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As Jeff Kassouf reports, WPS expansion in Connecticut appears imminent. Jeff’s piece has all the latest information, and according to another rumor that’s slipped through the cone of silence, at least one of the team’s owners is no stranger to WPS.

The development is a bit surprising, to say the least. Connecticut first emerged as a possible expansion candidate in late August. Details have remained scarce ever since. To be honest, the later it got the less likely it seemed. But alas, here we are. Hopefully the process is inching towards finalization.

For all the talk about westward expansion, buttressing the league’s East Coast presence can’t be a bad idea. Connecticut may not be the first locale that springs to mind when one thinks of pro sports, but no matter.

There’s always an inherent risk involved in expanding in such a small, niche market. Lest we forget, the Rochester-based WNY Flash attracted pitiful attendance figures prior to the World Cup. Granted, that was a league-wide issue, but it says something when a franchise endowed with the likes of Marta, Christine Sinclair, and Alex Morgan struggles to break the 2,000-attendees threshold.

But as I tried to posit in this piece (which feels like it was written a lifetime and a day ago), there are a number of compelling reasons as to why a WPS team can succeed in the Constitution State.

Connecticut is uniquely positioned because it’s an unheralded hotbed for youth soccer, as Tony DiCicco would likely attest to. The state has produced the likes of Kristine Lilly, Alyssa Naeher, Tiffany Weimer, Kia McNeill, Katie Schoepfer, and others.

It’s been a few years so my memories of growing up in the state are now tinged with nostalgia and romanticism. That said, as a kid, it always seemed as if women’s sports/teams/events had a certain profile in Connecticut. Indeed, they had one at all.

Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies; the Connecticut Sun; the short-lived New England Blizzard; the Connecticut Brakettes; even the women’s-only New Haven Open (formerly the Pilot Pen) tennis tournament were always a thing. If nothing else, there was a nice sense of tradition, one that was tough to appreciate until you left its borders. That’s perhaps down to the dearth of top-tier sports franchises or the state’s diminutive size.

Once March Madness rolled around, it was hard not to get swept up in the fanfare and excitement of it all, even if it was the only bit of basketball you watched all year. Allegiances to the Red Sox/Yankees and Patriots/Giants or Jets were often drawn across county lines, but the Huskies were well-loved because they were usually pretty good. Even more importantly, however, they were ours. The team (men’s or women’s notwithstanding) always spurred a strong sense of local pride that often went unmatched.

If everything works out, Connecticut natives will turn out to support a local pro team they can identify as their own. It shouldn’t matter that it’s a pro women’s soccer team. That might even be for the better.

Again it feels like a lifetime and a day ago, but Julie Logan once wrote that WPS should embrace a “small but mighty” mindset. With a bit of hope and luck, that maxim can apply to both the league and the location of its newest franchise.

*Note: Assuming everything gets carried out (which is a big assumption, no doubt) it will be fun to see if the new team upholds the state’s sporting tradition of adorably goofy animal-themed monikers. There’s already the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (hockey), the Connecticut Whale (hockey), the New Britain Rock Cats (baseball), and the Bridgeport Bluefish (baseball). Too bad the WUSA already claimed the CyberRays.

And elsewhere…

• The 2011 Pan-American Games are officially underway. The women’s soccer tournament kicked off today and Canada bested Costa Rica 3-1. Women’s Soccer United has the video highlights. Costa Rica struck first before Christina Julien, Christine Sinclair, and Amelia Pietrangelo contributed a goal each. In the other matches, Colombia defeated Trinidad and Tobago 1-0, Brazil got past Argentina 2-0, and Mexico and Chile are currently in action.

• In a move that was many months in the making, PUMA has ended its deal with WPS.

• Megan Rapinoe has officially joined Australian W-League side Sydney FC on loan.

• Tim Grainey writes that the CSA is planning to look into launching a division 2 national league in Canada that will be tantamount to the WPSL and the W-League.

• McCall Zerboni has issued a statement on Facebook regarding her DWI citation.

• Camp for USWNT U-18’s and U-17’s will be held at the end of the month. April Heinrichs has called up the group of U-18’s while Albertin Montoya will oversee the U-17’s.

• At the weekend, LdB Malmö emphatically captured its second straight Damallsvenskan championship with a 6-0 crushing of Örebro. Six different players made it on to the score sheet including (Tyresö bound) Caroline Seger and Therese Sjogran. Highlights here. In Finland, PK-35 nabbed its second straight Naistenliiga title. Our Game Magazine profiles two players who can proudly say they’ve won two league titles in just two months.

• Over to Germany, in light of recent injuries to Celia da Mbabi Okoyino (who just can’t seem to stay fit) and Josephine Henning, Silvia Neid has added two more names to the German Women’s National Team squad that is set to meet Romania on Saturday and Sweden on October 26. Duisburg’s Luisa Wensing first appeared in the national team squad that faced Switzerland last month. Viola Odebrecht’s call-up, however, is significantly more surprising. After all, Odebrecht is exactly 10 years and three days Wensing’s senior. The 28-year-old Turbine Potsdam midfielder – and former World Cup winner – has been out of the senior team picture for six and a half years and it looked like her national team days were well behind her. However, Germany has had something of an epidemic when it comes to injured central midfielders. Marina Hegering, Dzsenifer Morazsan, Kim Kulig, and Julia Simic have all sustained injuries in the past year. That helped pave the way for Odebrecht’s shocking (but totally sensible) re-call. Alas, one season at Florida State University, three German league championships, one Champions League trophy, one UEFA Women’s Cup victory, and a gig with ESPN later, Viola’s back.

One last note: You may have noticed extended absences and/or tardy posts (and e-mails) on my part. In short, circumstances have changed in the non-blogging world. Time has always been a bit limited, but this August I decided to apportion time and effort to things in a much more balanced (and responsible) way. That being said, there are still plenty of things in the AWK pipeline, not to mention the continuation of Chris’ brilliantly comprehensive coverage of the 2011 NCAA season which remains unequaled in the soccer blogosphere. Thanks for the sustained readership and support, and thanks for the patience.

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