

One day as I came out of the mountain the book yelled "Plane, plane!" I threw myself into the bushes but couldn't hear the buzzing. I looked to where the book was looking. It was a bird. We were back to civilization.

FC Dallas Juniors and an Excuse

2009-03-11T15:53:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone. Spent all day buying a sweet 08 Ford Ranger from a private party and I am too exhausted to give you a good post.

Check back tomorrow to get a rundown of hidden Major League Soccer player salary and transfer rules. In the meantime enjoy a new FC Dallas video.

FC Dallas Juniors visit Atletico Paranaense in Brazil from FC Dallas on Vimeo.

Soccer in America: Kevin Souter

2009-03-09T17:13:00.008-05:00

Music Kevin Likes

On Friday of last week I talked with Kevin Souter and tried to understand a little about him and where he is going on this crazy ball of dust. It was a great talk; Souter is a friendly guy. It is imperative that you read his words in a Scottish accent.

Kevin Souter in the Beginning

What is your first soccer memory?
My actual first soccer memory was when I was really really small. As soon as you started walking [in the UK] you were going to be kicking a ball. I remember being over at my grandparents. I’d be in a hallway in his house just kicking the ball back and forth with my grandpa. We’d do it for a long, long time. Just him kicking the ball and kicking it back to him. It’s something I always remember.

Then I remember playing outside. There was a little parking lot we used to play in. I must have been three years old during that time.

You were in Scotland, how did pick Graceland out of all the American colleges?

Well something I’ve always had an eye on is soccer in the states. My high school PE teacher always said there is opportunity to go and play soccer in the states and get a scholarship and do some schooling over there. So from high school I’d always had it in the back of my mind.

When I was in high school I was picked up by a Scottish Premier League team Aberdeen and I was on their books as an academy player. I was with their youth team growing up. I never really thought about education. I’d always hoped I’d make it with Aberdeen.

That was my dream and boyhood team. As I progressed through there, [some of the] coach’s thought I was doing well with the younger team and the reserves but the head coach didn’t think I was progressing as much as I should have been and decided to part ways.

I took a little knock there and was pretty disheartened and went and played for some part time soccer team and did a college course back home. After a while I thought “I really do love soccer and I want to get back into it and continue with my education as well.”

A guy I was playing with had been over and was at Harvard University, a NCAA school. I talked to him and his coach contacted me and we talked a little bit. By that time he couldn’t get me over so the plan was to go to another school for a year and then transfer as long as my grades were good.

Graceland University contacted me. The coach that called me was the assistant woman’s coach, a goalkeeping coach. His son (Josh Wagenaar) was the goalkeeper at Harvard University. By this point I was ready to go anywhere. So I took the chance right away.

I had never seen the place, never heard of it, and it was an eye opener for sure. The people there were great, the coaching staff was great, and we had a lot of success. I grew a lot as a player and as a person and I have a lot of respect for the organization and the coaching staff there.

Playing in NAIA
How competitive do you think NAIA is?

I was pleasantly surprised by the standard of competition. Our strength was we were a hard team to beat, a hard working team. We played several teams that were better technical with guys from Brazil or South Africa, but our team was very hard to break down. We got goals off of set pieces - breakaways. Wherever it was we worked for it.

In terms of the league we played William Jewel, Benedictine, and Mid America. There was a lot of good team we would consistently play. Then going to the National Tournament as well, there were a lot of good players.

To be honest I think the NAIA is underrated. All the hype is about Division I and NCAA and during the draft all the players come from there, but there are a lot of good players in NAIA who are seemingly overlooked which is a shame but that’s the nature of it.

Current players in NAIA still talk about how good you were. Do you think you were better than the pack?
When I first came I probably lacked self belief. The coach was getting his doctorate in sports psychology and besides the team side of stuff he was probably working on sports psychology stuff. That really helped my game as a player and my confidence. I had experience in the past, professional experience, coming through a youth setup and seeing how it was done so I knew I had ability.

He gave me a license to take charge and the confidence to be a leader on the team and to take games by the scruff of the neck and be in charge. I felt I was a strong competitive player in the league. It’s a testament to the team, we’d go to some teams who’d been scouting us and they’d put two guys on me. That’s says something about me right?

We were a team so if two guys were on me we’ve got one guy spare. I loved my three years at Graceland and I’d never change them. I love the league and I had some great times there and it was defiantly great competition.

I put my head down and worked every spring and summer time. The coach would give me things to work on and I’d work on them and improve on them by the following season. It’s all about progression.

MLS Season One

How do you feel about your first Major League Soccer Season?
It was unexpected to be honest. Going into open tryouts I had that self belief in myself. I got picked up after the tryouts and went to Argentine with the team. As soon as I got myself adjusted to the team and the speed of play I started to understand a bit more what I could do and the potential I had. The coaches liked it and signed me up for the year. My targets for the year was to continually work hard and progress and that meant putting in all the extra time in the gym or after practice.

It was a long road getting to where I was. I wasn’t going to give it up that easy. I was going to do all that extra work. Stick around after practice working on certain things and implement them in the games. I was trying to get to the reserve team for starters. As I got more and more minutes there I would start to show a bit more and hopefully at the end of year to come away having earned a senior roster spot. That’s what I did. On top of that I got to make the A team and play a few games and I made my debut against my long time hero David Beckham.

You stole the ball from him with your first touch didn’t you?
Yeah. That was special. I went in on right side. I figured he’d be on the opposite side. Beckham was on my side for whatever reason and I think it was a corner. He took a bad touch and the ball got away from him and I got in there.

I have a picture sitting up in my room of me shaking hands with him after the game. That’s something I’m going to cherish for a long, long time.

After that things just took off. I got starts. I got a goal the following week when we played Toronto. It was a lucky hit but the records show it was mine so I’m taking it.

I started in Chicago and managed to keep myself in the lineup right through the playoffs. My task is to build off that this season.

2009 Preseason
You just got back from Guadalajara, what is it like?
Well the hotel was nice. We trained at Atlas’ facilities which were nice. They were very hospitable and we went and watched one of their games which they won 2-0. In terms of the city itself there are some nice areas and some rundown areas.

A few of us got a couple of taxis and went to a market. It was very nice and cool to see, a big market, a lot of stuff in there. We did a little sightseeing.

Guadalajara is kinda the same altitude as Colorado. In terms of training we were breathing heavy. Coming back the last couple days everyone is doing great.

No one was cut from the Wizard’s roster. How did that affect the preseason?
For the most part we had meetings before we left and got an idea of where we stood. The coach has enough confidence in all the players here. Certain spots have more depth but we got the majority of the guys back from last year. We didn’t add too much, just a little more depth. The guys like myself, John Leathers, Chance Myers, Marquess, the second year guys gained a lot of experience. Roger Espinoza with the Honduras National Team.

Guys are gaining more experience and on top of that we got a couple good acquisitions, the first year guys, Graham Zusi, and Beasler. We’ve got a pretty solid team. We have 24 but we still have Chance and Kronberg who are injured reserve right now. They are probably going to be added to the team too.

We went down to Florida and saw several teams down there with a lot of players, 40, 50, and it must be hard trying to get them all minutes and assessing all those players. We had maybe 25-30 guys and it was a lot more manageable. We could get straight to business and make more of the preseason this year than we did last year.

Thoughts on the 2009 Season
How will the Wizards do in the upcoming season?
I thought we finished really strong last year and I don’t think it will be any different this year. Our goal is to keep a really good home record which puts us in good stead and pick away at away games and try to get some wins away from home.

The squad is more than capable of getting results. Other teams have been adding to their squads and getting strong as well but I think we’ve got good balance and are gaining more experience. The coach has trust in the guys from last year.

There are no wholesale changes. In practice we’ve been working more on defensive movement and more offensive movements as well. As we play more as a team, we fight as a team, we win as a team. I think it’s going to show this year.

Our goal again is to make the playoffs and we want to win the conference and take it from there.

Do you think you will continue starting? I know you made a strong run at the end of last season.
It’s hard to say. This preseason has been kinda up and down for me. I feel like I started slower in the preseason but it has come around; I feel like I’m really getting sharp again. Again we’ve got so much competition in these spots. The acquisition of Hirsig, he’s been playing on the right in some preseason games, Zusi has been playing well along with Herculez who’s just come back from injury.

I feel I am starting to show more of the potential I have, getting sharper again and back to normal. There are plenty of options and it really depends who the coach decides to go with at the time. I’m always striving for a starting spot and whether it happens the first game or not I’m going to continue working.

When I’m called upon I’m going to do my job.

Some BMX for your Saturday

2009-03-07T11:59:00.000-06:00

Just because I like BMX.

Mike & Casey at 4 Seasons from GrantC on Vimeo.

Around the League: March 6th

2009-03-06T12:38:00.005-06:00

Chicago Fire

Chivas USA

Chivas raised 10k for cancer research!

