(Some of) Your Questions Answered

Good morning all. You'll probably think I'm kidding but I was actually able to knock out the first quarter of the most recent Q&A session. I will be posting the answers to the most recent Q&A in four installments and will look to post them all this week. I'm hoping that breaking them up into sections will make it easier to answer them in a timely fashion.

Let's start with the first batch of questions (As always, feel free to share your thoughts on my answers in the comments section below):

EA- In your recent ESPN preview of the US/Guate game, you stated that one of the qualifiers vs. Guatemala was played in El Salvador.

When, and any particular reason why?

IVES- The qualifier took place on Dec. 21, 1996 and finished a 2-2 tie (Preki and Frankie Hejduk were the goal-scorers for those of you wondering). The reason the qualifier was played in El Salvador rather than Guatemala was because it took place just two months after a tragic disaster at Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City. More than 80 people were killed on the day of a Guatemala-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier when counterfeit tickets led to overflowing crowds in the stadium, which resulted in a human avalanche of bodies that crushed some spectators, killing 83 and injuring more than 100 others.

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RANDY CAPPS- Have you heard anything regarding Dish Network's dispute with Citadel Communications, resulting in Gol TV being pulled from the Dish lineup?

Also, what are the odds of ESPN landing the rights to the BPL?

IVES- All I know about the GolTV-Dish Network dispute is that soccer fans wanting to watch GolTV have to turn to DirecTV. It doesn't sound like that is changing so people are going to have to make the tough decision of whether or not to switch to DirecTV.

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EMILIO- First off, you do a great job Ives!! Whats the latest on Red Bull's pursual of Macoumba Kandji, and any idea what Red Bull may do next year with the top allocation spot. Thanks.

IVES- Thanks Emilio. From what I understand, the Red Bulls had serious questions about making a $200,000 investment in Kandji, though they were trying to trade for the allocation money necessary to make the deal. The Red Bulls were interested in some MLS forwards, but given the way the team is playing now, and given the chemistry the team is enjoying right now, I'm not sure a trade where the Red Bulls deal a player is something they want to do right now.

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NOTHING- how have perkins and adin brown been playing in norway?

IVES- Perkins has settled in nicely with Valerenga and is the team's unquestioned starter. Brown has been sidelined with a leg injury and appears set to miss the rest of the season.

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JOHN IN ATL- Given the recent controversy w/ Olympic callups, do you foresee in the near future when club teams have most to all of the control, and FIFA has little to none?
I fear for the day when intl tournaments such as the World Cup and Euro are diminished and dictated due to increasing (financial) pressure from the clubs. Can't we all just get along?

IVES- I don't think that will ever happen. All FIFA has to do is establish the proper guidelines ahead of time, which in the case of the Olympics means including the Olympics on the official FIFA calendar, in order to force clubs to release players for the tournament. I also don't think you will ever see the day clubs get in the way of players competing in the World Cup and Euro.

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PATRICK COOK- Do you like that MLS has been become an export league or do you seem bothered that the league has trouble keeping the youth here in the US and basically sells them for the money they can get from them?

IVES- How many leagues in the world can say they aren't export leagues? It is the reality of professional soccer. Major League Soccer's biggest task is establishing a quality system of player development so it can be better equipped to replace the players it does sell. The whole notion that MLS is flawed because it is selling its top players is a bit misguided. MLS would have a problem if bigger leagues weren't interested in its players.

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AL- Do players get paid when playing/training for their countries (either in friendlies or tourneys)?

IVES- Yes, they do. I couldn't tell you how much, but they do get a stipend and game bonuses.

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ANDY B.- So with Maurice Edu emerging as the latest "hot" US player I'm wondering: where, if anywhere, could you see him fitting in on the Nats squad? It seemed that Bradley was the guy for a defensive mid spot and Adu is going to be the obvious choice for attacking mid; then of course there's Dempsey, Beasley et al. On the other hand, Gooch/Boca seem to continue to have their spots in the back locked down. Thoughts?

IVES- With the U.S. national team currently employing a midfield formation with two deep-lying central midfielders, there is a place for Edu alongside Michael Bradley. The better question is how will the attacking front four will shake out. If you consider that Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey, Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore will be vying for four spots down the road, there will be a good battle for playing time once Adu and Altidore become regulars.

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BRANT- Is the NCAA/college system, with its limitations on playing/practice time, really hindering development of players in the US? Or is it helping by giving so many players a chance to play that might not fit into a limited number of 'academies' affiliated with the pro teams?

