danman31

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jun 27, 2010 -> 02:38 PM) Well until they can improve the training facilities etc. that just isn't going to happen. And those European Leagues get a lot of money from TV rights that they can then pass onto their clubs, so obviously the MLS has a huge financial burden in that regard in terms of clubs paying their players. Unless the MLS could send a team to the Champions League one day, I think the best US players are always likely to go across the Atlantic to play in a better league. Obviously. MLS needs to improve before these players will and should stay longer. I'm just saying it would be nice if the league would be good enough to keep these guys until they are 24 instead of 21 or 22. My point is that these players aren't going to top leagues from MLS. If MLS was good enough to send players straight to a big 4 league, players would be more likely to stay longer. It's definitely a chicken/egg argument. Hard to get the players to stay longer without improving the league, hard to improve the league without keeping the good young talent longer.

Holmberg got rocked tonight.

Buffalo @ Knights Marquez Barons @ Chattanooga Lowe started and didn't last an inning Salem @ Dash Doyle Augusta @ Intimidators Rienzo started and didn't last 2 innings Helena @ Voyagers Holmberg Princeton @ BriSox Buch

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jun 27, 2010 -> 12:41 PM) Realistically, I don't think the MLS is ever going to get close to the likes of the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga etc. You just pretty much have to accept that the best players are definitely going to go to Europe from an early age if they're good enough. The US should focus on building more world class academies and improving the training facilities of the MLS teams and to try and improve the standard that way. I think MLS' goal should be getting close to those leagues though. Guys like Charlie Davies and Alejandro Bedoya (who will be key in the next cycle) used Sweden as a stepping stone instead of MLS. Davies worked his way to France's top league and Bedoya is currently a regular in Sweden. MLS needs to be strong enough that their players can go straight from it to a top European league. As it stands guys are leaving MLS to go to the English Championship and Netherlands and leagues of that caliber instead of straight to a big 4 league. Quite a few players are using Scandinavian leagues as their stepping stone instead of MLS. MLS needs to be an American under 25 league and an international over 30 league. They can keep bringing in big names after their prime, but the key is to be able to develop these younger guys longer here so the league improves. The thing is that these players are correct to go elsewhere to develop because it helps their progress. MLS needs to change that somehow.

Hahaha. I had the power to repin it, but didn't care enough. I just think it's funny.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 26, 2010 -> 08:24 PM) Thanks! The US is out of the World Cup so the offseason of hockey is now more important. You're not alone though. As nice as it is to have everyone caring about soccer during the World Cup (especially this year), it's almost equally annoying when everyone has stupid comments like 'Now I can stop caring about soccer,' when the US goes out. Don't care about soccer, fine, but don't complain like you were forced to be enthralled by it when the US was playing exciting games. Not specific to you, I was just ranting.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 26, 2010 -> 05:39 PM) USA's done, Serbia's done, Australia's done. I'm done. Unpin for hockey's offseason. How American of you.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Jun 26, 2010 -> 04:02 PM) It was a nice ride, they didn't play a good game defensively, how many opportunities did Ghana have ? Two? They scored twice. The US is terrible at finishing. Their forwards just aren't very good. They miss Davies. Findley can't finish to save his life and Jozy is still a work in progress.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jun 25, 2010 -> 02:29 PM) The Czechs were equal to the Dutch going into the WC and we all know how Italy did. That's a bit of a stretch. The Dutch are a traditional power and the Czechs aren't even a lock to make the tournament (see this year). Ghana was in a deep, but not tough group this year, and only scored from the penalty spot. I would assume Ghana doesn't make it out of the 2 groups CIV was in and the argument could be reversed. Sure, you'd rather be in Ghana's situation, but I still think Ivory Coast is the better team.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jun 25, 2010 -> 11:00 AM) Boring set of morning games because there was basically no chance of Ivory Coast making up 9 goals. The past 2 WC's it seems like everyone was excited about the Ivory Coast and they fizzled out. Since Ghana has gotten out of their group 2 times in a row, maybe in 2014 Ghana will be the Africa's most hyped team. CIV has had brutal groups though. Brazil and Portugal this year. Netherlands and Argentina in 2006. Hard to advance when you have 2 powers in your group.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 24, 2010 -> 09:49 PM) I like Pangilinan in GF. Big guy. Flying under the radar. Yeah, I want to like him, but he didn't walk or hit for power last year. Hard to be a 1B prospect like that, though obviously he's very young.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jun 24, 2010 -> 11:04 AM) I think Italy is regretting their decision not to include him even more. Among a few other attacking type players. Gilardino and Di Natale had good Serie A seasons, but were both disappointing. The problem was that the midfield didn't do anything offensively and really wasn't built to. Iaquinta shouldn't have been on the roster. Pazzini barely got a chance to play. Quagliarella too. There are plenty of on form strikers in Serie A to pick from. They just didn't bring them. Bah, what a joke.

