Editor’s note: This is the Tuesday, Nov. 1 edition of the “Game Day with Kevin Modesti” newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.
Good morning. LAFC plays the Philadelphia Union in the MLS Cup final at Banc of California Stadium on Saturday for the right to say, “We’re No. 1!” But should that really be “We’re No. 112!”? Let’s try to answer that after a glance at the headlines.
The Clippers, without Kahwi Leonard for a while, leaned on Paul George to beat the Rockets last night.
Lakers writer Kyle Goon looks at three looming questions for the team, including the possibility of roster additions, no longer including Kyrie Irving.
Young Ducks defenseman Jamie Drysdale will miss four to six months after shoulder surgery.
The Kings opened their trip with a win at St. Louis.
Elliott Teaford writes that Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson’s knee injury has players talking about artificial turf dangers again.
Rams coach Sean McVay addressed players’ loss of composure in Sunday’s loss to the 49ers, saying, “That can’t happen, but clearly we got outplayed in the second half.”
And Flightline, 3-5 in the Classic, is the heaviest favorite on the morning lines announced yesterday for the 14 Breeders’ Cup races Friday and Saturday in Lexington, Ky.
Major League Soccer is one of the few U.S. sports competitions whose winners don’t brand themselves “world champions.”
In the most global of games, nobody would claim the Los Angeles Football Club is a match for the top teams in Europe, no matter how good it looked in winning the Supporters’ Shield with MLS’s best record and beating Austin FC 3-0 in the Western Conference final on Sunday.
As a soccer fan who watches European clubs and roots for the United States’ top division to get better, I’ve always kept an eye on where in the world our best rank.
Several websites present rankings of hundreds of men’s professional clubs – this is no mere AP Top 25 – and their assessments of LAFC, well, vary.
A site called FootballDatabase com, apparently based in Paris, uses match results to calculate that LAFC is No. 366 in the world, right between teams from the United Arab Emirates and Argentina. The Warsaw- and Vancouver-based site Kickalgor.com uses algorithmic assessments of leagues, continents and clubs to rate LAFC 190th in the world, one below the English side Burnley. FiveThirtyEight.com, Nate Silver’s site for politics and sports analysis, starts with league standings and player payroll figures, makes constant updates for wins and losses, and puts LAFC 117th (one spot below Philadelphia). And a site called GlobalFooballRankings.com applies some tweaks to FiveThirtyEight’s methods and places LAFC 112th (again, one spot below Philly).
Anyone have a styrofoam hand with 112 fingers?
It’s no surprise that computer rankings are all over the board, given how hard it might be to assess U.S. teams that rarely if ever are tested in serious games against top internationalclubs.
While none of those rankings offers much hope that LAFC could compete with Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the European powers rated No. 1 by the various sites, the rankings do suggest a top MLS team could at least hold its own in England’s League Championship (that country’s second division, below the Premier League).
The last time I wrote about this – in 2011 after the Galaxy beat Houston for the MLS Cup on a goal by Landon Donovan set up by passes from David Beckham and Robbie Keane – one website ranked the Galaxy 182nd on the planet.
If the change suggests top MLS teams are moving up in the world, one veteran soccer writer says it makes sense.
“I think MLS is a little bit underrated,” Scott French, the former Daily News assistant sports editor and Soccer America senior editor who has covered soccer in the L.A. area since 1979 and followed MLS since its debut in 1996.
French says one reason MLS has improved is an influx of young South American players who see the league as a stepping stone to careers in Europe. LAFC fans certainly see the benefit. Four members of the regular starting 11 are South Americans in their 20s. Forward Cristian Arango, who came from Colombia in 2021, scored the first goal against Austin.
French could go on – and he does if you ask – about the factors that are lifting up top U.S. teams like LAFC and other factors that put a ceiling on their rise.
Depending on how you choose to rate teams from different continents, French says, “you could come up with six different (rankings).”
The bottom line for a top team and its fans is this: In the long run, we should want our city’s and country’s clubs to get better and be recognized for it. In the short run, we can only worry about the competitions and conditions they’re playing in.
As French said, “If they win, LAFC can say, ‘We’re No. 1!’ “
TODAY
Ducks begin a three-game, five-day West Coast trip against the Sharks in San Jose (7:30 p.m., ESPN). The two teams have one regulation-time win between them.
READERS REACT
Yesterday’s newsletter asked: If you’re a Rams fan, what’s your reaction to seeing 49ers fans pack SoFi Stadium for recent games in the rivalry?
Dan Baren answered: “It angers me as much as the loss. Row in front of me was group of Dodger-Laker-Niner fans from the Valley. Ridiculous.”
Twitter user DodgerFanMatt answered: “After 20 years of the NFL using LA to get new stadiums, and a whole generation without a team to root for, what do we expect? It’s going to take another 20 to reverse it.”
Jeff Poltorak added: “This is what happens when you remove a team from the market for 20 years. People move on. This is on @NFL.”
C Dizzle said it has become “normal” for opposing teams’ fans to take over: “I can’t remember SoFi actually being a true home field advantage.”
But Gonzalo said it’s “not a big deal”: “The Cowboys also took over. If STHs (season ticket holders) can make back most of the season by selling one game, so be it. The Rams are still a small brand. They aren’t the Packers, Cowboys, Eagles, Steelers or Raiders, and the stadium is an attraction for opposing fans.”
And Paul Dowdle had this take: “All I can say is, no one is buying tickets to go see their home team play on the road in places like Buffalo or Kansas City or Carolina. They hate us because they love the weather and the multitude of entertainment venues they can spend their vacation money on. Go Rams!”
NEXT QUESTION
If you’re a soccer fan, do you prefer watching U.S. teams like LAFC and the Galaxy or top teams in other countries? Respond by email KModesti@scng.com or on Twitter (@KevinModesti).
280 CHARACTERS
If the @CIFSS keeps same playoff system, one tweak is has to make is showing a clear path of what it takes to earn a first-round home game. You can’t go 10-0 again and not have your teams and fans rewarded. Wasn’t fair to Yorba Linda last year or Charter Oak this year. https://t.co/wBdH0mZOSa
— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) October 31, 2022
– Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) after football playoff pairings were announced.
1,000 WORDS
Eyes on the ball: Clippers forward Paul George shoots from the right corner and makes the game-winner in a 95-93 victory over the Houston Rockets last night at Crypto.com Arena. Photo is by AP’s Ashley Landis.
TALK TO ME
Thanks for reading the newsletter. Send suggestions, comments and questions by email at KModesti@scng.com and via Twitter @KevinModesti.
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