Mental Dump before Blogging Sabbatical

Okay Wizards fans -- with the bye weekend I officially took the opportunity to procrastinate throughout the whole week on posting my thoughts about the one-two punch of Thursday and Sunday (of last week)'s games.

We'll start with Thursday -- ESPN game of the week, national TV crews out at little old Community America Ballpark. Hopefully, if they skip us in 2010, the next time they come back will be on opening day of Hillcrest Stadium in the 2011 season!

Great weather to go see some sports -- though the pace of the game was a bit dull. The closesest the good guys got to a major scoring opportunity (aside from the penalty kick that Claudio Lopez hammered home -- which we missed by the way because we tailgated for too long!) was near the end of the game with 2nd-year Wizard and Honduran National Team hopeful Roger Espinosa.

As I mentioned earlier, we got into the game a little late. My Wizards-supporting neighbor was with us, and my wife's best friend from college was in town (she currently lives in New York City, but had no idea who the Red Bulls were -- so my attempts to paint her into the enemy fell on deaf ears...). Even though I knew I was risking missing out on the coveted Jimmy Conrad bobble heads, I didn't want to rip everyone away from the good time we were having so I could grab up more schwag to put in my already crap-filled "home office" (I use "home office" loosely, because it's more or less a dumping ground to make the rest of the house look clean -- it also contains a desk and a lamp, so I guess one could actually use it as an office...). I already could field an entire baseball team with my Royals bobbleheads (if they were allowed to wear both home and away jerseys at the same time, and if John Mayberry was cloned), and even though adding my first MLS bobblehead to the mix would be very stellar, it wasn't in the cards for us that night.

But that tailgate marked the official beginning of summer. It was in the 70s, the sun was shining, beer was being consumed outside, and we were on our way to see some MLS soccer (I could also fill in the blank with "baseball").

One thing I also missed by showing up late for the party, was autograph sessions by the IRL drivers that were competing in the Road Runner 500 at nearby Kansas Speedway over the weekend. I really wanted to see Brit driver Dan Wheldon, as he was the only marquee name that was in attendance (that is, as someone who doesn't follow IRL, I do know he won the Indy 500 one year). I wonder what he thought of American soccer. I'm sure the venue seemed quaint and bush-league, and probably wasn't the best example of an American soccer venue (seeing as how it is in fact a minor league baseball stadium). But the crowd there was pretty respectable for the nationally televised game, and had to remind him of lower-League Championship/upper-League One-caliber support back in merry old England.

I actually saw one IRL driver and didn't realize it. He was wearing a Wizards jersey that said "Sauter" on the back, and I had a mental lapse and forgot how Kevin Souter spelled his name, and thought it was a Kevin Souter jersey. I thought that is was just a really hardcore fan to hunt down the jersey of a bench warmer/folk hero who got the spot through an open tryouts. Turns out one of the drivers in attendance has the last name of Sauter. Though I still want a Kevin Souter jersey. Or maybe I'll buy a Scottish national team jersey and have them put "Souter" on the back, just to give him that extra boost of confidence, should Onalfo ever put him in this season.

One thing we didn't have to be present in the stadium for at the onset of the festivities was the B2 flyover. That is always something special. What was a little disconcerting was that for something that was supposed to flyover the stadium itself, as small as it is, actually flew by it -- that is, it kind of flew over the parking lot, but missed the stadium. Now I'm sure they have their reasons for doing this, but it seemed like they missed the target. Ironically, I think they actually did fly over a nearby Target store; maybe seeing that large target sign kicked in their military instincts...

Our tickets, provided to me by my parents -- who claimed dibs on them from a stockpile of seats that members of a soccer-confused golf community up north were happy enough to give away -- were in the front row this time, right over the T-Bones dugouts, and west of the center spot but east of the 18 yard box. So we got excited about Espinosa's challenge near the end of the game. Throughout the whole game, it was the only time we were on our feet cheering. Hartman once again had some killer saves, and I applauded them loudly -- though I don't think the girls noticed.

Not really much else to be said about the game. It was kind of a back-and-forth match. New York had maybe two scoring chances, but their whole team was on the defensive due to being a man down, making scoring chances tough for the Wizards.

But a win is a win, and we celebrated by cruising into the Yard House. We had no idea that the players like to do the same thing -- literally right after the game. There were no A-list celebrities in attendance like Jimmy Conrad (who I think went home to swim in a sea of his bobbleheads, which I don't even want to touch that concept unless I have a few degrees in psychology). But the first player we spotted in street clothes, of course, was the perenially injured Chance Meyers. Now he really hasn't had enough healthy MLS playing time to determine whether this first round pick from last year is going to be a bust or not, but for all the talk my neighbor gives me about being under-impressed with Meyers, he wanted to shake his hand and talk to him as much as I did once I realized that was him.

My neighbor asked how long he thought he'd be out on the injured list. He jokingly replied "Four more years..." -- I guess he even realizes that his career has been pretty uneventful due to chronic injury. And I think my neighbor gained a little bit of respect for him, since he didn't act too cool to be talked to (and really, with what little fame MLS players are given in the national and local media, and what little salaries they collect in comparison to other pro athletes, they really have no reason to have a big head). He also held the door open for us, which was when I first spotted who he was. He then went off to join his party, which might have been family members and friends, because a whole table of Wizards players filled up in the booth right next to ours.

I didn't want to stare, but I did recognize Abe Thompson and the fourth guy to join their party, MLS all-time saves leader Kevin Hartman. When Hartman discover that we had spotted him, he gave the obligatory "hey". Meanwhile, we enjoyed our exotic beers from around the world, and I guess the people in the booth before us had spilled a bunch of beer from their novalty-sized glass yards (which is kind of an awkward thing to drink from). My feet were sliding around like there was a damn ice rink under them. But I had a bit of a buzz going on, so it didn't bother me much.

When we were ready to go, I caught myself turning to get another glance at at Hartman in all his MLS-18-yard-box-dominating-and-home-goal-fortifying-but-possibly-too-old-for-frosted-hair glory; like a stupid fanboy; and as I walked away, my flipflops which now had dried beer encrusted to the soles, stuck to the floor of the Yard House. So every step I took away from my goalkeeping idol made an entirely too loud smacking and flopping sound; which I'm sure made me look like a huge tool.

And despite all promises of Taco Bell that my wife used to lure my intoxicated self out of Yard House going unfulfilled; overall, it was a good night!

*****Sunday:

Bummer of a loss. I really thought that blast Lopez had in the second half would surely be the equalizer. But superheroics from opposing keeper Stefan Frei helped Toronto keep the clean sheet. So for a brief 48 hours our fans got to enjoy a first-place Wizards that then were knocked down to being tied with Chicago for 2nd. Goodbye 4-game unbeaten streak... Because of the bye they had this weekend, DC leapfrogged a few teams to tie Toronto for 1st in the East, and Chicago moved one up on KC to gain sole possesion of 2nd place. Kansas City, currently in third, will have a chance to not only get three points with a home win this Wednesday, but also deny 1st-place DC of any points.

Hope to see everyone there!

**Also, the Brass play PDL expansion Real Colorado ("The Foxes") on Saturday May 9th. My hiatus from blogging will effect my coverage of all KC soccer for the month of May (except for my brief thoughts after Wednesday's Wizards game). It's an away game, so best of luck to the Brass -- and after Memorial Day, I will pick up the blogging again and follow thier matches as well.

**Other KC soccer news:

Midwest Regional League:

===================

Boy's U-14 First Division, Western Conference, Red Group:

This week's round of games played at the Muscatine Soccer Complex in Muscatine, IA.

-KC United (KS) 94/95 squad fell 2 to 4 to Azzuri Italia of Nebraska

-KCFC United (KS) 94/95 squad beat Springfield (MO) SC 94/95 #1 squad 2 to 1

The latest round puts KCFC United in first place in Red Group standings, with Azzuri Italia and Springfield SC in 2nd and 3rd respectively. KCU drops to 6th place with the loss, still ahead of the two teams from Iowa.

Boy's U-14 First Division, Wesetern Conference, White Group:

White group also playing at Muscatine.

-The Wizards' U-14 program finally slogged out their first victory of the season against Eden Prairie Aquilas of Minnesota, 4-3; but followed up their double-header with a loss to the St. Croix Reds of Minnesota 1-4

-KC SC Black Stars 94/95 squad had a triple-header spread out over Saturday and Sunday. Saturday they beat St. Croix 3-1. After that, they fell to FC Milwaukee's U-14 Blue Squad 1-2. On Sunday they ended the week on a high note, winning 1-0 against Gladiator 94/95 of Nebraska.

The standings have FC Milwaukee at the top, with KC Black Stars in 3rd and KCW Juniors U-14 sitting in last place, a hair behind St. Croix.

