I was lucky enough to get Taylor Twellman on the phone this morning for a special edition of the American Soccer Show. Taylor talks about his retirement, his plans now that his playing career is over, MLS, college soccer, club re-branding, and much more.


Listening options after the jump.

Taylor Twellman has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow.  It doesn't require much imagination to guess what he might announce.  In fact, Steve Goff is reporting that he has confirmed what has seemed inevitable for much of the last year; Twellman will retire, his brilliant career unfairly cut short by head injuries.

By force of an interesting coincidence, two MLS players of note unfortunately connected because they are each out of action due to brain-related injuries have updates posted to major newspaper websites.  Though concussions are rarer in soccer than in American football, the cases of these two players and their ability to bring attention to the seriousness of the issue is an important part of the continuing growth in awareness of brain injuries in sports.

I'm on Twitter if you somehow didn't know, constantly engaged in a rolling conversation on soccer (and other topics). During games, beyond the simple relating of events as they transpire or obvious opinions ("So-and-so should have done better there"), debates erupt spontaneously. This is the wonder of Twitter.


Landon Donovan's 100th MLS goal is a perfect example of how Twitter can spawn conversation; Donovan scored his century tally on a penalty last night in LA's loss to Chicago, a circumstance that led to some pretty strong pronouncements that doing so was unsporting. Per some Twitter friends, Donovan should have demurred, let a teammate take the kick, and waited to get his 100th on something from the run of play (though I wonder if the same thing would have been said if he scored from a free kick).


Because that's how Taylor Twellman did it, and Donovan sucks for taking the PK.


That may be just a bit unfair to my Revs fan friends who spurred the discussion with their "Taylor did it better" Tweets, but their sentiment wasn't too far from it. I have no problem with giving Donovan stick for getting his 100th the easy way, and Twellman is the only player to have scored 100 faster than Donovan; there's an element of homer-ism there, but it doesn't make the question any less interesting to me.


Should Donovan have let someone else take the penalty?


It honestly didn't occur to me until the Twitter proclamation was made; I simply took it for what it was, and Donovan is known for being the Galaxy's penalty-taker, so there was no immediate reaction on my part. After a bit of thought, I'm still not sure I care to color it unsporting. It's hard enough to score 100 goals, and many of Donovan's came through penalties; should those somehow count less because they didn't come from the run of play?


If you're a Revs fan, or don't value penalties, you likely view Donovan's feat less impressive than Twellman's. That's fair I suppose. I don't know how many penalties make up Twellman's 101 (I'm guessing not many), so perhaps that should be considered. Both worked hard, both are great players, so I'm not interested in rating one accomplishment over the other. You don't get to 100 goals by skating.


I'm guessing it never occurred to Donovan not to take the penalty, 100th goal or not. With a bit of spin, it could be that he just wanted to get it out of the way so that it didn't become any type of distraction to him or his team. Most likely he just stepped up because that's what he does; he takes penalties for the Galaxy, he's a confident player who knows he can get the job done, and he's a leader on a team that was reeling at the time. With the way the Galaxy have played, it's hard to blame him for taking control of the situation.


In perfect world, not down three goals at home and with zero pressure, it might be nice for a player to demur. Unfortunately, I don't know the circumstances of Twellman passing on the penalty that could have been his century. I do know that Twellman was hardly the Revs designated spot kick-taker at the time.


We have a tendency to foist our sporting morality on players without considering all of the factors involved, or sweeping the practical concerns aside. Usually, it's just about results and being a stand up guy is secondary or of no concern. Scoring the way he did doesn't make Donovan a bad guy, but it obviously gives a few people reason to criticize.


I'm very curious to see how many of you might agree with the Twellman-backers I interacted with last night.


So I put the question to you: Should Donovan have passed on the penalty? Vote below.

poll by twiigs.com

Get yourself over to the American Soccer Show website now for an exclusive interview with New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman. Zach and I talked to Taylor about everything from The Bachelor to the CBA (with a bit more about the CBA). Taylor even hinted about a possible time frame for a labor resolution.

The American Soccer Show Interview with Taylor Twellman

Philadelphia will be the center of the American (and Torontonian) soccer universe tomorrow when its annual draft of amateur players into the league takes place there. In fact, Philly just might be the center of the American soccer universe today, as it certainly seems like something important is happening with the ongoing CBA negotiations.


It takes no unique insight to guess that Philadelphia would be natural place for the Players and Owners to meet; everyone is there anyway, and the CBA expires in a few weeks, so every opportunity should be taken.





But if the sides are meeting this week (possibly today, ahead of the draft), what might result? Is there any reasonable possibility of an agreement today?





If the noise coming from certain players points markedly in the direction of a stand by the Players. Ginge has a reaction to some of the remarks made by Taylor Twellman today, and Twellman's teammate Darius Barnes is tweeting various statements (admittedly without context) that seem to indicate the serious intent of the Union.





The League remains quiet. Garber and Abbott are still only doing the minimum, calling talk of a strike or lockout "premature". The Players appear ready for a lockout, as Twellman told his followers today, and we've seen nothing that says they'll cave. Whether the League is ready to make any concessions isn't clear due to the silence from that camp, there's no reason to believe they are.


So where does that leave us? Just about where we were, but don't be surprised if you see more from the Players in the next few days pending the results of these (probable) meetings.


The only saving grace today? Twellman says, "Don't Panic".

New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman came off the bench on Sunday to score a brace, his 100th and 101st goals in Major League Soccer. In his seven years in the league, the striker has racked up 101 goals in just 174 matches played. That's a fantastic strike rate, and while Twellman is a legitimate American star in a league that isn't exactly overflowing with them, I'll have to admit to under-appreciating him.


It's not that I don't recognize that Twellman is a very good player, and it's not that I can't see greatness when it's in front of me; it's just that he's always been an afterthought, a man who's presence in MLS I've taken for granted.


Consider this post as my attempt to make amends.


Perhaps it's my disdain for the Revolution on the whole, which can be chalked up to both my MLS club preference and the unfortunate (yet ultimately fixable) stadium situation in which the Revs find themselves (i.e., crowd on one side of the stadium, football lines mucking up the artificial surface). Perhaps it's Twellman's less-than-impressive National Team record; I am, after all, an admitted "country first" fan, and because Twellman hasn't had a prominent role with the Nats in recent years, I tend to forget how good he has been for his club. Add to that the fact that the Revolution have never been able to breakthrough and win an MLS Cup, and you have my completely illogical feelings (or lack thereof) for the league's latest century scorer.


Only five men in Major League Soccer's fourteen year history have broken the 100 goal barrier. Jaime Moreno is the league's all time leading scorer with 125, a mark that Twellman should breeze by if his health cooperates. At 29, Twellman is no spring chicken, but he's also hardly over the hill; if his reappearance on the score sheet this weekend is any indication (okay, so it was the Red Bulls, but there's a chance), Twellman could very possibly head into 2010 or 2011 with the record in sight.


I may not have given Twellman his due to this point, and I may have overlooked just how good he has been over his MLS career, but I'll certainly be cheering him on (with exceptions, of course) when he approaches the league scoring record. He's a damn good player who's prime has given MLS an East Coast counterpoint to his more heralded countryman Landon Donovan; while Donovan gets the praise, Twellman has been more lethal. Different players on different teams in different systems, but it still helps frame Twellman's contributions; 101 goals in 174 appearances for the Revs striker, 90 goals in 194 appearances for the LA Galaxy man.


I'll probably never "like" Taylor Twellman in any meaningful way, and I still get a laugh out of his Kick Medic commercials; but the man can play some soccer, and now that I've been slapped out of my idiocy on just how good he is by his century-breaking performance on Sunday, I'm here to say that I now appreciate Taylor Twellman.