The Ljungberg Trade

As a Fire fan, I was a little surprised that they acquired Freddie Ljungberg for the MLS equivalent of a bag of soccer balls (well, at least now that Supplemental Draft picks no longer exist.) He's certainly talented, and his contract only runs until the end of the year so it's a low-risk maneuver for the Men in Red, but Shawn Francis over at The Offside Rules captures the existential malaise surrounding the deal.

An Embarrassment of Riches

The recently-signed MLS collective bargaining agreement raised the salary cap to $2.55 million per year, with 5% increases each of the four years after that. If you think that's a small number, take a look at our neighbors to the south in Jamaica.

Howard Hamilton recently published a summary of a couple of articles showing just how cash-starved the Jamaican federation (and it's club teams) are. The Jamaican league has decided not to participate in the CFU Champions Cup - the regional tournament which is used to qualify teams for the CONCACAF Champions League. The reason was that the tab for playing these games was too much for the teams to bear. So what is the estimated cost for making it through the tournament?

$65,000

That's right -- an extra $65,000 is enough to put these teams significantly in the hole. There's your dose of perspective for the next time you want to complain that MLS teams aren't spending enough.

Best Beyonce-Sauron Connection Ever

One of the funniest things I've seen in a while... yes, I'm a huge geek. If you like it check out xkcd.

Choosing an MLS Team to Support

Need to figure out which MLS team to support? Check out this awesome flowchart created by "cowtown" of BigSoccer fame.

My favorite question on the flowchart: "Do you secretly kind of like the idea of following a team named after a horrible disaster that destroys lives and communities?" Hilarious.

Why I Love Soccer

While I was on hiatus, I came across this post on the New York Times Goal Blog. It's a fairly standard piece about the empty soccer stadiums across Mexico during the height of the swine flu scare, but it shows how much soccer brings people together.

Soccer is often an escape for many Mexicans — and many people the world over — looking for an respite from the travails of daily life. As Jere Longman reported for The Times, fans of Indios, in the border city of Ciudad Juarez go to games to escape the violent and deadly turf war between vicious drug cartels that has left nearly 2,000 people dead over the past 14 months.

“But the lurid headlines, the murder of the deputy police chief and the threats to decapitate the mayor have not deterred soccer fans, at least on game days,” wrote Longman. “The stadium, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, regularly fills to its capacity of about 22,000. Parents feel safe enough to bring their children. Mayor José Reyes Ferriz attended Sunday’s match, along with a top official of the surrounding state of Chihuahua. Even the bishop of Juárez is occasionally spotted in the grandstand.”

Horrifying drug war? Deadly epidemic? Soccer still trumps all, bringing joy to thousands. How can you not love that?

The Hex is Here!

Tomorrow night's game against Mexico launches the final round of World Cup qualifying for the United States. Commonly referred to as "the hexagonal" (because it contains six teams) this is the fourth qualifying cycle in a row that has used this format.

Scaryice of Climbing the Ladder has put together a fine assortment of historical statistics related to the hex. It makes sense when you think about which countries have qualified out of CONCACAF recently, but I was still a little surprised to learn that only Mexico, Costa Rica and the United States have a winning record in the hex. For this and more, go check out this fine soccer blog.

Hexagonal Blog

If you're a stat geek like me, cast an adoring eye at Hexagonal Blog. Howard Hamilton has spent what is likely to be a ridiculous amount of time putting together club and domestic league power coefficients for CONCACAF, similar to those created for UEFA.

Where does MLS rank at the moment -- third, which seems about right to me. Now go over there and check the rest of it out.

Blanco/Gomez trade?!?

This is one of the best pieces of satire I've seen in a long time. Dang howdy does it hit the comedy sweet spot. Stop over to the MLS Rumors Rumors web site and show them some love.

Blanco to Rapids for Gomez?