welcome back!!

Daddy's home! Did you bring us any presents?!?

Wow, a Feat reference helps atone for having to be at work on this holiday-Monday.

Feat...footie...it all works together!

Welcome back, Steve! Hope that your G I system is back in order (!!), and I welcome the return of the musical references as well. Could not squeeze even a note outta Dan, tho we all expected at least one In-Sync mention... [Dan, just joking].

Welcome back!

Who is this? Where's Steinberg?

Welcome back Steve, any info on the new turf at RFK? I heard maybe there's a synthetic blend with the natural grass? Any truth or updates?

Welcome back! And today is also Thanksgiving in Canada, eh! I was tempted to conjecture that you won't be eating Chinese food today or any other day for a while, but it is not as if you didn't have plenty of access to non-Chinese food in the cities you visited. Can you recommend any good Italian places in Chengdu or Hangzhou, in case any of us ever finds him/herself there?

"Does Greg Ryan still have his job?" It will be amazing if he keeps it.

No signs of "reconciliation" in Wambach's latest remarks on Solo.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=627843&category=SPORTS&newsdate=10/6

Interesting Feat and WNT: "Well you know, that you're over the hill, when your mind makes a promise that your body can't fill."

Just want to say that I am delighted to have you back. My question is if the Galxy doo end up making the playoffs, does MLS lose a little credibility? My reasoning is that the Galaxy are just an awful team, and for them to make the playoffs, would be indictment to the level of play in MLS. I would hope for MLS' sake that the Galaxy miss the playoffs this year, revamp their sqaud during the offseason, and field a much more competitive team for next season.

Greg Ryan does not still have a job. Galaxy does not have a shoot at the playoffs. (Landon Donovan ought not have a shot at the national team.) The Terps will miss the playoffs.

And of all of these, I am saddest about the Terps. What happened?!

Welcome back Steve and thanks to your very able on-line and in print substitutes.

RE: Hockey attendance. Letters in the Free-for all section of Saturday's paper bemoaned the lack of coverage for a Caps pre-season game and... wait for it... a triathlon. Geez. What a bunch of whiners :-).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/05/AR2007100502102.html

Also in the same section, two young soccer fans complained about word choice in covering the WWC 3rd place match. They also seemed disappointed that the report was on page E3. Soccer fans in the DC area have come very far when pre-teen girls are demanding better WWC coverage from the Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/05/AR2007100502107.html

Zzzzzzzz.

Welcome back Goff! If Beckham returns for the Galaxy's final 3 matches, and they make the playoffs, does the media make a sound?

Gomez is up for GOTW, but Paulo Nagamura long blast currently looks like a lock to win this week's vote

RE: Wanbach

WTF is a Silver Shoe? Do they give out gold stars for attendance too?

When 8 out of 13 teams make the playoffs then there are going to be teams with losing records in the playoffs. Blame MLS, not the Galaxy.

Their schedule was heavily loaded with games in the last 3rd of the season, so it's not surprising now that they are catching up in games played and no longer have 3 or 4 games in hand that they are in playoff contention.

Perhaps the runner-up for the golden shoe wins a silver shoe ?

{Another question would be why it isn't the golden boot award}

http://www.fifa.com/womenworldcup/awards/index.html

Sadly I'd put the Galaxy's chances at making the playoffs at roughly 50:50. My guess is it will come down to their last game at Chicago. Beckham vs. Blanco with the Galaxy only needing a tie to advance to the playoffs. And of course it will only be televised in Spanish.

Thanks, I'll be humming about a fat man in a bathtub all day.

Does anyone believe Wambach's claim about the team being "unanimous"? Even if they were on the surface, if there had been a secret ballot...

Does anyone believe Wambach's claim about the team being "unanimous"? Even if they were on the surface, if there had been a secret ballot...

Posted by: Section 410 | October 8, 2007 11:38 AM
----------------

Sure. Elections are often unanimous in a communist country.

Nice to have you back, Steve...but I hope your return doesn't mean that the Bogster will abandon us.

Ryan must go, but my concern is that the history of the USSF's women's team coaching selection seems to parallel the ability of the American public to select a president.

In both cases, therefore, I fear what we may wind up with next.

The women wear shoes, not boots. They have (or lack) speed, not pace. And, as the girls from Silver Spring pointed out, they huddle, they do not cuddle. The LA Galaxy cuddles. And wears boots. And lacks pace.

Ryan's performance plus Tony DiCico's (sp?) doing the commentary, led me to wonder why Tony has never been considered for MLS or other men's coaching jobs. Is the gender divide at the coaching level that strong and that permanent?

I wouldn't count the Terps out yet.

Welcome back, Goffer!

I also appreciated the Bogster's work while you were in China.

Welcome back. And with Little Feat references no less!! Must've grown up around here.

Does the Galaxy really have a shot at making the playoffs?

A shot yeah, but it's probably in about the 7% chance range. Even if they pull off two more wins I don't see them beating Chicago in the final game- which would almost certainly knock them out even if they are still in contention then.

ps- If you're Willin', I vote for at least one Little Feat reference in all future posts!

Sad about the Terps. Sigh. And if Ryan does not get canned the WNT will suffer some serious loss to their credibility. The team is not a family. It is a competitive organization where the top priority is victory and expanding the sport. You get better by replacing the defective parts. In this case, Ryan. You bring back Solo (and the new couch lays down the law and says you are all pros and you will play with her). Sure the women are all friendlier than the men, but this is pro sports. So Ryan is your coach and you like him, blah blah blah. He also seriously undercut your team and coached an entire cup very poorly.

No, I know DCU fans are not big on the Gals, but I am hoping they make the playoffs. They have a shot. They can totally beat Toronto, and it would be awesome for them to beat Chicago. Plus, for them to have a shot, we have to beat CHicago. That is something I am all for. Alas, they aren't beating Chivas to get to the cup, but I would still like some media attention for the return of Beckham. These guys have been playing with heart the last 4 games, especially after getting screwed by Alexi Lalas and the front office with the whole Beckham launch. It was like they didn't exist until he got there, every player (seemingly) was traded, including ridiculous trades (Klein, Jaqua). I think the more media attention the better.

RE: Hockey attendance. Letters in the Free-for all section of Saturday's paper bemoaned the lack of coverage for a Caps pre-season game and... wait for it... a triathlon. Geez. What a bunch of whiners :-).

Posted by: I-270, Exit 1 | October 8, 2007 11:14 AM

I think the big problem sometimes for a lot of fans of "other non-NFL/MLB/NBA" sports is that the Post forgets its a local paper.

This really hits you after you go to a smaller town outside of DC and you read all the great stuff they do on local sports, even in Cumberland they include the U-8 girls league scores in the Sports section...and only a paragraph on MLB baseball (about locals who now play in the big league).

I know DC is a huge city with lots of stuff going on but why are we dedicating 4+ pages every day to the MLB when the Nats and O's didn't even make the playoffs?

I often wonder if Selig and MLB actually own part of the Post.

BTW if you are a true Red Sox or Yankees fan you should be reading the Boston and New York papers where they have been following the teams in depth for the past season.

If the Gals make it then they've earned the right to be there. How do people think the media will react? Will the headlines say..."MLS sucks because Galaxy make playoffs" ? Or...."Galaxy fight back to qualify for playoffs"?

Welcome back. I thought Dan did a great job in your absence, but it is still very nice to have you back.

Welcome back Goff.

Goffinho? Glad you're back.

Steinberg kept having problems with his TPS reports though . . plus I'm afraid boss man noticed a rise in my productivity whilst you were in China . . .

Given that United WILL finish first in the East . . .

Can we assume the very first playoff game is going to be at home or away? I seem to remember the higher seed gets a home game first.

More Wambach. She's getting close to running her own trap too much, even as she bashes Solo for same:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071008/SPORTS/710080307/1007

Can we assume the very first playoff game is going to be at home or away? I seem to remember the higher seed gets a home game first.

Posted by: d | October 8, 2007 01:42 PM
________________________________________

Isn't it just the reverse for a home-and-home series? You want any tiebreaking that might be needed after 180 minutes to take place on the higher seed's turf.

I was talking with a friend about Caps attendance and he noted that Stubhub is in charge of selling the mid-level tickets. Is this true? Does anyone have specifics as to why/how this is, and any details of the deal? The rest of the arena was pretty full, so it stinks if that's a big reason for woes.

Selig and the Post, I definitely with your assessment of the Post. I've been saying much of the same for years.

I think the big problem sometimes for a lot of fans of "other non-NFL/MLB/NBA" sports is that the Post forgets its a local paper.
This really hits you after you go to a smaller town outside of DC and you read all the great stuff they do on local sports, even in Cumberland they include the U-8 girls league scores in the Sports section...and only a paragraph on MLB baseball (about locals who now play in the big league).
I know DC is a huge city with lots of stuff going on but why are we dedicating 4+ pages every day to the MLB when the Nats and O's didn't even make the playoffs?

I normally like the writing and coverage for some teams, but when you read the articles there are sometimes the feelings that the writers are missing something obvious to locals or they just aren't covering the real local stuff. Watching the guys on WaPoLive can really bug me. When speaking and not writing, the lack of knowledge of the area is even larger. I know it's not easy or cheap, but I'd rather have more summaries for the different regions for fall high school sports than another satirical look at Joe Gibbs.

Welcome Back Goff. You were missed.

More Wambach. She's getting close to running her own trap too much, even as she bashes Solo for same:
_________________________________________

I'm almost as sick of this particular topic as anyone else, but if Wambach insists on keeping it alive...

Their first post-WWC action is less than a week away. They need to have someone other than Ryan on the bench. But then again, the interim coach would presumably be one of Ryan's assistants. Does anyone know who those assistants are, and whether they can be trusted to do the right thing?

"My blogger went to China and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!"

Welcome back, Goffinho! At least you don't have to worry about Soehn knifing Perkins' career in the back in favor of Jay Nolly!

Any new word on Jaime's ankle and Fred's groin? Did they run today, and will they play at the weekend?

I think I saw that Jaime is playing for Bolivia this weekend, and is going to miss the game against Chicago.

Welcome back! We're definitely spoiled here with our coverage. Steve in China and Dan filling in in DC.

Believe Ryan's assistants in China were Bret Hall (defense), Billy McNicol, and Phil Weddon (keepers).

Welcome Back. Fifth row center at Lisner when they recorded Waiting for Columbus. One of the best concert weeks ever. Makes me feel old though.

Thanks to Steinberg for pulling the extra duty and carying it off very well.

What is Freddy blaming Nowak for. Not putting him on the bench behind Gomez and Moreno or finding a position in the lineup that he found too challenging?

Welcome back!

re: Questions -
1. Greg Ryan should already be gone.
2. If LA makes the playoffs despite the circus and crazy schedule then good for them.
3. z

RE: DiCicco. The difference between coaching men's v women's teams is not teaching the game, formations, etc. It is knowing how to motivate the players and there is a big difference in the psychological approaches to men and women.

"The women wear shoes, not boots."

Well thank goodness it's a word I know, and not pumps or mules or slingbacks.

Glad to have you back Goffer. Steinberg was admirable in your absence. What happened to the "quick decision" we were promised on Ryan?? Seems like something the press might want to follow up on with King Sunil. Hmmm - maybe yet another misstatement and backtrack from the so-far disastrous reign of His Highness Gulati?

My question is if the Galxy doo... [snip]

Posted by: DC United Fan | October 8, 2007 11:10 AM

I know it was a typo, but it's more like a Freudian slip!

MD makes NCAA - book it. ACC is really competitive. VT on Sat is crucial.

Goffman welcome back! Still waking up in the middle of the night?

