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Tuesday Kickoff: Whitecaps’ major news, riots force cancellations and more

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The Vancouver Whitecaps have an announcement to make.

The club has called a 1:30 p.m. (ET) press conference Tuesday for an "important club announcement."

According to The Province, the announcement will be the hiring of current Carolina Railhawks coach Martin Rennie as the club's boss in 2012. Tom Soehn took over for the ousted Teitur Thordarson during the team's inaugural MLS season but wasn't expected to be the long-term answer at coach as he maintains his responsibilities as director of soccer operations.

That answer appears to be the 36-year-old Rennie, who has led the Railhawks to an impressive NASL campaign while getting on the MLS radar. He was previously reported to be a coaching target of the Montreal Impact, who are set to announce their MLS coaching hire on Wednesday.

Here are a couple of more stories to get your Tuesday going:

LONDON RIOTS FORCE CANCELLATIONS

The chaos currently going on in England has spilled over into the sports world.

England's scheduled friendly with the Netherlands on Wednesday and Tuesday's Ghana-Nigeria friendly that was to be played at Watford have been called off, and a handful of other Carling Cup games have been postponed this week in light of the riots that have consumed London.

With player and fan safety being compromised, it's no surprise that the games have been put on the back burner while police and country officials attempt to restore order. It has yet to be determined whether any of the opening games of the Premier League season will affected by the unrest.

COSMOS CLOSE WEST ACADEMY

The New York Cosmos announced the closure of their Los Angeles-based academy, doing so while keeping a potential leap to MLS in mind. 

In a statement released by the organization, the Cosmos said, "Cosmos Academy West will not be able to function or exist given the parameters that a professional soccer team in New York City must follow. It is our goal to play in Major League Soccer in New York City."

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What do you think of a potential hiring of Rennie for the Whitecaps? What do you make of the rioting in London? Think it was the right move for the Cosmos to shut down its L.A. academy?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Actually, to me…Garber seems a little cold on the Cosmos. I don’t think he’s so stupid. To even discuss getting into MLS, the league needs to see their books. If the Cosmos aren’t going to be healthy, money-wise, it will work itself out.

    Besides, Garber still really wants to get the Wilpons involved. He’s hinted that in order for the Cosmos to join the league, it would have to be a joint venture with the Wilpons anyway. The land next to the Citifield is too good to pass up, and it would mean that the team wouldn’t have t play in Jersey or Long Island for more than year or two.

    But, all this hinges on whether or not the Wilpons are back on their feet by then.

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  2. The riots have gotten worst and are soon going to eclipse the riots from 30 years ago, and now they’re rioting in Manchester, one death has been reported.

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  3. With the way things are going in England, we might not see some Premier League games for weeks. The rioting in London is very bad, hasn’t slowed down and there are several uprisings in other parts of the country including Liverpool, Manchester and Southampton. Although it began due to a police investigation over a group that possessed guns and ended in a shooting, many of the looters are unemployed youth that are organizing using social media. Makes the UK’s old hooligan issues look tame in comparison.

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  4. Hey–stop it with all of that Madoff type talk. He said that the Mets and the Wilpons didn’t know anything about his snake oil, smoke and mirrors act… How bad is it when Madoff is trying to defend you??? That’s right, they possibly want in on MLS, too…

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  5. Will Beckham’s “right to own a franchise” impact the cosmos potential entrance to MLS? I think I remember hearing NY, LA, and Miami were off limits, but I can’t recall exactly.

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  6. The whole revamped “Cosmos” thing is nothing but another scam in a sport that seems to be a breeding ground for scams. If the “Cosmos” were serious about competing in MLS (which is the only place they could play and have any credibility), then why sign a contract w/Umbro when Adidas is the official uniform supplier?

    Besides, if Terry Byrne is involved with this, don’t trust it. The Galaxy put Byrne and 19 Entertainment in charge of the club in 2008, and almost destroyed the franchise. Only Bruce Arena saved it.

    The question is, who are they trying to rip off? How many people had to pay to join the Cosmos’ “academy”? Are all the big-time spokesman (Pele, Cantona, Cobi Jones) getting paid for their services?

    This is a ponzi scheme that would impress Madoff. The problem is that too many people who should know better (like Garber) are too infatuated with the Cosmos “brand” to see it.

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  7. You’re right. When white people (coughNorwaycough) decide to instigate massacres, they’re MUCH more effective at it…

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  8. I’m sorry top rain on the old skool NASL New York Cosmos-Studio 54 days but the word is that they have financing issues.

    But this is not new news to most of the people following their progress.

    They do have one heck of a sick, hip, urban street marketing plan… I definitely give them that.

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  9. Martin Rennie has done very, very welll with Carolina. Once he got his guys, the team got even better (all while facing financial uncertainty and possibly folding).

    I’ve seen the guy coach down in Carolina.. I know guys who play for him and played for him. I really think that he is going to do well. His clubs are organized. Even on limited second division resources, he’s flown to Europe to bring guys over guys to play for the Railhawks.

    I really think that he can make the jump, just as long as Soehn gives him some time and doesn’t undermind him. He’s going to need to be able to bring in his guys. Soehn loves control.

    It will be interesting to see how this works out. The dude can coach. Can he survive Soehn? In my mind, that is the key question.

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  10. Sad days in London. Here’s to hoping civility is restored quickly. I don’t know anything about Martin Rennie but I think it’s great anytime a young coach makes a step up. Best of luck, Martin! Finally. Come on you Cosmos. Get to MLS already. You were the team of my youth and I’m tired of suffering through another NYRB season.

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  11. You’re right; it’s not bad for your listed groups. I wonder if it’s deliberate positioning for the future to be the “heel” (wrestling term)of MLS.

    Your hometown fans love you; everyone else in America loathes you and there are full stadia hoping for your humiliation and defeat.

    Worked pretty well for Rowdy Roddy Piper.

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  12. Um… could it not just be that if they want to get into MLS they would have had to close it anyways?

    There’s no way Garber could allow a NYC team to run an academy in LA or anywhere in CA. Too much of a conflict. Buy Umbro.

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  13. Please explain to me how Cosmos are bad for:

    A) Umbro?
    B) MLS?
    C) Soccer in this country?

    I’ve yet to see any specific reason why the minority believes they are bad for any of the categories I’ve listed.

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  14. Cosmos (Nike Marketing) closes west Academy.

    Purpose was fulfilled and now they’ll spend the money elsewhere to continue promoting soccer under the Umbro brand.

    Seriously this is a joke. The entire Cosmos thing is a very bad ad for Umbro.

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  15. Had to figure a MLS or European team was going to scoop him up. At least we get to keep him ’til the season’s over. We’ll miss him – he’s obviously been really solid for the Railhawks. Now, we have to see where Barbara, Campos, and Knighton end up. I suppose this will help the Railhawks’ efforts at bringing in a good coach for next year.

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  16. Technically speaking the “…stan” countries are not located in the Middle East, but moreso in Central Asia.

    Not that geography lessons or discussion needs to be present on SBI, I was just bored and decided to comment.

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  17. From what it looks like, Rennie is going to see out the season (when his contract was up), and I’m extremely grateful for that. Will Richie take over, do you think?

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  18. My understanding is that a thief was shot and killed by a police officer. I am unaware of any middle eastern overtone to this story (as your use of Londonistan would suggest).

    Reply

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