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New wave MLS Cup will produce yet another championship franchisePosted: Thursday October 03, 2002 6:20 PM
And so, for the third straight year, MLS will crown a first-time champion. After three Game 3s on Wednesday night, we have two intriguing semifinals -- New England vs. Columbus and Los Angeles vs. Colorado -- and, truth be told, three unexpected semifinalists. Unexpected by me, at least. I figured we'd see Chicago-San Jose and L.A.-Dallas, but who can predict anything these days in a league that has finally achieved the rampant parity its organizers so badly wanted when MLS began seven years ago. What is this, the NFL? You've gotta admit, though, it's immensely entertaining stuff. Storylines are everywhere. Still alive are the Young Turks, explosive American forwards like New England's Taylor Twellman (22 years old), Columbus's Edson Buddle (21) and Colorado's Chris Carrieri (22). Then there are the Vets Who Deserve A Title, from L.A.'s Alexi Lalas (32) and Cobi Jones (32) to the Crew's Brian McBride (30) to the Rapids' Robin Fraser (35) and Carlos Valderrama (83; just kidding, he's 40). In short, these are guys who, for all manner of reasons, make you feel good about MLS. It's going to be a fun couple of weeks. NEW ENGLAND (2) VS. COLUMBUS (6) SEASON SERIES: Columbus leads 2-1-1. THE LOWDOWN: Who would have thought the Revs could trade (Mamadou Diallo) and bench (Alex Pineda Chacón) the last two MLS scoring champs, fire their coach (Fernando Clavijo) and still find themselves in position to play for the title on their home field Oct. 20? All credit to interim coach Steve Nicol and his overachievers, guys like midfield grinder Brian Kamler, who has suddenly turned into Pelé in the postseason, scoring two goals in three games. New England has lost only once in its last last nine games, and it managed a tie (0-0) and a win (4-1) in its last two against Columbus. The Crew comes in following two sterling wins against San Jose, and it has no fewer than four scorers playing at the tops of their games (McBride, Buddle, Jeff Cunningham and Freddy Garcia). PREDICTION: As hot as Columbus is these days, I like the way Twellman has kept his cool (two postseason goals), and I especially like the way the Revs' back four (spearheaded by Carlos Llamosa) stacks up against the C'bus frontrunners. It may not be pretty, but for the Revs it works. New England in three games. LOS ANGELES (1) VS. COLORADO (5) SEASON SERIES: Tied 2-2. THE LOWDOWN: The Galaxy have thrashed Colorado the last two times they've met, scoring seven unanswered goals in 3-1 and 4-0 wins. (Surprisingly, L.A.'s Carlos Ruiz, the league's top goal-scorer, bagged only one of them.) Look for a shootout (the good kind, not the bad kind) between two teams that like to run up and down the field. If Colorado hadn't been so impressive in coming from behind to eliminate Dallas on the road, I would have gone with a clean L.A. sweep, but the continued excellence of the Rapids' old wise men (Valderrama, Robin Fraser, Mark Chung and Chris Henderson) has me thinking they'll pull off a 5-4 win at home in Game 2 to send it back to the Rose Bowl. PREDICTION: The Galaxy seldom fail to disappoint when there's a spot in the final on the line. (Once they get there, of course, it's a different story. See three losses in three MLS Cup finals.) The fact is, L.A. has far more guys who have been in this spot before, to say nothing of Ruiz, whose timely scoring touch has been working all season long. Los Angeles in three games. In other words, we're looking at a most compelling final -- Revs vs. Galaxy in Foxboro -- and you know there's no way I can go against New England at Gillette Stadium. Only one question: When the Revs carry a triumphant Nicol off the field, do you think honcho Sunil Gulati will drop the interim from his title?
