Toronto Blizzard for MLS name?

[Luis_Rancagua]

With the possibilities that Toronto will, with all likelyhood, get an MLS franchise, do you think is right to call the new franchise Toronto Blizzard. What's your view on this one??? If it works for Vancouver (Whitecaps), would it work for Toronto??? I've already forward an E-mail to the MLSE on this matter. I hope to get a response.

[Gian-Luca]

I think the Toronto Black Squirrels would be a better name - we have more of those in Toronto than we do Blizzards, especially in the summer months when the team would play.

[Luis_Rancagua]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I think the Toronto Black Squirrels would be a better name - we have more of those in Toronto than we do Blizzards, especially in the summer months when the team would play.
Gian-Luca, think about the great tradition that the Blizzard left behind. Now with that being said, would you actually call the team the Reptiles, the Flashers, the Alliens, etc...

[SeanKeay]

Screw them both.. lets call the team somthign the mls could be proud of
Real Athletico Racing Club Toronto Football Club

[Breakwood]

Nah that name is too american Sean, MLS wants it more european so it would have to be somthing like

Red Star Real Athletico Olympic Racing Club Toronto Hotspurs Football Club 05

[Free kick]

I guess that I am not the only one who thinks that Real Salt lake sounds really silly. I think Euro-wannabe when I see that name.

I think "Real" is derived from "Royal". I don't know what the link is between Royal and Salt lake city.

[Alberto7]

I've always liked the name Toronto Metros. It is certainly better than Blizzard.

[Gian-Luca]

Doesn't everybody think "Real Salt Lake" sounds silly? The Utah Yuths (said in a Joe Peschi accent) would have been a better name.

How about the Toronto Testicles? Think of all the jokes the commentators could say about the players playing with their balls.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Doesn't everybody think "Real Salt Lake" sounds silly? The Utah Yuths (said in a Joe Peschi accent) would have been a better name.

How about the Toronto Testicles? Think of all the jokes the commentators could say about the players playing with their balls.




New meaning to thw word "Long ball tactics"

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Doesn't everybody think "Real Salt Lake" sounds silly? The Utah Yuths (said in a Joe Peschi accent) would have been a better name.

How about the Toronto Testicles? Think of all the jokes the commentators could say about the players playing with their balls.




Yutes would be good. I like it. Much like Real Salt lake, Yutes would in some be very Euro. Much like Juve or the swiss club called Young boys. :D

[Passive Observer]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Doesn't everybody think "Real Salt Lake" sounds silly? The Utah Yuths (said in a Joe Peschi accent) would have been a better name.




Supposedly the people of Salt Lake City have taken to the name. I thought the name was silly too, but soccer has a long tradition of ripping names from big clubs. In Latin America you have clubs named Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, etc.

Blizzard works for me, but my personal favorite is FC Toronto

I think a logo similar to that of FC Tokyo would be awesome
http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ruby-roy/fc.tokyo.jpg

[Free kick]

Seriously. I think the best name in MLS is Metrostars. It reflects a region and is very distictive and yet not a euro ripoff. I would like to see something along that line for a name.

In the NBA, I like the name Golden State. But it would have been better had they left out the Warriors name.

[Passive Observer]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I think the Toronto Black Squirrels would be a better name - we have more of those in Toronto than we do Blizzards, especially in the summer months when the team would play.


Jap. club with squirrel as their logo:

http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/grafix/ardijaL.gif

http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/grafix/omiya1.gif

[Passive Observer]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

Seriously. I think the best name in MLS is Metrostars. It reflects a region and is very distictive and yet not a euro ripoff. I would like to see something along that line for a name.


Tell me you're joking! "MetroStars" sounds like the name of a Las Vegas roller skating show.

[Loud Mouth Soup]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I think the Toronto Black Squirrels would be a better name - we have more of those in Toronto than we do Blizzards, especially in the summer months when the team would play.



We also have more homeless people than anywhere else in Canada.

Toronto Hobos? Toronto Vagrants? Toronto Guys Spitting And Swearing At You For Not Giving Up Some Change?

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup


quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I think the Toronto Black Squirrels would be a better name - we have more of those in Toronto than we do Blizzards, especially in the summer months when the team would play.



We also have more homeless people than anywhere else in Canada.

Toronto Hobos? Toronto Vagrants? Toronto Guys Spitting And Swearing At You For Not Giving Up Some Change?


