Sunday, October 31, 2010

Monday

MLS
More MLS
  • Brian Straus: MLS playoff fix - very interesting
  • Winning percentage: 3 teams won 15 or more games in 2010, the first time since '07. Think that's a low percentage of teams winning 50% of its games? Think again. In '09-10, only 4 of 20 teams won half their games in the EPL, Serie A and La Liga. The Bundesliga produced only 3 teams(of 18) that did the deed. Ligue 1(20 teams) is the exception with 6 teams winning at least half it's games.
Interesting Reads
Tournaments

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Thursday, October 28, 2010

MLS Playoff Preview edition

MLS Playoff Previews
More MLS
Tournaments

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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Random Stuff

Clearing out some stuff that I found interesting on a variety of soccer subjects.

Sounder at Heart: MLS needs relocation, not expansion
Fake Sigi: FS's response to the Sounder at Heart post 
Fake Sigi: FS's enhances his response to the Sounder at Heart post  

Goal.com: Goal.com's MLS playoff preview 
Steve Davis: MLS playoff preview  
MLS playoff tactics - Part 1 
MLS playoff tactics - Part 2    

Adam Spangler: the Cosmos Interviews - Part 1 
Rob Hughes: When Agents and Soccer Collide      

Sid Lowe: End of an expensive era, but Barcelona's players prove priceless 
Chris Clarey: A Surge in Artificial Turf 

Robert Jonas: Robert Jonas: Where Are The Clubs In MLS?     
Tom Dunmore: Club, Community and Consumerism: What Do We Support? 
Jason Davis: Clubs, Community and Cultural Cynicism 

Richard Whittall: Football, Blogs, and Newspapers Unite? Part One  - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Monday Post

MLS
  • Reams(or megabytes) are being written about the MLS playoff system. Simple solution ... rename the conferences so the nit pickers can get over RSL winning the Cup out of the East, and seed the playoffs based on points, regardless of conference. This isn't brain surgery.
  • Climbing the Ladder: Team Ages
  • WV Hooligan: Playoff Preview
It's Just Business
Soccer in the US
Tournaments

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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Old Fart Bitch Session

In my twitter program(TweetDeck), I have a pane set up to follow the #mls hashtag. My goodness, what a bunch of whiney cry-babies.

Gee, the match isn't in HD, I just can't watch that. What?!? The ref blew a call, he sucks, the league sucks, the world sucks. Man, the MLS playoff system sucks.

Oh puhleeze. Get over it. Get a clue and STFU. That Shut the F*ck Up, just so you know.


Where, you may ask am I coming from? Prehistoric times for most of the tweeters, I suspect.

HD TV. Ha! Try black and white.

Ref blew a call. Do you think they were any better when there weren't 25 cameras watching every move? Ever watch a Euro match? Think they are so much better? Ask Ireland fans.

The playoffs suck. Check your US sports history.
The NBA, 8 teams in 2 conferences. Top 3 teams in each conference make the playoffs. Teams with 50 losses making the playoffs!
The NHL, 6 teams, with 4 making the playoffs. When the NHL expanded in 67-68 EVERY expansion team was in a new conference, with all the original teams staying together. 4 teams in each 6 team conference made the playoffs. The 5th place team in the 'original' conference had more points than EVERY team in the expansion conference and missed the playoffs.

And you know what? We all survived and so did the NBA and the NHL, and so will MLS.

So get over it and enjoy the fantastic athletes in the game we love, and oh yeah, STFU!
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Friday, October 22, 2010

Friday Oct 22

MLS

Just for argument's sake, a 2011 conference proposal

 Columbus Chicago Chivas USA
 DC United Colorado Los Angeles
 New England Dallas Portland
 NJ Red Bull Houston San Jose
 Philadelphia Kansas City Seattle
 Toronto Salt Lake Vancouver

Conference winners and next best 5 teams in playoffs, seeded 1-8 based on points.


Schedule Plan A: Balanced, home and home vs all teams.
Schedule Plan B: 4 games vs Conference opponents, 1 each vs all others(alternating home games in alternate years). And yes, I do know that league has announced a 34 game schedule for 2011.

