Rowdies Unveil New Nike Uniforms

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https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/899599?referrer_id=2349190

Rowdies Unveil New Nike Uniforms

Fox Sports’ Stone hosts festive season kickoff party in downtown St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rowdies unveiled their new 2018 uniforms on Monday night at the Mahaffey Theater in downtown St. Petersburg at the club’s official season kickoff party hosted by Fox Sports’ Rob Stone.

Rowdies players and coaches were joined by more than 1,000 fans at the Mahaffey Theater to formally welcome the 2018 season that also saw Stone moderate a Q&A session with Rowdies captain Joe Cole, Georgi Hristov and Marcel Schäfer, as well as Chairman and CEO Bill Edwards, before the 2018 roster was introduced in front of a raucous crowd.

The Rowdies launched three brand new Nike kits for the 2018 season, including two variations of the hooped jersey that has become synonymous with the club in recent seasons, one that is primarily gold, which the team wore in Saturday’s win, and one which is primarily green.

Also launched was a stylish white alternate kit featuring broad green hoops across the chest and gold detailing. All three uniforms feature the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel logo across the chest and a Visit St. Petersburg Clearwater logo on the sleeve.

The Rowdies get back on the practice field Tuesday morning to continue preparations for what promises to be an exciting home opener against the Bethlehem Steel at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium.

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https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/77190/college-coaching-moves-ohio-states-john-bluem-se.html

College Coaching Moves: Ohio State's John Bluem set to retire

John Bluem will step down as Ohio State's men's soccer coach on April 30 after 21 years with the Buckeyes.

He played at Hartwick and spent two seasons in the NASL with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

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https://www.fccincinnati.com/news_article/show/899671?referrer_id=2584136

Belmar Named USL Player of the Week

Rangers forward had two goals, two assists in opening-weekend victory

M – Jack Blake, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Blake completed 35 of 45 passes, registered two tackles and two clearances and capped the Rowdies’ 3-1 win against North Carolina FC with a fine long-range goal.

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https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2018/03/20/kharlton-belmar-named-usl-player-week-after-heroic-performance-season-opening-win

Kharlton Belmar named USL Player of the Week after heroic performance in season-opening win

M – Jack Blake, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Black completed 35 of 45 passes, registered two tackles and two clearances and capped the Rowdies’ 3-1 win against North Carolina FC with a fine long-range goal.

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https://learnopen.org/event/rowdies-season-kickoff-lunch/

Rowdies Season Kickoff Lunch

March 20 @ 11:30 am - 1:00 pm   

Celebrate the start of the 2018 season with the St. Pete Chamber,

Tampa Bay Rowdies coaches and players! Thank you to our presenting sponsor Florida Print Solutions.

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https://www.facebook.com/events/162879677687014/

Rowdies Season Kickoff Lunch

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http://web.stpete.com/events/Rowdies-Rally-at-Mayors-Food-TruckIt-3667/details

Rowdies Rally at Mayor's Food Truck-It

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM EST

Rowdies Rally at Mayor's Food Truck-It

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM EST

Williams Park
330 2nd Ave N
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Help us kick off the 2018 season at Williams Park on Wednesday, March 21st from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. with a special Rowdies Rally at Mayor's Lunch Truck-It. Stop by to enjoy food from your favorite local food trucks + an afternoon of FUN!

We'll have appearances from Rowdies players, Pete the Pelican + the Rowdies Squad, in addition to a DJ, raffles, games + more!

Food + fun is brought to you by the Tampa Bay Rowdies, City of St. Petersburg, Florida USA + Gulf to Bay Food Truck Association.

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https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/how-mls-compares-to-other-leagues-in-playing-domestic-players/

How MLS compares to other leagues in playing domestic talent

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2018/03/20/heineken-renews-major-league-soccer-partnership-1/#104aff4052ea

Heineken Renews Major League Soccer Partnership

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https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/tfc-toronto-fc-mls-major-league-soccer-concacaf-champions-league-club-america-liga-mx/

CONCACAF Champions League final next frontier for Toronto FC

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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/03/20/new-england-revolution-players-hail-increased-professionalism-under-friedel

New England Revolution players hail increased professionalism under Friedel

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http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/19/blog/post/3413037/us-national-team-worst-flop-missing-2018-world-cup-what-happened-howler-magazine?src=com

What happened? An inquest into America's most embarrassing flop

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https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/mls-play-kids-movement-complicated-youth-development

Ready or not? The double-edged sword of the ‘play your kids’ movement

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https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/heineken-renews-multi-year-sponsorship-as-the-official-beer-of-major-league-soccer-300616843.html

Heineken Renews Multi-Year Sponsorship As The Official Beer Of Major League Soccer

With Five-Year Renewal, Heineken Continues to Grow the Beautiful Game in the U.S. with World-Class Experiences and Fan-Favorite Beer

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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/03/20/heineken-extends-partnership-mls-five-years

Heineken extends partnership with MLS for five years

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https://www.portada-online.com/2018/03/20/exclusive-interview-part-ii-las-vegas-lights-fc-owner-brett-lashbrook/

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Part II. Las Vegas Lights FC: Owner Brett Lashbrook

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https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/03/20/nashville-councilman-proposes-rescind-major-league-soccer-stadium-deal/443693002/

Nashville councilman proposes to rescind Major League Soccer stadium deal

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https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/20/2026-fifa-world-cup-fc-cincinnati-2019-gold-cup/441554002/

FIFA World Cup: FC Cincinnati, Reds lobby for state tax money to help Cincinnati land big events.

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https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/how-mls-compares-to-other-leagues-in-playing-domestic-players/

How MLS compares to other leagues in playing domestic talent

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https://www.law360.com/articles/1023641/nasl-adds-major-league-soccer-to-antitrust-suit

NASL Adds Major League Soccer To Antitrust Suit

Law360 (March 19, 2018, 6:36 PM EDT) -- The North American Soccer League on Friday added Major League Soccer to a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation that claims the two are conspiring to keep it from competing as a top professional league, pushing forward with antitrust claims despite losing out on a preliminary injunction and being forced to cancel its latest season.

The NASL filed an amended complaint Friday in a New York federal court adding MLS to its lawsuit over the federation’s standards for professional leagues, alleging the federation and MLS want...

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http://www.technicianonline.com/sports/article_bc0c6ba8-2bd6-11e8-aae7-83f8298c05a9.html

NCFC returns to USL as NASL lawsuit stalls

The North Carolina Football Club hosted the Tampa Bay Rowdies in a USL regular season match at Sahlen's Stadium at Wake Med Soccer Park on Saturday, March 17.

It’s that soccer time of year again for the Triangle and for the nation. Two weeks after the start of the MLS season, the United Soccer League (USL) regular season is underway.

After its failed MLS bid and the decline of the North American Soccer League (NASL), NCFC made the switch to the USL in order to face stronger and more varied opposition. The move will also allow NCFC to continue play as the NASL has suspended its entire 2018 season.

At the end of last month, the NASL’s attempt to get a preliminary injunction at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit failed, as the league’s suit against the United States Soccer Federation did not demonstrate a clear chance of success. The league contends that its demotion to Division III by the Federation constitutes a violation of U.S. antitrust laws as the Federation allegedly is attempting to limit competition with MLS by illegally denying NASL Division II status. This past weekend, the NASL added MLS to the list of defendants, claiming that the influence that league exerts over the Federation constitutes an action through which the league can claim civil damages.

The move to the court system is not surprising in the litigious U.S., where lawsuits regarding professional sports organizations like the NFL are common. However, this lawsuit goes against precedent in the sport of soccer, as FIFA encourages all disputes in the game to be settled in-house or through FIFA arbitration.

If NCFC is ever going to return to the NASL, it may be contingent upon the league regaining that higher classification.

Now in the only remaining Division II league with 32 teams to play against as opposed to the 7 they had last season, the Blues hopes to gain experience through the crucible of the USL.