Well the homeless are bringing glory for canada in international soccer :):



http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1122331505926&call_pageid=1044529386722&col=1044529386490

Jul. 26, 2005. 01:00 AM



Soccer tournament helps the homeless



EDINBURGH—A half-dozen homeless people have given Canada one of its best international soccer results.

Canada won two games at the third annual Homeless World Cup, double its total from last year's event in Sweden. It finished in 20th place, far better than the Canadian men's team's 84th-place world ranking, albeit against a much smaller field.

"They've had so much taken away from them, but you can't take this away," said co-manager Michelle Brown, who led the fundraising that paid for the team to go.

The games were played on a concrete pitch in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The four-a-side teams comprised men and women, 50-year-olds and teenagers. Matches, which drew thousands of spectators, took just 14 minutes each.

The tournament aims to use soccer to help the homeless break out from the margins of society. The annual competition began in Austria in 2003 and is scheduled for Cape Town, South Africa, next year.

Italy won this year's tournament, beating Poland 3-2 in the final. Canada defeated Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but lost 4-2 to Spain in its last game.

Thirty-two teams were entered, but players for five African teams — Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Burundi and Zambia — were denied entry to Scotland due to immigration concerns.

Canada's Brad Stone, 25, has high hopes for possible effects back home.

"If they could see what we're seeing, I think their views would change so much. This is going to open more doors. I believe it will change my life."

from Tristan Stewart-Robertson, Associated Press

[Luis_Rancagua]

Guys were are missing-out on a great opportunity here. Long live the Blizzard

http://www.toffs.com/stock/5040LG.gif http://www.toffs.com/stock/5041LG.gif


http://home.att.net/~naslpics/teampics/83_blizzard.jpg

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

I guess that I am not the only one who thinks that Real Salt lake sounds really silly. I think Euro-wannabe when I see that name.

I think "Real" is derived from "Royal". I don't know what the link is between Royal and Salt lake city.


How many people know it means Royal? I didn't until you told me.
You're right of course. The name is just dumb. I would have thought that Salt Lake Tabernacle would have been more appropriate.

db

[Danny Boy]

How about, Toronto Internazionale Total Soccer


Silly Rabbit....

[piltdownman]

I really like Toronto Black Squirrels. Its a wicked name.

Other good names:
Loyalists , as in empire loylaists
Vagabonds, as in a step up from homeless
The Wanders , a tribute to both the team in england, and toronto's first hockey club

[Richard]

I think you mean Wanderers.
Anyway, I vote for Toronto Blizzard.

[Bxl Boy]

Toronto Dreamers would be more accurate
Oh no, it would be the name of the supporters team

[piltdownman]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

I think you mean Wanderers.
Anyway, I vote for Toronto Blizzard.


Yah your right, teach me to eat and type at the same time ;)

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup

We also have more homeless people than anywhere else in Canada.

Toronto Hobos? Toronto Vagrants? Toronto Guys Spitting And Swearing At You For Not Giving Up Some Change?


Toronto Squeegee Boys

Or we could go with something very topical, like the Toronto Smog or the Ontario RoadKill

[piltdownman]

quote:Originally posted by piltdownman


quote:Originally posted by Richard

I think you mean Wanderers.
Anyway, I vote for Toronto Blizzard.


Yah your right, teach me to eat and type at the same time ;)


Even worse the Wanderers was the name of the the team in Montreal, the Toronto team was the Areanas. Boy did I mess that one up.

[Winnipeg Fury]

Blizzard has my vote Luis. It's a world class name, totally original and totally Canadian. It doesn't get any better than that.

[Daniel]

Since the MLS is known for those vague, singular nouns, I propose the Toronto Sprawl.

[G-Man]

quote:Originally posted by Daniel

Since the MLS is known for those vague, singular nouns, I propose the Toronto Sprawl.


How about something honest

The Toronto 19th Attempt at Pro Soccer.

[RealGooner]

AC Toronto or SC Toronto, for the prefixes Athletic Club or Sporting. Simple and traditional.

[SeanKeay]

Lets be honest how about The Toronto Go fu ck yourself g-man

has a nice ring to it

[Luis_Rancagua]

Guys, let's get real. There's a-lot at stake here. I am in favor of bringing back the glory years that made the Toronto soccer scene so proud. Let's do this clean and serious. If your in favor of bringing back respect and glory, then it would be obvious to re-instate the name Blizzard.

http://www.southafrica.info/cm_pics/what_happening/694-2438-0-0_176139.jpg http://www.southafrica.info/cm_pics/ess_info/690-1823-2719-0_148675.jpg
Even my old buddies Ace Ntsoelengoe and Jomo Sono will agree here.

