The Chicago Fire, my "MLS team", knocked off the LA Galaxy 3-2 for their third road win of the season. An enjoyable game with some excellent finishes from the Fire and a desperate holding effort to hang on for the win. I have two main thoughts on the game:
1) When will MLS settle on a time slot for their games? From week to week I have no idea what the "Game of the Week" will be on. There is (usually) a Thursday ESPN game and a Saturday Fox Soccer Channel game. Beyond that though, please check your local listings. Case in point, this past weekend's FSC game was on Sunday night at 6:30 - random enough for you?
Now I know that it is a bit silly to compare MLS to other soccer leagues or other American sports leagues, but I will anyway. The EPL games are on at the same time every week. All season long. The NFL? I've been watching for more than 30 years and kick-off has always been at noon central.
What does this mean? For the diehard, maybe not a lot, they'll find the game anyway. For the casual fan or lapsed due to kids diehard? It means I don't think about the game until the day of, and then can't watch half the time because it is on at a bizarre time. Contrast that with the Packers, if I want to watch, I turn on the TV at noon on Sunday.
2) How is the walking red card known as Dema Kovalenko still in the MLS? This guy has been breaking legs (literally, no really ask Ronnie O'Brien) for five different teams in this league for more than a decade. He dishes out some of the nastiest fouls you will see in a soccer game, including last night's studs up lunging challenge on Krzysztof Król.
He's a competitive player, works hard, plays for the team, all good things. But he's also a guy that appears to play without any regard for the safety of his opponent. And that type of behavior is a bad advertisement for any team in any league in any sport.
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