ONN will remain Massive for 2009

The Columbus Crew in partnership with Ohio News Network have announced that once again every regular season Crew game will be on TV for the third straight year. After dragging their feet on the announcement the news came with a little bit extra that made it worth the wait. In addition to carrying every single home and away Crew game, ONN will also be producing an original program dedicated entirely to the Crew called "CrewXtra". The show will be a behind the scenes look at the team along with analysis and a look at upcoming games. As if this wasn't good enough ONN also was able to secure the rights to broadcast the four sunday games that the Crew will be playing in english. This is a nice pick up for me personally as while my cable service gets FSC, ONN and ESPN2 for my crew fix, I do not have telefutura. I'm glad to hear that the Massive will once again be on TV for every home game and now I'll have something to watch Wednesday nights as well. However ONN is rather notorious for it's somewhat poor broadcast quality. While the play-by-play is good enough and production values of actually showing the game and not constant replays during the action (i'm looking at you espn). Their cameras have a "wrapped in cellophane" quality about them at times. If this is taken care of then I will have absolutely no complaints about ONN, and I'm glad to see their continuing partnership with the Crew.

Around the League

Seattle
The Sounders have been tearing it up in the emerald city and setting a new standard for MLS front offices. In addition to their Massive season tickets, which have now eclipsed the local MLB team The Mariners, they're also raking it in as far as sponsorships go. Despite the fact that they'll pry never have their own SSS Seattle is setting a new standard for incoming MLS franchises. The buzz they've built, the professionalism and NFL style Front office work is impressive to say the least. Nice work Sounders. The Link


DC United
Down in the nations capital United have signed Dejan Jakovic to play Central Defender. The twenty-three year old canuck comes in from Redstar Belgrade according to the article and was even able to take the field for two UEFA Cup matches while abroad. This man looks to be a solid pick up for United as they look to get back into the playoffs after a season full of mixed results. The Link

NYC via Argentina
Here's a short little blurb from RBNY's team blog with some notes on the teams time down in Argentina complete with a youtube clip. I guess JPA has been playing the role of "professor" for the younger Red Bull players. Now to me that sounds like the sort of thing a DP should be doing. Not, ya know dicking his way around Europe. The Link

Massive indeed

The Columbus Crew are in Engerland for the next few days as part of their preseason ritual. As part of this trip they're playing friendlies against the Liverpool and Everton reserve squads to get in some practice against quality opponents. In between these games however the Crew will be playing against English Seventh Division side Guiseley (known as the bantams). For the Crew This game will get in some playing time for the reserves, for Guiseley however this game is a big deal. The Bantams coach apparently has contacts in the US and was the one who arranged the friendly. The tone of this article is supremely flattering for the Crew and MLS as a whole. The coach thinks he can get a crowd of around 2,000 just watch the match, and that's nothing to sneeze at, as the seventh division side's stadium only holds 3,000. Apparently the reputation of MLS' "Massive Club" has spread a lot further than most people had realized. If this isn't a sign of the league gaining respect around the world then I don't know what is. I hope the Crew are able to put on a good show for these guys. Also, if any Guiseleyites make it over to this page somehow, much respect, and as far as this blogger is concerned Go Guiseley! (when they're not playing the Crew that is)

Impact 2 Santos 0

Last night in front of a pack house of 55,571 the Montreal Impact and their astroturf were able to defeat Santos Laguna of Mexico 2-0. It was over all a rather ugly game for both teams, but especially Santos seemed to be off all night long. The first goal was a ridiculous blunder by the Mexicans who didn’t really seem to be communicating with each other. The second was an absolute joke, a loooong free kick by the Impact took the Cepero bounce, off what looked liked the worse turf I’ve ever seen, and resulted in a comical header that dribbled into the net. Even with the huge astro-advantage put aside, Montreal was the better side on the night and if they manage to steal a goal down in Mexico they'll be a near lock to advance to the next round.

So far the Concacaf Champions has been a pleasant surprise for me. The games have been hard fought, exciting and actually matter to the teams involved. This model for the future regional tournaments seems like it could be a success. Normally I don't advocate following the Euro's on everything they do, but it seems like following their lead on this was a great call.

Finally here's a link to a story out of the Montreal Gazette that's worth the read.

The Highlights

Around the League

Columbus
Great article in the Columbus Dispatch by Shawn Mitchell today covering everything Guille's off season, Frankie's USA Mexico Slap to who will be covering The Crew on television this upcoming season. Some points of interest, The Crew and MLS have garnered mucho respect down in Argentina over these last few years. Apparently in addition to jean shorts, The Massive club is all the rage in Buenos Aires. Another rather interesting point is that ONN(Ohio News Network) has not announced if they will be covering The Crew on television this upcoming year. The Link


Houston
Houston played Atalante to a 1-1 draw last night at Robertson Stadium. I thought Houston played very well and came more than close on a few occasions to putting themselves up even further. All and all not a bad result even with the Mexican side getting the late equalizer. However now the Dynamo go back to Cancun down 2-1 on away goals. No American team has won a match in Mexico before, however Houston drew 4-4 in the group stage, garnering the best result by a USA side down south yet so this match is far from decided. The Link

KC Wizards
Apparently Flogging Molly was spotted Sporting KC kit last night on stage during their show in KC. Very Nice Wizards, that's a great band and great rep. The Link

LA Galaxy
The official team blog says they'll be announcing a few more roster moves not too far from now. My guess is they're going to announce some more cuts and not additions. Also Two players Donovan Rickets and Bryan Jordon are nursing some not so serious foot injuries, and their "Team Chiropractor/Active Release Specialist" had a child recently, so congrats for him. Though I find it rather ridiculous that the team has a "Chiropractor/Active Release Specialist" but then again, it is L.A. so who am I to judge? The Link