IVES- I think the whole "NCAA is holding soccer players back" argument has gone stale. Here's why. The way the soccer scene is set up for American players, the elite players have far more options than did the elite players of a decade ago, so you are going to see the very best make moves either to Europe or to MLS instead of college. What college soccer does do is give all those players who might not yet be ready for the pro level an environment to keep developing their game.

Would it be better if NCAA didn't have so many restrictions on things like practice time and off-season participation? Of course, but it's still a very valuable tool for developing a segment of the American talent pool that still isn't being served by MLS (and may never be because of the size of this country.)

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WTF- Do you think with the addition of Smith and Ruiz, does TFC have what it takes to go deep in the MLS playoffs?

IVES- Losing Maurice Edu is VERY tough but the pieces are in place for a late run. The only problem is TFC is going to need either DC or the Red Bulls to stumble and right now the Red Bulls are playing great and D.C. looks to be straightening things out. Above all, Toronto needs to start winning games. Ties won't cut it. Right now I'd say I don't think Toronto will make the playoffs but I like their chances better than Kansas City's at this point.

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IGOR- I read somewhere that ESPN was thinking of making a new channel with the EPL as the centerpiece. With their showing Serie A, the Russian league, the Champions League and the Uero on ESPN360, do you think ESPN is ready to drastically increase its soccer coverage?

IVES- Where on earth did you read that? Okay, in all seriousness, I don't know what ESPN's plans are as far as soccer coverage but I do think the success of Euro 2008 has given ESPN some confidence in its commitment to the sport.

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ROBERT- With the steel starting to go up in harrison for the new stadium, do you know what the new official (or semi-official) completion date is for the stadium?

IVES- September of 2009, or fall of 2009, which is what I said a year ago when team officials were still holding on to their summer of 2009 target date.

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SEATTLE DAN- I'm looking forward to Seattle starting play next year, but not the FieldTurf pitch. I also don't think a SSS stadium with grass is necessary or worth the expense. Is there a practical solution on the horizon that would allow a MLS team in an artificial turf stadium to play regular season games on grass? The turf they roll out for marquee games seems far from perfect. Didn't the Meadowlands once use movable trays for the MetroStars? If so, why did that fail?

IVES- The trays were spotty at best because the surface isn't the smoothest and the grass can become hard to maintain in the summer months. There's also the matter of Giants Stadium not being the Metrostars' stadium so they had to remove the grass once the football teams wanted it off. I do think grass can work in places like Seattle and New York, but it will cost quite a bit to keep up and replace. That's a sacrifice a team has to make. Obviously in the case of Seattle, it would need the Seahawks to approve trying grass.

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BRANT- How do MLS teams 'qualify' for the Superliga? Is it the MLS teams in markets that might appeal to Hispanic/Mexican TV audiences? I guess I'm wondering if Toronto, RSL, Columbus, or KC would ever play in the SuperLiga?

IVES- This year the four SuperLiga teams were the top four regular season finishers in MLS from last season so maybe MLS is ready to stick to including the best teams possible rather than the teams from the best markets. That said, I can't help but wonder how much MLS will struggle to market SuperLiga games in Columbus, given that the Crew is looking like a Top 4 team right now.

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MICHAEL- I was recently in China and as you know they filter websites heavily. I needed to get my daily SBI fix and your website (every time I tried to go to it) was blocked by the government censors. What gives? Have you been supporting the Tibetan/Taiwanese movement in your blogs? I certainly haven't seen it. How can I get around those censors?

IVES- Well, it's a little known fact that the Dhali Lama is a financial backer of SBI (kidding). Actually, the reason SBI was blocked in China is because China put a block on all sites generated by Typepad, which handles the software I use to run the site. It was disappointing to hear about the block (and I heard about it quite a bit) but hopefully those lost visits won't keep the site from reaching one million pageviews this month (it's going to be close but we're looking good right now.)

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THE REALIST- Why do people continually insist on asking how MLS teams would do in the EPL? Sure, they might do better than Derby County. Big freakin' whoop. The question is, "could you do better than Fulham?" The Fulham that had 5 - count 'em, 5! - USMNT players on the squad and still struggled to stay up in the EPL. If a team with that m`uch talent (compared to most MLS squads) has trouble staying in the EPL, what makes anyone think Houston or New England would fare any better than 18th?

IVES- I don't know why Realist, but thanks for putting it into perspective. The best answer I heard about this came from Clint Dempsey. I asked Dempsey back in February if he thought an MLS All-Star team could do well in the EPL and he really wasn't sure. I've said it before and I'll say it again. In a one-game situation, an MLS team can always compete and possibly knock off an EPL team, but playing one game is far different than playing a 38-game schedule against some of the world's best teams with such a thin roster. It wouldn't be pretty.

