Winnipeg Fury Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Caps Insider July 26, 2004 More Caps Insiders Montreal’s 1-0 win in Atlanta on Saturday night moved the Impact temporarily into first overall in the A-League, just a point ahead of the Whitecaps. The two teams will meet in what could be a showdown for first overall, Friday August 6th, in front of an expected 10,000 fans in Montreal. (The game will be televised live on Fox Sports World) And while it would be nice to think that it’s a championship preview, history shows that finishing first or second in the A-League rarely guarantees playoff success. In fact, over the last three seasons the team that finished 3rd overall has gone on to take the A-League title. In 2001, the year the Whitecaps were re-born, they finished tied with Rochester for 3rd, but the Rhinos actually had an advantage in the goal difference department. Despite Richmond having the best overall record, it was the Raging Rhinos who won the final over Hershey. In 2002, The Sounders ran away with the league, with Charleston in second, and Milwaukee landing in the lucky 3rd spot. After knocking out the Whitecaps during extra time in the semi-finals, they went on to win the final over Richmond. Then last year, Milwaukee and Montreal finished tied for first overall, and which team sat in 3rd…the eventual champions from Charleston. So, if the playoffs started today…Montreal would be first, the Whitecaps second, and if the trend continues…Rochester would be the championship favourites You’ve probably seen more official Whitecaps jerseys being worn by the Swangard faithful this season, and sales of the official kit have been swift. But it’s not just die-hard fans buying the kits from the stadium souvenir stand. The 25th anniversary edition, featuring the Silver Star and red maple leaf, has been very popular among tourists! Umbro, the uniform makers, are having a tough time meeting demand, thanks to sales from boutique sports shops downtown. Apparently, the Whitecaps name is still very familiar to those from soccer crazy Europe, who buy the shirts as souvenirs for themselves or their kids. I was at the Bay’s sports collectibles shop over the weekend, and the manager said he’s amazed by the response, particularly for the blue shirt. This year’s kit is the 3rd incarnation of the Whitecaps jersey, which was produced by Umbro for the first 2 seasons, before Lotto took over for a one season stint. The popularity of this year’s uniforms will hopefully mean they’ll be used again next year, preferably with a second Silver Star on the chest! Incidentally, the Whitecaps record in their respective colours…5-4-1 wearing the whites, 7-2-1 in the blues. We were reminded again this past week that the A-League is by no means a farm circuit for Major League Soccer. Four USL teams advanced to the Lamar Hunt Open cup Quarterfinals, by beating MLS sides. (The Open Cup is similar to the cup competitions in Europe, as teams from all divisions are invited to compete in a “draw” format). Shock results saw Minnesota dump the LA Galaxy 1-0, while the Richmond Kickers knocked off their MLS neighbours DC United 2-1. It took penalty kicks for Rochester to eliminate the New England Revolution, and the biggest upset came from the defending A-League champions from Charleston, as the Battery, currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, took care of New York-New Jersey Metrostars 1-0. The only A-League casualties were Portland, 3-0 losers to San Jose, and Atlanta, who were bounced out by Kansas City 4-1. The Quarterfinal draw has San Jose visiting Minnesota, Dallas at Kansas City, Chicago at Richmond, and Charleston at Rochester. That last fixture means at least one A-League team will be among the Open Cup’s final 4. The quarter final round games will all be played on Wednesday August 4th. We’ll have another two Canadians to cheer overseas when the European season kicks off next month. Josh Simpson, the fleet footed and skilful Victorian, caught the eye of Manager Dennis Wise, and has signed with Millwall. The 21-year old Business Major will be leaving the University of Portland’s Pilots to pursue his dream of European football. Joining Simpson at the New Den will be crafty Toronto Lynx Defender Adrian Serioux. The 25-year old Scarborough native was also impressive during Canada’s two-game series with Hearts and Millwall, and is in the process of finalizing his UK work permit. Bob Lenarduzzi paid Winston Griffiths a big compliment following the 4-0 win over Milwaukee. The Director of Soccer Ops called the Jamaican International the most exciting player since 86er great Ivor Evans. Last week against Portland, the 25-year-old turned two Timber defenders inside out, before trying to chip goalkeeper Josh Saunders with a left footed stab. Against the Wave United, he scored his second for the club, but also set-up two goals with his dynamic runs and shifty manoeuvres. Ivor Evans wasn’t known as a prolific finisher and neither is Griffiths. But pace and skills create chances, while also adding a “Fiji Flash” like buzz to the crowd. And congratulations to Oliver Heald! The ‘Caps midfielder reached a milestone with his 4-0 goal against the Wave United Friday. He’s now surpassed the 100-point mark in his career at Swangard. Peter Schaad provides colour commentary for the Whitecaps this Week. Join Hosts Craig MacEwen, Bob Lenarduzzi and Peter Schaad as they take a look inside Vancouver Whitecaps A- League Soccer Team, through Features,Highlights and Game Previews on Whitecaps this Week. Got a comment or a question for Peter? Email him here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury Montreal’s 1-0 win in Atlanta on Saturday night moved the Impact temporarily into first overall in the A-League, just a point ahead of the Whitecaps. The two teams will meet in what could be a showdown for first overall, Friday August 6th, in front of an expected 10,000 fans in Montreal. (The game will be televised live on Fox Sports World) And while it would be nice to think that it’s a championship preview, history shows that finishing first or second in the A-League rarely guarantees playoff success. In fact, over the last three seasons the team that finished 3rd overall has gone on to take the A-League title. It would be nice if the Voyageurs Cup would be mentioned in places like this. quote:Incidentally, the Whitecaps record in their respective colours…5-4-1 wearing the whites, 7-2-1 in the blues.I mean, I can accept that Vancouver is more interested in Seattle and Portland (the Cascadia Cup has been mentioned in these articles), but surely the Voyageurs Cup is at least more interesting than this?