Tuesday Notebook: Council 8, United 0

April 7, 11:42 PMWashington Soccer ExaminerEd Morgans

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You would have hoped that Tuesday Notebook this week could have brought more points highlighting DC United's 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo at RFK Stadium on Saturday night.

But the Prince George's County Council took care of that with an 8-0 demolition in a vote to consider further study on the proposed (and now, imaginary) 24,000-seat stadium for United in the county, near a Metro station. It can't be repeated enough that some members of the Council supported the project early on, and even spoke on its behalf at the press conference where United said it was "coming home" to PG County. Of course, those folks, along with the rest of the Council, decided today to send a letter to state legislators regarding their opposition to the project.

If you were a Council member who was for it, and now voting for a letter that includes text about how the Council wasn't "appropriately and sufficiently advised, consulted or engaged in the discussions of the proposed stadium," etc. ... then what exactly were you for in the first place? Did you, Councilman Will Campos, or you, Council Chairwoman Marilynn M. Bland, support the project without knowing what it entailed? Regardless, whatever the reason, your alleged support disappeared faster than meat fresh from the grill at the Barra Brava tailgate.

Even though the bills still exist in the state General Assembly - there's no reason for them to go anywhere now. With documented opposition from the locality, it would make little sense for state legislators to push through a bill it appears no one wants.

So the question is, what now?

Some have already proclaimed United dead and buried - off to St. Louis on the next flight out.

The club, according to The Washington Post, released a rather simple statement that to be honest, didn't offer much reassurance to those fans who may feel like suddenly they only have a very limited time left to enjoy DC United matches locally.

I don't know of any other locations that offer Metro access that would be suitable for this kind of project. PG County is off the board, and I honestly have a hard time seeing Montgomery County taking something like this on, despite the presence of the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown. Northern Virginia doesn't exactly have a history of being receptive to sports teams and their desire to move there, so I don't really see a solution there, either.

Can United re-open talks with DC after all that went on in the Poplar Point fiasco? You wouldn't think so, but desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose. Where I would agree with my friend Aaron Stollar, with whom I co-host the Fighting Talker podcast, is that it would be nice to hear something positive, or at least forward-looking from United co-Executive Chairmen Victor MacFarlane and Will Chang.

The sooner the better.

Here are some thoughts from around the Web on the stadium developments today:

* Soccer by Ives: "DC United Sees Another Potential Stadium Project Die."

* Washington Business Journal: "Prince George's Vote Likely Kills DC United Stadium Deal."

* Gazette.net: "DC United Looks Outside County for New Stadium Site."

When you get sick of reading about stadium stuff - and it's get old writing about it when there's no good news, to be honest - here's some other stuff I ran across that is worth checking out:

* United is up to #8 in the new MLS Power Rankings. The 90th Minute has United at 7.

* United midfielder/defender Devon McTavish discusses his battle with Crohn's Disease, and how he is trying to raise awareness about the illness.

* Glenn Davis briefly discusses the United youth team that battled Real Madrid on Saturday prior to the Dynamo-United MLS match.

Meanwhile, on the field, United are preparing for a road trip to Real Salt Lake (6 p.m. Saturday), where they have not won since RSL's first year in the league, 2005. In that time, United have been outscored, 8-2, and they lost there last year, 4-0, in goalkeeper Jose Carvallo's first and only MLS start. Only goalkeeper Josh Wicks is listed as out on the injury report, though after Louis Crayton's shutout of the Dynamo Saturday, it's not as if there is any doubt who the top keeper is. McTavish (head laceration) and Santino Quaranta (hamstring) are both listed as probable. Greg Janicki and Fred, who both got minutes as subs on Saturday, are no longer on the injury report. Defender Ian Joy (hamstring) is the only RSL player listed as out for Saturday.

WHERE THEY STAND: With five points from three matches, United stand third alone in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Chicago and New England. Both perfect at 3-0, Seattle and Chivas USA lead the West. Of note, United's five-point haul is equal to that of Columbus (MLS Cup 2008 winners); Houston (MLS Cup 2006 and '07 winners); New York (MLS Cup 2008 finalists); FC Dallas and Los Angeles combined.

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