New England Revolution: Stink, Brink, and Other Overreactions

Having last written about the budding optimism surrounding the New England Revolution’s current state, I now sit here at 36,000 feet on a cross-country flight worried. About what? Stink and brink. Stink, as in “they stink,”  and brink, as in “a franchise on the brink.” I’ll freely admit that before going off the grid for my flight’s take-off, I was barraged in the Twitter-sphere about midfielder Shalrie Joseph’s “indefinite leave” from the Revolution to attend to personal matters. (I wish him all the best, and a quick return.) However, this barrage has spun me into a reactionary state, which I’m sure is bad for my sanity, but turns out to be pretty good for blogging. The importance of Joseph to the Revolution is no secret, and something I’ve talked about before in “The Steve and Shalrie Show ”, and elsewhere—but that anyone who watches the Revolution with their eyes open can see. Do the Revs stink? Maybe not. But they’re not great. The Revs have always found ways to have terrible performances mixed in with their usually Eastern Division strength.  “This too shall pass,” we might think. Perhaps winning isn’t out of the question. I remember sitting in the 2002 MLS Cup championship with 61,000-plus friends cheering ...

This is the Los Angeles Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts

This is Part Three in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. He moves to his left, and moves to his right like a man whose only basis behind this rationale is pure intuition without compromise. A leap. A punch of a leather sphere. Another leap, and he grabs the same sphere with his gloves, stuck to his human paws as if they were attached with glue. Now he rolls, and scoops the sphere while waving a throng of 21 other players away before giving it an ambitious kick into the opposing half like a missile shot from the goalposts. It's all part of another shutout performance from Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. The date is April 24, 2010. The venue is CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas. The performance? Just what you would expect out of the current Big Cat in front of the net. In the beginning, it was Jorge Campos who became the first great goalkeeper for Los Angeles. Then it was Kevin Hartman, who mesmerized the home crowd at the Rose Bowl and the Home Depot Center. Now, it's ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Kansas City Wizards: Wiz Reel in Galaxy, Split the Points

As we say farewell to the month of April, we also say goodbye to a couple of good things. You know, all good things must come to an end. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. Tonight, we say farewell the Los Angeles Galaxy's season-opening winning streak as well as Edson Buddle's streak of scoring at least one goal per game. But here's the catch: the unbeaten streak is not going to ride off into the Kansas City sunset just yet. You see, in spite of the offensive firepower missing on all cylinders for Bruce Arena's Galaxy, it was more of the same stops from goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. With six key saves at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, Los Angeles was able to keep their composure all the way to the final corner of the match deep into stoppage time and salvage a scoreless draw with Peter Vermes's Kansas City Wizards. The biggest disappointment that I saw from the Galaxy tonight was their inability to compensate for what has to be the most compact field, dimension-wise, in Major League Soccer. I would have to have seen more short passing instead of trying to be ambitious with the predictable ...

Los Angeles Vs. Kansas City: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

  T-180 minutes to kickoff: I love barbecue. Kansas City barbecue is characterized by its use of different types of meat (including pulled pork, pork ribs, burnt ends, smoked sausage, beef brisket, beef ribs, smoked/grilled chicken, smoked turkey, and sometimes fish) along with its sweet and tangy sauces which are generally intended for liberal use. A majority of restaurants also offer a spicy variety of the staple sauce. Ribs are mostly pork, but also come in beef varieties and can come in a number of different cuts. Burnt ends, the flavorful pieces of meat cut from the ends of a smoked beef or pork brisket, are a popular dish in many Kansas City area barbecue restaurants. Kansas City barbecue is also known for its many side dishes, including a unique style of baked beans, french fries, cole slaw, and other soul food staples.   T-175: But while Kansas City, Missouri is a city known for slow-cooking flesh on bone over an open fire, that's not where the Wizards are based in. After a long stint at Arrowhead Stadium, the Wiz are playing at CommunityAmerica Ballpark as a temporary home, while the new house at Village West is being built.   T-170: CommunityAmerica Ballpark is also the ...

Defensive Woes Continue For Union In Loss To Red Bulls

At least the Union kept all eleven players on the pitch Saturday at Red Bull Arena. That was a positive from the 2-1 loss, but not many other defensive positives could be taken from the game. Chris Seitz proved yet again to be a concern in goal after giving up the game's first goal to Salou Ibrahim. Off of a corner, Seitz came out to punch the ball, but was way too late and instead making impact with the ball, he made impact with Jordan Harvey's head. After tying the game at 1-1 on a Sebastien Le Toux goal, the Union looked to be dominating the rest of the game until Michael Orozco handled a ball in the box. Orozco misread his jump to head away a ball in the box. The handball led to a penalty kick for Juan Pablo Angel, who scored. The Union played a very solid game in every other part of the game. For most of the second half, they were putting balls on net. Le Toux scored a goal and Jack McInerney missed an attempt at goal after coming on in the 78th minute. The Union now fall to 1-3 on the season and travel out to the Home ...

