MLS CUP

[argh1]

DC vs KC Sunday on ABC 3:30 pm EASTERN ( that hurt )

I'm going with DC on advise from our friend SABuffalo786.

Place your wagers all you MLS guys who tried to convince me the MLS was made for Toronto (humour)

[Alberto7]

Ok, first of all, I don't believe MLS will ever come to Toronto.

Having said that, my pick for the MLS Cup is DC United. I predict a final score of 3-0.

[argh1]

Well , I have to admit all those pro MLS guys haven't responded . I'm disappointed. C'mom give at whack , those that said MLS is what Canada needs. if I can follow the last game so can you. And we ain't discussin' any pros or cons of MLS in Canada just the MLS CUP for '04 . DC 2-1 is my prediction.

[argh1]

Well , I have to admit all those pro MLS guys haven't responded . I'm disappointed. C'mom give at whack , those that said MLS is what Canada needs. if I can follow the last game so can you. And we ain't discussin' any pros or cons of MLS in Canada just the MLS CUP for '04 . DC 2-1 is my prediction.

[matthew]

Hey argh1, I was going to respond quicker, but I've been kind of busy. Oh and though I do like MLS and follow it, that by no means means I endorse a team for Toronto. I don't think it will happen and I don't think it would necessarily be good for Canadian soccer.

As an MLS fan and more importantly a KC Wizards fan, I thought I’d jump in. I’m hoping this will be a good final, but I’m not sure it will be. Last year’s was fantastic and had a lots of attacking play by attacking players. KC/DCU may not be that.

The Missouri Azzuri won in 2000 with knee-breaking defence, good goaltending and one guy who could score. When it fails Ganslerball is boring and brutal to watch. When it works it’s just boring. I think this is one of the less-boring KC teams of recent years, but I’m just happy they’re winning.

They’ve got Zotinca-Garcia-Conrad-Burciaga in the back. Burciaga’s a decent youngster and Zotinca’s a naturalized Romanian, both are adequate, but nothing special. I love Conrad, who used to sweep in the back-three. Leader, can score going forward, good in the air. I thought Garcia was going to be a great one, but he’s developed into a steady physical player that needs a haircut.

KC is without US national teamer Chris Klein on the right flank and the ageless Preki (2003 league MVP at 41) due to injuries that totally changed the midfield. The hugely underrated Kerry Zavagnin has come inside from the left. He’s kind of similar to Sandro Grande I think, but maybe better. Gutierrez is a vet and will have to create. Jamaican Khari Stephenson has stepped in on one wing and UCLA rookie Jake Jewsbury on the other. They both looked good what little I’ve seen of them, but I don’t have lots of confidence.

Josh Wolff is one of the US’ best strikers, but he’s never healthy. Davy Arnaud is the Wizards’ goal-scorer this year. I don’t believe he’ll ever be a great international, but the kid came out nowhere to net 9 goals this year. Wolff has 10. For KC that’s a lot of production.

In goal is very, very scary. Bo Ohoniyi was drafted in 1996, I think he started some for Columbus in 96, since then he’s been a backup for eight years. Keepers have retired, keepers have gone to Europe, Bo just keeps backing up. He’s been in KC for like five years and until starter Tony Meola went down after the US Open Cup final win I’d never seen him play. He played nine minutes last year. NINE MINUTES. Fat Tony isn’t my favourite player, but he had a Hirschfeldesque performance in the 2000 final and single-handedly won KC the cup. Meola might be ready to go and I hope so, though Bo has gotten them there, largely thanks to a defence that doesn’t give up any shots. DC, however, should create chances. Possibly a lot of chances.

DCU is on a roll. They were the dominant team early on in MLS and won three Cups. Having your back four all end up playing in the World Cup with the US and then having three quality internationals at forward and attacking mid will lead to lots of wins. Since then it’s been lean, but they have a good young team with a some key veterans.

They have Nick Rimando in goal who I don’t rate too much. A little small, but a decent shot-stopper. When he’s on though, he can be scary. Namoff is a no-name guy who is actually pretty effective in DC’s back-three. Kiwi captain Ryan Nelson is fantastic and I think the best defender in the MLS. Mike Petke is a great, physical defender. He stradles the physical/dirty line nicely.

Dema Kovalenko straddles a dirty/career-ending line. A constant red card waiting to happen, I daresay he’s the most disliked player in the league. He’s pretty much ended a season for someone on every team in the league (okay I’m exaggerating, but not by a lot). I also have an unnatural hate for Ben Olsen. When I was in England I went to Spurs/DC and a Spurs fan asked why I was so angry at 14, best I could answer was that he was the American Alan Smith. He has a smug look and he just feel like smacking it off of his face. Strangely Olsen’s battled injuries, looks more mature and has rounded out his game nicely. He’s looked good this year moving into a central role.0

I’ve never much liked Earnie Stewart either, but the US vet has had a really nice season after looking totally washed up last year. Still fast as heck down the right wing. Brian Carroll is a young kid you probably won’t even notice, but I like his game. He might be a good one. I’ve seen very little of DC’s new playmaker Christian Gomez from Argentina, but he seems to be doing the job.

Jaime Moreno was a big goal-scorer in the DC haydey and isn’t as good as he used to be, but he still has loads of skill and I think could dominate in a one-game situation. He’s up front with Elecko Eskandarian. Esky was one of those hyped young Yanks and I didn’t see what all the fuss was about then this year he totally impressed me. Except he kept getting subbed out for some 14-year-old all the time. Eskendarian’s only 20 and he could have used those minutes too. Finished with 10 goals. Reminds me of Wolff.

On the bench KC has Shavar Thomas (captain of Jamaica at the U20s in Victoria a few years ago), Russian forward Igor Simutenkov, veteran mid Francisco Gomez and massive defender Taylor Graham.

DC has well Freddy Adu who is a pretty damn good player and who will appear I would expect. Josh Gros is another good young mid. Tall rangy winger, I’ve seen a lot of good stuff out of him. They also have former KC knee-breaker Brandon Prideaux who is quite capable in the back or on the wing in a five-man midfield. Santino Quaranta is only 19 and was supposed to be a big star (he caused Spurs loads of trouble in that kick about I saw as a 17yo) but has totally not developed. DC has a lot of options off the bench, but most of them are young. David Stokes was on the U23 US Olympic team, but probabaly won’t get a look. Oh and Ezra Hendrickson, huge gangly guy. Wing-mid was very good for LA at times, but I don’t think he’s played a lot. St. Vincent and Grenadines international, a good veteran. Might be a good guy to bring in to protect a lead.

cheers,

matthew

[matthew]

Hey argh1, I was going to respond quicker, but I've been kind of busy. Oh and though I do like MLS and follow it, that by no means means I endorse a team for Toronto. I don't think it will happen and I don't think it would necessarily be good for Canadian soccer.

As an MLS fan and more importantly a KC Wizards fan, I thought I’d jump in. I’m hoping this will be a good final, but I’m not sure it will be. Last year’s was fantastic and had a lots of attacking play by attacking players. KC/DCU may not be that.

The Missouri Azzuri won in 2000 with knee-breaking defence, good goaltending and one guy who could score. When it fails Ganslerball is boring and brutal to watch. When it works it’s just boring. I think this is one of the less-boring KC teams of recent years, but I’m just happy they’re winning.

They’ve got Zotinca-Garcia-Conrad-Burciaga in the back. Burciaga’s a decent youngster and Zotinca’s a naturalized Romanian, both are adequate, but nothing special. I love Conrad, who used to sweep in the back-three. Leader, can score going forward, good in the air. I thought Garcia was going to be a great one, but he’s developed into a steady physical player that needs a haircut.

KC is without US national teamer Chris Klein on the right flank and the ageless Preki (2003 league MVP at 41) due to injuries that totally changed the midfield. The hugely underrated Kerry Zavagnin has come inside from the left. He’s kind of similar to Sandro Grande I think, but maybe better. Gutierrez is a vet and will have to create. Jamaican Khari Stephenson has stepped in on one wing and UCLA rookie Jake Jewsbury on the other. They both looked good what little I’ve seen of them, but I don’t have lots of confidence.

Josh Wolff is one of the US’ best strikers, but he’s never healthy. Davy Arnaud is the Wizards’ goal-scorer this year. I don’t believe he’ll ever be a great international, but the kid came out nowhere to net 9 goals this year. Wolff has 10. For KC that’s a lot of production.