Wegerle: Not a straight shooterMy jaw dropped last week upon reading a piece on former U.S. international Roy Wegerle in the October issue of the U.K. magazine FourFourTwo. In the article, Wegerle is quoted as saying that before the U.S.'s final World Cup '98 qualifier someone connected to the Mexican Football Federation approached him and John Harkes at a Dallas hotel to see if they were interested in throwing the game. What's shocking about Wegerle's claim is not that some sort of attempted skulduggery took place -- it did -- but that Wegerle and FourFourTwo throw out such a litany of inaccurate, potentially libelous allegations in describing it. I should know: I wrote the account of what really happened in the Nov. 24, 1997 issue of Sports Illustrated. The facts are these: Before the U.S.'s last qualifier, someone connected to El Salvador (not the Mexican federation) left messages on the phones of Wegerle and Harkes in their Providence (not Dallas) hotel rooms. The U.S. had already qualified for the World Cup a week earlier, and El Salvador could only qualify by beating the Americans at Foxboro Stadium. As Harkes reconstructed the message for me at the time, the unidentified caller said, in part, "Mr. Harkes, I'm contacting you because I represent El Salvador. You're experienced. You understand what this game means. If you have any interest at all, please call me back." Both Harkes and then-U.S. Soccer Federation spokesman Jim Froslid told me that Wegerle had received a similar message. Harkes and Wegerle reported the calls to the USSF, and coach Steve Sampson had a meeting with the team in which he warned the players that any shenanigans could lead to their permanent bans from international soccer and serious FIFA sanctions against the USSF. The U.S. won the game 4-2, which was why Harkes felt comfortable talking to me about the bribe attempt afterward. (SI had received a tip about the phone calls in the days before the game.) But here's the amazing thing: Right before I spoke with Harkes, when I was still unclear about which players had received the calls, Roy Freaking Wegerle looked me straight in the eye and told me that he had received no such calls and that he had no idea what I was talking about. (Then he skedaddled onto the team bus.) In other words, Wegerle not only lied to me in '97 about what had happened, but he now erroneously makes a serious allegation in a widely read publication that the Mexican federation was the source. How would the poo-bahs at the USSF respond if a Mexican player made a similar false claim about them? Simple: Their lawyers would be on it ASAP. In sum: Wegerle appears to be as good at truth-telling as he was at TV broadcasting -- remember his cringe-inducing, mercifully short career hosting MLS Extra Time on ESPN2? The next time he opens his mouth, he should offer the Mexicans an apology. (P.S. I attempted to get an explanation from Wegerle through the USSF, but by the time I filed this column he still had not replied.) As for this week's Mailbag, I'd love to answer your questions on the MLS Playoffs -- if only you had any. Make sure you hit me with some for my next column, which will come out in two weeks, on the Thursday before the MLS Cup final.
Saw your comment about Brad Friedel versus Kasey Keller. What teams am I looking for and will it be shown on American TV?
Here's the lowdown: After all the controversy over which U.S. goalkeeper should have started in the 2002 World Cup -- Friedel got the nod over Keller -- the two men meet on the field this Sunday when Keller's Tottenham Hotspur plays at Friedel's Blackburn Rovers at 10 a.m. ET. Both teams are in the top half of the Premier League standings. After briefly going top of the table not long ago, Spurs have dropped to a tie for fifth place with Chelsea, while Blackburn has climbed to 12 points, only one behind Spurs. Regrettably, the game will not be shown on American TV. For highlights, check out Fox Sports World at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
"Oct. 6: Keller vs. Friedel ... 'Nuff said"? What does that mean? Look at their records and all the balls Friedel lets in (Germany? Korea?). Everyone knows Keller is better on the ball and in positioning, reaction and hold. Don't tell me you think their matchup on Oct. 6th is the proof of the better player. (Liked your commentary on the British broadcasts. Any chance they'll put together a DVD of the five games with various audio tracks?)
