Some people have roundtables, we have beerchat. Armchair GM’s pretending to be nothing more than fans with a pulse on the teams we’re discussing. In honor of Spring Training kicking in shortly, we sat out to discuss the Royals’ 2012 campaign.

You hear it from Kansas fans, Kansas State fans, even Missouri fans.  Really, you hear it from anyone living in or around Kansas City.  Mizzou is the bad guy, and the bad guy is taking away sports as we know it in our town.  Or at least that’s the message.

The Big 12 Tournament, regularly hosted in Kansas City at the Sprint Center, will see a heavier rotation in Oklahoma City and Dallas.  The MU-KU football game, if it continues, will have a diminished meaning because there will be no conference implications.

There’s only one problem with all of these Kansas City-tinted doomsday scenarios:  nobody has bothered to think about the opportunities it creates for our town, except Missouri.  Everyone else is too busy whining.

Following the Board of Curators meeting earlier this month at UMKC, Brady Deaton announced that MU would look to host a holiday basketball tournament in Kansas City annually.  In addition, Mizzou would look to schedule a football game in Kansas City vs. a “regional rival”.  Point being, Mizzou has made it a point, at least publicly, to emphasize that there will be a MU presence in KC after they bolt for the SEC.

What’s interesting is the way Mizzou set themselves up for departure, especially as it relates to KC and its soon-to-be-former Big 12 rivals.  The announcement from UMKC’s campus was essentially Mizzou saying, “If we leave (and we will), and KU/KSU/anyone else over here doesn’t want to schedule us, it won’t be our fault.”  How have others reacted to the news?  With indifference or worse.

Bill Self isn’t so sure he even wants to play Mizzou if (when) the SEC deal goes final.  Now, Bill Self owes nothing to Kansas City.  He does, however, have a ton of people in this town who would like to see his Jayhawks play Missouri on a fairly regular basis.  Same with Frank Martin.  I think we can agree on that.  Those that disagree?  I would suggest that you count to 10 and re-think your stance.  To pass up a chance to play Missouri, either at a neutral site in KC or in Lawrence/Manhattan with a return trip to Columbia the next year, is literally and figuratively the equivalent of having someone take a quarter from your stash of 4, so you toss the other 3 out the window in a spiteful rage.

The promise to play a “regional rival” in KC on the gridiron is exciting.  I can’t tell you how stoked I would be to see Nebraska come to Arrowhead to play Mizzou every now and then.  The money would be there for both schools involved, be it Nebraska, Kansas, KSU, or even someone like Iowa.  It makes a lot of sense for Mizzou to try to get that done.

Let’s take it one step further- a matchup I’d LOVE to see this year is Kansas State vs. Arkansas at Arrowhead.  With a bigger SEC presence in Kansas City, the odds of that happening now are WAY better than they would have been otherwise.  See?  There are opportunities here.

I don’t think Mizzou will be the problem when it comes to hosting events in Kansas City.  It will be up to the other schools to play along in order for Kansas City to come out of this a winner as a sports town.  In the end, I think cooler heads will prevail with this post-conference-realignment mess.  The demand for some old-Big-12 matchups will be there, which means the money will be there, which means the schools will be on board.  Getting your panties in a wad because you’re mad at Missouri is bad for Kansas City.

So, Kansas City, let’s suck it up and let’s figure out how to create some cool new events in town with the same ingredients we’ve always had and always will.  These schools aren’t suddenly 500 miles further from each other.  There is no good excuse for not making the most of the new landscape, conference affiliation be damned.

Sporting KC continues revolutionize how they do things in the MLS, and they are doing it again.  Sporting Kansas City and Turner Motorsports will be partnering up for the Kansas Lottery 300 out at Kansas Speedway this weekend.  James Buescher, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion contender, will be driving the Sporting KC car this weekend in the Nationwide Series race.  How sweet is this?!? 

SKC Car Design

SCK Fire Suit

Prior to the race this weekend, the driver and SKC will get to enjoy a unique opportunity to experience each other’s sports.   Before Buescher’s heads to the track Thursday Oct. 6th, he’ll join the club for a practice session.  Turner Motorsports, will then return the favor allowing several of the clubs members to join Buescher’s crew in the pits at the race. 

This is just another innovative idea Sporting KC is using brand their selves and set them apart from really any other major league sports organization.  They continue to come up with fresh, new ideas to help their organization succeed.  There’s not one SKC fan out there that does not believe this ownership group isn’t doing everything possible to support this club.  It not only benefits our team, but the MLS as a whole.    

