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August 30, 2006
Straight from the Wolff's mouth: "(Soccer) is a serious business for us"
A large contingent of SSV members was on hand for the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Morning Buzz. Lew Wolff (top left, in burgundy shirt) answered questions from Chamber president and moderator Pat Dando as well as some from the audience.
With the electricity in the air at this morning's San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Morning Buzz, you could tell that people had high hopes for some sort of major announcement. A number of local soccer VIPs were on hand, including David Alioto and Ann Rodriguez of Earthquakes Soccer LLC, former Quakes GM Johnny Moore and NASL player Easy Perez, ex-Mexico international and former Clash forward Paco Uribe, and former CyberRays GM Marlene Bjornsrud. With MLS president Mark Abbott making a surprise appearance, everyone was curious as to just what would be announced.
The answer, which Oakland A's managing partner Lew Wolff provided early on, was that there was no major announcement to be made. Wolff, instead, gave an update on his group's work towards bringing soccer back to the Bay Area.
"It's a serious business for us... The interest is there and the idea is to pull it off, and we're going to work hard to do that," he said.
Abbott, who was promoted to president of MLS earlier this year, was in attendance because he had been in an all-day meeting with Wolff, A's president Michael Crowley, and the Earthquakes Soccer staff on Tuesday. While Wolff did not set out a date for the Quakes' return, he confirmed that the term of their option was three years.
"We took an option—as we were told, it's the first and last one that Major League Soccer is going to grant. We're ready to go except we need a venue," he said. "(Specifically,) we need a path to a venue, meaning about an 18,000 to 20,000-seat facility. We have an architect on board, we have all the tools but the venue, and we're talking to areas. San Jose has been very helpful, its people, we're talking in Santa Clara, we're talking in Fremont, we're talking in San Francisco."
Wolff noted the 50 or so representatives of SSV and other soccer lovers in attendance and added, "What we're hearing from the soccer community is, 'Just get it going--we'll drive over there if we have to, wherever it is.' My preference, of course, is to be in this area."
Wolff is aware of the challenges that stadium efforts have faced before and plans on avoiding those pitfalls. "What do we need? We need a site and we need a creative government. We're not looking for a bond issue, we have another way of doing it which I won't go into great detail here because you'll fall asleep on me, but we're not trying to tap the general fund. We're looking for a cooperative situation. I'll have to tell you that we don't want to sit through a vote. My theory in California is if you have a cure for cancer, somebody's gonna vote against it."
He summed up his perspective on the sport at the conclusion of his presentation. "Soccer is real. It's taken a long time but we hope we're hitting it right."
While it may have been true that he had no major announcement to make, Wolff did confirm in no uncertain terms that the A's would not be moving to San Jose, which is sure to be news to some.
"(San Jose) is not an option, and if some of you followed me around for the last three years, you'd find out that I gave it a shot or two or three or four or five," he said. "I can't tilt at this windmill any longer. This is the same thing we've said before. It's not a matter of money, because the Giants, we've talked to them, they're very decent people, they want to maintain their (territorial rights). They also claim, and I think it's true, that their banking relationships are based on that."
He confirmed that Fremont was where the A's are looking at present and added that even his personal relationship with Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig—the two attended college together and were fraternity brothers—would not be enough to give the A's the right to relocate to Santa Clara County, which the league has granted to the Giants. "I've exhausted even my fraternity handshake in trying to break the boundary thing that the Giants control."
While Wolff has previously stated in interviews that the A's would not challenge the Giants' territorial rights, hearing him say it repeatedly in person provided the sense that he was simply stating the facts: there is no plan, hidden or otherwise, to bring the A's to San Jose.
The good news for local baseball fans, as he pointed out, is that Fremont is so close to San Jose. "As (A's GM) Billy Beane likes to say, Fremont is just a golf slice away from San Jose—one of his slices, anyway," Wolff joked.
We have audio from today's event available here. If you'd like to hear an edited version of Wolff's comments (MP3 file; total duration: 17:11), click here. If you want an unedited version (MP3 file; total duration 53:05), that's available here.
