STO Soccer Film Review: Victory

Posted on August 29, 2008 - Filed Under MLS | Leave a Comment

In 1981, John Huston, honored Hollywood director and ten-time Oscar nominee, decided he wanted to make a soccer movie. Huston had been a film titan for five decades and helmed some of early American cinema’s classic pictures like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, and The Maltese Falcon.

Huston’s movies were provacative and compelling because he, more than any other modern director, knew how to inspire his actors to give their best performance. He directed fifteen different actors who would receive Oscar nominations for their performances in his films, including Humphrey Bogart, Albert Finney, Jack Nicholson and his daughter, Anjelica Huston.

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MLS Playoff Push Features Pushovers

Posted on August 29, 2008 - Filed Under MLS | Leave a Comment

With only nine games left in the season, the MLS playoff race is heating up. Despite the fact the race for a spot is still pretty wide open, there are clearly now three tiers of teams as we approach the big dance:

A League of Their Own:

New England, Columbus, Chicago and Houston.

These four are almost certainly going to make the playoffs. Nicol continues to work magic in New England, while Schelotto and the Crew continue to play solid soccer. Chicago is actually the most dominant team in the league, but lack their Eastern foes point total because they either seem to lose by one or blow their opponent out. Houston has always been the class of the West and the addition of Jaqua makes them the clear number one seed in that division.

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Major League Soccer Weekend Recap

Posted on August 24, 2008 - Filed Under MLS | Leave a Comment

As the clock moves towards September, it is not surprising to find traditional MLS contenders, New England, Dallas, Houston, New York and DC United beginning to make their moves.

NY Red Bulls 3, Houston 0

Mike Magee scored once and set up another goal as the New York Red Bulls extended their winning streak to three games with a 3-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo. Sparked by the recent play of Magee, the surging Red Bulls (7-7-7) evened their record and improved to 3-0-2 in their last five matches.

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Rest in Peace, Alexi Lalas’s Career as a GM

Posted on August 23, 2008 - Filed Under LA Galaxy | Leave a Comment

Readers of this site know I have been harsh on Alexi Lalas in the past. Like here, here, and here. To get some closure, I am going to go ahead and write Alexi’s obituary as a GM in the hopes those who read it (i.e., MLS owners) will simply let his career as an executive rest in peace.

Alexi Lalas’s GM career (Jan. 2004 - Aug. 2008) was euthanized by AEG on August 11, 2008 after a long and painful bout with chronic underperformance. 

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Major League Soccer Roundup

Posted on August 20, 2008 - Filed Under Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy, MLS, Toronto FC | Leave a Comment

Fresh on the heels of the news that former U.S. coach Bruce Arena has been handed the keys to the LA Galaxy came the announcement that Fernando Clavijo has resigned as Colorado Rapids head coach.

“A lot of things happened through the year that I was not happy with in many ways,” Clavijo told the Denver Post. “But I think because of family now I’ve decided it’s the right time to put all my energy into my family and recharged my batteries and myself, too.”

Assistant coach Gary Smith will take over as head coach for the rest of the season.

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Several Players Star in the Olympics

Posted on August 20, 2008 - Filed Under Chivas, Europe | Leave a Comment

Sacha Klijestan: The Chivas USA midfielder vastly improved his international resume with his Olympic performance.  It is only a matter of time before a European outfit makes a bid offer for the 22-year-old U.S. international.  He ended with two goals scored in Group B action.

Sekou Cissé: The 23-year-old Ivorian striker scored two goals with one coming against finals participant Argentina.  Currently, he competes for Eredivisie outfit Roda JC.  He also netted four goals at the recent Toulon Tournament.

Moussa Dembélé: The 21-year-old Belgian striker already has three goals and he could add to his tally with the Bronze-medal match upcoming.  The AZ Alkmaar player has long been rumored with a move to the Premiership. 

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Toronto FC Add Smith as Edu Moves to Rangers

Posted on August 18, 2008 - Filed Under Europe, MLS, NY Red Bulls, Toronto FC | Leave a Comment

Toronto FC bid goodbye to former first-round selection and U.S. national team midfielder Maurice Edu.  The 22-year-old signed a five-year contract with Scottish power Rangers FC.  Edu joins international teammate DaMarcus Beasley at Ibrox.  Edu will have to wait until 2009 at the earliest to enjoy a taste of European football as Rangers were knocked out of UEFA Champions League play recently.

Also, Toronto FC recently added former United States U-20 performer Johann Smith after he was released by Premiership side Bolton Wanderers.  Smith has blazing speed and will be utilized in the left midfield, but he can also move to a more forward position when needed.  Much more of an athletic player versus a technical one, Smith could benefit in the step down from Premiership to MLS competition.  Only 21-years-old, he still has time to develop his full skill set.

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Major League Soccer Weekend Recap

Posted on August 17, 2008 - Filed Under Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, DC United, Houston, Kansas City Wizards, MLS, NY Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake, Revolution, Toronto FC | Leave a Comment

A look at the scores and match reports from this weekend’s games in Major League Soccer.

Columbus 2 FC Dallas 1
Jeff Cunningham became the fourth player in MLS history to reach 100 goals when he scored in his first game for FC Dallas, but midfielders Brian Carroll and Brad Evans netted second-half goals to give the Crew a 2-1 win Saturday night.

Cunningham’s 35th-minute tally was his first for Dallas since being acquired from Toronto FC Aug. 8. It also was his first goal against the team for which he played eight seasons.

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Seattle Sounders Sign Kasey Keller

Posted on August 15, 2008 - Filed Under MLS, Seattle Sounders | Leave a Comment

The long-running rumor of the Seattle Sounders signing former U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller finally came true this week.

Keller became the second signing, behind forward Sebastien LeToux, who plays for the Seattle Sounders in the USL First Division, that the expansion team has locked up for its inaugural Major League Soccer season in 2009. Keller, a native of the Olympia area about 60 miles south, has played all but one year of his professional career in some of Europe’s top leagues.

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LA Galaxy Can Lalas and Gullit

Posted on August 11, 2008 - Filed Under LA Galaxy | Leave a Comment

LA Galaxy owners Anschutz Entertainment Group must read this blog. Less than a week after my post about why the Galaxy need to fire Alexi Lalas. Today Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG announced that  Ruud Gullit has resigned as coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy for personal reasons, and president/general manager Alexi Lalas also is out of a job.

Gullit who signed a three-year contract last November, making him one of the MLS’ highest-paid coaches will be replaced on an interim basis by 37-year-old Cobi Jones.

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