April 2, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
Chinaglia--The real straw that stirred the drink
In the 15 years that the North American Soccer League bounced its red white and blue star-laden ball across the continent, there were many great players who played in the league. World Cup winners, international superstars and legends like Pele, George Best, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and Gerd Mueller.
None dominated the league and the headlines like Giorgio Chinaglia, who died on Sunday at age 65 in Florida.
March 10, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
Ghost of NASL still haunts MLS
It’s not clear if, when working late at Major League's Soccer's midtown Manhattan offices, Don Garber hears the wind blowing through long abandoned soccer nets, or if he hears the eerie guttural chant of “Cos-Mos, Cos-Mos” that once cascaded down on the now demolished Giants Stadium. But it is clear the Commissioner of Major League Soccer knows there is an otherworldly presence hanging over MLS, which kicks off its 17th season Saturday with 19 teams.
January 30, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
A bad day for American soccer
Monday was a bad day for American soccer. And it shouldn't have been.
January 17, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
Indoor soccer is alive in Kansas City
Indoor soccer is alive and relatively well in Kansas City. Even if it is in a bit of a time warp. But hey, that's always been part of the beauty of indoor soccer. Turn out the lights, pump smoke on the field, blare 80s disco music and watch guys run around on the turf like they were in a pinball machine.
January 7, 2012 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Whoops, WPS misses big opportunity
Thursday afternoon in the main ballroom at the Kansas City Convention Center, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber will step up to the podium to announce the first pick of the MLS Super Draft. Twenty-four hours later, Women’s Professional Soccer CEO Jennifer O’Sullivan will step up to a similar podium in a much smaller room at the same convention center and announce the women’s league’s first pick.
January 3, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
Broaden the bookshelf
Being both a devoted reader and a soccer junkie, I am usually excited when a new soccer book arrives.
November 26, 2011 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Memo to US Soccer: time to step up
It’s time for U.S. Soccer to step up for women’s soccer.
September 27, 2011 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
KC got it right
KANSAS CITY, Kan.---With all due respect to PPL Park and Red Bull Arena, both wonderful MLS stadiums, Kansas City has raised the bar.
July 10, 2011 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Indomitable Abby
It’s not always the best teams, with the best players, with the most skill, that win. Sometimes it requires guts, persistence, a little luck and a player that can pick up the team and almost singlehandedly will them to victory.
June 10, 2011 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Shouldn’t all-star event be a showcase?
Of all the major sports leagues, and I will include Major League Soccer here, MLS is the only one that has a habit of devaluing its own all-star game.
May 10, 2011 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Tough times for the women’s game
Seeing Brandi Chastain doing a promo for the upcoming Women’s World Cup reminded me just how much has changed in women’s soccer since that glorious summer in 1999, when the U.S. team was the darling of the entire country and Chastain wound up on the cover of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated after ripping her jersey off to celebrate her championship-winning penalty kick.
March 16, 2009 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Nostalgia is part of the passion for sport
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber is under the impression that selling soccer and selling nostalgia do not necessarily go hand in hand.
December 3, 2010 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Not shocked at FIFA’s decision
If FIFA had awarded the 2022 World Cup to Phoenix, Arizona, that would have been a shock. That they awarded it to Qatar, an Emirate with roughly the same population and summer climate, is not.
November 16, 2010 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
MLS embracing some NASL history, mis-remembering other
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber is certainly more accepting of the North American Soccer League, its history and what the league meant to U.S. soccer and to developing soccer fans around the country than the league’s previous administration. But he still needs to get some of his facts about the league correct.
November 6, 2010 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
The morning after the big upset
If a world power falls and there’s no one there to cover it, does it make a noise?
September 14, 2010 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Hall ballot will be interesting in 2014
In the 15 years or so that I have been on the National Soccer Hall of Fame voting panel, I can’t recall a year where we will have as many apparent “shoo-in” candidates as there will be in 2014.
August 8, 2010 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
To designate or not
A sellout at Toyota Park Sunday and another at Red Bull Arena next Sunday. It looks like the signing of designated players is having the desired early effect on Major League Soccer by boosting attendance for the teams signing the players.
July 30, 2010 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
New DP rule should be named for Beckenbauer
Another day, another designated player. It seems like everyone in Major League Soccer is getting in on the act.
June 24, 2010 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
No cheering in the press box, but the living room doesn’t count
There is an age-old axiom in the sports writing profession. No cheering in the press box. Fortunately, this rule does not apply to one’s couch, where a journalist is free to also be a fan.
June 19, 2010 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Even for the World Cup soccer doesn’t stop
They say the world stops every four years because of the World Cup. Streets in the major capitals of the world are often deserted when the home country is playing, or fans are packed into plazas to watch games on giant screens.
