TPP Op-Ed: MLS Should Sign Beckham before it's too late

David Beckham is having a miserable year. He has started only four games for Real Madrid, and has been dropped from the English National Team roster following a subpar World Cup. While initially rumored to be in contract negotiations with Madrid, the word coming out of the Bernabeu now is that Real would prefer to let the Beckham Experiment draw to a close.

This is Major League Soccer's chance.

Up untill now, MLS has eschewed shelling out for high-priced talent for fear of dooming the league to the fate of sports nostalgia to lie with the NASL, which folded under financial difficulties extending from a salary arms-race for players like Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, and George Best.

However, in 2007, this is due to change. MLS needs to buy Beckham NOW rather than wait a year or two because of the following reasons.

1) Stadiums: Next season, with new stadiums opening in Toronto and Colorado, for the first time ever, more than 1/2 of the teams in MLS will be playing in soccer-specific stadiums (7 out of 13). This keeps the revenue in MLS, and changes the business plan into one that MLS and the NASL never had before, enabling money to be spent.

2) Television: ESPN has just signed on for an 8-year deal that sees a network paying rights fees to broadcast MLS games for the first time ever, and matches will be played in primetime. ESPN wants big names and high drama to warrant their investment.

3) Becks himself: Beckham is only going to get older, and his skills are eventually going to diminish with time. The Becks three years from now may not even resemble the Becks we know now.

4) Affordable: Beckham is coming off his worst form of his career, so his asking price is low. Real Madrid is only asking for $9.4 million as a transfer fee (Less than 20% of his $46 million transfer fee from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2003). This money, while substantial for MLS can easily be made up in increased ticket sales, Beckham jersey sales, and advertising. For reference, Freddy Adu caused three MLS games to top 30,000 fans in three of the league's weakest markets (New York, New England, Colorado) in 2004, and attendance registered a bump in all cities the Adu Roadshow visited that season. That's Freddy frickin Adu. Think the World's most famous soccer player might have a similar effect? In a few years, Beckham can either recapture his form playing in a Los Angeles Galaxy shirt in front of packed houses in the United States, or in a European shirt playing in front of packed houses in Europe.

5) Selling Beckham Back: Should Beckham recapture his form while playing in a Red Bulls or Galaxy shirt, Europe may come calling again, putting MLS in the enviable position of demanding a transfer fee for Beckham.

6) Other greats coming: Rumor also has it from credible sources that next season we could see Luis Figo in a New England shirt, and Ronaldo in an RBNY shirt. Becks would be a celebrity, and should get in while the getting's good.

MLS Cup Playoffs: Down to This

Last weekend, a 32-game regular season campaign closed. Four teams were eliminated, and the natural selection continues with this weekend's MLS Cup Playoffs. 8 teams are still alive in the competition to bring home the Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy November 12th in Frisco, TX, home of FC Dallas. Here's a preview of this weekend's Conference Semi-final matches.

This round consists of a two game series, each team hosting one match. The series is decided by total aggregate goals. (ie: If Team X wins the first leg 2-0, but loses the second game 3-0, Team X is out of luck, since they lost 3-2 on aggregate.) Ties go to extra time at the higher seed's stadium.

The marquee matchup of the first round is #3 Chicago Fire vs. #2 New England Revolution.
In an 11-year old league, grudges and fan malice are rare, but Fire-Revs is quickly becoming the bad-blood rivalry of the league. 2006 will be the sixth time in seven seasons that the Fire or Revs have ended the other's season. (Revs lead 3-2 in those encounters.) The series is a rematch of the 2005 Eastern Conference Final. The Fire won the 2006 season series 3-1-1, outscoring New Eng-er-land 9-7.

