MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 19 – Of Nine Minutes in Blue Hell, Crumbling in the Rage of Injustice, & Power Hungry Goats.

    Six weekend matches in this round of MLS action; twenty-two goals scored in a series of offensive explosions. Three red cards dotted the fixtures.

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 19 – Of Away Victories – One Karmic the Other Messianic, the Hare Torching the Tortoise & a Brace of Braces.

    Five midweek matches littered the busy summer soccer schedule in round nineteen. Twelve goals were scored – at least one in each match – and only a single draw.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 18 - Of Postponement, a Seven-Goal Thriller in Seattle, 0-0-1-1-0-1-0-0-0-0, & a Flurry of Red Cards

     Eight matches scheduled for the weekend’s round of MLS action; one postponed. The seven that went ahead only provided thirteen goals, seven of which came in one match and the other six in a pair of fixtures.

Picture of the DWW*

This is wrong on so many levels. Say it ain’t so Dimi!!!

A Quick Glimpse

at Women's World Cup & MLS

Picture of the DWW*

Speaks for itself really; not all fans in Ukraine and Poland are stoked about Euro2012.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 17 – Of Another Former Red Tearing It Up, DeRo’s Revenge, Troubles in the Desert, David, & Practice, Practice, Practice.

    Eight matches provided eighteen goals to enjoy on this weekend’s schedule and only two of them ended in draws.

A Quick Glimpse

at Copa America & MLS

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 17 – Of a Second City Destruction and some Last-Minute History.

    Toronto has always fancied itself a mini-New York, on this occasion it was found sorely lacking. The Red Bulls stream-rollered Toronto FC 5-0 in Wednesday night action.

The Retirement of Jason Kreis’ #9 by Real Salt Lake

    Real Salt Lake retired Kreis’ number the night of the 3-3 draw with New England. When it was originally announced at the end of March there was much debate over the merit of such an action.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 16 (Abridged) – Of New Club Debuts, Continued Good Form, & Refereeing Controversy in Utah.

     Another interesting weekend of MLS action in the books as eight matches saw twenty-one goals scored.

All’s Fair That Ends Fair

    There was a fair share of controversy in the second leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship – Voyageur’s Cup.

The Match That Was

     A humdinger of a Nutrilite Canadian Championship – Voyageur’s Cup Second Leg Final was on display at Toronto’s BMO Field.

Thoughts? - On the Women’s World Cup & Canada’s Performance

     It has been refreshing to watch some football with a lack of cynical fouls, diving, and poor sportsmanship. It has also been good to watch some athletes perform not for sponsorship contracts or higher wages (not that that is not a motivational factor) but for their love of the game and the pride of their nations.

Quote of the DWW*

     Today: A double dose of quotations.

     Firstly, Mr. Schaad puts his finger on something I’ve been thinking all season long; the Toronto Sports Media are a bunch of cannibals. While, Mr. Lenarduzzi responds to the statement that BMO Field has lost some of its ferocious magic.

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 16 – Of the First of Two Battles for Canadian Supremacy

    The single MLS match this midweek saw the two Canadian teams do take to the field in their first of two matches in four days. Toronto was desperate to avenge their opening day loss in Vancouver, while the Whitecaps were looking to record their first ever MLS road victory.

An Interesting Development

     The first wave of MLS players who grew up as fans of their club have started cropping up around the league.  They include Seattle’s Lamar Neagle, Columbus’ Aaron Horton, Chicago’s Pari Pantazopoulos, and Steven Emory in Colorado.

First Person View – The US Open Cup

    For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this tournament gets no respect.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 15 – Of Useful Returns, Goalkeeping Heroics, Formation Changes, Brazilian Fire, Home Cookin’, the Return of the King, Draws, Trades & the Red Card Crew.

     Nine matches played; twenty-nine goals scored. Six Home wins, three draws, and no losses. The road woes continued for most clubs, whether a result of scheduling peculiarities – all but 3 matchups saw the higher positioned club hosting the lesser – or exemplary of the difficulty of road travel in MLS.

Quote of the DWW*

     On the realization of Tony Pulis’ cunning plan to transform his Stoke squad having secured their place in the Premier League for a fourth straight season.

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 15 – Of a Peppering in Philly, Nothing Much to See Here in Chicago and Another Pacific Northwest Six-Goal Cracker

Three matches worth of action packed into this round of midweek fixtures; two on Wednesday night and another on Thursday.

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 14 - Of Living Strong, Trouble in the Fort, a Community Shield of Sorts, Charlie Davies Poor Balance, Whitecaps Cresting and Madness in Portland.

    The weekend slate of matches kicked off Friday night with Sporting KC hosting San Jose at the glitteringly new Livestrong Sporting Park. Their second home match in their new home was more fruitful than the first. After the impressive performance in Dallas by Graham Zusi he once again rose to the occasion. It was his free kick that was turned in by the outstretched leg of CJ Sapong that tallied the first goal ever at the new park. The 1-0 score line was enough to earn Sporting their first win at Livestrong and continue their strong run of performances of late that has seen them go undefeated in seven matches, winning two straight.

Quote of the DWW*

    "We recognise that the failure to relocate the goalposts is a real own goal."

Thoughts? - They Just Don't Get It

     Mainstream North American sports pundits have long had a troubled relationship with soccer. From simple ignorance to despicable denigration the refusal to accept and engage in the world’s game is sometimes comical and sometimes baffling.

     When they do acknowledge the existence of the beautiful game their lack of knowledge of either the domestic or international game is sadly lacking.

     Why is it that these top minds on the realm of sport have no time for proper football? Are their minds so full of American football, baseball, basketball and hockey that there is no space for anything else?

Quote of the DWW*

     Chris Pontius and Charlie Davies of DC United on the controversial penalty awarded to Davies in their weekend match against Real Salt Lake.