The Columbus Crew-Why Don't They Draw Anymore?

Too Many Empty Seats At Columbus Crew Stadium This Year

There is lots of discussion about the Columbus Crew's attendance woes this season. The Crew have performed well this season (1st place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Division as of this writing) but has the lowest average attendance per home game (11,359/game) in MLS. That average is 22% down from last season for the Crew, and 35% below the average attendance of all MLS teams this season.

Certainly there is no limit to the opinions on why. Just check this thread on BigSoccer.com if you want to see them.

Brian Straus, (follow him on twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/brianstraus) soccer writer for SportingNews.com wrote a very interesting article on the subject today. I think he captured the issues facing the Crew very succinctly.

Here's the link:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/soccer/story/2011-09-20/crews-struggle-brings-to-doubt-columbus-as-major-league-market

I think the Crew can overcome the issues, but it's going to take work on their part, and support from the Columbus area population.

Get behind the Crew! Dare to be Massive! : http://www.thecrew.com/news/2011/09/dare-be-massive-initative-launched

Grantland.com, My New Favorite Website And Their Open Letter to Jim Tressel

A couple of months ago, ESPN/ESPN.com writer extraordinaire, Bill Simmons, launched the website Grantland.com.

I have quickly become a big fan of the site. Great writing, not only on sports but also on pop culture.

This open letter to Coach Jim Tressel was posted yesterday, written by John Brandon. Excellent!

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6891889/dear-coach-tressel

You can follow Grantland.com on twitter, @grantland33.

Robbie Rogers-Man of the Match! Columbus Crew 2, Philadelphia Union 1, 8/20/11

I have had a love/hate fan relationship with the Columbus Crew's Robbie Rogers. At times I have been completely frustrated with his play, expecting more of an effort, better finishing, better final passes.

But after Robbie's performance in the Crew's 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union last night, I can now declare myself a Robbie Rogers fan.

Robbie assisted on the Crew's first goal with a nice cross into Emilio Renteria. Later in the match Rogers forced a handball in the box by Philly defender Sheanon Williams that was converted for a goal by Andres Mendoza.

It was obvious in the first half that the Union were not going to let the ball get to Rogers playing left midfield for the Crew. They overloaded their midfield on his side of the field, which allowed the Crew to work the ball up the right side. Early in the match, The Crew did have one very good opportunity in the from the right, a Justin Meram cross that Rogers almost converted for a goal.

Once the Crew figured out how to get Rogers the ball with space on the left, they became very dangerous. He had one shot he fired high, and then later in the first half made the cross that resulted in the Crew's first goal of the night.

Robbie Rogers is showing that he is one of the best midfielders in MLS and is playing up to the potential we all new he had. He's also pretty interesting on twitter. @robbierogers

The Crew now have a 5 point lead over the Houston Dynamo for first place in the MLS Eastern Conference.

This team gets better and better as the season continues. Michael Arace posted a great commentary this morning on the Columbus Dispatch's website regarding the Crew and their success this year. I love the last line, "Open your window and sniff. Is that a trace of Massive in the air?"

Check it out:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2011/08/21/big-names-in-new-york-la-but-crews-in-first.html

My 5,000th Tweet!

I knew I was coming up on my 5,000th Tweet, and was really trying to come up an imspirational thing to Tweet in 140 characters or less.

What I didn't do was keep track close enough to my Tweet count, and missed it by one.

At least my 5,000th Tweet was about one of my favorite subjects, The Cincinnati Reds:


RT @Reds: RT @Jamieblog: BRUCE, PHILLIPS, VOTTO NAMED NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STARS http://wp.me/p1rXtQ-90de

Here is my 5,001st Tweet:


I was going to tweet something prophetic for my 5,000th tweet, but miscounted. This is my 5,001st tweet. Nothing to add. #doh

Follow me on Twitter to help me celebrate hitting the 5,000 Tweet mark!

