More Call Ups for KC

During today's weekly press conference, Peter Vermes confirmed that all 5 of the players that Sporting KC fans thought would be called up for this year's Gold Cup have in fact been called up. We'd heard that Craig Rocastle was called up yesterday, and that Roger Espinoza was available for selection. Vermes today confirmed that Rocastle and Espinoza would be joined by Stephane Auvray, Teal Bunbury, and Shavar Thomas for Guadeloupe, the US, and Jamaica respectively. The rosters won't officially be announced until probably next Monday. The tournament kicks off on June 5th, so the question will become how long those 5 remain with the team. My guess is that all 5 will depart after the game against Colorado on the 28th and the reserve game on the 29th. From that point KC will be playing with 21 rostered players.

Bunbury and Espinoza have been the only guaranteed starters when healthy this season. Rocastle and Auvray have traded time with Birahim Diop in midfield. Thomas has been a bench forward and at this time appears to be fourth on the depth chart at center back for KC. Still losing 5 guys off of our roster isn't going give great things for KC during the stretch of the Gold Cup.

The 5 are likely to miss at least 3 games, at Toronto on the 4th, the home opener against Chicago on the 9th, and Dallas on Sunday the 12th. Those that advance to the quarters will miss the 17th against San Jose. Semifinalists will miss the game in Philadelphia on the 22nd. And for any that make the finals, they'll miss KC's game against Vancouver. So players are going to miss anywhere from 3 to 6 games for KC during the Gold Cup.

Former SKC Wizards Update

It's another week for former SKC Wizards updates.One former SKC Wizard has moved on to a new position, Bo Oshoniyi has left Wake Forest University to take the same position at Pennn State. Congrats to Oshoniyi on the move. Here's the rest of this week's update.

Still looking for:
Vicente Arze
Nick Cardenas
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Ivan Trujillo

MLS
Jimmy Conrad - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 3-2 win over New York.
Adam Cristman - LA - Did not dress in LA's 4-1 win over KC.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in Salt Lake's 0-0 draw with Houston.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress inn Seattle's 1-1 draw with Portland.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Dallas' 2-0 win over Philadelphia.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 4-1 win over KC.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-0 loss to San Jose.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Portland's 1-1 draw with Seattle.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Dressed but did not play in Vancouver's 1-0 loss to New England. Play Toronto tonight in the NCC.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 0-0 draw with Houston.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Did not dress in DC's 1-1 draw with Colorado.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Came off the bench and played 6 minutes in Portland's 1-1 draw with Seattle.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 3-0 win over Columbus.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in San Jose's 3-0 win over Columbus.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 1-1 draw with Portland.
Josh Wolff - DC - Started and played 44 minutes in DC's 1-1 draw with Colorado.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not dress in Minnesota's 3-0 win over Atlanta. Dressed but did not play in Minnesota's 2-0 win over Puerto Rico.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Did not have a game this week.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Started and played 77 minutes in Montreal's 2-1 loss to Carolina.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Did not have a game this week.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Started and played 71 minutes in Charleston's 1-0 loss to New York.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Started and played 66 minutes, drawing a red card in Richmond's 1-1 draw with Harrisburg.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Started and played 90 minutes in Pittsburgh's 1-0 loss to Orlando.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Rochster's 2-0 win over Antigua.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Did not dress in LA's 2-1 win over Charlotte. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in LA's 2-1 loss to Charlotte.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started annd played 90 minutes in Richmond's 1-1 draw with Harrisburg.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 1-0 loss to New York.

International
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Played in Chirag's 2-2 draw with JCT.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not dress in Cali's 1-1 draw with Santa Fe. Did not dress in Cali's 1-0 win over Junior.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Season is over.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Budapest Honvéd - Hungary - Did not dress in Honved's 4-1 loss to Ujpest.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Defeated Dugopolje 3-0.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Did not dress in Fulham's 2-0 win over Birmingham.
Igor Kostrov (Costrov) - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 78 minutes in Tiraspol's 1-0 loss to Milsami Orhei. Started and played 90 minutes in Tiraspol's 3-0 win over Olimpia.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 90 minutes in San Martin's 1-1 draw with Sporting Cristal. Started and played 90 minutes in San Martin's 3-2 loss to Cienciano.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Came off the bench and played 33 minutes in Krasnodar's 2-2 draw with Tom' Tomsk.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Ahlen's 2-0 loss ot Hansa Rostock.

Craig Rocastle Called Up for Gold Cup

Grenada has named eight players that they have called up for the Gold Cup this year. One of those eight players called up was Sporting KC midfielder, Craig Rocastle. This will be Rocastle's second chance to appear for Grenada after appearing for them in the Digicel Caribbean Cup over the offseason to qualify for the Gold Cup. Grenada is in Group B where Rocastle could meet up with two other Sporting KC players if they are called up, Roger Espinoza and Honduras and Shavar Thomas' Jamaica. The fourth team in the group is Guatemala. Grenada opens against Jamaica at the Home Depot Center, take on Honduras at the FIU stadium, and finish up against Guatemala at Red Bull Arena.

