Monday, March 25, 2019

Area sports leader juggles two franchises with overlapping schedules | Business Observer

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b47a1z/area_sports_leader_juggles_two_franchises_with/

Area sports leader juggles two franchises with overlapping schedules | Business Observer

Two interesting passages here, courtesy of u/unsubmatt...

Speaking of training and conditioning — and making fans happier — the club successfully lobbied the USL to have its schedule front- and back-loaded with home matches, meaning it will play less often in St. Pete’s sweltering summer weather. There will be just one home match in July.

Not sure how successful this was, since we have 3 matches in June and 3 in August, but good that they asked...

Under new ownership, the Rowdies will not, however, actively pursue promotion to Major League Soccer, an effort begun under Edwards. “We are making no calls to MLS this season,” Auld says, though he did not rule out a future push.

As we all knew...out of the running for spot 28. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a play for a later spot.

Matt isn't the only one who tweets from the pod account...

Oops...sorry Jake!

I demand credit for checking my Rowdies google alerts every morning!

But yeah, not sure about the schedule thing. Guess you could say it's a little better since they played 4 at Al Lang in July last year. Still the same as last year for June and August. Not sure how much better you can do given what you have to work with in the USL.

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https://www.businessobserverfl.com/article/brian-auld-tampa-bay-rays-rowdies

Area sports leader juggles two franchises with overlapping schedules

Tampa Bay Rays President and Rowdies Vice Chairman Brian Auld has his hands full as the baseball and soccer seasons begin

The St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce March 14 luncheon featured a guest who’s trying to keep a lot of balls in the air: Tampa Bay Rays President Brian Auld, now pulling double-duty as vice chairman of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the St. Pete-based soccer club the Rays acquired in October from local entertainment and property magnate Bill Edwards.

The luncheon, held at Al Lang Field, the picturesque waterfront home of the Rowdies, was a chance for Auld to discuss immediate changes to the game-day experience and lay out the long-term vision he, principal owner Stu Sternberg and Matt Silverman, the Rays’ president of baseball operations, have for the United Soccer League franchise.

“Al Lang Field is the most beautiful sports venue on the face of the planet,” Auld says. “Not a lot of USL teams have the advantages that the Rowdies have here.”

Auld says concession prices will be lower at Rowdies matches this season, and the team will provide space for more local food trucks outside the stadium. The Rowdies will also take a page from the Rays’ playbook and have more bulk giveaways of souvenirs.

“Having two franchises gives us more opportunities to really dig in and create synergies,” Auld says. “The teams’ training staffs are giddy about sharing information.”

Speaking of training and conditioning — and making fans happier — the club successfully lobbied the USL to have its schedule front- and back-loaded with home matches, meaning it will play less often in St. Pete’s sweltering summer weather. There will be just one home match in July.

Under new ownership, the Rowdies will not, however, actively pursue promotion to Major League Soccer, an effort begun under Edwards. “We are making no calls to MLS this season,” Auld says, though he did not rule out a future push.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b47afj/caleb_richards_on_settling_in_at_the_rowdies/

Caleb Richards on settling in at the Rowdies

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https://www.canaries.co.uk/News/2019/march/caleb-richards-tampa-bay-rowdies/

Caleb Richards on settling in at the Rowdies

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b4bg6y/mob_watch_parties_for_stl_match_in_same_locations/

Mob watch parties for St.L match in same locations??

YES

Where can I catch the game tomorrow with fellow Mobsters?

Same as last time, Jimmy's on 35th in St Pete, Wild Rover in North Tampa, & Shamrock's down in Sarasota

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https://www.reddit.com/r/USLPRO/comments/b2jbmk/usl_attendance_tracker_week_ending_317/

USL Attendance Tracker: Week Ending 3/17

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b4sh8u/j_kings_player_form_project_week_3_stl_v_tbr/

J King's Player Form Project Week 3- STL v TBR

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kcs5D_0BPsGORIv_Nf1HPXzxzqpphkIKNdybGRtynn4/edit#gid=0

(Forgot to put in the link last week. Whoops.)

