1. Bobby Rhine: What we've learned from this preseason
The FC Dallas preseason will come to a close following Saturday?s Pioneer Cup match against the Columbus Crew. Nearly eight weeks of preseason can be taxing both physically and mentally for a player. At this point the boys just want to get started. I thought it would be a good idea to look at what the preseason has accomplished thus far.

Schellas speaks often about wanting to create strong team chemistry. It is very clear to me that this team has done that. It?s easy for all teams to get along before there?s a kickoff that ?really? matters, but this group has something different. They have a trust of one another, and the staff trusts them. This team has been molded into Schellas Hyndman?s image. They are disciplined and organized. If simple mistakes led to many soft goals early at the start of the 2009 season, I can?t see those types of goals being conceded from this bunch. This team will be tough to play against. Will that translate into wins? I?m not sure just yet, but I do believe you will see consistency from FCD in 2010.

FC Dallas was 2-3 against MLS teams this preseason. During that stretch I saw the coaching staff methodically moved players into roles in which answers could be discovered through match performance. Those answers didn?t come by way of wins/losses, but by team building instead.

Schellas speaks about the desire to build competition at every single position. I believe he has achieved that to a large extent. The acquisition of Hartman was a good move. Dario and Kevin will be better for it. The back four has competition throughout all positions. There are many midfielders that could step into the XI and not miss a beat when attacking, but can they do the same work defensively? A two-way player for Hyndman is a must. Can Shea, Avila, and Chavez work enough on that side of the ball to limit defensive liability?

I also wonder who can play up top for Cunningham if he gets injured or has a dip in form. There are a couple of players that can move up top in such a case, but can they provide the legs to stretch a defense like Cunningham? Those answers are not far away, and you may see some differences this Saturday. Let me know what you think.

You can always find me on twitter/@bobbyrhine

Until next time--

2. 15 Days of March Winner #7

3. Talkin' to Konopka

4. Former Wizards Updates
Another week of former Wizards updates. Herculez Gomez continues to score goals for Puebla and is even starting to convince people he should be back in the national team picture. I'd missed the return of an MLS player as the Crew opened their CONCACAF Champion's League campaign. They closed that campaign tonight though. Hopefully we'll be seeing the MLS players return to this list as well. We'll also see another player in the US second division as Abe Thompson has signed with Miami FC. Also congrats to Sean Bowers and Paul Wright who won the PASL Premier title with the San Diego Sockers. Here is the rest of your Wizards update.

MLS
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Forgot to include last week's game, but started and played 90 minutes in the Crew's 2-2 draw with Toluca in the CONCACAF Champion's League. Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-2 loss to Toluca in the second leg.

Indoor
Sean Bowers - San Diego - Defeated Sidekicks del Estado de Mexico 6-5 in the PASL semifinals. Defeated La Raza de Guadalajara 9-8 in the PASL finals.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Had a goal and assist in Baltimore's 11-8 win over Rockford onn Friday. Had a goal in Baltimore's 8-6 OT loss to Philadelphia.
Vicente Figueroa - California - Defeated Calgary United 8-7 in the first round of the PASL playoffs on Thursday. Lost to La Raza de Guadalajara 7-5 on Friday to end their PASL season.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Scored a goal in the Sockers 6-5 win over Sidekicks del Estado de Mexico in the PASL semifinals. Had a goal and 4 assists in the Sockers 9-8 defeat of La Raza de Guadalajara in the PASL finals.

International
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Started for Ferro in their 3-1 loss to Alvarado.
Herculez Gomez - Puebla FC - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 36 minutes, scoring another goal in Puebla's 1-1 draw with Monterrey.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Harbour View defeated Tivoli Gardens 2-0.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Did not have a game this week.
Eddie Johnson - Aris FC - Greece - Came off the bench and played 3 minutes in Aris' 2-0 win over PAOK. Came off the bench in Aris' 3-1 cup win over Kavala.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Waterford's 2-0 win over Cork City.
Carlos Marinelli - CA Aldosivi - Argentina - Started and played 71 minutes in Aldosivi's 1-1 win over Sportivo Italiano.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - Started and played 90 minutes, picking up a red card in Randers' 0-0 draw with Nordsjælland
Akeem Priestly - FK Mughan - Azerbaijan - Did not play in Mughan's 2-1 win over Turan Tovuz.
Matt Taylor - FSV Frankfurt - Germany - Did not play in Frankfurt's 2-0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Columbia - Defeated Juventud last Wednesday in the Copa Colombia. Play Atlético Huila tonight in the Copa Columbia.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in Wellington's 4-2 loss to Sydney FC in the Preliminary Final.

5. Wizards Sign Diop
In a move that seemed to be coming based off of his position in preseason games, the Wizards have signed Birahim Diop to a contract. The former Metrostars player is back in MLS after a 9 year leave from the league. Diop played for the Metrostars in the 2001 and 2002 seasons, not appearing much for the club. He played in 6 games, starting 3 over his 2 seasons with the club. For the Wizards Diop has spent much of the preseason partnering Stephane Auvray in the center of midfield for what's been what most would call the Wizards first team. In the two games I've seen Diop play he brings a strong physical presence in midfield and also is a threat on set pieces and the crosses the Wizards make during the game.

The move would seem to give the Wizards some major excess baggage in midfield as the Wizards now have 5 guys that can play holding midfield. Along with Diop and Auvray, the Wizards have Jack Jewsbury, Santiago Hirsig, and the team's other new signing Craig Rocastle. With all those players stacking up in central midfield, it would seem that someone is going to be on their way out of Kansas City. With the international players coming in it could be Hirsig, or with Jewsbury's American status Jewsbury could have the most value. We'll see, but I still think we'll see one of these players leave.

6. St. Louis Game Moved Up
Due to the predicted forecast for Kansas City this weekend, the Wizards and AC St. Louis have moved up the first leg of their home and home series from this Saturday to Friday. With the move, the "Supporters' Showdown" schedule for after the game Saturday has been canceled. The Wizards final preseason game is now set for Friday at 5pm. Before the first team takes on St. Louis, the Swope Park Rangers will once again take on UMKC. That game is at 3pm. So if you have part of the day off work make it out early for that game. I'll likely be a little late but should be there fairly early in the first half of the game against St. Louis.

7. Red Bulls Coach Likes One Young Defender in Particular

8. AC STL Game Moved to Friday

9. 15 Days of March Winner #6

10. T-Shirt Vote Winner

11. Wizards top UMKC
Check out Kerry Zavagnin's thoughts on the 7-0 win through 3 45-minute sessions:

12. Wizards Defeat UMKC
The Wizards continued their preseason tonight out at CAB in a game against NCAA Division 1 UMKC tonight in a friendly that Wizards season ticket holders were invited to. The Wizards started the game with a lineup almost exactly like the one used by the white team in last Thursday's intersquad scrimmage, but early on the game was back and forth as UMKC held their own. In fact they forced a very good kick save out of Jimmy Nielsen very early in the game. Things also got a little chippy as the half went on, with Davy Arnaud taking a hard foul that earned the UMKC player a yellow. Shortly after, Arnaud and another UMKC player saw yellow and we got a bit of a shoving match as Arnaud appeared to elbow the UMKC player trying to get a little retribution for the hard foul. The Wizards grabbed the lead late in the first 45 minute period as UMKC had some very lax defending as Ryan Smith took the ball right off the defenders own foot inside his own box, took a touch and slipped the ball past the keeper to give KC the lead.

The Wizards made only one change after 45 minutes with Pablo Escobar coming on for Jimmy Conrad. KC doubled their lead on a very nice play by Stephane Auvray after a through ball from Chance Myers. Auvray danced by a few defender in the box that sent the keeper the wrong way and Auvray slid the ball into the net to double the lead. KC began to really control the game more and more and UMKC got less of the ball. UMKC started to get more frustrated and Arnaud was once again fouled about 25 yards from goal. Arnaud stepped up on the free kick and put it off the post and into the net to the keepers right, a really nice free kick to make it 3-0. With KC continuing to dominate possession, UMKC loss a player to a second yellow card. They immediately replaced the player so the Wizards didn't play with a man advantage, but it showed the physicality that was taking place in the friendly. KC made it 4-0 before the end of the second 45 minute period as Michael Harrington streaked down the left and played a nice lofted cross where substitute Jonathan Leathers had time to place a looping header back across goal and over the head of the keeper into the net.

KC had made a few changes over the course of the second period, but made even more before the final period started. With UMKC not having as many players, the Wizards continued to be the team that controlled the game especially with the fresh legs. It did take a little while for those fresh legs to get underneath them in the offensive end, but finally Zoltan Hercegfalvi hit a rocket that made it 5-0. The ball only rarely got deep into KC's half as the period went on and KC continued to find ways into the Kangaroos box. Teal Bunbury got brought down on one of those runs being awarded a PK. Bunbury stepped up and placed the ball to the keepers left out of reach to make it 6-0. With less than 2 minutes left in the game, KC added the extra point as Santiago Hirsig knocked home a corner to give KC the 7-0 win.

Overall it was a good performance although the lack of goals in the first period against the college team was a little frustrating, still it was nice to see the team continue to play well and combine. Smith continues to be very impressive and Auvray really is a beast in the center of midfield, both these guys I think are going to have good seasons in MLS.

13. Mourinho Triumphs in Return to Stamford Bridge

14. Home Opener T-Shirt Vote
Good Evening Supporters,


Thanks and see you all in 11 days,
Andrew

Andrew Steinberg
Executive Vice President
Kansas City Wizards

P.S. If you don't yet have your tickets to the game, give us a call at 888-4KC-GOAL or click here.

Click on the shirt to enlarge; winning shirt might change slightly for printing reasons.

15. 15 Days of March Winner #5

16. Get to Know Ryan Smith

17. Jimmy Conrad's Bracket Challenge

18. Rocastle Signed, Smith and Kostrov Official, More on Chhetri, and Pardo Waived
Quite a bit of player news from the Wizards today involving different players coming to and leaving Kansas City. First the Wizards have signed one of their latest trialists to a contract. While the rumors had been that Sunil Chhetri would be signing with KC, he's not the latest signing. Instead it's Craig Rocastle, the midfielder who came into camp around the same time as Chhetri. This move appears to be in the works for a week or so now. Rocastle has played for multiple English teams in his 9 year professional career, last playing with Forest Green Rovers. Of the moves the Wizards have made this preseason, this may be the one I am most underwhelmed with. Rocastle is on his 15th team in 10 years as a professional player, playing 174 for the previous 14 over the 9 years. He's also been going the wrong way down the table from his height at Chelsea as he was most recently playing in the English Conference, the 5th division in England. At 28 years old, the fact that he's not made his way back up the table is frustrating that we've gone and signed the player who 's better known as being the brother of David Rocastle. This move just doesn't make a lot of sense in my opinion.

Moving onto more official player signing news, news that had already been reported in other sources. That's the signing of midfielders Ryan Smith and Igor Kostrov. Smith has had an impressive preseason and appears to have won the starting left sided midfield spot, taking the place of Claudio Lopez. From what I've seen of Smith him and Espinoza are going to cause fits for teams down the Wizards left side, it was almost a seamless attack no matter which of the two was going forward. Kostrov had been with the Wizards for most of the team's preseason impressing enough to earn a contract. At this point it appears Kostrov will be coming off the bench playing anywhere in the midfield for the Wizards.

Yesterday I reported on the Wizards potential signing of Indian international, Sunil Chhetri. That news has continued today as more places pick up on the story making it appear more likely KC will be signing the striker. Some of the latest news talks about how Chhetri has an out clause in his contract with his I-League team that will allow him to leave to join the Wizards. While I'm a little cautious of this move as well based on where Chhetri has played, unlike Rocastle, Chhetri has at least consistently played at the top level and has been offered contracts with teams at high levels in England recently, unlike Rocastle.

Finally, the Wizards have parted ways with another former player, as the team has waived goalkeeper, Boris Pardo. Pardo had spent the past two years with the Wizards while the year before he was a league keeper and trained with Kansas City. In his 2 years with KC, Pardo appeared in one game for the Wizards, the team's 2009 US Open Cup game against the Minnesota Thunder. The Wizards won the game on penalty kicks in no small part due to Pardo who stopped 2 penalty kicks in the shoot out to put the Wizards through to the next round. He won man of the match for that performance. Also released was Louis Crayton. Neither of these moves is really surprising after the signings of Jimmy Nielsen and Eric Kronberg, while Pardo and Crayton were fighting for a roster spot their chances went far down with those signings.

19. 15 Days of March Winner #4
March 12th ? Wizards personalized replica jersey Laura Carder
March 13th ? An appearance by Dynamo at an event of the winner?s choosing Mark Betsch
March 14th ? Autographed soccer ball signed by the 2010 Wizards Judie Richey
March 15th ? Watch the Wizards pre-season game on March 20th at Swope Park from the Wizards bench Ashley Chisam

Upcoming Prizes:

20. Smith, Kostrov, Rocastle Signed

21. MLSSoccer.com Coming Soon

Welcome to MLSsoccer.com from mlsinsider on Vimeo.

22. FC Dallas welcomes new addition to the family
Congratulations to Daniel Hernandez and his wife who welcomed baby girl Caylee Gabrielle to the family on Thursday, March 11.

23. Beckham's Achilles' Tendon 'Totally Torn,' According to Surgeon

24. FC Dallas shuts out Philadelphia Union in first meeting
TAMPA, Fla. ? In a match that saw three players sent off, multiple yellow cards and a second-half scuffle at midfield, FC Dallas came out ahead of the expansion Philadelphia Union, 2-0, at Tampa University?s Pepin Stadium.

?I thought our players played with courage,? said Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman. ?They dished out as much as they took. Both (Eric Avila) and Brek (Shea) started tonight and they both fought for every goal. It?s one of those things as a coach you look at and say, okay, we made some really good progress here ? a lot of intensity, a lot of courage, some nice goals. I thought some players really stepped up, but it was a real team performance tonight.?

An intensely physical match, both teams spent the majority of the 90 minutes battling in the midfield. The difference in the contest was Dallas? ability to finish opportunities, starting with Dax McCarty in the 10th minute. A through ball from Atiba Harris found McCarty on the wing and McCarty was able to cut it inside the right post for the first score of the night.

Dallas picked up an insurance goal in the 76th minute off a free kick with Ruben Luna heading a cross from David Ferreira into the back of the net. The goal was Luna?s third score of the weekend.

?Ruben?s really got a great knack on finishing,? said Hyndman. ?He?s one of the better finishers we?ve seen and to think he just turned 18. He?s a great player that?s coming out of our Academy, and it was a great ball by David to put it to the far post, isolate the goalkeeper, and then Ruben came in and did what he does well ? he finishes.?

Moments after the second Dallas goal, Luna got tangled up with Danny Califf at midfield and Califf threw a hard elbow into Luna?s chest sparking both squads into pushing and shoving and ending with the second Union red card of the night. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Michael Orozco earned the squad?s third red. Alejandro Moreno drew the team?s first red in the 38th minute.

Dallas nearly picked up a third goal with 10 minutes to go after Shea drew a hard foul on the left side. Ferreira found Jason Yeisley on the free kick, but Yeisley?s shot was stopped by the keeper.

Philadelphia?s Sebastien Le Toux twice had a chance to score for the Union, but couldn?t convert on either, sending one shot sailing high over the crossbar and another wide.

Dallas returns home to face the Columbus Crew Saturday, March 20 in the Pioneer Cup at Pizza Hut Park.

