And Now It's Time for Something Completely Different

Well, not something completely different, but it is time for a change, time to shake things up here and get out of a rut, time to broaden the scope of this blog.

For close to a year now, for a variety of reasons, I've felt pretty burnt out on soccer and have felt the need to pull back. What I've learned in this time is that I'm less cynical and jaded when I get soccer in smaller doses and on my time and terms.

I'll still post about soccer here, in fact, I'll touch on an MLS development a bit later in this post, but I intend on posting about other topics too, such as arts, food, entertainment, other sports, books, etc. I know some die hard soccer types don't appreciate this kind of mixing of topics, too bad.

So first topic of the day is that the NFL announced that Houston will be the host of Super Bowl LI in February of 2017. It's about time NFL, it'll have been 13 years since Houston last hosted the Super Bowl, time to realize Houston wasn't to blame for Janet Jaackson's "wardrobe malfunction."

I grew up a Houston Oilers fan, it was painful, but I was still 100% Luv Ya Blue. I've never really hidden the fact that I'm a fan of NFL football and admire, most of the time, how the league went from being a little sister of the poor not only to Major League Baseball but also to college football and grew into the financial and entertainment juggernaut of the American sports world.

Meanwhile, Don Garber and MLS made their own announcement today, a 20th MLS team has been selected and it will be NYC FC, which will join the league in 20015. The team is a joint venture between the New York Yankees and Manchester City FC. As of now, it's not clear where the team will locate its stadium. While the Corona Park location in Flushing Queens has come up as a potential location for a soccer stadium, but it's not clear that MLS is completely sold on that idea. It does seem likely that the team might play some matches at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to push for a Brooklyn location.

I didn't do a scientific study on soccer fan/media reaction to this decision, but it does seem that a large number of people are unhappy with this decision, with the possible exception of people who have been long time rivals of RedBull New York, the team located in Harrison, New Jersey.

I really don't have much problem with the decision to put "another" MLS team in the New York City region. Even with a lovely new stadium in Harrison, RedBull has not managed to capture of the attention of many New Yorkers or created the type of fan base that the Jets and Giants have, a fan base willing to travel to the Meadowlands for home games.

MLS needs a strong presence in the New York City area, will NYC FC bring that? Who knows, but sometimes you just have to roll the dice.

Well, that's all I have for today. With this new format I should be posting more, not always about soccer, not always about multiple topics, not always etc.

Houston Dynamo Sign Andrew Driver & Trade Je-Vaughn Watson

With just over a week before starting the 2013 MLS season, the Houston Dynamo have made a couple moves as they get closer to solidifying their roster for the start of the season. On Tuesday February 19th, the Dynamo traded Jamaican International Je-Vaughn Watson to F.C. Dallas for a second round pick in the 2015 SuperDraft. While some might think the Dynamo are getting the raw end of that deal, the trade was primarily made to open up an international roster slot for today's signing of English midfielder Andrew Driver.

Driver, 25, has been playing for Heart of Midlothian F.C. in the Scottish Premier League since 2006. The Dynamo acquired Driver from Hearts on a loan deal.

“Andrew is good at taking people on, he crosses a good ball and can take set pieces,” said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. “He is a hard-working player and I think he will definitely fit in with the team. He has a good attitude on the field and is versatile. He can play on the left or right side of midfield.”

“I am very excited about the opportunity to come and play for the Dynamo,” Driver said. “I have followed MLS over the years and Houston has stood out as one of the top teams. I know a lot of success has been because of the work of Dominic Kinnear, so I am delighted to have the chance to learn from him and improve as a player under him.”

“It’s always exciting to add a young international player with talent and experience,” said Dynamo President Chris Canetti. “Andrew will add valuable depth to the squad at a time when we are set to face a heavy load of games between MLS and Champions League."

The Dynamo start the 2013 season on March 2nd, when they host D.C. United at BBVA Compass Stadium.

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SiriusXM FC - A 24/7 Soccer Channel - Set to Launch

At 6:00 a.m. central time on Monday October 15, 2012, SiriusXM will launch a new channel devoted to soccer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The channel, called SiriusXM FC, will be on Sirius 94, XM 207, and online channel 960. Additionally, certain programs on the new channel will be available on SiriusXM's On Demand feature. In addition to daily broadcasts of The Football Show and Counter Attack, the channel will feature English Premier League matches, FA Cup matches, and MLS Cup playoff matches. SiriusXM's coverage of American soccer will ramp up more with this new channel since it will be airing MLS Extra Time in addition to the MLS playoff matches. Grantland based Men and Blazers will also be featured on the new channel. Additional programming from talkSport will be used on SiriusXM FC to help round out the 24 hour broadcast schedule.

SiriusXM is a subscriber-based satellite radio company. While SiriusXM is built into many new automobiles, it is possible to retrofit an older vehicle with the service, and it is possible to purchase an online subscription only. For more information about subscribing to SiriusXM, home to The Howard Stern Show, visit: SiriusXM's Subscriptions page.