soccer

duresport: Wow - even in my 40s, I'm not THAT boring! (But yes, water good.) RT @Makoski22: make drinking water your favorite activity of the day.

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:58:53 +0000

duresport: Wow - even in my 40s, I'm not THAT boring! (But yes, water good.) RT @Makoski22: make drinking water your favorite activity of the day.

duresport: Timbers get 43 shots, including PK. Lose 1-0 to Cal FC. Soccer is a funny game, though some laugh to keep from crying. http://t.co/9J8JP3Xt

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:58:10 +0000

duresport: Timbers get 43 shots, including PK. Lose 1-0 to Cal FC. Soccer is a funny game, though some laugh to keep from crying. http://t.co/9J8JP3Xt

Neymar stars in 4-1 win as Brazil beats sloppy USA

Thu, 31 May 2012 06:06:53 +0000

Brazil improved to 16-1 against the USA in front of 67,619 fans at FedEx Field. The only goal for America was from Herculez Gomez.

Meola, Reyna, Armstrong and DiCicco inducted into soccer hall

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:21:32 +0000

Before the U.S. and Brazil exhibition game, four new members of the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame were announced.

duresport: USMNT summary: Creative play. Good chances. Porous defense, but still ... it's Brazil, for crying out loud.

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:04:15 +0000

duresport: USMNT summary: Creative play. Good chances. Porous defense, but still ... it's Brazil, for crying out loud.

Liverpool set to hire Brendan Rodgers as new manager

Thu, 31 May 2012 01:49:04 +0000

After firing Kenny Dalglish just two weeks ago, Liverpool appears to have found his replacement in the 39-year-old Rodgers.

duresport: Things you don't often say: Great double save by Brazil's debutant goalkeeper.

Thu, 31 May 2012 01:47:09 +0000

duresport: Things you don't often say: Great double save by Brazil's debutant goalkeeper.

duresport: HULK MAD! HULK DIVE!

Thu, 31 May 2012 01:17:27 +0000

duresport: HULK MAD! HULK DIVE!

duresport: Hey, from the run of play, it's 0-0. #usmnt #alwayslookonbrightside

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:40:28 +0000

duresport: Hey, from the run of play, it's 0-0. #usmnt #alwayslookonbrightside

duresport: @rocknjosie Duke draws heavily from DC area. Before Angelos era and Nats move, Orioles were DC's teams.

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:39:18 +0000

duresport: @rocknjosie Duke draws heavily from DC area. Before Angelos era and Nats move, Orioles were DC's teams.

duresport: O as in Orioles. RT @rocknjosie: what's the point behind yelling O?

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:36:13 +0000

duresport: O as in Orioles. RT @rocknjosie: what's the point behind yelling O?

duresport: @thegoalkeeper Still a fair number of people doing it at Caps games. Practice actually spread to Duke in 80s, believe it or not.

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:29:56 +0000

duresport: @thegoalkeeper Still a fair number of people doing it at Caps games. Practice actually spread to Duke in 80s, believe it or not.

duresport: Oh, DC folks do that, too. RT @RM2SteveG: @thegoalkeeper Yelling at the folks who said "O" out loud during the national anthem I suspect!

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:27:51 +0000

duresport: Oh, DC folks do that, too. RT @RM2SteveG: @thegoalkeeper Yelling at the folks who said "O" out loud during the national anthem I suspect!

duresport: Onyewu easily could've avoided that handball. All he had to do was shed his arm like a gecko shedding its tail.

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:25:09 +0000

duresport: Onyewu easily could've avoided that handball. All he had to do was shed his arm like a gecko shedding its tail.

duresport: What's going on in Baltimore? RT @thegoalkeeper: Hey all you Baltimore people, this isn't a baseball game.

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:12:28 +0000

duresport: What's going on in Baltimore? RT @thegoalkeeper: Hey all you Baltimore people, this isn't a baseball game.

duresport: More comments from Gulati, April Heinrichs and Jill Ellis about women's soccer development: http://t.co/wDBX7PXX

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:17:01 +0000

duresport: More comments from Gulati, April Heinrichs and Jill Ellis about women's soccer development: http://t.co/wDBX7PXX

duresport: I feel like an idiot reading @TaylorTwellman and @AlexiLalas accounts of their visit to my home metro area when I'm not going to the game.

