Sounders Practice Notes [10-24-18]
The Sounders returned to the practice field at Starfire for the first time in about 10 days, as last week's road trip to Orlando and Houston kept the team away from home for an extended period. The team appeared in good spirits; not surprising after collecting six points in a four-day span. There is good ...
SavedTheCrew: What Now?
So, the Crew have been saved. Well, not quite, but it's looking good. There's actually a lot of work left to do, and plenty of unanswered questions. From not knowing when this deal will be finalized (and whether there will be a new stadium), to the background behind the attempt to move the team in ...
Sounders Practice Notes [10-13-18]
I wasn't going to write anything up today (recovering from yesterday's chaos), but looking at the schedule, this is the last Sounders practice before they take off for Orlando. So, it's probably a good time for an update. Those players who had been on the shelf with injuries continue to make their way back. Harry ...
SavedTheCrew: Deal to Keep Team in Columbus “Largely Done” [Updated]
It appears to be done. I've received reliable information that, almost a year to the day when Anthony Precourt announced he was exploring the opportunity to relocate the Columbus Crew to Austin, the Columbus Crew have been saved. Requests for comments from MLS have not yet been returned; the plaintiffs in the Modell lawsuit declined ...
One Year Ago Today…
Here is an odd-but-fun anniversary. Exactly one year ago today, I tweeted out my first comments on the NASL suit against (then) USSF. From then, I'd go on to cover the case, writing a story for Sounder at Heart and appearing on a couple of Podcasts to explain what was going on. Who knew that ...
Appeals Court Hands David Beckham, MLS Big Win in Lawsuit Over Overtown Site
David Beckham may not want to build his soccer stadium in Overtown, but the Miami 3rd District Court of Appeals won't stand in his way, as they've rejected the appeal of Bruce Matheson the local Miami man who filed suit over the sale of the Overtown land to Beckham's group. Matheson lost the suit (hard), ...
Sounders Practice Notes [10-09-18]
In what should be a surprise to no one, less than 18 hours after trouncing the Houston Dynamo 4-1, there wasn't a first-teamer who saw the field last night to be found on the training pitch this afternoon. A regen day for the starters will be followed by a couple of precious off-days for the team, ...
Schedules and Standards: “Parallel Paths” Likely Creating Headache for MLS in 2019
One of the outstanding questions in the SaveTheCrew saga (aside from the question of whether they'll be saved) revolves around how MLS will handle the 2019 season with the fate of the team not resolved. PSV has been processing ticket payments from Crew fans, in anticipation of playing at Mapfre in 2019, though the fine print ...
Sounders Practice Notes [10-06-18]
A quick update today for everyone. The most pressing question right now is how the international absences will affect the team. The international break technically starts Monday, but players are likely starting to be released with the end of the games this weekend. Of course, this presents a problem for the Sounders who play on ...
Sounders Practice Notes [10-05-18]: Fall is Here
The change of the calendar to October has brought the usual rain and cold, as the Sounders resumed practice ahead of the oddly scheduled match with Houston this Monday. There were a couple of bits of good news ahead of the game. First, a Sounders spokesman confirmed that there will be no (American) football lines ...
Social Socceresq
As the site continues to (hopefully) grow, I figured I'd publicize the various places you can link to, find, follow and/or share the content I'm putting out. No, I won't be telling you to "smash that subscribe button" or any other annoying buzzwords. But if you could, please do follow and share, as it helps ...
Austin Initiative Aims to Rein in Council, Expand Disclosures (And an Update on the PSV Lease)
It's been a very slow period for news both out of Columbus and Austin as it pertains to where the Columbus Crew will end up in 2019 (and beyond). It's been a bit surprising; if you read my "Save These Dates" story, you'll have seen that we've already blown through a couple of deadlines with ...
Sounders Practice Notes [09-28-18]
The Sounders finished up training on Friday in advance of their game tomorrow against Colorado on beautiful early Fall day. The team appeared to be about as healthy as they could be, excepting those previously ruled out by Coach Brian Schmetzer. There were a few interesting comments from Schmetzer in light of the team having ...
Sounders Practice Notes [09-26-18]
The Seattle Sounders returned to training today for the first time since their loss on Sunday to the Los Angeles Galaxy. If there were any lingering effects from the two-loss week falling the nine-game winning streak, they weren't visible. Perhaps the visit from Saturday's honorary captain, Emmanuel, helped brighten their spirits. Emmanuel is from the ...
Discovery in NASL v. USSF/MLS Anti-Trust Case Moving Forward
With a discovery cutoff of April 30, 2019, the parties in the NASL v. USSF/MLS anti-trust case are starting to prepare to obtain the necessary documents to bring this matter closer to a conclusion. To be sure, we're still likely ten or so months out from a trial (or a summary judgment motion) in this ...
Sounders Practice Notes [09-21-18]: Silver Linings
The Sounders returned to the training field for the first time after Wednesday's disappointing loss to Philadelphia. Most of the starters remained inside as it typical for a practice two days after a game. However, there were a couple of pieces of good news. First, Chad Marshall was training off to the side this morning, ...
Sounders Practice Notes [09-18-18]: The Gang Welcomes Philadelphia
A three-game week means the Sounders were out preparing for the game against Philadelphia tomorrow. For probably the first time all year (I'm sure someone will correct me), the Sounders had every available healthy player out at training. Only Jordan Morris and Felix Chenkam were not involved, and even they were out at training working ...
Sounders Practice Notes [09-17-18]: Homecoming
A light practice today, as the Sounders began to prepare for Wednesday's game versus Philadelphia. The actual session went about as long as usual, but the participants were limited, as the entire starting lineup from Saturday's big win in Vancouver trained inside. Of those who were outside, the return of Roman Torres was probably the ...
Sounders 2 Are in the Market for a New Name, But What About a New Division?
The Seattle Sounders and Tacoma Rainiers announced on Tuesday their new rebranding campaign for the Sounders 2, which will culminate with a new name (and eventually redesigned colors and badge) for the USL side. Originally, the Sounders and Rainiers partnered up for a move to Tacoma in 2020, but circumstances (cough) led to that relationship being consummated ...
Sounders Practice Notes [09-13-18]: Anniversary
Today saw the return of the remaining Sounders who were on international duty, as both Christian Roldan and Gustav Svensson returned to the training pitch. Both slotted in seamlessly, though Svensson took things easier than Roldan, as he had a much longer trip from Europe. Svensson said that while he took it easy today, he ...
