Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com By FRANCO PANIZO U.S. U-20 men's national team winger Josh Gatt won't soon forget what he just did. Gatt scored his first league goal for Molde FK as he hit the winner in a 2-1 victory over Valerenga. Gatt collected a pass on the right flank and took advantage of the space in front of him, dribbling to the penalty area, nutmegging a defender and hitting a shot that went through another defender's legs before finding the back of the net. Brad Rusin also netted on a weekend that saw five Americans Abroad score. Rusin, a...

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Future of the Islanders hangs in the balance of Aug. 1 vote

This is what the new Nassau Coliseum could look like if voters in Nassau County vote "yes" on Monday to a proposed referendum that would see a $350-million redevelopment for a new arena and $50-million for a minor league baseball stadium at nearby Mitchel Field.

From the rendering, you can't see inside the arena, but I would imagine there's plenty of elbow room on the concourses, no leaky roof or broken down chairs that have seen the days of Trottier, Nystrom, Gillies, Smith, and Potvin.

August 1 represents the end of the rope that New York Islanders owner Charles Wang has been clinging to trying to get a new arena built. Wang says he's lost $230 million in the 11 years he's owned the Islanders and with the continued losses has tried numerous times to find a way to build a new home.

A majority "no" vote on Monday would mean Wang either looking elsewhere -- Queens, Brooklyn or outside of New York -- or the potential that he's done losing money and putting the team up for sale.

The most recent idea, the Lighthouse Project, was a grandiose plan that featured condominiums, restaurants, shopping, and hotels was approved -- after a scaling down --through all the levels of Nassau County politics, but stalled over a zoning issue with the Town of Hempstead.

In May, Wang and Nassau County executive Ed Mangano unveiled the latest plan emphasizing job creation revenue creation for the budget-strapped county who's recent unemployment rate was 6.9-percent.

There's been plenty of debate from both sides. The side that's anti-taxpayers paying for stadiums and the side that sees what the true loss of the Islanders would mean to the community.

The New York Post's Larry Brooks isn't a fan of taxpayers paying for stadiums for billionaires and believes that a "no" vote tomorrow doesn't necessarily kill the idea of the Islanders staying in New York:

Wang was willing to spend an enormous amount of his own money not only to build Lighthouse, but to campaign for it. He is not, however, willing to spend $350 million of his own money to build a new arena.

He doesn't explain why. He just wants the county to build it for him.

If you think that paying for a new coliseum yourself is the only way to keep the Islanders here, and if you believe that's a worthy investment, then by all means cast your vote that way in the referendum.

Just as long as you're aware that there almost certainly are going to be other options to keep the Islanders where they belong, in New York, if the referendum goes down, even if not necessarily in Nassau County.

George Vecsey of the New York Times wonders in these tough economic times if an arena project is worth it when there are cuts in so many other places:

The Islanders molder, like a suburban house whose owners cannot afford the upkeep. Wang tried to link the residual affection for a vanished team with a grandiose $3.8 billion Lighthouse project for an arena and urban center with housing and transportation. Now he just wants Nassau to pass a bond to build a new arena, and he promises to pay the cost over-runs. Wise heads are telling him to post a performance bond.

Normally, I am on the side of public projects. I'm all for high-speed railroads and repairing the infrastructure, but not so sure about an arena for a hockey team.

This proposal reminds me of how New York City lobbied to host the 2012 Summer Olympics based on building an all-purpose stadium on the West Side of Manhattan. The Olympic powers rejected it, rightfully so. All the evidence tells me that big-box arenas and stadiums are often a mom-and-pop proposition for jobs and create dead spaces, just like Nassau Coliseum.

According to the plan Mangano and Wang presented in May, the $400-million being asked from taxpayers will be paid back trough revenue-sharing over a 30-year lease. According to an independent economic developer, $1.2-billion will be generated in gross revenue over the term. There will be $350-million of that going towards construction costs and $433-million to paying off debt, which leaves $403-million going back to taxpayers. Approximately, 1.5-percent of every dollar generated will go back to residents of Nassau County.

Nick Giglia of Let There Be Lighthouse weighs everything in the balance and most importantly, just what the cost would be:

This referendum must not be considered against a now-dead development proposal; it must be weighed against the cost of doing nothing.

Independent reviews have cut through the scare tactics and presented us with a stark choice. For example, the Office of Legislative and Budget Review pegs the cost of a new arena at a maximum of $13.80 per household per year.

The cost of doing nothing and losing the Islanders and Nassau Coliseum? $16 per household per year, with $243 million and 2,660 jobs projected to disappear from the Nassau County economy should the team move and the arena be shuttered. When presented with that choice, how can you choose nothing over something?

The Islanders and the county caught a break being able to schedule the vote on a Monday in the middle of summer with voters in vacation mode and an expectant turnout not as close to what it would be had it been planned for Election Day in November.

