Daily Soccer Fix

Matt Damon: a Chelsea man, apparently

2010-02-08T22:00:47Z

Damon and Greengrass on Sunday at Stamford Bridge

I guess the fellas calling yesterdays Arsenal-Chelsea proceedings aren’t big Jason Bourne fans. Uh, guys, maybe you need to get that situation sorted out. Or maybe, being Brits, they were pissed off that over much the last decade Bourne had been doing Bond better than the Bond series, as the venerable UK institution had lost its way, stumbling into the silly zone before a Daniel Craig-assisted rally.

Any-who, right in the middle of matters Sunday at Stamford Bridge, TV directors cut to a rather long, static shot of two faces in the crowd. They seemed to be having a good time, smiling and chatting away while watching the game along with the rest of us. Maybe the announcers weren’t checking out the monitor at that exact moment, but for whatever reason they didn’t note that those faces belonged to Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass. Greengrass teamed with Damon on two of the Bourne movies (Supremacy and Ultimatum) and also on Damon’s upcoming Green Zone.

Word is that the American actor is a Chelsea fan. (And that he does a mean Michael Ballack impersonation.)

Night in New Orleans – like a night in Paris back in 1998

2010-02-08T16:03:00Z

Les Bleus made the magic, and France lit it up for three nights

View full size photo »

Watching the scenes from New Orleans last night – and you just know it was a long, alcohol-fueled adventure, quite possibly full of unspeakable things – reminded me of one of my very favorite soccer memories.

I was in France in 1998 when Les Bleus shocked the world by, first, finding their way into the World Cup final, and then by roughing up favored Brazil.

That was on July 12, launching a celebration for the ages. The hooting and hollering began just after final kickoff all over Paris. About four hours later, all words written and work finally done, I emerged from the stadium and tried to find a cab.

It would have been easier to find a virgin working in brothel at that moment.

The streets were unbelievably packed, so I suppose the cabbies were stuck in revelry-created gridlock. Or perhaps they were just staying close to the city (Stade de France is on the outskirts of Paris). Or maybe they were just drunk, I don’t know.

Myself and another writer wandered the stadium periphery (not a fantastic neighborhood, by the way) tactically plotting our next move. It took well over an hour to finally turn up willing participant, someone willing to dive into the madness.

The streets were absurd as we got close to the city. French fans were apoplectic with delight, literally dancing in the streets and paying perilously little attention to rules of the road – or to any reasonable tenets of personal safety. Our daredevil driver, God bless him, in a series of swift, accurate and harrowing maneuvers somehow got us to our hotel.

France took the next day off, celebrating all day and all night, leading up to …

July 14, which is Bastille Day, which happens to be the badass of celebration days in France anyway. It started with military flyovers, which passed directly over my hotel. Sweet.

I’ll never forget the scene later that afternoon. I was near the Bastille monument, speaking to my editor on the phone. He was a friend, and I wanted to give him some sense of the scene, which would also help him understand the what I was writing about the madness of the moment. So I called from the city streets instead of calling from the increasingly deserted media center.

This was around 4 p.m., and the streets were still packed, still crawling with revelers, still teeming over a din of horn honks, shouts and song, still glistening from spilled wine and beer, still spotted with vomit and God knows what else. And there were popping sounds, too.

Over here, we would immediately think of gunfire. As weapons aren’t as ubiquitous there, I figured out quickly they were firecrackers. But they kept popping close to me, and I couldn’t quite figure out where they were coming from.

Then it all came clear! While I was still on the phone, yelling into the mouthpiece to be heard, I figured out that revelers had climbed on the Bastille monument and were literally throwing firecrackers into the crowd. A few girls seemed unnerved by it all – but a lot of people were aware and unfazed. I wondered perhaps, so long as you were paying attention, if you probably weren’t going to get hurt. Not too badly, anyway.

Then I glanced over and noticed a line of ambulances! Just sitting there. Waiting their turn in the cue, like so many cabs lined up at an airport. The only logical conclusion by anyone adhering to the Darwin principals: the authorities were expecting injuries. Plenty of them, judging by the number of medical personnel near the stack of ambulances.

I told my editor: “Hey, man. I gotta let you go. I think I need to pay more attention to what’s happening around me. I don’t want to finish my six weeks in France in the back of one of those ambulances.”

I defend myself (and other soccer writers) re Harkes, Wynalda, etc.

2010-02-04T20:35:34Z

Oh, boy. ... Here he goes with more of that journalism crap!

View full size photo »

Also file under: Why journalism will always be an inexact science

I’ve gotten a couple of dirty looks and shamey fingers, figuratively speaking, from readers over yesterday’s missive about journalists who knew about the sordid Wynalda-Harkes tangle, but didn’t write it. All three were respectful expressions of disappointment. (Two were in email form. Thanks, guys, for not wanting to call me out in the public comments area. But I’m a big boy. I can take it.)

You have every right to be upset / disappointed at not knowing the entire truth. You are absolutely correct that it wasn’t totally fair to Steve Sampson, nor that fans were deprived of the full explanation for such a miserably failed bit.

But it’s inaccurate to say that I “withheld” information. Nor did anyone else. Click forward for my ~~revisionist spin~~ thoughtful explanation:

Affairs and these personal transgressions are tricky issues. As I said in yesterday’s piece, I thought the information was solid. But believing information is “solid” and putting it in print for the world to see is something completely different. Unless one of the involved parties is willing to go on the record about it, it has to stay in the notebook. Period.

Morally, ethically and professionally, that’s the right thing to do unless you A) are sure that you’re right, B) are DAMN sure that you’re right, and C) can make it relevant to something bigger and not just some headline grabber, a titillating detail more fit for E! Online and such.

As for Harkes and the birthday bender, same thing. Until someone goes on the record, you just can’t write it. (Believe it: journalists right now know crazy-whack stories that would curl your nostril hair about athletes you know and love. And these secret-keepers would love to break those stories – alas, they just don’t have enough solid info to splash the unflattering pooh on public walls. Yet.)

Besides, when the Harkes mortar dropped that April, there was reason to wonder if perhaps Sampson’s decision wouldn’t actually be good for team accord and, therefore, better for the World Cup initiative in general. So, to press the principals to give up the goods didn’t seem quite as important at the time. I mean, it was 1998. It was soccer! In the United States! It was guys named Harkes and Wynalda. We weren’t exactly talking about Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, now were we?

The bigger point is this: until the 90^th minute of the loss to Iran, the train may have been rounding the bend at unsafe speed, but who really knew it was all THAT bad? Further, could Harkes have fixed all that was wrong? I doubt it, but I really don’t know. We can ask that question now and factor in all the layers for proper, thorough examination. It was all happening too fast at the time for such careful introspection.

After the loss to Iran, with car parts flying off the vehicle at cartoonish speed, no one was really thinking: “Boy, now is the time to press Eric Wynalda to tell us his wife was carrying on with the former captain, and that’s where it all started to fall apart.” Maybe we should have, to be honest.

In my case, once the Americans lost to Iran, my editor told me to concentrate on Mexico and on the World Cup in general. That was back when Zinedine Zidane was merely an other-worldly soccer player, not an other-worldly soccer player and a global punchline, so there were other quality story lines to chase. And I was more "one-man sniper squad" than "heavy weapons platoon." In other words, I was the only reporter there for my paper, and many reporters were similarly limited. With one more poison pen journo available, perhaps then we could have chased the story properly.

As it was the American collapse wasn’t a story my editors were intensely interested in. (I was a little disappointed in that, but not enough to go to the mat with my argument.) So I wasn’t around the team after the match in Lyon. I didn’t even attend the final group-play game for the United States. Come to think of it, the interview area that night at Stade Gerland was the last time I saw some members of that team. Ever.

Hell, to be honest, as I left the grounds late, late that night in Lyon, I was just happy to still be writing about soccer, not about c-4 blasts or terrorism or other horrible things. (I have covered Super Bowls, Final Fours, national championship college football games, etc., but I have never felt a more palpable, overreaching concern over security. That was tense, tense night for a number of reasons.)

