SoCalZine

MLS Announces Competition Format for 2012

socalzine — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:47:52 +0000

Revised Format Provides Greater Reward for Regular Season Performance

LOS ANGELES (Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011) – Major League Soccer today announced that the competition format for the 2012 regular season and MLS Cup Playoffs. Included in the revised competition format is a change with MLS Cup. Beginning in 2012, the League’s championship will be hosted by the finalist that finished the regular season with the most points in the standings. Complete details are below.

CONFERENCES:

· The Montreal Impact begins its inaugural MLS season as the League’s 19^th team and will be the 10^th team in the Eastern Conference. The Western Conference will consist of the same nine clubs as in 2011.

REGULAR SEASON:

· Each of the 19 MLS clubs will play 34 games, 17 at home and 17 away.

o All clubs will play an equal schedule within their respective conference.

Western Conference – 24 in-conference + 10 out-of-conference games:

· Western Conference clubs will play each West opponent 3 times (24 games):

o West clubs will play 4 conference opponents twice at home and once away

o They will play the other 4 conference opponents once at home and twice away.

o The home and away games will be reversed in 2013.

· Western Conference clubs will play each East opponent once each (10 games):

o 5 of these will be at home and 5 will be away.

o The East opponents each team faces at home and away will be reversed in 2013.

Eastern Conference – 25 in-conference + 9 out-of-conference games:

· Eastern Conference clubs will play 25 games against other East clubs:

o East teams will play 7 conference opponents three times each (21 games) and

o 2 conference opponents twice each (4 games).

· Eastern Conference clubs will play each West opponent once each (9 games):

o Some will play 4 at home and 5 away while others will play 5 at home and 4 away.

o The West opponents each team faces at home and away will be reversed in 2013.

“We have established a fair and compelling format for the 2012 season,” said MLS Executive Vice President Nelson Rodriguez. “This regular season will include more games between regional rivals and less total travel than we have seen in recent years. Because of the wide geographic distribution of MLS clubs, this structure should improve the quality of play, while continuing to give every club an equal chance of qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs.”

MLS CUP PLAYOFFS:

· 10 clubs will qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs – the top five in points from each conference at the end of the regular season.

o The 4^th- and 5^th- place teams will play a single knockout game, the winner of which will advance to the Conference Semifinals and face the 1^st-place team in the conference.

o The Conference Semifinals will be decided by a two-game, aggregate-goal format (same as 2011).

o The Conference Championships will be decided by a two-game, aggregate-goal format (change from recent years).

o MLS Cup will be hosted by the finalist that finished the regular season with the most points in the standings.

SCHEDULE FOOTPRINT:

· The 2012 MLS regular season will begin in March and end in October; specific dates to be announced at a later date.

· The 2012 MLS regular season schedule will be announced prior to early February, when it has been announced in recent years.

“The MLS Cup Playoff format in 2012 gives increased reward to clubs that fare well in the regular season and removes the possibility of clubs winning the opposite conference championship,” Rodriguez said. “Having a competitively-determined site for MLS Cup is one of the most exciting improvements our Board of Governors has adopted. We believe this provides every club a tremendous incentive during our regular season and ensures a festive and boisterous setting for our championship game.”

VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH NELSON RODRIGUEZ

Click here for a video interview with Nelson Rodriguez discussing the new format.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY AT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER TODAY

MLS Executive Vice President Nelson Rodriguez will be available to answer questions regarding the 2012 competition format today at 4:30 p.m. PT in the media work room on the press box level of The Home Depot Center.

MLS Schedules All 19 Home Openers for 2012 Regular Season

socalzine — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:46:30 +0000

SAVE THE DATES: MLS Schedules All 19 Home Openers for 2012 Regular Season

First Kick presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods begins Saturday, March 10, 2012

NEW YORK (Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011) – Major League Soccer’s 17^th season will kick off on Saturday, March 10, 2012 with six matches. First Kick presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods will continue with two games on Sunday, March 11 and one on Monday, March 12.

All but one MLS club will play in front of their home fans by the end of Week 3 of the 2012 regular season. The Houston Dynamo look forward to their May 12 debut in a sparkling new downtown stadium built specifically for soccer. The Montreal Impact’s first home game in MLS will be played at Olympic Stadium on March 17. The newly-renovated Stade Saputo is scheduled to open in June.

Times, opponents, and national broadcast information for these games will be included in the entire regular season schedule, which will be announced upon its completion in the coming weeks.

Each club will play 34 games in the 2012 MLS Regular Season; CLICK HEREfor details on the format.

