Category: soccer

soccer

Women’s soccer leagues: How much video should fans expect?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Do you need a live stream of your local women’s soccer team? Highlights? What else?

Here’s one suggestion from a BigSoccer thread:

I have NO problem with games not streaming for free anymore, I think they aren’t really worth the laborious efforts and will never generate enough interest and should not be done unless a time comes where it can be shown they generate pay-per-view subscriptions or ticket sales. However, goals and highlights videos should be put on official youtube channels (free on demand hosting) weekly, as well as new coach/player interviews daily.

I can only speak for myself, but live streams generally don’t do much for me unless they’re professionally produced — usually a live local TV broadcast replicated online. They usually go like this:

Hey, that green blob just passed to another green blob. This could be a chance. Where’s the ball? …. (buffering) ….. WHY IS THE ANNOUNCER SHOUTING AT ME?!?!

But highlights and interviews are good. Maybe “daily” is a stretch. But weekly? Should be possible.

Being an amateur videographer myself (in a promotion/relegation scheme, I’d probably be eighth division), I’d suggest a few tips for teams to keep the budget low and still put forth some solid video content:

1. Get one or two cameras, maybe just basic Flipcams, in addition to whatever they’re using to shoot the game for scouting purposes. Get creative with placing these — maybe in the corners, or maybe use the behind-the-goal view in this D.C. United Women highlight reel to show how the plays unfolded.

2. Free video editing software is abundant. You Mac people could probably recommend something better than what I’m using.

3. Captions are your friends. Who’s that Number 8 who just scored? Who  got the assist? Was this the 23rd minute or a stoppage-time winner? If your free video editing software makes captions difficult, choose again.

4. Learn how to frame an interview. Notice the difference between ESPN’s typical studio interviews and the “camera in the face” interviews you often see elsewhere. (To be fair, Fox is professional, and I once thought they were about to push the camera up Ives Galarcep’s nose.)

Maybe NSCAA could help teach teams how to do this. Amanda Vandervort has led popular sessions teaching coaches and team managers to to do social media. Video is the next step in social media.

Live games just don’t need to be a priority. If the new league gets a TV deal, great — and maybe some of the teams’ highlights can be featured in an “Around the League” segment at halftime. But before everyone tries to rewire the Maryland Soccerplex and hire webcast commentators, mastering YouTube would be a great step.

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soccer

Very Good Things in U.S. soccer

Posted on by Beau Dure

No, the U.S. soccer scene isn’t all petty arguments over turf wars, business plans and what was said in 2007. A lot of Very Good Things have happened in American soccer recently — some well-publicized, some not.

– The U.S. men won for the first time in Mexico’s Azteca Stadium last night, getting a series of increasingly stupefying saves from Tim Howard and a clever goal — a strong run and cross from Brek Shea, a nifty backheel from Terrence Boyd and the finish from Michael Orozco Fiscal. The game was a friendly, not a World Cup qualifier or Gold Cup game, but there’s no downside to smashing a psychological barrier.

– Something I mentioned in my live blog of the women’s final but deserves more attention: Abby Wambach played her guts out as always in the Olympics in pursuit of her first major international championship in eight years. Has anyone done a complete story about what it means to her to come back from the 2007 Women’s World Cup and her 2008 injury to win this gold medal? I can hardly imagine what she’s feeling, but she deserves it.

– This book snuck up on me — Gwendolyn Oxenham, another of those hyperachieving Dukies who makes me wonder why that school ever let me in the door, has released Finding the Game, a book derived from the same travels that brought us the film Pelada. If you want to take a look at soccer beyond the spotlight, look here.

– The Seattle Sounders‘ business numbers are still impressive, well after the honeymoon period should be over.

– The San Antonio Scorpions have been a tremendous success in the NASL, a league that seems to have more life than the skeptics thought. Along with other healthy USL and NASL clubs, there’s life beyond MLS in men’s soccer.

And maybe D.C. United is getting closer to a stadium deal? Maybe?

 

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soccer

Women’s soccer, the new league and Hope Solo: Can’t we all just get along?

