Wednesday, February 28, 2007
. . . or no.
Wowsers. Slap in the face for Steve Nicol: Robbie Fowler's agent says no talks are going on and the Revs wouldn't be able to afford him. Yeesh. If we can't afford him, then I don't want him!
It really might happen . . .
. . . Really. It's not a rumor anymore: Robbie Fowler just might be on his way this summer.
The way I see this is it would probably push Noonan to RM and Rally to LM, though a lot will depend on the situation when he actually arrives. His contract ends this summer, so that's the expected time, but who knows. Liverpool hardly uses him at this stage. There's little doubt he'll be leaving Anfield though since Liverpool signed Voronin to join them this summer as well, adding to their already thick depth chart at forward. This one could get real interesting . . .
The way I see this is it would probably push Noonan to RM and Rally to LM, though a lot will depend on the situation when he actually arrives. His contract ends this summer, so that's the expected time, but who knows. Liverpool hardly uses him at this stage. There's little doubt he'll be leaving Anfield though since Liverpool signed Voronin to join them this summer as well, adding to their already thick depth chart at forward. This one could get real interesting . . .
Monday, February 26, 2007
Schedule Analysis
(This was originally written on 2/6/07, but I think it's got quite the large amount of applicability still)
Revs Schedule
So the big story, right off the bat, is August 12th. The schedule for Eastern Conference teams (Toronto, DC, NYRB, Chicago, Cbus, KC, and NER) has been set up so that they play in-conference teams 3 times, and out-of-conference villains twice. That out-of-conference twice thing implies that the Revs only get one home game against every team in the West, including the LA Galaxy. In case you haven't heard, the Galaxy kinda signed this really famous guy, maybe you've heard of him (and if you hadn't, you probably have now): David Beckham? He's kind of a big deal . . . Hence any game against Beckham is going to sell LOTS of tickets. The question is would the Revs be hosting one of these games. The MLS said yes, and August 12th is the date. Early prediction from Tim for ticket sales: 40,000. Yeah. That many. Sick. And about 6 of that 40,000 are probably buying tickets to see that snothead prettyboy Landon*. Sweet. How does it feel to be second fiddle American Posterboy? YEAH! (It looks like all 13 teams will get to host a Beckham matchup from what I can tell . . . well done MLS)
Secondly, my big complaint is the number of Sunday games. 3 Sunday home games? That's ridiculous. Not for TV purposes either as only one of them is on Univision who is showing Sunday games. My beef mainly is that Sunday never really feels like a day for soccer as Saturday primetime does. Add that to the fact that my graduation is at 3PM ON SUNDAY, MAY 6TH and we have a major problem. Can I please just skip receiving my fake diploma? Why do I have to please 5 people (that's how many tickets we get for graduation) more than give Pat Noonan his due love? Awful.
What's not on this schedule is a number of doubleheaders or tripleheaders. First, on April 14th, the US Women's National Team will take down those crazy Mexicans (and it might as well be the Mexican men's team since they play pretty much on the same level) before the Revs- Toronto (CANCELA!) match. In addition, according to du Nord, and probably some other websites I don't want to find, Gillette is hosting a friendly between Ireland and Ecuador on May 26th. Hey! There's a Revs game that day! Hey! It's a doubleheader! Yaaaay! I would be a tad upset if they take away a "special event" ticket for that though, and probably a little less upset, while still upset, if they took away a special event ticket for the Women's game. Also, the Big Razor will be hosting some Gold Cup games in June, with or without the Revs, and hence, plenty of games for Revs fans. Add a friendly against Fulham or someone cool and I'll be ecstatic. Or even advance far enough in the US Open Cup to get us a home game! Stupid Rhinos and Fire . . . EVERY YEAR!!!
The schedule looks pretty normal concerning the spread of home games. Very few to start, overload in the summer, and level in the end. What's disappointing however is that we don't play at home on Mother's Day or to end the season. For as long as I can remember I thought Mother's Day was a staple of Revolution soccer. Now it's dead. Combine that with the fact that the NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION aren't playing on JULY 4TH AT ALL!!!, never mind on the road, and I have some serious beefs.
Just 3 2-game weeks, so that should be beneficial, especially since we AREN'T PLAYING IN THE SUPERLIGA!!! Someone tell Don Garber that a team that has been to the last 2 MLS Cups and has Taylor Twellman and Shalrie Joseph and is good enough to kick a Mexican off the team must have enough face notice and talent to beat Mexican squads and draw a crowd. Jeez. I hate the Galaxy. Miss the playoffs, play in the SuperLiga. Yeah, that's real fair. Girf** Landon*.
