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I've said we need to replace most of the original teams' owners with people that actually want to make an effort, but ideally not like this.wicka posted:Y'all can't be aggressively defending the league's terrible structure and then also complain about the natural and unavoidable consequences of it.  Yes, this literally never happens outside the US, and it certainly never happens in P/R leagues, especially not as an attempt to avoid relegation.Professional sport is a business, and this is a natural consequence of that. All over the world (it is rarer in Europe but there is a world outside Europe), privately owned teams that can't financially keep up with their competition in their current location crash down the divisions, or fold (sometimes as a result of the first), or move in hopes finding a more amenable fan base. Some places have laws to stop the last option: I wonder how far something like that would get in the US with the current government? It would certainly find public support. I also wonder if those local businessmen who tried to buy the team out think the city wants a phoenix team in the USL, or that they could properly market one to the city (Precourt seems not to have really tried), or that they would have any success seeking an expansion team? The counterargument to "relegation would kill teams" is "loyal support in lower divisions and, worst case scenario, phoenix clubs". Maybe the oldest soccer market in the current era could make that work? Akileese posted:I don't think a team has ever relocated, but a few have re-branded before though. Does MLS even have a process for relocation? There wasn't a big process when AEG moved the original Earthquakes to Houston, but I don't really recall there being an extended blackmail scenario either, just "AEG's tried to make this work and put tons of money into it, the situation isn't sustainable with the current stadium deal, so the league's approved a relocation of the team." Garber is making similar noises this morning: it suggests that relocation approval will depend on whatever deal Precourt could find elsewhere. Reading the articles, it's really mum what he's asking for in Columbus besides "a stadium in a location people actually want to go to" - is he after public money or approval for a land sale or flexible zoning or what? The new Aztex had a hell of a time finding a new stadium after their old one flooded, I don't know what reason he has to think he'd be more successful there. In the prior case, the league kept the Quakes' brand and history and records in reserve until they brought a new team to SJ - I haven't seen anyone ask if they would do the same for Columbus if this happened.
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Oct 17, 2017 15:23
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Your Boy Fancy posted:The right-sizing of American sports, where every crowd is tiny and passionate and serves the public loving good It'll probably take guillotines. As long as Snyder is first?
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Oct 17, 2017 15:26
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Your Boy Fancy posted:Sounds like Precourt might get forced to sell locally. Because wow gently caress you. This is honestly what I'm thinking. If the local bidders leaked this in the first place, it's almost a :masterstroke: on their part. Precourt flips out like a comic book villain and goes out even further on that bridge (seriously, an MLS2ATX astroturf site with a Precourt Sports Ventures copyright notice?), but he's still going to struggle to get even a mildly satisfactory deal in Austin if the team they HAD couldn't do it, twice, and he'll still be toxic in Columbus to boot. Whatever new offer they might make to him to cut his losses would look a lot more tempting in that situation. An upside of Our Dumb League here is that they're in a better position to force him out if he's genuinely making them look bad, but on the other hand there actually IS room for improvement in the team's stadium situation (it was the first SSS and from all reports from angry Crew fans today it's rather Spartan). Ownership that's genuinely inclined to work with the city to fix that somehow could do a world of good.
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Oct 18, 2017 02:43
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all-Rush mixtape posted:I know. For those of you not familiar, the newspaper plant is about a mile away from 6th Street, regarded as the center of Austin hipness. From the parking lot, you can see all the way to the capital building. It also no longer actually prints the newspaper, as that has been outsourced. When did that happen and why hasn't it come up before in the Aztex' wandering? Nobody involved with enough money to redevelop it?