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 It makes you wonder. One would figure that they might not be mentioning the Voyageurs Cup because the Whitecaps have no chance of winning it, and since Schaad is basically writing Whitecaps fluff pieces they want to ignore it. However the Whitecaps have refused to reprint the press release stating that the Whitecaps have won the Cascadia Cup while both the Seattle and Portland sites have mentioned it. Perhaps Schadd mentions the Cascadia Cup in his other articles because he hates Portland, and really wanted Vancouer to win it. Apparently Schadd told the visiting Timbers fans during the last Portland-Vancouver game (right before he went on camera for a pre-game interview) that a lot of Vancouver fans would like to take their scarves to wipe their asses with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue and White Army Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Winning the 2004 A-League championship would mean a second silver star? Schaad is a goof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanDouglas Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Krammerhead: quote:Peter Schaad is one big jackass of a propoganda mill. Footy: quote:For him to spill out this kind of swill makes the Iraqi Information minister look like a TSN host. snake: quote:peter schadd is the caps minister of propaganda. Gee, I can't possibly imagine why Peter might be disinclined to mention the Voyageurs Cup. Blue and White Army: quote:Schaad is a goof. Yeah, I'm sure that will help. Peter is a long-time fan who has offered his services to help out the club. I read somewhere that it is not a good idea to alienate hard core fans. Perhaps those who give such advice should consider practising what they preach. Just an honest opinion. And I don't pretend to speak for Peter. Let's just say I'm sympathetic to his circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 quote:Originally posted by AlanDouglas Krammerhead: Footy: snake: Gee, I can't possibly imagine why Peter might be disinclined to mention the Voyageurs Cup. Blue and White Army: Yeah, I'm sure that will help. Peter is a long-time fan who has offered his services to help out the club. I read somewhere that it is not a good idea to alienate hard core fans. Perhaps those who give such advice should consider practising what they preach. Just an honest opinion. And I don't pretend to speak for Peter. Let's just say I'm sympathetic to his circumstances. Sure hope you don't speak for him Alan, as if you did (and implicitly you are suggesting you do BTW), and the club has accepted his offer to help, then the club is partially responsible if he is boycotting a news item of general interest on the basis of the opinion of certain critics of what he has to say. Which would be the Caps consenting a lack of impartialility and bad will in their name. Is that what the Caps are up to now days? Because you are sure as hell implying it. I think you should apologize immediately if it is the case, as you are way out of line. Simply put, you cannot compare what individuals post on a fan site, which in the end is an open-ended, free flowing conversation, to what someone does as officially sanctioned as Caps Insider. Sanctioning smear, boycott or petty retaliation is a bit underworld frankly. But since we have seen that the Whitecaps have had a jealous, small-minded attitude with promoting the Canada B games because it seems to have been BCSA promoted, with mentioning the Cascadia win because it was fan promoted, and now this, perhaps what should really be happening is that the CSA should reconsider collaborating with an organization with such an immature public relations policy. If the Caps can't be a bit more magnanimous with those close to them (amateur association, fans), how is Canada going to trust them as an honest partner who will not be prone to pettiness and back-stabbing for larger affairs? Or should we just understand this as Alan Douglas trying to indirectly slag Peter Schaad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Why on earth would Alan Douglas be quoting things Snake, Footy and I have posted in another weeks old thread and making a small deal of them now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanDouglas Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 quote:Or should we just understand this as Alan Douglas trying to indirectly slag Peter Schaad? No, this is Alan Douglas having a bit of fun with one bunch of fans who see conspiracy everywhere, when all you really have is another bunch of people, mostly fans, working for the club but pretty much independently, doing what they can for the common good. Sometimes one thing is focussed on instead of another; sometimes things are overlooked or fall through the cracks; and sometimes people are simply too busy with other stuff. There are no great conspiracies or hidden agendas. No blacklists. No secret cabal meetings with sinister plots drawn up on whiteboards. And just because the Whitecaps webmaster hasn't had the time to put something on the website doesn't mean the club has ignored it. For the record, the BCAA-sponsored exhibition games, the Voyageurs Cup, and the Cascadia Cup have all been promoted in some way by the club, or people acting on its behalf. Improvements can certainly be made. But I speak from my own experience when I say that pissing on people's good efforts isn't a productive way of encouraging those improvements. Oh, and nobody tells Peter (or me) what to write. Now if you'll excuse me, I just got a call on the Whitecaps bat phone, and have been advised by Sector Majestic at Mission Control that you now know too much; I have to retarget the Whitecaps weapons array satellite. Too bad. Barcelona was a nice city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanDouglas Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 quote:Why on earth would Alan Douglas be quoting things Snake, Footy and I have posted in another weeks old thread and making a big deal of them now? I don't want to make a big deal about this, but how many smilies do I have to attach to a post for you to understand that I am not making a big deal of something. And to answer your question: because it pleases me. (When you stay up all night debugging perl code, you need to do something to unwind.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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