MLS All-Stars 1, Chelsea 0

Great win. Even for a team that had seemingly little chemistry at times, they played superb defense. Even without Donovan and Twellman, they created lots of great chances from the midfield and up top; DeRosario was bound to score eventually with that kind of constant pressure.

All the talk of Chelsea not quite being in shape, and not being cohesive with Schevchenko only getting his first looks with the team, are bogus. The MLSers weren't familiar with each other either, and looked no less in form than the Blues.

NFL Refs No Longer Look Like Juventus

I'm not sure why, but I find that gratifying.


Story

Hiya, MLS.

Hiya, MLS.

Say, maybe it's just me, but as I listen to Marcelo Balboa repeatedly opine that players like Eddie Johnson need to go to Europe so that he/they can "see what real pressure and competition is about", it occurs to me that this might not be the message you want your former stars to send out...particularly during a live MLS broadcast.

Essentially, Balboa just dogged out the entire league. No real competition. No real pressure in the media or from fans after a loss. Thing is, you and I know that there's some truth to those assertions, but Balboa spouting this while providing color for an MLS match isn't helping. He's not tactful enough to bring up the subject without pissing on the league's current status, never mentioning the great strides made by MLS (and US soccer in general) over the last decade. Yes, Marcelo, we get it; we know. Soccer is ten times more popular across the pond, and the UK visibly press savages poor performance while overheaping praise on good players. (Next you'll tell us that water is wet.) How about offering up ways to further advance the sport's US growth, beyond assuming that your mere presence in the booth is suficient?

So, MLS, in closing: If the poor feedback Balboa generated from his World Cup commentary isn't enough to get you to re-evaluate him, perhaps this latest bit of minor treachery will be.

Lego Soccer FTW

You have never, ever had this much free time on your hands. I'm glad, for the sake of my visual entertainment, that these guys did.

http://media.skoopy.com/misc/stadium/

Soccer-specific workout

Laced with anti-soccer snark (hair gel? Yeesh), but interesting nonetheless:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/4050618.html

Random Thoughts

The World Cup has spoiled us.

FC Dallas is at Chicago right now. After a month of seeing terrific football in sharp, clear live video on ABC and ESPN, we're now back to seeing the latter display its MLS games in what appears to be a live patch from an old VHS camcorder. I expect this kind of second-tier coverage from USL matches, but MLS is supposed to be a professional league. I know, I know.

The US Women play Sweden tonight, hopefully shown via higher-quality cameras.

I like Dallas' updated Away kit, a marked improvement over the plain white of last season. Of course, with the crappy video, one can only tell during close-ups.

Speaking of kits, I like watching the Houson Dynamo play, especially when Ching is in top form; I hate their kit, though. That day-glo orange just doesn't appeal to the eye, and I'm pretty sure the top is a stock Adidas design on which they've just slapped the name Houston, as opposed to actually having a kit designed.

EDIT: an MLS game (LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA) was on HDNet later, in full hi-def. Sweeeet.