In goal is very, very scary. Bo Ohoniyi was drafted in 1996, I think he started some for Columbus in 96, since then he’s been a backup for eight years. Keepers have retired, keepers have gone to Europe, Bo just keeps backing up. He’s been in KC for like five years and until starter Tony Meola went down after the US Open Cup final win I’d never seen him play. He played nine minutes last year. NINE MINUTES. Fat Tony isn’t my favourite player, but he had a Hirschfeldesque performance in the 2000 final and single-handedly won KC the cup. Meola might be ready to go and I hope so, though Bo has gotten them there, largely thanks to a defence that doesn’t give up any shots. DC, however, should create chances. Possibly a lot of chances.

DCU is on a roll. They were the dominant team early on in MLS and won three Cups. Having your back four all end up playing in the World Cup with the US and then having three quality internationals at forward and attacking mid will lead to lots of wins. Since then it’s been lean, but they have a good young team with a some key veterans.

They have Nick Rimando in goal who I don’t rate too much. A little small, but a decent shot-stopper. When he’s on though, he can be scary. Namoff is a no-name guy who is actually pretty effective in DC’s back-three. Kiwi captain Ryan Nelson is fantastic and I think the best defender in the MLS. Mike Petke is a great, physical defender. He stradles the physical/dirty line nicely.

Dema Kovalenko straddles a dirty/career-ending line. A constant red card waiting to happen, I daresay he’s the most disliked player in the league. He’s pretty much ended a season for someone on every team in the league (okay I’m exaggerating, but not by a lot). I also have an unnatural hate for Ben Olsen. When I was in England I went to Spurs/DC and a Spurs fan asked why I was so angry at 14, best I could answer was that he was the American Alan Smith. He has a smug look and he just feel like smacking it off of his face. Strangely Olsen’s battled injuries, looks more mature and has rounded out his game nicely. He’s looked good this year moving into a central role.0

I’ve never much liked Earnie Stewart either, but the US vet has had a really nice season after looking totally washed up last year. Still fast as heck down the right wing. Brian Carroll is a young kid you probably won’t even notice, but I like his game. He might be a good one. I’ve seen very little of DC’s new playmaker Christian Gomez from Argentina, but he seems to be doing the job.

Jaime Moreno was a big goal-scorer in the DC haydey and isn’t as good as he used to be, but he still has loads of skill and I think could dominate in a one-game situation. He’s up front with Elecko Eskandarian. Esky was one of those hyped young Yanks and I didn’t see what all the fuss was about then this year he totally impressed me. Except he kept getting subbed out for some 14-year-old all the time. Eskendarian’s only 20 and he could have used those minutes too. Finished with 10 goals. Reminds me of Wolff.

On the bench KC has Shavar Thomas (captain of Jamaica at the U20s in Victoria a few years ago), Russian forward Igor Simutenkov, veteran mid Francisco Gomez and massive defender Taylor Graham.

DC has well Freddy Adu who is a pretty damn good player and who will appear I would expect. Josh Gros is another good young mid. Tall rangy winger, I’ve seen a lot of good stuff out of him. They also have former KC knee-breaker Brandon Prideaux who is quite capable in the back or on the wing in a five-man midfield. Santino Quaranta is only 19 and was supposed to be a big star (he caused Spurs loads of trouble in that kick about I saw as a 17yo) but has totally not developed. DC has a lot of options off the bench, but most of them are young. David Stokes was on the U23 US Olympic team, but probabaly won’t get a look. Oh and Ezra Hendrickson, huge gangly guy. Wing-mid was very good for LA at times, but I don’t think he’s played a lot. St. Vincent and Grenadines international, a good veteran. Might be a good guy to bring in to protect a lead.

cheers,

matthew

[Bangoutoforder]

Great job, Matthew. Dead on, as always. It's funny but we have the same opinion on just about all the players. Kovalenko is a psycho but he does a great job of playing the villain. Olsen is another punk who, while he may irritate, always gives the game an entertaining edge. Esky is quite the emerging talent. His ability to time runs is uncanny and he has demonstrated long range finishing ability.

DC by a goal, says I.

[Bangoutoforder]

Great job, Matthew. Dead on, as always. It's funny but we have the same opinion on just about all the players. Kovalenko is a psycho but he does a great job of playing the villain. Olsen is another punk who, while he may irritate, always gives the game an entertaining edge. Esky is quite the emerging talent. His ability to time runs is uncanny and he has demonstrated long range finishing ability.