The dates of the 2012 home openers for all 19 MLS clubs are below.

WEEK 1 – First Kick presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods

Saturday, March 10: Colorado Rapids, D.C. United, LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Sunday, March 11:Chivas USA, FC Dallas

Monday, March 12:Portland Timbers

WEEK 2

Saturday, March 17:Sporting Kansas City, Montreal Impact, Real Salt Lake

Sunday, March 18: Philadelphia Union

WEEK 3

Saturday, March 24:Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, Toronto FC

Sunday, March 25:New York Red Bulls

WEEK 10

Saturday, May 12:Houston Dynamo (new stadium opener)

Walker Wilkerson Spotlight

rrimportracer — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:36:11 +0000

I had the chance to meet Formula Drift driver Walker Wilkerson at the season opener in Long Beach, California back in April after a phenomenal top 32 battle which landed him in 11th place. After a long hot day on the track he gave me the opportunity to ask him a few questions, so lets get them started shall we?

We’ve heard phrases like rookie of the year, and the rolling pinata. How do you feel?
I am super excited for the rest of the FD events! The stoker SR rebuilt by Garage Autohero and tuned by Intec Racing was running superb and making great power. Also with my new APEXi S1 Damper coil overs in conjunction with my Falken RT615K tires we were getting tons of grip. It allowed me to be able to flick the car super hard on transfers and hold big angle!

What goals have you set for yourself this season?
The goals I have set for myself this year would be to attend all 7 rounds of Formula Drift, earn Rookie of the Year title, and hopefully get picked up by a professional race team for the 2012 season.

How long have you been drifting, and what got you started?
I’ve been drifting now for about three years now and one year competitively. The 2011 FD season will be my second year drifting competitively. What got me started was when I was about 16 I came across an Option D1GP video on YouTube. Seeing the sight of two cars sliding at such a fast speed and so close together was unlike anything I’d seen before. I knew I had to get involved and started attending Evergreen Speedway drift events as a spectator. After about a year of spectating I finally got a 89 Nissan 240sx hatch and started hitting up the track!

I’ve seen plenty of videos of you drifting at Evergreen speedway, how does this compare when it comes to the level of competition compared to previous events?
Well of course the level of competition in FD is going to be much tougher then any of the other ProAM events I’ve competed in. But I enjoy driving with people who are better then me because it allows me to push myself harder and progress more as a driver.

A lot of the drifters have big HP, big torque V8′s in their cars, how do you personally feel drifting side by side with them?
It kinda sucks sometimes but there is not a whole lot I can do about it except for try my very best to keep up and not let my car fall out of boost! Luckily however Tony Angelo and the rest of the Formula D staff have done a great job trying to accommodate for less HP and non V8 cars. The judges are great and understand the difficulty of driving a high HP 4 cylinder turbo car compared to the ease of driving a V8.

What is the new engine setup for this year?
The new engine setup this year is a 2.3L stroker S14 SR20DET built by Ray at Garage Autohero. The engine has a BC stroker crankshaft, CP Pistons, Carillo Rods, ACL Race Bearings, Custom Port and Polished Head, APEXi Headgasket, BC Valves/Spings/Retainers, BC 272 Camshafts, DOC Race Turbo manifold, Garrett GT3076R Turbo, Tial 44mm MVR Wastegate, Tial BOV, Garage Autohero Custom Intercooler Piping, APEXi Power FC D-Jetro and APEXi AVC-R. The car is tuned by Lawrence at Intec Racing making 480WHP and 436TQ.
Who are your sponsors you would like to shout out?
I’d like to give a big THANK YOU to all of my sponsors for their help and support. As well as my Dad Rick Wilkerson. My sponsors are: Fatlace, Garage Autohero, Faken Tire, Intec Racing, APEXi, NorthwestNissans.com, AW Films, Seibon, EastInde Records, SGear Gauges, ShaftMasters, SPL, Exedy, Koyo, 326 Power, Factory 83, YAER Productions, KAAZ.

Walker is currently in 14th position and with the next round being his “home turf” we hope and wish him the best of luck this season and many more seasons to come!

Formula Drift- Round 4- The Gauntlet – DRIFTING!!!

Sid — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:11:43 +0000

As promised, part two, with moar drifting! I really won’t bore you with words this time but I have to say one thing, to get these shots, I ate a mouth full of tire, got sunburned and now look like farmer John, and almost got hit by a few cars…so you better enjoy these.

Before the top 16, the drivers came out and put on a little show as they were all introduced.

