Listen to internet radio with Feuerstein’s Fire on Blog Talk Radio
Tuesday, December 14th 8:00PM EST – 5:00PM PST
Guests: Robert Hey of Major League Soccer Talk
Gerry Wittmann of NASL Fanatic blog site discusses the first season of AC St. Louis
Major League Soccer (MLS) Rumors – For the time between the games
Josh McDaniels has become the latest Bill Belichick understudy to fail to get the job done as a head coach in the NFL. In what was kind of a surprising announcement — but I guess not really when you actually think about it — the Denver Broncos announced via their Twitter that they have decided [...]
Larry Brown Sports
Listen to internet radio with Feuerstein’s Fire on Blog Talk Radio
Tuesday, December 7th 8:00PM EST – 5:00PM PST
Guests: Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports & Phil Schoen of GOL TV discuss the FIFA World Cup Bid Announcements of 2018 & 2022
CEO of the new Second Division NASL Aaron Davidson comes over
Houston Dynamo Supporter Warren Jones re-caps the 2010 season
Major League Soccer (MLS) Rumors – For the time between the games
Good news — Tiger Woods managed to stay away from hopping behind the wheel of his Escalade and plowing into a fire hydrant and neighbor’s tree before his wife performed the miraculous smash and grab just outside the driveway of his Isleworth home this year. Oh, no Florida Highway Patrol troopers or Windermere police officers showed up as surprise guests, either.
In his fifth career-tweet, Tiger checked in with his 264,723 (and counting) followers on the year-anniversary of receiving The Most Expensive Traffic Ticket In The World: “Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. I just finished a pretty tough cardio session this morning because of all the apple and pumpkin pie.”
It’s unclear where he had his Turkey feast, but apparently he spent it with his “family,” including his mother. Of course, there was no chance in hell that he could have had a worse holiday than the last one, but I can’t imagine Thanksgiving will ever be the same again.
Hope everyone had a wonderful time stuffing themselves with delicious food, getting drunk, falling asleep on the couch watching football and waking up to watch more football!
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Matthew Higgins, an American journalist working in Beijing. He blogs at Have Notebook Will Travel.
by Matthew Higgins
Ronaldinho is going to the Galaxy? Damn, and just when we thought the “aging superstar threatens to take his talents to America if he doesn’t get a new contract” meme was finally played out.
Internet rumors and transfer gossip aren’t worth the photons it takes to transmit them to our eyeballs, but what say we have some fun with this one anyway?
Here’s the actual story. Google Translate is no help – trust me.
And here are some the supposed English-language versions (NBC Sports, Total Football Madness).
Before the word “superteam” crosses anyone’s lips, let’s start with the usual caveats.
1. There is a huge difference between “making contact” and “striking an agreement,” and you smart cookies don’t need reminding which one is easier to pull off. Roberto De Assis, Ronaldinho’s brother and agent, meeting with Galaxy officials might be as simple as having lunch or an unofficial, “if my brother wanted to leave Milan, would he be someone who would interest you?” get-together.
2. Even if this story has legs, which sponsors are going to plonk down enough cash to support an annual net salary of 7 million euros a year – which my friends at www.xe.com tell me is about $ 9.5 million – for four years? The Galaxy already has David Beckham ($ 6 million in guaranteed compensation in 2010) and Landon Donovan ($ 2.13 million) on the books. Even with Clint Mathis, Eddie Lewis and Chris Klein retiring, that’s only about $ 320,000 in relief. Also bear in mind that the likes of Omar Gonzales, Edson Buddle and Donovan Ricketts are in the market for a salary bump after successful seasons, MLS Cup title or no.
3. If Ronaldinho does sign with Los Angeles, who goes out? I know rules in MLS, especially ones involving salary caps or the Galaxy, are always flexible, but how would AEG and Bruce Arena make room in the budget? The easy answer is to sell Landon Donovan, but that brings up more questions – does Donovan want to leave? Who wants to buy him, and what can they offer? It’s not as though the January window is a great time for deals in the first place. Why would a European club pay over the odds if it knows the arrival of Ronaldinho and his cap-busting salary is imminent? Plus, wasn’t this supposed to be the offseason when Donovan actually got some rest after playing almost non-stop for the past two years?
4. Think about Arena and the way he does things. His teams are at their best when their shape is solid and they defend well as a unit, even if going forward is ultimately a challenge. How would a defense-optional player like Ronaldinho fit into the Arena ethos? Even if Dema Kovalenko gets deployed as Little Ronnie’s personal ball-winner – the Makelele to Ronaldinho’s Zidane, if you will – how much chasing about is a World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Ballon d’Or, etc.-winning, former World Player of the Year on the downside of his career willing to do in front of hundreds of fans on a sultry summer night in Dallas? Also, how do Ronaldinho, Beckham, Donovan and Buddle fit together in an attacking unit? Donovan and Buddle obviously have a good understanding, but where does that leave Ronaldinho if Arena insists on two up top?