Scoring Summary:
FCD ? Dax McCarty 10
FCD ? Ruben Luna (David Ferreira) 76

Misconduct Summary:
Only thing missing was Michael Buffer in a tux

FC Dallas: Kevin Hartman (Dario Sala 46), Jair Benitez, George John, Ugo Ihemelu (Kyle Davies 73), Anthony Wallace (Zach Loyd 46), Daniel Hernandez (Eric Alexander 76), Brek Shea, Dax McCarty (Bruno Guarda 65), David Ferreira, Eric Avila (Ruben Luna 46), Atiba Harris (Jason Yeisley 68).
Philadelphia: Did not turn in a lineup

25. 15 Days of March Winner #3

26. Chhetri Move Appearing Likely
It looks like the Wizards are definitely making a move to sign Indian national team player, Sunil Chhetri. Word out of India today is that Chhetri's I-League club, Dempo SC has released the striker so that he can make his move to MLS and the Kansas City Wizards. Chhetri will join what appears to be a growing strike force for KC. The Wizards already have Davy Arnaud, Teal Bunbury, Zoltan Hercegfalvi, Kei Kamara, and Josh Wolff as forwards. Adding Chhetri would give the Wizards another potential speed forward up top.

With the team's lack of scoring last season, I like that KC is bringing in more forwards. After the struggles in the middle of last season, the Wizards have brought in 3 new strikers (Bunbury, Hercegfalvi, and Kamara) so Peter Vermes obviously saw that area of the team as a position that needed some upgrading. The question now is who's going to make the starting position theirs. Right now it appears Arnaud and Wolff have that distinction, which is ok with me, but I'd personally rather have at least one "target" striker in there, a guy that can get on the end of crosses. That's the one thing I think was missing last Thursday in the intersquad scrimmage, the white team didn't have a guy that could hold the ball up back to goal really well. Chhetri, as I said, is a speed forward, so he wouldn't fill that gap, but I like that we continue to bring in other players to challenge for spots.

27. Open Tryout Call Backs
The first day of open tryouts finished up out at the Wizards Swope Park training complex and the Wizards have announced 47 players that have been invited back for the second day. I didn't make it out to the tryouts today due to weather and other commitments, I'll be out for a little bit of day 2 tomorrow though.

A couple of players that I mentioned earlier this week have been invited back for the second day of tryouts. Those names include Alain Matingou, Jose Ballesteros, Brendan Hanaphy, Jason Blocker, Cesar Zambrano, Mauricio Curiel Hernandez, Garrett Jahn, Jorge Faivre, Derek D'Agostino, Makai Werring, Sam Klos, Stiven Ospina, Addison Stonestreet, Tyler Kellogg, Vincent Torres, Yannick Araman, Robert Mueller, Paul Kihara, and Matt Stufflebeam. Along with Tshepo Edwin Mutlaneng and Dorian Caballero who tried out last year.

Did another look for the other players that made day two and found some that I missed, Ben Everson and Dominic Furness are from Davy Arnaud's alma mater, West Texas A&M. Charles Brooks played at UNC Wilmington. Found this video of Horace James. Another youtube video, this time of Josh Gable.

28. 15 Days of March Winner #2

The upcoming prizes are:
March 14th ? Autographed soccer ball signed by the 2010 Wizards
March 15th ? Watch the Wizards pre-season game on March 20th at Swope Park from the Wizards bench
March 16th ? A US National Team Jersey
March 17th ? A tour of Weston Brewing Company, the brewer of Drop Kick Ale
March 18th ? 4 Field Side Reserved tickets to the Wizards home opener
March 19th ? Dinner for 4 at Dave & Buster?s
March 20th ? A round of golf at the National for 4
March 21st ? A tour of the Swope Park training facility by a member of the Wizards coaching staff
March 22nd ? One night?s stay at the Hyatt Crown Center
March 23rd ? Authentic Wizards home jersey
March 24th ? One luxury suite night for a 2010 Wizards home game
March 25th ? Post game meet and greet with a Wizards player
March 26th ? Get interviewed on the Wizards pregame prior to a 2010 Wizards broadcast
March 27th ? 4 VIP passes to World Cup viewing parties

29. FC Dallas, Tampa Bay Rowdies play to 2-2 draw
TAMPA, Fla. ? FC Dallas Juniors striker Ruben Luna netted two goals in the first five minutes of the second half, but it was only good enough for a draw as the host Tampa Bay Rowdies found the equalizer on a defensive miscue less than a minute later for a 2-2 tie as part of the Tom Fitzgerald Soccer Festival at the University of Tampa?s Pepin Stadium Friday night.

Tampa Bay trialist Chad Burt gave the Rowdies the lead in the 38th minute, scorching a free kick from about 30 yards out through a gap in the wall. Dallas had their chances throughout the first half, but had trouble finishing. Tampa goalkeeper Daryl Sattler almost muffed what should have been an easy stop in the 13th minute. Then, in the 21st minute, Heath Pearce beat two defenders down the right side, looking for a trailing Jeff Cunningham in front of the box, but their timing was slightly off. Seconds later, Pearce found Ugo Ihemelu on a corner kick, but Ihemelu?s header to the near post was saved by the keeper.

In the 28th minute, David Ferreira delivered a perfectly timed through ball to Dax McCarty who touched it over to Atiba Harris for a wide-open shot with the goalkeeper out of position, but his attempt rolled harmlessly past the near post.

The second half of the contest saw a pre-planned fresh Dallas lineup, with Kevin Hartman replacing Dario Sala in goal and Dallas moving to a 4-4-2 with Jason Yeisley and Luna up top. The fresh legs made a difference, immediately picking up the match tempo. In the first minute of the half, Eric Avila made a run, finding Yeisley who passed to Luna for a nice finish. Four minutes later, Brek Shea cleared the defense but his shot hit the far post. The ball caromed right to Luna who ran on for an easy tap-in to the undefended side of the net.

The Dallas lead was short-lived as less than a minute later miscommunication on defense left an open net behind Hartman for the second Tampa goal of the match. Yeisley had a couple of chances to put Dallas back on top, but his first shot sailed high and wide, and his next two were saved by the keeper. In the 64th minute, Shea dropped a beautiful pass over a defender and into the box for Yeisley from about 30 yards out, but the rookie?s header was stopped by the keeper.

FC Dallas is back in action at Pepin Stadium Sunday night when they take on the MLS expansion Philadelphia Union at 7 p.m. ET.

Scoring Summary:
TB ? Chad Burt 38
FCD ? Ruben Luna (Jason Yeisley) 46
FCD ? Ruben Luna 50
TB ? Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe 51

Misconduct Summary:
They gave out yellow cards like beads at a Mardi Gras parade tonight? I lost count of the Tampa ones (sorry), but for FC Dallas there were the following:
Jair Benitez 15
Eric Avila 74

FC Dallas: Dario Sala (Kevin Hartman 46), Jair Benitez (Edson Edward 46), Ugo Ihemelu (Steve Purdy 46), George John (Kyle Davies 46), Zach Loyd (Anthony Wallace 46), Eric Alexander (Eric Avila 46), Heath Pearce (Brek Shea 46), David Ferreira (Bruno Guarda 46), Dax McCarty (Andrew Wiedeman 46), Atiba Harris (Jason Yeisley 46), Jeff Cunningham (Ruben Luna 46).

30. Saint Lloris, Savior of Les Bleus

31. 15 Days of March Winner

32. Wizards 5-2 Wizards

33. Wizards Win Intersquad Scrimmage
As was expected tonight, the Wizards won their game against, the Wizards. In a closed to the public scrimmage tonight out at CAB, the Wizards white defeated the Wizards blue 5-2. Chance Myers and Josh Wolff each had a brace while Ryan Smith added one. Blue got their goals from Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury. Judging by the lineups I posted in the play-by-play posting, the white team would appear to be a likely starting lineup if the season starts on time. That team got a quick start with Myers opening the scoring in the 9th minute with his head off a cross from Michael Harrington after he worked a good sequence with Davy Arnaud. Harrington was involved in the second goal as well when he played in Wolff who got in front of his man enough to get a shot off that 5-holed Eric Kronberg in the blue net to double the lead in the 13th. Blue continued to dominate play, with Wolff having another goal called back for being offside. Blue did have some decent moments in the first half though, but didn't really test Jimmy Nielsen much. Their best chance in the first half came when Nielsen made a mess of a clearance, but recovered in time to keep Bunbury from scoring.

At half time, Jack Jewsbury (who is still recovering from offseason surgery) made way for Igor Kostrov. As the half wore on, Mauro Fuzetti came on for an injured Jonathan Leathers and Boris Pardo entered for Kronberg, but that was the extent of the subs. The rest of the players got their first 90 minute game of the season. Myers made it 3-0 in the 54th minute, and only a few minutes later Smith had to just tap the ball in after Arnaud had drawn the defenders to his side of the field making it 4-0. As the game wore on, both teams started to get tired and the game opened up a lot more with breaks for each time almost one after the other. During this time we got to see what Nielsen could do and he made some very good saves on shots by Graham Zusi and Kamara. You knew that blue was going to score the way the game was going, but it took a brilliant goal by Kamara to finally breach Nielsen's net. Kamara received the ball at the top of the penalty circle with his back to goal, faked to his right, cut back left, turned and hit a rocket into the upper 90 of Nielsen's near post. An amazing goal that left Nielsen with no chance, very nice.

White came back down the field immediately though and regained their 4 goal lead, as Myers was brought down in the box. Wolff stepped up and buried the PK making it 5-1. White continued to push for a 6th, with Wolff going wide and then having a shot nicely saved by Pardo. Bunbury finished off the scoring in the 86th. Kamara dribbled into the box, going at Harrington and turning him, Kamara picked out Bunbury about 10 yards from goal, he took a touch and shot, the ball deflected off the hand of Matt Besler, but still trickled into the net, as Nielsen had already committed himself the other way to try and save Bunbury's inital shot before it deflected.

Overall it was an impressive performance from both teams, even though the score appears lopsided. The Wizards are going to be extremely dangerous this year on the wings, Smith and Roger Espinoza did extremely well working together on their wing working 1-2s and overlapping runs. The same was true on the right for Myers and Harrington they're going to be threats all season. My one issue is I'd like a taller forward like Kamara on the field to get on the end of their crosses. Stephane Auvray and Birahim Diop controlled the center of midfield making it hard for blue to develop their attack. Zoltan Hercegfalvi for blue also had some very good moments in helping develop attacks for blue but couldn't get people on the end for shots. While Kamara showed a willingness to go at defender and try to beat them which is something the team sorely lacked last season.

Wizards Man of the Match - Ryan Smith - After seeing him tonight, I am becoming a big fan he looks extremely impressive. He's going to surprise a lot of teams I think, he's fast not just speed, but speed of play, he sees the field well and makes good decisions.

Honorable mention - Chance Myers, Josh Wolff, Kei Kamara

34. Strike Appears Much Closer
The start of the 2010 MLS season looks to be in deep jeopardy after all the news that has come out today regarding the collective bargaining agreement. For those that missed it, the players union has voted overwhelmingly in favor of supporting a strike. The final tally was 350+ to 2 in favor of supporting it. Quotes from players in different articles posted today don't sound too encouraging either, and form the sounds of it, the players are planning to walk out at midnight on March 25th, the day the season is supposed to kick off. The league and the players union have since gone back and forth trading comments about the recent news of a potential strike. The fans are getting stuck in the middle.

And while many people support the players and there want to have more freedom within the league, just as many seem to be support the owners. And with unemployment still hovering close to 10%, it's going to be hard for the players to win over some of those fans that support the owners. And for a history lesson on soccer strikes in this country, check out the end of this Sports Business Daily article for information on the NASL strike that was one of the reasons for the leagues demise. The quote from Steve Gans is very telling because it's still as true today as it was then, "not enough people cared about it to keep the momentum going. The critical mass wasn?t there; there weren?t enough roots set down." Hopefully a strike doesn't happen, but at this point I'm not holding my breath on that.

35. Chhetri Close to Contract
Word out of India today is that the Wizards are close to signing Indian national team forward Sunil Chhetri. Chhetri had trained with the Wizards down in Arizona, but has since returned to India. According to the report, though, Chhetri is close to securing a contract with KC. Chhetri had been on Celtic's radar and was close to signing with Coventry City and QPR but work permit issues got in the way. Chhetri would join a growing list of new international players in KC if he ends up signing.

36. Beckham Grabs the Scarf, but Not the Reins, of Protest

37. Wizards Scrimmage Play-by-Play
In the Wizards press box getting ready to watch the Wizards closed door scrimmage. Play-by-play will be in this thread.

Lineups

Second half is under way.

48th minute, both sides have had chances, Arnaud tries for the glory shot from long range, well high and wide.

50th, Kraus with a nice tackle on Arnaud, springs a counter, Kamara shot deflected wide. Header over the bar.

52nd, blue getting more pressure. Now, earning a corner. Someone is down right now behind the boards, can't see who.

53rd, there has been a sub for blue, Kostrov or Fuzetti is in for blue Jewsbury is out.

54th, 3-0 white, Myers with the goal.

55th, another sub as whoever was hurt behind the goal is limping off.

57th, 4-0 white, Smith from Arnaud with an open goal. And it appears that Leathers went off hurt.

58th, Kraus tries to beat Harrington, but can't get past.

59th, shot wide by Fuzetti.

60th, first really nice reaction save by Nielsen, good reflexes to stop Zusi.

60th, white back down the field, Smith rounds Kronberg but puts it how.

63rd, Smith just off side on a fast break.

64th, Smith with a low cross, just too far out in front of Arnaud, Kronberg collects.

66th, Smith tries to cross over Kraus, earns a corner.

67th, on the corner Myers just misses

68th, Teal with a good turn, but shots right at Nielsen.

69th, Pardo on for Kronberg.

70th, good break by white, crosses is too far in front of Arnaud, but too far from Pardo, goes through the box.

71st, K finds Bunbury who beats his defender but then takes 1 too many touches and Conrad recovers.

72nd, GOAL, blue, Kamara gets the ball at the top of the circle, turns and fires a rocket that beats Nielsen near side, 4-1.

73rd, white back down the field, earns a PK when Myers facing away from the goal is fouled.

74th GOAL! white, Wolff from the spot, 5-1.

76th, getting a little chippy now, a few unneeded fouls, white with a free kick from 20 out to Pardo's left is headed just wide by Diop.

78th, Bunbury with a shot that hits Nielsen in the chest and is chested back to him by Conrad.

78th, Wolff with a volley just wide after a flick by Smith.

79th, blue with good possession, getting some crosses in but not getting on the end of it.

81st, blue earns another corner. Diop clears and then a foul on blue about 18 yards out.

82nd, free kick is off the wall. and then goes out for a goal kick

84th, Pardo with a nice save on Wolff for a corner. Pardo claims the corner.

86th, Kamara goes at Harrington, turns him, gets into box, crosses to Bunbury, shot is deflected on the way in off Besler's hand but still goes past Nielsen into the net. 5-2.

87th, blue continues to be dominate team right now, earns a corner after Bunbury misses from close range.

88th, white earns a corner after a through ball by Diop is deflected out.

88th, white plays short and holds in the corner, earns a foul.

89th, Kamara earns fast break, plays wide to Zusi who gets in box and shots at Nielsen, who parries shot high.

90th, blue tries to break one more time, but shot is blocked, and that's game, 5-2 final with white winning the game.

That's game, good performance by the first team, a little lax late with the lead and let blue get some goals, but a good performance overall, full write up coming tonight.

38. Intra-Squad Scrimmage Live Blog

<p><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=051cf9d981" >Intra-Squad Scrimmage</a></p>

39. One on One with Daniel Hernandez

One on One: Daniel Hernandez from FC Dallas on Vimeo.