[youllneverwalkalone]

http://home.att.net/~nasl/logos/Toronto2_Falcons.gif

No votes for Falcons?

[Massive Attack]

Centre of the Universe FC
Football Club United of Toronto
Toronto Exhibitionists (in honour of the supposed stadium site)
Sprawltown United
FC Smog City

[Varsity Tyler]

quote:Toronto Exhibitionists (in honour of the supposed stadium site)


I just shot water out my nose! lol

In all seriousness, Toronto Metros is a great name, but I can't see it happening when the Metrostars are a reasonable drive down the road.

Toronto City (classy, best alternative to Metros that I can think of)
Toronto Blizzard (historic and an image of success)

to please those looking for something more "euro"

York Redcoats : )

[Richard]

*grin*

"York Redcoats"

I love it, would make for great rivalry with any future MLS franchise in Montreal but I don't think it would be tolerated by some quarters of society.

[Elias]

quote:Originally posted by Richard

*grin*

"York Redcoats"

I love it, would make for great rivalry with any future MLS franchise in Montreal but I don't think it would be tolerated by some quarters of society.


Yeah, the Crips won't like it. [:p]

I know everybody is trying to be funny, don't quit your day jobs people, but if MLSE owns it, it will be some sort of Mickey Mouseesque name. Raptors anyone?

As for the Blizzard, I really don't think it has the history, beyond people on this board, that some people here think it does. Plus, if whoever owns the name now, thinks they hit the lottery and try and hold it ransom, I can't see MLSE paying.

*** Edit: wait a minute, MLSE had nothing to do with the Raptors name. And they did pay something for the Marlies name.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Considering the faux-Europeness of MLS, are you allowed to write "Hog Town?" or does it half to be "Hogtown." I have no idea what it even means or whether locals ever say it, but it seems like one of those once in a lifetime opportunities, much like Salt Lake CITY!

[zacRWE]

Blizzards is decent, but i really like
Inter Toronto (because we would be the only team from Canada, therefor International)
Toronto FC
Toronto City

That is all, but International Toronto is what I vote for! otherwise keep em the LYNX!

[SeanKeay]

To be 100% serious... which i never am...

I would love if we were the blizzard again

[tguy]

quote:Originally posted by dbailey62


quote:Originally posted by Free kick

I guess that I am not the only one who thinks that Real Salt lake sounds really silly. I think Euro-wannabe when I see that name.

I think "Real" is derived from "Royal". I don't know what the link is between Royal and Salt lake city.


How many people know it means Royal? I didn't until you told me.
You're right of course. The name is just dumb. I would have thought that Salt Lake Tabernacle would have been more appropriate.

db


have you heard of the city Montreal. the name comes after the mountain in the city. Mont Royal which in french is Mont Real when you join the words together you get Montreal. ;)

[RealGooner]

quote:Originally posted by zacRWE

Blizzards is decent, but i really like
Inter Toronto (because we would be the only team from Canada, therefor International)
Toronto FC
Toronto City

That is all, but International Toronto is what I vote for! otherwise keep em the LYNX!


Inter Toronto, I could be happy with , along with AC Toronto or Sporting. Wasnt there an Inter Montreal team in the 80s?

Actually, wasn't there an Inter Montreal team at one point in the 80s?

[Sigma]

quote:Originally posted by RealGooner
Actually, wasn't there an Inter Montreal team at one point in the 80s?


Good memory...

Inter Montreal F.C played in the CPSL 1 in 1983.

The league only lasted one season, and Inter only played 7-games. Most teams played around 12.

However, Inter did play two exhibition games. One was a 2-0 victory over Marseilles and the other was a 1-1 tie against Udinese (Inter won on PK's).

Info from
http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/cpsl.html

[François]

quote:Originally posted by Sigma


quote:Originally posted by RealGooner
Actually, wasn't there an Inter Montreal team at one point in the 80s?


Good memory...

Inter Montreal F.C played in the CPSL 1 in 1983.

The league only lasted one season, and Inter only played 7-games. Most teams played around 12.

However, Inter did play two exhibition games. One was a 2-0 victory over Marseilles and the other was a 1-1 tie against Udinese (Inter won on PK's).