Sporting Club Network Unveiled, Connecting Athletic Organizations Across the Region

Definitely something that you need to read, I like what could come from this.

From Sporting KC

Sporting Club announced Wednesday the launch of the Sporting Club Network, a groundbreaking membership of athletes and athletic organizations created to affiliate all interested soccer and other organizations in the Midwest with Sporting Club and Sporting Kansas City. Sporting Club Network affiliates will be provided with unique member benefits and access opportunities to Sporting Club’s facilities, content, and events.

“At Sporting Club, we are focused on connecting our membership with their passion,” Sporting Club Chief Operating Officer Greg Cotton said.

“We listened to the coaches, administrators, parents and participants in the youth and adult soccer community and created the Sporting Club Network to offer unprecedented opportunities to those organizations that wish to affiliate with us. We believe that together as affiliated organizations, our mutual desire to make Kansas City the hub of soccer in the nation becomes more than a dream – it becomes an attainable goal.”

The founding members of the Sporting Club Network are Heartland Soccer Association, Kaw Valley Soccer Association, Blue Valley Soccer Club, Metro United SoccerClub, Sunflower Soccer Association, Blackfire Soccer Club, Leavenworth Soccer Association, Prodigy Soccer Club, Newton United Soccer Club, Club Azzurri and the United Soccer League of Kansas City. As part of the Sporting Club Network, each organization’s membership will become members of Sporting Club, the parent organization of Sporting Kansas City.

“We are very proud to be a founding member of the Sporting Club Network,” Shane Hackett, executive director of Heartland Soccer Association said. “Heartland has a long standing relationship with Sporting Kansas City and we believe the Sporting Club Network offers our youth soccer players unparalleled access to the professional game, facilities, entertainment and training opportunities that have never been available anywhere.”

Players that participate and compete through a Sporting Club Network member organization will receive a SportingClub patch to wear during competition, as well as access to exclusive clinics and trainings. Local member coaches will also have the ability to take advantage of a coaching licensure program and premium coaches experiences at both the Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park as well as at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on matchdays.

“We are honored, and extremely excited, about becoming part of the Sporting Club Network,” Kaw Valley Soccer Association Executive Director Marcus Dudley said. “We believe this partnership will not only increase awareness and participation around youth soccer within our community, we are confident that this alliance will provide a distinct advantage for our members both on and off the field.”

In addition to being founding members of the Sporting Club Network, BVSC and KVSA also become founding affiliates of the Sporting Kansas City Juniors program. The affiliation will provide each club’s players with a direct connection to the Sporting Kansas City technical staff, Senior and Junior teams. Coaches of each Sporting Juniors affiliate will have unprecedented access to advanced coaching and training methods and techniques provided bySporting Kansas City’s technical staff.

“I’m excited for both BVSC and KVSA to be aligned with the Juniors program. They are both two great clubs and now their best players have a clear path to our teams,” Sporting Kansas City Juniors director of coaching Jon Parry said. “Eventually, everyone is going to want to be aligned with MLS clubs across the country. The level of coaching and competition that MLS teams can provide is unmatched by any other youth soccer environment.”

Each affiliate will, amongst many other significantly increased benefits, have access to Sporting Kansas City’s Juniors curriculum, access for Affiliate coaches to attend Sporting Kansas City Juniors as well as senior team training sessions, and an invitation to attend roundtable discussions during and after summer tryouts for the Sporting Kansas City Juniors four academy teams.

"We feel that this opportunity bridges the gap between our recreational teams all the way up to Sporting Kansas City's senior team," Blue Valley Soccer Club president Mark Christophel said. “For the players that have the dream of becoming a professional soccer player we believe that this gives them a great opportunity to achieve their goal."

Elite teams from Blue Valley Soccer Club on both the boys and the girls side will play their competitive matches under the name Sporting BVSC in replica kits similar to what are worn by the Sporting Kansas City Juniors. Starting this fall, the boys teams will be playing in U.S. Club Soccer’s National Premier Leagues, while the girls will participate in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL).

For more information on the Sporting Club Network, click here or contact Betsy Pollard, Sporting Kansas City director of youth soccer.

About Sporting Kansas City Juniors

The official youth development academy of Sporting Kansas City there are currently four Sporting Kansas City Juniors teams playing in regional and national competition from ages U13 through U18. The U16 and U18 Sporting Kansas City Juniors teams both compete in the prestigious U.S. Soccer Development Academy against the top youth clubs from around the country. The U16 and U18 Juniors teams are bothfully-funded by Sporting Kansas City.

About Blue Valley Soccer Club*

Founded in 1977 with the intention of providing children in Blue Valley a place to play soccer in a fun and safe environment, Blue Valley Soccer Club has grown to be one of the premier youth soccer clubs in the United States. BVSC is currently one of the largest clubs in the Midwest, supporting soccer programming for over 6,000 children. BVSC’s boys teams playing this fall in US Club Soccer’s National Premier Leagues, as well as the club’s elite girls teams playing in the ECNL will wear replica kits similar to what are worn by the Sporting Kansas City Juniors teams.