Posted on by Beau Dure
We got two fillings for THIS?

There’s three sides to every story — yours and mine and the cold, hard truth — Don Henley

There’s blood in my mouth ’cause I’ve been biting my tongue all week — Rilo Kiley

Jules: Yolanda, I thought you said you were gonna be cool. Now when you yell at me, it makes me nervous. And when I get nervous, I get scared. And when (bleepers) get scared, that’s when (bleepers) accidentally get shot.
Yolanda: You just know, you touch him, you die.
Jules: Well, that seems to be the situation. But I don’t want that. And you don’t want that. And Ringo here *definitely* doesn’t want that. — Pulp Fiction

Maybe I’m reaching with the last one. Perhaps I should’ve skipped to the part where Jules says the Ezekiel verse one last time and says he’s trying real hard to be the shepherd. The U.S. women’s soccer community could use a shepherd.

As you know if you follow me on Twitter, I bought Hope Solo’s memoir, skimmed the personal parts and read the soccer parts. No offense intended to her personal story — I was just in a hurry to learn what she had said.

I mentioned a couple of things that surprised me. One was a quote that I thought could be taken the wrong way. Another was that she reiterated her racism accusations against Boston Breakers fans, accusations that most of us thought had been put to rest.

People were angry with me. A couple of them were people I respect and like, and we talked it out. A couple were people I don’t know as well who slung a few drive-by insults at me and declined to elaborate on what exactly I’d said.

The latter isn’t a surprise. Solo has a legion of fans who will mobilize against any alleged “hater,” even if she doesn’t ask them to do so. Just check out the reviews at Amazon, where the one person to say anything negative is marked with the dreaded “1 in 24 people found the following review helpful.” (To be sure, the review doesn’t say much. But some of the other reviews marked as “helpful” are simply insane.)

If anyone’s reading here wondering if I’m going to be a “hater,” you might be disappointed. I didn’t hate this book. Her story is well-written — co-writer Ann Killion is never one to mince words (ask Don Garber), and the book moves briskly. And though some people come across better than others, this book wasn’t written to settle grudges. It’s her story. She spends much more time talking about the truly important people in her life — family and a few supportive coaches — than she does about her conflicts. Plenty of people will find this book inspiring.

If you read the book, just remember the Don Henley quote here. There are multiple sides to every story.

Continue reading →

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soccer

Greg Ryan responds to Hope Solo’s allegations

Posted on by Beau Dure

In this story on Hope Solo’s book, we read this about her meeting with then-U.S. coach Greg Ryan: “She writes that during a meeting with Ryan, he pushed her back onto a couch as she tried to leave.”

The athletic department at Michigan, where Ryan coaches now, sent this statement from Ryan:

This allegation is completely false. I did not shove or push Hope as I’ve been accused in her book. I would have been terminated immediately by USA Soccer had this allegation been true. I have openly discussed the contents of the meeting and this is the first time that this accusation has been brought to light.

Hope was disappointed that I benched her for the semifinals but it was the right move for the team. It was discussed with team leaders and they stood by my decision.

It’s in the past and I’ve moved on. I’m focused on the upcoming Michigan Soccer season.

So far, I haven’t seen any other reaction from team veterans.

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soccer

New women’s soccer league — here we go

Posted on by Beau Dure

The timing was interesting — I got a press release at 12:26 a.m. I’ll reproduce it in full here.

One question has been answered: It appears there are no hard feelings between this group and the WPSL. See the comments from Jerry Zanelli. They say this league isn’t competing with the WPSL and W-League — teams can actually move between them. (Looks like it’s not traditional promotion-relegation but rather economic — if you can move up, move up; if you need to move down, move down.)

Then another question has popped up: There’s another Seattle group? What about the Sounders?

And another: Where’s Western New York? UPDATE: Here’s what Boston’s Mike Stoller says about the Flash: “One of the five teams that are finalizing their involvement.  They have been a driving force over the last year and continue to be as we finalize all details of the new league.”

Note: They are not yet sanctioned. But I have a hard time believing they’ve gone this far without at least some conversations with U.S. Soccer.

