Desert Crown

Google Plus Page

2011-12-09T15:08:00.001-07:00

I've created and written a few short posts on a Desert Crown page over on Google Plus. Considering my post rate on this space has been far less than that I'm going to explore the idea of regularly posting to Google Plus.

You can visit the Desert Crown Google Plus page to see these posts as well as add your feedback if you so desire.

Utahn Update - 16 May 2011

2011-05-16T11:06:00.002-06:00

While Utah’s MLS side didn’t find the back of the net over the weekend, one of the state’s homegrown talents bagged himself a hat trick at Red Bull Arena.

MLS
Justin Braun (Salt Lake City) -- Tallied his first three goals of the season for Chivas USA in an impressive performance against the Red Bulls in New Jersey. His first strike, from just outside the penalty area, was particularly well taken.

Maikon Orellana (Provo) -- Started and went just over an hour for Real Salt Lake’s reserves in a 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.

WPS
Liz Bogus (Sandy) -- Scored her first goal of the 2011 season while going the full 90 minutes for the Boston Breakers in a 3-2 loss to Western New York.

Elli Reed (Park City) -- Came on in the second half and went 25 minutes for the Boston Breakers in a 3-2 loosing effort to Western New York.

Utahn Update - 12 July 2010

2010-07-12T07:39:00.002-06:00

It’s been a good week for Utah natives playing either professionally or internationally. Three out of the four notable players got on the score sheet, scoring a total of four goals among them. Following is a list of the players and their tie to the state in parenthesis.

MLS

Justin Braun (Salt Lake City) -- Scored a brace at Kansas City this weekend helping Chivas USA improve to a 4-9-2 record. Watch highlights of the Skyline HS alum twice hustle past the KC defense here.

WPS

Liz Bogus (Sandy, Utah) -- Played a full 90 for the Boston Breakers and cored her first WPS goal in a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Beat.

Katie Larkin (BYU; Draper, Utah) -- Started and played 70 minutes for the Atlanta Beat in a 3-1 losing effort over the weekend.

US National Team

Elli Reed (Park City, Utah) -- US U-23 WNT -- Opened the scoring for the US U-23 Women's National Team in a 3-1 win over England on July 3 as part of a four-nations tournament in Brighton, England. Reed also started in the second match on July 9, playing 59 minutes before coming off. The United States will close the tournament against Sweden.

US-England Watch Party at Green Street

2010-06-10T08:35:00.001-06:00

SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, June 9, 2010) – Real Salt Lake and Budweiser are proud to partner with Green Street – the popular Trolley Corners bar & restaurant – to host the largest viewing party in the state of Utah for this Saturday’s massive USA-England FIFA 2010 World Cup Group Stage opener in South Africa. The FREE viewing party at Green Street (602 East 500 South) – open only to fans 21 & older (no membership required) – will be open to the first 1,500 soccer-crazed fans that make it out to the venue on Saturday morning.

Green Street will be opening its doors at 9:00 a.m., allowing patrons the chance to get comfortable and pick the best spots for viewing the match on any one of its 34 televisions before kickoff approaches at 12:00 noon. Drink and food specials will be available all day, and Real Salt Lake will be on hand to hold drawings for authentic adidas Jabulani World Cup Game Balls and autographed RSL merchandise. While fans at Green Street will be watching the USA begin its chase after the most prestigious trophy in sports, they will also have the opportunity to get their picture taken with another impressive piece of hardware, the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy that RSL acquired via its 2009 MLS Cup championship.

In addition to the huge USA-England match-up, Green Street will cater to soccer fans throughout the next month, as the massive venue will open its doors to screen all 64 matches during FIFA South Africa 2010. For more information, visit the Green Street website at www.GreenStreetSLC.com.

Utahan Update - April 15

2010-04-15T22:05:00.008-06:00

Utah's professional players didn't fare well this last week, as only one of the three made an appearance. Although, there are at least three players of the younger generations with ties to Utah who have been called into upcoming training camps for the U.S. National Team.

Justin Braun (Salt Lake City) -- Dressed, but did not play in Chivas USA's 2-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls this last weekend.

Liz Bogus (Sandy, Utah) -- Did not dress for the Boston Breakers' 2-1 victory over the Washington Freedom.

Katie Larkin (Draper, Utah) -- Came on for the Atlanta Beat in the 90th minute of a 0-0 draw with the Philadelphia Independence. It was the inaugural match for both clubs.

Elli Reed (Park City, Utah) -- US U-23 WNT -- As mentioned last week Reed will train with the U-23 WNT April 18-25 in Corvallis, OR. Reed is no stranger to the national team system as she was a member of the US U-20 squad that won the World Cup in 2008.

Lindsi Lisonbee (BYU; Park City, Utah) -- US U-20 WNT -- A press-release from US Soccer included Lisonbee in the line up for the U-20 WNT camp that is currently gathered in Carson, Calif. Although, the information can not be confirmed on ussoccer.com. Interestingly enough, when Lisonbee is on the roster Cloee Colohan is not.

Cloee Colohan (West Point, Utah) -- US U-20 WNT -- According to ussoccer.com Colohan was called into camp with the U-20 WNT that convenes this week. Although, Colohan's name was missing from a recent press-release, she remains on the roster on the website.

Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake) -- US U-18 MNT -- The RSL teenage sensation, who made an appearance for the professional side in US Open Cup play this week, will train with the U-18 MNT at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. April 25-May 2.

Opening Day Jitters

2010-04-13T14:07:00.001-06:00

Saturday was a special day in Sandy. With the recognition of the 2009 MLS Cup Champions, a full house, and a new season to open at Rio Tinto Stadium, there was an electric feel to the evening. The buzz was enough to affect not only the play on the field, but also the team operations off the field. My thoughts on opening day need to be prefaced by the fact that I spent the first 20 minutes of the match standing in the ticket line on the west side of Rio Tinto Stadium. Due to some travel plans I wasn't sure if I would be attending the match and did not purchase a ticket in advance of the contest. Instead, I had the privilege of mingling with the masses who were trying to pick up tickets either previously purchased or grab a few of the remaining for sale. From the murmurs of the crowd, I gathered that RSL did not mail out season tickets, but rather informed holders to simply arrive early to pick up their tickets. This led to excessive congestion that ensued, causing many to miss much of the first half. If what I heard was true, the team should really rethink this process.

About the match, it's a very similar story for RSL. The team played well as a whole for most of the match. Seattle is a solid team, who will most likely be involved in the postseason. With only a pair of scoring chances through the entire match, the Sounders capitalized on both of them. The Salt Lake defense was solid. But, to be elite, as head coach Jason Kreis requests, they can't allow such chances. Teams will pounce, much like Seattle did.

RSL controlled the tempo with dominating midfield possession. Even while switching out the pieces due to injury there didn't seem to be much of a let down. Nelson Gonzalez was a lot of fun to watch on the left flank. He's crafty on the ball through traffic, speedy on the attack, and a great crosser of the ball - as seen on the late service to Alvaro Saborio that led to the equalizing goal in extra time. Gonzalez appears to be another fantastic addition to the league's most solid midfield.

What a difference a goal makes. Before Saborio's header in the 94th minute I was ready to rant about poor finishing and wasted chances. But all of that frustration is gone with a great snap header. Add Will Johnson's fantastic diving header just after halftime and you have some feel good moments to counter balance the weight of two fatal defensive lapses.

Utahan Update - Apr. 8

2010-04-08T10:31:00.002-06:00

With the summer seasons of the American professional leagues get started this month Desert Crown will follow the progress of players with ties to the state of Utah. If you know of any other players who are getting paid to play, and are not included in the list below, please let us know so we can keep everyone informed.

MLS

Justin Braun - CD Chivas USA (MLS) - Started and played 81 minutes in a loosing effort in the El Classico with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Chivas will host the red hot Red Bulls of New York on Saturday, April 10.

WPS

The Woman's Professional Soccer season is set to kickoff on April 10th. The off season saw the demise of WPS finalists LA Sol, which housed both of the representatives from Utah in Katie Larkin and Liz Bogus. As the roster dispersed through out the league Larkin ended up with the 2010 WPS Expansion side, the Atlanta Beat and Bogus is in Boston playing for the Breakers. The Beat came out on the winning end of a 2-1 pre-season match against Boston this week. Bogus made an appearance in the match as a substitute.

Bogus and the Breakers will open the 2010 season on the road against the Washington Freedom on Saturday, April 10. While Larkin and the Beat will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Independence in a battle of the 2010 expansion teams.

U.S. National Team

U-23 WNT - Park City's Elli Reed has been called into a training camp with the Under-23 Women's National Team at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., from April 18-25. Reed, currently a student at the University of Portland, was included in the list of 24 of the nation's best collegiate players who will train under coach Bill Irwin and then face Oregon State and the University of Portland.

U-20 WNT - After a shortened freshman season at Portland, Cloee Colohan will rejoin the U.S. National Team system as part of the U-20 squad preparing for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany later this year. Head coach Jill Ellis will bring 26 players to a training camp April 11–18 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Ellis will have one more domestic training camp in May, followed by a trip to Germany in June before she selects her 21-player roster to represent the USA at the World Cup in late July.

2009 Road Form Returns for RSL

2010-04-05T14:00:00.003-06:00

As a defender for much of my playing days, I really enjoy watching Jamison Olave - most of the time. A few seasons back I heard on opposing coach mention of Olave, that he was a solid defender but that he was good for at least one major mistake per game. Ever since I heard that I've noticed Olave's weak moments, and have discovered that the coach's statement was extremely accurate on most occasions.

On Thursday Olave was good for two mistakes. To hasty challenges resulted in two penalties pounded in by Brad Davis.

The title of this entry is a bit misleading, as the Champions were able to score. The build up was pristine, with the finish matching the entire play in quality. With only two games done, RSL have now nearly reached their halfway point on road goals scored from 2009. So, on that level, the overall match wasn't bad.

Does anyone really know what got into Fabian Espindola's head toward the end of the match when tried to take an unsolicited piggyback ride on Houston's Bobby Boswell? All I can say is that Espi got away with flipping out on the pitch and not getting sent off.

My final point I wanted to bring up was regarding Robbie Findley. Even though he hasn't found his scoring touch this season, his first touch continues to make me smile. Watch when Findley receives a pass. Last year the ball would bounce a little away from him, and in tight spots he would lose it. This year the ball is staying tight to his body, keeping the striker in complete possession of the ball - even in tight spaces.

Nearly Perfect Start for RSL

2010-03-29T08:38:00.000-06:00

Real Salt Lake did something on Saturday that has never happened in the five previous seasons of the franchises history - they won their season opening match. Riding on a pair of ridiculous strikes from playmaker Javier Morales, RSL cruised to a convincing 3-0 victory on the road at San Jose.

Talk about playing with something to prove, RSL scored a third as many goals at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday as they scored the entire 2009 season on the road. All three goals came from the Argentine of Morales and Fabian Espindola. It's so good to see those two combining again.

The movement of the ball by Salt Lake was as impressive as last year. Lots of short passing in tight spaces, and lots of quick one-touches to get out of sticky situations. Speaking of touch, there was one player who appears to have really worked on his initial contact with the ball, and that's striker Robbie Findley. It is apparent that his experience with the US National Team over the off season has helped Findley corral and then protect the ball. He wasn't perfect at it, but he was much improved since last season.

Even though the team can gain a lot of confidence with this historic season opening win, it's hard to really gauge Salt Lake's true quality as San Jose appears to be a team in utter disarray. RSL dominated the midfield play, but there were times - especially late in the game - where the Earthquakes were dangerous on the attack and the Salt Lake defense suffered a lapse in concentration. Having Rimando's deflection save hit the post, on a point plank strike from Arturo Alvarez, was a stroke of fantastic luck. I would think that any team better than San Jose would have scored with the chances created late in the match, but the bounces seemed to go Salt Lake's way. A much stiffer test will come this Thursday when the Champions travel to Houston to take on the ever consistent, Tang-clad, Dynamo.

Those are my thoughts. What did you think of Salt Lake's performance on Saturday night in San Jose?

2010 Outlook for Real Salt Lake

2010-03-27T15:57:00.001-06:00

With the signing of the collective bargaining agreement, and then after watching the Philadelphia Union and Seattle Sounders kick off the season on Wednesday night, I officially have Real Salt Lake on the brain. Most of the preseason conversation has revolved around whether the 2009 cup title was a one and down deal, and how the team will react to the departure of Yura Movsisyan.

Here are some of things that I've been thinking about for the upcoming RSL season.

1. Consistency

With the exception of the 2009 playoffs, and possibly the extreme latter part of the 2008 regular season, consistency has never been a word that describes Real Salt Lake. As head coach Jason Kreis has mentioned in the news recently, last year RSL was a slightly below .500 team. The necessary player talent is on the roster, and I believe that we're seeing Kreis developing into one of the great young coaches in this country. Everything seems to be in place for RSL to compete and win. Now the players need to prove that the MLS Cup winners badge on their shirts isn't a fluke.

2. Can wins be found on the road

Going 2-11-2 on the road is dismal, and can not be expected to get the team back into the playoffs. A positive thought is that the 2009 playoffs largely took place outside of Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL was forced to come up with results on the road in Columbus and Chicago. Those results should help with confidence. Combine that with the fact that the 2010 champaign opens on the road with the West's weakest team, there is no better opposition with which to gain confidence for the rest of the summer.

3. Will CCL or US Open Cup be taken seriously

This question has been lingering in my brain since coming down from the whole cup victory. Historically, not many MLS teams take the Open Cup seriously until that later rounds. As far as the CONCACAF Champions League, that's a mixed bag. I don't think it will come down to whether RSL will take the competition seriously, I think it will all depend on how the MLS season is going when the Champions League begins in August. With MLS rosters as they are at this point in time, the teams realistically don't have the depth to simultaneously be competitive in league and Champions League play. If RSL is sitting in a comfortable spot toward the top of the MLS table in August, than I would expect to be able to afford to rest their starters for MLS matches and make some noise in the Champions League.

MLS CBA Details Released

2010-03-23T13:09:00.004-06:00

This picture represents my excitement for the coming season. I can almost smell the grass at Rio Tinto Stadium. But, enough dreaming. As I have received a lot of questions about Major League Soccer's recently signed collective bargaining agreement, I figured I would pass along the press release of details that was issued today in its entirety. How do you think it turned out for the players? How about for the owners? Did anyone "win"? Also, can you find Real Salt Lake's player representative in the picture?

NEW YORK (Tuesday, March 23, 2010) – Following Saturday’s announcement of a new collective bargaining agreement between Major League Soccer (MLS) and the MLS Players Union (Players Union), the League today announced key elements of the five-year agreement.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, player salaries are guaranteed to increase each year league-wide, and the individual minimum player salaries also will continue to grow. The new agreement also includes improvements to players’ quality of life such as meals, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for relocation costs and player appearances.

The agreement is subject to the approval of the MLS Board of Governors and the membership of the Players Union.

The following are the key points agreed to by MLS and the Players Union in their new five-year collective bargaining agreement:

* TERM: 2010 – 2014.

* GUARANTEED CONTRACTS: The CBA provides for guaranteed contracts for all players who are at least 24 years old with three years of MLS service. The majority of the players in the League will have guaranteed contracts each season.

· SALARY BUDGET: An increase of the salary budget from $2.315 million per club in 2009 to $2.55 million in 2010 (10.15%) and an increase of 5% per year thereafter.

· An increase of the minimum salary for senior roster players from $34,000 in 2009 to $40,000 in 2010 (17.64%) and an increase of 5% per year thereafter.

* PLAYER MOVEMENT: While there will be no bidding by MLS clubs against each other for out-of-contract players, the League will establish a “re-entry draft” for players who are out of contract. Although the specific parameters of that draft are being finalized, it will address players in each of the following categories:

o Option Not Exercised

A player who is at least 23 years old with three years of MLS service and whose option is not exercised will be placed in a re-entry draft and made available to all clubs at his option salary.

o Contract Terminated

A player who is at least 22 years old with one year of MLS service and who is asked to take a pay cut after contract termination will be placed in a re-entry draft and made available to all clubs at his current salary.

o Contract Expires

A player who is at least 30 years old with eight years of MLS service and whose contract has expired will be placed in a re-entry draft unless his team makes him a qualified offer that must be at least 105% of his last salary. If placed in the re-entry draft, the player will be made available to all clubs at a salary equal to 105% of his last salary.

