Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sporting KC Endorsing Sly James
Today the KC Star had a story about the fund raising in the current mayoral race in Kansas City, Missouri between Sly James and Mike Burke. Normally that's something that's not really talked about on this blog. But the interesting thing was that the Star listed some of the people/organizations that contributed the maximum to James' campaign. Listed in that group that contributed $3,000 was Sporting Kansas City. I was a little surprised to see them on the list considering the fact that the stadium is out on the other side of the state line. But looking through some of the other names I have an idea why. Another of the top contributors was Three Trails Redevelopment, and with OnGoal still being involved in the redevelopment of the Bannister Mall area and maybe James is more likely to help them get that redevelopment done. Still an interesting aspect to see in the information for the campaign.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Julio Cesar Official
Tonight, the Terez Paylor at the KC Star is reporting the finalization of a contract with Julio Cesar Santos Correa, the Brazilian center back. Last week, Robb Heineman posted on Twitter that Cesar and Milos Stojcev would be announced within the week. Well we have the first one of those now according to the Star. Cesar has played all over North and Central America, and Europe. He'd most recently been with Maritimo in Portugal. Cesar has never spent more than 4 years at one club, the most appearances he's made for one club was 60 with Real Valladolid in Spain back in the late 90's. His career has been going on since before MLS actually started play in 1996.
Cesar looks set to battle with Matt Besler and Shavar Thomas for the two center back spots. Although in the article Peter Vermes says that Cesar is not 90 minutes fit yet, so if he does end up starting this weekend against Chivas he seems unlikely to go 90 minutes.
Cesar looks set to battle with Matt Besler and Shavar Thomas for the two center back spots. Although in the article Peter Vermes says that Cesar is not 90 minutes fit yet, so if he does end up starting this weekend against Chivas he seems unlikely to go 90 minutes.
Comets Qualify for Playoffs
For the Comets, their Sunday evening match against the Baltimore Blast at 1st Mariner Arena would only have meaning if the Omaha Vipers somehow pulled off the upset and defeated the Wave in Milwaukee earlier in the day. Fortunately for the Comets, the Wave took care of business and guaranteed the Comets a spot in the MISL Playoffs. The Comets meanwhile, could never get into any sort of rhythm Sunday, falling to the MISL Regular Season Champions by a score of 17-6.
The Comets saw an end to their four-game winning streak, while forward Byron Alvarez, held in check by Baltimore all day long, saw an end to his nine-game scoring streak. With the loss, the Comets finish the regular season with an 8-11 record and sole possession of third place. Despite the tough loss Sunday, the Comets will host the Milwaukee Wave for a home playoff match at the Independence Events Center on Wednesday at 7:35 p.m. There will be a second playoff game in Milwaukee next Sunday, March 20th, then the team with the most goals scored in the 2-game series, moves on to play the Baltimore Blast at 1st Mariner Arena for a single Championship Game on Friday, March 25th.
On Sunday though, it was Baltimore getting on the board early, scoring twice in the game’s first two minutes. The first goal was on ball that Aristodemo put off the boards from the right side that Comets’ goalie, Danny Waltman poked out of the way, but it went right to an unmarked, Matt Watson who put it back past Waltman. A minute later, it was Aristodemo scoring on a one-touch, right foot shot off a lob pass by Celenza to give the Blast a quick 4-0 lead. At the 7:06 mark, on a Comets restart, it was Jamar Beasley launching a pass by Vahid Assadpour past the Blast’s Sagu to pull the Comets to within two. The goal was Beasley’s 20th of the season. The period would end with the Blast leading 4-2.
The 2nd period belonged to the Blast who netted three goals, starting with a power play goal after Waltman came out to block a shot by Max Ferdinand that deflected right to Neto, who headed it into the goal. At the 11:17 mark, it was Ferdinand, unassisted, unleashing a 3-pointer from the right side that went by Waltman into the upper left corner of the goal. At the close of the half, it was Ferdinand scoring again, on a ball that somehow squibbed out from the corner to Ferdinand who quickly deposited past a diving Waltman. Halftime score: Blast 11, Comets 2.
The third period was more of the same, with Baltimore doing a majority of the scoring, with Neto extending the Blast lead to 13-2 on a nifty turnaround goal with two Comets defenders on him. On the kick-off, newly-acquired forward, Anthony Maher of the Comets put a pass off the boards that Geison Moura put past Sagu for a goal. The Blast would end the 3rd period scoring with a goal by Millwood on an assist by Ferdinand, giving them a 13-4 lead.
The fourth period was the quietest of the game with a single score by each team. At the 4:52 mark, it was Baltimore’s Pat Healy from Ferdinand putting a sliding shot past Waltman. Going with a 6th attacker, Leo Gibson of the Comets finished things off with a rocket from the top of the box after Moura got caught up with a Blast defender, pulling him out of position, leaving Gibson a point-blank shot. Final score: Blast 17, Comets 6.
Box Score: http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=1443344
Playoff Tickets: Comets playoff tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, or by calling 816-478-BALL. For more Comets news and information, visit www.cometsindoorsoccer.com.
The Comets saw an end to their four-game winning streak, while forward Byron Alvarez, held in check by Baltimore all day long, saw an end to his nine-game scoring streak. With the loss, the Comets finish the regular season with an 8-11 record and sole possession of third place. Despite the tough loss Sunday, the Comets will host the Milwaukee Wave for a home playoff match at the Independence Events Center on Wednesday at 7:35 p.m. There will be a second playoff game in Milwaukee next Sunday, March 20th, then the team with the most goals scored in the 2-game series, moves on to play the Baltimore Blast at 1st Mariner Arena for a single Championship Game on Friday, March 25th.
On Sunday though, it was Baltimore getting on the board early, scoring twice in the game’s first two minutes. The first goal was on ball that Aristodemo put off the boards from the right side that Comets’ goalie, Danny Waltman poked out of the way, but it went right to an unmarked, Matt Watson who put it back past Waltman. A minute later, it was Aristodemo scoring on a one-touch, right foot shot off a lob pass by Celenza to give the Blast a quick 4-0 lead. At the 7:06 mark, on a Comets restart, it was Jamar Beasley launching a pass by Vahid Assadpour past the Blast’s Sagu to pull the Comets to within two. The goal was Beasley’s 20th of the season. The period would end with the Blast leading 4-2.