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Oct 18, 2017 02:58
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USL doesn't need them anymore (arguably they are a liability if one actually cares about the difference between being sanctioned as D2 and D3) and MLS barely needed them in the first place, player loans could do everything they could much more easily as long as all the destinations actually existed. On a lighter note: https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/920422876477579265
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Oct 18, 2017 13:57
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Azerban posted:i completely support all the dumb and bad teams destroying their own talent pipelines Honestly, the number of II team players that will actually ever be useful to the first team could just be loaned out to USL or CPL teams in the first place now that more of them exist than before, and the rest should be sold/cut loose and competing for permanent spots on those teams rather than being warm bodies on a B team that doesn't give a poo poo if it wins and draws like a quarter the crowds of the rest of the league. I used to be in favour of TFC/MTL/VAN having B teams in USL-and-then-CPL (or some other Canadian league) but they haven't usually proven to be worth the added trouble for the MLS team (compared to loan preference-type affiliate deals like Montreal-Ottawa) and they annoy the independent USL/CPL teams and their fans so whatever I'm not going to mourn their loss.
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Oct 18, 2017 20:14
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B.B. Rodriguez posted:When we really only have 2 divisions, where are they supposed to play? USL hasn't made a D3 yet. Isn't that their plan though? And that'd be a better place for them really. That said, a lot of teams have been trying to put a damper on those reports today (notably not mine, which had already confirmed them) so maybe someone's sources jumped the gun.
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Oct 19, 2017 03:15
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Shinjobi posted:FC Dallas has been even worse than I fully realized. Goodness gracious. I still don't know how this happened but that win in Frisco out of nowhere turned our season around so I am not going to complain.
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Oct 19, 2017 04:39
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El Jebus posted:So, Atlanta gets the all star game next year. I wonder who the euro team will be. My guess is "whoever Almiron gets sold to in the offseason".
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Oct 19, 2017 13:58
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trem_two posted:How dare you I mean, we only play you once a year and I'm generally in favour of MLS teams trying to keep their exciting young players that people here might actually want to pay to watch, but apparently that's Actually Bad Now so you, too, must do your part for our reputation as a selling league. Chop chop! Dallan Invictus fucked around with this message at 15:11 on Oct 19, 2017 |
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Oct 19, 2017 15:04
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Gigi Galli posted:I'd be more interested to be honest. What does 1/2 of the league have to care about at this point? Players and coaches? Their jobs. Fans? Spite and hoping some of the kids get a chance to impress. Mostly spite. I am reminded of this: https://twitter.com/MLSist/status/896894361597759488 Anyway, for me I mostly think that P/R does not solve the problems that most people pushing for it think it does and accordingly there is no reason to blow up something that kinda works in a deeply hostile environment in order to pursue it. It's great if you already HAVE too many competitive teams and need a way to sort them out (though it is not the only way to do so), but it's not going to make people start more teams in places that don't actually care about the sport enough to make those teams sustainable even when the team is bad, and it's not going to make people care about the sport that don't already care. Even the EPL and Liga MX draw niche audiences in the US, and "relegation six-pointers" are the only EPL games that draw US TV audiences almost as bad as MLS games, which makes a certain amount of sense because they feature players who are almost as bad as MLS players. On the other hand, both Peter Wilt and various CFL owners are supposedly starting leagues in the next couple of years which are explicitly "open to adopting P/R when they get big enough", so we'll get to see how this works out in the real world instead of having endless pointless slapfights on the Internet. Surely one or both of these leagues can overthrow MLS and take its audience and revenue by the sheer compelling power of Orthodox League Structure, no? Dallan Invictus fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Oct 19, 2017 |
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Oct 19, 2017 18:59