Colorado Rapids

Columbus Crew

DC United

FC Dallas

Houston Dynamo

A great story on Houston's academy signing Tyler Deric
And one blasting the loss. You should really read my story on it (the one below this update).

KC Wizards

LA Galaxy

New England Revolution

NY Red Bulls

Cepero thinks he can start. I'm not so sure.
What do you get for 30k? Alfredo Pacheco.
Red Bulls discuss the best/worst celebration of the year

Portland

Supporters marched in the streets

Real Salt Lake

San Jose Earthquakes

A San Jose fan recommends throwing a soccer ball at random strangers
San Jose beat Chivas 1-0
Why isn't Riihilahti coming to San Jose? Failed physical.

Seattle Sounders

Sebastien Le Toux is right at home with the Sounders
The Sounders want you to scarf things
You are allowed to scarf owls

Toronto FC

14 Days Till We Feel the Fire

2009-03-04T19:30:00.006-06:00

White Winter Hymnal from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

This update is not about Aki Riihilahti. He’s not going to San Jose. I’m just a worthless rumor monger, but I blame the 1906 Ultras for making me so.

Graham (that’s me): Down and Out and Bored

This lady is also bored and will talk to you for 5.99 a minute

It’s been a while since I felt the fire of soccer burning within me (no I don’t have herpes). So far this off season I’ve been:

Following the David Beckham situation and pretending not to
Cheering on the Wizard’s Graham Zusi because he has my first name
Setting up Google News alters to compensate for no DuNord
Learning just how many MLS blogs there are (at least 20)
Knowing hardly anything about RSL’s team
Watching Match of the Day
Watching Match of the Day 2 while falling asleep on my couch
Twittering download links to Mininova and wondering if it breaks the TOS

You get the picture. It hasn’t exactly been drunken clowns at a birthday party fun. More like watching a Harry Potter movie on mute while reading Pride and Prejudice as Kei Kamara tries to engage you in a rap battle fun.

So after watching the first leg of the Houston vs Atlante Champions League quarterfinal (1-1); I was excited to see if Houston could make MLS history and pull out a win away from home.

Houston: Down and Out in Mexico

I had reason to hope it might happen. The first leg, although disappointing, featured good play by several Houston players. Kei Kamara fought hard for the ball and had several good shots on goal. They outplayed Atlante at times. They got a great goal off a corner and had a total of a bazillion corners. Could they still win without Ol’ Dwayne?

So last night I turned on Veetle (best streaming service ever) and tuned into FSC at 9pm sharp. There they were, the drums beating, the crowd half filling the stadium, the Dynamo proud in their cute little kits with baby blue sleeves.

“If they come out halfway decent and dominate the first 15 minutes maybe they can win” I told myself.

“I know it’s preseason but the first performance was encouraging.”

And then it began. The Dynamo proceeded to:

Lose EVERY SINGLE BALL in the air
Forget how to pass
Forget that the first touch is important
Forget that it is possible to shoot from outside the box
Get drawn into Atlante’s dirty mind games (involves a donkey named Kinky Kelly)

The Fire Burns Deep Within

Then the slow motion lighter hit the gas station. Kei Kamara ran down the left side of the field with the ball. He danced past one defender. Houston crashed the box. And Kamara hit the cross. Up. Up. Up. And all the way back across the fucking track into the stands.

I stood up and yelled “FUUUUCK YOUUUUU.” I was furious. Every horrible touch made me burn inside. Every missed header made me flinch.

I was involved in the game. I wanted Houston to win. All of a sudden I was angry at the shit Houston was trying to pass of as the beautiful game. I was angry at the ref for not giving Atlante red cards. I was really angry when Ching missed from point blank range.

The days of watching Match of the Day half-asleep on the couch are almost over.

It’s almost time to care about soccer again.

Simoa... SaBroooosa

2009-03-03T18:29:00.004-06:00

Well I was going to try and squeeze in an extra update this week since I updated on Saturday but my work and school schedule just will not allow it.

Check back tomorrow for a full player profile of San Jose's new player, Aki Riihilahti. Together with Huckerby they will be a wrecking ball.

SaBrooosa (Thanks Sean)

What's a Huckerby?

2009-02-28T21:51:00.006-06:00

San Jose wants to know who this Huckerby fellow is. Maybe they should put his picture on a few milk cartons.

They've got billboards...

and downtown banners...

and newspaper ads.

They spread the player love around. Good stuff.

Around the League in a Friday Post

2009-02-27T13:49:00.011-06:00

I know I usually do focused updates but today I am going to take you around the league. Come with me on a magical journey as we explore the latest fun happenings in Major League Soccer

Chicago Fire

Beat Morelia 3-1

10 best goals of 2008

Chivas USA

The nice guys at Chivas USA are going to play a game for children who have cancer

Colorado Rapids

Columbus Crew

DC United

FC Dallas
FC Dallas has an exciting new toy.

A Brand New Toy from FC Dallas on Vimeo.

George John is almost fit

Houston Dynamo

KC Wizards

Graham Zusi scores again for the Wizards, this last round pick has promise!
Wizards tie Chivas 1-1

LA Galaxy

Beckham is living with George Clooney
My prediction: Beckham will be back and if he's not, well I'll run another contest
Bruce Arena is making cuts

New England Revolution

Red Bull New York

The Bulls moved to 3-1-2 in preseason by beating the River Plate reserves

A rundown of the player's favorite goals of 2008

Real Salt Lake

RSL's new commercial

Seattle Sounders

San Jose Earthquakes

Aki in action

Toronto FC

Toronto likes players from Scarborough (wherever that is)
Toronto FC: Still Canadian

Americans Abroad: Ivan Gazidis

2009-02-26T18:31:00.007-06:00

Americans in Europe
American soccer fans follow their heroes in Europe. Whole sites are dedicated to covering the every move and step of these heroes as they do battle in far off lands. Recently, a man who was born in South Africa, raised in England, and lived in America for 15 years has gone back to England to do battle. No he’s not a field player, but after 15 years of working as the Deputy Commissioner of Major League Soccer, Ivan Gazidis has now been the CEO of Arsenal since January 1st.

Our Adopted Friend

Ivan is not American but after his time helping MLS he deserves our respect and gratitude. He has negotiated hundreds of salaries and has fundamentally shaped the how we view MLS. In 1994 Ivan joined the founding management team of Major League Soccer. While the other Americans had the required business brains Ivan brought more to the table. Ivan felt soccer and knew soccer in a way that Americans did not. He had grown up living the dream, and he had big ideas about how to regulate soccer so it would succeed in America.

Don’t Feel Ashamed
Major League Soccer often looks at the European leagues and feels ashamed. They have better players who get paid 100 times the salary of the biggest MLS star. The stands are packed full of fans, and worldwide TV licensing rights bring in millions of pounds.

As MLS fans stare uncomfortably at their feet or raise their middle fingers at Eurosnobs they forget that life in England and the European leagues looks better than it really is. We cheer on stars that often get paid less than a supermarket manager. In Europe they pay millions of pounds for almost every footballer on the pitch. We cheer for stars that represent us; who live in a style that we can relate to. Fans in Europe worship stars who live far beyond reality, in a fantasy world that European fans can only dream of. America brings the hard working real soccer stars.

Europe Looks to MLS
While MLS fans look to Europe, Europe is looking back at us for leadership. The lack of a salary cap is driving clubs to pay incredible amounts for one footballer. They wallow farther into debt in hopes of one day achieving the status and support that will result in a return on their investment. European clubs face continual debt, takeover bids, and large player salaries. The owners and managers of European clubs are now looking at the Major League Soccer business model for support and inspiration.

Major League Soccer is set to weather the current economic storm. With a strict salary cap, low player wages, investors with deep pockets, and a culture of the working man in place, MLS will survive. While attendance in European leagues are slowly declining as jobs are lost and tickets prices rise, MLS ticket sales remain steady. Indeed, Seattle has sold over 20,000 season tickets. It is through the careful and prudent planning of Ivan Gazidis that MLS will live on while the economic crisis will inevitably level and destroy some of the European clubs.

We may not know soccer but we know business.

Recent articles featuring Ivan Gazidis and his work
Recently there have been some great articles about Gazidis:

Wed. Is Thur.

2009-02-25T19:34:00.003-06:00

You heard me right, check back tomorrow.

SNAIL from bob lorrimer on Vimeo.

Legends of MLS: Preki

2009-02-23T15:45:00.003-06:00

Come with me on a magical journey across time and space as we learn and watch videos about Preki. He came from a foreign land and brought happiness, trophies, and great coaching to Major League Soccer.

Preki Is Born
Preki was born in Belgrade. Amidst the old world architecture he lived and dreamed of football. As a young man he started out brilliantly, playing for Red Star Belgrade and dreaming of moving on to bigger and better things.

Even though he was with Red Star when they won a championship, Preki was eager to move out of the country and find a better financial opportunity.

