Tech Data, the Rowdies help Tampa Bay make the case for Amazon's HQ2 bid

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https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2017/10/10/tech-data-the-rowdies-help-tampa-bay-make-the-case.html

Tech Data, the Rowdies help Tampa Bay make the case for Amazon's HQ2 bid

The top executive at Tampa Bay’s largest public company apparently wouldn’t mind if his company is No. 2 among the top publicly traded firms here.

Bob Dutkowsky, chairman and CEO of Tech Data Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD), a $26 billion IT distributor in Clearwater, has recorded a video, urging Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to consider Tampa Bay in its hunt for a second corporate headquarters.

Dutkowsky is among several local leaders who have been interviewed by local economic development officials as they prepare a response to Amazon’s request for proposals for what’s come to be known as HQ2, a $5 billion corporate campus that would house as many as 50,000 workers and serve as a second corporate headquarters, in addition to its headquarters in Seattle.

Others business executives lending their support for the bid include Ken Jones, CEO of Third Lake Capital, the Tampa-based investment fund for the Wanek family that owns Ashley Furniture; Lee Evans, site executive and general manager, of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (NYSE: BMY) North American Capability Center in Tampa; Gregg Morton, Citi (NYSE: C) Tampa site president; and Tom James, executive chairman of Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF).

Also interviewed were Joe Lopano, CEO of Tampa International Airport, and Judy Genshaft, president of University of South Florida. Mayor Rick Kriseman of St. Petersburg and Mayor Bob Buckhorn of Tampa sat down together for a joint interview, said Michelle Bauer, a spokeswoman for the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. Additional testimonial videos are from Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, and Janet Long, Pinellas County commissioner. Some of the Tampa Bay Rowdies also are expected to be in the video.

“We want to give Amazon a sense of the personalities in this community, why they love it and why Amazon will love it,” Bauer said.

The Tampa Bay area is up against hefty competition in the effort to draw Amazon, the $136 billion online retail behemoth that’s No. 12 among the Fortune 500. Dozens of cities are preparing responses to the RFP before the Oct. 19 deadline.

The Tampa Hillsborough EDC is collaborating with the St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corp., Pinellas County Economic Development, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County and the cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa on a joint bid, Bauer said.

“It’s like putting together a Super Bowl bid in three weeks,” Bauer said. Amazon announced its plan for HQ2 on Sept. 7, just before Hurricane Irma moved through the area on Sept. 10, and most local businesses did not get back to normal operations until Sept. 18, she said. “People outside of Florida had 10 days to two weeks on us.”

The Tampa Bay area has two sites to offer — the 85-acre Tropicana Field site near downtown St. Pete, and Water Street Tampa, Strategic Property Partners’ $3 billion, mixed-use district in downtown Tampa.

“What’s really cool about this is that we as a region are bringing our best assets to the table and everyone is excited about it,” Bauer said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to tell our story and we’re doing it together.”

While the full bid will not be public because it includes proprietary information, Bauer said the videos and non-confidential parts of the bid will be released to the public.

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/baseball-can-work-for-tampa-bay-in-the-right-spot-stadium-guru-says/2340547

Stadium guru: Baseball can work for Tampa Bay in the right spot

TAMPA — Before sunrise on Monday morning, Tim Leiweke walked around the Channel District-Ybor City area that could someday house a new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Leiweke, who has had a hand in building 18 stadiums and arenas around the country, saw the appeal. The area, just north of the Ybor Channel and Selmon Expressway, is close to both downtown and the port.

"You all have something that's really wonderful that we all wish we had in places like L.A.," Leiweke told the Tampa Bay Times. "It's called water."

But, he said, "There's a lot of work they have to do to connect."

Leiweke is the co-founder of Oak View Group, a stadium consultant and investment company, where he's part of efforts to build new arenas in Miami and Seattle. He previously served as president and CEO of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Los Angeles Kings and part of the Los Angeles Lakers, and later in a similar role for the company that owned the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA's Toronto Raptors.

He's no stranger to the Tampa Bay area. His younger brother, Tod Leiweke, was the CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning and he considers Lightning owner Jeff Vinik the "best owner in professional sports today. Period."

And he believes baseball can work in Tampa Bay, despite recent history. Just look at how the Lightning have turned around their franchise, Leiweke told the Times before speaking at a panel put on by the University of South Florida's Vinik Sport and Entertainment Management Program.

