Wizards news for the week.

Well the Wizards have moved down to FL to continue their preseason preparing for the 2007 season, and here is some news about the boys in Blue. Before I start though I wanna make a note for everyone to know as I have seen mentioned quite often around bigsoccer and other forums.

Yes the Wizards have a new logo this season, it is their old secondary logo. That said, the team's uniforms will still have the rainbow logo on them for this season. Below you can see both logos.


new primary logo






old primary logo, now secondary, but will appear on uniforms




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Some bad news to start with unfortunately. It looks as though Wizards defender Matt Groenwald is gonna be out of action for a while due to blood clots that were first found in his knee and now apparently found in his lung. This is sad and terrible news for Groenwald who was looking to get more minutes this season after being pushed to the bench after Bliss took over.

Continuing with some player news, apparently Alex Zotinca is no longer on the Wizards team. While there has been no official announcement from the team about this, a person that works for the Wizards posted on bigsoccer today that "He's no longer with the team." He was out of contract so it would seem the team decided against renegotiating.

Also missing from camp right now are Will John and first round draft pick, Michael Harrington, have been called into the US U-23(Olympic team) camp out at the Home Depot Center.

Speaking of Harrington, an interesting article on Yanks Abroad.com about the 23 players on the roster for South Africa 2010. Basically a break down of who they believe will make the 23 man roster, I assume this will be a regular column that they'll update. 4 Wizards made the list in some form. Jimmy Conrad and Eddie Johnson are both currently in their 23 man roster. On the outside, both Harrington and Jose Burciaga are listed as potential players that could move into the picture.

And back to John for a moment, there is a nice little video about him on the Wizards front page. He also had an article about him in the Star as well.

Connected with that article was a note about the other Wizards players who are from KC.

The Wizards fell in their first preseason match against Red Bull, down in FL on Tuesday, 3-1. Apparently the Wizards went with a rather makeshift lineup, especially with multiple players being away on national team duty or with injury. Red Bull apparently started the game with what looked to be their starting 11 for the regular season.

Definitly stay tuned to KC Wizards.com over the course of their preseason, as they've been doing a good job of giving training reports. Monday. Second Monday update. Wednesday. Thursday. These are great, it's enjoyable to know what the boys are up to and how they are doing.

Today the Wizards played the Crew in their second preseason match. According to a poster on bigsoccer who posted pictures in the Wizards forum, the Wizards lost 1-0. Here are the pictures as well as those for the match against Red Bull for those interested. (Credit to wembley on bigsoccer)

For those interested, early this Sunday morning on Fox Soccer Channel you can watch former Wizard Diego Walsh play for Adelaide United in the A-League Grand Final. Just remember you can't spell "I'm freaking crap" without Diego "I'm freaking crap" Walsh. Even if he did score in the PKs to help United get to the finals.

Finally, get to know the Wizards new number 1 goalie, Kevin Hartman. First through the KC Star article from earlier this week. Then through the interview on KC Wizards.com. And speaking of Kevin, a bit of a humorous look at the lack of female compaionship for the team on Valentine's Day thanks to Sasha, Kerry, and Kevin.

DOS A CERO!!!!!!!

The US do it again. 2-0 win over Mexico. I can't even remember the last time Mexico scored a goal on US soil.

Jimmy Conrad is the man.

Wizards 2007 schedule released

The Wizards 2007 schedule was released today along with the rest of the schedule for Major League Soccer.

I personally have a few problems with the scheduling as it's come about for the Wizards, and not surprisingly most of them happen on big events.

1. Home opener Wednesday 4/25 against Toronto FC - Great, so the Wizards home opener is on a Wednesday night while school is in session, that's a great way to get people out to the game for the home opener.
2. Saturday 5/5 against Columbus Crew - So not only is our first home game on a Wednesday night, but our second home game is in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of spring soccer season. The reason? The Royals have a home game that night against Detroit. So then why put the Wizards at home that same weekend?
3. Wednesday 7/4 against DC United - So you'd think 'Great, the Wizards get a 4th of July game, nice little attendance boost.' That's until you see the fact that the Wizards game kicks off at NOON that day killing any fireworks. Again it's cause the Royals are in town the same weekend. WHY have the Wizards at home when the Royals are?
4. Thursday 9/27 against LA Galaxy - So KC gets to see Beckham, like the rest of MLS. The Wizards get to see him midweek on a school night. That's a great one. I love the fact that ESPN has given MLS their own primetime slot during the week, but seriously did MLS not think about this? The Wizards never draw well for midweek games.
5. Finally 10/13 and 10/20 at Red Bulls and at FC Dallas - For the third year in a row, the Wizards end the regular season on the road. Seriously what do we have to do to finally have home field for the last game?

I'm not the only one that's unhappy with the schedule, many of the KC posters on bigsoccer are also not happy with the scheduling.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that the Wizards and OnGoal are to blame for some of these problems, specifically the 2 middle of the afternoon Saturday games. My guess is that these were both originally scheduled to be night games at a temporary venue, but when the Wizads moved back to Arrowhead, the Wizards were forced to change the time. The amount of time it took the team to decide on their temp venue will be something that will hurt the Wizards quite a bit at the gate this season, as those first 3 home games I listed were likely all primed for a decent turnout at the gate, but not now with the times that these games are set to take place.