The Case Against Lance Armstrong

I just finished watching 60 Minutes this evening:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/20/60minutes/main20064858.shtml?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel

They dedicated over 35 minutes of tonight's show to an interview with Tyler Hamilton, one of Lance Armstrong's teammates on the US Postal Service cycling team that helped lead Lance to Tour De France victories in the early 2000's.

Lance Armstrong is one of the exhibits in my Modern Museum of Gripes and Grievances. I should be clear that Lance Armstrong, through his Livestrong Foundation has single-handedly raised millions of dollars for cancer research and prevention. That is a great thing.

But Lance Armstrong is also arrogant, condescending, egotistical and generally not a likable guy. However, he is very powerful in the world of sports and particularly in cycling, and he wields that power like a sword, cutting off anyone who dares question him, his motives and ultimately his claims that he is and was clean as he won his 7 Tour de France titles.

But as was pointed out in the 60 minutes report, and as I was just reminded through a tweet from my brother Tim, Marion Jones never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, and maintained her innocence until additional evidence proved that she had doped. She finally had to admit her guilt.

What bothers me the most about Lance Armstrong is the short and condescending way he defends himself, as if he is better than those who choose to question him in the face of overwhelming evidence. He cites the 500 plus drug tests he has never failed. It's interesting that we haven't heard him say "I have never taken performance enhancing drugs, and have never been involved in blood doping." We've only heard him say he's never failed a drug test.

So here I am, trying to strike a balance between the great work that Lance Armstrong's foundation has done to raise money for cancer research and prevention, and the fact that he is using the same influence and power that made Livestrong so successful, to continue to perpetuate his claims of innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Reds Sweep Cardinals-And The Cardinals Are Whining Again!

The Reds took all three games this weekend from the Cardinals and are now in first place in the National League Central by 1.5 games.

It was definitely a fun series, and a great series for Reds fans. I saw game two on Saturday, a 7-3 drubbing by the Reds.

Winning Duh #Reds http://yfrog.com/h7walmeajFOX19Eileen May 15, 2011 at 16:36

But the real fireworks, which continues to reinforce the fierceness of this rivalry, came in Sunday's game. In the top of the ninth, with the Reds leading 9-7 and one out, Reds pitcher Francisco Cordero hit Albert Pujols with a pitch.

Pujols took first base. The Cardinals had runners on first and second at that point. The next Cardinals' batter, Matt Holliday hit a sure double-play grounder to Reds' shortstop Paul Janish, who flipped to second baseman Brandon Phillips for the first out. But Albert Pujols slid hard into second, forcing a bad throw to first.

The Cardinals were left with runners at first and third, and two outs. Right fielder Lance Berkman came to bat. Cordero struck him out, giving the Reds the series sweep.

That's when the real fun started. Following the Berkman strikeout, someone yelled at Cordero from the Cardinals' dugout. Cordero reacted, yelling something pretty close to f**k you in Spanish back to the Cardinals. OK, I might be embellishing that part, but Cordero definitely had some choice words for the Cardinals.

Ultimately things calmed down. But in typical fashion, the Cardinals whined again after losing to the Reds. Reports are that someone (Cordero fingered Gerald Laird, but TV replays showed Cardinal pitching coach Dave Duncan) took umbrage to the fact that Cordero had hit Pujols with the pitch.

Why would Cordero purposely do that? Holliday and Berkman followed Pujols in the batting order. Hitting Pujols put the winning run at the plate with one out. Even Albert Pujols himself told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he didn't think it was intentional.

But the Cardinals are whiners, and they continue to show it. John Fay, the Reds' beat writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer (check out his twitter account johnfayman) covered the situation along with reactions very well in his blog. Check out these posts:
Reds win 9-7, teams trade barbs afterward

Game talk: Reds-Cardinals reactions

What others are saying about Reds’ sweep of Cards

Fallout from yesterday

My 80 Year Old Dad is on Twitter!

If you follow my blog, you already know that my Dad has contributed some interesting thoughts over the last couple of months. His contributions (click on Dad in the label cloud to the right) were sent to me via email, which I then copied into my blog, whether I had permission from him or not!

