If you were looking for entertainment, goals, plot twists and storylines, the Fire’s season opener had all of those boxes checked.What it didn’t have was even a point for the hosts against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday at Toyota Park.The first half showed a Fire team which very much looked like the “incomplete” roster that general manager Nelson Rodriguez referenced just before the season. KC led 2-0 and the Fire failed to get a shot on target, showing a lack of chance creation and any semblance of a dangerous attack.The second half showed a Fire attack which was capable of turning the heat up on the visitors, but also a defense which couldn’t defend. Sporting's 4-3 win revealed that there’s plenty of work to do for the Fire to resemble the team that finished third in the MLS regular season last year.“Especially in the first half we saw that we weren’t ready to compete with a team that had an advantage that they had one competition game before us,” coach Veljko Paunovic said. “That was the main difference in the first half, but the adjustment in the second half was tremendous. I think just showing that we can score three goals that quickly and create even more opportunities was a positive.”However, Paunovic wasn’t about to let his team off the hook by only speaking about positives.“What we learned today is that we have to get better on every side of the game and in every aspect of the game,” he said. “We are not there.
Iowa Wild and the American Hockey League announced today the team will host Manitoba Moose on Friday, October 5, 2018, as its home and season opener for the 2018-19 season. Puck drop will be at 7:00 p.m.
We didn’t have a good game. I think overall a lot of innocent and naive mistakes.”After trailing 2-0 at halftime, the Fire revved things up in the final 25 minutes and Bastian Schweinsteiger keyed the first goal with a slick assist to newcomer Aleksandar Katai. Nemanja Nikolic showed the scoring instincts and finishing ability that won him the league scoring title a year ago by scoring two more goals to give the Fire the lead in the 82nd minute.Then it all fell apart, with two KC goals within four minutes of Nikolic giving the Fire the lead. Dax McCarty, your thoughts?“You’re 10 minutes away from the headline and the storyline being Chicago Fire show great character, make a fantastic comeback, win the game 3-2 and yet here we are sitting here, somehow losing that game, which is insane,” McCarty said.
“It’s totally insane.”The defensive struggles, which Paunovic pointed out mirrored last year’s early playoff exit in a 4-0 loss, will need to get resolved internally. Johan Kappelhof, Brandon Vincent and Matt Polster all started on a competent defense last year and McCarty and Schweinsteiger helped play damage control in midfield. This isn’t what the weakness of the team was supposed to be yet after one game, it’s all anyone on the team could talk about.“We gave up four goals,” Kappelhof said. “That’s not good. Simple.”While more additions may be coming in-season, as Rodriguez has mentioned, and injuries haven’t allowed the Fire to start 2018 fresh, this game wasn’t a good sign for what’s to come for the 2018 Fire. A lack of any offensive creation in the first half and a lack of defensive concentration, as Paunovic put it, throughout the game showed a team that has plenty of pock-marks currently.“We don’t know how to defend, quite frankly,' McCarty said. 'From back to front, front to back, the defending aspect of our game was pretty poor.
A lot of things to learn.' The good news is even if the Fire take some time to correct the errors from Saturday’s season opener, MLS is a forgiving league. A majority of the league, 12 of 23 teams, makes the playoffs and league-wide parity means teams can go through slumps and still end in good standing. A year ago, the Fire lost six games out of seven and still had the third best record in the league. It’s OK if the team takes time to iron out some organizational issues defensively, just don’t take too long. American soccer is going on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The MLS announced on Thursday they are suspending the season for 30 days in response to the coronavirus.
Soccer later announced that they have suspended men's and women's national team games through April.Major League Soccer Suspends Season for 30 Days — Major League Soccer (@MLS)Due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, U.S. Soccer has canceled the upcoming & games in March & April, and the majority of and Extended National Team matches and camps that were planned through the end of April.— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer)The Chicago Fire kicked off their season on March 1 and were scheduled to make their home debut at Soldier Field on March 21.The NBA announced the indefinite suspension of its season Wednesday after a Utah Jazz player was diagnosed with the virus. The NHL has to cancel practices and meetings. Manchester City is coming off a season in which it dominated the English Premier League to the tune of a record 100-point season.City is kicking off the preseason of its title defense in Chicago.