MORE UPDATES: There are MLS teams involved. Also, the interested teams are planning to be fully professional — in other words, no college players.

If I get answers, I’ll let you know. Here’s the release:

Top Teams Finalizing the Formation of Women’s Soccer League

CHICAGO, IL (Aug. 9, 2012) – With the conclusion of both the WPSL Elite League and W-League semi-pro women’s playoffs and the ongoing thrilling performance of the U.S. Women’s National Team at the Olympic Games, five of the top women’s soccer teams in the country are announcing the formation of a new professional women’s soccer league that will start play in the spring of 2013.

Among the teams are the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, a newly formed team in Seattle, and New Jersey’s Sky Blue FC, three out of four of which were members of the prior Women’s Professional Soccer league. Additionally, four other teams are finalizing their participation in the league including another team that will be located on the West Coast.

“All these teams are committed to playing with and against each other starting in 2013 and to working out the final details to allow a sustainable professional league for women’s soccer in the U.S.,” said Michael Stoller, Managing Partner of the Boston Breakers. “We want to emphasize this is not a competitor to any of the existing leagues, but rather this is a significant step up in the competitive level and professional standards and we expect to establish a natural relationship to allow teams to enter this new league and perhaps to fall back (self-relegate) to their prior league if they need a break from the higher spending and competitive requirements.”

Much work has already been done to structure the minimum standards, season length, player requirements and conferences. It is expected that several more teams will join the league in the coming month or two as discussions continue with several other ownership groups.

This league is being created by ownership groups within the existing leagues on the basis of understanding the successes and failures of the first two attempts at a professional league in America. A main goal for the league is to provide the best U.S. players with the ability to develop and train at a high level on a consistent basis. The team owners are driving this effort and are working to make sure the league will help prepare those players for international competition with the U.S. WNT.

The founders of the new league have been working with United Soccer Leagues (USL) and Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) to attempt to solidify the relationship and roles of the existing women’s leagues with the new league and participation for all teams that elect to meet the minimum standards. This is an acknowledgement on the long-term success and sustainability of semi-pro women’s soccer leagues in this country.

WPSL has participated in the planning for the new league, “We have supported women’s soccer for decades and are very proud of our creation of the WPSL Elite League this year and the role we have been able to play in bringing this new league together for 2013. We are committed to easy movement for teams between WPSL and this new league and we will also provide a place for reserve teams to play,” said Jerry Zanelli, founder and President of WPSL. “Many details remain to be worked out but we will support the new league in its growth and are happy to see an unambiguous future for women’s professional soccer in the United States.”

“We are excited to bring the highest level of women’s soccer to Seattle,” said Bill Predmore, President of Seattle-based digital marketing agency, POP, and the leader of the ownership group for the new Seattle club. “Seattle has a long history of enthusiastic support for professional soccer, which we hope will provide us with a strong base of fans for the new women’s club.”

According to Arnim Whisler, owner of the Chicago Red Stars, “This is an inclusive not an exclusive effort. If teams want to join and can meet the minimum standards then we welcome them. This league is for the players that want to play and be on the WNT radar, the fans that continue to support us despite our false starts in the past, and the teams that are committed to elite women’s soccer. We have been very happy with the WPSL Elite season that we just completed and cannot thank Jerry enough for his providing so many teams the place to play this year on such short notice and we see this as a natural extension of that model to a more permanent league and infrastructure.”

In the near future, there will be more detailed discussions with U.S. Soccer on the proper sanctioning process.