Attendance at Rays games perennially ranks at the bottom of Major League teams, but Leiweke doesn't believe that's necessarily representative of the appetite here.

"Before we judge the marketplace, let's make sure we at least take an assessment of (Tropicana Field)," he said. "That's not the best experience in Major League Baseball."

Tampa and Hillsborough County are expected to soon announce their proposed location for a potential Rays ballpark. Local officials have zeroed in on the area between downtown and Ybor, bridging the city's nightlife hub with the proposed entertainment district offered by Vinik's planned Water Street Tampa.

Meanwhile, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman has proposed a new ballpark at a redeveloped Tropicana Field, though it seems increasingly unlikely the team would risk committing long-term to a site that has produced poor results to date. Other locations in Pinellas County may still be in play.

Leiweke declined to opine on which side of Tampa Bay is best to host a baseball team, but he does have a preference on where officials and the front office should look.

"I put stadiums where they have the greatest economic impact," he said. "So when you build a stadium away from an urban core, that's a mistake.''

The location Tampa officials are considering largely meets that criteria. But Tampa's urban core is relatively sleepy after 6 p.m. And while weekend events and Lightning games have added a buzz to downtown in recent years, it is still mostly vacant outside of work hours.

Leiweke needed to search on his phone Sunday night just to find an open place to eat near his downtown hotel. In most major cities, a short walk would yield several options.

"Your (hockey) arena is the greatest statement about what the Rays face," he said. "The glass wall is facing the canal and then all of the electricity, the signs, the banners, are all on the plaza. The part that faces your city is a blank wall, cold as hell."

The planned Water Street Tampa could change that. Vinik and his partner, Bill Gates' Cascade Investments, have proposed a live-work-play community that will add housing, office space, restaurants, parks and hotels.

The Rays should try to tap into that, Leiweke said, and ensure their ballpark flows into that project. As it stands, the area between downtown and the rumored site is disjointed — divided by the expressway, a sea of parking lots, a Riverwalk that ends at Channelside Plaza, a gigantic flour mill and an industrial channel dotted with ship repair businesses.

"If you could just continue to figure out a way to make it walkable, make it livable, make it bikeable and make it green-friendly, you'll turn out to be one of the wonderful points of destination in all the world," he said. "Every snowbird in Canada will want to watch the Toronto Blue Jays when they come and play."

Rays brass have talked about building a destination ballpark for both local fans and baseball junkies — a ballpark that changes the experience of attending a game.

New York Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, who joined Leiweke on the USF panel, said the Met's Citi Field created space for younger fans to play bag toss while watching the game and the organization took advantage of modern technology to enhance security. Celebrity chefs hold events there. And there's a Shake Shack.

In practice, the Mets in New York don't have the same issues with ticket sales or corporate participation as a small-market team like the Rays. The decision here on where to build a ballpark and how to design it must be near perfect, Leiweke said.

"In Tampa Bay there's not a huge margin for error," Leiweke said. "You have a marketplace that's smaller. You better make sure you're right."

One of the largest hurdles will be financing a stadium in an environment where voters are increasingly opposed to tax-payer funded stadiums.

That's especially true in Florida, where the memories of the Miami Marlins ballpark deal are still fresh. Taxpayers there could end up paying more than $2 billion when the debts are finally paid off. Already, a bill has advanced in Tallahassee that will prevent new stadiums on public land.

Leiweke has faced these headwinds while working with David Beckham to bring a Major League Soccer team to Miami.

"There are bad partners like there are in any business," Leiweke said. "The proper kind of public support when put into a partnership with the right kind of guy, like Jeff Vinik, that's when these things really make sense. That's what the Rays should look for, that kind of model."

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/sports/hockey/islanders-barclays-center-belmont-park.html

Islanders’ ‘Singular Focus’ Is New Arena at Belmont Park

Jon Ledecky, a co-owner of the Islanders, made his strongest statements yet that the team intends to leave Barclays Center in Brooklyn and hopes to build an arena near Belmont Park racetrack, for which New York State recently accepted proposals to redevelop.

“We have the singular focus of playing at Belmont Park,” Ledecky said Tuesday at a news media gathering in Midtown Manhattan. “Everything else about going here, there and everywhere else is absolute noise to us at this point.”