Interesting
Tournaments

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Thursday, October 21, 2010

MLS/NBA/NHL Attendance

The Wall Street Journal opened the door to comparing attendance figures of MLS and their city counterparts in the NBA and NHL, so I figured I'd peak in a little deeper. The numbers for the NBA and NHL are for the last completed season. For MLS, they are for this season.

A few caveats. I've used 22,500 as the capacity for DC United, Houston, and the Revs, as they play in American football stadiums. Yes, I know the new Houston stadium will have more seats, but until I see the actual number, I'm sticking with 22,500. San Jose is obviously at a disadvantage by playing in Buck Shaw Stadium, with a capacity of just over 10,000. And of course, the caveats in the WSJ article about capacities should be factored in when examining these numbers.
The MLS figures in BOLD indicate where they are outdrawing their counterpart.

NBA and MLS
 Rank  NBA  AVG   % of CAP  MLS  AVG   % of CAP 
 7  Lakers  18,997  99.7  Galaxy  21,183  78.5 
 14  Raptors  17,897  90.4  TFC  20,453  93.1 
 26  76ers  14,224  70.0  Union  19,252  91.2 
 30  Nets  13,103  69.1  RBNY  18,625  73.9 
 6  Jazz  19,378  97.3  RSL  17,095  88.4 
 19  Rockets  16,528  91.6  Dynamo  16,833  74.8 
 1  Bulls  20,725  99.1  Fire  15,814  79.1 
 20  Clippers  16,343  85.7  Chivas USA  14,557  53.9 
 21  Wizards  16,204  80.3  DCU  14,279  63.5 
 13  Nuggets  17,995  93.9  Rapids  13,014  72.0 
 9  Celtics  18,169  97.6  Revs  12,987  57.7 
 4  Mavericks  19,994  104.1  FCD  10,815  51.0 
NHL and MLS
 Rank  NHL  AVG   % of CAP  MLS  AVG   % of CAP 
 16  Kings  17,313  93.6  Galaxy  21,183  78.5 
 6  Maple Leafs  19,260  102.5  TFC  20,453  93.1 
 4  Flyers  19,535  100.2  Union  19,252  91.2 
 20  Devils  15,535  88.1  RBNY  18,625  73.9 
 1  Blackhawks  21,356  108.3  Fire  15,814  79.1 
 22  Blue Jackets  15,416  85.0  Crew  14,330  71.7 
 11  Capitals  18,277  100.0  DCU  14,279  63.5 
 27  Avalanche  13,947  77.5  Rapids  13,014  72.0 
 15  Bruins  17,388  99.0  Revs  12,987  57.7 
 17  Stars  17,215  92.9  FCD  10,815  51.0 
 14  Sharks  17,558  100.4  Quakes  9,593  93.8 

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Club Tourneys redux

MLS
Interesting
  • In Case You've Never Visited:  Zonal Marking 
  • Best Headline: Liverpool traded to Red Sox 
Club Tournaments

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Club Tourneys etc.

MLS
Soccer in the US
Club Tournaments

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Monday, October 18, 2010

Playoff Brouhaha

Oh the whines and cries of so many folks as the West dominates the MLS standings heading into the playoffs.
It's not a bad argument to want the playoffs to be seeded as in a single table format. We in the US are accustomed to that and it makes logical sense as the best chance to end up with the two best teams, at least based on seeding, in the final.
Now here is the reality of the potential matchups.

First, with the current standings, the matchups would be ...

LA v Seattle - LA won both league matches
RSL v Dallas - The teams split their two matches

RBNY v San Jose - The teams split their two matches
Columbus v Colorado -  The teams split their two matches

If higher seeds win ...

