TDIF Band Of The Week-Have Nots

This week I am very happy to put my good friends Have Nots as our band of the week, on top of taking the Boston punk scene by storm they are also nominated for a Boston Music award for best video this year. Their live show is not to be missed, and they are leaving for tour this month with more good friends of ours the Street Dogs. So if this tour is swinging through your town you best check it out. If you are in Boston they will be in town at The Paradise on December 17th.


http://www.myspace.com/havenotsboston
http://www.facebook.com/havenotsboston

Revolution DP Threat Level System

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentleman,

   There has long been threats of Designated Players in the Revolution organization but up until this point there has not been a system to accurately warn and inform people of the impending threat of a Designated Player actually being signed.  Today The Drug Is Football blog has solved the DP information dissemination problem with our new color coded threat level system. We are rolling out this new system at Level-GUARDED.

Here is how the level system works:

• LOW-DP=Draft Pick
• Have no fear there are no Designated Players on the horizon, will continue to build our team through inexperienced draft picks who can make little impact in the top flight league.
• GUARDED-Season Ticket Renewal Crunch
• The Revolution Organization has launched an attack aimed at renewing season tickets, they may state intent to sign a DP or that they are looking for the right player.
• ELEVATED-Legitimate Media has names of possible DPs
• This means someone other than MLS Rumors is reporting that the Revolution Organization may be close to signing a DP.
• HIGH-Mike Burns has found the "right player"
• The Revolution Organization has announced a target and their intent to sign that target.
• SEVERE-Holy shit they actually did it.
• This means that a DP has actually been signed.  People should not feel the need to be prepared for this level, however if it happens please familiarize yourself with the signs of shock, respiratory distress and heart attack.  You should know the number of your local emergency service provider and call them, but do not under any circumstances tell them that the Revolution signed a DP.  They will not know what you are talking about, they will not know that New England possess a professional soccer team and you will most likely be institutionalized.

Adidas and Hanon Kegler Super

Well ladies and gents, I have decided to chip in my two cents in the DIF effort.

I would like to thank the originator for the invite to contribute.

Seeing as we are over the thanksgiving hump (and hangover) we can now talk holiday shopping.

The only thing that should ever be on any self respecting persons feet are three stripes and our friends at Adidas, along with the folks at Hanon, have just released the Kegler Super.

This limited release is one of the best we have seen in a long time. A combination of classic styles styles from times gone by this release will top the wish lists of many out there.

If you do not mind the price tag that is.

For one, with the correct combination of a tad more alcohol and a slightly fatter wallet, a pair of these would already be making their way to my humble abode.

What Larentowicz's Comments Mean for Revolution Fans...

Jeff Larentowicz (Jack Dempsey/AP)

First and foremost hats off to Frank Dell'Apa from the Boston Globe for writing this article, it's seems that none of the Revolution writers have been willing to take shots at the organization but this article really sends a message to the Revolution FO.  Read it before reading on here... Jeff makes interesting comments on the morale of the team, treatment of players and how the organization operates.


“Teams have decisions to make on players and players have decisions to make for themselves they have to feel comfortable with,’’ Larentowicz said. “Over time, [the Revolution] weren’t doing right by their players. I watched a lot of talented players and friends go and a lot seemed unhappy who were still there. I was talking with Taylor Twellman the other day and we were wondering what would have happened if we had won one of those, would they have had the incentive to keep those teams together?"

“I was as close to signing as you can be but I just had a moment of clarity and decided not to at the last minute,’’ Larentowicz said. “I angered a few people by doing that. But it’s my right. The offer seemed good at first, in comparison to what I was making, but I knew I could be worth more. Then, the last months I was there it was clear they weren’t interested in finding my true value, they wanted a bargain or a price they were comfortable with.

“That’s the thing, they didn’t feel the need to re-sign players. In the end, contracts are controlled by the league and circumstances are controlled by the team. You have no freedom to move or negotiate. There was a lot of unhappiness on the team, but we had a core group and we could put that behind us.’’ (FDA/Boston Globe)

Jeff's candor confirms what many supporters have thought all along, the Revolution organization and Krafts are cheap and not willing to put in the money to make this team a true competitor.  The team has come up with many reasons why money was not spent or could not be but it is now painfully obvious that they have been feeding the fans the same lines over and over to try to appease us.  Well you have finally been caught Revs FO and Kraft family.   You apparently are too cheap to run this team properly and to hold on to good talent.

There has been an air of dissatisfaction from the players for a few years now, Shalrie Joseph made some interesting comments at the All-Star game alluding to not being happy with the Revolution organization. There is also this video from the Revs locker room a few years ago that alludes to both the fans and some of the players being unhappy with the Revolution. Shalrie states "We are going to be really disappointed if you guys don't come support me and the Revs, but I don't blame you guys anyway.   I know a lot of fans say they aren't coming back next year because of what the Revs are doing and I'm not surprised... it's a shame." Watch the full video below




Jeff goes onto speak about how it feels to be a Revs player in the shadow of the Patriots..

