With J Hutcherson
A dozen televised games vying for your attention on an otherwise unremarkable Wednesday. Golden age to be a fan of the world's game, or too many trying to squeeze whatever they can from an obviously limited market?
It would be one thing if we weren't already clear on what draws in the United States, and it's not random club soccer. That includes the bright lights of Europe, where a Mexican League classico can put up significantly better numbers than a Champions League final.
What the glut of games creates is the inability for any product to push past the rest. That takes major market share, more than a million households watching your game. It's simply beyond even the most enthusiastic expectations for the bulk of soccer product foisted on the American public.
Sure, choice is a heck of a thing. So is creating an environment where there's actual demand for specific products. That's what drove the pay-per0view era for English soccer and continues to make Scotland's Old Firm one of the most valuable soccer properties in the United States. Why? Because people all across the country are willing to pay directly to watch those games on television.
That's something not even the big names of the EPL could manage, and it's worth thinking about as the list of soccer programming pushes well past the obvious.
On TV
CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round on Fox Soccer Channel: Montreal - Real Esteli at 8pm and Alajuelense - Puerto Rico at 10pm.
Carling Cup on Setanta: Nottingham Forest - Sunderland at 2pm. UEFA Champions League qualifying on ESPN Deportes: Arsenal - FC Twente at 3pm.
MFL: Santos - U.A.G. at 5pm on Fox Sports en Espanol (7:30pm on Azteca), Monarcas - Indios on Azteca at 9:30pm, Necaxa - Monterrey on Galavision at 10pm, Atlas - Club America on TeleFutura at 10pm, and Tigres - Atlante on Galavision at midnight.
Copa Sudamericana on Fox Sports en Espanol: Boca Juniors - Arsenal at 7pm, Argua - Chivas at 10pm, and Sao Paulo - Atletico Paranaense at 1am. All Times Eastern
The Wonderful World of Soccer Media: Europe
Sunderland boss Keane is following in the footsteps of his Forest mentor Cloughie -- from The Daily Mail's Colin Young: As a tribute to their former double European Cup-winning manager, Forest have asked fans of both sides - his career ended prematurely as a Sunderland player in the mud at Roker Park - to wear green, in memory of his famous old jersey.
City borrowed millions from former chairman -- from The Guardian's David Conn: "Short-term loans are common in football," the spokesman said.
Benitez taking no risks as Champions League riches hinge on Liège -- from The Independent's Glenn Moore: The nightmare should be avoided.
Profits on the up for SPL clubs -- from BBC Sport: Seven of the clubs reduced their debts with Falkirk and Inverness operating with no debt.
Arsene Wenger shrugs off talk of Arsenal crisis -- from The Times' Tom Dart: “I was furious because we didn’t create a lot,” he said yesterday.
The Wonderful World of Soccer Media: Americas
Impact set to tackle Nicaraguan champions -- from The Montreal Gazette's Randy Phillips: "We can only try to predict that based on their history."
In assists, he's all alone -- from The Columbus Dispatch's Shawn Mitchell: "In the days of Valderrama there were some pretty scandalous assists that were given out," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said.
Fire tabs Greeley as franchise's third president -- from The Southtown Star's Nick Firchau: "I won't be making the soccer decisions."
RSL gets serious for Rapids -- from The Salt Lake Tribune's Martin Renzhofer: "It's a big Western Conference game."
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