Kansas Citians can only hope that this innovative and proactive thinking, in addition to amazing ownership support,  will spread like a sickness to the other professional teams in this city.

Post-game NHL/Pre-game NCAA at Sprint Center as Mizzou and KU prepared for ice-battle. The Penguins won the main event, 3-2 in a shootout.

For a night, the NHL was alive and well in Kansas City.  The Pittsburgh Penguins and LA Kings put in some pre-season work in front of a “sold out” Sprint Center crowd (I’ll get to the crowd in a bit) on Tuesday night.  Pittsburgh won in dramatic fashion, 3-2 in a shootout.

I’ll defer to the hockey pros to write the recaps, but I do have some thoughts on pro hockey in Kansas City in light of Tuesday’s match.

1.  There was a good (not great) crowd, speaking strictly of numbers.  The reported “sell-out” was more like 80% full, but whatever.  I’d ballpark it at 15,500 people in a 19,000 seat arena.  In what was supposed to be a “home” match for LA, Pittsburgh fans vastly outnumbered Kings fans and were especially loud during the shootout.

2.  Given the fact that this was a pre-season match between two teams that have zero ties (other than AEG) to Kansas City, the crowd was fantastic.  There are a lot of people in this town who care about hockey.  I may have seen a jersey from every current NHL team, as well as every hockey team, past, present, pro, and semi-pro that Kansas City has ever known.  People definitely care about hockey here.  What’s obvious is that there are a lot of people in KC who are transplants from hockey towns and just wanted to see some NHL action, whether they cared about the Pens/Kings or not.

3.  The game itself was a good one, which was great given the fact that Kansas City seems to be forever a test market for the NHL.  I think there were a lot of people in attendance that came out because they just wanted to do something different and, what the hell, their friend said the Mavericks games were pretty fun, so why not.  The quality of the play itself did nothing to hurt enthusiasm for the sport in Kansas City, hats off to both teams.

4.  I really wish they would just skip to the shootout after three periods in case of a tie.  The 5-minute extra period seems to be a waste of everyone’s time.  It’s the preseason, and it’s basically about having a result at that point, and the result doesn’t even matter, so why go through 5 extra minutes of play?  I digress…

In summary, the game was great.  I think preseason NHL games in Kansas City are perfect.  I DON’T think that there is enough support for hockey in this town to hold down a NHL franchise for longer than 10 years tops.  Preseason or not, it’s easier to hype a hockey game for a couple months, do some promos, discounts, giveaways, etc. until you wind up with a mostly-full arena.  It’s another thing to sell season tickets.  Granted, the suites at Sprint were bought and paid for a long time ago, which goes a long way towards helping the financial viability of a franchise in a particular arena.

The real problem is this:  think about what happens when a franchise moves (or a new franchise gets its wings):  Everyone is excited the first year, buys a bunch of tickets.  The team sucks, but they have an excuse.  They just got to town.  The next year: more of the same, only attendance dips a little bit because the novelty of the team has worn off and they aren’t playing any better.  The third year, frustration sets in when the team STILL sucks and perhaps people don’t understand the front office’s vision for the future (sound familiar?  Now, Chiefs fans, imagine being equally as frustrated as you are right now with a team that has no history of winning in your town).  Add all of that to the fact that hockey is maybe 5th on the list of sports that people in this town understand, and you have a town full of people are throwing their hands up at the team and giving them a big “well F that…” as they walk away.

Let’s look at the Nashville Predators.  I use them as an example because it is a similar market size in a similar geographic region.  A season ticket in the upper bowl of their arena, let’s say roughly section 229 at the Sprint Center, will cost you $25 per game for the season.  Not bad, until you realize that there are 41 home games, and that’s going to run you $1,025.  So for one of the shittiest seats in the house, it’s going to cost you over a grand for one ticket.  There are a ton of Chiefs season tickets that cost less than that.  While I’m fully aware that we’re talking about 8 Chiefs games vs. 41 NHL games, people will think marginally and look at “total cost of season tickets”, not at 41 vs. 8 games.  Besides, the Chiefs have a track record in this town (insert joke here).

