and wtf...mlsnet says union field debut is june 26 and union's site says its the 27.

the only two games union's gonna play at the linc are against d.c. and dallas

wtf is that the mummers parade?

2010 Soccer Kits:



San Jose Earthquakes: The black-and-blue is distinctive, but still doesn't seem right for a club that won titles and made its name in the bright blue of the early 2000s.



Chicago Fire: The red jersey with the white hoop is one of the league's iconic shirts. The execution of this one is poor, however, with the narrowed, angular stripe and weird white piping unecessary elements. The white shirt is a bland copout. It could at least include a red hoop like its predecessors.



Chivas USA: Frankenjersey exhibit A. The away shirt is nice, however. This club understands that one team can wear red and another blue in the same game. We remain befuddled by the fact that a club from one city (Los Angeles) features the symbol of another city (Guadalajara) on its badge.



Colorado Rapids: The burgundy-and-sky blue look is one of the league's best. Let's see if fickle Colorado (they've gone green-and-white and blue-and-black in their short history) can stick with it for more than a few years. Bonus points for not plastering the club name across the front for lack of a sponsor.



Columbus Crew: The same template as Chivas, but the all-yellow minimizes the effect and always looks great on the field. The pinstripes on the away shirt are a nice touch, despite the captain's armbands.



D.C. United: The one team that got it right from the beginning. But it's a shame they couldn't figure out how to leave the white stripes across the front of the shirt once Volkswagen became a sponsor. The all-white away kit has to go. Red shirts or shorts are a must.



FC Dallas: A good idea that's never been executed well. The side panels just make the hoops (they're barely hoops at this point) look awkward, and the red-and-white is just kind of jarring. The blue on the away shirt looks sharper. Maybe red-and-blue hoops are the way to go.



Houston Dynamo: Hard to go wrong with orange, although Houston makes an effort with the silly blue blotches. The sublimated sunburst is great. Orange is great.



Kansas City Wizards: Still have lacked a real identity since they abandoned the rainbow look. Not saying it was a good identity, but at least there was one. These are as forgettable as it gets. An actual logo would be nice as well. How about a yellow away shirt?



Los Angeles Galaxy: The most disappointing rebranding in MLS. The black, teal and gold was a one-of-a-kind look, and the gold-and-green sash was interesting and distinctive as well. Especially the sash. This is just dull and derivative. At least adidas threw some color onto the home shirt this time.



New England Revolution: Do the silver shoulder/arm patches remind you of another team from the Boston area? New England has stuck with the simple navy look since 1996, and it works for them.



Real Salt Lake: Horrible name, but beautiful logo and jersey. Since RSL wants to be Real Madrid so badly, we suppose they're the one club that has an iron-clad excuse for the all-white away uniform. The home shirt is nearly perfect.



New York Red Bulls: The club went to all-white at home last year. Ridiculous. Half the league wears all-white uniforms at some point or another. How could a team with the word "red" in its name not wear a red shirt? And what are those things below the collars?

[img]
http://www.blogcdn.com/soccer.fanhouse. ... mls-14.jpg[/img]
Seattle Sounders: Already iconic after just one season. If you turn on a game featuring the Sounders, you know immediately who you're watching. Most MLS teams don't care about that. The collars are awkward on these, but overall it's a great look.



Toronto FC: The positioning of the club's beautiful badge and the BMO logo has always seemed awkward, and at this point on the list we're getting tired of adidas' obsession with curvy under-arm and side panels. We'd love to see TFC abandon the ubiquitous monochrome look and go with light shorts at home and red shorts on the road.



Philadelphia Union: Not included in the adidas catalog, so here's a photo. A brilliant design sullied by the Frankenjersey look. The top of the stripe, piping and collar are a mess. But much credit goes to Philadelphia for the distinctive center stripe and colors and the creative away jersey. This look should stand the test of time.

id love it if the us would finally recognize soccer as a cold-weather sport

I mean when I was growing up and was in AYSO it was Fall-Spring.