To Major Indoor Soccer League
So when the opportunity came for Preki to go to MISL he jumped at the chance. Preki arrived in America with a few articles of clothing and almost no money but went on to spend seven season playing in MISL. He spent time with both the Tacoma Stars and the St. Louis Storm and, amazingly, was named MVP every single season in the league. Preki will always be a legend of MISL, scoring 332 goals and 332 assists.

Off to England
At 29, Preki had had enough of indoor American soccer and took his considerable talents with him back across the Ocean to England. At Everton, Preki was played wide left, not his usual position. After 46 appearances and five goals for Everton, Preki moved to Portsmouth where he spent a season, scoring 5 goals in 40 games.

Back to MLS
After his time in England, Preki returned to MLS where he dominated. He became an eight-time all-star, two-time MLS Most Valuable Player (including 2003 at the age of 40) and two-time MLS Golden Boot winner. Perhaps most memorable was the 2000 season when he guided the Wizards to a MLS Championship.

While in MLS he destroyed building by wearing rainbows and kicking a ball

Into Coaching
Now, Preki stands at the helm of Chivas USA. In 2006 he was an assistant coach to Bob Bradley, so when Bradley got the National Team call Preki stood up and stood firm. He guided his 2007 team to a conference championship and claimed the 2007 Coach of the Year Award.

National Team
Oh ya he played with the US National Team too.

A second better angle (thanks Szazzy)

I'm a Liar

2009-02-21T18:42:00.005-06:00

You should know by now that I don't always put up things when I say. However today I can offer you a great song by Does it Offend You, Yeah?

The steel drums at the chorus are incredible.

Word Clouds Is Fun

2009-02-20T19:03:00.001-06:00

This does not count as Friday's post, this is a cheap and flimsy freebie. I am out of energy and brain power for today, so I'll have a special Saturday update for you when I'll be starting my new series, Legends of MLS.

Instead, sit back and enjoy a Advantage Played Word Cloud. Ooooooh word clouds.

Create your own at wordle.net

Documentary of the Week
Hey don't forget to get 18 with a Bullet. It's just too good to pass up and there is a handy download link over there on the left.

How To: Get Your Own Soccer News

2009-02-18T18:36:00.005-06:00

CUT COPY - "HEARTS ON FIRE" from Diaspro on Vimeo.
Surviving On Our Own
With the loss of Bruce over at du Nord to burnout all us Major League Soccer fans are suddenly without our regular daily news. We have gone from having all the news that’s fit and not fit to print organized and delivered daily to our computer screens to a random updates on all the blogs. It’s disorienting I know. Well today I’m going to share my small method of reaping the riches of MLS news using Google Alerts.

G’ It Up: Step One
Get yourself a new Gmail account: Setting up a new account is a vital step as you will flood your old email if you don’t. Plus you can curse at me on Google Talk.

G’ It Up: Step Two
Head to the Google Alerts page: This is your command station to set up personalized news alerts. Sign on in to that puppy with your new email account information.

G’ It Up: Step Three
Add New Alerts: Click that not shiny New Alert button on the bottom right of your screen. Add 14 different alerts as follows. Select “comprehensive” and “once a day”:

"D.C. United" soccer
"New England Revolution" soccer
"Red Bulls" soccer
"San Jose" soccer
Chicago Fire soccer
Chivas USA
Colorado Rapids soccer
Columbus Crew
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
KC wizards
LA Galaxy soccer
Seattle Sounders
Toronto FC

I formulated and tested these for the best results. Them quotation marks are important unless you want a lot of random crap about the discovery of new galaxies, politics, and earthquake magnitudes.

G’ It Up: Step Four
Check once a day to get a comprehensive look at everything happening in the league. I tested a couple other alert setups but found just sticking with the different teams yielded everything I needed to know. Want to follow a specific coach, team, supporters group or player? Throw up an alert to receive just about everything printed.

And the Winner Is...

2009-02-16T18:59:00.004-06:00

Russell’s Music
Russell has a great band, A Million Engines in Neutral, you can also find them on MySpace. I couldn’t find them on Seeqpod or figure out how to embed their music so please go check them out.

Contest Contest!
Well I didn’t have as many entries as I’d like, make that one entry but it was quality and that’s all that counts. I’m a young blog, come on now. The winning entry comes from Russell Courtney from Toledo Ohio. Russell and his crew… well I will let him tell the story.

Russell’s Box Truck
Some back-story is necessary to fully appreciate my supporters’ photos. On a nice (hot) summer day this past season, we rented a box truck for our tailgate. First, it took some serious convincing with the parking lot administrators at Crew Stadium (not sure why, since there are plenty of trailers in that lot). But after a series of “come on!”s from those riding in the cab of the truck, they let us in.

You will see that the walls of the inside of the cab were nicely decorated. The cab also included a couch, a loveseat, a foosball table, and, of course, a keg. We also filled a weed sprayer (yeah, like you use in your garden) with “jungle juice”, which we sprayed into the mouths of fellow supporters that made a stop at our tailgate.

If you look carefully, we are standing on the back of the cab. This is the platform from which we distributed booze.

I submit these photos, first, because I think it was a great idea for a tailgate. Second, because after all the effort we put in (and money we spent), nobody really took advantage of the cab of the truck, since it was 90 degrees out that day, and, of course, much hotter in the back of the truck, where we forgot about air conditioning.

Admittedly, the photo of the trailer would be much better if packed full of Crewties (a term for hot girl Crew supporters), and that didn’t happen because of the heat. But isn’t the risk of failure, or muted success, inherent in task of finding creative ways to support the team? I think the message is this: the day was hot as balls, but yet we still spent the money and the manpower, and went for it anyway. That’s true support!

Thanks for the submission Russell. You win yourself a free Bumpy Pitch T-Shirt!

Advantage Played State of the Union
Hey everyone, Graham here. Thanks for reading Advantage Played. Since I began about three months ago I’ve made a lot of changes and started to understand exactly what Advantage Played is. It has a nice character and extremist Major League Soccer viewpoint that is fun to write from. The layout has also changed, I think for the better. I’ve got two side columns now and a decent amount of regularly update information in them.

My numbers have tripled since I started, so thanks to everyone out there who is stopping by three times a week to read my work. I have fun and ya’ll make me happy.

Google Reader
A final note to you Google Reader people. To really get the full Advantage Played experience you should stop by my blog instead of just viewing it through the reader. I always have Seeqpod playlists at the top that are meant to be played while reading or that are picked by the person featured in the update.

A Call for Submissions

2009-02-15T10:39:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone, happy Sunday. I am going to start a series where I feature past MLS players. I will show photos, video, and write their back story. If there is a player you want featured send me some mail at grahamfox[@]gmail.com

To: Commissioner Don Garber

2009-02-12T17:53:00.006-06:00

Play this While Reading

Re: A Letter to David Beckham
Dear Commissioner Don Garber,
America has a long history of standing up and imposing itself on the world. We fought off the damn British and we sure aren’t afraid to start wars. I’m glad that Major League Soccer isn’t going to sit back and let Beckham play us all for fools.

Beckham would have sat back and conjured up boring English news articles. The drama would have dragged on past the start of the MLS season. Ooooh Beckham you love Milan. I’m sure it’s nice to get away from people who suck at soccer and then talk shit on them behind their back.

Don Garber, you are now officially the drama reducer, the deadline maker, the stamper of authority. Thank you for setting the Friday deadline and telling it to Steven Goff. There is no reason to let the prima donna underwear model draw all this attention.

Don Garber, you aren’t going to play AC Milan’s mind games. You know that they like to use tricky dick fun bills. They can’t trick MLS into accepting a tiny amount for the headliner and bringer of asses to seats. They aren’t going up against some rinkie dinky snake oil salesman. This is America; we know how to do business. We are the masters of AAA rated bonds.

Don Garber, you understand the value of money. You know that selling Beckham for a small amount so it doesn’t scare other stars away is ridiculous. Most of the other stars aren’t complete dicks. You know it’s not so bad to let Beckham’s contract run out at the end of the season and let him go away for free. He will make MLS enough money to easily equal Milan’s first offer.

Plus if Beckham doesn’t get the transfer, all us fans get to boo his every touch for the whole season.

Thanks man,
Graham Fox
Advantage Played

It’s On! USA Beats Mexico 2-0

2009-02-11T22:23:00.010-06:00

I know I don’t usually do up to the minute reporting but since the game today was on Wednesday and I update on Wednesdays I decided to combine the two into a post game report.

I’ll run you through the highlights, give out some ratings, and generally celebrate the hard fought victory. Watch the video for the quick and dirty but still, read for the best points and check out the awards at the end.

Minute by Minute Run Down
Da’ Line Up
Howard
Hedjuk -- Bocanegra -- Onyewu -- Pearce
Beasley -- Kljestan (Clark 86') -- Dempsey
Donovan
Ching (Altidore 83')

I don’t have much beer for this game, just two Calamatoes, but that’s ok, they are still delicious!

