Having the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas in Sunday’s MLS Cup Final wasn’t the matchup that made league officials dreamy-eyed when other teams started adding high-priced international talent this season.
If the Los Angeles Galaxy had made it to the final, the game would have drawn interest overseas because of David Beckham and Landon Donovan. If the Rapids’ opponent had been the New York Red Bulls, that would have added international superstars Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez and Juan Pablo Angel to the mix.
All five of those players are “designated players” who do not count against a team’s salary cap, otherwise known as the “Beckham Rule.” Eight of the league’s 16 teams have elected to sign DPs.
Colorado and FCD aren’t among them. Nor is Real Salt Lake, which won the MLS Cup last year.
Soccer is the ultimate team game. Teams that spend money on DPs often wind up with weak supporting casts. Colorado and FCD have excellent team chemistry, and that’s a big reason they reached the final.
“We don’t want to have a system like the one that existed in the NASL (North American Soccer League, circa 1968-84) or other leagues where you can buy success,” commissioner Don Garber said. “You might be able to balance success with designated players, but you’re going to have to make sacrifices by not being able to spend as much money with the rest of your roster.
“That story allows somebody in Denver or in Dallas or perhaps Salt Lake to believe that they could win the Cup without having a designated player. Certainly New York and L.A. think they can win the Cup with designated players. That’s what sports are all about.”
The Galaxy lost 3-0 to FC Dallas in the Western Conference final. The Red Bulls lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to San Jose, which fell 1-0 to Colorado in the other conference final.
FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira probably will win the league’s MVP title today, and Colorado has what is widely considered the league’s best forward tandem of Conor Casey and Omar Cummings.
This MLS Cup Final may not make headlines in London or Munich or Madrid, but it matches two excellent teams that play entertaining soccer. Either one will be a worthy champion.
AROUND TOWN
Present look at Nuggets’ future?
If you want to stay closer to home, there is a solid back-to-back at the Pepsi Center with the Rangers in town tonight for the Avalanche, then the New Jersey Nets in for the Nuggets on Saturday. That Nets game will give fans an up-close look at one potential Nugget, rookie Derrick Favors. The 19-year-old power forward was the other key piece in the big Carmelo Anthony trade that never happened during the summer. But Favors is a player the Nuggets could really work with. At 6-feet-10, he could fill a void for the Nuggets with Melo gone.
Derrick Favors is a powerful young player and a possible Nuggets’ trade target.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Close race to finish line.
Bumper to bumper and down the home stretch.
If you want to get your NASCAR motor running, tune into the final race of this season’s Sprint Cup championship. It airs at 11 a.m. Sunday on ESPN. There is a lot on the starting line in this race:
• Will Denny Hamlin, who celebrated his 30th birthday Thursday, hold on to his razor-thin 15-point lead?
• Will Jimmie Johnson — seeking an unprecedented, almost unbelievable fifth consecutive title — pass Hamlin and capture the closest title race in Chase championship history?
• Will Kevin Harvick, the brazen, sharp-tongued driver known as “Happy,” find a way to win at Homestead- Miami Speedway?
GET OFF THE COUCH
Snowy slopes are calling.
Seriously, what more is it going to take to get you out of the house for a pre-Thanksgiving trip up to the hills? Interstate 70 resorts were blasted this week — any time a long stretch of the interstate closes, you know it’s going to be good snow the next day. The numbers right now are crazy. New terrain is opening daily, midmountain bases are two to three feet already, rooms are cheap and lift tickets are even cheaper. Plus, you can get out and track it up before all the vacationers invade for next week’s big holiday kickoff. Case in point, The Outback at Keystone is opening this morning. That’s 600 acres. And if you don’t want to venture too far, Eldora is opening today with some of its best opening-day conditions ever. And by the way, for those procrastinators out there, this is the final weekend to get any early-season prices on the various season passes and four-packs.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Boot battle a pride thing.
For starters, how about a big crowd and a good old-fashioned shootout in Laramie on Saturday afternoon? For Colorado State and Wyoming, it’s been a lousy season. The Rams are 3-8 and 2-5 in the Mountain West; the Cowboys are 2-9, 0-7. Both CSU and Wyoming have claimed the boot 21 times since its 1968 inception.
And here’s another request: How about some nice, dry weather for Sunday’s MLS Cup featuring the Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas? OK, OK, the game is in Toronto and the forecast calls for snow and freezing temperatures. They might even have to break out orange soccer balls.
