Logan's Revenge

Back with a Vengeance

2008-07-09T11:43:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone. Yes, it's been awhile. So what?

Man, all of those pie-in-the-sky dreams of Chivas being a winning brand in the US in the form of a MLS team is not going exactly to plan. Only averaging 4500 tickets sold per game, how long before we should start worrying about the team folding? Actually, relocation is far more likely. Team owner Antonio Cue was approached by a potential buyer a while back (for relocation), but Cue didn't want to sell at the time. If ticket sales don't pick up soon, mounting financial losses may leave him no option next time an offer comes down the pike.

Next on the slate - Don't be surprised if new FC Dallas Head Coach Schellas Hyndman not only moves up to a Technical Director position, but is also handed more important responsibilities within the Hunts Sports Group/FC Dallas/Pizza Hut Park cluster-fuh, er, ummm, "empire". It may take several months to come to fruition, but you heard it here first. Hyndman has already started making additions and moves inside the FCD structure to consolidate his power position that's based on having a direct line to the Hunts. I also can't help but wonder if former Fire GM Peter Wilt will be considered as a candidate to replace lame duck FC Dallas GM Michael Hitchcock? If there is anyone that could inject a "feel-good" vibe, which is much needed in sad sack Dallas, its Wilt.

And last but not least - Ruiz to the Crew? Yup. Sigi Schmid tried to pry his buddy Carlos out of Dallas before, but didn't offer enough to get Ruiz. Now with Ruiz firmly planted on the bench and LA openly shopping Ruiz, Sigi is again making a move to get the hefty salaried striker to Columbus. Only one question remains, has either Sigi upped his offer enough or has LA dropped the price enough so this deal can go down? Hey, Carlos and Sigi can have eating contests... Kidding, I make jokes! The truth is that one has to wonder why Sigi would want a player that is so clearly a former shell of himself. Ruiz has been on the decline for some time, and if he can't get his act together for a team like the Galaxy, it won't happen in Ohio.

Convention Tidbits

2008-01-21T18:01:00.000-05:00

I struggled to decide to drive down to the coaches convention. Glad that I did. The adidas booth was a great site with all of the new MLS jerseys there for viewing, but it was when the MLS coaches began to show up that the stories and rumors started to flow.

Cities Racing To Become MLS Members

St Louis and Philly are battling it out for that next expansion slot. St Louis is farther along in terms of a stadium, but Philly is in a stronger ownership situation. There is also a stream of thought that either one of these teams would now wait until 2010 to join to ensure they have a stadium in place before beginning play. St Louis has signed with a sports marketing group to help land a naming rights deal if they get their stadium done.

The dark horse in the whole thing is the Don's pet project, a team in Queens.

Emilio Theft Thwarted

A Mexican 1st division team looked into filing a protest with FIFA in hopes of finding a loophole to sign DC United's Luciano Emilio. The story goes that they had the player's blessing for the protest which claims there is some sort of "problem with his contract" with DC United. The intent of the protest was to get the contract voided. Word is FIFA had decided they could rule in the player's favor. But the amount of time and red tape it was going to take would delay the signing so the Mexican team decided to pass.

Chicago Looks Backward

I'm sure you know by now Mike Jeffries is headed back to the windy city. His agent, Ron Waxman, and the team are still negotiating deal points. It seems like a done deal, but so did the hiring of Spencer as Head Coach until the Fire wouldn't budge on the low offer they made. Jeffries also interviewed with Chivas USA.

Jeffries will be first assistant and Daryl Shore will be another assistant, plus Chris Armas will also be part of the staff.

New Crew Director in Sights

After contract negotiations fell apart at the eleventh hour with Curt Johnson, the Hunt Sports Group have now targeted Brian Bliss for the Crew's technical director position.

Damn That Itchy Trigger Finger...

2007-12-18T13:21:00.000-05:00

As you probably know by now, the "Veron to DC United" move is not happening. After all the drooling over the prospect, Veron himself called the whole thing off claiming that it was the request of his current team that pulled at his heart to stay.

Well, that isn't exactly the whole truth.

According to sources close to Veron, he felt a little smothered by DCU and was not pleased that they had jumped the gun on certain aspects of the proceedings. DCU had leaked that Veron had gotten a visa. That was true, but it wasn't to come stateside to announce his signing, but rather to first come check out the scene, the city, and the facilities.

Veron apparently was not happy that DCU had taken the leap from "his advisers like the deal" to, "so Veron must also like the deal". Just because his handlers were pleased, didn't mean that Veron himself had come to the same conclusion.

So, as DC was trotting out the idea of press conferences and the rumor mill was churning out "the deal is done" material, Veron was standing back and rethinking his situation.

Rapids Flip (Flop?)

2007-11-24T09:28:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the firing of Colorado Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo appeared to be imminent.

Shockers of all shockers, that will not be happening and no one is more surprised that Clavijo himself.

As mentioned, Clavijo had been given an ultimatum to make the playoffs or lose his gig. He had told close friends around the league as much. As we know, the Rapids failed to make the playoffs and Clavijo sat around waiting for an axe to fall that never did.

Apparently with a single year left on his contract, Kroenke doesn't want to pay out that last year.

This odd decision has left Kroenke and his club with a lame duck coach and a team going in the wrong direction, and everyone knows it. The 2008 season is not looking good for Rapids fans.

Fish Getting a New Bowl

2007-11-21T18:23:00.000-05:00

It appears the sweepstakes for Carlos Ruiz has begun in earnest.

While in DC at the MLS Cup the word was that if Eddie Johnson does leave KC, the Wizards might be very interested in Carlos' services. But KC likely has competing suitors. Ever since Ruiz left Los Angeles, the team has made inquiries about re-obtaining Carlos and now Lalas is asking again. A third player would be Sigi, who got the best out of Carlos, and he certainly could use him in Columbus.

General Manager Musical Charis

2007-11-19T18:51:00.000-05:00

Thankfully that was a MLS Cup match that was "easy on the eye", and while the Revolution have every reason to feel cursed you have to give full credit to Houston. Semantics aside, that is a club that has won four Cups in seven seasons. DC United, long considered the "class of the league" took almost a decade to nab their four trophies. I think we have a new king.

While mingling amongst MLS suits there was a lot of information I heard a lot of info that has already come out, but one issue that I have not seen talked about is where some front office leaders might end up with potential expansion team GM titles.

Peter Wilt, the former Fire GM and current with the Chicago women's team start up is my pick for the St. Louis gig.

Mark Noonan, former MLS marketing fellow, in Queens.

Nick Sakiewicz, that Nick, Philly - since he is already leading the expansion efforts.

Clavijo Out and other Coaching Matters

2007-11-05T09:24:00.000-05:00

It's only a matter of time before the first coaching head rolls. It probably will not be a shock, but Clavijo will almost certainly be ousted in Colorado. Over the last several weeks of the season Fernando was telling friends around the league that he would be fired if the Rapids missed the playoffs.

The worst kept secret in soccer finally went down and Frank Yallop is on his way to San Jose. Look for Landon Donovan to be shortly behind him as sharing the limelight with Beckham was not what he had in mind. And if you are a betting man, I wouldn't put any money on Alexi Lalas being around to start the 2008 season in LA.

Meanwhile in Columbus, Hunt Sports Groups has been telling everyone Sigi Schmid is going nowhere.

*UPDATE* - MLS has come to LA's rescue once again. First there was the "Beckham Rule", and now it appears there is a "Landon Rule" too. LA, Dallas and KC have been given exemptions for Landon, Ruiz and Johnson (respectively) that their contracts will not have to count as "Designated Players". Now LA doesn't have to find a way to get a 2nd DP slot. With this in mind it makes the idea of LD leaving a bit harder, but we all know how he feels about Yallop.

Adu Gone

2007-07-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

So it's done. Freddy is heading to Benfica and has pulled out of Real Salt Lake's game tomorrow. There are several news sources out there that have already given you the transfer fee and basic terms as well as the story of Freddy heading to Benfica to finish the contract details. If you think there is a chance this deal might not happen you can forget about it.

