Houston's John Spencer doesn't regret passing Chicago Fire coaching job

Back in January, John Spencer was a few thousand dollars in salary away from accepting the top job in Chicago, but it was not to be. Instead he returned to Houston to spend another season with the MLS Champions.

This Saturday, Spencer returns to Chicago for the first time since he rejected the job however it is Chicago that is looking like the champions. So does Spencer have any hard feelings over his choice?

"I don't regret it," Spencer said this week as his team prepared for Saturday's visit to Toyota Park.

At the time, many people, myself included, thought the Fire's lack of interest in spending money on a coach was the sign of bad things to come, however, so far we have been wrong. The Fire currently sit two points behind Columbus for top spot in the league while Houston only achieved their first victory this past weekend. All in all, the front office in Fire land must be happy with their loss.

Concacaf Champions League field revield

Little, old Concacaf is soon to have a Champions League of our own and now we know just who is going to take part within it. In all, 24 teams will take part in this year's Champions League, with four of them coming from the US.

Eight teams will advance directly to the group stage (two clubs each from the United States and Mexico and one club each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras), with the others taking part in a two leg playoff.

Here is the full list of teams:

USA (4 teams): Houston Dynamo (2007 Major League Soccer champion); D.C. United (2007 Major League Soccer regular-season winner); New England Revolution (2007 MLS Cup runner-up); Chivas USA (2007 MLS regular season runner-up)

MEXICO (4 teams): Atlante FC (2007 Torneo Apertura champion); Pumas UNAM (2007 Torneo Apertura Runner-up); 2 teams to be determined (2008 Torneo Clausura champion and runner-up)

COSTA RICA (2 teams): Deportivo Saprissa (Torneo Invierno winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Verano winner, or second place team in Torneo Verano if same champion for both Invierno and Verano)

EL SALVADOR (2 teams): CD Luis Angel Firpo (Liga Mayor Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)

GUATEMALA (2 teams): Deportivo Jalapa (Torneo Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)

HONDURAS (2 teams): CD Marathon (Torneo Apertura 2007 winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)

PANAMA (2 teams): San Francisco FC (ANAPROF Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)

BELIZE (1 team): Hankook Verdes (2007-08 BPFL/RFG Insurance Cup Champions)

NICARAGUA (1 team): to be determined; Winner of playoff between Apertura winner (Real Estelí FC) and winner of Clausura.

CANADA (1 team): to be determined; Winner of three-way qualifying series between Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.

CARIBBEAN (3 teams): Harbour View FC (Jamaica); Joe Public FC (Trinidad & Tobago); winner of playoff between Puerto Rico Islanders and San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad & Tobago)

The schedule has the group qualifying or preliminary round going from 26 August to 4 September. The six match group stage starts 16 September and ends by 30 October. The knockout phase does not take place till late February of next year with the final take place the last two weeks of April.

The winner will advance to the Fifa Club World Cup in December 2009.

US World Cup Qualifying tickets go on sale Sunday; Brazil-Venezuela tickets tomorrow

Tickets for the US Men's first 2010 World Cup Qualifier go on sale this Sunday (happy Mother's day) at 3pm ET/12pm PT. The red, white and blue start their race to South Africa on 15 June at the The Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca. against Barbados.

Tickets prices range from $18 to $65 and can be purchased at ussoccer.com, by phone (213-480-3232 in L.A.; 714-740-2000 in Orange County; 619-220-8497 in San Diego), and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Southern California (including Macy’s, Wherehouse Music, FYE and Ritmo Latino).

This match represents the first ever World Cup Qualifier at the Home Depot Center, so hopefully a full house will come out.

On the other side of the country, tickets for the Brazil-Venezuela friendly on 6 June go on sale tomorrow (9 May). The game is a doubleheader with the New England Revolution and FC Dallas facing off in the second match.

Tickets for the two games rage from $30 to $110 and can be purchased by calling 1-877-GET-REVS or Ticketmaster at (617) 931-2222.

Two great nights of soccer on the coasts.

University wants to team up with Dynamo in stadium deal; De Rosario kicks like a horse

It is looking more and more likely that if the Dynamo want a stadium in downtown Houston, they are going to need Texas Southern University's backing. Good news for the Dynamo, TSU's new athletic direct Charles McClelland is very interested in such a venture.

"My understanding of the proposal is that the Houston Dynamo and Texas Southern University would share the use of the stadium, including some signage, so it would be the home of Texas Southern University athletics and football program," McClelland said Wednesday, two days after meeting with a city official involved in the stadium negotiations. "We're interested and understand that there has to be a financial commitment from the university, but we are very pleased with the direction of the talks and hope to be able to come to a resolution in the near future."

