Terrifying Video From FRA v. GER - State de France

Let's Face It ... The Revolution is Training Wheels for Jonathan

So as if almost on cue with our last post on an aspect of "the soccer business", JAFO comes forward and hands us a cracker from Boston Magazine, The Krafts Are the Worst Owners in the League, by Kevin Alexander.

It is a great read worth the time.

Mr. Alexander I believe correctly comes to a few conclusions in the article about the importance of the Krafts' in getting MLS off the ground, but also the fact that for a variety of reasons he enumerates, they are one of, if not the worst owners in MLS.

There are a few I would add as well that were touched on, but not highlighted.

First, the Krafts' are not soccer folk, they are good business folk. This was highlighted to me on the league home opener for the Revs when they played DC. I had the distinction of being on the refereeing crew along with Esse Baharmast, Ed Resendes, and Del Rainho. I was serving as 4th that day.

As you would expect we lined up for a whole bunch of pomp and circumstance for the 1st ever MLS match in Massachusetts. Jonathan Kraft was due to take the ceremonial kick to start the festivities and everyone was aflutter (myself included) to make sure everything was "just right."

Prior to the actual taking of the ceremonial kick there was palpable concern if Jonathan could actually complete his task of kicking a soccer ball. One team official stated that there was concern he would "... roll over the ball and might break his leg." He wasn't kidding either.

Fortunately for all Jonathan did fine.

Second, the Krafts' have an awesome complex at Foxboro and have sunk a ton of money into it. It is no wonder folks are dragging their heels to go somewhere else. With a limited number of hame games every year in the NFL ... and not great weather ... it sure makes good business sense to have as many events there in the warmer time of year. MLS seems reasonable ... and draws on the order of 14K per match. Almost last in the league, but still a good captive audience for dinner at Tastings (among others).

Third, Boston is a tough market given the success of the other (4) major teams here. Please note, I am speaking generally about the Celtics at this point. Let's face it between the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, and Celtics, Boston is treated to some of the winningest sports teams in history. Let's also face it that the Revs are not a great team historically as MLS goes. In fact, other than Dallas, New England is the only original team to NOT win a MLS Cup nor a Supporter Shield in 18 years!

Now this last point may realistically be due in part to the lack of money the Krafts' are willing to put into the team ... which is a self fulfilling prophecy as to why they do not do well.

Finally, I personally believe that the Revs are training wheels for Jonathan to manage the Patriots. Heck, experience is important and if you can get experience like this, you should. It is a reasonable "warm up" for Jonathan, who I believe will certainly take on the Patriots one day.

So what do we do? Honestly I'm torn as the only way I would have become a MLS referee is because I had a team (literally) in my back yard. It would not have happened in the "early days" any other way. Do we continue and suffer mediocre to poor ownership for our only MLS team, or do we thank our benevolent benefactors for a great start, and part ways?

It was noted in the article also that the Krafts' refused to provide comment for the story, outside of (and I'm paraphrasing) ... We are busy getting ready for a Patriot's playoff game.

[sigh]


Who knows, maybe our fortune will change when Tom Brady retires, and Bill goes off with Bon Jovi and buys the Buffalo Bills.

Look out MLS Cup, here we come!!

Is soccer like sex??

Dutch prostitutes demand same pension perks as soccer players

Dutch prostitutes are demanding the same retirement tax benefits as professional footballers because of the "hard physical work" they do, according to news reports.


The campaign to secure better retirement rights is being run by Freya, a company that wants to run a number of brothels in the central Dutch city of Utrecht.

Wil Post, a lawyer for Freya told Dutch newspaper Volkskrant on Tuesday that "Footballers and prostitutes both do a difficult physical job that they cannot do their whole life. Therefore, they would like to be able to save as much as they can." ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of NBC.

Kicking Back Comments: What was interesting to me about this article was the analogy. I know football is demanding and requires "hard physical work" as detailed in the article, but was curious why that was the first arrow out of the quiver to make the argument.

I don't think the intent was to liken the two, albeit both professions are legal in the Netherlands. I also don't know how else to go at the argument ... construction workers ... dock workers ... ship builders ... I dunno.

It may have genuinely been an attempt at flattery as it is clear that soccer players are a treasured class in the Netherlands, as athletes from the "Big 4 Sports" are here in the US.

Either way, it certainly got me to raise an eyebrow.

No soccer ANYWHERE today ... BUT ...

THERE IS LE TOUR!!!

So there is lierally no live soccer on national TV on the 4th, but there is other time during the week.

That said, there is a killer stage (Stage 6) of the Tour that is going to be another day for the sprinters.


EN - Analysis of the stage - Stage 6 (Aix-en... by tourdefrance

This Tour so far has seen a number of bizarre and fantastic sights.

A team bus stuck under the finishing banner.

An unexpected Radio Shack yellow jersey for a couple of days.

And for me a "live Tour report" as a friend of mine had the chance to visit at Stage 4, and met some of the boys from Garmin. Just outstanding stuff.

Copyright TD Productions

After my ride that day ... you can bet I am eating crapes, drinking wine ... and watching Peter Sagan take the day. The man is redicilious on a bike. Just watch this one ...

1.21 Giga Watts?

Brazil promises speedy internet for fans at 2014 FIFA World Cup

Soccer fans attending next year's World Cup in Brazil will have no problem going online from stadiums, but they might want to use a local cellphone chip to keep their charges low, Brazilian Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo said yesterday.

Each of the 12 stadiums hosting the 32-nation soccer tournament will have two separate 50-gigabyte networks connected to Brazil's fiber optic backbone, he told reporters. "I doubt that the stadiums will use one third of the capacity that we are installing," Bernardo said.

"Not even Mr Jerome Valcke will use up all that capacity, though he could if he makes a lot of explosive statements," the minister said in reference to the general secretary of FIFA, the governing body of global soccer. ...

See the full story here, courtesy of Tech2.

Kicking Back Comments: "Doubt that the stadiums will use one third of the (bandwidth)" eh ....
We'll see ... who's betting with me that there will be bandwidth issue?

For those who were wondering about the title, it is from the 1985 movie Back to the Future, and is a classic.

"Grace of its Star Power" is the NWSL Business Plan?

New women's pro league allot players

The National Women’s Soccer League was only a month and a half old and the players had been assigned to their clubs just minutes earlier. But on social media, the Portland Thorns were already being crowned the 2013 champions.

They were perceived as having made out the best in the budding league’s initial allocation of 55 United States, Canadian and Mexican national team players to eight clubs across the country. When starting a professional league from scratch, especially one with a finite number of established stars, such early imbalance is to be expected. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: Near the bottom of the article the author details what he believes will be the difference between the WUSA, WPS, and the NWSL. Specifically why it will succeed. From the article:

"If this league is to survive – unlike the two predecessors, the WUSA and WPS, which were both felled by their problematic economics and attendance in just the last decade – it will probably do so by the grace of its star power."

I truly hope there is more to the business plan than this. Fame is fleeting. WUSA should have made that clear enough. Now a better answer is that US Soccer, as well as the Canadian and Mexican federations are paying the freight for the National Team players (where are my membership fees going again ... to referee development?).

Please don't rest the hopes of this last (IMHO) women league of my generation on fame. While the names of the US WNT are known in some circles now, give it a couple of years and let's see what happens.

Another aspect of a successful league it the ownership. Mr. Magic Jack ground the WPS league to a halt with his nonsense. What has the NWSL done to prevent a reoccurrence this time around?

The players have been allocated by a "board of experts" and apparently takes into consideration where players want to play, and what markets they will play to. While the first element is easy to match, the second, not so much.

From jump the league is slanted to the West, Pacific Northwest specifically, and the league itself agrees. Seems all too contrived to be competitive ... but in business ... you want to set yourself up for success. This is business folks ... not soccer in its purest form.

We'll see where it goes, but as I have opined here before, I think if NWSL fails, it's the third strike. In this fragile economy where taxes are up and folks have even less disposable income, getting attendance will be tougher than ever.

I hope it is a wild success personally, but if the "plan" is the "grace of its star power", they will be done in a year, two tops.

Gotta Love St. Stephen’s Day!!

Games and More Games on Day After Christmas

After the confinement and tiring etiquette of Christmas Day, the prospect of soccer on Wednesday offers something of a refuge for Britons. An opportunity to escape the family, the simmering tensions and the dinner table strife, and breathe a sigh of relief, Boxing Day games are a tradition that Britain holds dear. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the NYT.

Kicking Back Comments: I can think of (almost) no better way to start the time off between holidays, than with a whole day of football.

I know what I'm going to be doing today!!

Christmas soccer in Philadelphia, 1912

Christmas soccer in Philadelphia, 1912

Memories of Thanksgiving soccer matches were being replaced with anticipation of more holiday matches in the minds of area soccer fans as Christmas 1912 approached.

Christmas fell on a Wednesday that year and so provided a rare opportunity for a midweek match. The previous weekend had seen some 21 games across three leagues and several different divisions as well as eight exhibition games. Among those exhibition games were teams from the city’s Pennsylvania League and American League, who had no league game scheduled because of the first round of Philadelphia Challenge Cup ties. In cup play, Pennsylvania League champions Tacony were downed 2-1 by current league leaders Victors at Third and Lehigh, their second victory over the Sawmen of the season. Earlier in the year, the Victors had advanced as far as the semifinals of the 1911-1912 American Cup, playing eventual Cup winners the West Hudsons to two draws before losing the third game 1–0 in extra time. ...

See the whole article here, from Philly Soccer.

Kicking Back Comments: This is a great article! I have to say there are times when we forget that soccer in the US has some significant roots too. Also, in poking around this blog, there seems to be some real quality stuff there.

A welcome Christmas present!!

From all of us here at Kicking Back, have a very happy holiday season!

Another New Women's League

A new league and another new dawn for US women's soccer

Here we go again: The United States Soccer Federation has announced that a new league known as the National Women's Soccer League will launch in 2013 administered by US Soccer.

The league will begin with eight clubs, the four left over from the recently-extinguished Women's Professional Soccer league (Boston, Chicago, New Jersey, Buffalo) and four new clubs. The names range from overly regional minor league names (Western New York Flash) to cheeky (Portland Thorns FC) to names that have survived all three women's leagues (Boston Breakers). Those clubs will join the Chicago Red Stars, FC Kansas City, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit, and the as-yet-unnamed Seattle club. ...

See the whole story here, from The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Three strikes and your out, or third time's a charm?

I hope it is the latter, but given the track record of women's professional soccer in the US, I'm not so sure.

Clearly US Soccer is WAY behind this (as is Canada and Mexico) as each National Organization is subsidizing their entire national teams salaries in the league.

My questions go to what will be different this time? We have tried to ride World Cup winnings in the past, and the league (WUSA) spent itself into oblivion.

For the WPS there were some very committed owners, and some, well one, that seems to have intentions outside of The Game. That said, Wambach and Solo still believe that Mr. Magic Jack is good for the women's game. I'm reserving judgement for right now.

There is no question in my mind that such a league is good for players, youth soccer, US Soccer, referees ... the whole nine.

But ... but ... if they fail this time, are we done? Is this the last time we will try to create a viable women's league for a few generations?

My thinking is yes. 

Again I hope it succeeds wildly (it will be very slow growth though), because if it does not, I don't think we will be seeing women's professional soccer for a long, long time.

Did it really happen?

The Knowledge Christmas special: Did world war one matches really happen?

"Did the Christmas football matches between British and German troops in the first world war trenches really take place?" wonders a sceptical (sic) Sandy Brook.

As you imply in your question, Sandy, most folk raise an eyebrow nowadays at the thought of Tommy and Jerry getting together for a spot of festive soccer on a patch of no-man's land so churned it made the Baseball Ground circa 1972 look like the gardens of Tresco. It seems highly improbable, especially to modern minds conditioned by social media, that petty grudges could be set aside in the name of peace and goodwill to all men. But some contemporary reports suggest that's exactly what happened on Christmas Day 1914. ... 

