Chivas USA forward Alan Gordon has been suspended two games and fined 1,000 dollars "for violent conduct" during Chivas' 3-0 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday.
In the 74th minute of the game, with Chivas leading 1-0, Gordon caught Toronto defender Adrian Cann in the face with his arm. The officials issued a yellow card but the league has determined Gordon should have been sent off.
Gordon will be able to appear in Chivas' regular-season finale on Oct. 23 against Chicago.
Here are some more stories to get your Thursday started.
AMERICAN JUDGE HALTS LIVERPOOL SALE…AGAIN
After nearly a week of court battles appeared over, the sale of Liverpool FC to John Henry looked assured when the British high court ruled that the club's board remain intact and a sale could go forward. But current co-owner John Hicks has gotten a judge in Texas to grant a temporary injunction blocking the sale yet again.
The Liverpool board and New England Sports Ventures, of which Henry is principal owner, went back to British court again this morning to try and get the ruling overturned.
OMAHA WANTS AN MLS TEAM
Omaha mayor Jim Shuttle has said that he wants to bring an MLS team to Nebraska.
Speaking at a reverse trade mission, Shuttle said the under-construction TD Ameritrade Park, which will host the College World Series, would be a perfect venue for an MLS team. But several obstacles stand in the way of the MLS coming to Omaha. It is widely believed that the league will add a second New York team or expand into the Southeast for their 20th squad and Omaha's population of only 850,000 people would make them the smallest city with a franchise.
TORONTO APOLOGIZES TO FANS FOR LOSING SEASON
After another season without reaching the playoffs, Toronto FC has apologized to its fans.
In an email to season ticket holders, the club apologized for missing the playoffs and admitted it made a mistake by not including CONCACAF Champions League games in season ticket packages. Toronto also fired its coach and general manager mid-season.
The North End Elite, the main supporters group for the club, said that they would stage a silent protest during Toronto's upcoming Champions League match against Deportivo Arabe Unido.
+100
Of course Omaha can support an MLS team, if the ownership, marketing, and stadium is good. Creighton is there so the soccer community exists, and Creighton basketball has proven that there’s enough people to support a team. Actually, there are a number of similar sized markets that could support a team, IF it’s done properly. People like to think that MLS is successful in Seattle because we have a big soccer community, but the key factor has been an ownership group that’s done almost everything right. As for Buffet, forget the Omaha team–let’s have him own the league…
Or…a fair number of folks don’t get sarcasm.
I’d bet a billion dollars that B1879 was being sarcastic.
More importantly, was the Mayor being sarcastic? In what fantasy world is a baseball stadium “the perfect venue” for a soccer team? When DC United hared RFK with the Nationals, the pitching mound was engineered on an elevator so it could be lowered out of the way of the soccer pitch…and the left field stands were mobile, so they could be swung around to make a nice sideline stand for soccer fans. The field still stunk because of the grass patches over the infield dirt and the stands on the other side are too far from the field — still a problem.
KC is moving out a baseball park, and the Timbers are kicking out the baseball tenant and remodeling the stands to a more appropriate configuration. A baseball stadium is a lousy place for a soccer game. If Omaha wants an MLS team, they need to build a soccer stadium.
NEW YORK Red Bulls…Red Bull Arena in the heart of Harrison…NEW JERSEY…nuff said
At least FC Dallas is in the right state.
Do some more research my friend.
I was born and raised in Omaha.
I love my hometown and would love it if we got an MLS team. It would be sweet!
Money. Television broadcasting. Both crucial to MLS clubs and why promotion/relegation will not come here. Look at what happens to some clubs in England after relegation. It would be as nightmare and would put teams out of business.
“On Wednesday owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett took out an injunction in Texas to block any proposed sale.
But Judge Christopher Floyd said that ruling had no validity in England.”
Imagine that.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/14/liverpool-sale-high-court
Looks like Mike Grella has finally agreed to a loan deal and will be joining Frank Simek at Carlisle (league one) for at least a month.
I hope this Liverpool/NESV debacle gets made into a movie. I want to direct the scene in the Texas judge’s chambers.
I drove up from Austin for 2-3 games. It was plain dreadful with the in town traffic getting to Frisco, an hour north of Dallas in non-rush hour. Don’t know how they did it either than land was priced at a premium when they were in the land buying business.
The stadium itself isn’t bad.
Dallas can support the team.
Warren Buffet is known for making good investments. I don’t think an MLS team in Omaha would qualify.
Cary, North Carolina
Warren Buffett is worth 45 billion as of yesterday and someone came on here and said Nebraska needs a billionaire?
Ethnocentric mentalities.
There is quite a lot of money in Omaha actually. I work in finance and am on the phone with Omaha hedge funds and asset management groups all the time. Plus alot of agriculture money. Omaha would be cool for a team, not much to support except for college throwball. I dont think it would be a desirable DP location, though.