Lippi should be embarrassed for his roster selection. New Zealand should never be within 3 goals of Italy (that result is still worse than the loss to Slovakia IMO). That said, the Italians haven't played well for a few years now. They miss the attacking players like Totti and Toni. Pepe and some of these new attacking players are garbage.

The more I see the goal, the more I am amazed by Tim Howard's distribution to Donovan. He hit Donovan in stride at midfield. Sensational. Once that pass is made it's a 4 on 2 and they should score.

QUOTE (WHarris1 @ Jun 23, 2010 -> 11:38 AM) Michael Bradley is f***ing fantastic, this man needs some serious love. He's gonna draw some serious interest over in Europe from a lot of clubs. He's been playing in the Bundesliga for the last two seasons and received fairly regular playing time this year. And he's 22. He's already been on Europe's radar.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jun 21, 2010 -> 08:58 PM) Silveiro can certainly hit bad pitching, but he just can't hit advanced pitchers. Luckily he is still relatively young. He's the youngest hitter on the team. Not much of a lineup around him though.

Knights @ Syracuse Torres Voyagers @ Billings 8:05 central Small slate actually.

2010 Season Preview: Great Falls Voyagers With most of the draft signings official, it's time to turn our attention to rookie ball. The Great Falls Voyagers, the more advanced rookie ball affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, start their Pioneer League season tonight. Let's take a look at the talent on their roster.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jun 21, 2010 -> 09:53 AM) Just stupid from Behrami (who plays for my club) though. No way should you raise your arms in that situation. It was stupid because he gave the ref a chance to call that, but it wasn't a red. It will create good drama on the last day of group h though.

I haven't been that impressed with Brazil, at least compared to some of their other teams. Argentina is probably better. They're beatable with their lack of care for defense.

France, Italy, England and Spain are 0-2-5 combined.

Yeah what the f*** was that. Lippi picked one of the worst possible squads. The fact that there are several Juventus players when they had a brutal season is a sign of a terribly selected squad. That said, I think most of MLS could beat New Zealand (they have a freaking USSL player on the squad!).

I gotta say I hate the rule of a handball on the goal line being an automatic red. Kewell didn't reach out with his arm, it hit his shoulder. The penalty is fair enough. Why ruin the game by sending a player off for that? It's how the rule is written, but I hate seeing red cards. They ruin games.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Jun 18, 2010 -> 02:13 PM) I honestly think hiring Capello was death to English football, they look just like Italy. They definitely were bad, but Italy is defensive in style. The English players were just tentative near the goal. I could count on two hands the number of times they should have taken shots and passed. Let's also not forget the staggering number of awful passes. Algeria dominated the 1st half and was strong enough on defense to hold out, a lot of credit to them. US controls their destiny, hard to complain about that. If the US can't beat Algeria to get in the 2nd round, they don't deserve it and that's after believing they were a strong side today against England. This is a great opportunity for the Americans to accomplishment the rare feat of advancing to round 2.

QUOTE (The Beast @ Jun 17, 2010 -> 10:51 PM) Welcome Viciedo, be an underachieving waste of money. And I hate that phrase, "Viva la Revolucion." Way to be depressing. The dude just got the highlight of his professional career (being called up to the bigs) and you're calling him an underachieving waste of money. Must be nice to live thinking that way. I, for one, love the title. I hope this becomes a thread that lives in infamy because of Dayan's future success. I think Dayan will do well, but not quite yet. I expect an average below .250, a few bombs, no walks at all. Hopefully he can keep his OPS above .700 as a rookie and improve next year. I believe in his talent, but I doubt his readiness.