USA/Canada lower leagues 2014: No, there's no promotion/relegation

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Ray Parlour > USA/Canada lower leagues 2014: No, there's no promotion/relegation

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Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

These teams need names that motivate the players on them:

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS NOT QUITE GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE SENIOR TEAM
LOS ANGELES NOT READY YET GALAXY PLAYERS

# ? Nov 22, 2014 04:34

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# ? May 7, 2024 18:00

smitz: Nov 5, 2003

As a german who grew up in the UK and recently moved to Austin...

WTF is going on in this country wrt to leagues?!?

premiership teams can put their B squad into a lower division? No automatic relegation or promotion? The austin team moved to florida? There's no beer because we play on a highschool's american football pitch?!

This thread has helped a lot though, not by clearing things up, but by making me ask even more questions.

I guess im buying a season ticket and digging out the old booze flask and finding out.

# ? Nov 25, 2014 19:54

King of False Promises: Jul 31, 2000

Looks like NASL is getting ready to head to LA: http://www.indyweek.com/sports/archives/2014/11/25/sources-north-american-soccer-league-poised-to-announce-la-expansion

I've also heard rumors that the Puerto Rico Islanders may be resurrected and that Hartford has an ownership group ready to announce soon, too.

# ? Nov 25, 2014 20:11

Suqit: Apr 25, 2005; Stars Stripes Freedom Jozy
(Jozy not pictured here)

I ran into NASL champ Greg Janicki at the golf course and we chatted and bonded and I bought him a beer and then he carried me out on his shoulders.

# ? Nov 25, 2014 23:42

B.B. Rodriguez: Aug 8, 2005; Bender: "I was God once." God: "Yes, I saw. You were doing well until everyone died."

smitz posted:

As a german who grew up in the UK and recently moved to Austin...

WTF is going on in this country wrt to leagues?!?

premiership teams can put their B squad into a lower division? No automatic relegation or promotion? The austin team moved to florida? There's no beer because we play on a highschool's american football pitch?!

This thread has helped a lot though, not by clearing things up, but by making me ask even more questions.

I guess im buying a season ticket and digging out the old booze flask and finding out.

Our system looks like this:
1- MLS
2- NASL (kinda)
3- USLPRo
4- Player Development Leagues (not relevant)

It's actually super simple. WE DON'T DO PROMOTION/RELEGATION. That said, since you are German I'll explain it using your leagues. Imagine the 1.Bundesliga and the 3.Bundesliga were friendly with each other and the DFB mandated all 1.B teams had to have a working relationship with teams in the 3.B. Some teams just simply made their own 'II' teams like you'd see in VFB Stuttgart II/Bayern II/Werder Bremen II, etc and put them in the third division. Players are usually sent up and down based on form from the junior team to the senior teams. That's the working relationship between MLS and USLPRo. Now imagine the 2.Bundesliga was run by an insane person who thinks they are on par with, and will eventually replace the 1.Bundesliga fully. That's the NASL. They want in on MLS, but don't have the money, talent, intelligence, or anything to actually compete.

Better yet, we're goddamn Baseball. We have farm teams that will help develop players, but one of the leagues is crazy and thinks it's its own MLB when the MLB already exists.

# ? Nov 26, 2014 00:06

camoseven: Dec 30, 2005; RODOLPHONE RINGIN'

King of False Promises posted:

Looks like NASL is getting ready to head to LA: http://www.indyweek.com/sports/archives/2014/11/25/sources-north-american-soccer-league-poised-to-announce-la-expansion

I've also heard rumors that the Puerto Rico Islanders may be resurrected and that Hartford has an ownership group ready to announce soon, too.

I didn't realize US Soccer was requiring NASL to have pacific time zone team in order to keep their "2nd Division" status. Insane. Teams are already trading players to pay for airfare and lodging. A sustainable west coast team seems like a stretch.

edit: wasn't sure if I wanted to touch this buuuut:

B.B. Rodriguez posted:

Better yet, we're goddamn Baseball. We have farm teams that will help develop players, but one of the leagues is crazy and thinks it's its own MLB when the MLB already exists.

