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Your January Questions Answered (Pt. 1)

DaMarcus Beasley 2 (ISIphotos.com) 

Photo by ISIphotos.com

While we all wait for MLS to either reach a labor deal or begin an ugly labor war, it's probably a good time for our latest installment of Your Questions Answered. There just so happen to be a few MLS labor-related questions in this first installment of the January Answers.

Also in the mix are questions about the Red Bulls pursuit of Thierry Henry, who the next Landon Donovan is, and just what happened with the Lee Nguyen-MLS mess.

Here they are, Some of your January Questions Answered:

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LESTER– If both are in form, would you rather have Holden or Beasley on the outside playing for the Yanks?

IVES– Holden’s got a great future and has shown flashes of brilliance, but Beasley at his best has been a standout in the Champions League and in a past World Cup. The only problem there is the very fair question of whether Beasley can ever regain that form. At this point, I’d be inclined to start both and move Donovan up top if both were at top form, but if I absolutely had to choose between them, I'd go with an in-form Beasley to start (with Holden off the bench).

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TED DECKER– Do you think marijuana should be legalized?

IVES– Yes. Just think of the tax revenue it could help generate.

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RORY– If you were commish of MLS, what would you give in on in the CBA and what would you never give in on?

IVES– I would allow players waived by clubs and not offered new deals by clubs to be free agents. I would also allow teams to make their own offers to players, at least on some occasions, rather than killing deals that teams and players have agreed to because they think the price is too high.

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OBXFLY– If you could not make it to South Africa where in the US would you want to take in a US World Cup game?

IVES– Nevada Smith’s in NYC and Globe Pub in Chicago are two places that come to mind.

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DANNYC58-On baseball caps do you bend the brim or leave it straight?

In your opinion/guess, does Hans Backe break the trend for foreign coaches in MLS, or just become another statistic?

IVES– I leave my brims straight. As for Backe, he’s certainly an intelligent soccer mind, but some great soccer minds have failed in MLS. I like his chances of bucking the trend, but am not about to put money on him succeeding. I could easily see Richie Williams as head coach by June.

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CVS-What happened with Nguyen? Should we be concerned if MLS can not match the money a Vietnamese league offers? And what proportion of his salary in Viet Nam comes from the World Bank?

IVES– It wasn’t a case of MLS matching an offer from Vietnam, it was a case of MLS HQ deciding it didn’t want to pay much for a player who spurned MLS in the first place. From what I understand FC Dallas wanted to offer Nguyen much more money, the kind of money that would have gotten the deal done, but MLS balked.

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TOROSROJOSFAN– Red Bulls question: I think JP Angel's acquisition via DP was great for MLS. Having said that it seems to me that his production was down last year. Not sure if it was due to lack of form or injuries. Do you think he's still worth DP contract for the upcoming season?

IVES– Angel is absolutely worth a DP slot. His production was down last year because he played the first half of the season with back issues. Even with that, he still finished with 12 goals. This year, playing on grass at Red Bull Arena, I’d pencil him in for 16 goals.

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JOE– Who is the next Landon Donovan of US soccer??

IVES– Emerson Hyndman. He's the grandson of FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hydnman and a flat-out prodigy.

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TREX– Any news on RBNY signing Academy product John Agudelo? I heard there was an offer made.

IVES– He’s training in Colombia with Millonarios and is weighing offers from them as well as the New York Red Bulls. It’s no guarantee he comes to MLS at this point.

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DBEX– Has Brad Guzan done enough to cement himself as Villa's starter if Friedel retires this summer? If not, does he need to start looking for a loan deal to get regular time?

IVES– I think he’s done more than enough to be Friedel’s replacement. The real question is does Friedel leave after this season, or next?

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MARC– How can the Red Bulls contemplate signing Henry, if their starting midfield is likely to be Hall, Stammler, Tchani and Richards? That would be the worst midfield in MLS. No matter how great Angel and Henry are, they can't score without service.