The thought of a NHL team in Kansas City looks great, sounds great, feels great… until you think about what happens if the franchise isn’t immediately a playoff contender.  I don’t think there are enough people who want to throw down the kind of money it takes to support a NHL franchise in the long term, especially to ride out the standard growing pains of a baby franchise.  It’s a fun thought, but I don’t think it’s a viable option.  The Mavericks are great for Kansas City and the Independence community.  They’re a quality organization which has already had success in just two years of operation.  Perhaps the biggest advantage for the Mavs over a potential NHL team- the Mavericks are an affordable bit of entertainment, one that you don’t have to alter your budget for.  I’ve said it before, but I think the NBA is the better of the two options.  Let’s leave hockey at the IEC for now.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way the Mavs are doing it, and I’m just fine with them being KC’s hockey team.

Sporting Kansas City 1 – 2 Seattle Sounders.  Ugh.

First, the good.  Kei Kamara put his forehead to excellent use and drilled home a throw-in from Matt Besler in the 20th minute to put Sporting Kansas City on top of the Seattle Sounders tonight at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.  Kei got his 6th goal of the year and looks like his 2010 self, which is going to be huge in this playoff push.

Unfortunately, there was plenty of bad to go with the good.  In a nutshell:

1.  Jeferson comes off in the 39th minute holding his quadricep.

2.  Omar Bravo gets absolutely jobbed on the red card call.  More on that in a moment.

3.  Sassano, who came on for Jeferson, looked like he really injured his knee in the final 10 minutes of the match, not coincidentally before Seattle scored their goals.

At this point, SKC was out of subs.  Luke tried to give it a go but it was clearly not in the cards after his injury.  Seattle got their two goals after Sporting essentially went down two men.  I don’t know what the extent of Sassano and Jeferson’s injuries are and won’t speculate.  Jeferson was clearly a huge factor in the offensive attack when he was in, so losing him was a blow.   Sassano’s injury was big because A) SKC is out of subs, and B) the team was already without Collin (injury) and Espinoza (red card last game).

In spite of ALL that nonsense, Sporting KC was the better team tonight for the first 91 minutes.  SKC’s attack came early and often, and didn’t really let up until Bravo’s horseturd red card in the 59th minute.  Even after that, Sporting did a fairly decent job of controlling the ball and even making a few respectable pushes towards goal.  Jimmy Nielsen, the birthday boy, was largely untested in the first half.  He made a couple of monster saves in a row around the 80th minute (goal of the week material for sure), and then simply could do nothing about the two that snuck in.

About Seattle’s two goals:  the first was, in my biased opinion, sheer Seattle-vs-Kansas-City luck.  A loose ball bouncing around and through multiple people, hit and deflected haphazardly into the goal.  It was the second goal that disappointed me, mostly because of how it was conceded.  Sporting was clearly shocked at how Seattle had scored in the 90th minute.  Everyone in the stadium wearing blue was still upset about Omar’s red and blamed the goal on the ref, so we have a pouting, finger-pointing situation on our hands.  Remember Sassano is injured, so you’re down to 9 shell-shocked, pissed-off, and generally disappointed players on the field.  In a whirlwind, Seattle quickly put their second goal on the board in a 3-minute span and undoubtedly grab-assed their way out of Kansas City after stealing yet another result from Sporting.

About Omar’s red card:  Omar slid between his man’s legs and poked the ball away.  The dude flopped, curled his legs around Omar’s and rolled around.  The ref, who had let them play through assault, battery, rape, and armbed robbery all night, decides to throw his Superman cape on and slap Omar with a red.  On cue, a Seattle player shoved Omar to the ground, and on cue, the referee gave Seattle a…. nothing.

As tired as I am of MLS officials sucking out loud, it is absurd to whine about the refs without acknowledging that Sporting could have done a few things different to come away with at least a point.  Playing 30 minutes down a man is tough.  But sacking up and closing out the game to protect your point is vitally important after Seattle’s goal.  Give credit to Seattle.  They found a way to get the equalizer, then kept attacking when Sporting had its chin down.

Lou Holtz locker room speech commences…. Here’s the silver lining to all of this- First, the unbeaten streak had to end sooner or later.  Yeah, it came to an end vs. Seattle, but whatever.  We’ll see them in the playoffs and can settle it then.  I hope the team is pissed that they lost, and I hope that any finger pointing on this one is back at themselves.  Ultimately, it’s not the ref’s fault that Sporting lost, it’s the team’s.  Blaming the officiating is for people who lose a lot.  Instead, remember that this week’s win over RSL was huge.  The loss tonight, coupled with the win last Wednesday, is still better than draws in both matches.  Also remember that SKC looked damn good tonight, all things considered, missing Espinoza AND Collin.  Sporting has a huge opportunity to earn more points (after getting 11 desperately needed days off) against already-beaten Portland, and then a few days later vs. Handball United.