As I said yesterday, the best we could do as responsible journalists was not join in the dog pile on Sampson when it came specifically to dropping the captain. (Now, reinventing the wheel with the ol’ 3-6-1, that was another matter … )

And as I’ve written before (but can never recall the origin of this great quote – sorry about that): “Journalism is more art than science, and on our best days we still get some things wrong.”

Soccer rocks! Other sports? Not so much

2010-02-04T14:59:01Z

View full size photo »

(Once in an occasional series. I was a sports writer at a major daily for 15 years, so I had to concern myself with non-soccer matters. Now, as an independent journalist, I focus on soccer and get to select my occasions to open my bag of "give a crap" for the “lesser sports." Hee-hee.)

Yesterday was national signing day in college sports – the only time middle-aged white people can use office computers to Google sinewy teenagers and not get a call from HR about a "potentially fireable offense." With apologies to all my SB Nation brethren who necessarily consumed themselves with this headless horseman of a glory chase, it really is a silly day.

I understand that people have passion for their schools. Yea, team! I get that and don’t have a problem with it.

Past that, attaching so much life-hope to high school seniors leaves me feeling the same way I feel after scarfing bad tacos – a little queasy in the tummy. Can't we wait until these kids hit campus before we start lavishing them with a further sense of entitlement ? And that’s not to mention all the unseemly stuff that goes on as coaches feverishly pursue these 17- and 18-year olds.

If you think bad things aren't happening out there along Recruiting Road, then dear sweet God please do yourself and the rest of us a favor and don’t leave the house today, you poor creature. You could hurt yourself!

Everyone thinks their school never takes a nip from the bottle of naughty. Everyone else’s college does the naughty. Of course, the math doesn’t really add up there now, does it?

I know there is recruiting in college soccer. And I’m sure the occasional rule is bent, twisted and every now and then outright compound fractured. But generally, people aren’t all in a Pants On The Ground tizzy about it. The stakes aren’t nearly as high, so the risk-reward factor calculates out to far less cheating – and less hulabaloo and absurdity about Signing Day.

There’s really so much wrong with the whole whacked out process, I just don’t know where to start. So I’ll just sum up: Today is one of the days I’m happy about dwelling in my safe little soccer world.

L’affair John Harkes: Details emerge on the once-U.S. captain’s affair with Wynalda’s wife

2010-02-03T17:57:59Z

John Harkes ... circa 1998

View full size photo »

Also file under: Some journalists knew, but couldn’t write the whole story of the notorious France flop at World Cup 1998

Twelve years later, we’re still sorting through l'affaire John Harkes and how things got all twisted up and then unraveled so spectacularly on that 1998 World Cup team.

Frankly, it’s about time someone pulled the curtains back on this thing – unseemly as all the naughty details may be.

The quick background: It has now been made public that Harkes, then U.S. captain, was having an affair with teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife, Amy. Obviously, that's the kind of thing that destroys locker room accord, something England captain John Terry is becoming painfully aware in a sensational WAGS scandal that has tongues wagging.

Seriously, boys ... if you can't keep it in your pants any better than that, can you at least draw a line with your teammates' women folk? Anyway, U.S. striker Roy Wegerle brought the Harkes-Wynalda matter to the attention of coach Steve Sampson, who discussed matters privately with both players and with his staff. He never made the details public, nor did the players, so it never came out.

In a highly controversial move, Sampson dropped Harkes from the team in April 1998, about two months before the World Cup 1998 opener.

I can’t add anything to the relationship between the players and the difficult personal entanglements it created, as I’ve never spoken to either of them about it. Wynalda mentioned it Monday on Fox Football Fone-In, the Fox Soccer Channel talks show he co-hosts, so it all came tumbling out from there.

But I can add some context and another layer to the episode from a journalistic perspective, as I was fairly close to the team in 1998 – back when newspapers had money to send reporters on trips and such. Imagine that.

Ÿ – Several reporters were tacitly aware of the affair back in 1998. (That is, people inside the team tell you things and you believe them, but you never really know about these matters unless you really know, ya know?)

Some of us were also aware of some other leadership foibles, such as the birthday bender that Harkes and several players were part of two nights before a friendly in Europe at about the same time. For a journalist, it’s a bit of a conundrum. When Harkes was dropped from the team, it seemed clear to some of us, those paying closest attention, that the tawdry and unflattering aspects were all in play: the affair, the poor display of leadership in busting curfew and getting fall-down drunk with teammates and Harkes’ poor reaction to a potential new role on the field.

So a few of us may have attempted to soften the level of public criticism aimed at Sampson when the stunning news dropped in April of Harkes' exile. Harkes was livid, of course, and he vented publicly, which was his right. But he was being shielded conveniently from his own significant contributions to the mess. Sampson could perhaps have made a different decision, and it was fair to question the choice he made. What didn’t seem fair was that some people were ripping the manager mercilessly in print without acknowledging (or perhaps without being aware of) the full story.

Ÿ– I wrote last week about Olympic writers and general columnists at U.S. newspapers at the time, voices who were often important opinion makers in sports at the time. Most of the clique of Olympic writers and general columnists were apoplectic, eager to roast Sampson for dropping the captain. Again, it’s fair to disagree with the maneuver, but to do so without context is unfair at best and perhaps tilting toward irresponsible.

Whether the writers were aware of the affair and other leadership foibles, I never knew. But it was certainly distasteful, at the least, to see this group band together in such a biased pose. One of two things was happening: they new about the issues but decided it was easier or perhaps more expedient to hammer away at the manager and ignore the nuance of the situation. Or perhaps they really didn’t know about the issues – which brings me back to point I made last week, about how the journalism improves when writers closer to the team are adding balance and perspective. Good writing certainly has place, and some of these folks are exceptional word smiths. But the overall tenor should always be tempered with the truth and complexities, which the journalists dropping in and out may not understand.

Ÿ– I was with Sampson in Florida before the U.S.-Netherlands friendly in February of 1998. The newspaper had sent me there to spend a day with Sampson for a profile that we would run in the lead-up to World Cup ’98. He was happy to have me tag along. We were heading back to the team hotel after a light practice at the stadium, riding in the back of a town car and finishing up our interviews. Sampson put his hand on his chin, looked out the window and told me this was the easy part of his day. The really tough part, he told me, was about to happen. He was about to go meet with Harkes and inform the U.S. captain and longtime midfielder that he would be playing right back the next day.

Sampson did not expect Harkes to take the news well. He didn’t.

Ÿ– One more small, personal note: As I got back to my room at the hotel, I thought about something. I have a helluva scoop. John Harkes is moving to right back! But I had nowhere to go with it. If I had called my newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, and tried to explain the situation, they wouldn’t have thought it worthy of so much as two sentences in the briefing section. Such was the world then. So I told a couple of journo pals before the game the next day … but that was about it. The U.S. captain was being told he was no longer good enough to play in midfield, and he was expected to rebel … and I was the only one in the country outside the team who knew about it

Sniff, sniff ... Is that real trouble we smell at D.C. United?

2010-02-03T00:54:48Z

Two quick follow-ups on this morning’s dispatch on diversity, a concept that doesn’t suck at all.

First, see how you can get in trouble when you don’t practice safe diversity, kids? What was Vanity Fair thinking?

And then there is occasional need to “diversify,” which is “diversity’s” naughty little cousin.

Why do I get the feeling that D.C. United owner Will Chang and his new longing to “diversify” ownership in the nation’s capital spells real trouble?

Washington Post ace news hound Steven Goff has the skinny. But reading between the lines here, I’d say it’s a fairly safe assumption that what Chang really wants to “diversify” is the red ink. Ya know, spread the love a little and let someone else take part of the losses.

Sounds like a hulluva deal, eh? Ick. That’s the kind of love that doesn’t need to be spread.

