Bleacher Report - Articles by John Howell

Buffalo Bills Fans Patience Runs Thin in Wait for Messiah This Holiday Season

John Howell — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:52:13 -0500

I would venture that a higher percentage of the population of Buffalo, NY actively follows their professional sports teams than any major league city in North America. This is especially true of Buffalo’s women, who may be more knowledgeable and fanatical about football and hockey than any women in the world.

Perhaps this is because Buffalo isn’t just a place, it’s a state of mind, a religion, a cultural overlay that works like ethnicity even though it isn’t exactly. It isn’t but it is.

Being Buffalonian is like being Jewish in a way. Being Buffalonian outside of Buffalo is like being Jewish in Tehran.

And therein lies the bulk of my experience. The ex-pat. The diaspora. If there is a Jewish bar in Tehran, I can imagine the comraderie there. Pretty much like what you’d find at the Nickel Bar in Tampa or the Buffalo bars in a hundred other cities that get less snow. It’s instant kinship.

Run into someone with a Bills or Sabres cap or jacket—in the airport, on the beach, in some other city’s stadium when the Buffalo teams are not even playing—and it’s always the same. It’s like meeting the twin you never knew you had. All you have to do is say, “Wide Right,” or “In the Crease” and you’ll keep buying each other drinks until you both need a designated driver.

I wear my throwback logo Bills cap because it reminds me of the Kemp-Dubenion era when the Bills were the class of the AFL. But not just because of that.

The old grazing buffalo is pure (as opposed to the flashy, charging one with speedlines). I wish they’d go back to the old uni’s permanently, like the Jets did. That retro look fits Buffalo, in the way Buffalo is eternally retro, always was retro before retro was retro, sort of iconic in a way that’s both quaint and a little musty. Of course, the speeding Buffalo reminds us of the K-gun. Like I said, I like the retro look.

Back when those were our uniforms, we had dreams of making the Super Bowl without the accompanying nightmares, without the creeping, nagging suspicion that the Bills may have morphed into the Cubs of the NFL. God, must we wait a 101 years?

And the Sabres seem equally cursed. From Kate Smith, the Aud in the fog, to a non-goal in the crease, things don’t go better in the HSBC (Arena) any more than they do in the Ralph (Ralph Wilson Stadium).

I’ve spent all this time talking sports, mainly, but it isn’t really about sports at all. Sports are the metaphor, the religious rite. It’s what makes the Buffalo sort-of-but-not-but-sort-of ethnicity so similar to being Jewish. We are bonded not only by our common roots, but to the ritual. Watching the Bills or the Sabres is like going to Temple for Yom Kippur. We have this common ritual of atonement.

Atonement for what? In a way, for being Buffalonians!

We’re like Rodney. We don’t get no respect. Our homeland is often reviled as Cleveland’s ugly stepsister. Queen City? Not unless it’s Drag Queen. And we’ve done a lot of this to ourselves. Especially in the past.

Buffalonians who’re old enough, remember Stan Roberts (who is Jewish) on WKBW Radio giving the weather report on “Lake D-reeeear-y.”

Like the Jews, we’ve wandered in the wilderness for generations awaiting deliverance. We await the coming Messiah, having endured many false prophets. We thought it would be O.J., then Kelly and company, then Dominick Hasek for the Sabres. We thought the second coming of the Mighty Marv might finally lead the Bills, with us, to the promised land.

People who have not lived elsewhere for an extended period of time might not be aware of this—that once one leaves Buffalo, one realizes that there is something unique about the experience of growing up here, being from here, and then going elsewhere, that is not the same as if we were from someplace like Miami or Denver or Columbus, for instance. It may be similar coming from certain other Rustbelt towns.

Cleveland, for instance. I’m not sure. But the point is that there is a sense in which being Buffalonian has more meaning than where someone lives or lived once, or grew up.

And I say this from a theological and a theologian’s perspective.

In the theological sense, being Jewish is being a people who have experienced/endured a common history, whose identity is in a significant sense tied to a geographical location who were once slaves, delivered together from bondage, wandering in exile, and finally taking possession of the promised land, thinking they had finally arrived, that it was the end of history, only to learn that history repeats itself.

And still, repeating.

So, like the Jews we wander. We hope. We have our hopes dashed. We hope again. And we go to Temple. The Ralph. The HSBC. We fast. We sacrifice. We sob. We celebrate.

We wait. We celebrate. We curse! But we do it together. As one. We are the chosen people. We still don’t know what exactly we’re chosen for, but we’re chosen.

Waiting is part of it, most of it really. Waiting 'til next year. Waiting for the next good quarterback. Waiting for the next good coach.

At least now the coaching question appears due for an answer. We’ve got half the answer. Dick Jauron is gone. So until his replacement is named we have that almost giddy hope, that kid before Christmas hope that one of the biggest wishes on our list will be fulfilled.

But if we’re using the Jewish metaphor we have to change the Christmas imagery to Chanukah. And if you think about it, that actually works better. Chanukah’s all about the miracle of the lights. It’s about a small amount of oil burning night after night, vanquishing the cold, overwhelming the darkness, without being used up. It’s about eight consecutive nights of surprise.

It may not be coincidental, then, that there are eight unattached coaches who have ascended the mountain and brought back the tablets, who have parted the waters and led their people to the other side: Dungy, Cowher, Holmgren, Shanahan, Billick, Gruden, Johnson, and Gibbs. With that many available, who as head coaches have won it all, the Buffalo fans will accept nothing less.

“Ride a painted pony, let the spinning (spinnaker) spin.”

Top Five Underdogs of 2009: Has-Beens, Never-Beens, Cursed Fall, and Dead Rise

John Howell — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:36:07 -0500

It has been a year of mixed emotions for incurable fans of the underdog. On the downside are ultimate victories by ultimate bullies such as the Steelers and the Yankees. Atypically, March Madness produced no Cinderella stories. Perennial underdogs, the Cleveland Cavaliers choked on their best opportunity yet to win an NBA Championship, faltering in the Conference finals, with Orlando.

On the upside are the overlapping individual and team stories of Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals, the parallel stories of two soccer Cinderellas, and a Warner-like comeback in the golf world.

And now, for the countdown.

No. 5: Tom Watson, PGA/British Open
Like the Arizona Cardinals, Tom Watson gains a place on our short list by virtue of a near miss. One could call Watson the Kurt Warner of the PGA.

This year Watson, who has recently had difficulty qualifying for major tournaments took eventual champion Stewart Cink to a playoff before finally running out of fairy dust. Watson had won his share of titles in his prime, but the 60-year-old had to come back from the cryogenics lab to barely lose this one, making it perhaps his most memorable and most impressive effort.

The only thing that would have made it a better story would have been a duel with Tiger Woods, who was off his game in this event. Still, Watson accomplished something no golfer, including Tiger, has ever achieved in my lifetime: causing me to not only pay attention to a golf tournament, but to get excited about someone playing in it.

No. 4: Kurt Warner and No. 3: The Arizona Cardinals
Despite the ring on his finger, Kurt Warner is the quintessential individual underdog, having gone from the Arena League to sacking groceries to a MVP role in leading the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory in 2000.

This year, as he led the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance in their long and tortured history, coming within seconds of winning a second ring. To further endear him to underdog aficionados, Warner did so by resurrecting his own career yet again, appearing yet again from obscurity to command yet another band of usurpers.

It is somewhere between irony and synchronicity that Warner’s two greatest hours have come with teams from St. Louis. Before Arizona, when the formerly Cleveland Rams spent a generation in LA, the Cardinals played in St. Louis. St. Louis did not make our short list of underdog towns but they come close. Where Warner’s twice unlikely success is concerned, that has to mean something.

Perhaps the two best underdog stories of ’09 come from the game America loves to misunderstand, and in an outcome that does Title Nine proud, there is gender balance. First the men.

No. 2: Real Salt Lake, Major League Soccer
Some would say with team names like Real Salt Lake or Sky Blue FC, no wonder Americans haven’t warmed up to soccer. A comment such as that puts the sport of soccer on my permanent underdog short list in the United States. But in its own ironic way, that status makes pro soccer in the United States the quintessential American game.

It may be royalty in Europe and the rest of the world but in the U.S. soccer is the little guy, the one fighting City Hall, the ghetto kid trying to hold his own in the Ivy League, the political outsider, the Jimmy Stewart character in a Hitchcock film.

In other words, when seen in that light, soccer in America should be seen as the ultimate American sport, but only, of course, until it supplants “America’s pastime,” and once it becomes dominant, were it to become dominant, it would cease to be America’s game. Do you follow?

At any rate, those who ignore soccer in the U.S. do so at their own deprivation. While the MLS is far from being on par with the world’s premier leagues, it has continued to improve the quality of play on the field while building a larger and more passionate fan base.

Look no further than the site of this year’s MLS Cup Championship match. Seattle joined MLS this year with an upgrade to their minor league club, the Sounders, and quickly established themselves as a power on the field and without question, the league’s biggest power in the stands.

Averaging more than 30,000 per match, the Sounders outdrew the nearest competitor by almost 10,000, but it is not only the number of fans in the stands, but the fact that all 30,000 stand throughout each match, never stop moving, and never shut up.

If anyone were to stumble upon a match in Seattle while channel surfing, one would be convinced it was being played somewhere in Europe. The noise, the intensity, the constant synchronized movement of the faithful looks and sounds anything but American.

That doesn’t mean Seattle is the exception. It just means it is the best example. Most MLS teams come close to matching the NBA or NHL in attendance, and surpass that of a weeknight game in many Major League Baseball parks. And the enthusiasm is certainly there.

The Eastern Conference Championship match in Chicago was a study in how to build a successful franchise in a new league in a “minor” sport. Every one of the 21,730 seats at Toyota Park were filled, mostly with rabid, red-clad partisans, keeping the noise level in the ear-plug range. And that was the coming out party of our number two underdog.

The favored Chicago Fire dominated Real Salt Lake at both ends of the field for 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time. That brought the game down to an exchange of kicks from the penalty mark. The drama built with each shot.

The two clubs exchanged goals until Salt Lake’s Javier Morales was the first from either club to miss, shooting high. What would prove to be a false sense of imminent triumph gripped the house.

And just as quickly, this sense of destiny deflated when John Thorington was the first for Chicago to have his shot saved. Another Salt Lake miss and Chicago had the advantage again.

But then it was all Salt Lake. After succeeding by going high on Salt Lake keeper Nick Rimando, Fire shooters kept going low and to the keeper’s right, while Salt Lake blew two successive shots past Chicago’s Jon Busch, and the match was over.

Before the players or the crowd could adjust, MLS Commissioner Don Garber was out on the midfield line presenting the Conference trophy to the visiting team.

In winning the MLS Cup, Real Salt Lake was a classic underdog story.

Not only had they upended the favorite on the road, they brought the first major league sports championship of any kind to Salt Lake City, itself a small market, late to the professional sports circuit, and as the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), despite its climate and natural mountain beauty, a rather misunderstood and under-appreciated place.

And until now, Real has carried the moniker of expansion team. It was their first trip to the MLS Cup and only their second time seriously contending in the playoffs.

Chicago, on the other hand, had won not only the MLS Cup in their debut year as the league’s first expansion team, they had also won the U.S. Open Cup, competed in the MLS Cup finals one other time, and won the Open Cup twice more. Chicago is the perennial contender, the perennial early season favorite to take it all. Once again they would fall short, but this time it wasn’t to a traditional MLS power, it was the new kids.

And… the No. 1 Underdog of 2009 is…

Sky Blue FC (New Jersey/New York) Women’s Professional Soccer
In Women’s Professional Soccer, New Jersey’s Sky Blue FC went from dead last after nine weeks, to winning the league’s inaugural championship over the barely blemished LA Sol.

The Sol had clinched a playoff berth before Sky Blue figured out how to win two in a row. They clinched the regular season championship before with weeks to spare. They had dominated the league in goals scored and goals allowed. They had barely allowed a goal in their home venue at Home Depot Center.

Yet on the pitch at Home Depot Center, Sky Blue shut out Goliath, scored twice, coming through as the unofficial women’s club world champions. That would be enough, but that’s only half the story.

Player-Coach Christie Rampone took over Sky Blue with two regular season games remaining and the playoffs on the line after the club’s second coach of the season, Kelly Lindsey, walked off with no notice during a dispute with management. She had taken the reigns after the team’s original coach, Ian Sawyers had been sacked early in the season.

So, a team that had seen three coaches in its first year of existence, that had seen coach No. 2 abandon them in the heat of a playoff run after a dramatic turn-around, that had to adjust to coach No. 3 as a peer and player, managed to defeat the league’s hottest streaking club, St. Louis in order to play the league’s essentially invincible behemoth for the championship, and not only won, but did so without appearing to be fully challenged.

And so, after further review, despite the disappointing success of Yankees and Steelers, the failure of Cinderellas to dance their way to coronation this past March, thanks to a 60-year-old golfer, a 30-something quarterback, a football team rising phoenix-like in Phoenix, and two unlikely soccer champions, it wasn’t such a bad year for underdogs in America after all.

Chicago Fire Lives by the Busch and Dies by the Busch in Conference Final

John Howell — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:04:49 -0500

Bridgeview, Ill.: Nov. 14, 2009

You can sum up the Chicago Fire's season in this one game. You can sum up the team's history, excluding year one, in this one game.

The summary is this: outstanding defense, underachieving offense, overall game domination, tantalizing fans by getting within reach of greatness only to find a way, sooner or later, to betray them...and themselves.

After win streaks and losing streaks, the usual Fire roller-coaster ride throughout the season, this season looked as if it might be different, as if whatever curse constrains Chicago might have been broken.

After all, they beat the Revolution for a change, and found themselves playing in a Conference final.

Their opponent, Real Salt Lake (whose presence in the Eastern Conference made them geographically out of synch in addition to being, statistically at least, the underdog in the match) was a club the Fire should have been able to scorch.

It seemed that an appearance in another MLS Cup match might be in the cards. Not necessarily a victory, but at least an appearance, and even an appearance would be progress relative to Chicago's recent history.

Home field advantage wouldn't hurt either. The Fire enjoyed yet another sellout crowd of 21,730, a crowd that was easily creating a noise level worthy of twice their number. The mostly red-clad partisans seldom lowered the volume and seldom stopped moving.

One couldn't help observe the spectacle and not feel good about the future of MLS. What was on vivid display in the Chicago suburb was an established tradition, a passionate obsession, an entrenched soccer community.

It was the kind of game that people who don't get soccer love to loathe. There was no score whatsoever. Not in the 90 minutes of regulation time, and not in the 30 minutes of extra time.

Despite the double zeroes on the scoreboard, however, it was not an uneventful match. It was also not an evenly played match. Chicago came at their opponents relentlessly.

The Fire set up play after play, moving the ball downfield with speed, with precision passing, with expert footwork.

Salt Lake put together an occasional good run, actually penetrated the defense with more efficiency than the Chicago side when they did get down to the offensive end, but each of the few open doors they enjoyed was slammed hard in their faces by Chicago keeper Jon Busch.

As good as Chicago's defense played overall, there were a couple of lapses that could have, no doubt should have cost the Fire a goal, but Busch nailed the hatch closed, and with each shot, he threw another chair in front of the door, just in case the salt-white army from Salt Lake managed to break through the rest of the barricades.

With the heroics Busch had demonstrated throughout the match and the assumed advantage in firepower that Chicago possessed, there was a sense in Toyota Park that the eventual exchange of penalty kicks would settle the matter in Chicago's favor.

After Salt Lake's Javier Morales was the first from either club to miss, shooting high, a sense of imminent triumph gripped the house.

And just as quickly, this sense of destiny deflated when John Thorington was the first for Chicago to have his shot saved. Another Salt Lake miss and Chicago had the advantage again.