Wizards After 2 Guatemalans?

A lot has been made of new Wizards coach Curt Onalfo and technical director Peter Vermes taking a trip down to South America to scout talent for the Wizards for the upcoming season.

Well the players may not be from South American, but the Wizards are being linked to 2 players from CSD Municipal in the Guatemala National League. Those 2 players both have past ties to Major League Soccer. The first one was mentioned on Red Deportiva, which stated that Mario "Loco" Rodríguez looked to be on the verge of signing with the team. In 2005, "Loco" played for the Columbus Crew, playing in 19 of the teams games, starting 15, and scoring 1 goal. Last season, he played was on loan to USL-1 side, Miami FC. With Miami, "Loco" scored 7 goals and had 4 assists in 18 games.

The second article on this situation was on guatefutbol.com, which discussed "Loco," but also discussed another MLS Alum, Guillermo "Pando" Ramírez. "Pando" is best known for scoring the game winning goal in overtime of the 2005 MLS Cup Final between the Revolution and the LA Galaxy, who "Pando" was playing for. In that season with the Galaxy, he scored 2 goals and seemed to be an imitator of Fransisco Gomez, putting the ball into row Z more then on goal. The article quotes Onalfo saying that he's gotten a chance to see each play while with the US National team and sees them fitting in well with the Wizards.

Personally I'm against signing "Pando" and I don't know enough about "Loco" to make an informed decision. LA Galaxy fans have told me on a few occasions that if only Sampson had played him in the middle he woulda done better. (One, two, three) But in the article I linked above, Onalfo says he sees "Pando" on the left side of the field, meaning he'd be right back where Sampson played him. Not only am I against it because of his poor play on the left side with the Galaxy in 2005, but mainly I'm against it because of the price tag that he would likely come with, $270,000 transfer fee for the player according to the article.

With the scouting trips that Onalfo and Vermes went on, Wizards fans were expecting new faces, not rehashed MLS players.
Here is a picture of both players, "Loco" is on the left, "Pando" is on the right.

Kansas City Wizards Home for 2007 is...

Arrowhead Stadium.

Confirmed by Wizards president Robb Heineman.

Wizards Home for 2007 revisited

Recently I'd done two blog entries about where the Wizards would play their home games in 2007. With all the recent developments lately on where they'll play, I felt it would be a good time to revisit this issue, as the season grows ever closer.

The first blog I did about the issue. Came out after the superintendent of the Ray-Pec school district came out and said they were out of the running and that the Wizards were going to play somewhere in Olathe. From the 6 sites I listed in that blog, the only one that was located in Olathe was College Boulevard Activity Center. This led me to believe that the Wizards were possibly going to this site, which seemed to be a favorite among many Wizards fans.

The second, and more recent blog I did, involved the Wizards returning to Arrowhead for the 2007 season, as the renovations to the facility would not involve the seating area. With this info and some information about who the Wizards were talking with about concessions, it seemed like the Wizards could be going back to Arrowhead. Another option that pleased Wizards fans, as it meant that the fans to tailgate with alcoholic beverages if they so choose to.

Now we get up to the present, where we have some new information that has come out. Recently on bigsoccer, a person that teaches in the Ray-Pec school district posted two bits of information (one, two) that he found out about the Wizards still possibly coming to play in Ray-Pec. Not the best location for many of the Wizards fans, in the voting of the 6 locations I listed in my first blog on this topic, Ray-Pec did not fair very well as a location. One thing I found out that works against Ray-Pec is that supposedly no contracts have put in bids yet to work on adding the extra seating that would need to be added to the stadium. This process and the process of ordering the supplies can take at the least, 2 months, which would be pushing the them to be done by Cinco de Mayo, the date of the Wizards first home game. I don't know if all this is 100%, but does make the next bit of information more interesting.

The second bit of interesting information, came last night, from Metro Sports, a local sports network. Metro Sports was reporting that the Wizards would be playing their 2007 home games back at Arrowhead stadium, instead of temporary facility. As I had stated in my blog earlier, Arrowhead is still a viable option due to the type of renovations that will be occurring in 2007 at Arrowhead. The Wizards would though still have to find a home for 2008, and that coudl still be any of the sites I listed, or 2 more that Metro Sports listed that I had never even heard about being in the running, William Chrisman High School and Truman High School, both in Independence.

Finally today, to try and put some of the rumors to rest, this message was posted on bigsoccer, from Robb Heineman, the Wizards President. This is good news for Wizards fans, as it will finally bring to a close to the situation, although many Wizards fans are rightfully cautionous and won't believe it "until they get their tickets."

One last thing I wanted to touch on from the Metro Sports article, was the second to last paragraph in the article I linked above. Apparently the Wizards are interested in the Bannister Mall site in South KC. As rumors around KC have swirled on some other forums and outlets around KC as well about the possiblity of the Bannister site. Another one. A Third. This is a topic that will continue to be looked at and speculated on. Personally, I'm not sure what to think of the idea. It's a good location for a stadium, but my worry is the stigma, assumptions, or predeterminations that people have about the area, particularly Johnson County residents (people the Wizards try to get to attend games). The assumption is that the area is high crime and a "ghetto." This worries me in that it will likely keep people from wanting to attend the games.

Top Scorers through 2006

And we've reached the season that just ended.