A player who is at least 25 years of age with at least four years of MLS service whose contract has expired will be placed in a re-entry draft unless his team offers him a base salary of at least as much as the base salary paid to him in the last year of his contract. If placed in the re-entry draft, the player will be made available to all clubs at a salary equal to the salary in the final year of his contract.

* OPTIONS IN PLAYER CONTRACTS: A limit on the number of options in player contracts to two for players who are at least 25 years old with four years of MLS service. Contracts for all other players may have up to three options.

o For players whose annual compensation is less than $125,000, the minimum increase in base salary will be 10% for players who play in at least 66% of his club’s games and 12.5% for players who play in at least 75% of his club’s games.

· PLAYER BENEFITS: The CBA includes a package of benefits that include increases in 401K contributions by the League, appearance fees, per diem when travelling and relocation expense reimbursement. Among the additional player benefits in the CBA are full health care benefits for every player and his family at no cost, 401(k) contributions and expanded insurance benefits.

· BONUSES FOR WINS AND EXHIBITIONS: The CBA includes a package of bonuses for wins in MLS games and international tournaments as well as appearance fees for international exhibitions.

* GROUP LICENSE: The League and Players Union reached agreement on an extension of the Group License that will run through 2015 (a year longer than the CBA).

* RESERVE DIVISION: MLS and the Players Union will establish a joint committee to study the re-launch of a Reserve Division. In the event the rosters are expanded, the salary for those players will be a minimum of $31,250 with additional annual increases.
Photo Credit: Jose Argueta/MLS

RSL's Championship Cup Tour

2010-01-26T13:13:00.002-07:00

Real Salt Lake will be partnering with several area businesses to bring the MLS Cup trophy to communities across the state of Utah.

Through out the month of February Utah's first major league sports title winners will tour with its prize to 35 different locations.

“Since we brought the MLS Cup back from Seattle in November, we have wanted to ensure that our fans from all across the State of Utah feel pride and ownership in what the club has achieved,” said Real Salt Lake President Bill Manning. “Fostering and nurturing the support of all Utahns is of the utmost important to us, and we hope this tour can provide a small measure of thanks to our followers from Logan, to St. George, to all points in between.”

The following itinerary appears quite extensive. Pretty much, if you live anywhere in Utah you can have an opportunity to get your picture with the cup. Be sure to head out and show the team your support.

WEEK ONE:
Sunday, Jan. 31:             Appearance on KUTV 2’s Talkin’ Sports (10:35 p.m. MT)
Monday, Feb. 1:              Kickoff in Salt Lake City @ KUTV 2News Studios; then to
                                          Manila (Daggett County) and Vernal (Uintah County)
Tuesday, Feb. 2:             Duchesne (Duchesne County) and Price (Carbon County)
Wednesday, Feb. 3:        Castle Dale (Emery County) and Moab (Grand County)
Thursday, Feb. 4:            Monticello (San Juan County) and Kanab (Kane County)
Fri./Sat., Feb. 5-6:            St. George (Washington County)
Sunday, Feb. 7:               Off day

WEEK TWO:
Monday, Feb. 8:              Cedar City and Parowan (Iron County)
Tuesday, Feb. 9:             Panguitch (Garfield County) and Junction (Piute County)
Wednesday, Feb. 10:      Loa (Wayne County) and Richfield (Sevier County)
Thursday, Feb. 11:          Beaver (Beaver County) and Fillmore (Millard County)
Friday, Feb. 12:               Nephi (Juab County) and Manti and Ephraim (Sanpete County)
Feb. 13-15:                       Off days

WEEK THREE:
Tuesday, Feb. 16:           Provo and Orem (Utah County)
Wednesday, Feb. 17:      Park City (Summit) and Heber City (Wasatch Counties)
Thursday, Feb. 18:          Tooele (Tooele County)
Friday, Feb. 19:               Bountiful (Davis County)
February 20-21:               Off days

WEEK FOUR:
Monday, Feb. 22:            Layton and Hill Air Force Base (Davis County)
Tuesday, Feb. 23:           Ogden (Weber County)
Wednesday, Feb. 24:      Ogden and Morgan (Morgan County)
Thursday, Feb. 25:          Brigham City and Tremonton (Box Elder County)
Friday, Feb. 26:               Logan (Cache County)
Saturday, Feb. 27:           Randolph (Rich County)
Sunday, Feb. 28:             Salt Lake City – KUTV 2 Studios – Talkin’ Sports (Salt Lake County)

For more details on the tour you can visit www.RealSaltLake.com.

Wingert Racing for Charity

2009-12-19T01:20:00.004-07:00

Fresh off of helping Real Salt Lake capture the 2009 MLS Cup title, defender Chris Wingert is now taking on professional athletes from other sports in a race of giving.

Out of 60 athletes from various professional sports such as skateboard-icon Tony Hawk and the Pheonix Suns' Steven Nash, Wingert currently sits in fourth place on the money raising leader-board. The idea of the competition is to see who can raise the most money for his/her charity of choice by January 15, 2010.

Wingert's cause, Rural Ghana Children's Aid, seeks to provide, "sustainable education for children in rural Ghana through community collaboration. Community matches each dollar raised thrugh self-sustaining model. Academic instruction, cultural identity, sports."

The leader so far is Major League Soccer's own Diego Gutierrez with, 'Nothing But Nets' malaria prevention. Hawk, who currently sits in second place, is raising money to build a skatepark in Watts. While the third best money raiser - at press time - was Nash who is fighting for Educare Arizona - a world-class preschool for at-risk children ages birth to five years, with teacher training, public policy and health platforms to ameliorate lives of families in poverty.

Donations will be accepted until January 15. "The athletes who raise the most money on behalf of his/her project in that time, and those who receive the greatest number of donations will win additional bounty awards of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500, respectively (total of $30,000 in bounty awards)," said the Athletes For Hope site.

For a current view of the Athletes For Hope leader-board, go here.

Colohan Called into U-20 U.S. Camp

2009-12-09T12:34:00.001-07:00

The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team will be gathering to Sunrise, Fla. this Saturday for a week long training camp. Among the 24 players invited is Utah's own Cloee Colohan from West Point.

Colohan is a veteran of the U.S. Soccer system, captaining both the U-17 and U-20 WNT in previous tournaments. After playing two years for Syracuse High School, Colohan turned her soccer focus to her club, Black Diamond SC, and the national team. She began her NCAA career with the Portland Pilots this last fall. Although her freshman season for the Pilots was shortened to just five appearances due to a leg injury that she suffered early on. Her Pilots team-mate, Eli Reed from Park City, appeared in all 22 of Portland's games, scoring three goals while assisting two others.

United States head coach Jillian Ellis will use the camp to make some final decisions on a roster that will represent the United States at the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Qualifying Tournament that will send three nations to Germany for the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The qualifying tournament will be held in Guatemala from Jan. 19-30, at the 17,000-seat Estadio Cementos Progreso. The roster is filled with players coming off excellent college seasons, including UCLA forward Sydney Leroux, the only holdover from the U.S. team that won the 2009 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile. Leroux, who won the Golden Ball as the best player in that tournament, scored 23 goals for the Bruins this season. The roster includes just five players not yet in college in defender Crystal Dunn, midfielders Elizabeth Eddy, Samantha Mewis and Jenna Richmond and forward Maya Hayes. Dunn, Eddy and Mewis represented the USA in New Zealand. Richmond would have made that roster if not for a knee injury. Ellis will add two more players to the roster before camp begins.

MLS Cup Diaries: History Witnessed

2009-11-30T11:16:00.005-07:00

More than a few days removed and I am only beginning to wrap my head around what transpired in Seattle last Sunday. There was the beautiful setting of Qwest Field parked just south of the scenic skyline of the Emerald City. There were the masses swarming the large stadium and crowding the surrounding streets, filling the air with song. The March to the Match was a perfect prelude to such a match. And, what a match that was!

Of all the images that come to mind from that weekend, Robbie Russell spinning and then dropping to his knees after drilling home the decisive penalty kick will always be the first thing. I barely watched the ball go in before erupting into my out spastic celebration - eventually bruising my shins on the seats in front of me. Looking out over the penalty area all I remember seeing was Russell kneeling by himself fists clinched in celebration.

My view of that memorable scene was perfect. Thanks to my Sounders season ticket holding cousin, Julie, who informed me of open seats next to hers on row K in section 112. During the mid-game intermission I left my initial locaction high in section 335 and joined her family for a much closer view.

It wasn't until I made my move from the west to the east sideline that I fully appreciated the enormous sea of red in the upper deck taking over sections 338 and 337 almost entirely. They stood as one, and sang as one. They looked fantastic and sounded even better.

As mentioned over on MLS Talk, the RSL support appeared to outnumber the LA Galaxy support by at least 3 to 1. This was never more apparent than during the pre-game festivities, especially the March to the Match.

The RSL brass showed a stroke of genius setting up shop at McRory's, the closest pub to Qwest Field. Everyone who walked up Occidental Ave. to the be part of the pre-game procession had to pass the boisterous party of red-clad supporters singing in full voice. The amount of red being worn and waved was more than impressive. As you made your way toward Occidental Park the scene didn't change, it only intensified. RSL was extremely well represented in the streets.

Just before the start of the March, the Sounders marching band entered Occidental Park and entertained all those who could hear them over the RSL chants with a spirited version of Muse's 'Knights of Cydonia.' Following the song the band moved into position, played Pennywise's 'Bro Hymn', and then proceeded to lead the March down Occidental Ave.

After joining voices with the thousands of others during the walk toward the stadium, to say I was pumped was an understatement. That's why what followed is my only regret of the night.

For some reason I was drawn to Third Eye Blind playing a short concert in the parking lot outside the stadium. The music was fine, but the energy was no where near that of the chanting crowds in the streets. The disparity was so great that I actually found myself quite relaxed while passing through the gates into Qwest Field. Of course, that all changed when I saw the packed sections of RSL supporters and was immersed in their energy.

The various pockets of red brought the passion for much of the match. Although, I have to admit. There was one point in the first half where the Sounders fans broke into their call-and-response chant of, "Seattle! Sounders!" that reminded us all whose house we were in. The sheer volume, at least from where I was sitting, was inspiring.

The post-game celebrations both in Seattle and back in Utah were things that I missed. My return flight, although very affordable, landed me back to Salt Lake late Tuesday. Although, if I had the choice again I would make the same decision.

That's why when I saw the few other red-clad supporters on the flight Tuesday evening their expressions reflected that of my own. We were tired, and ready to be home. But, we had one thing in common. We had witnessed history.

MLS Cup Diaries: To the Emerald City!

2009-11-22T12:29:00.003-07:00

In a series of events almost as unlikely as Real Salt Lake's, I am on my way to Seattle for MLS Cup 2009. It still doesn't seem real.

Once I calmed down after Nick Rimando's stonewalling performance during the shootout against Chicago, and Ned Grabavoy's decisive penalty found net I knew I had to find a way to Seattle.

That same excitement started, and got the best of me, that fantastic final night of the regular season when RSL took care of business against Colorado, and the other needed pieces were falling into place. Real was getting the job done against the Rapids in convincing fashion, and I was making friends with random strangers sitting next to me as I excitedly announced updates from the other MLS games.

"Kansas City just scored!" I reported while practically hugging the partly puzzled person next to me.

That euphoric night was followed by three more where RSL marched right through the playoffs leaving the defending champion Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire, with Blanco and McBride, in their wake.

The funds for making such a trip were available thanks to a recently cashed savings bond given to me when I entered this world - so we won't discuss how old the bond really was. Needless to say, the girl at the bank had never seen one of it's kind before.

JetBlue's last minute offer was good enough to skip a couple full days of driving through rumors of snow storms and mountain passes. Arriving at the Salt Lake airport, more than a few passengers were seen wearing their claret-and-cobalt. Probably 40% of our initial flight to Long Beach was dressed for the game.

The packed terminal in the LBC showed more MLS supporters heading up the coast to the Emerald City for the season's final game. Red far outnumbered Galaxy blue among the masses, but the excitement was unmistakable. Fans of each side communicated with knowing glances, smiles and nods.

While walking out to our plane that would take us to Seattle I struck up a conversation with a guy wearing an LA Riot Squad shirt, where we both lamented about the poor ticket distribution to each teams supporters. We couldn't help but to shoot verbal jabs at each other through the conversation, but all remained friendly. One thing was for certain. Everything was feeling very real now.

Game on.

Sparta Striker Called Into U-14 GNT Camp

2009-08-24T17:30:00.001-06:00

One of Utah's youth players is training with the United States U-14 Girls' National Team this week at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California this week.

Darian Jenkins, a striker from Harriman, plays her club soccer for Sparta Premier and is among the 36 players invited into camp after competing at the 101-player U.S. U-14 Girls’ National Team I.D. Camp in Pomona, Calif earlier this summer.

In this week's training camp, run by U.S. national staff coach Mike Dickey, Jenkins will take part in a week of training and games against local club sides. All of the 36 players were born in 1995 and are looking toward competing in the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The Most Important of the Six Goals

2009-04-29T12:03:00.003-06:00

I know that Real Salt Lake would rather all of us not think about their Open Cup debacle from last night, obviously there wasn't much thought put into the match on their part. So, I'm going to focus my remarks on the joy and joyness that was last Saturday. I mean, can you really talk too much about a 6-0 victory? I didn't think so.

When there are six goals scored in a single match there is a lot to talk about, and a lot to think back on as far as offense is concerned. It will be hard to forget the absolutely wicked volley from Clint Mathis, struck out of the air from a Javiar Morales corner. And, and precise placement of Andy Williams' freekick late in the match was also worthy to be considered one of the best of the week. Let's not forget Jamison Olave's pile driving header to start the scoring, and ultimately win the game.

Although each of those goals were great and memorable, speaking outside the scope of the match itself and looking at the bigger picture, the other three were probably more important for RSL as a team. From this perspective the most important goal was scored by Yura Movsisyan. Last season's playoff hero has lead the team in shots in nearly every game this season and had yet to find the twine until 70 minutes into game Saturday when he got onto the end of a nifty pass from Mathis, and finished into the far sidenetting.

Goal scorers need score goals in order to stay confident and hungry. Hopefully for RSL, Movsisyan finding the net on Saturday will lead to many more through out the season.

It was good for Robbie Findley to get one on Saturday, but not vital. The team's leading scorer has already scored a hat trick this season, and has been brooding with confidence. Contributing to a rout can only do positive things for the guy.

And, finally, there is Luis Miguel Escalada. The much anticipated signing from Argentina opening his account for RSL. Escalada made a nice run for Ned Grabavoy to set him up, and then buried his finish. An encouraging sight for RSL supporters. Now the hope is that Escalada can produce such results regularly and pressure Findley and Movsisyan for playing time.

Utahns in the Pros

2009-04-22T13:01:00.003-06:00

Liz Bogus - Since joining the Los Angeles Sol, days after the team's historic first match, Liz Bogus has appeared in every match. She opened her WPS career by starting and playing 70 minutes up top for the Sol in their victory over the Sky Blues in New Jersey. Last week, in LA's 1-0 win over FC Gold Pride, Bogus came on as a substitute in the 67th minute.

Katie Larkin - After not appear for the Sol in their victory over the Sky Blues, Katie Larkin appeared briefly against Gold Pride, coming on in the 92nd minute of the match.

Justin Braun - Sprained his knee a few weeks back and has not dress for Chivas USA in their last three matches.

Utahn Anchors U-20 Women's National Team

2009-04-16T16:07:00.005-06:00

Another diamond in the Utah soccer system is a player graduating from Syracuse High School this spring, and who co-captained the U.S. U-17 Womens National Team at the World Cup in 2008. That diamond is central defender Cloee Colohan.

The name of the West Point native may be new to the even avid followers of the high school game across the state. That's because Colohan has opted not to play for Syracuse HS, but rather focus on her club Black Diamond SC as well as the U.S. Youth National Team.

With the U-17 WNT Colohan anchored the backline of a U.S. team that took second at the U-17 Women's World Cup last summer in New Zealand. Her talents made her an invaluable member of that team, playing more minutes than any other player in the poll during the year.

Colohan's future with U.S. Soccer appears to be very bright. She captained the U-20 WNT for the La Manga tournament held in Spain last month. Playing in all three matches of the tournament, Colohan helped the U.S. to a 1-1-1 finish. Colohan will also be included with the rest of the U-20 WNT as they gather for a training camp to be held at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, April 25-May 3.

Following her graduation from Syracuse this spring, Colohan will continue her education and playing career with the Pilots of the University of Portland. The Pilots are a perennial national power that have consistently finished in the top 10 for the last several years. With her extensive international experience, Colohan should be able to provide a nice contribution to an already prolific NCAA program.

LaVell Edwards Stadium considered for USA World Cup Bid

2009-04-08T17:05:00.000-06:00

The USA Bid Committee, organized to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022, mailed letters to stadium operators in various metropolitan markets across the country last week.

Among the 70 stadiums in the 50 metropolitan areas considered was Brigham Young University's LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. Although the stadium is listed as part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The markets considered range in size from New York City, where the new Meadowlands Stadium will open in 2010 in nearby East Rutherford, N.J., to college town markets such as Lincoln, Neb., and Fayetteville, Ark. See the article from US Soccer for a complete list of the stadiums contacted.

The letters mailed last week from the USA Bid Committee to public officials and stadium operators throughout the United States outline the bid process and criteria for venue selection. FIFA calls for each bidding nation to propose a minimum of 12 stadiums, each capable of seating 40,000 or more spectators. Stadiums with a minimum capacity of 80,000 are required by FIFA for consideration to play host to the Opening Match and Final Match. Out of the 70 stadiums under consideration, more than 65 have a capacity above 60,000, and more than 20 have a capacity above 80,000.

LaVell Edwards Stadium sits right in the middle of the seating ranges required by FIFA with a capacity of 64,045. Its natural grass surface makes the Provo venue more favorable than the next largest stadium in the state up in Salt Lake City, Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, that holds 45,017.

RSL Schedule Wallpaper

2009-04-06T13:16:00.003-06:00

When I'm not blogging about the world's game I spend most of my days as a mild mannered software developer. While playing around with some code a few weeks back I wrote a little application that creates a desktop wallpaper for your computer.

Essentially, I use the nighttime image of Rio Tinto Stadium, that is available for purchase in the Desert Crown store, as a background. Then I pull the RSL schedule straight off of their site and write it to the image. The result is a wallpaper that updates when ever the RSL site updates. For a geek, such as myself, it was fun to make. And, what fun is making something without sharing it?

Grab your own updating Real Salt Lake season schedule wallpaper here and let me know what you think.

WPS: Larkin debuts in opener, Bogus signs with Sol

2009-04-04T16:12:00.003-06:00

The dawn of Womens Professional Soccer burned bright on Sunday afternoon as the Los Angeles Sol took on the Washington Freedom at the Home Depot Center. The state of Utah was represented in the match by Draper-native Katie Larkin, who patrolled the left flank for the duration of the second half.

Larkin spent most of her time hugging the sideline, providing an outside option for her teammates to spread the field. She recorded no shots in the Sol's 2-0 victory.

In the same week that Larkin took the field in WPS action for the Sol the Los Angeles squad signed Provo-native Liz Bogus to a developmental contract. Bogus spent the WPS preseason training with the FC Gold Pride but was let go when rosters were finalized. The Sol wasted little time as Bogus was reported to be training with the team within days of being cut from the Gold Pride.

Since graduating Brighton High School, Bogus played three years at Arizona State University before moving on to play for the Pali Blues of the USL W-League in 2008. Incidentally, the Blues took the W-League title that season. Bogus played in nine matches while scoring four goals and setting up another.

The Sol will travel across the country for their second match as they face Sky Blue FC at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ. The match takes place Sunday, April 5. Kickoff is slated for 4pm ET.

Goals Runneth Over for RSL in Home Opener

2009-04-03T19:08:00.002-06:00

The first hat trick in team history, during MLS play, provided by Robbie Findley and a sublime header from Kyle Beckerman lifted Real Salt Lake to its first home opening win since 2005. In their wake, RSL left the reigning MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew disheveled, reeling from their worst loss since May of 2007.

From the opening whistle the frontmen for RSL, Findley and Yura Movsisyan, relentlessly badgered the Crew defense. Their pressure forced a lot of rushed passes that were either poor decisions or off the mark. A prime example of this was Findley's second goal when a clearance from Columbus goalkeeper Will Hesmer went straight to Findley, who easily dribbled around Hesmer and tapped the ball into an empty net.

People can say that the first two of Findley's goals were scrappy, and that's because they were. He was incredibly opportunistic and buried the easy chances. Will Johnson rifled a superb freekick that led to Findley's goal in the second minute of play. The power and the accuracy of Johnson's shot is what led to Hesmers poor deflection and ultimately Findley scoring the goal.

Findley's header, that ironically completed the hat trick, was pure quality. Rising high above his defender he pounded the ball back across the goal, and behind Hesmer's momentum. Beckerman crashing the near post on a corner, for the fourth RSL goal, was also textbook. If my youth coaches would have been watching I'm sure they would have paused the tape and pointed out Beckerman's movement to the near bar and Nat Borchers shifting to the far bar. Great set piece execution from Salt Lake.

A surprising aspect of RSL's play in their first two games this season is the role of Clint Mathis. I'll admit, last year I was leery of Cletus' return to the Claret-and-Cobalt. With the expectations of his past in mind I was quick to point out his faults when he would fail to score goals. But scoring goals is not what Mathis is about this time around. I've realized in the last week that Mathis is, in a sense, the glue. Javiar Morales is the playmaker and lead creator on this team, there is no arguing that. But, Mathis is the steady presense that keeps things moving. He'll provide devastating passes, as we saw in Seattle when he led Movsisyan on a breakaway in the second half. He'll track back and chase the ball down when ever Salt Lake doesn't have it.

At the Rio Tinto Stadium Open House someone next to me asked if I was a Clint Mathis fan or hater. I weaseled out of an answer by stating some plus and some minuses about the player. But, after seeing his performance so far this season, I would have to say I'm sliding more toward a Mathis supporter.

After getting torched for his performance in Seattle, I find it only fair to point out that Tony Beltran did a lot to restore my trust on Thursday night. He looked much more comfortable, and had a much better time tracking the Crew attackers. This might be an indicator of the quality the Sounders possess, but either way Beltran was much improved in his second match this season.

And finally, there has to be something said about Yura. The man is giving every ounce of effort in trying to score goals, and it hasn't happened yet. In Seattle he missed a blatant sitter, and at home against Columbus he just couldn't get that final touch to go in. His work rate, like everyone of the players under head coach Jason Kreis, is topnotch. He's getting himself in dangerous situations, and I think the goals will come. Although, if he continues to be in those spots and fails to score soon his confidence could suffer. There are only so many times a player can miss before he starts to wonder if he can ever make it. But, I don't think that Movsisyan has reached that point yet.

Utah's Kelly Isleib Called into U-23 WNT Camp

2009-04-03T11:40:00.002-06:00

University of Utah forward Kelly Isleib has been called into the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team camp that will be convening in Portland, Oregon in April.

The Park City native was also an Under-20 U.S. National team pool player in 2006, although she torn an ACL in January of the same year.

Isleib led the Utes in scoring this past season with six goals and six assists for 18 points, and she set the Utah school record for most assists in a single season with 13.

The U-23 WNT will train in Portland from April 11-19 and play a series of matches against college teams including Oregon State, the University of Washington, and the University of Portland. The camp is aimed at preparing the team for a possible European tour this summer.

(photo courtesy uofusoccer.blogspot.com)

RSL drop opener...again

2009-03-30T17:26:00.003-06:00

It wasn't the start that Real Salt Lake wanted, but many may have expected. Heading up against one of the league's hottest teams in the Seattle Sounders FC, and clearly lacking the clinical finishing that RSL head coach Jason Kreis mentioned earlier in the week, Utah's MLS side dropped its season opener to the expansion Sounders 2-0.

The result is something that RSL fans have come to expect, as the team has yet to win on opening day in it's five year history. Some may even be worried by the things they saw on Saturday, but in truth, I'm not terribly worried.

It's no secret that Tony Beltran was a pipe that Steve Zakuani smoked repeatedly, and most especially en route to serving up Seattle's first goal. The lack of goals scored from Salt Lake could be a concern, although we're only looking at one game. The concern will come if the scoreless trend continues, which I don't think it will. Other than that, RSL looked fairly good.

Nearly the entire second half, with the exception of Fredy Montero's break away goal, was spent in and around the Seattle penalty area. The Salt Lake midfield, although not as sharp as we've seen in the past, kept most of the possession. This was in large part due to the efforts of Clint Mathis. He certainly isn't the brash goal-scorer of the past. But, he is a smart player that added a sense of calm for a midfield group that was just a little off on the night.

The few minutes that Raphael Cox played were very encouraged. After replacing Beltran, who slid over to left back in the second half, Cox looked very mobile and served up one of the better crosses of the match. He certainly made a case to see more playing time.

Up next is the home opener against the Columbus Crew on Thursday. RSL needs not only your butt in a seat at Rio Tinto Stadium on Thursday but also your voice to be heard. The match will be televised on ESPN2, and kickoff is set for 7pm local time.

Watch Parties for RSL-SSFC

2009-03-28T16:31:00.003-06:00

Tonight RSL will be taking to the turf of Qwest Field in Seattle to face the extraordinarily popular Seattle Sounders FC. The boys in the radio informed me earlier today that all 27,000 tickets available for the match have been sold. For those of us without a ticket, or transportation to the Emerald City for that matter, we can enjoy the festivities as they will be shown live on KUTV channel 2. Kickoff is set for 8:30pm, with a pregame show airing at 8pm.

Because it's always more fun to watch soccer with a group I wanted to share where you could find the nearest watch party. Go join your fellow RSL supporters at any one of these locations. I promise that it will always be more fun than watching by yourself at home.

These are only the watch parties that I know of. If you know of any other groups getting together to watch RSL this evening please list it in the comments of this post.

Logan - Iggy's Sports Grill. 2271 North Main. No official party has been organized here, but there will be RSL fans, myself included, gathering to watch the game. If you're in Cache Valley come join us!

Clearfield - Stadium Pizza. 540 East 1700 South. This is being advertised by the restaurant and endorced by the team. In other words, you should have no problems making sure the game will be shown. http://rsltothecore.com/rslblog/?p=1688

Salt Lake City - Lumpy's. 3000 Highland Drive. It was mentioned in the comments of the link above. Much like the gathering in Logan, this looks to be very informal. Although, I'm told it's a great place to watch a match.

West Jordan - Salsa Leedos. 9155 Redwood Rd. The Loyalists, one of the RSL supporters gropus, will be gathering here. They advertise the event as family-friendly.

Those are the locations and gatherings that I know of. Please fill us in if you know of any other groups getting together, or locations that will be showing the game.

Rio Tinto Stadium Print Opens Desert Crown Store

2009-03-26T12:26:00.004-06:00

I wanted to announce the opening of the Desert Crown Store!

From time to time I get an idea of something I would like to see offered to soccer fans in the marketplace. As a lifelong fan of the game these are usually always things I would like.

Rather then sit by and let these ideas pass through my brain untested I decided to open up a store to see if other soccer fans felt the same way about those ideas. For my first item I'm offering a print of a photo I captured following the inaugural game at Rio Tinto Stadium. I call the piece "Opening Night Afterglow" in reference to the secondary lighting that is reflecting off the roof. It's the very same image that adorns the layout of this blog, and it looks great hanging in a frame.

Initially, I'm offering the print in two sizes: 8x10 and 11x14. If you would like other sizes please let me know. Also, please feel free to leave your feedback about my little experiment in the comments. Is there anything you would like to see? In the coming weeks I should be releasing a few more items, but I'm always open to suggestions.

Larkin Makes LA Sol Roster!

2009-03-25T18:26:00.008-06:00

As the dust cleared from a competitive Womens Professional Soccer preseason the only Utahn reaming on a WPS roster was former Alta HS and BYU product Katie Larkin, after all seven teams released their Opening Day rosters on Wednesday.

Larkin will be playing along side one of the league's highest profile players in Marta, and for one of the highest profile teams in the Los Angeles Sol.

This years casualties of the roster trimmings are former Alta HS standout Allison Martino, released by the Boston Breakers, and Brighton HS alum Liz Bogus let go by FC Gold Pride.

The WPS allows each team 18 players to fill a roster. In addition to the final 18, each team can carry four players as "developmental" players rounding out the rosters to a full 22.

(photo courtesy of Celtic Storm)

Utahns in the Pros Update

2009-03-24T13:52:00.003-06:00

There were some highs and some lows for Utah-based players in the professional ranks this week. Among the highlights are the performances of Katie Larkin and Liz Bogus who each scored for their respective teams in preseason Womens Professional Soccer league action. A downer piece of news is that Kyle Christensen seems to have fallen off of the Chivas USA roster as the Major League Soccer season gets under way.

Following is a status report on each of the Utah-based professional players of whom we are aware. If you know of any other players with ties to the state please let us know so that that we can keep tabs on the local talent.

MLS

Justin Braun (Skyline HS) - Started and went the full 90 minutes for Chivas USA in their 2-1 win over Colorado in Carson, CA on Saturday.

Kyle Christensen (Layton HS) - Although there has been no official announcement, it appears that Christensen did not make the final Chivas roster for this season. Over on BigSoccer it is reported that he has returned to Denver to finish school.

WPS

Katie Larkin (Alta HS, BYU) - The Los Angeles Sol took on FC Gold Pride, that's the San Francisco Bay Area WPS team for those not aware. Larkin started in both matches, scoringing in the 35th minute of the first game in the series.

Liz Bogus (Brighton HS) - Scored a goal for FC Gold Pride in their preseason tuneup with The Bay Area Select All-Stars.

Allison Martino (Alta HS) - Made the first cut for the Boston Breakers preseason 25-player roster. The final roster should be announced any day now.

Heads Up on the Austin Aztex FC

2009-03-20T22:03:00.001-06:00

For their final tuneup before heading into the regular season Real Salt Lake are facing USL-1's newest team, the Austin Aztex.

As most of the readers of this blog most likely have a pretty good feeling of what to expect from Salt Lake on Saturday, this article will shed a bit of light on the opponent.

The Aztex join the USL system as an affiliate of Stoke City of the Premier League. Although a second division side, the Aztex have played three other MLS teams in preparations for the USL season that starts in a a couple weeks. After loosing to the Red Bulls 2-0, and getting tied up with the Houston Dynamo 2-2, the Aztex are coming to Rio Tinto Stadium following a 1-0 win over MLS Cup Champion Columbus Crew last week.

One member of the Aztex roster may look familiar to the RSL faithful. Kyle Brown, who spent the 2007 season on the RSL roster, is one of Austin's strikers.

Austin appears to be a formidable opponent for the Rio Tinto Stadium open house on Saturday. Among the other festivities the match kicks off at 1pm.

See you all there!

Three Utah Teams in U.S. Open Cup Action

2009-03-09T15:18:00.005-06:00

Utah has three clubs competing in this year's Lamar Hunt US Open Cup qualifying round. Real Salt Lake will face the newly expanded Seattle Sounders FC, while the Ogden Outlaws and BYU Cougars of the Premier Development League will each play four matches as part of the PDL Western Conference. These are regularly scheduled league matches for the PDL sides, so the results will count in the PDL standings as well as for Open Cup qualifying.

