The next Sounders FC player signing will be announced on Thursday, August 14th at 2:00PM at Qwest field.

If the team is calling together the fans, it may be a big deal.

The most likely candidate is Kasey Keller, who has been linked to the squad for some time.

A couple international stars looking for work are Freddy Ljundberg and Hernan Crespo.

What do you think?? Who will the new Sounders player be, Keller or a big-time DP???
Why such a secret? Why all the hooplah?

Here is the email from the Seattle Sounders FC website:

SOUNDERS FC PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT!

You’re invited to join Seattle Sounders FC in a special player announcement on Thursday, August 14th at Qwest Field. Gates will open at 2:00 PM.

You won’t want to miss this historic event as the Sounders FC adds another to their 2009 roster.

Fans attending can park in the north lot of Qwest Field, and enter the stadium through the NW VIP gate where they will be directed to the field.

Attention youth players - you’re encouraged to wear your team uniform! There will be an informal clinic led by members of the Sounders FC staff.

Join Sounders FC at Qwest Field on August 14th for this event - it is one that will certainly be remembered.

In honor of today’s MLS All Star game against West Ham, Akeem and I decided to put together a list of the all stars, potential suitors and prices.

The chart is a loosely drawn up and based on guess work and not true market values. Feel free to offer your opinion and any additional suitors or prices. Enjoy!

Keep in mind that both Toja and Buddle have received offers. MLS received a US $1mn for the 27 year old striker Buddle where it appears the the 23 year old Toja should be on his way to to Russia shortly in exchange for Steaua Bucharest’s $500,000 bid.

Reportedly the bid includes only the player and not his hair, which must be bid on separately. Real Madrid, Man U, Barcelona and Chelsea have been mentioned as possible destinations for future Toja wig nights.

The programing will also include and extensive pre and post game shows in addition to the live broadcast.

Furthermore, a familiar voice will do the play-by-play. The “Voice of the Sonics,” Kevin Calabro. For those of you not familiar, Calabro began his career as the youngest broadcaster in NBA history at the age of 26 and then spent 21 years with the Sonics. The emmy-award winning broadcaster will be doing the color commentary for all matches broadcast on the station.

The team statement made no mention of Calabro’s experience or familiarity with soccer.

Many, such as Drake, had predicted this and it seems to be a good move. I am sure the Sounders are glad to have a familiar voice for the public.

Here is a copy of the original email:

Sounders FC and BELO Announce Landmark
Television Partnership

The Seattle Sounders FC and BELO have reached a multi-year television partnership to broadcast Sounders FC games on KONG-6/16 and KING-5, the team announced today.

“Everyone at KING5 the Home Team is very excited to begin this special partnership with another great home team – the Sounders FC,” said BELO president and general manger Ray Heacox. “The incredible support from the community in welcoming Major League Soccer in Seattle is proof that this will become the most successful launch for MLS. We look forward to many winning years together.”

Every home and away Sounders FC match will be broadcast live on KONG-6/16 or KING-5, except those broadcast nationally. Each broadcast will feature an exclusive pregame show and a postgame wrap-up. BELO will also produce a weekly show.

“The Sounders FC adds two broadcast icons to our family today,” said Vulcan Sports & Entertainment CEO Tod Leiweke. “This partnership teams one of the most recognizable voices in sports with the number-one rated station in Western Washington.”

Former “Voice of the Sonics,” Kevin Calabro, will serve as club’s play-by-play announcer for all Sounders FC matches. Calabro spent 21 seasons with the Sonics where he was part of several regional Emmy Award-winning broadcasts.

“I’m thrilled to be part of Sounders FC soccer in a city that I know will embrace it,” said Calabro. “Seattle is blessed to have devoted ownership as well and I know people will be excited about the possibilities.”

During his career, Calabro has also been a play-by-play contributor for TNT, TBS and ESPN Radio broadcasts of the NBA. During the summer of 2000, he was selected by The Westwood One Radio Network to be the voice of the United States Men’s 2000 Olympic Basketball Team. He was named “Sportscaster of the Year” for the state of Washington in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association of America.