The 2nd period belonged to the Blast who netted three goals, starting with a power play goal after Waltman came out to block a shot by Max Ferdinand that deflected right to Neto, who headed it into the goal. At the 11:17 mark, it was Ferdinand, unassisted, unleashing a 3-pointer from the right side that went by Waltman into the upper left corner of the goal. At the close of the half, it was Ferdinand scoring again, on a ball that somehow squibbed out from the corner to Ferdinand who quickly deposited past a diving Waltman. Halftime score: Blast 11, Comets 2.
The third period was more of the same, with Baltimore doing a majority of the scoring, with Neto extending the Blast lead to 13-2 on a nifty turnaround goal with two Comets defenders on him. On the kick-off, newly-acquired forward, Anthony Maher of the Comets put a pass off the boards that Geison Moura put past Sagu for a goal. The Blast would end the 3rd period scoring with a goal by Millwood on an assist by Ferdinand, giving them a 13-4 lead.
The fourth period was the quietest of the game with a single score by each team. At the 4:52 mark, it was Baltimore’s Pat Healy from Ferdinand putting a sliding shot past Waltman. Going with a 6th attacker, Leo Gibson of the Comets finished things off with a rocket from the top of the box after Moura got caught up with a Blast defender, pulling him out of position, leaving Gibson a point-blank shot. Final score: Blast 17, Comets 6.
Box Score: http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=1443344
Playoff Tickets: Comets playoff tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, or by calling 816-478-BALL. For more Comets news and information, visit www.cometsindoorsoccer.com.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Open Tryouts Day Two Invitees
The team has announced the players that have been invited back for day 2 of the tryouts tomorrow at Swope Park. Unlike the last two years where players were less likely to make the team with the restricted rosters, it's possible that players could make the team this year now that rosters have been expanded to 30. Some of the players that I profiled earlier today are on the list, including Dane Hill, Garrett Webb, Kofi Boateng, Mark Dryden, Yudai Yamaguchi, and multiple others. Congratulations to those players that have been invited back to day two and good luck tomorrow.
Open Tryout Participants
So I had trouble finding the open tryout participants yesterday (now with all the other stuff I wrote about yesterday I will say I did not look incredibly hard). I had the list pointed out to me this morning and being the person that I am I ended up going through the list again looking for the players that are participating. The tryouts are going on today and tomorrow out at the team's Swope Park training complex. I actually have seen one of the players this year on the list play before, Garrett Webb, the former Drake Bulldog is listed as signed up. Here's the list of players I was able to find some information on.
Aiden Ashmore - Played at the University Of Science And Arts Of Oklahoma.
Gerry Munyanna - Played at Keene State.
Leyton Sherer - Played at Columbus Unified High School in Columbus, KS.
Elmer Aragon - Played at Manchester Community College.
Jeff Moffit - Appears to be from the Springfield area.
Frankie Sullivan, Jordan Hofman, and Mark Dryden - All from William Penn University.
Brian Faulkner - Found a Brian Faulkner at Herkimer Community College, but that one is listed as a goalkeeper.
Festus Agyekum - Was at the tryouts last year.
Dane Hill - Played at UC Santa Cruz, the Banana Slugs.
Noah Suter - Played at Western Illinois.
Kofi Boateng - Played at UMASS Boston.
Yaw Danso - Played at one time at Principia College.
Andrew Banerjee - Looks to have some Youtube highlights.
John Kankam - From the KC area, at Xavier.
Sawad Madar - Played at East Central College.
James Parker - Played at Huntington University.
Garrett Webb - Drake University graduate.
Corey Koshner - Found a Youtube highlight of him.
Marcel Salas - Played at Western Nebraska Community College.
Addison Stonestreet - Played on KU's club team and competed last year.
Victor Romero - Played at Rocky Mountain Community College.
Giancarlo Montenegro - Played at The College of Saint Rose.
Santiago Lara - Played at Bergen Community College.
Mohammad Ebrahimi - Iranian professional if this is the same person.
Jose Montalvo - From the Houston area.
Birol Ferad - Played at North Port HS in Florida.
Jorge Dominguez - If it's the same player, he's played in the US Soccer Developmental Academy.
James Goodwin - Former Syracuse player that trialed in Norway.
Masaki Kato - Played at Hesston College
Arnaldo Miranda - Played at KCK Community College
Yudai Yamaguchi - Played at Columbia College.
Jesse Derksen - Played at the University of Central Florida.
Michael Tilatti - Played at the Illinois Intitute of Technology.
Aiden Ashmore - Played at the University Of Science And Arts Of Oklahoma.
Gerry Munyanna - Played at Keene State.
Leyton Sherer - Played at Columbus Unified High School in Columbus, KS.
Elmer Aragon - Played at Manchester Community College.
Jeff Moffit - Appears to be from the Springfield area.
Frankie Sullivan, Jordan Hofman, and Mark Dryden - All from William Penn University.
Brian Faulkner - Found a Brian Faulkner at Herkimer Community College, but that one is listed as a goalkeeper.
Festus Agyekum - Was at the tryouts last year.
Dane Hill - Played at UC Santa Cruz, the Banana Slugs.
Noah Suter - Played at Western Illinois.
Kofi Boateng - Played at UMASS Boston.
Yaw Danso - Played at one time at Principia College.
Andrew Banerjee - Looks to have some Youtube highlights.
John Kankam - From the KC area, at Xavier.
Sawad Madar - Played at East Central College.
James Parker - Played at Huntington University.
Garrett Webb - Drake University graduate.
Corey Koshner - Found a Youtube highlight of him.
Marcel Salas - Played at Western Nebraska Community College.
Addison Stonestreet - Played on KU's club team and competed last year.
Victor Romero - Played at Rocky Mountain Community College.
Giancarlo Montenegro - Played at The College of Saint Rose.
Santiago Lara - Played at Bergen Community College.
Mohammad Ebrahimi - Iranian professional if this is the same person.
Jose Montalvo - From the Houston area.
Birol Ferad - Played at North Port HS in Florida.
Jorge Dominguez - If it's the same player, he's played in the US Soccer Developmental Academy.
James Goodwin - Former Syracuse player that trialed in Norway.
Masaki Kato - Played at Hesston College
Arnaldo Miranda - Played at KCK Community College
Yudai Yamaguchi - Played at Columbia College.
Jesse Derksen - Played at the University of Central Florida.