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: A fun twist on a classic story. Funniest part was this line:

There was no referee, and no score, no tally at all. It was simply a melee – nothing like the soccer you see on television.

I love that personally. If true, you have two countries, nay, a world at war, and you don't need a referee for the match.

A large part of me thinks that referees are horrible for football. I think we may all be surprised what players of good conscience will do when left to their own devices.

Golf, Soccer, and Headbutting

Turkish golf president sorry for 'headbutting' journalist on first tee

The president of the Turkish Golf Federation has apologised for his part in a brawl involving journalists which threatened to overshadow the Turkish Airlines World Golf final.

Ahmet Agaoglu was accused of headbutting a journalist during the incident amid chaotic scenes on the first tee before Tiger Woods's opening match with Charl Schwartzel in Antalya on Tuesday. ...

See the whole article here, from the Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Check out the analogy Agaoglu made about crowing the 1st tee box. It would seem fairly clear where his allegiance lies, and where he believes most people will understand with his example.

I'm with Wiggo

So while this post is in reference to the doping controversy currently swirling around the cycling world, the message is universal.

To have credibility to comment on a matter, once needs to walk a mile in their shoes.

Wiggo made this point transparently clear in his rant the other day when asked about doping. Parental warning regarding foul language, or if you are a Wiggo follower, normal language for him.

Consider the move by US Soccer to qualify only ex-professional referees to their higher level assessing and instructing ranks. This to me is a particular clever maneuver and one that keeps the ship going  in the right direction as these folks should have the most to share for those who need it the most.

Now, you may be asking, I just received an assessment in my youth match from someone who has not refereed much, recently, or maybe even at all. Should I take that advice?

My answer is a conditional yes. In "Confirmation Bias" or "China Syndrome"? we explored this a little bit and I came to the conclusion that all feedback is good feedback. However, you need to file it accordingly.

That said, those who have "been there" I believe hold a particularly keen ability to get the right message, in the right way to those who are listening.

This is true I think with Wiggo as well. Part of his point was related directly to the media who write, not do. While a necessary part of making a sport more attractive on the worlds stage, I hold their opinions (not reporting on the facts) in fairly low regard as so few have ever been where they are reporting on.

Those that have, I listen to more than nearly all others.

Soccer is bad for your health?

Regularly Hitting Soccer Ball With Head Linked to Memory Problems

Nov. 29, 2011 (Chicago) -- Using your head in soccer may not always be the best thing.

Regularly hitting a soccer ball with your head -- even just a few times a day -- has been linked to traumatic brain injuries, researchers report.

In a preliminary study, 32 amateur soccer players who "headed" the ball more than 1,000 to 1,500 times a year, the equivalent of a few times a day, had abnormalities in areas of the brain responsible for memory, attention, planning, organizing, and vision. ...

See the whole article here, from Web MD, and another here from USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments: So riddle me this friends, how can a player reasonably protect themselves from harm from such an issue? Not playing is certainly an obvious answer. How about a helmet?


Can a player wear a helmet?


If some of the Massachusetts legislature had its way, they would. Just take a look here, and more recently here for a far more reasonable approach. 


Really though, can a player wear a helmet under the LOTG?


Well, we are under Law 4, and it is clear that a player, "must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player." The interpretations to Law 4 further on make it clear that, "Modern protective equipment such as headgear, ... made of soft, lightweight padded material are not considered dangerous and are therefore permitted."


Very clear indeed. So any type of hard helmet is absolutely out, where something like the F90 Headguard should be allowed without even a second look.


It is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Don't believe me, or the statistics in the captioned articles? Check out this story from Grant Wahl, Concussions take toll in soccer too.

Nice Balls!!!

Questionable title aside, this is really cool on a lot of levels.

Check out the video below:



As first reported in NRAH in a post called Electric Soccer (told you guys I read this blog a lot), is this really, really neat idea.

Not novel from an engineering sense to be sure as energy harvesting technology like this has been around, and in use for some time, but the combination of the engineering principle with the application is outstanding.

A truly remarkable invention from a couple of women from Harvard that combines the universal acceptance of The Game, with a universal need for electricity.

Check out their whole story at www.soccket.com.