BYU's road to the Open Cup looks like this:

May 9 BYU Cougars @ Lancaster Rattlers 9:00 PM
May 16 BYU Cougars @ Los Angeles Legends 10:00 PM
May 21 Ventura County Fusion @ BYU Cougars 9:30 PM
May 23 San Fernando Valley Quakes @ BYU Cougars 9:30 PM

Ogden's like so:

May 16 Ogden Outlaws @ Southern California Seahorses 10:00 PM
May 17 Ogden Outlaws @ Orange County Blue Star 8:00 PM
May 23 Ventura County Fusion @ Ogden Outlaws 8:00 PM
May 22 San Fernando Valley Quakes @ Ogden Outlaws 8:00 PM

Simply qualifying for Open Cup play is an accomplishment for PDL teams. As the top two teams in the Western Conference in 2006, both Ogden and BYU made their US Open Cup debut. The Outlaws headed west to face the Sonoma County Sol, and amateur team in the US Adult Soccer Association. After battling to a 1-1 draw in regulation, the Outlaws were beaten 6-5 on penalties. The Cougars didn't faire quite so well against the Arizona Sauharos, also from the USASA. The Arizona club took full advantage of their home field ands shellacked BYU 5-1.

BYU qualified for the tournament in 2007, hosting the California Victory of USL-1 at South Field in Provo. The Cougars fought hard, but lost the match 2-1.

Real Salt Lake has done slightly better in Open Cup play than it's PDL brothers. In the last four years RSL has qualified twice, and advanced to the next round only once. All MLS teams who qualify for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup enter in the third round. This usually pits an MLS team against a team from one of the USL divisions. In 2005 the Claret-and-Cobalt took the Minnesota Thunder (USL-1) into overtime before getting beaten 6-4. Despite the loss, Jason Kreis scored a hat-trick in the game. This was also the match where RSL found Melvin Tarley whose brace (2 goals) for the Thunder was so impressive that he was invited to join RSL for the remainder of the 2005 season.

The following year was the most fruitful for Salt Lake in Open Cup action. It was the only year where they advanced beyond the third round. A 2-1 victory over the Virginia Beach Mariners (USL-1) at Rice-Eccles Stadium was enough for RSL to move on and host a fourth round match against the Colorado Rapids. But, that's as far as Salt Lake would climb in the bracket as they lost to their bitter rivals 1-0.

For the next two years RSL couldn't progress past qualifying. Both years looked promising, each opening with a win at home. But, when they went on the road for the second match, Salt Lake couldn't get it together.

In 2007, Andy Williams scored 19 minutes into extra time to help RSL down the Kansas City Wizards 2-1. Salt Lake went to loose to the Rapids by the same score in the following play-in game. Then, in 2008, RSL opened qualification with a 4-0 rout of the San Jose Earthquakes in the middle of a snow storm at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The win moved RSL on to Columbus where they lost to the Crew 2-0.

RSL's match with the Sounders FC will be played at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, WA, Tuesday, April 28. Kickoff is set for 7pm local time (8pm MT). The winner will go on to play the winner of the LA Galaxy/Colorado Rapids match on April 4.

Free RSL Exhibition at Rio Tinto

2009-03-02T22:32:00.003-07:00

Mark your calendars! Real Salt Lake is offering a free sample of this year's squad on Saturday, March 21. The Claret-and-Cobalt will be taking to the pitch at Rio Tinto Stadium in their last preseason match before their Major League Soccer schedule kicks off the following week in Seattle.

Who RSL will be hosting on the 21st is not yet known. What is known is that the match will be open to the public, free of charge. Admittance will be at a first come first serve basis. Kickoff is set for 1pm, with the gates opening two hours prior.

Rumor has it, the opponent will be from USL-1. Or, in other words, it will be a team that doesn't normally play in Utah. It should make for a great afternoon of FREE professional soccer!

Homegrown Talent: Utahns Drafted

2009-02-23T15:39:00.007-07:00

Last season Justin Braun grabbed national attention by getting invited to Chivas USA camp by non other than the manager of Chivas himself, Preki. The former Skyline High School standout made the most of his opportunity to impress, earning a consistent spot in the Chivas lineup and even scoring for the Red-and-White in the playoffs - ironically against Real Salt Lake.

Every time I saw something on Braun I thought there had to be other Utah-based players playing beyond their high school careers. Those thoughts have lead me to watch for exceptional players from the state.

The folks over at the Utah Youth Soccer Association have made the initial search quite easy with their recent story on three former UYSA players who were drafted in this years Major League Soccer and Womens Professional Soccer drafts. As I like to consider myself a gentleman, we'll start with the ladies first.

Katie Larkin, Los Angeles Sol

An All-American standout at Brigham Young University, Draper native Katie Larkin was the 19th selection in the first WPS Draft. The Los Angelos Sol picked up the Midfielder/Forward who was a Hermann Trophy candidate her senior season at BYU. Larkin was also in the US National Team Player Pool from 2002-2004. Among her teammates in Los Angelos will be three-time FIFA Women's Player of the Year Marta.

Larkin also holds several offensive records from her days at Alta High, where she also received NSCAA High School State Player of the Year honors in 2004.

(Photo courtesy of Geoffrey McAllister)

Allison Martino, Boston Breakers

Another Alta graduate was also taken in the WPS Draft. Allison Martino headed south after high school to play in the Big XII with Texas A&M. Playing in one of the nation's toughest conferences for women's soccer, Martino stood out as one of the top talents in the conference earning All-Big XII honors her senior season in 2007.

Following her days as an Aggie, Martino spent 2008 playing for the Boston Renegades of MassPremierSoccer. It appears that she won't be needing to move as she was picked up by the Boston Breakers.

(photo courtesy of Texas A&M)

Kyle Christensen, Chivas USA

Following a standout career at Layton High School, Kyle Christensen jumped over the Rocky Mountains to continue his playing career at the University of Denver. Christensen capped his extremely successfull college career by leading the Pioneers to the school's first ever Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title in 2008, as well as DU's first appearance in the NCAA tournament. His efforts led Christensen to receive MPSF Player of the Year honors in that same season.

While at the University of Denver Christensen did not play during the 2005 and 2006 seasons while he served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during that time.

Christensen also played two seasons with the Ogden Outlaws, of the Premier Development Leauge. While with the PDL side, he netting 10 goals and 4 assists in 20 games.

Preseason has already started for Chivas USA and Christensen has wasted no time making in impression, as he has already found his way on the scoresheet for the Goats. The Layton native scored the fifth and final goal in the Red-and-White's 5-1 trouncing of Shandong Luneng Taishan F.C. of the Chinese Super League.

(photo courtesy of University of Denver)

Hat tip to @RSLSoccerPod

Online Jersey Auction for Marcia Williams on Saturday

2009-02-13T13:39:00.004-07:00

In a written release posted Friday, Real Salt Lake announced that authentic match jerseys from this Wednesday’s USA-Mexico World Cup Qualifier will launch the online memorabilia auction on behalf of Soccer Unites Utah. The auction begins tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 14. All proceeds will go directly to Soccer Unites Utah, a grass roots charitable group raising funds to offset medical costs for Marcia Williams – the wife of RSL MF Andy Williams – who has waged a fight against a rare form of Leukemia since being diagnosed with the disease last summer.

The shirts from Wednesday’s contest include a U.S. team-autographed Brad Guzan goalkeeper kit and the #17 jersey of one of Mexico’s most electrifying young stars, Giovani dos Santos. The pair of items augment an already impressive selection of player-worn MLS jerseys and an autographed 2008 Olympic match ball signed by the US Mens Olympic team.

"Beginning tomorrow, RSL and Soccer Unites Utah will put up two items a day for auction on eBay, with each piece separately available for bidding for seven days. Real Salt Lake’s official team blog, Behind the Shield – found online at www.RSLtotheCore.com – will preview each jersey the day before they appear for auction and will also provide direct links to the eBay pages where the auctions will be housed," said the written statement from RSL.

Fore more information on helping out Marcia and others with Leukemia by coming a bone marrow donor, head over to www.DKMSamericas.org for more on what it means to be a bone marrow donor or visit www.SoccerUnitesUtah.com for more ways in which you can help assist the Williams family.

The full schedule of items included in the Real Salt Lake/Soccer Unites Utah memorabilia auction follows: Saturday, Feb. 14: Brad Guzan – U.S. MNT #18 (yellow GK, L/S) – autographed by full U.S. MNT Giovani dos Santos – Mexican National Team #17 (away / green, L/S) Sunday, Feb. 15: Freddy Adu – D.C. United #9 (away / white, L/S) – autographed Landon Donovan – Los Angeles Galaxy #10 (2005 home / gold) Monday, Feb. 16: Tim Howard – MetroStars #18 (orange GK, L/S) Chris Henderson – Colorado Rapids #19 (home / black & blue) Tuesday, Feb. 17: Cobi Jones – Los Angeles Galaxy #13 (warm-up top / gold) Clint Mathis – MetroStars #13 (home / red & black) Wednesday, Feb. 18: Youri Djorkaeff – New York Red Bulls (2006 home / red) Steve Ralston – New England Revolution #14 (home / blue) Thursday, Feb. 19: Ronnie O’Brien – Dallas Burn #6 (home / red, L/S) – autographed Tab Ramos – MetroStars #10 (home / red & black) Friday, Feb. 20: Mamadou Diallo – MetroStars #15 (away / black & white) Eddie Pope – Real Salt Lake #23 (2005 away / white) Saturday, Feb. 21: Chris Armas – Chicago Fire #14 (2005 home / red) John Harkes – New England Revolution #6 (away / white) Sunday, Feb. 22: Marco Etcheverry – D.C. United #10 (home / black) Amado Guevara – MetroStars #20 (home / red & black) Monday, Feb. 23: Dwayne De Rosario – San Jose Earthquakes #14 (home / blue) Jason Kreis – Real Salt Lake #9 (2006 away / white) – autographed Tuesday, Feb. 24: Cobi Jones – Los Angeles Galaxy #13 (white / away) – autographed Preki – Kansas City Wizards #11 (away / white) Wednesday, Feb. 25: Carlos Bocanegra – Chicago Fire #4 (2003 home / red) Chris Henderson – Miami Fusion F.C. #19 (2001 away / white) Thursday, Feb. 26: Jeff Agoos – San Jose Earthquakes #12 (2004 away / white) Pablo Mastroeni – Colorado Rapids #25 (home / black & blue) Friday, Feb. 27: U.S. Olympic Team autographed 2008 Beijing Summer Games match ball Andy Williams – New England Revolution #7 (away / white) – autographed

Watch the US-Mex WCQ on the Ginormus Screen

2009-02-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

Real Salt Lake is looking to create the state's biggest watch party for next Wednesday's border battle between the United States and Mexico. Sources have told Desert Crown that the club has rented out one of the theaters at Jordan Commons, across the State Street from Rio Tinto Stadium, for fans to come and watch the biggest match of the opening round of the CONCACAF Hexagonal!

The United State and Mexico will take to the icy pitch of Columbus Crew Stadium on Wednesday, February 11. From what we're told, those who would like to gather at Jordan Commons to watch the match on a theater-sized screen need to, "pick up a voucher from our offices or the RSL store (sat). Redeem the voucher for ticket @ theatre." (RSLSoccerPod)

Sounds like a great opportunity to watch the match with a few hundred of your closest friends, no matter which team you're supporting!

- thanks to RSLSoccerPod for the tip.

Questions about Escalada

2009-02-04T13:12:00.003-07:00

Out of all the incoming additions to the Real Salt Lake roster Argentine striker Luis Escalada seems to be generating the most attention. And, rightfully so. As mentioned in our last post RSL has seen an exodus of forwards fleeing the mountains with little sign of replenishment from the team. That is until head coach Jason Kreis was seen in South America scouting Escalada.

Thanks to the always diligent coverage from the folks over at keepinitrealsoccer.com we've learned in the last week that Kreis was able to secure the talents of the 22-year-old striker.

From all accounts he sounds like a provent scoring threat. During 2006-2007, while playing in Ecuador, Escalada's stats show that he was a goal scoring machine. What concerns me a little is that when he was loaned out to teams in the Brazilian and Argentine leagues his goal scoring output dropped off dramatically. During his two years in Ecuador Escalada scored 45 goals, but while he hopped between clubs in 2008 he only mustered a pair for all of 2008.

So what happened? Were the Argentine and Brazilian leagues to much for him? Did he get hurt? He didn't exactly get a lot of opportunities at the varies clubs he spent time with last year. Maybe he didn't have enough time to settle in with the team. Was there something outside of soccer that was affecting his play? These are honest questions, as I don't read spanish very well.

While contemplating these questions enjoy this highlight reel of Escalada during his year at Club Sport Emelec. If my math is right, he is only 20 in these videos, and he's only 22 now. So, his youthfullness can be a very good thing.

What say you?

Where have all the strikers gone?

2009-01-27T13:01:00.003-07:00

While taking a peek at my facebook account - hey, at least I admit it - the other night the chat window popped up with a friend asking if I was worried about this season's Real Salt Lake squad. During the conversation I was pretty pessimistic.

The more RSL fans that I talk to the more I discover that I'm not the only one who enjoyed watching Kenny Deuchar suck defenders toward him while he brought down lofted balls with ease. Deuchar usually had the attention of defenders so that others could sneak through to score. But, the glaring lack of his game while in Salt Lake was his goal production. So, I can understand why he would be let go.

Thinking of the loss of Deuchar made me wonder exactly how the latest exodus of players from RSL would really affect the upcoming season. To help in my thinking I pulled together some extremely basic stats.

In the table below you will find a list of all the players used during RSL's playoff run in 2008. With each player is listed their number of playoff appearances and starts during that time. And, since we're essentially only looking at offensive players for this conversation I only listed the most obvious offensive statistics - goals and assists. The colors indicate who has left RSL (Red) and who has trained with foreign clubs this off-season (Yellow), thus implying that they could leave.

Playoff Stats from Last Year:

Something I noticed right away was the relationship between players who appeared in all three playoff games and those who did not. Out of all the players interacting with other clubs Findley is the only one who appeared in all three playoff games. None of the players who have left appeared in all the playoff matches for RSL in 2008. And with the exception of Kovalenko, none of the outgoing forwards produced any statistical output as far as goals are concerned.

This illustration has helped quell many of my initial lineup concerns for the coming season. The remaining doubts I have will be brought up in future posts leading up to the start of the 2009 season. The take away message is that to panic about the roster as it looks now is like panicking about a remodel job before it's complete.

So, that's my take. What do you think?

New Look

2009-01-27T12:52:00.002-07:00

I thought it was high time to actually make this actually look like a soccer blog. This is my first attempt at skinning a blogger blog, so any all feedback is more than welcome!

Best move of RSL off-season: Kreis extends contract

2009-01-14T22:35:00.001-07:00

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And, in the case of last season's team, try not to change very much.

Real Salt Lake took a giant step in assuring they will build upon the successes of 2008 by making their best move of this off-season on Wednesday. On SuperDraft Eve, RSL announced the extension of Jason Kreis' for another three seasons.

“It is imperative that the competitive side of our organization maintain continuity and build off of last season’s success,” said RSL President Bill Manning in a press release issued late Wednesday.

The move is not a surprising one, looking at last season's epic run that saw Salt Lake excel through the playoffs for the first time in history, flying all the way to the Western Conference Final. Kreis made the product on the field respectable, and fun to watch.

Whether you like Kreis' methods or not, you can not deny that he has been the driving force behind the change of this team. We'll see what he comes up with on SuperDraft Day as there are still a few areas that could use some adjusting. But, now that Kreis is secured for a few seasons, that is one less thing RSL will need to worry about.

US-Mexico match should be in Columbus

2008-12-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

I'll admit that when the official word finally came that the US-Mexico World Cup Qualifier was going to be played in Columbus I was briefly disappointed. The thought of watching the continent's two biggest teams walk out of that tunnel at Rio Tinto made me out right giddy.

Then, reality set in. Besides the enormity of the match, what else would really be that enjoyable about the experience of watching an outdoor game in Salt Lake in February? The USSF is looking for a home field advantage, and freezing out the Mexicans would have been a plus in the favor of the Red, White and Blue. However, the altitude factor would not be much of an advantage as Mexico City sits nearly 6,000 feet closer to the clouds than Sandy. Plus, with Utah being quite a bit closer to the country just south of the Rio Grande than Ohio makes for a higher probability of a stronger Mexican fan base mixing into the crowd at Rio Tinto - jeopardizing the advantage that the USSF is seeking.