Player Impact Notes:

Ekra, Steinberger, and Diakite continue to remain the heart of the squad. The middle of the field is held down by some really competent, solid, and consistent play. Oduro not giving the ball away as much this week was crucial. Fernandes dribbling into defenders and losing the ball has become a consistent issue. St. Louis made it a point to really attack Richards and Morad and they held their own but not without a bevy of negative defensive plays attributed to them. Allen has his second straight forgettable week. Tejada has his first wake up call game as St. Louis didn't let him bother them. The offensive subs Collins has made so far have really yet to make a mark so far.

Stat Update:

Diakite, Richards, Oduro, McCarthy, Fernandes, Morad, and Ekra have played all 270 minutes for the Rowdies through three games.

Players who have yet to see the field are: Felix, Najem, Poku, Johnson, and Siaj.

Tinari and Doherty have 1 minute played. Steinberger has 269 minutes.

Hoppenot, who had 30 starts with Reno last season, has played 39 minutes.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b4sao0/j_kings_corner_stl_v_tbr_week_3_11/

J King's Corner STL v TBR (Week 3) 1-1

Grinding out a point- Today was a huge moral victory. In a match where the Rowdies couldn't buy a goal against a stingy St. Louis defense, St. Louis had one crucial mistake and Guenzatti was true from the penalty spot once again. Much of that penalty had to do with the relentlessness of the second half pressure the Rowdies put on putting St. Louis in a position where they could make a mistake. I was just happy that the ref saw the handball because so often refs in the USL miss handballs no matter how blatant they may seem to be. In the Campbell era facing a tough opponent on the road on turf was usually an unmitigated disaster so actually having a squad that never really felt out of the game is a new feeling.

Best of the East?- This game was fairly reminiscent of the Memphis game to start the season except for St. Louis really being polished on their set pieces and causing some trouble in the box. Diakite continues to own anything that happens in the middle of the field, but St. Louis really found some exploits by going after Morad on set pieces and attacking Richards. It's early but St. Louis is definitely off to a great start so this was a great litmus test to see where the Rowdies stand against a team with momentum.

Barry was sorely missed- After a great home game last week, Richards had big shoes to fill stepping into Barry's role. Richards floundered which all things considered a lot was asked of him as he played a crucial spot on the field. If David Najem is healthy that might've been a good role for him. But missing Barry's composure and ability to create in the attacking half while getting back and defending at a high level really could've turned the tides in this contest.

Forward play is becoming a growing concern- It's not time to hit the panic button yet, but it has now been three games without a non-penalty goal from either centre-forward. Allen has had chances served up on gold platters and just flat out whiffed and Guenzatti is a capable player who I've always remarked lacks lethal finishing instinct. Allen has been the poorest of the three forwards as he and Diakite now have the same amount of shots (1 shot, neither on target). The concern going forward for the Rowdies is where are they going to find their goals? Can they be a team that relies on goals by committee? Unless Allen or Guenzatti can prove otherwise, the Rowdies will have to find goal scorers however they can without relying on getting shots from their forwards.

Morad had some disastrous man marking moments- From an overall standpoint, Morad is a talented player who made a ton of good plays on both sides of the ball against St. Louis. But whenever set pieces and long balls came into the equation, Morad was either getting beaten physically, or flat out losing the man he was covering. Won't be surprised if Collins is chewing him out all week in practice. Set pieces are likely going to be terrifying for the rest of the season. Set piece defense was never really the Rowdies strong suit in the Campbell era either. Opposing teams will likely try and find far or near post options so they can take Diakite out of the play and force defenders like Morad and Richards to make clearances against brute defenders.

Ekra and Steinberger's roles refined- It was interesting to see that Ekra was playing deeper in the midfield while Steinberger was playing further up in a more attacking position for most of the game. Steinberger favors the left side of the field while Ekra favors the right. It's fairly reminiscent to how Cole and Schafer used to play in the midfield with Cole starting the offense from deep and Schafer operating further forward looking to create chances.

