October 10, 2007
The Hope Solo versus Greg Ryan and the rest of the US Women's National Team got a little more fuel added to the fire when Abby Wambach returned home for a clinic and Jeff got her on the record about the whole debacle.
As a goalkeeper, I understand where Hope Solo is coming from.
I also understand that there is the whole code of keeping things like that inside the locker room.
But, at the end of the day, the question should really be "Was Hope's summation of the situation correct?" And on that point, I doubt there are too many people that will say that Hope was wrong and that Greg Ryan was correct.
Right now, it seems like Greg Ryan is getting to deflect the blame he should be getting for creating the environment that led to Hope Solo's meltdown. The focus shouldn't be on Hope Solo and if she has a future with the US Women's National Team. The focus should be on replacing Greg Ryan with Anson Dorrance or Julie Foudy or Brandi Chastain.
Personally, Hope Solo needs to apologize to the team and learn the lesson of not taking comments like that to the media. And the rest of the team needs to get over it and give her a second chance.
Well, unless they'd rather not win the gold medal (or perhaps even a medal of any kind) in the 2008 Beijing Olympics....
I bet I can guess who will be the jersey sponsor for the Seattle MLS team
If Microsoft isn't the jersey sponsor for the new MLS team in Seattle, it would be a surprise with Paul Allen coming on board.
Allen provides the type of deep pocketed investor that MLS loves. So, it is no surprise that there are a boatload of Seattle to MLS rumors with this news coming out.
The real interesting thing will be the stadium plan for a Seattle MLS team. They keep talking about using Qwest Field, the current home of the Sounders and the NFL's Seahawks. But, I can't see that working long term as the only team that has gotten a good atmosphere in an NFL stadium is DC United. And that's due to the fact that they are using a much smaller stadium and make it even smaller by only using the lower bowl.
For instance, I can't see Toronto FC having the kind of success that they have had this season if they were playing at Skydome.
One touch
- Here is a piece on a potential expansion team in Philly .
- Bob Bradley has announced his roster for next week's friendly versus the Swiss.
- The political games surrounding a new stadium for DC United continue......
- Chivas USA is starting up a youth academy system .
- And I can never get the media's obsession with big market clubs in American sports. Maybe it's because I live in Rochester........
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.
