You know, I think the Honda Fit is a cute car. I think that every time I see the banner ad on the front page, what irks me about it is the fact that I can’t really fit — no pun intended — my 6’7″ body in one without feeling like a sardine, oh well.

I’ve said it before in my posts on MLS Talk, but I’m really annoyed by the whole USL v NASL drama. CBS just canceled As The World Turns, sensationally, and I’m willing to bet it was because the 50-something-year-old soap opera could no longer compete with this crap. Okay, maybe not, but I believe it. Kartik posted about it — the soccer drama, not the CBS drama — on his personal blog today and one of his readers left a comment saying how they might stop watching domestic soccer if the USL comes out on-top. I disagree, for a number of reasons. MLS is domestic soccer and they didn’t have anything to do with this mess, I know how fun it can be to blame them, I do it all the time, but this isn’t their fault. Another thing is that you won’t be punishing the USL if you stop watching matches, you’ll be punishing the clubs, and many of the clubs are run on shoestring budgets and didn’t have anything to do with this crap, and that’s what I wanted to talk about before I made this paragraph entirely too broad, entirely too random, and entirely too long.

Most USL clubs are genuinely local teams run by soccer people, they own the team because they love soccer and want to be involved in soccer. Maybe they played Football Manager too much and went insane, but they most likely just wanted to bring soccer to their local area, these people are the backbone of our sport and we should do everything we can to support them, not punish them, because these clubs are true labors of love.

Take my local club — the USL-2 Charlotte Eagles (and Lady Eagles) — for instance. I know, some people disagree with the fact that they promote religion at the matches, but that isn’t what this is about. That club has never, and will likely never, run a profit. I don’t even think it comes close, in fact, I don’t even think they’re allowed to dream about coming close. But since 1991 (1993 in the USL structure) they’ve fielded a team, almost 20 seasons without fail. Not many people realize that the Eagles are Charlotte’s most successful sports team, but they are. They don’t enjoy wild support like Portland or Seattle, but they have a small and vocal bunch who wouldn’t have a team to support unless someone decided it was worth propping up. I’m thankful for the Eagles, and while the goal of the club might be different than other clubs, I’m thankful that I can go watch professional soccer in a stadium in my hometown. This story can be repeated all around the country, in Charleston, in Des Moines, in New Orleans, in Jackson, all over. Please, don’t punish these little teams, they’re already being beaten up enough by this schism we keep having to watch because the head honchos of each keep trying to yell louder than the other.

Originally I was sympathetic toward the TOA, but now I’m not. I hope they get sanctioned, because if they don’t then we might as well forget about lower-tier professional soccer, but I hope they and the USL suits realize how infantile they look.

Wilmington was recently kicked out of the USL Second Division, I’m not entirely sure why, but I hope the team can land in the NPSL if possible, it’d be a shame to see them go entirely, just like it’d be a shame to see any of these clubs caught on the fringe go.

Today is the last day of Interleague baseball for this season of MLB.  It ends coincidentally on the same day as the final of the Confederation Cup.  As great as the Confederation Cup has been for Soccer, Interleague play has given baseball a great boost as well.

MLB scheduled its Interleague dates to start right after the finals of the NBA.  It is a great move for baseball because it rejuvenates its fans and transitions sports fans by refocusing their attention from basketball to baseball.

MLB has begun to master its technique for giving Interleague baseball the spotlight in the crowded sports calendar and has accentuated the rarity of matchups among teams by having in-state, intra-city rivals playing one week and the next week having World Series rematches, as well as other oddly encounters. 

Drama has followed baseball’s good moves.  Anyone watching Interleague play in the last two weeks will have noticed that there has been an unbelievable amount of highlights, history and walk-off wins.  The steroid controversies, ticket prices and other problems with ego-driven players that has plagued baseball does not seem to be effecting the public’s will.  Baseball is coming through this Summer in better position than originally thought by many critics and it seems to be weathering the financial storm. 

It is also no secret that MLB is working all the angles of college baseball.  The college World Series played out tremendously this year, as its format has begun to take on more tradition and more recognition with each year that passes. 

Make no mistake about it, Soccer is competing with baseball for the American sports fan’s dollar.  More than any other sport, baseball is a thorn in the side of the growth and popularity of U.S. pro Soccer because it is a constant scene stealer.  This is a reality mostly because of the timing of the seasons they play. 

But, there is no doubt to the fact that the Confederation Cup has boosted Soccer in the consciousness of the U.S. sports fan.  It proves the U.S. is nearing equal footing with the best in the world. 

What effects will possibly winning Confed Cup and winning the Gold Cup have on recruiting new fans for the struggling professional leagues, MLS, USL and NPSL?  Will the boost from the Confed Cup and upcoming coverage of the Gold Cup help the U.S. pro leagues with attendance in general? 

Attendance should rally not only due to improved international play, but also because of hotter temperatures and better weather across the country. 

Of course, if there is no improvement in attendance or television ratings, no worries.  Soccer purists have it figured to be only that ’the public needs to have patience’ as these professional leagues develop.  After all, they are such young leagues. 

Sometimes though, it seems as if  U.S. pro Soccer can’t catch any breaks.  On the heels of the success of the USMNT in the Confed Cup comes the unfortunate link of AEG, a huge part of MLS and its future, to the July-planned Michael Jackson concert series in England.  What impact will Michael Jackson’s death have on AEG’s financials and what transferrence will be felt in MLS ? It appears certain there will be some sort of significant fallout, as AEG was way deep into its commitment with the King of Pop.