Intro to Kone- He was fine. Like Diakite he is very confident on the ball. It's something Collins definitely likes in defenders where not only can they defend but they can dribble well and don't feel pressured when being faced with a pressing attacker.

The Dead Zone: Apparently there's a vortex where anytime the ball goes into the left corner of the field the main broadcast angle can't go see what's going on. It's probably because where the camera is stationed the far left corner is blocked by an obstruction. But overall, the main broadcast camera operator was dreadful, he/she was having an awful hard time of keeping up with the action during several different moments in the game.

Commentary: I forgot to mention I quite enjoy the new color commentator for the Rowdies this season. Unfortunately his name is slipping my mind. This week we were treated to Poppy who I enjoy despite her casual lapses into cliche. The color commentary guy who I think is named Devin was actually really good with his analysis on many parts of the game. One of the few guys who will actually fairly criticize the play of players on both sides and call the game how he sees it. His comment at the end of the game talking about how he could go get his refereeing license had me in tears. I can only imagine he got a call from the USL League Office after the game.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b4ux1p/highlights_stl_11_tbr_stlouie_s_rowdies_a_tying/

Highlights: STL 1-1 TBR. StLouie ✋'s Rowdies a tying penalty

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnVm4fRioU8

Meet the Team: Jaime Siaj

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Published on Mar 20, 2019

From Spain to Jordan to Tampa Bay, get to know the journey of Rowdies Forward, #32 Jaime Siaj.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH4FhDQENk0

Rowdies Highlights at Saint Louis FC - March 23, 2019

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Published on Mar 23, 2019

🎥 Highlights of this afternoon's 1-1 draw on the road against Saint Louis FC. Sebastian Guenzatti scored the Rowdies goal from the penalty spot.
Category

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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/03/19/report-inter-miami-advanced-talks-mexican-defender-hector-moreno

Report: Inter Miami in "advanced talks" with Mexican defender Hector Moreno

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https://www.riverbender.com/articles/details/friday-and-saturday-area-sports-roundup-34483.cfm

Friday and Saturday Area Sports Roundup

UNITED SOCCER LEAGUE USL CHAMPIONSHIP

SAINT LOUIS FC 1, TAMPA BAY ROWDIES FC 1: In a hard-fought match between two of the top clubs in the USL Championship Eastern Conference, Saint Louis FC and Tampa Bay Rowdies FC fought to a 1-1 draw at Toyota Stadium at World Wide Technologies Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo., Saturday afternoon

Edwardsville native Sam Fink put STLFC up in the 26th minute, heading in a free kick from Lewis Hilton, but the Rowdies drew level from the penalty spot after Fink was called for a hand ball in the box. Sebastian Guenzatti’s kick found the upper left hand corner in the 76th minute to level the match at 1-1.

STLFC had a chance deep into second half stoppage time, but Fink’s shot off of a cross was stopped, preserving the draw.

STLFC is now 2-0-1 on the season for seven points, and sit in second place in the conference on goal differential. STLFC plays at home again next Saturday afternoon against the Charlotte Independence. Kickoff time is set for 1 p.m.

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https://www.ksdk.com/article/sports/saint-louis-fc-earns-draw-against-rowdies/63-026f067f-c6a7-4737-b5fc-791c3e192607

Saint Louis FC earns draw against Rowdies

Saint Louis FC sits at 2-0-1 on the season with seven points.

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https://www.tampabay.com/st-petersburg/she-led-the-great-st-pete-parking-garage-revolt-then-she-was-arrested-20190320/

She led the great St. Pete parking garage revolt. Then she was arrested.

After spending two hours trapped in a line of traffic trying to escape the McNulty Parking Garage, Kathryn Socash took matters — and a wooden gate — into her own hands.

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https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-tampa-bay-rowdies-gate-buster-arrested-20190321-story.html

Florida woman, 63, breaks parking garage gate to free hundreds of trapped soccer fans, spends weekend in jail

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https://www.tampabay.com/news/news-at-noon-in-trial-john-jonchuck-gave-his-mental-condition-a-name-woman-who-led-the-st-pete-parking-garage-revolt-was-arrested-and-more-20190321/

News at noon: In trial, John Jonchuck gave his mental condition a name; woman who led the St. Pete parking garage revolt was arrested; and more

Here are the top five latest headlines and updates on tampabay.com.