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JOSH- Any update on Will Johnson?

IVES- He has signed with Real Salt Lake and should be joining them soon.

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TCOMPTON- Given its history of delays and set back, do you think Red Bull Arena will be completed before the new Philly stadium?

IVES- The Red Bull's stadium is moving along and should be opened before the Philly Arena as far as I know.

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J1M- Cichero's red card deal (extra game suspension) has me wondering what MLS review policies are? Was the ref Terry Vaughn involved? Who determines the criteria for review?

IVES- There is a disciplinary committee that oversees these things. I don't think Vaughn is involved beyond the report he writes on the match. As for the criteria for review, I believe the supervisor of officials, Paul Tamberino, is involved. I have been told that a likely reason for the added game suspension is a new FIFA mandate that blows to the head must be punished more severely. I don't really buy it on that play because I really don't think Cichero swung his arm. In other words, if you want to get a player tossed, then try and head his elbow when you go up for a ball and it just might happen.

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STEVE- So many people seem to be upset with Bob Bradley's MNT selections. He seems to have a core group that he sticks with. If you were the MNT coach who would you call in that isn't one of the trusted few. Who would you get rid of? Thanks, love the blog.

IVES- Well, if we're talking the Guatemala game I'm not sure I would have called any other players in. Yes, you would like to see Freddy Adu but he's just joined Monaco and settling in with his new club is important. Same for Altidore, who is also carrying an ankle knock. I might have brought Kenny Cooper in if only to soak in the experience. I do think fans need to temper expectations with regard to Cooper. he's a great young prospect who will get his chance, but the Guatemala game wasn't the game to bring him in. I could see him getting the call in Cuba and I personally would bring him in for the upcoming camp.

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O CANADA- Why doesn't FIFA raise any kind of stink about the combined US-Canadian league? They seem to frown upon combined leagues, but seem OK with MLS. And then they sanction a separate Canada-only tournament to qualify for the CCC. Huh?

IVES- Let's face it, Canada can't support its own top-level soccer league. When you accept that reality, there really is no reason not to have a combined USA-Canada league. As for the seperate Canada-only tournament for the CONCACAF Champions League, that was a CONCACAF decision and I'm not sure what the problem is with it when you consider that Canadian teams don't play in the U.S. Open Cup and aren't eligible for the MLS slots.

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BRANT- Any predictions on the next DPs to join MLS after this coming season?

IVES- Thierry Henry to New York and Shunsuke Nakamura to Seattle.

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MARK- To the best of your knowledge, is there an American player in Europe (or anywhere for that matter) who isn't a household name(talking SBI mafia households here), who could make just as much of an impact in MLS as recent signings such as Huckerby or Rojas? We know all about the big names on the national team who play overseas, but maybe a guy who has some skills but for whatever reason just never got on the national team or MLS radar.

IVES- Tough one there. SBI households tend to know about all the Americans Abroad so I'm not sure there's anybody who fits into that category. There are some young players I would be interested to see in MLS, such as Sal Zizzo, Preston Zimmerman and Vincenzo Bernardo (Napoli), but I wouldn't go as far as to say any of them could make an impact like a Huckerby or Rojas have.

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MIGHTY- Every time we step up to play a world tournament, we get the feeling that we have the opportunity to go a bit farther then the last time we where at the world stage. Then we show we can play against any team in the world. But fail to achieve anything.
Now i know we lose cause of our mistakes, but is been a while we been having the same problems.

How long before we see some changes in our National Team?
And what's is it going to take for us to not only go to the second round of a world tournament, but also battle in a semifinal?

IVES- Mighty, there is no secret formula to reaching the semifinals of a major tournament. You need the talent, the coaching and some luck. It also isn't wise to try and measure progress based on results from tournament to tournament because each team is different and each tournament is different. Right now the national team is in the midst of a new cycle and the improvements from the last cycle can already be seen. There are several more players playing in Europe, in top leagues and by 2010 you're going to have a pool of American players that will be deeper and more talented than any before it. That is progress.

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EVAN- Ives, why hasn't espn signed Max Bretos yet? He is clearly the best announcer out there and espn could use more good announcers (raise your hand if you liked Marcelo Balboa or Dave O'brien)

Ives, best site for concise, reliable, up-to-date news on American soccer. Keep it up, man.

IVES- Thanks for the kind words Evan. As for Max Bretos, I mute most soccer games I watch because it makes it easier to follow the matches and form my own opinions. That said, ESPN did a great job by hiring JP Dellacamera. He's the best in the business for my money.