The MLS Board of Governors approved for a new soccer club in the city of Toronto in 2007 at the very latest. Toronto's entry into the MLS should add a new look to the east, and will probably boot Kansas City back out to the Western Conference where they belong. MLS is still looking for another expansion city--no word yet on what that city might be.

Also, the Board just approved the Earthquakes to move out of San Jose, where the attendance has dwindled the past few seasons. While there is no official city in the running, the leading contender is said to be Houston.

Toronto makes sense. It seems the towns that do best in attendance are those with recent immigrant populations.

btw cattledog -- don't know if you heard this a.m. but an obstacle to DC United's new stadium along the Anacostia has been removed. Marion Barry now says that he welcomes the building down on Poplar Point.

I read that Commissioner Garber "suggested" that if Houston does not get the San Jose Earthquakes for the 2006 season, we will be first in line (after Toronto of course) to get an expansion team in 2007. I'm glad the MLS is expanding into Canada.
MLS CONFIDENTIAL: Barcelona’s plans; Houston’s Appeal
:cool:

The same cities as usual are being tossed about as expansion candidates: Cleveland, Houston, Rochester, Florida again... Personally, I think St. Louis and Portland deserve teams, if for no other reason than their continued support of soccer. But, investors have yet to step forward from these cities.

The one problem I see with expansion is that it's stretching a somewhat thin talent pool even thinner. I would hope that Landon Donovan is out of MLS by 2007, and it's not hard to see Eddie Johnson gone too. That leaves the league without a real marquee American player.

Do you think Dwayne DeRosario will request a trade to Toronto in 2007 if the Quakes move to Houston? He is from Canada, but I don't remember where...

Culled from Slam! Sports Canada:
“Midfielder Dwayne DeRosario of Toronto and goalkeeper Pat Onstad of Vancouver play for San Jose. Canadian men's coach Frank Yallop is a former coach of the Earthquakes.”

DeRosario may very well want to go to Toronto even if San Jose stays put. There’s still a slim chance of that occurring.

I think the talent pool can handle an expansion. If our top players leave for Europe there will always be someone to rise to the challenge. I think we see that in the South American leagues right now. And it makes their national teams stronger; even though all but one member of Brazil's and Argentina's national teams combined play in Europe. We’ve already seen a little of that happening here in the US. We still aren’t sure of our whole World Cup roster. Sidebar: I’m gonna post it the FIFA 2006 World Cup Qualifying thread asking what everyone thinks about the US v. Mexico in the seeding process. Anyway, I think we can’t be afraid of expansion. I would wish our league would award the cup to the team with the best record at the end of the season like they do in Europe but I realize we can’t blindly adopt their way of doing things. Their system is steeped in tradition and history. I even like the way they deregulate the bottom 3 teams from the top league but that would not go over well here. I think it gives all teams something to fight for. Of course that would have to be after many years of history for the MLS and after they reach that point of no more expansion and when cities are wanting to build 65,000 seat soccer stadiums. (I can dream, can’t I?) I think MLS has made a great decision not to let our league be a last stomping grounds for internationals stars. When I saw Gabriel Batistuta play for a team in Qatar, it just seemed sad. Sure they get to see a great player and he’s getting top dollar for the play he has left but there no respect for the league. I think MLS is getting a little more respect each year but the audiences will let the league knows if it is growing too fast.

Lastly, I know you didn’t say that Houston wasn’t deserving but I think we are great supporters of soccer too and not just team Mexico. It was reported that Houston has the highest MLS viewership for a city without a team. There is regular soccer reporting in the local paper on sport talk radio and it covers MLS, Latin America and Europe. The collegiate system is strong here too. We don’t have a USL team like Portland or Rochester but we’ve had league teams in the past, even indoor league teams. This city is very diverse too; it’s not just Latin Americans. When Bulgaria trounced Mexico the other night there was a sizeable contingent of Bulgarian supporters.

It was announced yesterday that the ownership of the Oakland Athletics baseball franchise has expressed an interest in a MLS expansion team in order to return soccer back to San Jose as soon as possible.

