2008 LA Galaxy

Discussion in 'General Football & Other Sport' started by Fitz, Mar 4, 2008.

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  1. fan

    fan slow toaster

    those ******* nation of islamers! having watched oz (i thought it was the judy garland movie) i know what those ****ers can do. you need to get in with the aryans or possible bikers.
     
  2. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Remember the 80's? You probably weren't born yet. In the late 80's, Malcolm X became a common image here particularly in Berkeley where my skool was. It was not unusual to see someone with a Malcolm X cap on. I had a "...by any means necessary" shirt that depicted Malcolm X brandishing an Uzi. So, I thought I was cool.

    I started staying at my friend's apartment in deep Oakland when I was homeless for a stretch after blowing all my money one summer on a cross country trip. I was desperate, honestly. Tom was helping me out. Down the street was a bakery run by the Black Muslim's. I believe it was called the Malcolm X Bakery. All the staff were Black Muslims, and by that I don't mean they were moslems who were black, they were 5 Percenters. They were members of the Nation of Islam, once headed by Malcom X until he left, now headed by Louis Farrakhan.

    It was an ordinary bakery really, with a counter to vend, a coffee pot and a fridge with OJ and other cold drinks. It was situated by a bus stop at a big intersection, and a lot of people walked past it every morning.

    I finally got myself a job on campus, and had to report at 8am on days I didn't have class.

    I was quite poor, hence the homeless...the only thing I could afford to buy until my first paycheck came was a muffin and OJ for breakfast. The bakery was a short walk from his place so I would go every once in a while on the way to school in the morning.

    After a week of working, I started to feel comfortable going there, and could almost see that paycheck of mine in my hand. Things were looking up!

    One Sunday, I decided to splurge and got an egg sandwich for breakfast, as well as the paper and brought it back to read and do the crossword puzzle. A few hours later I didn't feel right and puked. Then again. And again. I was horribly horribly sick just a couple hours later. I remember puking until I thought I was going to prolapse my intestines through my mouth.

    My buddy was out all day and when he got back to find me residing on the floor of his bathroom, he got a little freaked out, and could tell he had not a little bit of regret on deciding to allow me to crash there. I remember telling him "Call (puke) my (puke) mom!" A few hours later my mom who lived about 80 miles away showed up with chicken soup which I never tasted. By the time I was able to eat again, Tom had eaten the soup.

    It took about 3 days to get right after that. I never went back to the bakery.
     
  3. Y&P

    Y&P Squad Player

    *******s!
     
  4. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

  5. darave8

    darave8 Forum lucky person

    Can't belive i read all that. Seems Becks isn't that highly rated your way fitz.
     
  6. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    It turns out, he's just a right midfielder and not the second coming of cheese on spaghetti. The problem is in the team management, honestly.

    My one criticism of his game is he fails to take obvious shots, apparently because he doesn't think it's his place as a player. Well, in this league EVERYONE takes good shots when available...
     
  7. fan

    fan slow toaster

    i read all of that article on the toilet last week. its where i do all my liberal sport related thinking
     
  8. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Isaac's Preview returns.

    Soon, it will all be over.
     
  9. darave8

    darave8 Forum lucky person

    Fitz, as you have such tight restrictions on wages and so on, who benifits from profit? I mean surely that is why Beckham is there, the world knows this. I am also sure they haven't tried to cover it up. So why no protest Newcastle style? If you have a player as well known and of such high quality as Donavon for not even half of what Beckham owns your surely missing out on a top quality team, you could have had Darren Huckerby FFS!

    The biggest suprise to come from the article was that you have footballers at your lub on the minium wage. Is that normal in the MLS? not even our non-league players earn such low salarys.
     
  10. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    The low salaries in MLS are totally normal, unfortunately. I've been talknig aobut that on this thread for a while now. On the Galaxy, what is out of line is the rate of minimum salary/low salary to medium and high salary players.

    There is talk of a Player's Union action during the offseason to address this. FYI, Action = Strike. BUMMER. Google MLS Players salaries and read the list...it's an eye opener. I posted it previously in this thread, too.


    Most of the money Beckham's reported to make goes directly to him because they are a resutl of contracts with companies like Adidas and Gillette or whatever. The Galaxy get their profit from not only ticket sales, but shirt sales and participation in overseas exhibition soccer games in the offseason.

    Profit goes to the owner of the team, AEG or Anschutz Entertainment Group. AEG also owns billions and billions of dollars of assets in the sports and event arena line of business including the LA Kings, the Houston Dynamo, the Staples Center in LA, a half a dozen minor league hockey teams, Hammarby in Sweden and even the Thames Clipper and the O2 Arena in London as well. Phil Anschutz, the man behind AEG, has been a soccer philanthropist. He and the late Senator Lamar Hunt who owned the Kansas City Wizards bankrolled the league and owned multiple teams for years during the unprofitable period of the league. Slowly they sold them off as the league got stronger and teams got more valuable.

    Earlier in this thread, I posted a link to an article about Phil Anschutz. It's worth checking out as it gives a look into a US sporting megatycoon most have no idea even exists.

    Newcastle is just pathetic, but I actually think Galaxy fans have more in common with FC United Manchester fans. We have serious problems with Tim Leiwicke who is the guy who steps in and bungles things for the Galaxy as AEG's henchman while Uncle Phil keeps his hands clean. He has mislaid his trust in Leiwicke who is a f u c k up if I may be so direct. I am OK with Anschutz, but not OK with Leiwicke, and most who are knowledgable fans of the Galaxy feel the same. I want Leiwicke to get out of soccer and let the sports people run the team. He can go back to developing arenas and events centers, which AEG is really good at.

    That brings me to another point...there are very few knowledgable fans of the Galaxy. Most are moms and dads taking their kids to the park for a game and they couldn't tell if the team they were playing had it's starters in or not, or who the coach is or if they acquired Juan Pablo Angel or Guillermo Barros-Schelotto or Darren Huckerby or Kenny Deuchar. They are just there to spend some time at the park or see Beckham. Of the fans in the stands, about 20% are knowledgeable beyond who the stars of the Galaxy are. Nobody knows who Phil Anshutz is, or Tim Leiwicke, and no one understands how impartant they are to the team's makeup and conduct.

    Football in the US is the pointy ball game...soccer is the 5th most popular sport behind Football, Baseball, Basketball and Hockey. A fairly distant 5th, but gaining on hockey...Beckham offered a chance to move soccer from 5th in to 4th place, but that is getting royally screwed up by Tim Leiwicke.
     
  11. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    UEFA looks to MLS for inspiration on financial responsibility

    It also says Liverpool may not be allowed to play in Europe becuase of their financial situation....

     
  12. Evasive

    Evasive Requiescat in pace

    Fitz, I assume MLS has a similar Collective Bargaining Agreement to the NFL right?
     
  13. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    I don't know how it is similar to the NFL's CBA, but there is a players union. There has never been any need for adversarial action in MLS since there was no pie to fight over until now.
     
  14. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

  15. krisvad

    krisvad Forum Viking

  16. Evasive

    Evasive Requiescat in pace

    Is it the case like the NFL where all MLS income is shared equally among the teams?
     
  17. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    I don't think so. Teams keep the profits they make, I believe, likely as an incentive to get profitable. HUGE difference is that in the NFL, teams own their team member's contracts, but in the MLS the League owns ALL players contracts, with the exception of the Designated Players like JP Angel, cuahtemoc Blanco and David Beckham.
     
  18. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Well, we won last night, and the winner was a scorching blast from far outside the box by Brandon McDonald. Second win in 16 games...

    Final Score
    Galaxy 3-2 Rapids

    We have two games left.

    If we get 4 points out of them, we will likely make the playoffs. Any loss and we are out... I almost hope we don't get the points to inadvertently validate the crappy management job this team has endured. Like 2005.

    PS: No Beckham. We won. Just sayin'.
     
  19. luke_golden

    luke_golden Space Cadet

    Sounds a bit like the Steve Mclaren scenario with England, when most people were fairly satisfied with failure if it spelt the end of his disastrous reign.
     
  20. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    If you are 50, get out your slide rule. If you are 40, get out your Texas Instruments. If you are 30, boot up your MacII and if you are 20, go back to school because it is time for Galaxy Advanced Calculus, starring Calculon!
    [​IMG]


    Advanced Calculus

    Despite extraordinary home support, three designated players to star the season, and an expensive Dutch coach to return the team to glory, Galaxy must do advanced calculus in order to figure out how to make the playoffs.

    Here’s a short breakdown of how Galaxy can make the playoffs:

    Ahead of Galaxy and within reach are Kansas City (36), New York (36), Salt Lake (36), FC Dallas (35), DC United (34), Colorado (34), and Toronto (32).

    Kansas City (36 points)
    Remaining matches: vs. San Jose, @ New England
    Max points: 38 points (via 2 draws)
    Scenario: Kansas City draws with San Jose and loses at New England. San Jose is currently behind Galaxy, but they must drop 2 points somewhere along the line. The last match at New England is a question mark as the Revs will surely be thinking of freshening up for the playoffs.
    **MUST NOT WIN**

    New York (36 points)
    Remaining matches: vs. Columbus, @ Chicago
    Max points: 37 points (via 1 draw, 1 loss)
    Scenario: Any two game draw-loss combination that give New York a single point of the last six benefit Galaxy. Despite having the same number of points as Kansas City, New York has the head to head result tie breaker against Galaxy and 38 points would put them up over Los Angeles
    **MUST NOT WIN**

    Salt Lake (36 points)
    Remaining matches: vs. FC Dallas, @ Colorado
    Max points: 38 points (via 2 draws)
    Scenario: Salt Lake must not win. If RSL manage two draws, they would be even with Galaxy on everything except goals. Under this scenario, Galaxy would have to win both remaining games by a total of 3 goals or Real Salt Lake would end up above the Galaxy on goal differential.
    **MUST NOT WIN**

    FC Dallas (35 points)
    Remaining matches: @ Salt Lake, vs. Galaxy
    Max points: 38 points (1 win, loss to Galaxy)
    Scenario: Because FC Dallas must lose to Galaxy in order for any speculation to be viable, a win at Salt Lake to slow down the Mormons might actually be beneficial to Los Angeles. Dallas would be halted at 38 points, and Galaxy win would ensure the head to head tie breaker.

    DC United (34 points)
    Remaining matches: vs. New England, @ Columbus
    Max points: 38 points (1 win, 1 draw)
    Scenario: Of all the teams ahead of Galaxy, DC United has the worst schedule on paper. United would require maximum points in order to keep Galaxy back. At 38 points, DC would have to secure its win by 6 goals and wait for Galaxy to win by 2 goals at most.

    Colorado (34 points)
    Remaining matches: @ Chivas USA, vs. Salt Lake
    Max points: 38 points (1 win, 1 draw)
    Scenario: Even at 38 points, Colorado would not have enough points at the close of the season to move past Galaxy in the standings as the Angelinos own the head-to-head tie-breaker. The most important thing is that the Rapids not lose their season-ending rivalry match at home to Real Salt Lake.

    Toronto FC (32 points)
    Remaining matches: vs. Chicago, @ San Jose
    Max points: 36 (1 win, 1 draw)
    Scenario: Toronto FC will be tackling a task of equal magnitude to the Galaxy's challenge. If they manage two wins, they will finish ahead of Galaxy despite the best efforts of the Angelinos. Along the way, Toronto will face an already qualified Toronto and very possibly an already eliminated San Jose.​

    The cheapest way into the playoffs is much clearer:

    2 Galaxy wins (38 )
    1 FC Dallas Win against Salt Lake (38 )
    1 Colorado loss to Chivas USA (37)
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    2 Kansas City losses (36)
    2 New York losses (36)
    2 Salt lake losses (36)
    1 San Jose loss to Houston (36)
    2 DC losses (34)
    2 TFC losses (32)
     
  21. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Isaac's preview:
     
  22. Chewitt

    Chewitt Forum Extraordinaire

  23. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

  24. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    What an idiot.

    EDIT:
    I hope it is clear to you all that Ruud doesn't understand sports in the US in general, and MLS in particular, and that was the reason he was a failure here.

