New York Red Bull
What the Dilly yo!
According to Soccer Insider Steven Goff, former Rutgers and US U20 standout Dilly Duka is has signed a contract with the MLS. It is not announced how he is going to enter the MLS, but Goff suggests that he may enter via way of the draft. If this is true, this screams Freddie Adu all over again. Will we be seeing Philly step out of the way and be allocated money to take someone other then Dilly Duka?
All I know is that this opens up Pandora's Box and allows NCAA kids to pursue European dreams and when they fail, the player can run back to the draft system instead of signing a cheap or developmental deal with a MLS team.
More information on this as news comes through.
We are Back!!
If you came here to have me gush about how great Fredy Montero was, you came to the wrong site. Don’t get me wrong, I had him winning the golden boot this year (TheScore.Com MLS Preview). But this blog is about the two rookies who played last night.
Preview: MLS Cup 2008
So far I've been awesome in these playoff previews.
By 'awesome', I mean as good as Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake in 2005. Or TFC in 2007. In other words, my predictions have been crap.
What better way to follow failure by putting my neck out on the line once more, lending myself to more possible embarrassment? Here goes.
Columbus Crew will win MLS Cup 2008.
The most improved club with the most improved supporters will take their most improved show on the road to Carson, California, where the it will culminate in the "Massive" club claiming its first ever Cup championship.
Playoff Preview: Western Conference Final
If the Eastern Conference Final between Columbus and Chicago was as expected as finals go, then the Western Conference Final is the exact opposite.
Real Salt Lake, a team which before two weeks ago had never tasted playoff soccer, hosts the New York Red Bulls, an Eastern team that gets the opportunity to become the West champions by virtue of MLS’ crazy CFL-esque playoff crossover system.
Playoff Preview
It’s the time of the year where writers love to write previews and give their predictions for the playoffs. Then at the end of the month, those same writers look like complete fools and lose their credibility, only to spend the whole year to build it back up just to do it again.
Who am I to break tradition? Lets do this!
MLS Playoff Picture
With one week left in the MLS season, there are still 3 playoff spots left with 5 teams fighting for them. With Dallas, Toronto, Los Angeles and San Jose out of the playoff picture we can focus on the final 5.
The Big Dope!
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber announced today that he has suspended and fined New York Red Bulls players Jon Conway and Jeff Parke for violating the MLS Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health (SABH) Policy by testing positive for androstatriendione (ATD) and boldenone metabolites, performance-enhancing substances. Each player is suspended for 10 MLS games, including regular season and playoffs, effective immediately, and each has also been fined 10 percent of his annual salary. During the suspension, the players may not participate in any other competitions. The players purchased and ingested an over-the-counter nutritional supplement containing ATD, a substance that metabolizes into boldenone. Both ATD and boldenone are banned substances under MLS's SABH policy. The supplement was purchased from a vitamin store that is part of a national chain.
In Case You Fell Asleep
After watching a pretty fun friday night game last week between UConn and West Virginia, we had to watch the slowest game I have ever seen. The USF Bulls took on Louisville in what I thought would be a solid game. Two of the top ranked teams in the country kicked off for a spot amongst the top 5 in NCAA rankings. If this is what the NCAA calls the best of the best, yikes! It turned out to be a huge sleeper.