Blankets and Scarves really do work better in Fall-Spring then in SUMMER :-/

2010 Stadiums:

Soccer-Specific: (10)
Chicago Fire
Toyota Park
Bridgeview, IL
20,000



Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew Stadium
Columbus, OH
22,685



Los Angeles Galaxy
CD Chivas USA
The Home Depot Center
Carson, CA
27,000




FC Dallas
Pizza Hut Park
Frisco, TX
21,193



Colorado Rapids
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Commerce City, CO
19,680



Toronto FC
BMO Field
Toronto, ON
20,522



Rio Tinto Stadium
Real Salt Lake
Sandy, UT
20,008



New York Red Bulls
Red Bull Arena
Harrison, NJ
25,189



Philadelphia Union
Union Field at Chester
Chester, PA
~18,500



Multi-Use: (6)
DC United

Spoiler: show

D.C. United Stadium is a proposed 24,000-seat soccer-specific stadium for the Washington, D.C. area. Opening TBD

RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.
55,672



Kansas City Wizards

Spoiler: show

http://kc.wizards.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20100119&content_id=7940058&vkey=pr_kcw&fext=.jsp&team=t105

CommunityAmerica Ballpark
Kansas City, Kansas
10,385



New England Revolution
Gillette Stadium
Foxborough, Massachusetts
68,756



Houston Dynamo

Spoiler: show

New Houston Dynamo stadium: Opening 2012 (projected)

Robertson Stadium
Houston, Texas
32,000



San Jose Earthquakes

Spoiler: show

New Earthquakes Stadium, Epicenter: Opening 2012 (planned)

Buck Shaw Stadium
Santa Clara, California
10,300



Seattle Sounders FC
Qwest Field
Seattle, Washington
32,400

anyone know when single game tickets go on sale?

Just called RSL offices, March 1st.

MLS, players reach agreement in principle on CBA
Agreement announced Saturday ahead of league's 15th season
Major League Soccer Communications

NEW YORK -- Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Major League Soccer Players Union (MLSPU) today announced that they have reached agreement in principle on the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement covering five seasons, commencing with the 2010 season and continuing through December 31, 2014.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber and MLSPU Executive Director Bob Foose announced the agreement today via teleconference call, five days prior to the start of the League's 15th season.

"We are very pleased to have reached agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the MLS Players Union," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "This new agreement allows us to work with our players to continue our mutual efforts to build the sport of soccer in North America. We worked hard during the past few months to develop a new agreement that addressed many of the players' most important issues and look forward to a meaningful and productive new relationship over the next five years."

"I would like to thank the players and the leadership of the Union for their involvement and commitment to the collective bargaining process as well as our fans for their patience as we worked together to reach an agreement," Garber said. "I also want to thank George Cohen for his expertise in assisting the parties though mediation."

"The Union is happy with this agreement as it addresses the core issue of players' rights and we look foward to working cooperatively with the League going foward," said Bob Foose, Executive Director of the Union.

LA Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan said: "We have a deep appreciation for the commitment shown by the owners both historically and through this process to make MLS one of the top leagues in the world."

The concluding phase of the negotiations was conducted under the auspices of George Cohen, Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The agreement is subject to the approval of the MLS Board of Governors and the membership of the MLSPU.

Major League Soccer's 15th season kicks off March 25 when the expansion Philadelphia Union travel to Seattle to take on Sounders FC in a nationally televised match on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com. The other 14 MLS clubs are in action on March 26 and 27.

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. MLS features many stars from the U.S., Canada, and around the world. MLS kicks off its 15th season on March 25, 2010. MLS features 16 clubs each playing 30 regular season matches in 2010. Those teams include Chicago Fire; Colorado Rapids; Chivas USA; Columbus Crew; D.C. United; FC Dallas; Houston Dynamo; Kansas City Wizards; Los Angeles Galaxy; New York Red Bulls; New England Revolution; Real Salt Lake; San Jose Earthquakes; Seattle Sounders FC; Toronto FC; and, in their inaugural season, Philadelphia Union. Expansion teams in Vancouver and Portland will debut in 2011. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official website at http://www.MLSnet.com.