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Feels Villeneuve posted:Do you think me picking an old player who has actually been successful in MLS has anything to do with the broader point of MLS's drawing value being focused on old past-their-prime players to the detriment of US talent, or are you just trying to make a zinger The more useful critique of your point is that it is massively out of date: there are basically three people in the entire league that fit that stereotype today ("old, past-their-prime, and only acquired to sell tickets"), and only one of them has actually been bad (and he is retiring). The new hotness for international signings is "twentysomething fringe players from better leagues or tiny South Americans looking for a bigger stage" - and that's actually worked out rather well. Also you're not supposed to keep US talent here anymore, remember? All decent or promising US players are required to be sold to European teams at the earliest opportunity, and stay there for their entire relevant careers, regardless of the playing time they get, what they might actually want as people, or think is best for their career, because That's What's Best For The National Team. Dallan Invictus fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Oct 19, 2017 |
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Oct 19, 2017 19:15
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Feels Villeneuve posted:It was brought up specifically because someone said MLS fans were "crying out" for big name marquee players from overseas. Then they were wrong too. Well, partly. I think a better way to make that point is: the challenge MLS faces and has faced is that they need to offer much better football than the revenue in their market might otherwise justify in order to even pretend to compete with the other sports and leagues their local audience could watch, in their own languages, in largely amenable time zones. The money to attempt this has to come from somewhere, and that has meant convincing investors that it is a relatively low risk. Gigi Galli posted:That does actually make me wonder which, if any, MLS teams are profitable. Are there any? It is deliberately unclear. Like all US sports leagues, owners like to say they are losing money when they're negotiating with the players' union (and probably also when filing with the taxman), but on the other hand they are still around and people are still investing so... That Forbes article has the best public estimates, but it's complicated by MLS' ownership structure (some revenues go on the league's books rather than the teams', and then since the team owners are part-owners of the league they make the money directly and it bypasses the teams' balance sheets entirely), and also by the existence of SUM (which works similarly but we don't even see how much money they make period). all-Rush mixtape posted:MLS: come for the debates, stay for the soccer! The soccer is on...gently caress, not until Sunday. Welp!
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Oct 19, 2017 19:51
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highme posted:One of my biggest fears about the playoffs is that the Cup Final could be held at Yankee stadium. Games there are loving horrid to watch. I doubt Shea (is it still called Shea?) Stadium is much better. NYC can still fall as far as fifth if they lose Sunday, which would be Cool and Good and reduce the chances of hilarious logistical nightmares in the playoffs (as well as ensuring a home playoff game for pissed-off Crew fans to protest at on national TV, which would be a win-win).
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Oct 19, 2017 21:11
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highme posted:The current top 3 teams from the East are guaranteed to host if they make it. Yeah, the host will almost certainly be from the East (the alternative is "NYRB makes an amazing playoff run" and, well, it's NYRB) but NYC is in iffy form and if they fall down the table into the knockout round I think it'll be harder for them to go far. quote:Also, I should unequivocally state for the record; gently caress Vancouver. For once our tendency to draw games we could have won can work in our favour!
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Oct 19, 2017 21:36
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Azerban posted:in actual relegation news, i'm loving how much of a comic book villain this guy is I assume you mean Archie comics. Or possibly Scooby-Doo. Really he's just a born-on-third failson who wants his toy in a nicer place and also doesn't know when to shut up. Courtemanche or his own PR guys must be tearing their hair out.
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Oct 20, 2017 01:38
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Man it feels weird to have ownership using our silly-rear end shorthand - especially to reporters who don't get it. Honestly, done right Austin COULD be another Portland, but this dude ain't gonna do it right.
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Oct 20, 2017 15:14
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Azerban posted:this but the opposite This literally almost happened. Twice. If there's a more 90s team name than the ones that actually made it into MLS, it would be "Los Angeles Salsa".
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Oct 20, 2017 22:02
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trem_two posted:NASL filed a new anti-trust suit against USSF yesterday, the claim is that MLS tried to acquire the Cosmos in order to shut down the club. Reminder that at the time that offer was made the Cosmos had already shut down and would have gone to liquidation if not for Commisso. MLS just wanted to vulture the brand like Pinton, except that MLS actually runs soccer teams it could have been used for. Commisso is throwing a lot of stuff at the wall in this lawsuit honestly, we'll see how much of it sticks. Dallan Invictus fucked around with this message at 17:34 on Oct 24, 2017 |
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Oct 24, 2017 15:35
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UniMas gets the knockout round, the others will be split pretty much evenly between ESPN and FS1 in the US so you may be stuck.
