Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz
Philadelphia Union
ICYMI (because you probably had better things to do Thursday): A very Union Thanksgiving.
MLS
Yesterday was contract deadline day in MLS, meaning lots of declined options, free agent shuffling, and plenty of weird decisions. (The Union of course handled all their dirty business back in October.)
All the biggest moves, including some familiar faces freed in Vancouver, Mike Grella out at Red Bulls, and LA Galaxy basically setting their clubhouse fire.
The Sounders aim for a rare back-to-back MLS Cup.
And, finally, if you thought that MLS brass couldn’t get the Columbus situation more twisted, there’s this:
JUST IN: A reliable source, close to the negotiations to #SaveTheCrew, informed me MLS & Crew leadership/management told Columbus leaders that the city could apply for an expansion team, if Crew SC leaves town. Awaiting response from league/team. pic.twitter.com/qRdvmx2eOQ
— Dan Pearlman (@danpearlman) November 27, 2017
Yeah, that sounds fair. As always, Save the Crew.
NCAA Tournament
The road to Talen: The NCAA men’s soccer tournament is down to just eight teams vying for a place in the College Cup right here at Talen Energy Stadium. (Matches will be December 8th and 10th, folks, don’t miss it!)
The big quarterfinal matchup is #1-ranked Wake Forest versus two-time defending champs Stanford.
Fordham continues to be the surprise team of the tourney.
Around the Globe
A remarkable story about an English goalkeeper finding a place in Spanish football (and how hard it is for British players to get the hell off the island).
How buoyancy suits for kidney transplants created Real Madrid’s “secret weapon.”
I’m bummed for Grella. He always impressed me before that knee injury. I feel like NY were more dangerous with him and Lloyd Sam than they’ve looked since.
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The Columbus thing is a huge tire fire of bad behavior that threatens to take down not only the MLS cup playoffs but the entire league in a scandal of naked greed that has to be shocking even to the “well, sports is a business” rationalizers. In a league that desperately needs history, it clearly could care less. It’s amazing.
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The only way this league could do right by Columbus in my view — short of forcing the team to stay — is guarantee the city a team and let it keep the rights to the name, crest and colors. If Precourt wants out, he can take his organization but not the identity.
It’s shocking to me that more people don’t understand everything is about greed. Sure there are some small businesses that have good hearts and mean well and still believe in doing right by the customer because that is good business. But once you get to the corporate level, it’s all about greed.
Just because you understand it, doesn’t mean you should accept it. Big, big difference.
Pete, people have been accepting it since 1776. Our country is based on capitalism. Capitalism=greed. We’ve been taught capitalism is more akin to freedom, which it is certainly not. All it’s really given freedom to is for the 1% who already had money to make more money. Sure there are the few that work their way up to that 1% from the bottom, but that is like the promise of a lottery ticket.
Following the advice of an Econ prof wh was moonlighting for a local bank on the side at the time, read Karl Marx for his analysis of the dynamics of early industrial capitalism. Marx got many, many things wrong, but that analysis he got right, apparently.
So your options are what, All4U? Bend over and say, “Yes, more capitalism please”? Asking for a friend….
The capitalism debate always intrigues me. Here’s a stat you never get when talking about evil capitalism. The U.S. stands head and shoulders above the rest of the world. More than half (56%) of Americans were high income by the global standard, living on more than $50 per day in 2011, the latest year that could be analyzed with the available data. Another 32% were upper-middle income. In other words, almost nine-in-ten Americans had a standard of living that was above the global middle-income standard. Only 7% of people in the U.S. were middle income, 3% were low income and 2% were poor. You see the greedy 1% seem only bad when you compare it to your standard of living. The fact is that capitalism truly give more people the chance to not be poor on a world standard. By the way, when China opened up the markets that resemble capitalism, their standard of living has United up.
LOL Pete. I enjoyed that. No people shouldn’t just take it. But don’t expect things to change all that soon. All you need do is look to last year’s election and the president we have now. The system is rotten to the core. We need a fundamental shift in our morals. I mean there are parts of this country where kids are still taught creationism. They are taught god came down and hid dinosaur bones to test our faith. If this is still possible in 2017, what hope do you have of things changing anytime soon? It’s almost laughable. Pete, the first rule, people are stupid (I include everyone in this, even myself). People will believe statements that are false just because they fit into what they believe, i.e. Trump or Hitler.
John P., I do not argue that there is a better standard of living in this country. Far from it. I do not argue that capitalism is a better system than most around the world. That doesn’t mean it’s not based on greed. And it certainly doesn’t mean there’s a better way to do things.
And here I thought I was just talking about football and some shitty MLS guys doing shitty things to an undeserving fan base and it turned into a college-level intro to economics course. Gotta love this site.
I agree Pete. It has been fun.
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In my John P. response …should have been “And it certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t* a better way…).
That’s just it though, it’s not all about greed. There are plenty of owner’s out there (even in MLS) who care about their community & their team.
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I’m not saying Sugarman is one of them, but look at Merrit Paulson or Mark Cuban.
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The problem with Precourt is that Garber promised him he could go to Austin, so he never felt he needed to try in Columbus. In his mind he had already moved the team.
What has surprised me is how behind the narrative the MLS FO has been with the Crew situation. If ,as it seems, the fix has been in for months or years to move the Crew, why wasn’t the Don better prepared for the backlash. Did the article by Grant Wahl breaking the news last month disrupt the timeline? Was all this supposed to happen in the off season? Middle of next season? Did no one think about San Antonio maybe feeling screwed? (incoming lawsuit) What happens if Austin really doesn’t bend over backwards to provide land for a stadium? My advice to the #Savethecrew. Go for messing up what’s going on in Austin. No land deals, show city council there that Precourt will act in bad faith. Find a city council member that will ask Garber and Precourt some uncomfortable questions. I’m sure there is a NIMBY/”I hate soccer” councilor that would love to be prepped with some zingers.
Grant Wahl breaking the news early is what definitely screwed this up for Garber and Precourt.
A lot to unpack with the contracts, but one thing was interesting to me: Chris Seitz being out of contract. If by some odd set of circumstances we are able to sell Blake for a healthy sum, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring back Seitz, considering how he’s grown. Seitz and McCarthy would be a fine tandem.
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There are other names of interest released, but that was one that seems like it could have an impact for us, if things break a certain way.
Someone’s favorite DM is also again out of contract.
In keeping with holiday sacred music, although from the section more closely associated with Christianity’s Easter, … .
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The trumpet shall sound … .
My Dearly Departed.