Info from
http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/cpsl.html



I must be old but I attented those games...

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by tguy


quote:Originally posted by dbailey62


quote:Originally posted by Free kick

I guess that I am not the only one who thinks that Real Salt lake sounds really silly. I think Euro-wannabe when I see that name.

I think "Real" is derived from "Royal". I don't know what the link is between Royal and Salt lake city.


How many people know it means Royal? I didn't until you told me.
You're right of course. The name is just dumb. I would have thought that Salt Lake Tabernacle would have been more appropriate.

db


have you heard of the city Montreal. the name comes after the mountain in the city. Mont Royal which in french is Mont Real when you join the words together you get Montreal. ;)


Well there you go. All those damned romance languages are the same aren't they!

db

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by SeanKeay

To be 100% serious... which i never am...

I would love if we were the blizzard again


It's definitely my first choice although I
would approve of "Toronto United" too.

MLS doesn't have a "United" and one could consider
the term appropriate for Toronto considering the
huge number of cultures that make up the city.

Just the thought of a "United" change echoing around
the new stadium gives me chills.

db

[DJT]

quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

MLS doesn't have a "United"DC United?

[DJT]

quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

MLS doesn't have a "United"DC United?

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by DJT


quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

MLS doesn't have a "United"DC United?


Uhhhh, oh ya. DOH!

OK, Blizzard it is!

db

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by DJT


quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

MLS doesn't have a "United"DC United?


Uhhhh, oh ya. DOH!

OK, Blizzard it is!

db

[piltdownman]

After the mess with the stadium, and the absolute slap in the face to the lynx I think Divided is a more accurate name than United

Black Squirrels it has to be.

Just think of the chants

Go you Squirrelly Bastards,
Go you Squirrelly Bastards,
Beat those Girly Bastards,
You Squirrelly Toronto Bastards

[piltdownman]

After the mess with the stadium, and the absolute slap in the face to the lynx I think Divided is a more accurate name than United

Black Squirrels it has to be.

Just think of the chants

Go you Squirrelly Bastards,
Go you Squirrelly Bastards,
Beat those Girly Bastards,
You Squirrelly Toronto Bastards

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by piltdownman

After the mess with the stadium, and the absolute slap in the face to the lynx I think Divided is a more accurate name than United

Well, with no offence to the players who deserve no disrespect whatsover, the Lynx have been slapping Toronto soccer fans in the face for far too long.

db

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by piltdownman

After the mess with the stadium, and the absolute slap in the face to the lynx I think Divided is a more accurate name than United

Well, with no offence to the players who deserve no disrespect whatsover, the Lynx have been slapping Toronto soccer fans in the face for far too long.

db

[RealGooner]

Here's the MLS position on names. Some of you who love the Blizzard name might be disappointed......

By JOSEPH WHITE
The Associated Press

There's a funky new look to the Major League Soccer standings this year, at least to the sport's uninitiated. FC Dallas? Chivas USA? Real Salt Lake? What's that all about? Is there a Fake Salt Lake somewhere?

But, to soccer fans, it's a warm familiar look Ð another sign the adolescent league has stopped trying to Americanize the beautiful game and is more determined than ever to march in step with the rest of the world as it begins its 10th season Saturday.

"It's part of the strategy," commissioner Don Garber said. "These are soccer teams. And if they're trying to look like the type of club the soccer fan is used to seeing, then more than likely those teams aren't called 'the Clash.' That could be the name of a lacrosse team. That could be the name of a rock band Ð and was."

For that matter, 'Burn' was a baffling moniker to some. Now, the name Dallas Burn has been put to rest, replaced this season by FC Dallas, a timely change as team prepares to move into a new soccer-specific stadium in August.

FC stands for Football Club, a common prefix or suffix used by storied clubs such as FC Barcelona (Spain), FC Porto (Portugal) and seemingly half the teams in the Netherlands. Fulham FC of England will be the international opponent for the MLS All-Star game on July 30 at Columbus.

Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake are this year's expansion teams, welcome additions for a league that had to shut down franchises in Miami and Tampa Bay in 2002. MLS still operates very much in the red, but it is a 12-team league again.

Chivas USA will help change the financial outlook by tapping further into the Mexican community in the United States. Chivas USA Ð full name Club Deportivo Chivas USA Ð is being launched as a sister club of CD Guadalajara, one of Mexico's most popular teams. Chivas, or Goats, is CD Guadalajara's nickname.