40. FIFA World Cup 2010 Trailer
It's coming out in April. Check it out:

41. Lots of Practice Content/Thanks

42. Former Wizards Update
Another week of former Wizards updates, the indoor season is winding down, but the spring starting leagues are coming around with Chris Konopka and Yura Movsisyan joining the list with their seasons beginning. Elsewhere on the field, Herculez Gomez continues his very good run of form scoring another goal for Puebla. Kevin Hartman has joined the former Wizards list with his trade to Dallas. Also in Dallas, but not the MLS team, is Jose Burciaga who has become the owner/GM/player for Texas League Soccer team, Los Lobos FC.

Indoor
Sean Bowers - San Diego - Defeated Vitesse Dallas 11-7 in the US Arena Open Cup.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Played in Baltimore's 12-8 win over Philadelphia on Friday. Played in Baltimore's 12-11 win over Monterrey Saturday.
Vicente Figueroa - California - Did not have a game this week.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Defeated Vitesse Dallas 11-7 in the US Arena Open Cup.

International
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Started and played 59 minutes in Ferrocarril's 3-1 winn over Independiente Tandil
Herculez Gomez - Puebla FC - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Puebla's 4-1 loss to UNAM.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Played in Harbour View's 3-2 win over Rivoli United.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Lost 1-0 to Segesta.
Eddie Johnson - Aris FC - Greece - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in Aris' 1-1 draw with Kavala.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Started and played 90 minutes recording the shut out in Waterford's 3-0 win over Wexford Youths.
Carlos Marinelli - CA Aldosivi - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Aldosivi's 2-0 loss to Olimpo. Started and played 57 minutes inn Aldosivi's 2-0 winn over All Boys.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - Started and played 90 minutes in Randers 0-0 draw with Esbjerg.
Akeem Priestly - FK Mughan - Azerbaijan - Did not have a game this past week.
Matt Taylor - FSV Frankfurt - Germany - Did not dress in Frankfurt's 1-1 draw with Kaiserslautern.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Columbia - Did not play in Quindío's 1-0 loss to Cúcuta Deportivo.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Came off the bench in the 109th minute, playing the final 11 minutes in Wellington's 3-1 win over the Newcastle Jets in the Minor Semifinal.

43. New Twitter Handle/Practice Report

44. Columbus Rallies for a Tie in Concacaf Champions League

45. Meet Kevin Hartman
FCD.com: This is your third MLS team. What?s the process like when you join a new team in a new city?

Kevin Hartman: Well, I think that you go through it and you take a look at the positives. Obviously if the team is interested in you then you feel confident and you?re excited about the new challenge. I always feel like getting into the community as quickly as possible and getting engaged with the fan base is important for me. But just working hard ? I think if you?re able to prove to the other players that you care about this, and that you?re willing to work for it ? they have a lot of respect for that.

I?ve played with a lot of the guys on the team before and have a ton of respect for them. It?s a place that I?m excited about coming because I really feel like the team is very, very good and has the opportunity to be successful. This is my third team, and I felt really fortunate to be in L.A. for 10 years. But I also felt fortunate to go to Kansas City and was able to prove that I could play at a high level away from home. So now to have the chance to do it again in Dallas is something I?m really excited about.

FCD.com: You?ve won your fair share of trophies. Is there any memory in particular that stands out?

Hartman: I had the opportunity to win the MLS Cup Championship here in 2005, and that memory is something I really hold dear to me. So to be able to come here and play in this great facility and be in Dallas is something I?m excited about.

FCD.com: Fans obviously know you?re a talented goalkeeper, but they may not know that you?ve actually authored a children?s book. Tell us a little bit more about that.

Hartman: I was doing a lot of literacy work for Major League Soccer back when they had a literacy program, and I always found myself reading Dr. Seuss. I didn?t necessarily connect with Dr. Seuss ? even though I have to read them all the time to my daughter ? and I thought it was interesting that I was a soccer player but we never talked about soccer.

So I wrote a children?s book called Boots Saves the Day. It?s about a kitten who wants to play soccer, and it?s really a cool thing ? he overcomes a lot of obstacles and in the end he perseveres.

It was really an opportunity to kind of connect with a younger group of kids and hopefully provide them with a little bit of an impetus to get out there and read, not because they have to for school but because they really enjoy it?.I didn?t really get into reading personally until I had enough free time like on an airplane or something, so that?s when I started reading and realized what a great world is out there for it.

FCD.com: You?ll be relocating your family to the Dallas area, tell us a little bit more about them.

Hartman: Well, my wife?s name is Jennifer and she?s a graphic designer. She actually stopped working for a little bit because we have (daughter) Chloe Madison now, who?s a great girl. She?s always up for whatever, she loves playing and likes to run around a lot. She?s just a fireball; she?s three and a half now (Chloe was born in November of 2006).

It?s fun to watch her grow and hear her start to put words together and come up with real good arguments as to why she should be allowed to do something versus why she shouldn?t be allowed to do it. Over the past couple months especially I?ve gotten to spend tons and tons of time with her.

And like I said, my wife?s a graphic designer and she actually worked on Strike Zone for ESPN and won an Emmy for that (Hartman?s wife helped to design the ?K-Zone,? which accurately outlines the strike zone and pitch location and debuted on ESPN in 2001). So that?s her big trophy that she sits beside all my little trophies and laughs at me. We just really have a great relationship, so I can?t wait to get them out here to Dallas.

46. 15 Days of March Giveaways

47. Podcast for 3/6/10
Last Friday Thad and I recorded the latest edition of the Game, Set, Match Report (we are looking for a new name). We talked more about the CBA negotiations, the Wizards new TV deal with KCWE, the Wizards continued preseason results and the upcoming St. Louis games, we finished up by discussing more of the Wizards roster moves that they continue to make this preseason. The podcast was divided into two parts (part 1, part 2).

FYI Thad and I have been noticing an issue with not hearing the whole thing when you play it on the site, but if you download it, you get the whole thing. If you got any name suggestions or if you know of a good site to host podcasts, please let us know.

48. Construction Update

49. Kings Fall Short at Nationals
The KC Kings made another good showing at the PASL Premier finals, but unfortunately once again the team fell short of the title, this year losing in the semifinals to the LA Bolts. In group play the Kings defeated the Bolts 10-1 and lost to Vitesse Dallas 5-3. Due to Alamo City not making it to the finals, the Kings got a bye into the quarterfinals where they defeated Ft. Collins 7-1 setting up a rematch with the Bolts. Unfortunately for the Kings, the Bolts had gotten their legs under them and put up a fight defeating the Kings in a shootout after drawing 2-2 in regulation.

This came after the Kings had to forfeit their US Open Cup Arena game against 1790 Cincinnati Express due to travel. The tournament as a whole that I've seen since following it is that the tournament was a complete clusterf*ck of a tournament.

50. Hartman/Link Roundup/Int'l Notes

51. Bobby Rhine: Hartman joins the FCD fold
Kevin Hartman has appeared in four MLS Cup finals. He leads the league in virtually every goalkeeping category. He has a wealth of experience while entering his 14th season in Major League Soccer. So what does this mean for FC Dallas?

Dario Sala has been the Dallas No. 1 for the last several seasons. Both are 35 years-old, and similar in style. They have a knack for making the spectacular save on one hand, while perhaps making a mistake on the other. I suppose that is the reality of goalkeeping.

This is a good problem to have for FCD Head Coach Schellas Hyndman. He has two experienced professionals who will battle it out on a daily basis to win the starting job. The goal for them is clear, but the result for the team is a boost in confidence because whichever goalkeeper leads the team out on the field on matchdays will have earned the right to play. Hyndman has been clear about his desire to create competition at every position, and this is a good move.

Hartman has a lot to prove. He was unable to reach an agreement with his former club and found himself looking for a new team. This leaves Hartman motivated to prove himself and push the goalkeeper position for FC Dallas to new heights. He has played every minute of every game in each of his last three seasons with Kansas City, and has remained relatively injury free. Dallas did concede the most goals of any team in MLS last season so both he and Sala will want to make sure the same could not be said in 2010. 

Kevin Hartman in Dallas from FC Dallas on Vimeo.

52. Fiorentina Wins, but Bayern Munich Is Through

53. W.P.S. Optimistic After Its Off-Season Shuffling

54. Open Tryout Participants
It's that time of year again, time for the Wizards open tryouts. While none of last years tryout participants made the team, quite a few got invited back to train over the course of the season. This year's teams list is out now on the Wizards site, overall it looks like there are 133 players signed up this year, and here's a look at some of the players I may have found with some quick google searches.

Pride Nyakudya, a midfielder from the United Kingdom.

Alain Matingou, a local defender at Park University.

Joshua Schmidt, is listed as a field player, I did find a Joshua Schmidt who is a goalkeeper at Memphis, so I doubt it's the same player, but you never know.

Kory Pacheco, played at Rhode Island College.

It would appear that Hector Cardona did as well.

I may have found Diego Lozano, a high school player from Minnesota.

I found a Derek D'Agostino who played high school soccer in Florida.

Found Jose Ballesteros at North Idaho College.

Brendan Hanaphy played at York College.

Jason Blocker went to the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.

Makai Werring was a defender at Moorpark College.

Jacob Spalholz played at Broome Community College.

Tshepo Edwin Mutlaneng tried out last year.

Noah Suter played for Western Illinois.

Francisco Arellano played at Dixie State College.

Diego Cardenas played at Bethel College.

Andres Felipe Molano tried out last year and made day 2.

If it's the same guy, Mauricio Curiel Hernandez, played for Tapatío.

Cesar Zambrano played for the Rapids last year.

Paul Kihara is a Kenyan via Canada.

Djamel Bouriche plays for Birmingham (AL) City FC.

Dorian Caballero advanced to day two last year as well.

Elvir Kafedzic signed with AC St. Louis, I'm guessing he signed up for the tryouts before being signed.

If this is the same Sam Klos, he's the student manager for UMKC's golf team, but played soccer when in high school at Rockhurst.

Simone Bracalello tried out last year, found his soccer resume online again.

Sam Tejada, if it's the same guy, he's a former Arkansas ODP player.

Stiven Ospina played for the PDL-Pro Laredo Heat.

Elijah Yazdani, I found this youtube video of a guy with the same name, so not sure.

Sammy Tork played for Vanier College.

Garrett Jahn played at William Jewell and tried out last year.

George Busumbru played for Wallington FC if that link is correct.

Addison Stonestreet played for KU's club soccer team.

Kyamran Tairov participated last year.

Kingsley Folabit played for Schulz Soccer Academy in the US Soccer Developmental Academy.

Tyler Kellogg played at Kellogg Community College.

Gino Pecchenino is from Argentina if this is the same guy.

Jorge Faivre played for El Paso United (again if it's the same guy).

Uziel Franco is from Cassville.

Vincent Torres is playing for Florida Atlantic.

Kyle Yager played at St. Ambrose.

Yannick Araman may have played for German Plus Jakarta in 2007.

Kyle Bak attended Western New England College and attended the USL Showcase.

Robert Mueller plays at the University of Memphis.

Mark Pataky played for Western Connecticut State.

Matt Stufflebeam played for the Springfield Demize and has tried out the last two years.

Terry Watts played at Washtenaw Community College.

Let me know if you know of any I for sure missed, cause I'm sure there are a few.

55. Wizards Trade Hartman
Word earlier today from 3rd Degree was that the Wizards had traded the rights to goalkeeper Kevin Hartman to Dallas. The Wizards have officially announced the trade this evening. In return for the Wizards former starting keeper, the Wizards are getting a 2012 second round draft pick. Hartman started all 90 league games for the Wizards over his 3 years with KC and was considered by many to be the team's best player over that time frame. Many Wizards fans are still upset that Hartman will not be back in a Wizards uniform this year.

56. Rejection of Technologies Won't End Debate

57. Open Tryouts Begin Saturday

58. Wizards Leave Arizona with Win
The Wizards closed out their stretch of preseason today in Arizona with a 4-0 rain shortened win over the Arizona Sahuaros and Grand Canyon University. While a full break down of what happened hasn't been posted yet, we've been told via twitter that Teal Bunbury and Ryan Smith both had braces for the Wizards. Also mentioned through the reports is that Michael Harrington had three assists in the game. The other assist went to Stephane Auvray who assisted on Bunbury's first. The game was called in the second half due to a downpour.

The Wizards now return to KC and will train at Swope Park in preparation for the final preseason game against St. Louis and their season opener on the 27th against DC United.

59. Chicago 3, FC Dallas 0 -- Jackson, Miss.

60. Looking at Lance Watson
Last night while recording this week's podcast, I was reminded that I hadn't done my customary "goodbye" to Lance Watson that I have done for other players that have left the Wizards. In his career in KC, Watson appeared in 36 league games, starting 24 of them, 19 of those starts came in the 2009 season when he was consistently the team's right back. He recorded his only assist in the team's 1-1 draw with DC in May of the 2009 season. He finished with 2,182 minutes played in league play. He added one playoff appearance, for a total of one minute along with multiple US Open Cup games and a couple SuperLiga games to finish his Wizards career with 43 games played, 29 starts for a total of 2,626 minutes played in all competitions.

61. World Cup With an Accent on TV in United States

62. Kick Around is Back!
Shockingly I heard from a friend of mine today that is wanting to get the local KC kickaround together for anyone interested. He's looking to potentially put an indoor team together so if you're interested in playing indoor, or just interested in kicking the ball around on Sunday, come out to the Wizards training facility out at Swope Park, we'll be playing on one of the nearby fields. Start time is around 10am.

63. Goodson, a Late Bloomer, Peaks at the Right Time

64. AC St. Louis Games Set
According to KSDK out of St. Louis, the Wizards home and home series with St. Louis is set, and with a twist. The first leg will be in KC at the Wizards Swope Park training complex March 20th at 2pm. The return leg will be two weeks later on April 3rd at AB Soccer Park at 7pm. Not only will the Wizards and ACSTL be playing, but the teams are also setting up a "Supporters Showdown" to have the fans of the two teams play after each of the games. The winner on aggregate will get themselves a trophy presented to the captain. So the fans can get their boots out and have some fun as well.

65. All Seattle Sounders FC goals
As the preseason rages on you can enjoy every goal from the first season of Seattle Sounders FC right here! This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan BlogAll Seattle Sounders FC goals Related posts:How Long can the Seattle Sounders FC stay perfect? Seattle Sounders FC loan out their only player Seattle Sounders FC

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

All Seattle Sounders FC goals

Related posts:

1. How Long can the Seattle Sounders FC stay perfect?
2. Seattle Sounders FC loan out their only player
3. Seattle Sounders FC

66. Former Wizards Update
I missed this update yesterday, lost track of the days in my head. Two of the Wizards players that they waived last week have landed on their feet, as Kevin Souter was picked up by Seattle, and Kurt Morsink has followed Curt Onalfo to DC and appears set to earn a contract with them. Mean while another former Wizard is looking for a new team as Abe Thompson was waived by Real Salt Lake. Lance Watson also now joins this list as well. The Wizards registry is getting a work out. Here is this week's report.

Indoor
Sean Bowers - San Diego - Beat Revolucion Tijuana 12-6 and Edmonton 8-3.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Had a goal and an assist in Baltimore's 23-14 win over Philadelphia.
Vicente Figueroa - California - Finished out the season with a 9-6 win over Edmonton.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Beat Revolucion Tijuana 12-6 and Edmonton 8-3.