ABOUT THE MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYERS UNION

The Major League Soccer Players Union, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is the exclusive bargaining representative for all Major League Soccer players. For more information about the Players Union, log on to its website at http://www.mlsplayers.org.

03/23/2010 9:02 PM

Seattle plans to give Philly rough start
Sounders vow to pressure league newcomers in 2010's opening match
By Andrew Winner / MLSsoccer.com

SEATTLE -- If all goes according to Seattle's plan, the Philadelphia Union will receive a baptism by fire during its first match in franchise history.

Seattle coach Sigi Schmid has said that a big piece of the Sounders' puzzle in Year Two will be increased defensive intensity. Seattle is betting that the raucous sellout crowd, combined with extensive defensive pressure, will be enough to breach the Union's defense in the first match of the MLS season Thursday night at Qwest Field.

"We always want to do that when we're playing at home," said Schmid. "Towards the end of last season, a lot of teams sat back against us at home, so we have to work on breaking down a team like that in game situations.

"We've worked on that in training and we think we have the pieces of the puzzle to do break that down. We certainly want to carry the game to them."

Earning a victory, especially a resounding one, at Qwest Field is one of Seattle's points of emphasis in 2010. Last season, Seattle did not show the ability to break down teams who played defensively and bunkered down in front of goal. To address that problem, Schmid has been experimenting in preseason with moving defensive midfielder Osvaldo Alonso further up the field in an attempt to force turnovers in better positions. Schmid wants Alonso to move 10-15 yards up the field, moving him away from the center backs and allowing Seattle to sustain pressure on the opponent.

"It's going to depend a little bit on the way they are setting up, but when the moment is appropriate we will do that," said Alonso through a translator. "We don't know too much (about Philadelphia). They are a new team. Right now we are focusing on our play and preparing ourselves."

In an after-practice interview, Freddie Ljungberg also confirmed that Seattle will be picking and choosing spots to use pressure to force the opponents into bad decisions. He also mentioned that Seattle, put emphasis into learning certain attacking patterns to make their offense less predictable.

"I think we are trying to develop our game this season; trying to play a bit more complex of a complex game," Ljungberg said. "I think last season we played quite simple because we didn't know each other very well."

The familiarity of the team should be improved in 2010, with the majority of the team that started the final game of the season back for Thursday's game. Only two players who started the playoff loss to Houston, the injured Nate Jaqua and the suspended James Riley, aren't expected to be in the starting XI. With MLS First Kick just two days away, Schmid pointed towards Patrick Ianni or Zach Scott at right back as likely options to replace the Riley, who was red-carded in Seattle's playoff loss to Houston to end 2009.

The other open position is right midfield, where Roger Levesque seems to have won the battle for right midfield as Jaqua recovers from injury. Levesque, who emerged as a reliable option at the end of the 2009 season, offers great work rate and a better defensive presence than Seattle's other options at right midfield, including Nyassi.

"Maybe you have seen training, we have tried to pressure harder and tried to get the whole team to come (forward)," Ljungberg said. "Small things like that we have worked really hard on. I think if we can get that right, I think we can be a much better team."
-----
FIRST KICK 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010


v.


9:30 p.m. ESPN2/Deportes, ESPN360.com

MLS Supporters,

Welcome to MLSsoccer.com, the new website for Major League Soccer. We are excited to provide our fans with a website that we believe will become the authoritative source for soccer news and information in North America. In addition to the launch of MLSsoccer.com, all MLS clubs are also re-launching their sites.

MLSsoccer.com is the result of 18 months of planning and construction and represents a bold new future not only for MLS, but also for soccer fans' entire online experience. In our planning, we analyzed everything from the supporters' perspective. Our primary goal is to "super-serve" you to create the best possible experience.

First, as many of you have read, we have hired leading soccer journalists from across the country. The editorial team is led by Greg Lalas, a former MLS player and site director of Goal.com. Managing Editor Jonah Freedman is the former editor of Sports Illustrated's soccer website. Our Spanish-language team at FutbolMLS.com is led by Kristel Valencia, an accomplished journalist from Ecuador. Don't be surprised if you see some of that Spanish content on the front page, offering fans the option of English- or Spanish-language articles.

In addition, each MLS club is hiring a digital team to manage its website, including local editors and content producers who will cover the entire soccer scene in their markets. Our national and local group of writers and video producers is the largest full time soccer editorial staff in U.S. history.

All of this points to one thing: delivering a constant flow of compelling content for soccer fans. It will come in multiple platforms taking advantage of today's cutting-edge technology. Here are a few of the most exciting new features:

HD-quality live streams of MLS matches, including the capability to watch up to three games at once

* dynamic DVR capabilities that allow you to pause and control the video stream
* an entirely revamped "MatchCenter" with enhanced statistics and Twitter-based commentary
* new mobile websites (WAP) for the league and all clubs (coming soon)

From an e-commerce standpoint, we are thrilled to partner with the world’s top online soccer store, Eurosport, who will serve the clubs’ boutique e-shops with the latest and coolest MLS soccer gear.

We would like to thank our launch partners Volkswagen and adidas for helping to make this day possible and our technology partner Microsoft for their support.

This is just the beginning. Over the coming months, our new technology team will continue to innovate and improve upon your digital soccer experience. And we encourage you to give us your feedback and comments as you enjoy the new MLSsoccer.com. After all, this is your site and your online home for MLS soccer and more.

Sincerely,

Don Garber

Commissioner

Philly I don't like your gold shorts and your gold kit stripe, makes it look like you're wearing overalls.

2 - 0

GOALS
12' - B. Evans (S. Zakuani, F. Montero)
43' - F. Montero (O. Alonso)

Soccer is Sofa King Ghey.

then GTFO

0 - 1

GOALS
55' - O. Cummings

Morales earns season's first MLS Player of the Week honors

Argentine scored twice in Real Salt Lake's defeat of San Jose
MLSsoccer.com
March 29, 2010 7:46pm



NEW YORK — Real Salt Lake’s Javier Morales kicked off his MLS season in grand style on Saturday, and the performance was good enough to earn him Player of the Week honors for Week 1 as voted by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR).

“It’s always great to start the season off in a big way both individually and as a team,” Morales told MLSsoccer.com over the phone on Monday. “I expected to do well especially after a great preseason. But the truth is that I didn’t imagine I’d score two goals.”

The 30-year-old Argentine powered defending MLS Cup champions RSL to a 3-0 victory at San Jose, scoring two goals and contributing to a third.

In the 14th minute, his spectacular long-distance shot found the upper corner, and he started the play that led to compatriot Fabián Espíndola’s goal just minutes before the break. Morales then rounded out his night in the 54th minute with a majestic curling free kick that again found back of the net.

“It’s a goal that you don’t see often,” Morales said of the first goal. “From that distance and with that bounce of the ball—it came off pretty good.”

Morales received 27 of the 31 first-place votes cast by members of the NASR, while Kansas City’s Ryan Smith (three votes) and Columbus Crew star Guillermo Barros Schelotto (one vote) shared the others. Smith also had the most second-place votes with 11.

Fans last remember Morales limping off the field in tears after picking up an injury just 22 minutes into MLS Cup 2009. That image summed up a frustrating campaign with RSL in which Morales was “was never 100 percent,” according to the Argentine.

“This year, I want to be well physically and be able to give my best to the team,” Morales said. “Not being able to finish the final last year hurts and I would love to be able to play another final and finish the game. It would be great.”

Salt Lake fans will take heart not only in the performance by Morales but the fact that Real Salt Lake was able win a road game in their first shot. The 2009 team only mustered two wins from 15 regular season away matches.

“In 2009 we were an average team, and many times we didn’t have the confidence to play games on the road,” Morales said. “This year, we’re a lot more mature because we have a title. We have a lot more confidence and it could be a great key for us this year. If we could play on the road the way we play at home, we’re going to do very well.”