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Afternoon updates: MLS Labor update, new USA jersey and more

NewUSAJersey

There is plenty going on today on the news front so here is a quick rundown of some things you should know about.

Today is the deadline for the latest labor negotation extension between MLS and the player's Union. As you probably know by now, a deal isn't going to get done and we've been told the union will be issuing a statement later today. Whether that statement is an intent to strike remains to be seen, but there doesn't appear to be any good news on the horizon.

Some better news. The new U.S. national team jerseys were unveiled today by Nike (away jersey pictured above). You will be able to see them displayed in their full glory at Nikemedia.com later today. My early verdict: Not too bad at all.

In case you missed it, here is my column on last night's USA victory vs. El Salvador for FoxSoccer.com. I wasn't able to put together a proper "Look Back" on the match but the column covers many of my main observations. Ultimately, we can't forget the context of the match (El Salvador's squad was weak) but it does mean something that some players stepped up and made the most of their opportunities while others didn't.

If you're wondering when the U.S. national team will announce the roster for next week's friendly vs. the Netherlands, it should be  released after 4pm today.

I'm down in Florida today, Orlando to be exact, and I will be covering today's pre-season matches at the Walt Disney Soccer Classic (New York Red Bulls vs. the Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas vs. Toronto FC). Be sure to follow along with our commentary tonight, starting at 6pm.

Some good news for New York Red Bulls fans as the club confirmed that Brazilian star Robinho will travel with Santos to New Jersey for the friendly vs. the Red Bulls on March 20. The match is the first official event at the new Red Bull Arena.

Starting to fear that a player's strike is inevitable for MLS? Like the new USA jerseys? Excited to see how the MLS teams do today in Orlando?

Feel free to share your thoughts on any of these topics in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. Do not like these uni. Nike is trying too hard. They got it right with the 1995 home and away kits. We should have stuck with those.

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  2. It is probably a good idea not to buy 2010 season tickets until this is labor dispute is resolved. If owners do not have the bucks, we may have a problem getting our money back.

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  3. People who scoff with the beauty pageant remarks must not know their soccer history since the ‘sash’ design is similiar to the one worn by the 1950 squad. Considering the match with England is 14 days shy of the 60th anniversary, it’s no surprise they went with the design.

    Overall it’s no worse than previous designs. If you want to talk about ugly, look at Slovenia’s kit. It looks like a Charlie Brown shirt.

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  4. Love that jersey. Very classic looking and basic – no need for added flair. I look forward to watching the England game in SA wearing mine!!!!

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  5. I like the kit…and I don’t get the “Miss America ” crap comments. It’s a tribute to the 1950 jersey, which had the sash.

    I personally haven’t liked a kit since the 2006 3rd red jersey we wore against Latvia, and the 2004 3rd jersey even though it had that strange 3/4 sleeve. Those were nice looking jerseys.

    I’ve always disliked all of the kits that have had the horizontal stripe across the chest. The last cycle of jerseys were simply AWFUL…a golf shirt and a gunmetal grey uninspired piece of garbage.

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  6. Why the !#$^#@ is the Jersey not Red!? We often don’t have enough USA fans in the stands, and the ones we have are wearing White, Blue, Red and Grey. It is stupid and takes away the power of one color. The USA fans should wear Red.

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  7. I agree with the uni’s not being too good. It looks like a high school marching band uniform, or maybe solid colored jersey’s with a miss america sash on them. Either way, I think all parties involved could have done better…

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  8. On the jersey: I’ve seen worse for sure, but I’m still disappointed. To date the ONLY USMNT jersey I have actually liked enough to buy was the one from the ’06 cup with the two-band stripe behind the badge.

    It’s just Nike. I hate their designs. I really really really really wish the USSF would sign a deal with Adidas. Adidas makes the sickest kits, hands down. The new Germany black shirt is beyond badass.

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  9. But if San Jose wants him then they pay the 500K. The problem with your example is that the TEAMS all understand the rules, they aren’t the ones trying to change them. San Jose Knows they have to pay for him, and even if that they have numerous things to trade. As for NFL the samething happens their they can franchise a player, they can also match the first offer.

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  10. Who says if another team wants to pay them more they can’t? If another team wanted these players they would make a trade for them. Then they could pay them more. If Hartman was wanted he could get traded same with vanden burgh the problem is their salaries don’t match what they are going to put out this season.

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  11. No they don’t RBA can be used for numerous things other than soccer, these are business men who can use the stadiums for high school football, college soccer, lacrosse, they can lease out the lounges for social events. Theres always away to make money, the players are very short sided in their goals. Any growing business knows the best way to conquer your market is to spend on R&D in this case they should spend that money on developing youngsters not feeding the egos of the veterans.

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  12. “Effective at midnight tonight, our collective bargaining agreement with MLS will expire,” MLSPU executive director Bob Foose said. “While we expect that negotiations with MLS will resume at some point, there simply hasn’t been enough progress made in the negotiations to date to warrant an extension of the old agreement. We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of Friday they will be doing so without a CBA. In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continues. We are completely committed to forging real changes to the way MLS players are treated.”

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