International
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Ferrocarril's 1-0 win over Racing Olavarría.
Herculez Gomez - Puebla FC - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 64 minutes getting a goal and an assist in Puebla's 3-3 draw with Jaguares.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Harbour view defeated Portmore United 2-0.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Lost 4-1 to NK Split.
Eddie Johnson - Aris FC - Greece - Dressed but did not play in Aris' 2-0 win over Larissa. Came off the bench and played 14 minutes in the USA's 2-1 loss to Holland.
Carlos Marinelli - CA Aldosivi - Argentina - Did not play in Aldosivi's 2-1 loss to Instituto.
Akeem Priestly - FK Mughan - Azerbaijan - Did not have a game this week.
Matt Taylor - FSV Frankfurt - Germany - Did not dress in Frankfurt's 0-0 draw with Energie Cottbus.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not have a game this week.

67. Holden's Fractured Fibula Latest Injury to Strike U.S. Team

68. Wizards Tie Crew
The Wizards played their next to last preseason game in Arizona today as they took on the Columbus Crew. Thanks to a second half strike by Graham Zusi the Wizards came away with a 1-1 draw with the two time defending Supporters' Shield winners. KC fell behind on a goal by Brian Carroll after Eric Kronberg was caught off his line after a clearance. The Wizards apparently had some nice spells of possession, earning a PK on a foul on Josh Wolff. Davy Arnaud put the PK away, but it was called back due to encroachment, former Wizard, Will Hesmer saved the second attempt.

In the second half, the Wizards were apparently the better side, as Santiago Hirsig hit the bar and the follow up was missed by Igor Kostrov. The game saw the return of Wizards midfielder, Jack Jewsbury to play after offseason surgery. And while new goalkeeper, Jimmy Nielsen has joined the team, he did not appear in the game. The Wizards close out the Arizona leg of their preseason Sunday against the Arizona Sahuaros and Grand Canyon University.

69. Bobby Rhine: Thoughts on U.S. v. NED

The 2-1 loss to the Netherlands was a difficult pill to swallow for the U.S. In a match that the Dutch played mostly in cruise control, the result sounds like the game was closer than it really was. However, there are good things that came from the match. 

I was happy to see Rangers midfielder DaMarcus Beasley show his quality on the left side of midfield. I thought Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit showed well in the center of defense, although they went largely untested with the Dutch deployment of a 4-5-1 formation. 

The true test existed for the U.S. outside defenders and midfielders. The midfield for the U.S. was pinned back for large portions of the game, and outside defenders found themselves isolated 1v1 on many occasions. That?s a good thing, because it?s in those scenarios that questions get answered. 

When Heath Pearce came on with only 20 minutes left in the match, I thought he showed good coordination with the other three defenders. He didn?t have as many opportunities in which he was isolated defensively 1v1, but his positional sense was good. Pearce was able to combine with Beasley on a couple of occasions going forward, but he was never really forced to have to play out of the back when under high pressure. That is why I wanted Pearce to start the match ? to see if he can defend well when isolated; see if he shows sophistication in his coordination with the rest of the backline; and finally, see if he can find passes that connect with the midfield/forwards to break the initial wave of pressure.

With a performance that left more to be desired on the left side of the U.S. defense, I believe the door still remains open for FC Dallas defender Heath Pearce. One thing he needs to do now is remain highly motivated for his club, and his World Cup opportunity may come for country. That?s a perfect scenario for an FC Dallas defense that gained stability at the end of the 2009 MLS season, especially with Pearce?s arrival. It?s up to the U.S. coaching staff to now monitor those that are in the mix until the final 23 man roster is selected. 

70. My Last Letter From Portugal: U.S. Women Win Algarve Cup

71. Wizards Win Right to Host Rapids in US Open Cup Qualifier
The Wizards will begin their US Open Cup campaign early again this year after failing to make the MLS playoffs last year. Today the "draw" was held for who would host who in the first qualifying round. With the Wizards being the 6th best team to miss the playoffs, they'll be taking on the Colorado Rapids, the 3rd best team to miss the playoffs. As the higher seed, the Rapids got to call the coin flip for who would be hosting the game. The Rapids' Sports Director, Paul Bravo, made the call, heads, but lost. The result gave the Wizards the right to host the game. Should the Wizards take out the Rapids, they will then play one of three teams, New England, New York, or Philadelphia in the final qualifier to get into the US Open Cup proper.

Personally I don't like this set up. All the teams in the USA's top division should get into the tournament proper without having to go through a qualifying process. Even if it means putting those 9 clubs in a round earlier than the rest of the teams. That's just one of my problems with the tournament. The other is the process with which the home team is chosen. That process being that teams bid for the right to host. For example, DC United has not had to leave the DC metro area for a qualifier the past 2 years because of the bidding process. I'd rather the competition go to a blind draw for tournament similar to the FA Cup, and if teams don't want to host they can make that known before the draw. It just seems to cheapen the competition to me.

See the draw below.

72. Kings have Hill to Climb in National Finals
Kansas City's indoor soccer team, the Kings are once again heading to the national finals in Las Vegas this coming weekend to once again compete in the PASL-Premier national finals. This year, the Kings have a very challenging tournament as their group contains the defending PASL champions, Vitesse Dallas, the team that gave the Kings their only loss last season. Along with Dallas, the Kings are also grouped with the LA Bolts. It should be a challenging trip for the Kings this year, hopefully the lack of games this year for the Kings don't do them in, and instead they learn from the experiences playing the PASL-Pro teams.

The tournament kicks off on Friday and will conclude on Saturday. Should the Kings win their group, they'll only play, at max, 2 games each day. If they finish second or third they'll play a 3 games on Friday to even make it to Saturday. You can follow the tournament at the KC Soccer Dome's twitter.

73. USMNT watching party: Live blog
A group of FC Dallas staffers has gathered at the Ginger Man in the Shops at Legacy in Plano. We'll provide you with (hopefully) pithy commentary as we see fit, and you can also follow Bobby Rhine's live Tweets here: www.twitter.com/bobbyrhine.

1:45 p.m. CT - The first groan of the afternoon goes up from staffers as we realize Heath Pearce didn't get the start. When will he get in the match, any guesses?

1:54 p.m. CT - While the teams get a feel for each other, we discuss the new U.S. jersey kits. "It sort of looks like they're in a beauty pageant," comments one staffer. What do you guys think about the new gear?

2:00 p.m. CT - Ok, ok - we get that they're an almost exact replica of the 1950 kits. Let's hope they play like it in SA.

2:06 p.m. CT - Netherlands looking dangerous early. Lots of commenting about the strength of the U.S. defense from the game-watching crowd.

2:09 p.m. CT - Should Robbie Findley be on the field? We're discussing.

2:17 p.m. CT - Oh wow. That looked nasty. Holden fouled hard by de Jong at midfield. Last thing we need are injuries right now. Beasley will come on for Holden.

2:25 p.m. CT - Ugh. Second groan of the night from FCD staffers. Terrible move there to force the penalty kick. Netherlands up 1-0.

2:26 p.m. CT - FCD staffer would like us to note he called the PK to back left. Duly noted.

2:30 p.m. CT - On a positive note, WC opponent England is down to Egypt 1-0 at home.

2:32 p.m. CT - That'll do it for the first half. Could have been worse, we guess. But the Dutch wingers are looking pretty ridiculous.

2:37 p.m. CT - FCD staffers wondering what Bradley is saying to the team at half. What changes, if any, do you think he'll make? And WHEN ARE WE GOING TO SEE HEATH?!

Scoring updates from Group C:
England down 1-0 to Egypt at the half;
Algeria loses to Serbia 3-0;
Slovenia over Qatar 3-1 at the half

2:50 p.m. CT - Second half about to get underway. Let's hope for some more patience on the U.S. side. Edu in for Torres.

2:54 p.m. CT - Whew, that was a close one. Netherlands are threatening early in the second half. FCD staffers mood...not exactly rosy.

2:59 p.m. CT - Heath Pearce spotted warming up on the sidelines. I think an HP sighting is just what we need to liven this party up!

3:03 p.m. CT - Elia has been great all night for NED. He just forced two defenders to cover him at the end line, prompting one FCD staffer to remark, "that guy's just ridiculous." No arguing there.

3:09 p.m. CT - Bedoya in for Findley. @BobbyRhine says only second cap ever for Bedoya. That's great and all BUT...where's Heath Pearce? (yes, we know we're biased)

3:11 p.m. CT - Best scoring chance of the match for USMNT - Beasley into the box and his slotted ball gets to Altidore. Cheer goes up from FCD staffers - but no, Altidore can't get around it, ball wide.

3:14 p.m. CT - USMNT earns first corner of the match...Donovan's cross cleared away (70th minute)

3:15 p.m. CT - FINALLY! Pearce enters the match for Jay deMerit in the 70th minute - representing the USA and FC DALLAS!

3:17 p.m. CT - Welp, cheers for Heath turn to jeers at the Ginger Man. NED with the goal off a deflection off Bornstein. NED up 2-0 in the 73rd minute.

3:24 p.m. CT - Eddie Johnson has come on for Donavon for a 15-minute tryout, and he's looking good so far. U.S. finally threatening. USMNT free kick from 20 yards out deflected.

3:26 p.m. CT. - 81st minute, and FCD staffers are requesting their check. Not a good sign...even the laptop battery is beginning to sputter.

3:27 p.m. CT - HUGE save from Tim Howard. Wow! We've got some life here, folks.

3:30 p.m. CT - Peter Crouch scores for England to bring that score to 1-1.

3:32 p.m. CT - Goodson coming on to replace Bornstein in the 86th minute. Meanwhile, or crowd here at the Ginger Man is begging for a U.S. score. Please??

3:33 p.m. CT - They heard us!!! Free kick from Beasley headed in by Bocanegro! Can we get an equalizer?? The Ginger Man has come back to life! NED 2, US 1

3:36 p.m. CT - FCD is loving the heart all of the U.S. guys are playing with. Beasley had another shot on goal saved and Heath Pearce is looking good. Just a few minutes left now!

3:40 p.m. CT - And that's the match. NED 2, US 1. Nice effort at the end from the USMNT and Heath Pearce. He made the FCD Nation proud! Now back to the office for us. Final scoring updates from Group C to come later. Thanks everyone for following!

74. FC Dallas will travel to D.C. for 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in game
Consistent with 2008 and 2009, the format for 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will see six US-based MLS teams automatically qualify for the tournament?s round of 16, based on 2009 regular season finish, while two more US-based MLS teams will also qualify via play-in games.

The six teams that have automatically qualified are the Columbus Crew, LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire and Chivas USA. The remaining nine U.S.-based MLS teams: the New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake, Colorado Rapids, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Kansas City Wizards, San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls and the Philadelphia Union, will play knockout games to determine the seventh and eighth teams to join the round of 16. New York and Philadelphia will play first to determine New England?s opponent in a round of four knockout games (eight teams).

Home field advantage for these play-in games was decided by coin tosses that took place yesterday. Officials from each team participated in the coin tosses live via a streaming web video conference.

1. Five coin tosses were conducted, in sequential order, for Games A through E to determine the hosts; coin tosses for Games F & G will be conducted shortly after Games A-E are completed.
2. Based on 2009 final regular season standings, the higher seed called heads or tails before the coin was tossed.

The teams have been seeded based on 2009 regular season finish and the games will be as follows [home team listed first]:

TEMPLATE:
Game A (8 v 9/Expansion): New York Red Bulls v Philadelphia Union
Game B (1 v 8): Game A Winner v New England Revolutions
Game C (2 v 7): San Jose Earthquakes v Real Salt Lake
Game D (3 v 6): Kansas City Wizards v Colorado Rapids
Game E (4 v 5): D.C. United v FC Dallas
** Play-in games A?E will be completed by the end of April. Teams will announce the date and times of games in the near future.

Game F: Game B winner v Game D winner
Game G: Game C winner v Game E winner

Winner of Games F and G qualify as the final 2 teams in the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
**Play-in games F & G by will be completed by the end of May. Teams will announce the date and times of games in the near future.

75. Meet the 2010 FC Dallas Dancers

2010 FC Dallas Dancers Final Squad from FC Dallas on Vimeo.

76. Bobby Rhine: U.S. - Netherlands Preview
The 2010 World Cup is only 100 days away and questions remain for the United States Men's National Team.

Who can be a threat behind world class backlines? Who can lockdown the left back role? Who is the best option on the left side of midfield?

Some of the questions may very well be answered when the U.S. challenges the Netherlands at Amsterdam ArenA tonight. I have predicted U.S. Head Coach Bob Bradley's starting lineup with two things in mind: one, answer the questions above; and two, add enough proven players so that getting a result is still viable.

With that in mind, I believe Tim Howard will start in goal and Heath Pearce will start at left back. Pearce shined in his performance last week, and deserves another start. I think Jonathan Bornstein can already punch his ticket to South Africa, so finding the other left back is a must. If Pearce can hold his own against some of the best wide attacking players in the game, then he too should be on his way to South Africa.

Carlos Bocanegra and Jay Demerit will play as the two center backs. Jonathan Spector will play right back. Demarcus Beasley will play at left mid with Michael Bradley and Maurice Edu partnered in the center of midfield. Keep Landon Donovan on the right side of midfield. He sure has been good for Everton in that role.

Jozy Altidore, the youngest player (20-years-old) on the U.S. roster, is a blossoming player and these games help him down the line. Robbie Findley seems to have gained some trust from Bradley and has the pace to get in behind the Oranje defense.

The US will have an 18-man game day roster and will only be able to use six subs. I believe this group of players will not only answer some of Bradley's questions, but they might get a result as well. The match can be seen on ESPN2 at 1:30 p.m. CT. I will make match commentary on twitter/@bobbyrhine.

77. The Netherlands 2, United States 1

78. New Podcast
This week's podcast recording of Game, Set, Match Report (still the working name) that was recorded on Friday night is now posted for you to listen to. We divided it up into 3 parts (part 1, part 2, part 3) to help with the upload. We discuss the CBA, the stadium, preseason games, and players coming and going.

79. Preseason Training - 3/2/10
After traveling back to Dallas from Orlando on Sunday and taking Monday off, the team went back to work Tuesday morning with a two-hour training session. With apologies for the FlipCam music (it was so windy out that the Flip music selection "Groovy" was preferable to the audio picked up by the cam), here is a little footage from today's session...

80. Reflecting on a U.S. Win in Portugal

81. Just because...
A little halftime fun during Sunday's game vs. Houston....

82. Final day of Orlando trip
FC DALLAS FALLS TO HOUSTON, 2-1, IN FINAL MATCH OF WALT DISNEY WORLD PRO SOCCER CLASSIC

FC Dallas closed out the inaugural Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic with a 2-1 loss to in-state rival Houston Dynamo Saturday night at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Dallas got on the board first, scoring in the 13th minute when Marvin Chavez picked the ball off the right back and blew past the back line. Dynamo keeper Pat Onstad came out to face Chavez one-on-one, but the Honduran midfielder flicked the ball over to David Ferreira running parallel to his right, giving Ferreira the easy lay-in with a wide open net.

Houston answered immediately with an equalizer in the 16th minute by Jamaican trialist Lovel Palmer. Palmer's strike came from the middle of the field about 35 yards out and slicing to the right side of the goal. Dario Sala managed to get a fingertip touch on the shot, but it caromed in off the right post.

Dallas had a few chances to move ahead before the half, but couldnt convert. A Dax McCarty corner kick in the 35th minute came up empty, while Edson Edward tried to find Chavez with a cross in the 39th minute that was cleared out by the Houston defense. That play led to yet another corner for Dallas and a shot attempt by Eric Alexander from the far left side of the box that was deflected over the goal and out of play. Dallas had yet another chance on a McCarty corner kick in the 44th minute, but Atiba Harris' shot sailed high.

Houston almost went ahead at the start of the second half, but Sala deflected Leandre Griffit's shot off the crossbar and out for a corner kick. However, the Dynamo found the back of the net in the 53rd minute on a rebound. Navion Boyd got behind the Dallas back line and broke in alone on Sala. Sala saved Boyd's shot, but Cam Weaver was trailing the play and scored on the put back.

Dallas almost answered in the 68th minute, but Onstad made the save on Alexander's shot at the near post.

FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo
February 27, 2010 - ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic

Scoring Summary:
FCD -- David Ferreira (Marvin Chavez) 13
HOU -- Lovel Palmer (unassisted) 16
HOU -- Cam Weaver (unassisted) 53

FC Dallas -- Dario Sala, Edson Edward (Zach Loyd 58), Steve Purdy, George John, Jair Benitez (Eric Avila 72), Eric Alexander, Dax McCarty (Misho Fahim 83), David Ferreira, Marvin Chavez (Duke Hashimoto 75), Brek Shea (Anthony Wallace 57), Atiba Harris (Jason Yeisley 69).

Houston Dynamo -- Pat Onstad, Ryan Cochrane (Erik Ustruck 46), Eddie Robinson (Bobby Boswell 46), Mike Chabala (Wade Barrett 46), Danny Cruz (Sammy Appiah 46), Lovel Palmer (Brian Mullan 59), Geoff Cameron (Landre Griffit 46), Shaun Saiko (Jonathan De Len 59), Francisco Navas, Brian Ching (Cam Weaver 46), Navion Boyd (Dominic Oduro 59).

Misconduct Summary:
FCD -- Edson Edward (caution; Reckless Tackle) 42
FCD -- Eric Alexander (caution; Reckless Tackle) 84















Some video...

83. Big happenings at Pizza Hut Park

Frisco has been named the new host city for the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Championship game, which will played at Pizza Hut Park on January 7, 2011. The NCAA announced earlier today that FC Dallas' 23,500-seat multi-purpose stadium will be the host site for the championship game for the next three years.

?Frisco is a sports town and a Division I Football Championship is another chance for sports fans everywhere to not only experience great football but to also discover all our community has to offer," said Mayor Maher Maso. "We also want to thank folks from all over the country who supported our bid effort.?

Less than five weeks ago, Frisco launched an online pledge drive inviting football fans to show their support for the effort to move the championship games to Pizza Hut Park. Frisco received pledges from people living in 103 cities throughout Texas and from 17 other states. Frisco estimated the pledges represented more than 8,000 tickets.

?Pizza Hut Park and Hunt Sports Group couldn?t be more excited to host the NCAA Division I Football games,? said John Wagner, President, Hunt Sports Group. ?Along with Southland Conference and the City of Frisco, we look forward to showcasing our venue and our city.?

Frisco and Pizza Hut Park emerged from a pool of several cities that submitted bids to serve as the host site for the championship games, beginning with the 2010 season.

The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, includes the conferences and institutions that compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, in addition to two conferences who choose not to participate in the football championship, the Ivy League and the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

For more information on the NCAA Division I Football Championship, log on to NCAA.com/football. 

84. One on One with Brek Shea

One on One: Brek Shea from FC Dallas on Vimeo.

85. Bobby Rhine: Pearce makes the 20-man

86. Disney Pro Soccer Classic - Feb. 25, 2010
DAX WALKS THE ?GREEN? CARPET? HEATH EARNS TRIP TO THE NETHERLANDS? FCD FALLS TO TORONTO? TEMPS DIP SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ?HYPOTHERMIA? AND ?IGLOO? IN ORLANDO (SEND SNUGGIE PLS)

Starting with the best news of the day, congratulations to Heath Pearce (@heathpearce4 for all the Tweeps) for earning a seat on the plane to Holland with the U.S. Men?s National Team. U.S. Head Coach Bob Bradley announced his roster for the March 3 friendly Thursday afternoon and Heath was one of only three MLS-based players included on the list. Certainly his play against El Salvador on Thursday night helped his case, and if you missed his absolutely perfect (not that we?re biased at all) cross to Brian Ching for the first U.S. goal of the match, ussoccer.com has the replay? we know because we?ve watched it six or eight times already. And by ?we,? I mean me, but saying ?we? makes it sound less obsessive? like during the game I wasn?t bouncing in my seat and beating Andrew Wiedeman on the arm before the ball even got to Ching? and again when Jeff subbed in? then Dax? and possibly I did boo Heath?s yellow card? and get into an argument with Duke Hashimoto over a foul (the guy deserved either an Oscar or an NBA contract for that flop is all I?m saying)? come to think of it, I?m lucky they didn?t ?forget? me for the bus ride back to Orlando after the game.

While Jeff, Dax and Heath were en route to Orlando this morning, the team headed over to the Disney Complex for a very light training session. They played one game that I?m still trying to figure out other than I know there were cones and, um? yeah, there were cones. I asked Dane Saintus after they were done and he said he had no idea what it was either. He said you just have to yell that you won when time is up and hope you?re more convincing than your competitors. Thanks, Dane. Wish that worked in real games.

Which leads us to the first real games of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic? The tournament is part of a huge re-branding campaign here at the Disney Complex called ESPN the Weekend. Tonight, Disney/ESPN kicked off (literally with a ball booted by New Orleans Saint Garrett Hartley) the festivities with a ?green carpet? celebrity walk and VIP reception, followed by Hartley?s kick and fireworks that coincided with the beginning of the New York/Houston game. Several ESPN personalities and athletes walked the green carpet, including Jennie Finch, Brandi Chastain, Tedy Bruschi, Maurice Jones-Drew, Steve Spurrier, the Harlem Globetrotters, Brian Ching and DAX MCCARTY? Daxy looked good rocking the FCD warm-ups (it was pre-game after all). They tried to send him to ?hair and make-up? to get his hair done before the big walk, but he said, no, his hair was already done? that or he doesn?t trust anyone ever since Heath let Von give him a side rat tail. ;) Anyway, here?s Daxy?s green carpet walk?





By the time Dax was done with his event, it was time to catch a bit of the New York/Houston game before meeting up with the rest of the team in our locker room. The guys got out on a practice field and spent a little time getting warm, while some of us froze on the sidelines? a little video of them playing around pre-game just because?





Finally, New York and Houston settled their match with PKs (in New York?s favor), and we were able to begin ours. By this time (a little after 8 p.m.), I had dropped $30 on an ESPN blanket at the gift shop and was discussing fires with Jeff Agoos? he suggested I look for kindling and a match at halftime, but I only found lukewarm coffee? sorry, Bobby Rhine. Needless to say it was FREEZING and my $30 blanket was pretty worthless. My hands were shaking so bad that I can?t read my own notes from the game and my texts and tweets deteriorated to the minimum amount of letters stiff fingers would type. That being said, I will do my best to re-cap the action for those of you who missed the live Web feed provided by our Canadian friends (frenemies?). SIDE NOTE: Toronto FC had a live online chat (very cool) during the game and early on Luke Wileman wrote: ?You would have to do a Cantona Kung Fu kick into the crowd to get shown a red.? Oh, for the love of foreshadowing?.

Wow, did this game get chippy. Toronto FC trialist Vincent Kayizzi scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute with an assist from Dwayne De Rosario to ultimately give the Reds the win. In the 20th minute, David Ferreira found Marvin ?The Son of the Wind? Chavez on a breakaway with a well-placed ball from midfield. The Toronto keeper Stefan Frei met Chavez for the challenge at the top of the box on the right side. The ball caromed high off Frei?s deflection and Chavez stayed with it, but so did Frei using his distinct height advantage to head it out of play. Just four minutes later, Atiba Harris had a chance at an equalizer, isolating his defender one-on-one at the top of the box, but was pushed off the ball.

In the 30th minute, Daniel Hernandez drew a foul giving FC Dallas another chance with a free kick from the left side, but it was cleared by Frei. The physicality of the game escalated during the first half as Toronto midfielder Martin Saric drew a yellow card, then central defender Nick Garcia was sent off just before halftime, even though there was no Kung Fu kick involved with apologies to Luke Wileman and Eric Cantona? and Matthew Simmons.

Dax McCarty and Anthony Wallace checked in to start the second half in place of Bruno Guarda and rookie Zach Loyd, while Garcia joined us in our little media tower where we discussed the implications of a red card during a pre-season Disney tournament, whether it meant he had to sit out Saturday?s game and what, exactly, the trophy for winning the Disney tournament might look like. Golden Mickey Mouse ears? Giant golden Mickey Mouse boots? We also broke down Olympic Curling and the Rock Star status of the Canadian National Curling Team? those guys sure can sweep!

Meanwhile, Toronto had replaced Frei with trialist Milos Kocic in goal. Kocic met his first challenge early, not only parrying the first shot out, but saving the rebound attempt from Harris as well. Only a minute later, Kocic stopped a McCarty shot from 20 yards out. Despite playing a man down, Toronto managed to cling to its 1-0 lead as Dallas continuously came away empty on scoring opportunities. Kocic parried a shot off a cross from Brek Shea in the 79th minute, stopped Eric Avila?s rebound attempt, then proved equal to the task less than a minute later on another shot by Avila.

Dallas continued to hang tough and nearly found a way to tie the match in stoppage time, but McCarty?s free kick was inches off target, caroming off the far post and out of dangerous territory.

Dallas and Houston will meet in the early game Saturday at 6 p.m., ET, while New York and Toronto will play the title game at 8:30 p.m.

FC Dallas: Josh Lambo, Zach Loyd (Anthony Wallace 46), Ugo Ihemelu, George John (Steve Purdy), Jair Benitez, Daniel Hernandez (Eric Alexander), David Ferreira, Bruno Guarda (Dax McCarty 46), Marvin Chavez (Ruben Luna), Brek Shea, Atiba Harris (Eric Avila)

Toronto: Stefan Frei, Nana Attakora, Abdou Jammeh, Nick Garcia, Jim Brennan, Vincent Kayizzi, Julian de Guzman, Martin Saric, Gabe Gala, Ali Gerba, Dwayne De Rosario

87. Breaking news

Lots of breaking news for all of our FC Dallas fans out there...

-You can follow FCD's preseason game vs. Toronto LIVE online as part of the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in Florida. Game is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and can be followed at http://tr.im/PNtT courtesy of our neighbors to the North.

-Dax McCarty, celebrity? He will be tonight when he walks the red carpet as part f ESPN The Weekend's kick-off in Orlando. You can watch him LIVE at www.espn.com beginning at 4 p.m. CT.

-And finally, the USMNT will name the A team for the match next week vs. The Netherlands at 4 p.m. CT. Will FCD be represented?? Leave thoughts and comments below.

88. FC Dallas Dancers Video Part 1
The FC Dallas Dancers held auditions this past Sunday at the Power House of Dance in Frisco. The Dancers who survived the first cut will go through training camp this week while the final team will be announced on Tuesday, March 2. The video below highlights Sunday's auditions.

FC Dallas Dancer Auditions Part 1 from FC Dallas on Vimeo.

89. Bobby Rhine: My Starting XI for Tonight's USMNT Match vs. El Salvador

*I know my selection of Heath on the right side may not be popular at the International level, but given the 20 man roster I would chose him over other players. Only the national team training staff would know how well Pearce is training at the moment. The goal in starting him at right back is to test his versatility, and to see how well he can defend first and foremost. Besides, there are only two true center backs on this 20 man roster, and you don?t get the best out of Bornstein by moving him inside to start a match. Pearce should start, and find out what you have. If he plays well tonight then call him into the Holland camp and play him at left back in a reserve role.

** You need to see what Jeff can do with another start. If he comes on as a reserve then the test is skewed. It wasn?t a great outing for the Nats against Honduras, and the game was turned upside down with an early red card. It changed the complexion of the game and really didn?t answer many questions the US coaching staff would have had prior to kickoff.

90. Night out in Orlando... Blue Man Group
Following today's 2-0 win over New England, the team got the rest of the day off, so several players and staff headed over to Universal for an 8 p.m. show by Blue Man Group.





We weren't allowed to film or take photos during the performance, but we captured a little pre- and post-show footage (with apologies for the poor lighting inside the theatre). Josh Lambo brought home the best souvenir of the night... a painting created during the show and handprint autographed by all three members of Blue Man Group.

91. FC Dallas 2, New England 0 ... Orlando Scrimmage
Despite early residual clouds this morning from last night's rain, the day turned out to be gorgeous, sunny and warm for our first MLS scrimmage. It was a nice day and a nice result with a 2-0 win over the Revolution.

FC Dallas got on the board early when Brek found Atiba streaking ahead of the defense with a great cross for the game's first goal in the 13th minute. Brek played really well today, fought hard for balls and outplayed the player marking him on multiple occasions. (he's still not speaking to me for driving away without him yesterday... is this what happens to parents who forget their kid at the grocery store??).

FC Dallas controlled the ball early, forcing multiple New England turnovers in the midfield. In the 19th minute, Anthony Wallace drew a hard foul. Daniel Hernandez took the free kick from about 30 yards out, but it was deflected by the defense and skimmed just over the crossbar.

Jair picked up a yellow card in the 29th minute, which set up a potentially dangerous free kick, but New England came away empty. At times the game got a little chippy, but the only other yellow card given went to Wally for a game delay. FCD added a few more near misses as Brek's free header in the 37th minute sailed high, then a Daniel Hernandez free kick in the 43rd minute was a little too far in front of George John and went out of play. Ruben Luna came on for Atiba to start the second half and almost picked up his first goal against an MLS opponent in the 59th minute. Brek dribbled down the sideline and crossed the ball just ahead of Ruben, but their timing was slightly off.

In the 71st minute, Ruben had a break away with the goalkeeper whose save was deflected to Marvin Chavez who finished the opportunity (followed by a little dance celebration that I deeply regret not catching on film. Possibly I can get him to re-enact it later?). Ruben had one more opportunity in the 83rd minute when Avi won the ball and passed to Ruben inside the box, but the New England defense collapsed in front to block the shot.

New England nearly got on the board in the 86th minute when a Zak Boggs strike from about 25 yards out hit the near post. Shortly after Boggs' miss, Duke Hashimoto had a chance amidst congestion in the box, but his shot was deflected out of play.

Scoring
DAL - Atiba Harris (Brek Shea) 13
DAL - Marvin Chavez 73

Dallas: Dario Sala (Josh Lambo 67), Jair Benitez (Zach Loyd 62), George John, Ugo Ihemelu, Anthony Wallace, Marvin Chavez (Duke Hashimoto 81), Daniel Hernandez (Eric Avila 75), Bruno Guarda (Bryan Leyva 70), Eric Alexander, Brek Shea, Atiba Harris (Ruben Luna 46).

New England: Preston Burpo, Chris Tierney, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes (Gabriel Badilla 79), Kevin Alston (Seth Sinovic 46), Kenny Mansally (Mauricio Castro 63), Sharlie Joseph, Pat Phelan (Mike Videira 46), Sainey Nysassi (Zak Boggs 63), Kheli Dube, Zack Schilawski (Nico Colaluca 79).

92. MLS 2010 seasons opens with Philadelphia Union visiting Seattle Sounders FC
The 2010 schedule for Major League Soccer was recently announced. The season will open with the expansion Philadelphia Union visiting last season’s newcomers Seattle Sounders FC. Last year the Sounders started off the season on a high note – giving a good beating to MLS Cup runners up New York Red Bulls. [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

MLS 2010 seasons opens with Philadelphia Union visiting Seattle Sounders FC

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1. New team will be called Philadelphia Union
2. MLS in Philadelphia is now official
3. Seattle Sounders FC

93. New Shoes ? The Adidas Samba Nua II
About a week ago I receive a new pair of indoor shoes – the Adidas Samba Nua II Germany edition. I was told these were very nice shoes but I was a little bit skeptical at first. If you look at the collection of Adidas Samba shoes they have, you’ll notice several different countries are [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

New Shoes – The Adidas Samba Nua II

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1. Adidas Teamgeist II MLS Finals Match Ball
2. More soccer on TV
3. New US National Team Jersey

94. Welcome Home
Troy Perkins is returning to the USA, MLS and DC United!

Awesome.