What you won't hear is how Jason Kreis could care less about Freddy ever coming back to RSL in the first place and is quite happy to see the back of the young starlet. Officially RSL gave Freddy a few days off after the twenties to "rest" but the reality is Kreis wanted to give Adu every chance to find a deal and move on. MLS was happy to take the fee Benfica offered because RSL didn't fight it one bit and in fact encourage MLS to bite.

Mission accomplished, Freddy gets his big move and Kreis gets rid of his #1 headache.

If I Was a Betting Man...

2007-07-23T18:01:00.000-04:00

San Jose's next, or first coach, will be Frank Yallop or Dominic Kinnear.

The fissures between Frank and Alexi are now more than just felt. Yallop would certainly love to return to the place he won two MLS Cups, and put LA behind him.

Kinnear is in a much better situation in Houston, but remember, his wife is from the Bay area. Hiring back the league's current best coach would be a coup for the San Jose owners. If the money and security were right, Kinnear would jump at it.

Last thought to tickle your MLS-loving grey matter: If Yallop returns to San Jose, does he talk Landon into joining him? Don't bet against it.

Like I Mentioned...

2007-06-19T17:45:00.000-04:00

...I would chime in when I had good stuff. For those of you that haven't deleted this bookmark and check in just to see if there is anything - well here's what I got from my time hanging at Gold Cup matches.

Many emails came in about rumors of Carlos Ruiz going back to LA. Both Galaxy and Chivas.

Well, it is true that the Galaxy were looking to trade, but it was not for Ruiz. From people I talked to it appears it was Kenny Cooper Jr they were after. With Beckham and Xavier on the way LAG is going to be over the cap. Albright looked to be the player going out, but now with both Cooper and Albright injured, all of this seems a bit moot and may have led to their persuit of Honduran striker Carlos Pavon.

I am hoping to have expansion news very soon. I have some tidbits, but don't want to post anything until I have a full report.

Hope you are enjoying the MLS season. There, more now than ever, are many reasons to be very upbeat and positive about the future of this league. Now, if we can only find a way to not play when it is so damned hot.

Dear Readers

2007-05-10T14:05:00.000-04:00

I am fully aware that I have been absent from posting here for some time and wanted to address it.

I'm not gone forever, but I have come to realize that shortly after I began this blog, that a few new ones popped up and some others that already existed, all have been doing a pretty good job of what I was trying to accomplish.

Plus, I only really want to post things that I feel are important, or interesting and haven't been already brought up by the rest of the soccer blogisphere. There are many times I know something of value that posting it would expose me and/or my sources so I have not been able to, and then the story gets out via another outlet it is too late for me to do anything with it. I am not a journalist and do have a full time job in the soccer community that absorbs the majority of my attention.

Anyway, my point is that when and if I come across something that I think is worthy, and not already talked about - I will post it.

Thanks for the kind emails asking what is the situation. -NDL

MLS/MFL Tourny Update

2007-01-12T18:57:00.000-05:00

In the midst of everything else going on in MLS and US Soccer, this might be small potatoes, but the tournament we last mentioned will be explained in full at a MLS launch event in LA.

The teams have changed a bit.
The groups:
FC Dallas
LA Galaxy
Chivas
Morelia

DC United
Houston
Club America
~~UNAM Pumas~~ Pachuca

UPDATE: My mistake. I accidently screwed up Pumas for Pachuca. My apologies.

The MLS-FMF Club Tournament

2006-11-14T19:22:00.000-05:00

As you might have heard, there are plans in 2007 for a Cup tournament between four Major League Soccer teams and four teams from the Mexican league. What I have learned is that, while nothing is ever written in stone, from MLS it will be DC United, LA Galaxy, FC Dallas and Chicago Fire. Representing the Mexican league will be Chivas, Club America, Cruz Azul and Morelia.

The teams will be placed into two groups:
Group A: FCD, LA, Chivas, Cruz Azul
Group B: DC, Chicago, Morelia, Club America

For the debut of the tournament, organizers wanted to have eight teams they felt would draw crowds and interest. After the first year there will be a qualification process, but I do not have those rules at this time.

MLS' Big D Weekend

2006-11-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

As I sit in my hotel this morning of the MLS Cup there is so much going on it is hard to keep up, but I wanted to comment briefly on a few things.

With yesterday's announcement of the "Designated Player Rule" (aka: "The Beckham Rule", which I have been mentioning here for some time was close to happening) it is important to consider its potential ramifications. First, do not get distracted by the glaring hype of David Beckham going to the Galaxy and forget about the other teams. Remember, all the other teams would love to have their own international star. While I have heard some of the names being mentioned, and a few of them are surprising, nothing right now is sure enough to pass along. Also, while several currently high priced MLS players are grandfathered into this rule, that lasts only one year. So, how will LA handle the "Landon Issue" if in fact they do get a shot at signing Beckham? This is where the concerns of multiple team ownership come to the forefront. Who's to say that a group that owns more than one team doesn't trade their DP within their family, therefore stacking a side? Something else that is not clear; if a team trades their DP, do they ever get another?

There is a great vibe here in Dallas/Frisco. The Dallas Morning News has a full page in its two sizable sports sections about the game and the sell out should make for fantastic atmosphere this afternoon.

Which leads me to Pizza Hut Park: Wow, how far this facility has come compared to last year. While it still seems like we are forever away from Dallas, the amount of growth in this northern suburb is shocking. With FCD's success in generating revenue thru tournaments (on the outstanding army of adjacent fields) and multiple sold out concerts, it's clear why MLS considers Pizza Hut Park a model for everyone else. It makes me wonder why I continue to hear that Hunt Sports Group is looking into selling the team.

Timing Is Everything

2006-11-12T00:13:00.000-05:00

When it comes to this year's coaching changes in MLS, its all about the timing.

Currently, there are two vacancies, FC Dallas and Kansas City Wizards. DC United assistant Tom Soehn is a leading candidate for both clubs. On a side note, it is also known that former Kansas City Wizards coach Bob Gansler is going to Toronto as Mo Johnston's assistant - so take Bob out of the running for head coaching gigs.

The question of timing comes due to the uncertainty that Peter Nowak will be staying in DC. United would be Soehn's third option and, you'd think, his top choice.

Furthermore, Sigi Schmid and Bob Bradley are the two leading candidates to be first assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann when he takes the US job. So once Klinsmann gets the nod, either Chivas or Columbus will also have a coaching opening.

So which coach ends up where may all depend on the hiring order. Do KC and Dallas hire someone (Soehn) before Nowak leaves? If Nowak leaves first, then Soehn stays in DC and US assistant Curt Onalfo goes to the Wizards. FC Dallas, despite the search for a legitimate Mexican candidate, gets left with either current interim coach Steve Morrow or SMU's Schellas Hyndman. And if Sigi ends up going to the national team, who would then become the Crew's top candidate if both Onalfo and Soehn are both spoken for?

Two Words

2006-11-09T21:43:00.000-05:00

Saint Louis.

Enough said.

Mexican Hat Dance

2006-11-08T20:22:00.000-05:00

FC Dallas is heating up their coaching search and don't be surprised if at the early stages a well-known Mexican candidate or two makes the list of top ten finalists. One of my Mexican-based sources has told me that Jorge Campos (yes, that Jorge Campos) has had preliminary discussions with the Hoops regarding the open head coach position. Campos is not speaking to them as a candidate, but rather as an agent. Jorge Campos currently represents several active players and coaches, including the Revolution's Jose Manuel Abundis. Campos will be in Frisco for MLS Cup and will take the opportunity to have further discussions with FCD officials. A name that may pop up is Paco Ramirez, LaVolpe's top assistant on the Mexican National team this past World Cup. Ramirez is currently available and is represented by Campos.

Another candidate that will surely surface publicly (as he does whenever there's a coaching change in Dallas) is Hugo Sanchez. But with Sanchez on the brink of landing the head coaching position with the Mexican National team, that possibility seems remote at best. Not that FCD could afford the approximate $1M salary he would command, anyway. In any case, no matter who (or how many) Mexican candidates make it to FCD's ten candidates list, I would be willing to bet that none of them, for a variety of reasons, actually get anywhere close to landing the Hoops coaching gig.

Toronto Seeing Red

2006-10-27T13:12:00.000-04:00

I hammered on my jersey source again. He has yet to send me the entire set of jerseys for 2007. "They are all the same," he says. He did verify that the Toronto images floating around a couple locations on the internet are accurate.

I have previously described the Toronto uniforms to you before. The origional source of the images is Adam H, he sent them to me to post.

Hunt Divesting and Beckham Rule

2006-10-15T16:53:00.000-04:00

Lamar Hunt has done a great deal for soccer in this country and should be thanked for all his contributions. The most recent of which is the year long search for a local owner in Kansas City to keep the Wizards there instead of letting them go to Philadelphia.

Hunt has discreetly let it be known in the right power circles that he is looking to sell one of his two remaining teams: Columbus Crew and FC Dallas. Which one is unclear at this point and even Hunt may not know which one he will move.

So what does that have to do with the so called "Beckham rule?" Simple, Hunt (or HSG) is the one who vetoed the Beckham rule at last year's Board of Governors meetings.

Now there is renewed discussion that the Beckham rule may be close to implementation. If the Beckham rule gets passed by the Governors you can rest assured it was because of two things. One, the Governors agreed to a specific dollar limitation that Hunt could sign off on; and two, Hunt has reduced his power on the Board by selling Kansas City and will reduce it even more with the sale of one of his two remaining teams.

And Your Rapids Kits

2006-10-15T16:41:00.000-04:00

I did my best begging and groveling to get the images of the new Rapids kits out of my jersey contact. Since I have already described them I will not take too much of your time here.

One small point of clarification since it was requested of me, the badge clearly has a 96 on it and not an FC or SC.

I am still working on getting the entire league set of uniforms even though they are all essentially the same.

Kit Nerd is on the Case!

2006-10-12T21:49:00.000-04:00

So, what's the word on the 2007 MLS jerseys?

The majority of the MLS teams are remaining the same, aside from the slight tweaks here and there. Only two jerseys really need to be discussed: Toronto FC and Colorado Rapids.

Toronto FC is going to wear a home jersey of solid red with a light gray and onyx accent colors and white shorts. The road kit will be light gray with red and onyx as accents and red shorts.

The Colorado Rapids new logo and colors you have seen in the image I previously posted. But I am sure there are some of you antsy about the kits. The home jersey is going to be burgundy (maroon?, claret?) with sky blue accents. Colorado, like Toronto, is also going with white shorts at home. The away uniform for the rapids will be a sky blue shirt/shorts with the burgundy (maroon) as the accent color.

Those of you with fears of the LA Galaxy changing colors to yellow/blue, quit worrying. The Galaxy are essentially the same, as is the rest of the league.

Rocky Mountain High

2006-10-11T16:08:00.000-04:00

I just got my hands on the new Colorado Rapids logo (right). Kroenke is re-branding the colors at the same time as the logo in honor of the new stadium.

You can tell from the logo the new colors will essentially be maroon and baby blue, although some would call it gray or blue/gray. Or if you prefer your soccer lingo in Euro style "claret and blue" would I suppose be the closest approximation.

Kroenke and company also discussed renaming the team Colorado Arsenal due to the fact the new stadium is located on a old weapons range, but thankfully have chosen to pass on that idea.

MoJo Movin

2006-10-10T12:34:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick one for... Everyone who pays even the least bit of attention to soccer in the United States knew That Bruce Arena was going to be coaching the Red Bulls sooner rather than later. Even Mo Johnson knew it.

So what was the final straw that caused NYRB to pull the trigger and fire Mo early? Why did Red Bull can Mo in June instead of waiting till Bruce was ready?

Cause Mo set up an interview with FC Toronto.

That's right, Red Bull fired Mo cause he read the same writing on the wall you did and moved to cover his bets. They did NOT fire him for performance, or because Bruce was ready to go, but rather because Mo tried to protect his future.

Well, Hello Again...

2006-10-02T13:02:00.000-04:00

From time to time there are reasons why I vanish, some of them I am sure you can imagine, and a few you probably can't. In any case, I will make it back eventually and start posting again. So I'm back with a little something that's been bugging me of late...

A couple of week's ago there was an article where it was mentioned that Chivas USA currently has a roster that puts the team way past the salary cap. Obviously that raises many questions. At first blush it made me think that maybe CUSA was getting away with something because of their ownership situation.

After a little research, I found that Chivas USA is well over because "Paco" Palencia is so far ahead as the league's top wage earner. Yet by league rule he only counts as the max, just like Freddie, Landon, Eddie, etc. So Chivas USA, or any other team for that matter, is not above the cap. At the same time, if you were to count the highest salary on the other teams as their real number (and not cap it as league rules dictate), then most teams would also be over the cap.

Also, saying CUSA was able to do something "in a manner no other team was able to" would be a misstatement of epic proportions. Any help they may be receiving this year pales in comparison to the help that the Galaxy, United, and especially the MetroStars have gotten in past years.

All of this leads me to two thoughts. One, it surely won't be that much longer until MLS finds a way to enact some version of the much talked about "Beckham Rule". In fact the Beckham to MLS rumor mill has heated up again with his recent benching and a couple typical reports in Europe that have once again dusted off the old quotes about the US.

Two, how much longer before we are all screaming about the-artist-formally-known-as-Metro and whatever method Red Bull is using to circumvent the same MLS cap and stacking a (finally) great team in New York?

Is Toyota Park Stalling at Start?

2006-07-10T06:24:00.000-04:00

As more and more MLS teams explore the possibility of building new Soccer Specific Stadiums, league HQ has to be sweating the Chicago Fire's initial revenue woes at Toyota Park.

MLS presently courts new league investors with a blueprint for eventual franchise profitability. A big part of that “profitability equation” is revenue obtained from naming rights, sponsors, and a marked increase in the number of tickets sold to MLS games. But word on the street is that the ten year, $750,000 per year naming rights deal that the Fire and the City of Bridgeview obtained was only about half of what was expected when the stadium budgets were initially put together. I’ve even heard that the dollar amount after commissions and fees is so low that the city of Bridgeview considered buying the naming rights outright, but were convinced otherwise by AEG (since having Toyota on board would help attract other sponsors).

Another concern in Chicago is the lack of “founding partners.” Toyota Park thus far has only half as many as what was budgeted and what is considered successful for the opening of a new stadium. And the biggest disappointment so far has to be ticket sales. To date, the Fire have held five home matches, three of which have barely broken five digits. After the stadium’s opening day attendance of 20,133 (the soft opening prior to that drew 12,941), Toyota Park has drawn 10,914 10,387 (July 4th) and 11,374 for Fire home matches. John Guppy was hired to replace the very popular Peter Wilt because AEG felt he would do a better job of increasing sponsorship and ticket revenue - none of which at this time are up to speed.

So we must now add the Fire’s out-of-the-gate issues in Bridgeview to league concerns regarding a couple of other soccer specific stadiums; Columbus has rarely pushed their attendance towards capacity, and FC Dallas has not increased their attendance from Cotton Bowl days and has yet to have a full capacity sell out at Pizza Hut Park. And let's not even take the conversation toward the “actual butts in seats versus tickets distributed” issue. Hopefully everyone can learn lessons from the Galaxy's success at HDC and build from that.

The Line Starts.....?

2006-06-23T10:57:00.000-04:00

With the fallout and bitterness of the USMNT's depressing World Cup performance comes the debate of Bruce's future.

Just to throw out there is this... When Bob Bradley and Sigi Schmid took their respective MLS head coaching jobs there was word (both times) that each held a clause that allowed them to leave their contracts if the USMNT head coaching position became available.

Keep that in mind.

Also, no matter how much he refuses to admit it is a possibility, Klinsmann's name is all over the Fed.

LA Story

2006-06-12T14:02:00.000-04:00

Anyone wonder how Lalas was able to hire Yallop so quickly after Sampson's firing? One might think that Lalas was already conducting a coaching search in the days or weeks leading up to the firing, but in reality, Lalas had already conducted his search when he fired Bob Bradley in New York. At that time, Lalas offered Yallop the job, but Yallop's wife did not want to live in New York. Yallop, though, was willing to relocate back to California if the opportunity ever arose. So with Yallop unavailable, Lalas was forced to give the Metro gig to Mo Johnston.

