May 13, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
If he is guilty, the Red Bulls should show Conde the door
The Wilman Conde incident is disturbing for many reasons -- for bad judgment, for pushing a police officer (definitely a no no) and for getting intoxicated when he should be concerned about getting fit and finally play against for the Red Bulls.
April 30, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
McCarty steps up and then some
When the sky starts to fall, it's good to know who can step up. Dax McCarty certainly has become one of those players this season. He has become the one constant in the midfield, taking over running the team, when other key players have fallen to the wayside.
April 21, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Presenting the new MLS mantra: win enough series and make the playoffs
In baseball, it's all about winning series over a 162-game season. If you win enough, you probably finish above .500 and might make the playoffs. For the first time in history, you can say the same thing about Major League Soccer. The Red Bulls will play 25 of their 34 games against Eastern Conference foes this season. Moreover, they will play seven conference teams in three-game series.
April 19, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Marquez gets off easy this time
All things considered, the Rafa Marquez and the Red Bulls got away relatively easy with only a three-match suspension. Given the veteran defender-midfielder's rap sheet, it could have been -- and should have been -- worse.
April 17, 2013
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Marquez continues to add to his rap sheet when the Red Bulls should jettison him
One thing is certain about Rafa Marquez, he will not be up for the Major League Soccer Fair Play award this season or any other year, for that matter. He has had a career filled with serious incidents of thuggery, some of which had has occurred when wearing the red and white of the Red Bulls. Whether it is has been intentional or not, the Mexican National Team captain's worst incidents have come against players who play in the red, white and blue.
April 15, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Marquez could face a serious sanction from MLS for his ill-advised tackle, kick
Don't be surprised if Major League Soccer slaps Red Bulls midfielder Rafa Marquez with a suspension for kicking midfielder Shea Salinas and breaking his collarbone during the 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
April 14, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Red Bulls' dynamo duo could turn into the best one-two punch in MLS history
Here we are five games into the season and the Red Bulls have not one, but two players going at more than a goal-a-game clip. You've got Thierry Henry, on one of the great tears in Major League Soccer history, leading the 19-team league with seven goals (and with four assists, to boot). You've got Kenny Cooper, who certainly is giving the Red Bulls a bang for minutes played with six goals in 342 minutes; in other words, he is scored at an amazing rate of a little more than a goal in an hour.
April 13, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
When a teenager began his path to become a writer, though he didn’t know it at the time
In a story about the life of former Nassau Community College soccer Bill Stevenson on March 29, Red Bulls director of youth program Bob Montgomery remembered getting an opportunity tell his former coach how thankful he was of him. “It’s a great thing because when people leave this world, there are things that are never said," Montgomery said.
April 9, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
If Cooper continues to produce, Klinsmann will have to give him a chance
A lot has been said about Herculez Gomez deserving to get a chance to play with the U.S. National Team, and rightfully so. It seems that everything the one man wrecking crew from Santos Laguna (against Major League Soccer teams in the CONCACAF Champions League Cup) touches turns into goal. Well, I have another name for U.S. national coach Juergen Klinsmann to perhaps ponder: Kenny Cooper.
April 5, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Chinaglia always told it like it is and was
Giorgio Chinaglia always told it like it is and was. I remember the first time I spoke with the New York Cosmos legend, some 36 years ago.
March 31, 2012
VERY, VERY OFFSIDE REMARKS
The secret desires of a striker: fooling around in goal?
An astounding admission by Red Bulls captain and striker Thierry Henry: he has been playing the wrong position his entire professional career. He had told fairly reliable sources that he would prefer stopping goals than scoring goals -- as a goalkeeper. Honest.
March 29, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
The absolute worst task in journalism
While I love my job, there are parts of it I'd rather do without. The worst part of it? Easy. Writing obituaries. They’re hard, especially about the people I know.
OFFSIDE REMARKS
A disturbing trend for U.S. soccer
After the U.S. crashed out of the CONCACAF men's Olympic qualifying tournament on Monday, U.S. Under-23 coach Caleb Porter said, among other things that it wasn’t the “end of the world." Perhaps not, but in the wake of Mexico's recent international success, the Americans' early elimination is part of a disturbing trend.
March 25, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
When worlds collide in soccer
As you can tell from the dateline on this story, I won't be covering the Red Bulls' home-opener against the Colorado Rapids on Sunday. I am in the Music City covering the U.S. Under-23 National Team's quest to reach the London Olympics this summer. Of course, after Saturday night's debacle, I am not certain the red, white and blue men will be representing the USA.
March 24, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
As bad as it was, it could be a lot worse, depending on the next one or two games
The U.S. Under-23 National Team's 2-0 loss to Canada in the CONCACAF men's qualifying tournament certainly rates up there with some of the biggest disasters in American soccer history. It was bad enough, but it could be worse, much worse, depending on what happens down the road. The U.S. has to jump not one, but two hurdles to avoid a real disaster tag. The Americans must defeat El Salvador in a must-win situation here on Thursday just to reach the semifinals on March 31.
March 21, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Soler does the right thing with Ballack
Red Bulls general manager and sporting director Erik Soler did the right thing with former German midfielder Michael Ballack.
March 20, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
It’s all about making plays on both sides of the ball
Soccer is simple enough. It's about making plays -- on both sides of the ball and how a game can change and be decided in a matter of seconds.
March 15, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Coaches: beware, the Ides of any month, or any day, for that matter
Beware the Ides of March, the ominus warning in Julius Caesar. And we all know what transpired on that March day some 2,000 years ago, the boss of Rome was murdered by his own senators. In memory of that incident and to "celebrate" the day, let's take a look at when coaches are fired and sometimes stabbed in the back, whether it is by their owner, general manager or even players.
March 12, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Backe's big blunder: starting Agudelo over Cooper
After witnessing Hans Backe's first coaching blunder of the season done even before the kickoff of the Red Bulls' 2-1 season-opening loss at FC Dallas on Sunday, I promised I would not be so impatient and wait a while before I threw him or anyone else under the bus. So, I tried to sleep it off. And guess what? I still feel the same way.
March 11, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper -- Kenny, Sr.
Little did I realize that as a 27-year-old soccer writer for the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle that I would cover a soccer game that would become a unique soccer game nearly 32 years later.
