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MLS 2008 Conference Finals Recap and MLS Cup Prediction posted on 11/19/2008

Recapping the Conference Finals:

East Final: Columbus Crew vs. Chicago Fire

           I picked the Crew pulling away in a hard fought match

The Crew continues to roll, all hail the Crew.  In what looked to me like a matchup between the top two first round survivors the Ohio boys came out on top.  Sigi’s side has been the best of the league all season, with no glaring weaknesses.  They handled a very dangerous Fire squad with a solid, but not heroic, performance from their MVP finalist.  They even reaffirmed their mental toughness by coming from behind after McBride put his new team ahead of his old.

West Final: Real Salt Lake vs. New York Goal Posts

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MLS 2008 Playoffs First Round Recap and Conference Finals Predictions posted on 11/11/2008

First off, recapping the opening round:

Columbus Crew vs. Kansas City Wizards

           I picked Columbus with some difficulty

Well, as I expected with this matchup the Wizards put up a good fight and managed to keep things all even in Missouri.  However, also as I expected the Crew’s quality came through in the Buckeye state and the Supporter’s Shield holders still look good to me for the league double.

Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution

           I picked Chicago in a close shoot-out series

In defense of my pick, Twellman was still expected to play when I called for the high scoring.  I still think with at least one of their offensive tools available the Rev’s could have put up some goals in this series.  Especially with all the injuries it looked like a mismatch coming in and it looks like one heading out as well.  Despite the two shutouts I still believe the Fire will either live by McBride, Blanco, Rolfe and the rest of the offense or die by the guys lined up directly in front of standout Jon Busch.

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Major League Soccer 2008 Playoff Predictions posted on 10/27/2008

Starting at the top:

MLS Cup 2008

I like the Crew to take it all.  Basically this team reminds me a lot of other teams that have had recent MLS success.  Specifically, they are similar to Houston and New England in the middle of their best stretches in that they are solid at every position.  This no superstar/no glaring weakness approach really seems to work in MLS as opposed to the approach of a few superstars combined with some otherwise inferior players (I’m looking at you Galaxy).  I think the big question for the Crew is can someone step it up and be the hero if need be.  Somewhat similar to how New England has been able to rely on Twellman and Houston on DeRo and Ching.  Schelotto is the obvious choice to fill that role and he certainly has experience in such a role from his time in Argentina.  The big question is can he do it in MLS too or are such glory days behind him.  I personally go with his past experiences’ indication and say he will get the job done and Columbus will raise MLS Cup 2008.

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David Beckham Loan to AC Milan posted on 10/25/2008

So I want to take a quick minute to talk about the rumored loan of David Beckham to AC Milan.  I’m going to look at this deal primarily from the perspective of the league.  I will leave it up to David himself and those close to him to decide what is best for him personally, he has so far outstripped what I will likely ever accomplish that I don’t think it’s my place to be giving him personal advice.  Anyway here we go:

Definite Cons:

The Galaxy will most likely be a very different team next season (working from the assumption that they actually want to win).  There is talk that this loan deal could have Beckham skipping the MLS preseason to play in Italy.  This would be bad for the team and therefore more likely to lead to them struggling at best in the league and is therefore bad for the league’s image.  The self proclaimed jewel of the league should at least be competitive and Beckham not being around for preseason makes that less likely to happen, how less likely no one knows, but definitely some.

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