With all those things in mind, plus the fact that Columbus has been the most ideal host for this match the last two go rounds, it is clear that US Soccer made the correct decision on this match.

A nice take home thought for soccer fans in Utah is that Rio Tinto is already making the short list of possible venues to host large matches. Being considered as a site for the Mexico match can only help the possibility of hosting another match during this summer's qualification, and many more in the future.

Draft Day and RSL

2008-11-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

It's draft day!

With Seattle Sounders FC expanding the waistline of the league next season every team was asked offer up some players to fill the new team's roster. For the most part there were no shocking surprises from the RSL staff. Like many of the commenters on the Behind the Shield post the protected 11 is exactly who Salt Lake wants to keep.

Most of the unprotected players listed below are not necessarily easy decisions, but when you compare most of them with the players who are protected, and keep in mind the rules of the expansion draft - Seattle can only pick one player from each team - the list makes perfect sense. Here are my reasons why.

1. Andy Williams - I don't think RSL intends on loosing Williams. I think they're banking on the fact that he's closing in on the end of a quality professional playing career and only has a few years left on the pitch.

2. Nathan Sturgis - A young prospect such as Sturgis may be a surprise to some, but if you look at his injury track record since he's been with Salt Lake it's hard to say he deserves to be in the protected 11. With that said, a lot of people around the country are very high on Sturgis, and RSL could be putting him out there as bate so that Seattle doesn't draft away some of the more experienced players on this list.

3. Dema Kovalenko - I didn't realize this, but if you take the current RSL roster and sort it by birthdate Dema is #2 on the list of oldest players, just behind Cletus. I could see Seattle going after Kovalenko, and it would be sad to see him go. He's been a quality contributor for the Red-and-Blue.

4. Kenny Deuchar - The good doctor's role for RSL as a target man worked well for much of the seson. I think he could be a dangerous player in the right system. If he doesn't get taken up north I still think he could be a valuable player for RSL.

5. Ian Joy - Another player with the potential of getting picked. Joy one consistent trait this season was his inconsistency. His errant passes were painful to watch the playoffs. But, he still provides a quality option as an outside back for any MLS side.

6. Clint Mathis - Oldest player on the team. Seattle might go for him to see if RSL will work a deal to get him back. But, I doubt that. Cletus is pretty safe, in my opinion.

David Horst, Brennan Tennelle, Kevin Reiman, Kyle Reynish, and Tino Nunez are all reserves. Thus, it's no surprise they're on the list. I could see Reynish going as an understudy to Keller, but of these boys I would guess Nunez has the best chance of getting drafted.

World Cup Qualifying and RSL

2008-08-22T00:18:00.000-06:00

While watching the US-Guatemala World Cup Qualifier this evening there were a few thoughts I wanted to share.

1. It's amazing what putting on the national team shirt does for a player like Brian Ching. When he's representing the Tang-colored Dynamo the guy plays a less than classy style of football. An everlasting image I'll have occurred when Houston last visited Salt Lake. Within the first minute of the match he was already going after Jamison Olave with a double-fisted shove. Put Ching in a match for the US and suddenly he's calm and collected. He was awesome against Guatemala. Much like Kenny Deuchar for RSL, Ching's presence was huge for the US in the Guatemalan penalty area. He never actually scored, but he was causing problems for the Guatemalan defense all night. Again, the play reminded me a lot of Deuchar for RSL.

2. Did anyone else notice the other RSL connection on the night? I didn't realize it until Eddie Lewis was lying on the grass with his face covered in blood that the man who inflicted the wound was none other than Gustavo Cabrera. Another admission on my part is that I don't remember much about Cabrera's time in Salt Lake. Can't make that much of an impression when you play all of four matches for a club.

I still can't get over how impressed I was of the United States during the second half. Collectively they managed the final half hour almost perfectly. In a hostile environment such as Guatemala, that speaks volumes of the progress of the USMNT.

Cache Valley Appears in Open Cup Upset

2008-07-02T09:21:00.000-06:00

Smithfield's own Sergio Flores is seeing success in USL-2 while playing with Baltimore based Crystal Palace USA.

After heading to South America to pursue a professional playing career in Bolivia - and Argentina? - Flores returned to his home state of Utah to take part in RSL's inaugural season in 2005. Growing up as a striker, Salt Lake coach John Ellinger had other plans for Flores. In the same vein as Jonathan Spector, Ellinger thought he could transform Flores from striker to defender. The experiment didn't work out as Flores never saw time with RSL's first team and then was let go following the season.

Flores returned to Bolivia for a season before returning to the States last year to join Crystal Palace's new USL organization. In just their second year the Baltimore version of Palace are making a name for themselves in the US Open Cup by knocking of the New York Red Bull's by a score of 2-0 on Tuesday night. Flores came on as a late substitute in the match.

Palace's next test will be against the Open Cup defending champions New England Revolution.

http://www.usopencup.com/thirdround/259106.html

Olympic Qualifying Memories

2008-03-25T12:41:00.001-06:00

Just a couple of RSL related impressions I had from the US-Hondurous Olympic Qualifier on Sunday. Bear in mind that this was the first of the qualification tournament that I have been able to view, so my opinions and observations only stem from this match.

My first thought deals directly with one of the players employed by the Salt Lake club. From the moments that I saw, Robbie Findley looked pretty well contained by the Honduran defenders. His bright moment came in the second half when he skied over his defender to reach a header that he spiked hard inside the six-yard box, beating the Hondurous goalkeeper, but ended up caroming off the crossbar.

The other, and more lasting, memory I came away with from watching our U-23s was that I was grateful for RSL goalkeeper Chris Seitz. He didn't play in the final match against Hondurous. That role was given to Dominic Cervi, who was taken as the 12th pick in this years MLS draft by Chicago. Although, apparently he has yet to sign a contract with the Fire. As long as he doesn't some how trade places with Seitz at RSL, Salt Lake fans should be okay.

Cervi did not look well at all. It wasn't really the goal that he allowed that bothered me. To be fair it wasn't Cervi's fault entirely. Any defense that allows an attacker that much to crack a shot like the one that Georgie Welcome hit in the 103' deserves to get scored on. Cervi looked his weakest coming off his line.

The most glaring example was when Cervi watched as a Honduran cross bounced comfortably across the middle of his six-yard box. The US goalie didn't budge. Salt Lake should be extra happy that Seitz is in Utah and not Cervi.

RSL Making Progress

2008-02-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Heading into Real Salt Lake's fourth season I'm encouraged by the progress that is being made. Not necessarily the progress of the stadium, although it is gorgeous. Nor is the prospect of players like recently drafted Tony Beltran augmenting the lineup shining hope into my outlook of the year.

What I am most encouraged by is the level headed maturity that is being shown by head coach Jason Kreis and general manager Garth Lagerwey when they talk about the prospects of the coming season.

Rather than bellowing out bold statements of success and guaranties of things he can't entirely control - such as assuring that RSL will make the playoffs - Kreis, in a recent Deseret Morning News article, instead promised that the team would be fitter and mentally stronger. Those are things the coach can for sure control.

Another positive sign of growth is RSLs lack of reliance on single star players. Names like Mathis, Cunningham, Adu, and even Kreis himself, during his playing days, were given as proof that RSL would be successful and win games in years past. And, although a lot of focus has been centered onto the Argentine triple of Fabian Espindola, Matias Mantilla, and Javier Morales, this year the focus is on the team. Kyle McCarthy, over at www.goal.com mentioned in a recent article that RSL is looking to follow the strategy of teams like Houston and New England by building a foundation of young and inexpensive American talent. Both the Dynamo and Revolution have shown the rest of the league how to be successful, and that putting the focus on the team is the way to go. Considering both of those sides have made MLS Cup the last two years running, it would be a safe lead to follow.

Success for Real may not be the playoffs this season, although in reality it should be, but the signs are good that it will be a better year for the Salt Lake side.

Bradley Finding Success in NCAA Tourney

2007-12-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

There are some teams that stay with us no matter where life takes us, or where their results place them in the table. In the college ranks there will always be a soft spot in my heart for the Braves of Bradley University. Having attended high school in central Illinois, the Peoria based school provided my first live NCAA soccer experience.

The program has been solid over the years producing a few MLS players, most notably Bryan Namoff of DC United. Other Bradley alums that might be recognized by those familiar with MLS would be Tim Regan, who started out with the MetroStars, spent a season with Chivas, and is now back in New York with the Red Bulls, and Gavin Glinton.

This years team overcame huge adversity, in the form of a preseason tragedy to take the Missouri Valley title, and took out national powerhouse Indiana on penalties in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Wednesday night. Such an accomplishment provides an opportunity to face Maryland in Maryland on Saturday night.

Go, Braves!

Thank You Eddie

2007-10-20T22:49:00.000-06:00

I saw greatness stride majestically off the pitch for the last time through a fuzzy three inch window facilitated by my laptop in the basement from 525 miles away.

Aside from the fact that it was Eddie Pope's last game, and that Real Salt Lake did actually have a legitimate chance to win their first trophy - the Rocky Mountain Cup - with a victory, the game was important enough for me not to tell my wife until after she made plans with some neighbors for dinner. I cared about the game so much that the idea of missing the first half at minimum, and possibly the whole match didn't stop me from enjoying the evening of pizza and sugar-hyed dinosaurs and Spidermen bouncing off the walls.

With my clock telling me that it was a few minutes after 8 as I walked in the door, I knew that the second half just started. By the time I got the mlsnet.com video player fired up on the old notebook it was already into the 50th minute.

For no apparent reason Eddie stuck out to me over the first few minutes as I watched Colorado throw everything into a desperate attack. And then, to the surprise of myself - and apparently Carey Talley - Pope's number was called in the 54th minute. Eddie calmly handed the captains armband to Talley, while the holding midfielder screamed toward the bench with his arms outstretched as if to say, "what's the deal?" But Eddie did not contest.

He left the field with dignity and the respect of a soccer nation. The Denver crowd was polite, but not overwhelming. Rapids Coach Fernando Clavijo pulled the classy move of being the first to greet Pope with a hug as he stepped over the sidelines for the last time.

In his rookie season, Eddie splashed into the national soccer conscious by rising through a New England rain storm and smashing home a nearpost header in overtime to give DC United the first MLS Cup in 1996. Like a loyal and steady friend, he has stayed with the league, supporting it as it grew. Perhaps it is fitting that his involvement as a player came to an end at the newest of the soccer specific stadiums produced by a league that he spent his career with. A league that is indebted to players like him - who stayed.

Thank you, Eddie Pope for your always steady contribution to the image of this game both on the field and off.

--
Photo credit: Geoffrey McAllister/The Daily Universe
--

Coming up even againts LA

2007-09-20T21:27:00.001-06:00

I went to Wednesday nights game curious to see how many of the 25,000 who purchased tickets to see Mr. Beckham would still show up even though the Englishman would still be at his Beverly Hills home during the match. I came away from Rice-Eccles feeling much like the 2-2 scoreline - pretty even.

It was a scrappy match between a couple of the league's lowest ranked teams. Some encouraging impressions were Javier Morales' blazing freekick late in the match. Was it his first touch on the ball? That's what my memory wants to believe - as he only came in a few minutes before - so we'll say that it's so.

Now all three Argentine imports have each tallied a goal for RSL. Looks like we got a good batch of tomatoes.

Another warm fuzzy I recall from the match was the play of newcomer Yura Movsisyan. It was nice to see a coordinated big fella up front chancing down loose balls and challenging LA defenders. His play wasn't fantastic, but I found it promising - mainly due to the fact that he's a different style of forward than a Robbie Findley. The two together could pose lethal once they get used to each other.

The year seems to be ending about the same as the two previous for Salt Lake. A few good results come in mixed with some well-faught ties and a couple of crippling losses.

As if any of that really matters, or is on the mind of the RSL fan. I think I could speak for many supporters when I say that all we care about at this point is beating the Crapids on Saturday.

On a positive note...

2007-08-01T07:59:00.000-06:00

Something I can't get out of my head from the game on Saturday was the several occasions where RSL strung together a complex sequence of passes in the midfield. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but there were times during the match - especially in the first 20 minutes that I quested whether I was watching Real Salt Lake.

History shows that Salt Lake's game plan has been to try and dump the ball up field as quick as possible. There have been some occasions where this wasn't the case, but if you were to think of how RSL would normally play a situation it would be trying to get long balls over the defense.

In other words I enjoyed what I saw in the midfield - at times - against New England. It was a positive sign for the future.

As for the continuous roster moves, they seem to make sense. As mentioned in the previous post, I wasn't excited to see Mehdi go. But, Beckerman has really made an impact since joining the squad.

I am a little nervous about the rumors of the team pulling in "3 players from Argentina." It's like picking up a 3-pack of tomatoes in the produce section. Sure, I might like tomatoes and they might look okay in the wrapper. But, I won't know if they're any good until I get them integrated with my other food at home. I'm certainly not going to base the success of my meal on them until I can really see them up close.

Could have done without that...

2007-07-16T23:57:00.000-06:00

Dejected and empty Tommy sank onto the end of a public bench as the crowds of cars and people mercilessly pressed by.

"I thought they were on my side," Tommy lamented to his co-worker, Richard.

"They had a lot to gain if the factory was sold," answered Richard.

"Boy, did I screw up!"

"My so-called family deserted me. Michelle's mad at me. I lost the factory, the town's going under, and I'm out of a job."

Just as Tommy's venting ceased the bench his large frame was resting on gave way, sending Tommy to the pavement.

"Could have done with out that," he said.

This scene from Tommy Boy came to mind when I read the news that shook my inbox tonight. In the case you are unaware, Real Salt Lake have sent Mehdi Ballouchy to Colorado for non-other than Kyle Beckerman. That feels so lopsided to write.

After so many disappointing and results and weird trades, this one feels as though the team has taken the legs right out from underneath their supporters. Now we're left on our cans thinking, "could have done without that."

To be fair, I'm not sure that the trade is really as earth shattering as it feels at the moment. The reality is that RSL is a painful team to watch and support. Over the past 2.5 seasons supporting the team has been a form of self-torture for Salt Lake supporters. And what's even worse, is that I've discovered that I can't not care. No matter how many justifications I throw in the way, the team's current form affects me.

I think that's why I took to Mehdi so quickly. He made me happy. He played with such a different attitude and confidence that isn't found in MLS. He was exciting, flamboyant, and always seemed to be able to make those clever passes that brought you out of your seat. But, that was all in the past.

I'll be the first to admit that Ballouchy has not been having a wonderful year, but neither has any other player on the roster. The whole team seems to be bogged down in frustration. In a search for a remedy it seems that RSL would rather trade away any chance at creativity for slam-bam soccer. Could it produce wins? Anything is possible. But, right now I'm starting to wonder if there is a forest or if these trees are just a hoax.

An Open Letter to 'Soccer Dad'

2007-07-12T22:50:00.000-06:00

I would like to take a moment and pass on a message that should be shared with anyone involved with youth soccer - but especially the parents of youth players. Jim Paglia hits the nail on the head in his article on SoccerAmerica.com.

My only child has barely started to figure out that feet are for walking, let alone for kicking a ball. But I think we could all work on being a little more like Paglia suggests, and be a meaningful version of a Soccer Parent.

http://socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showTodaysArticle&art_type=88

We are Real Salt Lake

2007-06-17T20:04:00.000-06:00

Send us your tired, your weary, your unsharp, and unconfident. Send us your winless and frustrated and we will give you wins. Is your defense having troubles keeping the ball out of the net? Don't worry, we don't put shots on frame. Do you have troubles scoring? Although our goalkeepers are pretty sharp, our back line will loose you in an instant. Here to make you look and feel your best, we are Real Salt Lake.

Would somenoe please pick up the needle! The record is broken!

2007-06-15T02:16:00.000-06:00

July 22, 2006. Real Salt Lake host FC Dallas and keep the game scoreless into the 93rd minute when Abe Thompson broke through back line and strokes home the game's only goal.

