Ok, so i haven't posted here for a couple weeks....i could blame several things: certainly the writers strike has to be near the top. Time on the road at the NSCAA Convention in Baltimore made it hard to find time to post. A wicked cold set me back for a week (ok, it wasn't really wicked, but i have a low threshold for discomfort and played it up to the max). And the League name, logo and website announcements created tremendous activity that set me back and i'm just now getting back to the routine...Truth is, i hate excuses and in reality it only takes fewer than 30 minutes for a post. i just haven't made it the priority i told you i would at the beginning of the year. i'm sorry.
On the topic of excuses, the Women's Professional Soccer Town Hall at the NSCAA Convention seemed to be full of them as panelists tried to explain why the WUSA didn't survive and WPS will. The most popular one was "It's the media's fault". That excuse was phrased a dozen different ways in the 90 minute forum. Suffice to say that room 338 at the Baltimore Convention Center was not a safe place for Barbaro, Sea Biscuit, Whirlaway or any other dead horse. We can not blame others for any lack of exposure and attendance. It is the responsibility of the League and its member teams to reach out to our audiences in other ways - new media and grassroots direct marketing - to connect our League and teams with people who are already emotionally and economically connected to the sport.
The other theme seemed to be the social cause of gender equity. You've heard the argument, "You must support this league, BECAUSE it's a women's sport and our daughters are entitled to role models and a place to play when they grow up." I'm sorry, but that is NOT a solid basis to support any league or sport. It may be a convenient byproduct of a women's pro sports league, but it is not a primary reason why anyone should attend WPS games. WPS will provide competitive, entertaining games featuring the best women's soccer teams in the world at a fair price - THAT is the reason this League should be supported.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Off to Baltimore...no more euphemisms
Seems like the entire US soccer world is going to be in Baltimore this week. Many are already there. i'm off for Bal'more on a 7 am flight tomorrow morning (which requires a 3:45 am wake up...WHAT was i thinking??). Looking forward to women's league meetings tomorrow and Friday and then the MLS Super Draft. The League is also hosting a "Town Hall" in room 338 at the Convention Center Saturday at 11 am featuring Commissioner Antonucci and others involved in the League.
Also looking forward to the League's unveiling of its name, logo, and website (shhh....it's scheduled for tomorrow). i'll finally be able to stop using euphemism's such as "the new women's league", "the new WUSA", "the new women's pro league," etc.
If you're going to be in Baltimore, please look me up. When i'm not in meetings or the MLS Super Draft, i'll probably be at the Renaissance Hotel lobby bar or on the convention floor at "the new women's professional soccer league's" booth.
Also looking forward to the League's unveiling of its name, logo, and website (shhh....it's scheduled for tomorrow). i'll finally be able to stop using euphemism's such as "the new women's league", "the new WUSA", "the new women's pro league," etc.
If you're going to be in Baltimore, please look me up. When i'm not in meetings or the MLS Super Draft, i'll probably be at the Renaissance Hotel lobby bar or on the convention floor at "the new women's professional soccer league's" booth.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Best week of the year....
We're smack in the middle of the most important and most fun week of the year for MLS player personnel people. The week starts with the MLS combine and concludes with the MLS Super Draft. The combine is equal parts reunion, winter vacation and Liar's Club convention. That's followed by a few days back home when teams download all the information they've gathered from a myriad of sources and create a game plan for draft day.
At the NSCAA Convention, the game plan is massaged, adjusted and played out in mock drafts before the big day. You're always trying to move up in the draft, find out what players other teams are interested in and positioning to get an edge in the season by acquiring a player, pick or allocation money for less than you give up.
The draft itself can get hectic when you have multiple picks in the same round and trade offers are coming and going. After the draft, virtually every team feels they did very well - simply because at the time they make the picks, they think the players will help them out.
The real draft grades aren't handed out until the end of the season.
i'll be in Baltimore for the women's league's meetings, head coach interviews that Marcia McDermott has set up, a special league announcement and a Town Hall forum hosted by USA Today's Christine Brennan.
i'll also be taking a couple shifts at the women's league's booth on the trade show floor Friday and Saturday, so if you're at the convention please stop by. i'll be having a great time, but not as much fun as all the MLS player personnel folks.
At the NSCAA Convention, the game plan is massaged, adjusted and played out in mock drafts before the big day. You're always trying to move up in the draft, find out what players other teams are interested in and positioning to get an edge in the season by acquiring a player, pick or allocation money for less than you give up.
The draft itself can get hectic when you have multiple picks in the same round and trade offers are coming and going. After the draft, virtually every team feels they did very well - simply because at the time they make the picks, they think the players will help them out.
