The Return of the Tampa Bay Rowdies

This was announced last week, June 19th: there is a new ownership group which has acquired the rights to the Rowdies name from the former owners, they will play in USL Division 1 in 2010, and plan to build a 7,000 seat SSS (soccer specific stadium) and create a youth academy between now and when they kick off in April, 2010.

Anyone interested in supporting the Rowdies should sign up here:

http://www.tbrowdies.com/

See my Twitter posts for other links, or do a Google search.

This is fantastic news for a lot of reasons. If you don't know why, you may have a gap in your knowledge about the history of North American soccer, and/or you didn't grow up in the Tampa Bay area in the late 1970's.

The Rowdies might be one of those very rare North American soccer clubs (along with the Cosmos and Galaxy) that is just as well known worldwide (at least amongst older fans) as it is here in the USA. Some anti-Glazer Manchester United fans have started to refer to their club as the MU Rowdies.

That's unfair to the Tampa Bay Rowdies since the Glazers never had anything to do with the Rowdies, old or new, and the Glazers are a big reason why there is no MLS club in Tampa Bay currently. But that's a story for another day.

Venture Brothers titles, cont.

Venture Brothers title adjustment:

http://mantiseye.com/?item=271

Names Are Changing(10:25pm EST)

posted by Mike

As may be the case, the AS Schedule seems to have changed the name of next week's episode, formerly Billy Quizboy and the Invisible Hand to Invisible Hand of Fate. It's also possible the episode was swapped for another but given the similarity of the titles I would imagine that Billy Quizboy and the Invisible Hand was a working title that was changed because it, perhaps, gives away something about the plot. I'm just making guesses here though. Either way you have been informed.

Venture Brothers episode titles

Upcoming episode titles:

http://mantiseye.com/?item=266

Third Episode(7:44pm EST)

posted by Mike

I know Shadowman 9 hasn't even aired yet, but the third episode of the season (after The Doctor is Sin) will be called 'Billy Quizboy and the Invisible Hand'. You may begin speculating on what will happen in that episode... now! Also don't forget the Shadowman 9 discussion thread right below here. Enjoy!

Edit (11:33pm): Thanks to Kuiosikle in the comments for mentioning this thread on PRoV which has some more episode names:

* My Dinner With Hatred - June 22, 2008
* Enter the Bad Seed - June 29, 2008
* Dr. Guymn, Medicine Woman - July 6, 2008

Sadly no source for these yet, but I'll totally add them when I find a source. The lack of pre-knowing all the episodes titles this season is kind of a bummer.

Update #2: (1:55am) - Nais over on the VB Wiki was nice enough to post his source, so I'm pretty confident these are accurate. Awesome sleuthing!

Venture Brothers reviews

Nice review of The Doctor is Sin episode here:

http://www.noisetosignal.org/tv/2008/06/the-venture-bros-the-doctor-is-sin.php

Also review of last week's episode:

http://www.noisetosignal.org/tv/2008/05/the-venture-bros-shadowman-9-in-the-cradle-of-destiny.php

The Doctor is Sin

Second episode of The Venture Brothers Season Three, "The Doctor is Sin" is up on Adult Swim Fix:

http://www.adultswim.com/adultswimfix/

...and will debut tonight, Sunday, 11:30pm on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network.

Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny

The Venture Brothers, Season Three, debuts Sunday night, 11:30pm, June 1st, on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network.

http://mantiseye.com/?item=256

Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny

...is the name of the season premiere. Just in case you were wondering.

Season Three teaser:

http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2008/04/23/venture-bros-exclusive-new-york-comic-con-season-3-teaser/

Manchester United

Congratulations to Manchester United on their win yesterday in the Champions League Final over Chelsea. A very entertaining match.

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2008/05/22/manchester-united-edges-chelsea-for-european-title/?mod=WSJBlog

Seattle Sounders FC

It's official! The new MLS club in Seattle will be named Seattle Sounders FC. Congratulations for Sounders fans on their write-in campaign to save the Sounders name.

http://www.soundersfc.com/

More on Tampa USL rumor

Still just rumors and idle talk, but worth keeping an eye on:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676224&page=2&highlight=tampa

Default Re: USL-1 in Tampa posted Yesterday, 06:09 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by SoccerPrime View Post
No offense Whitestar, but I've been in communication with Farrukh for about 3 years now and he has pretty much said the same thing to me over and over again.

Any word from USL yet if there will actually be a team in Tampa and when?

Also I think the question is not if but WHEN?

Is USL or any potential owners, actively pursuing an expansion franchise in the near future, particularly in Division 1?

Tim Holt ( Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer:

A short list of markets from which we believe a USL-1 franchise could be successful with the proper ownership and venue include, but are not limited to (in no specific order): Omaha (NE), Tulsa (OK), San Antonio (TX), Tampa (FL), Phoenix (AZ), Boise (ID), Oklahoma City (OK), Albuquerque (NM), Memphis (TN), and Birmingham (AL) We are currently in advanced discussions with interested parties in several of these markets.

USL club in Tampa?

Here's a rumor from BigSoccer:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=14296361#post14296361

USL-1 in Tampa posted 31 Mar 2008, 09:03 PM

BREAKING NEWS:

I just received this email from Farrukh Quarishi, a former Rowdies player and Mutiny executive:

Erick:

It makes a lot of sense. There will be an announcement soon about a
new USL D1 team for Tampa. Plans are to build a stadium in Tpa.

We need more fans like you to succeed. Thanks for writing.

FQ
Sent from my iPhone

Is this rumor worth anything at all? I guess we won't know unless someone makes an announcement. Posted the day before April Fool's Day, I don't want to get my hopes up. MLS treated Tampa Bay fans very badly when they pulled out of the area (in spite of the fact that Mutiny attendance figures were nowhere near close to the worst in MLS; however they lacked an owner or a friend in the MLS front office). But forget the Mutiny; Tampa Bay needs her Rowdies back!

http://www.tampabayrowdies.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rowdies

http://www.andelman.com/ARTICLES/tbrowdies.html

http://www.sportslogos.net/team.php?id=1416

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1l6tzVOYc8