Michael Tilatti - Played at the Illinois Intitute of Technology.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thomas Called Up for Jamaica Friendlies
Kansas City is getting ready to start the season next weekend when they play Chivas USA, but the following weekend it looks like KC will be without at least one player when they take on the Chicago Fire. Jamaica has named their roster for friendlies on March 25th against Venezuela in Catherine Hill, Jamaica and on the 27th in San Salvador against El Salvador. Sporting KC central defender, Shavar Thomas has been called up by Jamaica for the two friendlies. With this call up Thomas is set to miss the second league game against the Chicago Fire. Late in 2010 Thomas captained the Jamaican side to the Digicel Caribbean Cup championship and is looking to make this summer's Gold Cup roster.
Sporting KC to Play Houston in College Station
We knew that KC would be playing the Houston Dynamo in their first US Open Cup play in game and that Houston would be the host. Now we know where and when that game will take place. The Dynamo announced today that the game will be Wednesday April 6th at 7pm in College Station, Texas at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. The Dynamo have played games here previous when playing CONCACAF Champion's League games even though the stadium is about 2 hours from Houston's regular home stadium, Robertson.
For KC, the game comes at probably the best time of the month it could for KC. While the team will have to travel from Vancouver after playing the Whitecaps on the 2nd, the good news is that after the game, the team has that next weekend off. KC's next scheduled game is the 16th in Columbus against the Crew. So KC will have a bit of recovery time after those two games in a four day span. The roughest part will be traveling from the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf coast during that time for the two games.
For perspective, Houston also plays on Saturday the 2nd, on the East coast against New York before traveling home for the KC game. Unlike KC though, Houston have a game the next weekend, when they'll take on the Whitecaps at home on Sunday the 10th. The quicker turn around for their next match could change the perspective a little bit in Houston's mind.
For KC, the game comes at probably the best time of the month it could for KC. While the team will have to travel from Vancouver after playing the Whitecaps on the 2nd, the good news is that after the game, the team has that next weekend off. KC's next scheduled game is the 16th in Columbus against the Crew. So KC will have a bit of recovery time after those two games in a four day span. The roughest part will be traveling from the Pacific Northwest to the Gulf coast during that time for the two games.
For perspective, Houston also plays on Saturday the 2nd, on the East coast against New York before traveling home for the KC game. Unlike KC though, Houston have a game the next weekend, when they'll take on the Whitecaps at home on Sunday the 10th. The quicker turn around for their next match could change the perspective a little bit in Houston's mind.
To the Fans of Sporting KC
The season is just over a week away from starting. Seriously, containing my excitement for the season is getting hard to do. While I still have my questions about the team, I'm so ready for this season to start. I mean a week from now I'll be in LA for the opener against Chivas USA. Trips to LA and Chicago to kick off the season will certainly help with my excitement for this season.. Speaking of Chicago, if June 9th is too far away for you to see the Wizards play live, get on the bus and go to Chicago. The first bus is filled, but a second bus is filling up now so get on. It's $80 for the bus, and then a hotel room, so when it comes to road trips it's a fairly cheap one for KC fans. Read about that and other events that the Cauldron has set up for this important season here. And read their letter to the fans below.
To the fans of soccer and SKC:
The season is a blink away, and through this long off-season, we’ve been fortunate to see our club grow and cultivate something more than the status quo when speaking about what our soccer club is. Our home has been christened and the seeds have been sown. The Cauldron, the people of Kansas City who support this club and soccer - it’s time to reap. From the Northland to JoCo, Lee’s Summit to The Dotte, and from Waldo to the River Market, we all come together for one cause. This cause has spread and has multiplied, with sightings and smoke signals from Wichita, Columbia, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Denver, Omaha, Tulsa, Des Moines, Dallas, the Twin Cities and beyond. Since 1996, this group has grown, evolved, suffered through the horror of losing our most prized possession, and learned to live as nomads. Wild men and women we are, and most definitely will continue to be. But now it’s 2011. Can you see it? Can you see the summer air and taste the cool green grass? Can you see us standing together in our bright cathedral chanting, swaying, and willing as one?
Before we get to open Livestrong Sporting Park in June, we are RALLYING for our club at Johnny’s Tavern in P&L (1310 Grand), on Monday, March 14th - with a Cauldron flare. We have invited many of our Sporting KC players to come out and meet with us, not as an official “team” event, but as an event for the players, by the fans. They have responded with exuberance, and can’t wait to mix it up with the faithful on Monday evening. This is a great chance to meet some of the new signings, catch up with fan favorites, and have a ridiculous good time.
Sporting Kansas City, as you may know, faces a road trip in proportion to Homer’s Odyssey. It won’t be ten years, but ten straight road games in hostile environments, scrapping for points, and just trying to get home. This has never been attempted in MLS history, though some clubs have attempted ‘lesser’ away excursions (all waiting for their new stadium to be completed) with very little, if any, success. But where other clubs have failed, we will be ninja.
There can’t be a better way to show support for the players of SKC than to shower them with encouragement, nachos, and beer burps. Make no mistake, we MUST RALLY at 6 PM on Monday, and send our players off to Los Angeles ready to do the work, and the dirt.
One last note on this event: it’s a Cauldron fund raiser, but is OPEN TO ALL FANS OF SKC AND SOCCER. A portion from all the food and drink we tab is going right back into the Cauldron coffers. This money will be used to create you a better, brighter, and wilder Cauldron. Essentially, the money you generously spend is going to return to you in some form. We’re not looking to make any sort of profit.
You’re awesome, and see you at Johnny’s!
Sincerely yours,
The KC Cauldron Hype-Machine
To the fans of soccer and SKC:
The season is a blink away, and through this long off-season, we’ve been fortunate to see our club grow and cultivate something more than the status quo when speaking about what our soccer club is. Our home has been christened and the seeds have been sown. The Cauldron, the people of Kansas City who support this club and soccer - it’s time to reap. From the Northland to JoCo, Lee’s Summit to The Dotte, and from Waldo to the River Market, we all come together for one cause. This cause has spread and has multiplied, with sightings and smoke signals from Wichita, Columbia, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Denver, Omaha, Tulsa, Des Moines, Dallas, the Twin Cities and beyond. Since 1996, this group has grown, evolved, suffered through the horror of losing our most prized possession, and learned to live as nomads. Wild men and women we are, and most definitely will continue to be. But now it’s 2011. Can you see it? Can you see the summer air and taste the cool green grass? Can you see us standing together in our bright cathedral chanting, swaying, and willing as one?
