Remember Rochester?

I wish someone would do a documentary on the rise & fall of the Rochester Rhinos. 7 or 8 years ago they were the darlings of the U.S. second division with a U.S. Open Cup title to their name, outdrawing a few MLS teams at the gate and getting a SSS at a time when few big-league clubs had one. It seemed like only a matter of time before they got the call to join the promised land of America's first division.

And then the dream got blowedthehellup. Ownership issues, a decline in attendance, the USL-NASL debacle and so much more leave the club in a place where joining MLS now sounds damn-near like crazytalk.

It's not the film that I want but this piece outlines the saga --including quotes from The Don and details of secret meetings with Uncle Lamar about moving the then-Wizards to town-- as well as I've seen. Great Sunday reading.

23 Minutes with Pele

The Cosmos train rolls on with O Rei sneaking onto CNN just before the Bin Laden news broke. The revelation of this lengthy piece? Dude claims Pfizer told him Viagra, which he endorsed, was a heart medication not sex pills. Should I believe this? Hell no; the guy is 70 and his 2 kids that haven't even graduated high school yet.

Pele is doing it y'all.

Miami Just Making Up MLS Stadium Ideas Now

Although I'm personally not on board with the idea of a MLS redux in Miami, I have to give credit to those South Floridians who are trying to keep the flame of hope alive because those guys will not give it up. But judging by the one of the latest ideas to surface they have reached the creatively-desperate stage of their quest because someone down there is talking about turning the disused aquatic stadium pictured above into this.

Check out the Football in Miami & Beyond blog for more details on this interesting, yet flawed idea (the flaw is not the notion of a floating stadium, the flaw is the notion that a city in Florida will turn out for a sport that is not college football). Hate on me if you want but I'm just not convinced that the Sunshine State is a good market for any sport that is not Florida St. or U. of Florida football.