Finally, let’s all remember that if someone walked up to you and offered you a 14-game unbeaten streak for Sporting Kansas City around March 2011, you would have taken it in a nanosecond.

Tonight was tough, yes, but if this team is meant to do anything in the post-season, they’ll use this as motivation to beat the living piss out of the next few teams they face.  Let’s go, Sporting.

Bravo with two goals vs. TFC

So… it went down a little something like this tonight:

1.  Toronto came out firing and played quite well in the first 15 minutes.  Jimmy Nielsen stood on his head.  Advantage: Jimmy.  After that, Sporting was in control of the rest of the match.

2.  Kei Kamara went down in the 27th minute, diving after missing a 50/50 ball.  Weak effort and sad considering Kamara’s recent lack of productivity.

3.  Kei gives me the ol’ “F-U” and comes up with a magical bicycle kick to put KC up 1-0 in the 28th minute, just one minute after his dive.  Guess that will teach me to live-tweet anything negative about Kei.

4.   Kei shoves it up EVERYONE’s ass by driving home a header with authority in the 33rd minute.  F-U Mike, F-U Toronto, F-U everyone.

5.  Omar Bravo has some showtime of his own, scoring a goal late in the first half (37) and then another in the second half (64).

6.  Teal Bunbury was disappointing again, failing to be a factor after he was subbed in around the 53rd minute.  He needs to be a factor, and soon.  I think he’s lacking confidence, and the only way to gain confidence is act like you HAVE some confidence and have some success (see Mr. Kei Kamara).

7.  New DP Jeferson started in place of, presumably, Graham Zusi… then Zusi came on for Julio Cesar of all people, not that I had beef with it.  Collin came off eventually for new signee Daneil Cyrus.  Collin was absolutely banged up.  Poor guy got hit in the sack towards the end of his stint and was off his game until apparently going down with a back spasm/injury before being taken out.  Cyrus was fantastic in his limited time, ruining all kinds of Toronto opportunities.

Final score: Sporting Kansas City 4 – 2 Toronto FC

There were moments of defensive lapses, most noticeably in the final 20 minutes.  Toronto was able to drive home goals in the  50th and 72nd minute, and both were the product of defensive breakdowns or lapses.  Don’t get me wrong, Toronto had some real chances, especially in the first 20 minutes of the match.  But Jimmy Neilsen was able to stop the quality looks that Toronto earned.  It was when the defense hung him out to dry that he couldn’t do anything about.

So is the defense a question mark at this point?  No.  Let’s be real.  It was the first time since May 14th (the LA Galaxy match in LA, or 13 MLS games ago) that Sporting KC had allowed more than one goal.  Let’s cut them just a little slack here.  Sporting was up 3-0 at half, and 4-1 at one point.  Did Chiefs fans get super pissed when giving up a trash-time touchdown to the 49ers last year?  No, because they were crushing San Fran.  Same applies here.  So let’s not look too far into something that isn’t there.  If anything, it’s a good lesson to our defenders not to lull themselves to sleep in a game that has been played on the attacking third for the most part.

Sporting earns 3 points tonight and find themselves alone in 4th place in the Eastern Conference.  If the playoffs started today, that would be barely good enough for a playoff spot, but “in” nonetheless.  SKC has been on the fringe of playoff contention for the last few matches.  Without repeating what is unnecessary, I refer you to MLSsoccer.com’s explanation of the playoff format for this year.  Basically, Sporting is in the weaker of the two conferences, which only helps you if you’re in the top 3 of the conference.  Like I said, we’re 4th as of today.  The good news is Sporting is only 5 points behind conference leader Philadelphia.

Looking forward, Sporting has a tough (home) schedule.  Next Saturday, New England comes to town exactly three points behind SKC in the Eastern Conference.  If you’ve never felt targeted, watch SKC next weekend when NE comes in.  THAT’S targeted.  After that, it’s Real Salt Lake and Seattle, all within a week’s time.  Having a week off this week is a pretty big deal in light of what’s coming.

An excellent win tonight, and one that was vital to any possible playoff push.  Sporting now falls into the cliche of “every game is big”, just because they find themselves on the fringe of playoff birth.  With a gun to my head, I’d tell you that I thought SKC would qualify for a playoff spot, and I think they’ll qualify for the third Eastern Conference spot, ahead of New York.  There’s an October 15th tilt at Livestrong Sporting Park that will have a lot to say about that.

Here is an updated MLS table.  Looks much better than it did two months ago, no?

Sporting KC DP Jefferson

Sporting Kansas City took the pitch at Livestrong Sporting Park to a crowd of roughly 16,500 (my estimate) and held their own in a freely-substituded scoreless draw against the EPL’s Newcastle United.

The match marked the first appearance for numerous Sporting KC signees, including new designated player and attacking midfielder Jefferson, as well as University of Michigan standout Soony Saad, Daniel Cyrus, and Peterson Joseph.  The impact of Jefferson was immediately felt, as he created numerous chances in the early minutes before being subbed out at the half.

Newcastle United subbed six players themselves, as both teams used the match as a measuring stick, albeit for different purposes.  SKC was getting some valuable minutes for newcomers and reserves (Eric Kronberg had the clean sheet for SKC), and Newcastle looked to be getting minutes for as many players as possible as they geared up for the grueling EPL season.

Thoughts:

1.  Jefferson.  Looks.  Awesome.  Granted, we only saw him for 45 minutes, but the dude creates opportunities like nobody else on this team right now.

2.  Matt Besler was his usual self, kicking ass and shutting the other guys down.  Mind you, Sporting KC was vastly undersized vs. this EPL side, but Besler didn’t seem to mind.

3.  Bravo was especially active tonight, and I sense that he and Jefferson have a great chemistry in the making.  Jefferson fed Bravo multiple times for nice runs.  One or two of them nearly paid off.  Look for this to be a dangerous tandem in MLS play.  And yes, I think Jefferson is ready to start Saturday vs. Toronto.

4.  Eric Kronberg had the save of the match.  Around the 85th minute, NUFC’s Danny Simpson nudged one neatly towards the goal and Kronberg had recovered just enough to stop the ball at his toes just in front of the goal line.

5.  Newcastle United, speaking strictly in terms of technical skill, was the better side tonight.  I don’t think this should surprise anyone.  The encouraging part for Sporting KC is that they offset this with being match fit and in midseason form, as Newcastle is in its preseason phase.  Sporting was undersized but aggressive, and got the best of NUFC in the first half, with several quality chances in the final third.

6.  I anticipate this match being a confidence booster, much like last year’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United.  After that match, the Wizards made a strong playoff push.  This year’s squad is more talented and in better position to make a similar push.  The addition of Jefferson, as well as the eventual return of Davy Arnaud, are going to make Sporting a dangerous side.

I didn’t get the chance to talk to many Newcastle supporters in attendance, but there were plenty of them.  The visitor’s section of LSP was filled with black and white jerseys, and the rest of the stadium was spotted with them as well.  One final note- the pre-game concert by Trampled Under Foot was unreal.  If you missed them tonight, please do yourself a favor and check them out soon.  They play all over Kansas City, and are easily the best blues band to come out of Kansas City in some time.

As is custom when we bust out the ol’ camera, here are a few shots from tonight’s match.  As always, if you want high-res images of any of these photos, e-mail me.  They’re yours, free of charge, as our thanks for checking out the site.

We hooked up with our new friend Ryan Davison, owner of Newcastle United website Leazes Terrace, to ask him a few questions about Sporting KC’s opponent in tonight’s friendly.  As you will see, Ryan knows his stuff.  You’ll learn more about Newcastle United in the next 5 minutes than you will nearly anywhere else, promise.

Mike:  Hey Ryan, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.  First of all, tell us a bit about your website and how you became to be a supporter of Newcastle United.

Ryan Davison:  Alongside a couple of fellow Newcastle United supporting friends, I run a Newcastle United website – http://www.leazesterrace.com/. We had talked for a few years about setting up a website but didn’t want to replicate what was already being done, after all there are plenty of Newcastle United websites already out there. We noticed that there were few sites, if any, that provided in-depth objective tactical analysis of Newcastle’s games – looking at why something went right or wrong, rather than just reporting it – and so we had our niche and the site was born from there in September.

I was born only a few miles from Newcastle’s stadium St James’ Park, which is smack bang in the centre of the city, and after going to my first game, a 4-1 victory against Grimsby at the age of seven, I was hooked. After enduring almost 20 seasons as a season ticket holder, the feeling is no different. Local lad, local team, I had no choice and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mike:  What are some things we should know about this year’s NUFC squad?  Strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, etc.

