Philadelphia Union

Even though the announcement isn't until Monday, a t-shirt with the Philadelphia logo has been leaked. I must say I am very impressed with the colors, the logo in general, and the snake. But most of all, let's not forget about the name. Love it! And Union til I die! The three colors give the team three possible jerseys in addition to the white, so I am pumped so see ::fingers crossed:: a powder blue jersey. 

Just no gold...US Women already tried that:

No thanks!

DC United Stadium Situation

So the thing I don't understand with the DC United stadium situation is that Prince Georges County approached the team when the funding was falling through at Poplar Point. So why is Prince Georges County now voting 8-0 against studying the impacts of a stadium? It is not good form to approach a team and lure them to your municipality and then deny them the ability to build a stadium. I really feel bad for DC United as they are the most storied MLS franchise and the most sucessful team in the DC area over the past 10 years and they cannot get a stadium of their own. St. Louis or bust!

Match Report- gaLAxy vs. United 3/22/09

Thoughts after watching the match between DC United and the gaLAxy at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA:

• LA's defense looks very much improved. Omar Gonzalez appears to have a bright MLS future. Bruce Arena's impact is noticable after one off-season. While LA did allow two goals, the PK is forgivable. Chris Pontius' goal was a beautiful sight, but was created by a lethargic defensive let down. I don't expect that to happen often.
  
• Landon stands out on the field. He is clearly LA's field marshall and he controls the play. You can tell he has played top flight in off season, as he sets up teammates and dribbles around the opposition with ease. He appears to be one step ahead of the game at all times.
  
• It was very noticable that the game was not sold out. The MLS website indicates that there were over 18,000 fans there in a stadium that seats 27,000. Clearly, this is a combination of the frustration over last season's results and the Beckham saga in the off-season. Beckham could have turned away more LA fans than he created league wide.
• It was sad that the traveling Barra Brava were louder than any of the LA support groups. They could be clearly heard the entire game, and I could not pick up on any LA chants.
• LA got lucky with the phantom handball call that gave them their first goal. However, Landon's second goal was a thing of beauty.

Beckham Move Hurts MLS

The agreement between AC Milan, the Los Angeles gaLAxy, and David Beckham allows Beckham to stay at Milan until the end of the season and return during the summer window in mid-July to the gaLAxy. The agreement includes buyout money from Mr. Posh himself, which speaks loudly as to how much he wanted out of LA. But this was not the most unnerving aspect of the deal. The gaLAxy scored a summer friendly with AC Milan on July 19 as part of the deal. The previously scheduled SATURDAY match with the Red Bulls was moved to THURSDAY. Therefore, the league moved a date for Becks in New York. While ESPN will be clamoring to adjust the schedule and pick up this Thursday night game, the fans who wanted to attend this game lose out by putting it on a week night...in the biggest market in the league. The league will forgo a sold out Giants Stadium for a cacophonous shell of a stadium. The league and the fans lose on this deal.

Impact of Beckham

Beckham scored again today for AC Milan and I feel this all but solidified his move to Milan permanently. He has called the gaLAxy "frustrating", and I totally agree. In fact, I am sort of sick of the Beckham circus that surrounds the team. Yes, he is still a great player and nobody plays a better dead ball than him. But I feel that he cannot exist on a team in MLS that does not have Landon Donovan (which is all but likely).

This is a very good time for the gaLAxy for to start from scratch with their Designated Player slot. Michael Owen would be an excellent replacement for Donovan. While he doesn't have the star power that Beckham does, he will give the gaLAxy plenty of goals.

Now, does Beckham leaving hurt the MLS? I believe it does right now, as the network is already scrambling with poor ESPN ratings. Beckham is the only player that could consistently sell tickets. I don't believe the gaLAxy will have ticket trouble at home, but the hosting teams will see a significant drop off when LA comes to town. Less tickets means less revenue and no Beckham means less attention. However, I think with less media attention on the team, the gaLAxy themselves will play better. So for the league, it will hurt significantly. But the team has nowhere to go but up, and in the long run, LA playing well has done well for the league.

ESPN Dropping Primetime Thursdays

According to the SportsBusiness Journal, ESPN is dropping the regular MLS Primetime Thursday in favor of a flexible schedule. My first reaction to this was that it was not a good sign for the league. However, after reading the article, it seems ESPN is trying to broadcast more favorable matchups (who can blame them?) and adjust the schedule around other highly watched sports. While in this country the sport is not huge, trying to adjust the schedule so that the casual fan may watch the sport because nothing else is on is very favorable for the growth of the league.

So while the initial thoughts after reading this article spell doom and gloom, the league may actually be more watchable to some people. The ratings last year were pretty terrible, and this adjustment could help. Maybe I should have been watching from home rather than at the bar. 

Voting Begins

Voting begins today for MLS Philly's nickname. The link to vote can be found here.

RBNY Flyer

How weird does the flyer for Red Bull New York look with "Western Conference Champions" pasted across the top?  I believe this flyer alone makes the argument to remove the current conference system and go to a single table.  Playoffs can still be played with a single table: just take the top eight teams.  But seeing a New York team as a Western Conference champion is a little ridiculous.

Philadelphia _____

Apparently the four registered names for the Philadelphia MLS franchise have been registered with the US Patent Office. The names are as follows:

• Philadelphia AC


• Philadelphia SC


• Philadelphia Union


• Philadelphia City

Out of these four names, my number one choice would be Philadelphia City. I think it has a great ring to it. It is a name that isn't a blatant Euro rip-off. Sure, there are "City" names, but it isn't like Real when there is nothing royal about Salt Lake City. The word city applies to any settlement that is deemed a city, and with the team being housed in Chester, it brings the whole region together under the city name. People from Chester say they are from Philadelphia. My number one choice probably would have been Athletic, but due to MLB owning the rights, that is off the table. This is the reason I don't want AC, because it will not stand for anything. SC just doesn't appeal to me, and while Union is a cool name, it sounds a little too Arena Football-esque to me. Philadelphia City should be the name of the 16th franchise of MLS.

Thoughts on the naming contest?