This Isn't News: No More Sounders Named To All-Star Team

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jul 18, 2011 12:58 PM PDT in Sounders: MLS Regular Season

Osvaldo Alonso has not been named to the MLS All-Star Team. But Honey Badger don't care because he knows his fellow players can fix this problem. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

As you may have noticed, no Seattle Sounders were named to Hans Backe's MLS All-Star team. Well, no one other than Kasey Keller, who won't be playing anyway. Surely, you probably think, there has been some kind of miscarriage of justice. Not to ruin your righteous hate fest, but this actually makes a lot of sense.

Backe was essentially charged with picking the gameday roster. Considering the Sounders -- and FC Dallas, it should be noted -- are both playing CONCACAF Champions League qualifiers a day before, it makes sense that guys like Osvaldo Alonso and Fredy Montero weren't included.

But don't worry, there is a way this can be rectified. The CBA calls for 32 players to be named All-Stars. So far, 26 have been selected. That means six more players will get to call themselves All-Stars, which will guarantee their bonuses, by a vote of players.

I would think Alonso is almost guaranteed to make this list. Montero probably has a decent shot as well, along with guys like George John, Jeff Parke, Alvaro Fernandez and Kevin Hartman.

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I would love to see Rosales get some recognition too.

by Sandra_R on Jul 18, 2011 1:00 PM PDT reply actions

yeah, i should have mentioned him for sure

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jul 18, 2011 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions

I agree—Rosales is my favorite player!!

by sparkinson on Jul 18, 2011 1:11 PM PDT reply actions

It sucks to not have more just for the gloating factor

but I’m really glad none of the boys will be playing. It might’ve been cool to see East vs West, but All Stars vs Man U is like another worthless friendly.

by chrisperry1983 on Jul 18, 2011 1:46 PM PDT reply actions

Not that East vs West isn't worthless

but it’d be more interesting, IMO

by chrisperry1983 on Jul 18, 2011 1:47 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm a fan of the format

Yes it’s a friendly in the middle of a packed season, but I’m ok with having a couple chances to see players go out and play in a more relaxed festive atmosphere. Bringing in a big team in the beginning of their preseason makes it interesting and I imagine it also motivates the MLS players more than an intraleague game would.

One thing I’ve seen suggested for the NBA which might be interesting for MLS would be a USA vs the world format, or maybe if that was too lopsided towards the international players they could do CONCACAF vs the world.

by snu on Jul 18, 2011 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions

Interesting idea

Problem I see is it means twice as many MLS players (and our best ones at that) playing a meaningless game midweek in the middle of the season. But I would be more interested in it than I am the current format.

Anyone feel like coming up with a starting 11 for USA vs world MLS all star game?

by lysander on Jul 18, 2011 3:11 PM PDT up reply actions

I took a gander borrowing from the current picks and my personal feeling on any gaps

USA
GK: Keller
D: Gonzalez, Ream, Franklin, Cameron
M: Beckerman, Davis, Jewsbury, Labrocca
F: Shea, Donovan

World
GK: Mandragon
D: Marquez, Olave, Hurtado, Segares
M: Beckham, Joseph, Lindperre, Alonso
F: Henry, Bravo

by sdcoug09 on Jul 18, 2011 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Can't find a lot wrong with this

Though I’d probably try and get the FCD defenders in there. Both John and Ihemelu could conceivably play for either side though, lol.

by agtk on Jul 18, 2011 4:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Dig if you will the picture.

I would love to see MLS Colombia vs Colombia NT.

by Lord Hokage on Jul 18, 2011 5:44 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs

It would be a great slaughter

The western teams are so much stronger I can’t imagine the eastern conference all-stars would stand much of a chance.

by Dizzo on Jul 18, 2011 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Do they have better players though?

I have not thought about it much but I could see the East putting up a good fight just because so much depends on the teamwork as well in club games. In an all star game the teams do not have much time so it instead comes down to just the sum of the players skills with no extra teamwork varaible to add.

by lysander on Jul 18, 2011 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Can you please explain how this work?

" The CBA calls for 32 players to be named All-Stars. So far, 26 have been selected. That means six more players will get to call themselves All-Stars, which will guarantee their bonuses, by a vote of players."