RD:  Undoubtebly the strongest area of Newcastle’s current squad is the midfield area. Jonas Gutierrez provides pace and trickery on the left, Cheik Tiote provides the power and passing ability in the centre while Joey Barton* on the right possesses a handy mixture of tenacity and crossing accuracy on the right. Newcastle have also added Sylvain Marveux and Yohann Cabaye* to the midfield mix, two Frenchman who are expected to challenge for first team places this year while their countryman, the enigmatic Hatem Ben Arfa has just returned from a long term injury who, if his performances before he got injured are anything to go by, will bring skill, trickery and a touch of class to Newcastle’s play – certainly the player I’m most looking forward to seeing in action for Newcastle next season.

Since selling their top scorer Andy Carroll to Liverpool last season for a hefty £35 million, Newcastle have lacked a bit of quality up front and although Demba Ba has been added to the squad to boost their attacking options, the general consensus is that Newcastle are still short of fire power, and need to bring in at least one more striker before the season begins. A feature of Newcastle’s play is their tendency to get the ball out wide for the wingers to swing crosses into the box for the strikers. Newcastle possess a very strong left side pairing in Jose Enrique and Jonas Gutierrez and should they start in tonight’s friendly I can see Newcastle basing their gameplay around feeding them the ball as often as possible.

* Unfortunately both Joey Barton and Yohan Cabaye are missing from the trip to the States due to Visa issues.

Mike:  Newcastle spends most of its time in the Premier League, finishing 12th this past season.  The 12th place finish came one year after a single season spent in the Championship.  What is the outlook of a fan base when their team is relegated for the first time in a while?  Could it be the downfall of some clubs?

RD:  Newcastle endured a catastrophic season in 2008/09 when they were relegated from the Premier League after a 16 year stay in the top division. A catalogue of errors off the pitch , which lead to Newcastle having no fewer than five managers in charge in a single season, and a group of players who weren’t short of quality but lacked the fight lead to Newcastle’s relegation. There was talk of Newcastle ‘doing a Leeds’ (Leeds suffered a further relegation following their relegation from the Premier League) and dropping down the leagues such was the poor state of the club and the general mismanagement. However such is the loyalty and support of the Newcastle fans, they continued to support their team and averaged 48,000 per home game. Newcastle also managed to retain the crux of their quality players including Jose Enrique, Fabricio Coloccini, Jonas Gutierrez, Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan while taking the opportunity to get rid of some dead-wood and high earners, and lead by Chris Hughton, won the Championship and promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt. The Championship is a notoriously difficult league to get out of, and some former Premier League teams such as Leeds, Southampton and Nottingham Forest have even been relegated from the Championship in recent years so yes it could be the downfall of some clubs but fortunately Newcastle were able to bounce back from relegation at the first opportunity.

Mike:   What is the perception of MLS sides in Europe?  Are these preseason matches seen as anything other than warming up for the upcoming season?

RD:  I believe that the MLS is growing in popularity in Europe and will only continue to grow with the addition of high profile and World renowned players such as David Beckham and Thierry Henry joining the league. I’m not qualified to comment in detail as we are only privy to highlights from the MLS, but the standard appears to be improving which is in some way reflected in the success of the National side at the latest World Cup. Certainly, Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew values the league with his comments this week that Newcastle will be scouting the league for potential signings.

‘Warming up’ is an apt choice of words! The Newcastle players have commented this week at how hot they have found it to be since arriving at the weekend. As such, the humid conditions and facing opposition who are in-season will provide a stern challenge and will help them get in peak condition for the season. The fact that half of Newcastle’s pre-season friendlies are taking place in America suggests how highly they value the quality of MLS sides and the challenge they will provide. The standard of the MLS sides has certainly impressed Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who recommended to Alan Pardew that Newcastle take up the challenge of Sporting Kansas City after his side made the same trip last year, and who has brought his side back to the States for pre-season for the second successive summer.

Mike:  You recently inked a new manager.  What is your take on Alan Pardew, and do you think he has the club going in the right direction?