D.C. United’s perennial chase for a stadium (we call it a “forever home” in our dog rescue circles) is a freakin’ mess. Has been for a long time. Meanwhile, D.C. United continues to languish as Exhibit A on how a relatively successful franchise in so many ways will lose money like there’s no tomorrow without the benefit of all the dedicated revenue streams a stadium creates.

There are a lot of good details in Goff’s piece. But I’ll break it down for you right here: I fear more and more for the future of the club in D.C.

Where "diversity" and "soccer" hook up – with brilliant results

2010-02-02T16:23:29Z

Some examples of how thinking outside the box, a.k.a diversity of thought, can yield good results

View full size photo »

If you can put aside the “Successories factor” of the word itself, diversity really is a good concept. A lot of good can come from zigging when others are zagging.

At the very least, perhaps a little diversity of thought can keep you from following the herd over the cliff.

The universe of our beloved game has some splendid, recent examples of such out-of-the-box thinking. (Speaking of corporate, Successories speech, there’s a good one, eh?)

Chile’s national team is demonstrating some innovative thinking that I would call nothing short of brilliant. It’s a shrewd tactical response to a problem all World Cup-bound teams are up against.

There is a limited number of dedicated FIFA international dates between now and when teams will gather for that critical camp prior to South African departure. And by “limited,” I mean “one.”

The United States, of course, will play the Netherlands on March 3, which is the one FIFA date between now and May. Most qualifier nations have a match arranged for that date.

Chile? The South American middleweights have two friendlies scheduled that day.

Responding to the challenge, officials there have scheduled a pair of matches, one against Costa Rica and one against North Korea, both to be held in Santiago. And this is not an A team and a B team. Chilean officials say the idea is to call in the 24 or so players who will make up the squad this summer, therefore ensuring participation for all of them.

“The idea is not to form teams A and B but to nominate all players that the coaching staff considers are fit to confront the final squad in South Africa and so everyone would have the chance to be in the field by that date,” said Harold Mayne-Nicholls, president of the National Association of Professional Football.

Still on this diversity of thought kick, I also like the choice made this week by New England Revolution attacker Steve Ralston.

The veteran attacker surprised MLS followers recently with news that he would not return to the Revs in 2010. Even at 35, Ralston was an effective player for New England last year when healthy. So everyone had assumed he would return, even though he would be recovering from a serious injury.

Instead of taking the Revolution’s short-term contract offer, Ralston said he would do something else. Everyone assumed that would mean playing in another MLS shirt.

Then, on Monday, AC St. Louis announced Steve Ralston as its first signee. So Major League Soccer’s all-time leader in games and assists will be the most prominent player in soccer’s second tier league. (AC St. Louis is an expansion club in newly formed USSF-D2, a temporary compromise league formed through U.S. Soccer federation mediation between the feuding United Soccer Leagues and the North American Soccer League.)

Ralston would have been fine in MLS this year; and the other league’s gain is certainly Major League Soccer’s loss. I’ll miss seeing a good player and good person like Ralston in MLS – but I sure do appreciate the out-of-the-box thinking here.

Speaking of New England and diversity of thought:

I’m on record as saying that Revs manager Steve Nicol consistently gets the most from the least in terms of talent. That’s not a sucker punch at the talent on hand at Gillette Stadium. Rather, I’m just always impressed by how many wins Nicol can squeeze out of a roster that never has included a Designated Player, one that’s built on the cheap by ownership decree and one that has taken its share of injury hits.

So, when Nicol does something that other clubs aren’t doing, people really should take notice.

This year and last year, the Revs started their training camp about a week later than many of the teams. (A few other teams also started this week, later than the herd.)

I have never understood why MLS training camps open so early. In many cases, teams start on the date the collective bargaining agreement says they are allowed to start – but there’s really no better explanation for why they begin so early. It really is a long season, full of travel and dotted with plenty of games in the taxing summer sun. And here’s the real kicker: almost every manager I’ve ever talked to says something at some point of the preseason about how darned long the training camp is.

So I’ve asked several times, “Well, why don’t you just start a little later?”

And to be honest, I’ve never really gotten a good answer.

Nicol, and now a few others, apparently stopped trying to come up with a good answer. All it took was a little diversity of thought.

State of MLS facilities: where things stand on stadium development

2010-02-01T15:12:20Z

Red Bull Arena ... set to open in March, turning the league's worst stadium situation into the best.

View full size photo »

Bonus: Click through for a team-by-team rating on how each club stacks up

People who regularly read my work – both of them – probably grow weary of me harping and hounding on stadium development. But I harp and hound for a reason. Nothing is more important for development of the domestic game. These physical structures greatly enhance financial footing and do wonders in establishing a sense of community permanence, something pro soccer has always lacked.

(It also says to the soccer haters: "Screw you, we’re here to stay. So go hide in the forest with the rest of the xenophobic jackholes and douchey ding dongs who always want to know ‘Why can’t things just be the way they used to be?’ ")

Whoa! I guess I’m feeling a bit aggressive today.

Any-who, ground has been broken on a new stadium in Kansas City, albeit outside the city center. Mistake? Could be. It’s certainly not ideal. But these choices are complex. In the absence of suitable alternatives, and in dire need of a place to call home – have you seen the poorly retrofitted baseball stadium the Wizards are currently calling home? – sometimes you just must make the best of the imperfect solution. The alternative is to remain stuck in the mud.

Meanwhile, the Portland Timbers organization is moving forward with needed renovations to PGE Park; the Timbers will merge into MLS in 2011.

As I’ve noted before, PGE Park is conveniently located downtown, in dandy proximity to the tattoo parlors, pubs, hipster hideouts and urban-friendly folks who generally cotton to soccer. That urban core, stocked with followers who will actually care about wins and losses and not just about something to occupy a Saturday night, will be a massive benefit to MLS.

So, it seems like a good time to review the state of MLS facility development. After all, even some of the best soccer fans aren’t all stadium geeks like me. I know it’s hard to keep up. So click forth for a chart-type thingy on where MLS stands in this critical development initiative.

(Ratings explainer: The following ratings, sure to create some conversation and consternation, is a comprehensive measure of the current stadium scene that factors in facility, location, state of potential upgrades and ability to utilize the existing assets.)

Chicago Fire – Where things stand: The only thing that could enhance the stadium situation at this point in the Windy City would be a light rail option into outlying Bridgeview. Pressure point: Early issues with a less-than-perfect playing surface seem to have been ironed out. Everything else looks good there – other than the fact that its corporate sponsor is undergoing some hard times at the moment. It’ll pass. Eventually. Rating: 4 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Chivas USA – Where things stand: The Goats play as a second tenant inside the Home Depot Center. It ain’t perfect, but it works for now. Pressure point: You remember when you got out of college and got your first place? And you didn’t really want a roommate, but it kinda-sorta made sense financially, and you could help a buddy who needed the help, too? Well same here. Ideally, Chivas gets their own place, where they can benefit from naming rights and not have to split the sponsorships and such. For now, it’s OK. But eventually, a new stadium would greatly assist the creation of Chivas’ local brand identity. Rating: 3.5 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Colorado Rapids – Where things stand: DSG Park in nearby Commerce is everything it needs to be, if just a tad too far outside the city. Pressure point: They’ll simply have to work harder at cultivating fans and establishing stronger roots in the community. Rating: 4 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Columbus Crew – Where they stand: Crew Stadium, the granddaddy of U.S. pro soccer stadiums, where the facility initiative all started, remains a viable MLS ground. It’s Spartan, to be sure, but it works fine for the Crew and its fans. Pressure point: Ten years and no naming rights? Ownership has literally left millions on the table by over-valuing the asset – and getting zilch for it. Rating: 4 Stadium-stars out of 5.

D.C. United – Where things stand: Good grief, what a mess. Pressure point: The effort to find a stadium solution is a years-long tale of fits and stops. RFK continues to be a good place for atmosphere, but that’s about it. The inability to make money there is a serious drag on MLS and, certainly, pro soccer in the nation’s capital. At some point, this thing has to get solved, or United will have to pack up and go elsewhere. And wouldn’t that be sad? Rating: 3 Stadium-stars out of 5.

