Premier League

How come Little Bradley didn't stick with Aston Villa, Webster? He seemed to more than hold his own in his limited stint/minutes there, such as they were. And he's proving he can easily handle Europe in his current Serie A stint.

 

Watched the Chelsea-Napoli match on DVR last night. Tremendous. And the butt-whipping Bayern Munich put on Basel was impressive. Corky, definitely check out the Champions League games. Usually on Tues and Wed afternoons. I DVR all the UCL and EPL games that are shown and just watch the better matchups when I get the time.

 

Has anyone on this thread suggested watching some MLS matches this season? I think it's pretty telling that no one has said "hey, maybe give the domestic league a shot." Obviously, still a different world in terms of quality but still...</mlshonkrant>

 

I will say this -- I'm not the biggest MLS guy, but it's absolutely worth watching any Portland Timbers home game that's broadcast. Pretty good team, and as good a home atmosphere as you'll find just about anywhere.

 

As I said earlier, I'm definitely going to make it a point to watch some MLS games. The Revs are the closest team to me, and while they're coming off a bad year I would like to see some games — if only because there's a couple of players from my alma mater in the league.

 

I'm going to a Crew match this year...my first pro match.

Someday...damnit, someday I will get to a Premier match.

 

I'm making a major effort to get into MLS this year. DVR'ing as many games as I can. Learning the rosters, not just the star players. Should be fun.

And Portland? That's a must-go sports destination. That Portland-Union match atmosphere on Monday was amazing.

I wonder when the national media starts to pick up MLS more than it does? Several soccer-only stadia now, crowds are increasing, many clubs are starting to develop a distinct culture, etc.

 

Don't know. If I remember correctly, McLeish and he didn't get along. Given the form that he showed in Italy, it's hard to believe that he couldn't even make the bench for Villa.

I don't think he has the speed to play at the very highest level, but he sees the game as well as any American field player and he seems to have cut down on the mental lapses.

 

I watch MLS whenever the Galaxy (my home team) are on and whenever Seattle's on. I did a big freelance piece for an ex boss of mine 10 years ago on Roger Leveque, who plays for the Sounders. So I like to keep up on him.

Plus, there's a great atmosphere there as well; last year for its final home game, Seattle drew more than 64,000 to bid Kasey Keller farewell. Putting that into perspective, the only three teams to draw more people that weekend were Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Last year, we did some work for the MLS on MLS Cup here in SoCal. The communications staff there were as nice, helpful and classy as any in sports. Good, good people. So it makes it easier from this province to support them.

 

I refused to watch the MLS for many years because it sucked, but the past couple of years I've been watching more, and it is light years ahead of where it was. It's actually some quality soccer. Not the Premier League or Serie A, but definitely worth watching.

 

The skill still hasn't caught up with the athleticism in MLS. But I think that there are a lot of young skilled players coming through the ranks. It's still not a core sport here and never will be, but the game is much more viewable than even 5 years ago.

 

The prime advantage European soccer has over MLS for me as a casual soccer follower is the time difference. The televised European games are on Saturday-Sunday mornings and weekday afternoons when there is no competition. MLS is always competing with the usual American sports for my attention, a much tougher road to hoe. And the fact Revs games are in Foxboro makes me much less likely to go to one in person.