Alexi Lalas: Bad GM, worse prognosticator

For the second straight playoff game, former Los Angeles Galaxy/San Jose/New York Red Bulls general manager Alexi Lalas went on ESPN and stated very confidently that the Red Bulls wouldn't have much of a chance and would lose in the MLS playoffs, first to Houston, and then to Real Salt Lake.

He was wrong on both counts.

Several Red Bulls pointed this out on Saturday night, and some were praying he would be picking Columbus in the MLS Cup final.

Many were just hoping he would shut up.

Comments

[William]

He's a polemicist. He loves controversy. Best thing to do with people like this is to ignore them.

[William]

And I like the...ah...look on his face in that pic.

[MasterShake]

here it is..your moment of zen

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n10/youresoeh/alexiowned.gif

[Supsam]

HAHAHAHAH Best article ever Ives!! These are the reasons i visit your blog

[jay]

hahaha love the picture

[Joamiq]

BEST. BLOG. POST. EVER.

Make sure Alexi sees this one.

It's amazing how one can go from cult hero of American soccer to being exposed as a know-nothing airhead in no time at all.

[SCNewJersey]

Alexi Lalas went to Rome to see the pope...

[Eugene]

I must have missed that whole cult hero phase

[Ryan]

What team's jersey is he wearing in this pic?

[MemRook]

@Ryan

I believe that was some celebrity, charity game he was a part of earlier this year, or late last year.

[Annoyingmous]

Ives, just out of curiosity, when did you make the conscious decision to stop being a journalist and start being a partisan?

I'm all for any effort whatsoever to make fun of Alexi Lalas; but I don't claim to be a journalist. Posts like this make it seem like you're actively working to destroy your reputation as a journalist.

[MemRook]

Wow, one person always seems to try and ruin it for everyone else. I'm sure you think you have a valid point, but you don't. This is Ives' blog; not his newspaper edition, not his NPR spot, nothing like that. Ives is a journalist who does write for objective venues, but his blog is his blog, which is probably the best one on the internet for US (and more) soccer news. So we're all grateful for it, but it is still his do what he wants with it. We're just grateful observors who benefit from his tireless efforts to bring us the soccer news we crave. So chill out, man. Jesus.

[Daniel F.]

Annoyingmous. Your pathetic.

[wes]

As a non New York fan, I think Lalas has been really good for ESPN. Light years better than Foudy.

[Gil]

Don't forget that Lalas was GM of the LAme Galayx for a long three months before he took of three (3) month vacation to do ESPN commentary (WC '06) and take a vacation in MA...why haven't they made the playoff in three (3) years?! Once a chump, always a chump!

[Phillip]

So Lalas thought the Red Bulls had no shot at making the Final...

neither did anyone else.

[Tom in Newark]

For Lalas, the transition from donkey to jackass has been a smooth one. His complete inability to do any good for any club he touches is a blessing in disguise to the rest of the league. When he finally gets forced out of MLS it will be an acknowledgement that one needs more than a resume as a past (mediocre) player to become a successful executive, such as actual qualifications.

[CD]

No one thought NYRB had a chance of getting to the finals including their own fans and everyone wants Lalas to shut up.

Cute little weak piece Ives, now get to work and give us some game analysis. We didn't buy you a plane ticket for nothing :)

[paul Lorinczi]

In the Columbus match, he said if the Red Bulls win, he will do something with a big Red Bull on TV.

So, he put something on the line for his troubles.

[Ryan]

CD sort of has a point, but he should be reminded that this is a blog, and if Ives wants to say "Lalas loves donkey ****" he's more than welcome to do so.

But hey, now he has to Shotgun a Red Bull on Presspass, right?

[soccerroo]

Lalas and about everyother person was picking against the RedBulls. I think even Ives gave them little chance going into the Houston series.

For those that aske about Lalas being a cult hero. I think if you go back to the 92-96 time frame he became that for American soccer fans. Now he is just someone who has been around for to long.

[wendel]

screw lalas. if hes demonstrated anything during his years managing teams its that he knows nothing about this league. greg lalas is the only lalas i care about. alexi is a joke.

[thumpjosh]

i moved to a town of 20,000 in the middle of minnestoa in 1996. when i would (try to) talk about soccer there almost everyone would say,"my favorite player is that red haired guy." even they knew who he was, if not his name or any other player. so he was kind of cult status.

also, i expected hou to win. i thought rsl would be a battle, but thought home field would be the tipping point.

can i stand lalas? not at all, but the reasons for my disdain are for legitimate reasons not the petty "he said ny was going to lose" crap. not one person expected ny to go this far.

for the record: i can't stand njrb either.