FC Dallas – Where things stand: Pizza Hut Park, now in its sixth year of play, remains a swell, functional ground – so long as they can squeeze in some soccer between those profitable concerts. Yes, it’s too far out. No, there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Pressure point: They’ve just got to get the front office sorted out and begin gaining a toehold on putting more people inside their swell stadium. There are signs of progress, but organizational bungling has put this club years behind where it should be. Rating: 3.5 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Kansas City Wizards – Where things stand: They’ve broke ground and should be playing in their pretty new grounds some time in 2011. Pressure point: We’ve been on this train before, and "some time in 2011," could easily mean 2012. Meanwhile, they’re playing as renters in a small ground that’s horrible ill suited for soccer, and that’s a real problem. Rating: 3 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Houston Dynamo – Where they stand: Ownership is bullish on a stadium project, biding its time inside Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston Campus. It’s not bad as a stop-gap, although the field is too tight and the park amenities are old and scraggly. Oh, and you might get cut if you wander outside the parking areas. So don’t. Pressure point: Negotiations with the city of Houston and Harris County seem to hit the skids after a recent mayoral election. Ownership had seemed close to striking a deal with the city and county for a 22,000-seat, $80 million venue just east of U.S. 59 downtown. Now, perhaps seeking leverage, management has started making noise about another site altogether. Rating: 2.5 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Los Angeles Galaxy – Where things stand: The Home Depot Center would only be better if it weren’t in Carson, situated somewhere between downtown Los Angeles and Orange County. Pressure point: The only real drawback to the site is in its associated usage. On the one hand, it’s a versatile and well-liked facility that raises righteous cash by hosting concerts, X Games, Motocross and such. But all those events are hell on the field, which is frequently subpar. Rating: 4 Stadium-stars out of 5.

New England Revolution – Where things stand: The play inside too-big Gillette Stadium. On artificial turf. Often with football lines. Sigh. Pressure point: They play at Gillette Stadium. Sigh. Rating: 1 Stadium-star out of 5.

Philadelphia Union – Where things stand: Planners had the benefit of looking at what everyone else has done right and wrong so far as they erected the new grounds in suburban Chester. Ticket sales look strong and, by all appearances, things will rock once they throw to door open later this year. Pressure point: The team will play its first few matches at Lincoln Financial Field, home to the NFL’s Eagles. The clock is ticking, boys. Get ‘er done, eh? Rating: 4 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Real Salt Lake – Where things stand: Rio Tinto opened 18 months ago with everything more or less in place. Yeah, it could be a little closer to downtown. But light rail goes into Sandy, and it’s not like the place is in the middle of nowhere, just about 6-8 minutes beyond downtown. And it may be the best looking stadium out there – at least until Red Bull Arena opens. Pressure point: None, really. Occasionally, the crowd counts dip below favorable rating, but the team generally seems to get things right. Rating: 4.5 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Red Bull New York – Where things stand: Red Bull Arena opens in March, and what a glorious time it will be. If you haven’t seen photos, do so. It’ll be the country’s best soccer venue the minute the doors open. Pressure point: Years and years of administrative bumbling and wretched performance mean tickets will be harder to sell than they should be. Let’s just hope the stadium is so cool that fans can’t help but be in a forgiving mood. Rating: 5 Stadium-stars out of 5.

San Jose – Where things stand: Little Buck Shaw Stadium on the Santa Clara campus is a dandy little stop-gap while, but far from ideal. Lack of luxury boxes or other devises to create revenue streams will be a drain on the team until a suitable location for a new park can be identified. Pressure point: Land in NoCal ain’t cheap, and it’ll be tricky for the Earthquakes to find that suitable spot. And they lose revenue every year that a solution isn’t identified. Ka-ching! Rating: 2.5 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Seattle Sounders – Where things stand: Qwest isn’t ideal due to its size. That said, it’s the best atmosphere by far in MLS history in terms of playing in NFL grounds, and the trade-off is well worth it for all the great elements of the park. The location, downtown, near a neat row of pubs and restaurants, can’t be beat. Pressure point: As long as they play on artificial turf, there’s going to be some grumbling. Rating: 4 Stadium-stars out of 5.

Toronto – Where things stand: They got it right at BMO Stadium, where the waiting list for season tickets is longer than Tiger Woods’ roster of hussies. Pressure point: They laid natural grass (finally) in December; now we see how it holds up to the long Canadian winter once games begin in March. Rating: 5 Stadium-stars out of 5.

What the L.A. Sol demise can teach us about MLS

2010-01-29T16:46:52Z

View full size photo »

I never want to come across as an MLS apologist when I write about the business of soccer.

At times, it may seem that I'm going easy on Major League Soccer. On the other hand, there are times when I’ve blistered the league bosses or taken the whuppin’ stick to individual clubs. Suffice to say, there are some people in MLS offices who just wish I’d spend more time with my Bon Jovi cover band and less time tanning fannies around soccer’s top tier.

Still, I do try to take in the bigger picture when it comes to professional soccer in the United States. I try to introduce some nuance into the conversation, to add some context to the discussion and never drift too far from the inherent peril in the enterprise.

For supporting evidence of why that approach is necessary, see the unfortunate news out of Los Angeles yesterday: the highly successful L.A. Sol of Women’s Professional Soccer has folded.

Is this the first domino to fall in the demise of WPS? We can’t say just yet. Let’s hope not.

But as I’ve written before and said many times on radio, TV and podcast interviews, league startups are terribly difficult, a long slog along a road full of hazards. Have you seen The Road? Picture MLS and WPS (and WUSA about 10 years ago) as the grim-but-determined father and son, walking a long and treacherous road, one full of unspeakable peril, one that requires cautious navigation – and a certain faith that something better is waiting in sunnier points South.

I hate that WPS is already negotiating such a growing pain – but it’s hardly surprising. Here are words I wrote a year ago concerning the WPS launch:

“What we're talking about is real-world economics and market factors. There's a harsh reality when it comes to upstart professional leagues in any sport in the United States: It's a brutal slog.”

I wrote about how the history of domestic sports – not just soccer, but all sports – is littered with the corpses of failed leagues. You can read the entire piece here. Or I’ll just boil it all down in the following paragraphs from that piece:

“The bottom line here is a double whammy. First, launching any professional sports operation is problematic. No one can doubt American football's popularity here, right? And yet the landscape is littered with corpses of failed football startups. XFL, anyone?
The USFL debuted in 1983 and did manage to paddle out beyond the channel. But it was soon beached, foundering beneath the weight of massive losses. Baseball's domestic popularity is undeniable. And yet a poll just showed that 60 percent of baseball fans weren't interested in the recent World Baseball Classic, which underscores the difficulty in building awareness or interest in events with little history or brand equity.

Now marry all that with professional soccer's historic struggles domestically, and with women's leagues' struggles specifically. Even if WPS gains traction, any number of gremlins could undercut the effort: players' union pressures, rampant competition for entertainment dollars, unforeseen expenses, etc. Those are just the known unknowns. What about the unknown unknowns?

The sharpest sword today, of course, is the staggering economy. Luring ticket buyers is tougher. Corporate penny-pinching could dry up sponsor dollars. And market maladies could destabilize ownership or recalibrate tolerance for losses.

There are very highly placed officials in the domestic soccer establishment who share the same concerns -- although it does them no good to be on record about it. Suffice it to say, they want WPS to succeed but recognize the perilously slim margins.”

What does all this have to do with MLS?

People who criticize MLS typically do so without the bigger picture in mind. One of our fellow bloggers at SB Nation likes to beat on MLS and its marketing flaws. His opinion is every bit as worthwhile as mine – I just don’t happen to agree in many cases.

No decision in MLS can ever be made in a vacuum, without carefully factoring in the larger economic ramifications. It’s easy to coach from the grandstands when it comes to the business side of the sport. We can all moan and groan and insist they are doing it all wrong. We can all be certain that we know a better way.