While McClelland declined to disclose the size or range of the financial commitment because of the ongoing nature of the talks, he is confident the range that has been discussed is "within the capability of the university."

If the two teamed up, the Dynamo would get a stadium, but come fall, it would also be used for American football, so the question is how bad do they want a stadium?

The always entertaining to read Dave Rossman of the Houston Chronicle has his spot on take concerning the situation. To sum him up, the Dynamo need TSU more then TSU need the Dynamo. Why?

It's about the political capital a public institution of higher learning such as TSU brings into the equation.

Even then, while not ready to disclose figures, McClelland believes what the Dynamo and the city are asking is within reach.

Hooray, the Dynamo say. An added bonus. Suddenly, city money being committed to such a project no longer solely finances a private sports enterprise that may or may not generate the tax revenue or jobs it promises to deliver long-term.

Now, it also benefits one of the largest historically black colleges in the nation — one that has played a key role in the advancement of Houston for more than 60 years.

Don't think for a second the city isn't crossing its fingers for TSU to join in the negotiations.

Short of AEG or Golden Boy Promotions covering the ever growing construction cost on their own (something neither is willing to do), going in with TSU is the Dynamo's best chance of getting their stadium anytime in the next four years. Yes, it will suck to see the gridiron lines (although I think the damage done to the pitch by American football is far more offensive), but if the other option is another suburban stadium that makes it more difficult for fans, a few additional lines on the grass are worth it.

In other Houston Dynamo related news, it's official, midfielder Dwayne De Rosario kicks like a horse.

During their match on Saturday De Rosario shattered Chivas defender Lawson Vaughn's nose while attempting a bicycle kick in the box. Sadly, Vaughn will require three surgeries to repair his nose and other facial injuries. When asked about it, Vaughn's agent Ron Waxman said, "I was told it was as if he had gotten kicked in the face by a horse." Ouch.

Hopefully Vaughn will make a full recovery. He is expected to be out for four to six weeks.

The MLS disciplinary committee ruled that De Rosario would not face suspension or fines beyond the already awarded yellow card for the play.

To close out the Houston news, the club signed former DC United forward Guy-Roland Kpene to a developmental contract on Wednesday. His time with United didn't yield much, but with the Dynamo hurting on attack, he might get a better chance in Houston to show what he can do.

English club interested in FC Dallas manager Steve Morrow

"According to England's Daily Star, Ex-Arsenal midfielder (and current FC Dallas manager) Steve Morrow is a contender to be Walsall boss."

Walsall resides in the English League One (which is the third tier of English football) and recently finished mid-table, 12-points out of the playoffs for promotion. The team's most recent manager, Richard Money, resigned his post after failing to reach the promotion playoffs, thus an opening became available.

Looking past the obvious questions about the source (tabloids have been known to be wrong before), what to make out of this? Would Steve Morrow leave FC Dallas, a team that seems to be just on the edge of becoming something really good, for a chance to lead a third division side in England? Does his contract even have a clause that would allow him to make such a move?

My guess is Morrow would pass on this offer. Morrow has done some quality work scouting and training his FC Dallas team and I don't think he would want to leave before any of the it really paid off. Although a chance to manage in England is probably tempting, I don't think this offer is enough to pull a second year coach away.

MLS Expansion - Seattle signs their first player

After what I'm sure was a very difficult negotiation session, the MLS's Seattle Sounders FC signed Sébastien LeToux away from the USL's Seattle Sounders. As part of the deal, SSFC will loan him out to SS for the remainder of the USL season*. Makes sense.

Sébastien LeToux proved himself to be a quality player last year after netting 10 goals for the Sounders and propelling them to the league championship. He is one of the main reasons the MLS group argued hard to get permission to sign players directly from the USL club without going through the normal discovery allocation or other MLS hoops, and according to Sounders Coach Brian Schmetzer we shouldn't expect him to be the only player that moves up to the big league.

"(LeToux) is an exceptional soccer player," Schmetzer said. "We've developed him on the USL level; now, he's made the jump to Seattle Sounders FC. We hope to do that with six, eight, 10 of (the USL Sounders) and hopefully we can have a good nucleus of the team for '09. ... The top half of our roster, I truly believe, is better than the bottom half of some of the MLS teams."

The ability for the new MLS Sounders to draw from an established team gives them a leg up that no other expansion team has had.

LeToux alone will not give the team enough offense to make a huge splash in MLS, but he is an excellent start. It is worth noting that he did manage to score three goals during the Sounders three 2007 US Open Cup matches against MLS teams.

LeToux's contract is worth $96,000 a year.