OK, back to drifting!

And of course, the podium. Congrats to Conrad Grunewald and his Hankook Tire Chevy Camaro on his pioneer victory. JTP finished secondand Dijiro Yoshihara finished third.

Drifting Sampler

Sid — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:32:24 +0000

As promised, here are a few slideways photos for your viewing pleasure.

Part Two on the way with loads of action shots!

Formula Drift Round 4 – The Gauntlet – Part One: The Pits

Sid — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:22:59 +0000

Oh yea, drifting time, yea! Well folks, it’s that time of year. The engines are roaring, the tires are screeching, and the wind is blowing tire shards and smoke everywhere. That’s right, it’s drifting season and this past weekend, Formula Drift made its annual stop in Wall, New Jersey…and tore it up! I have oooodles of noodles of photos so I am going to split up the posts. This one is about the drivers and the crews and how they roll in the pits.

As I woke up Friday morning at 6:00 am to drive from NYC to Wall, NJ for practice, all I saw were rain drops on my windshield and blurry photos in my future, but luckily the rain held out until after practice and after I was finished taking photos. Being a practice day meant that the drivers and crews were working out all the kinks and doing a lot of testing, which for us photographers, means lots and lots of photos. This was my first time with a media pass at any Formula Drift event and my first time at Wall Speedway and I must say that I had a blast. The track was set up as a figure 8 and made for a lot of slideways action.

The day began with the drivers meeting. Now, this is very important to them as this is where they learn how the track will be ran, and where they get a chance to mentally plan out their angle of attack.

All of the drivers watched and listened as the officals gave their instructions.

After the drivers meeting, it was on to the pits to check out what all of the drivers and teams were up to.

As I walked around, I made sure to stop at the Falken HQ. What I came to find was something like walking into the candy store as a kid, euphoric.

All of the cars just laid out being worked on and the drivers just hanging out like it’s nothing.

After I left Falken HQ, I knew I had to find Fatlace and sneak a peak at Walker Wilkerson’s purple beauty and Matt Field’s neon yellow S14.

From there the plan was to just see everything, plain and simple.

Overall, day one was amazing. Stay tuned for a sampler of some of the drifting that you’ll see in Part Two.

DSPORT: IDRC Season Opener & Fancy Fed Car Show

Paul Martinez — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:00:27 +0000

What a day. For us car heads we love the smell of burning rubber, motorcycles racing around the track and cars as far as the eyes can see. The Import Drag Racing Circuit kicked off at the AutoClub Speedway in Fontana, Ca. Hundreds of cars filled up the drag strip anything from dragsters, Hondas, and well your dads truck. The weather is perfect and the track gripped perfectly. Which may sound perfect for racers but the track gripping so well can cause your car to break down if not properly built. We saw many cars being towed off the track because of blown motors or just failed starts. None the less it was amazing to see what people have done to their cars to make them fly down the track in 10 seconds flat.

Mean while next to the track the vibe was totally different. The Fancy Fed Car Show sponsored by DSport was in full swing. While the cars on the track were trying to beat the fastest time. These cars were not trying to be the fastest but the nicest. From air ride to pretzel ropes the cars shined as they just came off the dealership lot. It was also nice to see our friends from the Royal Flush crew and our friends from JDM Sport. I shall shut up now and let the photos do the talking.

Sideways Sundays (Car Show/ Drift Event) #2

Paul Martinez — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:00:17 +0000

MAY 1, 2011 IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY CA, This second Sideways Sundays event was a hit! There has been much talk about “Oh it was smaller then last time blah blah,” well there may have not been as many show cars but the quality was still great, plus there were more than twice as many drifters. This time instead of being freezing cold with a complete downpour, it was ROASTING out there. The sun was sure doing work on all of us standing out there track-side but allowed the amateur drifters to get around the track with better ease rather than fighting random puddles. Pretty much everyone that came stayed for the entire event because of all the involvement from the vendors, the great show put on from the NOS Energy stage/DJ, and the great show of the drifters tearing up the track. There was music, raffles, random games, the works; no shortage of entertainment here. If you weren’t here this time make sure to check out Sideways Sundays with the event information posted on the Daily-Driven Facebook page linked below.

Some cars came with their own models like Jesse Budano’s S14 featuring……..himself.

This super clean Lambo sure turned a lot of heads.

No mods really needed, a GTR’s simply beautiful.

This mean Mini makes it out to all the shows; showing everyone that size doesn’t matter.