5. This gripe is last because it’s purely personal. Odds are that you, like any right-thinking MLS fan, are tired of haters, Europoseurs and those damned, snarky Brits babbling on about MLS being a “retirement home” or throwing up yet another tired reference to the NASL. This is just more fodder for those people. Is signing ageing stars still the way forward for a league now in its 15th year? Leagues of a similar age in Japan, South Korea and Australia have largely weaned themselves off of drawing eyeballs with big names (one cokehead Scouser excepted) – is MLS really that different? Is our sports culture so star-dependent that soccer can only stay relevant by every three or four years making signings that even SportsCenter will acknowledge? A cynic might say yes, but that hardly seems like a viable, sustainable plan for the long term.
As you can see, Ronaldinho coming to MLS has no fire and, at the moment, little in the way of smoke. Just in case, though, it might be wise to buy stock in In-n-Out Burger and California Pizza Kitchen. In these tough economic times, every little bit helps.
To help get a better perspective on today’s match-up with the New England Patriots, we spoke with Jamie Pacheco of the Patriots blog Musket Fire. My questions and his answers are below (and you can read my responses to his questions here):
1. Is there any surprise among you or other Patriots fans that the team is currently 6-1, with the best record in the league?
I am definitely surprised, as is the rest of Patriot Nation. Predictions for the Patriots’ season on the local sports radio shows ranged everywhere from 7-9 to 10-6 at best, though some who were considered “overly optimistic” went with 11-5. All of those are still real possibilities, but to get to the consensus successful season of 10-6, the Pats would only have to win 4 out of the remaining 9 games. I don’t see the team dropping 5 games for the rest of the season, so all of New England is pleasantly surprised with their Patriots.
2. It seems like the Pats have actually improved after parting ways with Randy Moss. What is the biggest reason as to why the Patriots are now firing on all cylinders?
I’m not sure that it all has to do with Moss no longer being on the team. Where his absence does have an impact is in the long ball. Tom Brady is no longer relying on throwing the ball up to Moss when the team is in a pinch and instead is re-committed to finding whomever is open. Moss was never a good fit for what the team likes to do in the passing game schematically. Moss is limited in the routes he runs and how crisp they are, and the Patriot offense is based mostly on strong, precise route running. Probably the biggest thing that has helped the team offensively is the commitment to the running game. This started while Moss was still on the team and has improved each week. Last week’s clock killing, game-clinching final drive was almost solely done on the legs of BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The running game is a quarterback’s best friend and has certainly been Brady’s best friend this season.
3. What do you believe will be the game plan for the Patriots against the Browns, both offensively and defensively?
Offensively, I expect an overall balanced attack like we have seen develop throughout the course of the season. In addition to that, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a trick play or two. The Browns have utilized some gadget plays effectively and I can see Belichick trying to match his former protege trick play for trick play. Defensively, I think the Patriots will try and confuse Colt McCoy and look to capitalize on any mistakes he makes. I don’t think that it will include many exotic blitzes, but the defense will show one look and then play something else at the snap, likely dropping back into different zones and squeezing the short-to-intermediate routes. If any player gets an interception on McCoy, I think it will be a linebacker who showed blitz and then dropped back into zone coverage.
4. We certainly know that Tom Brady will hurt you, but who is another player that should be on the Browns’ radar?
Offensively, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead in the backfield are two players that have gashed opposing defenses. Both are running hard and Woodhead adds an extra threat in the passing game. Defensively, Jerod Mayo is the most disruptive player to anything the Browns want to do. Mayo has been all over the field and leads the NFL with 86 tackles. He’s always around the ball and is a sure tackler. Colt McCoy needs to know where Mayo is at all times.
5. So, who wins this one?
Being a big Texas Longhorns fan, I’m really pulling for Colt McCoy to be successful in the NFL, just not this week. I think the Browns make it a tight game, pulling to within a field goal late, but the Pats seal the game with a final touchdown to win 27-17.
The Washington Nationals announced today that Rob Dibble was no longer part of the club’s announcing team. The Nationals offered no further comment and did not name a permanent replacement.
Dibble originally departed Nationals broadcasts on August 25 after questioning Nationals Pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s willingness to pitch through pain. The timing couldn’t be worse for Dibble, as Strasburg was ruled out for the season by team doctors with a pitching arm injury shortly after the analyst’s comments.
At the time of Dibble’s apparent leave of absence, club president Stan Kasten said, “Rob asked for some time off. Perhaps he’s not feeling well. But I’m not a doctor, nor have I seen his records. So I shouldn’t say anything more about it.”
Kasten’s comment was reportedly a veiled shot at Dibble for his criticism of Strasburg.
Former MLB player Ray Knight has been filling in as analyst on Nationals TV broadcasts on MASN since Dibble’s initial departure but the club has not made clear if Knight’s position is permanent.
Dibble’s original criticism of Strasburg came on the former Reds pitcher’s radio show on August 23. During the show, Dibble questioned Strasburg for coming out of a game against Philadelphia two nights earlier: (more…)