Is this some new bonus, or it is already in their contracts? Is this bonus included in the salary cap, or it is excluded? Thanks

by seattle 13 on Jul 18, 2011 4:36 PM PDT reply actions

All All-Star bonuses hit the cap in the next season

odd, yes. but that’s the way it is.

It was done when the league shifted away from a East v West All-Star format in order to get more players bonuses based on performance.

I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart

by Dave Clark on Jul 18, 2011 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions

So it'd actually be good for the Sounders FO, money-wise, if none of the Sounders were selected to the All-Star game?

Am I reading that correctly?

by wyte_lightning on Jul 18, 2011 4:44 PM PDT up reply actions

One more question, is there information as to how large these bonuses are?

by wyte_lightning on Jul 18, 2011 4:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Well, if you think it is good for an FO to have good players get underpaid, yes

But I think they’d rather have to pay bonuses to everyone.

I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart

by Dave Clark on Jul 18, 2011 5:23 PM PDT up reply actions

funny...

At first I wanted sounders selected for the recognition. Then I saw how it hurts the team and i did not want them chosen. Then I learned they get extra money and I wanted them to get selected. Then I learn it hurts our cap and now I am back to not wanting them selected at all.

by lysander on Jul 18, 2011 9:12 PM PDT up reply actions 5 recs

Ha! That's a perfect summation of my feelings as well

by ABTsportsline on Jul 18, 2011 9:25 PM PDT up reply actions

I haven't put a lot of thought into this statement so take it with a grain of salt

but it seems weird to me that an all-star selection bonus would be counted against the cap? It’s almost like a random punishment because a team has great players. It’s not anything that’s worked into their contract, it’s not anything guaranteed by the team, it’s done by fan voting, player voting, commish selection, and the all-star team coach. It doesn’t make sense to me.

by chrisperry1983 on Jul 19, 2011 7:51 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs

Agreed. If it's not already, it should be paid by league

As meaningless as this whole thing is, I’d rather the All-Star process be more like an actual all star list rather than a “best group to beat Man U selected by a guy who clearly has a different approach to everything.”

For example, even injured and players with previous conflicts are eligible to be “named”. If someone is injured or not available, an alternate takes his spot. In this method, more players ultimately get named & credited; can’t see how that makes anything worse. Win-win?

by ABTsportsline on Jul 19, 2011 10:31 AM PDT up reply actions

Thanks

Even though I would hate to hit the salary cup, it would be nice that Rosales get some extra money as well as some other Sounders.

by seattle 13 on Jul 18, 2011 5:11 PM PDT up reply actions

Zakuani should be named an all-star

But only this year; don’t want to impact our future salary cap too much.

by Jackington on Jul 18, 2011 4:59 PM PDT reply actions

What sort of bonus are we talking per player

That would hit the salary cap? $5k? $10k?

by bmvaughn on Jul 18, 2011 6:56 PM PDT reply actions

Toronto in CCL as well

Seattle, Dallas and Toronto are in the CCL prelims and therefore any All-Stars would be unavailable. The best Toronto candidate I think would be Stefan Frei who leads the league in saves.

by K61 on Jul 18, 2011 11:34 PM PDT reply actions

you're right...

I didn’t conveniently forget about them. safe to say no one on TFC will be one of those six, i think.

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jul 19, 2011 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions

Well this is all very logical

But Hans Backe can go straight to Honey Badger Hell.

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 Jul 19, 2011 10:03 AM PDT reply actions

SBI's all-snub list

Is actually quite good. It has players like Alonso, Rosales, Montero, Shea, Rimando.

Am I the only one who thinks the all-snub list might actually be better than the All-Stars? :-D

by ABTsportsline on Jul 19, 2011 10:33 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

no i think so too.

by Sandra_R on Jul 19, 2011 10:54 AM PDT up reply actions

In every position except GK!

by Dizzo on Jul 19, 2011 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions

of course, there's a reason for that...

the all-snub list will include players who are unavailable because there teams are actually good.

