Daily news roundups

PPL Park parking info as practice facility construction gets underway, more Union bits, more news

Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Union

Philadelphia Union

The Union sent out an email to season ticket holders on Monday detailing some of the changes that can be expected for those who park in Lots B & C as construction of the new practice facility at PPL Park gets underway.

  • The practice facility will be built atop what is currently Lot B – the map below shows the reformation of Lot B and the shift back a couple hundred feet to the front half of the former Lot C area.
  • Lot C will then shift to the back of what is currently Lot C with the road heading towards the Wharf building as the dividing point (also denoted on the map below)
  • Lot B VIP will shift to the River Side of the former Lot B area. This will also include handicap accessible parking.  The back half of the VIP section of Lot B will be used as a construction zone for the short term, but will reopen for Lot B VIP patrons once construction is complete.
  • Traffic flow will remain the same for Lot B and C upon entrance as noted in the diagram.  Those parking in Lot B will enter through the normal spot, and continue on past the training fields into the new Lot B.
  • Cash parking will no longer be available in Lot B, and will only be accepted in Lot C at this time. Those with Lot C passes will still have a guaranteed spot in Lot C, no change there.
  • Those that had a Lot B/C parking pass will be parking in Lot C for the remainder of 2014.

Updated Parking Map - Post Construction - cropped

In the latest Inside Doop, Dave Zeitlin collects three questions manyUnion fans are thinking of:  With the team looking at seven out of the remaining ten league games at home, will the team be able to establish the kind of home field dominance that has been all too elusive for far too long? Who will be the starting goalkeeper gains t San Jose on Sunday? How will Jim Curtin handle the logjam at center midfield if Maidana returns from injury on Sunday? On the last question, Zeitlin writes,

It seems likely the center back pairing moving forward will be Carlos Valdes and Ethan White, which leaves a plethora of holding midfielders vying for starting spots and Vincent Nogueira being deployed out of position higher in the midfield. Will Nogueira remain in that spot or cede the position to Cristian Maidana, who appears poised to return to the starting lineup Sunday after dealing with a hamstring injury? Will this be the week where Curtin tries to put top players Amobi Okugo, Edu, Nogueira and Maidana together in the midfield, even if some are out of position?

Brotherly Game does some lineup puzzling of their own.

Andre Blake is up for Save of the Week. You can cast your vote here. Blake also got an honorable mention in Goal.com’s MLS Team of the Week.

A report at ProSoccerTalk on speculation that former Barcelona goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto could be heading to MLS includes this line: “There is set to be plenty of goalkeeper movement in the coming weeks as Philadelphia has loaded up on ‘keepers with Algerian World Cup star Raïs M’Bolhi signed on at PPL Park, while promising youngsters Zac MacMath and Andre Blake are still around. Surely Pinto isn’t going there too?!”

Power rankings! At SI, the Union drop one spot to No. 13. At Soccer America, the Union remain at No. 9.

Following the results of last weekend’s games, SportsClubStats.com puts the Union’s playoff chances at 31.5 percent.

Local

Temple senior goalkeeper Dan Scheck has been named the American Athletic Conference Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Junior forward Jared Martinelli and sophomore defenseman Robert Sagel were also named to the All-Conference team.

Drexel seniors Robert Liberatore and Michele Pataia have been named to the Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association team.

Delaware sophomore forward Guillermo Delgado has been named the CAA Preseason Player of the Year. Senior forward Roberto Giménez and senior goalkeeper Borja Barbero also earned spots on the All-CAA team.

MLS

The CONCACAF Champions League returns tonight with two games featuring MLS sides. At 8 pm, Portland is in Guyana to face Alpha United FC (8 pm, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Soccer 2Go). Then, at 10 pm, Kansas City is in Nicaragua to face Real Estreli (10 pm, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Soccer 2Go).

New England have acquired former United States U-20 and U-23 MNT forward Tony Taylor via lottery. Taylor has been playing in Portugal and Cyprus the past four years.

MLSsoccer.com reports, “DC United managing partner Jason Levien said in a television interview on Sunday that he is optimistic about the club’s plans for a soccer-specific stadium at Buzzard Point, and hinted that more information about the stadium’s progress will be revealed in September.” Levien is quoted as saying, “Last time I was on, I said I was cautiously optimistic about the stadium. I am going to tell our fans out there we are ready to remove the ‘cautiously’ from that statement.”

At Philly.com, Jonathan Tannenwald shares some insights into the recent Homegrown game that was part of the All-Star Week festivities. An East vs. West Homegrown game is an excellent idea.

NWSL

At SI, Grant Wahl has a post with more on the proposed lawsuit over the use of artificial turf for the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada. Veronica Boquete, the former Philadelphia Independence forward who know plays at Portland under former Independence head coach Paul Riley, said, “We play on turf [in Portland], and we know how difficult it is to recover when you play on turf. In the World Cup we have to play in a short time many games. It’s not the same recovery, and that will mean the level is worse off and won’t be the best that it can be.” The article also includes quotes from Alex Morgan and German international goalkeeper and current FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Nadine Angerer.

US

From ESPN, “Following ankle surgery last week, United States international Aron Johannsson underwent a groin operation this past weekend, and the AZ Alkmaar forward is now expected to be out until at least the end of September, according to reports.”

Elsewhere

At the Guardian, Jonathan Wilson outlines concerns in Russia that the country could be barred from European competition or even have the hosting rights to the 2018 World Cup removed because the Russian Football Union is allowing teams from Crimea, annexed by Russia in March, to participate in the Russian Cup tournament. UEFA still considers the teams as being Ukrainian.

Luis Suarez has promised Barcelona fans that his biting days are a thing of the past.

I know I must accept the reality and have apologised. That is something from the past and to be forgotten. When [bite] happened I felt very down, then saw I had to apologise. I prefer not to go back over all I have been through.

The lesson is clear. The lesson I should take on myself. It was my mistake. But that is the past now. I say to the fans not to worry as it will not happen again.

Place your bets.

5 Comments

  1. Bring on Pinto baby! We will field the first all GK/DM mid team in MLS. Plus, he has played for a little Spanish club we may have heard of.

  2. OneManWolfpack says:

    I’m not at all mad that I park in Lot A.

  3. Hey Suarez it was never the fans that were worried. It’s your opponents.

  4. Allen Klenotiz says:

    Don’t forget reaney st and flower street 1000 spots all CASH PARKING STADIUM FRONT

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