1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005

You all know how this season ended, with disappointment again. For the second year in a row the Wizards controled their own destiny going into the final game, needing only a draw to make the playoffs. 2 PKs and a third strike Guevara and the Red Bulls were in the playoffs, and the Wizards were left out for the second year in a row.

The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries.

1. Preki - 71 (-)

2. Chris Klein - 39 (-)

3. Mo Johnston - 31 (-)

4. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-)

5. Josh Wolff - 27 (-)

6. Davy Arnaud - 21 (+1)

7. Mark Chung - 20 (-1)

8. Scott Sealy - 19 (+7)

9. Chris Brown - 15 (-1)

10. Matt McKeon - 13 (-1)

11T. Igor Simutenkov - 12 (-1)

11T. Miklos Molnar - 12 (-1)

11T. Chris Henederson - 12 (-1)

14T. Jose Burciaga Jr. - 11 (N/A) - The Wizards left back that likes to attack, Jose has become known for scoring some rocket goals, against San Jose a few seasons ago, as well as his blast in the 90th minute this season against Houston. He also took over the penalty taking duties this season going 3 for 3 from the penalty spot.












14T. Francisco Gomez - 11 (-1)

14T. Paul Wright - 11 (-1)

17. Sasha Victorine - 10 (-1)

18. Jimmy Conrad - 9 (-2)

19T. Jack Jewsbury - 7 (+1)

19T. Roy Lassister - 7 (-3)

19T. Frank Klopas - 7 (-3)

Dropped Off
Dario Fabbro

The Wizards will likely have to wait a very long while for any change in the top spot, as the highest active player on the list is Davy Arnaud in the 5 spot with 21 goals. If Scott Sealy continues his goal scoring form the past 2 seasons, he has a shot at moving up into the number 4 postion ahead of Digital and possibly even into 3rd place with a 13 goal season.

The prospects to come on to this list next season are also rather low, baring a new face coming in and lighting up the net, these are the 6 current Wizards with goals

Kerry Zavagnin - 5 (Hasn't scored a goal in league since the 2003 season.)
Ryan Pore - 3 (Likely the second most likely on this list to join the top 20.)
Alex Zotinca - 3 (2 goals last season, is unlikely to move into the top 20.)
Eddie Johnson - 2 (The most likely candidate to move into the top 20 from this list, if he gets his head on straight.)
Shavar Thomas - 2 (A threat on set pieces, but is mainly a bench player behind Jimmy and Nick.)
Nick Garcia - 1 (The first goal of Nick's 7 year MLS career came this season, probably the player on this list least likely to join the top 20.)

Top Scores through the 2005 season

On to the 2005 season.

1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004


The 2005 season was a major disappointment for the Wizards, after making MLS Cup the year before, the Wizards failed to make the playoffs in 2005. They also failed in their attempt to repeat as US Open Cup Champs, falling to the Minnesota Thunder. As the season was getting close to winding down, the Wizards looked poised to make a run at returning to MLS Cup. The Wizards though went on a long winless streak to close out the season, allowing the MetroStars a chance to top them. The Wizards held their own destiny though, a win in Dallas in the last game of the season would have put them in the playoffs. Unfortunately the Wizards were only able to manage a tie, thanks to Preki's last professional goal. This meant the Wizards needed Chivas to win at home against the MetroStars. The Wizards though were struck by karma as their former starting keeper Tony Meola came up big in the game, denying Chivas on numerous occasions to help the MetroStars get into the playoffs.

The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries.

1. Preki - 71 (-)

2. Chris Klein - 39 (-)

3. Mo Johnston - 31 (-)

4. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-)

5. Josh Wolff - 22 (+3)

6. Mark Chung - 20 (-1)

7. Davy Arnaud - 17 (+1)

8. Chris Brown - 15 (-2)

9. Matt McKeon - 13 (-2)

10T. Igor Simutenkov - 12 (-2)

10T. Miklos Molnar - 12 (-2)

10T. Chris Henderson - 12 (-2)

13T. Francisco Gomez - 11 (-)

13T. Paul Wright - 11 (-)

15 Scott Sealy - 9 (N/A) - The second Wizards forward from TnT. The Wizards picked Sealy up in the first round of the draft after what many saw as a lack luster performance from last seasons first round pick at forward, Matt Taylor, was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was taken by Chivas USA. Sealy was second on the team in scoring his rookie season behind Josh Wolff.














16T. Jimmy Conrad - 7 (+2)

16T. Sasha Victorine - 7 (N/A) - Sasha came over in a draft day trade with the LA Galaxy. The move paid off for the Wizards, as Sasha has been a consistent utility man for the Wizards as well as a veteran leader for the team.












16T. Roy Lassister - 7 (-1)

16T. Frank Klopas - 7 (-1)

20T. Jack Jewsbury - 6 (N/A) - "Action Jackson" as he's called continued to earn time with the Wizards in his third season for the team. While he played less minutes then the 2004 season, Jack was able to score 4 more goals to bring his total up to 6.












20T. Dario Fabbro - 6 (-3)

Dropped Off
Stephen Armstrong
Kerry Zavagnin
Gary Glasgow

Kerry is the first player to drop off the list while still being on the Wizards roster the following season. The other 15 players to have dropped off the list were not on the team the season after they dropped off.

