but isn't it about time to expand MLS rosters to add another senior international anyway?
THE NEWS: Another All-Star Game has come and gone.
TCS SAYS: I have to agree with Jeff Bradley on this one regarding an East-West All-Star Game -- as Don Imus used to say, it's time to pin a note on its sweater and send it to the dog track. Bradley noted the only good All-Star Game is in MLB, but even the gimmick to award the World Series home-field advantage to the winning league isn't translating to ratings.
I have said this before and I will say it again, MLS rolled the dice and lost with the Real Madrid thing -- but that is a gamble I would make again every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
THE NEWS: Speaking of international exhibitions, the Champions World series comes to a close with attendance down from last year.
TCS SAYS: I can't say much because I honestly didn't go to a game and barely watched any of it, but a couple things do come to mind: prices and caliber of play. I've said it before -- soccer's value proposition in the U.S. right now must include affordability, and it sounds like tickets were pretty pricey. In addition, the soccer fan in America is getting better educated every year and more people simply won't shell out big coin to see a Man United "B" team play a preseason game.
That said, I love the opportunity to see the big-name teams play here every summer, and I offer this suggestion to Champions World next year: make it a tournament. I know this creates significant logistical and scheduling issues, but what if there was a sense of these games meaning a little something?
FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY:
I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy ... so every week TCS is gonna put a little action on the action, if you know what I'm talkin' about. Each week in this space we'll track how last week went and what's on the books, so to speak, for the upcoming week.
LAST WEEK: See what happens when you bet on an All-Star legends game? It ends in a draw and you lose 50.
CURRENT BANK: -150
THIS WEEK: Let's get out of this hole: 75 each on the Quakes over Adunited and my Burn over Mile High Club.
GRAB A COLD BUD (OR AQUAFINA) AND PUT YER FEET UP
WHAT I'LL BE WATCHING:
Saturday -- CREW at REVS (4 p.m. ET on ESPN2): Danny Szetela: still in Columbus. Danny's mom: the opposite of happy.
Saturday -- UNITED at QUAKES (10 p.m. ET on Fox Sports World and HDNet): Time for San Jose to sort themselves out, this last-place thing is ridiculous.
Sunday -- ARSENAL vs. MAN UNITED (9:30 a.m. ET on Fox Sports World): It's Charity Shield weekend already? And I thought the MLS offseason was like a week long ...
FLICK-ONS:
