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Bootsmann
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| Posted: 11 August 2018 at 10:03 | IP Logged
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MINNEAPOLIS - The Super Bowl has been secured. Now the
Minnesota Vikings have set their sights on soccer. With
construction underway on their new stadium, the Vikings
have intensified their pursuit of a Major League Soccer
franchise for the NFL facility that team owners designed
in hopes of accommodating both sports. Co-owner Mark Wilf
met this week with MLS officials, the latest dialogue
between the two parties. The Vikings also announced a
partnership with promoter Relevent Sports, a major player
in the soccer world that is helping sell an international
tournament game between two European teams to be played
at the University of Minnesota in August. "We like to go
to new markets," Revelant Sports CEO Charlie Stillitano
said Wednesday. "It seems like wherever we go an MLS team
follows, and I think its a good thing." Most MLS teams,
15 of the current 19, play in soccer-specific stadiums
for around 20,000 fans in a more intimate setting, but
the Vikings have been touting their plan to classily
cover the upper bowl of their new venue and reduce
capacity from 65,000 to between 20,000 and 25,000. The
translucent roof and five pivoting glass doors on the
front of the building -- plus seats and suites close to
the action -- give the facility a more vibrant feel.
"Theres a real opportunity there, and we really have a
lot of respect and admiration for the ownership group,"
MLS Commissioner Don Garber said earlier this year.
Atlanta will begin play in 2017 at that citys new
retractable roof NFL stadium to be built for the Falcons,
whose owner Arthur Blank acquired the soccer club. Plans
there will convert the 71,000-seat football facility to a
soccer capacity of 29,000 by only using the lower bowl.
With the regular season starting in March and the MLS Cup
held in December, a roof would be ideal for a team in
Minnesota. When Sporting KC won the championship game
outside last year, the game-time temperature in Kansas
City was 22 degrees with a wind chill of 12 that
plummeted as the sun set. The MLS has added five teams in
the last five years with a goal of 24, and New York City
and Orlando will make 21 next season. Miami has also
granted a franchise to former star David Beckham,
contingent on a soccer-specific stadium being built
there. That only leaves one spot left, and Garber said
earlier this year Sacramento, California, San Antonio and
San Diego are also under consideration. MLS executive
vice-president for communications Dan Courtemanche said
theres no specific deadline for awarding the next
franchise. "There is no shortage of demand for future MLS
expansion teams, and many markets and potential ownership
groups have contacted the league office to inquire," he
said. Criteria for MLS expansion include a committed
local viable ownership group with a comprehensive stadium
plan it controls, in an appropriate market attractive to
sponsors and television networks with a history of strong
fan support. The Twin Cities area currently has a team,
Minnesota United FC, in the North American Soccer League,
a level below the MLS. "We think our stadium is the
perfect fit for MLS. We also think that Minneapolis-St.
Paul has tremendous potential for MLS," Vikings vice-
president for public affairs and stadium development
Lester Bagley said. The legislation authorizing funding
for the stadium included a five-year window from the
opening during which the Wilfs have exclusive rights to
bring an MLS franchise to the venue. That doesnt mean
another group couldnt beat them to it at another site.
Minnesota United owner Bill McGuire, the former CEO of
United Health Group, has been linked with Minnesota Twins
owner Jim Pohlad as potential partners in an MLS
franchise. But that would require money for and
construction of yet another new sports facility in a
crowded market. Vikings officials will use the Aug. 2
match between Manchester City FC and Olympiacos FC, part
of the Guinness Cup tournament, as an opportunity to gain
more knowledge of and grassroots support for the sport.
About 20,000 tickets have been sold so far, Stillitano
said. lingard-manchester-united-fc-jersey.aspx">Jesse Lingard
Jersey . With the Nets winning streak in jeopardy,
Williams scored 23 points, 11 in the final six minutes,
to lead Brooklyn to a 104-99 victory over the Charlotte
Bobcats on Wednesday night.
manchester-united-fc-jersey.aspx">Luke Shaw Jersey
.C. -- Benn Ferrieros familiar with scoring important
goals, just not in back-to-back games.
http://www.manutdfcsoccershop.com/c-12-chris-smalling-
manchester-united-fc-jersey.aspx.Lets go back to the Avs,
who have become one of the funnest teams to watch in this
years playoffs. 36-timothy-fosu-mensah-manchester-united-fc-
jersey.aspx">Timothy Fosu-Mensah Jersey . -- Isaiah
Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left
sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before
finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle.
Manchester United
Jerseys . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading
13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the
Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on
Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes
alive.TOKYO -- Former major leaguer Wladimir Balentien
hit his 56th and 57th home runs on Sunday, breaking the
Japanese single-season record set by legendary slugger
Sadaharu Oh 49 years ago. Balentien hit the record-
breaking three-run homer in the first inning of Sundays
game, sending the ball over the left-field wall at Tokyos
Jingu Stadium to give his Yakult Swallows an early lead
over the Hanshin Tigers. He then added a solo shot in the
third for No. 57 to help the Swallows to a 9-0 win. Oh
set the mark of 55 in 1964. While it was equaled by ex-
major leaguers Tuffy Rhodes in 2001 and Alex Cabrera in
2002, many felt Oh used his position as a manager to
prevent both players from breaking it. "I want to thank
the fans for all their support," Balentien said. "It was
a great feeling. I dont think I will ever feel anything
like that again in my life." The 29-year-old Balentien
missed the first 12 games of this season because of a leg
injury sustained while playing for the Netherlands in the
World Baseball Classic. Balentiens challenge of Ohs
record comes in a season in which there is controversy
over attempts to reform the game to make it more
exciting. In June, Japanese baseball officials admitted
they introduced a new official ball this season without
notifying players. The new ball has resulted in a
dramatic increase in home runs. Rhodes and Cabrera tied
Ohs record with several games left in the season but were
then walked repeatedly by teams manageed by Oh, who later
denied instructing his pitchers to not challenge either
player.dddddddddddd Randy Bass hit 54 homers in 1985 but
fell short in the last game of the season when the
pitcher from the Yomiuri Giants, then managed by Oh,
walked him in his last at-bat, preventing Bass from tying
the record. Oh is a legend in Japan. His 868 career home
runs, which surpassed Hank Aarons then major league
record of 755, made him a national hero. "Oh is the home
run king and I have a lot of respect for him," Balentien
said. "To be able to tie him and then pass him is
something very special for me." The single-season home
run record is also highly regarded, and former New York
Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui wore No. 55 in
recognition of it. The closest Matsui came to breaking
Ohs record was 50 homers in 2002, when he played for the
Giants. The 73-year-old Oh is no longer actively involved
in Japanese baseball and serves as an honorary chairman
of the Softbank Hawks, the team he managed when Rhodes
and Cabrera were attempting to break his record. Oh has
often said he has no problem with his record being broken
as long as its done by a wide margin and not just one or
two homers. Balentien has 17 games left to add to his
tally. Balentien, a native of Curacao, played for the
Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds before signing with
the Swallows in 2011. He hit a Central League-leading 31
homers in each of his first two seasons in Japan.
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U47.org Forum :: The Wintergarten
Topic: d instructing his pitchers to not chal