Scorers Through 2004

Onto the 2004 season for the Wizards top goal scorers.

1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003

The 2004 season had the Wizards return to the glory. They first made the US Open Cup final, where they defeated the McDonald's clad Chicago Fire 1-0 in overtime thanks to an Igor Simutenkov golden goal. The Wizards then went on to win the Western Conference, and lost out on the Supporters Shield by 2 goals. Kansas City then went into the playoffs, overcoming a 2-0 deficite in the first leg of their series with San Jose to win that series 3-2. They then went past LA 2-0 and into the MLS Cup. There the Wizards got an early lead from Jose Burciaga Jr., but a missed hand ball by everyones favorite vertically challenged referee helped DC United back into the game as United won their 4th MLS Cup.

Onto the rankings.

The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries.

1. Preki - 69 (-)

2. Chris Klein - 32 (+1)

3. Mo Johnston - 31 (-1)

4. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-1)

5. Mark Chung - 20 - (-)

6. Chris Brown - 15 (-)

7. Matt McKeon - 13 (-)

8T. Igor Simutenkov - 12 (+2)

8T. Davy Arnaud - 12 (N/A) - Davy's breakout season, as he partnered with Josh Wolff up top most of the season. Included this season was a hattrick against Dallas on July 3rd, and scoring both goals in the 2-0 win over LA in the conference finals.












8T. Josh Wolff - 12 (N/A) - Josh was Davy's striking partner throughout the season. Brought in before the 2003 season, Josh struggled in his first year in KC mostly with injuries, but came back to score 10 goals in the 2004 season to lead the team in scoring.













8T. Miklos Molnar - 12 (-)

8T. Chris Henderson - 12 (-)

13T. Francisco Gomez - 11 (-1)

13T. Paul Wright - 11 (-3)

15T. Roy Lassiter - 7 (-2)

15T. Frank Klopas - 7 (-2)

17. Dario Fabbro - 6 (-2)

18T. Jimmy Conrad - 5 (+1)

18T. Stephen Armstrong - 5 (-2)

18T. Kerry Zavagnin - 5 (-2)

18T. Gary Glasgow - 5 (-2)

At the end of this season, there were only 3 players left on the list that scored all their goals in one season, Molnar, Lassiter, and Fabbro.

Dropped Off
Onandi Lowe
Alex Bunbury
Alexi Lalas
Paul Rideout
Mike Sorber

The 2003 Season

We're on to the 2003 season.

1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002

The 2003 season saw the Wizards return to form, finishing second in the Western Conference and making it to the conference finals in the playoffs. Facing off against San Jose in the Western Conference finals, the Wizards had taken a 2-1 lead thanks to Chris Klein. The Wizards looked like they'd be on their way to MLS Cup for the second time in history, but San Jose came back with an 83rd minute equalizer from Brian Mullan, and then a Golden Goal by Landon Donovan 3 minutes before it went to PKs ended the Wizards season, 3-2. That score line came into play the next season when the 2 met in the first round of the playoffs, in a 2 legged affair. San Jose won the first leg 2-0 and looked to eliminate the Wizards. In the second leg at Arrowhead though a Khari Stephenson strike, a Brian Ching own goal, and a Jack Jewsbury goal deep into stoppage time helped the Wizards reverse the score line from the previous season.

The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries.

1. Preki - 69 (-)

2. Mo Johnston - 31 (-)

3T. Chris Klein - 28 (+1)

3T. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-)

5. Mark Chung - 20 (-)

6. Chris Brown - 15 (-)

7. Matt McKeon - 13 (-1)

8T. Miklos Molnar - 12 (-)

8T. Chris Henderson - 12 (-)

10T. Igor Simutenkov - 11 (+6)

10T. Paul Wright - 11 (-)

12. Francisco Gomez - 10 (-1)

13T. Roy Lassister - 7 (-2)

13T. Frank Klopas - 7 (-2)

15. Dario Fabbro - 6 (-1)

16T. Kerry Zavagnin - 5 (-)

16T. Stephen Armstrong - 5 (N/A) - The South African Armstrong in his second season with the Wizards broke into the top 20 with 2 more goals in the 2003 season to go along with the 3 he scored in 2002.




















16T. Gary Glasgow - 5 (-1)

19T. Jimmy Conrad - 4 (N/A) - Now a first choice national team player and captain in the friendly against Denmark, Jimmy was traded to the Wizards before the 2003 season and since then has been a force in the Wizards defense, three times being named to the MLS Best XI as well as winning MLS defender of the year in 2005.












19T. Onandi Lowe - 4 (-3)

19T. Alex Bunbury - 4 (-3)

19T. Alexi Lalas - 4 (-3)

19T. Paul Rideout - 4 (-3)

19T. Mike Sorber - 4 (-3)

No one dropped off this season, but it's the last for the last 5, all of whom were able to score 4 goals in one season, but either retired, left, or didn't produce again for the Wizards.

2002 top scorers

We're now on to the 2002 season in the history of the Wizards top scorer

1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001

With the contraction of Miami and Tampa, the expansion draft brought the Wizards all time leading scorer, Preki back to Kansas City. The Wizards finished last in the Western Conference but due to the top 8 overall making the playoffs, the Wizards got in just before the MetroStars. This season we also see our first change to the top 4. The Top 4 the first 6 seasons of the Wizards history had been Preki, Digital, Mo, and Mark Chung in some order. Chris Klein finally broke into the top 4 this season.

