The finalists for the 2007 player awards have been announced. Here they are along with my choices for the winners.

Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
Brad Guzan - Chivas USA
Pat Onstad - Houston Dynamo
Matt Reis - New England Revolution

I don’t think many people give Matt Reis much of a chance of winning this one.  I go with Brad Guzan.  Onstad has been there before and is doing what he has done with a defending championship team.  Guzan led a young team to the western conference title.

Fair Play Finalists - Individual
Cobi Jones - LA Galaxy
Michael Parkhurst - New England Revolution
Eddie Pope - Real Salt Lake

I have no idea who to give this one to, but I bet Carlos Ruiz will never appear on this list.  I guess I go with Parkhurst.  Sure he got carded against the Red Bulls, but they said he had

only committed 4 fouls all year long.  That is just crazy.

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Finalists
Frankie Hejduk - Columbus Crew
Eddie Johnson - Kansas City Wizards
Pat Noonan - New England Revolution

This one seems like an easy choice.  Congrats to Frankie and Pat, but Eddie Johnson has to win this one.  He has to.

Visa Defender of the Year Finalists
Michael Parkhurst - New England Revolution
Eddie Robinson - Houston Dynamo
Claudio Suarez - Chivas USA

This is tough one to pick as well, but I think I’ll choose Eddie Robinson.  No specific reason…

Gatorade Rookie of the Year Finalists
Adam Cristman - New England Revolution
Maurice Edu - Toronto FC
Dane Richards - New York Red Bulls

Dane Richards gets this one because he played for a team that wasn’t in last place.  He played for a team that didn’t set records for most consecutive scoreless minutes.  Maybe thats not a good reason, but they might be close and it is good enough for me right now.

MLS Coach of the Year Finalists
Dominic Kinnear - Houston Dynamo
Preki - Chivas USA
Tom Soehn - D.C. United

Preki.   But as a Wizards fan I’d probably pick Preki for any award any time over anyone.

Honda MLS Most Valuable Player Finalists & Newcomer of the Year
Juan Pablo Angel - New York Red Bulls
Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chicago Fire
Luciano Emilio - D.C. United

Same players for both of these awards.  I suppose they’ll give 2 of them an award, but if you are the MVP and also happen to be a newcomer wouldn’t you deserve to win both awards?  Maybe they will award the MVP and then exclude that player from the newcomer award.  That is what I will do.  I give the MVP to Juan Pablo Angel and the newcomer award to Luciano Emilio.  Why not Emilio for the MVP, because I think a great player is more valuable to a crappy team than a team that is already full of good players.  DC United is not lacking anything.  The NY Red Bulls are not the strongest lineup in the league.  Blanco just didn’t play enough weeks to warrant the award over the other 2 guys.  Had Blanco been here just as long he might have taken the MVP.

I skipped the referee of the year because I would have no idea who to pick on that one, but the nominees are Brian Hall, Jair Marrufo and Alex Prus.

What do you think, are my picks way off or have I nailed them all?