By J Hutcherson (Aug 15, 2017) US Soccer Players - There are some obvious things we can all safely assume when it comes to American soccer. MLS will expand as long as there are people willing to pay the expansion fee. Foreign stars will normally say very nice things about the quality of American soccer. Somewhere on the internet someone is arguing about promotion and relegation for US club soccer. . . .
Garber stresses over the obvious
By J Hutcherson (Aug 2, 2017) US Soccer Players - It's almost cheating to latch onto comments made in an open discussion that anybody with internet access and time on their hands could've watched. MLS commissioner Don Garber provided the talking points in a Tuesday fan forum, and one of them is worth serious consideration. More to the point, one of them has been an issue almost as long as MLS has . . .
Learning to like the MLS All-Star Game
By J Hutcherson (Aug 1, 2017) US Soccer Players - The original title replaced "like" with "love," but that seems like pushing it. In the other direction, "tolerate" seemed a bit much. "Put up with" probably misses the point. So here we are with like rather than love. Then again, loving the all-star game is an odd idea that's hardly soccer-specific. Very few people should be saying any of the . . .
FIFA leaves itself with no choice but to move forward
By J Hutcherson (Jun 27, 2017) US Soccer Players - If anybody believes that Bild's reveal of the full Garcia report and FIFA itself publishing it on their website is a transformative moment, that's a setup for disappointment. FIFA knows what's in the report that they released in an abridged addition a few years back. They're well aware of how they can portray the revelations of bad actors and . . .
Is soccer getting worse?
By J Hutcherson (Jun 15, 2017) US Soccer Players - The NBA finals came to a close this week with many people feeling that the league blew an entire season of games and four rounds of playoffs to get to the obvious conclusion. We all knew who the best team was in October. There's more to this than what we now expect in the era of hot take sports coverage. It's asking fundamental questions about a . . .
What did we learn from the 2016-17 Europa League season?
By J Hutcherson (Jun 13, 2017) US Soccer Players - The 2016-16 Premier League season lacked the drama, the underdog story, and the pressure. Instead, it was a season of pragmatism from several clubs. For Chelsea, that meant picking up enough points for the title without necessarily convincing anybody that they were the strongest team in the league. For Manchester United, it meant sacrificing the . . .
The situation for the USMNT
By J Hutcherson (Jun 8, 2017) US Soccer Players - For those of you that aren't into the stories of old bands, you might have skipped Amazon's new Grateful Dead documentary. There's a line in it that resonates for what's happening later tonight in Denver. In response to "who's in charge?", a Grateful Dead roadie came up with a great answer. "The situation is the boss." That's been true for the . . .
Soccer’s Super Bowl
By J Hutcherson (Jun 6, 2017) US Soccer Players - The FIFA Club World Cup final isn't fooling anybody. The game that determines the best team in world soccer for a given season is the Champions League final. UEFA reigns supreme in world club soccer for a reason. They pay more and they do a better job of exploiting that commodity. That's the polite way of looking at rosters by domestic origin and . . .
Once again, it’s San Diego telling an MLS story
By J Hutcherson (May 25, 2017) US Soccer Players - The MLS expansion process has never been what most would consider straightforward. The first round early in the league's existence was to answer a simple issue. Chicago missed the launch and Miami put a team in what most people assumed was a soccer hotbed. MLS addressed both of those for the 1998 season, quickly turning their attention to San . . .
The Premier League barely quits while it’s ahead
By J Hutcherson (May 23, 2017) US Soccer Players - There's an old line about any club sport staying away just long enough for you to remember how much you cared. Even the short run season in the National Football League has enough games and enough opportunities for fans to decide they have something else to do with their Sundays. Maybe not better, but also not suffering along with a 4 and 8 team . . .