Before we get to open Livestrong Sporting Park in June, we are RALLYING for our club at Johnny’s Tavern in P&L (1310 Grand), on Monday, March 14th - with a Cauldron flare. We have invited many of our Sporting KC players to come out and meet with us, not as an official “team” event, but as an event for the players, by the fans. They have responded with exuberance, and can’t wait to mix it up with the faithful on Monday evening. This is a great chance to meet some of the new signings, catch up with fan favorites, and have a ridiculous good time.
Sporting Kansas City, as you may know, faces a road trip in proportion to Homer’s Odyssey. It won’t be ten years, but ten straight road games in hostile environments, scrapping for points, and just trying to get home. This has never been attempted in MLS history, though some clubs have attempted ‘lesser’ away excursions (all waiting for their new stadium to be completed) with very little, if any, success. But where other clubs have failed, we will be ninja.
There can’t be a better way to show support for the players of SKC than to shower them with encouragement, nachos, and beer burps. Make no mistake, we MUST RALLY at 6 PM on Monday, and send our players off to Los Angeles ready to do the work, and the dirt.
One last note on this event: it’s a Cauldron fund raiser, but is OPEN TO ALL FANS OF SKC AND SOCCER. A portion from all the food and drink we tab is going right back into the Cauldron coffers. This money will be used to create you a better, brighter, and wilder Cauldron. Essentially, the money you generously spend is going to return to you in some form. We’re not looking to make any sort of profit.
You’re awesome, and see you at Johnny’s!
Sincerely yours,
The KC Cauldron Hype-Machine
New Byline to Back Post
Apologies for the delays in this week's podcast, technical difficulties, it was recorded over this past weekend. Thanks to Andy from The Daily Wiz for joining us this week. We discuss the Gold Cup, Open Cup, MLS news, Sporting KC trialist and preseason moves, the Jack Jewsbury trade, and the Missouri Comets. Enjoy on Posterous or iTunes.
Also thanks to the Vandon Arms once again for the music.
Also thanks to the Vandon Arms once again for the music.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Former SKC Wizards Update
It's the end of the former Sporting KC Wizards season. With MLS starting up before next week's update, this is the final week of the former SKC Wizards season. Next week will start a new season and I'll give a break down of some of the highest finishes for a few of the stats for the players. Here's the rest of the former Sporting KC Wizards update.
Still looking for:
Vicente Arze
Nick Cardenas
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Akeem Priestley
Ivan Trujillo
MLS
Jimmy Conrad - Chivas USA - Season has not started.
Adam Cristman - LA - Season has not started.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Season has not started.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Season has not started.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Season has not started.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Season has not started.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Season has not started.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Season has not started.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Season has not started.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Season has not started.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Season has not started.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Season has not started.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Season has not started.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Season has not started.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Season has not started.
Josh Wolff - DC - Season has not started.
Indoor soccer.
Jamar Beasley - Missouri Comets - Had two goals in Missouri's 18-12 win over Chicago.
Chris Brunt - Omaha Vipers - Played in Omaha's 21-0 loss to Milwaukee.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Played in Baltimore's 11-9 loss to Chicago. Had an assist in Baltimore's 15-10 loss to Milwaukee.
Boris Pardo - Missouri Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 18-12 win over Chicago.
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Sockers - Did not have a game this week.
Paul Wright - San Diego Sockers - Did not have a game this week.
International
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Beat Pune FC 1-0.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Did not have a game this week.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cali's 1-0 win over Itagui Ditaires.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Pachuca's 1-0 loss to Tecos.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Budapest Honvéd - Hungary - Did not dress in either of Honved's games this week.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Was released from Quilmes.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Drew 0-0 with Tivoli Gardens.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Defeated Medimurje 4-0.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham/Preston - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Preston's 1-1 draw with Norwich. Started and played 90 minutes in Preston's 2-1 loss to Leeds.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not play in San Martin's 1-1 draw with Juan Aurich. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Sann Martin's 5-1 loss to Libertad in the Cop Libertadores.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Came off the bench and played 47 minutes in Krasnodar's 1-0 win over Amkar Perm in the cup.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring two goals in Weiss' 3-3 draw with Carl Zeiss Jena. Started and played 90 minutes in Weiss' 2-0 win over Stuttgart II.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Season over.
Still looking for:
Vicente Arze
Nick Cardenas
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Akeem Priestley
Ivan Trujillo
MLS
Jimmy Conrad - Chivas USA - Season has not started.
Adam Cristman - LA - Season has not started.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Season has not started.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Season has not started.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Season has not started.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Season has not started.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Season has not started.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Season has not started.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Season has not started.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Season has not started.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Season has not started.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Season has not started.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Season has not started.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Season has not started.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Season has not started.
Josh Wolff - DC - Season has not started.
Indoor soccer.
Jamar Beasley - Missouri Comets - Had two goals in Missouri's 18-12 win over Chicago.
Chris Brunt - Omaha Vipers - Played in Omaha's 21-0 loss to Milwaukee.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Played in Baltimore's 11-9 loss to Chicago. Had an assist in Baltimore's 15-10 loss to Milwaukee.
Boris Pardo - Missouri Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 18-12 win over Chicago.
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Sockers - Did not have a game this week.
Paul Wright - San Diego Sockers - Did not have a game this week.
International
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Beat Pune FC 1-0.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Did not have a game this week.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cali's 1-0 win over Itagui Ditaires.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Pachuca's 1-0 loss to Tecos.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Budapest Honvéd - Hungary - Did not dress in either of Honved's games this week.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Was released from Quilmes.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Drew 0-0 with Tivoli Gardens.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Defeated Medimurje 4-0.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham/Preston - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Preston's 1-1 draw with Norwich. Started and played 90 minutes in Preston's 2-1 loss to Leeds.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not play in San Martin's 1-1 draw with Juan Aurich. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Sann Martin's 5-1 loss to Libertad in the Cop Libertadores.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Came off the bench and played 47 minutes in Krasnodar's 1-0 win over Amkar Perm in the cup.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring two goals in Weiss' 3-3 draw with Carl Zeiss Jena. Started and played 90 minutes in Weiss' 2-0 win over Stuttgart II.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Season over.
SKC vs RSL Take Two
After the incident last night during the Sporting KC vs Real Salt Lake scrimmage nobody would have been surprised if the teams called off today's reserve match up. The two teams did play though, and Salt Lake came out on top of this game, 1-0 on a goal by Paulo Araujo Jr. KC played their reserves with two trialists, Omar Colley, and the ever popular Trialist 1. There were two known trialists that did not play today, draft pick Michal Mravec and Sinisa Ubiparipovic. No word on what's going on with those two, if they're gone from camp or not.
There were no incidents in the game today like last night when the game was called early. More information has come out on the incident and KC has made some comments on last night. Sporting KC said through Rob Thomson that Omar Bravo did not kick Javier Morales in the head. As for those curious about why Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury, and KC's other players on Twitter did not comment about the event the same way that RSL players did, it's because the team asked the players to avoid commenting on Twitter.
Other than those comments, RSL has been winning the PR battle in this incident. Obviously this hasn't been a major concern for KC as yesterday featured the big stadium announcement with Livestrong. But addressing this in a full capacity may not have been a bad idea either. Of course if a local sports radio station was willing to ask questions like ESPN 700 in Salt Lake did, maybe we'd get more information on the KC side of things. But as I said, the team had a lot more important things to talk about today than this game.
As others have said elsewhere, this certainly will add some spice to the meetings during the regular season, although it's disappointing that they're not until later in the season.
There were no incidents in the game today like last night when the game was called early. More information has come out on the incident and KC has made some comments on last night. Sporting KC said through Rob Thomson that Omar Bravo did not kick Javier Morales in the head. As for those curious about why Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury, and KC's other players on Twitter did not comment about the event the same way that RSL players did, it's because the team asked the players to avoid commenting on Twitter.
Other than those comments, RSL has been winning the PR battle in this incident. Obviously this hasn't been a major concern for KC as yesterday featured the big stadium announcement with Livestrong. But addressing this in a full capacity may not have been a bad idea either. Of course if a local sports radio station was willing to ask questions like ESPN 700 in Salt Lake did, maybe we'd get more information on the KC side of things. But as I said, the team had a lot more important things to talk about today than this game.
As others have said elsewhere, this certainly will add some spice to the meetings during the regular season, although it's disappointing that they're not until later in the season.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
SKC draw with RSL Called Early Due to "Brawl"
In the final preseason game for the Sporting KC first team, the Wizards came back from 2 goals down to tie 2-2 in a game that was reportedly called early after a bench clearing brawl. After Alvaro Saborio and Fabian Espindola had given RSL a 2-0 lead KC responded first with a PK from Kei Kamara after Roger Espinoza was fouled in the box. KC equalized through Omar Bravo, his first for Sporting KC.
Things apparently were chippy throughout with some hard fouls not being called. The situation reached a boiling point when Espinoza fouled Espindola with was called "dirty" by one person at the game. Both benches apparently cleared. Bravo was mistakenly given a red card instead of Espinoza as the referee tried to sort things out. According to what RSL staffers told the Salt Lake Tribune, Bravo then came back onto the field and kicked Morales. You can read a full break down from the Tribune's website with quotes from RSL players' Twitter feeds. It would appear that it was Jason Kreis that pulled his team off the field leading to the abandoning of the game. SKC's players have been fairly quiet about the incident since the game ended, except for this tweet from Kamara that just says the game was physical. Teal Bunbury, who was providing some play by play of the action stopped posting basically after the Bravo goal.
The two teams are still scheduled to play tomorrow morning this time in a game that will feature reserves. Based on the reports hopefully it's a different referee.
This is one of those interesting times in "journalism" where pseudo journalism Twitter creates the story. Without something like Twitter this story doesn't have anywhere close to the legs it does now. You'd have stories from the players, but with a tool like Twitter you get the raw emotion of the players fairly shortly after it happens.
Things apparently were chippy throughout with some hard fouls not being called. The situation reached a boiling point when Espinoza fouled Espindola with was called "dirty" by one person at the game. Both benches apparently cleared. Bravo was mistakenly given a red card instead of Espinoza as the referee tried to sort things out. According to what RSL staffers told the Salt Lake Tribune, Bravo then came back onto the field and kicked Morales. You can read a full break down from the Tribune's website with quotes from RSL players' Twitter feeds. It would appear that it was Jason Kreis that pulled his team off the field leading to the abandoning of the game. SKC's players have been fairly quiet about the incident since the game ended, except for this tweet from Kamara that just says the game was physical. Teal Bunbury, who was providing some play by play of the action stopped posting basically after the Bravo goal.
The two teams are still scheduled to play tomorrow morning this time in a game that will feature reserves. Based on the reports hopefully it's a different referee.
This is one of those interesting times in "journalism" where pseudo journalism Twitter creates the story. Without something like Twitter this story doesn't have anywhere close to the legs it does now. You'd have stories from the players, but with a tool like Twitter you get the raw emotion of the players fairly shortly after it happens.
Player News Coming Soon
Before all the news about the Gold Cup and the stadium came out today, Robb Heineman threw out a little bit of news for Sporting KC fans to start the day. First Heineman tweeted that the team is expecting to announce the signings of Julio Cesar Santos Correa and Milos Stojcev in the next week or so. Santos Correa had missed the last few preseason games as he'd been back in Spain, but was still on the team's radar, he seems like a good candidate to take one of the two starting central defensive positions or KC. Stojcev was a late arrival to camp, plays mainly in the center of midfield or on the left wing. Both have spent most of the preseason playing with the first team in games and it would seem would be expected to contribute this season.
Also today in response to a question by Thad at The Back Post, Heineman said that the team is still working on one more center back and another attacking player. So the team is still trying to improve the central defense, the area of the field that continues to give me worries as the season gets closer. The attacking player would seem to be the max salary midfielder that the team has been chasing for basically the entire offseason. Will be interesting to see if the team can pull off these other two signings.
Also today in response to a question by Thad at The Back Post, Heineman said that the team is still working on one more center back and another attacking player. So the team is still trying to improve the central defense, the area of the field that continues to give me worries as the season gets closer. The attacking player would seem to be the max salary midfielder that the team has been chasing for basically the entire offseason. Will be interesting to see if the team can pull off these other two signings.
Welcome to Livestrong Sporting Park
It was a day of big news today for Sporting KC. On top of the announcement of the US coming to KC in the Gold Cup, we now have an announcement on whose name will be on the stadium. That name is Livestrong Sporting Park. Today the team announced a 6 year partnership with the nonprofit organization founded by Lance Armstrong.
It's not a sponsorship deal for the stadium, but a partnership between the team and Livestrong. The team will donate a portion of all stadium revenue, including ticket sales and concessions, will be donated to the nonprofit to help fight cancer. Robb Heineman said today that the team hopes to raise $7.5 million for the charity of the 6 years of the deal.