Posted by Jay at 03:38 PM | Comments (3)
August 28, 2006
Chamber event sold out
Thanks to a great response from SSV members, not only have we distributed all the free tickets that the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce was so kind to give us, but we have learned today that the entire event is sold out—there are simply no more tickets to be had. All told, we should have about 65 people in attendance representing the local soccer community.
We plan on providing coverage of the event here on the blog, so look for our report on the event in the 24 hours following the breakfast. (We'll try to get it online sooner than that but we can't guarantee it.)
Posted by Jay at 09:20 PM | Comments (2)
August 22, 2006
Hasta luego, Ronald Cerritos
We haven't commented much this year on the great group of players who represented San Jose so well last year, but there's news that we can't ignore. The Houston Chronicle reports that Ronald Cerritos, the leading scorer in Earthquakes' history, is set to be released on Monday unless an MLS team steps up for a trade. They add that a couple trade possibilities have dried up already, so it's likely that Cerritos will be without a team next week.
I don't have to remind anyone who's reading this that Cerritos was one of the best Quakes ever, but I will anyway. His career stats of 61 goals and 47 assists are all-time highs for the team. He was here through some of the worst years in San Jose history, often the sole bright spot on a team that was so bad it could only aspire to mediocrity. No matter the situation, though, Cerritos could be counted on to give 100 percent, playing with enthusiasm for scoring goals and working hard for his teammates. His work paid off, too—we all got to see Ronald win a championship with the team in 2001, prior to being traded away in the off-season. Amazingly, he had a great encore with the Quakes last year, when no one expected him to play anything but a substitute's role.
Hasta luego, Ronald. We hope we will see you in San Jose again someday.
Posted by Jay at 06:24 PM | Comments (2)
August 15, 2006
A final (?) All-Star Game item
The MLS All-Star Game is the story that keeps on giving here in SSV Blogland, but we really do think this will be the last mention of it. We already mentioned the fact that the team itself looked like a San Jose Earthquakes reunion and that a genuine Earthquakes jersey was seen on the field that day. Now, we find out that the lucky fan who won a league-sponsored contest for an all-expenses paid trip to the event is a Quakes fan, too. Check out his All-Star weekend diary at MLSnet.com. Nice photo, too!
Posted by Jay at 05:06 PM | Comments (0)
Real Salt Lake gets their deal done
It wasn't that long ago that we were talking about an utter fiasco unfolding in Salt Lake City—Real Salt Lake was upset that a local politician leaked their confidential financial projections to a newspaper; the newspaper thought they had uncovered a big story and were giving it full-blown scandal coverage; and a local politician, speaking to a reporter, called the RSL front office "chowderheads." Those were the days.
But oh, how things have changed. RSL owner Dave Checketts set a "give us a stadium deal or we're outta here" deadline, the local pols decided that having a soccer team was better than not having a soccer team, and the next thing you know, there's Checketts with another Dave (last name, Beckham) sticking shovels in the dirt in a ceremonial groundbreaking. There's a story on MLSnet.com with all the details, but we'll summarize them here.
The stadium will be built in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sanday. RSL will commit $100 million towards stadium constuction, with $55 million from hotel taxes, Sandy redevelopment agency money, and money previously allocated for a parking structure going towards infrastructure improvements.
RSL will also donate $7.5 million towards a youth soccer complex, build a youth soccer academy in conjunction with Real Madrid, donate $1 million per year for promotion of area tourism, contribute 500 tickets per home game to students to promote youth literacy, commit to staying in Salt Lake County for at least 30 years and give the county 50 cents for every game ticket sold.
The biggest news here is certainly the stadium deal, but RSL are also likely to set a trend with their new youth soccer academy. Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has committed to assist with this endeavor, and an opportunity to train under the auspices of los Galacticos is going to turn the heads of a few young players. We expect to see similar partnerships unfold now that MLS has decreed that players developed in a team's own youth academy will not have to enter the draft. (For those of you who have been following the tale of the Earthquakes for the last couple years, this is exactly the ruling that Ajax America was hoping for when they proposed becoming part of the Earthquakes ownership group last year.)