Boy's U-14 Premier Division, Blue Group:

Also at Muscatine

-KC's lone representatives in U-14 MRL Premier play, the Blue Valley SC Stars 94/95 Boca Juniors Squad, had a trio of games that included a tie, a win, and a loss -- Eclipse Select (IL) 94/95 3-3; Columbus Crew Juniors U-14 Gold Squad 3-0; Sockers FC Chicago U-14 1-2.

They are mid-way up the ladder at 4th place in U-14 Premier Division, Blue Group play.

Moving on to Girl's U-14 First Division, Western Conference, Blue Group:

Action here also from Muscatine, Iowa

-KCFC Force (KS) had a 3-game pack that included 2 wins and a tie: 1-0 over St. Louis' Scott Gallagher Harbaugh/Portugal squad; 2-0 over Gallagher's USA squad; and a 1-1 split decision vs. the Mid-Rivers Blue Strikers.

-Not competing in the tournament this weekend were Kansas Rush Nike 94/95 and Blue Valley SC Stars' 94/95 Sevilla Squad. Each have a game next week before the Scott Gallagher-hosted round of games at SLU High School in St. Louis in two weeks.

Current standings have Toro Booyah out of Nebraska in first place, with KCFC Force playing its way up to 2nd; Kansas Rush Nike in the middle of the pack at 5th; and BVSC Stars in 7th.

Closing out the action in Muscatine, Girl's U-14 Premier Division, Red Group:

-One team from KC represeting us in U-14 Premier play -- The Viati 95's. Three games were played in a brutal weekend for Viati 95's: a tie against Eclipse Select South (IL) 94/95, 1-1; a loss to NSA Premier Fireballs (IL) 0-1; and blowout at the hands Sockers FC Chicago U-14, 1-5!

Despite these results, Viati 95's are still rolling along at 6th out of 8 in the group; but hoping for a better showing at the Scott Gallagher-hosted round in St. Louis in two weeks time.

Boy's U-15 First Division, Western Conference, Red Group:

-Kansas Rush Nike 93-94, hosts of this round of games from Lone Elm Park in Olathe, loss to the cross-state Doran Fitness a staggaring 1-7! They followed up by beating cross-state Lou Fusz Red Squad 3-2, but finishing off their host weekend losing handily to Springfield SC 93/94 0-4.

-The Wizards Junors U-15 program enjoyed a cheerier weekend with a 3-1 victory over Lou Fusz Red; a 2-2 draw vs. Springfield SC 93/94; and a walloping of Doran Fitness 5-0.

-KCFC United 93/94 are next in this western-Missouri filled group, also shutting out Doran Fitness 3-0; then beating Lou Fusz Red 3-2.

-Springfield FC 93/94, meanwhile, tied the Wizards Juniors U-15 2-2; then shutout host Kansas Rush Nike 4-0 to close out the weekend's festivities.

The standings have the Wizards Juniors on top with a 6-0 undefeated streak going. KCFC is behind them in 2nd. Springfield FC is behind Doran Fitness in 4th. And Kansas Rush Nike is 6th of 8, looking to keep bottom-dwellers Ankeny (IA) and Lou Fusz at bay.

Boy's U-16 First Division, Western Conference, Red Group:

-Springfield SC 92/93, hosts of this round from Plaster Sports Complex, had a fairly uneventful tie, scoreless draw, and one-goal win -- FC United Select (IL) 1-1; Hoffman United Hurricanes (IL) 0-0; and Lou Fusz Strikers' Red Squad 1-0.

-The KCFC Blues 92/93 squad had a slightly less spectacular tie, one-goal loss, and another tie -- Euro Premier (IL) 1-1; FC United Select (IL) 1-2; and Lou Fusz Strikers' Kaver Squad 1-1.

The standings have the Kaver Squad on top, with Springfield in 2nd place. KCFC Blues are mid-pack in 4th with 5 ties, no wins, and only one loss.

Boy's U-16 Premier Division, Blue Group:

In Muscatine

-The Wizards' U-16 program played a pair of games. Saturday they played the Minnesota Thunder's U-16 blue squad and won out 1-0. Sunday, the Wizards produced a scoreless draw against the Chicago Fire's U-16 "Red-11" squad.

After these results, The Wizards are in third place, with their focus set to overtaking 2nd place Vardar (Michigan) in the standings. Fellow MLS program Chicago Fire U-16 "Red-11", with their single win, find themselves third-from-the-bottom; while USL program Minnesota Thunder U-16 blue squad remain winless and second-from-the-bottom.

Boy's U-16 Premier Division, Red Group:

Another Muscatine-hosted round

-The KCFC Rangers had a trio of games. For starters they played the Chicago Wind's 92/93 Nationals squad to a 1-1 draw. After resting up that day, they then played Eclipse Select's (IL) 92/93 team but could not produce a result, losing 1-2. On Sunday, they played Campten United (IL)'s 92/93 navy squad, losing again 0-1.

After this particularly difficult weekend for the Rangers, they drop to fourth place in the standings.

Boy's U-17 First Division, Western Conference, Blue Group:

Another Muscatine-hosted round

-The region's trio of teams competing in the Blue Group have what appears to be broken coverage from the MRL's website. It says that Kansas-side Everton 92 and the KCFC Athletics 91/92 team played in Muscatine, though it does not give dates or score for either team.

-Springfield SC 91/92 appears to have only played one match -- a 1-1 tie against the Chicago Fire U-17 program's red squad.

It appears Springfield's in the unofficial third place in the group. Though the results of the Everton and Athletics games have yet to be factored into the standings.

Boy's U-17 First Division, Western Conference, White Group:

From Muscatine

-KC's lone team in the group, Futura Juventus, had a rough go of it; losing first to Galaxy SC's 91/92 blue squad 0-1. On Sunday, Juve was blown out 0-4 against Valley United (MN)'s Cosmos team. They capped off Sunday by playing to a 1-1 tie against Westside FC (MN)'s Reds team.

After these results, Juve sits winless at the bottom of the group standings.

Boy's U-17 Premier Division, Blue Group:

-The Wizards' U-17 program appeared to have the weekend off -- though there is still a completed match against Sockers FC Chicago's U-17 team that looks like it has not had a scorline or date of the match added to it. The next match will be at the Swope Park Training Facility this Sunday, May 10th vs. SLSG's O'Keefe team.

Assuming all results are up to date, the Wizards sit in 5th place in the group, with mixed results so far this season. O'Keefe is one spot ahead of them in the standings.

Boy's U-17 Premier Division, Red Group:

-KCFC's Strikers team has apparently not played since April 26th. No upcoming games are posted for them, though one would expect that they should be back in action within the Midwest Regional League group play soon, unless they have had to drop out.

Assuming all results are up to date, the Strikers are in fourth in the group standings with a 4-3-0 record.

Boy's U-18 Premier Division, Red Group:

-Springfield SC's 90/91 team took the weekend off as well, also not having played since April 26th. They are back in action against St. Louis Scott Gallagher's Team One at the Lake Country Soccer Complex in Springfield on May 13th.

Assuming all results are up to date, Springfield is in first place in the group standings, going undefeated so far this season.

Late blog on Chicago game, Getting pumped for tonight...

How's it, soccer fans!  I'm a little late in getting my thoughts in about the Chicago game; so I'll give the Twitter-sized recap in haiku form:

Dangerous red warriors of Fire

Limited by 100 hands of Hartman fury

Wolff, McBride show equal strength

Exciting draw on Saturday.  I didn't think that the boys in blue had it in them to come back after each score, especially after seeing a first half where Chicago held the ball the majority of the time.  Amazing stuff from Kevin Hartman, including an absolutely sick diving glove save off of an uncontested blast in the second half.

I feel like Chicago is one of the top teams at the moment, and we were able to prove our equality in a hostile environment.

Next on the to-do list, is "beat New York in front of a national television audience".  The ESPN2 game of the week is back on Thursday now, at least for this week (so those confused by this Friday and Saturday bullcrap will have some reminder of what was a routine weekly Thursday game last season), and hopefully we'll get quite a few eyeballs from soccer fans nationwide.  It looks like the only other soccer events being shown tonight are repeats of last night's Chelsea vs. Everton match and Atlante vs. Cruz Azul CONCA Champs Final Leg 1 (plus live Boca Juniors Copa Libertadores action during our game, if you have Setanta; or if you DVR Spanish soccer or The Italian Cup on GolTV).  No UEFA or Premier League games being played at mid-day for the hardcore soccerphiles to DVR, and no World Cup qualifiers.

