MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis was named CEO of Arsenal yesterday. An original MLS staffer, Ivan has been the quiet, guiding force of all MLS competition issues since Sunil Gulati's departure almost ten years ago. We exchanged emails this morning and Ivan expressed true pain in leaving the League which "has been (his) heart and soul for so long. Click to continue reading...

MLS teams announced their protected and exposed lists today for Seattle's expansion draft.

As usual, the exposed lists were full of veterans underperforming their expensive contracts and young players that have not fulfilled their potential. Some of the deeper teams were forced to expose one or two players that they really do not want to lose. Click to continue reading...

Rumor has it Los Angeles was 75 degrees and sunny yesterday, but i really wouldn't know as i spent sun up to sun down in WPS meetings several stories beneath the surface of the earth in a bunker politely called the Westwood Room on the California Level of the Hyatt Century Plaza on the Avenue of the Stars. Click to continue reading...

The Hyatt Century Plaza in Los Angeles will be the center of the United States professional soccer world the next couple days as both Major League Soccer and Women's professional Soccer are hosting important League meetings in conjunction with Sunday's MLS Cup.

i arrived yesterday evening and had the opportunity to speak with the following people from the soccer world:

John Guppy - First person i saw when i walked into the hotel. Click to continue reading...

The Chicago Fire and its supporters, Section8Chicago, have gotten entangled in a disagreement over payment of ticket commissions for the 2008 season and the Megabandera (above) that the Fire apparently misplaced (How DOES one misplace a 10,000 square foot banner?). There is certainly more than one side to this story, but it seems that the team should be able to work directly with its own supporters to resolve this issue. Click to continue reading...

Former Chicago Fire President John Guppy announced the formation today of Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing, LLC, a boutique soccer consultancy focused on helping both soccer and corporate brands connect with the US soccer consumer.

John has more than 20 years of experience that will be valuable to his clients. Click to continue reading...

Had a restful weekend that began Saturday morning at the Highbury Pub watching Fulham top Tottenham and Michael Bradley draw Bayern Munich with Kenn Tomasch and Chris Doran.

Fulham's 2-1 victory means the Cottagers are now 9th in the table and Red Stars Head Coach will don a Clint Dempsey Fulham jersey this Tuesday to pay off a friendly wager on the match. Click to continue reading...

Hundreds of Chicago Fire fans will make their way to Ohio's state capital tomorrow to cheer their beloved Men in Red on to a victory which would earn the team its fourth MLS Cup final spot in team history. Some will fly, some will drive, but most will be on several buses making the trip eastward.

The host Columbus Crew is promoting Buck a Brat Night, but the real lure will be the battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Click to continue reading...

It was ten years ago today that MLS' first expansion team defied historic odds and captured the MLS Cup championship in its inaugural season. The Chicago Fire defeated the only other champion MLS ever knew to that point, DC United, 2-0 in front of more than 50,000 fans in the Rose Bowl. Ten years later, the key members of the organization continue to make their mark in soccer, sports and entertainment in the United States. Click to continue reading...

And below we learn about four important players acquired in the recent WPS General Draft including former UCLA star Danesha Adams (above left) and Illinois product Ella Masar (above right).

Find more videos like this on Women's Professional Soccer Click to continue reading...

In the video below, Emma discusses the attributes of our international players including Australia's Heather Garriock (above left and video here celebrating her World Cup goal with a kangaroo hop) and Brazil's Cristiane, pictured above right and scoring a beautiful goal here in the 2007 World Cup. Click to continue reading...

Sorry i've been M.I.A. lately. Combination of computer "challenges" and hectic schedule. i'll let Red Stars Head Coach Emma Hayes help me with the next three posts.

In a series of interviews this week with Chicago Red Stars' Jim Houghton, Emma raves about the first 13 players that the Red Stars have acquired rights to. Click to continue reading...

Wednesday is the 11th anniversary of the news conference at Navy Pier where we announced the name, logo and colors of Chicago's Major League Soccer team. This month is also the tenth anniversary of the Fire's inaugural season double championship. The Fire had planned and promoted a special gala anniversary celebration at Toyota Park this Friday. Click to continue reading...

There are five basic mechanisms to fill out WPS rosters: The USWNT allocation (3 players), the international draft and discoveries (5 players), tomorrow's general draft (4 players), the January post-combine draft (tbd) and tryouts (tbd).

The allocation of US players rightly generated considerable publicity and the international draft was followed closely by those who are trying to get an early read on WPS teams. Click to continue reading...

Last night i attended my 30-year high school reunion, which was part of Marian Central's 50th Anniversary and homecoming football game. It was one of my first times back at Marian since being inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

About 25 of my classmates attended the game. Click to continue reading...