Week 1's Worth Mentioning

The first week of MLS 2009 Season has come to a close, and there are a couple points worthy of noting:

• Seattle Sounders FC are here to play. The MLS debutant means business. They've got the roster, the coach, and the FANS to be a force to be reckoned with in their virgin season. I'm looking forward to seeing what they make of it, and you should be too. A 3-0 victory over Red Bull New York is definitely an auspicious start for the boys from the Emerald City, and lord only knows Seattlites are hurting for a sports team that they can be proud of right now.

• Landon Donovan's back from Germany, and he's none the worse for the wear. Instead of taking time to relax in the MLS offseason, the Golden Boy of American Soccer went on temporary loan to Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga, where he performed well and even tallied a few goals in one of Europe's top leagues before returning in time for the start of the MLS season--unlike his illustrious teammate, David Beckham, who dipped into his own monstrous bank account to ensure the extension of his loan to AC Milan through the end of the Italian Serie A season, after which he will take a month's vacation before returning to join the Galaxy in mid-July...hm, sound familiar? Wonder if this scheme will work out any better the second time around... But I digress...after winning last season's Golden Boot, Donovan started off the 2009 MLS season by personally resurrecting the Galaxy from a 2-goal deficit to draw against DC United. He appears to be in better form than ever, and that's going to mean trouble for the league's defenders and goalkeepers, but it won't do LA any good unless they can fix their own defensive problems. Dismissing last season's 'keeper, the worthless Steve Cronin, was a good start, but LA still gave up 2 goals to a weak DC side at the weekend...

• Chicago Fire @ FC Dallas demonstrated a couple of important facts...First, Kenny Cooper is now not only one of the most lethal strikers in the league (at least, until he gets snatched up by a European team this summer), but he's been practicing his range, and he is now positively surgical from 65 YARDS OUT. With his strength, size, speed, and range, Coach Bob Bradley will be an IDIOT not to make Cooper a regular face on the US National Team. Second, if Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Brian McBride's goals on Saturday are any indication, the Fire are going to be downright scary on set pieces and freekicks this season. Blanco didn't play a full 90 minutes, but he did score a textbook goal on a freekick just outside the box, curling the ball into the upper-90. McBride's penalty kick was at least as good as Donovan's, and showed that McBride's still got it.

Tune in for Week 2 of MLS 2009! Schedule available at www.mlsnet.com.

2011 MLS Expansions announced

The past week has finally seen the announcement of the 2 expansion franchises to begin MLS play in the 2011 season. Vancouver, BC's franchise was announced first, and today Portland, Oregon was also granted a franchise. After last night's debut, I'm willing to bet that the Seattle Sounders expansion will prove itself a brilliant move for the league, but THREE teams in the Pacific Northwest within 2 years? I worry that these teams are going to cut into each other's potential fanbases somewhat, and that it may have been better to grant a franchise to St. Louis, which is the historical hometown of American soccer and would have made for a more balanced map of the league... Also, adding 3 teams to the Western Conference probably means that the conferences will need to be balanced. There are currently 8 teams in the Western Conference (Seattle FC, Chivas USA, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas, Colorado Rapids, and San Jose Earthquakes) and 7 in the Eastern Conference (Red Bull New York, Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, Kansas City Wizards, Toronto FC, DC United, and New England Revolution). Next year the Philadelphia expansion team will restore balance to the conferences, but in 2011 2 more teams in the Pacific Northwest will probably mean that we will see both Houston and Dallas shift to the Eastern Conference.

On the other hand, maybe this will be one of the best moves MLS has made to date: the United Soccer League teams in Vancouver and Portland both have strong followings already, which may provide a solid fanbase for the new MLS teams (which may or may not be promotions of the current USL teams) despite their proximity. Furthermore, one of the biggest criticisms of the US as a soccer scene is the geographic factor...the distances between cities are so great that it is often difficult and expensive for fans to travel to away games to support their club, meaning the atmosphere at a game can't compete with the European scene, where fans routinely travel to away games in numbers significant enough to make them a real factor in their opponents' home stadiums. As wonderful as it is that many soccer matches are now regularly broadcast on television for viewers nationwide to tune in, it is undeniable that to properly appreciate the beautiful game, you should be there as it's happening. Having teams clustered in cities close enough that it is easy for fans to travel creates potentially thrilling rivalries, and could be good for breeding dedicated new fans. Time will tell...

MLS 2009 Kickoff!

Tonight was the kickoff of the 2009 MLS Season with the inaugural game of Seattle Sounders FC hosting Red Bull New York. The nearly 43,000 screaming fans at Qwest Field made for quite a 12th Man as the Sounders dismantled a shaky-looking Red Bull 3-0, with 2 goals from Fredy Montero and another from Brad Evans. While the showing from New York was disappointing, the ambition demonstrated by Sounders proves they, under the leadership of championship-winning coach Sigi Schmid, have every intention of being a legitimate force in the league this season. If their fans remain as supportive and as LOUD as they were tonight, this franchise probably will meet their goal of making the playoffs. Congrats Seattle on finally having something go right lately in the wide world of sports!