You know this 350′s been drifted hard when the front is almost completely help up with zip ties.

Veilside FD RX-7 showing everyone who’s boss.

He doesn’t text while driving, just while drifting.

For more event dates and time make sure to check out our Facebook page in the link below.

Daily-Driven FB

Also to check out more photos from this event and from the last Sideways Sundays:

Sideways Sundays #1

Sideways Sundays #2

Pochi Lifestyle Cafe Daily-Driven.net get together

rrimportracer — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:05:36 +0000

Made my way up to Washington a few weeks ago and when I informed a few of my friends that I was coming, we quickly setup a small meet & greet so that I could get more familiar with the faces of the tuner crowd. I was really surprised at how laid back and relaxed everything seemed to be at the meet, being from southern California I am used to the typical ricers doing burnouts and fly-by’s at meets. This however wasn’t the case. Everyone seemed to just roll in, park and then socialize.. EXACTLY what should happen at a meet!

The scene is a bit more “grassroots” up in the PNW but that doesn’t mean they don’t have some clean cars! The scene may not be as big but this bunch is one of the most down to earth groups that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting!

Enough blabbing from me, lets see some pics ya?

more photos can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42712337@N05/sets/72157626561394121/

Tampa's Finest Scion

Sid — Sun, 08 May 2011 23:11:53 +0000

When I posted on Facebook that I was going to be in Orlando for a day, Sam sent me a message wanting to meet up. I immediately said yes, got his phone number, and set up a photo shoot. What I didn’t know was that Sam was going to drive from Tampa to Orlando to see me! My first impression of him was already a good one having talked to him before on various forums and Facebook, but after the four, five hours we spent taking photos and hanging out, I realized he was probably one of the coolest people on the planet.

I remember the first time I saw Sam’s tC in the Wrong Fitment Crew Members Gallery and I knew this was going to be one of the most raw tC’s ever. Back then he was sitting on Rota D2s with a sticker bombed front lip struggling to fit in amongst the ever growing community. Now though, he is sporting a fully polished set of BBS RS’s with a full Five Axis lip kit and oh ya, a full wire tuck. That’s right a wire tuck. This is the first tC I know of with that done and it is done just right.

“All the attention it gets and people asking me for advice. I like the feeling of knowing I can help others out.”

Sam isn’t bothered by any of the haters. He builds his car for him, and no one else and I have the utmost respect for him because of that.

“Just dealing with all the head aches of trying new things that haven’t been done yet is my weakness.”

Sam is part of the State of Stance team and let me tell you, these guys know stance. I only had the pleasure of meeting Sam, but when he showed me photos of other cars, I was blown away.

“It all started with talk about how much exposure Cali gets. We wanted to show what Florida had to offer. After our first show we were pleasantly surprised about the turn out and the following that we had in such a short time. Now we’re a Florida marketing company. Marketing towards the Florida lifestyle.”

“As the scene grows we are starting to see so much more. It’s not just about cars anymore. It’s a lifestyle now. And SOS knows that.”

Exterior:

Five Axis Lip Kit

Vent Visors

Genki Tunning 3rd Brake Light

Genki Honeycomb Front Grill

Honda CRV Shorty Antenna

Interior:

Nardi Classic Deep Corn Steering Wheel

TWM Performance Short Shifter

Original Wink 5 Panel Mirror

Black Water Fall

Plaid Headliner

Plaid Pillars (A,B,C)

Plaid Door Inserts

Engine:

Options Cold Air Intake

HP Motorsports Headers

Injen SES Exhaust

Radiator Air Diversion Panel

Mishimoto Radiator Hoses

ARC Radiator Cap

Complete Wire Tuck

Suspension/Brakes:

Raceland Coil-Overs

TRD Front Sway Bar

TRD Rear Sway Bar

Napa Front Camber Bolts

-3.2 Front Camber

-4.5 Rear Camber

Wheels/Tires:

BBS RS Fully Polished 17×9.5 -5et Front

BBS RS Fully Polished 17×9.5 -5et Rear

Yokohama S Drive 215/35/17 Front(stretched)

Falken 452′s 215/40/17 Rear(Stretched)

Electronics:

Pioneer 7″ TV/DVD/CD/iPod Touchsreen Navagation System

MTX Thunder Amp

MTX Thunder 12″ Sub

Sam isn’t alone though in his quest to build his dream car, his fiancé Nina and his 6 month old Dominick support him all the way. “To my fiancé and son, thank you so much much for your support and keeping me going”

“Shout out to the State of STANCE staff. With them things are never dull.”