About Kaw Valley Soccer Association*

Founded in 1982, and based in Lawrence, Kansas, KVSA serves over 2,000 children a year, ages 3-18. The club will celebrate its 30th anniversary of operation during the 2012 season, and currently provides a variety of developmental soccer programs from recreation to premier. KVSA employs professional coaches from all over the world, including the Brazil,Holland and Senegal, and is currently the only club in the Kansas City area to offer an "all-girls" soccer academy. As an exclusive Sporting Kansas City Juniors affiliate, KVSA will help Sporting Kansas City develop local players in an area that now covers Leavenworth, Emporia, Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan, and Salina.

*Sporting Kansas City Juniors affiliate

Interest Abroad in Bunbury

In an interview with topmercato.com, Teal Bunbury discussed the interest in him abroad. It's the first time we've heard some information on where some potential teams interested in Bunbury are located. In the interview Bunbury talks about teams in England, Holland, Spain, Turkey, and France. Clubs from these countries have apparently come over to watch Bunbury play to scout him. In the interview Bunbury talks specifically about a Ligue 1 club that was interested in him. According to the interview it's a club that plays regularly in European competitions.

This could certainly be a blow to KC, but I don't think it's likely to happen at this time. I think KC doesn't want to sell Bunbury at this point, they want to get another year or two out of his contract before selling him abroad. The only way I see KC selling Bunbury is if the offer just blows them away. But it's interesting to think about who these clubs are. Is Stoke still in the picture? Is the French club someone like PSG or maybe Monaco? We probably won't know, but since the transfer window hasn't even opened yet it could be a summer "silly season" full of rumors.

Heineman KC Star Chat

Today on the KC Star's website, Robb Heineman was involved in a chat and gave out plenty of little bits of information regarding the team. No real earth shattering information, but certainly some interesting information. With the Star running the Q&A, it was a chance for some fans to try and get some questions in that might be screened if the team had done the Q&A.

On the opener, we got some information on what some of the festivities are going to be, including a band on the plaza area, a stealth fly over, and the team's original coach, Ron Newman will be on hand inside the Members' Club before the game.

The topic of Peter Vermes was brought up wondering when the team would look to go in a different direction. Heineman said "we've set pretty clear expectations for the team, which is making the playoffs and competing in the playoffs, and if those expectations aren't met, there will be consequences."

This seems to mean that Vermes has the rest of this season, or at least until the team is out of the playoff hunt. And honestly that's not that surprising with the extended road trip. Things can certainly change if things really go down hill for the team, or if things don't go well after they return home. Currently the team has the same record on the road as they did through 7 road games last year, but KC will need to have some very good home form to fulfill OnGoal's expectations this season.

Earlier today the Aaron Galindo to KC rumor came back up in the Mexican media. It seemed that Galindo was trying to find a way out of his contract with Chivas to allow him to join KC in an out of contract signing. Heineman though said that this was the first he'd heard of the most recent rumor. Although after the window closed, Heineman had said on Twitter that they were still hoping to to sign him during the summer. Heineman also said that they are working on a number of players for the summer.

During the chat Heineman also confirmed the soccer/rugby doubleheader in October on the 15th the same day as the KC-New York game. The KC Blues will compete at Livestrong Sporting Park as part of the double header. He also said that they are continuing to work on other sporting events to take place at LiSP.

He also tackles the jersey sponsorship that has become a small joke to some people, because we've heard a few times that we are only a few weeks away from an announcement. Heineman says that they are currently negotiating contract terms and that he put the chances at 50-50.

One final thing that Heineman talked about was the work that KC has done to create a rivalry with Chicago. I know that I've talked about the team trying to manufacture a rivalry with the Fire, and Heineman is at least straight forward about that, saying they are "poking the bear", but they feel they need to create a natural rival. And with Colorado already having the Rockie Mountain Cup and Dallas battling Houston for El Capitan, leaving Chicago as the closest team for KC to try to build a rivalry against.

Lots of good information from Heineman today, but as I said earlier, nothing earth shattering, but I don't think anyone expected that.

Rangers Draw in Chicago

Sporting KC's reserves, the Swope Park Rangers, moved to 1-1-1 on the reserve league season after drawing 1-1 in Chicago today against the Fire reserves. One time rumored KC signing Christian Nazarit, got the opener for the Fire in the 11th minute. KC had some chances to equalized and finally did in the 40th minute. Chance Myers slotted home a rebound after a shot from Luke Sassano came off the bar. Myers had another chance in the 42nd, but his chip got carried by the wind and went out of bounds.

Myers is now tied for the league lead in reserve goals with 3. He's already drawing sarcastic comparisons to one of the reserve league kings for KC previously, Ryan Pore.