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:21:42 +0000

duresport: I feel like an idiot reading @TaylorTwellman and @AlexiLalas accounts of their visit to my home metro area when I'm not going to the game.

duresport: @SoccerFCUnited It's like noticing that it's sunny outside and being accused of repressing rain. How much is the sun paying you?

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:18:37 +0000

duresport: @SoccerFCUnited It's like noticing that it's sunny outside and being accused of repressing rain. How much is the sun paying you?

duresport: @SBNLukeThomas It's basically a TUF finale card dressed up as a PPV.

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:16:47 +0000

duresport: @SBNLukeThomas It's basically a TUF finale card dressed up as a PPV.

duresport: @SoccerFCUnited Yes, according to Ted, I make tons of money doing that. The fact that I haven't seen it doesn't seem to bother him.

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:14:32 +0000

duresport: @SoccerFCUnited Yes, according to Ted, I make tons of money doing that. The fact that I haven't seen it doesn't seem to bother him.

duresport: Lots of Open Cup and women's soccer factoids (including Borislow comment) in analysis with few conclusions: http://t.co/AjVSS5V5

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:21:05 +0000

duresport: Lots of Open Cup and women's soccer factoids (including Borislow comment) in analysis with few conclusions: http://t.co/AjVSS5V5

duresport: All over - Anand has defended world chess championship

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:09:59 +0000

duresport: All over - Anand has defended world chess championship

duresport: My chess/poker Twitter list is blowing up.

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:36:39 +0000

duresport: My chess/poker Twitter list is blowing up.

U.S. men's soccer team braces for test vs. Brazil

Tue, 29 May 2012 03:17:33 +0000

Things are clicking for the U.S. men's national team, 4-0 this year, but a big test looms Wednesday against world power Brazil.

Reality star injured at charity soccer match

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:20:00 +0000

A charity soccer match took a turn for the worst when celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was injured by a brutal tackle from Teddy Sheringham.

U.S. women dominate China 4-1 after shaky start

Mon, 28 May 2012 02:02:27 +0000

Hope Solo gave up an early goal, but the U.S. offense took control with two goals from emerging star Alex Morgan.

C.J. Sapong, Kei Kamara lead Sporting KC past San Jose

Mon, 28 May 2012 01:07:40 +0000

C.J. Sapong broke a seven-match goal drought, and Kei Kamara scored his team-leading fifth goal to help Sporting Kansas City beat San Jose.

Six newcomers chosen for U.S. women's Olympic soccer team

Sun, 27 May 2012 21:11:30 +0000

Sydney Leroux was one of six newcomers who found a place on the 18-woman roster for the London Olympics announced Sunday.

Landon Donovan's hat trick leads USA past Scotland 5-1

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:24:01 +0000

Donovan, who made his first national team appearance in several months, set an American mark with his 125th international start.

Roundup: Toronto ends 9-game losing streak, 1-0 over Union

Sun, 27 May 2012 05:02:57 +0000

After starting the season losing nine straight games, Toronto FC is finally in the win column after beating the Philadelphia Union.

Klinsmann encourages Dempsey to sign with a bigger club

Sat, 26 May 2012 05:44:19 +0000

Clint Dempsey, a 29-year-old Texan, scored 17 Premier League goals, the best season by an American attacking player in England.

Messi scores 73rd goal of season as Barca wins Copa del Rey

Sat, 26 May 2012 04:54:43 +0000

Barcelona provided manager Pep Guardiola with the perfect send-off by thrashing Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the Copa del Rey final on Friday.

Referee Howard Webb urges players not to fake injury

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:21:14 +0000

World Cup final referee Howard Webb urges players not to fake injury.

Roundup: Cooper lifts Red Bulls to 1-1 draw with Chivas USA

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:47:04 +0000

Thanks to Kenny Cooper's goal in the 56th minute, the New York Red Bulls were able to earn a 1-1 draw with Chivas USA.

QPR's Barton gets 12-match ban for violent conduct

Wed, 23 May 2012 20:02:04 +0000

Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton was banned for 12 matches.

Final post: Seattle, Salt Lake and Philly follow the old models

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:10:00 +0000

In talking with players and coaches from defending champion Real Salt Lake, second-year club Seattle and expansion team Philadelphia, it's funny how often the words "New England" and "Houston" came up.

The Revolution and Dynamo were paired up back-to-back MLS Cup finals with rosters that were tweaked, not overhauled, as the years went on.

An expansion team starts from scratch, and yet Peter Nowak is already thinking in terms of a core. The Union didn't take many players on trial this spring, trying instead to build cohesion from Day 1.

