MLS Cup playoffs begin

[you_idiot]

I know this might not get much of a response, given the Euro-centric nature of these boards-- but the playoffs in the USA's top-flight league start tomorrow (Wednesday there, Thursday here)...

After all, look at where the USA wound up in the World Cup, and the players who ply their trade in Major League Soccer provided a good reason why they did so well.

The regular season ended this way:

[u]Western Division[/u]
 TEAM                      GP   W   D   L   GF  GA  Pts   
Los Angeles Galaxy         28  16   3   9   44  33  51
San Jose Earthquakes       28  14   3  11   45  35  45
Dallas Burn                28  12   7   9   44  43  43
Colorado Rapids            28  13   4  11   43  44  43
Kansas City Wizards        28   9   9  10   37  45  36

[u]Eastern Division[/u]
  TEAM                     GP   W   D   L   GF  GA  Pts
New England Revolution     28  12   2  14   49  50  38
Columbus Crew              28  12   4  12   44  43  38
Chicago Fire               28  11   4  13   42  37  37
NY-NJ MetroStars           28  11   2  15   41  47  35
D.C. United                28   9   5  14   31  40  32


[b][u]Overall league tables[/u]:[/b]
  TEAM                     GP   W   D   L   GF  GA  Pts
*Los Angeles Galaxy        27  15   3   9   43  33  48
*New England Revolution    28  12   2  14   49  50  38
San Jose Earthquakes       27  14   3  10   45  34  45
Dallas Burn                28  12   7   9   44  43  43
Colorado Rapids            28  13   4  11   43  44  43
Columbus Crew              27  12   4  11   43  41  38
Chicago Fire               28  11   4  13   42  37  37
Kansas City Wizards        28   9   9  10   37  45  36
---------------------------------------------------------
NY-NJ MetroStars           28  11   2  15   41  47  35
D.C. United                28   9   5  14   31  40  32

Therefore, the quarterfinal-round playoff pairings are as follows (seedings in parentheses):

(1)Los Angeles Galaxy v (8) Kansas City Wizards
(2) New England Revolution v (7) Chicago Fire
(3) San Jose Earthquakes v (6) Columbus Crew
(4) Dallas Burn v (5) Colorado Rapids

Division winners won the top two seeds, with seeds 3-8 listed on points regardless of division...

Quarterfinal- and semifinal-round series to be decided on a confusing three-game maximum, "first-to-five-points" format...

The championship game will take place at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, on October 20.

My picks for the quarterfinal victors:
L.A. Galaxy
New England Revs
San Jose Earthquakes
Dallas Burn

When all's said and done, the San Jose Earthquakes, the defending champions, will win the league title again. Just too much variety in their scoring options-- Landon Donovan, Ariel Graziani, Manny Lagos, Ronnie Ekelund... and last year's title-game hero Dwayne DeRosario coming off the bench.

Cheers,
William

 

[mattyc2422]

Pretty sure you know I'm a bit of a Galaxy fan. I try to follow them as well as possible, and if Ruiz keeps continuing on his merry way in front of goal, we will be a force in the playoffs.

Wish we had some TV interest, even a few highlights on SBS's The World Game on a Sunday would suffice.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by mattyc2422
Pretty sure you know I'm a bit of a Galaxy fan. I try to follow them as well as possible, and if Ruiz keeps continuing on his merry way in front of goal, we will be a force in the playoffs.

If the guy can stop diving to win penalties that beat the 'Quakes, that is.

Just kidding, Matty. As I've said before, Ruiz has been a large reason behind the Galaxy's success this season. However, if he goes cold, the Galaxy's season is in tatters.

That matchup against the Wizards is what a team like L.A. can ill afford to have-- inconsistent goal-scoring production in their variety of scorers versus a team that loves to frustrate opponents with a bunker-and-counter mentality.

If either team scores more than a single goal in any game of this series, I'll be very surprised. Should go the distance, with 1-nil wins by either side in all three games.

Originally posted by mattyc2422

Wish we had some TV interest, even a few highlights on SBS's The World Game on a Sunday would suffice.

That's what I've been trying to get through to those people!

They can't claim that they can't get video, because virtually every game is televised on either ESPN, ESPN2 or any of the Fox Sports Net affiliates.

They can't use the "poor attendance" claim, because attendance is up for the second year running, with the average attendance up around 16,000 fans per game. That's close to what some of the top leagues in the world are drawing (if you factor out some of the super-stadia around Europe).

SBS has no excuse not to show highlights. Drop them a line and let them know that they're doing an injustice to the general soccer fans here.

Furthermore, I would hope that ESPN Pacific Rim would be showing some playoff games, or at least some highlights. Their regular-season coverage was non-existent, much to my surprise, but hopefully now that the playoffs are here, this will change.