I didn't say that Sunday's game would prove once and for all which keeper is better, only that I've been looking forward to it for a long time. Obviously, the game itself will be interesting, but I'm curious about other things too, like, Will Keller even speak with Friedel after the game? Keller clearly harbors ill feelings after the World Cup, but are they directed more toward Friedel or Bruce Arena? (I suspect it's Arena.) What's more, now that his club career is back on track, has Keller decided to retire from the U.S. national team? (It's possible, since he has lately mandated that all interview requests go through Spurs and not the USSF.) I wanted to ask Keller all these questions, but he hasn't responded to my formal interview request through Tottenham. If he does, you can be sure I'll write about it. (Keller called me back on Thursday afternoon, so you can look forward to that interview in my next column.) As for your argument on Keller's behalf, it would be pretty hard to slam Friedel after a World Cup in which he saved two penalty kicks (the most by a World Cup keeper during regular play in memory) and helped lead the U.S. to the quarterfinals. Would Keller have saved Michael Ballack's point-blank header in the loss to Germany? Perhaps, but maybe he wouldn't have saved the Korean penalty kick that Friedel blocked. You can go round and round with this, but the fact is that Arena's choice produced results. If you're interested in acquiring copies of the British broadcasts of U.S. World Cup games, check out this site: www.davebrett.com.
Regarding your statement [on announcers mis-calling Joe-Max Moore's surname "Max-Moore"], I think Mr. Moore added to the ridiculous confusion when he used to a wear a jersey for the Revolution that had "Joe-Max" on the back of it. Any idea why he did that?
No idea, though it might have been for the same reasons Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki goes by "Ichiro" and former pitcher Vida Blue went by "Vida" back in the day. This question reminds me of the jersey San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon keeps on the wall of his apartment, an old one used by former MLS keeper (and where-are-they-now? candidate) David Winner. It simply says WINNER on the back. Get it? Wonder if Cannon still has it up there after San Jose's pratfall against Columbus last week? Got some more stellar college hoops-soccer analogies from James C. Armstrong, Jr., of Foster City, Calif., who suggests:
Germany=Kentucky. Both play very well, but I've never seen any joy in their play. The Germans are very mechanical, and the Wildcats are afraid of losing.
Great call on Germany/Kentucky, James. Don't know if I agree as much on USA/Maryland (the Yanks didn't win the whole thing, after all) or Scotland/Holy Cross (the Crusaders gave Kansas a huge scare in last year's tournament) but I appreciate the suggestions.
Should we expect to see Taylor Twellman in the lineup for the Nats any time soon?
One thing you should never worry about with Bruce Arena is whether he'll give somebody a chance to make it with the national team. Some guys may not think they get enough of an opportunity, but you can bet Twellman will get called into the next few national team camps based on his MLS performance this season. Whether he gets into the lineup will have everything to do with how well Arena feels Twellman performs in training, which can be a make-or-break setting for players who are new to the program.
My question is about the announcers we have covering the game right now. Where is the wit? Where is anything other than the bland and the mundane? Where are the colorful personalities this game has? Monday Night Football is trying to be creative and the stakes are a lot higher on that show. ESPN and the people in charge at MLS have taken no chances. Ratings are down, so why not roll the dice? Should I be hoping that Fox gets soccer? Are we afraid to say anything about ESPN's abysmal coverage because we are used to being second-class citizens? No, Grant. Go after them. Demand change with both boots up!
That's a rousing call to arms, Dan, and you're right. For starters, the fact that we can see more A-League playoff games nationally this year (on Fox Sports World) than MLS playoff games (on ABC/ESPN) is a disgrace for MLS and ESPN. As for TV announcers, I'd love to hear someone who combines wit with a deep knowledge of the game. A less-cantankerous version of Paul Gardner would be excellent, in my mind, as would former MLS keeper (and current Georgetown law student) Garth Lagerwey. The folks in Miami (RIP) had the right idea when they hired Ray Hudson to do TV -- he'd be great nationally if he ever gets out of the coaching game.