But then it was all Salt Lake. After succeeding by going high on Salt Lake keeper Nick Rimando, Fire shooters kept going low and to the keeper's right, while Salt Lake blew two successive shots past Busch, and the match was over.

Before the players or the crowd could adjust, MLS Commissioner Don Garber was out on the midfield line presenting the Conference trophy to the visiting team.

And so it goes. Once again in Chicago, the Fire over promised and under-delivered. Once again, they had a roster that appeared as talented as any in the league, but had difficulty with point production all season, with the exception of a couple of hot streaks.

Other than Chicago's inaugural season, when they shocked the city and the league, as an expansion team, by winning not only the MLS Cup in an upset over the club that had been until then the class of the league (DC United) but also won the US Open Cup, for a double.

Since then, the Fire has finished strong every season but one, but with the exception of their debut year, they have failed to capture the MLS Cup. With a very few exceptions, they have failed even to contest for it.

And so, just as the Eastern Conference Championship match became a metaphor for a season, and a decade of seasons of Chicago soccer, the PK contest became a micro metaphor in itself. Beginning strong, taking the lead, then collapsing when it counts.

Ashleigh Gunning Called up by WPS Champions Sky Blue FC

John Howell — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:31:37 -0500

Somerset, N.J. (Wednesday, October 28, 2009) —Women’s Professional Soccer champion Sky Blue FC made the signing of defender Ashleigh Gunning official today. The Coastal Carolina product comes to Sky Blue FC after spending this past season with its USL W-League affiliate club, Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues.

“Ashleigh Gunning is our newest addition, and I am excited to have her on our team,” Sky Blue FC head coach Pauliina Miettinen said. “Our coaching staff spotted her in the WPS combine, and she will bring many positive assets to our club. With her positive personality, she will fit in well with the rest of the team.”

Gunning was an instrumental component in the Quickstrike defense this past season, anchoring their back line to the W-League regular season title and a semifinal appearance in the postseason. She played in all 13 games for Quickstrike and contributed two goals and a pair of assists to its offensive attack.

“I am grateful to Sky Blue FC for the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream,” she commented about the signing. “I’m very thankful to have this opportunity, and right now, it’s an opportunity. It’s nothing guaranteed, and obviously I have to show up and play well to prove that I deserve to be there. It’s something I’ve thought about and worked towards for a long time, but I know that it is not the end of the road. I still have a lot of work to do and there is a long way to go.”

Gunning enjoyed a very productive college career at Coastal Carolina University after transferring from Louisiana State University following her freshman season in 2003. The Baton Rouge native led the Big South Conference in scoring with 22 points in 2007, and she was named the Big South Conference Player of the Year in 2008 after tallying 39 points on 15 goals and nine assists.

As an amateur player, she also suited up in the W-League for the Cocoa Express and Charlotte Lady Eagles before joining Quickstrike in 2009.

“I especially appreciate the excitement and enthusiasm that Ashleigh has already displayed on coming to Sky Blue FC,” General Manager Gerry Marrone stated about Gunning. “She is a welcome addition to the team.”

Marrone also went on to voice his pleasure regarding the developmental system in place between Sky Blue FC and Quickstrike.

“This is a case in which the Sky Blue FC and Quickstrike partnership works at its best,” he remarked. “Our organizations are strong proponents of this system of developing and sharing talent, which promotes both the players and the game.”

Quickstrike head coach Jesse Kolmel said he was equally as pleased with the relationship, and he commented about the type of talent that Gunning will bring to Sky Blue FC.

“I think that her ability with distribution is definitely a plus,” he stated. “The power that she can strike a ball with is huge. I thought she did a phenomenal job as our right back, kind of being a playmaker out of the back. At the next level, she has the ability to play in multiple positions for Sky Blue FC, and I think that is what they are seeking in a player.”

Article: From a Sky Blue FC Press Release

WPS Chicago Red Stars Sign Hometown Girl, Julianne Sitch, From Sky Blue FC

John Howell — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:20:52 -0400

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill.—The Chicago Red Stars announce their first 2009 free agent signing today, bringing midfielder and Oswego, Ill. native Julianne Sitch on board for the team’s 2010 Women’s Professional Soccer season. Per team policy, terms of her contract are not released, and Sitch’s official signing is pending the league’s approval.

By bringing a Chicagoland native home from her previous club in New Jersey, the Red Stars achieve celestial balance, having lost Jersey girl Carli Lloyd to Sky Blue in another free agent signing earlier in the week. Both are midfielders.

Sitch made her WPS debut this past season for the champion Sky Blue FC. She started in 11 of 16 regular season games, netting her first goal on June 28 against Saint Louis Athletica.

“I am very happy to be coming home to Chicago to continue my playing career,” Sitch said. “I’ve always dreamt about playing in my hometown, where all of my family and friends—who have supported me throughout my career—can come and watch. I love Chicago. I love Toyota Park and the energy it brings to the game. I couldn’t be more happy and I’m excited for the season to start!”

Sitch has a rich soccer history throughout the Chicago area. She is best known for her groundbreaking efforts for the DePaul University women’s soccer program, where she shattered many records during her 2002-2005 tenure.

WPS Champs Sky Blue Sign Dutch National Team Captain Daphne Koster

John Howell — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:04:55 -0400

Koster is First Dutch Player to Play in Women's Professional Soccer

Defending Women's Professional Soccer champion Sky Blue FC made official today the signing of Dutch National Team captain Daphne (Daf-nuh) Koster, becoming the first Dutch player to play in WPS. Koster adds another proven champion to the Sky Blue FC defense, as the central defender has been a member of nine championship clubs in her native Netherlands.

"Daphne Koster is internationally experienced, and she will be a great addition to our defensive line," Sky Blue FC head coach Pauliina Miettinen commented.

"She played extremely well at the European Championships and was one of the backbones of the Netherlands defense, overall one of the best defenders in the tournament. Daphne is very versatile player with an ability to read the game well, and she is also a leader on and off the field."

Koster began her soccer career at the age of six with SVA in Assendelft, where she played until turning 19 years old. The Den Haag native then joined Ter Leede in Sassenheim and was a winner of four national championships, two KNVB Cups and the Super Cup once.

Following the 2002-03 season, she was named the runner-up for MVP of the Dutch Hoofdklasse (Premier) League before winning the award the next two seasons. She has since spent the past two years with AZ in Alkmaar, winning another pair of league championships.

"It has always been a dream to play in the USA, and I am very delighted that this dream comes true at Sky Blue FC," Koster said of the signing. "I think WPS is the best competition in the world at this moment, and I look forward to the challenge of playing with and against the best players in a professional setting."

Koster first played for the Dutch National Team at the age of 16 and has since capped 91 times. She has enjoyed a 12-year career with her native national team and currently serves as its captain.

"From all reports by Pauliina, who scouted this talented player in the recent women's European Championships this past August, Sky Blue FC is getting a solid defender with tremendous ability and extensive international experience," Sky Blue FC General Manager Gerry Marrone stated. "The fact that Daphne is the captain of her country's national team is also testimony of the respect from her teammates, in addition to her leadership skills."

This signing marks the second in what has been an exciting week for Sky Blue FC after the team announced this past Monday that it has agreed to terms with U.S. National Team midfielder and New Jersey native Carli Lloyd. The team recently announced Miettinen as its head coach, and her assistant coaching staff was unveiled last week.

"This has been an exciting month for Sky Blue FC," Marrone continued. "We have put together a high-quality and well-rounded coaching staff, as well as announced the signing of two top players. We look forward to building on the momentum that carried us to the 2009 WPS Championship."

From a press release provided by Sky Blue FC.

Breaking News: Former Red Star Lloyd Signs With WPS Champs Sky Blue FC

John Howell — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:05:34 -0400

Somerset, N.J. (Monday, October 19, 2009) —Defending WPS Champions Sky Blue FC, of Metro New Jersey-New York, announced today the signing of free agent midfielder Carly Lloyd. Lloyd, a seasoned US international who played the league’s inaugural season in Chicago for the Red Stars, expressed her pleasure at being able to play in her home area, while the club’s General Manager, Gerry Marrone, stated his pleasure at building a team that is significantly staffed by “Jersey girls.”

"I have a lot of memories of playing in New Jersey, and it is great to be back home," Lloyd remarked. "I am very excited to be part of Sky Blue FC and to be playing with so many players that I already know so well from being teammates on the national team. When you have that kind of familiarity, it really translates onto the field, and I can't wait to get started!"

Lloyd was born in Delran, New Jersey, and was twice named Parade Magazine All-America (1999, 2000) while attending Delran High School. She then continued her playing career at Rutgers University, where she became the first player in program history to receive First Team All-Big East accolades in each of her four seasons in Piscataway.

The 2004 Big East Midfielder of the Year ended her collegiate career in the school record books as its leader in points (117) and goals (50), leading the Scarlet Knights to a pair of NCAA Tournaments. She capped off her senior year at Rutgers as a finalist for the Soccer Buzz Player of the Year Award and was also a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.

Sky Blue FC plays their home matches at Yurcak Stadium on the Rutgers campus. With Lloyd’s addition to the Jersey team, “there are almost enough local players to fill out a starting eleven,” Lloyd commented.

Lloyd will be joining key home-grown Sky Blue players such as last season’s player-coach, Christie Rampone, as well as Heather O’Reilly and Yael Averbuch.

Also, the addition of Lloyd to the Sky Blue club gives New Jersey more players who have national team experience than any other WPS club, according to Gloria Averbuch, Director of Public Relations and Marketing for Sky Blue FC.

Eyebrows were raised last month when it was announced that Lloyd would become a free agent and would not return to the Chicago squad. She made 14 starts for the Red Stars (of 20 league matches played) and scored a pair of goals with an assist.

During the press conference today, Lloyd acknowledged that it had been her decision to become a free agent, and that she had felt out of synch in Chicago. She cited the absence of her long-time personal trainer, as well as being too far from home and all that is familiar to her, as one of the reasons she didn’t play up to her potential in WPS last year.

During Lloyd’s prepared statements and answers to questions at the press conference, it was obvious that what she did not say about her experience in Chicago was more meaningful than her carefully worded responses to questions from numerous reporters about how she felt in Chicago, whether she was comfortable there, reasons why she might have not wanted to remain there, etc. Her most telling statement was, “I think it is important not to focus on the past and to concentrate on the future.”

Listening to general manager Marrone, as well as Sky Blue’s new head coach, Pauliina Miettinen, on the call from home in Finland, it was clear that the club’s front office believes the Lloyd signing is a major acquisition. Although Lloyd did not make the contribution that was expected of her in Chicago, her new club’s management is confident she will be much more of a factor for Sky Blue, citing her record of impactful play on the US Women’s National Team.

On the international level, Lloyd was a member of four Nordic Cup championship teams with the U.S. U21 National Team from 2002-05, and she first trained with the full national team in its 2004 Olympic Residency Camp. She earned her first two caps in 2005 and then made the first two starts of her national team career at the 2006 Algarve Cup. The following year, Lloyd earned MVP honors at the 2007 Algarve Cup and also played in her first FIFA World Cup.

Lloyd continued to advance her game with the national team in 2008 and was named the U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year. She started all 35 matches in the midfield for the U.S. National Team, scoring nine goals while adding nine assists. She also played all 600 minutes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and tallied the game-winning goal in extra time of the championship final with Brazil, helping to bring the United States the Olympic Gold Medal.

"We are thrilled to have Carli play for Sky Blue FC," Marrone said. "She is one of the tremendous talents developed in our state, and a hero among all soccer fans. She will bring great soccer ability to the team and play on the field where she excelled as a collegian. We all welcome Carli back to New Jersey. Who says you can't go home again?!"

"Carli Lloyd is an exciting addition to our team," Miettinen added. "Carli will be strengthening our midfield with her tremendous work ethic. She is a person willing to do extra on the field and stay after practice. That is the kind of person we want on this team. I am also excited for Carli because she is back playing in front of her friends and family."

Lloyd, who was named to the national team roster for its upcoming October 29th match with Germany, will be leaving for Germany to join her national teammates tomorrow.

Emergency Surgery for the Buffalo Bills! A Cowher Transplant

John Howell — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:25:51 -0400

Somebody call 911. Does anyone know CPR? The Buffalo Bills are lying unresponsive on the turf. Time is critical.

Now, continue the analogy. Consider this possibility. The Buffalo Bills are a minor, a dependent of their guardian, Ralph Wilson, Jr. We're in the Emergency Room now. The doctors are gathered around the lifeless body.

Finally, a little blip appears on the monitor screen. The heart is back, but barely. Pulse is almost non-existent. The on-call cardiovascular surgeon is paged.

A minute later, he appears in the room with his entourage of students, interns and residents. He breaks the news to Papa Ralph. "Your child needs an immediate heart transplant."

"That seems a little drastic, Doctor," Ralph says. "Why can't we try medication first, maybe even a bypass, but a transplant? I don't think so."

"Listen to me!" The Doctor shouts at Mr. Wilson, grabbing him by both shoulders and shaking him violently to make sure he gets the point. "It's a transplant this hour, or call the undertaker. Do you get it? It's too late for anything else. You've been trying the least intrusive therapy on your child for the past 10 years.

"It seemed promising for a while, but lately things have been going down hill quickly. To be completely frank, Mr. Wilson, you should have brought him in here long before today. This arrest didn't have to happen. Now we have no choice. We have to replace that heart, and now! Sign here please."

Ralph gets that dazed look he had off and on during the Hall of Fame induction. You wonder if he's even mentally present. Then, with a sudden start, he takes the clipboard and pen from the doctor and begrudgingly signs his consent.

"Thank you," the Doctor replies. "Now, team get the heart off the chopper and get the patient to the OR, stat."

So...if I were the Bills' doctor, I'd shake Mr. Wilson until it gets through his head that nothing short of immediate and radical intervention will save this team.

The new heart is Bill Cowher. He must be the Bills' next General Manager. The Bills must have someone of his caliber who has won Super Bowls and put together championship coaching staffs.

Such radical and immediate intervention in the life of the Buffalo Bills is necessary, and using the heart analogy, there's not a stronger organ in the football universe than Bill Cowher available today (assuming he can get out of his TV contract) to be grafted into the organization.

If it were up to me and there was any possible way on earth to do this—and if enough money is offered all the involved parties, there is always a way—Bill Cowher would be in Russ Brandon's office by the end of business today. Jauron would be gone. Bobby April would be interim head coach.

Cowher would be given the challenge to pick from one of the many Superbowl winning head coaches who are currently not engaged in coaching such as Dungy, Billick, Holmgren, Shanahan, and Gruden, and getting one on board ASAP.

The new coach would likely have to live with the coordinators and assistants until the end of the season, but at least they'd have an opportunity to evaluate talent and start re-working the team's strategy. I would also ask Cowher to consider obtaining another quarterback, Jeff Garcia, for instance, to offer an alternative to Trent Edwards if a new coach isn't enough to get him reoriented.

As unlikely as this scenario may seem, it is not impossible, and I have a feeling that regardless of the players' professed loyalty to the current coach, the arrival of a team like Cowher-Billick for example, would quickly win their enthusiastic support, and such a team, even with existing coordinators and despite the trauma of introducing a new heart to a very weakened body, the team would have a miracle recovery and would finish strong, especially as the season progresses.

Without such intervention, look for the Bills to finish 1-15, and look for the current management to completely waste the number one draft pick they will "earn," in the process.

Chicago Suburb Is Home To WPS Defender of the Year, Boston's LePielbet

John Howell — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:51:09 -0400

No one was more surprised than Crystal Lake, IL native and US international Amy Lepielbet to hear her name called when the WPS honored it's first "Defender of the Year." At least that's her statement for the record.

Unfortunately for Chicago Red Stars fans, their homegrown talent is playing for an opponent, the Boston Breakers.

We asked her about her Crystal Lake roots.

BR: Are you still pretty well connected to Crystal Lake?