“It makes a ton of difference. You walk into a stadium every day and know it’s your place and you take precedence over everything else,’’ said Larentowicz.

“[In New England] we had a great practice field and locker room, but we were, rightfully so, second fiddle to [the Patriots]. Here, we have 25 practice fields and one which they keep absolutely pristine only for us. It’s all about us.’’ (FDA/Boston Globe) 

Well the evidence string is starting to come together and it become more obvious as time goes on that this organization is never going to rival what they have done out in Seattle, or what they have done up in Toronto or most importantly to us... what they have done in New York.  It's a shame to have gone from what was once one of the flagship teams of MLS to one of its biggest jokes.  FC Dallas was the biggest joke, but they even made it to the Cup final this year and had a record breaking 19 game unbeaten streak.

The Revolution and Krafts tell us all the time they care about the team and soccer and want us to do well, but actions speak louder than words and there have not been many actions.  Great you tell us all the time that you are looking to build us our own facility, great... believe it when we see it.  You tell us all the time that you are looking for the "right player" to be our DP, and now that you plan on signing a DP soon, great... we'll believe it when we see it.

Stop feeding us the same party lines around season ticket renewal pushes, we see through it and it's lame.  Tell us the truth, you may lose fans because of it, but at least for once you will not be feeding us the same old story and will actually show us some transparency and respect.  Revolution fans, it's time to demand more from this organization, the players deserve better and we deserve better.

Happy Thanksgiving

Enjoy an American classic and Thanksgiving tradition, at least in my house... Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant

TDIF Band Of The Week-Volxstrum

Ok so I was recently turned on to Volxstrum from Germany but well that song and video are just so damn good... I have no idea what they are saying (sorry Mrs. Delosh (my high school German teacher)but the tunes are good. You can get some more info on them here.

New England Expansion Draft Player Lists

PROTECTED:

Alston, Barnes, Joseph, Mansally, Nyassi, Osei, Perovic, Reis, Schilawski, Shuttleworth, Tierney + Fagundez (HG) 

NOT PROTECTED:

Boggs, Burpo, Colaluca, Dube, Gibbs, Griffiths, Linck, Murray, Phelan, Sinovic, Smith, Stolica

Revs can lose up to 2 unprotected players in the expansion draft.

Rapids Win the Cup, Wells get Ripped by Twellman, and much more...

Winning the cup... with Wells Tohmpson oh wait we mean Thompson.  So ya.... about that the Rapids beat Dallas 2-1 on an own goal... seriously... an own goal and the game went into overtime.  I will say this about the game though, the last 3 mins were very exciting with Dallas pushing hard trying to get that late equalizer to push it to penalties.

Also it seems like now that Taylor Twellman has retired he's opening his mouth a little more on his twitter page, "

TaylorTwellman

the sub of Thompson may bite @Rapidssoccer in the rear end because he has no self control whatsoever." and

TaylorTwellman

and yes thank you @torontofc for putting in GRASS for your stadium...#gameismeanttobeplayedongrass" So wait the Field Turf at Gillette is no good... I am shcoked!!!!!!!!!

So in other MLS cup weekend news Don Garber has stated that we will continue with the balanced schedule next year, and in addition to two new teams being added to the league they will be adding 2 more playoff spots.  Seriously? 2 more? the playoffs for MLS have always been a joke because pretty much any team could get into them and you just needed to be on a hot streak to win the league.  This season it started to balance out a little bit with only half of the teams being eligible for the playoffs, but seriously what is the point of the regular season if it's easy to get into the playoffs?  In addition to the playoff changes Garber says that the will find a way to make sure that a Western Conference team cannot become the Eastern Champion or vice versa.  We should know more about how this plan will be put into action in the next month. You can see the Don's interview on ESPN last night below.

Ok so more Don talk from the Supporters Summit, basically sounds like the state of the league is very good, there are more people wanting to buy in than they are currently willing to allow in, they fell that now they need to work on strengthening the league and the leagues support.  Don stated that he recognizes the need for supporters groups and to spread their passion on down to the casual fans. Travellign support was also touched upon and it seems like they may finally be getting the point that this is a major issue for supporters and that they will be workign hard on this issue and making some changes to the plicies or enacting new policies related to traveling support.  We've been working an in depth piece about travelling support which hopefully we will have up in the next few days.  If you have an hour or so and would like to watch the supporters summit... we got you covered...

That's the MLS weekend in an abbreviated nutshell(I'm feeling lazy today... I could write more but I don't feel like it and well I can't very easily not write anything at all about its so there ya go (hey at least I'm honest!))