Cheers,
William

 

[you_idiot]

Game 1 scores from Wednesday night...

At the Cotton Bowl, Dallas--
Dallas Burn 4
Steve Morrow 26, Jason Kreis 49, Chad Deering 68, Antonio Martinez 70
Colorado Rapids 2
Carlos Valderrama 2, John Spencer 76 (PK)

At Spartan Stadium, San Jose--
San Jose Earthquakes 1
Landon Donovan 54
Columbus Crew 2
Edson Buddle 38, Freddy Garcia 81

At the Rose Bowl, Pasadena--
Los Angeles Galaxy 3
Carlos Ruiz (2) 62 (PK), 99, Cobi Jones 85
Kansas City Wizards 2
Preki 25, Chris Brown 70
*after extra time

The remaining series opener pitting the New England Revolution against the Chicago Fire takes place tomorrow, and the second games in all series will be played on the weekend.

Cheers,
William

 

[Z_K]

Their are some frickin terrible nicknames in that lot.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by NorthBhoy
Their are some frickin terrible nicknames in that lot.

Do you think that matters much to fans of American soccer? Or to anyone else who are general fans of the game?

Don't kid yourself on "what's in a name"-- the quality of the league has improved on an annual basis, and on the strengths of the American players.

Cheers,
William

 

[Z_K]

Originally posted by you_idiot


Do you think that matters much to fans of American soccer? Or to anyone else who are general fans of the game?

Don't kid yourself on "what's in a name"-- the quality of the league has improved on an annual basis, and on the strengths of the American players.

Cheers,
William

No doubt.

I was merely commenting on the names. I have never seen a MLS game in my life.

BTW.

What is the difference in quality between MLS and NSL?

Is the league popular, as opposed to the sport if you know what I mean?

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by NorthBhoy
BTW.

What is the difference in quality between MLS and NSL?

Good question. The answer lies in which half of the NSL you speak of...

Teams like Perth Glory, the Olympic Sharks, South Melbourne, the upper echelon of the NSL, would compete well with mid- and lower-table teams in MLS. The lower-level teams in the NSL would not match up.

So MLS has a quality at a higher level than the NSL, generally speaking.

Originally posted by NorthBhoy

Is the league popular, as opposed to the sport if you know what I mean?

Based on this year's attendance figures, yes, without a doubt. See what I mentioned in the first post above...

I'll qualify it with facts from the MLS official website--

http://www.mlsnet.com/content/02/mls0922attendance.html

And yes, soccer IS a popular sport in the USA, based on attendance and participation levels.

Cheers,
William

 

[clucas91]

As much and all as I hate the MLS. I hate the NSL more. The NLS is a waste of time and money for the players and staff concerned.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by clucas91
As much and all as I hate the MLS, I hate the NSL more. The NLS is a waste of time and money for the players and staff concerned.

NLS, Clucas?

And why do you have a hatred for MLS?

It is good quality soccer-- especially when you consider that it's only been around since 1996...

Cheers,
William

 

[King Crow]

Im just amazed how you managed to put those tables in a post...

And by the way....go Fire

 

[sbagman]

Oops!

William, weren't there 12 teams at one stage... what happened to Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay something or other? Can't be good that the league is contracting... are they looking at replacing those teams?

Cheers,
Sbaggers.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by King Crow
Im just amazed how you managed to put those tables in a post...

And by the way....go Fire

Pretty easy, really, King Crow. It's just a matter of <code> and </code>, replacing the carrot brackets for the standard ones, of course.

The Chicago Fire could advance if they can stay healthy. And with the way things have gone for them this year, that's easier said than done.

In losing the likes of Chris Armas, Josh Wolff, Hristo Stoitchkov, Evan Whitfield and Peter Nowak to injuries of varying types and lengths this season, it's a wonder that Bob Bradley's team even made the postseason parade. But if there's any coach crafty enough to get them into the next stage of the competition under this type of durress, it's Bradley (who many pundits see as Bruce Arena's heir apparent for the USA's national team job).

But they can ill afford another injury...

Cheers,
William

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by sbagman
Oops!

William, weren't there 12 teams at one stage... what happened to Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay something or other? Can't be good that the league is contracting... are they looking at replacing those teams?

I hated to see them go, too, Sbaggers-- but in the end, seeing that it was a business decision by the league to cut loose the two teams that weren't drawing the crowds, it seems to have worked out, given the attendance figures I've already mentioned.

But let's face it-- many teams in Florida have trouble drawing fans, it's not just a soccer-related problem.

Many different cities have been bandied about as expansion markets-- but I don't see that happening until the 2004 or 2005 season, at the earliest.

Cheers,
William

 

[King Crow]

Geez the MLS seems similar to the NBA...

The teams in the WEST are the more dominant, while the EAST seem to struggle.