The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries. And we're off again...

1. Preki - 57 (-)

2. Mo Johnston - 31 (-)

3. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-)

4. Chris Klein - 22 (+1)

5. Mark Chung - 20 (-1)

6T. Matt McKeon - 13 (-)

6T. Chris Brown - 13 (+4)

8T. Miklos Molnar - 12 (-2)

8T. Chris Henderson - 12 (-2)

10 Paul Wright - 11 (-1)

11T. Roy Lassiter - 7 (-)

11T. Francisco Gomez - 7 (-)

11T. Frank Klopas - 7 (-)

14. Dario Fabbro - 6 (N/A) - Dario came in midseason with Igor Simutenkov to help add some punch to the Wizards scoring. While Dario had the better return on in their first season, these were all the goals he'd score in a Wizards uniform.










15. Gary Glasgow - 5 (-1)

16T. Kerry Zavagnin - 4 (+4)

16T. Igor Simutenkov - 4 (N/A) - Came in with Fabbro, Igor was able to last longer in Wizards blue then Fabbro was. In fact, Igor probably scored the second or third biggest goal in Wizards history after Molnar's MLS Cup winner and mini-series winner, in the US Open Cup Final in 2004 in overtime against Chicago. One of, if not, the last golden goals ever scored in professional soccer, as FIFA has done away with the rule.












16T. Paul Rideout - 4 (-1)

16T. Onandi Lowe - 4 (-1)

16T. Mike Sorber - 4 (-1)

16T. Alexi Lalas - 4 (-1)

16T. Alex Bunbury - 4 (-1)

Slowly things are looking a little more respectable numbers wise, at least by the 2002 season the top 10 scorers were all in double digits.

Dropped off:
Ryan Tinsley
Sean Bowers
Alan Prampin

Top Scorers through 2001

Here we are, back again.

1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000

The 2001 season saw quite a bit of turnaround from the championship season of 2000. Traded away were fan favorites Preki and Chris Henderson to Miami. In the place of Miklos Molnar up top, was then league all time leading scorer Roy Lassiter. The Wizards made the playoffs but were knocked out in the first round by... you guessed it, Miami.

The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries. So here are the top scorers through the 1999 season. On to the rankings.


1. Preki - 50 (-)

2. Mo Johnston - 31 (-)

3. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-)

4. Mark Chung - 20 (-)

5. Chris Klein - 15 (-)

6T. Matt McKeon - 12 (+3)

6T. Miklos Molnar - 12 (-1)

6T. Chris Henderson - 12 (-1)

9. Paul Wright - 11 (-1)

10. Chris Brown - 9 (+1)

11T. Francisco Gomez - 7 (+5)

11T. Roy Lassiter - 7 (N/A) - As the leagues all time leading scorer heading into the season, many Wizards fans had high hopes for Lassiter coming in and filling the gap left by Molnar's retirement. Thigns did not go that well as in the 23 games he played he only scored 7 goals.








11T. Frank Klopas - 7 (-2)

14. Gary Glasgow - 5 (+2)

15T. Onandi Lowe - 4 (N/A) - Onandi came in half way through the season from Rochester to help add some scoring to the team. These were the only 4 goals Lowe scored in his 1 season with the Wizards.












15T. Alex Bunbury - 4 (-4)

15T. Alexi Lalas - 4 (-4)

15T. Paul Rideout - 4 (-4)

15T. Mike Sorber - 4 (-4)

20T. Kerry Zavagnin - 3 (N/A) - Kerry is better known for his work as a defensive midfielder then for his scoring ability. His emergence during the 2000 season helped thrust him into the national team picture for the coming years.












20T. Ryan Tinsley - 3 (-4)

20T. Sean Bowers - 3 (-4)

20T. Alan Prampin - 3 (-4)

2000

Moving on to the 2000 season in my short little series of blogs that cronicles the Wizards all time leading scorer as the league has progressed. We're now up to 2000.
Here are the previous seasons up to this point:
1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999

In 2000 the Wizards, under Bob Gansler, in his first full season won the supporters shield and MLS Cup. With the Danish Dynamite Miklos Molnar leading the way, the Wizards marched through the regular season amasing 57 points. In the playoffs came a moment many Wizards fans consider the greatest moment in team history. After tying their first to 6 point series against LA with a Molnar penalty, the Wizards and Galaxy went into the mini-game. Early in that mini-game Preki sent a long lofted ball deep into the Galaxy half of the field that Mo Johnston challenged Danny Califf for. Mo won the ball knocking it on to Molnar who beat Kevin Hartman, sending the Wizards to their first MLS Cup. The image below of Mo is an image most Wizards fans will never forget.










The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries. So here are the top scorers through the 1999 season. Now onto the list.

1. Preki - 50 (-)

2. Mo Johnston - 30 (+1)

3. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-1)

4. Mark Chung - 20 (-)

5T. Chris Klein - 12 (2)

5T. Chris Henderson - 12 (9)

5T. Miklos Molnar - 12 (N/A) - The Danish Dynamite, the hero of the 2000 season for the Wizards. Leading goalscorer for the season even though he missed time while with the Danish national team at Euro 2000. Scored huge goals, including the winning goal in game 3 of the semifinals against LA, the mini-game winner of that series, and the MLS Cup winner against the Fire.