The real draft grades aren't handed out until the end of the season.
i'll be in Baltimore for the women's league's meetings, head coach interviews that Marcia McDermott has set up, a special league announcement and a Town Hall forum hosted by USA Today's Christine Brennan.
i'll also be taking a couple shifts at the women's league's booth on the trade show floor Friday and Saturday, so if you're at the convention please stop by. i'll be having a great time, but not as much fun as all the MLS player personnel folks.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
A Full Glass of Sports
i am a fan of most sports, not just soccer. Yesterday was a bit of nirvana for me as i spent ten hours at my favorite Milwaukee soccer bar, The Highbury Pub, (www.thehighbury.com) watching the Premier League, college basketball and the NFL playoffs.
Started at 8:30 am for the Arsenal v. Birmingham City draw. The Highbury, as it's name suggests, is mainly an Arsenal pub, but it is also frequented by a good number of passionate Liverpool and Manchester United fans and a sprinkling of West Ham, Tottenham, Chelsea, Everton and Fulham (of which i am one) supporters, too. The Liverpool v. Middlesbrough draw and Chelsea's 2-0 victory over Spurs were also shown during the early games. Those were followed by the 6-0 United shellacking of Newcastle.
The rest of the day was dedicated to my two Wisconsin sports bias'. As the soccer purists left, i watched my alma mater Marquette Warriors trample Notre Dame by 26 points. As sweet as that is for me, it was only an appetizer for the main course as the Highbury filled up again for the Packers playoff game.
i had brought my "lucky" wedge of Frozen Tundra Lambeau Field sod from the 1997 season and Joe Katz, the Highbury's proprietor, offered "Turf Toe" shots (Jameson sprinkled with a bit of the famous frozen sod) after each Packer touchdown. The Packers obliged with six touchdowns and by my count, Joe served more than 30 Turf Toes...only in Wisconsin.
Started at 8:30 am for the Arsenal v. Birmingham City draw. The Highbury, as it's name suggests, is mainly an Arsenal pub, but it is also frequented by a good number of passionate Liverpool and Manchester United fans and a sprinkling of West Ham, Tottenham, Chelsea, Everton and Fulham (of which i am one) supporters, too. The Liverpool v. Middlesbrough draw and Chelsea's 2-0 victory over Spurs were also shown during the early games. Those were followed by the 6-0 United shellacking of Newcastle.
The rest of the day was dedicated to my two Wisconsin sports bias'. As the soccer purists left, i watched my alma mater Marquette Warriors trample Notre Dame by 26 points. As sweet as that is for me, it was only an appetizer for the main course as the Highbury filled up again for the Packers playoff game.
i had brought my "lucky" wedge of Frozen Tundra Lambeau Field sod from the 1997 season and Joe Katz, the Highbury's proprietor, offered "Turf Toe" shots (Jameson sprinkled with a bit of the famous frozen sod) after each Packer touchdown. The Packers obliged with six touchdowns and by my count, Joe served more than 30 Turf Toes...only in Wisconsin.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
If it's broke, fix it
i'm referring to the Fire's coach selection process as well as my latest appliance battle.
In my mind, John Spencer's acceptance and quick rejection of the Chicago Fire's coaching position is a blessing. If he would've accepted the position, two things could've happened:
1) He'd fail and that wouldn't be good or...
2) He'd succeed and soon try to leverage his success for more money/glory in Scotland or Colorado where i believe he really wants to coach.
Now i just hope that Denis Hamlett along with Daryl Shore and maybe Frank Klopas and Chris Armas get a chance to run the team themselves. i'm disappointed that Denis and Daryl haven't received more support from the community. Denis and Daryl were an important part of our success under Bob Bradley (one MLS Cup, two US Open Cups and two conference championships) and Dave Sarachan (one Supporters Shield, two US Open Cups and a conference championship) as well as the limited success Juan Carlos Osorio had in his short time in Chicago (one playoff appearance).
People either forget or ignore the fact that the Fire has won six major trophies with Denis as an important part of both the assembling and the coaching of the Fire. He was responsible for Ivan Guerrero, among others, joining the Fire and he tried to keep JCO from letting Ivan go. He also tried to keep JCO from signing Paulo Wanchope last year due to information he had about Wanchope's knees. The Fire has also won four major trophies with Daryl as a part of it. He brings great knowledge of all levels of American soccer, he comes from a coaching family, which has instilled the skill and art of coaching in him since he was a little kid. Daryl is much more than a goalkeeper coach - though he's very good at that as well. Frankie and Chris' abilities are much more public and i shouldn't need to expound on their attributes.
i believe the tradition of the Fire is important, should be respected and the team now has a great opportunity to embrace its successful past and use it to lead the team to more success.