You_Idiot, is the way the MLS salary cap etc the same as the NBA, and can you buy players, or is it trading only?

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by King Crow
The teams in the WEST are the more dominant, while the EAST seem to struggle.

Certainly true-- but there's parity across the board, and much moreso than in the NBA, for example. The top eight sides weren't decided in actuality or in their order until the final matchday which was spread out over last weekend.

Case in point: The New England Revolution were on the outside looking in for a majority of the season, yet leapfrogged over everyone else in the division on the last matchday to win the East.

Originally posted by King Crow
You_Idiot, is the way the MLS salary cap etc the same as the NBA, and can you buy players, or is it trading only?

The salary cap is a lot less-- more like a reported $1.8 million USD per team, with the max salary for the top players reportedly around $275K USD.

MLS works on a single-entity business model, whereas the league owns and negotiates all player contracts, and works out transfers and player acquisitions accordingly-- but teams are allowed to trade with each other.

Other FAQ's about the league can be found here, via MLSnet.com: http://www.mlsnet.com/about/league/overview.html There's a pull-down menu of topics that should help with the FAQ's as well.

Good questions about the league. Information is power as they say-- always glad to help out with the understanding here...

Cheers,
William

 

[King Crow]

Cool I like that kind of system, and I've always said Soccer Australia should build a system around the NBA-Type system, if Soccer in this Country is going to work.

Could you imagine an NSL Draft, NSL Trades etc, it would be great for the game.

The way the NSL is, the top teams get better at the expense of smaller clubs, and the way it is, the league will never grow.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by King Crow
Cool I like that kind of system, and I've always said Soccer Australia should build a system around the NBA-Type system, if Soccer in this Country is going to work.

Could you imagine an NSL Draft, NSL Trades etc, it would be great for the game.

The way the NSL is, the top teams get better at the expense of smaller clubs, and the way it is, the league will never grow.

Excellent point. And all they need to do is to change the league's bylaws accordingly. If the NSL is moving towards privatization-- that is, away from Soccer Australia's autonomous umbrella-- other changes will likely be made as well.

MLS has a reputation for being a "feeder league" for some of the bigger clubs around the world, and it's not such a bad thing-- perhaps MLS and the NSL can work out a partnership arrangement with certain players.

Case in point, look what happened with John Maisano when he wanted to move on from the Marconi Stallions at the end of last season. After wanting a shot in Europe, he's now playing for Greenock Morton...... in the Scottish Third Division.

If a player has to succumb to a lower level just to get a taste of European soccer, wouldn't a handful of these Australian players be better off testing the waters in MLS for a season or two, simply because the quality of play is better, and then try and win a European contract? Just a thought of mine...

The New England v Chicago game is on in a little under half-an-hour-- and if anyone's interested, both teams have webcasts. The webcast from the Fire's flagship station WBIG, however, is something I've found to be more reliable, and it can be accessed accordingly: http://www.radioshoppingshow.com/wbig1280/main/main.html

Any webcast info for any team in any league can also be found here (just as a general FYI): http://www.socceraudio.com/

Cheers,
William

 

[you_idiot]

Just in from the Boston area...

At Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.--
New England Revolution 2
Taylor Twellman 13, Daniel Hernandez 60
Chicago Fire 0

Both goals coming from booming shots off set pieces. Twellman scored for the 24th time this season-- as if the USA don't have enough young strikers coming through the system...

Ante Razov played with a separated shoulder, and Hristo Stoitchkov was booked in his duty as a second-half sub for the Fire.

Game 2 of this series is on Monday here/Sunday there, and the other Game 2's take place on Sunday/Saturday, with San Jose, Colorado and Kansas City all needing wins or draws to stay alive...

Cheers,
William

 

[Warren Van Orde]

Originally posted by you_idiot
Any webcast info for any team in any league can also be found here (just as a general FYI): http://www.socceraudio.com/

Thanks for the plug !. Being located in California I don't get a lot of information from Australia, in fact I have only one club webcast listed (Perth Glory).

If anyone has further information, I will gladly post it. Just go to my site and click the mailbox on the front page.

thanks

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by Warren Van Orde


Thanks for the plug !. Being located in California I don't get a lot of information from Australia, in fact I have only one club webcast listed (Perth Glory).

If anyone has further information, I will gladly post it. Just go to my site and click the mailbox on the front page.

thanks

No worries, Warren! I love the site-- and if I didn't believe in it, I wouldn't post a link to it! Simple as that, really...

I might have some NSL webcast updates for you; I'll have to e-mail you when I have the chance on this busy AFL Grand Final day.

Hope all is well back home in California, by the way... and welcome to BigFooty.