The Power Of Thor Compells You...

Probably the best MLS team print ad ever, apparently this is also on billboards around Salt Lake... well done RSL, well done...

Nobody Beats the Wiz, Except Sporting Kansas City

So say goodbye to one of the worst names in Major League Soccer and hello to Sporting Kansas City SC, ain't that a mouthful?  Yes the Wizards are now Sporting KC, or KC Sporting SC, or Sporting SC, or well we aren't to sure what to call them yet.  Anyways the name and crest were officially revealed last night in Kansas City. The wizar.. er Sporting have will have a brand new stadium opening up June 9, 2011 and have gone through a re-branding process to coincide with that.

Many things were mentioned by club president Robb Heineman but the things that caught our attention was the mentioning of free tickets for supporters for away games and the hinting at truly wanting to become a sports club when talking about the SC in the crest. Among the sports mentioned that we may see the crest on jerseys for were rugby and lacrosse.   Could Sporting be taking a page out of some of the Euro clubs (i.e. Barcelona) and casting a broader net?

Here from the Sporting press release is a more in depth look at the crest:

"The club crest, which will be used as the team’s primary logo effective immediately, is a combination of symbolic elements to reflect the distinct history, culture and geography of Sporting Kansas City, as well as the vision for the organization. The crest pays tribute to the original Wiz shield and its upside-down teardrop shape that introduced the team to Kansas City and serves as a permanent tribute to the tradition of the club. The words “Kansas City” arch across the top of the crest, with their position at the crest’s highest point symbolizing the local ownership group’s commitment to their hometown.

The name Sporting, prominently written inside the shield beneath Kansas City, represents the vision of Sporting Club to integrate additional sports and entertainment properties into the organization, with Sporting Kansas City as the foundation for future enterprises, and transform the way a professional sports team connects with supporters.

“Our goal is to revolutionize the way a professional sports team connects with fans through premier experiences and spaces,” Heineman said. “We believe a change in identify for the club was necessary to effectively live and breathe this vision. The name ‘Sporting’ represents our desire to become a dynamic organization focused on creating opportunities for social, cultural and athletic connections.”

The left side of the crest features 11 diagonal lines, a nod to the starting 11 players of past, present and future that have played for Kansas City, and are comprised of six Sporting Blue lines separated by five Dark Indigo Blue lines between them. The Sporting Blue color will be the primary color for the team and their uniform, previewed at Wednesday’s announcement, and is similar in shade to the original Wiz blue that club founder Lamar Hunt selected as the team’s identifying color for the inaugural season in 1996.

The right edge of the lines forms a shape familiar to all Kansas Citians, signifying the state line between Missouri and Kansas. Sporting Kansas City has roots on both sides of the state line, with the new stadium being built in Kansas City, Kansas and their current offices and training facilities located in Kansas City, Missouri.

Finally, a stylized SC ligature fills the right side of the crest as an iconic image linking the team to its parent organization, Sporting Club, while also drawing inspiration from individual elements: the rod of the Greek god Ascelpius (health and fitness), the Hellenistic statue of Winged Victory (strength and movement) and the Spanish architecture of Kansas City’s renowned Country Club Plaza."


You can find out more information about the new Sporting KC/SC whatever they want to be called at the new site www.sportingkc.com while there take a virtual tour of their new stadium as well... If you view the video of the announcement you can also get a look at the new kits towards the end... they actually look pretty nice, we'll post photos when we can get them.

Why Robbie Keane Needs to be in a Revolution Uniform....

Rumors have come up recently that Robbie Keane may be in talks with Toronto FC, Keane's name has also been regularly tossed around as a potential DP for the Revolution if we ever were to sign one.  Well the Revolution FO has spoken and said that they are looking to sign one if not two DP's.  Granted this announcement was timed with the season ticket renewal push, but well let's see if the Revs can put their money where their mouth is...

1. Striker...  We need some more quality up front plain and simple, Twellman is gone for good now and our options up top are still pretty bleak looking.

2. Experience... Captain of the Irish National Team (we'll come back to this later), Captain for Tottenham, stints at Liverpool, Leeds and most recently Celtic.

3. He's not getting much playing time now and may consider a league switch.

4. He's only 30, he's still got some gas in the tank and could be around for a few years and he's relatively injury free.  I mean we were all praying for a 30 year old Twellman to come back and save our team...

5. "We're looking for the right player..." Here is is smacking you in the face Mike Burns!!!! He is a high quality candidate for a DP that will have both an on and off the field effect.  We could probably attract him for a salary somewhere in the 5 million a year range.  On the field we need a top quality striker, off the field he is a well known name.  He is no Beckham, Henry or Marquez, but this is New England and if there Is one thing we have it's a lot of Irish people who know and respect Keane. These are people who would come out to games to see him play and he may be that  marketing boost that the Revolution so desperately need to become relevant in the Boston/New England sports scene.