New England may be losing a number of players to Europe in the offseason, so the pressure is on to win NOW. The Fire on the other hand are a relatively youthful team. Fire have switched goalkeepers, leaving franchise keeper Zach Thornton on the bench in favor of his understudy Matt Pickens. Pickens shone in the Fire's run to the US Open Cup Championship, but is still wet behind the ears. ESPN analyst Eric Wynalda picked the Revs, saying they're the better team, but all fan biases aside, Eric Wynalda is full of shit and doesn't know what he's talking about most of the time. The Fire have been on a tear since the All-Star break going 12-3-1 since August 16 (8-3-1 in league play). New England is also hot, having won 4 of their last 5. I predict the Fire win the first leg 2-1 at home, then hold on for dear life against a VERY GOOD New England team, and maybe escape Foxboro with a 1-1 tie. Whatever the outcome, I can't see this series being decided by more than one goal. The Fire also hold the distinction of having won their season series against every team in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
My Pick: CHICAGO FIRE, 3-2 on aggregate

The other Eastern Semifinal is notable if only because it is this rivalry that spawned one of the first incidents of fan violence among soccer supporters in the US earlier this season . #4 Red Bull New York vs. Supporters Shield Winner #1 DC United. Leg One kicks off at Giants Stadium on Saturday. United may have been the best team in the regular season, but they've been playing like absolute SHITE since the All-star break. United have only won 3 league matches since the All-Star Break (3-6-6), and have lost 4 of their last 5.
DC is a talented team, but history has shown postseason performance follows how you play down the stretch. New York has been playing with urgency the last few weeks to wrest away the final playoff berth. DC has been coasting since July, and I don't think United can turn it on like a lightswitch. I'm calling it right now. The upset special.
My pick: RED BULL NEW YORK, 4-3 on aggregate


The marquee series out west is #2 Houston Dynamo vs. #3 CD Chivas USA. Houston is led by All-Star game MVP Dwayne DeRosario and US International Brian Ching. Houston is as solid a team all around as can be, but have been decidedly average as of late. (4-5-5 since the All-Star Break). Chivas is chock full of veterans, Mexican internationals, and Rookie of the Year candidate Jonathan Bornstein. The two teams tied their season series, each claiming a win and two draws from each other. I wouldn't be surprised to see this one go to PKs, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see Houston move on.

My pick: HOUSTON DYNAMO 5-3 on aggregate. (and dumbass blogger wouldn't let me upload their badge.)


Lastly, we come to #1 FC Dallas vs. #4 Colorado Rapids. Frankly, Dallas is stacked. They'll move on to the Western Conference Final without so much as a peep from Colorado.
My Pick: FC DALLAS, 4-1 on aggregate.

I know for a fact that I am going to be a wreck Saturday night in anticipation of the Fire's playoff tilt on Sunday, so let the playoffs begin....as soon as possible...for my sake.

MLS Week 31 Picks

OK, I know I dropped the ball on my week 30 picks, but I was only taking a test that could very well determine the course of the rest of my life, so sue me if my mind was on other things (at which time I'll promptly countersue).

Rather than making picks last night, I spent more time at the bar than I probably should have, so here are my picks in abbreviated form for this weekend

Chicago Fire: Columbus Crew
Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL
My Pick: No way the Fire drop this one. 3-1 Fire.

DC United: New England Revolution
RFK Stadium, Washington, DC
My Pick: Tie. United's the better team, but New Eng-er-land is playing better as of late.

Colorado Rapids: Red Bull New York
Invesco Field, Denver, CO
My Pick: Probably the most intensity we'll see out of all the matches as both teams have their playoff hopes on the line, I like Red Bull.

FC Dallas: Los Angeles Galaxy
Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, TX
My Pick: In a bizzarre scheduling quirk, the Hoops haven't seen LA at home all season, but will see them twice at home in the last 8 days of the league campaign. In this game, I'll take Los Angeles, if only to keep their scant playoff hopes alive heading into the final weekend of the league campaign.

Kansas City Wizards: Club Deportivo Chivas USA
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
My Pick: Chivas can clinch their first ever MLS Cup playoff berth with a win. Kansas City is decidedly average at home this season (6-4-5). I'll take Chivas.

Real Salt Lake: Houston Dynamo
Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
My Pick: Hopefully in the last game on the astro-carpet this season. Real needs to cling to this game like sweet precious life, as they're well within striking distance of the playoffs, but are on the outside looking in. Houston could conceivably leapfrog Dallas and take the top spot in the West. I like RSL in this game though.

My current record, 3-1-3 (2-1-3 for MLS games)