Major Link Soccer - Fat Man Sings Edition

by Dizzo on Jun 10, 2011 7:00 AM PDT in Sounders: MLS Regular Season

It's been a busy news week for the Sounders and the rest of MLS. The Seattle Sounders invited strikers Cillian Sheridan and Myron Samuel to train with the Sounders this week. Sounders fans were able to see both play in the reserve league game against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Whitecaps senior team, and their family-friendly fans, will be in town this Saturday for the big rivalry game. I fully expect pockets of the more hard-core fans, who prefer not to be exploited by the front office, to be floating around the stadium. Make sure to say hi and show them some Seattle hospitality. They'll need after the 6-2 drubbing (surely if the Philadelphia Union can then we can too)! Oh wait, they're different teams? Terribly sorry, eh. I can't keep track with all the coaching changes going on up north of the border.

CSKA Sofia in Debt: I quite enjoyed watching Cillian Sheridan play in the reserve game Saturday and it prompted me to do a little internet research. Unfortunately, I found some rather unhappy nuggets of information on why CSKA Sofia is looking to unload the striker. The club is deeply in debt to Celtic Glasgow and other Bulgarian clubs. I've looked for any news on a resolution of the 275,000 pound sterling debt to Celtic Glasgow, but unfortunately haven't found anything current. Bad debts and failures to pay players seems to be a common story attached to the club. Not to mention hooliganism problems. The Sounders can't promise career success to the young striker, but I'm confident that the club can at least offer a steady paycheck and relatively sane fans.

More links from around the world of soccer after the break:

Mexico Loses 5, Wins by 5: Mexico defeated Cuba 5-0 despite having five players suspended before the match after they tested positive for clenbuterol. Ricardo Osorio also tested positive, but had already returned to Mexican to receive treatment for an unrelated illness. The Mexican football federation has claimed the positive tests were the result of tainted meat. The Mexican team awaits a ruling from CONCACAF on whether they will be able to replace the suspended players for remaining Gold Cup games.

Crew Defender Suspended: Columbus Crew defender Josh Williams has also been suspended 10 games and fined 10% of his salary for using performance enhancing drugs. The 23 year old apparently ingested the drug methandienone metabolites from an over-the-counter supplement he picked up from a chain store. The drug is a Schedule III drug in the U.S. and can lead to felony charges for possession or distribution. However, it is legal and widely available in Mexico, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia. So, either Williams is lying through his teeth, and picked up the drug in the black market, or the chain store is knowingly or unknowingly in violation of federal law.

The Downside of Parity: Team parity, and the lengths MLS will go to ensure it, is one of the hallmarks of MLS and makes it unique among soccer leagues around the world. The argument is that it makes things interesting for all fans regardless of team. However, there could be a downside to too much parity. Sports needs its over-powered villains and its scrappy underdogs. Would baseball be as interesting without the NY Yankees to hate year in and year out? My guess is probably yes.

Stadium News: Admittedly, it's not as exciting as monkey news, but there's plenty of exciting stadium news this week. Sporting KC opened up LiveStrong Sporting Park to a standing room only crowd yesterday and a 0-0 to the Chicago Fire. The $200 million stadium is quite an upgrade for the team that's been consigned to a baseball park for the last two years. The Union are also looking to slowly expand PPL Park to 30,000 seats in a three phase plan.

MLS Detroit? A Detroit ownership group is looking to add an MLS expansion franchise as part of a plan to convert the Silverdome into a multi-sport facility. The soccer part of the facility would hold a more manageable 30,000 fans. New York is still the preferred option for the 20th MLS franchise, hopefully with a stadium in Queens built on land owned by the Wilpon family.

Impact Retain Name: The Montreal Impact are starting their transition into MLS while the league front office is still trying to laid the ground work in New York for a 20th franchise. The team will retain the Impact name although they will be redesigning the logo, colors and kits for the team this summer. They've also raised ticket prices to the $250-$1,250 range for their inaugural season in MLS.

