Blake's Random Rants and Musings

Blake here again with rants and thoughts about MLS.

Having seen Joel Lindpere of the Red Bulls now hit two great strikes for goals (one the exhibition match against Santos and the second in the Red Bulls opener at their new arena), I think he is going to be a great player for the Red Bulls - who look miles better then last year unfortunately.

Why or why did ESPN hire Max Bretos? Seeing him doing the halftime studio show for the opener for ESPN was jarring to say the least. At least Heaps has retired so I won't here him describe Heaps as from New Hampshire instead of Longmeadow, Mass where he went to high school. But that probably does mean if I happen to drop by CBS scene after a game he will be there with his bouncer entourage. Really ESPN? Max Bretos? You couldn't find anyone else? What did Rob Stone do to be confined to the role of sideline reporter? And keeping John Harkes? Paring Harks and Bretos is the soccer equivalent of Dumb and Dumber. At least at Fox, Bretos fit in with the other MLS announcing mediocrities.

What is it about Philly teams? Is there some requirement that they be thugs and bullies? It seems that the Philadelphia Union have taken the Broadstreet Bullies example to heart based on their performance against Seattle in the MLS season opener. They may be a dirtier team then Chivas under Preki. I don't remember Nowak's D.C. United teams being that thuggy, but then again they had better players. I guess if the other team is more talented, the best approach is to foul, foul and foul again. On a plus side, the ref issued early yellows and even doled out a Red in the first half. If we see more of that from the refs this season, perhaps that kind of play will diminish.

And finally a stadium rant.

O.K. the Red Bulls now have a great soccer stadium. Hey Kraft’s - where is the vaunted rivalry between New York and Boston. The Red Bulls now have one of the best soccer stadiums in the MLS. Aren't you challenged? Are you willing to stand by and let that go? Build a soccer specific stadium. Put it close to a T stop and see your attendance grow. Or continue to hold game in cavernous Patriots stadium with the football lines come pre-season and the Patriots cocoa mugs come football season. But if you don't, please don't tell us fans how important the Revs are to you.