Happy New Year from GETSTUCKIN.com

Cosmos Return - THE CONS

In part two of our look at the possible return of the Cosmos, we look at the cons. 

The new Cosmos won’t be anything like the old.  Let’s just admit it, the team won’t be as good.  Major League Soccer’s salary cap and foreign players rules make a true second coming of the Cosmos impossible.  Instead of Chinaglia, Pele, Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto, you’d have the likes of Chris Rolfe, Mike Magee, Ricardo Clark and Jonathan Bornstein.  We at getstuckin.com would have no problem with that… in fact, we’d love it.   But for the casual fan previously uninterested in MLS  who will come for the Cosmos name, the let down will certainly be dramatic.   When you think Cosmos, you think STARS.  MLS rules do not allow for super teams like the old Cosmos. 

Merry Christmas

The Cosmos Returns: The Positives

So we hope to bring you a couple of stories about the possibility of the COSMOS coming back to the MLS. The rumored return will be nostalgic for older fans and exciting for younger fans who never got to see the great team play. And of course a lot of arguments!

In the first segment we will take the positives of the Cosmos and how bringing them back would be GOOD for Major League Soccer.

Shep Messing drops Cosmos hint!

In this Audio Interview, at about 38:00 on the clock Shep Messing, former Cosmos great and MLS personality, drops a hint about what might be of the Cosmos plan. When asked about the rumors that the Cosmos would be a traveling team similar to the Harlem Globetrotters, he states that he is familiar with the plans and that the traveling circus just is not the case. Below is some of the transcript.

Freedoms win Eastern NY Final

In a story that seemed like NYC soccer's version of the winter meetings; with conflicting reports all over the place, The Pancyprian Freedoms have won the Eastern NY Final of the US Open Cup. More to come on what lies ahead for the Astoria based Club.

PUB WEEK: Where to watch in NYC - The Red Lion

The Red Lion
151 Bleecker St. (Thompson St.)
New York, NY.
http://www.redlionnyc.com/

The Red Lion has a lot going for it. The staff is friendly and very accommodating to any and all football fans. Whether it's your first time at the pub or you're a regular, you'll be treated as if you own the place. During soccer matches most of the patrons of the Red Lion are ex-pats, giving the pub an authentic British feel. However the atmosphere doesn't make American fans feel out of place like some Irish and English pubs around the city. I suggest going to the Red Lion for an early EPL match and enjoying the full English breakfast that is offered. I have also been there for a weekday afternoon match and the BBQ chicken wrap was very good. If you’re looking for a great place to watch a match, have some food and get a few buy-backs on your Guinness, then the Red Lion might be your kind of place.

PUB WEEK: Where to watch in NYC - Nevada Smiths

This week is a Pub Week on Getstuckin.com. This is a week where we post stories about our favorite places to watch soccer in New York City. We have a few reviews this week by a few different members. Enjoy!

First Stop - Nevada Smiths

Nevada Smiths

74 Third Ave.

East Village, NY

http://www.nevadasmiths.net/

 

Finding a good spot to watch soccer is a challenge in this country. Luckily, New York City has quite a few, but none greater than Nevada Smiths in the East Village. If you have yet to experience a match day at Nevada’s, do yourself a favor and change that, quickly! With over a 100 live games per week from all regions of the world, Nevada Smiths truly lives up to its motto: "Where football is religion."

Eastern NY Final - Updated

About an hour ago, we got word that the Eastern NY Final is now next week. What is even more shocking, is the protest that Fenerbahce filed turned out to be successful and the Atlas has forfeited their semi final win.

So next week the Eastern NY Final will be the Freedom vs. Fenerbahce USA. More details to come on that game as soon as we obtain them.

Breaking News: Group interested in building stadium in NYC

The Borough Boys have been in close contact with a group looking to build a stadium for an MLS team within New York City. We have seen a rendering and other parts of the proposal, and it certainly appears that they have assembled a joint venture with entities that have experience in stadium building. Unfortunately, we can not disclose further information about the group or their plans, as it is in a very sensitive stage at this time.

This is all in the planning stages, so don’t expect shovels in the ground just yet. But a legitimate group with exciting plans is putting the pieces in place. Please get on our mailing list and keep checking with getstuckin.com as we hope to have more information for you in the coming weeks.

BLOOMBERG ON WORLD CUP COMMITTEE

Today it was announced that New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg will serve on the World Cup Bid Committee to try to bring the tournament to the USA in either 2018 or 2022.

"“New York is the most diverse city on Earth, with football fans from every country, and all of us are firmly behind America’s proposal to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The United States – and New York City in particular – is an ideal place to host an extraordinary international event that welcomes the world, and to showcase the planet’s most popular sport. The United States put on a fantastic tournament in 1994, and we in New York City are ready to host an even more memorable World Cup in 2018 or 2022.”

This is not only good news for our aspirations to host another World Cup but it will also give Mr. Bloomberg an opportunity to see just how much money the game of soccer can generate.

More on this to come after the draw!

World Cup Draw - Pots

Ok, I know! This blog is about NYC Soccer, but for this week, we need to focus on The World Cup. Even after we get another MLS side in the city, it will always be Country over Club!

The World Cup draw will be broken up into 4 pots, which are:


Pot 1: South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina and England.

Pot 2: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea Republic, New Zealand, Honduras, Mexico and USA

Pot 3: Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Pot 4: Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland

For full instructions on how the draw works, please check out this document from FIFA.


P.S - We will get back to the NYC soccer scene soon! I promise!

