Today was supposed to be the Day of Decision for the Little League That Couldn't.
The USSF Board of Governors, meeting in Las Vegas in advance of Saturday's USSF AGM (sort of like a convention only with everybody wearing cheap clothes), was to hear and vote on the report regarding sanctioning of the neo-NASL for 2011.
In what was called "a show of solidarity" but sounded suspiciously like an excuse for a weekend in Vegas – "Ah crap, honey, I know I promised to go visit your Mother with you this weekend but, dammit, I've got to go to a stupid, boring old USSF meeting" – the owners of the eight neo-NASL teams – (conveniently, since Traffic Sports USA owns four teams, they can split a cab in from McCarren) assembled to hear the outcome.
They're still waiting.
Meeting in "Executive Session" (ie. beind closed doors) most of the day, the announcement which was supposed to be forthcoming by 1 PM never materialized.
Finally, USSF told the media that there will be a joint announcement – which has nothing to do with sensimilla – from both the Fed and the neo-NASL tomorrow sometime and that nobody will be saying anything els to the media between now and then if they know what's good for them.
What does it mean? Who can say.
I report, you deride.
UPDATE:
BRIAN QUARSTAD AT IMS has the skinny.
Bottom line, the Board voted 6-5 to grant one year provisional status to the league. Garber and Gulati, in a display of the kind of leadership and courage we've come to expect from them, chose to abstain.
The review board unanimously recommended that the board reject the application.
This of course leads one to the inescapable question, namely: why the hell have a review committee work on this for six freakin months and then ignore their recommendation?
The decision must still be ratified by the full USSF Congress later today.
There's not much doubt that the main problem is that while the neoNASL, by shuffling Traffic USA's money around and propping up four different teams, was indeed able to meet the strict letter of the rules they are a long ways from meeting the spirit of same and USSF isn't happy about it.
Quarstad notes:
"The board is requiring that the league have a clear plan on how they will remove Traffic Sports USA from owning Carolina and part ownership in Atlanta. They will be allowed to continue their ownership of Miami."
Presumably, by "a clear plan" they do not mean "buy a bunch of lottery tickets".
Which seems to verify that Traffic is indeed the main problem. Apparently some committee members are convinced that, given another 12 months, the neoNASL can come up with some outside owners as well as another team to replace Montreal.
It says here that there is no way they can solve those issues in the next 12 months and I seriously doubt that USSF will be so generous a second time.