Orlando Castillo

Fulamerica's Survival and MLS Goals of the Week (7)

Tue, 13 May 2008 21:33:43 -0400

Stoke City promoted, Reading relegated, Fulham FC survives

Sun, 11 May 2008 21:54:36 -0400

Otherwise known as the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm very excited about Stoke moving up to the EPL which will be a much needed boost for the Austin Aztex. I'm surprised at Reading's collapse when only a year ago they nearly qualified for the UEFA cup. Going down with Reading are Americans Bobby Convey, who hasn't seen much playing time due to injury, and Marcus Hannemann. Does this mean Hannemann will now come play for his hometown Seattle Sounders FC? I hope so. Fulham barely survived for the second year in a row which kept Dempsey, McBride and the rest of Fulhamerica still ticking in the EPL. But Fulham really needs to put more money into their roster so that they can better compete with the rest of the EPL. One other piece of good news is that Everton and star American keeper Tim Howard did qualify for the UEFA cup.

As soon as I find some youtube highlights, I'll be sure to post them here. Same for week 7 MLS highlights. Have a good week.

Stoke City FC on the verge of automatic promotion

Fri, 02 May 2008 08:56:23 -0400

Stoke City FC (Potters), who have an official affiliation with the Austin Aztex, are on the verge of promotion to the English Premier League. For the Austin Aztex to be affiliated with a team from the EPL will only help with Aztex player and coaching development. Austin has not had much success in professional soccer in the past, but with this kind of partnership the Aztex should be around Austin for a long time to come.

Here is a complete overview (BBC) of what is at stake for all the teams in the Championship, including Stoke City FC, as the league heads into its last weekend.

For more about the Potters, click here.

New York Red Bull vs. Toronto FC

Thu, 01 May 2008 09:35:31 -0400

New York visits Toronto FC tonight on ESPN360 and ESPN2 at 7:00 PM ET. Lot of good that will do me me since my ISP blocks ESPN360 and I don't have cable.

I see Toronto continuing their hot streak and taking this one 3-1 -- yes, even with Altidore and JPA in the Red Bull lineup. Red Bull players will probably be in shock when they see a packed stadium in Toronto. They're so used to seeing an empty Giants stadium and hearing the distinct clapping of their 5 fans in the stands that by the time they get going it'll be too late. NYRB fans = worst fans in MLS.

Below are some highlights from last year's match.

MLS Week 5 Goal of the Week Candidates

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:06:16 -0400

Here are the Candidates. Gallardo gets my vote.

MLS Week 4 Highlights

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:14:08 -0400

Here are the scores from the last weekend's MLS action, if you haven't already seen them, and how they compared to my predictions:

CLB 2, DC 1
My prediction: United 3-1 Crew

TOR 1, RSL 0
My prediction: Salt Lake 0-2 TFC

NY 1-1 NE
My prediction: Revs 0-0 Red Bulls

SJ 2, COL 0
My prediction: Earthquakes 1-3 Rapids

LA 2-2 Houston
My prediction: Dynamo 3-2 Galaxy

KC 1, CHI 0
My prediction: Wizards 2-3 Fire

DAL 2, CHV 0
My prediction: Dallas 2-1 Chivas USA

My Week 4 record: 3-4

Here are the Week 4 highlights. Enjoy.

MLS Week 4 Schedule

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:38:56 -0400

Here is this week's schedule for MLS. Just for the fun of it, I've included my predictions. If you like to gamble, you'd probably be wise not to go by my predictions. Let me know your thoughts on this week's games.

Thursday, April 17

Columbus Crew at D.C. United

8:00 p.m.

ESPN2, Deportes

Orlando: DC will get back on track. United 3-1 Crew

Saturday, April 19

Real Salt Lake at Toronto FC

12:30 p.m.

DK, MLSLIVE.tv

Orlando: TFC fans will be great and so will Guevara. Real "who picked this name" Salt Lake 0-2 TFC

New England Revolution at New York Red Bulls

7:30 p.m.