IVES– Here’s a question. Who was feeding Juan Pablo Angel service the past few years? If Angel can score goals in MLS with a mediocre midfield, who on earth can’t Henry? It should also be noted that Henry is a very creative player who can create his own chances and also provide service, so I actually think an Angel-Henry pairing would be tough to stop, weak midfield or not.

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DMAGOJ– If Friedel and McBride had not retired from the national team, could you see them starting in South Africa?

IVES– It’s tough to say. I can’t see Tim Howard not being the starter on the current team, and I’m not convinced McBride could still be a force on the international level (his flat showing at the Olympics still lingers in my mind). That said, if Howard, Clint Dempsey and Charlie Davies were unavailable, I have a feeling Bob Bradley would at least consider calling up Friedel and McBride.

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JACOBI– 1. Will Giuseppe Rossi be on the next season of "Jersey Shore"?
2. What would his nickname be?

IVES– He’s been known to come back to Jersey in the summers so it’s possible (okay, not really, but it would be funny). His nickname would be Baby Beppe.

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DONTURTUCCIO– Conan, Leno, Letterman, Kimmel, Ferguson, Fallon, or Lopez?

IVES– Conan was the funniest before going off NBC. I gave George Lopez a shot early, and he had some good guests, but has fallen flat and I've lost interest. At this point my late-night TV consists of Jon Stewart and CNN (when I'm not catching up on the 40 shows I TIVO).

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SEAN=30-yd free kick for your life. Who takes it? (You can choose a left footer and a right footer if you want)

IVES– From 30? Cristiano Ronaldo, Juninho Pernembucano and David Beckham come to mind. Probably Ronaldo.

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GT-Is there any reason to start getting worried about Jozy? Granted, Hull is a terrible team…but his form has looked off and I get the feeling the team isn't 100% pleased with him as they're bringing in another striker…

IVES– It’s not a great situation for him right now but his move to Hull was never without some risk. It really is up to him to play himself into more minutes. There’s no conspiracy afoot. If he starts to score goals he’ll play more. It’s that simple.

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BGINGE– Do you have one of those favorite comedy movies that is underwhelming to some, but you just find it hilarious?

IVES– Not sure which comedies would apply there. Here are some that perhaps some younger readers might not know about:

Midnight Run
Trading Places
Spies Like Us
Stripes
Fletch

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AL_OC– What's your take on video replay? If you're for it, then how would you implement it?

IVES– I am all for goal-line replay.

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BODEGUERO– Do you pronounce your name like "eves" (like Yves St. Lorent) or is the "i" pronounced like the "i" in "ivy".

IVES– I as in Ivy, I-ves. That’s in English. In Spanish it’s eee-ves.
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IKE SAID– Do you think the Union's stadium will be completed in time for the start of the MLS season? From the looks of it on the webcam its looking iffy.

IVES– The Philly stadium (in Chester) won’t be done until the summer, and certainly not for the start of the season.

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Comments

  1. Re: Video replay – I had this idea in my head that if FIFA really cared about diving they could review games after they were played and dish out some red cards and/or suspensions for dives that were missed during the game. Would this work at all? Does FIFA prefer to have diving in the game? Most Americans I talk to loathe diving as one of their biggest turn-offs to the game. Is it viewed differently in South America and Europe?

    Reply
  2. Yeah, the problem with Lopez is that he’s not funny. At all. Conan was definitely the best of the main bunch, and Stewart is funnier than all the rest. Good calls, Ives.

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  3. I think you both have the history wrong. Friedel is and always was much better, and was regarded as such by Arena. Bruce wanted Brad. From what I’ve read — it could be just revisionist history — Friedel essentially decided to step aside for Keller, to let Kasey have his shot in the World Cup, and allow Brad to concentrate on his EPL career. Brad didn’t want to take time away in the run-up, and finally felt that it was only fair to let Keller stay in place as the no. 1.

    Reply
  4. Stewart is wittier than Colbert but Colbert’s fake conservative act is pretty quality haha…also gotta love Craig Ferguson, good call! I watch him every night…hilarious haha

    Reply

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