Fantasy League Kickoff Weekend Yields a Big Lead for "The Jammer"

So Week 1 of the MLS season is over and we have results for our first week of Fantasy Soccer competition: Congratulations to Jason "The Jammer" Jamrowski for jumping out to a quick lead with 25 points! This is good enough to rank as 57th overall nation wide. Well done! Perhaps we can get The Jammer to post and tell us his secret strategy for week one.

It wasn't all roses for the rest of the league, however. Most teams faired poorly in week one, with a couple of upsets and unexpectedly lopsided games wrecking havoc on many teams and managers. In particular, a disastrous showing by L.A., D.C. and Houston cost many of our Fantasy teams points.

For myself, I took a bit of a gamble and bet that the Revs would come out for blood and revenge against a Houston team tired from multiple pre-season competitions. The Revs came through for me and the three players from NE that I had on the field earned big points in that route (including Adam Cristman who scored one). I had benched all my Houston players except for DeRosario. I thought he would still manage a goal. Bad move - DeRosario cost me 4 points when he failed to produce on the field. Scoring for my squad, I had Cristman (NE), Blanco (CHI) and Galindo (CHV). Blanco and Larenowitz (NE) earned me some points in the midfield and Heaps (NE) and Hejduk (CMB) got me a few more on defense.

So, that's the blow by blow for Red Shield FC in week one. I hope my luck holds!!

Remember, the deadline for changes this week is 6:30pm Thursday.

The Fire open this week with their home opener vs the Revs (I will not be playing my three Revs this week!). National Broadcast on ESPN2.

Good Luck Everyone! If you get the chance, post and let us know what strategies worked or didn't work for you this week.

Get Your Program! Can't Know the Players Without a Program!....

I know everyone always likes the game guides the MLS puts out, but sometimes the links can be hard to locate. I'll do my best to have the link up here on the blog prior to every game so you can get your copy printed out in time to enjoy the Fire's domination!

Here's the link for the Real Salt Lake guide. Go Fire!

Don't forget - Game time is 4:00pm local, broadcast on My50 or DirectKick!

Awesome Fire "Tickets"

Well, the camera is all charged up and the photo of the incredible Fire gift "ticket" is ready to be viewed. They were all sold out when I went to buy one for Jim's Birthday. I guess I now know why they were all out . . . well worth the wait!

Becks on 3600 Secs...

Beckham on 60 Minutes

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham will appear on 60 Minutes on Sunday, March 23 at 6 p.m. CT. He talks to CNN's Anderson Cooper about his career and demonstrates how he bends a soccer ball around or over his opponents.

Just for your amazement, I've scoped out a Becks goal collection from You Tube and stuck it below. Watch if you dare, but it may make you feel inadequate....

Awesome! Truly Awesome!

Yes, the season tickets arrived today, and, as advertised, the package included four truly awesome surprises to be used as the tickets for the home opener vs. the Revs.

Oh, yes! Awesome is the word!

To show you just how awesome, Tania and I took pictures. Truly awesome pictures!

Unfortunately, the battery on the camera ran out before we could upload them. But let me assure you, they are truly awesome pictures that do justice the the truly awesome surprise sent by the Fire.

Don't worry. The camera battery is charging even now! And when its fully charged, I will be uploading, to this very sight, the truly awesome pictures of the truly awesome surprises-that-are-also-tickets!

Bob Dylan, Eat Your Heart Out...

So I'm building on my "Hate the Red Bulls and JCO" theme - plus, I've decided if Section Eight won't publish the words to their chants, then the only way to figure out what their saying is to convince them to use one I wrote! With that in mind, I've been trying to come up with chants for when JCO comes to town. So far, this is what I've got...

(to the tune of the OLE', OLE', OLE', OLE' chant)

O-SAR, O-SAR, O-SARIO
Were'd you go
With all our dough?

[repeat ad infinitum]

Ok. No Grammy there. How about this?

Hey Hey Jack
We had a Contract!
We want our money back!
Or we will have you whacked!

Hey Hey Chuck
Your such a lucky duck
We hope you made a buck
Cuz now the Red Bulls Suck!

