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Expansion news never stops. Yesterday it was New York, today it is Miami. It appears David Beckham has a new foe in the form of Royal Caribbean Cruises. The massive cruise line company has gathered up some powerful allies and is fighting against the proposed oceanside stadium, saying it causes some security concerns for their ship and cargo operations.
Well pardon me if I don't cry for your hardships mega cruise line company, but I think some soccer by the ocean sounds like a cool idea. So I hope you lose. And you know what beats cruise line money? Brightstar Corp. money. All $10.6 billion of it.
Also, Arthur Blank is going to make that announcement today about Atlanta that we all know is coming.
Cruz Azul fails to take advantage in first leg of CONCACAF Champions League Finals
First things first, this game was a little wet. And by a little wet, I mean there was so much rain Michael Phelps was doing laps on the sidelines to prepare for his un-retirement tour. Whether it was the conditions or something else, Cruz Azul and Toluca struggled to find strong form in the first half. Check out Braulio Diaz' game story here.
The second half was more entertaining with both sides having some really exciting chances, but neither side registered a goal and it ended in a 0-0 draw. It was a disappointing showing from Cruz Azul who had the home field, but I still think the blues are in the driver seat. Cruz Azul has the road-goal tie breaker heading to Toluca next week. I still think they are the slightly better team and once again find Champions League glory.
Midweek MLS action starts
There is literally no better way to spend a Wednesday night than watching the New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union. OK, so there is, but I am excited for some midweek MLS action to hold me over until the weekend. Both teams have probably hoped for a better start, but New York is certainly more desperate and embarrassed as defending holders of the Supporters Shield.
These are teams Fire supporters know well and I am going to say New York finally breaks through and gets the win at home, mostly because Philadelphia has to worry about a Saturday game at home against Houston they will surely want to win. New York got some good and bad news Tuesday with the report that Tim Cahill would be ready (good) and so would Armando (bad, very bad).
Hillsborough 30 for 30 piece is a hit
No jokes here folks, there is absolutely nothing funny about 96 people dying and more than 700 getting injured, no matter how long ago it happened. Because I was watching the CONCACAF Finals, I have not seen the highly touted Hillsborough 30 for 30 piece that aired on ESPN Tuesday. Judging from articles and people reacting live on Twitter, the documentary on the 1989 tragedy at the FA Cup semifinal in Sheffield is a must-watch.
I learned about the event a handful of years ago when I first started watching and researching the Premier League but I am certainly no expert on the subject. I for one will make time to watch it and it appears you should too if you have not seen it already. Hopefully nothing like it will happen again.
The 30 for 30 series will take on more than this soccer story in the months ahead - the next one, on Chilean football during the Pinochet regime, promises to be fascinating as well.
Patrick Nyarko loves Mike Magee and Quincy Amarikwa, so do we
Patrick Nyarko, who I thought had an outstanding game against Montreal, sat down with mlssoccer.com to tell them he loves Magee and Amarikwa and so should everyone else. I can't disagree the pairing up top between the two is fun to think about, but I don't believe we've seen close to their best. Individually, they have both done some fun things so far. As far as combining with each other, I think the surface has just been scratched.
Let's hope a national TV game Saturday will be the spark needed to put it all together.
Wrap up the roundup
I just wanted to let you all know Harrison Shipp is once again Rookie of the Week at SBI and I would assume everywhere American soccer is covered. The Fire as a team pretty much range anywhere from 13 to 17 in weekly power rankings, if that is your thing.
What IS my thing for sure is hilarious footage of Giancarlo Gonzalez flopping so very hard. He got fined by the MLS for this Tuesday. I hope it was for $10 million because I hate Columbus and always will. Amen.
