The Slickers vs. Mos Def / Desmond Dekker vs. Mos Def

We came across these remixes this week and well they are rather impressive... TDIF Approved.

Shalrie Don't Like It...

Wow Shalrie... wow... good job slick... no really... good job.  Getting arrested in your own hotel is hard to do.  I am no stranger to traveling for work and staying in hotels. I used to tour with with rock bands, crazy hotel parties were the norm,  never once did things escalate to people getting arrested or even getting thrown out by the hotel (well guests of said hotel). All of these parties had alcohol, many had some sort of illicit substance and in 1 or 2 instances of women of ill repute.  Getting thrown out of and arrested from your own hotel is a tough thing to do. I've also had my fair share of experiences with cops, somehow I've managed to not get arrested, generally not defying their requests works pretty well especially when you are yet to commit on offense, even if they are ridiculous and if the cop is on a power trip (what cop isn't on a power trip?).  Just remember this rule... DON'T PISS OFF COPS... not that hard.

TDIF Band Of The Week-New Order

So occasionally we're going to put in some classic bands here for Band Of The Week.  It may because we don't have anything else, or there are no new bands coming up playing in the near future that we feel like profiling, or it may just be that they are a band that we think deserves a refresher in your conscious.  This week it is a combination of all of those.

So we bring to you iconic new wave band New Order.   We came across these live videos and thought they were worth sharing.  New Order formed in the early 80's rising out of the ashes of what was Joy Division after singer Ian Curtis committed suicide.  Joy Division is obviously another legendary band and you can expect to see them featured here in the future.

UPDATE 2-JOSEPH ARRESTED : Shalrie Joseph and Kevin Alston Sent Home From Camp

UPDATE: Kyle McCarthy is reporting on twitter that according to a public record search Shalrie Joseph was arrested in Orlando for trespassing.  Shalrie tweeted yesterday that his reason for being sent home was "trust me it ain't that juicy." There is still no word on Kevin Alston's involvement in this situation. 

UPDATE 2: Boston Globe writer Frank Dell'Apa has a story in today's edition that states that Joseph was arrested at the teams hotel following a party.  Joseph was in a stairwell of the hotel having a conversation with someone and refused to go back to his room, an argument ensued and the director of hotel security was called. Read the full article here.

Details right now are not available however Revolution staff writer, Jeff Lemieux, posted on twitter earlier today:

"Shalrie Joseph and Kevin Alston were flown back to NE today because of disciplinary reasons. Both will miss rest of Orlando trip."

We have asked the Revolution for comment and will report any more details if and when they become available.

End Of An Era

Today after 10 years Midnight Riders president Monty Rodrigues will be stepping down.  Although I am not a member of the Midnight Riders I have come to know Monty over the years and he has been one of the best, if not the best examples of a dedicated supporter.  He takes the highs and the lows personally as he should with the amazing amount of work he's put into the Midnight Riders, the New England Revolution and for all supporters Rev Army and Rebellion included. 

This is just as much his team as it is anyone else, and while Monty is not going anywhere the next president of the Riders has very big shoes to fill.  I look forward to seeing Monty right back in his usual spot in the Fort, singing, chanting... and screaming (Monty can get very animated!).  Monty has always been welcoming to myself and my friends whether they are long time supporters or new people that we have brought to games, I'm happy to call Monty my friend and am happy for him that now he get's to go back to being a supporter and letting someone else take up the responsibility.  Enjoy your retirement Monty, thank you for everything you've done for all supporters and for the team.   I owe you a beer and a Cuban cigar.

MLS and FOX Stifling Our Rivalry

For what will be the third year running MLS has decided to move New England's away date at New York to a weeknight game (Now June 10th a Friday night instead of June 11th a Saturday).  They will tell us that is is because it is what their broadcast partners want, and they have no control over it.  Whose league is it? It's not the Fox Soccer Channel League, it's not the ESPN2 We'll-Get-Right-To-The-MLS-Match-Of-The-Week-Right-After-This-College-Volleyball-Game-Ends Soccer League, It's Major League Soccer.  MLS has final say on the schedule and when games will be played.  I could care less about pissing off the networks, but the league should care about pissing off it's fans.

Movie File: Armadillo

I am not gonna lie, I got my hands on this documentary purely with an equal opportunity mindset. Some of you might recall that a while back we recommended a documentary titled Restrepo. Well, Armadillo is a documentary that follows the same premise but from a Danish perspective.

Filmmaker Janus Metz follows a group of Danish soldiers, IASF 7, throughout their six month deployment in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. In general both Restrepo and Armadillo are quite similar, the main difference, however, being Armadillo's higher production values. This difference should make Armadillo appealing to a larger crowd, but still not for the faint of heart as it is more graphic than Restrepo.

I decided to watch Armadillo solely because I had seen Restrepo and figured I should give it a chance. What I found was an amazing documentary that should be a must watch for anybody that has an interest in the region.