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olympic sports, soccer

An instant classic at Old Trafford

Posted on by Beau Dure

I’m just going to state for posterity what should be remembered about today’s Olympic semifinal, in which the U.S. women beat Canada by the odd goal in seven:

  • Christine Sinclair is a brilliant player, and it’s nice to see her finally getting a worthy showcase, even in a loss.
  • Fellow Portland alum Megan Rapinoe should now be alongside Abby Wambach, Hope Solo and Alex Morgan as the stars of the U.S. team. She’s already one of the best crossers of the ball in any level of soccer. Her second goal today was simply superb.
  • Referee Christiana Pedersen wasn’t up to the task. Many of her calls, including the barely precedented delay of game call on Erin McLeod and the subsequent harsh handball call, favored the USA. But she also let far too much go uncalled, including a “Wambach sandwich” on a set piece in which the U.S. target forward was held and clobbered in the head by two different players.
  • The referee should not take away from the performance of the players. The game was a thrill to watch.
  • It’s a pity this game wasn’t the final. Canada deserves a medal. That’s the best game I’ve seen that team play, and it comes on the heels of a sturdy quarterfinal performance.

Classic games usually have their share of messiness and controversy along with the brilliance. This one certainly did. And it’s one in which both teams deserve to be remembered for their efforts.

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soccer

AmWoSo (W-League, WPSL) final power rankings

Posted on by Beau Dure

The age-old quandary: Playoffs or regular season?

My gut tells me Pali Blues (technically unbeaten but lost league title on PKs) and the Boston Breakers (lost in playoffs while defensive anchor couldn’t get there) are the best teams in the country. But we reward playoff winners in this country, and the teams that beat them aren’t bad, either.

But then we had another trophy-winning team that lost the WPSL Elite title on PKs.

And so let the controversy begin, because that’s the team I’m picking. (Note that the records here reflect draws in both the WPSL Elite and W-League finals. And the W-League third-place game. Silly PKs.)

(And these are only mine. Don’t blame Jenna Pel or Jeff Kassouf for these.)

1. Chicago Red Stars (10-4-2, WPSL Elite; Last week: 3). Split its squad between the Women’s Cup and the WPSL Elite, yet only seemed to get stronger. Won the Women’s Cup, then beat Boston to reach the Elite final. Host Western New York won on PKs.

2. Western New York Flash (10-2-4, WPSL Elite; LW: 5). Came on strong at the end of the season to add a WPSL Elite trophy to their W-League (2010) and WPS (2011) titles.

3. Ottawa Fury (11-2-1, W-League Central; LW: 10). A couple of puzzling losses in the regular season, but the Fury put up a brick wall in front of the goal against D.C. United Women and ousted Pali on PKs in the W-League final.

4. Pali Blues (15-0-2, W-League Western; LW: 1). The PK loss can’t diminish their feat of running through the stacked W-League West with no losses and one draw.

5. Boston Breakers (11-4-0, WPSL Elite; LW: 2). Surprising loss in the semis, but Chicago was on a roll.

6. New York Fury (9-4-2, WPSL Elite; LW: 4). Costly collapse in the semifinals against Western New York.

7. D.C. United Women (13-1-2, W-League Atlantic; LW: 6). Threw everything and the kitchen sink at Ottawa and just couldn’t break through. Mixed up the lineup in the third-place game and drew Quebec City before winning on PKs.

8. Seattle Sounders Women (10-4-1, W-League Western; LW: 7). Really curious to see what they do next year.

9. New England Mutiny (6-5-3, WPSL Elite; LW: 8). Wish the season had been longer.

10. Charlotte Lady Eagles (10-2-2, W-League Southeast; LW: 9). Good season for team with proud history.

11. Atlanta Silverbacks (8-1-3, W-League Southeast; LW: 11). The poster team for changing the W-League playoff format.

12. Gulf Coast Texans (9-0-0, WPSL Southeast): Won WPSL championship with sheer domination in the playoffs — 3-0 over Salt Lake United, 4-0 over Aztec MA.

13. Quebec City Amiral (8-3-3, W-League Central): Not quite as overmatched in the W-League semifinals as we all feared.

14. New York Athletic Club (8-1-2, WPSL Northeast Atlantic – Mid): U.S. Women’s Cup finalists.

15. Long Island Rough Riders (9-4-0, W-League Northeast; LW: 12). Best of a curious division.

16. Salt Lake United (8-1-2, WPSL Big Sky – North): U.S. Women’s Cup and WPSL semifinalists, going out to California to beat the Elite-bound California Storm and San Diego SeaLions to earn their way to the semis.

