A little news while RSL is on break
August 7, 2008 by f4denz.
Reserves move to top of the West
RSL reserves defeat FC Dallas real.saltlake.mlsnet.com
Real Salt Lake overcame two FC Dallas goals from Jamie Watson to defeat Dallas 3-2 on Wednesday morning in a Reserve Division game played on the adidas Field at Pizza Hut Park.
A short interview with Jason
Give & Go: RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis goal.com
Real Salt Lake is currently in the midst of an 18-day midseason break. And after catching fire in the early part of the summer, RSL is able to take this time to rest up, knowing it’s the first-place team in the Western Conference.
Goal.com USA’s Randy Davis recently caught up with RSL head coach Jason Kreis to get his perspective on the season up to this point, and what he expects for the remainder of the 2008 campaign.
Well my rumor has been killed
Noonan signed by Revs, traded to Crew soccerbyives.net
The New England Revolution has re-signed forward Pat Noonan and promptly traded him to the Columbus Crew in exchange for a 2009 first-round draft pick, an allocation, and allocation table considerations.
I was fairly sure that New England would trade away Pat, considering their current roster. My hope that we would get into the trade talks with them for him, I have a feeling that we probably didn’t have what they were looking for, the allocation and allocation table considerations. Oh well I am still waiting to see what direction RSL goes in the next week to fill our final roster spot. So here is my new rumor (and I hope it is very wrong) so I hear Garth is pushing for a proven goal scorer, and we know that LA is looking to make some major changes, could the Ruiz trade that was rumored with Dallas and other clubs, include RSL as one of the other clubs?
MLS Power Rankings
Revs stand pat soccernet.espn.go.com
No surprise that New England stays on the top, I am surprised a bit by the jump of Houston from 5th to 2nd, but it puts next weekend’s RSL@ Houston match at the top of the to be watched MLS matches.
A little soapbox time
So we have just over a week left in the MLS international transfer window, not sure why it ends before the window for other leagues in Europe, or of all the rules and ramifications of the MLS rules, but we have made one move so far. Based on one match and a couple practice sessions it looks like getting Robbie Russell to shore up our midfield and add another defensive option was a good move, and while I agree with Jason that our forwards have the talent to score and will break out of our current scoring funk (7 goals in our last 9 MLS matches).
I do think that Garth may be right and in order to push us over the edge and secure a solid playoff spot a proven goal scorer will be the key, we have to be able to score on the road and 4 goals in 8 matches isn’t going to cut it. So who for $250,000 or so can we get, a real international forward would cost more, do we get the money to afford a DP like Eto’o (yeah right)? Not with the amount of money we have been forced to spend on the new stadium, so where does that leave us? Looking around MLS, do you think that the Galaxy would be willing to give up Buddle, or that DC would let Emilio go, what would RSL have to give up to get a proven goal generator from a MLS club? We know that a lot of teams would love Kyle Beckerman, but do we want to lose our captain, hell no.
So that means we have to look at that second tier of international players, we have tried that with Kenny Deuchar and so far it has not been the goal fest we all expected. I am actually really happy with how Kenny plays as part of the team, and how he is trying to help create for other players while he suffers on his cold streak. So do we look for Americans who might want to come back to the US, Ryan Guy (currently with St. Patrick’s Athletic in Ireland), Sammy Ochoa (with UAG Tecos in Mexico), Cam Weaver (with FK Haugesund in Norway- he did well with the Seattle Sounders in the USL). I am not sure, but it will be interesting to see if whatever move we make will have the impact of last year’s “three amigos”.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Why I am not watching the Olympics
August 7, 2008 by f4denz.
So I believe that sports and politics should be kept very apart, even more so at the Olympic games, but we live in a world were far too often the two are mixed and usually not in a good way. As a soccer/football fan, the history of politics intermingling with the sport is a long and storied one, I would suggest if you would like to fully understand the depth of the relationship between politics and sports read “How Soccer Explains the World” by Franklin Foer.
The Olympics have become rife with corruption, scandal, and politics for over 50 years it has been more the norm than the exception. From the games being held in Berlin during the reign of Hitler, to terrorists killing athletes in Munich, Boycotts of games by both the Soviet Block and NATO, and the bombing at the Atlanta games, personal and national politics has played a part of the Olympics for decades and this summer is no different.
No nation with such as poor record on Human Rights, Child Labor has ever been granted the games, and if you think the corruption that came to light with the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City was bad, then you should pray that the real motivations of the IOC granting these games to Beijing never comes to light. The latest move by China is a clear move that they simply want to silence anyone who may question their actions around the globe, it was announced earlier today that the Chinese government has pulled yet another in a long string of “questionable” decisions by revoking the visa of a former Olympic Gold medalist Joey Cheek, you can read the full details here.
That alone would be enough for a lot of people to avoid anything to do with the Olympics, but when you add in the factor of all the doping, lying, and cheating that has been disclosed in the last couple years, how anyone can watch the games and not wonder who is taking what drug to enhance their performance. The purity of sports has been so clouded by the actions of amateurs as well as professionals, that watching any sport without being a bit cynical is tough. Does anyone remember the days of the East German women looking manlier than any of the US men? Well the drugs have gotten better, but when you consider that some nations will pull children from the arms of the parents as early as age 5 to put them into training programs, is the cheating and unfair competition any less?
Finally ask yourself, what was done to get the games awarded to Beijing? What did IOC members receive? What family members have jobs that they never show up to? What gifts have changed hands in order to give a nation with the reputation of China the Olympics? Oh, we know that since the Salt Lake scandal a couple years ago that all the parties have gotten much smarter, but does anyone think the process is any less corrupt?
All of these are reasons why I will be avoiding the Olympics this time around, I respect what so many athletes have done to get their chance to compete against the best in the world, I respect the early mornings spent on the road going to practice facilities, I respect the sacrifices made by athletes and their families to get to the level of being able to compete in the Olympics, I hope that they can respect why I am choosing to not watch them compete.
OFF MY SOAPBOX