April 07, 2007. Real Salt Lake take at 2-1 lead into the waning moments of stoppage time until Carlos Ruiz knocks in the equalizer in the 94th minute.

June 14, 2007. Real Salt Lake appear to be headed to their third scoreless draw in a row - in league play. That is until Dominic Oduro gets the ball almost precisely where Thompson struck 2006 and pounds in the lone goal of the match.

It's erie how similar the results continue to be with Dallas when they come to Salt Lake. However, I do respect Coach Kreis' comments afterwards where he told his team to push forward for the win, which could have made the defense vulnerable. It was that and not being able to mark Alvarez or Orduro for most of the match. It's a good thing Nick Rimando has been on his game lately, or the score easily could have been worse.

Speaking of Kreis, I am one to think that his overreaction and eventual expulsion from the match had more to do with his frustration in his team than the actual no-call on the Goodson-Harris challenge in the box. From my angle, it looked like Atiba jumped up with both feet, landed on both feet, and rolled on the ground.

Since we're on the subject of history, I'm not sure I want to take about RSL's chances against the Galaxy on Sunday. The Gals are pitiful these days, but the Home Depot Center is rarely kind the Salt Lake boys.

Quick! Now's our chance! (RSL-FCD preview)

2007-06-14T07:56:00.000-06:00

History isn't on RSL's side as they take the field against FC Dallas tonight. Overall, the Hoops own the series at 7-2-1. But, if there was ever a time to get 3 points from FCD, now may be the most opportune.

With Carlos Ruiz out with Guatemala in Gold Cup action and team leading-scoring Kenny Cooper falling victim to a classless tackle from Tyrone Marshall over the weekend, Dallas will be short handed on offense.

Couple that thought with the fact that they have allowed more goals, 17, than any other team in the Western Conference, and RSL fans could be outright giddy about their chances tonight.

I'm not saying that Dallas are a push-over team. A very sharp Juan Toja and Abe Thompson, who historically has done well at Rice-Eccles, will be causing problems for the Salt Lake defense. Potentially, so could Arturo Alverez who bagged his first goal when these two teams last met in Frisco.

Also keep in mind that history likes to repeat itself in MLS - think of RSL's record with Colorado. And, when a team has 7 wins against you in 10 meetings that can be a hard mental obstacle to overcome.

Esky Explanation

2007-06-11T22:39:00.000-06:00

In thinking about my Esky comment in my last post, I feel like I need to explain why it was noteworthy to mention him trotting onto the field.

Initially, I was not a fan of the trade. Expelling the team's leading scorer for a not-as-lethal, yet younger, Alecko Eskandarian only made sense on one level - personality. Even if they never actually had a falling out, it was obvious that Jeff Cunningham and Jason Kreis came from two completely different worlds. Cunningham gives off the aura of a flashy arrogant goal scorer, while Kreis is more of the bleed for the team kind of guy. Both personalities have their place on a team. But, when the team bleeder becomes coach you would have to think the flashy guys days are numbered.

And so it happened, and now we have Esky - who's never been quite the same player since donning the headgear. But, like I mentioned previously, I'm getting more excited to have him around. Here's to hoping that his tap in against China is the first of many more for RSL.

Photo credit: Claire Monson/The Daily Universe

Chinese National Team and the FBI in SLC

2007-06-08T00:59:00.000-06:00

It's not every day that you pull into the Rice-Eccles parking parking lot for a game and see a Federal Bureau of Investigation Mobile Command Unit situated across several parking spaces. I'm still trying to figure out why it was sitting there so conspicuously in front of the stadium.

The fun part of the game was that with the extremely young RSL line up, and even with the well known players in uncommon positions - Harris at holding midfield, for example - it really felt like I was watching a game between a couple teams I've never seen.

The Chinese defense was not into high pressure or high intensity. Most of the time when an RSL player received the ball he seemed to have a moment or two to think through his next move.

However, their attack was always quite organized. For me, when ever they were bearing down on the RSL goal I was nervous. With that in mind, I do like Chris Seitz. That kick has no fear and made some fantastic saves. I hope that RSL can hang on to him for a while.

Watching Esky trot onto the field in an RSL uniform gave me chills - no wait, that was because my coat wasn't properly buttoned and a breeze cut through.

Seriously though, I like seeing Esky up top. Atiba Harris has no business playing in the center of the park. Ball control in tight spaces combined with quick intelligent passes are things you will not see from Harris, and we did not see from Harris against China.

Even though I initially rolled my eyes to Freddy Adu's over-dramatized dribbling antics on the ball, it was fun to see. He was very relaxed and loose. Tonight, he kept trying to pull off the fantastic - and that's rare in this league. It'll be nice when he's successful at pulling that stuff off.

RSL can't find win in Dallas

2007-05-20T23:02:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I come across as a know-it-all. Especially when it comes to MLS - and even more especially RSL - I usually have an opinion on everything. And, until the coaching change up I had a good idea of how Salt Lake was going to perform. Now, I'm speechless.

Friday was my last day in the first professional job I've had since graduating college. As I went about tying up all my loose ends I had an experience that I wish could have happened 10 years ago - in more ways than one. It happened when turning in my office key, of all places.

I walk into the key office, wearing my white RSL road kit, and the cute blonde behind the desk looks up and says, "so, what do you think about Jason being made coach?"

Again, speechless.

I rambled an answer about not knowing exactly what to expect any more with the only thought in my brain being, "where were girls like you 10 years ago?"

As for the game itself, I would say that Nick Rimando has been playing well. Both of the Dallas goals where in the "hit of their life" category, similar to Brownie and Klein's goals against New York a few weeks back.

Admittedly, I was ADD during most of the first half. The moments I did focus on the little MLSlive box on my desktop it looked like Dallas was always pushing prowling round the RSL box. The defense did well enough. No real bonehead mistakes that have plagued other games, at least that I can remember.

Was I the only one surprised by appearance of number 77? It's amazing the difference he can make on a game. The team looked much more composed on the attack with his involvement. Even with the off season drop in salary, and nearly dropping from the team, I think that once he's fully fit Bomma be a common fixture in the starting 11.

Mehdi Ballouchy is in a funk. In the opening game of the season, he, like so many others, looked to be building on the sharp form from the end of last season. But since that game Mehdi has been invisible. It doesn't appear that his effort is wavering, but his passing has consistently been directed straight to the other team. Although he looked to be getting better with this game at the Pizza Pan, plenty of his passes were to the boys in Waldo shirts.

Ironically, I think Freddy has gotten more involved since Jason became coach. Maybe it's the pressure of having to convince a new boss that he belongs. What ever it is, he has played much better soccer in recent games. He still attacks the goal, but now he seems to look for the good pass rather than try and pull a Ronaldinho through a pack of defenders on every possession. Someone must have told him it's better when our team keeps the ball.

The glaring issue is that I don't remember Sala, the FCD goalkeeper, having to make very many saves. A good amount of chances are being created but the final shot is not even within the frame of the goal. Obviously, that has to get better.

Up next is the Open Cup match at Colorado during the week. Anything can happen, but that is a team that, at least historically, seems to have Salt Lake figured out.

Perspective

2007-04-22T00:37:00.000-06:00

The 2 games this past week have offered an interesting dose of perspective. After falling to Salt Lake in extra time on Wednesday night Kansas City largely felt that they controlled the game and that Salt Lake simply capitalized on the two defensive mistakes that were made on the night.

For large portions of the match against Chivas on Saturday in Southern California RSL also dictated large portions of play with their control of the possession. It's a fact that is invisible - and truthfully, at the end of days like this, doesn't matter - when the box score shows a 4-0 result in favor of the Goats.

There are so many things better left unsaid. Although, I will say that I enjoy Robin Fraser's analysis. It's refreshing to hear someone with extensive knowledge of the league, and not just the game. Even if the highlight for me was a technical point that he made. That favorite moment of the night was when he talked up the skill level of the Salt Lake midfield and stressed the importance of utilizing that advantage over teams, and just as the words fell from his lips an RSL defender sends another long ball out of the back - bypassing the midfield.

So it was an ugly road loss, for their sake let's hope that it was a fluke and Salt Lake now has it out of their system. Of course, they would also do well to get a couple other things out of their system while they're at it...and maybe add a thing or two as well.

Get your Gameface On: Preview on the Crew

2007-04-13T22:40:00.000-06:00

I got this idea the other day to do things a little differently. Normally, a blog that covers a particular team would talk about how their team is preparing for the upcoming game. Well, I took the opposite stance. Instead, I've arranged some notes on what to expect from the Crew on Saturday. Enjoy.

Real Salt Lake have faced the Columbus Crew four times and have only came away on top once, loosing the other three. Through the history of the series Columbus have out scored Salt Lake 6-3.

The Crew opened their season with a scoreless draw at home against the Red Bulls. The single point in the standings puts the gold-and-black tied for second with the Bulls. It's the first time since July of last season that the Crew are not in the bottom spot in the Eastern Conference.

In reverse fashion of RSL, the Crew started out their season on the tentative side and warmed up as the game went on. They pressured the Bulls and Jason Garey - some reports say it was Grabavoy - had a shot rock the woodwork.

Columbus players to watch:

Jason Garey. He opened his MLS scoring account at Rice-Eccles Stadium last May, and he looked confident against RBNY last week.

Eddie Gaven. As a teenager he exhibited an amazing level of confidence and skill, netting 16 goals and accumulating 12 assists in his three years with the MetroStars. But, last year he traded in his red-and-black stripes for the Gold of Columbus and without a strong support group of talent around him Gaven sunk with the rest of the league's worst team.

Andy Herron is another addition to the Columbus offense who is decent and will probably open up some space for Garey and provide a target for Gaven. He did score against RSL in 2005 while playing for Chicago in a 3-1 win for the Fire.

Goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum got his first career shutout in only his third pro start last Saturday.

And, They're Off!

2007-04-10T12:22:00.000-06:00

As the gun for the 2007 MLS season fired, I felt like the tortoise choking on the smoke of everyone else flying off the line. I hadn't done any type of journalistic activity for months and it showed as I struggled to get any kind of decent work done...and in only twice the time!

Staying with that analogy could describe what happened at Rice-Eccles on Saturday, not necessary in literal speed, but in level of play. The RSL homeboys flashed off the line to an extremely energetic start. They kept up their feverish pace for much of the match, but Dallas remained steady, prepared to jump on any defensive mistake. They did, after all, have only one shot on goal in first half, and that one ended up in the side netting.

Do I really need to comment on Saturday? Either you saw it and, like the rest of us, are still trying to strike the last minute of play from your memory. Or, you didn't and you're sitting there wondering, "was it really that bad?" Yes. Yes, it was.

All I will say is that I love how the RSL offense is looking, especially during the first half against Dallas. Mehdi, Jeff, Chris, Freddy, Jason and Carey all looked good. At times you could see an understanding between Adu and Forko developing on the left wing. They seem to work well together and should lead to some exciting stuff.

Although the start was exciting and different, with a lot of improvement, the end result was strikingly familiar to the 2006 campaign. The defense - especially the last defender - will need to catch up to the level of the front six players for Salt Lake to have any hopes of reaching it's goal of making the playoffs.

Columbus is up next on Saturday, and is one of three MLS sides that have never lost at Rice-Eccles. The other two being New England and New York in all its various flavors.

What's gotten into Landon? And other late thoughts...

2007-03-29T00:03:00.000-06:00

I couldn't put a finger on why the blue pinstripes bothered me on Sunday. That is until I read Kali's post over at MarkingTheReferee.com and it became very clear. It's no secret that the USSF is headquartered in the Windy City, and now it's no secret which of Chicago's two baseball teams they endorse - at least subliminally. As a Missouri-born Red Bird fan, that obviously doesn't sit well with me.

Needless to say, I won't be slapping down the plastic for that US kit any sooner than never.

Being without any kind of useful TV reception in my home made it impossible to catch the US-Ecuador match live, and thus had to download it - thank goodness for torrents and the people who share them. That will explain why it's Thursday I'm commenting on Sunday's match when the US played again last night, also a match I did not see live. I just wanted to weigh in on the Landon discussion.

I realize there may be several factors as to why the kid has decided to play like the LD of yore - namely heading into a new season with his club having his old friend Frank Yallop as head coach in LA. Yallop, by the way, seems to be doing his best at reconstructing key pieces of the old San Jose squad that won two titles in three seasons (2001 and 2003). The source of Donovan's fire comes from the LA camp, but it's something that has not yet arrived.

Let me by asking a few questions. What does Landon Donovan want more than anything? More than all the glory and experience he could gain elsewhere, Landon wants more than anything to play at home in Los Angeles. Nothing seemed to be threatening that way of life until his club landed the biggest (largest sum of $$ involved) signing in American soccer history. Insert Mr. Beckham and suddenly there are questions of how the Galaxy could hold on to two high paid assets and stay kosher with the league "salary cap." Whisperings spoke of the possibility of trading Donovan after next year to make cap room, to which his response was, "they better not trade me."

What we're seeing is Landon now with the prospect of a little competition at his club. I think that fire that roared in Tampa on Sunday was only getting started. Landon is out to prove that he's worth keeping in LA - who would have to entice another team to let go of their Designated Player spot to keep the US #10 in Carson. Everyone has their own carrots they strive for and the Gals may have found the secret of unleashing Landon.

Anti-Stadium Movement Has No Legs

2007-03-12T09:18:00.000-06:00

Scanning through the headlines over at RSLFM this morning I found an interview with Brad Swedlund who is the organizer of the anti-stadium petition that you may have seen on the local news recently. Normally, I've kept my distance from any of the news regarding RSL and their quest for a stadium, but I wanted to share something in this interview that stuck with.

Before this point I knew very little about Swedlund and his motives for trying to hinder the progress of Stadium Real. I was hoping that he would have some solid evidence or facts on which to base is opposing view. But, Swedlund disappointed. From the interview:

"Do you feel any sense of hypocrisy about working for a company which is so heavily associated with the state-funded USTAR program?

Well, first, I started in on this as a citizen with the responsibility - please note - THE RESPONSIBILITY - to voice my opinion. I did so as the legislature was in session and it wasn't heard. The only recourse that seems reasonable is the referendum process. I believe that every time government gets involved in private enterprise, the situation needs to be taken seriously. It should also be taken case by case. Many companies supported by public funds as start ups have started as University/Private partnerships. They provide opportunities to take the best ideas from University research and develop private business.

Without state intervention it would be both legally and logistically difficult for these companies to start up. Often these companies provide high tech jobs that keep well educated Utahns in Utah. Some of these companies are already thriving companies and some of them have potential to become huge nationally. I did say "potential" and some of them might not make it in the long run. I have seen a number come and go including the old Cold Fusion group. I'm sure that many see the "potential" for soccer in Utah. Yes, there is potential but it seems unusual to equate the potential for major entertainment to the potential for major medical or technical breakthroughs. Apples and oranges I think," (RSLFM.com).

Swedlund's problem has little to do with the state getting involved in private industry, and more to do with his beef with the entertainment industry in general. Later in the in the interview when asked if he had ever been to an RSL match he said, "Plain and simple I can't justify the ticket price...I can't even justify the price of most movie tickets."

Up to this point I wondered whether his movement had legs. Now I'm not so worried.

A full-transcript of the interview can be found here: http://rslfm.blogspot.com/2007/03/031207.html

Utah Based Player Update: Sergio Flores to Crystal Palace USA

2007-03-02T02:34:00.000-07:00

If you are at all familiar with Desert Crown, you know that I do what I can to keep people informed on the whereabouts of Smithfield native Sergio Flores. Pretty much because he is the only professional player I run into on a regular bases.

To provide some history, last year rumors seeped out of Portland that the recently departed RSLer was joining former RSL assistant coach Chris Agnello and former RSL team mate Luke Kreamalmeyer at the Portland Timbers of USL-1. After seeing Sergio at the gym, after the USL season had already started, it was discovered that the rumor was unfounded.

Flores returned to the Bolivian league, where he played before taking a shot with RSL in 2005. That was last year. This year the Utahn is going to stay stateside. He told me that he had a tryout with Crystal Palace USA of the USL-2. The team is located in Baltimore and is run by English Championship (Second Division) side Crystal Palace.

