Jack Bell at the New York Times did a Q&A with the Don Garber which touched on a number of issues we're all curious about. Here is an excerpt:

Q: There has been much talk, and much written about the effect the economic downturn will have and is having on sports leagues.

Click to continue reading...

Something to read while you wonder what the age difference is in this tackle... Spotted on the appropriately named (and excellently written) Dirty Tackle Wii + lego = rudimentary robot soccer (Botropolis) Top 13 goals of the week. Feast your eyes. (101GG) Nani and C-Ron share everything (With Leather) England's biggest rival: Argentina, Germany or Scotland? Click to continue reading...

If you haven't already tried the quiz, go take a look at the eight football stadiums we asked you to name. Congrats to Shazback, who was first to get all eight right (after correcting their initial answer). Answers are below... Stadium#1 La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Home of Boca Juniors Stadium#2 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales. Click to continue reading...

Name of the game this weekend is name that stadium. Eight football stadiums from around Europe and South America. Can you name the stadium and the team(s) that play there? Please leave your answers in the comments. This is my first time doing this (don't worry, Laurie should be back next weekend) so apologies in advance [. Click to continue reading...

As thoughts turn to this year's MLS Cup final. Our thoughts have wondered who would be announced as the 2009 host. Apparently an insider from the Big Apple knows and has sent along the following email:

Big fan of the site here.I found out recently that it is almost a certainty that Red Bull Arena has been chosen as the site of the 2009 MLS Cup.

Click to continue reading...

Worried about the stadium situation in Houston? So are we. On the hard stuff that passed as a pitch last Sunday, the unthinkable happened with Houston being ousted from the playoffs due to a lot of bad bounces which probably would not have occurred on a more pristine surfaces. Such is what happens when you do not control your own stadium. Click to continue reading...

These two stories come to us from our friends at DynamoPlanet.com

First Vancouver:

They may have once again solidified their MLS expansion bid with not only their ownership group announcements recently, but check out the new rendering released today for what soccer in BC Place would look like. Click to continue reading...

If the measure of success in a league is guaged by the search for stadiums, the infusion of new owners, and a race for expansion, MLS is well and truly successful. The last couple of weeks has seen stadiums open... Click to continue reading...

Proposed Area of a New England Soccer Specific Stadium

The city of Somerville, a place very close to Boston, MA is looking to revitalize one of its areas a la the Chester Stadium just outside of Philadelphia.

As a result the mayor is behind an effort to bring a stadium for the Revs to the Boston area so that it results in more traffic on one of the train lines. Click to continue reading...

The sun is shining. The preparations have been perfect. A couple of weeks break, before a few weeks training sessions, all in high spirits. Ordinary staff will become servants for a few weeks, as people will probably kill everyone in the room if you simply asked. You arrive with scores of people with nothing but encouragement for you. Click to continue reading...

With the greater interest in investing in Major League Soccer, more ambitious expansion (18 clubs by 2012) and increased international competition fixtures, MLSR has learned that the MLS Board of Governors will meet later this year to discuss the following:


* Single Table

* Apertura/Clasura schedule

* Adding a 2nd Designated player per team andor one whose salary is fully paid by the club and does not count towards the salary cap - no more four hundred thousand dollar cap hit. Click to continue reading...

Forbes.com recently released a report that looked at the economic side of MLS and also put a value on each of the Major League Soccer franchises. At a macro level, things are looking up for MLS. Seven of the league's 14 teams play in soccer-specific stadiums, five of which have been built since 2002. Click to continue reading...

Congratulations to Real Salt Lake, who enjoyed their first ever practice at their brand new stadium. Hopefully that distracts them from their upcoming road trip to face the Earthquakes at Buck Shaw. At least they'll have something nice to go... Click to continue reading...

Today, Luciano Emilio sat down for a live online chat with one of the most popular media outlets in Honduras, Diez. What follows is the translated (thanks, Cris Cruz!) version of an article that includes excerpts from the chat (Spanish version here).

You can also see few photos of Luciano being interviewed on the Video & Pics page.

Click to continue reading...

Everton has become only the second club in the Premier League to feature a webcam showing live pictures from its stadium. The other club is Chelsea who have had webcams pointing at their ground for at least a few years. Everton's Goodison Park, one of the most historic stadiums left in the Premier League, has hosted World [. Click to continue reading...

For the fans of Red Star Belgrade, being considered a violent hooligan is a badge of honor. The ultras are more organized than the footballing directors of some clubs, and the games can and often do take a back seat to the extracurricular activities in and around the stadiums. So when a Red Star fan, [. Click to continue reading...

People are pissed off. And this is your place not only to vent but to answer our poll on what would possibly help to turn it around in the years ahead.

Some opinions on what has transpired over the last couple weeks with MLS clubs having less than stellar performances in the first run of the CONCACAF Champions League:

"Tonight's game looked like playing Soccer with
a National Forest, crossed with the Dawn of the Dead. Click to continue reading...

The entries for the RoM "Sing a Song for the Unsung" competition are coming in thick and fast. The idea behind it is basically to get more songs up and running for players who don't have their name sung at Old Trafford. Whilst recognising quieter stadiums are a problem for all Premiership clubs these days, and [. Click to continue reading...