And while the Union will have a few veterans in Danny Califf, Stefani Miglioranzi and Alejandro Moreno, the idea is to let the young group grow up together.

"They have their careers in front of them," Nowak says.

Nowak knows he's dealing with a demanding group of fans in Philly, but he says the supporters have told him they'll recognize a good effort. The message from several meetings with supporters: "We want to see commitment, passion and fight."

Jason Kreis didn't seek out stability from his first day as Salt Lake coach. But he wasn't starting from scratch. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando remembers a lot of turnover as Kreis sought to bring in a new core.

"We were trying to find our mold and our brand and how we were going to play," Rimando says.

Now that Kreis has his guys in place on a defending champion, he's not looking to shake things up too much. But he'll demand improvement.

"If we stand pat as individuals and as a collective unit and think that what we've done up until now is going to be good enough going forward, we're fooling ourselves," Kreis says. "I feel like the potential for our team is higher than what we've seen so far."

That's the Seattle approach as well, where general manager and co-owner Adrian Hanauer was looking toward offseason programs to help each player improve, bit by bit.

Under Seattle's La Liga-meets-Drew Carey club structure, Hanauer can be voted out by the fans. He wasn't sure of the exact procedures under which he could be called up for a vote early in his "term," and he hopes not to know them.

"I'm trying to focus on doing a good job so I don't have to know the bylaws of losing my job," Hanauer says.

With that, time for a personal/programming note: This is the last post for The Netminder. I don't intend to disappear from USA TODAY, and I'm definitely not leaving soccer journalism, but my blogging efforts will be going elsewhere. Thanks for the support through the years of column-writing and blogging, and keep following the beautiful game.

MLS strike saber-rattling in context

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:30:00 +0000

Let's recap yesterday's MLS developments:

- Players are set to strike, says Toronto defender Nick Garcia. But that's one person, and many of the commenters on this CBC story were hoping Garcia would be a one-man picket line.

- But it turned out to be more than Garcia. Mr. A. Nonymous told a reporter (not me, and I can't acknowledge anonymous sources) that the players had indeed backed a strike by a very large margin.

- MLS president Mark Abbott spoke to several reporters individually (including me) to say the same thing: "We have an understanding with both the union and the mediator that we will not publicly discuss what takes place during these bargaining sessions. As such, we were disappointed to see comments from a number of players characterizing the status of the negotiations and the possibility of a strike. The players comments do not accurately reflect the proposals that we have made to address the players concerns or the productive nature of the discussions beteween MLS and the union."

- Meetings are going to continue. Don't read anything into any reports of "next week." There's no cooling-off period here -- the negotiations are still in progress.

- At 6:28 p.m. ET, the following statement from MLS Players Union executive director Bob Foose arrived in my inbox (and presumably many others around the same time): “Recent comments from players simply reflect the fact that the players are unified and, per the results of our strike vote, will not begin the new season if a new agreement with the league is not reached. This is not a change in position by the Union and should not be read to reflect in any way upon what has, or has not, occurred this week in the meetings with the mediator and the league.”

In one sense, that's backing up a bit and saying, "Look, nothing has changed." But it does confirm that a strike vote took place, and the union is indeed saying emphatically that players do not intend to play this season without a new CBA. We may have inferred that from other statements, but here it is in black and white.

- Overnight, Buzz Carrick and Bill Archer threw some cold water on the strike vote. Carrick says the sort of vote the union has taken is a "We're ready to strike" vote, not a "OK, let's strike" vote. He likens it to flipping "the cover back on the doomsday strike button." Archer, who had me at "Greensboro" and "ACC Tournament," also says we have no "definitive statement of fact."

That's possibly hair-splitting, possibly not. If the union were to say "we'll strike without a deal" and then NOT follow through, bargaining leverage is lost for good. But what will players say to the league's next offer? Would we see a close vote? Carrick and Archer's point is that we might.

- There's still plenty of time to make a deal, and this posturing is fairly typical. It's still nowhere near the hard-drawn lines set in hockey, baseball and other sports that have had labor issues in the past. Someone asked me on Twitter yesterday what odds I'd give on a strike. I said 3-1 against. I'll stand by that. My hunch -- more from knowing the issues and people involved than reading any specific statements from them -- is that we'll see a deal.