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Oct 25, 2017 01:20
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Niwrad posted:Dumb question but why is it so important to be classified as Division II? Why does NASL need that classification so badly? Is there some kind of benefit? There isn't any benefit directly from the classification, besides maybe USOC placement. In NASL's specific case, the exit fee to leave the league is smaller if the league is sanctioned at D3, but they did that to themselves so... There's an argument that it's easier to land investors, sponsorships, audiences, and cooperation from local politicians at D2 vs. D3 but I've never been entirely convinced that anyone outside particularly obsessive soccer fans cares about that. Ranking competing closed leagues is a lot like ranking leagues in different countries - it may be useful for governance purposes but consumers and investors and sponsors quite clearly make their decisions based on more organic criteria. USL has been just fine at D3 and the NASL could be too if not for various crippling flaws of its own making.
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Oct 26, 2017 12:55
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Jermaine Dildoe posted:I'll bite to give us some relief from crewchat. Vazquez got robbed I assume you mean for Newcomer? He probably ended up 4th or 5th like Giovinco and Piatti did for MVP last year, there were just way too many good signings this year.
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Nov 3, 2017 00:57
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Jermaine Dildoe posted:That too but I actually meant for MVP, to at least be nominated. I agree, and so does your team, which is why he was nominated. Actually, the votes have already been cast and the winner is already known, the league just publishes the top five (used to be three, still is three for some awards) vote-getters as "finalists" a few weeks before they announce the winner.
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Nov 3, 2017 01:11
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Jack2142 posted:I think Fancy is actually Ben Olsen's SA Account. Of our DCposters I think only one man has the requisite bottomless pessimism to coach like Olsen does, and it ain't Fancy.
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Nov 3, 2017 06:47
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shoplifter posted:We're now on the third version of the story from the league on the Sacha/Jozy scuffle. TBF the only evidence we have of what actually happened to get them sent off is a clusterfuck of a tunnel video and a pile of conflicting self-interested witness reports so I firmly believe it'll take the DisCo to sort out. (besides even IF someone in HQ is pulling strings to keep Jozy on the field for one or both legs of the ECF, we're so deep in #TeamOfDestiny magic bullshit at this point that it would only make Columbus better)
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Nov 6, 2017 17:21
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Meanwhile Montreal hires ex-Lyon manager Remi Garde but will probably still find some way to fall short of expectations.
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Nov 10, 2017 06:49
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Don't they already have a deal right across the river in Newport that they'll be paying 100% for on the off chance that Cincinnati proper doesn't let them build? I thought that was the situation.
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Nov 15, 2017 22:47
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Porter...out? Credible people are reporting it but it'd seem weird if true: doesn't seem like he's really to blame for how the Timbers' season ended.
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Nov 17, 2017 04:48
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B.B. Rodriguez posted:I've been on the 'Jurgen to PDX' push. I can't tell you how many people are actually in support of this. I really hope it creates a groundswell of support and they actually hire him. I was hoping that SOMEBODY would give Marc dos Santos a chance but gently caress it, you've convinced me, #JurgenToPDX.
