"If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?" -- ancient proverb, likely Chinese. (In this case, the woods are swath of slash-and-burned Brasilian rain forest.)
Consider this a die-hards only bonus Saturday morning post since I woke up early in vain hoping to get a stream of Arsenal/Manchester United game, only to nearly chuck my laptop out the window in frustration. Ballscockshitfuck.
Enjoy..
Right now the 2007 MLS Cup playoffs are taking place inside their own, tiny, tidy bubble (shield). Remember over the summer when I railed against the Associated Press' coverage of the beautiful game. This is why.
Here is the entire, stress entire, AP dispatch from the second leg of the FC Dallas/Houston Dynamo playoff series.
Should I throw in when this first "moved" on the wires, the final score was incorrect?
Basically you're telling me that there isn't a writer in the entire state of Texas that can write a worthwhile game story for a PLAYOFF GAME? This was a pretty intense two-leg match, with the defending league champs pushed to the brink, only to rally in extra time and you're telling me it's only worth five paragraphs?
This write-up is shorter than even WNBA games, Arena Football games and NHL preseason games.
Embarassing.
On the plus side, at least some MLS teams have good local beat writers on top of things. Throw in the whole web-thing, and MLS hardcores can get their fix. Of course, I doubt tonight's RBNY/Revolution game is getting any play whatsoever in the New York or New England papers. (Oooh, A-Rod squeezed!)
But back to the AP.
Down the stretch of the season there was one, count 'em one feature story on anything associated with MLS, a puff-piece on Luciano Edmilio and his quest for the goal-scoring title.
Again, to reiterate the point from July. The AP is the backbone of American sports reporting. When they decide to devote a whopping FIVE paragraphs to a playoff game, it indirectly sends the message to sports editors and other media types that this isn't something worth paying attention to.
This is the copy that is linked to most websites and news aggregators, as well. Space is limitless on the web, but apparently not for MLS.
Hell, the stringer at Robertson Stadium couldn't even be bothered to walk down to the locker room and throw a Ching or Dominic Kinnear quote into it.
You'd think that the American top-flight soccer league would get more than a throwaway 'story' that's on par with who won the Estonian wife carrying competition, a tennis match from Tashkent, Uzbekistan or some other far-flung sport.
By the same token, right now who's going to devote much space to the MLS Cup playoffs with so much other sports going on in America? That's where the tree falling in the woods comes in. Right now the MLS is just one tree in a crowded forest.
And not to go off on another tangent, but at the gym Friday morning I was on a machine for about 45 minutes. During ESPN's 'Sportscenter' there was not one second during my time that they mentioned that the Chicago Fire had upset DC United -- and the network CARRIED THE GAME!
Perhaps the worldwide leader used up its domestic soccer quota for the year showing David Beckham tie his shoes in July. (It's not like their web presence, at least for American stuff, is better. Why write a few in-house articles a week? It's not like the dot com doesn't have a fleet of 763 writers debating and dissecting NFL minutia ad nausea.)
In any event, I'd like to see commissioner Don Garber spin this one in a positive light. He can probably spell that playoff excitement even if no one else can.
Consider this a die-hards only bonus Saturday morning post since I woke up early in vain hoping to get a stream of Arsenal/Manchester United game, only to nearly chuck my laptop out the window in frustration. Ballscockshitfuck.
Enjoy..
Right now the 2007 MLS Cup playoffs are taking place inside their own, tiny, tidy bubble (shield). Remember over the summer when I railed against the Associated Press' coverage of the beautiful game. This is why.
Here is the entire, stress entire, AP dispatch from the second leg of the FC Dallas/Houston Dynamo playoff series.
HOUSTON (AP) -- Brian Ching and Brad Davis led Houston to the Western Conference finals Friday night, scoring in overtime after the Dynamo beat FC Dallas 2-1 in regulation to tie the two-game, total-goals series.
The Dynamo will face the winner of the Kansas City-CD Chivas USA series.
Stuart Holden and Ching had second-half goals to help Houston win the game 2-1, tying the series at 2. Dallas won the opener 1-0 last Saturday.
That sent the game into two 15-minute extra periods. Ching scored in the fifth minute of the first overtime off an assist from Joseph Ngwenya. Barely 5 minutes later, Davis got a free kick from 20 yards out and sailed it over goalkeeper Ray Burse's head.
Carlos Ruiz had a first-half goal for Dallas.
Should I throw in when this first "moved" on the wires, the final score was incorrect?
Basically you're telling me that there isn't a writer in the entire state of Texas that can write a worthwhile game story for a PLAYOFF GAME? This was a pretty intense two-leg match, with the defending league champs pushed to the brink, only to rally in extra time and you're telling me it's only worth five paragraphs?
This write-up is shorter than even WNBA games, Arena Football games and NHL preseason games.
Embarassing.
On the plus side, at least some MLS teams have good local beat writers on top of things. Throw in the whole web-thing, and MLS hardcores can get their fix. Of course, I doubt tonight's RBNY/Revolution game is getting any play whatsoever in the New York or New England papers. (Oooh, A-Rod squeezed!)
But back to the AP.
Down the stretch of the season there was one, count 'em one feature story on anything associated with MLS, a puff-piece on Luciano Edmilio and his quest for the goal-scoring title.
Again, to reiterate the point from July. The AP is the backbone of American sports reporting. When they decide to devote a whopping FIVE paragraphs to a playoff game, it indirectly sends the message to sports editors and other media types that this isn't something worth paying attention to.
This is the copy that is linked to most websites and news aggregators, as well. Space is limitless on the web, but apparently not for MLS.
Hell, the stringer at Robertson Stadium couldn't even be bothered to walk down to the locker room and throw a Ching or Dominic Kinnear quote into it.
You'd think that the American top-flight soccer league would get more than a throwaway 'story' that's on par with who won the Estonian wife carrying competition, a tennis match from Tashkent, Uzbekistan or some other far-flung sport.
By the same token, right now who's going to devote much space to the MLS Cup playoffs with so much other sports going on in America? That's where the tree falling in the woods comes in. Right now the MLS is just one tree in a crowded forest.
And not to go off on another tangent, but at the gym Friday morning I was on a machine for about 45 minutes. During ESPN's 'Sportscenter' there was not one second during my time that they mentioned that the Chicago Fire had upset DC United -- and the network CARRIED THE GAME!
Perhaps the worldwide leader used up its domestic soccer quota for the year showing David Beckham tie his shoes in July. (It's not like their web presence, at least for American stuff, is better. Why write a few in-house articles a week? It's not like the dot com doesn't have a fleet of 763 writers debating and dissecting NFL minutia ad nausea.)
In any event, I'd like to see commissioner Don Garber spin this one in a positive light. He can probably spell that playoff excitement even if no one else can.
Great post. We can only hope someone is listening.
One would think that the crotch shot and resulting red card would have merited mention. Got MY attention