And Finally, Back to Columbus
The Crew apparently exchanged 100k in cash with SSFC for their championship coach Sigi Schmid. This helped refill the war chest they had built up last year, and yet with all the resigning that went on they're running low again. On a brighter note, Third Round draft pick Alex Grendi has impressed the coaches enough to squeeze out a a senior developmental contract out of the salary cap strapped club. The young midfielder can play on both wings, something which will be very handy as The Crew looks to be rather congested in the fixture department with USOC and CCL in addition to their regular season. The Link

5 Questions: Robbie Rogers

The following is a segment that I'd like to make a regular on this blog. Five questions with the up and coming players around the MLS. After I pestered the talented and speedy Crew number 19 on Facebook he was nice enough to respond with his thoughts. So thanks again Robbie and good luck in the 2009 season all of us here at The Partisan will be pulling for you.

1. How's preseason been so far?
Preseason so far has been very good. Our team has mainly the same group of guys so its been good to just get back into the groove of things. This trip to England will be a great experience and an important time for team bonding.

2. How has it different been from last season?
I think that the main difference from last preseason is that we are now defending champions and we know that everyone is gunning for us.


3. What part of the 2009 season are you looking forward to most?
I am looking forward to our home games the most in the 2009. I always had a great time playing at home in front of our fans and I think we really played some good soccer. Also I am hoping to play more for the national team so I have a lot of work to do.

4. What about the city of Columbus has surprised you the most since you came?
Columbus as a city is really growing I enjoy going out to dinner downtown and I have a really good time living here. The people are friendly and love their sports.


5. Which other soccer player do you enjoy watching the most and why?
My favorite play to watch is yoann gourcuff because he is so smooth and fast with the ball. He is only a year older then me and already one of the best attackers in the world.

Around the League

The Crew are back in Columbus this week after training in Florida. According to Shaw Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch they've attempted to acquire former OSU defender and 2008 draft pick Eric Brunner but were unsuccessful. Also it looks like the reserves will be taking on english non-league side Guisely in a friendly between first team matches against Everton and Liverpool reserves. The Link

FC Dallas have signed David Ferreira as they look to build up their squad for next years campaign. The Colombian international will be their 10 shirt and appears to be FCD's biggest signing this off season as they look to bring the team back into the playoff picture for 2009.The Link

and finally

Houston will have Stuart Holden available for their CCL game tonight. In his own words Holden says "I'm Ready to go" for tonight. According to Houston they will have no injured players scratched for tonight against Atalante. Houston is the last MLS team to remain in the competition as the knock out rounds begin. The Link

Pan-Pacific

Last night was the final of the second "Pan-Pacific Championship". The LA Galaxy lost on penalty's to Suwon Bluewings from the K-league of Korea. Thats not a bad result for a team who's got half it's salary cap tied behind it's back.

All through the match the ragtag Galaxy bunch played a tough scrappy game, but they were plagued by blunders and missed opportunities. The few that stick out to me the most are the own goal by franklin (of course) and the Buddle's missed PK. That is something a striker just shouldn't miss, let alone shank so badly.
Granted this "tournament" is really more a series of friendlies, but LA put on a decent show and as it looks like Becks and Landycakes will be back for the start of the MLS season "il Bruce" may be able to scrounge out a decent showing. I doubt they'll be world beaters or even make a serious challenge for the west but for their sake and that of the league i hope/think they'll be able finish higher this season than they did the last time through.

Highlights from the game

Crew Season Ticket Sales Up

This story has been circulated quite a bit these last few days. So for the discerning Crew fan out there they will have already read that Columbus Crew season ticket sales are up 15 to 20% from last season. This is big news for the Massive club especially in the current economy, and with about a month left to go you can be sure the ticket reps won't be done yet. If ya ask me this makes for a great anniversary present as the team is set to kick off their tenth season in the CCS.

I also think this vindicates the Crew fan's assertions that the reason attendance has been so desperately average was the teams lack of success rather than the cities' apathy. Columbus is a town that loves their sports, but also a town that loves a winner, and in a city where a 10-2 Buckeye football season is considered a 'bad season' the expectations are high. The next question on everyone's mind is if the Crew can meet the expectations of their new season ticket holders. With essentially the same squad that won the cup last year and a "new" coach who appears more than capable the task ahead of them certainly doesn't look impossible. But unlike last year, just making the playoffs wont cut it this go around.

Rumor: Inter vs All-Stars?

As most of us know the MLS All-star game will be played in Sandy, Utah in the beautiful new Rio Tinto Stadium this year. What we don't know is who the MLS' best will face off against in the now annual international friendly. The buzz around the net though seems to indicate that the "Special One" and company could be coming to America. If true this would be a serious step up from the last two All-Star opponents and arguably one of the best sides MLS has played, with the only possible exception being Chelsea FC, who at the time was also coached by Jose. At this point nothing is solidified but with Mourinho having made the trip once before it's not impossible to imagine that he would be willing to do it again. After all the team gets to sell shirts and spread the brand and MLS gets a TV boost from playing a big name European club.

Since 2002 MLS has played their all star games in an "international friendly" style rather than the traditional American conferences showdown with 2004 being the only exception. The following is a summary of results.

2002: MLS 3 USA 2
2003: MLS 3 CD Chivas 1
2005: MLS 4 Fulham FC 1
2006: MLS 1 Chelsea FC 0
2007: MLS 2 Celtic FC 0
2008: MLS 3 West Ham United 2