I met Wade Barrett (SJ Earthquakes captain) on Friday at the press conference (v. handsome wink ). He wore an athletic fit black suit with a black tie and shiny black trainers instead of formal dress shoes. Pat Onstad and manager Dominic Kinnear were also there but I didn’t get to meet them. They all made wonderful speeches thanking the fans in San Jose. Former Houston Oiler quarterback Oliver Luck was hired as President. He had been working with the Houston / Harris County Sports Authority trying to get MLS here for nearly 8 years. The interim stadium looks good from what I’ve read; it seats 32,000 which is just a bit larger than the soccer specific stadiums being built and the renovations completed last year include a jumbo-tron screen. The renovations were made with soccer in mind too. I personally have not been to the stadium but am looking forward to it. I have already made a deposit on my future season tickets. Fortunately, it is within a 20-minute drive. I live on the other side of downtown from the university and I believe that any new stadium and practice fields will have to be in the suburbs. A local columnist reported that the city and county own enough land north and east of downtown to accommodate an urban stadium and fields within minutes of Minute Maid Park and the Toyota Center. Another possibility is the site of Six Flags Astroworld, which closed this past October. It is directly across the freeway from Reliant Stadium and the Astrodome and accessible by the downtown train.
The name contest starts next month. They probably will not solicit names but rather have a pre-agreed final list to vote on. But I think it will be fun to ask y’all your ideas for possible names for the Houston MLS team. Whatcha think?

I have no clue...

But congrats on getting MLS in Houston finally! I'm excited to watch matches played at that stadium....I read something about it online.

I was at first angry about the move, but San Jose will be getting their team back soon, and everyone in Houston seems very welcoming and excited.

Interesting that Oliver Luck is involved. He played at WVU so I know his reputation

I belive he was involved with the World Football League as well, or whatever the name of it was

He almost made a run at Congress several years ago in West Virginia

They did the same thing when I was living in Houston and the hockey team came to town. I suggested the "Challengers"--as a nod to the space program and space shuttle Challenger, in addition to its sports-like connection (you are supposed to challenge other teams when you play them). But, they decided to just bring back the Aeros. I don't think they will bring back the name "Oilers" since that team left a very bad taste in every Houstonian's mouth. Besides, everybody now identifies the Oilers with Edmonton's hockey team. The old NASL soccer team was the Hurricanes, but that might not be a very popular name right now in southeast Texas. Let's see... Houston = oil, hurricanes, space.

That's the top three I hope they steer clear of, plus anything to do with the old west. Metrostars really has nothing to do with NY/NJ nor does the Galaxy with LA so it doesn't have to be a dumb name like the Houston Space Cadets. Although...
Anyway, a friend of mine thought of Houston Independents. It similar to traditional soccer names and it kinda relates to Texas history.
:cool:

There's a name competition going on now at mlsnet.com I voted for "Stallions". For some reason, the Houston Stallions sounds like a very cool name to me.

I was torn between the Houston "Apollos" and Houston "1836"--the latter of which sounds so Bundesliga (i.e. 1860 München) . But, I went with the space theme and chose "Apollos".

FYI
The Houston team name & colors (and possibly the logo) are scheduled to be revealed on Wednesday, 25 January.

I also voted for Apollos and I hope the colors are not a red/white/blue combination like the rest of the teams here in town. It would show a real lack of creativity. I'm crossing my fingers.

I'll admit I haven't watched much of the MLS but have followed it here and there being that I'm a die hard soccer fan. I will say though, that I'm very much looking forward to seeing how Toronto does in the league.

I suppose the expansion into Toronto devastates the possibility of Rochester getting an MLS club.

PaeTac Park, a 18K seat soccer specific stadium is set to go for the summer of 2006.

Houston 1836
Well, it's been leaked out prior to the official announcement this afternoon. The logo is a black star with an orange stripe around it with the name in the middle. The article explains that 1836 is the year Houston and the Republic of Texas were founded. The official announcement is at 2PM at Lanier Middle School with Patrick Ianni in attendence (our first round draft pick from UCLA). I am unsure why it's at a middle school but maybe it has something to do with connecting youth soccer to the team plus you get a lot of screaming kids at the event.

:cool:

I like the name. It's classy and European, but good European- unlike Real Salt Lake...

What do you think simontexas?

For some reason (like being on the MLS mailing list), I got this mailed to me. The new Houston 1836 logo.

[ January 25, 2006, 03:10 PM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

I like how they pulled off orange and black without it seeming like Halloween. That's a fricking sweet logo and stuff...

Well, first of all, I was very pleased that it wasn't an animal name or something "spacey". Although I did vote for Apollos - I was thinking more sun god than spacecraft. Houston 1836 is growing on me. People are already starting on "The 36ers" as a catchy nickname. I really like the colors. I originally wanted orange and blue, but a deeper blue than the one they picked. The black will go well with the orange and blue. On the logo the orange looks very UT but on the t-shirts it looks more orange-yellow. I like the tribute to Brokeback Mountain with the little gay cowboy on top! I wish I knew how to quit you Patrick Ianni.

Toronto FC has named their coach: Mo Johnston.

I saw the stadium being constructed at the Exhibition grounds. Looks rather flimsy and small. (It will hold 20,000.)

It certainly does look flimsy...the stadium at my high school looks more stable than that...