First Half
1’: A good attacking start, the USA moves the ball downfield quickly but Beasley makes a bad cross
3’: Mexico has their most dangerous attack of the game. It should have been 1-0 if not for a great save by Howard
5’: Hedjuk is making a great start but the US gives up a dangerous free kick on the edge of the box
8’: The weather is really coming into play, the rain is making the play fast and dangerous
10’: Great tackling by Bradley on the edge of the box, SBI banner is show for like 5 seconds!
14’: The US is not pressuring high, they are allowing Mexico to move the ball around a little
21’: Ching wins a free kick on the edge of Mexico’s box!
22’: And Donovan takes the free kick, he almost catches the keeper cheating
24’: Dempsey applies good attacking pressure, the American’s are showing how strong they are
27’: That’s one Clamatoe beer down!
28’: Nervous moments as Gooch misplays the ball in the box
36’: It’s not all US attack, the Mexican team strings together a fluid attack that results in a big save by Tim Howard
40’: Bocanegra gives up a big foul on the edge of the US box
40’: But Time Howard makes an easy save
42’: Hejduk wins a corner
43’: GOAAAAL Bradley! Beasley hits a long, looping corner that looks like it’s going astray. Not so, Donovan ghost in at the back corner and heads it back into the box for Gooch. Bradley ends up on the end of the blocked ball and slams it into the goal over the keepers desperate reach. Bradley and Beasley celebrate with the crowd in the corner.

Halftime
The US and Mexico put in a great performance in the first half. Although they both battled hard you have to give the advantage to the US. Even without the goal they fought and played hard, effectively eliminating most of Mexico’s scoring chances. Hejduk, Beasley, and Bradley are the first half stand outs.

2nd Half
51’: The US attack shows up again, Donovan hits a soft header right at the keeper. Still it’s positive play
53’: In an exciting sequence, Kljestan drives forward into the box, fights through tackles, and plays a short pass into the box that right behind an attacker. It would have been beautiful if it had worked.
56’: Donovan is doing well but he’s not playing out of his skin. Still it’s a team effort and the US is showing quality
57’: Clamatoe beers go down as smooth as Beasley’s crosses
61’: Kljestan keeps up the attack and runs at the defense, he just won’t stop!
65’: Now this is a fine mess! Mexico nearly scores, the ball is driven just past the corner and when it is crossed in again Howard goes up and challenges Rafael Marquez for the ball, but Marques stick a boot into Howard during the challenge. Marquez gets an immediate red card and Howard gets a yellow. I’m still not sure what Howard got the yellow for. Probably for being too amazing.
70’: Up 1-0 and a man advantage the US isn’t content to sit back, they are continuing the attack
72’: Hejduk is limping from a hard challenge. He’s playing out of his skin.
76’: Beasley puts in an awful cross. It’s crazy how good and mediocre he has played
78’: Hejduk is itching to blast the ball. He gets his chance but it goes astray
83’: Altidore is in for Ching. The US fans are going crazy for Altidore. He looks like he’s gained some muscle mass since I last saw him.
86’: Clark goes in for Kljestan to shore up the defense
89’: No one is giving up. Dempsey and Donovan are still fighting hard.
92’:GOOAAALL Bradley! The icing on the cake! The foam on the beer! Bradley drives a dipping ball from distance that slips through the keepers hands.

Post Game
What a great game for US fans. The US team showed fight and spirit. They never gave up on the game and worked together. After the game many of the team tossed their jersey’s into the crowd, I wish I was there to fight for one. It’s a great day to be US fan; Mexico needs to work on their voodoo. It sucks. The only downside is Tim Howard is going to miss the next match for yellow card accumulation.

Player Awards
Man of the Match: Franky Hedjuk
Needs to Rethink the Haircut: Sacha Kljestan
The Master of Wonky Crossing: DaMarcus Beasley
Attacking is Fun: Michael Bradley
Shoot the Boot (because everyone needs to experience it once): Landon Donovan

Soccer in America: Jim “Snoop” Schneiderhahn Part Two

2009-02-09T21:11:00.004-06:00

Music Snoop Likes

An Interview with Emporia State University Women’s Soccer Head Coach
Welcome back to part two of my interview with Jim Schneiderhahan. In the second half of my interview I talked with him about coaching at Emporia State, the future of his players, goalkeeping, and Americans coaching in Europe.

If you missed the first interview scroll down a wee bit or click the link. You can learn a lot from this interview, don’t skip it because you don’t know Emporia State.

Coaching Women’s Soccer at Emporia State University
How did last season go?
Better. When I came in here there were a lot of things that needed to be fixed and it’s really not anyone’s fault, it’s the natural evolution of a young program. Anytime you are new coming in to a new situation it’s kind of like living in someone’s house and someone else put the furniture out. It’s not where you’re use to having it or really where you want to have it. So you have to spend your time moving the furniture around to where you want it.

That’s essentially what we’ve done the last few years is try to get the furniture moved. I think we’re finally to a point where we are moving in the direction we need to move, and have some fantastic kids who are willing to work hard to make it happen. It’s a no rest for the weary kind of thing where as soon as you start doing well you have to work that much harder to recruit.

How is the next year shaping up?
Good. We had a lot of young kids, freshman, who played this year and got a baptism by fire. A week from today is national signing day so we’ve got four [recruits] and a couple young ladies who are going to sign with us next week who I think will come in and do well. The big thing with our team right now is we are at a place where we don’t really have any super starts or any big time studs but we have a nice group of kids who are willing to work hard and do the teamwork necessary to be successful.

That counts for a lot.
It does. You obviously do need the studs and the stars to move to the next level but certainly from where we are at right now I like our chances to continue to compete and rise up the table.

You play your games across town by the high school?
We have the last couple of years. This year we are actually moving onto campus down by the rec field. That was one of the first things I said when I arrived here was I wanted to get us on campus so we can get closer to everyone else. We want the ability for us to get the casual fans going to their car after class or going down to the rec center for a workout.

We are right there, something is going on, they see a crowd of people. They’ll watch. It’s the same inclination of people who pass by an ambulance on the road. There is a bunch of people standing around and flashing lights, lets look. Maybe we’ll have some flashing lights I don’t know.

Did you have to fight any with the football team to use the field (football practice field)?
No no. Coach Higgins and the whole football team have been fantastic. When you come into a new situation you have to get the lay of the land and certainly Coach Higgins did it, I’ve actually been here longer than Coach Higgins, but the football program, every program has been here longer. We’re the young kids on the block so to speak. One of the things that is very important to me is we don’t want to succeed at the expense of any of our colleges and I hope that’s the same way they feel and I think that it is.

Being a Soccer Professional
What is the future of soccer like for the players who are coming through the ESU program? Are they moving on? Do they have the capability to move on?
Certainly there is the ability for some. Some no. It’s all about mentality. The ability of players as they move up the soccer playing ladder, the ability difference is infinitesimally small. I think you’ll find [the difference is] the mentality they bring.

There is a great story about the English national team when they have the indoctrination of players who have been called up for events. They have a group meeting with them prior to the training camp and written on the blackboard behind the coach is a statement that says, “Your ability got you here, your mentality will keep you here.” That’s one of the things we talk with our girls about all the time. The ability is what I watch and see and generally any fool can tell, anyone who has watched soccer or athletics can tell who the studs are. Who has it and who can’t do it.

The hard part is once they get here are they willing to sacrifice that night out on the town because we have a game tomorrow. Are they willing to get up at 5.30 on a cold February morning and go to the weight room? Being a college athlete is not a decision you make once, it’s a decision you make every morning.

So to to conversely is a professional. We all dream and we want to be a pro but the fact is those who have the ability is very small and so smaller still is those who have the mentality and the ability. There are a lot of people out there in whatever sport who have the ability but don’t have the mentality. That aren’t willing to look at it as a profession. They see all the glamor of being on TV and under the spotlight, making money and being able to play at the highest level but what they don’t see is the incredible amount of work. You can’t survive on Big Macs and Whoppers. Can you eat right? Can you get up and run on your own?

In the team we’ve got right now I would say there is no one who has the ability to move to the next level. We have a bunch of ladies who will do very well at this level. But by the same token there is always somebody who starts out and as a bench warmer their first year or two and then they get it in their head they want to succeed and nothing will stand in their way.

Goalkeeping (Jim is a former college keeper and goalkeeping coach)
A lot of US Soccer fans have wondered why there are so many great American goalkeepers. Why are they succeeding while the field players aren’t doing as well?
The simple explanation is we are raised to play in a bunch of different sports and the majority of sports are done with our hands. Basketball, football, baseball, they all have to do with eye hand coordination. Therefore Americans are athletic.

Also, more of the clubs of the world are willing to take a chance on a goalkeeper before they will a field player because we are used to doing things with our hands. It’s a natural progression as opposed to our field players. People think, “They’re American they can’t play with their feet as well.” There are some American goalkeepers who are getting a chance because they are American and goalkeepers and some field players who aren’t getting enough of a chance because they are American and an outfield player.

With that being said I think there are tremendous goalkeepers. It’s kinda nice to have that little corner of the market.

