US Open Cup Update

posted by kidpurple June 30, 2008

The third round of the US Open Cup is upon us.  There are 8 MLS teams remaining in the tournament – each of which will face a non-MLS team.

Three teams from the USL Second Division have made it to the round of 16.  These teams all face MLS teams in this round.  Here are those matchups:

Crystal Palace Baltimore vs. New York Red Bulls

Richmond Kickers vs. New England Revolution

Cleveland City Stars vs. Chicago Fire

The remaining lower level teams all came from the USL First Division:

Rochester Rhinos vs. DC United

Miami FC Blues vs. FC Dallas

Charsleston Battery vs. Houston Dynamo

Carolina Railhawks vs. Kansas City Wizards

Seattle Sounders vs. Chivas USA

The previous round saw the exit of 8 more USL First and Second Division teams along with the only team from outside USL to make it that far – Hollywood United.  Hollywood United are a part of the United States Adult Soccer Association.

What MLS teams may fall to their lower league opponents?

Posted in Carolina Railhawks, Charleston Battery, Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Cleveland City Stars, Crystal Palace Baltimore, DC United, FC Dallas, Hollywood United, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Miami FC Blues, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Richmond Kickers, Rochester Rhinos, Seattle Sounders, US Open Cup | Comments (0)

More exapnsion rumors – in Atlanta

posted by kidpurple June 20, 2008

The owner of NFL’s Atlanta Falcons is interested in bringing an MLS team to Atlanta.  Major League Soccer is interested in putting a team in a major city in the south-east.

The stadium required to bring in a new MLS team to Atlanta could not be completed before 2012 which would likely be the earliest a team could be added.

Would this be another situation of an MLS team replacing a USL team or would a new MLS team play beside the Atlanta Silverbacks of the USL?

Posted in Atlanta, MLS Expansion | Comments (6)

Major League Soccer in… Ottawa?

posted by kidpurple June 19, 2008

If any of us had to guess who the potential Canadian cities are that would be likely to become the home of a new MLS team I’m sure we’d all go with Montreal or Vancouver, right?

Well the National Post reports that there is some interest in bringing Major League Soccer to Ottawa. The owner of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators has spoke with Major League Soccer about bringing soccer into Ottawa.

The article mentions that Ottawa has received a conditional CFL (american football) franchise to Ottawa that will play at a revamped stadium. I don’t know how/if this connects to an MLS team other than the two teams would possibly be sharing a home field.

The most surprising part of the article was the fact that Toronto FC has a deal with MLS that gives them exclusive operating right in Canada until 2010. Not that it is close to happening – but no other Canadian city can host an MLS team before 2010 thanks to Toronto.

What are the chances Ottawa gets a team before Vancouver, Montreal, St. Louis, Portland, or even another team somewhere in New York?

Posted in MLS Expansion, Ottawa, Toronto FC | Comments (3)

Why is Clint Mathis training with the Galaxy?

posted by kidpurple June 16, 2008

The Early Bath has an image that appears to be Clint Mathis training with the LA Galaxy. At first I thought maybe it was an old image – but Joey Franchino is also there and he has not been with the Galaxy for too long. Mathis went to Greece long before Franchino came to the Galaxy.

So what is Mathis doing there? Is Mathis going to end up back on the Galaxy roster? Would he get into the starting lineup if he did come back to the Galaxy?

After posting this I thought maybe that isn’t really Mathis.  It really looks like Mathis so I looked at the Galaxy roster to see if they have a 33 on it.  There is no number 33 on their roster.

Posted in Clint Mathis, Joey Franchino, Los Angeles Galaxy | Comments (1)

Revolution will play Joe Public in Champions League

posted by kidpurple June 12, 2008

It sounds like a joke, but the New England Revolution have been drawn against Joe Public FC in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions League. Joe Public FC is actually a real team and they are two time champions of Trinidad & Tobago. They played DC United in 1998 in the Champions Cup – DC United beat them 8-0 on their way to winning that Champions Cup.

Chivas USA will also be playing in the first round of the Champions League. They have drawn Tauro FC – the most successful Panamanian club in the history of their professional league.

DC United and Houston Dynamo are also in the tournament but they will skip the first round and go directly to the group stage. Here is the full schedule for the first round of the tournament. The group stage starts September 16th.

First leg (Aug. 26-28, 2008)
CD Municipal or Deportivo Jalapa (GUA) – San Francisco FC (PAN)
Joe Public FC (TRI) – New England Revolution (USA)
LD Alajuelense (CRC) – Puerto Rico Islanders
CDSC Cruz Azul (MEX) – Hankook Verdes (BLZ)
Harbour View FC (JAM) – Pumas UNAM (MEX)
Tauro FC (PAN) – Chivas USA (USA)
Canadian champion – Nicaraguan champion
CD Isidro Metapan (SLV) – CD Olimpia or CD Marathon (HON)

Second leg (Sept. 2-4, 2008)
San Francisco FC (PAN) – CD Municipal or Deportivo Jalapa (GUA)
New England Revolution (USA) – Joe Public FC (TRI)
Puerto Rico Islanders – LD Alajuelense (CRC)
Hankook Verdes (BLZ) – CDSC Cruz Azul (MEX)
Pumas UNAM (MEX) – Harbour View FC (JAM)
Chivas USA (USA) – Tauro FC (PAN)
Nicaraguan champion – Canadian champion
CD Olimpia or CD Marathon (HON) – CD Isidro Metapan (SLV)

Posted in CONCACAF Champions League, Chivas USA, DC United, Houston Dynamo, Joe Public FC, New England Revolution, Tauro FC | Comments (0)

Who is leading the MLS All-Star voting?

posted by kidpurple June 11, 2008

You only get one guess at who is leading the fans portion of voting for MLS All-Stars.  I’ll give you some clues.

It isn’t any of the league leading New England Revolution.

It isn’t Landon Donovan – who has 9 goals and 6 assists in 9 games right now.

It is not a goalkeeper with a 0.8 goals against average (sorry about this post Jon Busch).  Not a keeper at all in fact.

Who is it?

Posted in David Beckham | Comments (0)

Jozy Altidore finally moving to Spain

posted by kidpurple June 5, 2008

There has always been talk of where Jozy Altidore will end up going when he leaves MLS, and how soon it would come.  Major League Soccer has agreed on a deal with La Liga’s Villarreal.  The agreement is reportedly worth $10 million, which is a record transfer fee for an American player topping the recent transfer of Eddie Johnson to Fulham for $6 million.

Villarreal finished 2nd place in Spain’s La Liga this year behind champions Real Madrid.  The New York Red Bulls are currently in 10th place overall in Major League Soccer.

Posted in Eddie Johnson, Jozy Altidore, New York Red Bulls, Villarreal | Comments (0)