Posted by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com

Dan Borislow, who is the owner of WPS team magicJack, had filed a lawsuit in a Florida court seeking to prevent, in the suit’s words, “the League’s threatened immediate termination of the Team as a League member” after their abysmal showing last year. The suit was made public a by the league and claimed Borislow was “asking a Florida court to bar the League from exercising its right to terminate his franchise at the end of the season for breach of his contractual obligations.” Obviously, its completely untenable for any league to operate without the ability to control what teams can play in it, and compel owners to follow those rules.

The battle between the league and Borislow has been well publicized with the owner feuding with the league over everything from game day scheduling to pitch side billboard, which Borislow complained were a rip off. After being fined draft picks, naming rights, and everything else under the disciplinary sun the WPS finally had enough and voted to terminate his franchise, and his ownership. At the time the suit was filed, Mark Washo, managing partner of sports agency Playbook Management International, said he hoped the dispute could be resolved and quickly.

“There [is] enough general interest in Women’s Soccer for WPS to capitalize on, to slowly build and grow a sustainable professional league,” Washo wrote in an email. “However, the ‘battle’ must be fought externally to win over fans, media, ticket buyers and sponsors. Therefore, the more time and energy WPS spends with internal issues, only detracts from the external efforts needed to continue to capitalize on the momentum of Women’s World Cup. I hope all sides can come together to work through the challenges, so the owners can be united in building the league these gifted athletes deserve to play in.”

Unfortunately, it seems the potential legal cost of fighting Borislow’s suit has sunk the whole league. We always knew the WPS had a small budget, and has been struggling, but the true story here may not be the lawsuit itself bringing down the league, but its own lack of success. A successful league, even one in its infancy, should easily be able to fend off a lawsuit from a disgruntled owner, and its unbelievable that the WPS cannot come up with the money to fight back. It may be that overspending on marketing, under-performing sponsorship contracts, and a lack of TV ad dollars have finally taken their toll, and while Borislow undoubtedly bears some of the blame here, it seems he’s only hammered the final nail into the coffin.

There may be someway back from the brink for the league, and it remains to be seen how all this plays out, but it seems one way or another Dan Borislow will no longer be welcome as part of it.

Written by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com

- Credit for quotes: http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-opinion/6830670/women-professional-soccer-league-turmoil

Style

The color of these new cleats is the same as the first pair of synthetics that were released. As Adidas puts it, these cleats are high energy with electricity, which cold also be called red with some yellow accents to produce a very bright color scheme. The upper is made entirely of Goleo calf-leather. This leather is soft in order to provide a great touch and also provide more durability than the synthetic version. It also still features the sprint web to give you a better touch on the ball with its textured design. Not only is this shoe durable, it is also extremely light. Even though this version is leather, it still weighs only 6 ounces.

Feel

The synthetic version of the F50 Adizero is extremely comfortable but I feel that the leather version is even better. The leather helps to provide a glove-like fit, while still making you feel as though you are wearing a cleat that can hold up for an entire season. The beautiful thing about this cleat is that you are gaining added durability while essentially adding no weight. The leather version adds only 0.2 ounces, which is not much at all. Another great thing about these cleats is the ultra light insole. It gives the cleats great support while not adding much weight.

Overall

If you are a player that wants the fastest cleat on the market, look no farther than these Adizero’s. The weight is incredible. When they are on your feet you feel as though you are not even wearing a cleat. It also contours to your foot very nicely to give a comfortable, snug feel. In my opinion, the leather shoe feels more durable than the synthetic just because the leather is very durable and thicker. However, both are great options. On top of everything else, these are micoach capable, which is the new technology by Adidas to track everything about your play. These cleats are great and you should check them out today at SoccerPro.

Written By: Eric Stoyanov, Contributing Writer, soccerprose.com

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There are lots of other styles available too, and you can check them out here: 30%-50% Soccer Shoes at Soccerpro.com

Posted by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com

Legend…

Posted by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com

Video Credit: British Heart Association

Posted by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com

Oh so how sweet it is…

Posted by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com

Following that little run of play, the referee sent the keeper off for violent conduct. The Alkammar manager then led his team off the pitch in protest and the match had to be abandoned. Noe when you see the clip, it looks like the keeper was clearly in the wrong as he took self defense a bit too far. Of course, Esteban argued that he was purely acting in self-defense, but it didn’t wash with referee Bas Nijhuis:

“I understand that Esteban was defending himself, but he walked to him (the supporter) and kicked him multiple times. He could also have walked away.”

An apology has since been issued by Ajax via their website, confirming that the fan in question will be banned for life:

‘This was a terrible incident and we deeply regret it and offer our sincere apologies. The supporter has been handed over to the police. It was a 19-year old man who was probably under the influence of alcohol. He said he hated the AZ goalkeeper and had therefore attacked him.”

So when taking into account this wasn’t just a pitch invader, but a drunken hateful lout running at Esteban, was it really wrong for him to make sure once he was down he stayed there?

Posted by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com