tedders55

You really want RTA involved in this? I wouldn't say they have great vision, planning, or any of the tools to make this work.

^ agree 100%, although the growth of MLS should help some of the casual fans maintain some interest in the game. Also, hopefully some of the other competitions, Confederations Cup and Gold Cup, can gain viewership.

^ But from the owners point of view where is the incentive to change things? Could they earn slightly more by increasing their efficiency? Probably, but what investments have to be made and what is the ROI? It may not be worth the increased investment. Even with the crazy wait times people still seem willing to put up with it and you don't hear to many negative things being said about the place. So I am thinking that whatever has to be done to decrease the wait time and prep time is simply too expensive for a real positive impact to be made.

The Developmental stuff is starting to come along, all MLS clubs are required to set up a Soccer Academy. I think roughly 80% have them already with the rest in development. The point you make about the sport being so young here is one that most people fail to grasp. In essence professional soccer has only been around in the States for 20 years, developmental programs probably only for the last 10-12. Only now are we starting to see fruits of that labor. Watching all this WC action makes me really want to go to a crew game. Hopefully there are more people like me.

I think you are unlucky, unfortunately. Also, I never want to go to Redd Stone with you, or when you are there, I think you have some bad juju for that place.

^ I didn't know Koman Coulibaly was a mod here. :-D :wink:

Yep and if they win would play Uruguay or S. Korea. Two teams that they could beat and move onto the Semifinals. Crazy crazy stuff. I think I almost had a heart attack with how many goals they left on the doorstep. Should have been 3-0

Okay mrnyc, after 3 wins and looking like the class of the tournament, I'm willing to give Maradona, Messi and Argentina credit where credit is due. If they keep this up, they could win it all. And also, nice fashion makeover on Maradona too: coach diego maradona in $4,000 suit during the world cup: 1 coach diego maradona in practice outfit before the world cup: 0 :wink: whoooa nyooh -- i think u n yr buddy tedders better take your fashion whining over to the greek losers page where it will be appreciated. meanwhile, this comment is for winners only -- mexicans domingo you guys r next to cry !!! ha! maradona: 3 the rest of the world: 0 I have to admit eating a bit of humble pie here, i did not think Argentina would cruise through the group stage this easily, but the match up against mexico is going to be a good one and should tell us a lot more about them. I still think they are a long shot to make the semifinals.

No new management, some additional investors bought in. I think Josh does a great job with food & drinks there. Sometimes it takes awhile to get your food or drinks, but the patio has been packed since the warm weather. Great crowd, very diverse & friendly, great vibe there. Agree, we were there Friday night, and the patio was busy. Ate at the bar and the place was entertaining with a band setting up and everything. i love that patio, ohh and the food is pretty good too.

I have also heard that their food is not that great, but the martinis are really good. Sounds like an after dinner place more so.

^ it would be a nice change of pace to lead for a change. These bad starts are going to catch up if they are allowed to continue to occur. The will and talent are there, but not the mind, at least in start of games. Regardless the game against Algeria takes on supreme importance and now Bob Bradley has something to use to light a fire under their a$$es

^ I dont think replay would have changed that. It was a ref decision to make the foul call. Replay in Soccer would operate a lot like Hockey. Only on disputed possible goals. Pass Interference is a ref decision and is not able to be changed under replay. It does have its limitations.

U S A...U S A... U S A US 3 - Sol -2 what that wasn't a goal?!!? :-o :-o :x :shoot: Piss Poor by the ref. :whip: That was a goal in the box by Edu. Unbelievable call. Amazing comeback from 2-0, thought i'd have to take the rest of the day off :drunk:

Yes, i'm sure Maradona is high. :-P ahem, so far... :wink: coach diego maradona: 1 the rest of the world: 0 On the Diego Maradona is High Scoreboard: High/Crazy/Drinking the sweat from his players socks - 1 Sober/Sane - 0 Quote from Maradona after their win against South Korea: After hugging and kissing his players to celebrate their impressive 4-1 victory over South Korea, El Diego felt compelled to inform the world media: "I still prefer women. I am dating Veronica, who is blonde and 31 years old." Classy. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/blog?entryID=5299351&name=offtheball&cc=5901&ver=us p.s. also from that article "barring Cleveland, the Bermuda Triangle of American sporting fandom, home to the largest Slovenian community outside of Slovenia" I knew there were a good number of Eastern Europeans here but had not heard this before.

