US Open Cup: Chicago downs Columbus 3-2

So one of my favorite competitions kicked off for the Fire yesterday against Columbus in Peoria. Is it really all that surprising that it’s a favorite competition of mine as a Fire fan? They are thinking of naming it the ‘Fire trophy’ after all…OK not really.

I am happy to hear that unlike Dave “Shit Bird” Sarachan, Hamlett is taking it seriously this year. Luis also has a list of who started on the RED CARD as well.

I hope the Fire can bring in Open Cup number 5. I hope not only for the prestige of having yet another title for the trophy case, but also because winning the USOC is one of the US qualifiers for the newly launched CONCACAF Champions League along with the MLS CUP winner, Supporter’s Shield Winner (team with the most points in the single table) and the MLS CUP Runner Up.

So as you can see, this might be the first time in a while more MLS teams actually put more stock into the USOC since a place in the Champion’s League will mean a CONSIDERABLE bump up in pay for participating and an even bigger bump if you finish well.

garber finally gets it! Streamers are prohibited (kinda)

There had been debate raging about the use of streamers the last 2 years. Houston fans started the trend by tossing them at each other at the beginning of games and after goals.

TFC fans brought it to another place by tossing them at players during corner kicks making it difficult for the set piece to be taken. (even doing it while they are down a goal which makes a lot of sense since you are merely killing time off the clock since we all know all the time lost is never totally added back on)

Garber defended the use of streamers after Michael Wilbon of Pardon the Interruption on ESPN said it was a ‘Bush league practics’

However, after an incident in Columbus where streamers were used to mask batteries and full water bottles and flares being tossed at players (amongst other no-no’s) as I have been saying would happen all along if it hadn’t happened already, Garber has finally relented.

The commish, via his BLOG on June 6th, has finally said enough is enough. He rightly points out that tossing them at players during the game slows it down and there are opportunities to hurt players being exploited.

Now, i don’t think he went far enough. There needs to be threats of abandoning the match if it is done as they do everywhere else on earth when shit is being thrown on the field. While throwing people out is a good start, there needs to be the threat of your team losing points.

Listen, I love tossing streamers after goals, or at the whistle like DC fans did at the start of the DC vs. Chicago match on ESPN a few weeks back. (the game Chicago demolished them on national TV in case you forgot) That sort of use looks cool and brings out the joy of supporting your team. Throwing the shit on the field to stop players from playing though, is just senseless retardation and needed to stop.

Thankfully the Don has spoken.

If some of these fans wanna have big displays they need to talk to their front offices. Chicago allows full tifo before matches if Section 8 wants to do it. I think Chivas USA is the only other team that takes advantage of that. Tifo is radical johnson and gets the crowd hyped. That’s how it’s done. Tossing shit at players is retarded.

That is all.

MLS Week 1 Thoughts

Well let’s start with my pick for goal of the week. It was a tough choice, but given that this was a money time goal to salvage a point, Blanco takes it. Check it out.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

What have we learned?

First we learned that this season is looking even better than any other.

New England and Houston had the kind of animosity you like to see between teams and the fact that it was this early in the season bodes well.

We also learned that predicting who is going to win the league this early is moronic as Houstona and DC both got pasted…the two pre-season favorites. Will they end up with it? Maybe. I think they are still good teams, but there is no such thing as teams who are heads and shoulders above pretty much everyone else in MLS the way you get in some other bigger leagues. There is no ‘Real Madrid, Barcelona and everyone else’ kinda thing in MLS.

Claudio Lopez is worth every dollar they paid him in KC so far. He played well and had a beauty of a goal.

Finally, we learned that LA are quitters. Gullitt needs to have a stern talk with them about playing with guts and pride or else it’s going to be a LONG assed season for them. With their offense it’s inexcusable to get pasted 4-0, even in a tough place to play like Colorado against an improved Colorado team.

If they lost 4-2 or 5-4 it would be horrible defense still, but it would at least reflect the make up of the team.

The only shame is that they are the face of the league around the world and people seem to believe they are the Manchester United of MLS which is simply not the case.

I’m not an LA supporter, but for the sake of the league I hope they kick up their game a notch since more people around the world are watching. The rest of the teams played good quality football and to have their performances sullied due to LA phoning it in would be tragic.

Chicago Fire vs. Dorados in Preseason action

Chicago is my team in MLS which will explain any bias I may have towards them. It will also explain why I put more stories about them than any one else, deal with it.

They are in pre-season training in Mexico and took on Mexican First Division side Doradas and drew 1-1.

Looking at the highlights and reading the match reports it looked like Chicago had the better of it and was a unlucky to get a draw rather than win, but the effort certainly looked good. Though I’d like to see at least 10 of those balls that sailed over the crossbar come down a bit.

Here is a video:

P.S. RBNY is looking at a midfielder/defender, Lider Marmol of Paraguay, that Osorio tried to sign while he was with Chicago last year. The deal didn’t go through but according to SBI, Chicago has a discovery claim on him (if you don’t know what that means, it’s probably best not to ask as it is a bit of an arcane mess. basically it means they get first dibs on him and if anyone else wants him they have to pay up) which I LOVE.

I hope the story is true and we get to fuck over RBNY after they tampered with Chicago to get JCO and are tampering AGAIN while they attempt to take Wilman Conde from the club.

Update: I just realized that I mistyped the name of the Mexican team and I apologize to the fans of Dorados. (I know a some Spanish and should know better after all)

I should also mention about those fans that they did a fantastic job supporting their team and all reports point to them having great adoration for Cuauthemoc Blanco and respect for the Chicago team after the match. Best of luck in the rest of your season in the fight for promotion to the top flight, Dorados.