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Nov 17, 2017 19:13
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paddyboat posted:WHY ARENT THE PLAYOFF GAmES on the WEEKEND GODDAMMIT Against all common sense, ratings have apparently been better for the midweek playoff games than the weekend games last year, so I suspect the madness will continue even if the rumoured move back to single elimination happens. (note: I'm getting that from the lede, I don't have access to the rest of the article either) edit: in other news, I am growing increasingly suspicious that Vancouver's going to lose our manager to the Wales job (not because of anything more than a gut feeling, granted - but assuming they want to give it to a Welshman there basically isn't anyone else they could afford with even vaguely relevant experience who wouldn't be terrible) and I'm honestly not sure whether to be sad or happy about it. Dallan Invictus fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Nov 20, 2017 |
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Nov 20, 2017 15:16
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Jack2142 posted:I think Tony Pulis is free atm, but I am not sure if your lumping him in with terrible. I had posted this before I heard he was fired. (also terrible or at least has a terrible reputation, also probably would want more than the FAW would likely pay considering that SUNDERLAND were able to significantly increase Coleman's salary) Hungryjack posted:Today is the day to kick the ball. fuckin' FINALLY
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Nov 21, 2017 15:36
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Azerban posted:michael bradley is right i appreciate that everyone needs to shoot fish in a barrel occasionally but your trolling is usually higher-effort than this
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Nov 22, 2017 16:18
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TheBoyBlunder posted:Is it roster cut day tomorrow as well? Yep, unless you're still in the playoffs.
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Nov 27, 2017 14:55
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Vancouver's notable cuts are Ousted (but that was already known), Sheanon Williams, and Mauro Rosales (who I'd bet is retiring or at least leaving MLS). They declined options on a few other players that they're still "negotiating" with to maybe bring back at a lower number: Harvey, Jacobsen, Bolanos, Bustos, Edgar, Laba, Nosa, and Teibert. Of those I'd guess Bolanos and Laba end up leaving the league/country, Harvey and AJ give free agency a try (I THINK they both qualify, I haven't checked), Edgar, Nosa, and MAAAAAAYBE Teibert get resigned for cheaper, and Bustos goes to the CPL if it starts next year.
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Nov 28, 2017 01:38
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DR AIDS posted:Is Montero staying around or is he going back to China? Answer unclear, ask again. Honestly I don't know. It probably depends on how much money Tianjin wants for him - I assume there's a buy option because there usually is but there's no information on how much it is so who knows?
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Nov 28, 2017 02:27
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Azerban posted:columbus has been dead since the moment the league signed off on the exit clause to Austin Pretty much. Some Twitter random noted something that I hadn't remembered: Summer 2013 when Precourt bought the team was the height of the Chivas debacle (the league bought Vergara out after that season) so if the only buyer the Hunts could find insisted on that exit clause, I imagine they just wanted to take the deal anyway, and the other owners weren't up for buying out two teams in six months, and down the road we rolled until today. Dallan Invictus fucked around with this message at 17:30 on Nov 28, 2017 |
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Nov 28, 2017 17:25
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DR AIDS posted:Is Montero staying around or is he going back to China? update: we just signed a 23-year old striker who was the top scorer in Venezuela this year, so I'll bet that Montero is going back to China, even though Robbo says he wants three forwards competing for minutes. Cautiously optimistic about this dude but I probably said the same about Rivero and Kudo so, well, whatever. If we can't get him service he'll flame out like all the rest (though at least he's bigger than Kudo and less likely to be kicked to death by MLS defenses).
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Nov 30, 2017 19:12
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Tigren posted:It's telling that MLS has more coverage of the expansion reality show and AP moving to Austin than they do of loving MLS Cup. I'm not sure what it's telling, but gently caress MLS. Are you talking about the website or somewhere else? Looking just now I see like one expansion story and no Austin stories, the rest is the Cup (the subreddit, on the other hand....) Tigren posted:Is that kickoff or Taylor Twellman time? The media types I follow on Twitter say that actual kickoff is expected to be at 1630, but again, who knows?
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Dec 6, 2017 17:46
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Both of these things can be true!
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Dec 10, 2017 05:22
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shoplifter posted:Oops Clearly I'm a johnny-come-lately corporate plastic because I don't get what mistake is being made in the screenshotted tweet? I mean yes I know the trophy is named the Anschutz Trophy but objecting to saying "Toronto won their first MLS Cup" instead seems insufferably self-righteous even by Soccer Twitter standards, so clearly I am missing something? (also offseason thread is here, g'bye 2017!)
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Dec 10, 2017 19:19
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