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https://www.tampabay.com/news/st-pete-parking-garage-revolt-update-717-parking-is-sorry-20190322/

St. Pete parking garage revolt update: 717 Parking is sorry.

The garage operator, 717 Parking, will also offer free parking at the garage on March 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

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https://rbnn.us/2019/03/20/usl-championship-week-3-preview/

USL Championship Week 3 Preview

Rowdies Hope to Stay Perfect

The Tampa Bay Rowdies imploded in 2018 but have started this year looking dominant. Thus far they are undefeated and have yet to concede a goal. Their opposition in week three is St. Louis FC, a team that is also undefeated but has arguably faced stiffer competition. St. Louis handled Indy in week one and toppled Nashville SC in a tight contest.

Both teams are looking to establish themselves in an Eastern Conference that has seemingly been dominated by Louisville over the past two years. They have upgraded in almost every area on the field and could make a statement with a win in Missouri.

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https://orangeandblacksoccercast.com/news-1/usl-championship-power-rankings-watch-week-2-2019

USL CHAMPIONSHIP POWER RANKINGS WATCH: WEEK 2

After two crazy weeks of USL Championship action in the books, the power rankings list has changed even more. Teams that were early season favorites on the top of the list in the preseason (Louisville City FC, Phoenix Rising FC, Nashville SC, Indy Eleven) have all dropped points in the early season, and thus have dropped from their initial rankings. Other teams have taken advantage by not dropping points, and have moved to the top of the list (Saint Louis FC, OKC Energy FC, North Carolina FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies).

And then there is Sacramento Republic FC, who seem to be stuck at number 5 regardless of their results. Maybe there is an error with the rankings that has them permanently stuck at 5. Or maybe the league had them placed perfectly in the preseason rankings.

Here are the highlights:

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https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/news/articles/international/categories/international/david-beckham-hints-at-audacious-swoop-for-cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi/651899

Beckham Hints At Audacious Swoop For Messi Or Ronaldo

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6831459/David-Beckham-inspects-Fort-Lauderdale-site-Inter-Miami-play-2020.html

David Beckham's Field of Dreams: Former England captain inspects smashed windows and graffiti-covered stands of the Lockhart stadium in Fort Lauderdale where his new MLS side Inter Miami will play for two seasons from 2020

David Beckham has inspected the Fort Lauderdale site which will become his MLS side's temporary new home

Inter Miami will play at the Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale for two seasons from 2020

The site will be transformed into a £45million training and academy complex featuring 18,000-seat stadium

Beckham intends to eventually move into a stadium at the Miami Freedom Park site in the centre of the city

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https://www.givemesport.com/1462716-david-beckhams-inter-miami-a-step-closer-to-entering-mls-in-2020-with-successful-stadium-bid

David Beckham's Inter Miami a step closer to entering MLS in 2020 with successful stadium bid

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6835639/How-David-Beckhams-Inter-Miami-shaping-ahead-2020-launch.html

From a rundown patch of grass to a $1billion dream: How David Beckham's Inter Miami MLS franchise is shaping up ahead of 2020 launch

David Beckham's long awaited MLS franchise is close to joining the league

Inter Miami will join the MLS as an expansion team for the 2020 season

However, there remain several issues to be resolved before they can play

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https://www.independent.ng/how-david-beckhams-inter-miami-mls-franchise-is-shaping-up/

How David Beckham’s Inter Miami MLS Franchise Is Shaping Up

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https://the18.com/soccer-entertainment/inter-miami-stadium-david-beckham

The David Beckham-Inter Miami Empire Continues Toward Reality

AFTER YEARS OF NOTHING BUT RUMORS, INTER MIAMI IS A REALITY AND WILL NOW HAVE TWO HOMES.

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