All The Bull: Playoff Edition

By: Dave Martinez | October 28th, 2008

Hey everyone. Alot of things have been going on and I have fallen way behind. Forgive me.

Here are some highlights of the past week, and today.

- The Red Bulls have found themselves facing Houston in the first round. Yes, the Western Conference Houston Dynamo. How? For the uninformed, the final wild card spot, based on the entire leagues aggregate point standings (single table), found the Red Bulls barely squeeking in with the very last spot. Since there were 5 teams in the Eastern Conference to make it to the next round, the very last team must compete in the Western Conference. That means facing the champs, and, if they advance, some very wicked travelling games. Not the most envious of positions, but if they can knock down the big Orange machine, the rest of the conference is of such a lower quality compared to the East. That may mean the Red Bulls could face weaker competition moving forward.

- Did you know Jeff Parke sent out a press statement about his suspension? His adament stance, and immediate response to this garbage, makes it a tough case to blame on the guy. Then again, there was Rafael Palmero . . . . Take a read:

“To all of my family, teammates, coaches, friends and fans, I apologize for the events that have taken place that have led to this decision by Major League Soccer. I share their belief that there is no room for performance enhancing substances in sports. However, it is important for me to share with you that I was unaware of the fact that the supplement I took had any ingredients that would put me in the place that I am today. I do take full responsibility for what has happened and realize that I should have made sure by consulting with the appropriate team staff before taking the supplement. Purchasing an over the counter product at a nationally recognized retail chain ultimately led me to where I am today. I can only hope that this can be prevented in the future and be a learning experience for all players. Again, my apologies to my teammates, coaching staff, Red Bull, family, friends and fans.”

- Michael Lewis of the NY Post had the greatest quote of the Mainstream Media day: “. . . the Red Bulls (10-11-9) are the gold standard for playoff futility.” Classic.

- Juan Carlos Osorio mulls whether or not the Bulls deserved to be in the playoffs . . . click here.

- Did you know Danny Cepero is not only manning our backline for the playoffs, but will be graduating College in December? That’s right, Cepero has one more class to go, and a team to carry in the playoffs while he does it. I have to say, I admire the hell out of this kid.

- Finally, I am all for charity . . . and Juan Pablo Angel is teaming with UNICEF this Halloween as their spokesman. But I can only say so much . . . let JPA give you the 411: