Announcement

**jefe** · 21-02-2023, 01:51

DCU sent me an email yesterday. You can get a pitchside cabana for the season with 20 tickets a game and parking and a whole lot of other stuff for the low low price of $100K.

**Hot Pepsi** · 21-02-2023, 01:56

Originally posted by jefe View Post

DCU sent me an email yesterday. You can get a pitchside cabana for the season with 20 tickets a game and parking and a whole lot of other stuff for the low low price of $100K.

That’s not a bad deal, I suppose, for corporate groups. The equivalent for any other major team in the area would cost a lot more.

**Hot Pepsi** · 21-02-2023, 01:57

Originally posted by HeavyDracula View Post

MLS kicks off again in just 6 days and it's another expansion season, with St Louis SC joining the ranks to make an unwieldy 29 clubs, still split across two conferences. St Louis have joined the Western Conference, moving Nashville back to the Eastern, giving 14 in the West and 15 in the East. Clubs will play each team in their own conference home and away. Western clubs will play a further 3 home and 3 away against teams from the East, while Eastern clubs play another 2 home and 2 away against clubs from the West. Somehow this all adds up to 34 games each. The top 7 in each conference progress to the play-off, with the conference champions given a bye in the first round. The regular season runs from February 25th to October 21st, with the play-offs finishing in mid-November.

Los Angeles FC are the reigning champions, having beaten Philadephia Union in the US Cup final last November. It was a game that had to be seen to be believed, especially the penalty shoot-out. LAFC have lost star player Gareth Bale to retirement over the the Winter (although he barely played, mostly from the bench). Possibly a bigger loss will be striker Cristian Arango, who has moved back to Mexico after scoring 30 goals in 51 games. They've brought in Croatian u21 international Stipe Biuk from Hadjuk Split and centre-back Aaron Long from New York Red Bulls, but otherwise look pretty much the same team that finished last season. Philadelphia were easily the most exciting team in the league last season, often scoring hatfuls of goals at home at Subaru Park, and have only lost Paxton Aaronson (brother of Leeds midfielder Brendan) to Eintracht Frankfurt of any note.

CF Montreal finished in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference last season but have lost coach Wilfred Nancy to Columbus Crew, while Seattle Sounders - who failed to make the play-offs for the first time in their 7-year history - have lost general manager Garth Lagerway, thought to be the man behind the success in the Emerald City. Lagerway has moved to Atlanta United, champions in their 2nd season in 2018 but who have missed post-season in 2 of the last 3 seasons. Atlanta have lost top Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez to David Beckham's Inter Miami, easily the biggest transfer between MLS clubs over the Winter, but Charlotte FC's signing of Argentinian striker Enzo Copetti, DC United's acquisition of Mateusz Klich, and the Red Bulls' capture of Union SG's Dante Vanzeir have all been nodded at by those who appreciate a flair signing.

The season opens with the visit of New York City to Nashville SC on Saturday, with another 12 fixtures on Sunday. Colorado Rapids at Seattle completes the first round on Monday night. The TV rights for this season have been sold to Apple TV, with Fox Sports retaining some linear TV rights, and it will cost you $13 a month (or $79 for the season) to watch all the games. You could also, like me, just watch the highlights which - at least up to now - have been posted quite quickly on the league's YouTube channel.

Below MLS, the second division USL Championship kicks off on March 11th and is down to 24 clubs from 27 last season, again across two regional conferences. The 3 missing clubs are all MLS reserve sides who have joined the 3rd division-rated MLS Pro league, a competition set up for such teams in 2022 that also includes the non-MLS Rochester for some reason. The sole MLS reserve side not in MLS Pro are Loudon United, DC United's second-tier squad who have just been sold to new owners (although DC retain a minority interest). San Antonio FC are the reigning champions, having beaten Louisville City in the final in November. Below that is USL League One, with 12 teams in one big league (although the season, of course, ends with play-offs). The reigning champions are Tormenta FC from Statesboro, GA. Alongside USL1 and MLS Pro, the NISA is also regarded as a third tier league by the US Soccer Federation, and has 9 teams, 7 of which are east of the Mississippi. Michigan Stars are the current champions, playing out of a high school stadium in Washington, MI.

All these teams (and more) have the chance to win the US Open Cup, which begins on March 21st. MLS teams don't enter until the third round, with 8 seeded to the fourth, and last year's winners were Orlando City, overcoming USLC side Sacramento Republic 3-0 in the final. Sacramento had knocked out San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy, and Red Bulls on their way to the final, but the biggest upsets came when USL1 side Union Omaha beat Chicago Fire on penalties in R3 and Northern Colorado Hailstorm - their rivals in the 3rd tier - knocked out Real Salt Lake. The defeat to San Antonio by Austin FC must also have stung.