Sports Cards for Insane People: Spencer Hall, here at SB Nation, has come to the conclusion that the 1880s sucked, especially for sports. I can't really tell which parts of the article are historical truth. Probably enough that I should be crying at the sadness of the human condition rather than laughing at the absurdity of rudimentary pay-per-view systems for watching juvenile boxing. Fair warning - His article has absolutely nothing to do with soccer.

Kissinger to the Rescue: Speaking of absurdity...international man of misery, and Sepp Blatter confidant, Henry Kissinger has agreed to a role in FIFA. I don't know how that's going to work when the man has serious travel restrictions. Kissinger is wanted for questioning by courts in Argentina, Chile, and Spain due to his activities as Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He's exactly the kind of internationally respected statesman needed to lend an aura of credibility to an organization famed for its secrecy and corruption. Also, included in FIFA's 'council of wisdom' are Spanish tenor Placido Domingo and former FBI chief Louis Freeh.

Tweet Comment 32 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Lots of fodder for comment here!

CSKA/Sheridan: The sad state of that team makes me hope that if the Sounders decide Sheridan is a keeper (in the other sense of that word), they can purchase, rather than take him on a loan.

Mexico/Williams: I’m getting weary of the “It was only something I ate! No, really!” excuse for PEDs.

Sporting Wizards of KC: Their new stadium is lovely, too bad their team isn’t.

Spencer Hall: Generally, I assume anything he says is only about 25% true. Always hilarious, but he’s superb modern practitioner of the tall tale.

Kissinger/FIFA: Truth is stranger than fiction. And I can just see Placido Domingo singing in meetings like Opera-Man used to on SNL’s Weekend Update.

You will hear us on Brougham, you will hear us on Occidental, you will hear us on King. We are all around you, there is no escape.

by 108Ultra on Jun 10, 2011 8:02 AM PDT reply actions

Hall does do a good tall tale

This is the first article of his I’ve run across and it cracked me up. There’s enough truth in there to make you want to believe all the over-the-top stuff which is the sign of a true tall tale artist.

I really liked Sheridan in the reserve game and I think he’s exactly what the team needs. I’m worried that any attempt to get him on loan or acquire him might run into problems due to CSKA Sophia’s remaining debt to Celtic.

by Dizzo on Jun 10, 2011 8:41 AM PDT up reply actions

Tainted meat??

Worst excuse I’ve heard so far. Unless those cows/chickens recently received asthma treatment…..

by chrisperry1983 on Jun 10, 2011 8:04 AM PDT reply actions

It has been used in Pork

to keep the meat lean…however according to Wikipedia, the practice has only been documented in China

by Holum on Jun 10, 2011 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions

Mexico

Are cheaters! :) honestly though why would the keeper be taking those drugs? That is the confusing part to me that makes me start to believe their story.

Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.

by lysander on Jun 10, 2011 9:13 AM PDT reply actions

Clenbuterol is used as a bronchodilator for asthma

Offbeat thinking would say a little might help you breathe easier even when winded. This is the same drug Contador tested positive for (and same excuse) in a sport with a similar physical demand. Its also a metabolism accelerant, maybe they just couldnt lay off the tacos (please don’t kill me for that, see this story here for context).

Nos audietis in somniis
Nos audietis in altum

by Seattle Coug on Jun 10, 2011 9:47 AM PDT up reply actions

Detroit

Seems like a bad choice. The crowds looked pretty sparse at the USMNT game earlier this week.

Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.

by lysander on Jun 10, 2011 9:13 AM PDT reply actions

Reading the article

makes me wish I had not posted anything about this.

Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.

by lysander on Jun 10, 2011 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions

Regarding Josh Williams

The idea that an over-the-counter supplement contains a banned substance is not crazy. If you think about it, makers of these supplements have a huge incentive to do whatever they can to make their supplement effective. So I’m sure that some manufacturers put PEDs in their supplements, because otherwise they would probably do nothing. If I was a player subject to drug testing, I’d only take stuff that came from the team.

