Center Holds It (Free subscription) | 03/07/2008
Having been “underground” when Major League Soccer (MLS) Roster Compliance Day came and went (and, to celebrate, I threw out tons of crap, just like the teams I like!), motivation to soberly analyze all those rosters isn't coming; besides, fans and fan sites have probably did all this to near-death earlier in the week. [...]
WVHooligan - Soccer Blog (Free subscription) | 03/05/2008
As slow as things have been lately it is as good of a time as ever to start pumping these season previews out. Today I will begin my season previews with the Chicago Fire. More than likely I will be going in ABC order here and not by any rankings or predictions that I may [...]
Sideline Views (Free subscription) | 02/21/2008
The last edition of my preseason rankings. Obviously, forwards rely a great deal on service from the midfield and backs, but I tried to base these rankings on what the forwards bring to the table in terms of individual qualities and collective abilities. 1. New York. Jozy Altidore-Juan Pablo Angel pairing should strike fear among all opposing defenses. Altidore has barely scratched the surface of his...
My Soccer Blog (Free subscription) | 02/15/2008
Last year the Chicago Fire were lacking in anything up top. This year, their cup seems to be running over as they have added Andy Herron to their lineup. This is his second round with the team. The move means Chicago now has Calen Carr, Tomasz Frankowski, Chris Rolfe, Patrick Nyarko, Chad Barrett and Herron ready to play in the forward position. This is an embarrassment of riches. So what is the team...
Black Panther : A Soccer Blog (Free subscription) | 02/09/2008
A couple weeks ago I posted the start of a comprehensive list to track all player moves before the season starts . I haven't noticed anyone doing this and it seemed an important thing to keep track of for future use. We tend to forget things like when last year the Rapids traded a major allocation to Toronto for Conor Casey with Toronto FC picking up part of Casey's salary for the year. There have...
Who Ate All the Cupcakes? (Free subscription) | 01/22/2008
Houston: Joseph Ngwenya is taking his MLS championship medal and heading off to Austria to join SK Austria for the remainder of the season. There's an option for 08/09, but it wouldn't shock me to see him back in MLS this summer since SK Austria is in last place in the league. Nate Jaqua is also in Austria trying to find a deal. The Dynamo released Paul Dalglish, who's going to play next to Chingy?...
LA Times (Free subscription) | 11/21/2007
The former Galaxy coach selects 10 players in the expansion draft to begin stocking the reconstituted San Jose Earthquakes. Coach Frank Yallop, only weeks after walking away from the Galaxy, began building his next Major League Soccer team today.
Black Panther : A Soccer Blog (Free subscription) | 11/21/2007
Today Major League Soccer is holding it's expansion draft for the new San Jose Earthquakes. The new eQuakes will have 10 rounds to choose a player from the 13 existing teams. They can only choose one from each team. 3 teams will get through the expansion draft without loosing any players. A list of the players they've left exposed is below. The question is, who will they pick? It's hard to say who...
Sideline Views (Free subscription) | 11/20/2007
Now, this isn't what I think Frank Yallop would or should do. This is what I came up with when trying to figure out a 10-man list. And I tried to stay away from Jaime Cardenas' 10, which follow mine, just because I want to compare our teams so he could see that my time wasting was better spent than his. LB's list G Kevin Hartman - Kansas City D Kelly Gray - Galaxy D Jason Hernandez - Chivas D Mike...
Climbing the Ladder (Free subscription) | 10/30/2007
First of all, here's another reason why I can't trust MLSnet's stats. On the league stats page , their summary of penalty kicks is missing Eddie Johnson's saved pk against Jon Conway on 10/13 . Hopefully this is just an MLSnet mistake, and it won't be messed up in their all time stats (such as in the annual facts and records book). That's usually the case. So anyway, there was a total of 58 penalties...
CBS SportsLine.com (Free subscription) | 10/07/2007
Abe Thompson scored two late goals to help FC Dallas wrap up an MLS playoff berth with a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday.
Down the Byline (Free subscription) | 09/16/2007
The Wizards first blew a lead, then came from behind with two goals in stoppage time to get a much needed 3 points against the Columbus Crew last night at Arrowhead Stadium. The win helps to move the Wizards 1 step closer to ending their 2 year playoff drought. The Wizards started off strong, and Scott Sealy got the Wizards on the board in the 31st minute on a brilliant free kick. The Wizards continued...
Climbing the Ladder (Free subscription) | 09/15/2007
Which players have earned or given away the most penalty kicks for their team during the 2007 season? Unfortunately, MLS doesn't list that on their season stats page any more. They still have the pk list, but without that info like they used to do. So it just took a little research reading the match reports, and here are the two lists: Penalties Earned Adam Cristman 2 Luciano Emilio 2 Kyle Martino...
Climbing the Ladder (Free subscription) | 09/03/2007
Updated to reflect changes in the past month. Click here for my explanation of MLS international player rules. All teams as a basic rule have 4 SI slots and 3 YI slots. See the above link for why some teams have more, and my best guess as to the exact number certain teams have. It's not easy to find that stuff out, as well as the status of certain players. (players listed with green cards below may...
CBS SportsLine.com (Free subscription) | 08/05/2007
Matt Pickens made four saves in his second straight shutout and the Chicago Fire played to a 0-0 draw with the Columbus Crew on Saturday.