City takes on Borussia Dortmund at Soldier Field on Friday night.The last time the reigning Premier League champions were in Chicago was when rivals Manchester United came to Soldier to take on the Chicago Fire in 2011.The Citizens won’t have the full arsenal of stacked stars for its U.S. Tour, which also includes stops in New York and Miami as part of the International Champions Cup. Many of the team’s best players are getting a break after playing in the World Cup. Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne, one of the stars of the tournament, is one of six Man City players to reach the semifinals.Paul Dickov, who played for City for nearly 10 years between 1996 and 2008, is on tour with the team and talked about City’s preparations.“The reason the clubs want to come to the States and play in International Champions Cup is the facilities are fantastic, the training facilities, the hotels, the treatment they get and just give them the best preparation going into what’s going to be a hard season,” Dickov said. “Nobody has won the Premier League back-to-back titles for nearly 10 years now so it’s going to be tough. Coming here and being able to prepare the way they can in the United States is going to put them on a long way to regain the title again.”City brought the Premier League trophy to Wrigley Field on Thursday for the Cubs-Cardinals game.
Dickov got to throw out the first pitch. The Scotsman threw a strike, much to his relief.“I was quite calm beforehand, but I must admit when I got out there and I had to walk out there both hands started getting a bit sweaty,” he said. “I managed to make it and I got a fantastic reception off the Chicago Cubs fans so thank you to everybody at Chicago Cubs for having me there. It was great. Something I’ll never forget.”Legendary striker threw a strike! — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs)Moonchestser and Moonbeam dropped by to see at the Chicago.Thanks for the baseball tips.
⚾ — Manchester City (@ManCity)Getting ready ⚾️ — Paul Dickov (@OfficialPDickov)Dickov compared Cubs fans to City fans in the way both teams struggled for a long time before finding success.“They stuck by us through thick and thin when things weren’t as great,” Dickov said of Man City fans. “I suppose it’s a little bit like the Chicago Cubs here in Chicago. The fans turn out, they get 30-40 thousand, great atmosphere, back their team.”While promoting the game, the Premier League trophy made multiple stops in Chicago, including with the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on an off day.How does spend an off day? Hosting a mascot cultural exchange with Moonchester and Moonbeam from! — Chicago White Sox (@whitesox)City also took the trophy and new signing Riyad Mahrez, who just joined Man City from 2016 champions Leicester City, to Haas Park in Logan Square.
Haas Park includes a soccer field donated by Manchester City and the American embassy of the United Arab Emirates in 2012.“The outcome of it has been great,” Dickov said. “Thousands of children and families benefiting, not just from the soccer part of it, but the education program as well. To be down there the other day for the full day and seeing the joy in the kids face seeing soccer here and the other activities that are on is great because, yeah, football is fantastic, soccer is fantastic and when you’re out there and you play you want to win, but it’s important, especially from Manchester City’s point of view, the city and the community. The stuff that they do off the field is second to none and it’s giving something back.” Tags:.
The Pirates had 17 hits in the season opener against the Tigers but the biggest one came in the 13th inning from Gregory Polanco with a three run home run to give the Pirates a 13-10 win.This game which lasted nearly 5 1/2 hours was the longest season opener in either of the teams history. The Tigers thought they had the game won after a close call at the plate that was eventually overturned and kept the Pirates in the game. Adam Frasier, Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell all had three hits in the game. The Pirates also had 8 pitchers involved in the game but Steven Brault was the one who shut down the Tigers in the bottom of the 13th inning to get his first win of the season for the Bucos.The Pirates and Tigers will play again today at 1:10 p.m.
Tune into WISR 680am for all the action starting with the pregame show at 12:45 p.m.