AP MLSSoccer.com just put up a piece titled “Nesta: What the players had to say” which, as advertised, gave us thoughts from some prominent Impact personalities on the arrival of Alessandro Nesta. Player quotes being what they were, I expected a series of generic superlatives featuring a grab bag of officially sanctioned adjectives; plaudits which, put together, don’t give us anything unexpected.
And … yeah, everybody’s excited to have the Milan legend around. Why wouldn’t they be? It’s a huge signing. I’m just not sure quote after deliciously vanilla quote is the best way to capture the moment.
It got me to thinking: What else could I do with these quotes. Answer: Word jumble!
Oh, man – I love these. Some people call them word clouds, but jumble’s such an underused word. Regardless, they let you take a ton of information, drop them into an app (like the one at Wordle.net) and get a quaint, fun view of the story’s most prominent words.Taken as a group, they give you some insight into the story’s tone.
For example, here’s what you get when you pump in my two Marcelo Bielsa posts [a, b]:
So you take out all the proper nouns, and you see contract, coach, construction, season, job, players, now, and departure are all prominently features. Does that tell us anything about today’s story? Not really, which means I’m a horrible writer or these exercise shouldn’t be taken too seriously (not that those are independent thoughts).
So let’s see what MLS’s Nesta quote sheet tells us:
Defender, group, alongside, experience, incredible, learn, watching, positive, great.
Straight out of the grab bag.
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Manchester City rally downs Chelsea at the death in exciting US tour opener
May 23, 2013, 11:24 PM EDT
AP
Manchester City overcame a 3-goal deficit at Busch Stadium in St. Louis as Edin Dzeko bagged a brace to beat Chelsea 4-3.
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Yahoo! reports: Mourinho to sign 4-year deal with Chelsea, will be unveiled June 2
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Getty Images
Just days after Jose Mourinho mutually parted ways with Real Madrid, he will be completing a deal to become Chelsea’s next manager, says Martin Rogers of Yahoo! Sports via Twitter.
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Reuters
Roberto Martinez has given himself more time to decide on his future at Wigan, and also gave them a wish list.
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Getty Images
Asmir Begovic is apparently intending on showing up at the door of another club to start training.
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Reports: Porto to bank on Moutinho and Rodriguez in shock double move
May 23, 2013, 7:16 PM EDT
Reuters
AS Monaco, rich with the injection of money from a Russian tycoon, are set to make a huge splash, possibly as much as €70 million.
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Leighton Baines says Everton will be fine without Moyes, but will they?
May 23, 2013, 5:11 PM EDT
Getty Images
“Football clubs live on and we’ll live on, we’ll move on.” They’ll move on, they have to. But will they effectively?
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Reuters
With the upcoming Champions League final this weekend featuring an all-German cast, Germany secured another massive Champions League achievement today.
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Getty Images
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Manchester City president shoots down high-profile transfer links
May 23, 2013, 2:00 PM EDT
Reuters
Chelsea fans will be delighted, while those supporting Manchester City are sure to question who’s on their team’s mind.
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Should Europa League winners be awarded a spot in the Champions League?
May 23, 2013, 1:37 PM EDT
Should the champions of the Europa League be awarded a spot in the following season’s Champions League?
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Gonzalo Higuain close to Juventus move while others continue the chase
May 23, 2013, 11:22 AM EDT
Despite notching an impressive 104 goals in 185 matches since moving to the Bernabeu in 2007, Higuain has struggled this season.
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Poor Strama, Allegri: Inter, AC Milan leave coaches in limbo
May 22, 2013, 11:51 PM EDT
Getty Images
Serie A’s two Milanese clubs have yet to move for new head coaches.
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Full circle: Misantrope’s revival could land Benítez in Paris, Madrid, or Naples
May 22, 2013, 11:06 PM EDT
Over the last three months, Rafa Benítez has reignited a floundering career.
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It’s piling on for Reign FC, who may permanently lose Megan Rapinoe to Lyon
May 22, 2013, 10:14 PM EDT
The hits just keep on coming for the NWSL’s hard-luck team.
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U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round draw: What it means for your MLS team
May 22, 2013, 9:20 PM EDT
The U.S. Open Cup draws sometimes need a decoder ring to decipher. Here’s a quick-and-dirty look at the MLS teams’ futures.