AL: I have not been back to Crystal Lake in quite awhile, but I will always be connected to the town. I still have family and friends who live there who keep me in touch with what is going on in town.

BR: Where did you go to High School?

AL: I went to Central my freshman year and finished my last three years at Prairie Ridge.

BR: What was your most formative soccer influence growing up in Crystal Lake and why?

AL: In high school one of my Prairie Ridge teammates, Jessie Allan, invited me to play with her club team. If it was not for her I would have never played for the club Sparta.

Playing with Sparta and playing for my coach Mike Nesci was the most influential soccer experience for me during my high school days. My time with the club really helped me become a better and smarter player. Most importantly Sparta prepared me for the college game.

BR: Who are the people both local and global who have been the greatest influences on you personally and professionally (athletically)?

AL: Both personally and professionally my parents have had the greatest influence on me. They have instilled in me to always believe in myself which has been a driving force in my life and soccer career.

Also, my college coaches Ray and Tracey Leone have both been very influential. They taught me how to be a true professional and at the same time to always have fun playing the game because that is when you play your best.

BR: Which soccer player has been your biggest hero/role model?

AL: When I was young I always was amazed by Kristine Lilly and now that I have had the opportunity to play on the same team as her I am even more amazed by her. She is the ultimate professional. Not only is she a very talented player, but she is an unbelievable leader and teammate.

BR: Do you remember any games in youth soccer or high school that were highlights or turning points in your soccer career?

AL: Making the club team Sparta was a major turning point in my soccer career. Once I started playing for the club I had the opportunity to go to major tournaments where college coaches were watching our games. At one of these tournaments was where Arizona State University saw me and began recruiting me.

BR: Has anyone in Crystal Lake approached you about having you come back home for a hero’s welcome? (in any form)

AL: No one has approached me.

BR: When you played in Toyota Park this past season, how many people came from home to see you play?

AL: I probably had around 25 family and friends come to game.

BR: Would you like to play in Chicago at some point in your career, or doesn’t that matter?

AL: I am very happy in Boston, but before going to Boston I really wanted to play in Chicago or for one of the west coast teams.

Now that I have played a season as a Boston Breaker I definitely want to stay in Boston. I honestly never thought I would feel that way, but I am so invested in the Breakers team that I do not want to play anywhere else just yet.

BR: What are your dreams and goals for the future, in your soccer career and beyond?

AL: My first goal is to win a WPS championship next year with the Boston Breakers. My second goal is to make the 2011 World Cup team.

BR: After your playing days are over, do you anticipate a soccer related career as a coach or in the front office, or do you anticipate a totally different career?

AL: I honestly do not know exactly what I want to do when I am finished playing, but I do think it would be nice to still be around the sport once I'm done. So coaching or working in a front office are definite a possibilities.

Plans are underway at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake to honor Amy when the Breakers play in Chicago next Spring. Ideally, it will be an event co-sponsored by WPS, the Breakers, the Red Stars and US Soccer. Prairie Ridge would like to display Amy's WNT and Breakers jerseys with a few other alumni who have played major league s

Underdog Sports Celebrates AUDIBLE, The Football Magazine for Women

John Howell — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:26:29 -0400

This could be a sign of the apocalypse.

A recent story on NPR reported the growing trend of women’s fantasy football leagues. And now, there’s an online football magazine for women: Audible!

At Underdog Sports, we love anyone or anything that challenges the status quo, reinvents the wheel, operates outside of the box, or makes the box into a basket. In our estimation, what could be more in keeping with the underdog spirit than a football magazine for the female fan.

Audible (www.audiblemagazine.com) is a very well-done magazine for women who love football. It is essentially a one woman operation, and that woman has a day job, at least for now. Because of that, it is understandably a little thin on content. But the mag looks good and the content found there is definitely well written.

Cindi Damman, Audible’s founder, editor and publisher, grew up loving football from as far back as she can remember. Like most children of either gender, she was introduced to the sport by her father. They watched college and pro games together on television.

“There was just something about the game that grabbed me,” Damman said. “I was hooked.”

Yet naïve. Damman says she was surprised but pleased to discover as a high school freshman that high schools had football teams. From the first game, that first year, she never missed.

Now fast forward to young adulthood. Damman, a Chicagoland native, was living and working in Miami. It was that magical year in Chicago sports lore—1985. It was the preseason. Her boss mentioned to her, “Your Bears are playing in town this weekend.”

Damman got her hands on some tickets, watched the Bears lose to the fish, and from then on knew she had to be in the house, wherever the Bears play—home or away. Twenty-four years later, Damman attends every regular season and postseason game the Bears play.

But it’s not a short leap from addicted fan to magazine publisher. On the other hand, personal growth specialists will tell you that there comes a moment in everyone’s life when your passion meets your purpose and a new career is born.

Damman got the idea when she was speaking with an acquaintance on the West Coast who mentioned starting an online magazine. As soon as Damman heard those two words in the same sentence, she knew what she would be doing in her spare time.

“It was just one of those things,” she said. “You know, synergy, synchronicity? Somebody says something and the light goes on and suddenly you know exactly what you want to be doing more than anything else.”

Damman actually teamed up with the other woman to get the brand launched, but both have day jobs and her colleague have had to pull back just to manage her own magazine (different topic). That leaves Damman as a publishing company of one. Between a demanding daytime schedule as a professional recruiter, her weekly commitments to follow the Bears wherever they may play, and keeping her new project moving and growing, Damman is devoid of time for anything else—literally.

A quick visit to the Audible site provides an intriguing if not crowded menu. Articles in the current issue include such titles as, “Preseason Games—Should I Care?” “Female vs. Male Fans, Are We Really that Different?” as well as explanations of the rules, interviews and a “Most Valuable Fan” category.

Damman hopes to be able to make Audible her only professional commitment in the very near future. But in the meantime, her new baby has all the signs of healthy development, promising a long and successful life.

John Wingspread Howell publishes the online magazine Underdog Sports, "For every team against the odds and every fan with the faith to believe."

www.underdog.sports.officelive.com

Jerry Jones and The Temple of Doom: Dallas vs. Buffalo for America's Team

John Howell — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:20:28 -0400

Are the Dallas Cowboys still America’s team, or are they America’s bad dream?

I watched Jerry Jones show off the monument he has built to American excess, on the Today Show this morning.

It struck me as hauntingly ironic that Dallas, one of the demographic icons of the excesses and extravagance of the recent bubble, is opening a billion dollar stadium, in the middle of the debris of the bubble burst, and that Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is chatting it up with Matt and Al on what is supposed to be a morning news program.

It is news of course, but not in the way it is being covered. NBC is just whoring their Sunday Night Football coverage in an infomercial disguised as news. And to think the Today Show used to be serious about journalism. But that’s another topic.

Perhaps I wouldn’t be angry enough to write about it, however, if it wasn’t for the fact that this new stadium represents everything the NFL has not been, it appears poised to become. If my worst fears are realized, and Jerry Jones has his way, it will be the end of the NFL world as we know it.

From the day he bought the Dallas franchise in 1989, Jerry Jones let it be known he was a new breed of NFL owner. He was—and is—a shark. He is out to get all he can for himself and his team at the expense of the weaker members and the league. He is determined to bring social Darwinism to what has been a cooperative.

No one was surprised, then, when shortly after taking over the Cowboys, Jones attempted and partially succeeded at making individual licensing agreements for Cowboys merchandise.

It was the first chink in the armor of revenue sharing that is now more at risk than any time in history, as the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) nears its end.

Jerry Jones has made it known from day one that he opposes the revenue sharing plan. He has done what he can to undermine it. And now that the CBA is about to term out, he has an opening big enough for any fullback to charge through, to kill it.

What does Jerry Jones want?

If each franchise is allowed to keep all revenues it generates from TV rights to logo merchandising, then Dallas will be among the big winners. They have established themselves as a national brand (“America’s team”).

Smaller and less prosperous markets will be left to survive on their own gate revenues and whatever merchandising and media deals they can make on their own.

That may not sound so bad. After all, they do that in baseball. But the NFL is different. Its TV exposure is huge. Watching the NFL on Sundays, Monday nights, and now even Thursday nights, is the true national pastime, much more than baseball ever was (on television at least).

A franchise’s equal share in TV revenue and merchandising is also huge.

For a small market team, to lose an equal share of that revenue puts the first several nails in their coffins, even if they sell 80,000 seats till the cows come home. The gate alone is not enough to pay the players. (And when the cows come home, it will be the Cowboys driving them.)

Why should we care, unless we live in a small market town? The same reason Jerry Jones should be careful what he wishes for. If the Dallas Cowboys become “America’s bullies” or “America’s spoiled rich guys,” he’s out of business. The NFL’s stock in trade is parity. And you can’t have parity without revenue sharing.

Parity is what has made the NFL great as an institution as well as a business, a sports league, and a key source of entertainment, civic pride, and regional cohesion in the United States. Parity is the reality behind the truth of the expression, “on any given day, in any given stadium, any given team can defeat any other team.”

We know this is true, and we also know that on any given day not only will one or two heavy underdogs win, but many more teams will give a royal scare to highly favored teams before they finally succumb. That’s what makes the NFL worth watching.

If odds makers can comfortably pick winners by looking at a team’s balance sheets rather than their scouting reports, they might as well just cancel the games and hold a giant celebrity party.

Unfortunately, it isn’t just a matter of keeping the smaller market teams competitive; it is a matter of keeping the small market teams in the league.

Forget about storied 50+ year old franchises like Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Yes, even Pittsburgh, the NFL’s most successful team (on the field) of all time will be at risk of becoming the Los Angeles Platinums, without a continuation of revenue sharing.

If you don’t believe me, look at baseball. Look at the Pittsburgh Pirates. Same town as the Steelers. Same fans. Same market. But the Pirates haven’t made the playoffs in 17 years.

Theirs is one of the smallest payrolls in Major League Baseball. Any player that rises to marquis level on their roster is quickly lost to free agency. It’s only a matter of time when tradition and fan loyalty will not be enough to keep the Pirates from being pirated by a baseball version of Jerry Jones.

Again, if you’re not from there, why should you care?

Parity is important not only because it makes the league more competitive and thus makes the action on the field, as opposed to the action in the sky boxes and sidelines, more interesting, but because it creates great moral conflict scenarios that benefit the sport in general as well as each individual franchise including the richest.

If all the teams were concentrated in the glitziest, largest, and wealthiest markets, what has until now been a subliminal subplot in the game, the moral and mortal combat pitting David versus Goliath will devolve into a cat fight between Paris Hilton and the Olsen Twins—just a couple of rich bitches ruining each other’s makeup.

On the other hand, when you’ve got Buffalo versus Dallas, Cleveland versus New York, Detroit versus anybody, you’ve got a primeval archetypal morality play.

So if Jerry Jones has his way, get ready for the L.A. Bills, with a greenback logo instead of a prairie animal on their helmets, because the move to LA gives the term “Bills” a whole new meaning. The Jacksonville Jaguars might become L.A.’s second team, but again their cat logo is replaced by an image of the luxury car of the same name.

Then the dominoes start to fall. The Browns, Vikings, Steelers, and Lions might be the next to go. I can envision the 15 or 20 largest markets with 32 teams. Or maybe we’d be down to the top 10 US markets with the rest of the franchises playing in foreign venues.

How about the Singapore Saints, the Shanghai Seahawks, the Dubai Dolphins, Abu Dabi Bengals, and the London Lions?

Teams would no longer have any tradition or historical connection to their new markets.

Any “loyalty” they might attract from fans would be the fair-weather variety because it is roots, tradition, and historical connection between the franchise and the “home” city, that brings fans out as enthusiastically in the middle of a 10 year playoff drought (Buffalo sold a record 55,000 season tickets this year, for example).

The tradition of going to the Bills game with Dad, perpetuated from generation to generation would be erased.

And that can’t be good for the league. That can’t even be good for Jerry Jones.

He may want the Cowboys to win most of the time, but he wants the outcome to be at least slightly in doubt, and he wants at least some of the games to come down to the last play because suspense sells tickets, even if it is a cable TV ticket.

Unless the Harlem Globetrotters are the model, Dallas, Houston, New York, and L.A. need Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, and need them to be competitive.

So is Dallas truly America’s team? The post boom Great Recession America’s Team? Or might the Buffalo Bills be a better candidate? How about a little comparison and contrast:

Dallas, especially with their new “house,” represents everyone who overbuilt, overbought, and over-financed. Buffalo, with their 36 year old Ralph Wilson (formerly known as Rich) Stadium has kept the starter house and put on a new coat of paint.

Dallas is the Big Dog. Buffalo is the underdog.

Dallas is Bentleys. Buffalo is beater cars.

Dallas is oil. Buffalo is the energy crisis.

Dallas is banker’s bonuses. Buffalo is unemployment checks.

Dallas is country clubs. Buffalo is block clubs.

Dallas is boom, Buffalo is bust.

Dallas is Glitz. Buffalo is rust.

Dallas is Botox. Buffalo is skin cream.

Dallas is working out at the gym. Buffalo is working outside with Jim.

Dallas is longhorns. Buffalo is long johns.

Dallas is sand. Buffalo is snow.

Dallas is the odds Buffalo beats more often than anyone would think.

Dallas is power. Buffalo is people.

Dallas is your mortgage company. Buffalo is your neighbor.

Debbie does Dallas but Bonnie loves Buffalo.

Dallas is in your face. Buffalo is in your heart.

So which one is America’s team now? You be the judge.

But more importantly, which one’s NFL will survive? Jerry Jones’ or Ralph Wilson’s?

Ralph Wilson is the only owner the Buffalo Bills have ever had. 90 year old Wilson is not what he used to be, but he is the embodiment of what a good NFL owner should be. As one of the founders of the old AFL, (American Football League, which merged with the NFL in 1966) Wilson loaned other owners money to keep the league afloat.

If you watched Wilson’s induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with one of his former employees, Bruce Smith, you know this. It is probably not a coincidence that Wilson has actually lived in Detroit all his life. The two cities share a lot more than Lake Erie.

Bills fans have been critical or even distrustful of Wilson at times because he doesn’t live in town, but he has embodied loyalty in a way that few local owners would have done. (Just ask fans of the NBA Buffalo Braves, who were sold out by a local owner.)

One other thing you learned about Wilson if you watched the induction is that he always voted NO to moving a franchise. Always. And sometimes, he was the only no vote. Jerry Jones could learn a thing or two from Ralph Wilson.

It’s only football, but it’s also so much more than football. It’s what bonds Buffalonians and small market fans in numerous towns to their city and to each other.

It’s what gives ghetto kids, immigrants, laid off construction workers, downsized middle managers and underemployed Ph.D’s the hope to believe that they can still compete in America, that they can not only get to whatever is the Super Bowl in their lives, but win it as well.

From a standpoint of vicarious empowerment, from a standpoint of a metaphor that brings the American Dream to life year after year and embodies it, the NFL as we know it must be saved.

May Ralph Wilson live forever. Let Jerry Jones buy a baseball team.

Red Stars Lose Two Subs to Philadelphia in WPS First Expansion Draft

John Howell — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:09:03 -0400

Red Stars defender Nikki Krzysik and forward Danesha Adams were released to Philadelphia Independence in the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft. Photos by David Durochik.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (September 15, 2009) Chicago Red Stars defender Nikki Krzysik and forward Danesha Adams were selected by Philadelphia Independence for 2010, in Women's Professional Soccer's (WPS) expansion draft.

WPS held its first ever expansion draft Tuesday for the Independence and Atlanta Beat, the eighth and ninth organizations to join the league.

The seven original franchises, including Chicago, were allowed to protect 10 players from selection in the draft. Once a player was taken, a franchise was allowed to protect two more players. Those left unprotected were available for selection by the two new entrants. Krzysik and Adams were chosen among 13 picks in a talented expansion pool.

Perhaps the players not lost to the expansion draft are the bigger headline for Red Stars fans. Chicago was able to avoid losing any of its several international players. None of the starters at the end of the season was lost.

