Sounds of the Game
I say "sounds" cause after struggling to get a video feed for the first 15 minutes of the game on Saturday I gave up and settled for the audio feed. Did anyone else have their hopes of watching online dashed when about 3 minutes into the game the nice video link that's usually on the Sights and Sounds page on MLSNet (the 350K link next to the games) just disappeared. What made it worse was that the DC United homepage still had a "Watch Live" link. My hopes of watching one of the matches that we could see in the finals this year were dashed.
I also noticed something else. As I understand it MLS will charge $20.00 a year to watch the games that for the past two years were free. So far so good, I was actually thinking that one of the ways to increase revenue was to charge for the games. The only part that troubles me as a DC United fan (and more importantly a COX Cable subscriber) is that the games that will be shown online are the ones that aren't broadcast by ABC (fine), ESPN (ok), ESPN2 (check), and HDNET (huh?). That means that if ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or HDNET are exclusively broadcasting the game then it will not be online.
I'm not 100% sure but I think that if ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 aren't broadcasting the game then Comcast Sportsnet will carry the game. If these four don't broadcast the game then that usually means HDNET will pick it up. But if you are a COX subscriber, even digital cable (which I recently signed up for), you will miss the game. There is no incentive for me to give MLS my money if the only games that I will miss (the ones that are exclusively shown on HDNET) are not going to be online. If I'm wrong, please someone let me know. I may have to switch to satelite (COX btw is one of the only carriers in the country that doesn't carry GOLTV in their channel line-up, so it won't be hard to convince me to switch)
So this means that the game analysis will be brief cause it's hard to get perspective and see plays developing when (as great as he may be) the announcer can only focus on one player at a time.
Here's what I did notice: Josh Gros is maybe the best investment for the future of this team. As his minutes increase, he continues to gain confidence and more comfortable combining his strength and speed while maintaining his vision on the field. From the MLSNet highlights (which is a great feature), on the play that lead to the foul and his goal, the ball was passed in his vicinity by Troy Perkins and at first it looked like the defender would have no problem securing the ball. Out of nowhere Gros speeds by and is able to shoulder the defender off the ball and crosses the ball straight to Jaime Moreno. Gros also plays defense and can run forever. If he continues to improve like this he will in no time have English teams calling. His tenacity and work ethic would make him a perfect fit in England's Championship League or even Premiership.
You know whose name I didn't hear a lot? Troy Perkins. You know what that means? The defense held its own against maybe the most lethal scorer in the league. The backline shut down Houston's Alejandro Moreno and Brian Ching. Ching's disappearance was shocking because the biggest weakness for the DC defense was set pieces and crosses in general, which is Ching's expertise. To name any one player would be a disservice to the other defenders so for this game the collective defense gets my accolades. I will mention Perkins because I haven't been his biggest fan. For this game he did great. He got the shut out and from how it sounded he didn't have any nervous moments. This is one good way to gain confidence, especially since Houston will probably finish the season as one of the better offensive teams.
What more can you say about the offense? Like I've said before the number of weapons DC has is incredible. Ben Olsen and Josh Gros are great in the clean up roles, Adu and Eskandarian being able to score amazing goals, Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno can create and finish goals with the best in the league. I wish Lucio Filomeno would get over the hump and score his first goal. He seems so close just a step too slow or a couple inches off. Regardless, it is hard to defend our offense and focusing on any one or two players leaves plenty of room for the others to exploit.
Up Next: Rematch of the homeopener. Red Bull NY welcomes DC United. Let's see if our potent offense can pick up where it left off during the second half of the last game, while our defense can better protect our half of the field.
I also noticed something else. As I understand it MLS will charge $20.00 a year to watch the games that for the past two years were free. So far so good, I was actually thinking that one of the ways to increase revenue was to charge for the games. The only part that troubles me as a DC United fan (and more importantly a COX Cable subscriber) is that the games that will be shown online are the ones that aren't broadcast by ABC (fine), ESPN (ok), ESPN2 (check), and HDNET (huh?). That means that if ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or HDNET are exclusively broadcasting the game then it will not be online.
I'm not 100% sure but I think that if ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 aren't broadcasting the game then Comcast Sportsnet will carry the game. If these four don't broadcast the game then that usually means HDNET will pick it up. But if you are a COX subscriber, even digital cable (which I recently signed up for), you will miss the game. There is no incentive for me to give MLS my money if the only games that I will miss (the ones that are exclusively shown on HDNET) are not going to be online. If I'm wrong, please someone let me know. I may have to switch to satelite (COX btw is one of the only carriers in the country that doesn't carry GOLTV in their channel line-up, so it won't be hard to convince me to switch)
So this means that the game analysis will be brief cause it's hard to get perspective and see plays developing when (as great as he may be) the announcer can only focus on one player at a time.
Here's what I did notice: Josh Gros is maybe the best investment for the future of this team. As his minutes increase, he continues to gain confidence and more comfortable combining his strength and speed while maintaining his vision on the field. From the MLSNet highlights (which is a great feature), on the play that lead to the foul and his goal, the ball was passed in his vicinity by Troy Perkins and at first it looked like the defender would have no problem securing the ball. Out of nowhere Gros speeds by and is able to shoulder the defender off the ball and crosses the ball straight to Jaime Moreno. Gros also plays defense and can run forever. If he continues to improve like this he will in no time have English teams calling. His tenacity and work ethic would make him a perfect fit in England's Championship League or even Premiership.
You know whose name I didn't hear a lot? Troy Perkins. You know what that means? The defense held its own against maybe the most lethal scorer in the league. The backline shut down Houston's Alejandro Moreno and Brian Ching. Ching's disappearance was shocking because the biggest weakness for the DC defense was set pieces and crosses in general, which is Ching's expertise. To name any one player would be a disservice to the other defenders so for this game the collective defense gets my accolades. I will mention Perkins because I haven't been his biggest fan. For this game he did great. He got the shut out and from how it sounded he didn't have any nervous moments. This is one good way to gain confidence, especially since Houston will probably finish the season as one of the better offensive teams.
What more can you say about the offense? Like I've said before the number of weapons DC has is incredible. Ben Olsen and Josh Gros are great in the clean up roles, Adu and Eskandarian being able to score amazing goals, Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno can create and finish goals with the best in the league. I wish Lucio Filomeno would get over the hump and score his first goal. He seems so close just a step too slow or a couple inches off. Regardless, it is hard to defend our offense and focusing on any one or two players leaves plenty of room for the others to exploit.
Up Next: Rematch of the homeopener. Red Bull NY welcomes DC United. Let's see if our potent offense can pick up where it left off during the second half of the last game, while our defense can better protect our half of the field.
posted by SccrPlaya at 7:09 PM
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