Now in a quirky turn of events, Lalas has left NY for LA after the Red Bull take over, and the Galaxy did a nose-dive under Sampson. That put Lalas in a position as LA's new GM to fire Sampson and hire the guy he wanted all along, Frank Yallop. Lalas knew Yallop would accept the Galaxy job (remember, he had been told by Yallop himself back inSeptemberr of 2005 that he wanted to relocate back to California), so when he fired Sampson, all he had to do was pick up the phone and call Yallop. There was little doubt that Yallop wouldn't accept the job.

Smoke, Mirrors, Butts and Numbers

2006-05-22T05:43:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the absence... I've been busy planning my month long World Cup party.

What has gotten me off my duff is an article I came across from the San Diego Tribune.

Go ahead and read that first and come back here... I'll wait...

Interesting, right?

This article has to have blown a cold wind thru the MLS HQ in New York. There is a lot there to think about, and after some investigation and talking to people within the league this is a summary of what I found.

It is true that some MLS teams are more "creative" in reporting attendance figures than others. New York and the LA Galaxy are noted as the worst culprits of number fudging, and before the sale to their current owner, Colorado was notorious in claiming crowds much bigger than reality. When they were in the Rose Bowl, LA would actually take a respectable turnout and jump that number into something humorously bigger. But it is agreed that New York has been the champ at reporting laughably large numbers from matches where it appeared you might be able to actually count those who showed up.

Giving credit where it is due, most league people agree that Columbus is the most accurate in reporting their attendance. Oddly enough while HSG teams are generally thought to be more accurate in their reporting, FC Dallas has been an exception so far this year.

A topic brought up by one of my sources was "revenue/average ticket price". Some teams have higher priced tickets - LA, DC, Chicago and Dallas - while others like KC have practically given away tickets to boost their numbers. On the surface it is interesting that when a team sells 12,000 tickets at a $20 average they are better off than a team that sells 20,000 at $10. In this scenario, despite 8,000 less people in the stands, there is $40,000 more in revenue.

Yet for teams with a Soccer Specific Stadium that's only the obvious surface story. Survival of the league depends so much on Soccer Specific Stadiums, and the number of butts in seats (BIS) is a key factor. All the revenue streams in a SSS are based on those BIS. If only half the people that get MLS tickets go the stadium, the forecasts and budgets all take a beating because parking, concessions, merchandising all go down.

The BIS issue poses additional problems for teams since sponsorship revenue could also decrease because less people attend games than is actually announced. If "Corporation X," which is thinking of signing a naming rights or signature partner agreement, comes to find out the number of stadium impressions they have been getting is in reality far less than they are told they may reconsider the extent of their investment. MLS can build a soccer stadium in every market but they will be much more difficult to sustain without naming rights and signature partners that pay adequate fees. That revenue is obviously vital.

This is a key issue in the MLS model and I bet HQ right now is following this story very closely. This matters far less in baseball and football – television revenue in those leagues is higher than ticket revenue, and sponsorship revenues are based more on TV ratings than attendances; MLS revenue from TV in the current deal is small compared to ticket and sponsorship revenue - which is probably the reason they are so forthright about what they do with attendance numbers. MLB has no issues saying they announce tickets sold no matter who is in the stadium, and the NFL is so successful it actually can afford to announce strictly turnstile counts.

But for MLS, this is a tricky situation. On the one hand, its good news that the average overall ticket distributed number (what teams use for attendance reporting) keeps going up; but on the other hand, MLS needs to figure out how to get more of those people to actually go to the games or it will face a very difficult future.

When you Spill the Red Bull, it Makes a Mess

2006-04-21T19:30:00.000-04:00

Are things ever a confusing mess with the Red Bull New York transition, both on and off the field.

Everyone I talk to within the organization seems to be in the dark. The front office is just a mess of rumor, misinformation and "I don't know". With all of the talk of Coach Mo, rumors were rampant that he was done, then it was, "well if we lose to RSL", and then it's an answer telling me Mo is staying. Some speculation is that Red Bull could not get the man they really want, and so Mo is still there. The name I have heard, but cannot get confirmed is ex-Cosmos star Carlos Alberto.

In the front office is working to put their people in place like the new managing director announced today, and a soon to be hired soccer director. There are other positions to be filled and certainly that makes those already in those spots, a touch nervous.

Over on the field things are equal mess. The French World Cup vet, Dorjkaeff and Amado have just stopped speaking to each other. Guevara has "zoned out" and the common roster player is confused and unsettled. There is also the rumor that the aforementioned french midfielder got wind of Mo's dismissal, he threatened to quit. And they traded for the Haitian internatioal Peguero for Thiago Martins, and for a 1st and 3rd round picks in the 2007 draft. Not exactly a small amount for a player that has made little impact (14 goals in 46 games) and ~~costs you a SI slot~~. Question: Who made this trade?

No one can report any sort of calm on the horizon. Frankly, I find the whole thing fascinating.

Long standing MLS fans, especially ones that pay attention to such things, will have concern if RBNY decides to (re) introduce a coach or front office personal that are not familiar with the MLS way of things. As far as MLS has come in getting in line with the rest of the soccer world, it still in many, very important ways, is very different. I have to wonder if either RBNY will end up with more frustration, or will RBNY pressure MLS top brass to peek their collective heads out into the world of spending on players (i.e.: the rumored "David Beckham rule") and in turn allow teams like NYRB to acquire name players that might have a decidedly international feel.

Not So Fast There Mister...

2006-04-21T12:10:00.000-04:00

So after I report that the naming rights to Bridgeview being sold to Toyota had fallen apart, I am now told by two different top-notch sources that it is back on... So, stand by.

Tooting My Horn

2006-04-17T06:37:00.000-04:00

OK, I work hard to be a modest person, as my mom taught me to be. There are times though where I feel I need to wave my flag and mark my territory.

Please note that this weekend's news that Alexi Lalas is leaving Red Bull to go back to the west coast to take the AEG/Galaxy President's gig is something that I talked about back on March 8th, a full day before the Red Bull deal was even announced. So, I will be wearing a gold star on my forehead today.

The spot obviously has been open and once AEG relized RBNY would actually happen, Lalas shot to the top of Tim Leiweke's list. Despite his support, not everyone else within AEG is convinced that Alexi is up to the task at hand in LA. Being the President of the LA Galaxy is no small deal, remember he is walking into a situation where the team is defending 'The Double' and finished first in attendance. So he is stepping into a gig in a very different place from San Jose or New York. On a side note of thought: How did Sampson and Lalas get along back during Steve's national team days?

It is also important to note that Lalas is not getting this job because of the untimely death of Doug Hamilton. Remember, Hamilton had been promoted as the head of AEG Soccer (something else the NDL faithful will remember I first reported a while back) and they were going to be looking for his replacement and Lalas was always on the top of that list.

Remote Viewing

2006-04-16T10:34:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to throw this out there. Not saying he is on the chopping block, hot seat, thin ice or whatever you would call it, BUT if John Ellinger were to no longer be the Real Salt Lake manager, I would suggest that you look out for long term MLS'er Tom Soehn as a likely replacement.

I'm A Kit Nerd

2006-04-09T14:17:00.000-04:00

Word is that for their final match before heading to Germany for World Cup 2006, the US Mens National Team will be sporting an all red, "Don't Tread On Me" uniform as a send off. This is the May 28th match in Hartford again Latvia. That match will be on ESPN2 at 6pm.

What's in a Name?

2006-04-07T11:50:00.000-04:00

Looks like the Chicago Fire are having trouble closing a deal for the naming rights for their fantastic new soccer specific stadium in Bridgeview. Twice now deals have fallen apart at the last stage of the negotiation process. First a deal with a bank fell apart last year. Now this year a deal with Toyota cratered at the last minute.

The situation is so critical at this point that Tim Leiweke is getting involved. If TL has had to get involved, and given the speculation that sponsorship was part of the reason for the Peter Wilt situation, will someone else now take the fall?

It's all in the Translation

2006-03-18T07:02:00.000-05:00

Things are going swimingly with Red Bull New York. Red Bull's offer to road trip a load of fans for the opener against United is exactly the type of smart, reach-out to the fans that not only shows why MLS was eager to introduce them as owners in the league, but will shortly make memories of the Metros days seem not as painful.