I know that some of you will be happy that he is returning at the expense of Fred, who is moving to Philadelphia.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

95. Does Landon Donovan have a weakness?
As I was going to dig to see what I could find out about Landon Donovan’s loan to Everton I read something interesting. What would you say Landon Donovan’s weakness is? Donovan has been a beast for the United States throughout his career. He’s set records and won numerous awards. His MLS career isn’t too shabby [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

Does Landon Donovan have a weakness?

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1. Donovan Set for Bayern loan
2. I’m Landon Donovan, Don’t Discriminate
3. Donovan is training with Bayern Munich

96. MLS Best XI
How does this look for a best XI lineup. This is the group that was named to the MLS best XI for this 2009 season. Only a single player from the best XI will be represented in the MLS Cup this Sunday. That is of course Landon Donovan – US player of the decade. Conor Casey [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

MLS Best XI

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1. 2009 MLS All Star Game vs Everton
2. Zach Thornton traded to Colorado Rapids (Arsenal?)
3. Who is the man?

97. MLS Cup 2009: Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy
MLS Cup 2009 vs Real Salt Lake (#4 East) vs LA Galaxy (#1 West) The semi-final tonight between Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire was a wild one. Some people might say 120 minutes with no scoring is a boring game – but this was far from boring. The game eventually went to a shootout and [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

MLS Cup 2009: Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy

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2. DC United Let Real Salt Lake In On The Fun
3. Real Salt Lake one step closer to US Open Cup

98. Galaxy going to MLS Cup for 6th time!
With that crazy long overtime win last night over the Houston Dynamo the Galaxy book their place in the MLS Cup final for the 6th time in the young league’s history. 6 happens to be the most any team has played for the MLS Cup. DC United has been there 5 times. [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Galaxy going to MLS Cup for 6th time!

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99. Interesting Fact
I just watched the 11+ minute video of all of the GOTY nominees. I noticed that no GOTY nominees were scored against DC United. On the face of it, that makes me happy. It is good to know that DC United didn't get poster-ized to wide renown this season.

Thinking about it more, however, one may be able to make an argument that for keepers like Rimando or Reis, who seemed to figure prominently in these highlights, if the only goals that they are giving up are the fantastical, flooky goals or the once-in-a-career one-timers out of midair, maybe that's not so bad.

The corollary to this argument would be that all of the goals that DC United surrendered this season were plain, boring tallies that were breakdowns in positioning or marking and shouldn't have been given up at all. So maybe it would have been nice to see DCU getting beat a few times in this video reel? Your thoughts?

Also: Soehn...

100. MLS Cup Playoff Schedue is set
VS Columbus Crew (#1 East) vs Real Salt Lake (#5 West) Game 1: Saturday October 31st – 5:30 PM @ Salt Lake Game 2: Thursday November 5th – 7:00 PM @ Columbus (ESPN2) Regular Season Series tied 1-1 vs Chicago Fire (#2 East) vs New England Revolution (#3 East) Game 1: Sunday November 1st- 1:00 PM @ New [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

MLS Cup Playoff Schedue is set

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2. Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC join playoffs
3. 2008 TV Schedule

101. Galaxy win the West
The LA Galaxy are going into the playoffs with the #1 position from the West. That means they will play rivals Chivas USA on Saturday, November 1st and Sunday, November 8th. The Galaxy won the regular season series over Chivas USA 2-0-1 with one scoreless draw and two 1-0 victories. After disposing of Chivas [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Galaxy win the West

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3. Pan-Pacific Championships start tonite on ESPN Classic

102. Chicago Fire join the playoffs
The Fire joined the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs tonight with a victory over Chivas USA. A single point would have put them in, but they ended up with a 1-0 victory on an own goal scored by Eduardo Lillingston in the 67th minute. Here is the updated standings: 49 Columbus 45 Los Angeles 45 Houston 45 Chivas USA 45 Chicago 44 [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

Chicago Fire join the playoffs

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2. Galaxy, Dynamo and Crew reserve spots in playoffs
3. 5th team to get playoff spot – Chicago Fire

103. Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC join playoffs
Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC both have guaranteed themselves a spot in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs. They are joining defending champions Columbus Crew along with Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy. That leaves 3 positions up for grabs on the last weekend of the year. Those 3 spots that are up for grabs [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC join playoffs

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3. Rapids Still Want Playoffs

104. Galaxy lead the Western Conference into the playoffs
With only a single game remaining in the regular season (with the exception of Chivas USA having 2 games) the Galaxy are on top of the Western Conference. That top spot currently has them tied on points (45) along with Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA. All 3 teams have sealed a spot in [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Galaxy lead the Western Conference into the playoffs

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105. STEVE CRONIN!

D.C. United 1 : 0 Columbus Crew

Six Word Novel Recap

A decent team, with terrible supporters.

Let me just start by saying that Steve Cronin impressed the hell out of me last night. He played confidently, and he did not hesitate to come off of his line or even out of the box. At one point last night, he ran almost to the corner flag to shield a Crew player off the ball until it ran out for a goal kick. He was completely alone in the corner, the goal mouth was empty and the wet conditions at RFK meant that if the ball had not rolled out, he would have been in a position needing to play the ball with his feet 1 v 1 against the attacking player. I wouldn't say that it was a nervous moment, because it worked out fine, but I mention it because it was the type of heads up, proactive goalkeeping that you don't see very often and with it, he made things a lot easier for himself. The score line shows him earning a 6 save shutout and he earned Man of the Match honors as a result of a text-message poll of fans there at RFK. I think it was well deserved, even more so than Emilio, your goal scorer, and Khumalo, the assist man.

I can't decide whether the Crew played like the best team in the league last night. On the one hand, they spent virtually the entire 2nd half in the United end. But on the other hand, they got shut out by a team struggling to even make the playoffs and only had 2 or 3 decent chances. One thing that I know for sure is that their supporters should definitely stay at home next time.

The most experience I've had with supporter's groups is with Barra Brava, Screaming Eagles and La Norte and so I've always thought of these groups as positive things. They support their team. It seems that these assholes from Ohio only came to RFK last night to unleash a barrage of senseless profanity. And don't get me wrong, I love me some profanity, but as my wife pointed out, the Crew supporters (does anyone know what their are known by? Massively Terrible?) were seated in a section directly above the VW Garage area, which was filled with little kids getting their faces painted and getting free VW t-shirts. So when Cronin took his first goal kick of the night, the Crew supporters responded very clearly with "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!" My wife and I were still down there getting our VW t-shirts at that point and the looks of complete puzzlement on the 10 year old faces was saddening.

So I hope you guys enjoyed your visit to your nation's Capitol, but please, don't let Emilio's boot hit you in the ass on your way home. I hope your team loses the Supporter's Shield.

Oh yeah, hilarious story of the night: when GBS came over to the corner for an early corner kick, under the Crew supporter's section and right next to the VW Garage area where my wife and I were still standing, watching the first few minutes of play, the supporter's greated him with an ongoing chant of "Guillermo! Guillermo!" HAHAHA Because it sounded exactly like they were chanting, "Terrible! Terrible!"

106. Galaxy, Dynamo and Crew reserve spots in playoffs
Three teams have booked their spots in the 2009 Major League Soccer playoffs. The defending champions Columbus Crew are in and currently leading the whole league with 46 points and even a game in hand over several of the teams chasing them. At 44 points the champions of 2006 and 2007 Houston Dynamo are [...]

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog

Galaxy, Dynamo and Crew reserve spots in playoffs

Related posts:

1. Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC join playoffs
2. 4 Teams Qualified For Playoffs Already
3. Chicago Fire join the playoffs

107. CONCACAF Champions League - Cruz Azul @ CLB
It is a good thing that I am not a CLB fan right now. In the 41st minute of this CCL match, play is getting chippy as hell and C.A. just scored a second goal a few minutes after one of those stretches when the commentators say, "Uh, the ref really needs to get control of this game soon or someone is going to get hurt."

So I would really have lost it if I was a CLB supporter. Good thing...

In a personal note, I just got the FiOS hooked up today so in addition to this game I'm waching now, and the CD Marathon @ DCU I'll be watching tomorrow, I got to watch the Serie A: Udinese @ AC Milan early this afternoon.

Sweet.

Cheers all.

108. Simple Things
I watched the DCU @ SJJ match last night and said to my wife, "These guys are professional soccer players. You would think that they wouldn't need to be reminded that in order to score, you need to shoot." But I find myself screaming at the TV (or at the players, when I venture to RFK) "SHOOT IT!" "SHOOT THE BALL!"

The pointless back passing has to stop. It is a real momentum killer. If you don't think you can do anything with the ball when you receive it while posted up on a guy at the top of the box, for example play it square or turn on the defender and go to goal, then why are you posting up there in the first place? Just get out of the way; you aren't helping.

And the settling... These guys are professionals, I am not. But even I remember from when I was like 8 years old that the most important part of receiving a pass is to settle it, to control it. When Emilio or Gomez or whoever it is receives a pass and then they pop it up over their head with their first touch and then it is taken away from them, that is unacceptable. What is it that they practice in these training sessions of theirs?

These seem like silly things to focus on, but I'm not sure why we'd talk about anything else until these things are remedied.

109. 17,329
The last 10-15 minutes of regular time and stoppage time was amazing. It was totally frantic and United supporters were rewarded with a goal at the end of regulation. I was actually telling my wife that the set play off of that free kick should have been to fake it at goal and just slot it to Simms who was faking that run anyway. But the way that it went down was good too. I remember an absolutely brilliant goal that Etcheverry scored in that exact manner several years ago. If someone can find me that highlight on the intertubes, I will buy you a hamburger on a Tuesday.

By the way, there were some Sounders fans there...


Overall, I thought the team looked decent. Pontius was dangerous, Jaime was hustling, Gomez was making aggressive runs at the defense. The problem, of course, was the finishing.

The most interesting thing to report from the stadium was what a horrible idea $2 beers and $2 hotdogs were. The lines were AMAZINGLY long. It was almost worth giving up alcohol because of those lines. It is completely possible that some people missed the entire 1st half standing in some Ouroboros-like line, winding around and back upon itself. The whole idea was a logistical nightware. There seemed to be only one Miller Lite rep running kegs back and forth to the various outposts and by early in the second half, just after halftime, they had started substituting Yuengling, because all of the Miller Lite was gone.

Comment away!

110. United reaching out to DC Sports fans
Its nice to see the team trying to reach out beyond the usual fans. But will it work? I guess we'll know in a week.

111. Open BLECH for DCU v LAG
CSN is letting me down. My wife and I are on a reduced entertainment budget, so we can't necessarily afford the trip to RFK and the inevitable beers cotton candy. And we have Comcast basic cable... I guess we are grandfathered in on that; is that even offered to new subscribers anymore?

Subsequently I don't get Fox Soccer Channel. Not like I'd want it; f**k Fox, in any formation or configuration.

I want Dave Johnson. I want Garth Lagerway.

Actually, I prefer listening to Tony Limarzi.

Anyway, it sounds like Emilio played his ass off and didn't get any satisfaction, so everyone tell me whether I'm right or I'm wrong in the comments.

And pass along free tickets and other stuff to me when you have it, since my wife will be in school for 16 months and we'll be on only one income. Thanks in advance.

112. Open comments for DCU at TFC
I might be prompted to build an argument for a change at manager around this game.

Terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible. Terrible.

Ugh.

Mouth off in the comments.

113. Fun Link Thursday
http://wesellenergydrinks.com/

AWE. SOME.

Make sure to read down the the bottom, including the bit in red.



And just in case you don't get the parody right away, check this out.

114. Galaxy get first ever win at Gillette Stadium
The LA Galaxy extended their undefeated streak to 6 games this weekend with a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution. The victory keeps the Galaxy in 2nd place in the west at a single point ahead of the Colorado Rapids. Landon Donovan scored a goal that should be a goal of the week followed [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Galaxy get first ever win at Gillette Stadium

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3. Galaxy still looking for playoffs

115. Galaxy come close in friendly versus Barcelona
The LA Galaxy played the reigning European champions to a tight 1 goal game. At halftime the Galaxy were level with Barcelona at 1-1 after an amazing free kick that Galaxy midfielder David Beckham put right into the upper left corner past the Barcelona keeper. The game was witnesed by 93,137 fans at the sold out Rose [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Galaxy come close in friendly versus Barcelona

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2. New Galaxy Jersey

116. Don?t miss LA Galaxy vs FC Barcelona tonight
Don’t miss the Galaxy taking on reigning European and La Liga champions FC Barcelona tonight. VS Over 80,000 tickets have already sold for the game at the Rose Bowl tonight but there are still some available. You could also get the game on Fox Soccer Channel with pre-game coverage starting at 7:30pm local time. It isn’t every [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Don’t miss LA Galaxy vs FC Barcelona tonight

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117. First Impressions -- San Jose Earthquakes 2 : 2 D.C. United

Test yourself for self-delusion: "A point on the road is a good thing." Right?

No, none of us are that deluded. How about this? "The most frustrating thing about this match was giving up a two goal lead." Any buyers? I see a few hands out there.

But, of course, that's a comforting delusion as well. The fact is, United could have been down two goals at half time, and a point would still be a disappointment. San Jose is not a good team. San Jose is an awful team. If it weren't for a certain franchise in Jersey, you could say things about them being the worst team in the league. It is not as though their talent was superior to United's in any way. They are scrappy, yes, I will give them that. They hustle. They have some speed. But on the ball there is nothing that impresses me.

No, if you're mad about United dropping a two goal lead, it is because you don't want to face the fact that United didn't beat a team that has 13 points this year. That's less than a point a game. And that's a really bad team.

What's so upsetting to me is that they beat a United team using a tactic that normally United can exploit: Close marking and high pressure. Normally that allows United's short passing game to warp an opposing team out of their shape, but instead United in the second half was bewildered on how to break out. After connecting on some long diagonal switches in the first half, it seemed United has fallen in love with the tactic and couldn't let go of it. And so suddenly they found themselves bottled up, incapable of setting up possession in midfield, and looking to hit the perfect long ball. They had the talent. They know the tactic. But they failed in putting it out there.

The absence of Clyde Simms should be noted here. You may not see him as excelling in distributing out of the back, but his strong positioning in transition helps move the ball around side-to-side. When Ben Olsen was gone, it seemed that United's midfield consisted of Szetela and Wallace in the middle. That's one player who has his first game with the team, and another who I think has played more minutes on the wing and at left back this season (though the left back thing seems to have stopped). Chris Pontius moved from forward to wide midfield to center mid and back to forward all in one match. And this constant shifting meant United never really owned midfield the way a five man midfield should.

So, I can whine about the giving up the lead, but I'd much rather whine about losing at all. United lost points that teams in 10 other matches did not drop. And even on the road, it is a bit unforgivable.

I am on the road in Buffalo for the CONCACF match, so if anyone knows a bar with FSC, let me know.

118. Game Recap FAIL
Sorry folks. At this point it may be too late... Consider this an open thread for your comments on Saturday night's impressive win over Colorado.

1. The At A Glance stats have been updated on the sidebar. Gomez has provided three goals and two assists in the past 5 MLS matches.
2. Namoff is leading GOTW voting, 38% to 34% over Alecko of LAG. Honestly, in terms of a combination of Gomez's hard work along with Fred's patience, I thought the third goal was more impressive. Emilio continued his run and gave Fred a good option as he was holding off (!!!) the keeper. You don't see that everyday.
3. No goals for Casey, so, yay.

