King for a Day

My blog title is an XTC lyric so why not use one here?

So, we are in the middle of the off-season. There’s plenty going on in MLS and Europe but I thought it would be fun to have a think about what I’d recommend if I were Don Garber about the structure of MLS–hence the “King for a Day” title.

Probably the biggest complaint I hear about MLS is the post season…or at least the format of it. It really doesn’t produce as much incentive as it could to force winning soccer all season long. Just look at my boys (LA) in 2005 for your classic example of this.

Thing is, the playoffs aren’t going away. I don’t care how much the SnobMob speak out for a more “traditional” format. MLS needs some kind of post season.

I’ve done a little thinking and have come up with a structure that, while still not completely worked out makes sense to me. The biggest problem with it is that it’s a little more complicated than what we have now.

Right now, the playoff prize is the MLS Cup. Places in the Champions Cup and SuperLiga are somehow sorted out from there. Why not change things around a bit so that the places in the Champions Cup and SuperLiga are won in the playoffs.

Now, I’m making some assumptions here which may or may not shoot this whole thing down…but hear me out. I’m going to assume that the top four teams will be in the Champions Cup and the next four in the SuperLiga (UEFA Cupish). I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do to have the same teams play in both the Champions Cup and the SuperLiga. If a team does well in both, that would mean–by my rough estimation–12 possible Champions Cup matches and 5 more in the SuperLiga….that is if they make it to the finals in both. So for now, I’m going to assume that teams can only play in one regional competition.

So, first we have the Open Cup winner. They should automatically qualify for the SuperLiga and a chance at the Champions Cup if they fail to finish high enough in the regular season.

The MLS Cup should be played between the winners of the Eastern and Western Conferences. They both automatically qualify for the Champions Cup.

The Open Cup winner and the next three best finishing teams in the regular season will play off for the other two Champions Cup spots….losers of the match-ups will go into the SuperLiga.

Then, the next four best finishes will play off for the final two SuperLiga spots.

Yeah, I can see you doing the math there. It would mean that ten teams make the playoffs. However, a team finishing fourth in their conference is playing off for a spot in regional competition, not the MLS Cup.

How would this have looked based on the way things finished in 2007?

MLS Cup DC vs Chivas

Champions Cup Playoff Houston vs NY NE vs Dallas

SuperLiga Playoff Chicago vs Colorado KC vs Columbus

DC and Chivas would be with the winners of the Houston/NY and NE/Dallas series in the Champions Cup. The loser of the Houston/NY and NE/Dallas series and the winners of the Chicago/Colorado and KC/Columbus series make the SuperLiga. The Chicago/Colorado and KC/Columbus series get to try again next season.

Scheduling makes sense as well. The playoff series for spots in the Regional competition could start the weekend after the season finishes (home and home with first leg at lower ranked team) and be finished up the second Saturday. The MLS Cup would then be played the following day on Sunday. As it’s at a neutral site, this gives the fans of each team a chance to organize things (unlike I had to do sorting out a trip to Columbus from LA with less than a week before the 2001 MLS Cup Final)

Of course, this puts Toronto at a disadvantage because they don’t play in the Open Cup…but there’s going to be a problem with any playoff format.

Anyway, I know it’s not perfect but something like this would be a big step in the right direction. Of course, I’d wake up the next day and all my hard work would have been shot down by the money men….but still, ya gotta dream.

Ah, it’s Fall and the postseason complaints have started

Enough already!  I’m sorry, but if I read or hear one more person complain about the MLS Playoff format…well, I don’t know what I’m going to do but I’m tired of it already.

This is Year 12, and for twelve years people have complained about the format and that we have playoffs at all.  Get over it people.

If the owners wanted the top teams to win through to the finals, they would probably just do away with the first round….actually not a bad idea, but it won’t happen.  Besides, everyone loves an upset…remember the Smurf (errr..Quake) comeback a few years ago?  Yeah, I’ve tried to forget, but ya hafta love LA’s playoff run in ’05…ok, maybe that’s only a good example for Galaxy fans.

All the playoff teams get a playoff match at home.  Remember, it’s still about selling tickets.

Personally, I’d prefer the entire playoffs be over two legs like the first round…including the final.  But that’s not gonna happen.  So, I’m happy with what we have.  It works, it ain’t perfect but it’s what we have.  Teams have to plan for it.  It’s always been this way so no one is pulling surprises.

Now, if only the league would be a little more transparent about the qualification process for the Champs Cup and SuperLiga.  

Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, I’ve complained about all the money grabbing friendlys LA are playing.  I’ve used the argument that Man U wouldn’t fly thousands of miles in the middle of the season for a meaningless payday match.  Well, I guess I can’t use that argument any more.

Defence was more a theory than a practice

What the heck was that? Think about it, you score 4 goals in the first 20 minutes of a game on the road and still struggle to win? C’mon now, that was just crazy. Sure, it was entertaining but it was poorly played at the back for both teams.

