On The Pitch

Thoughts on Youth Soccer from a Soccer Dad, Fan, Coach and Administrator

Entries Tagged ‘mls’

Sounds Like A Conspiracy

I don’t write about the MLS much, given how this is a youth soccer blog, but I love a good conspiracy theory. I think Mike at My Soccer Blog is on to something.

You have to admit it makes some sense and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was partially true. Perhaps it wasn’t the plan [...]

Dave O’Brien ‘Outta Here?’

Over at Main St. USA, they note with glee:

Confirmed: Dave O’Brien and Eric Wynalda are out as MLS’ #1 broadcast team and will be replaced by JP Dellacamera and John Harkes.

Please, please, please, let them be out as the USSoccer announcers, too. If I ever have to hear Dave O’Brien reveal his sketchy [...]

Now THIS Is A Stadium!

I’m with Mike H at My Soccer Blog – this is going to be a REALLY nice stadium for the Red Bulls that actually looks like it was meant for soccer. Of course they’ll host concerts and other events – but it’s a soccer stadium first and foremost. But what’s with the black rectangles in [...]

The Costs of Youth Soccer

Talk to most parents with a child in competitive soccer, and you’re sure to hear about how much it costs. Just about every article written about the problems with youth development in the US will take about the barriers for many due to the high costs. When you participate in an activity that involves travel [...]

Beckham Bends It

I admit that I missed the Superliga semifinal between the L.A. Galaxy and D.C. United last night. I hate that – got busy with other stuff. I’ve also stayed out of the Beckham fray for the most part. I think it’s great he’s playing in the MLS and if you set aside all the hype, [...]

No Need To Rush An Offside Call

For years, US Soccer has issued position papers related to the Laws of the Game and things referees should be doing or looking for and highlighting ‘tough call’ scenarios. With the advent of online video, they have started to include YouTube videos as part of the papers which show the situations being discussed. Very cool.
A [...]

Cuban Comedy Gold

Over at Throughball, Josh wonders why Mark Cuban isn’t buying an MLS club when he has the billions to waste on a football team in a new league that hopes to compete with the NFL. Good luck with that!
Anyway, after commenting on how fun it would be watching Mark Cuban react to the wonderful world [...]

Eric Wynalda Tells It Like It Is

Josh over at ThroughBall linked in to a fantastic interview that Christian Franek recently did with Eric Wynalda before the USMNT v. Ecuador match. I know I normally quote a bit here and there, but the entire article is quotable. Go read the entire thing if you haven’t already.
I have to say I really enjoyed [...]

Zidane On Fire

I somehow missed this in my RSS reader, but stumbled across it at Ramblings of a Soccer Junky. The Chicago Fire reached out to Zidane to see if he’d come out of retirement. Apparently they weren’t the only ones.

Guppy told the Chicago Tribune: ‘We reached out to Zidane. But so has every other MLS club. [...]

Some Beckham Fun

Josh has a fun post up over at ThroughBall, in response to David Beckham heading to L.A.

Now that David Beckham will be lacing up his boots in L.A., it seems appropriate to give the Home Depot Center a more historic-sounding moniker.
I propose "Discount Theater of Dreams."

So hop over to his comment section and show off [...]

SuperLiga Has Me Super Psyched

Ever since Univision let the cat out of the bag about a possible North American soccer tournament during their annual ‘upfront’ presentation to potential advertisers, American soccer fans have wondered how it would be structured. Well now we know.

Giving Bradley A Chance

Once we all get over our disappointment at Klinsmann walking away, we have to come to grips with Bradley as the USMNT coach, at least for a while. Just because almost everyone wanted Klinsi doesn’t mean Bradley is a horrible choice. Ives Galarcep has an excellent article up at Soccernet outlining Bradley’s accomplishments, why he [...]

USSF + MLS = Coaching Fiasco

MightyMouse over at BigSoccer has an interesting insight from ESPN espanol this morning:

The real reason Klinsmann walked away from the deal, according to ESPN espanol this morning, was that Klinsmann asked for guarantees from both the USSF and MLS that he would get the players he wanted for the upcoming tournaments. According to a reporter [...]

MLS Announces Their Youth Development Program

The MLS has finally announced their Youth Development Program:

MLS is requiring each of its teams next season to establish a youth amateur program, separate from the pro club. These youth teams will give talented young players with professional aspirations an excellent opportunity to pursue their dreams, stay close to home, and continue their education. Players [...]

Carnival of American Soccer #6 – Get Writing!

The Kin of Fish has selected the topic for the sixth Carnival of American Soccer so it’s time to get writing (Here is the BlogCarnival profile). And what an excellent topic it is:

You’ve just been handed the plum position of MLS Marketing Director.

Many of the tickets that your clubs sell or distribute go [...]