MISL Join Up with USL

From the Missouri Comets.

United Soccer Leagues is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement with the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) and will operate North America’s most storied and tradition-rich professional indoor soccer league beginning with the 2011-12 season.

The MISL represents the top level of professional indoor soccer in North America and currently consists of seven franchises for 2011-12, with additional announcements expected in the coming weeks. The league roster includes existing MISL franchises in Baltimore, Milwaukee, Kansas City and Wichita. They will be joined in the MISL by a trio of first-year USL indoor franchises in Norfolk, Rochester and Syracuse.

The League will be led by Chris Economides, senior director of USL’s professional leagues. Scheduling, competition and playoff format and rules for the MISL will be determined by the league’s Board of Governors.

“We are obviously pleased to bring the top indoor soccer league in North America into the USL family,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said. “We announced several months back that we would be operating a professional indoor soccer league in November of 2011, and this agreement with the MISL allows us to move forward with our plans. Combining the experience and tradition of the MISL with USL’s team services and league management resources will ensure the MISL reaches new levels of success.”

The MISL will follow a financial model that is viable for team owners. USL intends to seek affiliation under the U.S. Soccer Federation umbrella, consistent with its other league properties.

"We are all pleased to join USL which has many strong leagues and numerous franchises," MISL Chairman Ed Hale said. "This will give us a platform for future expansion of our indoor game throughout the country."

“This is a great day for the Comets and the Major Indoor Soccer League,” said Comets President, Brian Budzinski. “USL’s footprint is all over the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. The ability to promote the MISL and the exciting game of professional indoor soccer to millions more soccer fans through this partnership only helps to strengthen our brand.”

MISL indoor soccer was developed to appeal to sports fans around the world. The fast-paced, fiercely competitive game is played on artificial turf on a hockey-rink-sized field surrounded by dasher boards and Plexiglas with eight-foot high by 14-foot wide goals receded into the end boards. Creative dribbling, pinpoint passing, acrobatic goalkeeping and rugged defensive play are all skills demonstrated by MISL players.

A typical MISL game features end-to-end-action resulting in approximately 60 shots and 11 goals per game. Each game includes four 15-minute quarters and a popular feature is multi-point scoring, with goals from long distance worth more. Other unique characteristics of the MISL include action-packed power plays and free substitution of players while play continues.

United Soccer Leagues
Celebrating its 25^th anniversary, United Soccer Leagues has become the largest organization of elite-level soccer leagues in North America by building on the vision, commitment, and passion of players, fans and investors. Now in its third decade of operation, USL continues to be a driving force in the growth of soccer in the United States, Canada and Caribbean. USL provides a clearly defined path for the progression of male and female soccer players beginning at the youth level (USL Super Y-League/USL Super-20 League), continuing up through the amateur level (USL Premier Development League/USL W-League) and on to the professional level (USL PRO, MISL). A platform for countless players to reach for their dreams each year, USL is devoted to developing the sport at the grassroots level in every community across the region.

USL Communications - Jay Preble / Nicholas Murray / David Wagner - Tampa, FL - 813.963.3909 - Twitter: USLsoccer

For Comets information, visit: www.cometsindoorsoccer.com

Sunday After Stats

Here's stats from last night's game.

The own goal was the third own goal for KC against LA in their history, that's tied for the most own goals that have gone in KC's favor. New England also has given up 3 own goals against KC.

In the 5th minute, Teal Bunbury passed his dad, Alex Bunbury, for league minutes played for KC, Bunbury finished the game with 1924 minutes played.

In the 55th minute, Davy Arnaud moved past Jimmy Conrad and into 4th place on the list of most minutes in all competitions. Arnaud finished the game wtih 20,587 minutes played.

Arnaud also made his 225th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Nick Garcia for 2nd place on that list.

It was also Arnaud's 255th apppearance in all competitions, breaking his tie with Preki for 3rd place on that list.

Arnaud also started his 204th league game, breaking his tie with Jimmy Conrad for 3rd place on that list.

Michael Harrington made his 120th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez and Uche Okafor for 13th place on that list.

Harrington also started his 108th league game, breaking his tie with Okafor and tying him with Gutierrez for 13th place on that list.

Is the Road Trip Over Yet?

Another road game, another loss for KC, their fourth in a row and their fifth of the season in LA 4-1 last night. KC is now winless in 6 games after beating Chivas USA in the season opener. Silly mistakes ended up costing KC more than anything, stupid fouls and more lackadaisical defending, the things that have defined KC's season so far. The offense didn't bring much of anything to the game either as the lone goal was an own goal, and KC didn't really look like scoring other than that.

There was a big surprise before the game even started as Eric Kronberg got the start in goal ahead of Jimmy Nielsen. A surprising decision because while KC had allowed 13 goals, Nielsen has been arguably KC's best player this season. Kronberg was tested inside the first two minutes on a nice shot by Landon Donovan. KC was able to weather the early storm, with Kronberg making a few saves to keep the score level. In the 39th minute, KC grabbed a surprising lead as Milos Stojcev played a cross into the box for Kei Kamara. Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez stuck a foot out to keep the ball from going to Kamara, but ended up deflecting the cross past Josh Saunders and into his own net giving KC the lead.

