Major Link Soccer: WCQ Ticket Sales, Rookie of the Month

Sounder at Heart, Field Gulls, Lookout Landing, and now Sonics Rising. Seattle may not yet be a four sport city, but it is a four BLOG city. As far as I know, SR is the only blog on the network devoted to a team that isn't the member of a league.

Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Santos wasn't kind to the Sounders and their chances of moving on to the final. Perhaps we will continue to see Martinez play in the attacking third next week, in front of Ives' Rookie of the Month DeAndre Yedlin. But Seattle may see Herculez Gomez again in more pleasant circumstances when the USMNT arrives to play Panama. Over 27,000 tickets have been sold, and I think I recall hearing that the stadium capacity could be increased if there was demonstrated demand for it.

Salt Lake sold out their qualifying match within 24 hours, so they're ready to go. But another cheesy rivalry video has found it's way onto the internet, more "Dynamo crusher" than... well... good.

One more big time non-MLS soccer match being played on US soil this year is the Manchester City-Chelsea match in St. Louis this summer. The match took a full 20 minutes to sell out, and while a significant number of fans are likely making their way across the state from Kansas City, this could be the kick in the pants St. Louis needs to get their soccer world in order again.

Anyone remember that John Spencer guy? This is a great reminder of how important a working front office relationship is, and how detrimental a lack of such a relationship can be.

Cascadia is held up as a standard for the league, but things aren't perfect throughout. Vancouver is near the top of the league in attendance, but there are some serious worries about keeping it up. So the Whitecaps are getting proactive, installing a discount on the next five matches this year. According to that article, more than 50% of the league's revenue comes from ticket sales.

Soccer isn't done with California yet, as the NASL looks at San Diego and San Francisco for coming expansion locations. Their lower division brothers, the USL, have announced that every game this year will be broadcast on "USL Live". Currently existing California team Chivas USA has a new strategy for fixing their woeful attendance: buy tickets, get a copy of FIFA! Could the team potentially rise on the game's supporter lists? No. The Earthquakes could soon have a lot more competition for the sporting dollar, with the 49ers already moving in and the Oakland Athletics consistently threatening to move south of the Bay.

Expansion watch! It's important to have watchdogs in any move to bring a team to a new area. Skeptics are a vital piece whenever public money is used on sports or other entertainment. That's why it isn't crazy that the mayor of Orlando is looking closely at the idea of building a stadium for an MLS team. What is crazy is the idea that MLS would accept the Citrus Bowl as a suitable MLS stadium.

Outside of the NFL (and the Clink) it can be hard to get fans to the park when the weather is bad, and certain months are worse than others. Hot Time in Old Town takes a look at what months are more successful in the stands.

Lightning Round:

Over-the-counter pain medications are becoming a big problem in world soccer, and Canada's MLS squads are making combating the problem a priority.
Read about some of the goal line tech that may be coming to a park near you.
FC Dallas has seen the success of Yedlin and have upgraded with their own defensive academy product.
Ever thought to yourself "self, wouldn't it be great to have a live American soccer show in the morning to which we could listen?" If you have, meet American Soccer Morning.