January 20, 2013 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Michelle Akers: Simply the best
Every sport has its legends -- Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe, Gordie Howe, Jesse Owens, Arnold Palmer, Richard Petty, Billie Jean King. Names that resonate even with non-sports fans. Even though she does not think so, Michelle Akers belongs on that list.
December 6, 2012 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Greatest American team ever? Not the Galaxy.
Following the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo to capture their second straight MLS Cup on Saturday, former Galaxy player and current team executive Chris Klein proclaimed the team the greatest in American soccer history. While winning back-to-back MLS Cups is impressive, the Galaxy are not even close to the best ever, by a number of measures.
December 2, 2012 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
A fitting exit for David Beckham
David Beckham left Major League Soccer on Saturday as he entered it – amid happy, celebratory chaos, his welcoming press conference and final hoisting of the MLS Cup trophy bookending a sometimes rocky road through the still-developing landscape of American soccer.
October 16, 2012 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Home at last
KANSAS CITY,Kan.---For as long as the United States has been playing World Cup qualifiers, it has been looking for someplace where it would truly have a home field advantage.
August 6, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
A true classic
In the short history of women's soccer at the world level, there have been a handful of epic games and epic performances. Monday’s Olympic semifinal match between the United States and Canada was one of the best.
July 29, 2012 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
All for One?
Hope Solo is probably the best women’s goalkeeper in the world. But there is something Solo is even better at than stopping opponents’ shots---stirring up controversy.
July 26, 2012 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Cutting through the clutter
If you’re a soccer fan, these days you can be gorging yourself on a veritable buffet of soccer. I’m not just talking the 24/7 variety available on cable TV.
May 30, 2012 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
U.S. celebrates its past, dreams about the future
LANDOVER, Md.---While those of us who have been big supporters of the Soccer Hall of Fame mourn the loss of the campus and museum in Oneonta, NY, one of the nice things about combining the annual Hall of Fame inductions with a U.S. National Team game is that it provides the opportunity to not only reminisce about the rich past of the sport, but also look at the present, and perhaps even a little ahead to the future.
April 2, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
Chinaglia--The real straw that stirred the drink
In the 15 years that the North American Soccer League bounced its red white and blue star-laden ball across the continent, there were many great players who played in the league. World Cup winners, international superstars and legends like Pele, George Best, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and Gerd Mueller.
None dominated the league and the headlines like Giorgio Chinaglia, who died on Sunday at age 65 in Florida.
March 10, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
Ghost of NASL still haunts MLS
It’s not clear if, when working late at Major League's Soccer's midtown Manhattan offices, Don Garber hears the wind blowing through long abandoned soccer nets, or if he hears the eerie guttural chant of “Cos-Mos, Cos-Mos” that once cascaded down on the now demolished Giants Stadium. But it is clear the Commissioner of Major League Soccer knows there is an otherworldly presence hanging over MLS, which kicks off its 17th season Saturday with 19 teams.
January 17, 2012 CUTTONE'S CONCEPTS
Indoor soccer is alive in Kansas City
Indoor soccer is alive and relatively well in Kansas City. Even if it is in a bit of a time warp. But hey, that's always been part of the beauty of indoor soccer. Turn out the lights, pump smoke on the field, blare 80s disco music and watch guys run around on the turf like they were in a pinball machine.
January 7, 2012 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
Whoops, WPS misses big opportunity
Thursday afternoon in the main ballroom at the Kansas City Convention Center, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber will step up to the podium to announce the first pick of the MLS Super Draft. Twenty-four hours later, Women’s Professional Soccer CEO Jennifer O’Sullivan will step up to a similar podium in a much smaller room at the same convention center and announce the women’s league’s first pick.
September 27, 2011 CUTTONE’S CONCEPTS
KC got it right
KANSAS CITY, Kan.---With all due respect to PPL Park and Red Bull Arena, both wonderful MLS stadiums, Kansas City has raised the bar.