Ledecky, who took over majority ownership of the Islanders with his partner Scott Malkin in July 2016, said the hockey team would continue to play at Barclays Center for at least the next two seasons. The Islanders moved to Brooklyn in 2015 after 43 years at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

But Barclays Center was not constructed with hockey in mind, and attendance and fan engagement have been disappointing. With their Belmont Park bid, the Islanders proposed a modern hockey home, like the new arenas in Detroit and Edmonton.

A spokeswoman for Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, which runs Barclays Center, declined to comment on Ledecky’s remarks.

The Islanders are combining forces with the Mets and the Oak View Group, an investment advisory firm headed by Tim Leiweke, the former president and chief executive of the sports and entertainment conglomerate AEG. He also held the same positions at Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, and his previous companies have operated such arenas as Staples Center in Los Angeles and Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Ledecky said the costs of a new arena and what percentage of it the Islanders might own had not been determined.

“It’s much better to say we are linked up with these two terrific organizations that understand how to build an arena,” he said. “The fact that the Mets have endorsed us financially and say that Belmont Park is the best option, that sends a very strong message as well that we’re making the right decision here.”

The Islanders have until Jan. 1 to forge a new deal with Barclays, and, if no new deal is reached, either side can opt out of the current deal by Jan. 30.

The Islanders could choose to leave after this season at the earliest; if Barclays Center triggered the opt-out, however, the Islanders would not have to leave until after the 2018-19 season.

“This year and next year, contractually, we are mutually obligated to play at Barclays,” Ledecky said. “Next year we will play at Barclays by contract.”

As far as where the Islanders might play in the 2019-20 season if a new arena is not ready, Ledecky said discussions were continuing.

“The contract, which has been in the public domain, says there are good faith negotiations going on that would include factors like that,” he added. “But we’re focused on getting that shovel in the ground and moving forward on Belmont.”

The Islanders returned to the renovated Nassau Coliseum for a sold-out preseason game on Sept. 17, but N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman has been adamant that the Coliseum, which has a capacity of less than 14,000 for hockey, is not a practical home for the team.

Ledecky commended Barclays Center as a good home for now and agreed with Bettman regarding the cozy Coliseum.

“Barclays is a wonderful place, but unfortunately at the time it was built, they decided not to configure it for hockey,” he said. “And Nassau Coliseum is a lovely spot, but the commissioner of the N.H.L. is on public record saying it is not viable for an N.H.L. team. So that wouldn’t be a home either. We have to have a focus on a place that will be our home. That’s Belmont Park.”

The Islanders will most likely also take into consideration how their pursuit of a new arena deal might affect their ability to re-sign their captain, John Tavares, whose six-year, $33 million contract expires after this season.

Islanders General Manager Garth Snow said he would not speculate on how the negotiations might evolve during the season. Tavares, 27, could become a free agent July 1. Snow said discussions would remain private between himself, Tavares and the player’s agent, Pat Brisson.

Ledecky said he did not know the timetable for the state’s decision on the site. New York City F.C. of Major League Soccer is among the other groups to submit a proposal.

“We obviously would hope it would be sooner rather than later, and we would hope that our proposal is the best proposal,” Ledecky said. “We don’t know if they’ve received three or 10 or five. We certainly put a lot of time and effort into a first-class presentation. We were thoughtful. We want Belmont to be our permanent home. “

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http://www.kolotv.com/content/sports/Renos-Ockford-Wehan-named-to-USL-Team-of-the-Week-450321933.html

Reno's Ockford, Wehan named to USL Team of the Week

M – Marcel Schäfer, Tampa Bay Rowdies: Schäfer had two goals and an assist to lead the Rowdies to a 3-2 victory against New York on Wednesday night. He also helped set up the side’s only goal in a 1-1 draw away against San Antonio.

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/david-beckham-still-earns-million-11318187

David Beckham still earns a million pounds A MONTH...even though he retired four years ago

Turns out even though he hasn't been paid to kick a ball professionally since 2003, Goldenballs Becks still pays himself a whopping £34k a day

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https://www.bramptonguardian.com/whatson-story/7604596-david-beckham-nets-more-than-1m-a-month/

David Beckham nets more than £1m a month

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http://ewn.co.za/2017/10/10/david-beckham-nets-more-than-gbp1m-a-month

David Beckham nets more than £1m a month

The former footballer is one of the world's highest-earning retired athletes thanks to his image rights company, Footwork Productions Ltd.