- That said, the league and the union should know that a deal a couple of hours before kickoff March 25 is too late to avoid a black eye on the PR front. Just check the Twitter feed of Sons of Ben (Philadelphia) founder Bryan James. MLS could have a great opener with fans from 2010 expansion team Philadelphia traveling cross-country to meet 2009 expansion team Seattle, a matchup of two new and inspired fan bases. If the Philadelphia fans cancel their plane tickets March 23 because they doubt the game will be played, the league and its players will pay a price.

We really don't know how close or far apart the two sides are. Neither side has been forthcoming with specifics all along, and with a mediator in place, that's certainly not going to change. So you won't see any answers to these questions or any others.

Both sides have reason to keep quiet out of respect for the process. But until a deal is done, it'll be a nervous wait for MLS fans.

Questions for MLS players and the league

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:04:00 +0000

With the countdown clock at two weeks before the season is supposed to start, here are a few questions that the players and the league could consider answering to give fans a better idea of where they stand.

For the league:

- MLS has been losing players over the years to mediocre Scandinavian clubs, and its teams are not competitive in the CONCACAF Champions League. Wouldn't it be in the league's best interests to attract and keep a deeper talent pool by giving the players more of what they're seeking?

- Players at the lower end of the pay scale have more to lose without a guaranteed contract. Would the league be willing to guarantee lower-end contracts?

- Should the players seek contract guarantees, no-trade clauses and option-less contracts in individual bargaining, not in collective bargaining?

- The Designated Player rule could open all kinds of bidding wars at the upper end of the salary scale. Why allow bidding wars at the high end of the scale, over and above the salary budget, and not allow a player making $60K to negotiate with other MLS clubs?

- How does the current system of asking teams to trade for players' rights hold down costs any better than a more transparent system of free agency under a salary cap?

- A blogging lawyer (more than one, actually) has suggested the real reason MLS doesn't want a looser system of free agency is that it would weaken the single-entity system that has already been defended in court. Any truth to that?

- MLS has come across as bullish on its future over the past few years, with aggressive expansion in particular. Does the league's stance in these negotiations signal a lack of faith that MLS' growth will continue?

For the players:

- This Brian Straus article lays out a current system through which players can change teams after their contracts run out. Is this accurate, and why does the union object to it?

- Should the players seek contract guarantees, no-trade clauses and option-less contracts in individual bargaining, not in collective bargaining?

- A blogging lawyer (more than one, actually) has suggested the real reason MLS doesn't want a looser system of free agency is that it would weaken the single-entity system that has already been defended in court. Any truth to that? Has the league claimed that any of your proposals can't be done legally due to their single-entity system?

- Do you think your PR advantage has been blunted by players Tweeting about a column saying they'd be better off at Wal-Mart?

Brandi Chastain enjoying golf, not retirement

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Brandi Chastain knows the meaning of the word "retirement." She just doesn't use it.

"The idea of retiring -- it's just not a word that's in my vocabulary," Chastain said in a phone interview a week or so after she was released by FC Gold Pride.

Birdie! Brandi Chastain celebrates a putt at Pebble Beach. By Jason O. Watson, US Presswire

At 41, Chastain plans to keep playing on whatever level she can. She's still a fan of the game who says she'll go out to see players like Tiffeny Milbrett, and she certainly wants WPS to succeed.

"I think ultimately I am interested in the league succeeding and being around," Chastain says. "I didn't get in it for it not to."

She does question one WPS decision: Is Brazilian superstar Marta worth the money? She takes pains to clarify that it's not a question of her quality but a question of whether a fledgling league can support a salary that scared off a couple of teams in the dispersal draft.

"Even though I think Marta is a magnificent player, I don't think our league can truly support something like that. I was thinking about it the other day, and somebody said something to me that made complete sense -- the likes of Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Julie Foudy didn't make those salaries in the WUSA when the banks seemed to be a little bit fuller, so to speak. The fact that we're willing to do that now -- I don't know if that's the best thing for the league.

"Do I love having her in the league? Absolutely. Does she bring excitement to the field? Yes. But it's hard to justify, I think, when you're just starting out and the majority of the players aren't making that much money.

"My statement is not about her quality. I think she's worth it. I just think the league itself has such an uphill climb, anyway. It just seems incongruent with the state of things, I think.

"With that said, she brings excitement to the game."

