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Off the field, RSL acting big league<DIV class=authorText></DIV><DIV class=authorText>By Brad Rock
Deseret Morning News </DIV>
<DIV> Now that another Major League Soccer season is in the books, it's time to ask some pressing questions, not the least of them being: Why do they call an exhibition match "friendly"?
</DIV><DIV>At times, Real Salt Lake players didn't even seem friendly to each other, much less their opponents.
</DIV><DIV>Then there are the questions about RSL's future. On the negative side, the club is still far from having its own stadium. It didn't make the playoffs. And it tied for the worst record in the Western Conference.
</DIV><DIV>On the positive side, it won five more games than last year.
</DIV><DIV>But the really encouraging thing about Real Salt Lake: It's starting to act big league.
</DIV><DIV>Other than winning championships, the best way to attract interest is to have a whole lot of shakin' goin' on. You have to hand it to owner Dave Checketts, he brought a New York attitude to the season.
</DIV><DIV>On-field, Real was only slightly interesting. It did have the league's top scorer in Jeff Cunningham. But off-field was a different matter entirely.
</DIV><DIV>There, the next big story was just around the corner.
</DIV><DIV>Here are a few of the highlights of Real Salt Lake's 2006 adventure into the unknown:</DIV>
The race card. RSL players Atiba Harris and Andy Williams accused opponents of racial slurs. There may be other ways of attracting news coverage, but this one's guaranteed. Just ask John Rocker.
The call-out. First, Cunningham blamed teammate Chris Klein for delivering a bad pass on a near-certain goal. It's not every day a pro athlete singles out a teammate. Then Cunningham fueled the fire by saying, perhaps sarcastically, "You can blame me. The entire club can blame me. I'm the goat." That's good theater.
Checketts goes Steinbrenner. After seeing his stadium proposal denied by Salt Lake County Mayor Pete Corroon, Checketts ranted at the county commission, calling it "bush league." But the best part came when he accused Jazz owner Larry H. Miller of sabotaging his plan. "What I find fascinating is that he could deny this," said Checketts. "I have it on perfect authority that he lobbied legislators against the passage of (a stadium support bill) on the hill during the session. I know he lobbied a couple of important local mayors and leaders, always with the same thing in mind. He did not want me to get a better deal than he did at the Delta Center."
Asked if he was calling Miller a liar, Checketts said, "I've just been crystal clear on what reality is, and I stand by it."
OK, so he didn't call him a liar. A back-stabbing, duplicitous, conniving weasel, maybe, but never a liar.
The manly challenge. Stuck in a midseason slump, coach John Ellinger made a rather earthy reference to his players' manhood. Next thing you know, his team was on a nice little month-long run.
Had he known it would work so well, he may have accused his players of wearing women's underwear, too. They probably would have made the playoffs.
Real Madrid visits. Talk about overkill. The Spanish team's visit was covered in the Salt Lake media like a coronation.
Meanwhile, Tom Cruise and wife appeared at Ri
Deseret Morning News </DIV>
<DIV> Now that another Major League Soccer season is in the books, it's time to ask some pressing questions, not the least of them being: Why do they call an exhibition match "friendly"?</DIV><DIV>At times, Real Salt Lake players didn't even seem friendly to each other, much less their opponents.
</DIV><DIV>Then there are the questions about RSL's future. On the negative side, the club is still far from having its own stadium. It didn't make the playoffs. And it tied for the worst record in the Western Conference.
</DIV><DIV>On the positive side, it won five more games than last year.
</DIV><DIV>But the really encouraging thing about Real Salt Lake: It's starting to act big league.
</DIV><DIV>Other than winning championships, the best way to attract interest is to have a whole lot of shakin' goin' on. You have to hand it to owner Dave Checketts, he brought a New York attitude to the season.
</DIV><DIV>On-field, Real was only slightly interesting. It did have the league's top scorer in Jeff Cunningham. But off-field was a different matter entirely.
</DIV><DIV>There, the next big story was just around the corner.
</DIV><DIV>Here are a few of the highlights of Real Salt Lake's 2006 adventure into the unknown:</DIV>
The race card. RSL players Atiba Harris and Andy Williams accused opponents of racial slurs. There may be other ways of attracting news coverage, but this one's guaranteed. Just ask John Rocker.
The call-out. First, Cunningham blamed teammate Chris Klein for delivering a bad pass on a near-certain goal. It's not every day a pro athlete singles out a teammate. Then Cunningham fueled the fire by saying, perhaps sarcastically, "You can blame me. The entire club can blame me. I'm the goat." That's good theater.
Checketts goes Steinbrenner. After seeing his stadium proposal denied by Salt Lake County Mayor Pete Corroon, Checketts ranted at the county commission, calling it "bush league." But the best part came when he accused Jazz owner Larry H. Miller of sabotaging his plan. "What I find fascinating is that he could deny this," said Checketts. "I have it on perfect authority that he lobbied legislators against the passage of (a stadium support bill) on the hill during the session. I know he lobbied a couple of important local mayors and leaders, always with the same thing in mind. He did not want me to get a better deal than he did at the Delta Center."
Asked if he was calling Miller a liar, Checketts said, "I've just been crystal clear on what reality is, and I stand by it."
OK, so he didn't call him a liar. A back-stabbing, duplicitous, conniving weasel, maybe, but never a liar.
The manly challenge. Stuck in a midseason slump, coach John Ellinger made a rather earthy reference to his players' manhood. Next thing you know, his team was on a nice little month-long run.
Had he known it would work so well, he may have accused his players of wearing women's underwear, too. They probably would have made the playoffs.
Real Madrid visits. Talk about overkill. The Spanish team's visit was covered in the Salt Lake media like a coronation.
Meanwhile, Tom Cruise and wife appeared at Ri
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