DC by a goal, says I.

[amacpher]

quote:Originally posted by argh1

DC vs KC Sunday on ABC 3:30 pm EASTERN ( that hurt )

I'm going with DC on advise from our friend SABuffalo786.

Place your wagers all you MLS guys who tried to convince me the MLS was made for Toronto (humour)

My prediction is that the ratings will be awful since they managed to put the match head-to-head with 12 NFL games.

[SABuffalo786]

Don't count out the Freddy factor. Might be a bump, no matter how small.

[argh1]

quote:Originally posted by amacpher

My prediction is that the ratings will be awful since they managed to put the match head-to-head with 12 NFL games.

Saturday would be no better as then NCAA sports would be the competition for viewers .....wait ABC the broadcaster is showing 7 regional broadcast NCAA 4 down football on Saturday. Monday prime time is out because of MNF . You have a couple NCAA B-Ball games on Tues & Wed evening plus the usual prime NBA prime time games.

So Sunday fits the broadcaster and the paying folk that will see the game live and in person.

Go against the NFL and NASCAR for a Sunday what's to lose and all to gain(expectations probably aren't that high) . Especially since the game is on a traditional broadcaster that has neither NFL or NASCAR. Really there is no time with-out traditionl American sports for TV competition .

(why am I defending a league's championship game when I have no memory of ever watching a game ?)

[Kurosawa1555362267]

You have to consider the fact that the US is a huge country and that even though the ratings for the NFL are huge they're is still a lot of people who don't really care about it.

[yankiboy]

quote:Originally posted by Kurosawa

You have to consider the fact that the US is a huge country and that even though the ratings for the NFL are huge they're is still a lot of people who don't really care about it.

Down here, NFL IS KING. LORD FOOTBALL REIGNS SUPREME. Hands down. Many of the sports fans who don't follow NFL on Sunday watch NASCAR or NCAA college basketball when it is really in full swing.

I don't really think that there are too many native US sports fans that don't at least follow the NFL at least casually so that they can argue with coworkers on Mondays about "who's better..."

[yankiboy]

MATTHEW. A post that I would be proud to claim my own. Way to 'break it down"...

[yankiboy]

quote:Originally posted by argh1

DC vs KC Sunday on ABC 3:30 pm EASTERN ( that hurt )

I'm going with DC on advise from our friend SABuffalo786.

Place your wagers all you MLS guys who tried to convince me the MLS was made for Toronto (humour)

OK. ARGH1. FOR ONCE, WE AGREE (humor--spelled the "right" way)

I'm going to be a unabashed HOMER and say that our beloved DCUNITED will beat a very game KC Wizards team, 2-1.

That is my prediction: DCU 2 KC1.

And they say that miracles don't exist...

[amacpher]

quote:Originally posted by argh1

Saturday would be no better as then NCAA sports would be the competition for viewers .....wait ABC the broadcaster is showing 7 regional broadcast NCAA 4 down football on Saturday. Monday prime time is out because of MNF . You have a couple NCAA B-Ball games on Tues & Wed evening plus the usual prime NBA prime time games.

So Sunday fits the broadcaster and the paying folk that will see the game live and in person.

Go against the NFL and NASCAR for a Sunday what's to lose and all to gain(expectations probably aren't that high) . Especially since the game is on a traditional broadcaster that has neither NFL or NASCAR. Really there is no time with-out traditionl American sports for TV competition .

(why am I defending a league's championship game when I have no memory of ever watching a game ?)

Yeah, we in America are blessed with an overwhelming menu of sports... *dripping sarcasm*

Seriously though, college football isn't that big in the 10 MLS cities. It's mainly for rednecks in places like Tennessee. Saturday would have been the better choice especially since the first 34 weeks of the MLS season had the buk of their games on Saturday.

[Daniel]

DC United reply to an opening KC goal with 3 (2 by Eskandarian and an own goal) before Wolff brings it back to 3-2 with a second-half penalty. A whopping 6 minutes of stoppage time are added, but to no avail. DC United are champions for a 4th time in 9 years. Freddy Adu wins the MLS Cup in his first season.