I will be showing up nice and early to get ahold of my Jimmy Conrad bobblehead, and hopefully I'll be able to get something signed by racing great Dan Wheldon -- who in typical English fashion (and probably by some contract he signed), will be attending the match while in town for this weekend's Indy car race next door at the Speedway (which will be shown on Versus all weekend).

On a side note, the KC Brass PDL squad start their season at Shea Stadium (not the one that was just replaced in Queens; but rather one in the state of Colorado) to play the expansion Real Colorado Foxes on May 9th.  I'll be taking a brief hiatus from blogging for the month of May due to my commitment on a major project that will eat up all of my possible work and social time, and will be back to blogging again in late May.

So next week's entry will probably be my last one for a few weeks.  Hopefully when I get back at it, the Wizards will be contending for an early first place position...

Let's go Wizards!

Downtown Davy Strikes Again! And KCW Juniors accepted into U.S. Development Academy League

So one thing we share with Seattle right now is dreary and depressing weather.

The Wizards on Saturday wanted to see to it that we would share one more thing: having at least one loss on the books.

Despite the weather, it is still Spring -- a time of hope.  Eventually women's skirts get shorter, the sky gets brighter, the European and Latin American leagues prepare for Championship Month in May, baseball fills the TV schedule (as well as my personal schedule), and even Jesus Christ himself slaps Death around like his red-headed stepchild.

In accordance with such Spring conventions, I attended the second game of the Home Series for the Royals on Saturday (thus needing to DVR my Wizards/Seattle game on MetroSports).

I won't get into how incredible of a spectical the new Kauffman stadium is for someone who grew up going to that stadium in the summers; because this is my soccer blog and I don't want to get too off-topic.  But I will say how utterly disappointed I was that we had an embarrassing offensive effort (and shoddy defense in the beginning, led by horrid starting pitching from Ramirez...).

So I was ready to witness one of my teams performing well when I got home.  And despite the fact that the Wizards played nearly the whole game in a power play, against 10 Sounders, it was still a very tight and intense game -- one where I stand near my couch instead of sitting on it, and cup my hands over my mouth, occasionally letting out an "ugh!" every time we get close to giving the game away (causing my wife to yell down "what happened?" to me from our bedroom while she watches her home improvement shows -- just to show that she somewhat cares...)

As much as I am rooting for Seattle to continue doing well, because I respect the way they're running their organization and setting the standard for all future expansion teams, it's a nice feeling that my team handed them not only their first defeat, but also the first goal against this red-hot team.

Granted this goal was not against legendary keeper Casey Keller, who caused the Wizard's power play when he was ejected due to a red card penalty early into the first half (sliding hands-first past the 18 yard box into a Hercules Gomez shot, thus receiving an intentional keeper handball -- which I was not aware was a full-on red card...Keller obviously knew this and either wasn't cognizant of how far he was going to slide, or didn't care because he needed to block that shot at all costs...)

When a keeper gets tossed for a red card, the replacement keeper comes in, and a second player has to be removed from the field and not replaced to fully penalize the team as with any red card, by making them complete the game while being down a man.  Harsh stuff.

But regardless of these hardships, Seattle still held our Wizards at bay, deep into even the second half!

But my Royals-induced sports funk had turned on a dime when "Downtown" Davy Arnaud was set up from what looked like on TV to be 30 yards out, firing one of his signature laser-rocket blasts at the second string keeper Ben Dragavon (who to his credit, actually got both hands to the ball in time; but couldn't get a grip on the blazing line-drive and witnessed it deflect off his gloves into the back of the net!)

At this point I'm yelling with both joy and amazement.  My wife is wondering again what's happened.  I reply with something nonsensical about wanting to have Arnaud's children.  What great sports drama!  Down to the wire, facing an undefeated team on the road, bringing home the killing blow from impossibly far away.  Another Sierra Mist Goal of the Week for Arnaud.  I'm calling it now...

Besides being an awesome shot, Downtown Davy claimed the sole second place of MLS all-time goal scorers.  At this rate, not only should he enjoy some time at the top of that list in the future, but there's getting to be less and less excuses for why he is laregly being ignored by the national team.  

I don't know if the U.S. would give him a crack at making the lineup before World Cup 2010 (and no slam on Jewsbury, who not only set up that awesome shot, but who is also the only Wizard currently trialing at the national team's camps -- with Conrad in strong consideration, I would hope, for being a backup option should Frankie Hejduk get into a fatal slap fight in the future).  I think Jewsbury deserves his shot as well.  But Arnaud is a national treasure that is, like the black sheriff in Blazing Saddles, still largely an underground success -- as far as the national team is concerned.

But I digress.  The Wizards won and moved their place up the single table, to the middle of the pack.  Hopefully we can string together a few more wins in the coming weeks to move up those Eastern Conference standings.

Their victory helped turn the sports tide in KC for the weekend.  The Royals, down two runs in the eighth inning against the hated Yankees turned their fortunes around off of unlikely heroics by third-string catcher Brayan Pena; and rallied to win.  And I had a nice little Easter too.

Now the only thing to complain about is that my long, Friday-off weekend is over.  "Ugh!"

****On a side note, one of my concerns for our "farm program" (if that's what you want to call our homegrown development efforts from the Wizards' various youth teams) last year was that our overall organization was going to be left behind if we remained one of the only MLS teams that didn't have its youth teams enrolled in the nationwide Development Academy League -- which was set up to be the de facto top flight youth league in the country, overseen directly by the U.S. Men's National Team coaching staff.  What I had perceived as the Wizards being late for the party on this one was exaggerated.  According to this article on U.S. Soccer Federation's website, our entry and Houston Dynamo's entry for the 2009-2010 season (starting this late summer/fall) will make us only the ninth & tenth for the league.  Still well behind the pack, but the fact that Houston is only joining now bodes well for KC, as they seem to not have any problems qualifying for continental play -- plus it is far too early for homegrown farm programs to make or break a team, as the league still largely depends on getting solid ready-to-go draft picks, savvy trades, and luring in foreign talent with the designated player rule.  Although the original designated player did nothing to lead his team to a single MLS Cup... so maybe there is no ONE magic bullet to MLS success.  But I think in the future, similar to the way MLB operates right now, success will largely fall on how well a team can develop its own players -- due largely to smaller budgets for outrageous transfers (I see this occurring all throughout FIFA's more developed nations) and also due to increased talent in the national pool of players -- if all goes to the USSF's plan.

Dire weather, no motivation...

It doesn't feel like Spring yet.  It doesn't feel like baseball and soccer (at least American soccer) weather yet.  It's been hard to get in that mindset.  So to make up for my lack of posting, here's a preview of what my weekly KC-area soccer digest will look like:

1) Ideas, observations, and subversive propaganda about the world's game and Kansas City's team.

2) My thoughts on the game:  I try to cover angles not already being covered in the Wizards blog-o-sphere.

3) Short recap of the week's Reserves games (The Swope Park Rangers won't be able to play in the now defunct Reserves League, but will still get in scrimmages against local minor league and college teams).

4) Short recap of KC Brass PDL team's games this week.

5) Quick blurbs on any notable accomplishments by any local products or players from local colleges that will be playing PDL, NPSL, and Super-20 this summer.

6) Spring scrimmages for men's and women's local college teams (pre-summer break / summer club ball season)

7) Local teams in USYS's Midwest (Region II) Regional League, USYS's National League, USSF's National Development Academy League, and USL's Super-Y League, and the U.S. Open Cup

8) Prospects amongst local elite club teams and their teams' progress through the Metro League/WMSL (KCMO) and/or Heartland League (KCK) or Sunflower League (Topeka); including state/regional/national qualification in open play.

9) Local products / local college stars who are playing professionally, either domestically or abroad -- and quick updates on them.

10) KC soccer (especially the Wizards) in the regional/national media and in our own local media

11) News on any Wizards, Wizards prospects, former Wizards, local college stars, or local products that are capped or honored by any of the age groups within the USSF

12) My plans for the next game: (watch parties for away games; tailgating plans for home games).

Great effort in the end, but...

...The Wizards couldn't get it done to get that one more point that would have earned the draw and a single point in the standings. Instead the game went down as a loss and Toronto gobbled up all three points in the standings and we were left with none. That's the funny thing about soccer (and hockey, I guess); is that how many points you win or lose by doesn't matter, unless you are only winning/losing by one point and a draw is within reach. Then your potentially earned standings points can be cut down from 3, to having to share a point a piece should your opponent draw with you.

Now, my brother in law says that in football they don't have ties, because "a tie is like kissing your sister..." (to which I replied, so a loss is like kissing your brother??). And in football you need to have a winner decided somehow (sudden death, overtime, dance-off, whatever...)