Oooookay. I'm going to need to keep working on this, I admit it. But cut me some slack. I mean, this is at least on par with "Fire, Fire, Fire-Fire-Fire. Nah-nah-nah-nah. Nah-nah-nah-nah. Nah-nah-nah-na na na na." At least, there's more actual....words in mine!

Superliga Teams Announced

For those interested, I've added a news feed for SuperLiga to the side bar. Yesterday the teams for this year were finally announced. From the MLS, its Chivas USA, DC United, Houston, and the Hated Revs.

The problem with this tournament, last year, anyway, was that every single game was televised ONLY on Telefutura. First - I don't get Telefutura, Second - no spreken ze doytch, Third....did I mention I don't get Telefutura?

Hopefully, this year the games get picked up by ESPN or Fox. I'll be watching the news to find out.

If you're interested, one of the news articles has the game schedule.

MLSnet.com News Story - Fire and My50 Chicago partner for 18 games

Lifted from www.MLSnet.com and the Chicago Fire site.

Fire and My50 Chicago partner for 18 games
March 10th, 2008
/ Chicago Fire Media Relations


Chicago Fire President and General Manager John Guppy announced today the club has partnered with My50 Chicago WPWR-TV to televise a record 18 games over the air during the 2008 season and a new broadcast team for the telecasts.

(see the rest of the story - including the televised game schedule)

Looks like that subscription to Fox Soccer Net might not be necessary after all.............

Need Access?

Do you need access to post to this blog? Do you need access to the Section One Oh Eight schedule? Or, do you want access to the seating spread sheet that shows who will be at which games?

Just ask and you shall receive access to the documents you need. First, however, you need to set up a Google account. Once you have a Google account, email me with your user name (usually your email address) and I'll set you up with the access you need.

We certainly want everyone to be able to post blogs and photos to this site, and to be able to see who is coming to the games so they can coordinate tail-gates. Don't worry. Access to sensitive information will be limited only to those in our group.

Use the site - stay connected - share - enjoy the games!

Is Juan Carlos Osario the Boogy Man?

JCO is Chicago's new arch nemesis, if you believe all you read in the fan blogs. As of today, JCO is responsible for (in no particular order)....

• His own defection (feel the knife back there?)
• The attempted defection of, formerly, beloved attacking defender Wilman Conde. A fellow Colombian.
• The retirement of Wanchope (ok, its not all bad)
• The injury of Fire discovery Lider Marmol (Paraguay), who is apparently faking a hammy pull so that the Fire will relinquish their discovery claim and allow him to take up with JCO at the Red Bull.
• And last, but not least, a disturbing shortage of office supplies at Toyota Park.

Coincidences? I think not! And this couldn't happen at a better time - after all, our rivalry with Dallas F.C. has cooled since they dropped the "Burn" moniker. Sure, we have our grudge with the Revs, but we need another good rival and Columbus just hasn't been there for us the past few seasons.

Enter the Red Bull and JCO.

Everyone suspects the Red Bull of pulling some shifty accounting to manage their salary cap. Now they have "Moriarty" at the helm. Could you ask for a better bad guy foil for our Fire? Oh yes - vengeance will be ours...

The Original Houston Dynamo...

The California crunch really is the result of not enough power-generating plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating plants.

--George W. Bush 01/14/2001
in an Interview with the New York Times

(this just popped up on a google page - I had to share)

Section 8 Wants You!

The Section 8 supporter group (not to be confused with the Section (One Oh!) Eight supporter group) has sent around a questionnaire looking for your feedback. Follow this link to the questionnaire. It's short and sweet and you could win a lovely Best Buy jersey! (did I mention short?)

Team Transactions!!!!

As of March 4th, the Fire have Drafted Defender Brandon Prideaux in MLS Waiver Draft. He was previously with the KC Wizards, D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids. He was waived by Colorado and picked up by the Fire. It appears he has played alot and well, but was hurt in 2006. And he holds a record for the most matches played without scoring (eight years)!