[TimN]

My thoughts:

1. As has been posted above, NOBODY gave RBNY a chance against Houston or RSL. They backed in to the playoffs, finishing their season 2-5-1.
2. RBNY got EXTREMELY lucky last night against RSL. They were outplayed the entire match, bar one costly defensive let down by RSL in the first 25 minutes or so.
3. RBNY's luck will run out against Columbus. And even if they do win, anybody knows they are far from being the best team in the league.

I say we should lighten up on Lalas. OK, so he wasn't a good GM. Fine, so be it. Not everybody proves to be a good GM, coach, etc. Why the animosity?? He's done a lot for American soccer, and I'll agree with Wes above that his ESPN commentary is WAY BETTER than Foudy.

[rpb]

Hey Ives,

Has Lalas ever won anything w/a team? He accomplished much as an individual, but question if he understands a winning team. We look at his status as a being one of the worst GMs in sport history.

The man just doesn't get it but he scores job after job after job w/MLS and TV!

[LJ]

I've got no problem with him picking RSL over NYRB, they had home field advantage, and lets face it, NYRB got through 80% on luck. You can't really make someone eat their words when they weren't that radical or deeply felt, nor when they were disproved in a flukey fashion.

Happy CLB and NJ are in the finals though, it's about damn time these two make it in, a shame it was at the same time.

BUT YES, get rid of Julie Foudy, Alexi Lalas, and Rob Stone! My god, it pisses me off. No Balboa either, please. I'd rather you pull someone out of a bar in NYC.

Kyle Martino, John Harkes, and even Shep Messing are watchable.

[LJ]

^ I guess listen-able more than watchable.

How did Claudio Reyna do for that cameo he did a while back?

[Ives]

Listen folks, the reaction from Red Bulls players/coaches/fans toward Lalas wasn't about him picking against the Red Bulls. It was about the way he did it. He shot his mouth off and will catch some stick for being wrong. No big deal. I'm sure Alexi can handle it.

[Betinho]

Ives, c'mon. you are better than this.

[ag nigrin]

Ives bleeds Red...wtf is wrong with that... after all he has covered RBNY/Metro for almost a decade... he is human you know...not some automoton... Besides he has lots of humour on his site all the time and this post adds to the wide variety of writing that is available here...

[Ceez]

It's just a blog. HIS blog. Why can't he write whatever he wants? I don't understand why some of you are giving Ives crap about this entry.

As for the match. Let me clarify something. RBNY did not get outplayed. Yes, they got extremely lucky but they did not get outplayed. When both teams were in full attack mode, it was a tight match. No doubt. But once the goal was scored, NYRB dropped back into their own half and defended for an entire half. Who doesn't agree with the fact that if you drop back to defend, the other team will most definitely get some quality chances? Anyone disagree?

I'm happy with the win. But disappointed that Osorio chose to drop back, clear the ball out of Red Bulls turf, and defend the entire 2nd half. That's why RSL looked so great.

Yes, I'm an NYRB fan but that has nothing to do with it. I don't think NYRB played magnificently but let's just face the facts.

[Jags98]

Lalas & Foudy both need to go. I rather listen to Chris Sullivan & Max Bretos over on Fox, JK. All 4 need to go, constantly getting things wrong. The best is them trying to make something out of nothing. We, we todd it!

[Eric]

It is perfectly legitimate journalism for Ives to express opinions like this. It is called commentary and that is what the majority of sports journalism is. Besides the AP game recaps reporters are giving their opinion about what happened in particular games. Ives is not reporting news, but commenting on it, which is perfectly legitimate. That is a far cry from what they do on MSNBC and Fox News where they let their commentary affect what news is reported and the manner in which it is reported.

[Ossington Mental Youth]

Not to say that I thought NJ was really going to do it but HOW DOES THIS MAN STILL HAVE A JOB WITHIN THE MLS, DOING ANYTHING?!?!?!

[CD]

Annoyingmous is ALEXI!!!

[jloome]

"He's a polemicist."

-- Quite the opposite. If he were a polemicist, he'd be enciting debate over a controversial topic. There was nothing controversial about what Lalas said, as the bookmakers agreed with him.

You can think the guy's a douche all you want, or question his motivations -- which is what this entire story post seems to surreptiously be doing -- but you'd be ignoring the fact that everyone except perhaps RBNY diehards thought the team would lose both games.

And, if you scroll back down memory lane a few posts, you'll find a lot of people here did, too.

[Anthony Bouts]

ag nigrin,

if you mean red as in metro/RB red, Ives does not bleed red, i found that out in a Q&A. Only Steve Jolley can do that.

[Joseph D'Hippolito]

The jersey Lalas is wearing in the picture belongs to Hollywood United, an amateur team run by actor Anthony LaPaglia. He suited up with Hollywood United for a charity game against the Galaxy that raised funds for wildfire victims a year ago.

Given recent news, that might not be a bad idea.