Calabro began his professional-basketball broadcast career as one of the youngest play-by-play announcers in NBA history when he was hired at age 26 by the Kansas City Kings during the 1983-84 season. While in the Midwest, he worked at SportsTime, a regional cable outlet, and also took on the role of play-by-play announcer for the University of Missouri football and basketball teams. Calabro started his career at WIBC radio in Indianapolis where he did play-by-play for minor league hockey. During that time, Calabro also called basketball and football games for Purdue University.

He and his wife, Susan, are the parents of Anthony, Nick, Lauren and Joe.

Brian Ching has also expressed interest in returning to the City and the coach that made him the marginal national team player that he is. I, for one, would welcome him with open arms.

The Sounders FC flag was seen flying over Qwest field next to the Seahawks flag. A truly beautiful sight to behold.

David Falk , of GoalSeattle and Seattle Soccer Examiner fame, wrote an interesting piece about the reaction to Chief editor of the Seattle Weekly Mark D. Fefer’s soccer bashing op-ed. Apparently, the ignoramous struck a chord with some local Soccer fans.

My personal favorite:
“You embarrass yourself my ignoring the statistics and evidence that point to soccer’s slow, but continuing and significant, growth in the US. Do your research and try writing a more nuanced piece.”—phillypride

I agree, and you can go to hell Mr. Fefer. People who are uninformed about subjects and refuse to put the time and effort into learning more just make themselves look foolish. Sort of like I always tell my friend Akeem. You can find a copy of Fefer’s shoddy journalism here.

The Tacoma News Tribune reported on July 8th that the Sounders FC will create a youth academy to grow elite soccer players from local talent.

Adrian Hanuaer is looking forward to cooperating with existing youth squads around the state:

“What we wanted to do to begin with was partner with Washington Youth Soccer,” said Adrian Hanauer, Sounders FC general manager. “As opposed to choosing one particular club, we wanted to start at the state level and say, ‘Look, we want to be as agnostic as possible and we want to be partners with everyone.’ So, our intention is not to build a club that competes with other clubs around the state.”

You can find a copy of the articlehere.

Finally, 17,000 season tickets have officially been sold, despite the fact the season is 9 months away and we have one player. GO SOUNDERS.

R.I.P. to the green and gold. Sold… for $75mn..

And where will that money go? To the children who had years of smiles and memories viciously torn from their tiny, frail hands? To the orphans who kept going because deep down knew they were one of Shawn Kemp’s illegitimate seeds? To the son of a father who took him to the 96′ finals only to see his team carved up by this one guy who I wish had never come out of retirement? To finance a new Sounders Stadium?

The Sonics are leaving behind a gaping hole in our city’s limited sports history. They take with them a championship banner and a 41 year legacy. The team was losing money fast so Howard Schultz, owner of Starbucks, sold both the Storm and the Sonics to a couple of carpet baggers from Oklahoma. Clay Bennett, along with support from his buddy David Stern gave Seattle an ultimatum, “Build a new arena or give up the team.”

This is the policy of the NBA, this is how the “NBA Cares.” Every 5-10 years, the league demands millions of taxpayers’ dollars to ensure each NBA franchise’s profitability. They ask us to give them money so they can make money… off of us, the fan. If the league is not granted these new arenas, they pick up and leave.

There is no faith, no honor and no loyalty from the league. Be careful, because your team could be next.

Supposedly, it is the fans fault. According to many so called experts, Seattlites are not interested or dedicated enough to sports. This is a ridiculous assumption and a result of East Coast bias. Ask anyone who was at the 96′ finals in the Key Arena if we are not true fans. Ask the people who still drag themselves to watch the practically minor-league Mariners on a daily basis. Check out a sold out Seahawks’ PRESEASON game for goodness sake.

The fact is, Seattlites are good sports fans, but we are also socially conscious and educated. We do not open our front door every time a professional sports franchise wants to go through our jewelery cabinet.