8. Paul Wright - 11 (-3)

9T. Matt McKeon - 7 (-1)

9T. Frank Klopas - 7 (-3)

11T. Chris Brown - 4 (-3)

11T. Alex Bunbury - 4 (-3)

11T. Alexi Lalas - 4 (-3)

11T. Paul Rideout - 4 (-3)

11T. Mike Sorber - 4 (-3)

16T. Francisco Gomez - 3 (+4)

16T. Gary Glasgow - 3 (N/A) - The first of 2 Trinidad and Tabago internationals to play for the Wizards, the other being Scott Sealy, Glasgow wasn't ever able to take on the bigger role that was likely expected of him after the retirement of Molnar after the 2000 season.













16T. Ryan Tinsley - 3 (-2)

16T. Sean Bowers - 3 (-2)

16T. Alan Prampin - 3 (-2)

There's your top 20 scorers through the 2000 season. The list will continue tomorrow, moving on to the 2001 season.

Who fell off:
Scott Uderitz
Uche Okafor
"Sneaky" Pete Marino
Scott Vermillion
Edmundo Rodriguez
Brian Johnson
Yari Allnutt

Wizards top scorers through 1999

Back with the top 20 scorers in Wizards history through the 1999 season.

Here are the 1996, 1997, and 1998 top scorers as well.

The 1999 season was definitly one to forget for Wizards fans. The Wizards started the season 0-7, including two loses by shootout. Combine that with their 3 game losing streak to end the 1998 season, and the Wizards went 10 games without a win, finally earning their first win of the season May 8th against the Galaxy. They also did not score a goal until the 4th game of the season in their 2-1 shootout loss to San Jose, April 10th. It was the teams first goal since September 5th the year before. It was also the end of the line for the teams first coach, Ron Newman.

The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries. So here are the top scorers through the 1999 season.

1. Preki - 47 (-)

2. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-)

3. Mo Johnston - 26 (-)

4. Mark Chung - 20 (-)

5. Paul Wright - 11 (-)

6. Frank Klopas - 7 (-)

7. Chris Klein - 6 (N/A) - A fan favorite for the Wizards for a long time on the wing before his trade to RSL before the 2006 season.












8T. Chris Brown - 4 (N/A) - Chris Brown is a great practice player, or at least that's what everyone said, because how else could it be justified to start him?










8T. Alex Bunbury - 4 (N/A) - Canadian international that played for the Wizards in 99 and 2000, but injuries in 2000 limited his appearances and these were all the goals he scored.















8T. Alexi Lalas - 4 (N/A) - Came over with Tony Meola from New York. This was his only season in the Wizards blue as he "retired" after the season, only to come back and play a few more years for LA.














8T. Matt McKeon - 4 (-1)

8T. Paul Rideout - 4 (-1)

8T. Mike Sorber - 4 (-1)

14T. Chris Henderson - 3 (N/A) - Another Wizards favorite who's always gotten a warm reception upon his return to KC, mainly for his efforts in helping the Wizards to the 2000 MLS Cup title. He's now back with the Wizards, this time as an assistant coach to Curt Onalfo.














14T. Ryan Tinsley - 3 (-4)

14T. Sean Bowers - 3 (-4)

14T. Alan Prampin - 3 (-4)

18T. Scott Uderitz - 2 (-5)

18T. Uche Okafor - 2 (-5)

20T. Francisco Gomez - 1 (N/A) - Better known for putting the ball into row Z then into the net for the Wizards, Gomez was thought to be a Preki replacement, but instead was drafted by Chivas in the expansion draft in 2005 before Preki had even retired.












20T. "Sneaky" Pete Marino - 1 (-5)

20T. Scott Vermillion - 1 (-5)

20T. Brian Johnson - 1 (-5)

20T. Edmundo Rodriguez - 1 (-5)

20T. Yari Allnutt - 1 (-5)

Another season, and this time there are finally 20 goal scorers in the Wizards history. This is also the last season that a player with only 1 or 2 goals appears on the list. The 2000 season will either be up later tonight or tomorrow.

Wizards top 20 through 1998

Here we are continuing the route through the Wizards 11 year history of top scorers.

Here you can view the top scorers through 1996 and 1997.

We now move on to the 1998, the first season that the Wizards failed to make the playoffs, one season after they'd won the regular season Western Conference title. The Wizards still hadn't had 20 goal scorers in their history by the end of this third season. They'd had a toal of 19 at the end of this season. The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries.

1. Preki - 40 (-)

2. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 28 (-)

3. Mo Johnston - 23 (+1)

4. Mark Chung - 20 (-1)

5. Paul Wright - 11 (+1)

6. Frank Klopas - 7 (-1)

7T. Matt McKeon - 4 (-)

7T. Mike Sorber - 4 (-)

7T. Paul Rideout - 4 (N/A) - Now a youth soccer coach in the KC metro area, these were the only goals the former Everton star scored for the Wizards.















10T. Sean Bowers - 3 (-1)

10T. Alan Prampin - 3 (-1)

10T. Ryan Tinsley - 3 (+3)

13T Scott Uderitz - 2 (-2)

13T. Uche Okafor - 2 (-2)

15T. "Sneaky" Pete Marino - 1 (N/A) - His only goal for the Wizards. When he was with the team I'd always thought he never got a fair shake with the team, especially in a season where the team didn't do very well.