The tainted meat story also might not be that crazy if WADA labs found 22 of 28 people returning from China to have low levels of clenbuterol.

by ubelmann on Jun 10, 2011 9:31 AM PDT reply actions

It's not crazy at all

However, the supplemental company and chain store should be under investigation if its true. Distributing schedule 3 narcotics is a pretty serious crime.

by Dizzo on Jun 10, 2011 9:36 AM PDT up reply actions

There's no way the chain store is at fault here, at least to me

The supplement company, sure, but there’s no way a merchant should be held accountable for testing all of their products for every illegal drug imaginable. At some point when a manufacturer presents a product as one thing and it turns out to be something else, that is solely the fault of the manufacturer. If we’re going to prosecute that chain store, you’re probably looking at prosecuting hundreds and hundreds of stores.

by ubelmann on Jun 10, 2011 9:43 AM PDT up reply actions

My personal opinion

I believe retailers have a responsibility, both morally and legally, to ensure the products they sell are safe and legal. It’s more important than ever with so many products being outsourced to countries with poor consumer safety protections.

Of course, I understand and repect the opposing, more free market -oriented, opinion.

by Dizzo on Jun 10, 2011 9:53 AM PDT up reply actions

the opposing view

is not just free market oriented, but reality based. if you want retail stores to provide anything, you can not hold them responsible for testing every product they sell. If you did they would all be out of business in a very short time.

Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.

by lysander on Jun 10, 2011 9:56 AM PDT up reply actions

Individual testing of every product I don't agree with...

But I do think they need to provide good faith efforts to ensure their products are safe. Batch testing (for example testing 1 out of 1,000 products) should not be an onerous burden for a large chain store.

by Dizzo on Jun 10, 2011 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions

And what about the small stores?

Is it okay for a small store to distribute narcotics? Or should everything be sold by a large chain store? Or are small chain stores just not allowed to sell anything that may or may not have drugs in it?

The problem is that these supplements are not tested by the FDA. It’s a public safety issue and as such, should be dealt with by public safety officials, not retailers.

Retailers ought to be good at distributing and selling products, not chemical testing.

by ubelmann on Jun 10, 2011 10:23 AM PDT up reply actions

Unfortunately, this is totally and completely implausible.

by Aaron Campeau on Jun 10, 2011 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions

I realize I am completely in the minority on this policy question

But I respectfully disagree that it is implausible or undesirable. Frankly, the FDA has been underfunded for the last two decades. There is no chance it will receive the funding it needs to meet it’s current mission in the current budget climate much less deal with the growing problem of unsafe supplements.

If we want safe foods, toys, supplements and other products on the shelves then we have to start holding retailers to a higher standard both ethically and legally. Ignorance has never been an excuse for breaking the law. It shouldn’t be an excuse for selling products dangerous to human health.

The difference is what our law enforcement agencies choose to prosecute and
choose not to prosecute under existing law. If the retailer took resonable steps to ensure the safety of there products then fine…don’t prosecute. If they didn’t…then they should come under legal scrutiny. I personally think one or more of these big chains should be made an example of because a lot of the supplements they sell are pure crap or even worse.

Anyway…this thread is going way off the rails. I completely understand where y’all are coming from, but I disagree. Let’s just agree to disagree since this has nothing to do with soccer and I’m sure the rest of the SAH readers are quite bored of it by now.

by Dizzo on Jun 10, 2011 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions

How about holding the manufacturers responsible?

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jun 10, 2011 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions

Nothing about that seems grossly inefficient to you?

Just because the FDA is under-funded doesn’t mean that retailers should start up huge new programs, independently testing all the products that they sell, passing those costs to consumers. It means that we should just fund the FDA at appropriate levels to test everything that needs to be tested. Even if businesses had to bear the cost as an increase in taxes, the increase in taxes would be much less than if each retailer suddenly had to start up its own testing program.

by ubelmann on Jun 10, 2011 1:21 PM PDT up reply actions

I'll trade efficiency for quality

Yes, instituting new testing programs would raise the cost of goods. So would increasing taxes to fund the FDA to do it. I think instituting proper quality control would cost less than you think it would. My guess would be pennies per product. If I had my druthers…I’d rather increase funding to the FDA. But I don’t.