US Open Cup tonight at some place called Boyds, MD and then the teams travels to San Jose for a 10:30pm EST matchup on Saturday. I wonder if my hotel in Corning, NY will have FSC.

119. First Impressions: DC United v Colorado Rapids
I know this isn't how D does it. He races home from the match and types 5 thick paragraphs of analysis about how United performed and why the outcome was the way it was. He probably begins his compositions on his Blackberry while walking along E. Capital on his way to the Metro. It is very impressive.

Me? I went to Trusty's straight away with my wife and my BFF (Bendt) to celebrate United's win. And I just got home.

The goals? OMG - this thing called the "Volkswagon Game Nav" (way cool BTW) is showing Namoff as scoring twice - 14th and 56th minute. Which is awesome because it exactly highlights what BFF Bendt said about Namoff's game winning goal:

He made up for his mistake.

Seeing it at the bar, I wasn't so sure that it wasn't just a bad giveaway. But now watching it on TiVo at home, I guess it was an own goal. I haz a sad.

But I feel compelled to point out something to all of you out there on FB. I started a group a few days ago called Marc Burch needs a right foot! Please join me. We need this group (about this IMPORTANT ISSUE) because in the 33rd minute, the one and only Marc Burch switched the ball back to his right foot from his left foot and unleashed one of the softest, ugliest shots that we've seen from him.

Freedom win 1-0. I didn't see any of it; I was too busy getting free beer from my WAFC peeps.

What did you guys think about the frisbee exhibition? Totally cool, right? Sweet! The best part was when that dude hucked that one disc into the trashcan! Am I right?!?!

120. The Game Before The Game: Washington Freedom v St. Louis Athletica
I'm ashamed of myself for not even mentioning this at all in my two prior posts, but the event at RFK today is a doubleheader. As I'm writing this now, I'm wearing an old school, WUSA-era Abby Wambach tee, back from when she was Mia Hamm's understudy.

Freedom takes on St. Louis Athletica at 5pm, in just over an hour. However, the Freedom will be without powerhouse Wambach, who plays with the Lady Nats tomorrow in Rochester, NY, against Canada. Rochester is Abby's hometown, so it will be great if she can score a goal or three in front of family and friends.

National Team duty also means that the Freedom will be without Cat Whitehill and Erin McLeod (Canada) and that St. Louis is missing Lori Chalupny and Hope Solo (sorry fellas).

121. Preview 2: W2W4
Yesterday's preview post wasn't much of one, in that it only talked about what I wanted to talk about and probably nothing that you wanted to read about.

Basically, I hope that United can contain Conor Casey tonight.

I feel like there have been several times this season when United has allowed big-name, franchise players to score to easily and as a result have dropped points on the road or had to battle back to pull a point back. Most notably, I keep thinking about Shalrie Joseph's easy header back in April when the Revs were carrying about 14 players on their roster and we failed to punish them. In mid-June, United came back from two goals down against Seattle to take a point on the road. That's good, except the good guys were only down by two goals because Nate Jaqua had somehow scored and that guy hates to score.

I don't think Casey is as good as his stats are saying, but then again, you can't really argue with 8 goals in 12 games. So I hope the back line is ready for his bald, bulky, bouldering brand of soccer.

Also, Danny Szetela.

UPDATE: I just watched the "Crossbar Challenge" on dcunited.com's Access United. Yes, they were practicing hitting the crossbar... I hope that doesn't come back to haunt them. The good news is that out of the 5 competitors (John DiRaimondo, Andrew Jacobson, Boyzzz Khumalo, Ange N'Silu, and Milos Kocic) your winner is the Serbian GOALKEEPER. The forwards just couldn't keep the ball out of the back of the net.

122. Preview: DC United v Colorado Rapids
when: Saturday, July 18th, 8pm
where: Estadio RFK
why: Ultimate Frisbee

huh?

Bob here, now and through the weekend. I love watching soccer and supporting DC United. But when I am actually going to get outside and run around, Ultimate Frisbee is my game. And at halftime of tomorrow's match, two local club teams will put on a demonstration of the sport that actually has quite a bit of support in this area. WAFC, the Washington Area Frisbee Club, is the local organizing body for the sport. They worked with DC United to arrange this opportunity to showcase these teams and this sport on the pitch at RFK. If you aren't stuck in the beer lines at halftime, and I sincerely encourage you to make an effort to see this, you will see some great athletes pulling off some amazing throws and some amazing catches. See you there.

Also, Facundo Erpen.

Wait a minute, what??? No Facundo? Why no Facundo?

123. Alecko Eskandarian shines and Beckham returns
Alecko Eskandarian notched his second goal for Galaxy tonight. David Beckham made his return to the Galaxy from AC Milan tonight. The Galaxy got their 4th straight victory tonight with a 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls. Things are looking pretty good for the Galaxy right now! This post is from LAGalaxy.netAlecko Eskandarian shines and Beckham returns Related [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Alecko Eskandarian shines and Beckham returns

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124. First Impressions -- Columbus Crew 1 : 1 D.C. United

I don't believe in the "win at home, draw on the road" theory, but that doesn't mean the idea doesn't have value. It has value, occasionally, it just shouldn't be a mantra. Columbus has come on recently, but the single significant win was a 2-1 victory over Chivas. The other four wins include 2 wins against Kansas City (including a nice 2-0 road win), a win at home against San Jose, and a win at home against New York. At home, Columbus has not beaten Chicago, D.C. or Toronto. Compare that to United, who at least can look at their home record and cite with some satisfaction home wins against the Fire and Dynamo. These three points were more valuable to Columbus than D.C., and yet D.C. looked like the more likely team to walk away with it.

Yes, Schelotto made Columbus a capable team at any moment, and yes, Columbus were not toothless. Yes, that's how this team seems to make its living, by picking chances and going through. But I was pleased with United's play, with their attack. Columbus was at home, facing a United team down Emilio, Moreno, and Quaranta, and if nothing else had to feel that failing to get the full points would be significant. Yet United, after a shaky opening 10 minutes, exerted more control on the match as it went on. Columbus never played like a team that felt it was going to win, it played like a team that was looking for a single chance, which they got.

There is much to be said for United's performance. Janicki, who looked somewhat miserable a few weeks ago, played well in the center of the back three. If anything, the concern I had was that Burch and Namoff both seemed to be losing touch with him, opening large gaps on either side. Boyzzz was acceptable as a starting winger, and showed that he deserves the occasional start in the future. Importantly, he didn't run himself out in the opening half hour, he played well for the 55 minutes he got. Pontius and Gomez both seemed to get stronger as the match progressed. N'Silu was far too deep back given his ball control skills in this match, his touch was off and he surrendered a few too many balls when he tracked back for them.

Ben Olsen was in his rightful position, and showed why the term is "Holding midfielder." He would hold possession, cutting the ball back with reason to extend United's midfield strength. He held position on several key tackles. When all else failed, he held a huge chunk of jersey from an opposing player. I don't know how long Ben can go this year, but this was a solid match from him.

United got a solid result against a conference opponent on the road. How can I be angry about that? More importantly, they denied points to Columbus. It is a strange feeling having to take Columbus seriously, and I don't particularly like it. So I'd rather have to take them seriously with them looking up at us then the other way around.

125. Spotted: Jaime Moreno at AT&T National
My wife was wearing her DC United hat:

Oh yeah, Tiger Woods was there too...

126. Alecko Eskandarian is coming to town!
That is right, the 2004 MLS Cup MVP is making his way from Chivas USA over to the Galaxy! What a move. In order to make room for Alecko the Galaxy had to cut Josh Tudela. A lot of people will be sad to see him go. According to the official press release [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Alecko Eskandarian is coming to town!

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3. Galaxy beat top of the West Dynamo

127. Galaxy beat top of the West Dynamo
The Galaxy just wrapped up a rare 3 points by beating the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo are currently on top of the West and have the best record in the league. The difference in the game came in the 24th minute when Todd Dunivant scored his first goal of the year assisted by Mike Magee. This [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Galaxy beat top of the West Dynamo

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128. OT: Vuvuzela
Please forgive my two non-DCU posts in a row, but you must understand what with the horrible display by our club last weekend and the interesting things happening on the world stage.

I personally don't understand the vuvuzela haters. I guess some people have no ability to filter out these quiet buzzing sounds from the ubiquitous noisemakers in the stands during the Confederations Cup matches. Apparently, they are called vuvuzelas. I want one.

From the very first seconds of the very first Confederations Cup match that I watched this year, New Zealand v Spain, I thought, "what is that interesting sound?" and then promptly filtered it out. In a similar way, when I lived in Rosslyn, under the flight path of the planes approaching National Airport, the noisy planes bothered me for about a week. Then I didn't hear it anymore.

Anyone who has been to a live soccer match knows that it is an event of experiences. There is the game itself, but there are songs, Roman Candles, smoke bombs, drums, horns. Oh yeah, and drunk supporters too.

People are upset about these horns.

The world football governing body, FIFA, wanted to ban the use of vuvuzelas during the World Cup 2010 because of concerns that hooligans could use the instrument as a weapon and that businesses could place advertisements on vuvuzelas. However the South African Football Association (SAFA) made a presentation that vuvuzelas were essential for an authentic South African football experience, and FIFA decided in July 2008 to drop the ban. Vuvuzelas will be allowed at matches during Confederations Cup 2009 and World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Ban?!?!

I think Deadspin's take is reasonable. You may think they are annoying or whatever but GET. OVER. IT. because when a bunch of Europeans come into SA and start bossing the "riff raff" around, uh, no. They close their commentary with this:

Why can't South Africans enjoy soccer like normal folks?with racist songs and flare guns!

But be warned before you check out the comments, there is some ignorant shit in there.

129. Soccer in America
I'm going to gingerly set this down in the middle of the room, careful not to make any sudden moves, and then slowly back away from it so that I can get as close to the door as possible before anyone realizes what I've done. By the time someone notices it sitting there, and wanders over curiously to sniff it and poke it with a paw, I'll have a thick door between us and will have already bolted 3 of the four padlocks.

The Not-so-beautiful game.

You may also enjoy Wonkette's take on this.

130. Congratulations Landon and entire US team!
Landon Donovan and the rest of the United States national team made history today. After a poor start with 3-1 and 3-0 losses to Italy and Brazil the United States has done the unthinkable. They somehow managed to beat a tough Egypt team 3-0 while Brazil did exactly the same to Italy to [...]

This post is from LAGalaxy.net
Congratulations Landon and entire US team!

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131. First Impressions -- Colorado Rapids 3 : 0 D.C. United

I suppose the major debate is whether United lost this match or Colorado won it, and the easy answer is both. Fatigue was a factor, altitude was a factor. It showed up in obvious ways like tired legs and players running out of gas. It showed more poignantly mentally: United could not execute this match at all. Colorado's second and third goals resulted from some lapses, from Avery John's back pass/through ball to Cummings, and to Jakovic missed trap that forced him the wrong way. That being said, Colorado's first goal was well executed by Cummings, as he makes a strong run, stays on his feet over Janicki's tackle, and fires far post by Wicks. And once Colorado had that edge, all else was preordained.

There are bright things to consider. It was nice to Olsen on the field in something other than a token role. Boyzzz again showed life and energy in exactly the way N'Silu did not. But the match itself was like watching a tax audit -- it was tedious and you felt at some point United would pay through the nose, and sure enough Cummings would pop up with the ball at his feet saying "now, about this receipt here..."

The shift to start the match in a 4-4-2 was interesting, but it felt like a line-up that may have been more suited to the previous match against Seattle. Throwing Olsen on the right in his first match back seemed to ask a great deal, and Simms and Gomez found linking up difficult. We can complain about Janicki if you desire, but I can't imagine that any other back four performs better in this match.

Write it off, pay the bill, and cross out the footnote that said "United has yet to lose after conceding the first goal."

132. First Impressions -- Seattle Sounders FC 3 : 3 D.C. United

Every time I watch Seattle, I'm entertained. Seattle is essentially an ADHD afflicted six year old, dosed with caffeine and sugar, put on the tea cup ride at Disney World. Then you hand him a morning star and tell him to run around in traffic. It's not beautiful soccer, though at times it approximates beauty the way a swarm of wasps approximate ballet. When I watch Seattle, I feel like an arsonist at a bonfire.

So United comes to Seattle, and proceeds to play a match that manages to maximize that feeling. It was chaotic and ridiculous affair. Two own-goals, one from each team, sums up the natural state of this match. United's defense was vulnerable to shot, sharp passing that pushed them away. Rodney Wallace showed he is not a long term solution at holding midfielder. Seattle scored the first goal on a pure shooter's goal, the second with a chance deflection off of Marc Burch, and the third another with smart ball movement springing an attacker who then finished perfectly. United's first goal took advantage of a nice far post run by Pontius combined with poor marking on Seattle's part, the second was a shooter's goal from Gomez, and the third had a dangerous Pontius cross meet a fortunate Tyrone Marshall head for an own goal. This match had everything you love about football, and everything that exasperates.

When United played Chivas, I may have mentioned that I felt comfortable that even down two goals, United could recover. I did not have that feeling this night. Even after Gomez pulls the team to within one goal, it felt that Seattle could have tacked on three more goals and put the match easily out of reach. Namoff and Burch may have had moments, but far too often seemed poorly placed to handle Seattle's attack. Jakovic ran all over the field, a testament to his will but also to how disorganized the back line seemed all night. Fred, and later Tino and Chris both tracked back, but never fit in seamlessly. If United's defense had a shape, it requires higher order mathematical topology to describe it. United looked its best for stretches in the first half, where they played some smart possession football, simply because that meant United was scrambling its defenders all over the field.

I'll admit it, I wondered if the cardiac kids might finally have died on the table. That they didn't... well, it shocks me like a defibrillator to the groin. I'm not sure this was a good game. The more I think about, this game seemed like a bloody, horrible mess. Then again, that's how I like my omlettes. But if we think about this rationally, this game was a barely contained disaster, right? Hooray for saving the point, but does anyone feel comfortable taking this style into a road trip?

133. @Seattle
Sorry to step on your toes (Touxs?) D, but I had to say this before I went to bed...

I hope the dude that threw the beer bottle at Wicks deep into stoppage time, got his ass kicked by the 29,103 other fans at Qwest Field. Because he just ruined it for all of them.

What a match.

134. Goalkeeping Impressions
With the win against the Chicago Fire, Josh Wicks should solidify his claim as D.C. United's starting goalkeeper. He made a huge stop on the McBride penalty, plucked a lot of crosses out of the air, and has had, not just in this game, excellent reaction stops. Subjectively, its hard to argue to bench him, and I'm not going to try that.

But, as I was looking at the standings and individual stats this morning, I was a little surprised. With fourteen games played, Wicks and Crayton have bopth played 540 minutes (540, and have identical 2-1-3 records. Wicks does have a statistical edge in goals allowed (6 versus 8), goals against average (1.00 vs 1.33), PK's saved (1 vs 0), and shutouts (2 vs 1).

I know statistics in soccer are less meaningful than in other sports, but I'd say that both quantitatively and qualitatively, Wicks is a better option in goal than Crayton. Once you factor in the salaries of both players, and if Kocis is a credible backup option, then you have to wonder if and why Crayton would be picked up again once his contract expires. Freeing up his salary and roster spot would allow the team to pursue another international player.

What do you think? If Crayton leaves, who would you like to see the team pursue?