Robbie Keane playing for any team in MLS other than the Revolution would be a travesty.  New England/Boston has one of the largest Irish populations in the country, Keane would be a win-win he's in an area that will welcome him in and there are people who know him here and will want to see him play.  Keane would immediately have an effect on the field and would also probably have a good presence in the locker room as well.  Ok Revolution FO, the ball is in your court, will you realize that actions speak louder than words? Will you sign our first DP? Will you honestly look at Keane, a player who meets your stated criteria?

We Support This....

National track suit day bitchez.... you best reprazent.... Snoop D-O-Double G style... ya heard?  Oh Snoop is down with the Darkside....

TDIF Band Of The Week-The Larkin Brigade

Ah yes one of our favorite bands will be making their first appearance in a long time, and a very overdue one at that, this weekend... And with that we launch the TDIF Band Of The Week.

For those of you in the Boston area The Larkin Brigade will be playing at The Midway Cafe in JP at 8:00pm on Saturday Nov. 20. This show is bound to be jam packed so get their early. The bill also features Ska-Prest and Gone To Seed with tunes from DJ Ford E. Buxworth.

Also of note for that day is West Ham takes on Liverpool, we will watching it at the Phoenix Landing in Cambridge and messing with the LFC Boston people because it's fun.

Maybe That Dempsey Money Will Payoff After All

So we actually have some new in the Revs world this morning, the Revolution have signed their first ever homegrown player from the youth system, Diego Fagundez.

Fagundez is a 15 year old midfielder/striker who has been playing with the Revs Under-16 squad scored 20 goals in the 2009/2010 season.  He is originally from Montevideo, Uruguay and currently residing in Leominster, Ma.

So let's see if that elusive Dempsey money that went to the academy will actually payoff, hopefully this won't be Freddie Adu 2.0.  With the expanded rosters this season Fagundez most likely will not see much first team action but will likely be playing on the resurrected reserve squad.

I Bless the Rains Down in Africa...

...Gonna take some time to do the things we never have...

Like find a good player from one of Steve Nicol's African scouting trips... Assengue, Niouky, whoever else... Fail. Despite freeing up over a half a million in cap space and being told that the Revolution will be actively pursuing a Designated Player this off season our illustrious gaffer is off in Africa looking for another cheap diamond in the rough.

Let us know when that coal turns into a diamond Stevie...

Shoes for your ear-holes

Adidas and Sennhieser have released their latest colaboration on headphones...

"The link between music culture and the history of adidas Originals is well documented and what better way is there to represent that then through a set of world-class, three-striped headphones. Last season we introduced our initial headphone collaboration with Sennheiser, the Originals HD 25, and now we’re delivering 2... new models: the Sennheiser HD 220 by adidas Originals and the Sennheiser CX 310 by adidas Originals."

So they have these guys right here (HD 220) and they also have a earbud version as well (CX 310).  They are supposedly available at Adidas Originals stores and at shopadidas.com although the later does not have them on the site yet. Last year's models are going for 250 bucks which is kind of steep for headphones but if they sound like angels doing the nasty then maybe they are worth it, survey says probably not.  If anyone at Adidas wants to send me some to test and review I would be more than happy to however... again, survey says probably not...

Twellman Retirement Official, Trialists Already In the Revolution Camp

Taylor Twellman offically retired this week ending 2 long years of speculation over his future.  Now with over 400k in cap space freed up and another 250k freed up by the release of Edgaras Jankauskus the Revolution will not be able to use the injury excuse as to why they cannot sign addtional players or improve the squad.

Enough has been written about Twellman this week and he's been all over the news, plus I'm lazy so if you want to read more go here.

Speaking of improving the squad the Revs currently have Filip Krstic on trial and joining them in some post season training sessions. Kristic has a strong pedigree and is young which counters previous trialists and signings, possibly the Revs have learned that no name Africans generally don't cut it in the MLS and way past their prime aging Europeans will just get broken.  Krstic is a 22 year old German born Serb (Serbs seem to work for us, we'll just ignore the war crimes) and is a left/center defender.  Krstic's youth career starts at SpVgg Unterhaching, with stints at Bayern Munich, Hertha BSC and Valencia.  He's represented Serbia at both the U-17 and U-19 level with a total 28 appearances and 5 goals.  His professional career includes time at Livorno (2008), Arminia Bielefeld II (2009) and is currently at the German third division club SV Babelsberg 03.

T-N-T Press conference

Well Mr Taylor "I scored 101 goals and am too sexy for my shirt" Twellman is set o have a press conference tomorrow at 1:30pm streamed live on revolutionsoccer.net.  All signs point to him announcing his retirement due to his multiple concussions.  We'll follow this up more tomorrow.