: We received a free pair of cleats in the mail from Concave after agreeing to write a review about them. Anything Tim wrote below is his honest opinion and not reflective of the fact that he received the cleats for free. I would have taken them for myself, but I already look ridiculous enough without spaceman boots on my feet. I’ve written for The Yanks Are Coming for about five months now. I’m assuming the millions I was promised for each post is… Read more
I want to act surprised after watching the Red Bulls go down to Chivas USA, but the turnaround from last year is obviously not perfect. New York still has a few problems, the likes of which the Goats revealed on Saturday. Macoumba Kandji was MIA for most of the match, miles away from his performance last weekend at Seattle. Lindpere continues to be a force in the midfield, but he’s receiving little support from teammates, especially Dane Richards. As for… Read more
I’m going to start this off on a low note. While the new MLS Soccer website is miles ahead of last season’s, the MatchDay Live feature has some serious problems. Paying 40 dollars for its service seems a tad bit expensive for 160 games, especially given the 100% markup from last year, but the administrators need to work out a few bugs. As I write, it’s been over 48 hours since the Union and DC United kicked off on Saturday afternoon and the match is… Read more
Quite the weekend for sports, Yanks fans. Butler looks to complete their Cinderella story tonight on a high note against the Blue Devils of Duke for the 2010 Championship. The UConn women’s team won their 5739th straight came by a meager 20 points to advance to play Stanford for the title Tuesday night. The Sox – Yankees rivalry resumed, opening up this year’s season at Fenway, with the Evil Empire shaking their heads after blowing a late lead. Tiger… Read more
Praise the Lord, the MLS is back. On an eventful season opening weekend, soccer fans enjoyed exciting clashes three nights in a row, including two nationally televised matches courtesy of ESPN. On the other hand, MLS’ Match Center remains unavailable, but they deserve a little leeway regarding the whole CBA debacle resolving itself little more than a week ago. So, all in all, I was only able to catch two games this past weekend: the Philadelphia Union… Read more
Get your popcorn ready, MLS fans. After delays, threats of strike, and hard pressed late night negotiations, the MLS Players Union and Major League Soccer agreed to a five year, brand spanking new collective bargaining agreement. The main points: Based on the age and years of service, the majority of players will now have guaranteed deals. A re-entry draft will be held once a year in which out-of-contract players can be claimed by other teams… Read more
Los Angeles Galaxy I’m not necessarily a David Beckham fan, I’m more of a glad-you’re-bringing-some-money-to-the-MLS sort of guy. Don’t get me wrong, Becks is an absolute joy to watch and I feel somewhat giddy watching his kicks bend and twist. In addition, I feel deeply sorry for anyone who goes down with a painful and probably career ending injury. With his England career over, you’ll be hard pressed to find much about his MLS play anywhere in the… Read more
With Major League Soccer (hopefully) kicking off the 2010 season later this month, I’m going to take a final look at the offseason transfers for each club. This list does NOT include 2010 MLS SuperDraft players, only new signings or players loaned out. I’m going to dish out eight teams today and eight teams on Monday. Chicago Fire After a lengthy spell of talks and contract agreements, the Fire recently signed aboard Dutch international Collins John. A… Read more
I’m sick and tired of defending Major League Soccer. In conversations pertaining to athletics, most people lose faith in my sports knowledge when I even casually mention the word “soccer.” Soccer? You’re joking, right? At this point, my buddies take a good three to four minutes to bash the game they don’t fully understand. It’s boring. There are not enough goals. The players dive all over the field and shy away from contact. I’d rather… Read more
Recently, it has come to my attention that people throw around the word “hate” a little too casually. I hate her. I hate him. I hate Wayne Rooney. Really? Do you really detest this certain person that much? I don’t think so. So it gives me great pleasure (or displeasure, I can’t decide) to talk about the one single person I hate on this planet. I give you Anatoli. Anatoli was the takeover soccer coach of my middle school club team, Texas Spurs. He… Read more
To start things off, I must concede that these are not the official kits (the red ones can be viewed here) for this summer; they’re only a rumor. Chances are we won’t be seeing these guys in June, but it’s still fun to speculate. And since I’m also a firm believer in looking good while playing the beautiful game, (Screw Casual Fridays – I’m a proud co-founder of Fancy Fridays at my college) here are some of my thoughts: The jerseys are noticeable, and… Read more
A couple of days ago, FIFA announced the names of the top 30 referees for the finals in South Africa this June. Amongst the listed are a few names who are no stranger to the controversy spotlight, including Swede Martin Hansson, Englishman Howard Webb, and Swiss official Massimo Busacca. (Alas, in this regard the Yanks are NOT coming – no American officials were selected). While cooler talk and Internet comments will do nothing less than point out every… Read more
There are two things in my life that I cannot bear to ever part with: Soccer and the city of New Orleans. Unfortunately for me, it appears as if those two will never be friends. As a student at Tulane University, I’ve had to adapt to a different sports lifestyle (and I’m not going to even go into the atrocities that constitute Tulane athletics). Soccer on all levels took a seat in the back while the Saints and Hornets buckled up in the driver’s seat…. Read more
After deliberating for nearly two months, FIFA announced on Monday that French striker Thierry Henry will not be handed down any disciplinary action for his blatant hand ball that effectively secured France a berth in this summer’s World Cup. As most of you already know, Henry twice extended his left hand to handle the ball down to his feet before passing for William Gallas to head home the winner. Despite Ireland’s entire back line actively protesting, head… Read more