Sorry bout that Im not up on my texas geography…. But u got gist……. How is possible that Hunts sport group couldnt find something at least in Fort Worth
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Far north Texas, definitely not central Texas
On a different note…
where would the leading candidate city be in the southeast? atlanta???
i hope not.
Tracy Flick…classic good call
isn’t there some guy named… warren… i think its warren, ahh the last name starts with a b.
Especially minor/college league stadiums. Though they do make for some interesting sight lines, just not in a good way.
I know on the surfaces it sounds stupid, but as it stands FC Dallas is 50 minutes away from Downtown Dallas…… It was a terrible move on MLS part to allow Hunts Sports to build the stadium in such a distant location where the large majority of potential fans find it terrible difficult to get to games……. Hunts needs to try their best to sell this stadium to the city of frisco so it can be used as a high school football stadium and concerts….. To call that team FC Dallas is a sham…… It should have been called FC Central Texas….. Cause there is no way a team 50 minutes away from downtown dallas can be considered a dallas…. They are joke and should be relocated. If the omaha mayor is serious and can get a certain top 5 rich man on board it is def gonna happen for omaha…. And as a fan of mls I hope that FC Omaha can bring along that great team that plays in the outskirts of the dallas metro area
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Derby County BBG
You mean like Warren Buffett?
i thought if the referee saw the foul and determined it to be a yellow card on the field, you couldn’t suspend any further games?
yea. please no more soccer in non-soccer stadiums…
No thanks Omaha, thanks a lot.
I love these proclaimations about what other cities’ attendance would look like with FCD. Most sports teams draw 3% of their total population to every game, right?
I’m sure Hunt Sports is going to leave a profitable location to go to Omaha/St. Louis/Atlanta/x location that can’t support an NASL team, and MLS is going to start bailing on munis that build stadiums for them.
Didn’t really finish….since in the Gordon situation the referee spotted the infringement and issued a caution, I think it was easy for the MLS to step in and adjust the punishment. The league usually has to defer to and support the referee it trusts and appoints to handle the match or the clubs will challenge the referees on more and more things.
Think WB would have much bigger fish to fry in China right now. Plus, he picks good investments.
Please, no more soccer in a baseball stadium….
I think the English FA usually handles on field matters pretty well. Everything in a match is at the referee’s discretion. The problem with the De Jong situation was that the referee didn’t even call a foul, let alone issue a card. Whenever players try to turnover red card suspensions in England, they have to prove that no card should have been given at all. Saying I shouldn have been given a yellow instead of a red isn’t good enough because the severity of the offense (if the ref spots it and calls it) is at the referee’s discretion.
Same last name
The only reason Hoffenheim is in the Bundesliga is because their billionaire owner made them into a hobby. Omaha is many times bigger than Hoffenheim, and WB is many times richer than the SAP guy. Make it happen! The Omaha Berkshire Hathaways!
yep. let’s get Warren Buffet to front the money and Tracy Flick to lobby on behalf of the city …
Omaha Steaks Owner?
Promotion/relegation is such an awesome system. I am not too knowledgeable about the business/structure aspects of the league here, but Ives has mentioned several times that its not likely to be implemented anytime soon if at all.
Its a shame. From a fan’s perspective it would be very cool.
I hear some rich guy named Warren Buffet is from Omaha. I bet you he has a few dollars to spare. Oh wait thats right he’s a billionaire.
It’s interesting that MLS stepped in and upped the punishment, while the FA allowed De Jong’s punishment to stand and said they couldn’t add on.
Sometimes the more established soccer leagues/governing bodies just infuriate me with their inability to be logical.
That Margaritaville fella lives in Omaha and I hear he has a few dollars.
sorry omaha…
That’s what stinks about not having promotion/relegation. I understand why we don’t, but that would be the only way for a place like Omaha (my hometown) to get a team in the top division.
A Team in Omaha would pretty sweet….. Buffet should buy FCD and move them to Omaha…. That would be the only professional attraction in town…. they could easily sell out a 25k stadium… it must be in Downtown Omaha (is there a downtown Omaha?)
If Only…..
TFC’s problem with the tickets was they included games that TFC may not even qualify for (CL) while charging full price for them, then they are forcing all STHs to buy MLS Cup even though TFC won’t be in it, AND they added a slight increase in price to all tickets ($1-$2 per ticket per game).
+1
I see what you did there.
I live in Omaha and would love love love a team, but I don’t see how it’s feasible.
If only Omaha had a billionaire…
+1
The right ownership trumps location in MLS. If a billionaire were to come along and wanted to put a team in Omaha, the league would go there before going to New York.
You missed one “obstacle” in regards to Omaha getting an MLS team……an owner. That’s a pretty big one.
i think your TFC update should say they apologized to TFC fans for forcing them to pay for tickets to games they haven’t even qualfied for yet.
so they made a mistake by including them.