The newbie soccer watchers I took to the home opener asked me if there'd be a shootout if we could get that one last score before stoppage time ran out. I told them no, but not to be disappointed, because I'd rather have one point in the standings than to have Toronto steal away three points and leaving us with none because they could hit more point-blank penalty kicks in some sort of shootout competition -- that kind of undermines the 90 tough minutes that were put into the match previously.

As for overtimes, like an extra 15 minutes of clock time followed by a break and another 15 minutes until someone scores; that makes much more sense to me in the interest of fairness to the efforts put forward by the teams in regulation time. The downside there is that soccer (and this is why it gets panned so heavily in the States) is notoriously low-scoring -- because when half of the opposing team and a goalkeeper are standing in the way, the winger tries to stretch them out by pulling off to the sidelines and looking for a crossing opportunity (provided the team doesn't have some freak fastbreak opportunity). The ability to cross the ball and having a teammate volley the ball right in, or settle it in heavy traffic and get an accurate shot off past a skilled professional goalkeeper is a difficult thing to do. That's why we celebrate goals so much (especially Davy's rocket from the 18 yard box that put us back in the game late in the 2nd half...)

The problem with having an overtime, even a "golden goal" overtime where the first to score wins, is that the game could be going on for quite a while before you have a winner. I don't know why the international standard in soccer (and in regular season hockey for that matter) is to go down with the draw, and not have overtimes until a winner is decided -- because sometimes baseball takes inning after inning, late into the night, to decide a winner. Why not soccer?

My guess is that it's because soccer is so much more demanding in terms of endurance. MLS regular season isn't exactly the World Cup. You could have players risking some real injury if it winds up that they have to run around for the equivalent of another 45 minutes more than what they're used to before a winner is decided. And all for 2 measly more points in the standings (with the unfortunate loser losing their one draw point they would have otherwise earned...)

I think because the season is so long and the format of the game is so physically demanding, that draws in the regular season are okay. They're not as exciting, but last night the real soccer fans were cheering to get that draw. They knew how it effected our standings race right out the chute -- and it means a hell of a lot more than "kissing your sister". But alas, there is no joy in Mudville. Mighty KC has lost out.

Great effort and a nice double by Davy Arnaud (which this early in the season puts him in the running for the Budweiser Golden Boot award). But we still lost. Zero standings points earned. Better luck next week.

Ok...now we're talking...

Nothing has given me more hope for the future of MLS than ESPN's high-def shots of a sold out (at least for the lower soccer bowl) stadium in Seattle on a Thursday night during March Madness to see a professional soccer game.

Glorious...

Better Luck Next Year, MLS...

Well our hopes for an MLS team winning the CONCACAF Champions League were quite handily crushed last night, after Atlante showed that their supposedly crucial away goal (snuck in during the final minutes of last week's first leg match to end the aggregate in a draw with advantage going towards Atlante) wasn't so crucial -- as last night's match was hardly a contest.

Houston, though putting together some noble attacking plays, were largely outplayed on both sides of the ball throughout the entire 90 minutes. But one thing that puzzles me is that Brian Boswell, the hero of last match that drew first blood against the Mexican team, was sitting this match out due to what the commentator claimed was related to his tonsils.

I know Houston is a better team than this -- they proved it by beating Atlante by an even greater margin of 4-0 in last year's SuperLiga. By my measure MLS teams have the greater to gain by winning the Champions League -- it would mark the coming out party for MLS on the interconfederational club competition stage. This match would have also shown the opportunity for an MLS team to be the first one to beat a first division Mexican team on Mexican soil in a non-exhibition match.

Oh well, better luck next year...

Kick it for Kori tomorrow night!!

Regardless of whether or not you are an indoor soccer fan, or even a fan of the PASL and its local team the Kansas City Kings -- their playoff game tomorrow (Saturday) night at the KC Soccer Dome at 7:00PM (doors open at 5pm) is a venue for a very worthy cause.

Donations will be accepted from local soccer fans to help out elite Viati youth Kori Quinn, who was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. She is in for a long and expensive road to recovery, so every dollar helps. With at least a $4 donation, you will receive an orange wristband to help you spread the word about helping out Kori and her family with these expenses.

Members of the KC Wizards Cauldron supporters group, including the recently formed Hillcrest Syndicate, will be on hand to cheer on the Kings and support the fundraising efforts.

More info on the playoff game/fundraiser are found here.

Let the KC community know that us local soccer fans look out for one another!

After last second goal, Houston reminded that road to Abu Dhabi first goes through Cancun, Mexico...

...(And then Montreal/Torreon, and then Bayamon/San Pedro Sula/Olympic Stadium or Estadio Azul in Mexico City...)

Much was ado about Houston's first blood drawn in last night's game. The commentators -- in what was seemingly an effort to remind viewers of the importance of the fledgling CONCACAF Champions League -- brought up how Houston, the sole team representing the league that has the highest inferiority complex amongst its fans, could have a chance to play some truly world class teams like Manchester United (being a bit presumptious here as UEFA CL still has 3 months left to it...), in December at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Whereas the "New World" soccer fans can appreciate a team based in their own country going toe to toe with those storied clubs that garner New York Yankee-like buzz in soccer-loving Europe (you know, those teams with 2 and 3-times as many stars under their name in the FIFA video game -- and a handful of stars that actually mean something sitting about their crest...); I feel like the fans of those European teams see the FIFA Club World Cup as largely a distraction from their teams' efforts towards supremacy in UEFA and in their domestic leagues -- sort of telling the world, "well, it's nice they have this, and one day it may really mean something... but right now, to us being 'World Champions' means being champions of Europe..."

This attitude is not unlike how many Major League Baseball players and hardcore fans truly feel about the World Baseball Classic (although we're talking about national teams and the opportunity to play for one's country). To the world of U.S. baseball, what truly matters is the competition that started the league and the sport -- and that's the MLB regular season and pennant races. Hell, we call our championship the "World Series", when it's two American teams playing each other every year! But I guess with all of the best talent in the world finding homes in the MLB's clubs, I guess you could truly see the World Series as a matchup between the two best performing collection of players from throughout the U.S., Latin America, Japan, China, Korea, Canada, South America, the Caribbean, and in some rare cases, even soccer-loving Europe.

The English Premier League is the equivalent to this in Europe. They are the top level league in the country that created organized soccer. The British, Italians, and Spanish clubs throw money around as if there was no limit to it. They go into countries with less promising top-flight leagues, with their big bags of money, and draft handfuls of foreign talent into their services, much like Major League Baseball -- the MLB has the Dominican Republic, and EPL/Serie A/La Liga have Argentina and Brazil.

In countries with even worse-off top flight leagues, where their top domestic players don't even get a glance from the "Big Three" leagues in Europe, it becomes an obsession of proving that their organization has worth. It's not so much a talent or performance thing as it is a worldwide perception and respect thing. Pachuca can build as much of a legendary following as they want in Mexico -- but that doesn't necessarily mean the "Big Three" will give a damn. They don't ever play these teams to win UEFA CL (or even UEFA Cup for that matter). They many only see them in this artificially created tournament where each of the continental champions (and a host nation that didn't even win a continental champion) are raised up as supposedly the best seven teams in the whole world.

Where I'm going with all of this, is that in order to truly have a measure of who the best clubs are in the world, and how a legendary team from a lesser confederation matches up with a legendary team from a legendary confederation, is by having a full-on FIFA World League.

I'm not talking about having yet another competition to take away from continental and domestic leagues, thereby adding to fixture congestion. I'm suggesting that you take each of the continental leagues/cup competitions that exist already, then throw in a handful of inter-confederational games (whereby a UEFA CL team would play a CONCACAF CL team), thereby only adding a few more games to the season, and have a worldwide points system for the collective progress between the various CLs and inter-confed games -- think NCAA basketball.

This way, you can use the points systems to determine which HANDFUL of teams (not just one single team) will go on to a several round 16-20 team knockout FIFA Club World Cup tournament to end the calendar year in December.

Just a thought. But until then, I'd like to see an MLS side get the best of the Mexican teams because it gives me hope for the Wizards in Superliga this July (though there's no Club World Cup implications there), and hopefully our Superliga performance will be a warm-up to our potential CONCACAF CL 2010 berth -- pending our MLS league performance.

MLS in 55 Markets by 2060...

Just for fun, I posted the following image to BigSoccer.com's "league design/expansion" thread. Here is what a 55 team MLS could look like (imagine the top 20 in a Premier League-like "MLS-1", and the rest in "MLS-2"). I chose 55 because there are 55 real major-league level markets around the country without any real overlap (if you look at a U.S. map). I figure that this would be the saturation point for major markets within MLS; and all future expansion would have to come through promotion of smaller teams within each of these markets' reach, uprooting the "current team" (or future team in most of these cases...) representing that market.





