damnyankeega

Given the growth of MLS and the recent form of the US national team, don't you think it's time to have our own section? Any other US fans tired of using the "Other" category or trolling the Mexican section?

After watching last night, I have a feeling that the Sounders-Timbers rivalry will become as legendary as the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Your thoughts?

So Costa Rica loses to the US in an epic WCQ match played in a blizzard. Costa Rica spends the week end complaining and crying about the conditions saying only a perfect warm and sunny day would have been suitable.

Shouldn't they be worrying about Jamaica? Shouldn't they be ashamed that the US and Mexico women's teams played in almost the exact same conditions 3 years ago and neither team complained?

Do the Costa Rican men realize that American and Mexican women are tougher then they are?

Have they no shame?

Personally I am a little wary of people who don't drink. In my experience usually they are religious fanatics (Baptists, Mormons & Muslims) or are people who are unable to control themselves (alcoholics), or very rigid people afraid to lower their inhibitions and allow their true nature to show. Often there is an overlap of these negative traits.

I know I'm not alone in thinking this. Several writers have noted that you shouldn't trust people who don't drink for a variety of reasons.

What about you?

Several articles, including the one below, show that the European leagues are spending themselves into oblivion with lavish salaries to attract and keep top talent. The result is crushing debt and boring, lopsided competition that pretty much guarantees only a handful of teams in a league have any real chance of winning a championship.

MLS, taking a cue from the NFL, enforces a salary cap and profit sharing encouraging stability and more even competition (you never hear about a team going "from worst to first" in European soccer).

Do any of you think it may be about time to adopt some of these mechanisms before European soccer goes even deeper in debt and leagues start collapsing from their financial burdens? You'd lose the "superclubs" like Manchester United and Barcelona that can spend billions to all but guarantee their championships, but isn't that pretty boring way to run a league?

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/footba...

Dallas FC midfielder is on his way to stoke pending his physical. What do you think his contributions will be to the team?

Additionally, does this finally put to rest the false notion that MLS is a retirement league?

So a 19 year old Kansas student (who happens to be a Muslim) calls a relative about being accosted by a drunk man, then goes missing for 6 days before being found alive and well.

http://news.yahoo.com/missing-kansas-student-aisha...

So why do you think she ran away?

Was she running away from an arranged marriage with an incompatible man?

Did her husband threaten to take her to live in Pakistan?

Did she freak out about her finals?

Other?

Or is it someone else on the WWC? I honestly can't decide.

Given his history, poor work ethic and habit of mouthing off, why are so many of you so hopeful that Randy Moss will end up on your team?

Paterno and Ditka recently stated that to increase the safety of players, players should not be allowed to wear face masks and that a softer helmet should be used to discourage players from using their helmets as a weapon.

I personally agree with this, and think that less padding would force players to use better tackling technique instead of launching themselves at opposing players. A broken nose beats a broken neck.

I also think it may be time to return to single platoon football with limited substitutions. I think that would encourage more skilled players with better endurance and a more open, less predictable style of play. Maybe even reduce the play clock to 20 seconds to keep the game moving.

Anyone else agree?

Sometimes it seems that rules or directives meant to do one thing have unintended consequences. Case in point is FIFA's desire to "protect players" inadvertently encouraging diving (simulation).

It seems to me that the reason so many players take dives during games is because FIFA, in its infinite wisdom, sought to protect players and implicitly encouraged referees to hand out red and yellow cards like Hallowe'en candy. Since a player know the refs are more likely to hand out cards, it seem to me that all it does is give an incentive for dishonest players to take dives and fake injuries.

I notice that I see a lot of diving in some of the European leagues and I've seen a bit in the World Cup.

However I rarely see anywhere near that much diving in the MLS. The difference, I think, is in the officiating. MLS refs seem to expect a much more physical game and hand out cards accordingly. Since the referee is less likely to book a player, there is less incentive for a player to take a dive.

So has the desire to "protect players" given rise to the epidemic of cheap dives in soccer?

How is it traditional to South African soccer? Do Zulu hunters hunt down the great Lesotho Rubber Antelopes and carve the vuvuzelas from their plastic horns? Or are vuvuzelas carved from the South African polymer trees that grow just south of the Kalahari desert?

Or are they just a cheap, petroleum based product sold by people with investments in earplugs and noise filtering technology and a general nuisance?

After the horrendous officiating at the U.S. - Slovenia game, I think there should be two changes.

1. Instant replay, or at least the ability for a coach to challenge a call a limited number of times in a game.

2. Most importantly, if a referee signals a foul in a game, HE HAS TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE HELL THE ACTUAL FOUL WAS. Mystery fouls are completely unacceptable.

B.O.C. = beer of choice

Will you be only drinking beers from your home country?

... can we finally call this whole "soccer" vs. "football" done once and for all in favor of "soccer"?

There's a lot of research going into designing soccer balls that are ultralight and made of various high tech materials. Am I the only one who thinks soccer should be played with a plain leather ball? Are the flight characteristics of these new balls changing the game for the worse? Is it all just a marketing scam by the ball manufacturers? Or is it just me?

I say stick with a plain, heavy leather ball.

It seems that the majority of Mexico fans are certain that their team will win the World Cup. Some could argue that the US fans are deluded for thinking they can beat England on the 12th.

So who do you think are the most delusional fans?

According the Yahoo! sports, Montreal has been awarded the next MLS franchise after Vancouver and Portland. Which cities would you like to see added to MLS? How about team names?

For me I'd like to see Atlanta get a franchise and use the name Terminus A.F.C..

A lot of soccer snobs look down their noses at MLS's system as it lacks relegation and promotion and has a salary cap and profit sharing that puts the teams on a financially level playing field.

Why do some soccer fans believe that relegation and promotion are essential to having a good soccer league? How does it improve the seasonal drama of a soccer season if you know the same 3 or 4 teams are the only ones who have a shot at winning? Shouldn't the drama of the season be which team will win it all and not whether your team will get bumped down to the minors?

What's your take?

Exciting soccer last night from Seattle.

What are your thoughts on Philly? Are they on track to be the dirtiest team in MLS? I don't think I've seen a team so unconcerned with penalties than the Union.