Shotgunning: Monday's Top Stories, Slammed

All the news that's fit to drink.

And because you'd rather have a beer than be reading all the time... we've taken the day's top news and given it the Reader's Digest-treatment so you can get to that post-work pint quicker.

* Could Brek Shea take that awesome rooster hair to England? According to his agent, who told Sky Sports, as it was reported in the New York Daily News (still following?), several English Premier League sides are taking a look at the FC Dallas man. Manchester City and Liverpool scouts "were believed to have watched" Shea play this weekend in Miami.


* Grant Wahl says Clint Dempsey should be U.S. Soccer's "Player of the Year" and we're hardly one to argue with that statement.

* More than fifty years of adidas kicks is pretty sweet and KCKRS has the link and the story behind the preservation of the iconic shoe companies soccer history.

* Our friends over at "The Shin Guardian" have their, as usual, brilliant re-cap of this weekend's action between the USMNT and Los Catrachos.

* And a preview from TSG as well for tomorrow's showdown with Ecuador.

* FutFunatico's Elliot Turner looks at "Hispanic Identity and U.S. Soccer" for Fox Soccer. A great read in two parts. Part one. Part two.


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Shotgunning Thursday's Top News

All the news that's fit to drink.

And because you'd rather have a beer than be reading all the time... we've taken the day's top news and given it the Reader's Digest-treatment so you can get to that post-work pint quicker.


* JOOOOOLAZO! Altidore scores his 6th in seven games for his new Dutch club. Just three off his all-time, single season tally and ties the total amount he's scored in Europe in the last three seasons.


* For Major League Soccer the sun rises in the West. Match Fit USA's Jason Davis, writing for US Soccer Players, talks about the Western Conference's current domination in the league. But just a few years back it was the East calling on the shots. Just all apart of MLS' continuing parity see-saw.

"Several Western Conference teams have figured out recipes for success - something that has nothing to do with their conference affiliation - while Eastern teams have fallen behind in the ever-changing MLS environment. It’s luck of the draw, a natural ebb and flow, and purely coincidental. MLS isn’t immune to that odd phenomena seen in other pros sports, where a league goes through phases of one league/division/conference having dominance over the other.

Three years isn’t a very long time at all. Not much changes in three years. The order of things, in the macro sense, doesn’t typically over such a short period. In terms of soccer - certainly in most places - the possibility for sweeping change is essentially nonexistent. Europe’s leading leagues do not turn over the top teams in three year, and there’s never a geographic component. New challengers might pop up through investment or good management, but a decided lack of parity makes it nearly impossible for an entirely different group of teams to become the top echelon."

* With the huge imbalance currently in the league, Sports Illustrated's head soccer writer Grant Wahl says the playoff system is broken (even though it was just re-vamped for the 2011 season). Wahl spelled out a solution that was originally forwarded by
The Sporting News' Brian Straus to makes MLS' playoffs work again (if they ever did).

"What's the solution? I'm not one of the people who think MLS should drop the playoffs and go with a single table like most European leagues. Playoffs are more exciting, and playoffs done the right way are a rewarding way to crown a deserving champion, as we've seen in so many other U.S. sports.

But there's a much better playoff structure MLS could use, one that could start as soon as next year and remain in place permanently, no matter how many teams MLS adds to the league in the future. The idea (first proposed by Brian Straus, now of The Sporting News) is this: two World Cup-style four-team groups followed by a four-team bracket with league semifinals and a one-game MLS Cup final.

Here's how it would work. You'd keep the Eastern and Western Conferences. As I'll explain below in my idea for how to schedule a 20-team league, a regular-season schedule weighted with in-conference games would limit the cross-country travel that I think is a problem in the current setup. If MLS wants to hand trophies to the conference winners, then it can do so based on the regular season. Then the playoffs can start."

* Staying with our MLS theme "The Shin Guardian" gets it's first guest contribution from "The Blizzard" a UK-based quarterly magazine. Their subject? The brutal nature of our domestic game and the affect on the development of quality of play in the United States.