I took current or look-alike jersey designs from Switched Image Project, Colours of Football, "NASL Homepage", Chris Creamer's Sports Logo Community Message Boards, and from the "Expansion kit design" thread on Big Soccer. Hope you like it.

Soccer's West Coast Offense??

An interesting concept that I stumbled across while looking at the comments of an ESPN SoccerNet article (a 5-part series) on the USSF's Developmental League (excellent series by the way, I recommend you check it out...). The first poster (ESPN sorts comments in order of most recent to oldest so you may have to go back a few pages by the time you read this) suggests towards the end of his comment that the U.S. will always be "just good" and not "great" as long as they try to mimick other playing styles found throughout the world (Dutch, Brazilian, English...)

They also suggest that our other sports -- the ones that get all the athletes and money and talent and creative strategic minds in our country -- could have American-style strategies that may translate into the game of soccer, and be something that other nations haven't experience yet, and therefore would have trouble defending against it.

Although the concept is a little out there, I think there are enough creative minds within U.S. soccer that are kept quiet because the key agenda right now is teaching our players the proper way to play the international game. Which is something we need to start being competitive.

But once we can go toe-to-toe with some of the mid to lower European outfits; we need to find a way to define our style of play to be able to be worthy of the same playing field as the English, Germans, Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, Dutch (who, by the way, our U-23 team nearly upset in the Olympics), etc...

The Netherlands game showed us that we have the athleticism and the ability. We need more depth (that is, more players that are accustomed to playing at that international level; which the ESPN article suggest will increase with this new Developmental League). We also need a style that American athletes can introduce to the game; one that hasnt' been studied for years by the great teams of Europe and Latin America.

Whether or not that translated strategy would be a success or a bust in the context of top-flight international play is debatable. But the answer will only show itself if an innovative mind within the USSF is allowed to bridge the gap between our embarrasment of riches in terms of NFL, basketball, baseball, and hockey intellectual capital; and our ever deepening pool of young soccer talent.

Well, here I go piggy-backing off of BigSoccer again... I find it saves me time as a part-time blogger to scoop the scoopers. And I'll only really share outside articles when I feel like they aren't already covered by my favorite blog, "Kansas City Soccer Review". But here's a rare miss for them -- one that I feel like should be discussed by all Wizards fans, even the ones outside of the BigSoccer community (like there are any of those out there that read this blog... wait, is there anyone who reads this blog?)

Anyway, KC Star opinon-ater Yael Abouhalka makes his KC predictions for 2009. Among the more shocking is that the KC Royals have a winning season -- but dammit, they better by now! The one that caught my eye is this prediction that the Bannister Wizards stadium project will be killed off due to existing subsidies not being enough to sustain it, and the city's inability to afford any more subsidies for the project. (link is further down on the page of posts...)

I agree that we should write in to Yael and let him know that we believe that, based on the support we've seen at Community America Ballpark, that revenue from ticket sales and shoppers/hotel guests that are attracted to the businesses surrounding the anchor stadium will most definitely keep the project afloat. Even after the major economic meltdowns had occurred, Community America had its extra seating filled up by soccer revelers. Sure, we may not be as soccer-supporting of a town as D.C. or Los Angeles, but the investment is attractive enough to bring the people in on game weekends at the very least.

It's his opinion, but I think that the basic math of demand (from what I've seen) adds up in our favor, and he will be proven wrong.

Like the poster on the column's site said, "the project will go forward with or without any further help from the city".

Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule of expertise & Wizards' Youth Academy

Found this post on BigSoccer.  Controversial stuff.  It proposes that the Wizards' youth division begin a program for the 5 or under age group, encouraging the practicing of soccer skills for 2 hours a day, 7 days a week -- thereby meeting author Malcolm Gladwell's criteria for expertise in a subject (10,000 hours put it) by the time they reach a prime physical age.  The controversy here is when does this become abuse.  When do overzealous parents do all the pushing, regardless of the child's interest in the sport.  You probably would be more likely to see Anglo families behaving this way with more traditional U.S. sports like baseball, football, and basketball (or try to make their kid the next Tiger Woods...)  But MLS, for better or worse, is the only professional sports league that promotes the "Home Grown Player List".  

The HGPL, a concept I very much support if done right, allows MLS teams to have first rights to players born/raised/and still currently living in their metropolitan area -- thus encouraging them to discover top talent coming up in the youth leagues and making the early time investment of developing them the rest of the way so as to lock their talent into the team's talent pool, provided they get discovered by the team's Front Office and is committed to their protected Home Grown Player List.  

Years from now, since the MLS is the first pro league in the U.S. to do this, I expect to see at least a fraction of each MLS team to be comprised of local heroes: players who hardcore soccer fans have tracked in the news from high school and KCW Juniors teams, to college and PDL, and any future minor league teams that the Wizards may have in the future.  

Right now there are too many pro leagues in which the players don't even live in the town they play for.  Having locally born heroes potentially becoming nationally exposed soccer celebrities, while still playing for their hometown (so long as that hometown has an MLS team), is a very refreshing idea.

The darker side of the HGPL is that teams are thus also encouraged to develop local talent, to eventually have a large stream of "low hanging fruit" that will be slamdunks for signing to the senior team if they have the talent.  Development of local youths by a professional organization can always be tricky -- having to balance the higher standards of instruction and commitment with the fact that their players are not being paid college scholarships; they are not receiving pay at all (unless there are some rules about limited signing and compensation for underage developmental players).  They need to spend hours studying, having family time, having a social life, and largely, being allowed to be a regular kid.  This is a tough balance to keep, and I know many kids growing up whose parents didn't balance this well.  One hopes a professional organization that has a division devoted to youth development understands the proper tradeoff with their kids.  

But the idea of 10,000 hours is still an intriguing one, if not just for the KC Wizards, for U.S. Soccer overall.

Vermes & Preki nominated for soccer hall.

One thing to keep an eye out for:

Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes and former player Preki are both nominated for induction into the 2009 class of the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. Visit the Hall's website to see who else got nominated and to see who gets in!

Go Wizards! Playoffs continue Saturday!

Wizards coverage (or lack thereof) getting some notice on KC Star's Ad Astrum blog

Hey readers. Last night's post urged you all to contact the Star to make your voice heard that you want your favorite of KC's three professional sports teams to start getting the recognition it should have. Obviously not as much coverage as the other two, as it only has a little over 10 years worth of history in this town, and many of those years have been less than flattering (marred by the image of an empty Arrowhead stadium for Wizards games).

My vision is to have a single page in the sports section devoted to KC soccer, on all levels, but mostly focusing on our professional team. It could take 10 years to see this, depending on how popular MLS becomes over the years. But if it gets to a similar popularity level as the NHL enjoyed in the early-mid 90's, our town would be acting in full ignorance to continue with its small-blurb approach to soccer coverage.

I voiced my opinion in the following fashion:

subject: Kansas City in the Playoffs

That's right. That's all we should care about when it comes to pro sports, isn't it? The national exposure the playoffs give our fair city. Notice this email says "Kansas City in the playoffs!", not "Kansas City Wizards make it into the MLS playoffs, see page 10..."

Your newspaper has the chance to do a progressive thing here (and aren't these upcoming elections going to be themed around progressing in new directions: mass transit, green power, universal healthcare, reform in Washington...).

You have the opportunity to stand apart from every other sports section in the country and actually embrace the sport of soccer every once in a while, with a front page story, and maybe an occasional full page -- when it is warranted.

We don't have NHL here. We don't have NBA. Baseball's World Series may be over with soon. The big stories in November will be Chiefs football, and their continuing frustrating struggles (how much can we talk that into the ground), KU, Mizzou, and K-State football and the upcoming Border War game at the end of the month (and the countdown to Mizzou fighting again for Big XII supremacy). And maybe some preseason Big XII basketball news (but really, nobody really cares until conference play starts).

Doesn't that make some major room for the PLAYOFF escapades of one of only three pro sports teams in this town?

Let's progress beyond our country's soccer-phobic past and show the world that we have the best sports culture, no matter the sport!



Today, a "reader rep" for the Kansas City Star returned my message. And when I saw the word "Wizards" in his response, I knew it wasn't going to be a canned "thanks for you interest" kind of email. His reply was:


Thanks very much for taking the time to write with your thoughts about Wizards coverage. I appreciate the input, and I will include your comments in my weekly report to the publisher, vice presidents and the entire newsroom.

By the way, you said this so well that I quoted you (without your name) on my blog: http://adastrum.kansascity.com/?q=node/418


He also edited out my devisive language on this "progressive" election season, and our countries "soccer-phobic past", probably for the better. Although my comments about what a struggling franchise the Chiefs have turned out to be were left in, probably because there's not anyone who would take offense to that, provided you don't actually play for the Chiefs.