Seattle had just gone through a period of stadium building. $74.5mn was spent on reconstruction of the Key Arena in 1994. MLB execs and Mariners owners had told the city, “build a stadium of lose the franchise,” so we levied taxes %.05 to fund construction. Later, when the Seahawks threatened to leave, Qwest was built for $460mn, but with $160mn coming from Paul Allen’s pocket, which made the %.01 tax raise easier to stomach. Clay REDNECKPIECEOFSHIT Bennett demanded $300mn to build a new arena in Seattle or renovate the Key Arena for the second time in 15 years.

So allow me to correct the pundits of ESPN and other major sports networks who call our city apathetic to sports, who say we were not interested enough in the team to fight against the departure:

Clay Bennett had no intention of keeping the team in Seattle.

His proposal cited $300mn in public funding for the arena, but he did not offer a dime of his own cash. Meanwhile, the hick from the sticks is pouring his private funds in to upgrading the Ford Center in Oklahoma City for his stolen team’s arrival.

The Sounders are coming but can they fill the gap? Tens of thousands of fans will be left with no team to watch, but how many will focus their energy and enthusiasm on a soccer team? We still have the mighty Hawks, the broken Mariners and the Storm (who actually cares about the Storm?).

There is a lot of talk about how sports franchises help a city. Although it is not an exact science or a given, professional sports teams tend to generate a culture of community, revenues, jobs and publicity. With the Sonics gone, city government should look to the new Sounders as a way to stop-loss the damage done by the Sonic’s departure. City and Sounder officials alike must try and take advantage of the available “sports market share” left behind by the Sonics.

So, what can we learn from the Sonic’s departure? Well, obviously that we can no longer trust the NBA. The “NBA (doesn’t) Care” and they never will. This is the problem with sports in America in general. The teams are very rarely community-based. There is no sense that the fans are truly part of the organization. The owner acts based on what is good for the owner, and that often means the bottom line.

However, there are many exceptions in the world of soccer.

Many soccer teams began when communities and neighborhoods got together to form a team. The clubs have roots entrenched in the very cement where they first began to play. A team is not a franchise or an organization to make profit from, it is an essential fixture of the community. Like the Yankees or the Red Sox and several other limited exceptions in American sports, a football club is much more than just a dynamic and transferable product that can be moved from market to market.

This same concept of soccer in America is what US soccer fans deserve and what would be very much welcome in Seattle right now. So far, so good. We not only have the ability to fire or retain our GM every several years, but we were also given the right to choose our team name.

The USL Seattle Sounders are, then unbeknown to most, the second most historically significant team in Seattle. The Sounders were established 34 years ago in 1974, making them only slightly younger than the 41-year old Sonics (1967-2008). The fact that the fans voted to bring the team name to MLS is a sign that there is already a base, a sense of pride that we, as wounded Seattlites and Sonics fans, must make sure we build upon.

The stage is bigger, the marketing opportunities more abundant and the talent better. The Seattle Sounders FC have a chance to capture the city’s heart and claim itself a chunk of what the NBA lists as the 13th biggest sports market in the country.

Sure, basketball and soccer are not the same sport, but my hope is that the new franchise will help us forget the NBA, at least until the Seattle Super Grizzlies arrive in 2015.

The Seattle Sounders have eliminated Chivas USA from the Open Cup and now move on to play Kansas City on July 8th.

The Sounders won 2-0 on goals from Taylor Graham (’43) and MLS expansion player LeToux (80′).

This is the second straight year the USL-1 Seattle Sounders have eliminated a MLS team from the tournament. If they can defeat Kansas City on Tuesday, the Sounders would advance to the Semi-finals for the second straight year as well.

The champion of the Open Cup is awarded a spot in the CONCAFAF Champions League. Such a berth for the Sounders would probably be pass along to the Seattle Sounders FC.

Good luck Sounders!!!

Since the first season of MLS in 1996, only one non-MLS team has won the US Open Cup. In 1999, the then A-League Rochester Raging Rhinos defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-0. Since then, no non-MLS team has even returned to the finals.

