Former Wizards Update

We're down to only 2 former Wizards still playing in MLS, as Chris Klein and LA will meet Yura Movsisyan and Real Salt Lake Sunday in MLS Cup. Still there was more action around the world this week with FIFA international games being played. Two former Wizards competed with their respective national teams as both Shavar Thomas and Eddie Johnson played for Jamaica and the US respectively. Also a fairwell to former Wizard, Brandon Prideaux, who closed out his career Saturday night against RSL. What a sad way to do it as well, missing your teams final PK in the penalty shootout. Finally, it looks like former Wizard, Preki, is on his way to the Great White North to become the head coach for Toronto FC next season.

MLS
Chris Klein - LA Galaxy - Started and played 63 minutes in LA's 2-0 win over Houston to advance to MLS Cup.
Yura Movsisyan - Real Salt Lake - Started and played 72 minutes in RSL's 0-0(5-4) shootout win over Real Salt Lake.
Brandon Prideaux - Chicago Fire - Started and played 120 minutes, in Chicago's 0-0 (5-4) shootout loss to Real Salt Lake. Prideaux missed Chicago's 7th and final PK on the final kick of his MLS career.
Shavar Thomas - Started and played 90 minutes in Jamaica's 0-0 draw with South Africa yesterday.
Abe Thompson - Houston - Did not dress in Houston's 2-0 loss to LA.

International
Eloy Colombano - Ferro Carril Sud (Olavarría) - Argentina - Ferrocarril Sud lost 1-0 to La Emilia.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Round two in Jamaica kicks off on the 22nd of this month.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in the USA's 1-0 loss to Slovakia. Came off the bench and played 29 minutes in the USA's 3-1 loss to Denmark.
Chris Konopka - Sporting Fingal FC - Ireland - Did not play in either of Fingal's two playoff finals against Bray Wanderers, which Fingal won 4-2 on aggregate.
Akeem Priestly - FK Mughan - Azerbaijan - Did not have a game this week due to the international break.
Khari Stephenson - Aalesund FK - Norway - Aalesund's season is over.
Matt Taylor - FSV Frankfurt - Germany - Did not have a game this week due to the international break.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Columbia - Started and played 80 minutes in Quindío's 0-0 draw with Atlético Huila.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not have a game this week due to the international break.

Former Wizards Update

Here's another one of your weekly update on former Wizards. The USL regular season is now over, meaning all the former Wizards with Miami, Austin, and Minnesota are done for the season. I've also found out where Eloy Colombano is playing now. He's playing in the Argentine 4th division with Ferro Carril Sud.

MLS
Nick Garcia - Toronto FC - Started annd played 90 minutes in Toronto's 2-0 loss to LA.
Taylor Graham - Seattle Sounders FC - Did not dress in Seattle's 0-0 draw with Chivas USA.
Will Hesmer - Columbus Crew - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-2 draw with Chicago. Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-0 loss to Cruz Azul.
Chris Klein - LA Galaxy - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in LA's 2-0 win over Toronto.
Yura Movsisyan - Real Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 38 minutes, scoring a goal in RSL's 3-2 loss to Houston.
Brandon Prideaux - Chicago Fire - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Chicago's 2-2 draw with Columbus.
Carey Talley - Chivas USA - Suspended for Chivas' 0-0 draw with Seattle.
Shavar Thomas - Chivas USA - Dressed but did not play in Chivas' 0-0 draw with Seattle.
Abe Thompson - Houston - Dressed but did not play in Houston's 3-2 win over RSL. Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Houston's 5-1 win over Arabe Unido in the CONCACAF Champion's League.
Dave van den Bergh - FC Dallas - Started and played 62 minutes in Dallas' 3-2 loss to KC.
Sasha Victorine - Chivas USA - On the DL list.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle Sounders FC - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 0-0 draw with Chivas.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Started and played 61 minutes in Charleston's 0-0 draw with Rochester. Dressed but did not play in Charleston's 3-2 win over Minnesota.
Vicente Arze - Vancouver - Did not dress in Vancouver's 2-1 win over Cleveland.
Ryan Caugherty - Austin - Austin's season is over.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not dress in Minnesota's 3-2 loss to Charleston. The Thunder's season is over.
AJ Godbolt - Austin - Austin's season is over.
Andrew Gregor - Rochester - Did not dress in Rochester's 0-0 draw with Charleston.
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Dressed but did not play in Carolina's 2-0 win over Montreal.
Ryan McMahen - Austin - Austin's season is over.
Nelson Pizarro - Miami - Did nont dress in Miami's 3-1 loss to Puerto Rico.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 2-1 win over Cleveland.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 0-0 draw with Rochester. Did not dress in Charleston's 3-2 win over Minnesota.

International
Eloy Colombano - Ferro Carril Sud - Argentina - Ferrocarril defeated Bella Vista 1-0.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Did not dress in Fulham's 1-1 draw with CSKA Sofia last Thursday. Did not dress in Fulham's 2-1 loss to Wolves on Sunday. Started and played 91 minutes in Fulham's 2-1 loss to Manchester City in the Carling Cup.
Chris Konopka - Sporting Fingal FC - Ireland - Did not play in Fingal's 3-2 win over Kildare County or their 1-0 loss to Wexford Youths.
Carlos Marinelli - Argentinos Juniors - Argentina - Did not dress in Juniors 2-1 win over Atlético Tucumán.
Khari Stephenson - Aalesunds FK - Norway - Started and played 76 minutes in Aalesunds' 3-0 win over Brann.
Antti Sumiala - FC Porin Palloilijat - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in PoPa's 1-0 win over PK-35.
Matt Taylor - FSV Frankfurt - Germany - Came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Frankfurt's 2-0 loss to Karlsruhe.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Columbia - Did not dress in Quindío's 3-1 loss to Boyacá Chicó FC.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not dress in Wellingtonn's 1-1 draw with North Queensland Fury.