I was quite impressed with the speed of his reply, and the fact that I was chosen to be the day's post about the state of Wizards coverage in the Star and in KC media as a whole. I don't know how many people read Ad Astrum -- but I do know it has a link from the Star's home page, with the title "No love for the Wizards?" (provided you scroll to it within their universe of blogs -- of which Ad Astrum was not currently visible by default; some scrolling was in order...)

Who knows what kind of exposure that is for the cause, as online reader habits of kansascity.com are a complete mystery to me. But what I hope this accomplishes is any and all steps towards getting the hard work of our Kansas City Wizards over these past few games noticed -- especially because it helped propel a Kansas City professional sports team into the playoffs.

Playoffs???

Easy coach Mora... We are going to the playoffs. Yes, that's right "Kansas City is going to the playoffs." For some reason that sentence sounds unnatural, unless you are speaking of Wizards soccer. Our team has finally found that hot streak that we needed, and not a moment too soon. If you want to support a professional sports experience that is closest to having a winning culture in this town, I urge you to do the following.

A) Buy one or several $15 tickets for the Cauldron section for Saturday night. The game will end at 9:00pm, leaving you plenty of time to get out there for your Halloween debauchery. The league will be watching, as will those with the governmental purse strings that want to gauge what a good investment building a full-sized MLS stadium for the Wizards will be. Urge your friends to make this your pre-(day after)Halloween stop. Pre-party by tailgating and purchasing reasonably priced Miller Chill big beers.

B) On November 4th, Republican or Democrat, vote Peter Kinder for Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. I have no idea about how his opponent Sam Page feels about state money spending money on development in Kansas City, but Kinder has a record of being very pro-development, and has specifically supported the stadium/shopping center project (http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/859703.html)

C) Send a quick email to the Kansas City Star, telling them that you wish to see considerable MLS playoff coverage so long as the Wizards are still in it. Because even if you don't subscribe, how cool will it be to frame a full-page sports section cover tracking playoff victories in ANY professional sport in KC. Direct all emails to: readerrep@kcstar.com


Let's go WIZ!

Stunning Victory

Our own KC Wiz had a big night last night. Talk about late-game heroics! After missing several attempts at getting that last goal to clutch the victory and the 3 points towards the Wild Card race, my hopes were starting to fade. Every attempt had me clutching my fists, gritting my teeth, hoping to some how mentally will it in...

Then, after losing hope for the 3 points, and coming to terms with what earning only 1 in a draw would mean, a half-man/half-god known as Hercules stepped down from Mount Olympus and blasted one in off a corner-kick set piece. At first I was waiting for a penalty or an offsides to be called, some sort of way of stealing my joy from me.

Then I saw Coach Onalfo's reaction -- like screaming away the demons that have plagued his underachieving team throughout the year and edged him closer to the hot seat. One wonders that if all MLS games are played with this kind of intensity, and actually delivering on our so-called "attacking-style soccer", the game's popularity would surely increase in the U.S.

The Cauldron looked piss-drunk and happy to be alive as always -- hanging on every play and embracing total strangers at the outcome. I could have been there. But that's what happens when you can't tell the future.

The wife and I had a chance to get tickets to the game, which I strongly considered, but declined due to my duties having to watch my Missouri Tigers take on #1 Texas in Austin. My Tigers needed me. And if I had somehow missed what would have been their biggest victory in possibly school history for a Wizards game that had a chance of going either way (and thus making me possibly witness a loss to an expansion team made up of a good number of our ex-players, to end the season on a sour note), then I would have been sick to my stomach.

It turns out the jokes on me. My Tigers laid about the biggest egg I've ever seen them lay since Chase Daniel arrived on the scene. They went into halftime with a FIVE TOUCHDOWN DEFICIT!!! and though their comeback efforts were noble in the 2nd half, it surely was only meant to make me want to fight the whole state of Texas, one by one as if I was attacking the Alamo.

And of course McFadden's, for all they do in promoting the Jimmy Conrad Show and providing a homebase for it, did not have a single screen showing the game. Now I can understand bumping it for the ALCS possible elimination of the Boston Red Sox. Check. Mizzou vs. Texas on several screens. Check. K-State's primetime game. Whatever. But then I saw some random-ass schools playing on ESPN U. Come on! Do people even know we have a bloody soccer team in this town. Moreover, do people even know the MLS exists and it's coming down to the playoff wire!

So, being the resourceful one, I made sure to Tivo the game before leaving for my Tiger watch party. And though I was in depressing spirits over its outcome when I returned home (with my wife and college buddy who is still right now passed out in our guestroom), we did have a nice buzz going. We got some 4th meal at Taco Bell. Check. We had plenty of leftover beer. Check. I went into my tape-delayed game without having anyone at McFadden's spoil the score for me. (That's a laugh...).

So after buzzing through all the pre-game commentary to appease my frustrated and confused small-town soccer-phobe friend, and my patient patient wife, I was pleased to see some championship-caliber athletic performances out of a team I cheer for.

Because right now, the Tigers have joined the Chiefs and Royals in my scrapheap of teams that depress me.

Go Wiz!!!

Keep Hope Alive!

Wizards: 1-1 tie vs. Chicago (@ Community America Ballpark)
The Wizards first team looked solid in the first half against Chicago on Saturday. But despite their efforts, gave up an unfortunate Michael Harrington handball-related penalty shot. Second half saw a more flat offense, though this was where they tied things up off a blast from Harrington, who redeemed himself and saved the Wizards chance for a playoff berth for another day. His downtown shot is also up for Sierra Mist goal of the week. Also of note, this game was the first start for Scottish national, Graceland University alumni, and Kansas City open-tryouts walk-on Kevin Souter -- who had a few good chances to score his second MLS goal.


Wizards in the Media: (My own Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage:)

Once again, Jack Harry's Sports Sunday recap -- a program I respect, if for no other reason Jack's fiery passion for KC sports and his disgust with those in power that get rich off of a mediocre professional sports landscape here -- once again the show has made no mention of only the third major professional league team in this town, The Wizards, as if they didn't even exist. To Me, Sports Sunday is the official sports recap show for Kansas City. It's part of the Sunday night newscast that follows Sunday Night Football, and is hosted by, next to Len Dawson, the most prominent on-air sports personality in Kansas City. Now I know that Jack can't speak passionately about a sport he knows nothing about. But for his team to completely leave it out, as if the league had folded and was thrown aside with other mediocre sports ventures in America's past, shows that KSHB feels that soccer, even in its top American level, is not important enough to take even 5 minutes from their Nascar coverage. I say Nascar, because the Chiefs and Royals are the most universally followed teams in town. After that you have Big XII football and its local teams KU, MU, and K-State. You check off all of that, and then you have the KC Wizards, who are in a battle to get into the MLS playoffs. And you have Carl Edwards, a regionally-born Nascar driver who is making his way up in the rankings. Both of those last two are important for local sports fans. Yet, one of them is completely ignored, as if it were the lesser of the two, and deserves to take no time away from the other, week after week. Look, American soccer may be a joke to the establishment, but it has a sizeable and fiercely loyal following in this town. You've talked the Chiefs debacle into the ground. They stink! The organization's been mismanaged for years now. And now we're bearing the fruit of those mistakes. No more overanalysis will shed insight onto the woeful fans of this town. Maybe shave some of the time spent on this to spread some recognition to other hard-working professional athletes that play under our city's name!

Pierre's got rage. It's nice to get it off his chest...

Hercules Gomez, U.S. Open Cup, Mayor's Night Kicks Tourney on MetroSports!

I've never been much of one to get the early scoop on a story. So you've probably already heard about this late breaking news: Colorado trades Hercules Gomez to the Kansas City Wizards for a fourth round SuperDraft pick, first round supplemental draft pick, and an undisclosed sum of allocation money.

http://kc.wizards.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20080903&content_id=185186&vkey=pr_kcw&fext=.jsp&team=t105

If this were 1997 and this joke hadn't been run into the ground, I'd probably clap for "Hercules, Hercules..." like Eddie Murphy in drag in the Nutty Professor. But that joke is lame now -- however it's almost been lame long enough to be cool and ironic again (I'll have to check my lamenated chart to see how that calculates out...)

Hey, I'm all for acquiring as many national-capped players as we want. Especially one that has seen the kind of action in his 5 year MLS history that many of our young and inexperienced players have yet to see. 4 out of those 5 years were spent with Los Angeles, where he helped reel in both an MLS Cup and an Open Cup.