You should really look at the formative years of the MLB (and the NBA, for that matter). We are still in the early stages of real professional soccer in America, and rival leagues challenging the "established" status quo have drastically altered the outcomes of other sports' top leagues.

camoseven fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Nov 26, 2014

# ? Nov 26, 2014 00:50

Edward Mass: Sep 14, 2011; 𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen𝅘𝅥𝅮

Austin Aztex's affiliate: Columbus. :geno:

# ? Nov 26, 2014 03:24

Do over Ham: Mar 20, 2009

smitz posted:

As a german who grew up in the UK and recently moved to Austin...

WTF is going on in this country wrt to leagues?!?

premiership teams can put their B squad into a lower division? No automatic relegation or promotion? The austin team moved to florida? There's no beer because we play on a highschool's american football pitch?!

American football pitch = gridiron! :eng101:

quote:

This thread has helped a lot though, not by clearing things up, but by making me ask even more questions.

I guess im buying a season ticket and digging out the old booze flask and finding out.

Well here's hoping Austin Aztex eventually get their own SSS built and you can buy and drink a beer in the stadium like a normal human being.

camoseven posted:

I didn't realize US Soccer was requiring NASL to have pacific time zone team in order to keep their "2nd Division" status. Insane. Teams are already trading players to pay for airfare and lodging. A sustainable west coast team seems like a stretch.

edit: wasn't sure if I wanted to touch this buuuut:

You should really look at the formative years of the MLB (and the NBA, for that matter). We are still in the early stages of real professional soccer in America, and rival leagues challenging the "established" status quo have drastically altered the outcomes of other sports' top leagues.

The USSF D2 requirements sound insane but there's a reason for it. They are trying to attract quality investors and create a stable second division, rather than the "we'll accept anyone whose check doesn't bounce" fly-by-night instability of the old USL. Too soon to say if it is working, but things are improving. If they can get enough west coast teams NASL will be fine. Create geographic divisions and reduce travel costs.

Speaking of MLB, at one time the Pacific Coast League was poised to become a major league. Then MLB moved the Giants and Dodgers to California and that was the end of any chance of the PCL moving up. Same situation with NASL: any market that is attractive, MLS will either open a new franchise there, or, the existing NASL franchise will defect to MLS (there may be clauses preventing NASL owners from leaving NASL without penalties but there are enough buyers for them to simply sell their franchise to someone else in another market, which is what the Atlanta Silverbacks may do to enable them to move down to USL Pro before the MLS Atlanta franchise arrives). No way NASL rivals MLS for this reason alone. Mergers between top leagues on equal terms is pretty rare in American sports, and has not happened in a long time, and given the different nature of soccer and its place in the American sporting landscape, NASL is not going to rival MLS, IMO (the existence of things like FIFA and the USSF make things a little different from the usual free-for-all of American sports, IMO). MLS will simply pick off the best NASL markets one by one.

King of False Promises posted:

Looks like NASL is getting ready to head to LA: http://www.indyweek.com/sports/archives/2014/11/25/sources-north-american-soccer-league-poised-to-announce-la-expansion

California Surf! (Assuming they put it in Anaheim/Orange County; putting it in LA right next to the LA Galaxy and the upcoming LAFC team makes no sense.)

quote:

I've also heard rumors that the Puerto Rico Islanders may be resurrected and that Hartford has an ownership group ready to announce soon, too.

Connecticut Yankees! (Just because I'm a literary nerd; historic NASL team names in Hartford are no help: Hartford Bicentennials? No good. Maybe something Japanese: Hartford Antlers!)

# ? Nov 26, 2014 03:43

Edward Mass: Sep 14, 2011; 𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen𝅘𝅥𝅮

There's going to be a beer garden in a corner that the schools don't own at House Park (where the Aztex play), as I've mentioned before.