Their home opener this past Saturday ended in a 3-1 defeat to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. NCFC was able to wipe away the one-goal deficit it gave up on a turnover in the first half with a Steven Miller tally. Minutes later, an ill-advised challenge put the ball on the spot for the Rowdies, which Georgi Hristov converted to give his team a 2-1 lead at the half. The second frame staged a battle up and down the field before Jack Blake settled the game for Tampa Bay with a spectacular long-range finish in the final minutes of play.

The Blues hit the road for the next two weeks, taking on Louisville City FC and the Richmond Kickers before returning to Cary on April 7 to face Indy Eleven at 7 p.m. The season runs from March to October, with 17 home games to look forward to before the playoff stage begins.

U.S. Soccer’s final pro-league kickoff will take place at 3:30 p.m. this coming Saturday when the North Carolina Courage play host to the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League. The Courage are coming off a shield-winning season where they fell in heartbreaking fashion to the Thorns in the championship final.

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https://www.frontrowsoccer.com/2018/03/19/a-new-challenge-ex-cosmos-menjivar-signs-with-penn-fc/

A NEW CHALLENGE: Ex-Cosmos Menjivar signs with Penn FC

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https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/footballs-maddest-tour-ever-when-dallas-tornado-wandered-world-1967

Football's maddest tour EVER: When Dallas Tornado wandered the world in 1967

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https://www.frontrowsoccer.com/2018/03/20/adding-on-cosmos-b-signs-borrajo-velela-wojcik/

ADDING ON: Cosmos B signs Borrajo, Velela, Wojcik

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https://www.statesman.com/sports/soccer/alter-mckalla-place-could-welcome-mls-stadium-affordable-housing/w69KJ5d1ny0C9HwxuMi70L/

Alter: McKalla Place could welcome MLS stadium or affordable housing

City Council Member Alison Alter suggested Tuesday that city officials need to do a deeper dive into the possible uses of McKalla Place, including weighing the benefits of building a Major League Soccer stadium there against the good that might arise from putting affordable housing on the city-owned property in North Austin.

Alter said she wants to add several amendments to item 48 on Thursday’s agenda, which if approved directs City Manager Spencer Cronk to conduct further analysis of McKalla Place as a potential home for Columbus Crew SC, the Ohio-based MLS franchise.

“We need to make sure we do more than just an analysis of benefits. We need to consider its use for affordable housing,” Alter said during a work session. “It might make a great site for affordable housing; it might make a great site for a stadium.

“But there are so many questions to ask. What are the opportunity costs? We don’t have any idea of the financial wherewithal of this company. What are they putting down? Are they able to fund a stadium without using the land as collateral? “

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http://www.wsmv.com/story/37761368/metro-official-apologizes-for-spending-135k-on-stadium-without-permission

Metro official apologizes for spending $135K on stadium without permission

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - An admission and an apology.

That’s the fallout after the News 4 I-Team investigation last week into spending for the proposed Major League Soccer stadium at the Nashville Fairgrounds.

The project hasn’t gotten approval from the Metro Council yet.

The I-Team found the Rich Riebeling, the city’s chief operating officer, authorized hiring architects and planners to get started.

Riebeling sent Metro Council members a letter on Monday admitting spending $135,000 without permission. That money was taken from the arena budget.

The Nashville Sports Authority didn’t know that until told by News 4’s Nancy Amons.

Riebeling has apologized and said he won’t spend any more money on the soccer stadium without prior approval.

“When you get to our age, you know better. You don’t do that,” said Councilman Steve Glover. “When you’ve been in government as long as he and I have been, you don’t do that.”

Glover said he’s going to ask the Metro Council to reverse its vote to issue bonds for the MLS stadium project.

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180320/crew-cuts-austin-city-council-to-discuss-mckalla-place-resolution-on-thursday

Crew Cuts: Austin City Council to discuss McKalla Place resolution on Thursday

Austin City Council will move forward Thursday with a resolution discussing McKalla Place in north Austin.

The resolution would ask city staff to conduct analysis and stakeholder outreach focused on the 24-acre, city-owned location as a potential Major League Soccer stadium site.

Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who drafted the resolution, initially planned to postpone its discussion until April due to absences of several council members, including Councilmember Leslie Pool, whose District 7 includes McKalla Place. Pool, however, posted her thoughts on the resolution and several proposed amendments to the Austin City Council message board Sunday in the event it moves forward Thursday.

Viewing Pool’s amendments — including one that calls for an examination of traffic considerations and input from Capitol Metro, Austin’s public transportation authority — as friendly, Tovo said both during a Tuesday Austin City Council work session and in a message board post shortly after that she will no longer move to postpone the resolution.

“We just want to be sure the community understands that we’re now shifting and potentially taking it on the 22nd (Thursday),” Tovo said.

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http://www.calisportsnews.com/la-galaxys-new-beckham/

Who Could Be LA Galaxy’s New Beckham?

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https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/03/20/west-end-votes-against-fc-cincinnati-stadium-amid-theories-deal-isnt-dead/444249002/

West End votes against FC Cincinnati stadium amid theories that deal isn't dead

Even though FC Cincinnati said it was done in the West End, the neighborhood's community council voted Tuesday on whether it would welcome a soccer stadium.

The answer was a resounding "no."

About 100 people attended the meeting, 65 of whom cast votes. Fifty voted against a Major League Soccer stadium coming to the West End, 10 voted in favor of it and five abstained. FC Cincinnati is trying to line up a stadium site in hopes that MLS will select Cincinnati for an expansion team.

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https://sgbonline.com/fanatics-partners-with-los-angeles-football-club/

Fanatics Partners With Los Angeles Football Club

The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) announced a long-term partnership with Fanatics to become the Club’s official in-venue retail provider at Banc of California Stadium. Fanatics will also power the e-commerce for the team through its multi-year deal as the operator of MLSStore.com, the official League shop.

“We believe our LAFC crest and our distinct black and gold merchandise will emerge as an iconic symbol of the world’s game in the Heart of Los Angeles,” LAFC President & Co-Owner Tom Penn said. “Our partnership with a global leader like Fanatics allows us to provide our fans and Supporters with a best-in-class retail experience at Banc of California Stadium or online.”

LAFC set a new Major League Soccer (MLS) record for opening weekend expansion team merchandise sales on Feb. 24-25 when the Club’s kits and other items were first available to purchase at the team’s pop-up store in downtown Los Angeles and simultaneously on-line as part of Fanatics’ seamless omnichannel experience.

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https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/03/20/nashville-councilman-proposes-rescind-major-league-soccer-stadium-deal/443693002/

Nashville council defeats proposal to rescind Major League Soccer stadium deal

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https://www.prosoccerusa.com/new-york-city-fc/ben-sweat-provides-balance-at-the-back-for-new-york-city-fc/

Ben Sweat provides balance at the back for New York City FC

Sweat devoted two seasons in the NASL to the Tampa Bay Rowdies before his NYCFC test and has registered one goal and eight assists in regular matches. His assist that christened Jesus Medina in the win at Sporting KC to open the season was delivered following an exquisite penetrating run through the inside channel.

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https://www.burgundywave.com/2018/3/20/17143470/switchbacks-colorado-springs-usl-season-preview-switchbacksfc

Colorado Springs Switchbacks look to bounce back after disappointing 2017 season

Will something old, something new, and something borrowed, help the Black and Blue?

But all was not dark clouds for the Switchbacks. The team again looked to outside the US to find new talent, signing Cameroonian center-back Ayukokata Tambe from Isidro Metapan in the Primera Division, the top flight in the El Salvador football league. They also looked again to Scandinavia, signing Verneri Välimaa from JJK Jyväskylä in the 2nd division of the Finnish League. Prior to that, he was on loan with Orange County SC from the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2016.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/85lx0r/oc_closest_mlsuslnasl_team_to_every_us_county_and/

[OC] Closest MLS/USL/NASL Team to Every US County and Canadian Census Division - 2018 (imgur.com)

https://imgur.com/a/C1Uh8#0L59Qjq