"MLS’ reputation as a physical league is well deserved: players are superb athletes, capable of maintaining a high level of play throughout a long season; they have to put up with countless hours of travel, crisscrossing time zones and enduring the kaleidoscopic climate variability of North America, but the implication of the negative insinuations of the word is to simplify the problem these injuries should be used to highlight. It would be folly to blame random chance for such a catalogue of injuries. Luck has played its part, but there is also an array of background factors, some easily reconcilable and some that require longer-term treatment. Injury is inevitable in all sport, but for its own development, MLS must create an environment in which the best players do not live in fear."

* Sporting KC's CJ Sapong tried his damnedest to win the heart of USMNT goalkeeper Hope Solo during training before tomorrow night's match at LIVESTRONG Park in Kansas City. As Dirty Tackle put it, And that's how C.J. Sapong won Thursday, September 15."

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Shotgunning Wednesday's Top News

All the news that's fit to drink.

And because you'd rather have a beer than be reading all the time... we've taken the day's top news and given it the Reader's Digest-treatment so you can get to that post-work pint quicker.

* Timothy Chandler might not be a Nat after-all. At least not a U.S. Nat. Former USMNTer Tony Sannah said today that the Nurnberg defender is re-considering his options and will be meeting with German head coach Joachim Loew soon. Yanks Abroad Brian Sciaretta has spoken to Chandler on multiple occasions and heard that the German-American is committed to the USMNT. We'll find out in two weeks which side of the fence he's on.

"This news will certainly come as a disappointment to US fans who have become excited about the prospect of the German-born Chandler becoming a cornerstone of the US team. Chandler has had a breakout 2011 where he has emerged as a rising Bundesliga star.

 This latest uncertainty comes after Chandler has made to YA on three separate occasions that he had zero interest in playing for Germany and has only wanted to play for the United States...

 ...It'll be about two weeks until the USA and Germany announce their rosters for October. We will likely know Chandler's future then."

* Will a New York team be Major League Soccer's 20th team? No matter if its the Cosmos or not the league's growth since the opening of the millennium has been phenomenal and the bar is set high for the next expansion team, says Sporting News Brian Straus.

"The expansion bar already had been set higher by MLS. Portland, Montreal and the Seattle Sounders had a long tradition of minor league success and support. Philadelphia Union fans showed up en masse to league events before the franchise was even awarded. To enter MLS in the near future, considering its satisfaction with 20, would take an exceptionally special case. There would need to be a wealthy ownership group in place (the expansion fee alone could approach $100 million), a stadium plan (preferably soccer-specific) and a proven level of support."

* The art of the counter-attack is the focus of Steve Davis' "Talking Tactics" column on MLSSoccer.com. His evidence is DC United's Dwayne DeRosario and his movements this past weekend against Chivas USA.

Counterattacking soccer isn’t just tactics; it takes the right kind of players – actually, let’s make that the right kind of “attitudes” – to make the engine hum. United have several like that, none better than Dwayne De Rosario. 

The desire to drive forward aggressively is De Rosario’s hard-wired, default position on the field. On Saturday, he consistently collected the ball in midfield with a stubborn single-mindedness: a hell-bent desire to crash immediately forward. 

This was clear on the first goal. DeRo’s aggressive mindset lay the foundation for Charlie Davies’ eventual piece-of-cake finish. The Canadian star scooped up a fortuitous ball bouncing around midfield and didn’t hesitate for a nanosecond. It’s all about seizing the initiative. That might sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many players fail to fully exploit these begging situations. Too many managers value possession, constantly reminding their players that the bad guys can’t score when the good guys have the ball. So they win the ball but frequently forfeit the initiative when “possession” rather than “aggression” is prioritized.

* Want to know how much more MLS players make than you? Here's the full, team-by-team list of their salaries.

* Always wanted that 2007 Columbus Crew Andy Gruenebaum keeper jersey, but never knew how to get your hands on  one? How about a 2008 team signed New England Revolution game ball?

Now those fabulous items and more can be found and purchased at MLSCollectibles.com! Hope you're a huge fan of anything randomly MLS since 2007 and nothing earlier!