Cheers,
William

 

[Falchoon]

Originally posted by you_idiot


The regular season ended this way:

[u]Western Division[/u]
 TEAM                      GP   W   D   L   GF  GA  Pts   
Los Angeles Galaxy         28  16   3   9   44  33  51
San Jose Earthquakes       28  14   3  11   45  35  45
Dallas Burn                28  12   7   9   44  43  43
Colorado Rapids            28  13   4  11   43  44  43
Kansas City Wizards        28   9   9  10   37  45  36

[u]Eastern Division[/u]
  TEAM                     GP   W   D   L   GF  GA  Pts
New England Revolution     28  12   2  14   49  50  38
Columbus Crew              28  12   4  12   44  43  38
Chicago Fire               28  11   4  13   42  37  37
NY-NJ MetroStars           28  11   2  15   41  47  35
D.C. United                28   9   5  14   31  40  32


[b][u]Overall league tables[/u]:[/b]
  TEAM                     GP   W   D   L   GF  GA  Pts
*Los Angeles Galaxy        27  15   3   9   43  33  48
*New England Revolution    28  12   2  14   49  50  38
San Jose Earthquakes       27  14   3  10   45  34  45
Dallas Burn                28  12   7   9   44  43  43
Colorado Rapids            28  13   4  11   43  44  43
Columbus Crew              27  12   4  11   43  41  38
Chicago Fire               28  11   4  13   42  37  37
Kansas City Wizards        28   9   9  10   37  45  36
---------------------------------------------------------
NY-NJ MetroStars           28  11   2  15   41  47  35
D.C. United                28   9   5  14   31  40  32

Is that all of the teams? 80% of teams make the playoffs???

were the crew deducted 2 points somewhere???

and why are there 2 more losses than wins?

That is why the divisional format will never take off over here, a side that finishes under 50% gets a number 1 seeding. Was a problem in the NFL superbowl for quite a while there too, the top 2 teams not neccessarily being represented.

 

[you_idiot]

Saturday's scores back in the USA (Sunday here, obviously)-- and I'll lead by saying that the MLS Cup championship will change hands officially in a matter of weeks... the San Jose Earthquakes have been eliminated from the post-season competition.

At Crew Stadium -- Columbus, Ohio
Columbus Crew 2
Freddy Garcia 50, Brian McBride 81
San Jose Earthquakes 1
Ariel Graziani 58

At Arrowhead Stadium -- Kansas City
Kansas City Wizards 4
Igor Simutenkov 19, Eric Quill 37, Preki 70, Diego Fabbro 73
Los Angeles Galaxy 1
Chris Albright 71

At Invesco Field at Mile High -- Denver
Colorado Rapids 1
Chris Carrieri 78
Dallas Burn 0

While Columbus moves on to face the winner of the New England Revolution-Chicago Fire series, Kansas City and Colorado have forced Game 3's in their respective series, to be played at L.A. and Dallas in midweek.

Game 2 of the Revs-Fire series takes place Monday 9 a.m. AEST.

Cheers,
William

 

[you_idiot]

Just concluded in the Chicago area-- and there will be a decisive Game 3 Thursday (Friday here) in Foxboro...

At Cardinal Stadium -- Naperville, Illinois
Chicago Fire 2
Ante Razov (2) 43 PK, 76
New England Revolution 1
Brian Kamler 28

Two well-taken goals by Razov, taking his overall goal count for the season to 16. He's been a constant for the Fire amid their long list of injuries.

However, speaking of injuries and the Fire, Peter Nowak got a bit banged up in the second half and his status for the midweek series decider is a bit up in the air. I'll update this as more definitive info becomes available...

Cheers,
William

 

[you_idiot]

The semifinals are set-- and another former champion joins the San Jose Earthquakes on the sidelines...

At Gillette Stadium -- Foxboro, Massachusetts
New England Revolution 2
Brian Kamler 12, Taylor Twellman 65
Chicago Fire 0

The Revs defended their halftime lead well, while ace striker Twellman was gifted the opportunity for the insurance goal, which he clinically finished.

Hristo Stoitchkov was subbed out in the second half, and that may have been his swan song, IMO, amid a season beset with off-colour form and injuries.

In the other games...

At The Cotton Bowl -- Dallas, Texas
Dallas Burn 1
Bobby Rhine 6
Colorado Rapids 1
John Spencer 22

*After extra time
**Rapids win minigame series tiebreaker, 1-0 (Mark Chung scores in first minute of sudden death)

At The Rose Bowl -- Pasadena, California
Los Angeles Galaxy 5
Carlos Ruiz (2) 35, 66
Cobi Jones (2) 45, 62
McKinley Tennyson 93+
Kansas City Wizards 2
Chris Klein 47
Preki 72

The semifinal pairings are as follows:

New England Revolution v Columbus Crew
Los Angeles Galaxy v Colorado Rapids

Series also a three-game, "first-to-five-points" format, and both series begin this weekend.

My picks to advance: L.A. and Columbus.

Cheers,
William