Coaching Overseas
When do you think an American coach will be able to go overseas and be successful?
It’s already kind of happened in a of ways. In the 2006 world cup Jurgen Klinsmann took a lot of heat from the German people because he brought over fitness trainers from the United States and trained them how we train them. He took a lot of ideas Anson Dorance the women’s coach at UNC. Everyone went nuts over that because not only was it an American coach it was an American women’s coach. [They said] “How can they show us anything different?” Klinsmann was willing to step outside of the buffer zone and they were semi finalists.

It’s a little more prevalent than you think. Just not at the highest level. I think there are a number of American coaches who are physical trainers over there. That’s probably where we will get in it first. Then it goes the way our players go. It will be a goalkeeping trainer in some club. From there an outfield coach and maybe then a head coach. It may not be for another 15 or 20 years. Steve Sampson is bouncing around a little bit and coaching various National Teams in Latin America. Obviously not Manchester United or English Nation team but it’s got to start small and it’s got to start somewhere.

Thank you for the interview Snoop! I learned a lot and I’m sure the readers did too. If any of you internet peeps are ever in Emporia, KS go to one of the women’s soccer games.

Thank You du Nord

2009-02-06T10:05:00.002-06:00

Music Bruce Likes

And on the Seventh Day He Rested
I’m sure you’ve all seen the news by now if you are like thousands of other Major League Soccer fans and make du Nord part of your daily stop. Bruce is officially going on hiatus, and it could be a permanent break. In his own words:

"I am definitely going to take a break from du Nord.
I have no idea if it will be for days, weeks, months or forever.
But I do know that I am burnt out, and need to step away.
As soon as I know more, so will you.
Thanks for all the great patronage."

With those words Bruce stepped away from his massive undertaking. Bruce, you rock. Thanks for bringing MLS news to all of us starved fans. We had a place to go that focused solely on the spreading of information that was pertinent and important to us. You celebrated all of soccer, but you celebrated the players, teams, coaches, and fans of MLS and American soccer the most.

Without you I would have never grown to love MLS like I do today. I would not know the inner workings of MLS that are discussed on the internet but not put into a comprehensive information package. You took the world of MLS and bound it together with impeccable organization and formatting. Thousands of people from all walks of life learned from your work. You spread the love of MLS like no other blogger.

You also were actively involved in the soccer community. Thanks for organizing bus trips, ticket packages, and watch parties.

And on the Sixth Day He Created Advantage Played
I am sure I am just one of many bloggers who was inspired to start their own project because of Bruce, but without the opening Wizards game last year and a quick meeting with Bruce there would be no Advantage Played.

I met the big man while hanging out at the cauldron tailgate. I recognized his great big bushy beard and chatted with him for 10 minutes. While we talked, I mentioned I was doing professional writing for a web company. Later I emailed Bruce and told him anytime he needed help, I was willing.

And Bruce gave me a chance. Without ever reading my writing, he let me fill in for him while he was gone several times, the first times I had ever written about soccer. With each article I published my confidence grew, so when Bruce encouraged me to start a blog, Advantage Played was born.

Of course, he linked me as one of his main stories of the day and put me in his Starting 11. Thanks Bruce, without you I doubt anyone would be reading this right now.

And on the Other Five Days He Worked His Ass Off
How much did he work? Let’s take a gander:

1,296 posts
Four years of updates
Five posts a week
Around 1000 words per update
Around 15-30 links per update
Constant tracking of all major tournaments
Constant tracking of major match ups
A sweet schedule that puts mine to shame
A generous list of soccer blogs

Let’s put some all time numbers together

Links to over 16,500 different articles
Over a million words written

Those are fucking big numbers. How about the time he put in? I have no idea how long each update took but I imagine from start to end they probably averaged 3-5 hours a piece. For my calculation below I’m going with the low 3.

That’s a minimum of 3888 hours just on posts alone
Or 162 days
Or 23 weeks
Or 5.7 months

And on the Eighth Day He Didn’t Get Paid
Oh ya and you did it all for free. You’re work is quality, and there are many information professionals who package information for a living. They command anywhere from 25-75 dollars an hour. Let’s put you at the 75 dollar range.

That’s 291,600 dollars
Or a decent house
Or 14 elephants
Or a whole USL team
Or Two Cessna SkyCatchers
Or 100 1991Volkswagen Bus/Vanagon GL

In other words, Thanks dude!

Soccer in America: An Interview with Jim "Snoop" Schneiderhahn

2009-02-04T20:58:00.003-06:00

Music Snoop Likes

An Interview with Jim Schneiderhahn
Jim “Snoop” Schneiderhahn is in his third year as the Emporia State University Woman’s Soccer Head Coach. I sat down with him and talked about his soccer career, coaching soccer, woman’s soccer, the Women’s National Team, coaching overseas, the Men’s National team, Eddie Johnson, and goalkeeping.

Today I’m bringing you the first part of the interview. Monday I will publish part two. Enjoy.

Soccer Basics
What is your first soccer memory?
It was probably when I was five or six and we were moving into a new house. I was outside kicking the soccer ball in the back yard with the neighbors.

Right after that we were downstairs in the basement with the kids of the family we were buying the house from and we were kicking the soccer ball around the basement. I think my folks were signing the papers when I put a soccer ball through the window downstairs.

Did you play youth soccer?
I loved baseball and I went to catholic grade and high school. Particularly in Catholic communities in St. Louis you would play for your parish team. I played soccer, baseball, and later on basketball. I didn’t start playing club ball until I was 12 years old. The goalkeeper on our team had gotten hurt and I had played a little bit of goal in second grade.

In about 6th grade I stepped in and played goal and in my seventh grade year I was asked by a coach to play for a club team, a bush team. That’s when I was hooked.

Did you play high-school and college soccer?
I went on to play high school soccer in St. Louis. I was cut one year I was there, and then got an opportunity to play college soccer at a NAIA college, Benedictine College, just outside of Kansas City. I played and had a blast there. I got to play for and against some pretty good teams and had a chance to go the National Tournament. I graduated in 1990.

Did you ever think about playing professionally? Was there any opportunity at that time?
I thought about it certainly, every kids grows up thinking they want to play professional sports but I recognized that I was a 6’0 goalkeeper and the majority of goalkeepers who got opportunities to play professionally in the ‘A’ league were several inches taller than I was.

I started having ideas about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I didn’t put forth the effort I should have. I went back to St. Louis and played in a lot of indoor tournaments, paid tournaments where if your team won they won a couple thousand dollars which was normally used to pay the bar bill. That was as close to professional soccer as I got as a player.

How did you make the transition to coaching?
I kind of fell into it. My father runs a small service company in St. Louis. I worked for him for about three years and worked for myself for three years as a photographer and a photographer’s assistant in commercial photography. You would be in the studio at 6am and leave at midnight. What started to get me was in January and February, the short days; I could go three or four days without ever seeing the sunlight. That got to me. I went back to Benedictine to get my education degree and worked there as the Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach.

After about a year of coaching college I [realized I] liked college coaching from the standpoint of dealing with the players along with putting together a team. To me it’s a multidimensional puzzle. It’s not just about getting the right number of forwards and backs. It’s also the other dimensions and probably the more important dimensions, the personalities and the way people are and trying to fit those personalities into one cohesive whole.

I said I would give it a chance and gave myself four years to get a college job. I figured I was already broke and I didn’t want to get in a high school position and start making money and say “Hey I’m comfortable doing this." Within that time the Women’s Coach at Benedictine resigned and they came after me to take that position.

Coaching and Coaching Accreditation
I think a lot of people are in the dark on how the coaching accreditation process works. Can you fill us in?
The United States Soccer Federation has, and this is something all of the developed nations have, a licensing procedure. In the United States there are essentially six total grades.

You start at the State level and can get 'F,' 'E,' or 'D.' They have pretty much done away with the 'F' and the 'E' and they call those youth modules. Those are for dealing with kids 12, 10 or younger. If you pass the 'D' you can go through and get your 'C' which is the first level in the United States National Federation.

Essentially it is a school you go to for ten days, normally in the summer, where you have to demonstrate your ability. You learn and you have to turn around and demonstrate your knowledge of the game and your ability to play, you have to prove you can play as well as demonstrate, and you ability to teach the game. You actually run a training session with all the other candidates. You do this in front of staff members who grade you.

If you pass you can go on to the next level within a years time or you fail you have to go back and learn and come back at least three months later and try again. The ‘C’ is primarily the smaller numbers of the game, 1v1 to 6 v 6 and dealing with kids from about 10-12. Your ‘B’ is kids 12-16,6v6 to 9v9. ‘A’ is 9v9 and 11v11. You’re also weeding people out through the process.

Do a lot of people fail?
Generally the failure rate for ‘A’ is about 70-75 percent. I wanted to learn the game so the stressor didn’t hit me until afterward. Not going to lie, it is stressful. The Soccer Federation creates that atmosphere. I’m happy I’m through and got my ‘A.’ Once you get through every four years you must audit a course or go to various continuing education units. If you build up enough of those you can maintain the ‘A’ license.