It finally looks like the National Stadium has shut for good. Now it has been revealed the turf at Jalan Besar Stadium will be relaid in December, during the AFF Cup.

Should the Lions reach the semis or final the games will be played home and away and now Singapore's flagship stadiums will be unavailable. Click to continue reading...

Its great to see the USA has collected all nine points possible in World Cup qualifying so far with a 3-0 win over Trinidad last night. What bothers me is not the quality of play (which my friend Bob Wagman describes well here), its that only 11,452 fans showed up to watch the match in Bridgeview, Illinois - and some were cheering for the Soca Warriors. Click to continue reading...

The Herald Sun is reporting PriceWaterhouseCoopers are doing an intensive audit for the Australia's 2018 World Cup bid. Hey aren't they the guys doing the Canberra A-League bid:)

And the FFA/Fed Govt want every State Govt has to be on board by Xmas. Aren't the ACT Govt already supporting the Canberra bid. Click to continue reading...

Forbes has done a valuation of 13 of the 14 current MLS clubs. Read all about it here.

Here is an excerpt:

Seven of the league's 14 teams play in soccer-specific stadiums, five of which have been built since 2002. Expansion franchises in Seattle and Philadelphia recently agreed to pay $30 million each to join the league, three times what Toronto FC paid to join MLS three years ago.

Click to continue reading...

I've been debating getting a new phone for months now. It's been a toss-up between an iPhone or just going all-out and copping the outlandish Nokia n93i. While the Nokia would be insane for the Carl Zeiss optics I think the iPhone might be the move.

Especially now that Real Soccer 2009 is now available for purchase in the iTunes App Store today. Click to continue reading...

Oh the World Cup, the number 1 competition in the sport world, an event that moves thousands of fans to watch the national side. It started earlier when the qualification groups were drawn out of the box and today we will see the ball roll for the first time, it will end 2 years from now in Johannesburg. Click to continue reading...

Of course, Seattle's rivals couldn't even wait until the Sounders got in the league before crashing the party.

But honestly, both cities have great bids. They both love soccer, which means full stadiums and excitement for all.

Portland, which calls itself Soccer Town U.S.A., is planning on renovating PGE Park to make it a soccer specific stadium. Click to continue reading...

Check out these descriptions, renderings, and photographs of pending, aspiring and newly constructed Soccer Specific Stadiums. The Red Bulls show us that playing on your pre-SSS field bears an inverse relationship to how sweet your new digs are going to... Click to continue reading...

The St Joseph News has done an excellent job of looking at the escalating cost of competing in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). It's primarily a football discussion but it points to the role of Athletics on campus and as part of the process of differentiating a school and a program.

Click to continue reading...

Houston Stadium nears: (Click for video)

St Louis Stadium fades....(story here) Click to continue reading...

-
As if QPR could possibly want to become the new...C H E L S E A!

The Sun - QPR can be the new Chelsea
QPR new boy Daniel Parejo reckons the club can be as big as West London neighbours Chelsea.
The Spanish youngster, on loan from giants Real Madrid, claims huge investment from co-owners Flavio Briatore and Alejandro Agag makes them hot favourites for promotion. Click to continue reading...

-
Setanta/Laurent Picard - "We Are New Chelsea"
"Speaking exclusively to setantasports.com, QPR star Daniel Parejo has described The Championship side as a new Chelsea.
The Spanish youngster, tipped to become a top class player in the future, reckons ma ssive foreign investment from co-owners Flavio Briatore and Alejandro Agag makes of QPR genuine favourites to gain promotion. Click to continue reading...

Rumours continue to abound about unpaid salaries throughout the ISL. You still see quotes from club officials, living in some parallel universe, insisting they are waiting for local government funds even though this have been disallowed.

Clubs used to a culture of handouts and opaqueness just aren't going to embrace the world of marketing and cash flows just like that. Click to continue reading...

The Premier League is undoubtedly the superpower of world football. Too the extent of Serie A in the Late 80's and 90's. Back then the English First Division had only a handful of great players. There was uninterested fans and media. It was suffering from utter Scouse domination. Aside from history, the English top flight had very little to build on. Click to continue reading...

Rafa Marquez and his mates play as many games in the US as on Mexican Soil these days/ Photo from esmas.com

Many I speak to wonder sometime quietly why the Mexican National Team seem to play all its friendlies on US soil and not in its home country. These same people wonder what affect this has on the US National Team, as their big rival often plays to bigger and more vocal crowds.

Click to continue reading...

Soccer stadium fans everywhere are applauding the news from Salt Lake. Real Salt Lake's brand spanking new stadium is set to open this fall. We like the looks of that roof. If you can't be there in person, watch ESPN2... Click to continue reading...

I think it would come as a surprise to many to know that West Ham, not Middlesbrough, not Aston Villa, not any of the promoted clubs, had the highest average of English players in their starting lineups (6.61/11) in the 2007-2008 Premiership season. That surprise serves as of a commonly-held feeling towards West Ham from outside those associated with the club in one form or another: apathy. Click to continue reading...