In the coming week I'll hopefully learn a lot more about these players, and see if anyone else is worthy of being added to this list. At this point, Tracy is my favorite of the bunch. As the year goes on and the draft (in January) draws closer, I'll bring some interviews of these college superstars and prospective Sounders.
6.27.2008
The other draft
The NBA draft was yesterday, and many of the top college basketball players in the country have been snapped up by new teams. In that spirit, let's take a quick look at some of the top players available in the 2009 MLS college draft, in which the Sounders FC have the first pick:
6.24.2008
Watch the Sounders tonight FOR FREE
Holy good deals, Batman! If you haven't had a chance to see the USL Seattle Sounders this year, the game is available for your viewing pleasure at:
The game starts at 8:00 Pacific and features the hometown and home-team Sounders taking on amateur side Hollywood United. The Sounders will face Chivas USA next week in Tukwila, but only if they win tonight. Check it out.
6.22.2008
The futility of expansion teams: A brief history
2008 - San Jose, on pace for 25 points in 30 games.
Last place in MLS.
2007 - Toronto FC, 25 points in 30 games.Last place in MLS.
2005 - Chivas USA, 18 points in 32 games.
Last place in MLS.
2005 - Real Salt Lake, 20 points in 32 games.
2nd to last place in MLS.
Assuming San Jose doesn't improve a huge amount in a short time period, each of the last 4 expansion teams to enter MLS will have gone on to have hilariously pathetic seasons. The only one not to be last place in the league was Real Salt Lake, only because the other expansion team was even worse. The good folks running Seattle Sounders FC have said that they want to be competitive immediately, but based on recent history, this seems quite unlikely to happen. Just having a team in MLS should be enough for the 2009 season, Sounders fans. Lets keep our expectations in check.
6.19.2008
Signs of Sounders FC sponsor
It's still a year until Seattle Sounders FC will make its impact on MLS, but the main sponsor - Xbox 360 - is already doing so. Signboard advertisements with the Xbox 360 logo have been at the majority of, if not all, recent MLS games. I saw them on tonight's Primetime Thursday game on ESPN, as well as last Saturday's Kansas City - Columbus clash.
6.12.2008
Nate Jaqua - How to get him?
Meet Nate Jaqua.
He's the ideal player for Seattle Sounders FC. He is a relatively young striker and is talented enough to be an occasional US National team player. He recently had a good run playing in Europe (OK, Austria, but it's still Europe) yet has MLS experience - he won the cup last year with Houston. And now he's out of contract, hanging out in Oregon - yes, he's a native Pacific Northwesterner. The icing on the cake is the fact that he has expressed interest in playing in MLS, and reportedly wants to come to the Sounders FC. Brilliant!
One tiny problem though - his rights are still owned by Houston. Which means if he returns to MLS, they have first dibs. Now, the astute reader might think, "couldn't we just sign him to the Sounders in USL and bring him up to MLS next year?" While the rules about the 'promotion' of the Sounders are pretty hazy, since this is an unprecedented situation in American soccer... I don't think they could work this. A month or so ago, the Sounders passed on signing a defender who had been let go by New York Red Bulls, mainly because NYRB would still have owned his rights in MLS. This would probably be the same case regarding Jaqua. And yes, MLS rules are somewhat ridiculous and should be clarified. Like that'll ever happen.
There could be ways around this, of course. The Sounders FC - NOT the Sounders in USL - could trade for his rights and sign him, possibly loaning him back to Houston for the remainder of this season as part of the deal. The Sounders FC are free to sign players already if they want, as they already have locked up USL Sounder Sebastien Le Toux. What could they trade, since they only have one signed player? Possibly a draft pick, a slot for an international player or an allocation allowing for some amount of salary to go over the salary cap.
Complicated enough? In a nutshell, we could get Jaqua, and I'd give pretty good odds that the signing happens eventually. There's just a ton of formalities to go through first.
(Photo courtesy American Soccer News)
He's the ideal player for Seattle Sounders FC. He is a relatively young striker and is talented enough to be an occasional US National team player. He recently had a good run playing in Europe (OK, Austria, but it's still Europe) yet has MLS experience - he won the cup last year with Houston. And now he's out of contract, hanging out in Oregon - yes, he's a native Pacific Northwesterner. The icing on the cake is the fact that he has expressed interest in playing in MLS, and reportedly wants to come to the Sounders FC. Brilliant!One tiny problem though - his rights are still owned by Houston. Which means if he returns to MLS, they have first dibs. Now, the astute reader might think, "couldn't we just sign him to the Sounders in USL and bring him up to MLS next year?" While the rules about the 'promotion' of the Sounders are pretty hazy, since this is an unprecedented situation in American soccer... I don't think they could work this. A month or so ago, the Sounders passed on signing a defender who had been let go by New York Red Bulls, mainly because NYRB would still have owned his rights in MLS. This would probably be the same case regarding Jaqua. And yes, MLS rules are somewhat ridiculous and should be clarified. Like that'll ever happen.
There could be ways around this, of course. The Sounders FC - NOT the Sounders in USL - could trade for his rights and sign him, possibly loaning him back to Houston for the remainder of this season as part of the deal. The Sounders FC are free to sign players already if they want, as they already have locked up USL Sounder Sebastien Le Toux. What could they trade, since they only have one signed player? Possibly a draft pick, a slot for an international player or an allocation allowing for some amount of salary to go over the salary cap.
Complicated enough? In a nutshell, we could get Jaqua, and I'd give pretty good odds that the signing happens eventually. There's just a ton of formalities to go through first.
(Photo courtesy American Soccer News)
6.09.2008
A brief look at MLS
With nothing major of note on the horizon for Seattle MLS, let's take a quick look at the league they will be entering. (I'm not going to revisit my preseason predictions, because they would probably look wildly different than the actual state of the league.) There are a couple of things that stand out.
First, this wild season has thus far proven that any team can beat any other team on any given day. This was most clearly shown this past weekend, when San Jose beat Columbus and DC United edged Chicago - both victories coming on the road. Yes, the two worst teams in MLS beat two of the best, away from home.
The second, and most interesting thing for Sounders FC fans, is the power imbalance between the two conferences. The current three best teams (New England, along with the aforementioned Columbus and Chicago) are all in the East. If the 4th place team in the East (Toronto FC) were in the West, they would be tied for first. In addition, only one Eastern Conference team has more than 4 losses, and there are currently 5 such teams in the West. Any way you spin it, the East is clearly the superior conference. If this continues to hold true into next year, the Sounders, who will obviously be joining the Western Conference, will have a bit of an advantage to their hopes of making the playoffs.
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