FC Gold Pride general manager Ilisa Kessler responded through a league spokesman by e-mail: "“Marta makes good business sense for this league. She is the player that moves the dial on ticket sales. People come to the game to see Marta play. She captures young and old fans and her reach is global. She is special and you see that every time she touches the ball. The crowd gets out of their seats and the kids start screaming. It’s exciting to watch.

"The addition of Marta to our roster helps us achieve positive, solid growth. Marta is one part of our strategy to succeed as a business.”

Marta's team, the Los Angeles Sol, accounted for many of the best-attended games in the league's first season. The bad news is that they're out of business, though the official line is that the Sol's demise was caused by ownership issues, not Marta's paycheck.

In the dispersal draft, Marta went up the coast to FC Gold Pride, for whom Chastain played 450 minutes last season.

"I thought when I played, I played pretty well, considering I was injured for a little bit of the time," Chastain said. "I didn't play very much in the beginning. I think Albertin (Montoya, FC Gold Pride's coach) said it himself -- I proved myself, and that's why I played more. I felt there was a considerable difference when I was playing. Unfortunately, I think we got our stuff together a little bit too late."

Chastain will be busy even without a pro soccer contract. She's involved with BAWSI (Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative) and several charities, and she spent the days after her release playing golf at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where she and professional Ricky Barnes teams up to tie for seventh.

And she'd like to stay involved with WPS.

"I'd like to be on the field to help -- I think that's one of the best ways I do -- but perhaps there's another way I can help FC Gold Pride or the league."

MLS players not on strike ... yet

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:06:00 +0000

Full statement (yes, this is all) from the MLSPU:

The Major League Soccer Players Union (the “Union”) today announced that the collective bargaining agreement between the Union and Major League Soccer (“MLS”) will not be extended past the February 25 deadline previously set by the Union and MLS.

“Effective at midnight tonight, our collective bargaining agreement with MLS will expire,” said Union Executive Director Bob Foose.

Foose added that, “while we expect that negotiations with MLS will resume at some point, there simply hasn’t been enough progress made in the negotiations to date to warrant an extension of the old agreement. We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of Friday they will be doing so without a CBA. In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continues. We are completely committed to forging real changes to the way MLS players are treated.”

MLS on Deadline Day: What are they arguing about, really?

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:22:00 +0000

What's going on in the MLS labor talks, other than the fact that none were held, or at least publicly acknowledged, on Wednesday?

Don't ask the league. MLS has little to say.

Don't ask the players, who've said all they want to say at the moment.

And don't ask the agents.

"It is difficult to get accurate and timely information from players, and even clients, on the negotiations," says player agent Patrick McCabe, managing director of First Wave Sports. "Players have been advised not to speak to their agents by the union and the union does not communicate with us. I cannot speak for all agents but I think keeping us at a distance has created an information gap which is not beneficial for the players. I hope their approach works."

We do know a handful of issues, and here's a look at a few questionable assertions that will absolutely not answer any questions about Major League Soccer's collective bargaining talks. Yet all we can do from afar is talk about it, so here goes.

1. MLS players have no recourse to change teams after their contracts lapse.

Not really true, as Brian Straus argues in this FanHouse post. Teams basically request players from the league and say what they're willing to pay out of their salary budgets, which are themselves somewhat loose.

2. MLS can stay competitive on the overseas market under the current system.

That's the question I raised in my last blog post on this topic, and Paul Gardner succinctly follows up: "If MLS believes that merely tweaking the status quo will solve its basic problem -- the necessity for it to compete in the capitalistic free-for-all that is the global soccer market -- then it’s hopelessly lost in cloud cuckoo land."

MLS still loses players to leagues in Scandinavia. Former MLS players often kick about in front of 3,000 fans in Europe. What's wrong with that picture?

3. MLS teams would get involved in bidding wars for players with looser player movement.

More likely the opposite, at least in many cases. As Straus notes, players in high demand already get good deals under the current system. (Most likely, those are players with overseas interest as well.) Those in less demand won't get good deals. And that's the "harsh truth," as Straus puts it, for players like Kevin Hartman and Dave van den Bergh. Perhaps they're both underappreciated, but there's just not huge demand for them.

Fake Sigi pretty well demolishes the notion of Hartman, van den Bergh and Steve Ralston being prime examples of the league shackling players. All three cases are different; none of them really works as a definitive argument against the league's current system.

Take away the league's cumbersome system of sort-of free agency, and the fact is a lot of players are looking at big pay cuts later in their careers. That's not unique to soccer.