One more thing: After that game, Frank Yallop announced his resignation as Galaxy coach to his players.

[J]

He needs to leave anything with MLS alone. How does this clown keep getting a job.

[topher]

ives has stated it before that he isn't a RBNY fan, but that he follows it as a journalist because it he is there and that there is a market for it.

[topher]

and just look at the title of the piece. it seems to focus on lalas getting it wrong, more than how he went about doing it. i don't like him either, but let's not ridicule him for being wrong about the red bull's path to the mls cup

[Real team in NY please]

I used to like this site when it was more objective, now it seems to have become a front office mouthpiece for Red Ball-washing.

[kpugs]

I used to like this site when whiny little poosays like "real team in NY please" didn't try to pretend that RBNY were not playing in the MLS cup final this week. Dude, Ives lives in Jersey, has been a journalist here for many years. IF he lived in San Jose we'd have to deal with your crybaby azz whining that he posted too much about the Earthquakes. Just shut up, please. Or at least send me an email to kpugs7@gmail.com so I can make arrangements to open hand smack you in the face for your wussiness, cowardliness, and general stupidity.

As for Lalas, I am with the crowd who just wants him to shut up. I'm not interested in him constantly embarrassing himself anymore. In my opinion he has literally and publicly destroyed his entire career and any credibility he may have once had. At this point I just want to stop reading about him.

[kris]

People wishing Alexi Lalas would shut up? No way!!!! I can't believe anyone would even put him in their show. People just laugh at that clown!

[ag nigrin]

Ives has stated it before that he isn't a RBNY fan, but that he follows it as a journalist because it he is there and that there is a market for it.
Posted by: topher

If you believe that then let me sell you a bridge called "The Brooklyn!"

[KingSnake]

Progno ... Prog ... ah, man ... It's these purple buds ...

*pffffpt*

[brentmcd]

can't wait to watch him shotgun a tallboy of redbull. hope he spews. lalas and foudy must go

[metrostar 4 life]

THANK YOU IVES. someone who agrees with me. Someones obviously is jealous of leaving RBNY for that joke called Los Angeles

[metrostar 4 life]

someone is obviously jealous that RBNY got here*** he regrets leaving as well

[WeatherManNX01]

Not gonna lie, I haven't picked New York yet in the playoffs. And I don't plan on starting now. So I was right with Lalas on this.

[Neumannator]

I have never forgotten Lalas' behavior on the bench at the World Cup in France. I'm not saying Sampson was innocent, but he was supposed to be representing his country and instead he was just a piece of $hi+. He has consistently remained one since then and thus, I love the post.

[Anthony Bouts]

Ives, have you seen that Mastroeni re signed with the rapids? i guess hes not going to Europe...too bad

[Kevin]

yeah, he's supposed to shotgun a larg Red Bull on the pregame of the MLS Cup Final.

[BlueWhiteLion]

Ives, as always, I love your blog and articles, and a little controversy always helps traffic.

However, i am one of the few who are voicing that this little piece on Lalas seems to be a slight departure from objectivity. I suppose you could argue that you are just stating the facts, and maybe your are. The last statement, and the fact that this is a headline makes me wonder.

BUT, I really don't give a crap! It is hilarious. This is what makes blogs and pub conversations fun!

As for me, I don't think Lalas was a great GM, and he does have a bit of showman in him that gets him into trouble. Also, what I heard out of France, if it is to be believed, took him down a few notches in my "esteem" for him.

Still, I LOVE him on TV soccer shows, He is funny, and he has a bright future in the MLS. Whatever part he played in bringing DB over, kudos to him for it. He needs to find the right venue for his talents and showmanship.

Red Bulls fans, bask in the glory of your win. It has been a loooong time coming@!

[Jon E]

I'm a Galaxy fan, so I agree entirely that Lalas was a bad GM and surely would be again if any team were stupid enough to give him the chance.

But I agree with the people who are wondering whether Ives is endangering his journalistic credibility with a headline like "Alexi Lalas: Bad GM, Worse Prognosticator." Sure, it's his blog and he can say what he wants. But he's also supposed to write objective pieces, and offering editorials about soccer figures makes that problematic. For example, this headline should probably disqualify him from writing an objective journalistic piece on Lalas as a soccer administrator if he ever does (God forbid) get another soccer job.

There's a reason that Katie Couric doesn't keep a blog on which she shares all her thoughts about the news. It would be harder to take her reports on, say, foreign policy seriously if you could click over to her blog and read an entry entitled, "Condoleeza Rice: Bad Secretary of State, Worse Jazz Pianist."

[BlueWhiteLion]

actually, I feel a "you write the caption" coming on with that photo.

[Betinho]

I'm going to stop commenting because 95% of my thoughts are better explained by BlueWhiteLion anyway.