# ? Nov 26, 2014 03:55

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

camoseven posted:

I didn't realize US Soccer was requiring NASL to have pacific time zone team in order to keep their "2nd Division" status. Insane. Teams are already trading players to pay for airfare and lodging. A sustainable west coast team seems like a stretch.

It's kind of funny. The NASL - per order of the USSF - has to have teams in every U.S. time zone, 75% of teams are supposed to be based in the United States, 75% of teams are supposed to be based in metro areas with populations larger than 750,000, and every team has to have an owner with a net worth of at least $25 million.

Are there any restrictions to entry for USL PRO, the league that partners with MLS? LOL nope. It's why you see teams popping up in D3 seemingly overnight and staking out large markets while teams are taking 2-3 years to get off the ground in the NASL.

It's also somewhat odd that the NASL is the only league and/or footballing body in the United States without any representation on the USSF council. You'd think that if Sunil Gulati put all these restrictions on D2 teams than at least their commissioner would get a spot on the governing council.

Do over Ham posted:

The USSF D2 requirements sound insane but there's a reason for it. They are trying to attract quality investors and create a stable second division, rather than the "we'll accept anyone whose check doesn't bounce" fly-by-night instability of the old USL. Too soon to say if it is working, but things are improving. If they can get enough west coast teams NASL will be fine. Create geographic divisions and reduce travel costs.

Yes, but USL PRO is using those restrictions against the NASL to pounce on markets that should be able to house NASL teams. They've also used their lack of ownership restrictions to try to but into existing NASL markets, but that failed hilariously with VSI Tampa Bay.

King of False Promises posted:

I've also heard rumors that the Puerto Rico Islanders may be resurrected and that Hartford has an ownership group ready to announce soon, too.

Puerto Rico has been rumored for the last year or so. Problem with them is that their previous ownership was a hilarious clusterfuck of about twenty or so directors who each had a little bit of money. I'm not sure if the NASL and Puerto Rico's FA will be able to find a guy with enough money and patience to meet the new D2 requirements. They were only allowed in the NASL to begin with because the USSF grandfathered them in.

Crazy Ted fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Nov 26, 2014

# ? Nov 26, 2014 04:22

B.B. Rodriguez: Aug 8, 2005; Bender: "I was God once." God: "Yes, I saw. You were doing well until everyone died."

Do over Ham posted:

California Surf! (Assuming they put it in Anaheim/Orange County; putting it in LA right next to the LA Galaxy and the upcoming LAFC team makes no sense.)

They have a team in Irvine and while the Blues may suck, they do draw about 2500 per game.

Do over Ham posted:

Connecticut Yankees! (Just because I'm a literary nerd; historic NASL team names in Hartford are no help: Hartford Bicentennials? No good. Maybe something Japanese: Hartford Antlers!)

I think we may be missing an opportunity here. 'Breakfasts come and go, Rene, but Hartford, "the Whale," they only beat Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime.'

# ? Nov 26, 2014 05:07

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

B.B. Rodriguez posted:

They have a team in Irvine and while the Blues may suck, they do draw about 2500 per game.

According to this the Blues only averaged about 750.

# ? Nov 26, 2014 05:10

B.B. Rodriguez: Aug 8, 2005; Bender: "I was God once." God: "Yes, I saw. You were doing well until everyone died."

Crazy Ted posted:

According to this the Blues only averaged about 750.

Guess it was just Los Dos bringing in the crowd then.

# ? Nov 26, 2014 05:41

Do over Ham: Mar 20, 2009

B.B. Rodriguez posted:

I think we may be missing an opportunity here. 'Breakfasts come and go, Rene, but Hartford, "the Whale," they only beat Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime.'

Nah, I know some ice hockey fans who are still carrying a torch for the Hartford Whalers. I wouldn't want to mess with their nostalgia.