I'm not so up on the women's game but the NWSL begins on March 25th, which a top division of 12 teams in one league. Several of the teams are affiliated to MLS sides and the aim is to have all the clubs in the league have such an affiliation. Your mileage may vary on the wisdom of that. Portland Thorns are the reigning champions, having beaten Kansas City Current in the final game, although it's been a torrid time in Portland with the club at the head of the abuse scandal that has rocked the US women's game. They’re ha a several second-tier leagues, including the USL W League, but all are nominally amateur. The USL have plans for a professional second-tier set-up - USL Super League - starting in 2024.

Thanks for this excellent summary of US pro soccer.

**The Awesome Berbaslug!!!** · 21-02-2023, 02:18

Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post

That’s not a bad deal, I suppose, for corporate groups. The equivalent for any other major team in the area would cost a lot more.

How uninspired are the other teams? My cousin is a season ticket holder who sits about five seats to the right of the main camera, and I watched a bunch of dc United games on tellh while texting him. It seems like a pass time tor masochists rather than a corporate entertainment opportunity. What you save in ticket costs, you'd spend on cocaine and Hookers to stop your guests from hating you.

**caja-dglh** · 21-02-2023, 02:30

Indy Eleven are set to break ground on a wonderful looking 20k capacity stadium not far from Lucas Oil Stadium. I have to wonder if they expect to be in line for an expansion spot at some point down the line.

**jefe** · 21-02-2023, 02:40

Dallas concedes on Brandon Servania, trading him to Toronto for Jesus Jimenez.

**jefe** · 21-02-2023, 14:52

And the summer friendly announcements somehow have begun. Sunderland are coming here to play San Antonio July 15th, New Mexico United July 19th, and possibly NCFC on the 21st.

The USL L1 Spokane team starting next year is over 2500 season ticket deposits.

Galaxy finally signed the Kiwi we stole, Tyler Boyd.

**Hot Pepsi** · 21-02-2023, 17:26

Originally posted by The Awesome Berbaslug!!! View Post

How uninspired are the other teams? My cousin is a season ticket holder who sits about five seats to the right of the main camera, and I watched a bunch of dc United games on tellh while texting him. It seems like a pass time tor masochists rather than a corporate entertainment opportunity. What you save in ticket costs, you'd spend on cocaine and Hookers to stop your guests from hating you.

Are you just saying that DC United are shit? They aren't great now, but there's always hope.

The other teams in DC - even most of the college ones - are all pretty shit right now too, except for the Caps, who are still a playoff team and have a generational star going for a very big record.

But the point of all the corporate hospitality stuff isn't to provide good seats to a compelling competition. The point is to sell the vibe - exclusivity and excitement, etc. Obviously, the cache of the special tailgating tents and luxury boxes, etc, will vary somewhat based on the success of the home team.

But the cost will mostly track the "bigness" of the league, and MLS is still not close to the NBA or NFL in that regard, so $100,000 is still probably a lot less than what the Commanders or Wizards or Nationals would want for their equivalent corporate package.

And for people who actually do want to watch the game, those corporate deals are just way more convenient. I can imagine for DC United, the perks probably include some good parking spots and also a buffet. That's really nice if the game starts at 7, because most people won't have had time to eat before they get there. If you've even to an NHL/NBA/MLB game and tried to get some food before the game starts, the lines are very long and the food is obscenely overpriced.

**The Awesome Berbaslug!!!** · 21-02-2023, 18:53

Well they're definitely a work in progress that's for sure. How many games a season do you get for your investment in corporate relations in the various leagues?

**ursus arctos** · 21-02-2023, 18:58

8 in the NFL
17 in MLS
41 in the NBA and NHL
81 in MLB

plus the right to buy it for home playoff games if the club qualifies for same.

As HP notes, it is wrong to think of these as primarily being for people to attend a sporting event, just as hosting a dinner in a private room at The Palm isn't about the food.

**Hot Pepsi** · 21-02-2023, 19:33

Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post

8 in the NFL
17 in MLS
41 in the NBA and NHL
81 in MLB

plus the right to buy it for home playoff games if the club qualifies for same.

As HP notes, it is wrong to think of these as primarily being for people to attend a sporting event, just as hosting a dinner in a private room at The Palm isn't about the food.

Corporate ticket holders and sponsors are usually offered some exclusive, but highly controlled, chances to interact with coaches, players, cheerleaders, mascots - photo ops, autograph signings, etc.