In 2007, the Seattle Sounders defeated the lowly and insignificant Portland Timbers before upsetting Chivas USA (3:1) and the Colorado Rapids (5:0) to reach the semi-finals. The team was finally outclassed by FC Dallas, 2:1.

Could the Sounder’s take the next step in 2008 and somehow make it to the Open Cup final? If the European Championships taught us anything, it is that football can be a marvelous place for miracles. Turkey was only a few ugly German’s away from unbelievably making it to the finals on a slew of dumb luck and flabbergasting, bamboozling, tear-producing, heart-pounding, gut-punching, last minute comebacks.

So, say the Sounders accomplish the nearly impossible and win themselves a spot in the Champions League. What will league officials do with the Sounder’s berth once the team dissolves? If a team wins both the Supporter’s Shield and the Open Cup, the spot normally goes to the Open Cup’s runner up. This is one possibility.

The other option, and my personal preference, is that the Seattle Sounders FC take the Sounders spot in the Champions League. It would be great to generate fan interest, but would a first year team embarrass itself against the relatively high level of competition?

Your thoughts?

French striker Henry spent this past weekend with his good friend and compatriot, NBA star Tony Parker, cruising the Big Apple and playing in the Steve Nash charity soccer game. Naturally, his presence in NYC was hard to ignore for both MLS fans and the press.

So, is the MLS in his future? Henry has made no secret of his affinity for American culture and has even stated his interest in playing in the MLS in the future. When questioned about a move to America and playing football, the all-time Arsenal scorer responded, “Why not? I love America. I love it here. And, whenever I come here, I feel free. Hopefully, one day.”

The question is, when will the move happen? How soon can we expect Henry to bring his pedigree and starpower stateside to rival Beckham? He currently has three years left on his Barcelona contract. When Beckham left Real Madrid, his contract had expired and therefore, Becks came to the MLS on a free transfer. The price was right ($0) for MLS, which currently handles teams’ financial transactions involving designated players.

If Henry comes to the MLS in 2009, as many predict, the MLS would have to pay the transfer fee for the player, estimated at over $25mn. However, can you put a price tag on the value of not only an elite player, but a marketing symbol to boot (ask the LA Galaxy and the people who calculate the attendance)? Even at the age of 31 and on the downside of his career physically, the price tag is no issue.

Much like with Beckham, it is not a question of if, but when. “You never know what’s going to happen. But, at the moment, I’m still over there,” Henry said.

So where will Henry land in the MLS? it appears that Henry already has chosen the apple of his eye, NYC. “I’m here on vacation, enjoying the town,” he told The Associated press. “It’s an amazing town. I love New York. It’s not the first time I say it. Sometimes I do get recognized, but I feel free when I’m here, so that’s the most important thing. I love it.”

According to Dave, plenty of people in NY recognized him this weekend at the park. Don’t despair Seattle fans, maybe he wants to go to a smaller city. Maybe he would feel more like he was in England again in the beautiful Seattle weather.

The Seattle ownership had already made it plainly obvious that the money is on the table. Let’s just hope that Red Bulls have already filled their DP slot with Riquelme by that time.

There is nothing I would like to see better than Henry in off-puke green in Summer 2009 However, it looks more likely that Red Bulls fans will soon have their Altidore-broken heart mended by the soft-spoken and smooth playing Frenchman.

The Seattle Sounders FC has come out with an exclusive site that resembles matchmaking or social networking sites such as Match.com, Harmony.com or Facebook. Such a site was originally a demand made by Drew Carey to secure his participation in the establishment of the team.

The new site will match season ticket buyers to seats that match their own personal preferences. The main idea behind the site is to provide fans the best sporting experience possible. Whether fans prefer standing or sitting; cheering or silence; the site will the match the users’ preferences with simliar fans to find the ideal seat.

For a franchise that has yet to take the field, the team has generated wild popularity in the Seattle area with 11,000 of the 15,000 early season-ticket deposits already leading to the purchase of season tickets.

Read more on this story here.