Bohs Win 3-1 Against Lehigh Valley

The Baltimore Bohemians won 3-1 tonight against Lehigh Valley. The less said about the first half performance, the better, as the Bohs couldn't finish, and Lehigh Valley was addicted to going beyond the line of defenders. The scoring opened, thankfully, with a penalty kick which was an obvious denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity as the Lehigh Valley defender pushed the Bohs attacker to the turf from behind in front of the goal. The penalty was converted, and the Bohs scored another goal within a minute of the first. Then, the Bohs scored another goal, then Lehigh Valley got a questionable penalty call and converted in the 90th minute to make it 3-1. Overall, it was a good game, but the Bohs still have a lot to work on, namely finishing chances and some of the midfield passing was sloppy at times. Good goalkeeping, with the only goal let up being a penalty, which is a guessing game anyway.

The other interesting thing of note was that the supporters' section was sent to the basketball court due to some complaints filed, but I don't know much more than that. When the Bohs scored the penalty, a supporter decided to light 2 yellow smoke bombs. They were very tame and well-contained. The property manager was very confrontational and wanted someone to "man up", but the club owner calmed him down and told hi that there was no need to be confrontational about it. I was in the supporters' section when it happened, and I was afraid that all of us would be banned from the field for life. However, we shall see next week, as the Bohs host the Ocean City Nor'easters from Ocean City, NJ. They are one of the two elite teams in the division, so the Bohs had better be ready for a fight. However, before that, they play a midweek game against the New York Red Bull U23s away. I will not have coverage of that game, as I don't have a means to get there, especially on a Wednesday night.

Things Just Went from Bad to Worse.. AKA my USOC 3rd Round Recap

9 NASL teams entered tonight, 2 are moving on.

All 7 NASL teams that were paired with USL sides lost to those sides, with only 2 of those needing extra time. This comes on the same day as the Chairman of the NASL Board of Governors was arrested as part of the FIFA corruption stuff from this morning. This not only is an embarrassment for the league, but it's an embarrassment for all those who believe that NASL is the rightful potential D1, even though they can't even beat D3.

Of note, the 2 sides that won (Cosmos and Atlanta) played against non-league sides, and Atlanta barely beat Chattanooga, and both go on to take on Manchester City New York and Red Bull's NY team respectively.

Here's a solution that can get NASL teams to stop choking against USL: Fine every team that loses, and give the proceeds to a charity of the team's choice. Not only does it foster goodwill between each NASL team and their communities, it also gives them a chance to make amends for losing to those teams.

Another, more radical solution: Have the league take the 2 weekends surrounding USOC week off to focus on the competition, making the teams field their strongest available XIs. For the teams that end up losing, their game on the Saturday following Cup day is still on, as long as their scheduled opponent is also eliminated. All moved fixtures would be made up later in the season. To be fair to Ottawa and Edmonton, I'd advocate doing the same for them while they're in the Canadian Championship.

Also, as another reward for any NASL team that wins, I would give a NASL side that wins US Open Cup $3 million, and schedule modifications for CONCACAF Champions League group stage.

FIFA Officials and Sports Marketing Execs Charged with Corruption

According to a NYT article released this morning, 14 people, including 10 current and former FIFA officials, have been arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, and extradited to the United States to face those charges. Some bad news out of the gate: Sepp Blatter is not one of those charged, and Aaron Davidson, one of the heads of Traffic Sports, and, consequently, of the Carolina Railhawks of the NASL, is one of those charged. Firstly, this is not the FBI's jurisdiction, this would be the CIA's jurisdiction as this is a foreign investigation (but those lines have been blurred so many times I don't even know where to begin). Secondly, the FBI has really messed up here by not getting Blatter when they had the chance to do so with these investigations. I'm not going to sit here and say that Traffic is completely 100% ethical (they are not), but they haven't done what another famous soccer marketing company has done with US soccer.  What I will say is that organization is very important to the growth of the NASL, and taking out one of their most important players smells like a conspiracy to me. For the world, this is a good day as many people have been charged with racketeering, money laundering, and various other corruption-like charges, but this is a bad day for those of us that want the NASL to be in a position to challenge MLS at some point. Hopefully, the NASL can find someone to replace Davidson with as much clout in the sports marketing world as him, and I hope they do it quickly and wipe their hands of him ASAP.