It may not be the revenue generating sponsor that many fans were wanting or expecting, but this is a great move for the team. Livestrong is a nation wide brand that is known throughout the world. Earlier today Livestrong Park was even treading world wide. That's not the type of attention you get regularly. That alone could be a huge step for the team, with it treading world wide it's on the minds of plenty of people now looking into this. The other thing is that apparently KC passed up on deals that would have paid KC for the sponsorship to go with the nonprofit.
Personally I really like this. The team has made the naming of the stadium more than just an attempt to get money. They've used it as an attempt to generate a buzz around the team while at the same trying to make a difference by joining a cause that is trying to combat cancer, which I don't think anyone hasn't been affected by it. It shows a lot of character for the team as well that they were willing to pass up money to go this route (although I'm sure the tax write off will be nice too). It's also a great thing for fans as they know that a portion of the money they spend on anything at the stadium will go to this cause. As James said, "My football team and I are going to save lives"
KC Gets the US for the Gold Cup
In a move that I think many people were expecting, but still pleasantly surprised by, the Gold Cup pairings were made today for this summer. The United States will be returning to KC for the first time in 10 years, and only the third time ever as part off Group C. KC will host the final game of the group stage at Livestrong Sporting Park (more on that later) when the US will take on Guadeloupe and Sporting KC midfielder Stephane Auvray on June 14th. The game will be the second game of a double header that will see Canada play Panama in the opener at 6pm. The US will open against Panama down in Tampa, Florida and then travel to Detroit for an interesting match up against Canada before arriving in KC. The match will see at least one Sporting KC player on the field in the form of Auvray, but Teal Bunbury could potentially find himself on the field as well for the game.
Mexico is in group A, which is likely the toughest group playing El Salvador, Cuba, and Costa Rica in Dallas, Charlotte, and Chicago respectively. Group B sees Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica, and Grenada. A group that could potentially see 3 SKC Wizards in the group if Roger Espinoza, Shavar Thomas, and Craig Rocastle all get called up.
Season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase four extra tickets for this game. It should be a great time, especially in the members stand where the American Outlaws and Sam's Army will be for the game. Already it seems that AO chapters from throughout the Midwest are making plans to head to KC to make a fantastic atmosphere in KC.
Mexico is in group A, which is likely the toughest group playing El Salvador, Cuba, and Costa Rica in Dallas, Charlotte, and Chicago respectively. Group B sees Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica, and Grenada. A group that could potentially see 3 SKC Wizards in the group if Roger Espinoza, Shavar Thomas, and Craig Rocastle all get called up.
Season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase four extra tickets for this game. It should be a great time, especially in the members stand where the American Outlaws and Sam's Army will be for the game. Already it seems that AO chapters from throughout the Midwest are making plans to head to KC to make a fantastic atmosphere in KC.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Comets Closing in on Playoffs
There were no iffy calls, no phantom blue cards (there weren't any today), there weren't numerous instances of the Comets being up with 5 on 3 power plays. In the end all the conspiracy theories of the MISL wanting the Comets into the playoffs over the Omaha Vipers and Chicago Riot didn't come true. In truth they weren't needed. While the Comets let an 8 point half time lead slip away, they were able to find enough goals to lead them to an 18-12 win over the Riot today at the Independence Event Center. The win puts KC in the drivers seat for the 3rd and final playoff spot and means that Omaha must win in Milwaukee this coming weekend to even have a shot at the playoffs.
The Comets grabbed a lead with just under six minutes gone in the first quarter. Leo Gibson stripped the Riot defender and fed the ball Byron Alvarez. Alvarez went towards goal, then cut back causing his defender to over run him. Alvarez then fired the ball over Jeff Richey for the early 2-0 lead. Late in the first quarter, Chicago got themselves level off of a restart. Novi fed the ball to Miki Djersilio who slotted the ball past Danny Waltman and into the net.
The second quarter belonged to the Comets. Just three minutes into the quarter the Comets regained the lead. Jamar Beasley collected the ball in the corner, played the ball back to Brian Harris who fired the ball across the box to Alvarez who volleyed it home to make it 4-2. Almost nine minutes into the quarter Alvarez finished off his hattrick. Bryan Perez had received the ball in the corner but had gotten caught up by the defense. Perez did a good job holding the ball up and squaring it into the middle for Geison Moura. Moura had two chances at the shot. His first shot was blocked, but Moura's second fell to Alvarez who slide the ball inside the near post giving the Comets a 6-2 lead. The Comets had a few chances right in a row to add to the lead through Tiguinho and Moura, but the shots were just wide or well saved. Shortly after this though the Comets did grab their 4th goal of the game, this one through Mirsad Dzilic, who raced onto an outlet pass from Harris to make it 8-2. As the half was winding down, Moura had another chance to get a goal, as did Beasley. On Beasley's first effort, his shot was blocked, but the Riot were unable to clear the rebound. It fell to Vahid Assadpour who was able to keep the ball in. He fed it to Beasley as he broke into the box and Beasley finished his chance to the far post to make it 10-2 heading into the half time break.
The third quarter turned into a very forgettable one for the Comets though. It seemed that the Comets didn't come out of the locker room to start the half and the Riot made them pay. Bato started it by getting the ball in the far corner, his shot was high but landed in the middle of the box where Alex Megson volleyed it home to make it 10-4 only 43 seconds into the third quarter. Less than three minutes in and the lead was already down to four points. Frederic Degand raced down the left side and played a cross into the box. Assadpour could not get out of the way and put the ball in his own net. Degand was given credit for the goal, but it was an own goal, pure and simple.
The Comets had a few chances to re-extend their lead, but Beasley and Dzilic both missed on chances to extend the lead. The Riot though continued their comeback and before we were 7 minutes into the quarter it was 10-8 as Bato turned his defender on the left side and blasted a shot into the upper 90 of the far post to get the Riot within a goal. With about 4 minutes left in the half, Bato tied the game. Eric Lukin was able to muscle off Alvarez and played a ball to the back post where Bato fired home to tie the game. Definitely a forgettable quarter.