The only interesting story I've heard is AEG's polite suggestion to Red Bull that they don't name the new soccer stadium, Red Bull Arena. AEG explained that in the United States that the word arena tends to have a connotation of a small, indoor facility - where in other languages it translates into a big stadium. So AEG has pushed them to Red Bull Park.

Clint's Problem is Bruce's Problem

2006-03-17T07:12:00.000-05:00

Clint's fight with Joey Franchino possibly did more damage than just a suspension from his Revolution team. Arena decided to not invite him to play in the German friendly while he investigates what happened. This might raise a red flag that Dempsey's well-known 'self-confidence' might have started to rub Rev teammates the wrong way. Arena is definitely all about "chemistry" and is in no mood to add someone to the mix that might screw that up.

Well, that was sudden...

2006-03-09T10:30:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a turn of events.

Here is what I know. The organization will be called "Red Bull New York", but the actual team will be referred to as the "New York Red Bulls". There won't be a press conference and the speedy nature of this change certainly shows the efficient, get-it-accomplished ability of the Red Bull organization.

While there has been some flapping of the gums by certain old school soccer stars, do not take that as anything other than public airings of "I want that job". One would be a fool to imagine an MLS team would work with NASL Comos-type thinking.

What will happen in the front office is nothing, for now. Red Bull understands that this happened very fast and smartly will allow the front office and coaching staff to stay put and prove itself. But, Red Bull is also very experienced, smart and will be expecting the aforementioned existing staff to quickly acclimate themselves to the "Red Bull Way" of doing business.

Overall this is an amazingly good thing for MLS: Massive cash infusion, elevates the overall value of existing teams, allows the league to relieve AEG of its team load and adds another passionate owner and voice on the board. That new owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, is a billionaire that knows how to promote and has international soccer ownership experience. While it may be a harsh change for Metros fans, in the big picture it is something MLS will benefit from in spades.

Thank God MLS is a Summer League

2006-03-09T09:05:00.000-05:00

Don Garber has worked up a reputation of opening his yapper and saying things that have not fully formed or come together. The latest example of such is when he let out that Cleveland was on the expansion list and all but guaranteed it's eventual addition to MLS.

That was met with a lot of, "Oh crap!" from related and responsible people in Cleveland that while they are very close to getting it done, they were not ready to let the cat out of the bag.

It does appear that Cleveland will be joining Toronto as the two cities that expand into MLS for the 2007 season.

Will Red Bull Fly?

2006-03-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

It may not smell so sweet, but like everyone else I heard about Red Bull trying to buy MetroStars, it's been floating around for a few weeks now behind the scene. I went and did some digging at the offices in NY and I would say it is 75/25 that the deal gets to the stage DC was at last year in their purchase agreement (letter of intent, deposit, etc), and that might happen today (Wednesday) as Michael Lewis is reporting. But I would only put it at 50/50 that the deal actually ever goes all the way through.

The snag will be on who gets naming rights, as Red Bull wants stadium naming rights in Harrison. This, specifically the price, could eventually be the deal breaker. Funny how some fans are up in arms about the team name and it's the stadium name that may "save" MetroStars.

Here's my speculation part; is this why AEG has been holding off on naming a new Galaxy General Manager? If AEG sells Metro, Tim Leiweke can then move his golden boy to the Galaxy, who have been GM-less ever since Doug Hamilton got "promoted." Just a theory.

KC Master Piece

2006-03-04T07:58:00.000-05:00

A week or so ago Bob Gansler was talking at some fan question and answer session type thing and he mentioned possible midfield help that would be added when the transfer window re-opens. I poked around a little and my man on the inside in KC says it's this guy: Dave van den Bergh.

I wonder what happened to the reported FC Dallas interest? Anyone think maybe Kenny Cooper happened?

Houston здравствулте!

2006-03-03T16:04:00.000-05:00

Hot off the Not Doug Logan wire. Houston is about to get a new name and it's looking like it will be one I find... interesting. Eastern European interesting, maybe even say... Russian interesting. Stay tuned.

How about Pearl Harbor 1941?

2006-02-27T21:03:00.000-05:00

So just mere weeks from MLS 2006 and the Houston team still cannot decide on a team name. You know the main story, and you probably will remember that I hinted originally that there was some hesitation over that selection.

It looks like we will hear a new named announced very soon (by the weekend?) and prepare yourself for something boring and uncontroversial.

Mark me as someone that thinks the stink over the name smells worse than what the controversy itself. Has it struck anyone else as ironic that if you stretch the logic that "1836" is offensive to its full conclusion, should not the name "Houston" then be even more offensive?

Club America and Houston Still Courting

2006-01-25T05:52:00.000-05:00

The AEG move of the Quakes to Houston, who yesterday were officially re-named and re-branded Houston 1836, originally started with a lot of talk of Club America taking their shot at MLS.

Those talks heated up and cooled down repeatedly over the course of many months.

Recently the primary obstacle has been TV rights. Not from ESPN/Disney, but with Televisa. SUM/AEG/MLS has not been able to come to terms with the Mexican broadcaster. Club America is ready to make it happen and take over the club, but until this aspect is worked out the sale will not move forward. On a side note, it also appears that any future Houston stadium development would remain in the hands of AEG, much like what was planned for DC.

Come on! It's Funny!

2006-01-25T05:49:00.000-05:00

10,000 T-shirts: $5 each
Screen Printing: $3 each
Shipping and handling to Frisco: $237

10,000 Useless t-shirts that just rub in the pain: Priceless

I received this via email. It's amazing what you can find on MLSnet.com when you poke around.

Ok, I Was Right Afterall.

2006-01-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

I can finally confirm, again, that Tomas Rongen will again be the coach of the US Men U20's.

....uh, so there.

The Masses are Clever Devils

2006-01-24T11:50:00.000-05:00

Once again, MLSNet shoots itself in the foot with shoddy webmastering.

To add to a rather lengthy list of episodes where fans dig thru the open files of the MLSNet website only to find information that has yet to be released - yesterday a determined MLS supporter came across the new Houston logo.

It confirms that the team will have "1836" (see, I told you) as their nickname and MLS will finally get an orange team. ~~Unfortunately they stuck it with brown, and we all know "what brown can do for you".~~ Thankfully the larger version of the logo and the PR stuff that goes with it says it's "Raven Black" and "Space City Blue" to go with the "Wildcatter Orange."

The logo is pretty simple and clearly mocks the Astro's current star theme. It also proudly incorporates Texas state hero, and city namesake, Sam Houston on horseback. Ok, I assume that is Sam Houston.

Remember MLSNet has also accidently failed to secure the Miami/Tampa Bay retraction story by posting a new header with only 10 teams, and most recently the failed to hide the picture files of new team jerseys like FC Dallas and Chivas USA.

A Correction? Maybe...

2006-01-12T17:23:00.000-05:00

A while ago I mentioned that Thomas Rongen had locked up the coaching gig with the U20's. It appears that may have been premature. Sources at the Fed tell me now there are now four people interviewing for that job: Rongen, Ralph Perez, Mike Lapper, and Peter Vermes. Interesting line of canidates, but Rongen is still the favorite.

Nike's World Cup Kits?

2006-01-09T09:11:00.000-05:00

Floating around the 'net is this pic. Word is that it represents Nike's lineup of World Cup uniforms. It is not known if this a copy of an offical Nike pic or a bootleg. But from what I have heard, the lineup looks to be correct and confirms what I posted a few months ago.

I think that from left to right to would be: Turkey, Croatia, Morocco, Mexico, USA, Portugal, Brasil, Holland, Korea... Nike looks to have worked hard to give each country their own identity instead of the much debated "cookie cutter" look of late.

Also take a close look at the US kit. Note the left sock appears to continue the verticle stripe. This was one of the design ideas that I was told was "being discussed". Also the blue shorts instead of white, and the 'away' top will be the Mexico jersey template, but just in a blue with the horizontal stripe being red.

Getting Mail is Fun!

2006-01-09T06:59:00.000-05:00

More from the mail bag. Brian C asks a three part question:

I heard from a usually reliable source that the league office of MLS will befooting the bills for the Wizards in 2006, NOT Lamar Hunt. Though he will remain the I/O of the team for now.

It is more than likely that MLS is handling the bills for the Wiz(ards) for 2006. Lamar will remain the "I/O" for now, but he remains committed to finding a buyer and he is hopeful that a local investor and stadium deal will get done. That being said, he did not want to continue to fund it.

I've also heard rumours that AEG ignored offers to negotiate the Spartan Stadium deal with Spartan Shops. Reportedly, Spartan Shops was willing to drop the total bill by 30% plus add concession, parking, and merchandising percentages.

AEG did not want to stay without a soccer-specific-stadium and knew that no matter what Spartan Shops brought to the table was not going to make the team profitable. The two sides have been at odds on certain issues for some time and that certainly did not help the situation.

Finally, I heard from a source who is not entirely relieable, that per the sale of DC United to Kevin Payne's group, partial control of any stadium contructed for the team will go to AEG.

Over in DC, AEG has in fact will be given total control of any new stadium, but that is now and there is a lot of ground to be covered before there is a SSS in DC and much can change between now and then.

Houston Que Nombre?

2006-01-09T01:15:00.000-05:00

The voting is over for the Houston MLS name. Right now there is a clear favorite with the momentum and mojo, the odds on choice that is being given the once over around the league office and owners. That name is Houston 1836. The decision at this point is not Houston 1836 versus some other name like Apollos, Toros, or Mustangs, instead the decision is do we, or do we not, go with Houston 1836? Is this a name we can live with for years?

That’s the name on the table. Will they run with it?

From the Email Bag

2005-12-19T17:32:00.000-05:00

We get a lot of email, but most of it is just fluffy love letters. Recently though I got this question:

I heard that Doug Hamilton was promoted to head of AEG Sports. Did he get pushed out from the Galaxy?

Hamilton actually is getting a major job upgrade. Doug will be head bigwig of AEG sports.

In fact, Doug has been mentioned for a while for this gig, and Michael Hitchcock was being groomed to take over the Galaxy GM spot. When Hitchcock took the FC Dallas leadership role, that put Hamilton's promotion up for question.

Now it appears that they have found someone to take Doug's GM spot. Hamilton has won MLS "Exec OTY" the last two years and the Galaxy have certainly been very positive at the gate. While Hitchcock had a lot to do with that Hamilton is highly regarded by Liewieke and AEG.

Unlike Nick S' booting in NYC (to head the stadium effort) as the top cheese of AEG sports Doug will have far-ranging responsibilities within the AEG empire.

Houston - Where the Team Has No Name

2005-12-16T14:58:00.000-05:00

Like many of you, I have been following the San Jose/Houston debacle with some interest. It seems AEG did what they could to stay in San Jose and give the town a chance. I haven't talked about it much because there really wasn’t a lot going on that wasn’t in the SJ papers or coming out of the SSV people.

But consider this… While there is going to be voting for the name, MLS/AEG has the artwork and logo all ready to go for the new franchise. Even if you don't know anything about graphics design, I am sure you will know that these things take time. Also the deal to play in Robertson Stadium was done in time for today’s announcement. Those kinds of deals also take time. So for them to be done already with these items, means they have been planning this for a while. It makes me wonder if there really was much chance San Jose was going to be in San Jose for 06.

I have been trying to get a hold of the logo but have not been able to. But I am told by some people involved in the process that the logo is a "shield." Go look at the Real Salt Lake logo if you don't know what a shield logo is.

Does This Make Me Look Fat?

2005-12-16T07:44:00.000-05:00

To follow up my long ago post about the upcoming US National Team jerseys for the 2006 World Cup. The new Nike catalogs are out and there might be some clues that clear up what we mentioned. The pics here are from this catalog.

In the catalog is a kit called, "US Mercurial Jersey". As earlier noted it features a vertical stripe down the left chest and the stripe continues down onto the shorts. While not specifically in these pics, the US jersey will be white and have a red and blue vertical stripe. I have heard that Nike talked about continuing the stripe down onto left leg sock, but I am not clear if that will in fact happen.

It also appears that Nike is looking for a date for an unveiling. One of the two games in February on US soil are the likely dates for the unvieling.

Crumbs

2005-12-08T18:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry that it has been so long since I last posted. Vacation, work and the fact that there has been little to talk about that was not already out there are all part of why its been sparse picking here.

But I do have two tidbits.

It appears that Thomas Rongen will return as the Head Coach of the U20's. He's replacing Sigi, who replaced Thomas.

Also, just after the first of the year a few MLS (AEG) teams will play a series of friendlies against two foreign teams at the Home Depot Center.

Just a couple of crumbs, but better than nothing.

Own Up to Rumor

2005-11-08T08:48:00.000-05:00

I don't like to pass on rumor, but this is an area of rumor I find... Humorous... So I thought I would share it.

You know how over the last few years we have begun to hear various rumors of European teams looking to buy MLS teams? I am sure you have heard the same ones I have: Man U, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, etc... Really I am not sure how much stock I would put in any of these, rumor being the dog that it is.

So for your entertainment, latest name making the rounds of the "guess who wants to buy an MLS team?" rumor bingo is...

Newcastle United.

Alexi! Let the Camera Love You!

2005-11-02T20:53:00.000-05:00

It appears that Alexi Lalas has decided that being the GM of Major League Soccer's most important club (their description, not mine) is not enough to fill his day. Alexi will be appearing in Spike TV's "Joe's vs Pro's" reality TV show.

The show will feature sports icons from different sports including, Tony Dorsett, Clyde Drexler, Dan O'Brien, Misty May, Bill Goldberg and Dave Stewart. These former pros, along with Alexi and Brandi Chastain, will face off with "Joe's" in their respective sports.

The filming is taking place November 6 thru December 17 at the Home Depot Center.

But I wonder how this fits in with the demands of being the General Manager of the Metrostars. Certainly if, in fact, Lalas does want to announce a new Head Coach prior to the MLS Cup (Nov 13th), it appears that he will be tied up with his TV show the weeks prior and after.

2006 MLS Kits

2005-10-31T17:55:00.000-05:00

At the risk of becoming MLS fan's best source for fashion information, I wanted to clue you into some pics that came available to me. These are straight out of an official adidas catalog. Are these the final designs? I am not 100% sure, but from all appearances, it seems so. I don't have the space to show you the full pages, but you get the idea.

Some points: adidas is working from three basic templates, but on all of them the company logo is center with the team badge on the ~~right~~ left chest. All now have the team wordmark across the chest, except DC and Chivas. LA loses the sash on the away kit, but Dallas keeps their hoops.

Note that there are San Jose and KC jerseys shown here. Now that probably means little, but at least it shows that there is enough of a chance of the teams remaining in their respective cities to have these drawn up. Also note the Chivas USA kits. Not a lot of difference between the home and away strips and shows that the league certainly values the brand identity of those vertical stripes. They must be retaining the current blue kit as a 3rd jersey, but it is not shown here.

adidas also is planning for a roll out of the 2006 kits in NYC sometime in the near future.

Yes, I have a fetish for soccer kits. I am willing to spend a portion of my time concerning myself with them. So, if you have been enjoying the blog, just get used to more of this in the years to come. It is pure coincidence that my last three posting are about jerseys... Really!

Max von Sydow will coach the Germans

2005-10-17T17:50:00.000-04:00

In the hoopla and avalanche of the Nike "Don't Tread On Me" campaign what hasn't been mentioned is what the US Men's National Team kits will look like in Germany.

Have you seen "Victory" (or "Escape to Victory for you Euros)? Yup, it appears that the home strip will be a white shirt and short with a red and blue vertical stripe that goes from shoulder to the bottom of the shirt, and continues down the shorts and socks. The US logo would sit atop the stripe (the pic to the right is a replica of the Allied jerseys from the movie). The away kits will be an all blue affair with the shirt featuring a red horizontal stripe across the chest.

Nike has a current strip that has this reported look. The Juventus away kit, seen here, may give us an idea of the layout.

And, no. Pele will not be suiting up for the American side, but then again, thankfully neither will Sly Stallone.

Soccer Fashion

2005-10-11T17:19:00.000-04:00

Nike is having a national rep gathering at the Home Depot Center this week and there are two things of note.

Tomorrow Nike will roll out a new campaign based on the little seen "Don't Tread on Me" logo that was first seen a few weeks ago on the Nike website. Nike is passing out stickers of the logo and red shirts with the logo will soon be for sale.