135. First Impressions -- D.C. United 2 : 1 Chicago Fire

This post was going to begin with an apology to Chicago for having the misfortune of being the first team to face United after US Soccer apologized for ridiculous penalty awarded to New England. Center official Baldomero Toledo seemed to want make amends immediately by awarding a just as atrocious penalty to United in the 23rd minute. Still, Toledo promptly turned around again, awarding a penalty to Chicago on a Dejan Jakovic foul that seems, well, not particularly worthy itself (though, to be fair, much more worthy than Twellman's.) United's other goal came on a free kick by Gomez outside the box, and the symmetry of the halves was reflected again as Chicago got a similar free kick which rattled off the woodwork. It was as if Toledo was so impressed by Dave Gibbons work in Watchmen #5 ("fearful symmetry") that he decided to see if he could officiate a match in symmetry.

That being said, the halves were not symmetrical. For all the goals of the first half, the second felt somewhat more engrossing, as Chicago pushed for an equalizer, and United looked to possess for time, strike on the counter, and bunker when necessary. If all games United had played with a lead this year ended like this one, it would not be the frustrating nail-baiting soccer we had earlier in the season, but the high tension engrossing soccer that makes even 45 scoreless minutes fascinating to watch.

I was not ready to award Josh Wicks the starting job after the match against RSL, or after the match against New York. But a PK save on MacBride and two other point blank stops, well, now I am late to the party but willing to say "OK, even if he has a bad match, it's his job for now." He did the best a keeper can do tonight -- he gave his team a chance to win the game they might otherwise have drawn or lost. His command of the box on corners was also the best it has been this season, as he took at least three crosses out of the air and held them. It was beautiful to watch.

For all the praise being heaped on the defense, and 1 goal allowed is a decent result, I am uncomfortable with their performance here. Every defender had a moment, but Chicago was able to play long balls forward a tad too easily. More damning, once played forward, they were able to start to set up possession, buying time for players to run up behind the ball and support the attack. Clyde Simms and Rodney Wallace were both being bypassed, which would be okay for one or the other at times, but not both. The back line was immediately under pressure, and Chicago's goal resulted at least in part on Fred not coming back fast enough to help out on the perimeter of the defense. Of course, the rest of Chicago's goal was the result of good ball movement, a neat dummy move that forced Wallace out late, and a hell of a shot that left Wicks with nothing to grab.

I do not like Fred on the wing, his skill in the middle is minimized in that position. I understand Christian getting the start, and he certainly had, for the first game he started that I can recall this season, more than one moment where he neatly kept the ball at his feat, ate up a ton of ground, and finished his possession with an intelligent pass. Tino was decent, but not astounding, and Moreno/Pontius/N'Silu were also competent, but the first half saw a significant number of possessions in the final third result in general bafflement.

Boyzzz looked his most credible ever as a late sub, no?

In general, this was a match where I enjoyed the second half much more than the first, and love the result more than either. Your man of the match is Wicks, but Jakovic was coming close until that penalty.

136. You ask (or say), I answer?(but not the a**hole emails)
BeautifulFC on August 24th, 2008 at 8:13 am # I don?t care about the pitch. I want a play-off spot. Fair enough. I care about both. Call me crazy, but I think one will help us in the long run, the other in the short. But again, I might be crazy. You tell me. sergio fuentes on August [...]

137. Thoughts
Fish or shark? Will Ruiz show a killer instinct or flop and flop around the pitch? Chad Barett. .5 gpg strike rate. Will he keep it up? Formation. 4-5-1 or 4-4-2. Which do you prefer? Anyone have any other questions? Answers? Post ‘em below.

138. Uncle Leo Messing
Shep Messing sounds like a sedated Uncle Leo (start at :30) from Seinfeld. Carry on.

139. The Maurice Edu Memorial Pitch??
Admittedly, naming a new, grass playing pitch at BMO Field for the player whose transfer funds may very well have made it a short-term reality, is not my idea. Definitely stole it from Morgan Campbell. But, I’m fully in favour of it. I said it before, and it seems like everyone is saying it now, [...]

140. WHAT!?!? Lauren (sic) Robert?s been waived? THAT?S?.
…Amazing. Good riddance you apathetic waste of money. The ONLY reason that I haven’t written a post in the past two months about just how much watching Robert play makes me angry is because I felt as though the general sentiment surrounding the team was already getting too low. BUT, this is undoubtedly a great [...]

141. Breaking: Edu to Glasgow Rangers?
Well, this is certainly not ideal for a team that desperately needs to bring quality players IN. Soccer By Ives is reporting that the MLS has accepted a $5 million bid for Maurice Edu from Rangers. So, let’s all wish Mo the best, but understand that with just hours left in the transfer window, we’ve lost [...]

142. Writer?s Block?
…I’m just so excited for the impending transfers of a quality scoring threat and perhaps even a solid centre-half that I can’t think. They’re coming, right Mo? I’ll wait until after the transfer window closes tomorrow night to express my joy at your signings. (Seems like everyone else must have writer’s block too, as there hasn’t [...]

143. Ever wonder?.
…what you could get for the fastest guy you knew in high school in an MLS trade? Apparently, the answer is a 3rd round draft pick. Assuming, of course, the fastest guy you knew in high school had zero finish around the net. Jeff Cunningham, the above-average-paced-but-recently-completely-ineffective-at-anything-but-running Striker, has been traded to FC Dallas for a third [...]

144. OH THANK GOD!
This and this make me feel a little better today. Now, where’s that new signing, Momo???

145. Ben Knight: On Officiating and Putting it better than I?
Here’s a post from Ben Knight’s On Soccer Blog and the Globe.com He’s quite right that the poor officiating isn’t malicious (which would obviously be a lot worse and give some credibility to the “Refs want to stick it to TFC” argument.) The league has merely failed to mature in the area of officiating. They [...]

146. The referee?s a?.
….joke. But I don’t want to rant about how much the refs in this league suck. I don’t want to rant about the ineffectual offense. I REALLY don’t want to talk about how the last thing we had pride in this season, and unbeaten home record, no is no longer there. Yup, things are pretty dark [...]

147. Farewell for now
I could list all sorts of reasons for stepping aside from ThroughBall.com, not least of which is a desire to shower attention on my nine-month-old but, if I’m being honest, I simply have neither the passion nor the time it takes to do this correctly. I suspect I’ll see you all again down the road—here or [...]

148. Foto Friday: end of the world
Photographer: HugoPan

149. U.S. 2-2 Mexico: three things
Not a great showing from the boys last night. There were flashes here and there but they rarely looked in control. That said, here are three non-game-related points about last night: Commenting on the Commentators While searching for the game, I inadvertently flipped to ESPN instead of ESPN2. Who did I hear doing the play-by-play of the [...]

150. Nike, U.S. Soccer unveil latest in series of jerseys with totally unrelated styles
Can we get a little consistency, please? If I flip to a game, I know immediately if Italy or Brazil are playing just by looking at the uniforms. With the U.S., there is no telling what they might be wearing.

151. U.S. Soccer is hiring: Manager of Video Production
Here’s your chance to be a part of the great video evolution at U.S. Soccer. The Federation is looking for a Manager of Video Production. Here’s what you need to know: Candidates should have extensive knowledge of and experience with Final Cup Pro, Adobe Photoshop, AfterEffects and multimedia production and video management systems. Candidates should possess [...]

152. Around the Soccersphere: January 24, 2008
Can I tell you how much I love it when readers send me things of interest? It makes my life a lot easier. Brian Quarstad interviews the Minnesota Thunder’s new Marketing Director [Blue Sky Soccer via BQ] Speaking of USL, Austin gets a team in ‘09 [The Offside Rules via Minor] Beckham is being called the world’s “biggest [...]

153. On strikers
Agree or disagree? Here’s a fact, Twellman is 27. Here’s another, he’s scored six goals in 29 international matches… Part of me thinks the suits at the US Soccer Federation so desperately want Twellman to succeed. He’s got everything they need in a poster boy — an alliterative name, goofy smile, blond hair, etc. You know, [...]

154. Foto Friday: street football
Photographer: fabbio

155. Ives sees the light
Ives Galarcep made a bold move on January 1, 2008 when he went independent. Says Galarcep: I am leaving the Herald News after 10 years at the paper in order to devote myself to launching and running a soccer news website [editor's note: if it runs on WordPress, orders content sequentially by date and allows comments, [...]

156. Out with the old SBI, in with the new SBI (My farewell)

157. Happy New Year from SBI

158. Nowak names 24-man roster for U.S. Under-23 national team camp

159. Altidore and Donovan headline U.S. national team camp roster

160. Monday Morning Center Back: Out with the old, in with the new

161. The last full EPL Matchday of the year: Your running commentary

162. Meet Fulham's new manager: Roy Hodgson

163. This weekend's soccer on TV

164. TGIF: The last weekend

165. Morning Ticker: Olympic Qualifying Sked set, ManU in first, Fronaldo heads home and trouble for a former MLS player

166. Americans Abroad: Boxing Day Rewind

167. Player reaction from Western Conference win

168. Playoffs have been fun so far
Wow. Let us hope that this year's playoffs continue to mimic last year's playoffs. One thing that was different however was the number of fans that attended the game. It is really good to see how the much our fan...

169. Glenn Davis talks to Brian Ching about playoffs

170. The team's take on Ching's blog
Bernardo Fallas tracked down a few of Brian Ching's Dynamo teammates to find out what they think about the star forward's blog on chron.com. Find out what they had to say....

171. My season awards
Most of you are probably curious as to how we are approaching the game this weekend. Well we are approaching Saturday's game against Chivas as if it were our first playoff game. Chivas have only lost once at home...

172. Suspension a bit harsh to say the least
Here's my opinion on the suspension that was handed down on the "Karate Kid". I think it would be a fair judgment had the league been consistent with their punishments. However, when you look at past disciplinary actions, this one...

173. It is always sweet beating a rival
It is always sweet beating a rival in their own stadium especially when our fans out number theirs. Amazing turn out again! As the season progresses this rivalry seems to grow and grow. This was a game that we knew...

174. The Pressure is On
It doesn't get any better than beating LA in LA. There is still this rivalry that I feel against them that dates back to our San Jose days. This was evident in the amount of passion that we carried...

175. Its While But Im Back
Hey everyone. Sorry it has been a while since my last entry but you can say that I was on summer vacation as far as my writing was concerned. A lot has happened in the last three months: Gold...

176. Controversial play in win over Mexico (w/audio)

177. We're finally finding net again
Hey everyone, sorry it has been so long since I last wrote an entry. It got harder and harder to put something on paper when I was struggling on the field. Since then things have turned around for both the...

178. Dynamo frustrations not excuses
Please forgive me, but after that last game I am going to have to let some of my frustrations out in this blog. I am not trying to give excuses for our loss because I will gladly admit, along with...

179. ESPN gives soccer a primetime feel
Did you see the game on Thursday night featuring the Revolution and DC United? Is it just me or do the games on ESPN now seem to be produced better? Maybe it is the time slot and all the soccer...

180. Mulrooney's arrival a big move for us
This week we made a big move which I believe is going to benefit us this year. We traded Kevin Goldthwaite for Richard Mulrooney. It is hard to see someone like Kevin leave the team. He was a young...

181. Opening tie and who's nicknamed Sponge Bob?
Well I can't say that it has been a week to remember. I would like to give you a run down of how the week went. After getting back from Charleston late last Sunday we had to turn around...

182. Brazilian Newcomers Finally Training
From the official Galaxy blog. The Brazilian trio of Alex, Juninho and Leonardo have arrived at The Home Depot Center and are cleared to begin training with the club. The three players, who were acquired on loan from Sao Paulo in December, officially received their visas over the weekend and flew ...

183. Donovan Challenge Breaks Cole?s Ankle
Let the conspiracy theories begin. You know them by now: Landon is only in England to scope out the opposition for the upcoming World Cup; Landon is secretly pleased that Ashley Cole's ankle is broken, thereby aiding the U.S.'s efforts to defeat England in the WC first round. Now, ...

184. Poll: Galaxy Fans ? Where Should Donovan Play?
You know, there is a lot of chatter out there in the soccer world about whether or not Donovan will remain at Everton. Many of the articles and blog posts I read state that most American soccer fans would like to see Donovan stay. However, the same writers ...

185. Galaxy Week In Review
You're a professional athlete, it's spring training, so where do you train? Florida? Nope, that other state. Arizona? Ding! Ding! Ding! So our sunny California Galaxy team has traveled to sunnier Arizona for a week of spring training where they met the Columbus Crew in ...

186. UPDATED: Donovan to Stay at Everton? It?s Possible
photo courtesy of zimbio.com Update: After scoring a goal and assisting another in today's rout of Hull City, Landon was asked if there was a chance he would remain with the club. His answer? "There is a chance. We'll know more later in the week." See the interview ...

187. Eskandarian Unable To Return
It's a sad day for me and other fans of Alecko Eskandarian. In an email Esky sent to Steven Goff of the Washington Post, he writes: "As a result of injuries that I suffered, I am being forced from the game of soccer at this time. I have not been able to ...

188. Landon Heading Home Today
From his Facebook page: I'm sitting in Heathrow airport about to head home. I'm really excited to get home to friends, family, sunshine and my teammates but it's definitely bittersweet. I wish I had more words than "thank you" to all the Evertonians who made my stay so wonderful. I will ...

189. Beckham?s Achilles Rupture
It was one of those freak injuries. No contact, no speedy sprint down the flank, no hard plant for one of his trademark crosses. It was just a step. Beckham's surgeon has confirmed that David will be out at least 6 months following his surgery yesterday to repair his ...

190. VIDEO: Galaxy?s Scrimmage vs. Hollywood United
The Galaxy won 8-0. Landon set up two and scored two himself. Ahh, I'm getting excited for the season to begin! (hopefully)

191. VIDEO: Recap of Landon Donovan?s Press Conference

192. Win Seats to the Champions League Final
HTML clipboardWould you like to watch the Champions League final live at the Olympic Stadium in Rome? But you can???t afford the tickets? The easiest way to get there is by playing in poker tournaments online on a site called PKR. PKR is offering its loyal poker players ...

193. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Goal for Ajax
[youtube]ZgqsaDnsEq8[/youtube]

194. LA Galaxy rides the Colorado Rapids
LA came to Colorado with looking for their first win of the season. Their last win againt Colorado was on the 13th of July 2002 so it was really a challenge for the team to get their spirits up. But without Leonard Griffin and Yohance Marshall who were disabled, things ...

195. FC Liverpool History
The club was founded in 1892, and quickly became a strong force in English football, winning five league championships between 1900 and 1947. However, Liverpool spent several years in the Second Division (level 2) during the late 1950s, and did not win promotion again until the appointment of Bill Shankly ...

196. Real - Barcelona 2-6 Goals
[youtube]6r4_2uMpzKI[/youtube]

197. Kansas Wizards blows off Seattle Sounders
Saturday night, Qwest Field in Kansas City was filled with 28,000 wild, beer-drinking, football crowd. This is Sounders FC???s fourth game for the season and they were facing Kansas FC. Even with the absence of their top scorer they still managed to secure their first three games. Yet their streak ...

198. Srbija - Rumunija 5:0, (10.10.2009 Serbia - Romania 5:0 ALL GOALS,)WCQ2010
[youtube]hO2WQKsSFLA[/youtube]

199. Robinho Manchester City 2009 compilation HD
[youtube]kV7NPPrJ_nY[/youtube]

200. Camp Nou
The Camp Nou often erroneously called the Nou Camp (in both Spanish and English) is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. The stadium has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957. It is a UEFA 5-star rated stadium, and has hosted numerous international matches at ...

201. Chivas is OK With 1-all draw Against the Red Bulls
CARSON, Calif. ??? On Saturday night, Chivas USA had gathered a 1-all draw against the New York Red Bulls and one of the highlights of the game was when Sacha Kljestan was not successful with his penalty kick during the second-half injury time. Chivas, with a record of 11-9-5, was given ...