Getting sidetracked on the topic of the Open Cup; there has been much discussion as to whether or not it's relavent in the American sports scene. This goes beyond the argument of whether or not soccer as a sport is relevent in the American sports scene. The problem with the Open Cup is that the hardcore MLS fans (and you'd be hard-pressed to find those outside of the current franchise cities and expected future markets) are the presumable lifeblood of the sport in America. The league represents the top-level of club play in the U.S. The sometimes-overlapping, sometimes competing faction of American soccer fanatics are ones who see the MLS as still an amateurish work-in-progress, a league still not fully developed (as most glaringly demonstrated by the salaries of its players).

And they, like many around the world, are Premiere League and Euro football nuts. The most exciting level of play for America in their eyes is our best and brightest players (many of which don't even play in the MLS) assembling to play for the National Team. The National Team's been around longer. It seems like it has better mainstream television exposure than MLS (though a lot of that occurs around World Cup time). But much of the MNT's recent successes I think have a lot to do with the bolstering and development that comes from a respectable domestic league (at least the most respectable we've ever had) in the MLS.

To fragment viewership even more there is the USL. Towns that have USL teams don't have MLS teams, and vice-versa. So you'd think an Open Cup situation where a USL team plays an MLS team would overlap the interest groups and increase overall viewership. I hope last night's game did. But the perception is still that this game shouldn't matter to the MLS, because if they win, it's what is supposed to happen. If they lose, then that's one more argument against the credibility of the MLS as the top-most-level of soccer in America and the CONCACAF region (two CONCACAF teams from small Caribbean and Central American nations knocking out two MLS powerhouses in the first round of the CCL is another major argument for that!)

So the primary problem for the Open Cup is that it is the most important competition for USL fans (a chance for a lower division team to play in the CCL!!), but only on the rarest of occasions that one of their teams is in the final. And the honor of playing in the CCL is still a dubious one as it is still in its inaugeral season. But theoretically this should be a major reason why the Open Cup should matter to the occasional USL finalist!

Take out a CCL berth defining the worth of a North American team, and you've really got no motivation for an MLS team to take this competition seriously (this isn't like winning the chance to play in the UEFA Champs League...) Their minds would presumably be set towards the end-all be-all of MLS accomplishments: Making the playoffs and winning the MLS Cup. And the CCL berth that comes with that, well that's just a little frosting on the side and we'll all see if that's going to have any meaning for our team.

Meanwhile the non-MLS MNT fans and Euro-heads in America still don't care about any of this -- not the Open Cup, not the CCL, and maybe not even the MLS Cup. And they might consider themselves the "serious" soccer fans in the states (as that's what the more snobbish of European fans would consider them -- they still don't see the MLS as anything to write home about).

So with the merits of the CCL berth still yet to be proved, with the merits of CONCACAF club play itself still yet to be proved, and the strength of the MLS and other stronger CONCACAF leagues, when compared to European counterparts, still not even close to an even playing field (the greatest honor may even be to play in Europe for $$$$$$ and fame rather than receive an American national cap!), the location of the Open Cup on the radar of "world-class" American soccer fans and even many regular MLS fans is still a barely visible blip.

All of that being said, I love what the Open Cup has the potential to become -- with the right marketing, and with increased stature of the CCL and MLS (the MLS, I feel, is within striking distance of their true potential as a major league American sports system -- after some major changes in the collective bargaining agreements and salary cap rules), then the Open Cup Finals could become what is was always meant to be: The FA Cup of the U.S.A. An event watched by non-soccer fans out of interest -- even if its one of only 3 games they ever watch in a year. An event covered by ESPN/ABC like the MLS All-Star game and MLS Cup. An event put on a respectable broadcast primetime spot, instead of buried in obscurity on Fox Soccer Channel (this is no dig on FSC, I love it and watch it almost daily! But no one else I know even knows it exists, and they probably receive it too!) An event recognized as the 2nd or 3rd biggest domestic soccer event by fans and non-fans alike (behind only the MLS Cup and MLS All-Star game). An event that is appreciated for its long and rich history, being around even longer than most of the American sports leagues.

What I saw last night was a tight and exciting game. One that got ugly with passions towards the end of it. I saw a packed (at least the lower bowl) RFK stadium on its feet waving flags and jumping around. I saw what looked like teargas coming from the stands (probably smoke bombs of some sort), streamers, fanfare. This is an MLS town and they are this excited to be on their way to winning their 2nd Open Cup ever. Even if it is against a lower division USL team. I think the play on the field of the Charleston Battery spoke for itself. This is a team that could compete in the MLS tomorrow.

And it reinforces why I love USL-1 as a platform for future MLS teams. Seattle will be ready to compete next year. Portland, Miami, and Vancouver eventually after that. I don't think Charleston, Montreal, Rochester, or Carolina are too many years off. I think these economically "promoted" teams will fare much better than the start-from-scratch teams of Philadelphia, a presumed St. Louis team, or a presumed New York team -- though it would be exciting to get top-level soccer in these markets (and I realize that RBNY is actually a Jersey team, NY does not give two about them whatsoever...)

But the most exciting thing about the Open Cup was seeing how much the MLS all-stars of the DC United reacted as if they'd won the MLS Cup. This was an important event for them, not just their fans. One player was jumping around so hard, the medal came off its ribbon. That tells me that a) the medals are cheaply made in someplace like Southeast Asia; and b) this was the most important win of the year to this player, leading up the MLS Cup -- and it didn't give them any points towards the race to the playoffs. It was a statement that DC United knows how to win championships. Period.

Lastly, I leave you with exciting community soccer news. Say what you will about Mark Funkhouser, I think his organization of both the "Night Hoops" and "Night Kicks" tournaments was well done. The idea was a way to reach inner-city youth through activity that gives them something to do and something to hope for (if they love it and believe in it, that will satisfy all four of the things people need in their life according to Lou Holtz).

Here's the long and short of the tournament's proceedings thus far:
-Going into the playoffs/finals, there are 8 teams left:
Real Hidalgo: of Group A with 2 wins, no losses, and 1 tie
Inter del Northeast: of Group A with 1 win, no losses, and 2 ties
Taqueria Mexico #2 squad: of Group B with 3 wins, no losses,and no ties
Atrevidos: of Group B with 2 wins, 1 loss, and no ties
Barilleros: of Group C with 2 wins, no losses, and 1 tie
Torneo de Barrios: of Group C with 2 wins, one loss, and no ties
Real del Oro: of Group D with 3 wins, no losses, and no ties
CD Honduras: of Group D with 2 wins, no losses, and 1 tie
-Then the final four were decided:
Real Hidalgo vs. CD Honduras; victory to CD Honduras
Taqueria Mexico #2 vs. Real del Oro; victory to Real del Oro
-The championship game and third place game were played on August 22nd, with Taqueria Mexico #2 & Real Hidalgo battling it out for the bronze medal, and the final game between Real del Oro & CD Honduras serving as the capstone to a successful tournament.

-You can read the results of the final in this KC Star article (SPOILERS):

http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/766430.html

-If you haven't already heard the results or seen the game on MetroSports, it re-airs:
1:00PM SATURDAY 9/6, MetroSports (Time Warner Cable channel 30).

-The 3rd Place game will be re-aired at 8:00PM SATURDAY 9/6, same channel.

-Could be something to flip between on College Football's most holiest of days.


My thoughts on Mayor's Night Kicks: All of the teams were Hispanic/Latino teams. I think this is a good thing since I don't know how well developed the Spanish-language & inner-city programs and leagues are in KC. I remember playing one or two in my youth club days -- but that was largely as exhibition as they kept to playing other Hispanic/Latino teams (mind you this was 10+ years ago).

I think the more high-profile events the city can officially offer to this demographic, the better it is for keeping these players on our radar and potentially on the Wizards Academy scouting list.

Minor League, Pro, International...

This post isn't as timely as I wanted it to be -- my original intentions were to post it the weekend of the MLB (not MLS) All-Star Game. The reason being that Major League Baseball does something neat with their Futures game (a contest between the best minor league prospects). I don't know when they started doing it, but it's become a U.S.A. vs. World scenario.

Even though it's "U.S.A. vs. the World", all of the minor leaguers taking part are currently playing for domestic minor league teams. But there are enough foreign players that are trying to make their name in MLB, to shore up an entire team of prospects. Each world player wears their parent organization's ballcap, has their minor league team/level splashed across the screen when they bat, and wear a patch of their country on their sleeve. Minor league, pro, international.

That's the juggling act professional sports leagues are trying to do to stay relevant in this globalizing entertainment world. Minor League = local kids (many of which won't even see the majors) & small towns (the home bases of these teams). Pro = national watercooler conversation. No matter where in America you live, there's a good chance you caught at least part of the latest Yankees/Red Sox series. International = leagues that will one day be just as competitive and glamorous as MLB baseball, while pushing MLB to ever increase their standards and experience to compete for TV ratings vs. these other leagues. And International means players from all over the world, mixing and matching foreign and domestic leagues and returning to their national colors for World Cups and Olympics. Local to Worldwide, sharing in the same basic experience, but having it mean so many of a variety of different things to different people.