Chivas USA will play at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., sharing the facility with the Los Angeles Galaxy and giving two MLS teams to an area not represented in the NFL.

"Chivas USA is going to be from the start just like Chivas in Mexico," said Jorge Vergara, who owns both clubs, "a team of excellence and an open door for Spanish speakers."

That's the kind of talk Garber wants to hear. If Mexicans across the country flock to stadiums when Chivas USA is in town, the team's draw will be comparable to the impact made by 14-year-old Freddy Adu of D.C. United last season. United averaged 23,686 fans on the road last year, more than 6,000 better than any other team.

"There's a buzz happening in the Hispanic community about this team," Garber said, referring to Chivas. "They could be the Freddy Factor of 2005.

"Not to get way too patriotic about it: These guys really believe in the United States. They really believe in the power of the Hispanic market, the value that the Mexican American consumer can provide all of us."

As for Real Salt Lake, the first word is pronounced RAY-al and means royal in Spanish, as any fan of mega-popular Real Madrid would quickly attest.

MLS has been evolving its game toward the world standard since 2000, when the league ditched the dreaded sudden-death shootout and the backward-running clock Ð two failed gimmicks that were supposed to attract the typical American sports fan and instead alienated soccer purists. MLS has since stopped trying to convert Joe NASCAR and concentrated more on nurturing its loyal supporters. Attendance has been steady in recent years; the average was 15,559 last season.

Meanwhile, the league continues to hinge its financial future on new, soccer-only stadiums that put teams in a position to break even Ð and perhaps turn a profit.

It's worked in Columbus and Los Angeles, and Dallas this year will unveil the 20,000-seat Frisco Soccer and Entertainment Center, host of this year's MLS Cup. Chicago will move into a new suburban stadium next year, and Colorado expects to do the same in 2007.

On the field, MLS remains a balanced league with a quality of play that gradually increases each year. The big question heading into the opening weekend was whether Landon Donovan would return from Germany's Bayer Leverkusen and join the Los Angeles Galaxy, who would send Carlos Ruiz to Dallas. Donovan said he won't decide until Thursday at the earliest. On Tuesday, Bayer Leverkusen said Donovan will rejoin MLS after 2 1/2 years in Germany.

First-year coach Peter Nowak led D.C. United from the basement to the MLS Cup title last season, and no one has won consecutive titles since United in 1996 and 1997, the league's first two years.

"I'm not going to back off an inch," Nowak said. "If you talk to these players last year, they were all tired of losing. And I think the whole point is they don't need to get tired of winning. Last year was last year, everything was great. But it means nothing to say we're going to do the same thing we did last year without working the same way."

[dbailey62]

Fair enough but the key difference is that "Burn", as a nickname for a soccer team, had no history in Dallas as far as I know.

We could use the San Jose example as one that is more encouraging for the rebirth of an NASL nickname.

Much depends on the market and the history of the market IMO.

BTW, regarding Chivas, if they don't turn their lack of success into something positively tangible, the experiment will end in tears.

db


quote:Originally posted by RealGooner

Here's the MLS position on names. Some of you who love the Blizzard name might be disappointed......

By JOSEPH WHITE
The Associated Press

There's a funky new look to the Major League Soccer standings this year, at least to the sport's uninitiated. FC Dallas? Chivas USA? Real Salt Lake? What's that all about? Is there a Fake Salt Lake somewhere?

But, to soccer fans, it's a warm familiar look Ð another sign the adolescent league has stopped trying to Americanize the beautiful game and is more determined than ever to march in step with the rest of the world as it begins its 10th season Saturday.

"It's part of the strategy," commissioner Don Garber said. "These are soccer teams. And if they're trying to look like the type of club the soccer fan is used to seeing, then more than likely those teams aren't called 'the Clash.' That could be the name of a lacrosse team. That could be the name of a rock band Ð and was."

For that matter, 'Burn' was a baffling moniker to some. Now, the name Dallas Burn has been put to rest, replaced this season by FC Dallas, a timely change as team prepares to move into a new soccer-specific stadium in August.

FC stands for Football Club, a common prefix or suffix used by storied clubs such as FC Barcelona (Spain), FC Porto (Portugal) and seemingly half the teams in the Netherlands. Fulham FC of England will be the international opponent for the MLS All-Star game on July 30 at Columbus.

Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake are this year's expansion teams, welcome additions for a league that had to shut down franchises in Miami and Tampa Bay in 2002. MLS still operates very much in the red, but it is a 12-team league again.

