Merry Generic Winter Day-Off With No Religious Content

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Barry Bonds failed a test for amphetamines last season and originally blamed it on a teammate, the Daily News reported Thursday.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2727325

TM

[Alex_de_Large]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Jesus, that's right. I was thinking of this in the context of other sports deals, where Beckham's $50MM a year (?) is obscene and ridiculous, but not by orders of magnitude.

But in soccer? He's probably getting paid what the entire league gets paid now.

The next highest contract is $900,000 (Landon Donovan). Average salary is $90k.

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Jesus, that's right. I was thinking of this in the context of other sports deals, where Beckham's $50MM a year (?) is obscene and ridiculous, but not by orders of magnitude.

But in soccer? He's probably getting paid what the entire league gets paid now.

I predict that Landon Donovan will pout. Which is what he does best.

[Alex_de_Large]

Originally posted by ironweed
I predict that Landon Donovan will pout. Which is what he does best.

Donovan sucks.

[Adder]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
2. But they might get more of the movie audience if they paid Keira to come run around in short shorts and a clingy t-shirt.

I might show up for that.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by ironweed
He is one of the few names that people who have never watched a soccer match in their lives probably know (and certainly the biggest in the English-speaking world). If MLS can get just half the number of people who have seen "Bend It Like Beckham" in stadium seats for an MLS game it will have been well worth it.

ETA: The glaring difference between my helpful and generous nature and Flower's wanton cruelty is evident in these last two posts. But he is right.

This may also be about increasing the visability of MLS in Europe.

I suspect that one or two Galaxy jerseys will be sold in the UK in the next few months.

[Gattigap]

I have recently learned that when a (pre)school here has a designated "snow day," it does not -- as in other, normal areas of the country -- relate to floating day(s) where the kids might stay home because of, well, snow falling from the sky.

Instead, it relates to a day where the school hires a dude to come out with several big friggin' blocks of ice and generate several hundred cubic feet of machine-generated snow on the ground so the kids can go play in it. (Apparently, this is the kind of gig that local contractors do when they're not on set generating snow for the latest Bruce Willis flick.)

You may now mock.

Gattigap

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally posted by ironweed
He is one of the few names that people who have never watched a soccer match in their lives probably know (and certainly the biggest in the English-speaking world). If MLS can get just half the number of people who have seen "Bend It Like Beckham" in stadium seats for an MLS game it will have been well worth it.

ETA: The glaring difference between my helpful and generous nature and Flower's wanton cruelty is evident in these last two posts. But he is right.

You say "helpful and generous." I say "longwinded."

Originally posted by Alex_de_Large
Donovan sucks.

In an excess of patriotic zeal this past summer I went to buy a US national team jersey (never let it be said that I do not Love America). The only ones they had left had Donovan's name and number on them. I still do not own a national team jersey.

[patentparanyc]

Originally posted by Gattigap
I have recently learned that when a (pre)school here has a designated "snow day," it does not -- as in other, normal areas of the country -- relate to floating day(s) where the kids might stay home because of, well, snow falling from the sky.

Instead, it relates to a day where the school hires a dude to come out with several big friggin' blocks of ice and generate several hundred cubic feet of machine-generated snow on the ground so the kids can go play in it. (Apparently, this is the kind of gig that local contractors do when they're not on set generating snow for the latest Bruce Willis flick.)

You may now mock.

Gattigap

You have man made snow just like the ski areas so the pre school kids can go play in it? okayyy. that is SO LA!

um, so what do they wear. do you go out and buy expensive winter gear so they won't freeze their tookus off rolling around in it?

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally posted by ironweed
In an excess of patriotic zeal this past summer I went to buy a US national team jersey (never let it be said that I do not Love America). The only ones they had left had Donovan's name and number on them. I still do not own a national team jersey.

Oh, back when he was representing American soccer and playing in the Bundesliga, he was your little darling. But a few ineffectual performances in the World Cup and now you spit on his jersey. The winds of Ironweed's favor turn cold quickly and mercilessly.

Originally posted by baltassoc
This may also be about increasing the visability of MLS in Europe.

I suspect that one or two Galaxy jerseys will be sold in the UK in the next few months.

If Beckham is still as popular as he used to be in Asia the Galaxy/MLS will be selling many more jerseys in Japan than the UK. ManU and Real both made a nice wedge selling Beckham-related crap in the far east while he was on their books.

[Anne Elk]

Originally posted by ironweed
This is the Pele to New York Cosmos saga redux. Paying silly money for a player on the downslope of his career -- but with huge name recognition -- in the hope that Americans will start taking American soccer a bit more seriously.

Then again, the MLS has seemed fairly realistic about growing a league over the last 10 years or so and it won't all just disappear when Beckham retires.

LA has been that couple's spiritual home for years anyway.

Good thing they changed the salary cap rules recently.

ION - despite my intense dislike of Brian McBride, I will know be following Fulham so I can see how Deuce does in the EPL.

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally posted by Anne Elk
Good thing they changed the salary cap rules recently.

ION - despite my intense dislike of Brian McBride, I will know be following Fulham so I can see how Deuce does in the EPL.

For some reason, McBride always strikes me as less annoying in the EPL than he does in the US jersey. I think Dempsey will do well there.

[Anne Elk]

Originally posted by Alex_de_Large
Donovan sucks.

2. But he'll stay here because he is a wussy homebody. He doesn't like to be away from his wife and the beach.