10+ years ago, the original NBA Dream Team of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was largely, in my opinion, a gimmick to generate international interest in the sport -- and prove to the world how silly Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson can make the team from Craplahkistan look. It was cool to watch, and even inspiring for the year or so it was a relevant news item. But pro NBA players lived back then (and largely do today) in a world where the NBA is Valhalla, the NBA is Paradise, the NBA is the pearly gates of roundball. But nowadays, the NBA is starting to make a little room for international leagues and teams to grow, thanks largely to commissioner David Stern's efforts. But another league, MLB, seems to be less willing to want to "play ball" outside of their league.

The MLB and NBA are the two largest centers of talent for their respective sports in the entire world. And they should be. When a city puts so much on the table to own a franchise in those leagues, they should become one of an elite group of cities in the world who can offer that experience. And the leagues should benefit American cities above other parts of the world because those sports were invented on American soil. MLB and NBA exploits, as well as the exploits of the 99% American-only NFL, and (to a much smaller degree) the more international sports of NHL and MLS, have so infused themselves with American life that we probably do the following daily:

-make at least one reference
-hunt down at least one game's score
-wear or consider wearing one article of clothing or accessory
-read at least one article
-and view at least 5 minutes worth of TV coverage that has to do with at least one of those leagues

We can't say that about our national teams in sports that aren't represented domestically by high dollar leagues, like waterpolo and volleyball (though both are now major players on the world scene). We can't even say that about the other majorly overlooked facet of American sports -- national teams that represent some of our favorite sports (i.e. U.S.A. baseball). These programs have the unfortunate task of representing our country to world in their sports, but remaining largely obscure amongst the American mainstream.

But not all national teams are suffering their fate. There is some real hope for a mature and competitive system of international sport that has a ready-made base of mainstream U.S. fans -- NBA superstars representing U.S.A. Basketball: The "Dream Team".

Watching this year's men's basketball Dream Team (or "Redeem Team" as they came to be known by) was very entertaining. And by contrast to last Olympic's team (even though it was made up of a lot of the same players), they actually (or at least apparently) cared about being Olympians, representing their country, and fighting to win with all the emotions that come from big games -- like the kind you win rings from. This seemed to me to have more gravity than Dream Team 1, which sounds blasphemous.

Maybe this group of future hall of famers wasn't quite as exciting as the Basketball Gods that the Dream Team 1 was. But I think a lot of that has to do more with nostalgia and the international basketball environment when that team first assembled. We hadn't ever seen an NBA "Dream Team" before. Basketball was growing internationally back then, but it was not as matured as it is now. International competition and parity is starting to make Olympic competitions look more like an NCAA tournament and less like the Harlem Globetrotters vs. The Washington Generals. And that, to me, is what makes it more exciting. And I think it's more exciting for the players to have worthy foreign opponents. The U.S. NBA superstars were starting to look as excited as the foreign NBA superstars playing for their countries.

Now onto MLB. Hopefully professional baseball can lick its wounds and bounce back to its more glorious past stature. And what better way to help their resurgence than leaning on its popularity in Latin America and Asia. And that doesn't just mean sucking all of their best resources into America and into the league. There's a bigger world out there beyond Yankees vs. Red Sox. If they keep a narrow focus, it may spell the death of them in future globalized market.

But I also think they've started to take the right steps. Seeing the handwriting on the wall with baseball's (near) future with the Olympic games in jeapordy, MLB stepped up and created an international tournament on their own terms. The World Baseball Classic has potential to become as big as FIFA's World Cup in certain Latin American and Asian countries, and I'll bet the Domenican Republic, Cuba, Japan, and South Korea are already looking forward to 2009's Classic more than 2010's World Cup.

The fact that America didn't even win the first contest is always disheartening to a patriot, but exciting in that even with our very first baseball "Dream Team", international competition has true parity with us. A few more Classics like the one in '06 (with America winning one here and there, one would hope...), and Baseball will join the ranks of Basketball as a mature and developed international system of competition.

So I'm not leaving anyone out; regarding the NFL: I can't see them ever taking off internationally. The sport itself is similar to rugby, it's similar to Australian football, it's similar to Gaelic football. And like the NFL, each of those sports is big in its home region but really anywhere else. It won't so much be up to the NFL to expand worldwide like the NBA did, (as seen with the colossal failure of NFL Europe), it will be more of finding a standardized version of International Rules Football that can be played by rugby players, Gaels, Aussies, and NFL stars on an even playing field, with one or several of those organizations having some overlap with their domestic leagues -- which the NFL wouldn't allow in a million years!!! Not with how grueling of a committment playing just one game a week is for NFL football -- even though it's the shortest of the sports seasons.

That said, NFL is the one American pro sports system that is strong enough to stay 100% domestic and not worry about ratings or ticket sales competition. You can't deny that nobody in America cares about international competition (or just about anything else in life) once NFL season starts. It's hard enough for myself to take my attention away from NFL and college football so I can get my weekly dose of soccer -- and I even classify myself as a soccer fan first!

Regarding NHL: Not to disrespect all of the hardcore NHL heads out there (they're in the same boat as MLS fans -- though they'd punch me out for saying so since their league has been around for 100 years!); but I don't know much about the state of international or minor league hockey. Hell, I barely know about what's going on in the NHL. That's what comes from living in Kansas City who hasn't seen an NHL team since 10 years before I was born. I've tried to cheer on the Blues, but rooting for St. Louis seems so... unnatural for a KC kid.

So now that I've touched on every other sport, back to my original point about MLS, and where they could get international and minor league exposure right for the American mainstream -- let's take a lesson from MLB's Futures Game:

The Futures Game, as small as the audience of baseball nerds like myself who watch it is, is starting to get national TV coverage. It's played on ESPN. It looks like it feeds off of the overflow crowds in town for the All-Star game. And it looks like it's taking steps to recognizing the international influence on the game and the importance of the Minor League in player development. It brings the two together. So let's see what a future MLS All-Star Weekend might look like, including a Futures Game, and a few other ideas that might tie into a marathon celebrating American Soccer players and leagues:

**MLS All-Star Weekend**

-Headline Event: MLS All-Stars vs. (insert Premiere Club team here)
-feat.: Soccer Hall of Fame recognition ceremony

The Hall of Fame ceremony would not be the induction ceremony, but something like what they do for the MLB All-Star game, where the major Hall of Famers who play each position line up on the field before gametime in their positions, creating lines several men deep made up of years of the sport's legends in each position. You could have a "Wall of Fame" made up of famous defenders and keepers lining up across the lower third of the field. And even though baseball hall of famers are more recognizable than American soccer hall of famers are, this would be a great history lesson to kids and adults alike. For the recently departed legends, a family member could take their place, wearing their jersey. For the ones who died many years ago, maybe use that occasion to dedicate something in their name.

-Weekend's events also could include:

--U.S. MNT vs. MLS World All-Stars (feat. entire MNT including foreing-playing players vs. all of the foreign MLS All-Stars)

--The finale of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (this would surely increase attendance and bring awareness that this is the oldest competition in American soccer, and is one of the three or four ways an American team can make their way into the new CONCACAF Champions League to take on the best teams in North America, Central America, and Caribbean! It's also the ONLY way a non-MLS team can make its way into the Champions League!)

--U.S. U-21 MNT vs. Mexico U-21 MNT (wouldn't be as hard to coordinate as a friendly between both countries' senior teams)

--MLS/PDL/Super-20 Futures Game (U.S.A. prospects vs. "World", or foreign MLS-signed dev. players) -- this would become a great "where is our league's young talent coming from" kind of barometer.

--USL All-Star Game (feat. USL-1 & USL-2 all-stars; could showcase talent for future MLS teams that will soon be "promoted" from these leagues)

--Development Academy All-Star Game (U18/17 Starting XI vs. U16/15 Starting XI)

--College All-Star Game (East Coast vs. West Coast All-Stars; includes NCAA I, II, & III; and smaller colleges; with each Coast getting a coach and holding tryouts to represent their school -- and get some MAJOR scouting exposure -- in the game)

--The Mascot Game (this one's for the kids: a small-sided game pitting each of the MLS and USL mascots against each other on the pitch)

--The Legacy Game (Hall of Famers and fan favorites that are still up to the task take the field to play each other in a U.S.A. vs. World scenario)

--Portable Soccer Hall of Fame Displays, Autograph sessions, and V.I.P. parties as well

That's just the way I see it. I'll keep you posted on any other thoughts...