In the fourth quarter though, the Comets did what the Riot did to start the third. Alvarez turned provider sending a ball through to Lucas Rodriguez on a break away. Rodriguez kept his cool and five-holed Richey to give the Comets the lead again. The Riot came back down and tried to tie the game back up but Waltman came up with some big saves to preserve the lead. Seven minutes into the fourth, Alvarez was again on the board making it 14-10. The play was similar to his first goal as Jamie Harding fed Alvarez. Alvarez then turned on his defender and fired the ball in to give Missouri some breathing room. With under 4 minutes to play, the Riot pulled their goalkeeper opting for the sixth attacker. The Comets capitalized on the extra space behind their defense, as Stefan Stokic played a long ball over the top. The Riot's sixth attacker was unable to get his head on it and the ball fell to Beasley who was camping further down the field. He dribbled in and fired home to make it 16-10. Shortly after, Stokic picked up his first goal of the season putting the game away. Moura had received the ball at the top of the box, the Riot's sixth attacker was out of position, but with other defenders in his way he fed the ball to Stokic, who took a touch and fired a goal in to make it 18-10. With less than a minute left, Chicago finally got their sixth attacker goal, as Bato finished off his hattrick in a scramble on the goal line, but it was too little too late.
The Comets now go into Baltimore controlling their own destiny. A win and they make the playoffs, a loss and the Comets need to hope that Omaha doesn't beat Milwaukee. Comets fans though have to feel pretty good right now about their playoff hopes. Should Missouri make the playoffs, the game would be on Wednesday March 16th at 7:35 at the Events Center.
The one thing that worries me heading into this late part of the season is the Comets reliance on Alvarez. Alvarez is having himself a great season and certainly has to be the favorite for MVP with the way he's playing, but it's also worrisome as a Comets fan. He's been in fantastic form the past few weeks, but if he goes out I'm not sure Beasley and new signing Anthony Maher can pick up the slack. Hopefully Maher can compliment Alvarez and take a little pressure off though.
The Comets grabbed a lead with just under six minutes gone in the first quarter. Leo Gibson stripped the Riot defender and fed the ball Byron Alvarez. Alvarez went towards goal, then cut back causing his defender to over run him. Alvarez then fired the ball over Jeff Richey for the early 2-0 lead. Late in the first quarter, Chicago got themselves level off of a restart. Novi fed the ball to Miki Djersilio who slotted the ball past Danny Waltman and into the net.
The second quarter belonged to the Comets. Just three minutes into the quarter the Comets regained the lead. Jamar Beasley collected the ball in the corner, played the ball back to Brian Harris who fired the ball across the box to Alvarez who volleyed it home to make it 4-2. Almost nine minutes into the quarter Alvarez finished off his hattrick. Bryan Perez had received the ball in the corner but had gotten caught up by the defense. Perez did a good job holding the ball up and squaring it into the middle for Geison Moura. Moura had two chances at the shot. His first shot was blocked, but Moura's second fell to Alvarez who slide the ball inside the near post giving the Comets a 6-2 lead. The Comets had a few chances right in a row to add to the lead through Tiguinho and Moura, but the shots were just wide or well saved. Shortly after this though the Comets did grab their 4th goal of the game, this one through Mirsad Dzilic, who raced onto an outlet pass from Harris to make it 8-2. As the half was winding down, Moura had another chance to get a goal, as did Beasley. On Beasley's first effort, his shot was blocked, but the Riot were unable to clear the rebound. It fell to Vahid Assadpour who was able to keep the ball in. He fed it to Beasley as he broke into the box and Beasley finished his chance to the far post to make it 10-2 heading into the half time break.
The third quarter turned into a very forgettable one for the Comets though. It seemed that the Comets didn't come out of the locker room to start the half and the Riot made them pay. Bato started it by getting the ball in the far corner, his shot was high but landed in the middle of the box where Alex Megson volleyed it home to make it 10-4 only 43 seconds into the third quarter. Less than three minutes in and the lead was already down to four points. Frederic Degand raced down the left side and played a cross into the box. Assadpour could not get out of the way and put the ball in his own net. Degand was given credit for the goal, but it was an own goal, pure and simple.
The Comets had a few chances to re-extend their lead, but Beasley and Dzilic both missed on chances to extend the lead. The Riot though continued their comeback and before we were 7 minutes into the quarter it was 10-8 as Bato turned his defender on the left side and blasted a shot into the upper 90 of the far post to get the Riot within a goal. With about 4 minutes left in the half, Bato tied the game. Eric Lukin was able to muscle off Alvarez and played a ball to the back post where Bato fired home to tie the game. Definitely a forgettable quarter.
In the fourth quarter though, the Comets did what the Riot did to start the third. Alvarez turned provider sending a ball through to Lucas Rodriguez on a break away. Rodriguez kept his cool and five-holed Richey to give the Comets the lead again. The Riot came back down and tried to tie the game back up but Waltman came up with some big saves to preserve the lead. Seven minutes into the fourth, Alvarez was again on the board making it 14-10. The play was similar to his first goal as Jamie Harding fed Alvarez. Alvarez then turned on his defender and fired the ball in to give Missouri some breathing room. With under 4 minutes to play, the Riot pulled their goalkeeper opting for the sixth attacker. The Comets capitalized on the extra space behind their defense, as Stefan Stokic played a long ball over the top. The Riot's sixth attacker was unable to get his head on it and the ball fell to Beasley who was camping further down the field. He dribbled in and fired home to make it 16-10. Shortly after, Stokic picked up his first goal of the season putting the game away. Moura had received the ball at the top of the box, the Riot's sixth attacker was out of position, but with other defenders in his way he fed the ball to Stokic, who took a touch and fired a goal in to make it 18-10. With less than a minute left, Chicago finally got their sixth attacker goal, as Bato finished off his hattrick in a scramble on the goal line, but it was too little too late.
The Comets now go into Baltimore controlling their own destiny. A win and they make the playoffs, a loss and the Comets need to hope that Omaha doesn't beat Milwaukee. Comets fans though have to feel pretty good right now about their playoff hopes. Should Missouri make the playoffs, the game would be on Wednesday March 16th at 7:35 at the Events Center.
The one thing that worries me heading into this late part of the season is the Comets reliance on Alvarez. Alvarez is having himself a great season and certainly has to be the favorite for MVP with the way he's playing, but it's also worrisome as a Comets fan. He's been in fantastic form the past few weeks, but if he goes out I'm not sure Beasley and new signing Anthony Maher can pick up the slack. Hopefully Maher can compliment Alvarez and take a little pressure off though.
Comets Home Finale PBP
Comets' final home regular season game is today at 3:10 against the Chicago Riot. A win and Missouri puts themselves into a decent position for the final playoff spot. Here's your play by play for today's game.