If we’re wrong, well, no worries. We just text message a friend and meet him for the Thai buffet down the street. I’m getting hungry thinking about it right now.

But if MLS officials fail to calculate correctly – well, they just find themselves in the graveyard next to the L.A. Sol. The stakes are slightly higher, to say the least. So calculations must be calibrated as such.

Here’s a prominent “for instance:” So many well-intentioned fans want MLS to spend more lavishly on salaries. Great. I’d love to see Thierry Henry or Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooĳ (you know him as Ruud van Nistelrooy) in an MLS uniform. But spending willy-nilly doomed another men’s pro soccer league at another time.

That’s just one example of many.

This is chess, not checkers. In fact, it’s chess played with a bunch of Rubik’s Cubes. It’s tough stuff with lots of moving parts.

When we all start hollering about how MLS should do this, or how MLS should spend for that or how MLS has it all wrong, we should all remember H.L. Mencken’s wise words: “For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat … and wrong.”

Short of that, we can just think about the L.A. Sol.

No MLS strike or lockout ... for now

2010-01-29T00:02:59Z

MLS just released a statement regarding the ongoing labor talks. Essentially, they'll keep talking until Feb. 12. After that, who knows? I continue to believe this will get resolved without strike- or lockout-bloodshed. Here's the statement:

NEW YORK (Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010) – Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Major League Soccer Players Union (Players Union) today announced that the two organizations have agreed to continue to negotiate through February 12, as they work towards reaching a new collective bargaining agreement.

"While we still have areas of disagreement, the talks have been constructive and both parties believe it makes sense to continue to work hard to reach agreement, said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "This extension provides both MLS and the players the opportunity to continue our discussions while clubs are in training camps preparing for the 2010 MLS season."

"Both the Players Union and MLS have concluded that a new agreement will not be reached by February 1, but we have agreed to continue to talk and we will be meeting over the next two weeks to determine if a new agreement can be reached," said Players Union Executive Director Bob Foose. "In the meantime, MLS Players are reporting to training camp, and preparations for the 2010 season will continue."

The current CBA, the first in MLS history, is a five-year agreement that had been scheduled to expire on Jan. 31, 2010.

Kenny Cooper moving on loan to Plymouth Argyle

2010-01-28T18:07:15Z

Kenny Cooper ... on the move again

View full size photo »

Kenny Cooper is seriously on the move these days, relocating more often than an Army brat.

It appears the big fellow will not spend his spring in Germany, but in England. Phil Stephens at Dallas Soccer News has the scoop.

Stephens, who was shooting pictures and writing about the NASL back when most of today’s soccer-loving whipper-snappers were just a fantasy in some 8^th-grader’s daydream, says Cooper’s return from injury to the field at 1860 Munich wasn’t going to come quickly enough.

He desperately wants to get back on Bob Bradley’s radar before the South African summer. So 1860 has loaned Cooper to Plymouth Argyle of England’s second tier. Plymouth is currently 22^nd in the Coca Cola Championship, which puts them squarely in the drop zone, although recent signs of life have everybody in a festive relegation rally mood.

Plymouth looks like a good destination, as the man in charge knows the young American well. This is the club that New England Revolution assistant Paul Mariner just took over. In fact, Mariner is doing a bang-up job there, having led the club to three wins in six matches since taking charge last month.

Don’t forget, Mariner was a striker in his days as an England international. So tutelage under the man won’t hurt Cooper a bit. Eric Wynalda, among others, has credited Mariner with doing great things for his personal development.

Wherein I give up – and write about MLS, Labor, Strikes and Lockouts

2010-01-27T15:45:28Z

Is MLS headed here? Probably not ... but Sunday's deadline is looming to get this mess sorted out.

View full size photo »

I tried not to write about MLS labor discord.

I tired very, very hard.

Why? Because I never believed the current reach for peace would end in a strike or a lockout or anything like it. I still don’t believe so. Besides, writing about labor negotiations is tedious for me and probably rather boring for you to read about.

The only way to jazz it up is to sensationalize it, the way some have done.

Seriously, guys? They actually put these words together: “ … a strike that could wipe out the entire season.”

There’s a better chance that Lamar Hunt himself (rest in peace, sir) will rise from the grave and start a new life as a carnie than there is of prolonged strike. Simply put, both sides understand the potential destruction of such a nuclear option. It wouldn’t be pretty.

Alas, I had to dig into the issue for a piece on ESPN Soccernet, which should be posted in just a little while. (Now posted.)

What I implied, but never really outright said, is this: I get a strong feeling that a new CBA will be in place before Sunday’s deadline. Negotiators on both sides have been swell at keeping things professional and private, which is an encouraging sign. Any rancor has come from media voice or outside influencers (such as FIFPro, who no one over here had ever heard of ‘til a week ago) who fear a precedent.

As Pat Onstad from the Houston Dynamo told me, the threat of a strike or lockout was “about the only real bargaining chip” either side had. But he, like everyone else I talked to, remains cautiously optimistic things will be settled by Sunday.

Dynamo’s Kinnear weighs in as Stuart Holden lands at Bolton

2010-01-25T19:10:24Z

I’ve written before that Houston Dynamo manager Dominic Kinnear is successful, in part, because he keeps things simple.

He’s take a “burger and fries” approach to soccer. Let everyone else fuss over their fancy dishes, the duck confites and the mango chutneys and such. Most of us can find happiness with the $5 combo from our favorite local burger shack. Throw in a cold one and we’re happy as Porkie in a pile of pooh.

See, dodging temptation to over-think things really is a gift.

So it is with Kinnear and this situation with midfielder Stuart Holden, who has officially signed on Bolton. (Last week, when other outlets were telling you that a Bolton deal was dead –including me initially – I quickly reported from sources that Holden remained in Bolton, hoping to work it out. I’ll try not to bust my arm patting myself on the back.)

Any-who, I’ve heard the moans and groans that Holden will suffer for signing at the Reebok Stadium. First, Bolton is near the bottom of the EPL table. Besides, the club tends to be physical and direct, frequently bypassing the midfielders.

Should Holden have signed elsewhere, perhaps at a site where technical ability was valued more equitably? When I asked Kinnear about it, he broke it down like this:

“The important thing is that Stuart plays. With all these guys, it’s just important that they get minutes on the field.”

See? Simple, eh?

Now, as for Holden’s ability to get on the field: it’s far from automatic. First, he’s apparently carrying a slight thigh injury, according to the club. That’s not a good way to begin your time at a new club.

But there’s something else working against the budding U.S. international, who needs time on the field to keep his fitness and to make headway on his quest to make the U.S. 23-man roster this summer in South Africa.

Bolton’s winter additions will also include Manchester City midfielder Vladimir Weiss, who will move to the Reebok on loan for the remainder of the season. He’s a young Slovakian international who plays, essentially, the same position that Holden is likely to occupy, out wide in the midfield.

As Weiss is a known commodity in England (because he’s already played in England), he’ll have an edge in gaining a toehold on playing time. That’s just how it is, and Weiss will apparently have a chance to get on the field before Holden because of the American’s injury.

Holden will have more to prove. And he won’t get many opportunities to do so. He’ll have to exploit every little chance – whenever that is.

Disappointment litters the evening in U.S. loss to Honduras

2010-01-24T20:27:50Z

Saturday's U.S. national team performance in a word: flat

View full size photo »

I’m wondering if perhaps what Bob Bradley needs most today is a calendar.

Not a little desk model, but a big ol’ sucker that he can plaster up on the locker room wall. Then he needs to turn it to June and circle the date of departure for South Africa.

Because there are a bunch of guys in the national team pool, apparently, many of them just hanging around the fringes of World Cup consideration but in the picture nonetheless, who have forgotten what’s at stake.

That’s the only thing I can assume based on Saturday’s evening of raging disappointment at the Home Depot Center.