Alphabetically also considered:

Aztec MA (10-2-1, WPSL Northeast Atlantic – North): Beat Oklahoma FC 1-0 in the WPSL semis.

FC Dallas (12-1-0, WPSL Big Sky – South): Skipped the playoffs in a dispute with the league.

Turbo D’Feeters (Texas amateur): Not a bad showing in Women’s Cup semifinals.

Oklahoma Football Club (10-2-2, WPSL Big Sky – South): They did beat FC Dallas once this season.

Next up: A complete reshaping of elite women’s soccer in the USA! Maybe.

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olympic sports, soccer

Hope Solo back on the Twitter rampage

Posted on by Beau Dure

So the U.S. women’s soccer team cruised through its game against Colombia today, apart from that nasty punch to Abby Wambach’s face. Three goals, solid win. No problem, right?

Or maybe not.

That was her second Tweet after the game. The first was dated 2:44 p.m. ET. The game ended around 1:50 p.m. That’s quick.

I didn’t hear all of the commentary, given my other two jobs. So what was said?

https://twitter.com/sbethTX/status/229309126608560129

Well that sounds serious. Anyone else want to weigh in?

OK, that clears things up.

Frankly, I’m not sure it matters if Brandi wound up and yelled “HOPE SOLO STINKS! THIS DEFENSE IS A JOKE!” over and over during the game. Fans can debate that.

Why the heck are players offering their critiques before they’ve even left the stadium?

And what does Solo know of Chastain’s comments? She wasn’t that busy during the game. Was she watching an NBC feed in the goal?

As regular readers know, this isn’t the first time Solo has wound up on Twitter. She has been significantly quieter since then.

But with a book coming up and promising to tell her side of the 2007 Women’s World Cup, along with some attention-getting interviews, I wondered before the Games whether Solo’s words were going to pose a threat to team chemistry. You could say it’s “new guard” (at least one of them) vs. “old guard,” but some of the old guard is still around.

Should they be worried?

 

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soccer

Women’s soccer power rankings, politics and TV listings

Posted on by Beau Dure

It was the best of weeks, it was the worst of weeks for women’s soccer in the USA.

The W-League playoffs saw Pali Blues keep rival Seattle Sounders at bay, while D.C. United Women confirmed their status as the best in the East and Quebec City Amiral emerged as the best of the non-Ottawa teams in the Central.

The WPSL Elite regular season wrapped up with Boston taking first ahead of Western New York. Then New York, which just signed Casey Nogueira away from FC Dallas, held off Chicago for third. New England finished with a winning record. Chesapeake finally got its second win, 2-0 over Philadelphia, to finish sixth. Philadelphia and FC Indiana finished with identical 1-11-2 records.

Chicago may have dropped to fourth in the WPSL Elite, but the Red Stars won the Women’s Cup in a 3-2 thriller over New York Athletic Club after rallying to beat Turbo D’Feeters (featuring a couple of FC Dallas players) 5-3 in the semis. Chicago put roughly two-thirds of its regular starters in its WPSL Elite finale and the other third in the Women’s Cup games.

Then we have the WPSL playoffs. The West proceeded nicely, with Salt Lake United upsetting the San Diego SeaLions 3-1 even though half of United was also busy with the Women’s Cup.

The problems:

Continue reading →

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soccer

D.C. United Women impress in W-League conference final

Posted on by Beau Dure

How good are D.C. United Women?

Their opponent in Sunday’s W-League East final, the Charlotte Lady Eagles, had eliminated the defending W-League champion Atlanta Silverbacks by winning their division. Charlotte followed that up with a rout over the Long Island Rough Riders, who had won a tough division that included the talent-laden New Jersey Wildcats.

Tough test? You’d think so. But United had Charlotte on its heels from the get-go, taking a fully deserved 3-0 win.

Next up: the W-League semifinals as the Eastern U.S. representative. Pali Blues will represent the West, and Quebec City Amiral will make the slightly shorter trip to join the host Ottawa Fury.

Continue reading →

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