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http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/10/david-beckham-still-makes-1-million-a-month-despite-retiring-from-football-four-years-ago-6990045/

David Beckham still makes £1 million-a-month despite retiring from football four years ago

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http://www.destinyman.com/2017/10/10/former-footballer-beckham-pays-35-000-day/

David Beckham pays himself £35 000 a day

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https://theqtimes.com/david-beckham-is-beautiful-and-it-is-also-very-rich-and-pay-a-huge-salary-here/23760

David Beckham is beautiful, and it is also very rich (and pay a huge salary) – Here

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https://www.metro.news/credit-where-credits-due/776970/

Credit where credit’s due

■ NUMBER CRUNCH It was revealed this week that David Beckham pays himself £35,000 per day. Assuming he puts in an eight-hour day, that means he earns £1.20 a second.

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http://www.soccerwire.com/notes/usl-surpasses-2-million-in-attendance-for-2017-regular-season/

USL surpasses 2 million in attendance for 2017 regular season

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http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/3/article/82124/

Tormenta meets with reps for new pro league

When South Georgia Tormenta FC was created over two years ago, the franchise stated from its first day of operations that it intended to grow and thrive.

At the beginning of Tormenta’s season in May, the club announced its intentions to build its own stadium and also look at the possibility of moving from its current status as an amateur league mainly populated by current collegiate players to a professional club.

With the United Soccer League - currently the governing organization of the United States’ second-tier league of professional soccer, as well as the Premier Development League in which Tormenta has been playing - announcing plans to add a third tier of pro soccer beginning in 2019, Tormenta is looking to make the leap.

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https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/75124/crown-count-sac-republic-sells-out-every-home-gam.html

Crowd count: Sac Republic sells out every home game in 2017

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4965494/David-Beckham-pays-35-000-day.html

He really is GOLDEN-balls! David Beckham earns 'more than a £1million a month and pays himself £35,000 a day'... four years after retiring

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https://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/2017/10/10/16446140/atlanta-united-will-eventually-lose-its-top-stars-and-thats-okay

Atlanta United will eventually lose its top stars and that’s okay

Atlanta and MLS isn’t the final destination for young stars.

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http://www.espnfc.com/orlando-city-sc/story/3225425/orlando-citys-kaka-hints-at-retirement-and-reveals-interest-in-coaching

Orlando City's Kaka hints at retirement and reveals interest in coaching

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http://eaglecountryonline.com/local-article/fc-cincinnati-wants-county-to-split-stadium-cost/

FC Cincinnati Wants County To Split Stadium Cost

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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/10/09/tata-martino-wins-2017-best-dressed-mls-coach-bracket-petke-runner

Tata Martino wins 2017 Best-Dressed MLS Coach bracket; Petke runner-up

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http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/10/10/nashville-mls-soccer-stadium-plan-private-development-nonstarter-councilman-bob-mendes/747547001/

10-acre private development in MLS stadium plan a 'non-starter,' councilman says

For at least one Metro council member, plans to give an additional 10 acres of city-owned fairgrounds property to owners of a future Major League Soccer for a private mixed-use development is a "non-starter" for approval of a $250 million MLS stadium proposed by Mayor Megan Barry.

But the ownership group led by prominent businessman John Ingram isn't budging on that piece of the mayor's financing plan, calling it "critical" to the overall project.

At-large Councilman Bob Mendes drew a line in the sand in a blog post where he touched on several items on Barry's proposal, which the council will vote on Nov. 7.

"For now at least, I think the 10 acres of fairgrounds land for private mixed-use development is a non-starter," Mendes said. "It doesn’t feel right. Even if we were going to think about that, I would need to know what the land will be worth after any zoning changes. Without that, there is no way to decide how it fits economically in the deal."

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http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/10/04/nashville-mls-stadium-plan-private-development-questions-council/729270001/

Nashville MLS stadium plan raises questions over 10-acre private development

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http://fox17.com/news/local/nashvilles-major-league-soccer-stadium-proposal-picking-up-speed

Nashville's Major League Soccer stadium proposal picking up speed

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https://mynewsla.com/sports/2017/10/10/southland-viewing-parties-set-as-us-soccer-tries-to-qualify-for-world-cup/

Southland viewing parties set as US soccer tries to qualify for World Cup

Viewing parties will be held at six locations in the Southland for Tuesday’s telecasts of the U.S.-Trinidad and Tobago 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier as the U.S. attempts to qualify for an eighth consecutive World Cup.