Second, Phillips will be replaced by Pepsi on all national team gear when the former's deal ends this winter. This relates to something I mentioned back at MLS All Star time when Pepsi was the sponsor of the MLS All-Star team. I love it when a plan comes together.

You Knew the Job Was Dangerous When You Took It

2005-10-11T11:43:00.000-04:00

Not to say, "I told you so," but Bob's firing should have come a surprise to no one. It has been mentioned here a few times that Lalas was calling the personnel shots in Metro-land. When Bob didn't play the guys Alexi brought in you could hear the falling of the axe .

Short list? I think that ESPN's Ives Galarcep usually has it right and you should check out his list. But Frank Yallop is the gleam in everyone's eye.

While Yallop tops Lalas' list his former "Captain for Life", John Harkes, is really working hard behind the scenes for everyone to consider him. Lalas is a loyal guy to his friends so John may have a shot, and that probably rules out Mo Johnston. (note to John: Do NOT do your Jim Carrey imitation or fake Scottish accent in your interview)

Harkes' shot would get much better if Yallop ends up with his other suitor; The Galaxy. Steve Sampson's pants are hot and Landon Donovan is touting his former club coach to help solve LA's woes. Yallop certainly would rather end up in sunny LA than the Meadowlands, but will Hamilton pull the trigger on Sampson? Despite Hamilton's insistence that it was he, not Leiweke, that fired Sigi he will have to eat a lot of crow to part with a coach he brought in last year at the most odd of times.

The Crew have their new "union boss" in Sigi Schimd who not only has informed the USSF of his final work date, but is turning out invitations to other coaches and staff to join him. If you hear a "Sigi is going to the Metros rumor", don't believe it.

The rest of the league? You don't need a "Fire-Coach-Hot seat" analogy to know that Dave Sarachan is not secure. With Bob Bradley on the loose and John Guppy the new Fire GM, the Fire will have to go a long way in the playoffs to keep Dave's job in tact. If the Fire gig comes up there is another name to consider: Peter Nowak. DC United fans might squeal at the idea, but Peter would LOVE to return to Chicago.

For Chivas USA, Hans Westerhof has bigger things to do south of the border and won't be back. But who will Chivas put in his place? Martin Vasquez for his knowledge of the US system? Javier Ledesma? One never knows what Chivas might do.

Who is secure? If your guy's name is not found above, he is likely not going anywhere.

Sigi In and Out

2005-10-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

Sigi Schmid is on his way out of US Soccer and on his way in with the Crew. Coach Schmid has quit his job with USSF out in California and his last day of employ as US U20 coach is October 18th. Sigi will be heading to Columbus to take the Crew head coaching job the next day.

Is There a Director in the House?

2005-09-25T19:01:00.000-04:00

As more and more MLS GM's find themselves spending substantial (and increasingly valuable) time in the development, management, and marketing of new Stadiums, some teams are starting to consider adding a technical director and/or a player personnel director to their staffs to help the GM manage the team and coaching staffs. Currently, DC United is the only team that has such a position. Look for either former coaches, like Alfonso Mondelo or Dave Dir, or former directors of player personnel, like Chris Chamides, to get back in the league in this capacity.

Camping with Bruce

2005-09-20T19:33:00.000-04:00

The USSF has planned a US Senior camp from January 2nd to February 14th at the Home Depot Center. A friendly at HDC at the end of January is "very likely".

This certainly will begin the final shots those on the bubble will have to make the roster.

Is Bradley the Latest to Catch "Eddie Firmani Disease"?

2005-09-20T09:54:00.000-04:00

It appears that the heat on the Metros' coach, Bob Bradley, has turned up. I mentioned that Bob may not be making all of the player decisions these days. Sources around the league confirm that Metros GM, Alexi Lalas, is the one calling around about player moves. As I said back in mid August I thought Bob's seat was the hottest of all the MLS coaches, it is does sound like it is more and more likely he will not be the Metros coach in 2006.

But Bob is well respected in MLS and there is no doubt he will likely have job options. First, is a possible return to Chicago. The Fire's fall out of the Open Cup and .500 record since July 1st now also has Dave Sarachan wondering about his security. Remember, the Fire's new GM is John Guppy who worked under Nick Sakiewicz, that's right, the guy that hired Bradley to the Metros.

The other possibility is that Bradley would be a "slam dunk" if Peter Wilt is successful in his bid to get a MLS team to Milwaukee.

Drama in the Bay

2005-09-17T20:19:00.000-04:00

This week some of you may have come across the article in the Mexican paper "Ovaciones" that repeats the Club America claim that they are getting ready to take over the San Jose Earthquakes. According to my sources "close to" the league negotiations, and by "close to" I mean "involved in," the talks are currently stalled. Then again this is not the first time Club America has made such claims. Of course it's also entirely possible that Club American is negotiating directly with AEG and bypassing the MLS offices.

Yet if San Jose is not going somewhere, as the Soccer Silicon Valley people believe, why the hold up out in the Bay? Current Interim President & General Manager Kate McAllister has been interim GM before. It's hard to say if that makes her a legit candidate or not, but she has retained her previous title of Vice President of Business Development. And AEG promised a hire within a month and has not delivered one yet. In addition AEG has never replaced the Quakes' Team Administrator that Lalas took with him to NY, instead he continues to do the admin work for both teams.

So it doesn't matter who you believe really, Club America or the Soccer Silicon Valley people, either way this thing is a mess.

Marc'd Out of ESPN.com

2005-09-16T10:15:00.000-04:00

Got a weird one this morning, but it appears Marc Connelly has been dropped by ESPN.com. Word is he was not being opinionated enough and didn't throw out enough strong (controversial?) opinions. No word yet on who will be replacing him, or if anyone will for that matter.

Trading Places

2005-09-15T23:55:00.000-04:00

The word across the league is that Dallas was trying to unload Ed Johnson on the trade market until yesterday's MRI discovery (in case you missed it Eddie is out again). While Dallas fans were hoping that the Ruiz-Johnson duo could live on forever, that was highly unlikely with Johnson's $800K+ salary and whatever mountain of money it is going to take to resign a rather unsettled Carlos Ruiz. Oddly enough the Metrostars were also looking to unload Amado Guevara. Was there talk of a trade between the two clubs prior to the reoccurrence in Ed's foot bone?

Crew Coaching Countdown

2005-09-15T22:08:00.000-04:00

It looks like Coach Warzycha is going to get some more time to hold his job, but he has the proverbial "Sword of Damocles" hanging over his head.... Sigi Schmid is waiting in the wings to take over the position should the Crew's season not improve, it's his job if he so chooses. Word is he will take the spot when The Rifle finally misfires.

Fire Can't Rid Itself Of Tony

2005-09-15T21:58:00.000-04:00

Chicago tried to unload Tony Sanneh before today's deadline, but was unable to find anyone silly enough gobble up that big contract and waning desire. The fact his deal is guaranteed at that big number for 2006 I am sure was a deterrent.

The Harvest

2005-09-15T11:18:00.000-04:00

Getting word out of my people in LA, that the 2006 MLS combine has been added to the Home Depot Center schedule for January 11-13. Surfs Up!

Ed loves Ed Too Much

2005-09-14T08:01:00.000-04:00

Has his money bag hit him in the head? Did he drop it on his foot? Or is the pressure of the sudden fame and big dollars given FC Dallas striker Ed Johnson a case of, "Be careful what you wish for"?

Depending on who you believe, the foot injury that kept him out for over two months was either the result of a Pablo Mastroeni tackle (aren't they all?), as Johnson's people claim, or it was the result of a all too familiar Johnson tantrum, where he kicked a water cooler after being subbed out in the following game against Chivas as some inside the Dallas club claim. It is said that Ed's agent blames Dallas' coach, Colin Clarke, for playing him when injured against Chivas, which ended up keeping Ed from playing in crucial World Cup qualifiers.

Johnson's new contract also appears to have had a negative effect on his attitude. The "big man" cockiness that plagued his early days in Dallas are back. With the media he has started referring to himself in third person, and on separate occasions decided to stop talking to certain local soccer writers. Team mates have privately said that practice is better when Johnson is not present and that his contract is not an issue - but his attitude is. He recently has been asked to leave or walked out of practice.

