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September 27, 2006
Having a ball with BAWSI
The Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative's party celebrating the fifth anniversary of the San Jose CyberRays' WUSA championship was the place to be Saturday night. As if we have to even mention that—it's pretty clear from the great photo John Todd sent us, showing Sissi (in the C-Rays shirt), Zack Phillips (AKA SoccerHead), and some players from the JC team that Sissi coaches. Thanks to BAWSI for hosting such a great event and to Gordon Biersch Brewery in San Jose for donating all the beer and great food. And, hey—nice scarf!
Posted by Jay at 11:08 AM | Comments (1)
September 20, 2006
ESPN Soccernet reports on Earthquakes' progress
Among the assembled throng for Lew Wolff's August 31 appearance at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce was Jeff Carlisle, ESPN Soccernet columnist, who has just published his take on the proceedings.
While retaining a healthy skepticism, Carlisle concedes that Wolff & Co. may have the right stuff to get things done. "Given the political jujitsu that the likes of Wolff and Alioto will have to engage in, I still think it's a long shot," he writes. "But given Wolff's past successes, he might make a liar out of me yet."
Perhaps more interesting is the conversation he had with David Alioto, Earthquakes Soccer executive VP, who was also at the event but didn't speak to the entire group.
"I think that anyone who has dealt with Wolff in the South Bay knows that he is a man who doesn't really tackle something unless he thinks he can make it happen," says Alioto. "At this point for him, he doesn't have to tackle this. But I think part of his commitment to developing -- not just the A's, but now with soccer -- is to create something special."
Creating something special is music to the ears of those of us in the soccer community. We at SSV may be biased, but having worked a bit with the Quakes staff in the last couple months, we think they're up to the task.
Posted by Jay at 06:12 AM | Comments (1)
September 18, 2006
Quakes' record almost safe with DC loss
Various members of the soccer media have been effusive in their praise for DC United this year. They've noted DC's won-loss record with admiration and some have even said the might be the best team MLS has ever seen.
While we agree that DC has been the class of the league this year, we can say with confidence that they're only the best team in MLS since, well, 2005. We've got the numbers to back it up, too.
Yesterday, DC United lost their fourth game of the year, 1-0 to Chicago, leaving them a 14-4-10 record. Last year, of course, the Quakes went 18-4-10, going undefeated at home and setting an MLS record for fewest losses in a season. DC can only match that now if they win their last four in a row and a loss in any of those games (against NY, Houston, New England, and Chicago) would mean that they wouldn't even share in the fewest losses record.
So, DC United, congratulations on a good season. We're impressed... but not that impressed.
Posted by Jay at 05:09 AM | Comments (0)
September 12, 2006
Earthquakes web site now online
Earthquakes Soccer LLC has begun constructing their web site, the first of many things that we hope they'll be constructing soon.
There's a page up now where you can enter your name and address so you can be contacted by the Quakes as events unfold. Head on over there and have a go!
Posted by Jay at 04:47 PM | Comments (2)
September 07, 2006
The Fly casts a vote for the fairgrounds
We thought we had a chance to say hello and shake hands with most of the people who attended last week's San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Morning Buzz, but we must have missed at least one person—er, insect.
It seems The Fly, the all-knowing columnist for Metro Silicon Valley, was on hand for the Chamber's confab. The buzz from the Fly, as written in the last item of this week's column, is that the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds would make a great site for a stadium and youth soccer complex.
Posted by Jay at 04:34 PM | Comments (1)
September 06, 2006
Bank of Montreal to buy naming rights in Toronto; Rowan University looks for Plan B
The Toronto Star is reporting that the Bank of Montreal is set to buy the naming rights to Toronto's new stadium for $27 million over 10 years. (That's about $24.5 million in U.S. greenbacks.) We don't recall the specifics of Toyota's deal in Chicago or Pizza Hut's deal in Frisco, Texas, but off the top of our heads it sounds like companies are willing to pay a premium for a downtown stadium like Toronto's.
Meanwhile, in other news, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a budget shortfall in New Jersey means that the state won't be able to make a financial contribution to an ambitious development plan, which included a soccer stadium, that Rowan University announced earlier this year. Neither Rowan nor MLS has ever announced that there were potential team owners interested in the plan, which may also still be a hurdle for the project.
Posted by Jay at 06:18 PM | Comments (0)
September 04, 2006
This video needs no introduction
First round of the playoffs, second leg, 2003. Enjoy...
Posted by Jay at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2006
Wizards find a new owner
We here at SSV wanted to congratulate publicly our friends over at the Heart of America Soccer Foundation, who have been working for the past two years to help find local owners and a stadium deal for the Kansas City Wizards, on yesterday's press conference announcing the successful sale of the team. The new owners, big players in that area's business community, will undoubtedly be working hard to build a strong foundation for the team, along with a stadium and a youth soccer complex.
We've been told that SSV helped inspire the creation of HASF and we know former SSV board member Tony Huston lent a helping hand to them when they were first gearing up. While the fate of neither the Wizards or the Earthquakes has been assured yet, we nonetheless look forward to kicking the Wizards' butt and making fun of their silly name ("You'll always be the Wiz! You'll always be the Wiz!") as soon as possible.
Posted by Jay at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)