Would be interested in your take on the addition of San Jose and Seattle (seems to be the next MLS franchise) to the league. What does this do to the East / West split if added in 2008? If MLS keeps the same playoff format in '08, that will make it even more exciting run down to the wire with 15 teams fighting for 8 slots!

Couple of interesting pieces of news on Seattle. Paul Allen as part owner; the Seattle jersey design competition has the "XBox" logo on the front and is green and the name is FC Seattle or Seattle FC (http://mlsrumors.blogspot.com/)

Wambach is just having an emotional reaction to the fact that she and the rest of the "unanimous" team lost the Gold. Competitors like her tend to be very emotional and open their mouths when they shouldn't. I'm sure that the next coach of the WNT won't hold it against her.

Like teddy log-on says,

Hockey fans and futbol fans should be banding together to fight together against the evil oppression of NFL dominance. They should not be fighting each other for the table scraps left over.

Has the Switzerland detachment been named yet?

One more follow up on the rumor that the jersey sponsor may be a national telecom. I just noted that the United Award Reception on October 29th is being sponsored by United Bank (a long time supporter of DCU) and VERIZON WIRELESS. Hmmm, maybe that answers the question about what name will be splashed across the chest of the boys in Red & Black next year?

For those who thought Jaime should have retained his #9 jersey, shouldn't that number be retired in honor of freddy adu?

I hate to say this, as a long-time Freddy fan, but it is so sad to see him continuing to blame Peter Nowak for his poor performance at DC United. I checked the original interview just to be sure (it can be founhd at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/world_soccer/09/24/adu.qa/1.html) . The question did not force him to diss Nowak, he really came up with this on his own.

Who is getting the blame for his limited PT at Benfica? And has he forgotten who is assistant coaching the USMNT? Maybe he is planning to go play for Ghana after all.

Jade, save that garbage for BS.
MLSRumors is the only source less reliable than Ives.

Section 410: switzerland is announced tuesday...Ives is reporting that Freddy, Szetela, Zizzo and Seitz are on the list...no mlsers in playoff hunts...of course, it's not real until Goffinho confirms...

Little Feat is the name of simply the greatest club team in the upper midwest. Wink Wink Nod Nod, Of course named after the band. Yes, the Club asked for permission just so we are clear. Little Feat Football Club started in the late 70's by a forign exchange student named Gus from Argentina, on the campus of North Dakota State University. During the early nineties and late eighties I can say we brought a fair amount of embarrassment to clubs from Winnipeg and the Twin Cities.

Q&A with Antonucci about the new womens league. She answers a question that I believe Insider posed a few weeks ago -- their thinking is built up around attendance of 4500-5000. Also they are specifically targeting first generation Mexican-Americans; and dads & daughters.

http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/exclusives/national/index.html?article_id=733

Ryan is done. Galaxy is done, for the simple reason that they suck.

Wambach needs to mend some fences for one simple reason. Solo is their best keeper.

Goff

1) The hockey crowd is easy to figure out if you are actually there - since no one can get into the club level. The upper and lower bowls were nicely filled, and loud. There was even a loud "Ref, you suck," chant in the first period. I wonder where they got THAT from. :) By Capitals standards, it was a good crowd numbers wise and a great crowd noise wise. (Yes, I was there, not that that's related.) ... Especially given they were playing Carolina, who has the following of, I don't know, a team without much following.

Waiting for Columbus is one of my all-time favorite live albums EVER!

Here's an interesting quote from Antonucci: "We will go ahead with seven teams, for now, but if there are other investors interested, we will increase that number, possibly even to eight." As opposed to, say, 7.6 teams?

An update on the college scene:

http://www.soccertimes.com/ncaa/top25/women.htm

http://www.soccertimes.com/ncaa/top25/men.htm

Perhaps she measn that WUSA might add six-tenths of a team in Salt Lake City, as MLS did?

She also said they are looking at USL not just MLS which makes good sense to me. They have right-sized stadiums among other things. "Oh Atlanta" -- Cary NC - Rochester NY -- Seattle.

Goffer / Olsen 2008 !!!!