In the half-a-day or so since the match ended, I’ve read everything from, “it was the greatest MLS match ever,” even though it wasn’t an MLS match to,” it was a sloppy mess and proof MLS is crap.” Now, I’m not going to take either of those extremes…hey, I’m a moderate politically so why can’t I be one here as well? But the match certainly touched on both ends on the spectrum.

I’m sure those Dallas fans who showed up at PHP for the first time expecting to see that English guy were disappointed at first but had to have enjoyed the wild ride…and, hopefully, will be even more determined to use that discount they were offered for when the Becks Circus really does come to town.

Now, I’ve used the baseball no-hitter analogy on numerous occations when confronted with the low-scoring argument from those who don’t care for the sport. I guess you can use the other extreme after last night. Those high-scoring slug fests (with or without Bonds juice) are usually brought about by poor pitching. If baseball fans enjoy it, cool. Personlly, I’ve a hunch it’s usually one pitch who’s having an off night and one teams builds a huge lead and everyone (well, they do in LA) heads for the exits. Last night, both backlines just fell asleep. I remember the last time LA lit up the scoreboard in Dallas. Harut Karapetyan (had to look the spelling of his name up cuz it’s been a while…I got it right first time) put three past Dallas in 5 minutes in 1998 on the way to an 8-1 for the good guys. It could have been worse as the game was stopped early cuz a storm was on the way or the ref decided the mercy rule was needed or something. My point is, that afternoon, LA did all the scoring and Dallas….well, they didn’t.

Anyway, now LA have another match to add to their already busy schedule. Looks like it’ll be at the HDC as well. Will the new pitch have taken hold by then or will it tear apart and injure Becks again? Of course, if LA are playing Morelia, they may just play the match at the Q. Why not? Another town for the Beckham Circus to hit.

One other point. Landon’s goal celebration was silly and probably unnecessary, but he is an emotional player and I wouldn’t wanna stifle that. Bottom line, it could have been worse.

Ok, enough of that. The match was an anomaly and LA were fortunate to get through it.

So, now LA return home for a couple days before heading to the Great White North for the first time. No one knows If Becks will be involved. Personally, if he does play on their plastic turf, it’ll be as a sub late in the match…where have we seen that before? Well, the same TV network will be in attandance.

Now, the fans up there have already had fun with a recent big name import.

We’ll see if they can come up with something different if Becks gets to take a corner.

It looks like the move north hasn’t changed the method of operation for the Jamacian Hatchet.

“TFC defender Tyrone Marshall, who started the season with L.A. before being traded to TFC in June, is hoping to see Beckham on the field.

“I’m definitely going to get over there and get a hit on him. For sure,” Marshall said.

“That’s my first priority. I’m going to welcome him to the league, and welcome him to Canada.”

Nice to see the higher tax rate hasn’t mellowed him out.

Well, that’s enough for now. Tune in next wee….ah, never mind. Next week is sumer session finals. I’ll be lucky if I find some time.

D-Day (MLS Style)

WooHoo!!! MLS season starts today. It’s been a long winter (sure, it’s still snowing here but it is Spring right?) of having to listen to Ipswich matches over the internet. The way Town have been performing, it’s almost a good thing their season is almost over…mid-table obscurity, I guess it could be worse.

With the start of the season comes all the season preview pieces. Everyone is doing it. This season seems different. The media is all over the place…and it’s almost all positive. Beckham, new stadiums, new team in a new country and those new TV deals all seem to have even mainstream hacks taking a closer look at the league/sport. I’ve a feeling there will be a lot of packed stadiums this weekend. My DVR is set and I’m ready to go.

MLS teams still have the same record against Mexican teams on the road. However, both DC and Houston put up great fights this week. Both the matches were exciting and what the Champs Cup needs. I just wish the seasons meshed better and we could something closer to UEFAs Champs League. Oh yeah, there’s the SuperLiga. Um…after the battles we saw this week, do we really need the SuperLiga? Too bad CONCACAF runs the Champs Cup.

Oh Waldo, what have you done? Now, I have to admit, even before this was published, I have been agreeing with most of what Waldo’s been saying of late. Yeah, every soccer fan in the country will agree with your comments about that Radio host. After 15 years of his little “Cloneopolis“, you’d think he’d move on by now. About 10-15 years ago, I used to listen to Rome all the time. I always did disagree with his opinions on soccer. I’m certain it’s all an act, Rome has entirely too many “takes” on soccer to not be actively following the sport. The reason I stopped listening to his show was because it really is too predictable. I’d check out ESPN.com, see what stories were in the news and know what he’d be saying during his show. Anyway, unfortunately, even Waldo’s public apologies (Press Release, call into Rome’s show) don’t seem to be enough right now. He’s not going to be enough. It seems he’s not going to be in the booth for today’s game. Foudy? See what you’d done Waldo. We-the MLS fans-now have to listen to her for 2 hours. Couldn’t they have got Alan Hopkins to replace Waldo? Just had to ask. So, let me get this straight, Waldo insults a host and he’s suspended, Rome insults a sport, those who play and follow it and he’s applauded. Yeah, we’ve still got a long way to go. But, it’s one more way the sport has got some media attention on the eve of the season, any publicity is good publicity…or, at least that’s what they say. Of course, Rome knows how to play the sensational comment card.