Don't Cry For Me Argentina: The Revs Sign Franco Coria

The New England Revolution have signed Franco Coria, a 22 year-old Argentinian defender.  Coria comes to the Revs from Chacarita Juniors on a loan with an option to buy.  There is very little information about him out there, we'll bring you more as we get it, for now here is his highlight video...

TDIF Band Of The Week: The Blue Bloods

It is time for my first BoW post so I am going to make it count.

Boston's Blue Bloods are a hands down TDIF favorite. Their shows are few and far between now a days so if you find yourself in Boston this Saturday there is only one place to be: the 4th Annual Ron Holbrook Memorial Show at Great Scott in Allston. The show kicks off around 8pm and is 21+, $10 cover.

Without further ado, feast thine earholes:

Check out some more tracks on MYSPACE.

See full event details for Saturday HERE.

The Supporters

So ladies and gentleman, we announce our new series 'The Supporters'.  We are going to go into the history of supporter cultures and sub-cultures from around the world, and how to they relate to soccer in the US.  Expect pieces on the skinheads (no they aren't all racist), casuals, ultras, supporters groups and more.  Got an idea for us or something you'd like to see us cover, or want to be interviewed or know someone we should talk to let us know. We have a few other plans up our sleeves for this as well so keep an eye out... expect our first article soon...

Happy VD

A year later and this is still awesome...

MLS Schedule Is Late Because...

Domestic violence isn't funny but the
#MLSScheduleIsLateBecause hash tag is

Soccer by Ives tweeted a funny challenge today on Twitter around the late relase of the MLS schedule today.  It was simple complete this hash tag #MLSScheduleIsLateBecause. It ended up trending at least at number 3 worldwide... impressive stuff. We recap our favorites here... oh ya and the Revolution schedule is down there somewhere too.

#MLSScheduleIsLateBecause...
1. ...Seattle fans haven't invented it yet
2. … It was in the same folder as "New Stadiums for New England and DC United"
3. ...the Krafts needed to sign it for approval & they needed someone to look into what the "New England Revolution" was
4. ...they put the #Revs front office in charge of it and they do not do anything in the offseason.
5. ...they were reading the revs bigsoccer forum and got depressed.
6. ...they're backloading the #revs schedule to allow for the big summer dp signing... of khano smith.
 7. ...Pres Mubarak of Egypt only agreed to step down if he could get tix to Opening Day. Announcement soon
8. ... someone put it with Clint Dempsey's allocation money.

9. ...someone put it with the New England Revolution's Designated Player slots and nobody can remember where those are
10. ...@TaylorTwellman just joined the party and is repeating everyone's ideas


Only one July home game is ridiculous, but at least Red Bull away is on a Saturday again this year... finally... more on away games as we get closer to the season. Without further ado... (like you haven't seen it already)

MARCH

3.20.11 - New England at LA Galaxy 8:00pm
3.26.11 - D.C. United at New England 4:30pm


APRIL


4.2.11 - Portland at New England 7:30pm
4.6.11 - New England at Vancouver 10:00pm
4.9.11 - Real Salt Lake at New England 7:30pm
4.17.11 - New England at Houston Dynamo 7:00pm
4.23.11 - Sporting Kansas City at New England 7:30pm
4.30.11 - New England at Chivas USA 10:30pm

MAY

5.7.11 - Colorado Rapids at New England 7:30pm
5.14.11 - Vancouver at New England 7:30pm
5.21.11 - New England at San Jose 10:30pm
5.28.11 - LA Galaxy at New England 8:00pm

JUNE

6.4.11 - New England at FC Dallas 8:30pm
6.11.11 - New England at New York Red Bull 7:30pm(yes it's an away game but there is no excuse not to travel for this game... seriously... no excuse)
6.15.11 - Toronto FC at New England 8:00pm
6.18.11 - Chicago Fire at New England 7:30pm
6.26.11 - New England at Seattle 4:00pm

JULY

7.4.11 - New England at Real Salt Lake 8:30pm
7.16.11 - Philadelphia Union at New England 7:30pm
7.20.11 - New England at D.C. United 7:30pm
7.23.11 - New England at Colorado Rapids 9:00pm
7.30.11 - New England at Sporting Kansas City 8:30pm

AUGUST

8.3.11 - San Jose at New England 8:00pm
8.6.11 - Chivas USA at New England 7:30pm
8.13.11 - New England at Columbus Crew 7:30pm
8.17.11 - Houston Dynamo at New England 8:00pm
8.20.11 - New York Red Bull at New England 7:30pm
8.28.11 - New England at Philadelphia Union 7:00pm

SEPTEMBER

9.11.11 - FC Dallas at New England 7:30pm
9.16.11 - New England at Portland 10:30pm
9.25.11 - New England at Chicago Fire 4:00pm

OCTOBER

10.1.11 - Seattle at New England 7:30pm
10.15.11 - Columbus Crew at New England 7:30pm
10.22.11 - New England at Toronto FC 12:30pm

From The WTF Files: Yip Yip Ante Up

Yes... My favorite Sesame Street/Muppets characters...