The U.S. “B” team looked like a “D” team in the 3-1 loss to Honduras. Read it carefully, now – that’s “Honduras,” not “Holland.” Kicking off such an important year with a loss at home to a little brother from CONCACAF that was missing some of its top players: lame.

Jonathan Bornstein was the only starter who seemed to get it, who seemed attuned to the fact that spots are still up for grabs. Ironically, Bornstein is one of perhaps two players, along with Benny Feilhaber, whose spot is reasonably secure.

The rest of ‘em? Are you kidding me? That’s the response Bradley and U.S. fans get from a bunch of players who need to be fighting their way onto the roster? That’s what you get from guys who have the opportunity of a lifetime?

A bunch of U.S. players had a chance to speak, an opportunity to “say something” to Bradley and make an impression. Instead, most reported to the Home Depot Center with a big ol’ bag of nothing.

(And by the way, I suppose it was a bad night for a whole bunch of folks in Carson. Because a couple of the media reports, in my opinion, were a bit kind, way too forgiving. This one hit the right note, along with these ratings, both from Soccer America's experienced writers.)

Outside of Bornstein, I can’t say that anyone did themselves any favors. On the other side?

Marvell Wynne – good heavens. The next good cross he hits will be his first. Jimmy Conrad may have mis-played his way out of contention. Yes, the penalty kick was a tad soft. But for me that’s not the point. Conrad simply cannot do something like that. To hook a guy in plain view of the referee, inside the penalty area, especially when he’s carrying a yellow card? He simply has to know better. He’s a veteran. If he is not going to make smarter choices, who will?

Chad Marshall’s positioning was poor on two goals. Neither Feilhaber nor Beckerman provided any midfield ideas. Sacha Kljestan, who really needed a big game, delivered a performance that wasn’t bad, necessarily, but was surely muted. Robbie Rogers rarely seemed to have a plan when he started moving forward.

And those two forwards? Yuk and yuk. I’ve said before that Jeff Cunningham’s big MLS season was just as much a product of two or three FC Dallas midfielders operating at an exceptionally high rev over the back half of the season. Cunningham could always finish, but he always struggles to combine with teammates. Who could argue that point after watching 45 minutes from Cunningham on Saturday that defined “ineffective?”

I could go on. Bottom line: From a team level, the match didn’t mean much, so there’s nothing really lost. But from an individual performance standpoint, it’s hard to see how the night could have brought more disappointment.

A little tip on Freddy Adu and the U.S. World Cup roster

2010-01-23T15:21:51Z

Freddy Adu ... Is the 2010 dream slipping further away?

View full size photo »

The new U.S. Soccer media guide is out, just in times for tonight’s friendly against Honduras. That puppy will get some serious use this year, probably a lot more than in 2K9. It’s a World Cup year, which means scribes, bloggers and broadcasters from around the globe will be turning the pages for reference and historical data, all the better to inform their opinions.

What influence does the U.S. Soccer media guide have on actual selections for this summer’s World Cup? None, of course.

On the other hand, the content can probably tell us something about who may or may not be selected for South African departure. Nothing definite, obviously, but it takes us a little further down the road of discovery. After all, the U.S. Soccer spokesmen and content producers who assemble the annual guide are close to the coaches and, generally, know what’s what around the team.

There are 33 individual player profiles in this year’s guide. You can presume that these are the 33 performers adjudged to have the greatest odds of being selected for South Africa.

Care to take any guesses as to who is not on the list?

If you said Freddy Adu, then you sir or madam, should reward yourself with a delicious adult beverage at kickoff time tonight. Cheers!

Two others whose profiles won’t be found in the volume: Jermaine Jones and Edgar Castillo. Neither is a major surprise, although quite a few fans still believe Jones should be selected, if healthy. And he may be called upon yet – but it’s fairly unlikely at this point. The Bundesliga man can certainly be a game-changer. On the other hand, manager Bob Bradley would be taking a major risk, potentially jeopardizing the all-important team chemistry by adding someone (who has been injured all year, no less) into the mix at the 11^th hour. Remember: there will be only three, possibly four, matches after tonight before the Americans are on the field against England in the pressure cooker of a World Cup.

Why journalism often suffers during World Cup (and why South Africa 2010 might be better)

2010-01-21T22:11:42Z

Group Think ain't a rock band. (But it sometimes ''hurts your ears'' like one.)

View full size photo »

Also file under: Skewering the cliquish tenets of the mainstream media

Allow me, an officially accredited member of the mean ol' mainstream media for many, many years, to pull back the curtain on how journalism and sports can sometimes get drunk, hop in bed and create a little bastard child of a story for unwitting readers.

But do take heart, because I'm going to show you how this screwed up little situation is getting better – and how all ye good readers of domestic soccer stand to benefit. Initially, said benefit will occur at this summer's World Cup.

I start this tale with a personal story from the 2006 World Cup, after an amazing night in Kaiserslautern. The United States, down to nine men against Italy’s 10, had just finished securing a 1-1 draw against the vaunted Azzurri – and quite heroically so. It really was something, as all good U.S. fans surely remember, the image of a bloody Brian McBride still indelibly etched, a worthy symbol of a scrappy and memorable match.

In the post-game media scrum -- a really silly place, by the way – one unnamed columnist of a major U.S. daily talked to Jimmy Conrad, who was among the heroes of the night. This columnist queried Conrad for several minutes and then, as their time was ending and Conrad was about to shuffle on to the next media inquisitor, this journalist did something I’ll never forget.

Remember, this writer had been sent to Germany for some 4-6 weeks on assignment. His newspaper was paying, literally, thousands of dollars to ferry him halfway around the world, to stay in fancy hotels, to pick up the tab for meals and probably tolerate a few souvenir beer steins hidden on the expense report. How did this journo reward the newspaper’s faith in his effort?

He took a long gander at the credential hanging around Conrad’s neck – the way some imbecilic rube from cubicle culture would take a long, naughty gaze at the admin’s cleavage. At this point the poorly prepared writer – get this – scribbled down the player’s name in his notepad! You see, he didn’t know which player he was talking to. This officially credentialed and presumably well-paid fellow didn’t bother to do enough research to know who’s who on the U.S. roster. Hell, there were only 23 of them!

So much for dutiful research. So much for core professionalism. Nice, huh?

Why so poorly prepped? Because he wasn't a soccer expert. He was, in newspaper parlance, a general columnist. In terms of soccer aptitude, he was right there with a newspaper subset known as the Olympic writer. They're not bad boys and girls -- but the way they treated the World Cup was frequently FUBAR.

Now, consider for a second that these ostensibly booming journalistic voices were among the men and women tasked with informing a rapt U.S. public about the behind-the-scenes goings on of U.S. Soccer at what, in many minds, is the only time that truly matters: a World Cup. (Yes, this also says a lot about the sad decline of the newspaper industry … but let’s stay on message for now.)

Your information during a World Cup was being filtered through some who wouldn’t know a touch line from a chorus line, someone who wouldn’t know Jimmy Conrad from Jimmy John the sandwich maker.

In theory, the big bears of sports journalism can gracefully layer in perspective, delivering viewpoints unseen by boots-on-the-ground beat writers who may be too close to the trees to write about the forest. The best general columnists absolutely do so. But too often, it just didn’t work this way in soccer. (These sports journalism do-alls are a dying breed, elbowed to the margins by the verging world of specialty journalists. For a little more on that, read this recent piece.)

So, how are things getting better in our soccer world? In two ways:

First, newspapers across the country are dying slow and agonizing deaths, so fewer and fewer people are paying attention to the words inside them. The opinions that once reverberated strongly now radiate weakly, the ripples shrinking at a brutal pace. In the big picture, it’s probably a necessary course correction, and this is a small example of how newspapers are getting what they deserve. Management too frequently treated World Cups as incentive packages for politically connected writers, i.e., the (over) valued general columnists and so-called Olympic writers.

(While I still say this is a necessary course correction in the big picture, in the micro picture I am truly sorry for some of my friends who remain in the industry – a few of whom continue to live in denial about a herd that is truly headed over the cliff.)