Who leads the clinics?
It is a little bit of everyone. Other college coaches who have gone through and passed the testing procedure to test. Youth coaches who have gone through. Coaches from the national team. Even coaches they bring over from other countries. It’s a little bit of a hodgepodge of everything. Male, female, whatever.

Women’s Soccer
Why do you coach women’s soccer or do you have a preference one way or the other?
You know I don’t know if there is a reason I stayed with it. The simplest reason was it was a job. When I was initially offered the job (at Benedictine) it really didn’t make a difference to me. The women bring a different skew and view of the game and athletics in general than I was use to in an all male environment which was very refreshing.

They aren’t going to kill their friends on the other team for the sake of the game. In some respects it’s easier and in some more difficult. They want to succeed and learn where guys tend to be more hard headed. With girls there is a huge communication factor. You have to have the ability to communicate with them and establish a trust. If they can’t trust you and what you are doing then you are lost.

What struggles do women face playing soccer in America?
I think it depends on what the ultimate goal is. For those at the elite level there is a shortage of opportunities to play after college. Starting this year the new women’s league (WPS) is starting up and I think that is fantastic. There are other opportunities. My assistant has played the last three years in the W league which is professional, maybe a little semi pro, for those who have the ability and want to continue playing.

There are struggles from the outside world looking in at women trying to play a sport at the highest levels. One of the great things that was an outcome of the 1999 World Cup was we saw a boom of young girls who wanted to be the next Mia Hamm or Brandi Chastain or Briana Scurry. They had this tremendous ad campaign of team building and we get along and that was great but ultimately when you get into the top levels its about competition and can you compete. There are struggles there.

One of the things we talk about with our girls all the time is being happy. Some of this is not necessarily fun. It’s not all puppies and sunshine. Fitness for some people isn’t fun. Going into a fifty-fifty ball and risking getting hurt isn’t fun. For other people it is. There is somewhat of a identity crisis of what exactly is the game. Is it fun and participation and everyone gets to play or is it a sport where competition is at its premium and who is the best player?

Finally, the acceptance of the sports community at large. We have a double whammy in that we are soccer. Soccer automatically is still the commie foreign sport where it’s always the butt of the jokes. I don’t know why that is. Maybe people are afraid we are going to “take their athletes.” We have the double whammy or soccer as the commie sport and as women’s sport. We have to gain credibility through all that.

How do you think the new Women's Professional Soccer League will do?
It looks like they have a decent plan in place. They aren’t sticking them in big stadiums. They are getting the help of MLS. That is one of the reasons the WNBA has lasted so long is because the franchises in the WNBA are helped along the by the same people who own the NBA franchises. You can share the same marketing people and front office staff plus one or two more as opposed to hiring the whole staff. You can share resources. I certainly hope it will do well. I would like to see more publicity. The soccer community knows about it but who else? I remember when MLS started up; they did a lot of things wrong but they also did a lot right. They had the ads on TV and on ESPN, and I’m not really getting that from the new women’s league.

Why it the United States Women’s National Team so dominate?
The same reason why our baseball team has always dominated until the recent years. We started it, we embraced it more. In a lot of the soccer playing countries of the world, Women’s Soccer is looked down and frowned upon. Maybe women’s sports in general are. Soccer is seen as a man’s game. The England, the Germanys, the Brazils didn’t embrace it immediately.

We’ve been able to give our young ladies a chance to play since the 80s and early 90s, we were able to get ahead of the curve. Now you are seeing many of the soccer playing nations catch up and even pass us. Brazil is tremendous. The flair of the men’s team has caught up and gone over to the women’s team. You would love to be dominate forever but in the growth of the game and how it is played more competition is better.

Monday
The rest of the interview will be published on Monday, stick around folks, more great stuff to come.

Contest
Today is supposed to be the last day of my supporter pictures contest but I haven’t received many submissions yet so I am going to keep it open until Monday. Please submit to grahamfox[@]gmail.com so I can hand out the Bumpy Pitch T-Shirt and the 25 dollar gift certificate to SoccerPro.com

See you on Wednesday

2009-02-02T10:28:00.002-06:00

Out sick again boys and girls. See you on Wednesday when I'll bring you the next installment of my Soccer in America series. I did a great interview, learned a lot, and I think you will to. Peace out.

Advantage Played is...

2009-01-30T10:30:00.005-06:00

Soccer is...

Is soccer...

Soccer players...

England is...

Ronaldo is...

Drugs are...

Goalies are...

A.P. Ranks ‘Em From 1-11: Jersey Sponsors in MLS

2009-01-28T10:28:00.003-06:00

The San Jose Earthquake became the 11th team in Major League Soccer to reel in a jersey sponsor Tuesday when they secured Amway as their official sponsor. To celebrate their (well mostly the leagues) new found money I am ranking the sponsors and team. My ranking is based on three qualities, each with 5 possible positive and negative points:
• Company Reputation
• Money involved
• Logo Design (includes how well it works with the kit)

The Top 11
1. Seattle Sounders: 4 million annually
XBOX 360 LIVE
Company Reputation: 5
Money: 5
Logo Design: 5
Total Score: 15
Seattle scored big when they brought Microsoft and XBOX 360 LIVE in as a sponsor. It is hard to get a bigger company than Microsoft. Seattle and Microsoft work great together because Seattle has a great tech industry. The young and technological savvy crowd that Major League Soccer attracts is a great fit for Microsoft. Microsoft bring the money, and they brought top dollar to the deal with the Sounders.

The design works too. The Sounder’s colors fit the XBOX and the XBOX’s colors fit the Sounders. It’s the perfect match.

2. DC United: 3.1 to 3.7 million annually
Volkswagen
Company Reputation: 5
Money: 4.5
Logo Design: 5
Total Score: 14.5
DC United is a very close second to Seattle. Volkswagen is a top company that everyone immediately recognizes. Not only do they support DC, but Volkswagen is a main sponsor of the league itself. Every time you see the logo you have to think of DC, even if you are at a RSL vs Colorado game.

The Volkswagen logo looks classy on both the home and away jerseys. The white and black negative spaces are simple and clear. I love the round design; eons better than “Volkswagen” splayed across the kit.

3. New York Red Bulls: Part of a 100 million dollar deal
Red Bull
Company Reputation: 4
Money: 5
Logo Design: 5
Total Score: 14
Metrostars fans might hate me but I like Red Bull as a sponsor. The jerseys look great. The Bulls on front give off the brand without the company name yelling out who they are. The money is wonderful as well. Red Bull has brought increased press, a new stadium, and an improved commitment to the league.

Red Bull has always been a great sponsor of athletes, without them many fringe sports and athletes could not succeed. I admit to having yelled that Red Bull tastes like piss and then drinking a free can. They are good for the community.

4 (TIE). Chicago Fire: 2 to 4 million annually
Best Buy
Company Reputation: 4
Money: 3.5
Logo Design: 3
Total Score: 10.5
Best Buy is another great sponsor for Major League Soccer. The nationally known logo fits well with the Chicago Fire’s all red jerseys. I hate fighting the crowds in Best Buy, but I wouldn’t mind at a Fire game. The brand recognition is instantaneous; the white tag against the red background stands out and looks slightly garish. Did they only give the designer paint.NET? “Well I have the select a box tool, I don’t know how to change off white and black, and I have a paint can tool.”

The money is right too. I could not find clear figures so the Fire misses 5 points for money. A varied figure means they get a slightly lower score and miss out on fourth place by .5 points.

4 (TIE). Houston Dynamo: 1.785 million annually
Amigo Energy
Company Reputation: 3
Money: 2.5
Logo Design: 5
Total Score: 10.5
Amigo Energy is a local company that the South is familiar with but it does not hold the brand recognition that the top 4 have. While it doesn’t have the recognition it connects locally and bring recognition to a team that doesn’t always have the respect it deserves from the local government. At 1.785 million annually, Houston has secured enough money to put themselves right at the medium for sponsor money.

The logo is unique to the area and culture. It’s got flavor baby. The Amigo Energy logo is about more than just the company, it also talks about the culture in Houston, Texas.

5. Columbus Crew: 1 million annually
Glidden
Company Reputation: 4
Money: 1
Logo Design: 5
Total Score: 10
Columbus Crew, the 2008 MSL Cup Champions are getting the short end of a stick shoved somewhere nasty. At 1 million annually they are tied with Real Salt Lake as worst negotiators (was it really was to appoint Steve Sampson to take care of it?). However, they stick at fifth place because Glidden has done more than pay their 1 million dollars and walk away.

The Glidden logo looks professional and cool on Columbus’ jerseys. The rounded logo, reminiscent of the Volkswagen design stands out and melds well with the kit. Glidden also has put more money into sponsoring MLS and they have a sweet line of paint at Home Depot where you can order custom MLS colors. Never done it, but I think it’s cool.

