August 19, 2010
I haven't gotten this much flak for a blog post since I said that I would shop Johnny Menyongar at the trade deadline a few years back.
When I posted yesterday morning that the Rochester Lancers owned the rights to a USL outdoor franchise in Rochester, that statement came under fire.
Here is Sam's statement to me on the topic:
James I did tell you that Saving Soccer LLC owns the rights to USL First and Second division. I'm very sorry that this is all happening. Our contract clearly say's...
#11 USL PRO Franchise Rights. Franchise shall have 45-day of first refusal for any USL Pro rights, including USL First
Division and USL Second Division.
When I read the blogs yesterday and realized there may be an issue I called the USL and told them that I had absolutely NO interest in pursuing a USL First or Second Division team at the current time. Our 100% focus will be the Lancers Indoor I league team. I verbally told two key officials at the USL that we are NOT interested in outdoor soccer at the present time. Please keep in mind I'm still a minority owner of the Rhinos and this is what is best for the game in our City.
In defense of Mr. Clarks comments on the blogs.. He currently is NOT a member of the USL and would have no idea of what is in our contract. It is very standard for the USL to give new franchises options of ALL divisions in said area.
If the Rhinos go MLS someday and our Indoor team is as successful as we anticipate I would love to have a USL outdoor team in this area.
I made some very unpopular comments in the past about the NASL on Kick This. The USL is a real league run by experienced league operators. In the history of American Pro Soccer team owners have tried to operate leagues and in ALL cases it destroyed the game.
On a positive note.. the Rhinos will most likely be the only Pro Soccer team in history to win a USSF 2, NASL and USL Championship in one season ! ss
On the field:
Crystal Palace Baltimore 0:2 Rochester - Scoresheet
The Rhinos once again used the depth of their squad to extend their winning streak to five games.
Ian Bennett started and gave the Rhinos 45 minutes. Tyler Bellamy was back in the starting eleven after getting the night off against Montreal. Adam West came on for the last six minutes and scored the insurance goal. Andrew Hoxie was a second half sub and created the own goal and assisted on West's goal. Neal Kitson was back in goal with another clean sheet.
The win expanded the Rhinos lead over Austin to four points (with Austin now holding four games in hand) in the race for the USL Conference title.
With the Rhinos playing on Saturday versus Miami FC before Austin plays their next game, the gap could widen even more by Sunday morning.
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.