MLS Game Of The Week Preview: Real Salt Lake @ Columbus Crew

The defending champions of MLS, Real Salt Lake, continue their difficult start to the season visiting the Columbus Crew at 7:30 tonight. After an easy win over San Jose in their first match, Jason Kreis' club has only taken one point from three games against top Western Conference teams (losses to Houston and Los Angeles, draw with Seattle). After tonight, RSL comes home for four of their next five matches and will try to start up the momentum going into that strecth tonight. The Crew are playing in their third game of the season, the fewest of all MLS clubs. After beating Toronto in the first weekend, Robert Warzycha's club drew with FC Dallas 2-2 two weeks ago at Pizza Hut Park. The squad should be at full strength and healthy with the exception of defenders Shaun Francis and Chad Marshall. RSL players have picked up some injuries in the early season. Both Ned Grabavoy and Chris Wingert are out for tonight's game and Robbie Findlay, Jamison Olave and Javier Morales are all on the injury report but should play. There is plenty of top-class players on the pitch tonight at Columbus Crew Stadium, posing some interesting battles at a variety of positions.   Matchup To ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Kansas City Wizards: Testing The Depth

The Los Angeles Galaxy will head to CommunityAmerica Ballpark with the same goal as their last four missions in the 2010 Major League Soccer season, do just enough to earn another trio of points. But with Sean Franklin suffering a sprained left ankle in LA's 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, the depth will be facing a stern test in the Kansas City Wizards.Needless to say, head coach Bruce Arena was quite pleased with the depth of talent still fresh, healthy and at his disposal."In the last year-and-a-half or two years, this is the best group we've had," Arena said after the match. "Having the depth we have and the confidence in each other allowed us to perform well to date."Landon Donovan also touted the power of the team's depth. "We pride ourselves on our depth," he said last Saturday. "We’ve had a lot of injuries—a lot of injuries to veteran players. So, we don’t have a lot of leadership on the field right now and guys are stepping in, kind of learning on the run, and doing a great job.”One of those players stepping up is Bryan Jordan, who played at an unfamiliar position,right back, for his season debut."It wasn't too ...

This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Edson Buddle

This is Part Two in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. He is a man with a golden touch. A player who plied his trade in the middle of Ohio, the fieldturf of BMO, and now the confines of the Home Depot Center. He is a footballer whose scoring renaissance brings hope that a certain president would be proud of. He is Edson Buddle. And with his torrid scoring pace, the countdown to a possible call-up to the USA Men's National Team's training camp may be winding down with every strike, every shot and every celebration. Edson Michael Buddle was born on May 21, 1981 in New Rochelle, New York. His father, Winston Buddle, played soccer in his native Jamaica before immigrating to the States. New Rochelle is located in Westchester County, located north of New York City, east of the Hudson River and west of Connecticut. The city is known for the Leland Museum and the Thomas Paine Cottage. With New York Cosmos fever still running its course across the Big Apple, he named his son Edson after Edison Arantes do Nascimento, better known to ...

Seattle Sounders Lacking a Scoring Punch

Pegged by some to win the 2010 MLS Cup in only its second season of existence, the Seattle Sounders currently sit in a three-way tie for second place in the Western Conference in the early goings of the season with a 2-1-1 record. Their defense has stood strong, allowing only three goals in four games. However their offense has been just that—offensive—scoring only five goals in the four games. Finishing was a problem last year, dooming them in the playoffs as they failed to score a goal in the first round against Houston, and it has continued into this season. Standing out is the shutout in the team’s second game when they were held scoreless by the New York Red Bulls—the worst team in the league last year—and narrowly escaping with three points in their latest match against Kansas City, not scoring until the 92nd minute of the contest. Against the Red Bulls, the Sounders set a club record with 12 corner kicks and outshot New York 17-10. They put the pressure on New York’s defense and made goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul make saves, but when it was all said and done zero balls found the back of the net. It can’t help the team’s morale ...

MLS Teams Negotiating High-Profile Friendlies is a Win for the League

Major League Soccer has revised the Designated Player rule, allowing teams to sign up to three players for more than the maximum salary in hopes to bring in more of the game’s most popular/talented players. However, teams are doing other things to bring more of the world’s best stateside. MLS franchises will host a number of European clubs this summer in friendly matches. D.C. United announced they will square off against Italian giants AC Milan on May 26th. The Chicago Fire will take on Paris Saint-Germain and either Legia Warsaw or Red Star Belgrade in a friendly tournament. The Philadelphia Union has an agreement to play Spanish La Liga’s Valencia. D.C. United is also rumored to be pushing for a match with Scotland’s Glasgow Celtic. The idea of these international club friendlies isn’t new. The Seattle Sounders and New York Red Bulls have both previously hosted Barcelona, and the Los Angeles Galaxy have taken on AC Milan before, not to mention the MLS All-Star team facing Fulham, Chelsea, Celtic, West Ham, and Everton in its annual competition. Still, the continuation of these friendlies, and with big-name clubs, is fantastic for the league. Having these games means packed houses for the MLS club, making the ...