* For those that don't know, the owner of the USL's Sounders Adrian Hanauer is also one of the owners of the new MLS Sounders who will begin play in 2009.

2008 MLS Week 6 recap - We got ties

This past weekend of play saw a drop in goals and a huge increase in ties as only three matches saw more then two goals while four out of the seven ended tied up.

Attendance numbers also dropped a bit over the weekend, however every team broke the 10,000 mark. Real Salt Lake did the best at 25,571, while Houston came in second with 20,058. On the short side of things, Columbus only had 10,447 make it out while San Jose brought in 10,515. Although the San Jose number might seem small, it actually represents a sellout at Buck Shaw Stadium.

All the other numbers held pretty steady:


Week 6

	Season (42)	Week 6 (7)
Attendance	656,967	110,582
Att per game	15,642	15,797
Beckham Att	142,111	25,571
Beckham Avg Att (6)	23,685	25,571
Goals	117	14
Goals per game	2.8	2
Fouls	1,022	166
Fouls per game	24.3	23.7
Cards (red)	130 (10)	21 (2)
Inter-conference	East 11-1-4	West 1-0-0
Visitors	9-10-23	1-4-2
Ties	9 (21.4%)	4 (57.1%)

Chicago Fire 3-0 New England Revolution
Good news for the Fire, even with Blanco doing next to nothing, they can make things happen if Rolfe and Mapp stay healthy. The bad news, the only team the Fire seem to be able to score a bunch against is New England (7 goals in their two matches this year).

Over on the Revs side of the ball, Twellman can't get back soon enough. They are still creating chances but they have nobody to finish as they have now gone four games without scoring more then one goal in a game.

Goals: CF: Chris Rolfe (1) 29', John Thorrington (3) 50', Stephen King (1) 76'
Att: 10,858


Kansas City Wizards 1-2 Columbus Crew
How hot does the Crew need to get before the good people of Columbus will come see them? Thanks to the amazing midfield work of Adam Moffat and the skill of Robbie Rogers, the Crew looks to be a real horse in this race. Now they just need Danny O'Rourke to stop giving away penalty kicks and who knows what could be.
Goals: CC: Adam Moffatt (2) 4', Robbie Rogers (3) 34'
KC: Claudio Lopez pk (2) 79'
Att: 10,447


Chivas USA 0-0 Houston Dynamo
The first sign that this game was going to be ugly came just as the players were getting ready to step on the pitch as the fireworks went off early hitting the pyrotechnics guy in the face (let's hope he is alright). Anyway, this match got bloody fast as Dwayne DeRosario broke Lawson Vaughn's nose with a high kick in the 9'. Many more reckless fouls followed. In total nine cards were handed out including a direct red on Chivas's Claudio Suarez for pulling down the final player. Needless to say, referee Jozef Batko lost control of this one.

As far as the play, Chivas was playing as many behind the ball as possible while Houston tried to get their offense started. However, Ching is still not in step (his running is off and he couldn't find a ball in the air to save his life) while Franco Caraccio is still not ready for the big time. The good news, once Corey Ashe came in, it opened up the left side of play for Houston and provided for the best soccer of the night. Good news, their defense was looking better, even Boswell, but the final third is still a huge issue.
Att: 20,058


Los Angeles Galaxy 2-2 Real Salt Lake
Note to all defenses, don't give Beckham 10 yards of space. Real had three points in their pocket as they shot ahead 2-0 in the first 20 minutes but poor defended let Beckham carry his team right back into it. Beckerman continued to look good for Real while the main stand out for LA on the night (other then Becks) was Joe Franchino. He did the messy stuff in the middle that lead to the good stuff up top. By the way, LA looked better without Abel Xavier on the pitch.

One last thing, how did Donovan get an assist on the first Beckham goal? It wasn't a quick 1-2 pass situation. I just don't get it.
Goals: RSL: Fabian Espindola (2) 6', Kenny Deuchar (2) 18'
LA: David Beckham (2) 36', (3) 40'
Att: 25,571


FC Dallas 0-0 San Jose Earthquakes
Ronnie O'Brien was again the key for the 'Quakes as he caused pain in the Adrian Serioux free FC Dallas backline, but San Jose couldn't finish. FCD continued their weak offensive still they showed off last Thursday, thus giving Joe Cannon an easy day of it. Overall, Dallas looks off their stride while San Jose and their offside trap are playing better then expected.