Also, in the article about Waldo’s suspension (thankfully it’s only a suspension) there’s this.

ESPN will add a superimposed graphic showing the offside line — like TV football’s virtual first-and-10 line — and replays showing the speed of kicks. Off-air, the radar gun was tested during a recent game and found a Landon Donovan goal reached 92 mph.

ESPN asked to mike refs and goalies but didn’t get the go-ahead for now. But it has the green light to ask permission for in-game talks on the sidelines, including with coaches.

To be honest. I don’t have a problem with the “offside line” or the radar gun as long as they aren’t cutting away from live action for too long. Putting a mike on the ref? I dunno. Maybe it’ll work. However, those in-game interviews always suck. You can always tell the coach just wants to get the interruption over.

Actually, I’m more excited to see the coverage FSC are going to give the Chivas-Toronto match tonight. Pre AND post-game coverage. Now that’s the right direction.

Now, I’m going away (I have a final exam in an hour anyway) and planning to relax and enjoy a could matches today and then tune into Sportscenter tonight to see if the new TV deal will actually get us some MLS highlights on there.

…and it’s still three months until the Spice Crew arrive.

Big Changes

I’m not over it, probably never will be, but I’m now getting used to the idea that I’ll never see this seasons MLS Cup Final. However, the Final itself was almost secondary to all the announcements the league made this weekend. Some are pretty darn big.

The owners have finally decided to open their checkbooks. Yeah! I’ve read/heard numerous opinions on this. Here’s my take…this is nothing more than a marketing move. Seriously, Becks is a decent player for someone with only one foot. His left peg is only good for standing on. In my opinion, he won’t be improving the level of play in the league. Heck, no one person can do that. However, he’ll sell a ton of shirts and that alone should make signing him worth the money. We’ll see if it happens sooner rather than later.

I was watch American Soccer on GolTV last night. Towards the end of the show they read this email from a viewer on a rant about how the Supporters Shield winner is the true champion. While I agree that a true champion proves it over the course of an entire season, I don’t buy the argument that the Supporters Shield winner is the best team over the course of the season. The unbalanced schedule makes it possible for a team in a weaker conference to do better than they would with a balanced schedule because playing weaker teams more often inflates your record. Next season it gets even worse as teams in the same conference won’t even play each other the same number of times…or something like that. I still don’t completely understand how they are going to get 30 matches out of 13 teams.

On top of that, they reduce the season by two matches because of the Copa Oro/America. However, they then add midweek Champions Cupish matches against Mexican clubs. Mmm, seems like there will actually be more matches next season…and the leagues best will be gone for two months. I’m still not convinced of the value for money proposition when matches that count are played while the best are with their national team.

It’s only taken 11 years for those in power to realize that developing local youngsters is the only way to improve the quality of the league…and that forcing those players to then be entered in the draft only gives teams a disincentive to actually find the best youngsters and give them the guidance they need to reach their potential. (I could probably use more punctuation in that sentence…but I can’t be bothered)

Probably the announcement I’m most excited about is FSC’s announcement on their MLS broadcast plans for next summer. Every match will be scheduled for a 3 hour time block. This will give a half hour before and as much as 45 minutes post-game for analysis and interviews. Of course, with the added content keeping us views in front of the box, they can slide in a bunch of advertisement breaks. To be honest, I’ve always hated the way broadcasts have always cut away to something else as players walk off the pitch. I know, they do the same for NFL and other sports here. Personally, I can’t wait for those broadcasts.

Also, FSC will be broadcasting the Gold Cup next summer. I wonder how much better the matches will look if they do 3 hour blocks for each match there…or double headers with studio comments in between. Either way, the coverage of both the Gold Cup and MLS on FSC will be better than we’ve seen in the past.

Well, my over/under on when the new US coach will be announced just moved into the over. I was certain Klinsman would be announced by November 15. Oh well, will they get it in before Thanksgiving? Anyone else noticed that Canada and Mexico are also still looking for a coach?

Hey, RSL changed their name to XanGo. Oh, that’s a sports drink who have paid $1 million/year for the honor. Good deal. Now we’ve got two (Red Bull being the first) teams with corporate sponsored shirts. Money is money. Take it however you can.

Is it just me, or is the league slowly moving away from the Americanized version of the league and taking on more of a global image?