The more immediate effects for soccer fans, especially as it pertains to World Cup South Africa, is this:

I understand that fewer and fewer general columnists and "Olympic specialists" are applying for World Cup credentials. Believe me, this is a good thing. Probably a great thing.

(An increasingly sophisticated soccer audience in the States probably wouldn’t pay much attention to these increasingly irrelevant voices anyway; as readership habits continue to trend away from static print enterprises, better equipped and better prepared writers from the States and all points beyond are a mouse click away.)

There really are some good people among the ranks of general columnist and Olympic specialists of the U.S. media world. But this is a group that did soccer no favors through the years. Too many of them succumbed to the sorry tenets of groupthink. A few more did worse, treating their soccer assignments as paid vacations. Seriously.

Journalistic groupthink is certainly not limited to soccer grounds. I suspect it happens every single day in Washington, D.C., Hollywood and elsewhere. I just happen to have seen its destructive work in a soccer context, so that’s what I can address.

Here’s how it frequently went with this cliquish unit:

The group leaders of this unofficial alliance huddled up after a press conference, practice or match and decided what the story of the day would be. This occurred informally of course – my tale here is not one of conspiracy, rather just one of the imperfect human condition. Was that really the story of the day? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But because these guys and gals were influential voices in the U.S. media world, it became the story of the day. (Why were they influential? Because editors paid handsomely for their services and to send them around the world on assignment. Why did the editors spend lavishly on them and treat them referentially? Because they were among the most influential media voices, of course. See the circular logic at work there?)

Meanwhile, there were beat writers around who knew the soccer much better, who had better sources. But they were often, unintentionally, marginalized by this lame process. For instance, why weren’t more questions asked about Brad Friedel during certain moments of the 2002 World Cup, when perhaps he should have come and collected a couple of crosses that turned to calamity? Probably because the little clique tethered themselves and chased other targets, like poor ol’ Jeff Agoos, who certainly didn’t have a good tournament, but who may have gotten more than his share of tar and feathers when things went south. (The groupthink effect can be powerful. Even right now, some of you are asking, "What’s wrong with this Davis dude? Agoos was awful." But think just for a second about how you formed your opinion – probably by reading the words from some of the very same sources I’m referencing. I’m not saying they were totally wrong, I’m just pointing out that a more diverse range of opinions may have yielded different results. But again, let’s stay on point.)

This group of Olympic writers and general columnists is more comfortable within the more established U.S. sports. Generally, the members of this journalistic subset come from a time when soccer wasn’t as relevant. So they are better versed in the language of gymnastics, figure skating, cycling and such. Or, in some cases, they are far more comfortable in an NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball press box.

Of course, this is a highly respected group in many circles. They are seen as authorities. So they go cover soccer and, naturally, they must preside with authority and write with authority – even if they aren’t adequately equipped with a depth of knowledge on the topic. Deep in their bones, they know this. And they’d probably admit it over $12 well cocktails at the overpriced hotel bar. But in the tribal confines of the group dynamic, they can’t show weakness. Speak with authority, at all costs!

(Members of this subset are sometimes called "Ringheads" within journalism circles. Olympics. Rings. Get it?)

At any rate, they are subject to the same flawed group dynamics that undermine meetings, committees, organizations, etc., across the country every day. Essentially, the "leaders" speak, the followers nod … then they all decide where they’ll eat … just as soon as they can pound out their pieces and get the hell out of Dodge.

Again, there are some good people writing about Olympics and earning their keep as general sports columnists. The New York Times’ George Vecsey, for instance, is a hell of a fellow and a blue ribbon writer. But too many others are corrupted by poor attitudes. There are some that I’ll nod at and smile at inside the World Cup media centers, but I refuse to spend any time with.

Why? Because they show up pissed off. They bitch about being there. (It can be a tough assignment logistically, but still… ) All they want to do is get their damn story written and go … well, I’m not sure where they go. To eat. Again. I suppose.

And how best to accomplish their doctrine of "scribe and scram?" Get together, decide the story of the day, make sure it’s one that can be penned expeditiously and get on with it.

"I hear the schnitzel at this place near the Reichstag is the best in Berlin! It’s pricey, but let’s go anyway. And hurry."

In 2006, I know of good, hard-working writers who were literally awakened in the middle of the German night by alarmed editors. Why were the editors alarmed?

Alarmed Editor: "YOU missed the story of the day."

Writer: "Uh, what time is it?"

Alarmed Editor: "Never mind that. EVERY other paper is writing Story X. But you wrote story Y. Why?"

Of course, Story X wasn’t truly the better one. Not necessarily. It’s just that the editor was dutifully scrolling the news wires back home, looking for comparison pieces that were conceived by the … here’s the kicker … the media influencers.

See how that works? Now, the sleepy writer is sent scurrying to add his or her voice to the "story of the day." And probably told not to let that happen again! After all, the newspaper is spending a lot of money to send this reporter around the globe, right?

So, how does all this affect South Africa? Only a precious few of the "Ringheads" and general columnists have applied for credentials. That’s not surprising, considering that major U.S. dailies have slashed budgets to the bone. The net effect is that coverage that is likely to be more sparse, but better in quality. More often than not, reports and dispatches will come from people who know soccer the way Abercrombie knows Fitch, the way Ben knows Jerry. More voices and more diversity of opinion is theoretically a good thing. But in practice you weren’t getting that under the recent conditions, despite numbers that suggested you were.

At South Africa, you won’t have to suffer the journalistic equivalent of second-hand smoke from the group just looking for another stamp in the passport.

And that’s a very good thing.

Late MLS news and more stadium porn

2010-01-20T22:45:54Z

Kansas City's new digs, now under construction and set for a 2011 opening. It does look pretty good, eh?

View full size photo »

For you MLS freaks here’s a little something to chew on while wondering whether the new grounds in Kansas City will really be open in 2011 as planned: (Hint: few things are as boringly predictable as MLS stadiums taking longer than expected to erect and open. It happened in Dallas and New York and it’s happening right now in Philadelphia.)

Stuart Holden may not be heading to Portugal just yet. Apparently he’s still in England, still hoping something can be sorted out with Bolton. That’s from a pretty reliable source. As for an impending move to Braga and late reports that perhaps that whole thing was as made up as the unicorns and mermaids … uh, no. The possibility of a deal with Braga, the current Portuguese leader, remains quite real. Bolton does, however, appear to be the primary target. Braga = Plan B.

Meanwhile, I’m hearing the big four-player deal between Colorado and New England is still set. It’s just “delayed in committee,” as they might say in nation’s capital. Speaking of Washington, Steven “Soccer Insider” Goff was the first to the punch, reporting that

New England would offload Jeff Larentowicz and feisty midfielder Wells Thompson, while the Revs reaped goalkeeper Preston Burpo and defender Cory Gibbs. Word is to stay tuned, but that it should be finalized in short order.

Wither the Houston Dynamo? The longtime MLS power may be falling apart

2010-01-20T18:19:17Z

View full size photo »

Last one out of Robertson Stadium, turn off the lights, eh?

It’s not exactly that dire, but the club from South Texas finds itself in a state of alarming flux. Let’s look at the score sheet:

Ricardo Clark, the team’s rock in midfield, is reportedly in the final stages of signing with Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany. Aufedersein, Ricardo. Good luck to ya, and don’t take any crap off those grumpy schnitzel eaters.

Stuart Holden may soon sign with Braga in Portugal. Word to you, Stuart: Watch out for the Sagres, which flows freely over there for about a buck a bottle. That’s a good price for a pretty good version of the devil’s brew – and that could get a fellow in trouble quick.

I saw a fairly significant decline in Dynamo midfielder Brian Mullan last year. It was his first year in MLS without a goal. And his assist total (4) was his second lowest personal since 2002.