Sporting KC Win MLS Desert Cup
KC didn't get the victory last night against the New York Red Bulls, but the 2-2 draw between the two gave Sporting KC the Desert Cup on goal difference. In a match that saw both sides put out their first team, Sporting KC twice took the lead, but twice the Red Bulls equalized. KC grabbed the lead in the 20th minute, when Davy Arnaud got on the end of a Kei Kamara cross making it 1-0. Only two minutes after KC took the lead New York was level. Jimmy Nielsen made a save on a shot by Dane Richards, but put the ball right into the path of Thierry Henry who finished it to tie the game. The two teams went into the half tied at 1-1.
Sporting KC once again grabbed the lead in the 61st minute from the penalty spot. CJ Sapong, who replaced Birahim Diop in the lineup when he was a late scratch, was brought down in the box by Tim Ream. Kamara took the penalty taking responsibility and sent Greg Sutton the wrong way. Fifteen minutes later New York was once again level, and once again the goal came from work by Richards and Henry. This time the roles were reversed though as Henry fed Richards who finished the opportunity.
Originally it was the thought the game would go to penalty kicks to decide the winner of the cup. In the end though the champion was decided by goal difference and with KC having the bigger win of the two on Friday night (6-1 of the Arizona Sahuaros compared to New York's 3-1 win over FC Tucson). So KC is going to be bringing home some silverware with them from Arizona.
Sporting KC once again grabbed the lead in the 61st minute from the penalty spot. CJ Sapong, who replaced Birahim Diop in the lineup when he was a late scratch, was brought down in the box by Tim Ream. Kamara took the penalty taking responsibility and sent Greg Sutton the wrong way. Fifteen minutes later New York was once again level, and once again the goal came from work by Richards and Henry. This time the roles were reversed though as Henry fed Richards who finished the opportunity.
Originally it was the thought the game would go to penalty kicks to decide the winner of the cup. In the end though the champion was decided by goal difference and with KC having the bigger win of the two on Friday night (6-1 of the Arizona Sahuaros compared to New York's 3-1 win over FC Tucson). So KC is going to be bringing home some silverware with them from Arizona.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Cyrus Gone From Camp, Not Being Signed
Trinidad and Tobago youth international, Daneil Cyrus is now gone from camp with Kansas City. Cyrus did not play in the team's double header against Portland and Montreal last weekend and was again not in the lineup last night when KC took on the Arizona Sahuaros. There'd been no word on what had happened to him but some were speculating that he was gone. Now we have confirmation of that as he's now back in his home country playing in the local league.
According to the article it looks like the move fell through when it came to discuss salary according to 1st Santa Rosa's coach, Keith Look Loy; "...the offer from the club was not accepted. They liked the player very much and agreed that he could be a big asset to them this season, but the numbers (were not) adding up."
With Cyrus gone from camp, that leaves Matt Besler, Mike Jones, Shavar Thomas and trialists Omar Colley and Julio Cesar Santos Correa. Santos Correa though did not play last weekend either and is apparently back in Spain at this time, but is still being looked at for a roster spot. Should KC lose out on Santos Correa as well, it's another blow for KC. Already fans are questioning the additions on defense as not being enough to upgrade from the problems that plagued the central of defense last year, and if Santos Correa isn't signed I don't think many fans are going to feel comfortable with Besler-Thomas partnership. Even if Santos Correa is signed there are still going to be a lot of questions asked of the upgrades the team has done.
According to the article it looks like the move fell through when it came to discuss salary according to 1st Santa Rosa's coach, Keith Look Loy; "...the offer from the club was not accepted. They liked the player very much and agreed that he could be a big asset to them this season, but the numbers (were not) adding up."
With Cyrus gone from camp, that leaves Matt Besler, Mike Jones, Shavar Thomas and trialists Omar Colley and Julio Cesar Santos Correa. Santos Correa though did not play last weekend either and is apparently back in Spain at this time, but is still being looked at for a roster spot. Should KC lose out on Santos Correa as well, it's another blow for KC. Already fans are questioning the additions on defense as not being enough to upgrade from the problems that plagued the central of defense last year, and if Santos Correa isn't signed I don't think many fans are going to feel comfortable with Besler-Thomas partnership. Even if Santos Correa is signed there are still going to be a lot of questions asked of the upgrades the team has done.
Big Preseason Win
KC has struggled to score goals this preseason, having scored a grand total of five in their previous six games. Last night in Tucson though, Sporting KC broke for six against the Arizona Sahuaros in their 6-1 win over the Arizona side. KC's line up was made up of players that are likely to all be on the Swope Park Rangers this year, the team's reserve side.
In the first half KC got on the board in the 35th minute when a Scott Lorenz corner was headed in my supplemental draft pick, Mike Jones. That was the only scoring of the first half as KC was the dominate side. In the second half the only remaining draft pick in camp that's not signed, Michal Mravec made it 2-0 after CJ Sapong laid a ball back to him. The provider turned scorer a little later as Lorenz again assisted on a goal. A cross by Lorenz was headed in by Sapong to make it 3-0.
Graham Zusi and Chance Myers combined on the next two goals. On the first Zusi played Myers through on a breakaway that the forward finished to make 4-0. Then for the next goal Myers laid a ball back to Zusi that he buried into the side netting for 5. Shortly after Zusi's goal, Arizona got themselves on the board through Jesse Baker who beat substitute Jon Kempin in net for KC.
Kempin was one of only two subs that KC made all game, the other saw Birahim Diop come on for Sapong in the 65th. KC finished out the scoring in stoppage time as trialist Sinisa Ubiparipovic scored to make it 6-1. Tonight we'll see more of a first team lineup as the Wizards will take on the New York Red Bulls.
In the first half KC got on the board in the 35th minute when a Scott Lorenz corner was headed in my supplemental draft pick, Mike Jones. That was the only scoring of the first half as KC was the dominate side. In the second half the only remaining draft pick in camp that's not signed, Michal Mravec made it 2-0 after CJ Sapong laid a ball back to him. The provider turned scorer a little later as Lorenz again assisted on a goal. A cross by Lorenz was headed in by Sapong to make it 3-0.
Graham Zusi and Chance Myers combined on the next two goals. On the first Zusi played Myers through on a breakaway that the forward finished to make 4-0. Then for the next goal Myers laid a ball back to Zusi that he buried into the side netting for 5. Shortly after Zusi's goal, Arizona got themselves on the board through Jesse Baker who beat substitute Jon Kempin in net for KC.
Kempin was one of only two subs that KC made all game, the other saw Birahim Diop come on for Sapong in the 65th. KC finished out the scoring in stoppage time as trialist Sinisa Ubiparipovic scored to make it 6-1. Tonight we'll see more of a first team lineup as the Wizards will take on the New York Red Bulls.
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