The Fire also waived Midfielder Tim Conway, Defender Jeff Curtin (the other one), Midfielder Floyd Franks, Defender Jordan Russolillo (who?), Defender Osei Telesford.

It looks like there could still be some trading before opening day, but if they continue to thin out the defense, they won't be able to do without Conde!

Go Fire!

Wilman Conde Bucking for a Discharge???

Say it aint so Conde! (Read this tragic article from Section 8).

Blanco Video - Just a Warm Up for the Season

Video of Blanco "10 Best"

Watching the Games on TV

John and I were talking about the best way to watch the games (the ones we aren't attending, of course). Basically, we were wondering if it was a better deal to pay $10-$12 dollars per month for Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) and the regional Fox Sports Channels for the 7 month season, or pay for the Direct Kick package offered on most cable networks.

First question - does anyone but Direct TV offer Direct Kick? Answer - Yes. Comcast does offer Direct Kick, as does Dish Network and other providers. I think Comcast is the big cable provider around here, so that should be covered.

How many games will FSC carry? Answer - 30 games. Only two of which will be Fire away games. Three are Fire home games, but only one (the Red Bull Game on Sept. 6) is one we are not attending.

How many games will Direct Kick carry? 100+ a few playoff games. Four are Fire away games and one is a Fire home game we will not be attending.

What does DK cost? Don't know. The price for this season, as far as I can tell, has not been announced. But it looks like $79 is the likely price.

Also of note is that five Fire away games will be nationally broadcast on ESPN2 and HDNet. Personally, I love the HDNet games and recommend to anyone they pick up that channel if they can. Marcello Balboa is the color commentator, and he blows the ESPN crew away (except when Tommy Smyth (the Irish guy) is on and threatening to punch Eric Wynalda).

(See Balboa's Amazing MLS Goal of the Year (Century))

So, what's MY conclusion? Direct Kick obviously gives you a ton more games - but who the heck can watch 100 games? Even I'm not that big a fanatic! And it doesn't give very good coverage of Fire away games. (Actually, Telefutura seems to be the best for that) Also, when the MLS isn't on, you get nothing with Direct Kick. FSC on the other hand has soccer stuff 24/7. (I know this because it was in the hotel in Vegas). They've got soccer news, talk shows, updates on premier leagues, world cup qualifying from every country, more talk shows with unruly British soccer hooligans, and not a moment of "Beckham Cam" to be found (unless their taking a moment out to make fun of ESPN). Plus, if you subscribe for only the 7 months of the season, it costs about the same.

So, my recommendation (what I would do with my money) would be to subscribe to FSC.

Fantasy League Open for Business!

I've started a fantasy soccer division for Section One Oh Eight members in the Major Fantasy League Soccer (MFLS). There is also an official fantasy league run by the MLS and Fox Soccer. I joined this one, however, for no particular reason other than this one was up and running and the Fox league looked like it might not open until a few days before the first game. Since we're all pretty busy, I didn't think that short enrollment time would work out for us.

Anyway, here are the facts. If you want to participate, go to the MFLS website and create a team. You don't have to worry about which players you pick; you'll have plenty of time to change them around before the start of the season.

Once you have a team, you'll need to enroll in our division. Our division name is "Division One Oh Eight". I've set it up as a private division right now. The password to join the division is - you guessed it - "Fire".

EVERY THING IS FREE!

The MFLS rules say we need to have 20 teams in our division by the 3rd game or they will merge us with another division. So please, pass the word and try to find other soccer minded folks to join our division.

I'm looking forward to this. I figure its going to be a good excuse to watch a lot of games! Plus, I've never played "fantasy" anything!

Finally, like I said, everything is free. However, if enough people are interested, we could kick in $10 a piece (only if your interested) and use it to buy a Blanco jersey for the winner. I'm sure I could get it autographed. Think about it. I'll put a poll on this site and you can chime in!

Now, sign up your team - and convince a friend or two to sign up as well!

GO FIRE!

Event Calender Available on Google Calenders

I've put up an event calendar for the season. Right now I've got all the games on there, but I indend to add other items, including a fantasy league, as the season gets going.

Season Calender