Johnson's on-field play also has returned to less than desirable. He has claimed it is the injury that is keeping him from returning to form. It is not lost on anyone that he appears to not be exerting a lot of effort, but when he found some minutes for Arena against Guatemala last week - the flashy, hard working player magically returned.

Did You Know: New England Stiffed

2005-09-10T13:15:00.000-04:00

Most MLS followers know that New England twice gave up on players and shipped them to Dallas back in 1998 when they sent Oscar Pareja to the Burn for Damian, and again in 1999 when the shipped Ariel Graziani for Leonel Alvarez.

But many of you may not know that The Revs lost a talented player to Dallas, through no fault of their own, back in 1997. Alain Sutter was signed by MLS to go play in New England. But after visiting the city, and finding out how cold it got in Boston, his wife balked at moving there. So Sutter asked MLS to send him to a warm weather team: LA, Dallas, or Tampa.

LA and Tampa already had star attacking mids (Cienfuegos and Valderrama) so Sutter was given to Dallas.

Most people still believe Sutter was given to Dallas to replace Leonel Alvarez, who was sold out of the league after the 1996 season, but in reality, Daniel Peinado replaced Leonel. So as much as Dallas fans like to complain about not getting league help, there is at least one example where Dallas actually got the better end of league manipulation, while New England got the raw end of the deal.

Headbands Are for Chicks

2005-08-30T00:42:00.000-04:00

Fans love to chant "headbands are for chicks" at Ryan Suarez, and honestly can you blame them for that? That thing Ryan wears does look a bit silly.

But the other day I was hanging at the MetroStars game, which one is not important, and I got a chance to talk to Ryan about the headband. Did you know he gets more money for wearing that stupid headband than he does for playing soccer?

Think about that, his salary to wear that headbands in games exceeds his salary to actual play, and win, the game.

What Color?

2005-08-25T16:40:00.000-04:00

Ferrari a new MLS sponsor? - Pending that the Beckham family will be relocating to NYC by 2008, I wonder what color Ferrari David will be driving on the Long Island Expressway on his way to parties in the Hamptons?

You see, MLS provided both Jorge Campos and Lothar Matthäus a Ferrari to drive during their MLS journeys. Jorge is rumored to have kept his yellow one as part of his settlement agreement. Lothar also got a $10K a month apartment (if you can call it that) in Trump Tower.

Which Team

2005-08-24T16:05:00.000-04:00

So the MLS "Select" team was not competitive in Madrid. What did MLS, or anyone else for that matter, expect? The lads that went tried hard under very difficult circumstances.

Looking back couldn't have MLS done something else to better represent itself?

Actually, many soccer writers and Big Soccer posters have suggested that MLS should have sent one of their actual teams. Frank Dell'Apa is an example of one of those with that suggestion, and you can read his article here. He makes an excellent point.

The truth is that MLS, in fact, strongly considered this, and actually went to Real Madrid with the proposition of sending one of two MLS teams to represent the league. Real Madrid quickly nixed that idea for reasons that are probably obvious and insisted on a MLS "Select" team. One would have to think a regular MLS squad, or a "team of players" who actually have spent time together, would have had a fighting chance in that scenario.

Another note to come from yesterday's match: Get used to seeing "Pepsi" on soccer stuff. Look for something similar in the coming months. Oh, and couldn't have adidas come up with a better uniform than something I see on the rec fields every weekend?

Fill in Coach

2005-08-22T16:35:00.000-04:00

So, as our little group of "MLS All-Stars" fly off to Madrid to be thrown to the "lions in the coliseum", we all wish them the best knowing that they will play hard and represent MLS as best as a thrown together team can against the most expensive roster in the world.

What was really up in the air was who would coach the team, or actually, who wanted to. Multiple MLS coaches turned the "honor" down before Nicol was chosen/picked/volunteered. It turns out that MLS had a backup plan in case no one wanted to coach the team. Former Mutiny and Metrostar coach Alfonso Mondelo was in line to head the team to the Bernabeu. The spanish-born Mondelo is still traveling with the team as a liaison and assistant coach. He also remains very well liked in US Soccer; don't be surprised if he turns up in the MLS or US Nats coaching circles in the near future.

Gettin' Hot

2005-08-18T22:06:00.000-04:00

Anyone want to place bets on which of the following will be gone first - Bob Bradley or Steve Sampson?

It doesn't take an MLS gossip monkey to know that both are very much on the hot seat. But I will place my money on Bradley being the first to go away. Why? When I add up several pieces of information that I have gathered it sums up that Bob's seat is on "10."

While Sampson's isn't as hot, you can bet it is unlikely either will be the coach of their current teams at the kickoff of 2006. At least Sampson is still calling the personnel shots in LA.

There's No Place Like Home.

2005-08-17T18:27:00.000-04:00

What is going on with the Wizards? Are you, too, under the impression that the team was being bought and moved? What happened with that?

Is it possible that the one time MLS cup winners will actually remain in KC, with the help of the soccer-fairy himself, Uncle Lamar Hunt?

Consider this: Back in 2002 Lamar almost pulled a Baltimore Colts like move of the Wizards to Rochester. Being the KC loving, grandfatherly type he is, he decided to give it another go, but this time he personally got involved with the season ticket sales. As you know ticket sales shot up and the team stayed.

So in 2004 when Lamar threw on his gold Century 21 jacket and stuck an ad on Ebay (oh, that was someone else) it was assumed that it would happen quickly - hell, Lamar even hinted it wouldn't last long. But now we are in late summer 2005 and I am getting the word that Lamar really wants the team to remain in KC. Is Lamar doing yet another good soccer deed by lining up a buyer for the team that wants to keep the Wizards where they are? An owner who is ready to pull the trigger if the Johnson County stadium plans continue to go in the positive manner I am hearing?

Madrid All-Stars

2005-08-15T11:09:00.000-04:00

So, how will the MLS honchos handle the balancing act between providing players for the Real Madrid - MLS All-Star match and the actual MLS teams that are in that all important stretch of their league season?

A few MLS observers are telling me that MLS will insist that no more than two players from any given team will be "borrowed" and that teams playing each other will be "balanced" in their losses, at least numerically.

What will make that tough is two teams really feature the players MLS might want to utilize: New England (Twellman, Dempsey, Joseph, Reis, Parkhurst) and Dallas (Ruiz, Johnson, O'Brien, Valakari, Vanney, Garlick). What's more important? Sending your best players for a friendly to the Bernabeu? Or letting your teams field the best 11 in September?

Becks

2005-08-10T14:52:00.000-04:00

If David Beckham is not wearing a Metrostars uniform by 2008, my name isn't Doug Logan.

Did You Know: Colorado Close

2005-08-06T17:09:00.000-04:00

From time to time I will drop a few DYKs on you readers. Just some info from MLS past that might be of interest. First up, the Rapids.

During MLS' contraction period, circa 2001, Colorado was so close to being on the chopping block, that a few Rapid employees were actually asked if they were willing to relocate to other MLS cities.

Getting Chilly in Houston

2005-08-04T17:57:00.000-04:00

Is it just me, or do the Chivas USA home crowds seem a lot smaller than what they actually announce, more so than the usual difference we see in some MLS cities?

Now I am getting a trickle out of the south lands that Club America may be getting cold feet due to the off-field troubles of Chivas USA.

EJ Money

2005-08-02T16:30:00.000-04:00

Word out of NY office is that Ed Johnson signed his new deal as far back as February.

Crew Coaching Hotseat

2005-08-02T14:31:00.000-04:00

Trickling out of Columbus... Robert Warzycha will get a shot to finish the season and it's his job to lose. If the Crew play well he will have the first shot to win the job. If the Crew struggle the front runner appears to be Brian Bliss.

Buddle Arrested

2005-08-01T15:22:00.000-04:00

Edson Buddle was arrested for "drunk driving" on Saturday night. No word yet on how that will effect his already non-existent playing time. Buddle has a total of 15 traffic items listed under his name in the Franklin County public records website.

Welcome

2005-08-01T13:40:00.000-04:00

Hi, my name is Not Doug Logan. You may not remember me from the early days of Major League Soccer.

This is my revenge. Welcome to my world.

NDL