Now my Dad has joined the Twitter Universe! His Twitter handle is sandosthe. Follow him: http://twitter.com/#!/sandosthe

Of course, when he published his first tweet, he emailed us to go look at it...

Here's a sample:

sandosthe Tom Sell 

Rats spelled backward is star; ecim spelled backwards is mice.

4 hours ago 

sandosthe Tom Sell 

If you want to ruin what could be a great day, put your underwear on backwards.

8 May 

sandosthe Tom Sell 

@tcsell smart asses with Ph.D.s will be eliminated in the new world order!

Dad (sandosthe)

5/1/11 Osama Bin Laden is Dead

News reports have confirmed Osama Bin Laden is dead and the U.S. government has the body.
President Obama is due to speak at any time now.

CNN's Anderson Cooper put's it best for me. His tweet, posted moments ago:

@andersoncooper: My thoughts right now are with all those lost on 9-11, and all those killed by his followers in the years since.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

The Best Soccer Club Atmosphere I Have Ever Seen in the U.S.-Portland Timbers of the MLS!

Last night (April 14, 2011) one of the two new expansion clubs in Major League Soccer, the Portland Timbers, had their home debut. They opened their new/renovated stadium, Jeld-Wen Field. The game was broadcast on ESPN2 at 11pm EST, so I had to DVR it. But I did make sure to catch the opening couple of minutes.

The Timbers took a very prudent approach to their home stadium. The field originally opened in 1926 and has been used by the local minor league baseball team, the Portland Beavers, and the Portland State Football team.

The stadium also has soccer tradition. It was the home of the old NASL (North American Soccer League) Portland Timbers from 1975-1982 and hosted the NASL Championship Game between the New York Cosmos and Seattle Sounders in 1977. That game was historic as it was Pele's final professional match.

After a $31 million dollar renovation, the field opened last night with the Portland Timbers hosting the Chicago Fire. I still have to watch the game on the DVR, but the Timbers won 4-2, sending their fans (18,627 to be exact) including their supporters group, the Timbers Army, home very happy.

The field looked great on TV. Possibly the best atmosphere I have ever seen for a US based soccer club, rivaling the best of the European clubs. The Timbers Army was very well organized, singing and chanting in unison.

The best part of last night's match for me was the decision that Portland Timbers' management made regarding the National Anthem. Rather than bringing in a celebrity to sing the Star-Spangled Banner, the decision was made to have the Timbers Army sing it. A brilliant move, and possibly the best rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner I have ever heard. Check it out!

ADDED:I forgot to mention that the Portland Timbers may have started the best tradition in the MLS when celebrating a home goal. After every goal, the Timbers mascot, Timber Joey, brings out his chain saw and cuts a slice off of a huge log.

After the game the goal scorer is presented with the slice to commemorate his goal!

Steve Sirk, who has contributed articles for the Columbus Crew's website, http://www.thecrew.com/ had a great tweet last night about the tradition:

stevesirk Steve Sirk 

How far MLS has come, part 22567...1996: "Sorry, drums can be used as weapons. No entry!" 2011: "Fully functional chain saw? No problem!"

Here is Timber Joey after the first goal last night:

Portland Timbers Celebrate Their Big Win! (Craig Mitchelldyer, www.portlandtimbers.com)

My Blackberry Addiction Got Me in the Cincinnati Enquirer!

Not in a bad way-DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE!

After attending Opening Day at Great American Ballpark, I saw a Tweet from the Cincinnati Enquirer asking for people to respond if they were annoyed with cell phone coverage in the ballpark.

I responded, and now I am newsworthy! Click the link below:

Stadiums rush to improve cell phone reception

Opening Day in Cincinnati-"And This One Belongs to the Reds!"

This year it was my youngest son Michael's turn to go to the Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day with me. Cincinnati's Opening Day traditions are unlike any other in baseball.