While Kyzysik had been a starter early in the season, she had seen more limited action as the campaign progressed.

Adams made some significant contributions off the bench in a few matches and started one game, but was not an integral part of the team's personnel on a week by week basis.

"We appreciate the dedication and service of Nikki Krzysik and Danesha Adams during the Red Stars' inaugural 2009 campaign, and we wish them all the best with the Philadelphia Independence next season," Red Stars General Manager Marcia McDermott said Tuesday.

Krzysik was a second-round pick (13th overall) in the 2008 WPS General Draft. She started in 10 of 14 games played for Chicago, logging 849 minutes. Before joining the Red Stars, the Clifton, N.J., native played for the Richmond Kickers of the W-League in 2008. Also that year, the University of Virginia senior was named Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Adams was the sixth overall pick in the 2008 WPS General Draft. She played in 12 games during the 2009 WPS season, earning two starts and taking 10 shots in 349 minutes of work. Adams previously helped Pali Blues SC to the 2008 W-League championship. The Shaker Heights, Ohio, native played collegiately at UCLA from 2004-2007, earning All-Pacific-10 Conference first team honors three times.

For the full details of the WPS expansion draft, visit http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/news/press_releases/090915-expansion-draft-results.aspx .

WPS Going Forward: The Up-Close and Personal Model, Best Route to Success

John Howell — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:31:13 -0400

I-55 Somewhere in Southern Illinois (Aug 30, 2009) - As I was driving back to Chicago after covering Women's Professional Soccer's first All-Star Weekend for Bleacher Report, it hit me. I had just experienced first hand, the league's best strategy for long-term success.

The solution is completely counter-intuitive. But, it makes perfect sense.

The revelation came as I reflected on the sense in which All-Star Weekend was a microcosm of the entire league and the entire inaugural season. Everything that is concerning about the league and everything that is good about it was all at play on this one weekend in St. Louis.

The aha moment came when I realized they are one in the same.

Okay, so what am I talking about? I'm talking about what might be considered WPS's biggest problem, and what might be considered its greatest strength.

The problem, if it is a problem, is the irony that despite having the best women's soccer league, and despite the fact that unlike men's soccer, the United States produces the highest caliber of soccer talent across the board in the women's game, relatively few people know about WPS and attendance in the first season disappointed most people's expectations.

A perfect illustration of this came to my attention at the All-Star Awards Gala.

A couple sitting at my table were St. Louis residents. They were there because the husband was representing one of the league’s newest sponsors. His wife, a dentist, is a huge soccer fan. But, this couple had not heard of WPS until this gentleman was asked to represent the company at the banquet.

Think about that. These people live in St. Louis where WPS has made a major splash, where the city's only professional soccer team, Athletica, hosted the super-semifinal playoff game. The winner of that game, Sky Blue FC, went on to win the league championship in a classic Cinderella story. Yet, this couple—not living in a cave by any means—had not heard of WPS. Now that they have, they told me they plan to purchase season tickets.

The couple at the banquet could be the poster children for WPS's potential for growth. Experts on statistical sampling will tell you that for each person you identify in a particular category by random selection, represents ten more that you don't know about. Therefore, if the league can find a more effective way to broadcast its existence and its brand, it is not inconceivable that attendance could increase dramatically across the board from this year to the next.

And of course that is the league's primary objective, correct?

Probably so, but should it be?

Remember, I said that my big revelation was that the biggest preceived problem in the league's first season and it's greatest strength are one in the same.

So, where's the strength in small numbers?

I can think of two things right away: intimacy and access.

Because crowds and venues are small, there is an unparalleled opportunity for fans to have an intimate experience with the best athletes in the world in their sport. Imagine being able to rub shoulders with NFL or NBA players after the game. Not just for a quick anonymous autograph but actually to have a conversation with them. Imagine the players in any other major US sports league entering the field by running down the stadium steps touching the hands of fans on the aisles, as they take their places on the field. (As the All-Stars did, and the local club does, in St. Louis).

So, let’s look at the desirable byproducts of smaller attendance: intimacy and access.

WPS’ most valuable product, what sets it apart from other major league sports, and what can and should define the brand, is a fan's personal connection to the team, the players, and the complete soccer experience.

It should be the key message of the league’s advertising and marketing: it isn’t just the world’s best women’s soccer. It is access to the world’s best soccer players.

It isn't having a great women’s team in your city, it’s being a part of your team’s extended family—knowing and being known by name, by staff and players.

In other words, as I said, intimacy and access.

This up close and personal dimension to the game would not exist if WPS filled NFL stadiums or even scaled down soccer-only stadiums, as has become the norm in MLS. Even in MLS, with per game attendance comparable to a the NBA or NHL , there is minimal personal contact and virtually no personal relationship between the team and the typical fan.

So the question is, do we treat the WPS personal dimension as a temporary trade-off that comes and goes with lower attendance? Is it something we make the most of when we have to because of low numbers, or is it something we embrace as a key feature of brand and product?

In other words, could the key to permanent success for WPS be intentionally staying small and making the most of its benefits?

And if the winning model might be to keep WPS intimate, how small is too small? How big is big enough? I'm not willing to give a firm number, but it is safe to conclude that the sweet spot is somewhere between this year's average attendance and 8,000.

It does seem that somewhere south of five figures, the numbers become unmanageable. On the other hand, there are some models by which the league could be strong and profitable with an average attendance across the board between 6-8,000.

I can already hear the objections. After all, we're Americans, and bigger is always better, right?

But size is relative. You don't see NBA and NHL teams tryinig to break into MLB or NFL numbers. Those leagues understand that the nature and quality of their product is optimal with attendance in the 17-25,000 range. Many years ago, when domed stadiums were in vogue, a few NBA teams (Houston, et. al) tried playing in the dome. It was hard to avoid trying to fill more seats. The result was disastrous. It wasn't long before the NBA was again exclusively housed in custom arenas of 20,000 capacity, give or take.

So for the NFL, the sweet spot is 60-80,000. For MLB it is 20-50,000. For the NBA, NHL and MLS it is in the range of 20. So why couldn't it be 6-8,000 in WPS? Especially if a crowd of that size offers something completely unique in the major sports market? And I believe it does.

It would behoove the league to strategically limit its growth and instead take advantage of the marketing potential of being smaller. I would suggest that intimacy and accessibility (combined) is the one unique product this sport and this league can offer that no other major sports league can. I would encourage the league to make this an intentional and permanent aspect of the WPS experience, and revise their business model accordingly.

Based on what?

As I mentioned in a previous article, an informal survey of WPS All-Stars revealed that the teams with the smaller venues are perceived to have the best fans. Does that mean the Chicago fans aren’t as committed to or passionate about their Red Stars as the New Jersey fans are about their Sky Blue?

Not at all.

It does mean that when fans are closer to each other and closer to the action, enthusiasm naturally increases, the level of crowd participation escalates, and even the product on the field is perceived to be more interesting because of what happens in the stands.

Because of that we would recommend that as part of the league-wide emphasis on intimacy, access, and relationships between players and fans, teams like Chicago and Los Angeles should abandon their (relatively) cavernous digs and move into a venue of a scale that optimizes this model. This may mean building a new stadium or adding seats to existing facilities in the area, but it should be done, and in fact would result in lower stadium overhead in the long term.

Isn’t that limiting? Sure, but it also creates scarcity. It makes it more likely a match will sell out thus encouraging more advance ticket purchases and more season ticket sales. If a WPS ticket suddenly became the hardest ticket in town to get, any tickets that were available wouldn’t be for very long.

It should be emphasized however, that as important as increasing demand through scarcity, that is not the most important reason for limiting size. The most important reason is that what is happening today as a byproduct of being small is the league's most important key to success.

And even though it's working well right now, it could be perfected to high art. It won't be, however, unless it becomes the foundation of the business model.

That model could be summarized as this: WPS will establish itself as a profitable, fully operational organization, providing the world's best women's soccer on the club level, by making the relationship between club and fans, both collectively and individually, as meaningful, personal and accessible as possible. Successfullyexecution of this plan will set WPS apart from all other major league sports organizations in the world as the most fan-friendly, and will thus maximize fan loyalty, participation, and demand.

Here are a few strategies the league or its individual clubs might consider to compliment, enhance, or maximize existing efforts at creating the up close and personal experience for the fan.

It should be the goal of each club that everyone who buys even one cheap ticket during the season should have an opportunity to spend at least five minutes of quality time with a team member.

Obviously clubs will want to reward season ticket and premier ticket holders extra perks, so they should have more than their five minutes, but if five minutes of quality time once during the year was the minimum any ticket buying fan could expect, imagine how much brand loyalty that would create.

Such a bond goes way beyond the team’s or any individual player’s success on the field. This is already happening with many fans informally, especially season ticket holders, but the more this is expanded, the more successful it should be.

Sure, there should be extra perks for season ticket holders and there are ways to give them more access, but if every ticket was worth five minutes with a player sometime during the year, think what that would do!

Now, if the league were to adopt this model, marketing it would be easy and fun. In sized to scale venues, there would be few if any empty seats.

Here are some suggestions for tag lines and campaign themes for individual club or league wide promotion for the off-season.

Game Time is Face Time
World Class Play, Back Yard Atmosphere.
Buy a Ticket, Make a Friend
Sunday at the Soccer Park: Just Like Sunday Dinner
You're not just a Fan, You're Family
Some sports have fans; ours has friends.

As I said, it's counter-intuitive. Most of the most successful business ideas are too.

Photo: An up close and personal moment as Chicago's Kate Markgraf autographs a fan's shirt, at a Season Ticket holder's tailgate party at Toyota Park.

WPS Meets the World in League's First All-Star Game

John Howell — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:30:54 -0400

Fenton, Mo. (Aug. 30, 2009): It has billed itself as the world's premier women's soccer league. Today it was time to prove the case on the pitch, as Women's Professional Soccer's best 18 faced what may be the world's best women's club outside of the United States, Swedien's Umeå IK in the first-ever WPS All-Star Game presented by the U.S. Coast Guard.

For WPS, the starting eleven showcased top-talent ranging from league Champion and Player/Coach Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC) in the backline to the league’s top goalscorer, Marta (Los Angeles Sol).

The All-Star selection was based upon a 3-5-2 line-up. Based on that configuration, head coach Abner Rogers (Los Angeles Sol) started with a backline featuring St. Louis Athletica’s Tina Ellertson, Boston Breaker’s Amy LePeilbet, and Rampone.

WPS All-Star defenders faced the task of shutting down the likes of Umeå’s Ramona Bachmann, the second-leading goal scorer in the Swedish league, Damallsvenksan, with a total of 14 goals. Bachmann also tallied five assists on the season.

On offense, Rogers had plenty of options including not one but two Brazilian internationals.

Along with the consensus best woman soccer player in the world, Marta up front, her Brazilian teammate, Cristiane (Chicago Red Stars) would team up with Cristiane's Red Stars’ teammate Megan Rapinoe, a player well known for exploiting defenders on the flanks and blasting hard shots in small windows.

WPS also came with deadly weapons in reserve: the league's second-leading goal scorer, Washington's Abby Wambach, who tallied eight this season, and Canadian international Christine Sinclair of FC Gold Pride who scored six.

On the opposite side, Umeå's goalkeeper, Carla Söberg came to St. Louis having played in seven matches this season, allowing five goals.

Umeå would have a little help defending against the WPS from two former teammates rejoining the club for this match, who played for WPS this season: the Los Angeles Sol’s Johanna Frisk and the Chicago Red Stars’ Frida Östberg.

These two Umeå alumni would have inside knowledge on how to defend against their WPS teammates Rapinoe, Marta and Cristiane. In addition, Marta herself played with Umeå in prior to signing with WPS.

And so the stage was set for a transcontinental confrontation. With the opening kick the match was underway and in 90 minutes everyone would know whether or not WPS would earn the title they have assumed, untested, as the world's premier women's league.

It didn't take long for Umeå to put that claim in doubt. They pounded the home team from the kickoff until at 1:55 a goal by Madeline Edlund minute drew first blood, on a hard shot from the right side, assisted by Mami Yamaguchi.

WPS began to bring their attack to the Swedes, with competition evening out but let another goal slip through at 20 minutes in when WPS keeper Karina LeBlanc stretched out on the ground tipping a shot by Sofia Jacobsson to her left, but not enough to keep it from deflecting in off the left post. That was the 18th minute.

But then...WPS got serious.

In the 24th minute, Kristine Lilly put one through on an assist from Marta.

In the 40th minute the Brazilian connection produced the tying goal. Marta hit a solid shot to the far left post, assisted by Cristiane.

The go ahead goal came in the first minute of the second half as Christine Sinclair took a pass from Marta, beating the back line, scoring at point blank range near the left post. Sinclair repeated within seconds on an unassisted goal for what would be the final score of 4-2, WPS.

WPS continued to dominate from that point on.

Umeå's only substituted twice but seemed to suffer a significant downgrade with the changes in personnel, compared to WPS, whose second seven seemed to seamlessly maintain the same level of play as the starters had done in the first half.

Umeå also seemed to grow increasingly fatigued as the match progressed.

The visitors had one serious opportunity in the second half which undoubtedly would have and should have been a goal except for a flying vertical save by the world's best keeper, Hope Solo, bringing the home fans to their feet.

Other than that, Solo wasn't really challenged in the way her counterpart Karina LeBlanc had been in the first half.

At times, the home team would taunt the visitors, standing, waiting for them to challenge before making a move, usually consisting of a fake and a pass.

Marta was often the culprit in this, and when asked about it after the match she explained that she played with the opposing team for five years, they are "very dear" to her, and she was just playing with them.

"It's a party game," she said.

At the end of the day, despite the early scare, WPS proved themselves worthy of bragging rights, and the 4,118 in attendance had enjoyed the show of soccer skill and drama they had hoped for.

In post-game interviews players and coach alike attributed the early setback to communications problems due to the fact that the players are not used to playing together and had only one practice prior to the game.

"That wasn't really a training, as such," Head Coach Abner Rogers said. "It was just a chance for us to get used to each other, to feel comfortable."

Rogers also summed up the experience nicely by saying, "It was a great opportunity for the fans to see some brilliant goals, some brilliant chances and just some great soccer."

Photo: WPS players huddle up for a pre-game cheer just before kickoff.

Chicago Red Stars' Brazilian Striker Cristiane Tries to Heat up the Cold

John Howell — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:23:37 -0400

Cristiane first knew she wanted to be a soccer player at age seven.

Unfortunately, unlike her American teammates, there was no organized opportunity for her to hone her skills in her native Brazil.

"I had to take every opportunity I could find to play pick up games in the neighborhood with boys, mostly," the Red Stars' scoring leader explained.

Cristiane came to the WPS and the Red Stars after playing for the Brazilian National Team and also playing professional soccer in Sweden and Germany.

She was surprised how cold it is in Chicago—it was rather hard to bear at first.

Comparing her experience in Europe with her WPS experience, Cristiane said there are a few good teams in Europe that may be up to WPS standards, but that the leagues in Europe are not as competitive. Instead of each team being almost equal in talent, there are a few teams at the top of the European leagues, and the rest are not very good.

She says the level of organization and overall caliber of talent in the WPS makes it the best league she's ever played in.

Cristiane says the one thing that has surprised her more than anything else is that she knew certain things about international players from other countries she had played against, but learned much more about them—some very surprising things about them as players and people—when she's played on the same club with them.

WPS All-Star Awards Gala: No Dancing, But the Food Was Good

John Howell — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:10:04 -0400

St. Louis, MO (aug. 28, 2009) - Aside from the All-Star Game itself, the highlight of WPS All-Star Weekend was the Gala Awards Banquet held at the Sheraton Chalet at 6:30 CDT tonight. There was a fair amount of suspense surrounding some of the awards and voting was very close, according to league officials.

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WPS All-Star Speed Dating

John Howell — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:50:50 -0400

St. Louis, MO (Aug. 28, 2009) It was a lot like speed dating. Each WPS All-Star was seated at a small table. The press was invited to move around and take turns interviewing the athletes. The one big difference was, there was no timer. There was an hour to "play the field" and talk to as many or as few as any reporter wanted to. I had a specific agenda for seeking out interviewees. First, as the Chicago Red Stars correspondent, I stopped to chat with Megan Rapinoe, Brittany Klein, and a little later, with Cristiane. Next, I wanted to talk to the WPS's most amazing woman: Christie Rampone, mother, player-coach, team captain, international, 34 years old, having just taken over the coaching responsibilities of her team with two regular season games left and leading them to the league's first championship. After that, I was looking to talk to a few "old" veterans of the WUSA, the former professional women's league that had folded after three years. I wanted to know how the new league compares to the old one. With my agenda mapped out, I started making the rounds. Photo: David Duochick, Chicago Red Stars (The author's preview of the All-Star game, pictured with two Brazilian phenoms, Cristiane of Chicago and Marta of Los Angeles at Toyota Park on August second.)

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St. Louis, WPS All-Star City

John Howell — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:46:29 -0400

St. Louis, MO (Aug. 28, 2009) - Now I know why St. Louis was chosen to host the inaugural WPS All-Star Weekend. Of course I knew St. Louis is a strong soccer town, but what I discovered as I followed the All-Star contestants out of the Hilton Ballpark, downtown, and walked three blocks to the Gateway Arch and the park surrounding it, winding along the Mississippi in both directions from there, is that St. Louis is a well-kept secret. So not only are the world's best female soccer players all in one place this weekend, but so is some of the world's greatest public art, architecture, and urban landscapes. Who would have guessed?

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Bleacher Report Attends WPS All-Star Weekend

John Howell — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:50:35 -0400

St. Louis, MO (Aug 28, 2009)—In the understated budget-conscious way WPS has done business all season, the All-Star weekend began. The pregame press conference was held in a sparsely filled ballroom with a stunning view of Old City Court and the Gateway Arch through a wall of glass on the far end of the room at the Hilton Ballpark.

There was juice, coffee and soft drinks for the press. Just that.

After a brief introduction of the WPS team's competition, Sweden's Uema, European women's football champs nine years running, WPS team captain Christie Rampone, US international and player coach of the WPS and World Champion Sky Blue FC made opening remarks.

After that the dozen or so reporters in attendance were free to go one on one with any of the All-Stars for about an hour.

We will post a few short highlights of our interviews in subsequent articles. For purposes of this introductory article we will only say that there is sometimes beauty in simplicity. When one reflects on the fact that each reporter in the room had unstructured personal face time with any or all of the best women soccer players in the world, for as long, within reason, as necessary, it is overwhelming.

Imagine being a citizen journalist with that kind of access to the NFL All-Stars! Unthinkable.

Following the press conference, both teams had a photo-op under the famous Arch and then were shuttled to the Anheiser-Busch Soccer Park for practice.

At 6:30 p.m., a Gala Awards Banquet will be held at the Sheraton Chalet in Westport.

Watch for subsequent articles intended to take you up close and personal to the new league's inaugural All-Star event.

WPS 1st Championship Match Mirrors Inaugural Season: Surprise!

John Howell — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:53:49 -0400

Sky Blue FC Named Underdog Sports "Ultimate Underdogs" in Upset Victory over league behemoth, LA Sol!

Carson, CA (Aug. 22, 2009)—One o'clock PM, Pacific Daylight Time.The stage was set. The fledgling Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league was poised to crown its first champion. The next ninety minutes would tell the story.

It would be a classic American confrontation as iconic as the Gunfight at the OK Corral. And in that sense, it could not be a better match-up for America's newest major sports league, the world's premier organization for professional women's soccer.

Would the eventual winner be a team that loomed as large over the new league through the regular season as the city it represents dominates its nation: the big guns, the bullies, the Los Angeles Sol?

Or would it be a team whose very existence, from the first kickoff to their last minute capture of the final playoff berth, was marred by chaos and instability—the posers, the strangers, Sky Blue FC?

A WPS official who will remain unnamed has been overheard describing Sky Blue FC (like their counterparts FC Gold Pride) as being "geographically challenged."

But despite its absence of reference in the team identification, Sky Blue is based in New Jersey, and that is significant. The back story of their season could have been adapted from a season of the Sopranos.

You could say this club began its season as a lesser "family" in the "syndicate" of WPS. Although their "boss" Ian Sawyers came with strong soccer credentials, he was unable to command the respect of his players. He was suspended after six matches and terminated soon after, replaced by his No. 2, Kelly Lindsey.

Lindsey's first game at the helm came at Toyota Park versus the host Chicago Red Stars. Expecting to easily dispatch a team they had previously dominated on the field and tied on the scoreboard at their home opener, Chicago left the field at the final whistle in shock.

Instead of finding their opponents in disarray, it was the Red Stars who had been disoriented. It was the Red Stars who found themselves beaten much worse than the 2-0 score would indicate.

From there, New Jersey continued to show improvement. Under Sawyers, the club had a record of 1-3-2. Beginning with the Chicago romp, the club posted a 5-4-3 mark for Lindsey.

But with two matches and ten days remaining in the season, with the club in fifth place and in the heat of a race for the final playoff berth, Lindsey abruptly resigned.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Lindsey, who was a close personal friend of her assistant, Joe Dorini, showed up at high noon on a Wednesday, just as practice was set to begin.

She handed her General Manager, Gerry Marrone two one sentence notes: her resignation and that of Dorini, who had been suspended the previous day, quickly announced to the players that she was quitting, and walked away.

Dorini had been suspended for what Marrone described as, a "pretty serious personnel issue," and while he could not divulge any details, "any employer would've dealt with (the situation) the same way."

Marrone states he attempted to contact Lindsey late into the evening to advise her of the suspension and the reasons for it, but she ignored his messages, only to arrive and resign without any engagement.

"No matter what that issue was, had she taken the time to hear what I could've told her about it—she could've made an informed decision. Instead, she chose to walk out on the players who were playing for her, with 10 days to go in the season, two games to play and us in the middle of a playoff race.

...I can't imagine any circumstance if I was in her shoes that would've been justifiable to walk out on my team with 10 days to go. None," Marrone said.

Marrone offered the interim head coaching position to 32 year old team captain and U.S. international, Christine Rampone. Rampone immediately accepted, acting as player-coach.

“I just wanted to let everyone have fun”, said Rampone. “We didn’t need more fitness or desire. We had the players and I just wanted them to enjoy playing”.

On Aug. 5, the playoffs were on the line. Having lost and tied their previous two outings, Sky Blue FC, under their third coach this season, defeated their geographically challenged twins, FC Gold Pride 2-0, in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,455 at home on Yurcak Field in Piscataway.

Things were looking up. But it would all come down to a final showdown with the Washington Freedom. If Sky Blue could defeat the Freedom, they controlled their destiny and clinched a playoff slot.

If this were a movie script, Sky Blue would have come from behind at the last minute and beaten Washongton with seconds left in stoppage time. Instead, it wasn't even close. Washington won 3-1, and the storm clouds scrolled across New Jersey's Sky Blue.

But, wait, there's more. Perhaps this would make a better script.

There was still a chance, but the prospects didn't look good. After clinching the regular season championship, the Los Angeles Sol was taking a three game winless streak to the season finale versus Boston—the only club Los Angeles had not defeated at least once up to that point.

Boston had to win to survive. LA had been playing as if their games were meaningless. It looked as if Boston would win and clinch the fourth and final playoff berth.

But in classic WPS inaugural season form, the unexpected, unlikely outcome occurred. Los Angeles defeated Boston, jettisoning Sky Blue into the playoffs.

When one considers that in addition to the turmoil in the front office, this team had only defeated two teams until the second to the last game of the regular season, their ultimate success is even more remarkable.

Unbelievable as it is, Sky Blue had only defeated Chicago and Boston prior to their final meeting with FC Gold Pride. Even last place Gold Pride came into that match unbeaten by New Jersey.

Sky Blue won that match, but it was the only game the club had won all year against a team other than the Red Stars and Breakers. In other words, Sky Blue FC entered the playoffs having defeated only three of six opponents, and having won the series against only two of six.

But the "clean page" opportunity enjoyed in the playoffs was more than a worn-out sports cliche for this bunch.

After winning their first playoff match against Washington, who had nearly knocked them out of the post-season in the final regular match, Sky Blue surprised the league's hottest team at the close of the season, St. Louis Athletica.

With both matches won on the road, New Jersey showed the world they could win when it counted.

In Washington's house, Sky Blue out-shot the Freedom 22-11 in a 2-1 win.

In St. Louis, only an all-world game from Athletica and U.S. international goalkeeper Hope Solo, kept the game close. The final score: 1-0 on the strength of Keeley Dowling's first career goal. With the win, Sky Blue FC had their ticket punched to the WPS Med-Immune Championship Game.

And there they were, on the home turf of the LA Sol, the club that had opened the back door to the playoffs for New Jersey two weeks before by defeating Boston; the club that had dominated the league for most of the season and was a heavy favorite to win the ultimate prize.

So, the stage was set. Shootout in the LA Corral. 7,218 partisan fans were ready. Their heroes, the big guns were ready. The posers were ready. The whistle blew. The match was underway.

It didn't take long for the posers to fire the first shot.

In the 17th minute, outside back Keeley Dowling served a ball into the box from the right flank. Natasha Kai, positioned in the center of the box flicked the ball to Heather O'reilly (Most Valuable Player of the match) who was waiting at the back post.

O'Reilly's solid shot caromed off Sol keeper Karina LeBlanc's foot, and into the right side of the goal for the 1-0 advantage.

New Jersey's Sky grew Blue-er in the 27th minute when defender Allison Falk was sent off for tripping Natasha Kai from behind. The foul occurred as the New Jersey forward dribbled towards the goal. This left Sky Blue FC with a player up for the remaining 63 minutes.

The Sol compensated for Falk’s loss by substituting defender Sharolta Nonen for midfielder McCall Zerboni in the 35th minute, and dropping midfielder Manya Makoski onto the backline. But, while it would prevent further damage, the adjusted lineup would be unable to even the score.

There were some chances, however.

Early in the second half, Sol's Aly Wagner sent a long, aerial ball into the goalmouth. It was close, but Jersey keeper Jenni Branam was able to out-jump Brittany Bock to catch the ball and deny the goal.

In the 52nd minute, Sol midfielder Aya Miyama dribbled into the box. New Jersey's Keeley O’Reilly made a clean, yet dangerous tackle to prevent an attempt.

In the 71st minute, Shannon Boxx drilled a shot to the lower left corner, which Branam pushed out of bounds.

In the 84th minute, Marta took a dangerous shot that Branam parried just wide, causing a corner kick.

Corner Kick. The hometown fans had reason to be hopeful. Their club had often waited until late in a match, sometimes into stoppage time, before settling the outcome.

Corner kick launched. Hometown hopes were rising.

The ball fell to LA's Shannon Boxx at the back post. The home crowd's anticipation of an equalizer was palpable.

Boxx slid a pass to substitute Lyndsey Patterson near the top of the six yard box. Branum connected with the ball but bobbled it. Loose ball. Home crowd hopes soared.

Loose ball. Patterson versus Branum. Time stood still.

Loose ball. Patterson charging. Branum falling.

Then... at the last possible minute, Branum landed on the ball, cradling it like a baby beneath her, denying the big guns' a last shot.

It should be noted that Branum herself is an underdog story. She started the season as No. 2 keeper on the New Jersey roster. After a few half and half duels with Karen Bardsley for the starting spot, Branum finally prevailed, but not without uncertainty.

She battled injuries and illness and played with a frenetic, high-risk style that had given Sky Blue FC fans many anxious moments during the season. Still, like her team, she came through when it counted.

“Amazing,” Player-Coach Rampone said of Branam, “Jenni was a huge part of our success. She allows the backline to hold a higher line at times because she comes off her line. She basically won a lot of these games for us. She does get hit and she goes down, but I know nothing is going to keep her off the field.”

And so it is over. Shootout in the LA Corral. The smoke has cleared. The posers remain standing.

It could not be more fitting that a league's historic first championship match would go like this. It was a season in which the only thing predictable throughout the campaign was that the unpredictable would happen.

It was a season with one dominant club and six others who played a continuous game of musical chairs in the standings, where the final playoff berth was in play until the final day of action.

It was a season in which most matches were decided by one goal or less, in which, for weeks at a time, two points separated four clubs.

And so, with such a trend, should we not have expected a suspenseful match, an unpredictable outcome, and a victory for the posers over the big guns?

And what about the posers? Can anyone begrudge Sky Blue FC this victory, even in Los Angeles. To have begun so slowly, to have overcome all they have overcome, to play for or in spite of three head coaches, and yet to have finally hit their stride at the onset of the playoffs under the tutelage of a player-coach?

How could anyone begrudge them? How could anyone invent a better story (yet this one is true)?

New Jersey/New York Sky Blue FC reigns as the inaugural champions of Women's Professional Soccer, and in the world of women's professional club soccer, that makes the World Champions as well.

And finally, one more, albeit lesser honor. At the conclusion of the match, citing Sky Blue FC's tremendous story, Underdog Sports e-zine (www.underdog.sports.officelive.com) announced it has crowned a new Ultimate Underdog.

Inaugural WPS Season Proves Womens Soccer Isn't Just For Kicks

John Howell — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:12:54 -0400

The good news is you threw a soccer season and someone showed up. The fledgling Women's Professional Soccer league launched this past March 29th in Los Angeles, billing itself as the world's premier professional league for women's soccer. While there were aspects of the first year that did not live up to expectations, we doubt there is anyone who would be able to argue that, for all of its faults, WPS was not the highest caliber of club soccer available on the planet this year.

There were some very significant successess: The first was parity, the one attribute of a sports league that can be the greatest determinant of success.

In it's inaugural year, WPS saw a constant shifting of standings, numerous upsets, and a significant majority of matches were decided by a one goal margin. Several outcomes were changed in stoppage time. Hence one of the hallmarks of the new league's first year is that more often than not, the matches were suspenseful to the very last whistle.

Perhaps the best evidence of parity is the story of Sky Blue FC, the New Jersey based franchise. Sky Blue survived two coaching changes to come from last place early in the season to the Med-immune WPS Championship Game by sheer persistence, grit, and determination.

The only exception to league parity, Los Angeles Sol, a club that started fast, held first place throughout the season, and was the first to qualify for the post-season will be New Jersey's opponent in tomorrow's championship match in Home Depot Center-- The Sol's house in Carson, California.

That sets up a classic David-Goliath matchup that will no doubt add an extra layer of drama and intrigue to the season. The match begins at 330 PM EDT, on Fox Sports Network and other regional cable channels.

The downside of parity is that it was more defensive than offensive. With the exception of the Los Angeles Sol, clubs typically scored two goals or less per match. There were many 1-0, 0-0, and 1-1 outcomes. While soccer purists can enjoy defensive play as much as offense; will see a heroic save as equal to a power-goal, the conventional wisdom is that the league needs to find a way to be more offensive if it is to survive long term.

Other positives for WPS after it's first year begin with the fact that the league is still in operation. Payrolls were met throughout the season. Operations continue. Expansion is underway, and while there are reports that the league's franchises lost an average of $1.5 million in the first year, they are all standing, planning for a second year.

That being said, the league as a whole and at least some of it's franchises appear to be vulnerable, and prospects of outlasting their predecessor WUSA are no better than even at this point.

The primary shortcoming for the WPS from a business standpoint is a disappointing result in obtaining sponsorships.

In a press conference held on August 18, league commissioner Tonya Antonucci stated that the league's inception was unfortunately timed to coincide with the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, thus severely depressing sponsorship revenue.

