Self explanitory.

Looks like there will be an opportunity to rev up the tifo before the season (scroll to bottom):

http://nasl.com/index.php?id=12&gametype=2

"That's 1:00 PM Central" converts

That little old jersey collector

Me

"With the very last kick of the game, Bobby McDonald scored with a header." - Alan Parry, Match of the Day, BBC television

This would not have been considered last year at this time. I believe the snow depth at NSC was 114' on April 2. I've got my tank-top and shorts ready this year though.

Don't jinx it.

This weekend/through-out next week is supposed to see a huge dump of snow.

Too late mon'.

is it just me or does it seem like the Stars aren't doing much this off season, or is it the reporting? There's a lot of excitement surrounding southern teams, but no mention of the team that won their inaugural championship?

i get most of my NASL news from their facebook and it's always strikers signs..... and tampa bay signs....... and scorpions sign....... southeastern teams taking advantage of the NASL combines. along with the newly added preseason games. 30 preseason games and we have 1? when it comes to NASL reporting, i feel like there's been nothing on the Stars. so which is it? bad reporting, lack of exposure, or is our team really not doing anything to report on?

I think it's mostly that our team has the lowest budget in the league and is league owned so players are usually waiting to see if they can get a better contract somewhere else before they're willing to sign here. So, yeah, other than planning for the opener and front officey sorts of stuff, there's not a lot going on officially on the player front to report.

I asked Djorn this same thing a few days ago. He said the Stars announced the players they had signed last fall:

IMSoccer News

I'm going to go on a limb and say that not all of those 18 will be here when the season starts, so it would be really nice to get an update on which players will be back.

They may be waiting until after the Arizona combine to sign anyone else; it would be a shame to have the roster filled before spending time, effort and money on that trip.

I think JJE and Gumby Grrl answered this well. I would add that the Strikers have lost all sorts of players this off season and will be losing more. Fans down there are very concerned as it seems like Traffic has cutback funding for the Strikers. I asked Tim Robbie about this in an interview a week or so back. So I don't at all agree that the Strikers have been signing lots of players and those they have signed may not be of the quality they had last season.

Tampa and Carolina are definitely improving their roster.

http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2012/02/06...rdale-strikers/

To me this is a very typical Minnesota off-season. We rarely have heard any news unless they made a fairly significant move. And that has been very seldom over the years.

Yep!

Any day now they will announce that player/coach Kevin Friedland has signed for $3.33 per hour, + one turkey sandwich a day + a bonus to be determined later.

We have a player strategy that involves waiting to see who does not get picked up anywhere else and then forming a team around who's left. It seems to work, go figure?

There are some good players out there without any contract right now.

The question is: Will they come to minnesota for less than Kevin is getting.