6. Toronto FC: 1 to 1.5 million annually
BMO
Company Reputation: 4
Money: 1.5
Logo Design: 3
Total Score: 8.5
At 1 to 1.5 million, Toronto FC isn’t getting anything spectacular from a bank. Toronto may excel at giving goals away but BMO isn’t quite as generous. BMO is a solid bank relatively free from the credit crisis but it doesn’t help that BMO is only accessible to those in Canada and Chicago. The brand recognition isn’t there.

The logo design is bland. The black BMO stands beside some kind of emoticon typed by a Japanese adolescent girl.

7. Chivas USA: 2 million annually
Comex
Company Reputation: 3
Money: 2.5
Logo Design: 2
Total Score: 7.5
The Comex group is the other paint company in MLS sponsor world. They want you to buy their paint and industrial smoothing products and proceed get all colorful and shit but the logo doesn’t tell me that. It says, “We sell white paint and if you paint an X, it will be in a totally sweet font. Schwing!”

While the money is right and the culture connection with South and Central America is there, the rest just got stabbed in Tijuana.

8. LA Galaxy: 4 to 5 million annually
Herbalife
Company Reputation: -5
Money: 5
Logo Design: 3
Total Score: 3
Oh Galaxy, when will you stop being so easy to pick on? Let’s get the positive out of the way. Hey um, HERBALIIIIIFE, you paid out some good money and I like the little plant design but I think it is missing a couple of leafs. The only way the Galaxy aren’t last in this list is the great money they are getting.

But Herbalife? Inappropriate business practices, running a pyramid scheme, many lawsuits, Herbalife has paid out 50 Million in lawsuits over the years. Do I need to say anymore about how sleazy life is in Herbalife?

9. Real Salt Lake: 1 million annually
XanGo
Company Reputation: -2
Money: 1
Logo Design: 2
Total Score: 1
XanGo. Interesting name. If I stare at the name long enough and say it over and over in my mind it means I’m supposed to take some Xanax and Go somewhere exotic? RSL isn’t exactly making bank on this deal. Sure when they signed it they were in a horrible stadium with bouncy turf action but 1 million is pretty low.

The logo is sufficient but if that’s the kind of creativity XanGo inspires

10. San Jose Earthquakes: 2 to 3 million annually
Amway
Company Reputation: -6
Money: 3
Logo Design: 3
Total Score: 0
Amway, meet your neighbor pyramid Herbalife. Nice of you to sponsor a California team too. The two rivals have something in common; they will sell you stupid shit. Amway, I get your connection with California, they had riots and you caused riots in China! You are illegal in India and tried to get away with tax evasion in Canada! You are pure class.
At least you are paying decent money and were willing to change their logo color so it matches the Earthquake color scheme.

Contest...CONTEST
Contest still going, send in your great pictures, they don't have to be incredible, just you in action. Win a Bumpy Pitch T-Shirt or a 25 dollar gift certificate to SoccerPro.com

View the rules
Send me your shots at grahamfox[@]gmail.com

Here is a great shot of a converted trailer a Columbus crew fan brought to the game last year. Too bad it was super hot out and not many people wanted to go inside!

Fredy Montero: A Player Profile

2009-01-26T12:46:00.006-06:00

The Seattle Expansion: Let’s Not Finish Last
No expansion team goal is: “Finish Last.” Unfortunately for them, most have hit that goal with pomp and flair. An expansion team has built in disadvantages. Most of the players have never worked together. They are just settling into the area. Family and friends are far away. In MLS wives cannot always afford to follow their husbands. When you make 30 – 60k, making your wife quit her job to follow you is not always an option. Life is expensive.

Seattle will carry many of those disadvantages with them into their first season. Their defense may leak goals, they may be playing on field turf in a giant stadium, their DP may be unfairly labeled as over the hill, but Seattle is bringing the excitement offensively.

Fredy Montero
New forwards are exciting and Fredy Montero is excitement with possibilities galore. Seattle has scored a coup by bringing in a young, proven goal scorer on loan.

Fredy Montero’s move to Seattle comes as a surprise considering he was being chased by Real Betis. Despite signing with Seattle, Montero’s dream of playing in Europe lives on. Like many soccer journeymen Montero views MLS is a place to learn, grow, prove himself in a new environment, and ultimately to sell himself to a European team.

Seattle may not be Europe, but some of the tests stay the same. Fredy has to deal with a new country, city, and language. His ability to work with new teammates from a diverse background he cannot immediately communicate with will be tested.

Culture shock is seeing Seattle’s Best Coffee on every corner. What were you doing at 21? I was wandering around college being stupid. I hope Fredy has more maturity than I had.

Fredy’s History: Scoring and Being Loaned Out
At 18, Fredy signed a contract with Deportivo Cali a Columbian Club in Santiago de Cali, Colombia. Fredy immediately made an impact at the club by scoring at a prodigious rate. In 38 total appearances over three years, Fredy has scored 20 goals.

Fredy has scored .526 goals per game for Deportivo Cali. Fredy may not be Christiano Ronaldo, but he has proven he can score a goal every other game. If Fredy can maintain that rate in MLS he will increase his value exponentially.

At 19, Fredy was loaned out to lower division Atletico Huila where he has scored 13 goals in 26 appearances, a solid .5 goals per game.

When Fredy was recalled to Deportiva Cali for the 2007 season he started 17 games and scored no goals. His drought lasted all the way to the 2008 season when he began scoring again.

A Hidden Problem?
Yet amongst all the scoring a mystery appears that I cannot easily explain. Why is Deportivo Cali so eager to send Fredy out on loan? A proven goal scorer at 21, Fredy should be a commodity that Deportivo Cali would want to hold on to. Usually young goal scorers are held onto and milked for every goal they can give the club until an offer to buy is just too good to pass up.

What is Fredy’s downside?

Fuck It, We’ll Watch Him Play Live
Whatever his secret is, we can always watch videos of him scoring great goals. That is sure to make any Seattle fan feel better about hidden downsides.

This video shows most of his goals, including some incredible pile drivers, but with out music.

This video only shows three goals but it has some enchanting music.

This one includes a rocking soundtrack as well as great pictures of Fredy.

Don’t Forget My Contest , Damnit
Hey I still have a contest going remember? Turn in your supporter pictures to grahamfox[@]gmail.com and win a Bumpy Pitch T-Shirt or a 25 dollar gift certificate to SoccerPro.com

First Win of 2009

2009-01-25T10:26:00.004-06:00

Short Celebratory Update

Hey everyone, I'm sure you've all seen the highlights but I just had to put up the USA vs Sweden results. A great performance. How about that hat trick by Kljestan. I think everyone needs to spend a week training with Celtic.

Of course it was also great to see three MLS debates: Troy Perkins, Robbie Rogers, and Chris Wingert.

See you on Monday!

Out Sick

2009-01-23T12:25:00.002-06:00

Hey ya'll. I'm feeling pretty crappy today so you don't get a real update today. Remember, submit your supporter photos to win some great prizes.

1st: A Bumpy Pitch T-Shirt
2nd:25 dollars to Soccerpro.com
3rd:An update OR pick the music for a week OR I just give you a shoutout

Turn your entries into grahamfox[@]gmail.com. There haven't been many entries yet so you're chances are pretty good at the moment.

Peace out, see you on Monday, I'll have a better line up for you next week.

Advantage Played: The Great Photo Contest

2009-01-21T18:41:00.005-06:00

Advantage Played: 1st Annual Supporters Photo Contest

This week I’m bringing you a special treat. A chance for people all over the world to see the great shots you took while supporting you team!

I will accept any photo as long as there are supporters in it. Got a great one of everyone marching into the stadium? How about doing a keg stand in the parking lot? Beer flying through the air as a goal is scored? Submit that too.

Show off how great your supporters group is. Show the world that your team’s supporters are the best.

Win Great Prizes
1st Prize: A Bumpy Pitch T-Shirt
2nd Prize: 25 dollar gift certificate to SoccerPro.com
3rd Prize: An update on Advantage Played OR pick the playlists for a week OR I will just show off your great photo

Rules

If you submit the shot, you took it
Supporting your team has something to do with the shot
Any MLS, USL, or college team
Contest will run from Jan 21st to Feb 4th
Submit up to five pictures
Submit to grahamfox[@]gmail.com

Examples
Below are two pictures my girlfriend took while at games. Dig out your digital camera and turn in your best.

Feel free to photoshop and manipulate your pictures so they look great.

Everyone love supporters in action!

Next Time on Advantage Played
Is the draft a big conspiracy? I'll talk about that as well as how aliens are observing us and how daddy long legs have a poisonous bite but there little tiny jaws are just to small to break our skin.

Dennis Hamlett: A Man of Character

2009-01-19T17:40:00.005-06:00

Diversity in Major League Soccer

In Major League Soccer it is easy to spot diversity. Every team has players from around the world and many different walks of life. However, Dennis Hamlett stands alone at the top as the only black Latino head coach in MLS.