The sponsorship situation has begun to improve already, hower. The league has recently obtained the Med-Immune sponsorship of the Championship Game and a relationship with the U.S. Coast Guard for the 2009 All-Star Game in which the Coast Guard logo will appear on jerseys, as well as ongoing sponsorship for 2010. Antonucci also indicated that a major league-wide jersey sponsorship for 2010 would be announced in the near future.

When asked about attendance, Antonucci refused to concede disappointment. She stated the league had projected a range of 4-6,000 per game and other than weeknight matches, the lower end of the range was met. She also touted the attendance of "8,000" at the final home match in Chicago versus LA Sol on August 2nd as a success and a harbinger of things to come.

There were several questions about home venues, and whether there would be wholesale changes in stadiums for next season. The Commissioner dodged the question, but did cite the league's policy to avoid "cavernous stadiums" and play in venues where capacity is consistent with realistic attendance expectations, in order to create excitement and an improved fan experience in the seats.

There are several WPS franchises that share home facilities with MLS clubs, and there are others that do not. Even a MLS park can be described as "cavernous" when the clubs pay in front of a crowd that fills less than 25% of capacity. There are also the additional costs involved with using these stadiums.

On the other hand, using Chicago as an example, the only appropriate smaller venue would be Benedictine University stadium, where the Red Stars played a friendly versus the Irish National Team in July. The capacity there is approximately 3,000, well below the bottom of the Red Stars' range of attendance and less than half of their peak attendance.

Other factors depressing attendance cited by Commissioner Antonucci were schedule conflicts with MLS clubs, with game dates falling on holidays (which in some venues are advantageous but in others are disadvantageous), and the constraints of cold weather at the beginning of the season and conflicts with school schedules at the end of the season. The latter noted as significant to the league's attempt to reach out to families and youth soccer programs.

Scheduling was also raised as an issue in terms of competition.

International call-ups depleted several clubs more than once during the season. This may be difficult to resolve since the necessity of running the season when European leagues are in hiatus due to weather and competing professional sports schedules in the United States ensures that there will be at least a limited amount of overlap with international team schedules.

When asked to comment on the significant degree of criticism to which the league's officiating was subjected, she stated that the quality and consistency of officiating needs to be addressed and brought up to the standards one would expect from a league featuring world class talent.

When asked if she could put a letter grade on the overall quality of officiating, she refused to do so, saying only that there had been significant improvement as the season progressed and the issue would continue to be addressed going into next season.

At the opening of the press conference and throughout, Antonucci did her best to put a positive spin on the league's first season as well as prospects for the future.

All that remains is the Championship match this weekend at Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, and the All-Star game the following week, at the new Anheuser-Bush Soccer Facility in St. Louis.

Buffalo Bills Fans: Why Toronto is Your Friend (Maybe)

John Howell — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:45:45 -0400

The future of the Buffalo Bills is a constant topic of conversation in Bills Country, and when it's not being discussed out loud, it is more often than not in the back of the minds of those who are thinking or discussing anything having to do with the NFL in Buffalo.

In the past couple of years, a fear and resentment of Toronto has begun to develop. As the team has scheduled one, and eventually two regular season games at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto, Bills fans are becoming extremely anxious, that this may be the beginning of a transfer of the franchise to their Canadian neighbor.

But before anyone vilifies Toronto any further, there are some facts and circumstances that require in depth consideration.

First, as we cite in a related article, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/237891-hey-buffalo-its-time-to-declare-war-on-la Buffalo may face a much more sinister and immediate threat to retaining the Bills franchise from Los Angeles than Toronto.

That being said, most of the focus of a possible move by the Bills is on Toronto, so let's look at an opposite problem in the NHL. Everyone knows that Jim Balsille, principal owner of RIM, the company that makes the Blackberry, is determined to locate a second NHL franchise in or near the Toronto market.

Most recently he's looked at Hamilton or nearby Kitchener. Hamilton's new arena is within the Sabres' sphere of influence, as designated by the NHL, and any franchise to play in that building would owe the Sabres huge compensation fees for infringement on the market. On the other hand, the proposed venue in Kitchener is outside of that protected zone, and Balsille could move the Phoenix Coyotes there with no obligation to the Sabres whatsoever.

Having another NHL team in the Golden Horseshoe or the Niagara Peninsula would undoubtedly siphon off a small but significant portion of regular Sabres' attendees. Although many of the Canadians who attend Sabres' games cheer against them, their money is just as good as those who root for the team. So if there is going to be another franchise between Toronto and Buffalo, it would almost be better for Buffalo to have them in Hamilton rather than Kitchener.

But what does this have to do with the Bills? The answer is simple.

There are many in Toronto and in the NFL front office who would like to see the NFL in Toronto. Most of those people also consider the Bills to be the most logical franchise to establish in Toronto. The Bills have a significant following in South Central Ontario, and it may be more in numbers and in enthusiasm than the Sabres' Canadian supporters/attendees. Moving another franchise or expanding to Toronto would cut into the Bills market substantially and could result in the Bills being unable to sustain themselves in Buffalo.

Therefore, just as having the Coyotes locate in Hamilton or especially Kitchener could be a fatal blow to the Sabres, having another NFL franchise located in Toronto could cut off an essential lifeline to the Bills. But if Toronto doesn't get their own franchise, will they be even more intent on getting a piece of the Bills?

If the Bills leave Buffalo completely for Toronto, most Buffalo fans on the American side of the border will find little comfort in their geographic proximity, and will feel as if the team has abandoned them and their city.

But what if it's not an either/or situation? What if Buffalo and Toronto could join forces somehow?

We alluded to this superficially in a humor piece recently entitled, "Buffalo is the New Toronto" published at B/R. Now let's take a more serious look at what may be the best scenario for saving the Bills for Buffalo in part if not completely.

First, a little lesson in demographics. There's a former UB professor, Richard Florida, who now lives in Toronto and writes about demographic trends. He is one of the first to identify the mega-regions, what have previously been called megalopolises, as being the most relevant demographic category to study in terms of trends and economic activity.

Florida would say that mega-regions are more relevant than nations, states, provinces, or traditionally defined metropolitan statistical areas (MSA's) as measured by the U.S. Department of the Census.

One of the ways Florida defines mega-regions is with the use of nighttime satellite photos. The configuration and density of lights is superior to any other criteria in mapping true economic regions.

This is important because in the same way that we shifted from defining, identifying and ranking U.S. cities according to the population and commerce that existed inside city limits, to Metropolitan Statistical Areas, in the 60's and 70's (since we learned then that core cities combined with their contiguous suburbs were the true measure of a "city's" size and prosperity) we must now adjust to a new paradigm shift that focuses on clusters of contiguous and semi-contiguous metropolitan areas.

Yes, I am fully aware that this is a sports article, not a sociology or demographics dissertation, but this is important information to understand as we consider the potential risks and benefits of Buffalo's relationship to Toronto relative to the future of the Buffalo Bills.

Florida has defined a mega-region that includes both Buffalo and Toronto and has labeled it Tor-Buff-Chester. According to Florida this mega region extends from the easternmost suburbs of Rochester to Buffalo, across the border along the Niagara Peninsula (Fort Erie to St. Catherines extending to Hamilton), encompassing the Golden Horseshoe (the area from Toronto to Hamilton and beyond) and the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

According to Florida, Tor-Buff-Chester is the fourth largest mega-region in North America, following New York-New Jersey, Southern California (San Diego-LA), and Chicago-Milwaukee.

Think about the significance of this. While Buffalo and its citizens tend to have an inferiority complex about the Buffalo Niagara Region relative to other larger and more glitzy metro areas in the country, if Buffalo can see itself as part of this mega-region, they suddenly become part of the fourth largest "city" on the continent.

Florida says that Tor-Buff-Chester's economy is equal to 60% of Canada, and if the region were a nation, would rank 16th in the world.

The bottom line for Buffalonians is that Buffalo's best hope for economic revitalization is to maximize its relationship to Toronto (as well as Rochester), in other words to become a whole-hearted, fully participating member of Tor-Buff-Chester.

Florida recommends that an inter-city infrastructure be constructed including high speed rail, expedited border crossing, high speed ferries on Lake Ontario, and extensive, intentional economic, cultural, and governmental integration of the entire region. The result would be increased opportunity and prosperity for the entire region, but especially for Buffalo.

So, what if instead of seeing Toronto as competition for the Bills we see them as partners toward the goal of keeping the franchise in the region. Sure, there would be some sacrifices required in both towns, but why couldn't we invite Toronto into Bills Country in the same way that Green Bay linked up with Milwaukee to help maintain the franchise in what is by far the NFL's smallest market?

Would the Packers still be in Green Bay without Milwaukee? Most likely not. Most likely, Milwaukee is the primary if not solitary reason The Green Bay Packers didn't go the way of the Decatur Staleys, why they are the only franchise from the era of Decatur, Canton, Akron, Rock Island, Evansville (and, did you know—the Buffalo All-Americans?) and the like.

So what would a Tor-Buff-Chester NFL franchise look like?

It would retain the name the Buffalo Bills or else would become the Toronto-Buffalo Bills, in order to preserve the "Bills" name, as well as for other obvious reasons. As the NFL moves to an 18 game schedule, Buffalo would retain the majority of the home dates, but as many as four regular season games and perhaps a majority of preseason games would be played at Rogers Centre. Buffalo's season ticket rates would be available for games in Toronto as well as Buffalo. In other words a full-season two-venue package would cost no more than it costs in Buffalo, and would be available to fans all over the mega-region. There could also be Buffalo only and Toronto only packages for those who want them.

For the long term, a state of the art stadium could be constructed in Canada but closer to Buffalo than Toronto—perhaps in St. Catherines, in order to keep the venue within a reasonable drive for Rochester fans, and fans from the Southern Tier who are also a significant contingent.

Certainly, from a Buffalo fan's perspective at least, the ideal future would be for the Bills to play all their games in Western New York, either in the Ralph or a new stadium to be constructed downtown, perhaps, as part of the waterfront renaissance. That should still be plan A. But Buffalo would benefit from having a serious Plan B as well, to preserve the Bills for the region more broadly defined, if not for Greater Buffalo alone.

If I Were NFL Commissioner, Part Three (Expansion Details)

John Howell — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:12:15 -0400

The NFL needs to ensure franchise stability in order to preserve its success and longevity. Franchise stability is crucial, since it creates a larger, more enthusiastic and more loyal fan base in each venue, and nationwide.

It also maintains traditional rivalries, whose intensity and legendary richness add tremendously to the value of the NFL as a league and each franchise individually.

The key to franchise stability is to satiate the appetite for NFL franchises among viable venues that are currently without. As long as every venue that could have a franchise does have a franchise, there will be no need for vacant venues to purchase and move a franchise to their own city.

Since the merger, every city that has lost a franchise, has had that franchise replaced by expansion. That fact, should further reinforce the wisdom and practicality of a policy that makes expansion the only means by which a new venue can join the NFL.

The preceding paragraphs summarize our case from the previous article in this series, as regards franchise stability and expansion.

We are proposing an eight-city expansion ASAP, similar to the NHL's six-team expansion in 1966. We are also proposing that an additional eight venues be on deck for a future expansion of up to eight more teams five to 10 years after the first one.

Now we'll elaborate on the criteria we will use to identify the cities in line for the next NFL expansion.

The cities listed are the largest metro areas that do not currently have NFL teams, that have at least a metro population of one million and are otherwise viable venues for the NFL.

Before giving you the complete list, there are exceptions where cities would otherwise qualify but extenuating circumstances exist.

First we will address the exceptions and then give you the list.

Toronto: There is increasing interest in Toronto to acquire a NFL franchise. For some in Toronto and in the NFL home office, Buffalo seems the ideal candidate. We submit that to move a storied franchise from Buffalo, even if it is only 90 minutes and a bridge away from downtown Buffalo, is not in the best interests of the NFL, Buffalo, or even Toronto.

On the other hand, it is possible that locating another franchise in Toronto could destabilize the Bills to the point of making the franchise no longer viable, since the Bills currently enjoy a significant if not overwhelming amount of support west (yes, in Buffalo Canada is west, not north) of the border.

We will address this situation in a separate article and therefore Toronto will not be on our expansion list.

Vancouver: Vancouver is close enough to Seattle to cause some concern, but Seattle is a larger market, so is not as vulnerable as Buffalo. We would not oppose expanding to Vancouver in the future should there be interest. Since there is no significant interest at this time, we will place them on the second tier even though the qualify for the first.

Milwaukee: Compared to the Buffalo/Toronto conundrum, the Milwaukee issue is cut and dried. Although Milwaukee has two other major league franchises and supports them well, and by this criteria they would be in the first tier of potential expansion venues, they are not on the list due to their historic attachment to Green Bay.

Even though the Packers no longer play a portion of their schedule in Milwaukee, any attempt to expand to Milwaukee would threaten Green Bay's viability should it be successful, but much more likely would be doomed from the outset itself, due to the inbred loyalty of the entire state, but certainly southeast Wisconsin, to the Packers.

San Jose: For all intents and purposes, part of the Bay Area.

Newark: Same as above, New York.

Monmouth-Ocean, NJ: Same as above, Philadelphia.

Rochester: Same as above, Buffalo.

Columbus: Football in Columbus is dominated by Ohio State. It is possible Columbus could support a NFL franchise but it would likely be the ugly step-sister. Since there has been no outcry for a team in Columbus, and because they would be one of the smaller markets and thus less likely to be able to steal another franchise, we will defer them for now.

Oklahoma City: The rationale applied to Columbus also applies to Oklahoma City where the Sooners are big-time football in the region. There is also a deep tradition of support for the Dallas Cowboys in OKC. They will also be deferred for now.

We think they have their hands full supporting the NBA Thunder (formerly Seattle Sonics). Still, OKC could be in play in the future for NFL expansion, and if they desire to enter the league at some point, should be given a realistic entry-track, but for now they are not on the list.

Austin: Same as Columbus and OKC. Too much "hook-em-horns" culture to compete with. Maybe someday.

Las Vegas: While the boom has quickly busted in Sin City, Las Vegas has been demographically and economically in the big leagues for quite some time. The city's identification with gambling has served to keep everything except upstart expansion leagues and the Arena league out of town, in all sports, actually.

Their latest pro football incarnation is coming compliments of the United Football League. We will leave them to the UFL for now, especially since Las Vegas has not been considered a viable venue by the NFL to date for reasons already noted.

Orlando: Orlando could support a NFL franchise. However, they have not made any effort to obtain one, and they now have a UFL franchise. Without the UFL, they would be on the first tier list.

Like Oklahoma City, Orlando could be in play in the future for NFL expansion, and should also be given a realistic entry-track if there is interest, but for now they are not on the list.

The following cities are viable candidates for an NFL franchise. Our definition of "viable" is that they have the population (within a two hour commute), the media market size, and the economic health to immediately and permanently support a NFL franchise given the current levels of revenue sharing and current salary cap, etc.

We will separate these cities into a first tier and second tier, depending on whether or not there is at least one other major league franchise (including Major League Soccer) in their market. The presence of another major league club demonstrates the region's ability to support a major league sport.

The absence of a competing franchise, however, could also be an asset in some cases. We will draw the line at metropolitan regions of fewer than 1,000,000 as listed by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area.

First Tier: Los Angeles-Anaheim, Sacramento, Portland, San Antonio, Memphis, Salt Lake.

The first-tier cities would be the first to be added to the league, assuming there is sufficient interest and resources to consummate the deal.

There are six first-tier cities and we would recommend expanding to eight teams all at once. Therefore the two strongest candidates from the second tier would also be admitted.

We believe Los Angeles has the capability and appetite to receive two NFL teams, just as New York has.

We also believe Chicago could support a second team. Those two cities will appear in the second tier, but will be given last priority at this point since L.A. needs to demonstrate they can support one team before receiving a second, and Chicago has expressed no interest up until now, in obtaining a second team.

