Denis Hamlett and Peter Wilt in better times.

Denis Hamlett, my first hire with the Chicago Fire in July of 1997 finally saw his tenure with MLS’ first expansion team come to an end yesterday as the team announced they will not renew his contract to serve as head coach.  Denis’ team was 45 minutes away from last year’s MLS Cup and only penalty kicks seperated his squad from this year’s SuperLiga and MLS Eastern Conference Championships.

The announcement brought back memories of the first time I spoke to Denis.  Sunil Gulati, then the MLS Deputy Commissioner called me in June of 1997 to ask if I would take Denis on in any role as he was under contract through the end of the year and his career had been ended earlier that year due to a stroke.  I didn’t know Denis, but knew I needed more arms and legs.  We spoke on the phone and he agreed to come on board for the rest of the year as a jack of all trades for the yet unnamed Chicago MLS team.

He spoke to youth soccer groups, answered phones, sold tickets, attended community functions and scouted MLS and A-League games for a coach that neither of us knew yet.  When I hired Bob Bradley, I told him that I was pleased with Denis’ work and would recommend him, but it was up to him.  Bob put Denis on trial, gave him some scouting assignments and worked with him for a period before deciding to hire him as part of his staff.  Denis went on to win four US Open Cup Championships, a Supporters Shield and of course the 1998 MLS Cup during his tenure.

I’m probably too close to Denis and not close enough to the team anymore to give an opinion of great value on his departure.  I’ll simply say that Denis has done more for the Fire organization in its history than just about anyone else, has been an important part of the organization’s many successes and he will be missed.  It is safe to say that the Fire will have a fresh start next season with massive turnover of players and coaching staff.  Here is a perspective from longtime follower Chris Costello.

Signed Andy Williams jersey

Denis’ former boss Dave Sarachan, Associate Head Coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy, also came a penalty kick short of glory as Real Salt Lake used PKs for the second straight game to become the first sub .500 MLS Cup Champion.   Having a sub .500 champion can be looked at as a testament to the playoff structure or as a criticism.  For what it’s worth, the WPS champion this year was also sub .500 using a radically different playoff structure.

Like WPS’ Sky Blue FC, Real Salt Lake came on strong at the end of the year and was the best team when it counted most.  The championship should not be lessened by RSL’s regular season record.

It’s not all doom and gloom in my circle this week, however.  I certainly have friends at Real Salt Lake, including  Andy Williams, whose autographed jersey I won in a Chicago Fire Foundation auction a couple weeks ago and arrived in my office yesterday.  Andy’s story, along with that of his wife Marcia, whose leukemia is in remission, is a well told story that makes the victory sweet for them and all fans of Andy and Marcia.

The Milwaukee Wave mascot is due for a makeover this year, but his favorite team started out the MISL season this week with their 1st road shutout in the team's 26-year history!

Meanwhile, my Milwaukee Wave indoor team started its new season as good as possible by shutting out Monterrey LaRaZa in Mexico 15-0.  Goalkeeper Nick Vorberg and a smothering team defense provided the first away shutout in the Wave’s 26 year history.  That is going to be a difficult standard to live up to when we travel to Rockford Friday with a couple busloads of fans and staff and December 6th when the Wave’s home season kicks off at the US Cellular Arena.

And finally, Philadelphia’s uncertain future begins to crystallize today with its expansion draft.  Head Coach Peter Nowak will make important decisions today that will influence the direction of the team for awhile.  While today is the most visible player acquisition day for the Union, history shows that its import pales in comparison to the international acquisitions the team will make over the next few months.

I hope your week had more highs than lows and you all have plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Big Story
MLS looks like it will kick off next season without its two biggest stars, David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco, with the former set for a return to Milan and the latter returning to Veracruz. Despite their lucrative rewards in MLS, both moves are driven by the two stars’ desires to participate in a swansong World Cup finals: you can say what you like about both Beckham and Blanco, but questioning their competitive desire to represent their countries would be absurd.

It’s likely both will return to MLS after South Africa. Beckham has said he intends to do so, and Blanco has an opt-out clause in his one-year deal with Veracruz to leave at any time, with the Fire continuing to negotiate with his agent. Blanco’s desire to play in Mexico during the offseason for longer than he did in 2008 and stay in shape for the World Cup (he fell terribly out of shape last offseason) has been known in Chicago for some time.

The question is how well MLS will handle this. After the public relations fiasco of Beckham’s protracted return to Europe last year, the loan deal this season seems to have been concluded with much more consideration on both sides. But with neither likely to play in MLS until July, will MLS still center their marketing around the two superstars?  For three years we have had an almost constant diet of Blanco and Beckham commercials and television schedules arranged around the two. How will the league move-on?

Worldwide News

• The shortlists for the men’s and women’s FIFA Player of the Year awards are out.
• Tottenham take on Arsenal tomorrow morning, and the Guardian looks at six of the best North London derbies. Not wishing to be outdone, The Times has five of the best North London derbies, but for some reason (and in not a particularly helpful fashion to Spurs) only since 2000. And a Spurs winger remembers a 4-4 draw with Arsenal – no, not the one last season, but one all of 51 years ago in his debut for the club.
• An odd story in China, as Beijing Guoan look to seal their first Chinese Super League title but face the prospect of fan rioting over ticket restrictions. Only 13,000 of the 60,000 seats in the stadium are being made available despite the club apparently having 15,000 season ticketholders, leading to 10,000 angry fans outside the stadium earlier this week. 6,000 police have been called in to keep order this weekend.
• The Wall Street Journal has been discovering soccer lately, which is nice, but this article on Manchester as a “city divided”, unique in its football rivalry worldwide, is a little sloppy. Apparently the author thinks Manchester City “lacks a glorious past”, which will be news to anyone who knows anything about football in Manchester before the arrival of Matt Busby: in the 1930s, with crowds often above 80,000, City won the league championship and the FA Cup while Man Utd were still yo-yoing between the first and second divisions. I suppose that’s ancient history, though the rivalry was more than the “no-contest” the author asserts until the 1960s, and a failure to even mention that United’s chief rivalry has been with Liverpool since is a little more unforgivable.

• In the comments yesterday, Alistair pointed out we had missed the news of Swedish legend Henrik Larsson retiring. You can see his emotional retirement speech here.

The Sweeper appears daily. For more rambling and links throughout the day every day, follow your editor Tom Dunmore @pitchinvasion on Twitter.