Dennis Hamlett Suffers a Stroke of Destiny
In the preseason of the 1997, Dennis Hamlett was preparing for the second ever MLS season. His first season had been full of promise. Hamlett played all but one game of the inaugural MLS season and was named Colorado’s 1996 Defender of the Year.

It happened innocuously; the play seemed like hundreds of others Hamlett had made in preseason training. The ball was thrust through the air and into Colorado’s box. Pushing off from the ground and leaping slightly backwards, Hamlett soared through the air and headed the ball away. Like any good defender he had mounted a successful challenge and continued onward without fanfare.

This challenge changed Hamlett’s destiny. While he lay down to take a nap, the carotid artery in his neck seeped blood. Hamlett awoke with a “massive headache.” The leaking carotid artery had given the 28 year old Hamlett a stroke.

After recovering from the stroke Hamlett found his intensity and drive were gone. He still loved soccer and every aspect surrounding the game but his ability to passionately play the game had been severely diminished. Despite playing for Colorado, Hamlett received the care and attention he deserved from MLS. They were not ready to give up on Hamlett’s talented brain. Instead of casting him aside they tried to find him a job. Peter Wilt, Chicago Fire's first president, was happy to welcome Hamlett into the fold as an assistant coach.

Paying Penance to the Fire
Hamlett spent five years under Bob Bradley, the winningist coach in MLS history. Hamlett was beside Bradley while Chicago won a MLS Championship and two Open Cups. When Bradley moved on, Hamlett was passed over. Hamlett had learned from the best, but his hard work and brilliant soccer mind was not enough for Chicago.

Instead Chicago decided to bring in Dave Sarachan who Hamlett helped to gain two more Open Cup titles. While the Fire were not interested in Hamlett for the head coaching position, Hamlett was determined to lead from more than an assistant’s position. He continued his hard work with Chicago, but interview for head coaching positions around the league.

Hamlett’s time was coming, but one head coach later than he hoped. When Sarachan moved on, Hamlett again tried for the head coaching job only to be passed over for Juan Carlos Osorio. Only after Osorio resigned was Hamlett finally given his chance.

Ten years after suffering a stroke, Hamlett was back on top.

Alone at the Top
Hamlett stands as one of the few black coach’s in all of soccer. His dedication, commitment, and love for soccer and the Chicago Fire has held him in good steed. Hamlett’s dream has been realized and today on Martin Luther King Jr. day we should celebrate his accomplishments.

Don’t judge Dennis Hamlett by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. Today, we celebrate Hamlett’s character. The character that lead him through strokes, ten years of assistant coaching, and to the top of Major League Soccer.

Soccer in America: Soccer with James Parker, Manhattan KS

2009-01-16T12:20:00.009-06:00

The Interviewee's Music Picks!

Introductions
I met James while playing pick-up soccer at K-State. He is a talented player who is heavily involved with the K-State Men’s Club Team.

Who is James?
Hi James, would you give the readers a quick background of yourself?
I’m a fourth year right now at K-State in the architecture department. I grew up in Manhattan, and played football and soccer there.

What’s your first memory of soccer? How far back can you go?
It may be one of those that’s more ingrained in my dad’s memory. My dad forgot to sign me up for city league soccer. I was sitting there just bawling my brains out at the city department because I wasn’t on the team. I was crying, wouldn’t get in the car, pissed off at the world. My dad felt pretty horrible and he reminds me of it time in time out.

You played both Football and Soccer in High-School?
I gave it a shot. I was just a kicker. I played four years of soccer, three varsity. I wanted to try something different. Me and my friend both did a multi-sport same season our senior year. We were both kickers for the football team and members of the soccer team. It pretty hectic but it was a blast.

What are your soccer aspirations do you have hopes for semi-pro or professional soccer?
I’ve always gone back and forth with that. Soccer has been my passion and dream since I was a little kid. I love soccer so much, I could easily see myself doing it but at the same time it’s so much training. I know I have the basic skill-talent to do it but I don’t have much time to train so the dream starts to fall away.

When I go to Europe this next spring I really want to get out there and play and see if I can hop onto some semi pro teams.

What is K-State Club Soccer?
How did you become involved with the Kansas State Men's Club Soccer?
Actually the first year of college I pursed football and went and kicked at a community college. I realized that football wasn’t my sport, I just had too much of a passion for soccer and love for the game.

I came back to K-State because I knew I wanted to do architecture. I was out playing one afternoon when a few guys off the team told me to come out for try outs. I didn’t even know K-State had a team. At this point the team wasn’t structured that well, there wasn’t any real direction on the team so I said, “OK, I’ll give it a try.”

When does your season run? You have games in the Fall?
There are actually two seasons. The main core of the season runs in the fall. We’ll get a good 15 games in. It really comes down to how much time we have to travel.

We do a little in the spring. We have a tournament and bring teams in from around the Midwest, teams like Creighton, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

How is the club led? Do you have a president or coach?
It’s set up president, vice president, secretary treasurer. Because it’s a club you’ve got to give everyone a title. When it comes down to it as far as importance, everyone has basically the same duties, equal responsibility. Just because you’re president doesn’t mean you do all the work.

Have you ever had an official coach? How do you manage the coaching duties?
I know the girls have had a coach in the past. They’ve liked it but not having a coach becomes an advantage for certain players at K-State. They are there for mainly academics so they aren’t really focused as much on training and getting better. They make practices when they can.

As far as drills we don’t have anyone setting them up. We just get out there. That’s the only thing that sucks about it because everyone is busy and we have so much on our plate we aren’t able to sit down and say “Hey, here is what we need to work on tonight, here is what we need to improve on.”

The thing I love about K-State is so many different nationalities are represented. Do you know how many different countries are represented on the club team?
Right now I believe there are four of five. We had a few guys from China, a guy from Japan, a few guys from the Middle East, and a few guys from Europe also.

What’s you assessment of the talent level at Kansas State?
There is a lot of good talent that comes out. We’d be competing with division one programs, maybe not the top teams but competing.

It’s hard to see such good talent. They should be able to play somewhere bigger and better but the fact of the matter is they’re at K-State.

A lot of people think “The club team, oh they are going to be bad," but they don’t realize that they are some of the best players you will see in the Midwest but they are focusing more on academics because here in America there is really no outlet for soccer.

K-State Soccer and Nationals
What kind of support do you get from K-State?
We get a little bit of money from the school. It ends up being divided out even through the Recreation Complex between all sports clubs. We don’t get as much support as we like. But at the same time there is money and we are able to fundraise and do what we need to do to get by.

I noticed we were really running into troubles with the Kansas State when we made it to nationals. It was the first time K-State had done it.

We had approximately one month do get down there [Pensacola, Florida]. We didn’t necessarily have support from the school but there were quite a few nice ladies who worked at K-State who saw what we were trying to do and accomplish. They set up a nice soccer clinic. We got quite a good showing last year and raised quite a bit of money.

I know the club team has had some success, you went to nationals last year, how did you do in that tournament?
I think it was more a learning experience. That’s what everyone always says but there is some merit to that because we faced some great competition. We faced Virginia Tech, Georgia, and Michigan.

The teams we faced all had coaches. That’s where we first saw the difference between what we had and the other top schools. They were able to train before the game while we were kinda standing around not really knowing what to do. It took us a good 15-20 minutes to get in the grove of the game and ready to play and by that time we were already down a goal and fighting back the rest of the time.

Men’s and Woman’s Soccer in the Big XII
Why is there no Men’s Soccer in the Big XII?
I couldn’t tell you. I do know if K-State was to get a soccer team it would be girls not guys because K-State is the only team in the Big XII without a woman’s soccer team. It’s very hard to believe especially considering we have such a nice stadium.

I love Memorial Stadium / The Old Stadium so much. It’s a great place to play and so beautiful.
I was talking to someone who used to work in the Athletic Department at K-State and he was telling me that because of Title 9 it ends up shooting the girls in the foot because for some reason K-State would have to build a new stadium just for the Woman’s soccer team. That’s a whole new plot of land and a whole lot of money and they’d rather put it somewhere else.

Do you think we will ever have Men’s Soccer in the Big XII?
I’m going to say yes just because I want to see it. I hope so. It’s a sport that’s growing. Just recently it’s starting to come around and I think there’s a whole era of kids right now. Our era is getting older and we’ll have money. The era above us grew up on football and baseball so that’s what they make their kids play. We are going to grow up and have our kids play soccer. Hopefully down the road it will come around.

Draft Day Bingooooo!

2009-01-14T14:03:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone, today me and The Offside Rules have teamed up to give you MLS 2009 Draft Day (January 15 at 2pm EST) Bingo! The rules are simple, cross out a box when you see the cliche! Five in a row equals Bingo!

Alternative rules include taking a shot or drink every time you get a box. By the end you should be liquored up in the afternoon. Just think of it as practice for the upcoming MLS season.

And if you aren't visiting The Offside Rules daily... you should be.