With regards to Ives feelings of being biased towards any team I would refer back to the thread about Donavan's Honda Player of the Year award. Ives himself spells it out very clearly in the comments section. That's what makes this article/headline confusing to some of us.

Not that it matters. This blog rocks no matter how you slice it.

[Mike Caramba]

Anyone else find it funny that a writer who correctly picked 2-of-7 (that's right: 2/4 semi finalists, 0/2 finalists, and obviously 0/1 champ) is making fun of someone else for being a bad prognosticator? Not to mention, Ives, too, picked the Red Bulls to lose in the first round.

Don't get me wrong--my Houston-over-Columbus pick isn't looking too good right now, and I am certainly not a fan of Lalas, but I think the pot might be calling the kettle black here...

[Mike Caramba]

@BlueWhiteLion:

it's been done already.

[kswiss]

I have to say I'm also somewhat disappointed here, though not for all the same reasons. Yes, I know it is Ives' blog, and he can do what he wants. And no, I don't see this as Ives supporting a team in any way. Whether or not he is a Red Bulls fan doesn't matter here; he's simply commenting on a topic that affects a team he covers. He's always had integrity when it comes to that, as far as I know. I'm also not too disappointed with the title, because it serves the purpose a title should, drawing in the reader and explaining what the article is about.

What disappoints me is the content and style of the piece. The post comes off more like a personal attack on Lalas instead of a news piece, which it is not. Perhaps if there were some real content justifying the post, like some of those quotes Ives mentions (even anonymously), it might not be so controversial. Also, ending a piece with a statement like, "Many were just hoping he would shut up," reeks of non-objective personal opinion, which is unacceptable for a journalist that prides himself on objectivity. I don't really believe that's what Ives meant, but that sure is how it comes off.

Overall, I think this is just a poorly executed attempt at a piece that could have been both relevant and funny. Perhaps, from now on, Ives should just be a bit more careful about the level of professionalism in pieces like this one.

[Yosi]

to LJ: Seriously get rid of Rob Stone? I actually like Rob Stone, and I remember him from his Worldwide Soccer days on espn2(who else used to stay up at ungodly hours to watch it?) So I'm happy he's at where he's at right now. Besides Phil Schoen, the only other respectable sportscaster I would want to watch in English is Andres Cantor calling the game in English!

[Rich Bull NJNY]

Haters! What is this? Defending Lalas? Hating on Ives for his opinion? Hating on the Bulls? Wtf? It's his blog. He's been covering this team since forever. Where's the confusion? This isn't 1994, you worms. Lalas is way past his cool USMNT red-goateed defender days. He has done a terrible job as an MLS exec. This cannot be denied! So the Red Bulls never played up to their potential all season, and they came THIS close to not making the playoffs at all. Of course nobody picked them. But Lalas did it like a d*ck, on national tv. He's supposed to be an expert, he needs to act like it. Every game has underdogs, and underdogs sometimes win. Red Bulls best in the MLS? Of course not. You want to see the best, go watch the AllStar game. But in these playoffs, they have kicked ass, and will continue to do so against a superior Columbus team. It's not about the best, it's about being the best THAT DAY. The team with more heart. That's a champion. Look at the Giants of 1990 and last year. They were not the better team, but they won the Superbowl both times. Same w/ the Knicks of 94. They were the better team, but lost to Houston. It happens. So, may the best team win. GO RED BULLS!

[Mike Caramba]

I'm not defending Lalas. I'm just saying Ives publicly picked against the Red Bulls, too. And Ives only picked 2 of the 7 playoff matchups correctly. Lalas is an idiot, but I don't think Ives playoff picks were significantly better. I just find it pretty funny...ironic, too.

[Ives]

Mike, I never claimed that my picks were better than Alexi's, nor was my criticism as much about Alexi being wrong as about the way he picked against the Red Bulls. He seemed to revel in what he considered their inevitable destruction.

And it should be noted that while I did pick Houston to win that series, I didn't make a prediction before game two, nor did I specifically pick RSL before that game either. I straddled the fence rather than making cocky proclamations on national television, which is fine for Alexi to do. That also means that he can take some stick for it.

[Mike Caramba]

Fair enough. I just thought it was funny to poke fun at a guy for making picks that most MLS fans would have agreed with (myself included). I guess I wasn't paying much attention when he was bashing them...probably worse than I remember. And even if we disagree about this one, I'm always willing to have a laugh about "sexy football."

I have to say, I was genuinely shocked to see him on tv. I kind of figured he was living in a cave somewhere after the Galaxy debacle. I wonder who will be stupid enough to hire him next.

[Lou]

I want to say as a long time metro fan that i personally picked red bull to win, so all these people saying even the fans didnt think it would happen don't know what they're talking about. Another my predictions may not be as amazing as people may think because I'm a biased supporter so i always pick them to win.