World Cup 2010 Draw - Where to watch?

While most of you will be behind a desk working, there are some options for those that can escape at Noon Friday to watch the group stage drawing for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa. Two locations are:

Jack Demsey's Pub

http://www.jackdemseys.com/

36 West 33rd Street / Between 5th Avenue & Broadway

Nevada Smiths Pub

http://www.nevadasmiths.net/

74 Third Avenue / Between 11th & 12th St.

Come see where our beloved United States National Team gets drawn!

2010 US OPEN CUP QUALIFICATION

It is not a mistake! Qualification is in progress for the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. For those who are not aware, this is our version of the FA Cup and dates back all the way to 1914. Any club officially affiliated with the USSF is able to participate.

The New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, a club based out of Astoria, has reached the Eastern NY final. The Freedom play their league games in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, which has been supplying the Metropolitan Area with soccer since 1923. They still await their opponent for the Final and we will post the game date and venue as soon as it becomes available. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

ENJOY ALL! MORE POSTS TO COME AFTER THE HOLIDAY!

MLS CUP WEEKEND THOUGHTS

The biggest game on our domestic calendar was this past Sunday as Real Salt Lake upset the Los Angeles Galaxy to become MLS champions. I am not here to give you the tactical or play-by-play breakdown, as there are many sites that can do that for you; instead, I will touch on a few things for the NYC soccer fan to be aware of!

A LETTER TO PAUL KEMSLEY

Mr. Kemsley,

You don’t know us, you probably never heard of us and until recently, we had no reason to reach out to you. Now we do! Your recent purchase of the NEW YORK COSMOS brand has raised both eyebrows and questions around the world, but more importantly it has also raised the hopes of soccer fans all around New York City. We have all seen the plans for the traveling squad of all stars, and that is all well and good, but we are writing to you today to let you know that, IF, you wanted to give that team a dedicated home, New York City is the ONLY place you should think of.

SOCCER THIS WEEKEND FOR NYC FANS

Looking for some footy action this week? You have both LIVE and TV options:

NCAA Tournament

St Johns vs. Boston College

Sunday, November 22, 2009, 6PM Eastern - Belson Stadium, Queens

for tickets visit http://www.redstormsports.com/

MLS CUP

Los Angelas Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake

Sunday, November 22, 2009, 8:30PM Eastern - Quest Field, Seattle
T.V - ESPN, GALAVISION

Beckham to invest in NYC Soccer?

Love him or hate him, David Beckham is a Soccer icon! At 34, you have to wonder just what he plans to do with his fame and fortune. While many people think he is not dedicated to his promise of helping soccer in this country it’s being reported in the UK seems that Mr. David Beckham might just be interested in putting his money where his mouth is and lending some of his considerable wealth and prestige to owning a Major League Soccer franchise (hey some of the stuff comes true). All this begs a question that we think about every day at Getstuckin.com – if Beckham invested in MLS, what city would he want to do it in?

CONGRATS ST JOHNS SOCCER!

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!

Street Soccer NYC

Donny Schreier is a friend of The Borough Boys and has created a great group for the avid soccer players in New York City. Street Soccer NYC "has been created to bring the game out of its isolated pockets and connect those across the City who are playing street soccer"

Check them out at http://www.streetsoccernyc.com/

Willets Point: By Air, Land or Sea… No, really!

If you have read all the stories on this blog you are probably saying to yourself ‘Wow, they are fixated on Willets Point!’ You are right. And here is why it would make the ideal location for the World’s Game!


If there is going to be a second MLS team in the area, and the first in New York City proper, then the key element to any stadium has to be location. Obviously you want to put the team within the city limits to give it that true New York City stature, but there are far more important elements than just that and Willets Point tackles all those elements.

NYC SOCCER SCENE

Interest in the US Men's National team is growing in this country, as it should!!! The Borough Boys have made Jack Demseys the headquarters for their USA Support. If you have yet to come watch a game in the Midtown pub, here is a video from this past Summer. It was taken just in time to catch the USA score its second goal in the Confederations Cup Final vs. Brazil.

Jack Demseys is located at 36 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001.

RFQ Verbiage - what can be built?

When The Borough Boys met with Fred Wilpon last year, they were told that any Soccer Specific Stadium for an MLS side would be built in the parking lot where Shea Stadium once stood. As we know, since that meeting so much has changed. The economy tanked and it’s been reported that the Wilpons lost hundreds of millions with Bernard Madoff. We might not ever know how close we were to seeing a ground breaking at the old Shea Stadium site.


So over the past year, while things have been very quiet on the Major League Soccer expansion to New York front, we started noticing some signals.

RFQ at Willets Point Issued!

A Situation The Borough Boys are keeping an eye on closely, The New York City Economic Development Corporation has issued an RFQ (Request for Qualification) for the Willets Point project.
To put this easy, this is just a step that identifies potential developers for the site but it is something that we should keep an eye on as it might play a role in our dream for a New York City based Major League Soccer Team.

Can Hockey Freeze MLS Plans in NYC?

By: Nasty Nick

Interesting story out of New York City Tuesday - well other than the Henry to Red Bull rumors: Any chances of a second MLS team in the area might hit a freeze, literally!

According to the New York Daily News, the Borough of Queens is about to make a pitch to land the troubled New York Islanders hockey team. The odd thing about this is that they are rumored to want to build a brand spanking new arena in the Willets Point area, which if we remember an interview with Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, was the possible location for a potential second New York City club.