By the way, little Buck Shaw Stadium looked great and the crowd was wonderful. Let's hope it stays this way till they get their own home.
Att: 10,515


DC United 0-2 Colorado Rapids
The first test of Marcelo Gallardo versus Christian Gomez is over and Gomez won hands down (even if Simms tied him up most of the match). United lost it in the middle while the Rapids couldn't find a ball they didn't want to shoot. In the end, it was a lackluster day for DC while Colorado finally showed the spark from their first match of the season.
Goals: CR: Jacob Peterson (1) 53', Facundo Erpen (1) 72'
Att: 13,115

Clint Dempsey sticking with Fulham

US international Clint Dempsey has decided to stay with the Cottagers after signing a contract extension that will keep him in West London through 2010. It had been rumored that if Fulham failed to stay in the Premier League, Dempsey would move along to another top-flight club, but this move seems to kill such talk.

Fulham beat Birmingham City over the weekend to move out of the bottom three for the first time in months, however they are still dangerously close to the drop zone. Since Dempsey signed even though the team might get relegated seems to suggest that he enjoys the club and that they plan on making him a key part of their future plans.

If Fulham do stay up, I'm think the only American that will leave is Bocanegra. If they don't, I see Eddie Johnson and Dempsey sticking around and possibly McBride.

Eric Wynalda returns to the pitch

Former US international and ESPN broadcaster Eric Wynalda is returning to the pitch after being cleared to play for the Premier Development League's Ventura County Fusion.

It has been seven years since he hung up his cleats, but Wynalda feels ready for this challenge thanks in large part to a fruit drink.

He credits this "comeback" to the fruit drink Monavie, which is based on the South American acai berry.

"My life since I retired was the managing pain from 11 surgeries," said Wynalda. "Ever since I've been drinking that stuff, I haven't taken one Advil.

"I've been playing all weekend for a year and a half now."

I smell a jersey sponsorship deal.

With the PDL three levels below MLS, Wynalda should still be able to shine, but I wonder how much juice he will need to drink in order to deal with the pain of playing on high school quality field turf?

So if you live in Southern California and want to see a US soccer legend playing meaningful matches, you now have a good, cheap option.

VW backs DC and MLS in $4-6 million deal

The rumor is now official, DC United has a jersey sponsor.

Volkswagen has signed a multi-year deal with United that will be worth as much as $3.7million annually for the club. By Vee Dub's commitment to the top-level US league does not end with one shirt as they have also become the official automotive partner of MLS. This partnership will give the league an additional $1-2m annually.

A final official announcement is expected next week.

It will be interesting to see how VW runs with their MLS partnership. Will they use any footage or players in commercials/billboards or are they just interested in having their logo behind Beckham and the rest during press conferences?

For DC, like I said yesterday, this is a good get and at almost $4m a year, it is sure to make their bottom line a lot nicer. Also, having a well known, European based company on a MLS jersey is a very good idea.

This deal makes DC the ninth MLS side with a jersey sponsor. It is also the second biggest sponsorship after LA's $3.5-$5m a year deal with Herbalife.

2008 US Open Cup - Real smash 'Quakes

San Jose Earthquakes 0-4 Real Salt Lake

Last night's US Open Cup Qualifier was nothing short of a complete disaster for San Jose. From the get go it was obvious coach Frank Yallop wasn't ready to risk his best for the match as Ronnie O'Brien didn't even suit up for the game. Without their top play maker in the mix, the Earthquakes only real chance was an outstanding defensive performance, but this notion was dismissed early when defenders Jay Ayres and Ryan Cochrane collided resulting in a double sub in the first 15 minutes. From that point on, San Jose was dead in the water.

Real's Beckerman scored six minutes later. Done 1-0, the 'Quakes looked to be in trouble, however the true knockout blows didn't come till the 33rd minute when Salt Lake scored twice in less then a minute.

From then on, it was just a matter of killing the clock.

With the win, Real advances to the second round of qualifying where they will take on the Columbus Crew on May 27th.

Mexico's Pachuca are Champions of Concacaf

For the second year in a row, Mexican side Pachuca are kings of Concacaf. They retained this honor last night by dropping Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa 2-1 in the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup final. Pachuca won the series 3-2 on aggregate.

With the victory, Pachuca earns a spot in the Fifa Club World Cup finals this December in Japan.

Congratulations to Pachuca for winner the last ever Concacaf Champions Cup.

2008 US Open Cup - MLS teams get into the mix

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake
7pm MT - Rice Eccles Stadium
Tickets

With just 118 days to go till the final match, the MLS is about to start their US Open Cup Qualifiers. Tonight sees the worst American team by record from 2007 take on the newest top-level side. At stake, the chance to meet the Columbus Crew in the second round of qualification on May 27th.