Bears loyalty goes deep, but there is also a deep history of frustration with the Bears that could benefit a new franchise should it be well run and quickly successful.

Providence is viable as a second-tier city but has a long history loyalty to Boston area teams. They aren't quite as joined at the hip to the Patriots, as Milwaukee is to the Packers, so we list them near the bottom of the second tier.

Hartford is a better candidate to encroach in the Patriot’s back yard, and will be given preference to Providence.

Second Tier: Norfolk-Tidewater, Louisville, Hartford, Raleigh-Durham (combined with or separate from…) Greensboro/Highpoint/Winston-Salem, Providence, Los Angeles-Anaheim, Chicago.

Now that we have an idea how and which venues will be selected for expansion, we should address league realignment. I’m suggesting four conferences of two divisions of five teams each. That makes eight divisions. The league would move to an 18-game (plus two or three preseason) schedule.

Each team would play all conference teams once, and nine “weighted” games against teams based on the previous year’s standings. This would enhance parity as well as offering the benefits of expansion, since half a team’s schedule would be played against teams that finished with a similar rank the previous year.

One caveat would be when two traditional rivals are separated by conference. In such situations, the rivals would be scheduled to play each other every year, to maintain the rivalry.

A variation on this could actually designate that rivals in conference or out of conference play each other twice (home and home) to further maintain the rivalry, and they would thus be scheduled to play eight instead of nine so-called weighted games.

Given that it is the 50th anniversary of the American Football League (AFL) we suggest a nod to nostalgia. Reconstitute the original AFL in two five-team divisions. We could also reconstitute the original NFL teams that are still in their traditional venues as the Legacy Conference.

Other conferences and divisions would be created according to geography and existing rivalries except that the fourth conference would be all the expansion teams, plus two other teams.

Since all of this is speculation at this point, we will offer a speculative alignment scheme, as follows (projected expansion cities in italics):

The AFL Conference

Western Division: San Diego, Denver, Oakland, Kansas City, Tennessee

Eastern Division: Buffalo, New York Jets, New England, Cincinnati, Miami

The Legacy Conference

Western Division: Green Bay, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco

Eastern Division: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, NY Giants, Washington, Dallas

The Continental Conference

Eastern Division: Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Carolina

Western Division: Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, New Orleans, Houston

The Pioneer Conference

Western Division: Seattle, LA, Sacramento, Portland, Salt Lake

Eastern Division: Arizona, San Antonio, Memphis, Norfolk-Tidewater, Louisville

With this configuration, there would be 16 playoff berths, with no bye-week. Each division champion would host round one, versus one of the two wild-card teams from the same division.

Round one winners would advance to conference championships in round two.

Semifinals would be seeded with home field going to the top two seeds.

This would eliminate the tradition of Conference champions going to the Super Bowl. But in lieu of the conference trophy, there would simply be a secondary trophy for the Super Bowl loser.

Although the Pioneer Conference is made up of eight expansion teams and two existing franchises, it is guaranteed that at least two expansion teams will make the playoffs in their first year.

We decided to group them all together since there is such a large expansion, in order to enhance the competitiveness of each team and each game until the new class has caught up with the existing franchises in relative strength.

While it is an ambitious undertaking, we strongly urge that the league act now to bring its brand of football to eight or more cities in the United States that are hungry for the NFL product.

This will ensure the stability of existing franchises in their current venues and the growth of the league’s scope and production in ways that will reinforce smaller market franchises and the league as a whole.

This article is the third in a three part series.

and Part Two: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/238413-if-i-were-nfl-commissioner-part-two-expansion-relocation-parity

If I Were NFL Commissioner Part Two: Expansion, Relocation and Parity

John Howell — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:48:04 -0400

As the NFL nears the end of its collective bargaining agreement, it is in danger of swallowing more than one poison pill.

There are three attributes of the NFL that have led to its current status as the most successful professional sports league in the world. With success comes overconfidence, complacency, even hubris.

The NFL must be wary of dying from its own success. It is the responsiblity of the commissioner to ensure that this does not happen, even if he has to stand up to some obstinate owners.

The first hallmark of the NFL that must be preserved is parity.

Parity is the league's stock in trade. It is what makes the NFL more interesting to watch game by game, division by division, and season by season than any other professional or major college sport.

Parity is preserved by the salary cap and by revenue sharing. These are the two pillars of parity and both must be preserved.

In order to ensure the preservation of parity, if I were commissioner, I would insist on the following policies and threaten to resign if overruled (and would be prepared to fulfill my threat).

1. No single franchise can make its own licensing deals. All revenues must be shared according to the current formula.

2. Any latitude in the salary cap must be given only to teams under .500, and/or an alternative proposal (see No. 3).

3. Any major market team that wishes relief from the salary cap must apply for a waiver each time for each player involved and place a matching amount of money in a fund to be redistributed to small market teams. (Major market teams would be defined as teams representing the ten largest media markets.)

4. The NFL scheduing process must continue to be structured according to the team's division standings from the previous year.

5. A major expansion program will be undertaken to futher ensure parity by requiring a broader distribution of talent, and by offering more opportunities for lower division teams to play each other.

The second hallmark of the NFL is relative franchise stability in the modern era.

It makes sense that the more franchise stability there is in a league, the more overall success the league will enjoy over the long term. Franchise stability creates a stronger fan base for the league and for each individual franchise. It also creates long-term rivalries that contribute to league strength and vibrance.

In the 40 years since the merger, there have only been seven franchise relocations. There have been none in more than a decade. Three of these moves involved Los Angeles, which is a special case, as we will discuss in a moment. Other than Los Angeles, only the Cardinals, Colts, Oilers/Titans and Browns have moved in four decades.

Ironically, there are NFL franchises in St. Louis, Cleveland, Houston and Baltimore today. So what was accomplished by moving storied franchises from their legendary homes, only to put a new franchise in the cities they abandoned?

Part of the issue with franchise relocations is that owners have played games with the local fans, attempting to get a new stadium or a better stadium deal, or both, or have been lured by a hungry city with incentives beyond that with which exisiting towns can compete.

Often, a loss of fan support has been cited as the rationale for a move, yet the only reason fan support dwindled is because of the double dealing of the ownership.

As commisioner, in an attempt to preserve franchise stability, I would add to my non-negotiable, threaten/promise to resign list, the following must's:

1. There must be a zero tolerance policy for franchise relocation.

Any owner who is unhappy with his or her franchise is free to sell or swap the franchise, but not move it. There would have to be a very few exceptions to the rule that would require a unanimous vote of the ownership to approve, but I can't imagine anything short of a community just turning its back on its team without provocation, and I can't imagine that happening anywhere.

The one thing that can't be allowed is ownership sabotage of a franchise in order to claim fan disinterest as a rationale for exception.

2. In extreme cases, a second nearby city could share an existing franchise, such as Buffalo/Toronto, Baltimore/Washington, etc. as a means of increasing revenue and market size. In rare occasions when a city loses its ability to financially support a franchise exclusively, yet retains a strong emotioinal degree of support, this would be a better alternative than moving a franchise.

3. The attempt to sabotage a franchise to facilitate a move would be grounds for rescinding ownership rights.

Despite the provisions above, there will still be a few attempts to surreptitiously sabotage a franchise in an attempt to win an exception. Therefore, the league must have the authority to revoke an owner's rights for franchise abuse.

The league would pay minimum assessed value for the franchise in a mandatory buyout and would re-sell the team to ownership committed to invest in its existing location.

The third hallmark of NFL success is strategic expansion.

In 1959, the AFL was created because of the NFL's unwillingness to expand. There were 12 NFL teams and eight AFL teams. By the time the merger agreement was complete in 1967 (for purposes of combined draft, personnel policies, and a combined championship game), there were 10 AFL teams and 16 NFL teams, for a total of 26 franchises.

In 1970, when the two leagues began full integration, the AFL became the AFC. Three NFL teams were shifted to the AFC for mathematical balance. The remaining teams became the NFC. The two conferences played with 13 teams each.

The original Cleveland Browns (now Baltimore Ravens), the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Baltimore Colts were the three teams realigned.

The NFL now has 32 teams. Six are new since the merger was completed: Seattle, Carolina, Jacksonville, Houston, Cleveland (new), and Tampa Bay.

As an interesting aside, I quoted a California developer who is intent on moving a smaller market team to LA as saying that, along with Buffalo, Jacksonville "is a terrible place for a NFL franchise."

Since Jacksonville was selected by the NFL as the ideal location for expansion in the late 80s, it seems hard to believe that the league would agree with this viewpoint. Not that much could have changed in Jacksonville since the franchise was awarded.

Which leads me to the Los Angeles problem.

The NFL should rightly plan to have at least one franchise, and perhaps two, in the nation's second largest (and perhaps most affluent) market.

At one time, not so long ago, LA had two franchises. It had the Rams, who were moved to Los Angeles from Cleveland in the early 40s, and for a few years, it had the Raiders, who came to LA on the promise of a new stadium, never built, in the 80s.

Fortunately for the league and the Bay Area, the Raiders are back in Oakland where they belong.

As I mentioned before, virtually every city that has lost an NFL franchise since the merger has aquired a replacement franchise either by relocation or expansion. Hence, we have the awkward situation of an aptly named St. Louis Cardinals franchise now residing in Arizona, while a franchise with a lengthy history in Los Angeles as the Rams now resides in St. Louis.

At least when the Browns left Cleveland, the league made sure the rights to the nickname, the colors, and even the stats, remained in Cleveland, and the Ravens were treated as an expansion franchise in every respect except for the personnel that went with them to Baltimore.

The departure of the Colts from Baltimore, however, was not handled so well.

We now have a franchise in Indianapolis named for the Colts that run at Pimlico. If the franchise was going to be moved, it should have been renamed to something associated with Indianapolis.

Of course, had that been done, the rich tradition of the Colts would have been lost. But wasn't it lost anyway?

Nobody in Indianapolis cares about Johnny Unitas. And the Baltimore fans are in a position to root against the familiar colors and logo that represented them since Baltimore entered the NFL.

What's the benefit of that?

Therefore, the solution to the risk of franchise instability is to satisfy the needs of any city that might want and be able to afford to join the NFL with a massive expansion the likes of what was done by the NHL when the league doubled its size from the original six to twelve teams all at once.

The NFL doesn't need to double its size, but there are several cities that would be in a position to attempt to lure away an existing franchise without relief via expansion. We would recommend an immediate expansion to eight teams with another round of eight planned for 5-10 years hence.

See part three of this series for details on expansion ideas. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/238413-if-i-were-nfl-commissioner-part-two-expansion-relocation-parity

Hey, Buffalo Bills Fans, It's Time to Declare War on L.A.!

John Howell — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:55:51 -0400

If you think California has done all the harm they can do to the Buffalo psyche and its sports teams, think again. It isn't enough to have stolen the Braves from us. Now they have their sites on the Bills.

Contrary to recent opinion, Toronto is not the threat. Toronto is in the family. LA is the enemy here. Have you heard about this?

Billionaire California developer Ed Roski is determined to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles. It doesn't matter that the city couldn't keep two legendary franchises when it had them. They, with Roski's help, are going after any team they can get, and the Bills are on their short list.

According to Roski's right hand man, John Semcken, Buffalo is "a terrible market for the NFL," and therefore a worthy target.

I don't know about you, but those are fighting words to me. Especially when Buffalo has kept and supported its franchise through good years and bad, and is enjoying another record year in season ticket sales.

Roski and his cronies are blatant about their arrogant expectations. They expect to end up with two franchises playing in a proposed new $800 million stadium in the City of Industry, that Roski plans to build. (He also built the Staples Center, with partner Philip Anschutz, so he thinks he can do what various others have failed to do in southern California, where at least three previous stadium projects were killed.)

They expect both franchises to make the playoffs because, "both teams will be so rich," and they can guarantee the postseason ticket.

Would someone please introduce these people to Jerry Jones and George Steinbrenner, to name a couple of fat cat owners who learned the hard way that the bank account doesn't make competitive success automatic?

In fact, fans of the NFL had better hope NFL success will never come with nothing more than a price tag, or it will be the beginning of the end for the storied league.

The very product Roski presumes to offer the City of Angels and Demons gains its value from parity, from the fact that the expression "on any given Sunday any team can defeat any other team" is not a cliche. Should he be able to steal two franchises from smaller markets and buy league dominance, he will end up with worthless properties, killed by their own success.

But that's the LA mentality, isn't it? It's new money arrogance. It's civic narcissism. It's the bully on the beach stealing the body board from the nerdy kid because he can.

We have a message for Mr. Roski: Remember the Braves?

"The Who? The What?" most Angelenos would respond. Of course, they don't have a clue.

The NBA franchise that enjoyed more collective success in eight seasons in Buffalo than the subsequent thirty seasons in southern California (all but four in LA) was originally known as the Braves. That is a closely guarded secret on the part of the current ownership. The franchise chooses not to celebrate it's most prolific and successful players, Bob McAdoo and Randy Smith, because they realize at some deep level that L.A. has no legitimate claim on that history.

The youthful but legendary team was kidnapped and raised among strangers, as the stepchild in a market dominated by the Lakers (another team ripped from their northern, small-market roots).

But Mr. Roski and anyone else in greater Los Angeles who might consider joining his cause to uproot the Bills, needs to read Bill Simmons' recent ESPN.com article about the curse of Buffalo on the Clippers. If they think they have it bad now, wait until they try to disembowel another animal sacred to native tribes. That could be enough to make California finally break off and float out to sea.

That being said, Buffalonians and Buffalo expats everywhere must heed the California drumbeat even now. The Buffalo hunters are at it again and we must nip it in the bud.

As everyone knows, the best defense is a good offense. Therefore, we can best protect the Bills by winning back the Braves. We'll show Roski and those overly tanned beach bullies that Buffalo is indeed a good place for a franchise—NFL, NHL, NBA, and it's all-out war, now, baby!

But what does winning back the Braves have to do with the Bills? If you've read my Brave-Throat articles, you know exactly what. The curse of the Buffalo, as Simmons so insightfully observed, is at work in L.A. But it is also at work in Buffalo.

You may have noticed my previous articles about a visit I received from the ghost of Phil Ranallo, posing as Brave-Throat until revealing his true identity.

Brave-Throat explained that not only does this curse afflict the Clippers (formerly the Braves), but it will prevent any Buffalo team from winning the ultimate title (wide right, in the crease), or, eventually, even staying in the city.

It all goes back to the Braves. The solution rests with the Braves.

Brave-Throat—I mean, Ranallo's ghost—contacted me again today. Not in person this time. Via Twitter, of all things.

He said, "Johnny, the time is short. The Braves are waiting. And the Bills are circling the wagons."

So, all you sons and daughters of Buffalo, we are in a state of war. It's time to fire the first shot. Cash is the ammunition.

Pony up, Buffalo fans! How much can you invest in buying back the Braves, knowing that this is the best way, perhaps the only way, to keep the Bills as well? We have to show LA what we're made of.

We need $300 million. That's $300 for each resident of Metro Buffalo. If you add in all the Buffalo expats around the world, that number comes down to $100 each.

Some can give a thousand times more. Some can or will give nothing, but it averages out to a manageable sum. We need your money. What will you pledge? Drop everything and stake your claim.

Register your pledge by contacting us on LinkedIn, Facebook, or just by commenting on this article. No money needed at this time, but please, only serious pledges.

Lets go, Buffalo!

See also, my article about making franchise relocation illegal in the NFL: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/238413-if-i-were-nfl-commissioner-part-two-expansion-relocation-parity

Nine Year Old Fan "Wins" Juggling Duel With Chicago Red Star Cristiane

John Howell — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:32:14 -0400

Bridgeview, IL (August 2, 2009): Fans who attended the Chicago Red Stars' WPS Home finale versus LA Sol were treated to an unexpected surprise at halftime.