TDIF Band Of The Week-Plastic Bertrand

In honor of what I will now call the signings of Didier Domi and Ousmane Dabo, FCNE (Like FCUK but you know... New England), we present Plastic Bertrand, because this song is in French, and it appears in Eurotrip, and Beer Fest.... 2 of the best movies of all time.  Oh and this he didn't even really sing the song... but I digress, hop into the YouTube time machine back to Top Of The Pops in 1978...

(p.s.: I think the first verse is about someone pouring whiskey on his cat and lighting it on fire...)

Ousmane Dabo Signs With New England

It's been rumored, speculated, reported and now it's official (well almost... the Revs haven't announced it yet.. and well I didn't want to be the last kid on the block to write about it since everyone else already has...), French midfielder Ousmane Dabo has signed an MLS contract and will be joining the New England Revolution upon completion of international paperwork.  Dabo, 34, most recently played at at Italian side, Lazio, from 2008 to June of 2010 when his contract ran out, although he last played for Lazio in January of 2010. Dabo's career includes time at Manchester City, Atalanta, Vicenza, AS Monaco, Parma, Inter Milan, and Stade Rennais.

Dabo's name may be familiar from his time with Manchester City.  In 2007 Man City teammate Joey Barton assaulted Dabo during a team practice, the resulting injuries kept Dabo out for the rest of the season and were serious enough that doctors were worried if he would lose one of his eyes.  Dabo was able to make a full recovery, Barton was suspended, transferred and plead guilty to assault charges.

Alex Not Coming To New England Anytime Soon...

Reports out of Turkey are saying that Alex has re-upped his contract at Fenerbache... cross this player off the Revs DP list until 2013...  I hear a DP threat level drop coming soon...

On his website he stated: "There is no reason to go to Brazil or leave here." (link)

UPDATED: Revolution Have Signed 3 Internationals

UPDATED: Revolution sources have told us the positions of the three incoming players.  Player positions are reported as a defensive/central midfielder, central defender and possibly a winger.  This again brings us to believe that Ousmane Dabo is one of our signings, we also think Jerome Rothen may be the "winger" again these players are pure speculation and not based on any sources.

We usually don't post tweets but this comes to us from Revolutiton Chief Operating Officer Brian Bilello:

"3 Internationals are signed but we do not have ITCs or Visas yet. Once we get those we can announce. Should be next week."(link)

So we now just have to wait for the powers that be it seems.  We Know that its Francis Jeffers will not be one of them, and we are relatively sure that Caleb Folan who has been rumored to be coming to MLS will not be joining the Revolution either.  If we were betting men we would say there is a good possibility of Ousmane Dabo, but that is pure speculation.

Adidas ZX380

It has been a hectic couple of weeks. As a result I have been out of the loop for a while. Today I finally managed to take a breather and do my internet rounds. While scouring a few websites I came across the new Adidas ZX380 and really liked what I saw. The simple design makes them a very appealing trainer, better looking, in my opinion, than the equivalent New Balance models that have come to exemplify this style.

Francis Jeffers linked to New England Revolution?

The Daily Mirror is reporting that the Revolution have made an offer to 30 year old English striker Francis Jeffers.  Jeffers got his start in the youth system at Everton and has played for Arsenal, Charlton Athletic, Rangers, Blackburn Rovers, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, and most recently Australia's Newcastle United Jets.

Overall Jeffers does not have very exciting numbers 1 goal in 9 appearences at Newcastle Jets and 5 goals in 54 apperences at Sheffield Wednesday, his to most recent teams.  Jeffers has an injury history and is a bit of a journeyman and there are concerns over his attitude. According to Sheffield Wednesday manager Brian Laws "His conduct was totally unacceptable and something this club will not tolerate,"after Jeffers was red carded in a game against Port Vale, he was transfer listed after the incident. This is a sigining that we would be very skeptical of at best, we'll keep an eye on this one.

New Adidas Gear For The Revs

Adidas, Adidas, Adidas... I shake my head at you... do you really need to have your logo be that big?  I mean it is a great looking sweatshirt but seriously...  I will probably buy one and get used to the massive Adidas logo but well c'mon...

As for new Revolution kits for this season don't hold you breath.  There have been rumors of a new jersey for the Revs this season floating around, but it looks like we are stuck with the Patriots Jr. kits for another season.  MLS and Adidas operate on a 2 year cycle for jersey designs.  The only thing that could change our jerseys for this season would be the addition of a sponsor.  Revs sources tell us that there was a pending deal during the off-season that fell through, but that they are still actively looking to get a deal done.

Get your Adidas.... I mean Revs sweatshirt here.

Midnight Riders Tribute To Taylor Twellman

 

The Midnight Riders have released this great tribute to a great player Taylor Twellman.  They are going for 20 bucks and are available on the Riders website and will be available at their annual meeting, February 19th at Doyle's in Jamaica Plain.  All profits will be donated to a charity that Twellman is forming.

Midnight Riders