[Daniel]

DC United reply to an opening KC goal with 3 (2 by Eskandarian and an own goal) before Wolff brings it back to 3-2 with a second-half penalty. A whopping 6 minutes of stoppage time are added, but to no avail. DC United are champions for a 4th time in 9 years. Freddy Adu wins the MLS Cup in his first season.

[beachesl]

Very entertaining. KC stuck with the long ball in the last half in a valiant effort to catch up, but probably had to because the refs were letting the short-handed DC hack.

Not wanting to be doomandgloom, but does anybody else find that the MLS reffing continues to be maddingly inconsistent?

[SABuffalo786]

4 STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Andrew W]

quote:Originally posted by amacpher

Seriously though, college football isn't that big in the 10 MLS cities. It's mainly for rednecks in places like Tennessee. Saturday would have been the better choice especially since the first 34 weeks of the MLS season had the buk of their games on Saturday.

You realize that one of the MLS cities is Columbus?

As well, USC has played five home games in LA. The attendances were 85,521; 90,008; 90,211; 72,855; 80,167. UCLA, with an average team, has played five as well to a tune of: 48,702; 52,038; 57,638; 54,021; 62,251.

[argh1]

The MLS gods are against me. I'll never see an MLS game . I work graveyard weekends ......so I set the VCR to tape the game . Back to back with with Bordeaux vs PSG by the bye from Saturday to watch on my 4 days off Mon from 7am to Fri at 7pm that I know I'll have a couch potato day in there . So what happens a snow storm hits south-western Maritimes Sunday and power is cut off where I live in Albert County New Brunswick for 3 hours so I have no tape of the game. Maybe next year. But at least my power is back on apparentlly parts of Nova Scotia that includes over 100,000 homes will have no power 'till the weekend. Some parts of the Maritimes got 45 cm with 70 cm drifts and 90 K winds . It's only eff'n November for GAWDS sake.

[Kurosawa1555362267]

quote:Originally posted by argh1

The MLS gods are against me. I'll never see an MLS game . I work graveyard weekends ......so I set the VCR to tape the game . Back to back with with Bordeaux vs PSG by the bye from Saturday to watch on my 4 days off Mon from 7am to Fri at 7pm that I know I'll have a couch potato day in there . So what happens a snow storm hits south-western Maritimes Sunday and power is cut off where I live in Albert County New Brunswick for 3 hours so I have no tape of the game. Maybe next year. But at least my power is back on apparentlly parts of Nova Scotia that includes over 100,000 homes will have no power 'till the weekend. Some parts of the Maritimes got 45 cm with 70 cm drifts and 90 K winds . It's only eff'n November for GAWDS sake.

I also forgot about it. I finished working at 7Am and went directly to bed. I woke up 70 minutes too late to watch it live. Too bad.[V]

It's a chance I did'nt forget to tape the Bordeaux-PSG game, it was a good one!!![]

[DarnCherry]

The network (ABC) doesn't care about the ratings because MLS is paying them to show the game, for all they care they could have shown it on Friday night.

Interesting thing to think about. Lots of those people who don't support the Lynx but want an MLS team because it is "major league" are the same ones who consider the CFL minor league. The CFL crowds yesterday were double what the MLS final got. Personally I enjoyed the Thurrock vs Oldham game a lot more than the MLS final.

Oh yeah, the right way to spell humour is with a "u". That is if you speak and spell in english.

[BC supporter]

quote:Oh yeah, the right way to spell humour is with a "u". That is if you speak and spell in english

Hey, I always thought spelling was irrelevant on these boards.

Not that anyone cares, but for those who want to make the spelling of words like "humor/humour" or "colour/color" a matter of cultural sovereignty, it's not as simple as "one is proper English, the other is American."

Most Canadian publications, writers and editors use the Canadian Press Stylebook as their bible for editing, spelling, grammar, etc. And for many years, "CP Style" DID NOT include the "u" in words like "neighbor" and "favor". When I went to Carleton J-school back in the early 80's, that's the way we were all taught -- no "u", and that was the style for most Canadian newspapers (the Globe & Mail being a notable exception).

It's only been since 1998 that -- after 80 years and to the dismay of many -- CP backtracked and re-inserted the "u". But after all these years, many Canadian editors (like me) still naturally use "favorite" and "labor". So feel free to humor us.