On the jumbotron a video began to play. On a black screen the title: "Chicago Red Stars Ultimate Showdown...Between Red Stars Forward Cristiane and Nine-Year-Old Juggling Sensation Renae Blevins."

A moment later there was footage of a juggling and ball handling contest between the Brazilian international and nine-year-old Renae Blevins whose latest juggling record is 6,114 touches.

As the two copied each other's moves, the music of "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" provided the soundtrack. At the end of the video, on a black screen again, Renae Blevins was announced as the winner.

Immediately at the conclusion of the video, the real Renae Blevins was introduced to the record attendance of 7,959 to perform a live exhibition of her skills, wearing an authentic Chicago Red Stars home jersey with her last name on the back.

Young Ms. Blevins was discovered earlier in the season when her father posted a few videos of her juggling on You-Tube. From there, we wrote a Bleacher/Report article. When the Red Stars organization became aware of the video and discovered that the star lives and plays on a traveling soccer club in Metro Chicago, arrangements were made to have her visit a team practice and create the video.

The day was especially exciting for Renae because Cristiane is one of her favorite soccer players, and Chicago's opponent for the day, LA Sol, features another of Renae's heroes, another Brazilian star, Marta.

In addition to the opportunity to practice and "hang out" with the Chicago team at practice on July 29th, Renae was able to meet Marta and have a photo taken with her two Brazilian heroes after the match on Sunday.

See our original article about Renae and the duel on You-Tube.

Photo of Renae's live halftime exhibition, by David Durochik.

Three Chicago Red Stars Named to WPS All-Stars

John Howell — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:56:25 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 7, 2009) – Women’s Professional Soccer announced the complete selections to its 18 player 2009 WPS All-Star Team on Friday. Five players (including two Chicago Red Stars) were automatic selections as the next-highest vote getters to replace players from the first 11.

The players who unavailable due to the 2009 European Championships include: Alex Scott (D, Boston Breakers), Kelly Smith (M, Boston Breakers), Camille Abily (M, Los Angeles Sol), Eniola Aluko (F, Saint Louis Athletica), and Sonia Bompastor (M, Washington Freedom).

There were no Chicago players on the original starting eleven chosen by the fans, the coaches, and the press. The changes to the first 11 based on votes received included two Chicago Red Stars, Midfielder Megan Rapinoe, an American player, and forward Cristiane of Brazil.

In addition, WPS All Star Team Head Coach Abner Rogers and WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci named an additional seven reserve players to the roster, including one more Chicago player, Midfielder Brittany Klein.

Below is the complete WPS All-Star Roster.

WPS All-Star Team Starters
Karina LeBlanc    GK    Los Angeles Sol        Canada
Tina Ellertson          D    Saint Louis Athletica United States
Amy LePeilbet        D    Boston Breakers       United States
Christie Rampone   D    Sky Blue FC             United States*
Shannon Boxx        M    Los Angeles Sol        United States
Lori Chalupny        M    Saint Louis Athletica United States
Formiga                 M    FC Gold Pride          Brazil*
Aya Miyama          M    Los Angeles Sol        Japan*
Megan Rapinoe     M    Chicago Red Stars    United States*
Cristiane                 F    Chicago Red Stars    Brazil*
Marta                     F    Los Angeles Sol        Brazil
*next highest vote-getter to replace First XI

WPS All-Star Team At-Large Selections (Commissioner/All-Star Team Head Coach)
Brittany Klein         M       Chicago Red Stars     United States
Kristine Lilly           F        Boston Breakers         United States
Heather O’Reilly    M        Sky Blue FC              United States
Christine Sinclair     F        FC Gold Pride            Canada
Hope Solo            GK    Saint Louis Athletica    United States
Abby Wambach     F        Washington Freedom    United States
Cat Whitehill          D        Washington Freedom    United States

“This is a fantastic roster of talented players who together make up a world class WPS All-Star Team that will put on a great show of soccer in St. Louis,” said WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. “I can’t think of a better way to end our terrific inaugural season than by celebrating our league’s teams and players with a weekend soccer festival right in the heart of America.”

The 2009 WPS All-Star Game features the WPS All-Stars against Swedish league champions Umeå IK at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, MO, home of WPS' St. Louis Athletica, on Sunday, August 30th.

Kick-off is scheduled for 5:30pm ET/4:30pm CT. The game will be televised live nationally on Fox Soccer Channel and regionally on select Fox Sports Net affiliates (check local listings) with coverage starting at 5:00 p.m. ET with a half-hour pre-game show prior to kickoff.

Father-Daughter Bonding A La Women's Professional Soccer

John Howell — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:26:34 -0400

Bridgeview, Ill.: Aug. 2 was a sad day for me. It was the final home game of the Chicago Red Stars' inaugural WPS season at Toyota Park.

It was sad for a number of reasons. It was sad because the team had not met expectations for this season. It was sad because one of the benefits of being a part of a new league is that you get more personal access to players and staff.

It felt like a family reunion at every game. And now, it's over until next year.

But it was also sad because going to the games with my 12-year-old daughter, Marivi (pictured above with Chicago Red Star Megan Rapinoe in the Stadium Club, post-game), has been a fantastic bonding experience for us.

Now, it's not as if we needed to work on our relationship. We were already very close. She's a Daddy's girl, and proud of it.

But there was something different and deeper about this shared experience that gave an extra layer of texture, an extra level of depth to an already great father-daughter connection.

To a large extent, perhaps, it was that in this experience, Marivi became a soccer fan.

I've been a fan all my life. I did my best to inculcate Marivi from the time she was old enough to kick a soccer ball. But it didn't take.

Sure, she played recreational soccer for a couple of years but when she had to choose between soccer and poms, it was no contest. Poms in. Soccer out.

I accepted that. I lived with it. It was hard. It hurt. But it's her life. And, as a loving Dad, I want her to find her own passion. So that was OK.

Then, this Spring, she had an opportunity to play soccer for her school. We talked about it and I came out of the conversation thinking she wanted to try soccer again since she had some friends on the team and there was no other sport for her to play at school at her level, in the Spring.

So, you can imagine my surprise and disappointment when, two weeks into it, Marivi told me she was not having fun, she was not doing well, and she wanted to quit.

I started to give her the usual lecture about finishing what you start, but she stopped me. "I only did it because I wanted to make you happy, Dad. I really don't like it."

Whoa! Then by all means. Quit. Quit now. End of story.

But maybe not.

As we began attending Red Stars games together (which she was happy to do, just to be with me), Marivi began making comments about the play on the field, the referee's calls, particular players, etc. and unless I was imagining it, she was really into the games. I didn't say a word, just relished it for a while.

But, after a few games with Marivi making very intelligent comments about the play by play, I told her it was obvious she had learned the game quite well during those two weeks of practice. She agreed.

We started talking about her favorite players. She told me she really likes Megan Rapinoe, Natalie Spilger, and Brittany Klein, for whom she has her own nickname, "Little Girl."

"That's it, Little Girl," she'd shout every time Midfielder Klein did something special, which was hundreds of times each game.

"So...." I began one day as we were sitting in our fantastic season seats. "Are you re-thinking your decision to play soccer?"

"Yeah, I might be," she said.

I purposely under-reacted, but felt very satisfied that one of my objectives for making Marivi my season ticket mate was that she would see these great, talented, women athletes as heroes and role models, seemed to be achieved.

And the season progressed. She was more and more into it, with each game.

As the Red Stars losing streak continued to extend, Marivi said, as we took our seats for the Washington match July 1, "If we don't win this game, I'm gonna kill myself."

That gave me goosebumps. She really is into it. And I didn't push her. I just brought her along, hoping she'd catch the bug.

Of course, she is at the age when the threshold for embarrassment is extremely low. So just because she's into it, doesn't mean she wants her Dad to jump and scream and sing during the games.

I'd get a little too carried away and she'd gently tap my shoulder and give me that look. If you have pre-teens, you know what I'm talking about.

It's the look that has a slight hint of smile with a rather disdainful stare and you know you've crossed the line into public humiliation of your middle-schooler.

But that was part of the bonding experience also. At one point she followed that look by saying, "Dad, if you weren't so weird, you wouldn't be such a good Dad."

And then it happened. "Dad?" She asked at one of the last games of the season. "If I play soccer next year, will you buy me one of those cool Puma balls like they use at games here?"

"Absolutely!" I said.

WPS Chicago Red Stars: Dreams, Disappointments, and Desires for Next Year

John Howell — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:00:37 -0400

Season Recap and Next Year's Forecast

If you read my preseason and early season commentary about Chicago's new major league women's soccer club, you are fully aware of the optimism, the confidence, and perhaps, misplaced hubris, that Windy City soccer fans had for their new franchise.

After all, the club is led by CEO Peter Wilt, who has more soccer championship rings already in his career than he can wear on one hand. In fact, Wilt has won it all in every league in which he has built and managed a soccer club thus far in his career.

This is not to say he will not do so for the Chicago Red Stars, but perhaps because he took the Chicago Fire to a Double in their expansion year in MLS, we expected the same miracle a second time. I guess it's true that lightning doesn't strike twice.

The reality of the Red Stars' first season is nearly the diametrical opposite of the club's and its fans' expectations.

We expected first. We finished sixth. We expected playoffs, but blew an opportunity to control our destiny with as few as five games remaining.

We expected great offensive output from the get-go from international phenoms Frida Ostberg of Sweden and Brazilian star Cristiane.

In reality, Ostberg showed none of the offensive production for which she was known in Europe, and Cristiane spent most of the season continuing to recover from an injury.

We expected defensive dominance from U.S. Women's National Team star Kate Markgraf and Swedish international goalie Caroline Jonsson. Markgraf had the audacity to get pregnant with twins, and Jonsson's play was inconsistent.

In Jonsson's defense, however, she did not have Markgraf anchoring the defense as the Red Stars had planned when choosing their personnel, and she was often caught in one-on-one's when the rest of the defense had a temporary lapse.

Intermittently porous defense was one of the tragic flaws of the club this past season. For most of a typical game the Red Stars dominated defensively on both sides of the field, but there would be those one or two momentary lapses in which an opponent would find herself alone in the box and Jonsson's chances to stop a shot in such scenarios were only slightly better than against a penalty kick.

In the end, Jonsson was the leading keeper in the league in saves but the worst keeper in the league for goals allowed. While many of the blemishes on her record were not primarily her fault, one expects a world-class keeper to make up for other weaknesses on the team.

There are times when any club, no matter how good, needs its keeper to make an impossible stop, to intimidate oncoming shooters even on breakaways inside the box. That didn't happen enough for Jonsson to meet expectations.

Even then, Chicago seldom gave up more than a goal or two. If the Red Stars' offense had produced as expected Chicago would have easily made the postseason cut and possibly finished as high as second. And that is the biggest mystery.

In fact, if Chicago had won three of the matches they lost by 1-0, they would still be alive.

What happened to Chicago's offense? Why did players who produce so much scoring on their respective national clubs produce so much frustration in Chicago?

Was it coaching? Was it the wrong combination of talent? Something else?

We will take no position on coaching. We will only say that Emma Hayes was hired because GM Marcia McDermott was high on her, and at the end of the season, in spite of everything, management remains supportive.

Fans, in response to these articles at B/R, have pointed out that Hayes came to Chicago from an assistant coaching position for the Lady Arsenal in England, and that her coaching record in the W-League and otherwise is well below .500.

Some have observed that the Red Stars appeared confused on offense, that passing and shooting decisions were frequently less than ideal.

Is that coaching? Perhaps.

Is that enough reason to give up on Hayes? That depends on who you ask. From what we've heard the answer is more affirmative in the locker room and the front office than it is in the seats.

But every indication suggests Hayes will be back for another season, and if there was any doubt, the Red Stars performance against Los Angeles in their home finale should put them to rest. So, for at least another season, coaching is a dead issue.

What about deficits in talent?

The first one, the lack of a big center defender, will be solved with the return of Kate Markgraf, assuming her delivery and post-partum training go as well as expected. If Markgraf is able to attain her pre-twins form by midseason, Chicago's biggest hole will be filled.

In addition, Marian Dalmy on defense and Brittany Klein from the midfield have been huge factors for the Red Stars, not only on defense but on the counter-attack. They have great instincts about when to move up and communication with the rest of the back side on the counter is excellent.

After that, however, the Red Stars may be at some risk due to the expansion draft. The entry of franchises in Atlanta and Philadelphia means that the existing clubs can only protect nine players. One who has been key to the defense this season, Natalie Spilger, is on the bubble due to her age (27).

To protect Spilger, Chicago would have to leave a marquis player such as Carli Lloyd or Frida Ostberg open to the draft. That is exactly what we recommend.

A healthy defense anchored by Markgraf, assisted by Dalmy, Spilger, and Ifoeme Dieke (assuming a four defender scheme) with additional defensive help from Brittany Klein out of the midfield, would be among the best in the league.

Both Lloyd and Ostberg have underachieved with Chicago. Our thought is it has more to do with chemistry and balance than ability for either one of them.

Barring injury, Spilger has a few good seasons left and by unseating other defensive starters to obtain and retain her slot this past year, she has proven herself worthy of a starting role again next year.

On offense, Chicago needs one or two speedsters who can get to the long ball in time. Several goals were disallowed in Season One due to offside calls.

We disputed more than a few of those calls, but in spite of that, we concede that Chicago has been overly guilty of this foul. We attribute this tendency to an attempt by our strikers to make up for a lack of speed.

There's no question that Megan Rapinoe, Karen Carney, Lindsay Tarpley, and Cristiane are the club's most valuable offensive assets. There is also no question that they need one or two new players who are faster to help them live up to their ability on this team.

So who are the nine we would protect? Here's our list, in no particular order:

Rapinoe

Tarpley

Cristiane

Klein

Markgraf

Spilger

Dieke

Carney

Dalmy

That's correct. We did not include Lloyd, Ostberg, or Jonsson. As regards Jonsson, we feel that while a fortified defense could result in her leading the league in goaltending overall, she is less uniquely valuable to the club than any of the nine listed above.

By unloading three internationals, Chicago has the opportunity to shop in Europe and South America for a world class keeper to replace Jonsson, and for a couple fast strikers or midfielders from the vast talent pool that is yet to be harvested.

Given the success Chicago had in last year's draft by obtaining U.S. internationals Dalmy and Rapinoe, in addition to the U.S. Soccer allocations (Markgraf, Lloyd, and Tarpley) and other key performers such as Klein, there is also an excellent opportunity, considering the expertise in personnel management in the Wilt-McDermott combination, to draft more Rapinoes, or even an outstanding keeper, if needed, fresh out of college.

Even without significant net improvements in talent, as long as Chicago can keep its key nine healthy and replace expansion losses with at least a neutral net differential in talent and chemistry—in other words as long as we have a team that is equal to this year's club—we still expect improvement.

It's been a growing year for everyone concerned. The same club should be able to learn from its mistakes and advance at least to playoff qualification, if not much more. But with some key strategic upgrades, Chicago could be the class of the WPS.

Anti-Climactic End To Chicago's WPS Season: St. Louis 2, Chicago 0

John Howell — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:25:56 -0400

Fenton, MO August 5, 2009—After defeating the class of Women's Professional Soccer three days earlier, the Chicago Red Stars seemed to be playing with an empty tank as they finished their inaugural season on the road against St. Louis Athletica.

Christie Welsh scored both goals for the victors, in the 34th and 61st minutes.

Like Chicago's previous match against Los Angeles, the game was meaningless for both teams as Chicago had already been eliminated from playoff contention. Athletica had already clinched second place. But while Chicago seemed to have left their game hearts at home, it was obvious that St. Louis was riding the momentum of their second place finish.

The loss puts the Red Stars (5-10-5) in sixth place with 20 points, six points out of fifth place.

Watch for a summary of Chicago's inaugural season and an analysis of their prospects for the coming year, later this week, here at Bleacher Report.