If Real is to make it to the Cup officially, they will need to do two things. First, they will have to beat a MLS side in a US Open Cup related competition, something they have never done, and second, they will have to win three games in a row, something else I do not think they have done. The good news for them is San Jose should allow them to get off to a great start.

The Earthquakes have impressed me so far this season, but only because they are an expansion side. The fact that they are not getting blown apart shows good for the coaching staff, but in the end, they really don't have what it takes to become a big contender.

This should give Real the opening they need to get into the second round of qualification. With the season so young and no other tournaments on the schedule, my guess is coach Jason Kreis will put his best foot forward. That means they will be pressuring the 'Quakes with their surprisingly strong attack. As far as defense, even if they wilt like they did against DC, with just two goals from four games, I don't think San Jose has the firepower to exploit the issue.

At the end of the day, this should be a victory for the royals from Utah.

Sadly, this game will not be televised anywhere. It might end up on one of these three radio stations, but I'm not sure: English - KALL 700am (Salt Lake), Spanish - KTUB 1600am (Salt Lake), KLOK 1170am (San Jose)

MLS Expansion - Vancouver's soccer future tied to railroad past

The future of a waterfront soccer stadium that could lead to a MLS team for the city of Vancouver hinges on the resolution of railroad issues. Vancouver Whitecap owner Greg Kerfoot has proposed building a $90m stadium with his own money, but he doesn't have enough land to make it happen. That's where the Vancouver Port Authority (VPA) comes in.

The VPA owns the strip of land Kerfoot needs to complete his stadium, however to get at it, the VPA wants rights over the part of the rail yard Kerfoot owns. Kerfoot is not in a hurry to give up his property, although he has given Canadian Pacific right-of-way to the rails in perpetuity.

So what is the big deal? Well the reason Kerfoot doesn't want to hand over the land or rights to another group has to do with his other plans for the site as he wants to build three condo towers around the stadium, which would defer a lot of the cost of the stadium (hello DC and San Jose).

Part of these towers will stand over the current rail lines, meaning he will need to place some serious support pillars into the area. This engineering work will probably require altering the path of the rails in some way. Needless to say, the more people involved in this means the less direct control Kerfoot has over the site.

For their part, the VPA fears that any drop in railway capacity will hinder the ability of their shipping port to handle all the traffic in the future.

Thus enters Canadian Senator and former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell.

"Maybe it takes someone to sit down and say: 'Okay, boys and girls, is this going to happen?' " Campbell said Monday afternoon. "I don't know if anyone would consider me an honest broker, but I've taken mediation.

"From a politician's point of view, this [project] is a win-win."

Now it is up to Campbell to see if he can make the two sides agree. If he does, Vancouver becomes a top-tier MLS target.

As far as a backup plan, if it will help them land a MLS team, the Whitecaps owners are open to the idea of playing at a revamped B.C. Place Stadium, but only on an interim basis. The MLS is open to the idea but only if a stadium deal was assured of taking place.

MLS Expansion - If Portland doesn't act fast, owner might be priced out of MLS

Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson would love to bring Major League Soccer to town, but he is concerned that the ever increasing expansion fee (now sitting at $40 million +) might price him out of consideration.

Still the dream of top-level soccer in the city is moving forward as Paulson plans on presenting his full proposal for a MLS team to the city as early as June. It is very much expected that he will ask for a public-private partnership that could cost the city more then $55 million.

Portland's bid hinges on Paulson and the city agreeing to a public-private partnership. Paulson said he is willing to absorb the league's $40 million expansion fee. The city would be on the hook for the rest, Paulson said, which probably would amount to more than $55 million.

A breakdown of the city's cost sees at least $20m going to the renovation of the Timbers current home PGE Park, which needs 'grandstand seating on the stadium's vacant east side, plus more restrooms and concessions.' The other $35m would go to the construction of a new, 9,000-seat baseball stadium for the Portland Beavers. The Beavers currently play at PGE Park but with the improvements mentioned above, would no longer be able to call it home. Paulson also owns the Beavers.

I guess the biggest question I have about the Portland situation has to do with the ownership group. Paulson is not a poor man but he is not the billionaire type the league has been looking for of late. This makes the Portland situation seem a lot like the St. Louis situation. If the city approves the funding request, both cities will have rich but not mega-rich owners with solid public backing.

One big difference, unlike Paulson, St. Louis owner Jeff Cooper is not the son of the current US Secretary of the Treasury.

Anyway, the question I have for Paulson is how much he is willing to invest in a future team beyond the roughly $40m expansion fee and does he have other owners setup to take part in the project (his pop is partial owner in the sports teams)?

If Paulson is not ready to invest the big money needed to make Portland a success, I find it hard to see the league moving in.