So it's up to Nassau County voters on Monday to decide if they're better off with a revenue-generating arena for the next 30 years or let Nassau Coliseum's main tenant leave, thereby losing millions in potential tax revenues and more importantly, jobs.

Photo credit: New York Islanders

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NFL Free Agency 2011: Hustlers vs. Hustled After Frenzied Signing Period

By and large, the action is over.

Only a few names remain on the market, and Terrel Owens, Randy Moss, Braylon Edwards and Ronnie Brown are all more light than heat—merely the shells of their once All-Pro-caliber.

So now's the time to react and rank: Who made, and missed, out?

More than seeing names whiz around the Twitterosphere, we've seen impressive plays from front offices: landing big-time free agents from nowhere; scoring household names without strings like long-term guaranteed money attached; plugging thumbs in positional holes with ease and savvy, two qualities that feed each other's wow-factors.

And then there were the, like, two-and-a-half moves made outside Philadelphia.

Though they give us considerably less to talk about, we'll touch 'em all in a game we like to call:

Hustle vs. Hustled.

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2011 MLB Trade Grades: Evaluating the Top Teams of the Deadline

The MLB Trade Deadline is usually one of the more exciting times of the sports year, and this season's was no different.

Several talented, high-profile players, like Hunter Pence and Carlos Beltran, were dealt, with some teams being overwhelming sellers and other teams buying their way into contention for the World Series.

The winners and losers of the deadline are hard to make out, although some are fairly obvious.

The Houston Astros were definite sellers, trading two of their top players for promising future prospects, while the Philadelphia Phillies benefited from that and scooped up Hunter Pence at the first chance.

The MLB Trade Deadline is where good teams separate themselves from the pack and decent teams become contenders.

This year, we saw a little bit of everything.

Here are the report cards for the most active teams at the trade deadline.

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Emery?s Blackhawks camp invite a win-win situation for both sides

Out with the old and in with the reborn?

That's what could happen in Chicago as Scott Burnside of ESPN.com reported Wednesday night that goaltender Ray Emery would attend Blackhawks training camp in September on a tryout basis.

Gone is Marty Turco who didn't find much luck in Chicago allowing for rookie Corey Crawford to play his way to the No. 1 job.

For Emery, this is his opportunity to continue to make good on a second chance in his goaltending life. Diagnosed with avascular necrosis in 2010 -- where blood stops flowing to the ball of the hip, thereby deteriorating the bone -- doctors told Emery that his hockey career was over. But that didn't stop Emery from working with a trainer to strengthen the surgically-repaired muscles in his core.

The same injury derailed Bo Jackson's NFL career in the early 1990s, but thanks to advancements in medical technology Emery held hope that he could make it all the back to the NHL.

In 10 games with the Anaheim Ducks last season, Emery posted an impressive 7-2-0 record with a 2.28 goals-against average and .926 save-percentage. He wasn't so lucky in the postseason when the Ducks were eliminated by the Nashville Predators, but it was just one small step in his comeback.

Emery's agent, J.P. Barry, told Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune that the Blackhawks could end up with the best second goal in the NHL. He'll have to beat out Alexander Salak for the No. 2 job who Chicago inked to a 2-year, one-way deal in May. If he does, Emery would provide a solid veteran presence should Crawford be hit with the sophomore jinx that's befallen many netminders before him.

Once the Blackhawks open camp, they'll have until Oct. 1 to make a decision whether or not to sign Emery. Barry indicated that Emery is looking for an NHL job and not a two-way deal from any team. Either way, the 29-year old Emery will not just have the Blackhawks looking at him; plenty of other NHL teams will be monitoring his progress in camp and will swoop in if he does end up getting released.

Much has been made about Chicago getting tougher over the off-season and bringing in a guy like Emery would only further that idea, just ask Marty Biron.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Brandon Marshall and Today's Top Sports News

With another wild week in sports on the horizon, the fans at home and across the world are ready for what should be a great period on the sports calendar.

News has been breaking that Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant may be taking his talents to Turkey, but there might be a change in that plan.

While big stars like New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams will be playing in Europe, Bryant may have a desire to play in a bigger market.

China is the largest market besides the United States, and if Bryant wants to grow his product, the biggest potential is in the country with the largest population.

In other sports news, the swimming world got Michael Phelpsed again, with Phelps and the US men dominating again on the national level.

While all this was going on, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who has found himself in trouble several times over his career, has been diagnosed with a mental condition.

I know you can’t wait for more details on all of these topics, but keep it here and there will be updates throughout August.

Check back for all of your sports needs, and get ready for some football.

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MLS Talk Podcast : This Week in US Soccer, July 27

On the latest edition edition of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast : This Week in US Soccer ... your hosts Chris Webb and Chris Riordan take you on a tour across North America as their is much to discuss.� The MLS All Star Game essentially serves as the midway point of the long MLS [...]


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