4. MLS needs to avoid outright "free agency" to keep salaries down.

See #3, and also note Grant Wahl's puzzlement over MLS president Mark Abbott's answer to the question.

One wild-card to toss in here: Ridge Mahoney sees a completely different competitive reason why the league might want to avoid "free agency":

In professional sports leagues there are myriad forms of free agency, only a few of which constitute outright, free-wheeling bidding wars. What the league really fears is not a few teams amassing the best talent through sheer financial clout, but -- aside from damaging the underpinnings of a single-entity system -- players fleeing poorly run teams to well-managed operations as soon as they can.

Protecting mismanaged clubs? Not a noble cause, is it?

5. MLS needs to avoid "free agency" so that the single-entity system it once defended in court isn't dismantled.

The case is well-stated by sports lawyer Stan Chelney, but the single-entity system as applied by MLS has been fairly fluid in practice, accommodating the sort-of free agency in #1 above and, lest we forget, the "Designated Player."

In fact, doesn't the "Designated Player" -- the salary cap exemption that allowed the league to sign David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco -- do more to drive up salary costs and potential bidding wars than anything being discussed here?

The players didn't ask for a "Designated Player" rule. Nor are they demanding that single-entity get tossed.

"We feel like we've made a huge effort to be reasonable, to propose things that are within the confines of the single-entity structure," Jimmy Conrad told Jeff Carlisle.

So why would MLS risk a strike to defend a system that can actually accommodate most of what the players are asking? And do the players really think they'll gain all that much by insisting on "free agency" that might not give anyone a better salary than they'd get under the current system?

Just a few more hours to find out. It's Deadline Day.

What is MLS' goal in the CBA talks?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:26:00 +0000

How much confidence does MLS have in its business plan? And how much confidence does it have in itself? Those are two underlying questions as the league barrels into a potential work stoppage this week.

This isn't the typical American league labor situation in which the league (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) exists in a vacuum and, with rare exception, offers players better contract terms than they could get elsewhere in the world. MLS is competing globally for talent. If the league wants to sign and keep better players (and perhaps win an occasional CONCACAF Champions League game), it must offer its players more -- if not more money, then more rights and freedoms. Current players may be pushed out if the new CBA lures better players to take their place.

And so both sides are arguing against their self-interest.

The players are willing to do that, perhaps because the current pace of expansion means most of them should find jobs somewhere in the league. They're also willing to endure a bit more competition for roster spots now if it means those roster spots will come with guaranteed contracts and their rights won't be held by a team that no longer wants them to play.

Less clear is why the league would take a firm stance. The players say the league isn't budging at all. The league says it's being flexible.

Does the revolutionary "single entity" structure so treasured by the league depend on teams holding rights to players such as Kevin Hartman, who is no longer wanted in Kansas City and hasn't found an MLS club willing to pay whatever the Wizards are asking for his services, even as he trains in the U.S. national team camp?

Some players enthusiastically Tweeted a story saying Hartman would be better off working at Wal-Mart. When you're at a Winter Olympics with world-class athletes who hold down dishwashing jobs just so they can compete, that argument doesn't hold a lot of melted Cypress Mountain snow.

But the league, which has loosened its central control over the years, could easily achieve parity without leaving the Hartmans of the world in limbo. Just come up with a standard compensation system as is seen in other U.S. leagues. If someone pays Hartman $150,000 for his services, then perhaps the Wizards gain a first-round draft pick or some allocation money. If it's $50,000, maybe a third-round pick.

There should also be room to move on guaranteed contracts. Those are most needed by those at the low end of the salary scale -- the player making $250,000 is less harmed by only making $125,000 than the player making $40,000 who only gets $20,000.

Neither of these moves would change the heart of the single-entity scheme that has already withstood a court challenge, more or less (some details were left for future courts and law students to ponder, but the league won't have to argue about it).

So what is the league protecting? Does the league think its sponsorship and TV partnerships are too fragile to withstand a minor change? Are a handful of owners too enamored of every single aspect of single entity?

League officials have kept a tight seal on the negotiation's specifics, so we don't know. But if the league does indeed shut down preseason camps next weekend, all of these questions will need to be answered.

High cost of doing business, U.S. version

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:22:00 +0000

Here's something that doesn't happen often on the soccer beat: I'm on the phone with WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci, and I get an alert that MLS has a somewhat major development. Fortunately, she understood when I stammered through my next question or two.