Posted by Jay at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2006
Two more All-Star items...
We wanted to follow up on out All-Star Game entry with a couple tidbits. Turns out that in addition to the seven former Earthquakes players in the game, there was one genuine San Jose Earthquakes jersey worn on the field as well.
Also, we understand that HDNet aired an interview with a group of All-Stars—Joe Cannon, Freddy Adu, Jimmy Conrad and Brian Ching—prior to the Chivas/Barcelona match. They were asked what they would do if they were made MLS commissioner for a day. Cannon's response? "I would immediately put a team back in San Jose."
I guess the old Casbah chant still holds true: "You'll never beat Joe Cannon." But Joe, please turn down the chance at becoming commissioner—a goatee just wouldn't suit you...
Posted by Jay at 08:36 AM | Comments (1)
August 07, 2006
Mourinho comment reflects growth of soccer in U.S.
In looking through the press that was generated in the aftermath of the MLS All-Stars' win over Chelsea, we spotted an interesting comment from blues coach Jose Mourinho in London's Guardian newspaper:
"This is the third season we have been here and things are changing," he said. "One of the arguments - that you feel better here than in Europe because here you feel better socially and can live a different way - is over. I see now that people know us. Before when I walked in the street nobody knew me or the squad unless the squad was all walking together in full blue and caught the eye. Now people know us."
This news, of course, is not as good as if we heard that Dwayne De Rosario got mobbed at O'Hare airport by a crowd wanting to compliment him on his stellar strike against the EPL champions. But the growth of soccer in America over the last 30 years has been one of slow, incremental growth. Mourinho is telling us that we've taken one more step.
Posted by Jay at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2006
Here's to the Quakes... er, MLS All-Stars
We haven't been paying much attention to the current MLS season, for obvious reasons. But we couldn't resist tuning in today to see the MLS All-Stars take on that humble, low-budget team from England, Chelsea.
The standard media observation made before the match was, "Wow—look at all the DC United players on the roster. Is that really justified?" Here in SSV blogland, though, the comments during the match were a bit different.
"Hey, nice play from Jimmy Conrad... the ref never should have rewarded Drogba's dive with a free kick."
"Ooh! Chinger needed just a foot more room and that would have been behind Cudicini."
"Mulrooney! Yes! Way to step in and break up that pass."
"Eddie Robinson! Cleared off the line!"
"Rico Clark, taking command in midfield."
"DeRo... the turn... YES!!! GOAL!!! Dwayne De Ro-sa-rio, Dwayne De Ro-sa-rio..."
And finally, in the closing moments, "Joe-o Can-non (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap), Joe-o Can-non (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)."
Yup, there may have been eight DC United guys on the roster, but there were seven former San Jose Earthquakes and, in our opinion, they had the biggest impact on the game.
And, OK, it's true—it was only an exhibition, Chelsea is in their pre-season, those poor English lads aren't used to the heat and humidity of the U.S., yadda yadda yadda. Two teams entered; one team scored. And it was a very entertaining match as well.
Finally, if anybody in England is paying attention, they're telephoning DeRo's agent RIGHT NOW. There are a lot of teams in the EPL that would benefit from having him running the midfield. Heck, he's even Canadian, part of the British Commonwealth, so there wouldn't even be any work permit issues.
In any case, nice to see so many familiar faces doing so well in a high-profile match. They may not be Quakes anymore, but they played like Quakes.
Posted by Jay at 07:56 PM | Comments (1)
August 04, 2006
Construction on schedule in Toronto
It's been a while since we've checked the stadium situation in Toronto. So far, so good—the steel started going in on schedule in June and there are a number of lovely photos available showing progress on the stadium to date. (Be sure to check out the ones with a view of downtown Toronto—impressive!) Looks like everything is happening for Toronto FC to join MLS next season.
Posted by Jay at 07:45 PM | Comments (2)