*"Why American Soccer?" Because it became the setting for rival Los Angeles gangs to face each other peacefully? (H/T The Third Kit)

Members of the notorious Vineland Boys gang from Sun Valley took to the field against rival Barrio Van Nuys, one of the oldest gangs in the Valley. Their weapons: A soccer ball and a minister's prayer for peace.   

"It was fun, A Barrio Van Nuys player works his way between two Vineland Boys during a soccer match between members of the two gangs on Aug. 24, 2011 at Delano Park in Van Nuys under the auspices of the city's Summer Night Lights program. 

"It meant unity between two rival gangs of the same race. It was just a little night of relief. "Instead of watching your back, you're having fun."

* Former USMNT coach Bob Bradley will be wearing the sweatpants of another nation, Egpyt, as multiple sources report he will be offered the job soon. Sports Illustrated head soccer writer, Grant Wahl, though, says sources close to Bradley have indicated that his appointment is not a done deal.

Egypt have appointed former United States coach Bob Bradley as national team manager, state news agency MENA said on Wednesday. 

Bradley replaces long-standing coach Hassan Shehata who left in June after holders Egypt struggled in qualifying for the 2012 African Nations Cup finals. They have since been eliminated. 

Bradley, fired by the U.S. in July, was on an Egyptian FA shortlist that included the experienced Francisco Maturana, who has managed Peru, Ecuador and his native Colombia, and Zoran Filipovic, the former Yugoslav striker and Montenegro coach. 

The American will be given the task of getting Egypt to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1990.

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Shotgunning: Top News for Tuesday, Slammed!

All the news that's fit to drink.

And because you'd rather have a beer than be reading all the time... we've taken the day's top news and given it the Reader's Digest-treatment so you can get to that post-work pint quicker.


* Who will Jurgen Klismann's new-look USMNT face on the Tuesday, October 11th open international date? U.S. Soccer announced Monday that it will be Ecuador at Red Bull Area. The match will be the end cap to the Saturday, October 8th match against Honduras in Miami announced last week.

It will be the third time in two year that the Nats have played a game in New Jersey.

* Need another reason "Why American Soccer?" How about the accessibility of players? According to Goal.com nearly 39% of Major League Soccer players are on the social media site Twitter.

"In its own unique way, Major League Soccer is increasingly becoming social. Throughout the front offices and locker rooms, social media is removing the microphones and cameras, and providing a new outlet and means of communication for players, staff members and executives to voice their opinions. It is a unique level of transparency that is not often seen in Major League Soccer, particularly with the current ease of publishing information."

* Why do the Red Bulls blow right now? SI.com writer Steve Davis says its all Rafa Marquez's fault.

"Marquez remains in the Mexican national team scene, having just returned from his latest trip with El Tri.  So, how in the world can a player who can still pass muster with a good national team look so inept, unfocussed and apathetic about his club?

We’ve seen it all before, of course. Lothar Matthäus set the N.Y. standard in 2000, when he managed to squeeze in 16 MLS matches between Central Park jogging sessions with his girlfriend. (In fairness, this isn’t a phenomena exclusive to New York; we’ve certainly seen it elsewhere in MLS as decorated men try to wring a few more paychecks from MLS clubs too naïve or star struck to recognize a bad fit.)

If you ask me, benching the clearly uninspired Marquez might provide a boost for Hans Backe’s team, some sort of inspirational addition by subtraction. At the very least, the couch would be saying to the team, “I care enough to make a bold move here, so it’s time for you to care, too.”

* The Third Kit is a pretty sweet site and the fact that they've got the soundtrack for the upcoming FIFA 12 all up and posted for the world to see makes them extra sweet. Did the crack into EA Sports headquarters for it? Dunno. Perhaps its all out there somewhere, but we don't read so well so finding it elsewhere is a chore. We'll just pretend they went all Tom Cruise-Mission Impossible to get their hands on it for is. Good work, gents.

* Want to know how loads of Americans plying their trade overseas did this weekend? Steve Goff at the Washington Post's Soccer Insider has quite the list each and every week. Although domestic Goff missed our phenomenal performance in goal this past weekend as it was reported on Twitter.

And in beer news...