4 ESPN2 games, all on Thursdays since MLS is now wicked cool and getting to have its own night for football. Beautiful. In addition, only one of them are at home, meaning the other 14 regular season games are all on the weekend, meaning a major help to ticket sales as weeknight games never reach the 10K mark. Thank you.
Opponent-wise, as earlier stated, the Eastern Conference teams play 3 games against each other, meaning the Revs play 3 of the teams with 2 at home and 1 away, and 3 vice-versa. The 3 we get at home twice: Toronto, KC, Columbus. The 3 on the road twice: DC, NYRB, and ChiTown. Yowsers. That's what happens when you make the MLS Cup folks . . . weighted scheduling has blessed us w/ 2 games with the Barra Brava, two with Bridgeview, and 2 with whoever NYRB decides to shell out money for at the great Giants Stadium (yeah, that isn't too scary, but the rest is . . .).
(Added today:)
One thing that disturbs me is definitely the TV38 junk. I like that they want to cover our games and make the full season commitment and all . . . but 38?! There goes the large audience. FSNE reached all of New England, which I believe is what this team represents. I don't even get TV38 here at UConn, and I'm pretty sure my sistah at St. Michael's in Vermont doesn't either. Suddenly it's the Boston Revolution, and I am disappointed. This might mean a few more sales for the online viewing of course . . .
It's official: I fear DC United. The thrashing they handed out to Olimpia only confirmed what I already believed to be true: they got better. I think the defense is still poor, but they'll find someone. They need a wing midfielder, but they'll find someone. The fact is the trio up front is outstanding and definitely the best in the league. Emilio > Alecko. It's true. So, in regards to the schedule, thank goodness we're not playing them at all in June/July. The two tournaments (Gold Cup, Copa America) won't likely affect them too much (Ben Olsen? Josh Gros? Bobby Boswell?), but will likely weaken the Revs as usual (TnT, Noons, Parkhurst, Reis, Ralston?). I'm perfectly fine with facing the Goats twice in that time since I've already labeled them as the surprisingly bad team of the year. In addition that 3-in-a-row of RSL, CBus, and Toronto at home looks about as cupcake as it can get (though Toronto has a botload of goalscorers). It looks like the MLS may have been trying to help us out in those rough summer months.
Lastly, I'm sorry the home opener is that expensive. It's clear the Revs expect fans to go to the home opener regardless of price and have added the USA - Mexico women's game to give them an excuse to up that game when they know people will pay. This is not written to say, "Don't go in protest!," but rather just to say that I feel your pain. Just use it as a reason to get season tickets.
*If it is not clear that I am not a Landon fan at this point, please ask someone to teach you how to read. I might come out with a "Top 10 Reasons" to hate Landon Donovan list very soon. Keep an eye out in heavy anticipation.
**Girf is a word my sister made up (frig backwards) that I use a lot to express frustration and replace any curse word on the face of the planet. For example: "Girf that girf." Yes.
Revs Schedule
So the big story, right off the bat, is August 12th. The schedule for Eastern Conference teams (Toronto, DC, NYRB, Chicago, Cbus, KC, and NER) has been set up so that they play in-conference teams 3 times, and out-of-conference villains twice. That out-of-conference twice thing implies that the Revs only get one home game against every team in the West, including the LA Galaxy. In case you haven't heard, the Galaxy kinda signed this really famous guy, maybe you've heard of him (and if you hadn't, you probably have now): David Beckham? He's kind of a big deal . . . Hence any game against Beckham is going to sell LOTS of tickets. The question is would the Revs be hosting one of these games. The MLS said yes, and August 12th is the date. Early prediction from Tim for ticket sales: 40,000. Yeah. That many. Sick. And about 6 of that 40,000 are probably buying tickets to see that snothead prettyboy Landon*. Sweet. How does it feel to be second fiddle American Posterboy? YEAH! (It looks like all 13 teams will get to host a Beckham matchup from what I can tell . . . well done MLS)
Secondly, my big complaint is the number of Sunday games. 3 Sunday home games? That's ridiculous. Not for TV purposes either as only one of them is on Univision who is showing Sunday games. My beef mainly is that Sunday never really feels like a day for soccer as Saturday primetime does. Add that to the fact that my graduation is at 3PM ON SUNDAY, MAY 6TH and we have a major problem. Can I please just skip receiving my fake diploma? Why do I have to please 5 people (that's how many tickets we get for graduation) more than give Pat Noonan his due love? Awful.
What's not on this schedule is a number of doubleheaders or tripleheaders. First, on April 14th, the US Women's National Team will take down those crazy Mexicans (and it might as well be the Mexican men's team since they play pretty much on the same level) before the Revs- Toronto (CANCELA!) match. In addition, according to du Nord, and probably some other websites I don't want to find, Gillette is hosting a friendly between Ireland and Ecuador on May 26th. Hey! There's a Revs game that day! Hey! It's a doubleheader! Yaaaay! I would be a tad upset if they take away a "special event" ticket for that though, and probably a little less upset, while still upset, if they took away a special event ticket for the Women's game. Also, the Big Razor will be hosting some Gold Cup games in June, with or without the Revs, and hence, plenty of games for Revs fans. Add a friendly against Fulham or someone cool and I'll be ecstatic. Or even advance far enough in the US Open Cup to get us a home game! Stupid Rhinos and Fire . . . EVERY YEAR!!!
The schedule looks pretty normal concerning the spread of home games. Very few to start, overload in the summer, and level in the end. What's disappointing however is that we don't play at home on Mother's Day or to end the season. For as long as I can remember I thought Mother's Day was a staple of Revolution soccer. Now it's dead. Combine that with the fact that the NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION aren't playing on JULY 4TH AT ALL!!!, never mind on the road, and I have some serious beefs.
Just 3 2-game weeks, so that should be beneficial, especially since we AREN'T PLAYING IN THE SUPERLIGA!!! Someone tell Don Garber that a team that has been to the last 2 MLS Cups and has Taylor Twellman and Shalrie Joseph and is good enough to kick a Mexican off the team must have enough face notice and talent to beat Mexican squads and draw a crowd. Jeez. I hate the Galaxy. Miss the playoffs, play in the SuperLiga. Yeah, that's real fair. Girf** Landon*.
4 ESPN2 games, all on Thursdays since MLS is now wicked cool and getting to have its own night for football. Beautiful. In addition, only one of them are at home, meaning the other 14 regular season games are all on the weekend, meaning a major help to ticket sales as weeknight games never reach the 10K mark. Thank you.
Opponent-wise, as earlier stated, the Eastern Conference teams play 3 games against each other, meaning the Revs play 3 of the teams with 2 at home and 1 away, and 3 vice-versa. The 3 we get at home twice: Toronto, KC, Columbus. The 3 on the road twice: DC, NYRB, and ChiTown. Yowsers. That's what happens when you make the MLS Cup folks . . . weighted scheduling has blessed us w/ 2 games with the Barra Brava, two with Bridgeview, and 2 with whoever NYRB decides to shell out money for at the great Giants Stadium (yeah, that isn't too scary, but the rest is . . .).
(Added today:)
One thing that disturbs me is definitely the TV38 junk. I like that they want to cover our games and make the full season commitment and all . . . but 38?! There goes the large audience. FSNE reached all of New England, which I believe is what this team represents. I don't even get TV38 here at UConn, and I'm pretty sure my sistah at St. Michael's in Vermont doesn't either. Suddenly it's the Boston Revolution, and I am disappointed. This might mean a few more sales for the online viewing of course . . .
It's official: I fear DC United. The thrashing they handed out to Olimpia only confirmed what I already believed to be true: they got better. I think the defense is still poor, but they'll find someone. They need a wing midfielder, but they'll find someone. The fact is the trio up front is outstanding and definitely the best in the league. Emilio > Alecko. It's true. So, in regards to the schedule, thank goodness we're not playing them at all in June/July. The two tournaments (Gold Cup, Copa America) won't likely affect them too much (Ben Olsen? Josh Gros? Bobby Boswell?), but will likely weaken the Revs as usual (TnT, Noons, Parkhurst, Reis, Ralston?). I'm perfectly fine with facing the Goats twice in that time since I've already labeled them as the surprisingly bad team of the year. In addition that 3-in-a-row of RSL, CBus, and Toronto at home looks about as cupcake as it can get (though Toronto has a botload of goalscorers). It looks like the MLS may have been trying to help us out in those rough summer months.
Lastly, I'm sorry the home opener is that expensive. It's clear the Revs expect fans to go to the home opener regardless of price and have added the USA - Mexico women's game to give them an excuse to up that game when they know people will pay. This is not written to say, "Don't go in protest!," but rather just to say that I feel your pain. Just use it as a reason to get season tickets.
*If it is not clear that I am not a Landon fan at this point, please ask someone to teach you how to read. I might come out with a "Top 10 Reasons" to hate Landon Donovan list very soon. Keep an eye out in heavy anticipation.
**Girf is a word my sister made up (frig backwards) that I use a lot to express frustration and replace any curse word on the face of the planet. For example: "Girf that girf." Yes.
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