But the lead didn't last long, as a disturbing trend for KC of allowing goals within five minutes of scoring popped up again. David Beckham played a cross into the box that Roger Espinoza tried to take off his chest instead of just heading clear. Todd Dunivant hassled Espinoza enough after the play to cause him to give the ball away to Beckham in the corner of the box. Espinoza went in with a high boot catching Beckham in the thigh, an easy penalty kick for Baldomero Toledo. Landon Donovan stepped up and buried the PK, sending Kronberg the wrong way.

At half time you would think that KC might be able to hold out and maybe steal a point from the Galaxy. But those hopes were dashed inside the first minute of the second half when LA virtually came right down the field and scored to make it 2-1. Off a quick throw from LA, Donovan ran at the KC goal with Espinoza on his hip, Espinoza slid in and knocked the ball away, but the ball went to Chad Barrett who knocked the ball back into the path of Donovan who beat Kronberg to give LA the lead. KC had a chance to equalize in the 62nd after Kamara played Graham Zusi into the box. Zusi had time to get a good shot off, but instead fired the shot wide of the goal.

That miss came back to haunt KC moments later. A long ball from the back was headed by Juan Pablo Angel to Donovan who then heading it back to Angel who had made his run behind Julio Cesar who got caught ball watching along with Aurelien Collin. Angel raced in 1v1 against Kronberg and slotted home to make it 3-1 to the Galaxy. The Galaxy continued to push for a fourth, Kronberg made a good save on a Beckham free kick in the 75th minute, and then in the 81st Barrett shot over the bar after he held off and spun Cesar too easily. The Galaxy always looked the more likely to find a 4th and they did in the 87th. After Davy Arnaud was called for a fairly weak foul on Beckham out to Kronberg's right, about 25 yards out, Beckham stepped up an blasted a "Beckham Special" curling the ball into the top corner leaving Kronberg with no chance and giving LA their fourth goal.

Ryan Smith forced a good save from Saunders almost immediately after the goal, possibly the best chance KC produced all game outside the goal. Donovan almost completed his hattrick in stoppage time as he was played through as Collin slipped. Kronberg did well to cut the angle down and as Donovan tried to round him Michael Harrington recovered and was able to knock the ball away.

WIZARDS Man of the Match - Eric Kronberg - Really I almost gave this to no one this week, but after rewatching the game I'm giving it to Kronberg. Kronberg got hung out to dry on virtually each one of the goals by his defense. He had a decent game coming up with some big saves, but there were so many issues with the team last night.

Player Ratings - Kronberg 5, Harrington 3, Cesar 2, Collin 4, Espinoza 2, Auvray 4, Arnaud 4, Stojcev 4, Zusi 3, Bunbury 3, Kamara 3. Myers 4, Smith 4, Sapong 4.

New Byline to Back Post

A new From the Byline to the Back Post is up for your listening pleasure ahead of tomorrow's game against the Galaxy. This week Thad and I discussed the news, the New York and LA games, former Wizards, and the salaries for Sporting KC. Available on iTunes and Posterous. Also thanks again to the Vandon Arms for the music.

Back to LA

Kansas City heads back to LA for the second time this season and while KC doesn't look like it right now I certainly hope there's at least one more trip to LA in November. But first KC needs to pull themselves out of the funk that they are in having not won since their last trip out to LA against Chivas USA on opening day. The Galaxy are coming off a busy week where they played New York last Saturday night in LA, then flew to Philadelphia to play the Union on Wednesday before flying home. Both of those games ended in 1-1 draws. David Beckham didn't travel to Philadelphia, rested for the weekend. The other thing for LA is that they now have Juan Pablo Angel, who has scored 8 goals in his career against Kansas City. Certainly another tough test for the struggling Sporting KC back line that is still allowing over 2 goals a game.

Hopefully this performance turns out better than the last one KC had after a week off in Columbus. The defense did look stronger against New York two weeks ago, but the question is if they can do it again against another very good offensive team. The LA defense isn't as strong as New York's is, as they are averaging a goal allowed a game, which could certainly give the KC offense a boost. An interesting comment from play-by-play man Callum Williams that was posted today makes it sound like we could see some lineup changes again for KC. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same back line we saw against New York, but I could see more changes in the midfield and a change up top.

Smith - Bunbury - Kamara
Auvray - Arnaud - Rocastle
Aiyegbusi - Cesar - Collin - Harrington
Nielsen

Number to Remember - 3 - Straight wins for KC in LA. Two against Chivas and one against LA. KC's last three trips to LA have turned in 9 points for the Wizards.

Key Match Up - Aurelien Collin vs Juan Pablo Angel - Angel has had the seasons he has had previously, but he's still a big time Wizards killer during his time in the league and is certainly a player to keep an eye on for the back line.