We'll look at the ramifications of both bits of news now, and by coin flip, we'll go with WPS losing the Los Angeles Sol, at least for the 2010 season:

-- What it means for WPS as a whole: Not much, really. The ownership situation in L.A. isn't at all the same as it is in other cities. In Los Angeles, Anschutz Entertainment Group was in a partnership with a company called Blue Star. Elsewhere, the owners are less corporate, more grass-roots, Antonucci says.

AEG and Blue Star said they couldn't continue, and the league stepped in to run the club temporarily. WPS had some interested buyers, Antonucci says, and league management picked one to make a deal. "At the 11th hour, the deal fell through," she says.

Every other indicator for WPS is positive. Team sponsorships up, team ticket sales up, national sponsor in the works, soccer-specific stadium in Atlanta (lone drawback: not close to downtown), player signings strengthening the talent pool. And they still have expansion interest elsewhere.

-- What it means for AEG: Remember when "Anschutz" meant a man called "St. Phil" in much of the online soccer community for his single-handed ownership of more than half of MLS' teams through the dark times? Now "Anschutz" translates to "AEG," which has taken hits -- fairly or unfairly -- for the departure of the San Jose Earthquakes and various controversies in Los Angeles. AEG spent just one year on the Sol, but Antonucci saw the "half-full" side of that situation. "AEG said all along they would help us launch and establish the market," she says.

Antonucci also says AEG was "welcoming" in terms of keeping the Sol in Home Depot Center. "We were in the process of picking our dates," she says.

Meanwhile in MLS, the league and the union announced an extension of talks until Feb. 12, well past the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement Jan. 31. That's a relief to those of us who would have a difficult time tracking things this weekend. It's not a relief to those of us who will be at the Winter Olympics on Feb. 12.

-- Is this a missed opportunity? The league could've earned quite a bit of good publicity by announcing a new labor deal at MLS Cup in November, but negotiations had barely moved. A new deal at the draft earlier this month would've been a nice publicity boost, but the two sides weren't close by any estimation.

A deal on Feb. 1 would've landed in a nice empty space in the sports calendar, just before Super Bowl hype gets rolling in earnest. If a deal is announced Feb. 12, that'll fall just as everyone's attention is diverted to the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony or the Daytona 500 two days later. It's safe to say a new deal wouldn't get much media play. On the other hand, a work stoppage would also be buried in the papers.

-- Are the two sides close? Here's MLS Commissioner Don Garber: "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." Here's union chief Bob Foose: "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."

"If" a new agreement can be reached? Sounds a little ominous, but we have more promising news from Pat Onstad, part of the union's executive board. The Houston goalkeeper says the two sides have moved from "15 or 16" stumbling blocks to two or three.

In any case, talking is better than not talking. And getting paid is better than not getting paid, as Portsmouth players can attest.

If soccer fans are lucky, all of this will be forgotten by 2011, and MLS and some sort of Los Angeles women's team will be open for business as usual. The problems of England's have-nots, frankly, are more difficult to solve.

High cost of doing business

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:14:00 +0000

The headlines from England are bleak:

- Crystal Palace is in administration, costing the club 10 points in the Championship race to drop them from an outside shot at the Premier League to a struggle against relegation.

- At Portsmouth, we're not surprised to see the club struggling to pay players. But struggling to pay the Web site bill?

- One of the top women's clubs says it can't pay to join the new Super League.

The most pressing question for U.S. fans is whether Everton will come up with enough cash to convince MLS to part with Landon Donovan, who has done quite well so far.

Arena and the 2002 World Cup team

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:51:00 +0000

Landon Donovan. Tony Sanneh. Gregg Berhalter. And now Clint Mathis.

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy are looking more and more like his 2002 World Cup team.

"We're trying to get (Brad) Friedel, too," Arena said. "But he's not available right now."

The impetus for Real Salt Lake moving Mathis: He wants to move his growing family near his wife's family in Orange County, Calif.

"I think the people at Salt Lake should be commended for the kind of character they have in trying to help a veteran who's given a lot to this league and U.S. soccer and let him finish his career in a city he wants to do that in," Arena said. "I think that was a great gesture on their part."

And Arena is happy to have him.

"Clint is an MLS champion," Arena said. "He's a quality player, he still has a couple of good years of soccer in him. He's an experienced guy, and he can help us in a number of ways. At this point in his career, he doesn't expect to be playing 90 minutes for 30 games, but we know we can count on him to contribute. We hope he can bring good positive energy on and off the field."