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jul 19, 2011 12:13 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

This is an yet another argument against the All-Star Game

They should just scrap this thing altogether.

by CarlosT on Jul 19, 2011 12:42 PM PDT up reply actions

I'd be ok if they scrapped the game but kept the awards

Pro Bowl without the game. That’s all people care about anyway.

by ABTsportsline on Jul 19, 2011 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions

If anything, the All-Star game should probably be in June

I could see the league eventually taking a regular June break. It would coincide with WC group play, Gold Cup (the regional championship), and otherwise allow players to heal up a bit in the middle of the season. You could justify having an All-Star game at some point during that break. There’s also no CCL play in June.

by ubelmann on Jul 19, 2011 2:27 PM PDT reply actions

I love that idea

I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart

by Dave Clark on Jul 19, 2011 5:44 PM PDT up reply actions

Seeing a lot of negative discussion about the MLS All-Star game (again) today in the Twitter universe

Not to beat a dead horse, but discussion re: whether to have the game at all … I guess I don’t understand why the MLS All-Star game is such a bad thing? Teams with conflicts don’t send their players anyway.

Questions for those opposed to having the All-Star game at all:
what is your solution to acknowledging & rewarding MLS’s best players? For putting the best players in the league in the public spotlight? Why does every match played by an MLS team have to end in meaningful points? How does the All Star game inconvenience your team specifically? What is your suggestion on how to alternatively handle said awards & game? how do you showcase your league’s best players for non-MLS fans to see? (note: the league’s best players aren’t always on the two teams in the final)

by ABTsportsline on Jul 19, 2011 3:49 PM PDT reply actions

How about moving the match to the end of the season

like the NFL?

Though that probably means that the MLS All Stars would have to play each other, not a big-name Euro team.

by LoiteringWithIntent on Jul 19, 2011 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions

For me, I don't think All-Star games work in just about any sport

In principle, they work best for baseball, because you barely (barely) need to know your teammates to play the game well, so you can just throw together a team. But in practice, managers now feel compelled to play everyone who shows up to the game and it has become something of a farce. If managers actually played the game with the top players on the roster the way they would play a normal game, it’d probably feel more like a legitimate contest and be a little more fun.

In basketball and hockey, there is basically no defense played in the All-Star game, so it’s kind of fun, but a totally different game than what you see in regular season play and doesn’t really seem to showcase the players that well. And it seems universally accepted that the Pro Bowl is irrelevant and given the physicality of regular-season NFL games, the Pro Bowl might as well be a flag football game.

In soccer, I suppose one could argue that players are used to playing in friendlies, or showing up to play on national teams that are thrown together on relatively short notice, so the games are probably going to feel more legitimate than basketball and hockey all-star games.

Personally, I think the worst part about the MLS All-Star game is that there’s not really an All-Star break to go along with it. If this was really about showcasing the league’s best talent, the rest of the league would get some time off before/after the game. (If you were going to operate it analogously to MLB’s All-Star break, teams would have no games the weekend of July 23-24 or July 30-31.) And that’s without even considering CCL games.

I think the best way, long-term, to showcase the league’s best players is to have something analogous to what Monday Night Football used to be. If you have a consistent day/time of the week to showcase two teams in the league and build a national audience for that game, then you can get each top player in the league some time in the national spotlight.

In terms of acknowledging the league’s best players, they should do that in the off-season, dragging out the awards process to keeps fans thinking about MLS after the season is over, the way that MLB drags out their end-of-season awards through November.

by ubelmann on Jul 19, 2011 5:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Not to mention the fact that many of the top stars simply don't go.

Whether its injuries or otherwise the games become more of a let down when you don’t have the absolute best.
There’s also the rules based exclusions like in the MLB: Sunday pitchers being barred from the All-Star game or each team needs to be represented by at least one player.

by sdcoug09 on Jul 19, 2011 6:15 PM PDT up reply actions

I like this idea

I really just want to keep the concept of the MLS All-Stars. Your idea to play the game in June is a good one.

As far as how serious the game is? Well like you mentioned – look at the NFL’s Pro Bowl. It’s not at all about playing in the game – players don’t care nearly as much about that. It’s just about being named, really. It’s the accolade.

As silly as we think Pro Bowls are, it means a lot to the athletes when it comes to being named. When top league players are referred to on TV or in print, they’re often referenced as a “10-time pro-bowler”, “5-time All-star”, etc.

For such an insignifcant accolade, we certainly reference it a lot.

by ABTsportsline on Jul 20, 2011 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions