For all practical purposes the first matchday of the CONCACAF Champions League is over (Cruz Azul hasn't finished their game yet), but there are several things we can learn.

1. Never bet on a Belizian (I have no idea of that's right) team, especially if they play Cruz Azul. The game is not over yet, but Cruz Azul should advance from this night with a considerable aggregate lead, they currently lead 5-0. Click to continue reading...

A lot can change in one week. You can go from sitting on top of the world to forth or fifth place. It doesn't take much to change you place in line, just ask any Olympian. It's no different in the world of soccer, especially in a parity driven MLS. We've gotten 21 games in the [...] Click to continue reading...

Stuff to read while you get arrested for not paying your library fines....... An interview with Cesc. (Guardian) Perhaps Africa's talent doesn't begin and end on the pitch. (Reuters Soccer Blogs) Two weekends on, parity ahead in the prem? (EPL Talk) "Don't Hassle the Hoff-enheim". (The Bundesliga Blog) Sheva heads back home to Milan. Click to continue reading...

It's that time again--time to confront the almighty train-wreck that is the Major League Soccer table. Rather than stratifying as the season progresses, the dreaded specter of parity seems to be condensing everything into a giant ectoplasmic ooze. While it's true that 13 points separate first from worst, it's also true that no team has more than a three point lead over the team directly Click to continue reading...

Two-third of the way through the season and things are still a complete mess in Major League Soccer. This may be the closest season we have seen in a long time, if ever. Mainly because of parity and because from week to week we just never know what will exactly happen like we think we [...] Click to continue reading...

Jurgen Klinsmann had to do with a draw in his Bundesliga debut as FC Bayern Munich were held to a 2-2 draw by Hamburger SV. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski gave the defending champions a 2-0 lead in the first half, but Paolo Guerrero and Pietr Trochowski restored parity for Hamburg as both teams walked [. Click to continue reading...

Boy things sure are getting tight in the MLS standings. In a year full of parity, some clubs could be staring at no playoffs then to only win a single game and then jump five or six spots up the standings in a given week. We keep seeing that time and time again with how [...] Click to continue reading...

Emma Hayes, the Head Coach of the Chicago Red Stars, is in China at the Olympic Games. Today, she blogged about the growing parity among teams at the world level. This post is my response to that blog. Here, I will look at the growth of women's world soccer, the German development of the game in their home country, and what this means to the American market. Click to continue reading...

Did you ever think that old hockey joke would make its way to the soccer fields of America?

If the two SuperLiga semi final matches are any indication of the current emotional state between Mexican and American club football, then I'm afraid unless something is done, the SuperLiga tournament will continue to have this major black eye (and bloody nose, and busted mouth, etc. Click to continue reading...

As MLS Expansion Fever continues to sweep the nation, there is a significant minority of American fans who consider this the best time to start calling for a European style Promotion/Relegation system to be imposed if/when MLS hits 24 teams. Let me remind you all why promotion/relegation will never be part of MLS. Click to continue reading...

This was an interesting piece of news that Michel Platini proposed that Europeans clubs create a salary cap that would limit their wages to somewhere between 55-65% of their income. This is only a beginning and would have a long way to go before it would be adopted, but the potential could have huge ramifications throughout Europe. Click to continue reading...

So here we are.  Our beloved Quakes are on a sad, sad road that could lead us to a new record in offensive futility, even making the tepid Toronto side of a year ago look like an attacking juggernaut.  The good news is that I've seen encouraging signs during this grueling road trip.  The midfield [. Click to continue reading...

1. New England Revolution - Nicol and Co. rise above the parity of MLS.
2. Columbus Crew - Ekpo adds another weapon to the Crew's arsenal
3. DC United - Unstoppable in June
4. Toronto FC - Still need to show something on the road.
5. New York Red Bulls - Grading on grit instead of style, this team is up there. Click to continue reading...

Joker of the year award has to go to Emmanuel Adebayor. He feels he deserves a contract in parity with what Thierry Henry was earning at Arsenal.

I've news for you Ade, Thierry Henry was and is an Arsenal legend who will remembered and revered by Gooners for ever, you my friend have just come off the back of one good season season, and will be forgotten about within six months. Click to continue reading...

What an almighty mess! Just look at that 7-club pileup around the playoff Mason-Dixon line for evidence of the terrible paw of parity taking its mandatory swipe at the table. Only three points--a one game swing--separate Houston in 6th from Chivas in 14th. While the Revs struggle to detach themselves at the top of the table, and Columbus try to reel them back in, the expansion Quakes are Click to continue reading...

MARKHAM - It was a rigid cold May 18th with temperatures hovering around the 4 degree celcius mark during pregame warmups, and a thin film of rain to start at kickoff.

A tussle from the get go, Markham Crush scored two rather early, lucky goals in the first half thanks to the wind and a lucky bounce. Click to continue reading...

DC United Tickle Yeah . . . ummmm . . . so, like, not too many injuries, huh? Well, baring a certain hairy ankle that just won't heal. Seriously, not much is going right for the Black-and-Red at the moment, but I think that it's a little too early to start making folks (Soehn, Peralta, Emilio, Wells) walk the plank. Click to continue reading...

Getting Closer to Every Team Finishing With 40 Points By Michael Davis With the MLS season underway, and a few perennial winners starting off slowly, it appears MLS is nearing it's true goal of having every team finish with forty points. One may ask the question, why make teams as evenly matched as possible, doesn't that make the [. Click to continue reading...

MLS Tickle - Oh, the misery! Oh, the hilarity! Woebegone TFC come stumbling to Los Angeles, half-lame, their red rags hanging off win-malnourished frames. And the not-so-Galactico defense spreads its molasses legs wide and begs for more. I can't wait for the heads to start rolling through the smog! Click to continue reading...

ALPHA DOG

1. Houston Dynamo - W W W D D - The Dynamo have carried their good form into SuperLiga and will be looking to advance to the semifinals of that competition tomorrow night. The only sour note comes from the consecutive draws that mark their last two MLS appearances. Can they get right back on the trail that leads to the Supporters' Shield? Click to continue reading...