RD:  It came as somewhat of a shock when previous manager Chris Hughton was dismissed in December last year to be replaced by Alan Pardew. Hughton had rebuilt the side since relegation and was believed to be doing a steady job with minimal resources before his departure. The owners cited that they were looking for a more experienced manager, which Alan Pardew was but his record of being sacked from his three previous roles raised concerns. However, to be fair to Pardew, he has continued the good job that Hughton started off and was only a last minute goal in the final game of the season from securing Newcastle a place in the top 10 of the league. He made some glaring tactical errors last season, however he acknowledged his mistakes and has shown an encouraging desire to play attacking football and has made some shrewd signings at the start of the summer. After only 6 months at the club, it is perhaps too soon to judge how he will fare in the long term but he talks a good game and I hope for the sake of the club’s stability that he achieves.

Mike:  What club do NUFC supporters despise the most?  Any good stories about the rivalry that you can share?

RD:  Despise is probably too kind a word for the feeling that Newcastle supporters hold towards local rivals Sunderland! Situated only 13 miles down the road from Newcastle, the cheesy chip loving mackems are lead by the detestable Steve Bruce and have recently crowned themselves as the North East’s ‘top dog’s following Newcastle’s relegation in 2008/09. There are many stories to choose from but in keeping with the modern theme, one which sticks out in the memory is the meeting of the two sides at St James’ Park last season. It was the first time that the sides had faced each other since Newcastle’s return to the Premier League and the mackems, getting carried away with themselves, were full of pre-match hype about their chances in the fixture only to head home with their tails tucked firmly between their legs following a humiliating 5-1 defeat at the hands of their near rivals. Top dogs eh?

Mike:  In the United States, beer drinkers hold Newcastle beer in extremely high regards.  How do you feel about your Newcastles over there?  Is it something your city is proud of or is it considered rot-gut back home?

RD:  If you are referring to Newcastle Brown Ale it’s something that the city is proud of. Only at the weekend I was watching the movie ‘Taken’ and took an immense sense of pride in one of the characters turning up to Liam Neeson’s place with a few bottles of Brown Ale. I might have rewound it and watched several times. In fact, in a sponsorship deal with Newcastle Breweries, the Brown Ale logo featured on the Newcastle kit for five seasons between 1995-2000, so for that reason and it being a local drink, it will always hold a fond association with the Newcastle fans. Just don’t refer to it as ‘Newcy Brown’!

Mike:  Finally, give me your prediction for the match tonight vs. Sporting Kansas City, and give me your prediction for Newcastle’s upcoming Premier League campaign.

RD:  With it being only Newcastle’s second game of pre-season, and the first game for a few of the players, I suspect there may be a few of the squad who are still finding their fitness and touch. Nevertheless, the Newcastle players are playing for their starting positions next season and as such I expect a high level of competitiveness and hopefully an entertaining game. I’m terrible with predictions but I’ll plump for 2-2.

As for the upcoming Premier League campaign, providing Newcastle can bring in another quality striker, replace any players that depart before the season begins, and the new signings can integrate into the team quickly, I can see the club making steady progress on last year’s 12th place position with a finish in the top 10.

Again, thanks to Ryan for taking the time to visit with us.  It’s always great to talk to the guys that can talk X’s and O’s, and even better to know that we all have the universal language of beer on our side.  See everyone tonight at LSP!

Aurelien Collin’s goal in the 90th minute to give Sporting KC a 1-1 tie at Houston tonight represented a lot of things.  It was a lot like going on a horrible first date.  So brutal that both of you start getting hammered at dinner because it sucks so much, then she shuts your hand in the car door while leaving.  But in the end, she felt so bad about your hand that you got a surprising, yet mediocre hummer out of the deal.  Yes, I just compared a goal to a mediocre BJ.  This is our site, dammit.

Point being, there was much to be disappointed with after Houston played at least a man down virtually the entire second half.  With about 20 minutes left, the Dynamo was shown another red.  For the rest of the game, Sporting was on a 20-minute power play and finally got the equalizer from Collin, who was the target on both plays in which Houston was shown red.  SKC had a billion opportunities to tie it from about the 30-minute mark on.  Tally Hall, Houston goal-keep, was EVERYWHERE tonight.  He had a fantastic night.

I’m gonna pull some stats from MLSSoccer.com to illustrate how frustrating it had to have been for the guys.  Shots on goal:  SKC-8, HOU-2.  Possession: SKC-64.3, HOU-35.7.  Corner kicks: SKC-10, HOU-4.  Oh, and having a two-man advantage for the last 20 minutes.