Sergio reports to camp next week, March 7, and looks to make a great impact with his new club.

Forward Progress in US Coverage

2007-02-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Being inside the bubble of soccer supporters in this country sometimes makes it hard to get a pulse for how the general sporting consensus perceives the game. The coverage by the news agencies, both local and national, has certainly increased in recent years. But, you would have to admit that if you're reading this, you're probably like me and scan the days sports section looking for soccer first and then moving on to everything else. Because in our minds, it is soccer before everything else.

I've been venturing out of the soccer sphere recently - hence the 94 day blogging hiatus - to see what I could see. Not necessarily in the name of trying to find soccer, but more in the name of balancing out my head with other thought that didn't involve a round ball getting kicked around between two nets.

During my time away I had a few encouraging experiences with the "non-soccer" media that were clear signs to me that soccer coverage has made a few steps forward.
Albeit, US sports media still has a ways to go with the simplest game, but it's good to take a step back and point out the things that they are doing well.

Step forward #1: Local newspaper coverage.

I live 90 miles north of Salt Lake City, and my local paper here in Logan, The Herald Journal, has been amazing at covering MLS. They've tapered off with the stadium coverage, but to be honest who hasn't grown weary of the drama? On field stuff, where it matters, they have it covered. The measuring stick I use is that I watch how well they cover the Jazz in comparison, and I've found that the two Salt Lake teams are equal in the amount of space and placement they receive.

Step forward #2: National Public Radio.

An ideal morning consists of getting out of bed before dawn and finding my way to the gym to welcome my body into a new day. During such excursions I routinely take a brake from music and turn the dial public radio so that I can feel connected with the world mentally while traveling to and from my place of torture that some call exercise.

One Wednesday morning a few weeks ago, while I was literally in the motion of turning my keys out of the ignition, I caught the words "let's go to Los Angeles where soccer sta..." My keys instinctively plunged by into their home and twisted just in time to bring sound back to my speakers to hear, "...ckham will take his place with the LA Galaxy later this year."

The announcer was introducing a commentary segment by longtime Sport's Illustrated writer Frank Deford - one of the oldest of the old guard. While is well respected in the realm of media and sports, the man couldn't give a rat's left eye about soccer. With the same sick curiosity you have when you can't take your eyes of a hideous car wreck, I sat in my open garage parked in my chilled car anxious to see what this old sportsman had to say about the most expensive deal in American soccer history.

Deford displayed his class by showcasing his almost perfect research on a sport practically foreign to him. Although, his credibility took a hit when he referred to the MLS Commissioner as DAN Garber (It's Don, Mr. Deford). Although, after multiple listening I'm leaning toward the train of thought that - because of the emphasis in his voice - he made the "mistake" on purpose.

You may not agree with Deford's assessment - although his point about Beckham knowing how to make an exit may not be far off - but, the part that impresses me is that he gave MLS time on his weekly commentary. And, he took the time to be (mostly) well researched.

Listen to Deford's essay

Final Step Forward: ESPN.

During the US-Mexico match this last week I was impressed to see highlights at half time. I'm not talking about clips from the US match or from other sports, but soccer highlights of the other friendlies going on that day.

The next morning at the gym SportsCenter of all things surprised me with soccer material. Now, I know this may be old hat for most of you but I don't get ESPN at home, so this was earth shattering for me. I understand that they have an ESPN Deportes section on SC every once in a while and it's mainly all soccer. Not bad, ESPN. Not bad at all.

Good for Gooch

2007-02-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

This quote instantly brightened by day. In my playing days I was a tall, for soccer standards, defender who can truly relate to his comment. Although, that's about all I have in common with Gooch.

"He was complaining I elbowed him in the head. So I said: 'Look at where your head is, I can't help it if you're so short you only come up to my elbow.' He smiled and said 'You've got a point there'."
-- Newcastle's 6-foot-4 America defender Oguchi Onyewu on his clash with Liverpool's 5-9 forward Craig Bellamy in last weekend's 2-1 Newcastle win. (BBC)

- quote source: SoccerAmericaDaily (15 February 2007)
- image source: www.itv-football.co.uk

"That was bad. That was inexcusable AND bad."

2007-02-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

There was a time when you would have heard that about the US when playing Mexico, but not on this night. In all honesty, I didn't know what to expect. Bradley's second cap at the helm with hardly the best American side possible and Mexico bringing in their big guns.

I don't follow the Mexican team very close - my ignorant mono-linguil self hinders any in-depth research - but when I saw every recognizable name in the Mexican lineup I was more than worried. The play in the first half didn't exactly calm things down in my stomach either.

Landon came out of the gates playing his recently favorite conservative self. His first few touches were all backwards. I actually don't mind backwards play in the name of keeping possession. But, I remember when Landon used to play with the lethal confidence of turning and taking on defenders and destroying them at will. Like when he scored in 90th minute.

That's when the cameras caught the Mexican 'keeper Oswaldo half-heartedly attempting to take out a US player (Johnson?) during the celebration. The incident caused Waldo to spew the words that are the title of this post. Why it's still making me chuckle, I'm not sure.

One thing I did discover tonight is that I think I'm becoming a Bornstein Believer. Not that I ever really doubted his talent with Chivas, I just wasn't sure he would translate to a solid international player after only one season as a professional. Bornstien sured up the left side of the defense quite well, and is my leading candidate for keeping that spot at this point.

Now that the bleeding at left back looks to be slowing, ironically now the other side of the US defense needs some work. Albright was just plain off against Mexico. As the second half wore on the Galaxy defender was repeatedly lit up and passed over by green clad attackers. Albright would be replaced by Josh Gros who, getting his first cap, looked as scared as I would be playing in my first International against Mexico in front of over 60,000 people.

I don't see Bradley loosing his spot as head coach. US Soccer President Sunil Gulati mentioned at halftime that there would be no change until the European seasons were over at least. But, I just don't see it happening, barring that Bradley doesn't train wreck the squad.

BASA! Nearly a week's worth of votes!

2006-10-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

Due to a close encounter with a vegetable slicer to the tip of one of my fingers it's been a challenge to type these last few days. Now that I'm back, here's - nearly - a weekly review of my BASA votes.

Young Player of the Year

(Under 23 on July 1, 2006. From this list, those eligible are Jeff Curtin through Altidore)

1- Kenny Cooper
2- Freddy Adu
3- Marvell Wynne

Kenny Cooper and Freddy Adu were not hard picks for the BASA Young Player of the Year award. Not only were Cooper's 11 goals second to only team mate Carlos Ruiz's 13, but 6 of those goals were game winners. With far less hype than previous years Freddy had a very solid year. His steady play at midfield has been a key contribution to United's success this season. As for the third spot, there were a lot of deserving young players. But, Marvell simply seemed to play more like a veteran than most.

Midfielder of the Year

1- Christian Gomez
2- Dwayne DeRosario
3- Andy Dorman

Another quick and easy vote for midfielder of the year. Gomez has been an incredible force for a loaded United team. And although it doesn't count in the voting, he's carrying that form into the playoffs scoring 100% of DC's first round goals.

Like I mentioned in my arguments that Dominic Kinnear be considered for Coach of the Year, I'm completely impressed with the Dynamo. The team has gone through a load of adversity and produced results all thorugh it. De Ro is the catalyst for his team. He's always hustling and putting the ball in the net - 11 times over.

Dorman's getting my recognition because through the ups and downs of his Revs teammate performances and health it was Dorman who was the steady engine who drove that drove them through the crap, playing in all 32 games and leading New England with 10 assists.

Old Player Of The Year

(33 or over on July 1, 2006. From this list, those eligible are Onstad through Abundis)

1- Jason Kreis
2- Chris Armas
3- Paco Palencia

The criteria used for this award was mainly my impressions of their play this season. None of them would really jump off the page with their statistics, and yes they each have probably had better years when they were younger. But, I could not deny that Jason Kreis gave everything he had for RSL this year and because of that he did a lot of dirty work while Jeff and others got much of the glory. Armas is a player that you rarely should notice and you rarely do. His job at holding midfield isn't glamorous, but he has done it well this year. I know it's not common to have an RSL supporter voting for Chivas, but every time I saw Palencia play he would always do something that would impress me.

Forward of the Year

1- Jeff Cunningham
2- Carlos Ruiz
3- Kenny Cooper

A forward scores goals. Jeff Cunningham scored 16 goals. That was more than anyone else this year, thus he is the top man at his position. For the other two spots I followed my gut, and that meant not voting for Razov who was third in league scoring with 14. The combination of Ruiz and Cooper felt more dangerous to me. Of course, this could have a great deal to do with that fact that the Dallas Duo scored a combined five goals on RSL this season.

Grinsy Klinsy Talking with USSF

2006-10-27T07:51:00.000-06:00

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=387850&cc=5901

The news broke late yesterday. I guess if there is a reason to put the national team on a 4 month hiatus it would be to wait for Klinnsmann.

The question is this: Has the lack of games over this period been worth it?

BASA: Defender of the Year - Explanation of My Votes

2006-10-26T09:18:00.000-06:00

Defender of the Year

1- Eddie Robinson
2- Facundo Erpen
3- Ugo Ihemelu

Like in the case of goalkeepers discussed earlier this week, to find the best defensive players you initially need to look at the teams that allowed the fewest numbers of goals. Going by this philosophy, the best defensive teams are New England, Los Angeles, DC, and Houston.

From all reports we can assume that the Herculean effort of Matt Reis is what kept Revs opponents off the board. Thus, choosing a representative from this team wouldn’t make sense – unless you could give it to Reis.

This leaves us with the Dynamo, United, and the Galaxy. Ihemelu was a stalwart for LA throughout the season playing more minutes than anyone else while slowing down attackers.

As for DC their entire back line could have been listed for the award. It was a toss up between Bobby Boswell and Erpen. Although Boswell was chosen as his teams top defender I think that Erpen brought an offensive edge. The Argentine added 3 goals and a pair of assists to his solid defensive efforts.

Robinson represents the collective fourth best defense in the league. The reason he deserves the top spot is that his support was somewhat lacking this year. Robinson picked up a lot of slack while supporting Onstad in front the net.

BASA: Rookie of the Year - Explanation of My Vote

2006-10-25T08:53:00.000-06:00

Rookie of the Year

1- Jonathan Bornstein
2- Mehdi Ballouchy
3- Marvell Wynne

All that needs to be said about Bornstein is that he started in more games and played more minutes than anyone else on his entire team. He’s listed as a defender but has seen time all over the park while amassing 6 goals and 4 assists. Bornstein is a major reason for Chivas' improvement this season.

While Mehdi Ballouchy may not have been as impressive on paper as Bornstein, his contribution was equally as vital. When RSL got control of the midfield it was usually through Ballouchy’s efforts. He tended to roam freely no matter what side of the midfield he was listed at playing. His composure on the ball and smart passes broke down some of the most solid defenses in the league.

At this point I’d like to admit a mistake I made in voting. For some strange reason I figured that rookie meant first year in MLS. So, naturally I put in Kenny Cooper, who has previous professional experience in the Manchester United system. Scaryice over at Climbingin the Ladder pointed out my mistake and so I just threw out Marvell Wynne’s name. I apologize because I really don’t know if he had all that great of a season. I know I saw him make some intelligent decisions in back and he has a pair of game winning assists. But, I should say that in comparison to all the hype shoveled on him at the 2005 SuperDraft as the top pick, I don’t think he dominated in a way that some people thought he would.

BASA: Coach of the Year - Explanation of My Votes

2006-10-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

Coach of the Year

1- Bob Bradley
2- Dominic Kinnear
3- Dave Sarachan

The top pick for coach of the year was a complete no brainer. Chivas USA were the absolute worst team in MLS during the 2005 season period, with a record of 4-22-6. Insert Bob Bradley and we have a playoff caliber team that finished smack dab in the middle of the table and a much more respectable record of 10-9-13 the following year. With Bradley, Chivas abandoned their initial thought of operating the team with exclusively Latin based or Latin American players and brought in a healthy mixture of young players – such as Rookie of the Year candidate Jonathan Bornstein – and veteran players like Razov and Palencia.

In 2005 Dominic Kinnear managed the San Jose Earthquakes to the best regular season record in the league. After a horrific off-season involving relocation and rebranding, the Earthquakes traveled southeast and became the Houston Dynamo. Through the move Kinnear kept much of the same core of players and at times this year looked like the great San Jose team of 2005. Any coach that can keep a team winning (11-8-13) after a move deserves recognition.

Some might question why choose Chicago Fire coach Dave Sarachan over New England’s Steve Nicol when the Revolution finished with a better overall record. The key here is personnel. For long periods during the year New England were major under achievers. Now, Nicol can’t really control a pair of his players getting offers from overseas only to get turned down by the league (who owns all player contracts), but he should have still been able to keep his boys motivated.

The Fire have gone out and had a very solid year, taking third in the East and taking the US Open Cup title away from Los Angeles.

The consensus voted Peter Nowak very highly, and some might think for good reason as his DC United were the top team in the league. My only problem is they did all their winning in the first half of the season and then coasted through the last half. United practically sealed up a playoff spot in July, then only won three times since the All-Star game. But, I probably shouldn’t complain too loud as RSL got 4 points (a win and a tie) out of DC during the middle and late in the season.

BASA: GK of Year - Explanation of My Votes

2006-10-23T08:24:00.000-06:00

Goalkeeper of the Year
1- Matt Reis
2- Troy Perkins
3- Kevin Hartman

My top picks for goalkeepers this season were mostly mathematical. The Revolution, D.C. United, and the LA Galaxy have the three lowest totals for goals allowed during the course of the season. Attributing that stat to just the goalkeeper has never sat well with me because defending is up to the entire defense, not just the goalkeeper.

So, if you take the three teams stated above and figure which of their keepers faced the most shots that where you’d find our goalkeeper of the year.

The Revs defense allowed Reis to get fired upon 182 times, and Reis only let 35 get passed him. Perkins, with arguably the league’s best team in front of him, was peppered with 140 shots allowing one less than Reis (I’ll save you a trip to MLSnet.com, it’s 34). The irony of the group is Hartman. Few would argue that it’s been a sub-par year for the defending MLS Cup champions, not making the playoffs and all. But, the Los Angeles defense was the most protective of the three discussed here, only permitting 120 attempts on goal while Hartman was in the nets. Of course, this may have something to do with the fact that Hartman played two less league games than Perkins and four less than Reis.

The BASAs are the annual awards decided by the top american soccer bloggers. You can view the overall results of the voting at Climbing the Ladder. Awards will be posted to Climbing the Ladder every weekday for the next few weeks, and you can find an explanation of my votes here at Desert Crown.

Cardiac Contests

2006-10-11T08:08:00.000-06:00

Although this weekend will test the blood pressure levels of all RSL fans as we sweat out the Houston-Colorado match on Saturday and then see if our boys can pull off the win on Sunday I figured that I would shine some perspective on the subject.

Any RSL supporter will tell you that our team is like a good crock pot. The end result is usually delightful, but it will take a bit of time to get there. For one reason or another the guys take their time at getting going. But when they're going they are oh so good. Of the the 44 goals the team has scored this season 33 have been tallied in the second half.

The season as a whole is also another indicator of the progressive improvement in the team. If you were to separate the schedule into two halves - making the first 16 games up to July 8 in the first half and the remaining 17 as the second - RSL's results are just like a game. Seven of our 10 wins came since the half, while 9 of the 13 losses were during the opening period. Ironically, ties are split right down the middle at 4 a piece.

Forgetting about the fact that we're completely dependent on whether the Dynamo care enough to win this Saturday, RSL's task of going into Victoria Street and beating Chivas at their place is no minor feat.

Even with the good late season form, RSL hasn't won on the road since August 16 against the Crew. Not to mention that we have yet to defeat the Goats this year. After having three buckets off bitterly cold ice dumped on our season opening optimism the last time we played Chivas outside of Rice-Eccles Salt Lake have managed to draw the two times they were on the turf. Although that second one felt like a loss.

The rest of the season all boils down to Sunday. If the motivation of "keeping good form" is enough for the Dynamo to beat the Rapids than I'm optimistic about our chances against the Goats. But, isn't that the same motivation teams have to play well through the early part of the season?