15T. Scott Vermillion - 1 (N/A) - The rookie from Olathe gets his only goal for the Wizards before he was traded to Colorado.










15T. Brian Johnson - 1 (-2)

15T. Edmundo Rodriguez - 1 (-2)

15T. Yari Allnutt - 1 (-2)

Wizards Top Scorers through 1997

Continuing from my post earlier today where I posted the top goal scorers in Wizards history through the 1996 season. I'm continuing with the top goal scorers through the 1997 season now. The number in parenthesis after the goal total is the players change in position from the year before. Pictures on this entry will only be of players who are making their first appearance on the list, for pictures of each player, check previous entries

1. Preki - 30 (-)

2. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 21 (-)

3. Mark Chung - 18 (-)

4. Mo Johnston - 12 (-)

5. Frank Klopas - 7 (+2)

6. Paul Wright - 5 (N/A) - The fastest man in MLS.















7T. Matt McKeon - 4 (N/A) - The Train Matt McKeon, the guy drafted ahead of Eddie Pope, worked out well for the Wizards didn't it?










7T. Mike Sorber - 4 (-3)

9T. Sean Bowers - 3 (N/A) - The Tower of Power Sean Bowers. Him throwing out a jersey after every game was always a really cool thing, I even remember getting one of those jerseys at one time.











9T. Alan Prampin - 3 (-4)

11T. Scott Uderitz - 2 (-4)

11T. Uche Okafor - 2 (-4)

13T. Ryan Tinsley - 1 (N/A) - The "Tin Man"






13T. Brian Johnson - 1 (N/A) - Sorry I don't have much to say about these 2, but neither did a whole lot, and both were around the time that I wasn't really following the team that closely to know the fringe players like these 2.










13T. Edmundo Rodriguez - 1 (N/A) - Out of all the names on all the scoring lists throughout the seasons for the Wizards, this was the one name that even I didn't even recognize. Apparently he played 16 games for the Wizards starting 4.












13T. Yari Allnutt - 1 (-3)

So there you have it, the leading scorers for the Wizards through the 1997 season. The top 4 remained the same, and the team has had a total of 16 players score.

Wizards Top 20 goal scorers

I'm taking a page from something the Climbing the Ladder blog has done recently. He's posted the top 25 league goal scorers over the course of MLS's now 11 year existence. Any Wizards fan can probably tell you who the Wizards all time leading scorer is, he's our hero, recently named coach of Chivas USA, Preki. After that though, do people really know who the other top scorers are in the teams history? Sure you can guess at players that are up there, Mo Johnston, Digital Takawira, Josh Wolff, etc, but I was curious as to who the top scorers were as the seasons progressed. The majority of the pictures of the players come from the MLS Photo collection put together by the Climbing the Ladder blog.

So without further ado, here are the Wizards Top scorers for their inaugural season in 1996

1. Preki - 18 - A strong first season by Preki put him into the top spot in the first season and has yet to relinquish years later.












2. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 13 - Crawl Digital Crawl, the largest output from the popular Zimbabwean during his time with the team.

















3. Mark Chung - 8 - Wizards first round pick in the 96 draft.



















4. Mo Johnston - 6 - The current Toronto FC coach came into the league just in time to score 2 goals in what at the time was the highest scoring game in league history (KC 6-Columbus 4, May 2, 1996)



















5. Mike Sorber - 4 - The Wizards first allocation.















6. Alan Prampin - 3 - Wizards 10th round pick, had 2 appearances for the US National team in 1993.












7T. Frank Klopas - 2 - Another of the Wizards original allocations, played 2 seasons with the Wizards before moving to his home town team in Chicago.















7T. Scott Uderitz - 2 - Had been playing indoor soccer before moving to the Wizards.










7T. Uche Okafor - 2 - Nigerian international anchored the Wizards defense until 1999.













10. Yari Allnut - 1 - Played a total of 45 minutes for the Wizards, scoring 1 goal.










So there is the Wizards 96 season, the Wizards only had 10 goal scorers that season. I'll get the 97 season up later and continue this.

Wizards Info

Through an outside source, I have heard that the Kansas City Wizards have apparently begun the negotiation period with companies for the concessions for the Wizards next season. The team is in negotiations with Centerplate. The intriguing thing about all of this is that Centerplate is also “the exclusive concessionaire for Arrowhead Stadium.”

More intrigue is added to this story when I put this new information in with another rumor that I had heard about the Truman Sports Complex. As most people know, back in April, Jackson County residents approved a 3/8 cent sales tax increase to give $850 million for the Truman Sports Complex to renovate both Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadium. These renovations were to start once the Chiefs completed play this past season, presumably making it impossible for the Wizards to play their in the 2007 season.

Not so fast on that according to some other information regarding Arrowhead. Apparently the first phase of the renovations to the stadium will not involve the seating area or the field area. This would technically make it possible for the Wizards to play their home games at Arrowhead Stadium next season.

So is it possible that the Kansas City Wizards could be trying to work something out to be back at Arrowhead again next year? Or did the Wizards just think that Centerplate did an amazing job with the concessions at the games?

What Else Do You Talk About Today?

So on a day like today there really isn't much else you can talk about then...