But you know what?  They got the goal.  They got the result.  A night of frustration didn’t go without SOME positives.  That’s an important point, kids.  Helluva lot better than zero and handing Houston 3.  I’m not upset about this.  I would have been upset with a loss, but I felt like SKC played great tonight despite not getting the goals to go in.  I just have this feeling that they will come.  And luckily, not every goalie SKC will face this year is named Tally Hall.

A couple quick player grades:

Chance Myers: B-.  He was closer to a C- early on as Houston kept blowing by him, but the dude is tough and resilient.  He took a head-to-head shot in the box while defending and actually played BETTER from that point on.

Birham Diop:  C-.  He was the weakest link tonight, but who the hell is PV supposed to put out there with Arnaud out, Cesar dinged, Auvray and Smith gone, and guys like Stojcev being your only other option?  People were chirping for Soony Saad, the new signing from Michigan to get his chance late in the game, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen.  Diop whiffed here and there, but he was at least a factor on the attacking end.

Matt Besler played his ass off tonight.  B+.  Collin got the equalizer and was in the head of Dynamo players all night.  Well played on all angles.  A for Collin.  Teal only had 10 minutes and one real opportunity.  He touched it one too many times and goofed up his chance.  No official grade, but we’ll give him a general review of “meh”.  Jimmy Nielsen was too deep on the goal he gave up and about smoked his head on the left post.  He saw the post and eased up as the ball went right through his hands.  Other than that he was relatively untested.  C+ for Jimmy on a night when he just needed a B-.

Peter Vermes gets an A for this game.  You think I’m crazy.  Hear me out.  He put his best lineup on the field and stuck with them.  When he needed an extra offensive push, he pulled Mikey Harrington, who has stepped up into a midfield role in Arnaud’s absence, and put Teal Bunbury in.  No less, no more.  Why no more subs?  BECAUSE THERE WAS NOBODY ELSE TO SUB IN.  Brilliant.  No Stojcev.  No Saad.  I’m sure Soony Saad will kick ass, but that’s no way to get a guy his first minutes.

So, to everyone that bitched about the tie tonight, remember:  a mediocre hummer is still a hummer.  On to the next one…

See everyone Wednesday night at LSP for the best excuse to crush Newcastle beers in the parking lot that we’ll have all summer.  Not sure what to expect from the game.  I personally wouldn’t be upset to see PV rest Sapong and Besler.  Those two guys are are horses, but their high-energy styles have got to be catching up to them.  Early prediction:  Sporting KC 1-3 Newcastle with a goal from Zusi.

Most of the discussion involving the Kansas City Royals these days includes the young stars in the majors, prospects in the minors, or the ineffectiveness of Kyle Davies.  And yes, I am using the term “ineffectiveness” because he has already taken so much heat from the media in KC.  In my opinion, the Royals are to blame for his problems because they shouldn’t allow him to pitch in the major leagues.  By making that simple decision, they would be protecting one of their players, not throwing him into the fire.  Yet, this article is not intended to be written about Kyle Davies.  It is meant to be written about one of his counterparts, Bruce Chen.

Bruce Chen, 2011 Royals MVP

Now, you may be thinking, a team’s winning percentage when a guy starts doesn’t always have to do with how he pitches.  Moreover, a teams winning percentage when a guy is on the active roster is even flukier.  Before you feed me a bunch of lines about run support, strength of schedule, or whatever other stat that has been created by the baseball nerds, let me first offer up this thought.  The Royals have a better winning percentage when Bruce Chen pitches because he can effectively limit teams from scoring runs.  Thus, he keeps the Royals in the game and gives them a chance to win.  The Royals have a better winning percentage win Bruce Chen is on the active roster for 2 reasons.  First of all, with Chen pitching every 5th start (and now 6th since we HAVE to make room for the FANTASTIC Kyle Davies), the Royals are much less likely to go through one of those extended losing streaks we have been so familiar with over the years.  Secondly, the knowledge and confidence he brings to the clubhouse keeps the team focused and engaged.  We have all heard that Chen is a great clubhouse guy.  He is often described as a prankster and a joker.  I am taking the time here to show you that he offers up even more.  I’m not going to say that Bruce Chen should be among one of the all time greats.  I will, though, make the statement that the Royals would be in contention for a playoff spot if they had 5 Bruce Chen’s in the starting rotation.  Without a doubt, Chen is the MVP of the Royals.  Now, after making that statement, I leave you with a final question.  How bad of shape are the Royals in when Bruce Chen is being offered up as the MVP?