Eight random things1. What a disastrous year for Clint Mathis. At last count, no fewer than three of Mathis' "bosses" (U.S. coach Bruce Arena, MetroStars coach Octavio Zambrano and Metro GM Nick Sakiewicz) had called Mathis out publicly for everything from his training habits to his leisure activities to his demeanor toward referees. The latest rip came from Sakiewicz, who proclaimed this week that Mathis "cost us a playoff spot." I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, for Sakiewicz to place the blame for Metro's crash entirely on Mathis is laughable. (Two clear guilty parties, after all, are Sakiewicz and Zambrano.) On the other hand, Mathis has been warned privately for years about his habits, and he appeared to be sleepwalking through most of the MLS games in which he played following the World Cup. You could also look at it this way: If nobody thought Mathis was any good, we wouldn't be hearing any of this stuff. Here's hoping for his sake that he gets things turned around. 2. Congratulations to former U.S. coach Steve Sampson on being named the new Costa Rican national team coach. I'm still stunned that Sampson was passed over a year ago for the UCLA job he coveted -- it somehow went to Columbus Crew reject Tom Fitzgerald -- but Sampson is a good fit for his new gig. Not only does he speak fluent Spanish, but he obviously knows the CONCACAF region well. Plus, if Sampson can get the Ticos to the World Cup, he might get a chance to make us forget the enduring image of him despairing on the sideline during the U.S.'s loss to Iran in World Cup '98. I know I can't wait for the first time Sampson's Ticos meet the U.S. in qualifying for World Cup '06. 3. We all know soccer gets a hard time from the media, but just so you know, the sport does get real respect (not boosterism, mind you, but respect) from a bunch of mainstream media figures. For starters, a ton of SI staffers are soccerphiles: Steve Rushin, Ian Thomsen, Alexander Wolff, S.L. Price, George Dohrmann, Simon Bruty, Hank Hersch, Mark Bechtel, Mark Beech and Pete McEntegart, to name a few. Why, SI senior college football editor Mark Mravic is a U.S. national team nutjob who has followed the Yanks to Barbados and South Korea (where he witnessed the World Cup win over Mexico). Other non-soccer-beat media players who give the sport its due (in no particular order): Steve Kelley (Seattle Times), Joe Posnanski (Kansas City Star), Bob Ley (ESPN), Tom Goldman (NPR), George Vecsey (New York Times), Filip Bondy (New York Daily News), Mike DeCourcy (Sporting News), Linda Robertson and Greg Cote (Miami Herald), Bob Hunter (Columbus Dispatch), Ann Killion (San Jose Mercury News), Mark Bradley (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Kevin Frazier (ESPN) and, (secretly, I believe, based on his thorough knowledge of soccer history and statistics) Jim Rome. It's out there, folks. Be patient. Trust me on this one. 4. I don't know the guy at all, but does anyone else wish the New York Times would let Jack Bell cover more soccer than simply the short Tuesday columns he writes? Bell shows what can actually be done if you put some effort into it. 5. Would anybody be interested in having me use this space as a forum for mediation between soccer fans and Frank Deford? It's getting ugly: I actually saw an anti-Deford sign in RFK Stadium during a World Cup qualifier last year, and I woke up recently to my alarm clock playing NPR, in which Deford was saying how a day doesn't go by without an overzealous soccer fan giving him trouble. 6. Yes, I wake up to NPR every morning. You wanna make something of it? 7. Downer of the year: As a longtime devotee of Iron Chef, the bizarro head-to-head Japanese cooking smackdown on the Food Network, I was psyched about the chance to see a live taping of the show when I was in Tokyo after the World Cup. But when I mentioned my idea to the chef at the Kyubey sushi palace, he laughed and told me Iron Chef had stopped taping new shows years ago. Talk about a punch in the gut. Wouldn't Iron Chef have been an excellent story for SI? 8. I still think MLS should call its championship MLS Cup VII. Roman numerals = a reminder of longevity. See you in two weeks. Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl keeps you up to date with the world of U.S. soccer twice monthly at CNNSI.com. To send Wahl a comment, question or story idea, click here.
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