PREDICTION - The team looked better against New York and I'd expect a better performance again against LA, but at this point I can't see this team winning this game. True LA is coming in on short rest while KC is well rested, but that doesn't always work in the rested team's favor, especially since it was a full week off for KC. It's certainly a tough run for KC facing two of the better teams in the league in a row. Even with the break I think LA's class will show through in this one.

KC - 0
LA - 1 (Donovan)

Kempin Called Up to US U-18 Tournament

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper, Jon Kempin will travel with the US U-18 team to Portugal for the Lisbon International Tournament later this month. The team departs on May 19th before their tournament opener on the 25th against the Netherlands. The next day the 18's take on the hosts Portugal before finishing the tournament against Finland on the 28th. Kempin and Jeff Gal of the Sockers FC are the two goalkeepers that will travel to Portugal. With the two keepers Kempin is sure to get at least one game and the best performer in the first two is likely to get the start in the third game.

Open Cup Game to Have Webcast

Sorry for the delay in getting this out, Blogger was having issues for much of the day yesterday and even this morning and I was unable to get this post and the next one out yesterday.

On Wednesday I'd mentioned that it sounded like the US Open Cup qualifier against the New England Revolution would have no audio or webcast of the game. Turns out that is not true. Yesterday on Twitter, Sporting KC confirmed that there will be a webcast of the game. Callum Williams will be doing the broadcast with Brad Feldman who does broadcasts for the Revolution.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates. First, I've found Igor Kostrov, he's playing back in his native Moldova, for FC Tiraspol. Another former SKC Wizard will be switching teams in the offseason, as Matt Taylor is moving back up to the German second division to play for SC Paderborn. Finally, another former player looks to be calling it a career after this season as Byron Carmichael will play his last season for Ocean City FC. Here's the rest of this week's former SKC Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Vicente Arze
Nick Cardenas
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Ivan Trujillo

MLS
Jimmy Conrad - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 1-0 loss to RSL.
Adam Cristman - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 1-1 draw with New York. Did not dress in LA's 1-1 draw with Philadelphia.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 1-0 win over Chivas.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 1-1 draw with Columbus.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Dallas' 0-0 draw with DC. Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Dallas' 1-0 win over Toronto.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 1-1 draw with New York. Dressed but did not play in LA's 1-1 draw with Philadelphia.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 1-1 draw with Seattle.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes, getting an assist in Portland's 1-0 win over Philadelphia.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 0-0 draw with Chicago. Did not dress in Vancouver's game tonight against San Jose.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 1-0 win over Chivas.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Did not dress in DC's 0-0 draw with Dallas.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Portland's 1-0 win over Philadelphia.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Started and played 64 minutes in San Jose's game vs Vancouver today.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Came off the bench and played 26 minutes in San Jose's game with Vancouver.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 1-1 draw with Columbus.
Josh Wolff - DC - Came off the bench and played 36 minutes in DC's 0-0 draw with Dallas.

NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Did not dress in Minnesota's 1-1 draw with Fort Lauderdale.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Started and played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 1-1 draw with Minnesota. Started and played 90 minutes in Fort Lauderdale's 4-2 loss to Carolina.
Amir Lowery - Montreal - Did not have a game this week.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Did not play in Fort Lauderdale's 1-1 draw with Minnesota. Did not dress in Fort Lauderdale's 4-2 loss to Carolina.

USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh. Did not dress in Charleston's 1-0 loss to Rochester.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Started and played 58 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 win over Wilmington.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Started and played 90 minutes in Pittsburgh's 0-0 draw with Charleston.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes, recording the shutout in Rochester's 1-0 win over Charleston. Dressed but did not play in Rochester's 1-0 loss to Harrisburg.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Did not have a game this week.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 2-1 win over Wilmington.
John Wilson - Charleston - Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 0-0 draw with Pittsburgh. Started and played 90 minutes in Charleston's 1-0 loss to Rochester.

International
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Did not have a game this week.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not dress in Cali's 1-0 loss to America de Cali.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Season is over.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Budapest Honvéd - Hungary - Did not dress in either of Honved's games this week.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - Lost 1-0 to Mosor.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham/Preston - England - Has returned to Fulham now that Preston's season is over.
Igor Kostrov (Costrov) - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 68 minutes in Tiraspol's 0-0 draw with Sheriff.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 4-0 win over Alianza Lima.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Came off the bench and played 16 minutes in Krasnodar's 2-1 loss to Rubin Kazan.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a brace in Ahlen's 4-3 win over Rot-Weiss Erfurt.