The telecast of the game at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad will begin at 5 p.m. in English on cable’s beIN Sports and in Spanish on UNIVERSO.

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https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/soccer/soccer/2017/10/10/20-years-3rd-degree-history

20 Years: 3rd Degree History

This October marks a big anniversary for us here at 3rd Degree, as it's our 20th birthday. 3rd Degree was founded in October of 1997 as the Dallas Burn were entering the MLS Cup Playoffs.

To kick off our celebration I thought I might give a little history of this blog. Don't worry, most of our celebratory stuff is going to look back at the history of FC Dallas. But perhaps you will indulge me this one time as we celebrate our 20th.

Way back, in the mists of time, in the depths of the pro-league'less 90s, Major League Soccer was born. USSF, in an effort to land the 1994 World Cup, had agreed to launch a senior-level, top-tier professional soccer league. Originally USSF and FIFA agreed that would happen in 1993 before the World Cup, but the enormity of the undertaking meant MLS didn't launch until 1996.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/75guf8/why_is_us_soccer_so_reluctant_to_promote_one_of/

Why is US Soccer so reluctant to promote one of the oldest tournaments in the world? (theblizzard.co.uk)

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https://www.theblizzard.co.uk/article/free-all

Why is US Soccer so reluctant to promote one of the oldest tournaments in the world?

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https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/75lwsf/usa_have_failed_to_qualify_for_the_world_cup/

USA have failed to qualify for the World Cup (self.MLS)

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https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/75lxfh/postmatch_thread_trinidad_tobago_vs_usmnt/

Post-Match Thread: Trinidad & Tobago vs USMNT (self.MLS)

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https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/75k5m8/the_soccer_tour_gallery_of_my_images_from_the/

The Soccer Tour - Gallery of my images from the construction of LAFC's Banc of California Stadium [OC] (thesoccertour.com)

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http://thesoccertour.com/2017/10/construction-gallery-lafcs-banc-of-california-stadium/

The Soccer Tour

Construction Gallery: LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium

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https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/75i1jd/nashville_metro_fair_commission_board_votes_and/

Nashville: Metro Fair Commission Board votes and unanimously approves MLS stadium plan (twitter.com)

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https://twitter.com/mls2nashville/status/917763590614069249

@MLS2Nashville‏

@mls2nashville

This morning the Metro Fair Commissioners Board unanimously passed a resolution on @MLS stadium plan.

7:47 AM - 10 Oct 2017

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https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/75egh8/the_first_rumblings_of_trouble_for_nashvilles/

The first rumblings of trouble for Nashville's stadium plan. (tennessean.com)

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http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/10/05/nashville-fairgounds-mls-stadium-criticized-public-meeting/738257001/

Fairgrounds backers slam proposal for Nashville Major League Soccer stadium

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http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-united-players-coaches-impressed-by-fans/449937293/

Minnesota United players, coaches impressed by fans

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https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/75dndl/usa_trinidad_in_1989_the_threat_of_having_the/

USA @ Trinidad in 1989: The threat of having the 1994 WC stripped away, the Shot Heard 'Round the World, and more (fourfourtwo.com)

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https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/paul-caligiuri-confident-usmnt-history-will-repeat-trinidad-tobago-world-cup-qualifying

'It's embedded in us': Caligiuri confident USMNT history will repeat in Trinidad

The author of the Shot Heard `Round the World has no doubt the USMNT can replicate his heroics in the Caribbean.

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https://www.facebook.com/TampaBayRowdies/photos/pcb.10156663513593835/10156663509833835/?type=3

Tampa Bay Rowdies added 2 new photos.

Congratulations to Rowdies midfielder Marcel Schäfer on being named to the USL Team of the Week!

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http://fox17.com/news/local/economics-professor-explains-mls-stadium-proposals-risks-rewards-for-nashville-neigbors

Economics professor explains MLS stadium proposal’s risks, rewards for Nashville neighbors

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http://thecomeback.com/soccer/united-states-miss-world-cup.html

How did the United States miss the World Cup?

The United States did not qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.