The site has gone through a pretty serious overhaul in the past 24 hours;  I had been toying with the idea of messing around with the CSS from the old site, largely because I was finding it hard to read the tiny, supercompressed font — and I was generally unhappy with the way it was handling pictures.  Spacing was another issue:  with this new spacious theme, I wonder if KirkBhoy’s much anticipated MMPs will become even more Simmons-esque.

The current site was designed by Jinsona, who offers a number of AJAX and PHP based WordPress themes for those of us who don’t have the time or the inclination to mess around with the special brand of nutsiness to be found in WordPress’s PHP files, plugins, and widgets.

I will be changing the color scheme and some of the graphics later this week;  I’m going to create a new banner for the top of the page, and try to morph most of this blue to red.  Can’t have it look too much like the Everton site.

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I’m sending the current Los-Toros site down to the Michael Johnson Performance Center for some extra training.  You may experience some issues as it goes through recovery.  I’ll post again when we’re ready to take back our spot in the starting XI.  Watch this space for some exciting new developments!

What a difference a year makes. Or does it?

One year ago, we were worried that Pablo wasn’t happy with his role on the team.  A missed flight to Monterrey made us wonder if Pablo had been dropped because he wanted a new contract.  We all thought it was crazy.  Ricchetti was our rock, wasn’t he?

Two months ago, Pablo demanded to be let out of his Hoops to become the holding mid at Los Angeles.  Schellas’s reaction?  He wasn’t upset, mind you.  He was just disappointed.   And we, we were worried. Since JT’s departure, several Hoops midfielders had been shown the door (or the bench) by the new regime, including  AA, Dax, Avi, Rocha…  Now Pablo?  The man with the steely resolve and the trickiest name to spell in all of MLS?

Never fear.  Today, both the inestimable Buzz and WCW both report that Pablo has indeed been named the Hoops’ captain for 2009.  Buena suerte, mi capitan.  Go where no Hoops captain has ever gone before!  (And we don’t mean Paraguay!)

New USL-1 side, the Austin Aztex are playing three MLS sides in February.  Care to guess who they are?

Time’s up.  It’s Houston (right down the road, okay), Columbus (reigning champs, okay, probably good for ticket sales), and FCD, uh, New England.  Huh?  With FCD scheduling top-flight teams like the University of Memphis for scrimmages, you’d wonder why they wouldn’t jump at the chance to pencil in the Aztex for a friendly battle for a plate, cup, boot, or artillery piece.

Sure, finding time to scrimmage can be tricky.  And FCD will be going to Florida in late February, and Brazil in early March.  But I can only wonder if Hitch et al. are put off by the iconography of playing a team named after the Aztecs:  didn’t the Mesoamericans play some sort of deadly ball game where the goal was to put the ball through a Hoop?  (Ew.) Why, yes, in fact, they did:

And if that wasn’t enough fun, the losers were, uh, relegated…

It is said that the ball represented the head (or often was the head) of a sacrificed victim. In Tenochtitlan, the ball court was at the foot of the bloodstained stairs of the temple, and the ball game itself would often be a scene of sacrifice. It is believed that the losing coach, or even the whole team, might be sacrificed.

So, here’s to you, you FC Dallas Scrimmage-Scheduling Person — it might be poor form to let the Dynamo get in on the ground floor with a new team, but your knowledge of ancient Mesoamerican customs ensured that our boys in red and white aren’t going to be sacrificed in the ball courts of Austin.

Just found this little tidbit:

So, the dishonor of having the worst MLS attendance for 2008 actually goes to FC Dallas. Despite having its own soccer specific stadium with a capacity of 20,500, Dallas only averaged 13,097 throughout the 2008 season.

So, what do you think would increase attendance at FC Dallas games?  More giveaways?  More presence in the community?  Credit card machines that work at halftime?  Cheaper beer?  Fewer summer afternoon games?  Consistency on the pitch?  A marquee DP?

How about all of the above?

So, Rocha is missing. 

FCD says it has something to do with the great work visa nexus that has engulfed much of the Southern Hemisphere.  (Sweet:  “work visa nexus” turns up 0 hits on The Google.  See?)

Our faithful correspondent KirkBhoy thinks it’s because ol’ Andre is um mau menino (a bad boy) who ismuito irresponsável (very irresponsible), and frankly, e deve ser punido (is needing of one of der Bus Coach’s patented come-to-Schellas moments).

Me, I thinking that Andre’s having a good ol’ time in São Paulo, drinking calpirinha, and trying to convince os pintos (the lovely ladies) to come back to his flat to see his etchings — that, or his Paraná State League Best XI award.

Heck, when’s Carnaval this year?  (Oh, right — it’s on now…)  What’s that, Andre, you say you can’t get a visa for another 2 weeks? Eu entendo!

In hono(u)r of our AWOL right back right wing, here’s what one Toro thinks is left on Rocha’s to-do list:

1.  Take back copy of “Getting Transferred to Romania for Dummies” (by Juan Toja) to the library.

2.  Get haircut at Marcelo Saragosa’s barber.

3.  Find more compromising photos of Schellas for Bruninho’s collection.

4.  Buy awesome CAP 3rd jersey for SteveToro.

5.  Make sure FCD has new cell phone number, email address, home phone, etc.

6.  Do own version of the beep test.

7.  Seven-Day Calpirinha Diet.

8.  Investigate options for becoming first MLS player to be transferred to the UFC.

9.  Visit Pescadito in Paraguay.

10.  Work Visa!  Work Visa!  Work Visa!