There was a soccer team(s) named the New Bedford Whalers that predates the Hartford Whalers by over half a ~~decade~~ century [Edit: over half a century, not decade. Brain fart. No idea why I missed that the first half dozen times I proofread it.]:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Bedford_Whalers

Do over Ham fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Dec 9, 2014

# ? Nov 26, 2014 07:09

Edward Mass: Sep 14, 2011; 𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen𝅘𝅥𝅮

New England Tea Men?

# ? Nov 26, 2014 07:35

King of False Promises: Jul 31, 2000

Crazy Ted posted:

Puerto Rico has been rumored for the last year or so. Problem with them is that their previous ownership was a hilarious clusterfuck of about twenty or so directors who each had a little bit of money. I'm not sure if the NASL and Puerto Rico's FA will be able to find a guy with enough money and patience to meet the new D2 requirements. They were only allowed in the NASL to begin with because the USSF grandfathered them in.

The owner for it that I've heard is an NBA star, so money wouldn't be the problem.

# ? Nov 26, 2014 14:25

smitz: Nov 5, 2003

CaptainYesterday posted:

There's going to be a beer garden in a corner that the schools don't own at House Park (where the Aztex play), as I've mentioned before.

yessss

also my mum laughed when I told her I'd just bought a season ticket for $50 wahahaa

# ? Nov 26, 2014 20:34

Edward Mass: Sep 14, 2011; 𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen𝅘𝅥𝅮

smitz posted:

yessss

also my mum laughed when I told her I'd just bought a season ticket for $50 wahahaa

I think that's just the down payment. It'll probably be another $50-100.

# ? Nov 27, 2014 02:04

trem_two: Oct 22, 2002; it is better if you keep saying I'm fat, as I will continue to score goals; Fun Shoe

The Silverbacks are becoming NASL's version of Chivas USA. NASL now own the club and are operating the team in Atlanta in 2015 while they try to find a new ownership group.

# ? Dec 2, 2014 19:32

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

trem_two posted:

The Silverbacks are becoming NASL's version of Chivas USA. NASL now own the club and are operating the team in Atlanta in 2015 while they try to find a new ownership group.

The ridiculous thing about the whole situation is that the Hardins apparently went into owning the Silverbacks thinking they could turn a profit.

On minor-league soccer.

In Atlanta.

Crazy Ted fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Dec 3, 2014

# ? Dec 3, 2014 04:36

Proposition Joe: Oct 8, 2010; He was a good man

So they're going to move the team right? Because even if Atlanta's MLS team is unpopular I don't see the second division team surviving.

# ? Dec 3, 2014 05:53

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

Proposition Joe posted:

So they're going to move the team right? Because even if Atlanta's MLS team is unpopular I don't see the second division team surviving.

Silverbacks Park is a good spot for D2 soccer. I think you'll see the team still get a good following next year, because the team's been pretty much poo poo all four years of the new NASL and they still get decent crowds. They'll probably move for 2016.

# ? Dec 3, 2014 06:28

trem_two: Oct 22, 2002; it is better if you keep saying I'm fat, as I will continue to score goals; Fun Shoe

Proposition Joe posted:

So they're going to move the team right? Because even if Atlanta's MLS team is unpopular I don't see the second division team surviving.

The NASL statement said that they hope to find an owner that will keep them in the Atlanta area, possibly moving the team to a suburb even further out than where the Silverbacks are currently located.

# ? Dec 3, 2014 13:12

King of False Promises: Jul 31, 2000

And in the least shocking news ever, the Rowdies have signed Thomas Rongren as head coach.

# ? Dec 3, 2014 15:32

Do over Ham: Mar 20, 2009

King of False Promises posted:

And in the least shocking news ever, the Rowdies have signed Thomas Rongren as head coach.

# ? Dec 4, 2014 09:30

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

Atlanta has parted ways with Eric "give me all of your PDL and other D4 players" Wynalda.
Minnesota confirmed that it has basically exercised the 2015 contract options on everybody.
Rafael Castillo has signed a three-year contract extension with San Antonio.