    The interview highlights that fact.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2008
  25. Evasive

    Evasive Requiescat in pace

    Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Portland and the New York City area are competing.

    Portland shouldn't get it since they have just given it to Seatle, NY have too many sports franchises, so the way I see it Atlanta will have to beat out St. Louis and Vegas since I bet they will give one of the other expansion slots to a Canadian side.

    What happened to Miami Fusion then?
     
  26. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    There is little reason for you all to watch USL, but for years the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers have had the best rivalry in soccer in the USA. Portland is among the best supported soccer teams in the US, regularly drawing 20,000 to their lower division side. With the Sounders going into MLS, that rivalry loses something, and that's our loss.

    IT turns out Rivalries are the best way generate interest in soccer here. That's one reason why the other NY team is a very very valid effort.

    Atlanta kind of answers a question no one is really asking: why isn't there a soccer team in the south? They are too busy with football there, and point of fact: No Atlantan goes to Hawks, Flames, Falcons or even Braves games. They just watch on TV or don't care.

    The Fusion are gone...years ago. It's possible this Barca team may try to use the old name (which I think would be smart) but more likely they will emulate the "success" of Chivas USA's branding themselves after their mother team. That is a colossal failure to comprehend the US soccer market, which I am betting Barcelona will replicate.

    PS: In the CONCACAF Champions League, USL teams have eliminated most of the MLS teams many Central American sides and one is heading into the Quarterfinals.
     
  27. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Video of Brandon McDonald's awesome game winner:
    click here
     
  28. Y&P

    Y&P Squad Player

    I scored one like that the other day.

    I didn't slice mine though.
     
  29. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Galaxy are out of the Playoffs.

    I'm so surprised.

    They got their butts whipped by the defending MLS champs Houston Dynamo 3-0 yesterday. The Galaxy were totally outplayed and never threatened, but the own goal to start off the scoring didn't help.

    Beckham "transfer" rumors are abounding...to Arsenal or to AC Milan.
    I don't think they are really transfer talks though, probably just discussions about where he will train in the off-season. There's just too much money in the bucket for him to leave.

    I hate the MLS.
     
  30. Evasive

    Evasive Requiescat in pace

    Becks hasn't got the legs to play in the Premier/Champ League. He will stay in the MLS.

    Perhaps your owners could concentrate on putting together a good squad around him?
     
  31. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    But he's got the legs to play for England? His legs are fine, his team sucks.

    I wish AEG could put together a team...history shows they cannot. To make matters worse, the best player on the Galaxy, Landon Donovan, looks likely to be headed abroad to Europe for another stint.

    All of the team construction issues revolve around the salary cap and the rules that govern it. There is some hope there: the cap is likely to go up, the Designated Players salary is likely to go from counting as $400k or $325k to counting $0 against the cap. This would give a lot more breathing room to teams with DP's and take away some of the risk for teams without them so they can go out and get one without worrying as much.

    There is also talk of shrinking the offseason. The result would be an earlier start, and insertion of breaks for international games, hopefully.

    I still hate MLS.
     
  32. Evasive

    Evasive Requiescat in pace

    The pace of the international game is much slower than the Premier/Champ League and secondly, he only plays the equivalent of an international a month, whereas there would be 4/5 Premiership games a month plus 1/2 Champ League games.
     
  33. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    MLS expansion:
    It seems a few of the most anticipated bids failed to make it this year.

    The New York second team bid from the NY Mets organization did not make it to the table.

    Also, the Las Vegas bid which I was really hoping would come to fruition appears to be in the worst shape of all. Can you imagine a road trip from LA to Las Vegas the city of motherficking sin? Incredible potential.
     
  34. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    The inestimable Catamount is a mega number cruncher...I sort of planted a seed for him to do this and he fell for it hook line and sinker. He doesn't yet realize I made him do it. Heh heh heh...

    Pretty interesting.

     
  35. Fitz

    Fitz Squad Player

    Talk of Beckham departing to Italy is getting serious...a lot more serious than I thought, and I am not talking about just training there which is already a done deal.

     
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