* A truck carrying over 40,000 cans of Bud Light and Bud Light Lime overturned on a highway in Sacramento, CA. Eh.

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Shotgunning: Today's Top Stories, Slammed

All the news that's fit to drink.

And because you'd rather have a beer than be reading all the time... we've taken the day's top news and given it the Reader's Digest-treatment so you can get to that post-work pint quicker.

* Grant Wahl says FIFA needs to get it's own "Red Zone Channel" like the NFL. The American Throwball league has a show that pops in and out of games around the country on game days featuring all the big plays, stops, and scores. Wahl proposes the soccer governing body do the same.

"There no reason this channel shouldn't happen. Call it whatever you'd like -- World Cup Goal Zone, World Cup Real-Time, FIFA Matchday Live -- but there are plenty of incentives for fans, as well as FIFA and its member nations. The fans get a fun, addictive, all-in-one service that currently doesn't exist (and would be of far higher quality than pirate online livestreams). Meanwhile, FIFA and its confederations would receive income that could be shared with their member nations." 

* Jason Davis at Match Fit USA calls for calm over Jurgen Klinnsmann's slow-growth revolution of the USMNT and cautions the inclusion of "Latin flavor" just for the sake of it.

"Jurgen Klinsmann wants to impose a new style on the USMNT. He'll go about his task by looking for players capable of executing his plan. If he wants to win, he can't afford to worry about hitching the new style directly to his other aim - integrating more of America's Latino flavor into the team. He can do both, but he should be careful that he doesn't send the message that the style can only come with Latin flavor. American soccer is already rife with stereotype and generalization. If Klinsmann falls victim to them or even appears to, it will only reinforce beliefs that will hold back the sport here in the years and decades to come. That will only make Claudio Reyna's job harder, handicapping a program already facing an uphill road to success. 

Let's go for that attractive style Klinsmann wants to play, and let's do so with all the abandon for which the American people - be they Latino, black, white, or other - are known. But let's keep in mind that style, as Edward Gibbons once said, is the image of character. American soccer's character should be inclusion, inclusion, inclusion; inclusion to the degree that the word no longer applies because there simply is no bias, and therefore, no need to label the role of any particular group of people as "included" as if some other group is being excluded. 

Let our style truly reflect our character, be the product of it. If not the one we have, the one to which we aspire."

* Charlie Davies bagged a hat-trick, Teal Bunbury got a brace, Real Salt Lake ended Seattle's streak, the Revolution beat FC Dallas, Toronto FC win for the first time on the road, and the Union continue to sputter... that and more in this week's MLS highlights.

* Major League Soccer also released the results of Facebook-fan voting on the 24 best players under the age of 24 in our domestic league and FC Dallas' Brek Shea took top honors. Juan Agudelo, Freddy Adu, Teal Bunbury, and Steve Zakunai round out the top five. A panel of nine "experts" will start revealing their choices for the best young players in MLS starting on Thursday.

* American soccer fans with a love of Euro-mornings already knew this, but the rest of the country is finally waking up (pun intended) to the idea of "breakfast beers", including the Wall Street Journal which recommends a few to try out.

"Athletes and moms, you might say, deserve a tall cold one for breakfast—but mere mortals? Few sneer at a weekend-morning mimosa or Bloody Mary, yet it's unlikely that cheap bubbly or a handful of celery stalks add much to a plate of eggs. In other words: boring. Beer, nourishment aside, is a livelier companion. In fact, paired with morning foods such as oatmeal or granola, unexpected flavors emerge like green tea and chocolate milk."

* In Dallas? Get to the "Bobby Rhine Memorial Kickaround" to benefit the FC Dallas Foundation at Rhine's family. Hosted by Street Soccer Dallas, Freddy Fund, and Good Football.

* In Austin? Check out the fantastic soccer documentary, "Pelada" at Draft House on West Anderson at 7pm. Proceeds of the showing go to benefit the "Multicultural Refugee Coalition Soccer Team". FBM will be there.

* Lastly, the former "American Soccer Show" hosts Jason Davis and Jared DuBois are still podcasting in between leaving the old show and beginning their new show somewhere else (who knows?!?!). Listen to this week's episode here.


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