Michael and Me at Great American Ballpark Today

It begins with the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade in downtown Cincinnati. Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Famer Joe Morgan (one of my all-time favorites) was this year's Grand Marshall. Over 190 bands, dance groups, floats, politicians and businesses marched in the parade, which followed a route from Findlay Market in the Over The Rhine neighborhood past Fountain Square, a total of 2 miles.

Of course Great American Ballpark was sold out for the game between the Reds and the Brewers. The sun was out, which made the 45 degree temperature quite bearable.

(The Enquirer/Cara Owsley)

The Reds won the game 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th on a walk-off 3-run homer by catcher Ramon Hernandez! It was a great way to end an Opening Day Game. Maybe this will lead to a wire-to wire World Championship like the 1990 Cincinnati Reds. My son Michael posted this on his Facebook Page:

Michael Sell

Best Reds game of my life. Perfect way to end opening day. Walk off by Hernandez. Unbelievable.




He is right!

Ramon Hernandez Greeted at Home Plate in the Bottom of the 9th

You can read all about the game on the Reds website:
Hernandez's Heroics lift Reds on Opening Day

Pete Rose at Opening Day 2011

It wouldn't be Opening Day in Cincinnati without a Pete Rose sighting in the ballpark. The crowd got a glimpse of Pete Rose in the 3rd inning, and he of course drew a big cheer.

I love Pete Rose, but the jacket and hat...someone needs to dress that guy!

The best lines about Pete's outfit were from Scott Van Pelt's (ESPN anchor and radio host) Twitter posts:

notthefakeSVP Scott Van Pelt 

Pete Rose.....transcendent http://twitpic.com/4fer6m

notthefakeSVP Scott Van Pelt 

Worth one more look @ ole Chuck Hustle just murdering fools in his Lid lifter get up (no annoying channel id) http://twitpic.com/4fesbx

notthefakeSVP Scott Van Pelt 

What happens to a dude? You just wake up one day and go- where's my clown hat and my Joseph and the amazing techincolor dreamcoat jacket at?

Chad Ochocinco's Trial With Sporting KC, I Like It!

In typical fashion, Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver Chad Ochocinco has generated a wide range of opinions with regards to his trial this week with Sporting KC of Major League Soccer.

Chad Ochocinco at his Press Conference www.sportingkc.com

One opinion: This is just another Chad Ochocinco publicity stunt, meant to only promote himself. Sporting KC doesn't need this kind of distraction as they begin the 2011 MLS regular season.

Another opinion: Why now? Chad Ochocinco hasn't played since high school. Why would Sporting KC bring Chad Ochocinco into training, risking injury to team members as there is no way that he can keep up with the pace of these professional soccer players. What does Sporting KC gain, as the chances that Chad Ochocinco makes the team are very small.

I'm a Cincinnati Bengals fan, admittedly a tough thing to admit with the poor results the Bengals have had over the last several years. As a resident of the Cincinnati area, I've experienced life with Chad Ochocinco as a player, self-promoter, etc. My take? Chad Ochocinco is giving an honest effort to make the team. He respects the game, respects the players and has been very honest in his self-assessment as a player. Just look at some sample Tweets from his Twitter page, http://twitter.com/#!/ochocinco:

ochocinco Chad Ochocinco 

Headed to bed with a (humble pie) in the oven on low tempature,to be able to grace the pitch with elite futbol athletes is #Epic goodnight

ochocinco Chad Ochocinco 

@3gerardpique I understand the skill it takes it to play at this level,I just love the beautiful game n have much respect for it,see u soon.

ochocinco Chad Ochocinco 

I wish you all can see the skill it takes to play FUTBOL,even with my speed these guys still make me look like shit on the pitch#seriously

ochocinco Chad Ochocinco 

Speed is nothing without control, let the ball do the breathing#TheBeautifulGame

ochocinco Chad Ochocinco 

Taking the entire team to Fogo De Chao tonight,I'm the rookie in a sense so this should be fun,what are y'all doing?

Chad Ochocinco has been respectful and humble during his trail with Sporting KC. Will he make the team? I don't know. But I'm rooting for him.