David Beckham.

Yes, it's finally happened, Mr. David Beckham has come to the United States to Play for the LA Galaxy for the next 5 years. In a deal that can make him up to $250 million over that 5 year span. Now most people will look at that and say $50 million a year? The thing with that is that also includes the rights to his own image, meaning he'll earn the money from sales of his own merchandise.

Here's the breakdown of Beckham's $50 million a yearthat I found on another site:

• MLS pays: $400,000/yr. per Designated Player rules
• AEG is paying: $9 million/yr. (reported salary)
• The rest has to come from Beckham retaining 100% of his image rights:
• $44 million/yr. (reportedly)
• Add all that up and you have approx. $55 million/yr. * 5 years = $250 million over 5 years.

One thing I am curious about is how the Galaxy will find another DP slot next year, as the grandfathering period ends for Donovan, Adu, Eddie Johnson, and any other MLS player that had been making over the salary cap and was grandfathered into the leagues new DP situation. I would think (and hope) that any MLS team that hasn't used their DP slot by next season would hold it for a kings ransom from LA. because everyone knows it'd be used to keep Donovan on the Galaxy. Knowing how MLS has done things in the past, LA will probably get it for like a first round draft pick and a fring roster player.

So now that Beckham is here, what's next? Looks like we could be getting another DP signing in the next week, as Ronaldo could be coming across the pond to join the Red Bulls. Claudio Reyna could be headed to the US as well, with the Red Bulls being the lead contender to land Captain America. Finally in the DP department, we could be seeing another DP signing coming as well. Buzz Carrick over at 3rd Degree is reporting that FC Dallas are in talks with Tottenham HotSpurs Edgar Davids about coming to the US.]

Some good news that has passed under the radar today, was this good news. Dempsey's work permit went through and he has now joined Fulham FC. Congrats to him on his move, and here's to hoping we get to see him doing his rap video immitations and other celebrations many times in the EPL.

Now I didn't want to end this entry without some Wizards info, and unfortuantely, it's sad news unfotunately. The Wizards have traded Dave van den Bergh to the Red Bulls for a 3rd Round Supplemental Pick. This move has pissed off myself along with other Wizards fans, as this isn't a 3rd round pick, it's a 3rd round pick in the draft after the SuperDraft, meaning it's likely gonna be a pick we either pass on or pick someone we cut in training camp. You can't tell me you couldn't get more for him then a 3rd round supplimental pick? This is a poor trade for the team, van den Bergh was coming around last season, he scored some big goals late in the season for us and had contributed quite a bit.

Wizards Home for 2007

The Wizards are currently homeless. The team can't play in Arrowhead next year due to the renovations that will be occurring there. Since that time, there has been plenty of debate over where the Wizards would play. Most of that debate seemed to focus on a high school facility in Johnson County. Sites that were consistently brought up by Wizards fans were Blue Valley Atheltic Complex, Olathe District Athletic Complex, Rockhurst High School, Park University, and College Boulevard Activity Center.

Recently an email went out to many Wizards season ticket holders and other fans. This email came with 6 possible locations to play at and fans were asked to rank them 1 through 6 on their order of preference. The six locations were

1. Ray-Pec HS
2. Rockhurst HS
3. BVDAC
4. CBAC
5. Park U.
6. Community America Ballpark

Ray-Pec had appearred as a late idea to the process as another possible location. My understand of the situation, though, was that 3 of these locations were not necessarily serious sites, but instead were put on the list as filler. One obvious filler site was Community America Ballpark because a field will not fit inside that facility. So the list was knocked down to 5. While Park University had hosted a few US Open Cup games, the lack of parking at the facility was a major draw back for many people, so that was likely another one that was filler. The third filler site was likely also a site that the Wizards used regularly for the US Open Cup, this would be BVDAC, Blue Valley Distric Athletic Complex. Here is was likely a lack of space to add seats on. The soccer side of the complex holds about 2200 people and there likely isn't enough space to add in another, at least, 6000 seats.

That leaves us with 3 possible locations, Ray-Pec, Rockhurst, and CBAC. While Ray-Pec had been the one getting the publicity about the Wizards coming there, among Wizards fans it apparently did not do so well, finishing near the bottom of the voting for the 6 locations. In an email that an employee of the school district posted on bigsoccer.com recently, the district said that the Wizards were going to be playing somewhere else next season.

So from the six above, we're now down to 2 locations, CBAC and Rockhurst. One deciding factor in location could be the playing surface, the players have apparently been pushing for a natural grass facility, which would rule out Rockhurst which has field turf. Then today in the star in an article about Ray-Pec's being out of the running for the Wizards, the superintendent was apparently told that the Wizards would be going to Olathe for their games. If this is to be believed that they are going to be playing in Olathe, and those 2 locations are the only 2 left, that means that the Wizards home for the next 2 season will be College Boulevard Activity Center. Take that for what you will, but it seems that next season the Wizards will be playing at the same location as the 2005 NAIA women's National Championships were held.

For those of you that don't know, here is a picture of the College Boulevard Complex



OTHER NEWS

Chris Henderson has come back to the Wizards. As was told to season ticket holders at the Christmas party, Chris Henderson has joined the Wizards staff as an assistant coach, bringing a fan favorite back to the team where he helped win the 2000 MLS Cup.