HDNet

Orlando: Both teams lacking offense. Will the fans even show up to watch? Revs 0-0 Red Bulls

San Jose Earthquakes at Colorado Rapids

9:30 p.m.

FSC, FSE

Orlando: Rapids continue to roll. Earthquakes 1-3 Rapids

Houston Dynamo at Los Angeles Galaxy

10:30 p.m.

DK, MLSLIVE.tv

Orlando: Galaxy respectable but still get beat ... again. Dynamo 3-2 Galaxy

Sunday, April 20

Kansas City Wizards at Chicago Fire

3:00 p.m.

TeleFutura

Orlando: Fire too good at home. Wizards 2-3 Fire

FC Dallas at Chivas USA

8:00 p.m.

DK, MLSLIVE.tv

Orlando: Chivas has too many injuries. Dallas 2-1 Chivas USA

MLS Week 3 Highlights

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:58:37 -0400

Donovan and the Galaxy should have been up 3 goals before Toronto struck. How do you miss 3 easy goals and play with a 300 year old defense and expect to win? I'm not even a Galaxy fan but watching them gives me heart burn. Gullet, give up on those old guys in the back line and start using some youth.

And if Guzan starts letting in more goals in the manner that he did Saturday, he can forget about playing in the EPL. Hope Aston Villa wasn't watching.

Here are the highlights from Week 3 including the Galaxy and Chivas USA.

Austin Aztex (USL-1) - Coming 2009

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:30:40 -0400

I finally have a local pro team to cheer for starting in 2009. Go Austin Aztex! It's not MLS, but I'm still pretty happy that we're at least getting a USL-1 team which is the equivelant of AAA baseball. Hopefully this will go a lot better than the last pro team that tried to start up here in Austin. I can't remember the name of the team or even what level they were to play at because they went defunct before they ever really got started.

I've been keeping up with MLS a lot more the last 5 years. In that time the quality of soccer on the field has really taken off. Its still not on a consistent level with the EPL and other top leagues but I believe the top MLS teams could ~~easily~~ compete with mid to lower table EPL teams - and that's with a very small $2.2 million salary cap. MLS seriously needs to think about at least doubling that figure. It would make it easier for MLS teams to add depth.

Even though I've been keeping up with MLS for some time now, I still don't feel like I have a team to cheer on. Yes, there is the Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas just 3 hours away. But, I'm a 49ers football fan - can I really cheer on any team from Dallas? And Houston... well, its Houston. I have not visited Houston much and I don't have much of a connection with that city. However, the Dynamo are back-to-back champs. I was hoping for a MLS team in San Antonio and for a short time a couple of years ago it looked like they were heading towards getting a team, but that never really got the support from the community and the San Antonio City Council.

Well, at least I have my Austin Aztex to cheer on. Hopefully you other Austinites will get out there and cheer them on as well. Its good quality soccer at the USL-1 level and it will be a good, fun outing for the family. Visit the Aztex online to find out more.

As for MLS, if any other MLS fans are out there reading this, perhaps you can give me a reason to pick your favorite team as my favorite team to cheer for?

MLS - This weekend's games and highlights from Week 2

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:26:39 -0400

Here's the schedule for this weekend's slate of MLS games. Its going to be a busy Saturday and will end with Amado Guevara's Toronto FC visiting Beckham's LA Galaxy.

Saturday

Chicago Fire at San Jose Earthquakes
4:30 p.m.
FSC, FSE

Chivas USA at Columbus Crew
7:30 p.m.
DK, MLSLIVE.tv

Colorado Rapids at New England Revolution
7:30 p.m.
DK, MLSLIVE.tv

Houston Dynamo at Kansas City Wizards
8:00 p.m.
HDNet

New York Red Bulls at FC Dallas
8:30 p.m.
DK, MLSLIVE.tv

D.C. United at Real Salt Lake at
9:00 p.m.
DK, MLSLIVE.tv

Sunday
Toronto FC at Los Angeles Galaxy
TeleFutura

Highlights from Week 2. Enjoy!