Chivas USA will help change the financial outlook by tapping further into the Mexican community in the United States. Chivas USA Ð full name Club Deportivo Chivas USA Ð is being launched as a sister club of CD Guadalajara, one of Mexico's most popular teams. Chivas, or Goats, is CD Guadalajara's nickname.

Chivas USA will play at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., sharing the facility with the Los Angeles Galaxy and giving two MLS teams to an area not represented in the NFL.

"Chivas USA is going to be from the start just like Chivas in Mexico," said Jorge Vergara, who owns both clubs, "a team of excellence and an open door for Spanish speakers."

That's the kind of talk Garber wants to hear. If Mexicans across the country flock to stadiums when Chivas USA is in town, the team's draw will be comparable to the impact made by 14-year-old Freddy Adu of D.C. United last season. United averaged 23,686 fans on the road last year, more than 6,000 better than any other team.

"There's a buzz happening in the Hispanic community about this team," Garber said, referring to Chivas. "They could be the Freddy Factor of 2005.

"Not to get way too patriotic about it: These guys really believe in the United States. They really believe in the power of the Hispanic market, the value that the Mexican American consumer can provide all of us."

As for Real Salt Lake, the first word is pronounced RAY-al and means royal in Spanish, as any fan of mega-popular Real Madrid would quickly attest.

MLS has been evolving its game toward the world standard since 2000, when the league ditched the dreaded sudden-death shootout and the backward-running clock Ð two failed gimmicks that were supposed to attract the typical American sports fan and instead alienated soccer purists. MLS has since stopped trying to convert Joe NASCAR and concentrated more on nurturing its loyal supporters. Attendance has been steady in recent years; the average was 15,559 last season.

Meanwhile, the league continues to hinge its financial future on new, soccer-only stadiums that put teams in a position to break even Ð and perhaps turn a profit.

It's worked in Columbus and Los Angeles, and Dallas this year will unveil the 20,000-seat Frisco Soccer and Entertainment Center, host of this year's MLS Cup. Chicago will move into a new suburban stadium next year, and Colorado expects to do the same in 2007.

On the field, MLS remains a balanced league with a quality of play that gradually increases each year. The big question heading into the opening weekend was whether Landon Donovan would return from Germany's Bayer Leverkusen and join the Los Angeles Galaxy, who would send Carlos Ruiz to Dallas. Donovan said he won't decide until Thursday at the earliest. On Tuesday, Bayer Leverkusen said Donovan will rejoin MLS after 2 1/2 years in Germany.

First-year coach Peter Nowak led D.C. United from the basement to the MLS Cup title last season, and no one has won consecutive titles since United in 1996 and 1997, the league's first two years.

"I'm not going to back off an inch," Nowak said. "If you talk to these players last year, they were all tired of losing. And I think the whole point is they don't need to get tired of winning. Last year was last year, everything was great. But it means nothing to say we're going to do the same thing we did last year without working the same way."

[trueviking]

toronto smoke?

i always thought "the big smoke" was a cool nickname for a city....cooler than the city itself.

fc smog, is good too though

[Gian-Luca]

Garber mentioned today on the otherwise dreadful MLS all-star game telecast that they are very hopeful of Toronto being the next expansion team & have a good feeling it will happen - which while positive, sounds less "certain" than some of the previously reported comments. Especially as they mentioned the stadium was still part of the hope.

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Garber mentioned today on the otherwise dreadful MLS all-star game telecast that they are very hopeful of Toronto being the next expansion team & have a good feeling it will happen - which while positive, sounds less "certain" than some of the previously reported comments. Especially as they mentioned the stadium was still part of the hope.


Not only was the telecast bad, the match was .... disappointing. I also heard the comments by Garber and yes, I felt optimistic. Of course, it all comes down to the stadium issue but I'm desperate enough to live with Skydome for a year if we had to, not that I expect that this would be acceptable to MLS.

db

[Rudi]

I think they may have to play at SkyDome for least the first month or so, because there is no way in hell they could have a stadium ready for April 2007, especially considering that we've heard NOTHING about logistics (or even whether we're actually getting a stadium) so far.

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by Rudi

I think they may have to play at SkyDome for least the first month or so, because there is no way in hell they could have a stadium ready for April 2007, especially considering that we've heard NOTHING about logistics (or even whether we're actually getting a stadium) so far.


Very true.

db