Waiver Draft Goes by Unchanging

After today's waiver draft, there are no new additions to the Wizards roster. Only 3 players were taken in the draft, including former Wizard, Brandon Prideaux, who is going to Chicago. Ryan Raybould was not one of the other two taken. They were Jeff Curtin to DC and Kyle Brown to Houston.

Waiver Draft Part Deux Today

The second waiver draft of the offseason is today at 2 pm local time. Soccer America has the list of players available in the draft, most of whom were salary cap casualties. Even though the Wizards are under the salary cap pretty safely right now, I don't see them going after any of those players, including Kyle Martino, Kelly Gray, and Celestine Babayaro, who the Galaxy just signed. I find it likely that this waiver draft will go much like the first one this offseason, with no one taken. Former Wizard, Brandon Prideaux is also available in today's draft, but chances are slim he'll be picked up, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him head back to Seattle, where he played before joining the Wizards back in 1999. The lone Wizards player available, is Ryan Raybould, who was waived yesterday.

UPDATE: Ives has the draft order for the draft today along with the list of players available. The Wizards select 11th.

Wizards Fantasy Draft Rounds 7 and 8

Here are rounds 7 & 8 of the Wizards fantasy draft.

Previous Rounds
1 & 2
3 & 4
5 & 6

7(1). Team Shook - Alexi Lalas - And with the the first pick in the seventh round, Team Shook selects Defender Alexi Lalas. Lalas played only one season for the Wizards, coming over in a 1999 trade from the Metrostars with Tony Meola. At the time, Lalas was the key player in the deal, and didnt disappoint having arguably his best season on MLS playing every minute in 30 games for the Wizards, scoring 4 goals from the back, and being named team defender of the year. Of course the key player in that deal long-term turned out to be Meola who led the team to the MLS Cup title the following year, and Lalas's controversial exit from the Wizards diminished his standing amongst fans; but Lalas's on field contributions in his one season in the rainbow colors cannot be denied, and earns him a spot on our roster.

7(2). Team DTB - Digital Takawira - With the second pick of the seventh round, Team DTB selects Digital Takawira. The Digital Crawl comes to team DTB. Digital is the 4th all time leading scorer in league goals with 28, and 5th overall with 31. His high was in 1996, when he scored 15 goals in all competitions. The Wizards first 3 seasons, he was THE number 2 option offensively for the Wizards behind Preki, and he was able to deliever more times then not. Plus how can I pass on bringing back the Crawl Digital Crawl ad campaign?

7(3). Bravado FC - Brandon Prideaux - After impressing with a stint for the Seattle Sounders in the A-League, Prideaux was signed in 1999 by Kansas City, appearing in 15 matches (eight starts) on the season. In 2000, he started all 31 of his appearances on the campaign, helping anchor the defense that captured the MLS Cup. He currently holds the record for longest tenure in MLS without a goal, a mantle he assumed from (now former) Wizards' defender Nick Garcia.

8(1). Bravado FC - Jose Burciaga Jr. - With the first pick of round eight, Bravado FC selects Jose Burciaga Jr. Despite suffering two ACL tears in the first three years of his MLS career - forcing him to miss the majority of the 2002 and 2003 campaigns - the Duncanville, Texas, native has been a solid contributor on defense for the Wizards. It is Burciaga's offensive output, however, that is the leading influence in this pick, as the defender led the Wizards with 24 points (8 g, 8 a) on the 2006 campaign and scored the opening cup goal in what should have been a 2004 MLS Cup win for Kansas City.

8(2). Team DTB - Michael Harrington - With the second pick of the 8th round, Team DTB select Michael Harrington. While Harrington has only played one season so far with the Wizards, he's shown himself to be a very reliable and capable player on the left side either at the back position or on the wing. With 3 goals and 4 assists in his rookie season, Harrington has shown an ability to get forward and will complement Chung well on the left side.

8(3). Team Shook - Matt McKeon - McKeon appeared in 144 games for the Wizards from 1996 (after being the #1 overall pick in the inaugural MLS College Draft) thru 2002. McKeon was an key contributor to the 2000 MLS Cup winning side; playing a formidable holding midfield on one of the best defenses in MLS history, and chipping in to the attack with 3 goals and a career-high 11 assists (good for second on the team) in 30 games.

McKeon is also fourth in Wizards team history with 19 playoff appearances under his belt, scoring 3 times and adding one assist in those games.

Supplemental Draft Today

The Wizards will continue to work to fill out their roster for the upcoming year, with the supplement draft today. The Wizards have 4 picks, 11th, 25th, 39th, and 53rd. Last year the Wizards were able to get quality minutes from a player (Aaron Hohlbein) in the supplement draft for the first time since it was brought back in 2005. Before that, you'd have to go back to the last supplement draft in 1999 when the Wizards selected Brandon Prideaux. So is there any real talent in the supplement draft this year? 3rd Degree has a list of some of the top prospects left on the board.

The draft will be done via conference call today, with very little to no fan fare. MLS doesn't have much publicity for the draft on their website.