Farm Aid and the US Open Cup Qualifier

Some news from today that affects Sporting KC and their schedule a little bit. First, today was the first concert announcement for Livestrong Sporting Park. That concert is Farm Aid, which will bring the likes of Niel Young, Willie Nelson, and the Dave Matthews Band to LiSP this summer. The date of the concert is August 13th. Besides the concert taking place at the stadium, it also affects Sporting KC in another way. KC is currently scheduled to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on August 13th at Sporting Park. So KC is going to have to reschedule that game in what is already a fairly congested part of KC's schedule as they're in the middle of KC's extended home stand. There's talk that the game will be moved from Saturday to Thursday the 11th. The other thing to remember with the LA game is that it was supposed to be on FSC on the 13th. Will it still be on the channel after that is unknown right now.

I know there are plenty of fans that are disappointed in this, but it was going to happen sooner or later. Basically all MLS teams with a soccer specific stadium have seen games moved due to concerts so it's not surprising that KC would also see a game moved. Anyone that didn't think this was going to happen eventually if not this season is incredibly short sighted. The stadium has a stage for a reason.

In other news for the upcoming US Open Cup qualifier against the Revolution, it looks like you'll want to get your ticket if you haven't already. That's because it sounds like there might not be any audio or video broadcast of the Sporting Kansas City broadcast. That's at least according to thecup.us website on Twitter. It'd be the first one of MLS Open Cup qualifiers this year to not be broadcasted in some form for fans.

KC Signs Sinovic

Local product, Seth Sinovic, who graduated from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City has been signed by Sporting Kansas City. Sinovic was drafted out of Creighton by the New England Revolution last year in the second round of the Superdraft. Sinovic appeared 20 times for the Revolution before being waived in late March. Sinovic had been on trial with Kansas City for a few weeks before being signed today. It looks to be a straight swap for Mike Jones' roster spot after he was waived last week.

Deeper Look at Salaries

I just got beaten in posting this by Gooch over at the Star who basically posted some of the same information. But I spent enough time working on this I'm going to post anyway.

Over the weekend, the MLS Players' Union put out the salaries for players through May 1st. When the list was released there were certainly a few questions about the list. Some of my original questions were based on the roster set up for the team. I've had some time to go through the roster rules again and I have a bit better understanding, but I still have some questions.

One of the questions is wondering how much cap space KC still has available for potential summer purchases to help SKC should they need it. This is based off of how many of the players are “Salary Budget Players” as the MLS rules call them. KC can have up to 20 of these players on their roster. The other 10 roster spots are “Off-Budget Players.” From looking at the roster and the salaries I see 17 players that are “Salary Budget Players” and 6 players that are “Off-Budget Players.” There are still 3 more players that I'm not sure of where they fit.

Just looking at the salaries of the 17 players, KC is using $2,407,918 of the $2,675,000 salary cap. That includes the $110,004 for Nikos Kounenakis. That would leave around $267,000 in cap space. But I think at least one of the 4 questionable players (Korede Aiyegbusi, Luke Sassano, CJ Sapong, and Graham Zusi) is on the “Salary Budget Players” list. This is because KC would be charged a fee for not filling at least 18 of those roster spots. All three make $42,000, so KC would have around $225,000 of cap space if all the numbers on the players union list are correct.

But that leads to another question, Omar Bravo's salary. Gooch at The Full 90 is trying to look into it, but has not been able to get a response from the players' union. The union's list says that Bravo's salary is only $120,000, which doesn't make sense as a designated player. Designated players cap hit is supposed to be $385,000. Now the cap hit can be lower if a transfer fee is used to bring the player to the league. But all the information back in August seemed to point to Bravo being a free agent, which would mean he should likely have a salary of $385,000. If Bravo is making the DP salary, then KC only has about $2,000. That's before factoring in one of the 4 questionable players.

With all four players making over that amount though, it would seem to point to KC being over the cap. But there are other things that likely knock KC below the cap again. 1) KC still has allocation money that they could use to pay down the salary to get people in under the cap hit. 2) Philadelphia could still be covering a portion of Shavar Thomas' salary. Last year when KC traded for Thomas, the Union covered a portion of his salary. It's possible that the Union is still covering a portion of Thomas' salary making it possible for KC to fit one of the other guys in under the cap.

If Bravo is on the designated player level, then KC doesn't really have much of any cap space left at all. So with that information, I would be more inclined to believe the listing on the players' union website. Which is still surprising.

Here is how I believe the players are divided up on Salary Budget vs Off-Budget

Salary Budget players

Davy Arnaud
Stephane Auvray
Matt Besler
Omar Bravo
Julio Cesar
Aurelien Collin
Birahim Diop
Roger Espinoza
Michael Harrington
Kei Kamara
Eric Kronberg
Chance Myers
Jimmy Nielsen
Craig Rocastle
Ryan Smith
Milos Stojcev
Shavar Thomas

Off-Budget

Teal Bunbury
Kevin Ellis
Mike Jones/Seth Sinovic
Jon Kempin
Scott Lorenz
Konrad Warzycha

Unsure (1 is on the Salary Budget the other three are on the Off-Budget list)

Korede Aiyegbusi
CJ Sapong
Luke Sassano
Graham Zusi

March/April Player of the Month

The first month and a half or so of the season is over for KC and it's time to look at who should be the player of the month for the March/April time frame.