For those following my apppliance woes, the new refrigerator arrives today, but the washing machine's cold water shut off valve malfunctioned yesterday flooding the basement...sigh...i'm betting on the dish washer next.
In my mind, John Spencer's acceptance and quick rejection of the Chicago Fire's coaching position is a blessing. If he would've accepted the position, two things could've happened:
1) He'd fail and that wouldn't be good or...
2) He'd succeed and soon try to leverage his success for more money/glory in Scotland or Colorado where i believe he really wants to coach.
Now i just hope that Denis Hamlett along with Daryl Shore and maybe Frank Klopas and Chris Armas get a chance to run the team themselves. i'm disappointed that Denis and Daryl haven't received more support from the community. Denis and Daryl were an important part of our success under Bob Bradley (one MLS Cup, two US Open Cups and two conference championships) and Dave Sarachan (one Supporters Shield, two US Open Cups and a conference championship) as well as the limited success Juan Carlos Osorio had in his short time in Chicago (one playoff appearance).
People either forget or ignore the fact that the Fire has won six major trophies with Denis as an important part of both the assembling and the coaching of the Fire. He was responsible for Ivan Guerrero, among others, joining the Fire and he tried to keep JCO from letting Ivan go. He also tried to keep JCO from signing Paulo Wanchope last year due to information he had about Wanchope's knees. The Fire has also won four major trophies with Daryl as a part of it. He brings great knowledge of all levels of American soccer, he comes from a coaching family, which has instilled the skill and art of coaching in him since he was a little kid. Daryl is much more than a goalkeeper coach - though he's very good at that as well. Frankie and Chris' abilities are much more public and i shouldn't need to expound on their attributes.
i believe the tradition of the Fire is important, should be respected and the team now has a great opportunity to embrace its successful past and use it to lead the team to more success.
For those following my apppliance woes, the new refrigerator arrives today, but the washing machine's cold water shut off valve malfunctioned yesterday flooding the basement...sigh...i'm betting on the dish washer next.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Hit the ground running...
Our new GM that is, not my refrigerator, which isn't running at all. CPWS named former Carolina Courage and Northwestern Head Coach Marcia McDermott our General Manager yesterday. Her first official day included meetings in our downtown office in the morning an important meeting with the leadership of the Illinois Youth Soccer Association in the afternoon and a dinner with IWSL's Flo and Charlie Dyson.
It was great to see Marcia connect so easily with everyone. She is knowledgeable about the women's soccer landscape locally, nationally and internationally and is eager to get to work to make Chicago's franchise successful.
My refrigerator broke down some time last night and we woke up to a flood in the kitchen from the automatic ice maker that was making plenty of water instead of ice....off and running...to Sears.
It was great to see Marcia connect so easily with everyone. She is knowledgeable about the women's soccer landscape locally, nationally and internationally and is eager to get to work to make Chicago's franchise successful.
My refrigerator broke down some time last night and we woke up to a flood in the kitchen from the automatic ice maker that was making plenty of water instead of ice....off and running...to Sears.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Easy come, easy go
The snow that is...December was the snowiest month in these parts in recent memory. i built a gorgeous (if i may say so myself) snowman in our front yard a couple weeks ago, accessorized it with a Santa hat, Fire scarf, oranges for eyes, a banana for the mouth, sticks for arms and a Fire flag on the end of a roof rake pole in his right "hand". It held up really well until this latest warm front and rain came in. It lost its head on Saturday, arms on Sunday and the Fire flag needs to be rescued soon before it touches the ground!
On the Chicago Pro Women's Soccer front, we expect to announce our GM hiring tomorrow, though word may leak out earlier (there's an aggressive soccer reporter in town and that's a very good thing).
On the Chicago Pro Women's Soccer front, we expect to announce our GM hiring tomorrow, though word may leak out earlier (there's an aggressive soccer reporter in town and that's a very good thing).
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Happy New Year!
Sorry i haven't posted in awhile. One of my resolutions for the new year is to post here more often even if they're shorter and not always directly related to the Chicago pro women's soccer team.
2007 went out with a whimper, but 2008 should come in with a bang with major announcements for both the League and Chicago franchise later this month.
We expect to announce our general manager in a few days. She has already been coordinating the head coach interview process behind the scenes for the last month or so and is expected to bring the search to a head by the end of the month.
Happy New Year all!
2007 went out with a whimper, but 2008 should come in with a bang with major announcements for both the League and Chicago franchise later this month.
We expect to announce our general manager in a few days. She has already been coordinating the head coach interview process behind the scenes for the last month or so and is expected to bring the search to a head by the end of the month.
Happy New Year all!
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