I think it is a big step that ODOT is even considering bicycles. Hopefully more awareness will result in more bike lanes and other improvements.

Before you ban a place to your mythical list perhaps you should actually visit. While places may install TV's that that does not mean they will automatically become obnoxious noise makers. This is just you making another sum all fallacy. I can't speak to this personally, but I hate the way that this is what you jump to. They very well could have crazy noisemaker TV's, but at least have some anecdotal evidence before going into rant mode.

Watch the rest of the group stage games and you wont find as many teams "trying to tie." That phenomenon is mostly due to the start of the WC, nerves, and the stress from the home country (obviously this is a much bigger impact in European countries, imagine the drinking going on in Spain right now). It leads to tentative play which is not terribly fun to watch. The next two sets of games in the groups, where what needs to be done to get out of the group has been identified, will lead to better play. Also, if Baseball had the same system then I am positive you would see teams play for a draw. Better to earn a point and move on in the schedule than burn out your entire bullpen playing extras. In fact I think this may actually make sense in Baseball.

Well if your a browns fan that might be an improvement. Also, I would compare scoring chances in soccer more to baseball, they don't come along all that often. Also, football has changed their rules considerably in the past 10-15 so years to increase scoring, which I think devalues the full aspect of the game. In the end, as scoring and watch-ability is what I think we're talking about, I would compare soccer more to baseball and at least with soccer there is action and movement constantly as opposed to 10 guys standing around.

^ well that is not true. The style of play has a significant effect on the number of quality chances in soccer. While scoring chances appear random, they are in fact something that is built up over the course of the field. For a possession team, running passes from the back line through the midfield to wings for a cross that results in a goal is a significant buildup. For a counter team, bringing the opponent into your half and then playing a series of quick long passes is a build up. One thing that has been mentioned about this WC is that there has been a drop in the number of quality chances Also, understanding the styles and play of any sport you are watching is key to enjoying it. I have no idea what a great baseball game looks like because I don't have an understanding of the strategy.

No I think because we are once again going in circles

And a PA announcer telling you when to make noise because we are all sheep.

I'm tired of this low scoring argument. It is complete cr@p! The Giants v Patriots Superbowl of a couple years ago ended with a score of 17-14 and was considered a good game. Really if the NFL didn't have inflated scoring (1 score = 7 points) this game would have ended as 2.5 to 2. Maybe if we started counting each goal as 7 points if would suddenly become more entertaining. And for everyone that complains that there is no action in soccer I present the following article from the WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406.html

^ True, but futbol is too crazy to just let it be a single elmination tournament from opening to final. I know that the upset makes things interesting, but what people really want is a game between two good teams. w/o having a 32 team single elimination tourny though I'm not sure what you can do to improve on the group format.

They are DRAWS!!! Not ties. Also, I would expect scoring to go up in the coming matches. Teams are playing scared as they don't want to lose and don't want to give up too many goals. As it becomes clearer what is needed to get out of the group more scoring chances will be taken. This is one of the unfortunate parts of the group format, teams play not to lose their first game. Are the vuvuzelas really that bad or is the sports media looking for something to complain about. They don't strike me as getting in the way of enjoying the game. In fact I think they help drown out the announcing which for most sports usually provides no value.

So does anyone think the US can pull an upset over England? I think Rooney's pace will be too much, but England does have a history of underachieving. Still even a draw would be a good outcome, I may even be ok with a 1-0 loss as long as the Yanks form looks good.