As for Mo, I wish him the best of luck. Just watch out, canmark- his teams are quickly becoming notorious for their inability to finish off games, as shown by so many annoying ties and heartbreaking losses in matches in which the Metros/Red Bulls led...

Toronto FC's new stadium (under construction) to be called BMO Field (Bank of Montreal Financial).

I'm starting to get excited about Toronto FC. The new stadium is beginning to take shape, and will be a welcome addition to the soccer landscape in Canada.

The hiring of Mo Johnston as Head Coach was a terrific idea. He has experience playing with both Celtic and Rangers, not to mention previous MLS coaching experience.

Their first signing was Canadian International, Jim Brennan who was playing in England! A name that Canadian soccer fans are familiar with, and one that will instantly provide leadership.

It's with great hope that this team uses a number of the Canadian U20's on the roster. It'll only help them become better players, and in the long run, help strengthen our national team.

Of course, the best part of Toronto FC is the future it holds. If this experiment proves to be a success, it's only a matter of time before Vancouver and Montreal join the MLS as well. Two markets that can not only support a team, but will have the fan support behind it as well.

I'm lookin forward to kickoff of this new era in Canadian Soccer history. The only regret I have is that our first choice for head coach of Toronto FC wasn't available...of course I'm talking about Frank Yallop.

When I heard Mo Johnston say he was going to bring back Canadian internationals to play for Toronto FC I thought of our Dynamo-Canadians Dwayne De Rosario, Adrian Serioux, and Pat Onstad. De Ro is fielding offers from European clubs so no matter what, I think he will not be a Dynamo next year. I'm glad I got to see him play in Houston for at least one season. It will be a miracle if he stays, I believe. Besides the appeal for De Ro and Serioux to go back to the Toronto area, they will be escaping the summer heat here. It's hard just being in the stands watching a mid-day match in July. Luckily, only one match was at mid-day due to tv scheduling. And as for Pat Onstad, although a magnificent g'keeper, he is pushing 40 so I doubt TFC would want to make a long-term investment in him. Plus, there are many more Canadian internationals playing in other leagues besides the MLS.

As for the playoff race, there are 3 matches left in the season. The West is really tight and although the Dynamo was is second place for a majority of the season, they've now slipped to third and still have to play United, RSL, and the Rapids. They cannot afford to lose any of them and they will all be tough. Luckily 2 of the 3 are at home but I think it is one of the harder 3-match schedules compared to other teams in the west. In the East, for RBNY to make the playoffs, they have to beat Chicago, Colorado, and Kansas City with only Colorado on the road. New England looks solid for 3rd place only because they have a 5-point lead and KC has 2 tough games against RSL & Chivas. It's still definitely up in the air.

But with 3 matches left, if we took the top 8 points earned, the playoffs would look a bit different.
Team/Pts.
D.C. United 55
FC Dallas 49
Chicago Fire 44
Chivas USA 42
Houston Dynamo 41
Colorado Rapids 39
New England Revolution 39
Real Salt Lake 36

Toronto FC unveiled their new uniforms, with the BMO (Bank of Montreal) logo prominently displayed. I suppose there's some small irony in the Bank of Montreal being on the Toronto FC jersey.

If you look closely enough, you'll see a Toronto FC logo on the jersey...you know, between Adidas and BMO

Now I really wish that I had bought one of the first versions of the uniform - that were on sale at the Centre Sports store in the Air Canada Centre when I was there about a month ago. They had a much larger team logo and no sign of BMO. I suspect those first versions have been pulled from the shelf now that the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment have undoubtedly received even more millions from BMO. For those who don't know MLSE contibuted some money towards the building of the stadium, with the rest coming from government sources and some from the Canadian Soccer Association. As part of the deal for the money they put into the stadium MLSE got the naming rights to the stadium. And apparently they got more for the selling the naming rights to BMO than what MLSE had contributed to the stadium. Boy do those guys know how to make money. Now if only their hockey team can rally in these last two weeks and make the playoffs!

By the way - the Toronto FC/BMO deal is following in the footsteps of a simialr deal announced between the LA Galaxy and Herbalife. Herbalife have signed a mulityear multimillion dollar deal with the Galaxy to be the presenting sponsor of the team. You can check out the Galaxy's new Herbalife uniforms on their website.
http://la.galaxy.mlsnet.com/t106/index.jsp

The Toronto FC are close to a deal with the CBC and Sportsnet that will have those two networks carry about 20 of their 30 games. Obviously the CBC games would be shown across Canada. No word yet on whether or not the Sportsnet games would all be shown across the country or if some will be limited to just Sportsnet Ontario.

Rumour has it the other 10 games may be carried on the digital cable specialty channel GOL-TV.

I can confirm that Sportsnet will televise Toronto FC games nationally