If you're a big enough sponsor, the owner and/or president of the club will probably come around to say hello and find out what would make the experience better.

The Penn State women's hockey team sent me a handwritten thank you note for being one of their few season ticket holders. It would be more cost-effective for me to just buy tickets at the door the few times I actually go, but I want to be supportive and I appreciate that they notice that. They definitely deserve more interest.

**jefe** · 22-02-2023, 00:29

The playoff change is now official. 9 teams per conference qualify. Albums plays at Private Messages in a one game knockout. After that, best of 3 with no ties allowed for the quarterfinals, then single game knockouts at the higher seed for conference semis and final, which is December 9th and if Montreal hosts I will laugh myself into an early grave.
DCU picks up up to $250K of garberbucks for Miguel Berry from Atlanta.

T-Mobile is giving subscribers MLS on Apple for free this season.

USL League 2 schedules are out; season starts May 6.

**ursus arctos** · 22-02-2023, 00:35

The Hash Sign macros strike again

**Incandenza** · 22-02-2023, 01:07

Originally posted by jefe View Post

T-Mobile is giving subscribers MLS on Apple for free this season.

Thank you for sharing, I wouldn't have known about that otherwise.

**The Awesome Berbaslug!!!** · 22-02-2023, 02:55

Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post

8 in the NFL
17 in MLS
41 in the NBA and NHL
81 in MLB

plus the right to buy it for home playoff games if the club qualifies for same.

As HP notes, it is wrong to think of these as primarily being for people to attend a sporting event, just as hosting a dinner in a private room at The Palm isn't about the food.

Baseball is taking the absolute piss isn't it? By my calculations they could fit in another 101 home games every season if they just tried a little harder.

Pitching looks painful. how many pitchers does a team have on the roster, and how long do they last?

**caja-dglh** · 22-02-2023, 03:08

Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post

The Hash Sign macros strike again

Didn't expect Albums slipping into the DMs.

**ursus arctos** · 22-02-2023, 03:13

It is now common for a team to have 13 pitchers on its 25 man roster.

And yes, the motion is inherently unnatural and now that pitchers are expected to make "maximum effort" on every pitch, the number of pitches they make in a season has fallen significantly, while the injury rate has also increased.

**Hot Pepsi** · 22-02-2023, 04:48

Originally posted by The Awesome Berbaslug!!! View Post

Baseball is taking the absolute piss isn't it? By my calculations they could fit in another 101 home games every season if they just tried a little harder.

Pitching looks painful. how many pitchers does a team have on the roster, and how long do they last?

The attrition of pitchers arms is really what makes baseball what it is and why it’s really nothing like rounders, despite the superficial similarity.

In the golden age and before. Pitchers routinely pitched complete games.

But for most of my life, every major league team* rotated five starting pitchers and then had a bunch of different situational relievers and then a designated closer. The starter would last, ideally, at least six innings, and/or 100 pitches.

This has all blown up recently. The Rays figured out that opposing hitters are a lot more likely to be successful the third (and fourth and fifth) time they’ve faced a pitcher in a game, so they started using “opening pitchers” who don’t face anyone more than twice.

And, as UA explained, the pitchers are now all going for max velocity all the time. It’s what is ruining baseball because it means more strike outs, walks and home runs. It also means that kids are getting Tommy John surgery at 13 or 14.

More and more managers - although not enough - have figured out that having a designated reliever for a particular *inning* has opposed to particular pitchers to face particular hitters is actually very stupid.

Broadly, the best reliever should pitch in the “highest leverage” situation - best hitters and/or men on base and a close score. That isn’t always in the 9th inning.

Runs all count the same in every inning. But emotionally, losing a lead in the 9th hurts more so teams have spent way too much money on closers.

The argument in favor of the old way is that is that pitchers need a routine. Also, it’s fun to have a closer who has cool intro music like “Enter Sandman” or “Wild Thing.”

That’s not a good reason to do it that way.

“Saves” is a dumb stat. As is pitcher wins.

* Minor league teams tend to shuffle pitchers around more since a lot of guys who are good enough to start in the minors only have a chance in the majors as relievers so the organization needs to figure out what they’re good at and what they can’t do.

College teams usually have three starters and a smaller bunch of relievers than a major league team would have because they usually only play three times a week. And they only have a maximum of 11 scholarships to go around.

High school teams have two or three starters and a few relievers, but many of the pitchers play other positions. Sometimes in the same game. That creates interesting strategy. A lot of high school leagues use a DH but the DH doesn’t necessarily have to replace the pitcher in the batting order, so the pitcher may still bat even though there is a DH.

**ursus arctos** · 22-02-2023, 12:31

For Berba's benefit, "Tommy John Surgery" (named after the first major leaguer to undergo it successfully) is "a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, or with one from a deceased donor."

It generally requires at least a calendar year for recovery, and many pitchers never regain their pre-surgery level.

Because youth sports in the US is completely insane, there have now been multiple instances of parents insisting that their healthy adolescent sons have the procedure done voluntarily in their teens, so as to minimise the chance that they would be have to miss a year or more of a far from certain professional career at some time in the future. And because medical care in this country is also completely insane, there are orthopedic surgeons willing to do the operation.

**San Bernardhinault** · 22-02-2023, 13:09

I still find it hard to fathom that pitchers often become less good after Tommy John surgery, yet if a team signs a pitcher who hasn’t had surgery they all factor in an expectation that the surgery is going to happen soon. No pitcher is expected to get to age 30, or even 25, without having it. Could you imagine the situation in football if every striker was basically expected to sit out a full season while at their peak because of a massive Achilles rupture and rebuild, and nobody knew if they’d be any good when they returned.

**Hot Pepsi** · 22-02-2023, 13:13

Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View Post

I still find it hard to fathom that pitchers often become less good after Tommy John surgery, yet if a team signs a pitcher who hasn’t had surgery they all factor in an expectation that the surgery is going to happen soon. No pitcher is expected to get to age 30, or even 25, without having it. Could you imagine the situation in football if every striker was basically expected to sit out a full season while at their peak because of a massive Achilles rupture and rebuild, and nobody knew if they’d be any good when they returned.

What percentage of professional footballers make it to their 30s without some kind of orthopedic surgery?

**ursus arctos** · 22-02-2023, 13:44

I don't have comparative data, but my strong sense is that such injuries are notably less common than they are in American football or among baseball pitchers.

The absence of celebrity orthopedic surgeons in football is one anecdotal reflection of this.

Here is one review of date from UEFA's longitudinal study. Note the relative absence of long term injuries.

The 31 most common injury diagnoses constituted a total of 78 % of all reported injuries. Most of these injuries were either mild (leading to a median absence of 7 days or less, 6440 cases = 42%) or moderate (median absence: 7-28 days, 56% = 8518 cases) while only few (2% = 311 cases) were severe (median absence of >28 days). The mean duration of absence from training and competition was significantly different (p < 0.05) between index injuries and re-injuries for six diagnoses (Achilles tendon pain, calf muscle injury, groin adductor pain, hamstring muscle injuries and quadriceps muscle injury) with longer absence following re-injuries for all six diagnoses CONCLUSIONS: The majority of all time loss due to injuries in professional football stems from injuries with an individual absence of up to 4 weeks. This article can provide guidelines for expected time away from training and competition for the most common injury types as well as for its realistic range.

**jefe** · 23-02-2023, 00:32

Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post

For Berba's benefit, "Tommy John Surgery" (named after the first major leaguer to undergo it successfully) ....................

It generally requires at least a calendar year for recovery, and many pitchers never regain their pre-surgery level.

Because youth sports in the US is completely insane, there have now been multiple instances of parents insisting that their healthy adolescent sons have the procedure done voluntarily in their teens, so as to minimise the chance that they would be have to miss a year or more of a far from certain professional career at some time in the future. And because medical care in this country is also completely insane, there are orthopedic surgeons willing to do the operation.

TAB, to amplify this, enough knowledge of how to rehab from this has accumulated over the past 4 decades that it is possible through rehab to come back throwing slightly *harder* than you did before. And as UA said, some of those crazy parents want TJ surgery performed preemptively so their teenager can throw harder as well.

USWNT will play Ireland in the April window in Austin and St. Louis.

The new MLS on Apple studio is in East Harlem, in the former 106th and Park studio from BET yore. MLS also announced a contract extension with Adidas til 2030, for $860M. Don Garber said today they want to announce team Reviews discussion by the end of the year.
Diego Fagundez extended in Austin.

US and CAN U-17's qualified for the U-17 WC yesterday, and Maynor Figueroa's kid plays for us and scored in the QF yesterday.

**The Awesome Berbaslug!!!** · 23-02-2023, 00:52

Originally posted by jefe View Post

USWNT will play Ireland in the April window in Austin and St. Louis.

Yikes. We're improving. We're a long way off that yet though.

Announcement

Beat me in St Louis - MLS 2023

Beat me in St Louis - MLS 2023

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