LA v RSL - The teams split their two matches

RBNY v Columbus - Columbus won both matches

LA v RBNY - The teams split their two matches

NOTE -
#2 RSL won and drew v #5 RBNY, RSL and #6 Columbus split their matches
#3 Dallas lost and drews v #5 RBNY, Dallas #6 Columbus drew their matches
#4 Seattle and #5 RBNY split their two matches, Seattle won and drew v #6 Columbus

Where is the dominance of the higher seeds? They won 4, lost 3 and drew 5 vs lower seeds from the east.
=============================================
Now if the playoffs were based on seeding 1-8 ...

LA v San Jose - San Jose won 1 and 1 draw
Seattle v RBNY - The teams split their two matches

RSL v Colorado - They drew once and play this weekend
Dallas v Columbus - Two draws

If higher seeds win ...

LA v Seattle - LA won both league matches
RSL v Dallas -  The teams split their two matches

LA v RSL -  The teams split their two matches

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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Thursday Post

MLS
  • TFC:  Uproar in Toronto
  • Lots of tweets on Juan Pablo Angel's statement that he doesn't expect to be back with RBNY next year. Not one mention that the team will have the full $335,000 salary hit on both Henry and Marquez next year. Due to their late signing this season, the cap was hit for $335,000 total for both in 2010.
  • Steve Goff:  Expansion Draft Rules
Soccer in the US
Interesting
 Competitions

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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Tuesday Night

MLS
Soccer in the US
Interesting
Competitions
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Monday, October 11, 2010

MLS Tidbits and More

MLS
  • Single Table v Playoffs, a Brit's view:  Single Table v Playoffs
  • The playoffs are all but set. Only Kansas City has a mathematical chance to crash the party, and they need to win their three remaining games(@CHI, @NE, SJ), while the Rapids lose their last two(@LA, RSL).
  • Is it time for Dallas to move or be sold? Barely 10,000 showed up to see them set the single season unbeaten record.
  • MLS attendance before and after the World Cup is almost exactly the same, just as it was in 2002 and 2006. 
pre cup during cup pre/during thru cup after cup thru/after overall
GPAvg GPAvg +/-GP AvgGP Avg+/- GPAvg
 1998  82   14,894  23  15,827  6.27%  105   15,098  87  13,363  -11.49%  192   14,312 
 2002  45   16,483  25  13,011  -21.06%  70   15,243  70  16,398  7.58%  140   15,821 
 2006  60   16,057  40  13,198  -17.81%  100   14,914  92  16,142  8.24%  192   15,502 
 2010  93   16,472  24  17,227  4.58%  117   16,627  105  16,386  -1.45%  222   16,513 

Points per game since the All-Star Game
GPPPG
 Seattle  10  2.300 
 Dallas  12  2.000 
 Salt Lake  11  1.909 
 NY Red Bull  12  1.833 
 San Jose  12  1.667 
 Los Angeles  10  1.600 
 Colorado  12  1.583 
 Kansas City  11  1.545 
 Chivas USA  11  1.182 
 Chicago  13  1.154 
 New England  13  1.154 
 Columbus  11  1.091 
 Philadelphia  14  1.000 
 DC United  11  0.818 
 Houston  11  0.727 
 Toronto  12  0.667 

Soccer in the US
Interesting
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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wednesday Night Post

MLS
Soccer in the US
Interesting Reads
Club Tournaments

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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Late Tuesday Post

MLS
Soccer in the US
Around the World

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Monday, October 4, 2010

Monday late post

MLS
Soccer in the US
Around the World

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Monday Morning Post

MLS
Soccer in the US
Interesting Reads
Tournaments
The Business of Soccer

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Saturday, October 2, 2010

Saturday Morning Post

About the selection for the US Men's team October friendlies:
  • I just don't see why Bradley, a former MLS manager, would select two players from a team that is in the heat of a battle  for the Supporters' Shield. I am referring to Heath Pearch and Brek Shea, both of whom I want to see with the National Team. But Bradley could just as easily called them into the January camp, had a much longer look at them an pick a couple of MLS'ers from teams that are not playoff bound. Kevin Alston and Justin Braun jump to mind.
  • And just as I was writing this, along came the announcement that neither player would miss any league matches.
MLS
US Pyramid
Club Tournaments
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