Crazy Ted fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Dec 5, 2014

# ? Dec 5, 2014 00:17

Do over Ham: Mar 20, 2009

King of False Promises posted:

And in the least shocking news ever, the Rowdies have signed Thomas Rongren as head coach.

Also important earlier news:

quote:

http://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news/d...er#.VIZQJ5BU8Y0

Rowdies Name Farrukh Quraishi President and General Manager

November 18, 2014 Rowdies Soccer

Farrukh is an original Rowdie, 1975. Lots of managerial experience and long time Tampa Bay area/central Florida resident with lots of local connections. Good choice.

quote:

http://theunsubs.com/wp/2014/12/07/farrukh-quraishi-looks-to-rebuild-rowdies-roster-and-brand/

Farrukh Quraishi Looks to Rebuild Rowdies Roster and Brand
Jake Nutting | December 7, 2014 | blog | No Comments

New Tamp bay Rowdies President and General Manager Farrukh Quraishi officially assumed his duties on Monday, December 1st. The Unused Substitutes caught up Quraishi on Friday evening, as he was leaving the office after his first week on the job. He touched on a few topics, including the process of hiring a new coach, the technical staff, building an ambitious roster, preseason plans, and of course Al Lang renovations.

Do over Ham fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Dec 9, 2014

# ? Dec 9, 2014 02:38

c0ldfuse: Jun 18, 2004; The pursuit of excellence.

Minnesota's keeper Matt VanOakel is going to a different NASL team which is unknown at this point.

# ? Dec 9, 2014 05:04

King of False Promises: Jul 31, 2000

Strikers just announced that Brazilian Ronaldo is becoming a minority owner.

# ? Dec 11, 2014 19:20

Suqit: Apr 25, 2005; Stars Stripes Freedom Jozy
(Jozy not pictured here)

King of False Promises posted:

Strikers just announced that Brazilian Ronaldo is becoming a minority owner.

NIce.

We have picked up our option on Billy Forbes. Glad we will have both him and Rafa Castillo for next year.

# ? Dec 11, 2014 19:23

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

Suqit posted:

NIce.

We have picked up our option on Billy Forbes. Glad we will have both him and Rafa Castillo for next year.

They also picked up the option on Cesar Elizondo today.

# ? Dec 12, 2014 05:36

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

The Reckless Challenge blog is saying that USL PRO is going to try for D2 status, and possibly set up a two-tiered USL league with promotion and relegation. And another site said that apparently they might try to take D2 from the NASL as well. I imagine there'd be some USSF/MLS chicanery involved since a whole bunch of the USL PRO stadiums do not meet D2 requirements.

# ? Dec 14, 2014 03:20

Diplomat: Dec 14, 2009

I was also under the impression that many USL PRO teams don't meet the ownership requirements for D2 ($s).

# ? Dec 14, 2014 03:49

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

Diplomat posted:

I was also under the impression that many USL PRO teams don't meet the ownership requirements for D2 ($s).

Yes, but at the same time MLS and USL PRO are working together, the USSF is headed by a long-time MLS executive, and the NASL is the only soccer body in the U.S. that doesn't have any representation on the USSF professional organization council. It wouldn't surprise me if a bunch of dumb poo poo happened and magically USL PRO ended up D2.

Case in point: after the MLS/USL PRO deal was struck the D2 standards were quietly amended so the NASL was now required to add teams in the Pacific Time Zone in two years to stay D2, whereas before they only needed teams in three time zones, including the Mountain. Of course, this means that the NASL has to re-apply for D2 sanctioning next year.

The whole USL/NASL feud is a clusterfuck anyway, and if Gulati either had balls or was smart he'd find a way to put a stop to it before both leagues keep trying to snap up the same markets and generally backstab each other. The USL tried to hit the Rowdies in Tampa, the two leagues are competing for Oklahoma City, and right around the time the NASL was rumored to have an ownership group for St. Louis, USL stepped in and announced a St. Louis team that would be up and running in about eight months.