During the stretch, KC went 1-4-1, the one win coming on opening day against Chivas USA. A draw in Vancouver was KC's only other point so far this season. KC has scored 10 goals while allowing 13 during that time frame. Teal Bunbury and Kei Kamara are tied for the team lead in goals with 3. Kamara is the team leader in assists with 2. Omar Bravo has 2 goals in only 120 minutes of play so far this season.

Player of the month for this month plus is Jimmy Nielsen. While KC has allowed a league high in goals, and has yet to record a shutout, you can't help but feel that things would be worse if Nielsen had not been in net for KC during those games. Congrats to Nielsen and winning this month, and here's to a more productive month in May.

Sporting KC Salaries Out

The MLS Player's Union has released player salaries for this year, as of May 1. There are certainly come surprises on KC's list. Here is the list, at the end I'll have my thoughts on the salaries. For those wondering why there are two numbers, the first number is the player's base salary, meaning what counts against the cap. The second number includes any signing and guaranteed bonuses, annualized (meaning the bonus divided out over the length of the contract). Here is the list.

Club Last Name First Name Pos 2011 Base Salary 2011 Guaranteed Compensation
KC Aiyegbusi Olukorede D $ 42,000.00 $ 42,000.00
KC Arnaud Davy M $ 250,000.00 $ 258,750.00
KC Auvray Stephane M $ 170,000.00 $ 208,125.00
KC Besler Matt D $ 58,410.00 $ 69,660.00
KC Bravo Omar F $ 120,000.00 $ 170,000.00
KC Bunbury Teal F $ 85,000.00 $ 183,000.00
KC Cesar Julio D $ 210,000.00 $ 213,750.00
KC Collin Aurelien D $ 185,004.00 $ 191,254.00
KC Diop Ibrahim M $ 60,000.00 $ 64,250.00
KC Ellis Kevin D $ 32,604.00 $ 33,354.00
KC Espinoza Roger M $ 100,000.00 $ 133,750.00
KC Harrington Michael M-D $ 110,000.00 $ 136,833.33
KC Jones Mychel D $ 32,604.00 $ 32,604.00
KC Kamara Kei F $ 200,000.00 $ 202,500.00
KC Kempin Jonathan GK $ 42,000.00 $ 49,083.33
KC Kounenakis Nick D $ 110,004.00 $ 120,004.00
KC Kronberg Eric GK $ 62,500.00 $ 62,500.00
KC Lorenz Scott D $ 32,604.00 $ 32,604.00
KC Myers Chance D-M $ 72,000.00 $ 87,666.67
KC Nielsen Jimmy GK $ 200,000.00 $ 241,666.67
KC Rocastle Craig M $ 110,000.00 $ 116,062.50
KC Sapong Charles F $ 42,000.00 $ 42,000.00
KC Sassano Luke M-D $ 42,000.00 $ 42,000.00
KC Smith Ryan M-F $ 140,000.00 $ 144,375.00
KC Stojcev Milos M $ 90,000.00 $ 99,000.00
KC Thomas Shavar D $ 160,000.00 $ 174,375.00
KC Warzycha Konrad M $ 32,604.00 $ 32,604.00
KC Zusi Graham F-M $ 42,000.00 $ 42,000.00

Thoughts. Omar Bravo's salary appears to be a misprint based off of the way that all the other designated players in the league read on the list. All the rest that are paid over $1,000,000 have the 7 figures there. So I'm thinking it's likely that there is a zero missing off of Bravo's salary and he's getting closer to $1,200,000. The listing of him counting $120,000 against the cap is likely wrong. It's the standard $385,000 for a DP.

We're still paying Nikos Kounenakis? According to the salary list we are. Either that's a misprint, or KC gave a 2 year guaranteed contract to a player who made the bench only 2 or 3 times during his time here and never played in a game. Yeah, rumor is he had some kind of medical condition, possibly a stroke, but the move seems to reinforce a lot of people's thoughts that it was a desperation move for a defender.

Julio Cesar is our third highest paid player? Seriously? After Davy Arnaud, who's making a quarter million, and Bravo's $385,000 cap hit, the Brazilian defender who has really failed to impress is the team's next highest paid player at $210,000.

Based on my understanding of the roster rules, I've removed Teal Bunbury (GA), Jon Kempin (HG), and the four players making under $40,000 (Kevin Ellis, Mike Jones, Scott Lorenz, and Konrad Warzycha) from the team's total salary. Counting Bravo's cap hit as $385,000, KC is currently using around $2,840,918 of their salary cap this year. The salary cap for players 1 through 20 is $2,675,000, so there is other stuff going on not mentioned that gets us down below the cap. Either way it appears unlikely that we have as much cap space as we may have thought...

Are we paying all of Shavar Thomas' salary this year? Last year when we traded for him from Philadelphia, the Union picked up a large portion of his salary. I wonder if they're doing the same this year. If so that knocks the cap hit down a little bit.