Sounders Hire Ross Fletcher Of BBC As Arlo Replacement

Today the Sounders announced that they had hired Arlo White's replacement, Ross Fletcher of the BBC. In addition, they've also signed former goalkeeper and US legend Kasey Keller as a color commentator. Fletcher has spent the last five years as a soccer commentator and reporter for the BBC.

In the release, team majority owner Joe Roth stated in the release: "Ross and Kasey will bring a new dimension and perspective to Sounders FC broadcasts, the combination of Ross' experience and Kasey's knowledge gives us a sensational 1-2 punch which our fans deserve."

There are some fans out there complaining about and taking offense to the fact that the Sounders didn't sign an American commentator, despite the fact that it is a well known fact that a good American soccer commentator is a rare commodity. When it comes down to it, what matters is the individuals knowledge of the sport and the passion that they have for it, not their accent or nationality. From the following video reel, it is clear that Fletcher definitely fits the bill in both categories. Check out some of his work in the Youtube video embedded below:

You can read further about Fletcher and the signing here.

Also, here is a great interview with Fletcher from Prost Amerika.

Music of the Year - 2011

I completely blanked on doing this, so a week late I present my top artists and albums from 2011 as observed from my charts over at Last.fm. Notably, for my top ten artists my numbers are down significantly from last year. Where I had Minus the Bear ranking in at number one with just under 2000 plays last year, this past year my highest was Portugal. The Man with just under 1300 plays. Also this year for top albums I compiled the list based upon my Last/fm charts rather than iTunes.

Top Artists

1. Portugal. The Man (1263 Plays)
2. Dance Gavin Dance (1260)
3. Silverstein (1123 Plays)
4. The Dear Hunter (1043 Plays)
5. Modest Mouse (980 Plays)
6. Madina Lake (851 Plays)
7. Soilwork (617 Plays)
8. Slipknot (593 Plays)
9. Emery (584 Plays)
10. August Burns Red (571 Plays)

2011 Albums

1. Downtown Battle Mountain II - Dance Gavin Dance (684 Plays)
2. Rescue (Deluxe Edition) - Silverstein (671 Plays)
3. Leveler (Deluxe Edition)  - August Burns (435 Plays)
4. The Color Spectrum The Complete Collection - The Dear Hunter (429 Plays)
5. In The Mountain In The Cloud - Portugal. The Man (395 Plays)
6. World War III (Deluxe Editon) - Madina Lake (348 Plays)
7. Beast (Deluxe Editon) - DevilDriver (318 Plays)
8. Children Of Fire - Oh, Sleeper (268 Plays)
9. Scurrilous - Protest the Hero (164 Plays)
10. Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday (139 Plays)

MLS Releases Schedule for 2012

Lately fans have been getting a little impatient in their wait for MLS to release the schedule for the upcoming 2012 season. Thankfully the day is finally here. Notably, 2012 will see the longest season in league history, seeing regular season play carry out between March 10th and October 28th, and the play-offs concluding on December 1st. Also noteworthy, of the three hundred and twenty three regular season matches ESPN, NBC, and Galavision will be airing a total of eighty nine matches combined.

Head here to check out the full schedule.

Parke And Evans Called Into USMNT January Camp

News broke today that center backs George John and Omar Gonzalez, after finally getting their chance to prove themselves to Jurgen Klinsmann, had to withdraw from this month's USMNT camp in order to sort out club related issues (it's been reported that Gonzalez might be going out on loan and that John may finally be going over to Europe after making consideration last summer). To fill the void, Klinsmann has opted to finally call in a Sounder (makes that two actually).

The most notable of the two to get their first call up under Klinsmann, and notably their first call up of their career, is Jeff Parke. After getting picked up by New York in the 2004 SuperDraft, he quickly became a mainstay in the Red Bulls defense. Likewise, once he joined the Sounders early on into the 2010 season, he quickly became a mainstay in the back line. It seems that he's finally getting the recognition that he's due.

The other Sounder to get called up is the Sounders go to attacking midfielder, Brad Evans. Although only in restricted capacity, mainly coming of the bench as a right back, Evans has suited up for the US four prior times making three appearances in the 2009 Gold Cup and once in a friendly. Confusingly, rather than voice congratulations and support as they have with Parke, many Sounders fans are voicing confusion as to Evans call up. Sure he's been hampered almost insistently with injury, but that by no means should mark him worthy of such ire and malign. When he can remain healthy, he is one of the major pieces of the Sounders exceptional midfield and is clearly viewed good enough by Klinsmann to get the call up.

Sounders Transfer Rumors

Lately there have been many rumors of new players to join the Sounders (one of them just recently officially announced), and players potentially heading their way out. Below they are summarized.

Incoming

Cordell Cato
A Trinidad and Tobago midfielder who was rumored to have signed a one year contract with the Sounders, while team officials still claim that nothing is official yet. He apparently a Sanna Nyassi like midfielder who will provide pace in the midfield.

Adam Johansson (Officially Announced)
Rumored to have been signed to a multi-year deal and just recently officially announced by the club, Johansson will become the new starter at right back for the 2012 season. He is seen as a much needed upgrade over James Riley with his tactical ability and willingness to join the attack.

Christian Sivebaek
A Danish midfielder who can also play as a right back, has reportedly told the Danish press that he is making the move over to the Sounders for 2012.

Outgoing

Alvaro Fernandez

The Uruguayan has recently been linked with Serie A club Palermo, his agent reportedly confirming interest in making the move.

20 Player USMNT January Camp Roster Announced

The roster for the US Men's National Team January camp has been announced, and notably only two of the twenty players listed play outside of the United States. Expected returning players include Bill Hamid of DC United, New York's Juan Agudelo, and FC Dallas' Brek Shea. Newcomers that really stand out are the Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez (who had been voicing frustration over a lack of a call up), Graham Zusi (who had performed spectacularly for Sporting Kansas City last season), FC Dallas standout George John, and SKC rookie forward CJ Sapong.

Goalkeepers (3): Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders (7): Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), A.J. DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), George John (FC Dallas), Zach Loyd (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA)

Midfielders (6): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Benny Feilhaber (New England Revolution), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards (4): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), C.J. Sapong (Sporting Kansas City), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Saab Finally Calls It Quits

After several months of floundering in debt and desperately trying to scrounge together investors in China, Saab is finally calling it quits and filing for bankruptcy. While certainly expected, this is definitely sad news. After suffering at the hands of General Motors, Saab was finally establishing an identity of it's own with the new 9-5 and the 9-4X. Unfortunately, the Swedish automaker just couldn't make it on it's own. One main issue was the fact that though they were independent of the giant, they still relied upon GM for the production of the 9-4X crossover and GM just did not want to hand over the blueprints for one of it's products (the 9-4X is derived off of the Cadillac SRX) and completed products that cost billions to develop to a Chinese company.

According to the Car and Driver blog:

"Saab’s remaining assets will be liquidated by a court-appointed administrator. This includes any production facilities (we expect that the Swedish government or local investors will buy these), tooling, patents, and of course, the rights to the brand itself. In all likelihood, Youngman, Pang Da, or another Chinese company will score the rights to the Saab brand name, and produce new vehicles in China with the Griffin logo. This is similar to what happened with MG and Rover, which live on as Chinese brands."


Source: Car and Driver Blog