# ? Dec 14, 2014 03:59

Do over Ham: Mar 20, 2009

Crazy Ted posted:

Yes, but at the same time MLS and USL PRO are working together, the USSF is headed by a long-time MLS executive, and the NASL is the only soccer body in the U.S. that doesn't have any representation on the USSF professional organization council. It wouldn't surprise me if a bunch of dumb poo poo happened and magically USL PRO ended up D2.

Case in point: after the MLS/USL PRO deal was struck the D2 standards were quietly amended so the NASL was now required to add teams in the Pacific Time Zone in two years to stay D2, whereas before they only needed teams in three time zones, including the Mountain. Of course, this means that the NASL has to re-apply for D2 sanctioning next year.

The whole USL/NASL feud is a clusterfuck anyway, and if Gulati either had balls or was smart he'd find a way to put a stop to it before both leagues keep trying to snap up the same markets and generally backstab each other. The USL tried to hit the Rowdies in Tampa, the two leagues are competing for Oklahoma City, and right around the time the NASL was rumored to have an ownership group for St. Louis, USL stepped in and announced a St. Louis team that would be up and running in about eight months.

I'm wondering what the legal ramifications are if NASL can't get representation within USSF and is f_cked around by USSF in a way that ends up costing NASL money (since NASL are actually attracting owners with money, this is not something to sweep under the rug with vague internal USSF bureaucratic chicanery as pure usual); it all sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

This might also explain the rumors of an NASL expansion team in LA that is supposed to be announced soon. If it happens and they have a good ownership group it'll foil USSF bureaucratic attempts to steal away NASL's D2 status. For now.

Of course the logical thing to do would be to convince the richest USL Pro owners who meet the D2 criteria to join the NASL; the NASL would then have enough teams to do their own pro/rel if they wanted to. But I get the impression that USSF thinks it works for USL rather than for US soccer interests as a whole, sometimes. I mean there's no good reason why NASL isn't on the USSF professional organization council (although I'm sure that USSF has a regulation hidden somewhere that gives an official bureaucratic excuse for why this is so, if anyone should challenge them about it).

Meanwhile on the shores of Tampa Bay...

Take that! baseball stadium!

Do over Ham fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Dec 15, 2014

# ? Dec 15, 2014 01:57

Diplomat: Dec 14, 2009

Can't wait to go see the finished product next season.

# ? Dec 15, 2014 03:26

camoseven: Dec 30, 2005; RODOLPHONE RINGIN'

I'm sure they are totally unrelated issues, but I can't get over the irony of the Rays still playing in the shithole that is the Trop while a D2 pro soccer team is getting a massive stadium overhaul just a few blocks away.

# ? Dec 15, 2014 04:14

Do over Ham: Mar 20, 2009

camoseven posted:

I'm sure they are totally unrelated issues, but I can't get over the irony of the Rays still playing in the shithole that is the Trop while a D2 pro soccer team is getting a massive stadium overhaul just a few blocks away.

Yes it is ironic, especially since the Al Lang site was at one point considered as the location for a new Rays stadium. Now the Rays are looking at downtown Tampa apparently, as St. Pete is giving them permission to look elsewhere before the lease is up. I imagine this works in the Rowdies favor as it allows St. Pete to gain some consolation for losing the Rays, in that they at least gain a soccer team, potentially an MLS team. Tampa fans are notorious for not liking to cross the bridge to St. Pete, though; but if the Rowdies play up the urban hipster angle and building up the team as a part of building up St. Pete's downtown weekend/nightlife experience, it could work in attracting enough soccer fans to fill an 18,000 seat SSS on a regular basis. Fingers crossed.

The Al Lang upgrade is not that massive an overhaul really though, just $1.5 million in improvements, which includes new seats, new scoreboard, tearing down anything baseball related (walls, fences, foul poles, etc.) that prevent enlarging and moving the pitch closer to the stands, and generally cleaning up the mess that Al Lang has become over the years (new locker rooms, other new facilities, etc.). The really big spending will come if Edwards can get the approval to build a SSS on the site, which I imagine is coming down the pike in a few years, assuming that the city of St. Pete is satisfied with the way Edwards is managing the Al Lang site. Considering that he's seen as having done a good job managing the Mahaffey Theater next door, I'd say the odds are in Edwards favor. I suppose if Edwards has to start spending the really big bucks to build an SSS and eventually pay for an MLS expansion fee, other co-investors will come on board. St. Pete hotel taxes aren't going to pay for everything.

# ? Dec 15, 2014 04:38

Do over Ham: Mar 20, 2009

I am not a lawyer; I don't know how true any of the below is, just thought this was interesting. Taken from a comment posted in response to the USL D2 story:

quote:

http://www.recklesschallenge.net/usl-pro-to-apply-for-division-2-status-with-ussf/

This is a quite fascinating development in light of Garber�s recent statements in the State of the League address that MLS clubs would soon be required to either own a USL Pro club or affiliate with one. Garber�s comments reveal the strength of the bond formed in in recent years between the 1st and 3rd divisions, one that has seen MLS clubs investing heavily in USL Pro franchises and regularly loaning them surplus players. If this bond includes support from MLS for USL Pro becoming the 2nd division, there could be trouble ahead for both leagues.

Talk of any collaboration with USL Pro is where MLS starts wandering into the murky waters of antitrust law, to places where their fabled if legally questionable �single-entity� defense offers the league little comfort. For purposes of antitrust liability � in particular Section 1 of the Sherman Act � the single-entity defense states that if MLS were considered by federal courts to be a single corporate actor, an agreement between the league and its franchises could lawfully restrain trade in the market for American professional soccer simply because the agreement would be between members of the same legal entity.

It is important to qualify the single-entity defense with the fact that when MLS last relied upon it in court over a decade ago, to fend off challenges to the league�s transfer system in the Fraser case, the appeals court that settled the matter highly doubted that MLS could be considered a single-entity under the law. Certainly, with the diverging economic interests of each MLS franchise that exists post-Fraser, the league�s claim to single-entity status would be even more likely to fail now than it was ever before.

Yet if the agreements reached between MLS and USL Pro, now and in the future, show any intent to establish the two as the dominant professional leagues in the US, to the detriment of the NASL, the single-entity defense goes out the window as there could be two different entities � MLS and USL Pro � that may be viewed by courts as attempting to restrain trade in the American professional soccer market by conspiring to exclude their competition. This liability may extend to efforts by MLS and USL Pro to control the structure of American professional soccer.

A final qualifier: although the basis for a claim under Section 1 could exist founded on an anti-competitive agreement between MLS and USL Pro, any challenger would have to show which market the agreement was unreasonably restraining. Inability to show that MLS controlled the market for US professional soccer was the downfall of the players in Fraser and would still prove a difficult, albeit not insurmountable, barrier for any new challenge to the MLS and USL Pro relationship under the Sherman Act.

# ? Dec 15, 2014 04:43

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# ? May 7, 2024 18:00

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

Do over Ham posted:

This might also explain the rumors of an NASL expansion team in LA that is supposed to be announced soon.

It's exactly why the league is adding a team in Los Angeles, and possibly San Diego. The USSF told them, "Guess what? Next year you have to have a team in the Pacific." To me it's no coincidence when you see that and then understand that there was no talk of an L.A. team just a few months ago. San Diego, yes, but that was as much wishful thinking as anything else since Eric Wynalda is from the area and area and people figured he'd work to put a team there. The league's even willing to let them do the "debut in Fall Season" thing.

Crazy Ted fucked around with this message at 09:16 on Dec 15, 2014

# ? Dec 15, 2014 09:10

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Ray Parlour > USA/Canada lower leagues 2014: No, there's no promotion/relegation

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