I also have to wonder if his effectiveness will be further diminished when Clark and Holden, the fittest and most industrious of worker bees, aren’t around to help provide cover? That will leave even more running and chasing for Mullan, who will dutifully try to fill the void. But can he? The man turns 32 in April, after all.

Geoff Cameron, as versatile as a blue blazer, will certainly help as Dominic Kinnear rearranges things. And Eddie Robinson’s healthy return will be absolutely essential.

I have some degree of confidence that Kinnear’s managerial abilities and his MO – keep things simple, sign players with good character and demand ultimate accountability – can help the club maintain a steady course. Still, a manager can only do so much. Replacing Clark and Holden will be tough. Replacing their value will be absolutely impossible. They weren’t making $300,000 between them. At about $35,000, Holden was probably the best value in the entire league in 2K9.

Plus, I’ve got a feeling that Luis Angel Landin, signed late last year as the organization’s first Designated Player, won’t emerge from “bust” status. I’m not sure what happened there, but right now he’s on track to fall into the Denilson zone. Two words: Not good.

I have a hard time believing the Dynamo brain trust could be so wrong about the Mexican striker. This much is certain, the man reported to Houston last year in woeful shape, and he needs to get busy doing a few more push-aways. As in, “push-away” from the table, ya know?

Oh, one more thing: John Spencer, Kinnear’s friend and trusted assistant, is the only candidate to have been interviewed by Portland so far. That doesn’t mean he’s going to get the job, but he certainly could. That would further unravel a tight locker room.

Houston can still be a good team in 2010. The cupboard isn’t barren. But I don’t see the Dynamo challenging for a league title this year unless Kinnear can magically turn up some replacement parts with commensurate value – a nearly impossible task.

Stuart Holden sure can pick a stadium

2010-01-19T20:40:32Z

Is this spectacular ground Holden's next home?

View full size photo »

Bolton? Who wanted to play there anyway?

Stuart Holden has apparently left the land of fish and chips for points East. Specifically, reports out of England say the out-of-contract MLS up-and-comer won’t catch on at Bolton, but is instead en route to Braga, the current Portuguese leaders.

Portugal? Goin' rogue, eh?

The Portuguese rout is a road less traveled for the U.S. player, for sure. But if the intrepid midfielder catches on, and if Braga remains on top of the European middleweight league, it could mean Champions League soccer for Holden next year. And wouldn’t that be nice?

Here’s what it would also mean: That sly dog would ply his trade in one of the world’s most spectacular stadiums. Yep. In Braga, of all places.

This park of plenty opened before the 2004 European Championships. And it truly is a marvel, the Zooey Deschanel of futbol grounds. (I visited it during the tournament, where an otherwise unremarkable Danish win against overmatched Bulgaria turned quite memorable due to my stadium-inspired two-hour stiffy.)

Designers built the grounds into a former granite quarry, using dynamite to blast away the necessary space. Steel cables support the two roof structures, stretching majestically across the width of the park.

Braga itself (the city) is nothing special, although it’s close enough to Porto to get into town and shake your groove thing, if you’re all into that. But the stadium really is something else.

Read a little about it architecturally here. More info is here and more photos are here.

Oh, and while I was looking up the info, I also ran across some absolutely terrific stadium porn. It’s safe. Promise … go ‘head and take a peak at the proposed design for the new Dalian Shide grounds in China.

Talking Dempsey and injuries: I ponder the question, "What next?"

2010-01-18T20:41:22Z

Is young Stuart Holden the best answer in the worst-case scenario involving injured U.S. man Clint Dempsey?

View full size photo »

First off, I may get my little reporter’s badge yanked by U.S. Soccer in short order. On the very same day this piece appears on ESPN Soccernet, a look at the ongoing Clint Dempsey debate, the feisty Texan goes out and gets hammered by a nasty bolt of injury lightning.

Coincidence? Of course it was. As I’ve said before, I’m not superstitious. I don’t believe in the ways of the shaman, nor in spells, charms, incantations or the undead. But since not everyone sees it thus, it has been politely suggested that I work up a piece on Wayne Rooney – ya know, just in case there’s a chance I can keep my streak going.

So while we all not-so-patiently await word on the injury that could keep Dempsey out of the 2010 World Cup – diminishing the hopes of a team that would then be dealing with three significant injury setbacks – let’s look at what might be:

What if the worst-case scenario develops involving Dempsey, who has been performing so well lately at Fulham in the land of abundant pubs and sticky toffee pudding? Who could effectively step into the breach?

Landon Donovan can surely shift to the right. He’s playing there for Everton at the moment, although he has been playing on the left for Bob Bradley’s national team, opposite Dempsey.) But that just creates the "poor man’s blanket" scenario. That is, if your feet are cold, you push down the blanket to keep them warm – only to discover that your shoulders are now cold. So you pull it up, but then your feet … ok, ok, you get it.

So that’s not much of an option.

Stuart Holden becomes a legitimate option to start.

For me, this is the option that makes the most sense, and one that actually presents a chance for minimal dropoff. Holden could become to 2010 what DaMarcus Beasley was to 2002: a young, relatively unknown (around the world, that is) winger who causes trouble with his pace and hustle. If you watched Holden at all last year with the Dynamo, you know that guy works his little dri-fit socks off. He’s always chasing back to help holding midfielder Ricardo Clark.

I’ve said before that I think Holden’s best spot is out wide. The Dynamo plays him inside because that’s where he best fits the club. Fair enough. But if he catches on somewhere in England this winter – and I see that as a big possibility – I do believe it will be as a wide midfielder.

Benny Feilhaber has played on the right, so that’s an option. And as Feilhaber is really more of a central player, that move fits into Bradley’s system, where the outside midfielders are encouraged to tuck inside liberally.

That said, Feilhaber isn’t going to do much to create dynamic scenarios.

There’s also Beasley, who has become the little lost puppy dog of the national team bunch. I’ve seen it suggested that perhaps the Rangers’ man, who recently re-gained a toehold on relevancy by making a couple of productive appearances for the Scottish giants, could be the answer. Well, let me say this: any such move would be borne of desperation. At this point, Beasley needs to show a lot just to prove that he’s a candidate for selection. He hasn’t been a productive player for four years. If Bradley rolls the Beasley dice again, he does so at great peril.

Bruce Arena trusted Beasley to, somehow, magically snap back into form back in 2006, against all evidence that such a thing was going to happen. Beasley’s bad form helped scuttle the ship then, and if he’s allowed to do the same, then it’s clearly on the manager this time around.

Robbie Rogers? Yeah, he’s got some pace and he’s the rare winger who can serve from either side. But his game remains on the naïve side: He still hasn’t figured out how to solve problems, how to get the most from his speed, how to add precision to those crosses – and that’s all against Major League Soccer. I think he’d be a fairly easy shut-down for a more sophisticated fullback, which he’s sure to face in South Africa.

Past that, you’re looking at guys like Sacha Kljestan and Jose Francisco Torres. Kljestan is in the national team camp at the moment, straining to forget about 2009. It’s a contract year for him, and he’s well aware that a return to productivity would reap millions (literally) in the transfer market this year. (The Chivas USA man is in the final year of his MLS contract.) So it is possible that Kljestan goes nuts in the early MLS rounds, regains confidence and then gets slotted into Dempsey’s spot. The chances aren’t great that it will happen just so … but there’s a chance nonetheless.

Torres isn’t a completely unattractive option. But it also means, essentially, building your system around the young, technically gifted midfielder. You’d have to tweak the works to provide cover for his defensive liabilities, which are fairly significant. I know people want to see Torres out there more often, but big boy soccer means playing a more complete game. Right now, Torres isn’t an effective two-way midfielder.

In my mind, Holden is the best hope. He’s got something. He may be as close as this team can come to replacing Dempsey with a dynamic, confident presence, one capable of seizing initiative through bold action. Technical proficiency isn’t a problem. Heart and effort aren’t a problem. His mad moment against Everton at last year’s MLS All-Star game may raise some red flags, but in the absence of further evidence that he can’t stomach the big stage, we can call that one a one-off accident for now.