I am also saddened to report this morning that former Everton player Andy King has passed away. In 2 stints with the Blues, he made 195 appearances and scored 49 goals.

Bohs Fall Flat Against Reading in Home Opener

The Baltimore Bohemians lost to Reading united 4-0 in the home opener at Bonavegna Field in Canton today. This is their 4th home in 4 years, previously playing in Bel Air, then at Ridley Athletic Complex (part of Loyola University MD) then at Calvert Hall. Aesthetically, I like the field location because you see the big Natty Boh sign overlooking the field. Unfortunately, you either had to sit on concrete slabs, the new turf, or bring your own chair. That was a bit concerning, but it just felt nicer because there seemed to be a lot of people there... I doubt most of them would come back.

Anyways, on to the game. The Bohs looked a step behind Reading all night long, letting in 4 particularly soft goals, all of which were caused by a defensive mistake somewhere. The Bohs, despite being at home, lost the possession battle and every possible other head-to-head battle. For a team that beat the Westchester Flames last week 5-0 in Westchester, I expected a lot better out of this Bohemians side. They must improve in training this week in anticipation of the next game against Lehigh Valley next Saturday at home. Lehigh Valley comes over from the NPSL, and stats are very hard to find. Let's hope the Bohs fix their defensive errors, and come out next week with a point to prove.

A Thoughtful NASL Expansion Plan

Well, first off, I would like to apologize to all of you for the lack of weekly recaps as promised. I have been going through a lot of personal sacrifice this whole month, including the absence of an Internet connection sans my phone's 3G data (and try typing a full-length blog on a phone and see how long it takes you)

Well, we have some big news coming out of Miami, and that is Miami FC is coming to the NASL in 2016, a full 2 years before Miami Beckham Spice Franchise makes its debut. Congratulations to Miami FC for the acceptance, but even though I like their plan better than MBSF, I don't think it was wise for the league to award a second team to the Miami market. From a purely soccer perspective, I love it because Beckham is quaking in his boots, but from a league survival perspective, this is bad... really bad.

Here is my expansion plan for the NASL in stages*:

1. Get west coast teams. This is an absolute must for NASL to retain D2 status (but you already know how I feel about that status) So, markets like San Diego, LA, Phoenix, and Vegas should all be considered first before markets like Miami. Accepting all 4 would bring the number of teams to 15.
2. Find a Canadian city to pair with Edmonton for road trips. This can be done along with step 1, but I'm writing this as a separate step for convenience sake. The perfect city to do this in would be Calgary because of the built-in Flames-Oilers hockey rivalry (but we can't force-feed rivalries down people's throats,... let it happen organically) Number of teams: 16
3. Fill out the east of the Mississippi with markets MLS rejected, like Baltimore and Detroit especially. I think it is a crime that pro soccer does not currently exist in those two citie, especially because Baltimore topped NBC's Premier League ratings last year, and the Northern Guard deserves something better than the NPSL, and, quite frankly, Detroit deserves better than a semi-pro soccer team being their best one.

Here is how my NASL would look by 2024:
Atlanta Silverbacks
Baltimore Bohemians
Calgary Foothills FC
Carolina RailHawks
Chicago Sting
CD Phoenix
Detroit City FC
FC Edmonton
Ft. Lauderdale Strikers
Hartford Whalers
Indy Eleven
Jacksonville Armada
Las Vegas Mobsters
Los Angeles Aztecs
Miami FC
New York Cosmos
Ottawa Fury FC
San Antonio Scorpions
San Diego Sockers
Tampa Bay Rowdies

* This plan assumes the Minn United MLS move takes place and allows for the Miami FC expansion, so I only counted 11 original NASL teams. Also, I did not take into account owners putting plans together to submit to the NASL for expansion by themselves.

A Defense of the LA Aztecs:

The LA Aztecs were an original NASL team, and I have seen some support for the Aztecs to return to LA at a given point. That's why I allowed a 3rd team in LA. Ditto with the Sting.