Beantown Boys at it again

U.S. investors make history with Roma takeover; Milan extend lead

(CNN) -- AS Roma became the first Italian soccer club to be owned by foreign investors on Saturday when an American group completed its takeover of the Serie A side.

The consortium is headed by Thomas DiBenedetto, a partner of the New England Sports Ventures group which owns English club Liverpool and U.S. baseball team the Boston Red Sox. ...

See the full story here, courtesy of CNN.

I guess they can afford to pay them that much

Soccer is China's No. 1 spectator sport

Soccer is regarded as the No. 1 spectator sport in China. Large crowds attend live games and large audiences tune in for televised games for both local Chinese teams and famous foreign ones. By one count 3.5 million of China’s roughly 600 million soccer fans regularly attend soccer matches at local stadiums. Soccer Boy is one of the country's top comics.

Soccer is the first sport to find some commercial success. The players are highly paid. Many earn over 1 million yuan ($146,000) a year, a considerable sum in China. At home and in restaurants and tea houses, men spend a lot of time sitting around radios or televisions tuning in to soccer matches. The matches themselves can be quite rowdy. ...

See the full story here, courtesy of whatsonxiamen.com.

Man and Machine

Any fellow geeks or just pop culture followers have likely been watching the Man v. Machine battle on Jeopardy! with the "Jeopardy! Challenge." This is really fascinating stuff on a bunch of levels for me.

A brief video is below for those interested.



Well that got me thinking ... Not that long ago I ran across the Robo Cup, where technology meets soccer. A video from IEEE (which I am also a member of) is below for those interetsed.



I continue to be blown away by the technology curve we are on, and what is yet to come. Of course rumors that Sepp Blatter is creating a cyber division of FIFA must be false.

Take a peek, its worth the time.

Don't forget ...

Card available at Greeting Card Universe

So I have to be honest here. This particular article gave me a bunch of trouble as it went from the history of Valentine's Day, to if the US will ever love THE game, and how so many in the US, especially the youth already do as it is claimed to be the most popular youth sport in the US.

I scrapped all of this and will save it for another time.

Now it may sound goofy to some, but as the card indicates above, the true testament to affection is loving someone even MORE than soccer. I caught this post on Big Soccer from 2009 stating the authors "first and only love" was the LA Galaxy. While I am sure meant in jest, there was some truth in these somewhere I'll bet.

THE game can be all consuming at times, especially with those (like me at a point in my life) that are so singularly focused working toward a particular goal while ignoring things that are important along the way.

My advice, for what it is worth ... In the vernacular of the day ...

Stop and smell the roses to appreciate all you have, which includes the friends we make through THE game. You only go around once, and while THE game in all her majesty is life changing ... it is only a game. What you choose to do with these life experiences is what really counts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Interesting Spin on Climate Change

Photo (c) by Flickr user scpgt. Used under a Creative Commons 2.0 licence.

Climate changes in sport

There is much talk about the weather these days, as it is – as usual – behaving out of the ordinary. There are two ways to approach extreme weather. One is climate initiatives, and the other is to adapt to the weather conditions. In national and international sports, there is increasing talk about the latter. ...

See the complete article here at Playthegame.org.

Special thanks to CW Rice for finding this gem of an article.

Steady Growth for Soccer in U.S.

The vuvuzelas have gone quiet, the national flags have been put away, and the cable sports networks are back to talking about baseball. But the World Cup in South Africa has left its mark on soccer in the United States, and, if pattern holds, it will help the sport continue to grow in this country.

Even though the American team had long since left the tournament, more than 24 million fans watched the championship match, between Spain and the Netherlands, on ABC and Univision, a figure more than the average viewership for last year’s World Series games between the Yankees and the Phillies.

Midfielder Landon Donovan became a household name thanks to his on-field exploits for the United States. Americans bought more tickets to World Cup games than fans from any country other than South Africa, and more than half a million fans are expected to see Europe’s best teams play in the United States this summer, including the 44,213 who saw Manchester United beat the host Philadelphia Union, 1-0, on Wednesday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Article continues in full here, courtesy of The New York Times.