Funding for the FDA has been held back by the same ‘anti-regulation’ crowd that has decreased funding and hindered enforcement of regulation from mine safety to financial securities. They’re also, conveniently, supported by the same companies that would be hurt by regulation. If they don’t want to be regulated then they have to be prosecuted when the very lack of regulation and oversight hurts consumers. I’d rather have better oversight, but I’ll take prosecution as the next best thing.

In response to Jeremiah…holding manufacturers responsible is vital as well, but its not sufficient. Simply because in the age of global commerce, most manufacturers are simply not based here. Retailers are the only ones who have a direct link to the consumer and have operations in the jurisdiction in which the consumer was harmed.

Listen I know my opinion on this is well outside the mainstream. But you’re not going to change my mind. I’ve spent plenty of time thinking about health and consumer safety. My bottom line is that retailers need to be just as responsible for unsafe products as the manufacturers.

by Dizzo on Jun 10, 2011 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions

So no considerations for small business?

The convenience store serving a town of 2,000 people now has to test all of its products for clenbuterol? By putting that kind of massive burden on small stores, you’re putting a huge barrier to entry in place which makes the whole thing a non-solution. You’ve created a system where you have to be a huge retailer to compete, so there are naturally going to be very few retailers, in which case consumers are left with little choice, and lose the power to pressure retailers into doing anything. If you’d rather have increased funding to the FDA, you should keep pushing for that. Write your representatives, etc. Resorting to the legal system is also a terrible solution because big corporations can use their stacks of cash to hire a herd of lawyers that make the problem go away in a way that small companies also can’t compete with.

by ubelmann on Jun 10, 2011 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions

I have very modest considerations for small businesses

First, the decision to bring a case is at the discretion of the district attorney or the US attorney depending on the violation. There’s absolutely no reason they can decline to prosecute a small store if they feel that store was not negligent.

Second, the original report that started this whole thing was about a ‘chain store’. My assumption is that this is a rather large business able to handle quality control or at the very least check on the reputation of its own suppliers. My biggest gripe is with the large supplement chains like GNC because I am sure they know of the problems with their products, but refuse to do anything about it.

Third, small retailers are a dying breed. I grew up in an isolated town of about 20,000. Almost all of the small businesses dried up when Wal-mart came to town. It is a very rare, and very small, town that doesn’t have the majority of its retail go through a large chain. And I don’t know of any supplement store that’s a small businesses (of course I don’t buy supplements).

Fourth, small businesses reap what they sow just like everyone else. Most small businesses contribute to the Chamber of Commerce either directly or through local and state Chambers of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce directly lobbies against the funding and regulations that would ensure safe products.

Fifth, sure the chains can use their cash to hire lawyers to fight cases. However, that is also a cost of doing businesses. I think most chains would realize its cheaper, and better for their brands, to just institute higher standards for the merchandise they sell. Of course, you need to make an example of a couple of them first.

Listen ubelmann. I respect your position. I understand it. I just disagree with it. If you want to keep the conversation going you can email me. There’s a link to the email down below under the authors section.

by Dizzo on Jun 10, 2011 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions

I would rather see insurance take over for the FDA

Look at the UL track record versus the FDA. UL is funded by insurance companies to decrease exposure for companise it insures. It is essentially the market created incentives that created and maintain the quality the UL brings about. The FDA on the other hand has no accountability and leads to crap results.

Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.

by lysander on Jun 10, 2011 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions

It is crazy if they're not blaming it on pork

Previously tainted beef has produced hospitalization of those ingesting (see report here) so I’m hard-pressed to believe that one.

Nos audietis in somniis
Nos audietis in altum

by Seattle Coug on Jun 10, 2011 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions

I think we should blame

canada.

Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.

by lysander on Jun 10, 2011 9:56 AM PDT up reply actions

If we're looking to blame someone...

Blame the Crew for not having stronger oversight over what their players are ingesting.

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jun 10, 2011 10:53 AM PDT up reply actions

No

I am sticking with blaming Canada. It is always fun to blame them since we have a song about it, plus it fits with this weeks theme of welcoming our BC neighbors.

We should figure out a cool version of the southpark ‘Blame Canada’ song to sing at the Vancouver games.

Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.

by lysander on Jun 10, 2011 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions