NSR: James Blake "The Wilhelm Scream"

A TOR late-night special. If you're down with brown liquor and the use of a lot of negative space in music, James Blake is your guy. He's somewhat reminiscent of Jamie Lidell and really influenced by both The XX & D'angelo so he's instantly "my dude"...even if he is the Michael Bublé of glitch-hop.

VIDEO: Somebody Really Loves Fernando Torres

Typically I display an overall lack of interest in European soccer unless there is one of my people involved. But this Fernando Torres video is just so over the top I can't leave it alone. Anytime they wheel out Chris Martin from Coldplay to do his sad bastard routine over close-up, HD slow mo footage I have to wonder about the mental health of the creator of the clip; judging by the melodramatic editing on display here I am concerned that he may be cutting himself as I type this.

Remember help is often just a phonecall away, even if you are a West Bromwich supporter.

Today in Stadium P0rn: Dynamo to Break Ground on Saturday

Houston, are you ready to holla & pop bottles on Saturday? Hope so but even if you aren't a whole lot of us around the "New Soccer Nation" will be doing it on your behalf when the Dynamo break ground on your new downtown stadium. The place looks like it'll be pretty hot (both temperature & design-wise) and I honestly couldn't be happier for you.

So that just leaves San Jose, D.C. and New England to go. Not to get all "I remember when" but I do remember a time (2005) when there were only 3 SSS in this league, not three only 3 teams in need of an SSS. Baby's growing up fast.

VIDEO: Skills-Show: Volume 47

Beware the swears in the soundtrack; if you are in cubicle country headphones are a must.

Soccer + Energy Drink - Red Bull = Golazo

This kind of looks like it was a good time. Seattle-based, soccer-centric energy drink Golazo had some party somewhere with 3v3 cage soccer, bike polo and loads of young attractive people; it reminds me of college but without the drunkenness, student poverty & STD scares.

And speaking of drunkenness Golazo are one of the sponsors for the American Outlaws rally in Las Vegas on March 4th & 5th. If you've got the time, the cash, a gambling and/or stripper problem (you know who you are) and the urge to mob up with a few hundred of your fellow footie freaks I highly recommend attending. Registration ends on Friday though so get your sh*t together, will ya!

Random Ramble: Charlie Davies Is The New John O'Brien (Maybe)

Last night while sipping Oban with my dude Brent in the bar at the Hudson Hotel I did something truly rare: I thought of John O'Brien. This was because Brent brought him up when waxing nostalgic about about the 2002 World Cup, JOB's command of the U.S. midfield against Portugal while Claudio Reyna sat the bench and the feeling among many U.S. fans that this dude was the future.

On some level what's going on right now with Charlie Davies is very similar. Kid had game, did work in the relative anonymity of one of Europe's less glamorous leagues, shined on the international stage just long enough for everybody to catch feelings for him and then he got injured. Now he's trying resurrect his career --if he's deemed fit, focused and worthy-- by coming to play in MLS for the first time. It's kind of a surface comparison but there's no doubting the parallels.

Having said that I hope the CD9 story ends better than the JOB story; O'brien ended up signing for Chivas USA and only made a single appearance before calling an end to his career. But I'm getting ahead of myself as we'll have to just wait and see if he even passes muster in D.C. first before worrying about him getting actual playing time. Tell you this though, this week in Ft. Lauderdale will be DCU's most scrutinized week of pre-season camp since the Freddy Adu days.

NASL Supporters Groups Unite and send a letter to the USSF.

After the decision made by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), that revoked their preliminary sanctioning of the North American Soccer Leagues (NASL) for Division 2 soccer, the NASL teams supporters groups united and sent a letter to USSF President Sunil Gulati.
Their message follows:

February 1, 2011

President Sunil Gulati
U.S. Soccer Federation
1801 S. Prairie Ave.
Chicago, IL 60616

Dear President Gulati,

As supporters of North American Soccer League (NASL) clubs, we would like to voice our concern regarding the recent decision by your Federation to rescind the provisional Division 2 status of the NASL. We are personally appalled by the decision of the Federation to deny second division sanctioning to the NASL. Many fans were positively encouraged by the interest the USSF paid to second division soccer this season, and were pleased by the new standards put in place to ensure stability and continuity at the second division level. We thank the USSF for the interest and leadership you have provided during 2010 to stabilize and maintain second division.

Should our community be deprived of high level, but affordable entertainment in the form of NASL soccer for 2011, fans will be starved of access to the beautiful game. Without professional soccer in our community, many fans may simply move on to other sports and an opportunity to continue the upward trajectory of interest in soccer here at home will be lost.

For our youth soccer community, it is imperative that the NASL play at the second division level this season. The USSF is striving to improve soccer in the United States and improve our national team. But if we deny young fans in five key American soccer markets local heroes to emulate and a club to support, we potentially lose a generation of kids who can help make the United States the best we can be in World Soccer. The partner federations and communities in Canada and Puerto Rico would also be severely affected.

The loss of our league will also have an inevitable ripple effect that will hurt not only the US National Team program and supporter’s base, but also development of soccer throughout the CONCACAF region. The NASL serves as a competitive league where many nations throughout the region have players developing their talent. Having better players throughout our region will no doubt be beneficial to the development of US Soccer, providing stronger competition to challenge and grow the US Nation Team.

When our teams played in USL, we were never able to keep track of our opponents or the composition of the league. The NASL has been forthright and aggressive in its local marketing while pledging a needed stability at the second division level. The NASL’s ability to attract the type of investors the USSF wants involved in the sport based on the new second division standards also has local fans excited about the future of both our teams and the league we compete in. We feel ownership and a connection to our league, the NASL that we never felt for USL.

The teams of the NASL have already invested much time and resources to establish this second division league. This is the foundation for creating a stable second division in this country, as opposed to a league that benefits from the constant expansion and contraction of teams. We believe that it is time for the USSF to work for what is best for the future and stability of U.S. Soccer. The mission should be to further the game's roots in our communities by supporting soccer at all levels.

We hope you recognize the vital role second division soccer plays across North American and Puerto Rico. We ask that you reverse this shortsighted and damaging decision. Displacing fans and hurting the development of soccer in the United States should not be what the USSF is all about. Your role as a governing body is to promote the sport and grow the game. Working with the NASL to establish a long needed, stable second division is the type of positive development this sport sorely needs.

Sincerely,

Pieter Brown
President, Miami Ultras
Miami FC / Strikers Supporters

Steve Holler
President, Ralph’s Mob
FC Tampa Bay Supporters

Tim Hayes
On behalf of The Dark Clouds
NSC Minnesota Supporters

Kristian Vázquez-Díaz
President, Islanders Foreign Legion
Puerto Rico Islanders Supporters

Daniel Stroud
Member, Jailhawks Member
Carolina Railhawks Supporters

Chris Martz
Westside 109
Atlanta Silverbacks Supporters

Steven Beauregard
Member, Ultras Montréal
Montréal Impact Supporters

What are your thoughts concerning the USSF decision? Should NASL be sanctioned as Div 2?