Supporters Section Canopy Unveiling

2006-10-05T22:15:00.000-06:00

I'm an easily excitable person, but every once in a while there's something that makes me so giddy I can't stop thinking about it. This time it's something other than food.

For the last home game of the regular season The Loyalists - the RSL supporters group over in E32 - will be unveiling a brand new flag. Not just any flag, but a flag of all flags. It's only rivals will be the team printed signage over the top half of the east side of Rice-Eccles.

Deuce over at AYL has more details. If you want to add something new to your RSL experience on Saturday night come on over to E32 and Pop the Canopy just before kickoff.

Draw keeps RSL playoff hopes hanging by an unraveling thread

2006-10-01T02:22:00.000-06:00

With the comeback draw against Kansas City on Saturday night Real Salt Lake is either gearing up for the most dramatic push to the playoffs, or the slowest most painful death to a season.

I'll be honest. After Josh Wolff blasted home his goal only six minutes into the match I was ready to call it a night. Why had I stayed up till 11:30 to watch the replay only to see our playoff hopes die in such a quick fashion before my eyes?

In the sick name of fan loyalty I remained awake and glued to channel 5 hoping that a break might fall RSL's way.

Disappointed that Atiba was starting up top rather than Jeff - who turned out to be nursing a hamstring - I was just about ready to dive into all to well known list of the many reasons I don't like Atiba Harris to my brother in-law until Chris Klein made his run around the the Wizards defense. His initial shot was batted away by the Wizards goalkeeper. But, Klein gathered in the rebound to chip a perfect cross to the head of none other than Harris. The St. Kitts striker silenced me again as he touched in a set piece just before the break. The kid doubled his season goal output in one half of play.

Ironically, the last time I was this vocal about my displeasure of an RSL player he happened to scored his only goal of the season. That player was Douglas Sequeira.

Although the match remained very disjointed, I was optimistic about our chances going into the second half. Every time the scores from across the league flashed on screen it seemed that New England had scored another goal on Colorado. With the Rapids loosing and RSL in the lead an excited feeling that tonight might be special began to build in my gut. After KC pounded two more goals home I realized that I had mistook that feeling for gas caused by my chimichanga I had for dinner.

Colorado's 3-1 loss to New England was made official and Salt Lake fell behind. TV commentators Hatch and Frasier talked about how a loss would not entirely eliminate RSL from the playoffs. But, we all know that realistically it would be next to impossible if we were to get no points from Kansas City.

Jason Kreis saved my night - and Salt Lake's season - when we followed his own rebound to pop in the equalizing goal.

The Rapids - who haven't won for three weeks - are doing everything they can to help RSL into the playoffs. Our draw tonight brings us within 2 points of Colorado and that last playoff spot.

The Galaxy put the hurt on their Home Depot Center housemates beating Chivas 3-0 tonight. Los Angeles are now only a point behind Salt Lake.

No matter how you spin the scenarios, RSL needs six points out of it's final two games. If we can do that all we need is for the Rapids to loose once. If that plays out we're in and LA is a non-factor.

Anything less than three points in either of RSL's games (Houston at home this Saturday; Chivas away the week following) and you may as well stick a fork in Salt Lake's 2006 season.

American Soccer History 101: NASL

2006-09-20T12:51:00.000-06:00

Feeling the need to be nostalgic, I've been reading Kenny Stern's novel "Kicks" which is a fictional story based on the old North American Soccer League that died in the mid-1980s. He changes all the names of the teams and even the league to the North American Continental Soccer League - creative, I know.

Even though I've followed the American game for years I know very little about the old domestic league, I couldn't even tell you if the cities he uses actually had teams - with the exception of the majors like New York, Chicago and San Jose, etc.

It's mostly an entertaining read. I think I would appreciate it more if I knew more of the facts about the NASL and could relate what was truth and what was fabrication in the story. A more detailed review will be posted once I've finished reading.

While on the subject of the North American Soccer League I would like to spread the word on a documentary that will be playing on ESPN2 Wednesday night. It's called "Once in a Liftetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos," and was produced by Michael Davies (author of World Cup Diaries on espn's page2).

The New York Time's blurb on the movie:

"Fielding heroes and villains, gentlemen and rogues, booze and women, it plays like the 'Dynasty' of sports documentaries ... This is a movie so unabashedly in love with its subject that even audiences who don't know Giorgio Chinaglia from Georgie Best will leave the theater grinning."

For all you documentary types, or just those like me with little knowledge of the predecessor to MLS, this will give us a peak back at what professional soccer was like back in the 1970s. I hear it will be showing at 9pm ET and 6pm PT.

RSL in the midst of a real winning streak!

2006-08-17T00:04:00.000-06:00

The game that took place in Columbus on Wednesday night looked very familiar. A situation where a team hasn't been able to catch a break in just under a dozen games gets an early goal at home and take the game to their visitors. The effort is valiant, but the end result is cruel. With two second half goals - one in the 90th minute - the home team collapses in disbelief as another match slipped out of their grasp.

The only difference between what happened at Crew stadium and the past is that RSL were the victors. With the 2-1 win over Columbus Salt Lake has an honest to goodness winning streak. For the last three league matches RSL have received the maximum points - good enough for the RSL history books as the longest winning streak.

Just over a month ago RSL pulled off an unlikely 3-1 pounding of the Revolution at Gillete Stadium. Since that game Salt Lake have only lost one league match, a 1-0 heartbreaker given by FCD on an Abe Thompson goal in the 93rd minute. The next result was the Chivas debacle when six goals were scored - four of which were Goal of the Week candidates - and Claudio Suarez snatched the draw with a goal in the 94th minute.

Every game since (three in total) has seen RSL finish on top. It's a good trend that's coming at perfect time for a push to the playoffs. Our only problems are the two teams we're trying to catch: Chivas USA and the Colorado Rapids.

Ironically, it looks to be more realistic to catch up to our Rocky Mountain rivals than our expansion brethren. Chivas have yet to lose since a 3-1 loss to the Dynamo on July 8th. Since then they have tied four straight, and squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Fire at Toyota Park last week.

In that same amount of time the Rapids have lost three, won two, and tied once. Through out their entire 2006 campaign the Rapids have yet to string two consecutive wins together. Their inconsistency and recent trend of loosing badly of late makes them appear as an easier target, although they have one point over the Goats. All of this assumes that the Galaxy can't get their act together, which is historically not the case. The season for LA starts in August.

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I don't know how long this has been the case, but MLSnet.com has started using RSS feeds on their news headlines. I'd like to think my letter was the one that swayed them to do this, but I'm sure many of the other soccer bloggers requested it as well.

Circus Real: Madrid and Salt Lake Meet

2006-08-13T01:51:00.000-06:00

The circus that embodies one the largest and most well known brands in world football stopped in Salt Lake City this week. Above all else I was looking forward to the event. The large crowd, the mainstream media coverage, and the electricity that comes with the combination of the two.

Madrid came and did their part, but except for a few flashes of brilliance the Galacticos did not impress.

The first half from Madrid was rather dull. Whether they were tentative due to their concern with the newly rolled in grass, or they just start slow they didn't impress me.

Real Salt Lake took the game at their foreign guests, but could not produce anything terribly dangerous. Although, Salt Lake did get the first shot on goal.

The crowd began very much in support of the team in white, but as RSL began dispossessing and beating Madrid defenders on the dribble the support from the fans slowly switched toward the Red and Blue.

I was moving around a lot during the opening half. Because of this I saw different parts from various angles. By the time Cassanno went down in the box I was on the far end and was convinced that the Italian went swimming.

I was later told by others who had a better angle that Willis Forko pulled him down.

Ruud stepped up and easily buried his chance from the spot.

The second half brought in various Madrid stars, including Robinho, Baptista, and his Beckhamness. David brought an excitement to the crowd that convinced me of one thing. The majority of the 45,511 paid to see the Fifth Spice.

Bringing on Robinho immediately improved the look of Madrid's play. The Galactico's were much more potent and creative when going through their little Brazilian. Robinho was the highlight of the game; he saved Mardrid from playing dull and boring.

RSL held their own until Atiba Harris' reckless challenge. In all too typical fashion, Atiba Harris put RSL at a disadvantage by going in recklessly on Sergio Ramos. Harris completely took Ramos' leg out. The referee reached in his pocket with no hesitation and showed the rookie striker a straight red.

Cameras flashed in constant motion all over Rice-Eccles following Beckham around the pitch. You didn't even need to watch the flow of the game as the tide of flashing lights followed the Madrid midfielder where ever he went. It almost looked choreographed.

The beauty of what is known as Real Madrid, and the other thing that everybody else came to see, manifested itself in the 65th minute. My eyes were watching van Nistelrooy pace side to side weaving just behind the RSL backline. He then cut into an onside position to sublimely let the ball pass through his legs and back heeled a perfect touch to a rushing Robinho.

Robinho carried under extreme pressure before letting a precisely executed shot stream past Nolly and into the side netting.

Our boys did well, overall. They did not back down - especially the outside backs: Kevin Novak and Willis Forko - and they played their game. Cannovaro is a vital addition to the Madrid defense. He will certainly help them not loose so many games (ie Champions League).

Now that all the play and excitement are over it's back to reality. Salt Lake travels to Columbus on Wednesday. Every game at this point is a must win.

RSL then hits the road to take on a very good Houston Dynamo this Saturday. Wait, no they don't. That game's at home, it's me that is hitting the road. I will be missing it in order to be with family back in the midwest. It took me nearly two full seasons to miss a home match - this Saturday will be the first.

"No TV, No Beer, Make Homer something-something..."

2006-08-09T23:22:00.000-06:00

Commenting on a game I did not see is, shall we say, like trying to grab something out of the closet in the room where my six-month old is sleeping without making a noise. It can be done, but takes serious concentration.

But, in actuality I have very little to say except to point out the records that were made. First, it was the first time Real Salt Lake netted four goals in a single league game. Thanks to an unassisted strike from Chris Brown in the 94th minute! Atta boy, Brownie.

Jeff Cunningham bagged a pair, including one from the spot, to give him a grand total of 13 goals on the season. The brace helped Cunningham leap-frog Ante Razov as the top scorer in the league.

The Galaxy also won tonight, beating the Dynamo on a Santino Quaranta goal. That keeps RSL and LA tied for points at 23 a piece. RSL leads due to a -1 goal differential compared to the Gals -7. Both clubs are now only four points behind fourth place Chivas who sit in the final playoff spot in the West.

Here's a cool thing I found this week. Someone came up with the idea to organize a sports wiki called ArmChairGM. It's pretty cool. I started putting the RSL info in, but anyone else can edit it at any time. Feel free to contribute.

http://armchairgm.com/mwiki/index.php?title=Major_League_Soccer

Real Struggles

2006-07-26T11:32:00.000-06:00

What can be said about Real? They certainly are struggling. Their game is like a leaky dam. Every time they seem to fix one part another hole begins spewing water raising concern that the whole thing may come down in an unfixable mess - washing away all hope of making the playoffs.

Before the match against Chivas on Wednesday night RSL had been held scoreless in three of their last four outings - the triple goal performance at New England in the middle of that stretch was clearly an anomaly. For statistical purposes we'll say that Salt Lake have scored a total of 3 goals in the last four games.

During that stretch several chances were squandered by lack of touch, concentration, or fear of touching an easy ball into the net. It's called Easygoalitus. Those inflicted find it impossible to bury "sitter" chances. It ran ramped through much of the RSL offense, but seems to be in remission for now.

The positive side of that stretch is that two of those goal-less performances were draws - wait, no. The Dallas game should have ended in a draw. Abe Thompson did a country two-step through a pair of defenders and then docey-dowed Scott Garlick for the stoppage time talley.

The horror continued four days later as Claudio Suarez (pictured) popped home a Jesse Marsch cross also very late in stoppage time. As you can see from this photo, Suarez had enough space to hold a small fiesta in front of the goal.

Salt Lake's defense has problems. They are very capable of keeping the ball out of their net, but having troubles doing so late. This issue will need to be addressed before the D.C. match on Saturday.

The league's best team has not lost in 14 straight MLS matches and they have not been shut out all year. Our ray of hope lies in their single loss on the year - it was at altitude.

Back in May D.C. fell to the Rapids in Colorado following a 1-1 tie with Dallas the week before. Well, United tied Chicago 1-1 last week and now the Black and Red are climbing the Rockies to play up on the hill at Rice-Eccles Saturday night.

As luck would have it, RSL is in desperate need of a win. All we need is for our defense to stay in the game from whistle to whistle and for the offense to show no signs of Easygoalitus. Couple that with D.C.'s struggles at altitude this season and it looks good for Real Salt Lake.

White Shirts and Compromises

2006-07-17T22:58:00.000-06:00

Another feat has been met by RSL! With the 3-1 over the New England Revolution on Friday night Real Salt Lake has now won while wearing their white kits.

If you recall the historic 3-0 win over the Galaxy at Victoria Street back on May 13 of this year the visitors were in their traditional red shirts and blue shorts. But, Friday marked the first win in franchise history while wearing the road whites.

Salt Lake's fortunes were reversed on Friday. Rather than being the team that played better and couldn't finish, they finished with a vengeance. I still can't get over the fact that Jeff didn't loose the ball well spinning and tip-toeing through the led-footed bunch of Revs defenders.

Great goals on all three strikes. Let's keep it up boys!

I don't even want to touch the roller coaster of emotions that is the stadium situation here in Utah. Let it be known that nothing is decided. Owner Dave Checketts has laid out an ultimatum that he will "put the team up to the highest bidder" if a stadium deal is not tangibly in motion by August 12.

Even though he's asked the County Council to take the stadium proposal of the agenda, the council still seems to be drawing up a counter offer. Basically, they want to give RSL $23 million instead of the requested $30 million. And, to be clear, this money would be coming from a hotel tax; no local residents will have their taxes raised for the stadium - unless they stay a local hotel.

This is quite a mature move by the Council and, to me, is a fair compromise. Personally, I think RSL should take it so that Uncle Dave can have his vision of Kreis and Beckham turning over some dirt with golden shovels in August.

RSL gets first Open Cup Win

2006-07-12T11:20:00.000-06:00

I wouldn't call it a dominating performance. It did take RSL all the way into overtime to squeak a 2-1 win out of the Virginia Beach Mariners of the USL First Division (one division below MLS) in the third round of Open Cup play.

Descriptions that we controlled most of the possession are little misleading. We may have had the ball but were either in our own half or traveling east and west at midfield. When Salt Lake did go forward with a healthy build up their chances looked dangerous, but few ended up on frame. The same troubles in front of the net that has been plaguing the first team strikers was affecting the young guys in front of the Mariners' net. Although, I guess Atiba has seen ample time with the first team this year but I still consider him one of the young guys.

The important thing about the game is that we won. The first win for RSL in Open Cup play. Now we're not the only MLS team in history with out a win in the national tournament. To be honest, some MLS sides take the Open Cup seriously while others don't - it's reported that DC has not defeated another MLS team in the competiion since 1997. With this year's playoff possibilities in serious doubt, RSL should really have a go at the Dewar Trophy. It would be tough, but very doable for our side. The win sets up a meeting with the Crapids on August 2nd at Rice-Eccles. I hear that all the season ticket holder's exhibition tickets are all used up, so everybody will need to pay to get in to that one.

As for the team's performance against Virginia Beach I really, really like the combination of Andy Williams and Mehdi Ballouchy playing together. Ryan Johnson looked particularly good on the wing. He has the build and speed to be a great threat streaking down the sidelines. And his crosses aren't bad either. As I have said before, Jay Nolly is a great goalkeeper. The goal that was scored by Virginia Beach was a beauty - one of those that launches Mariners supporters out of their seats and silences RSL supporters and caused me to mummble "wow". Local boy Joey Worthen also made an appearance on the flank opposite Johnson. His hustle and size will help his case for getting into a league match soon.

WC Final: Too bad, FIFA

2006-07-10T08:52:00.000-06:00

My mind can't shake the image. The more I digest the memory the more I'm confused. A momentarily lapse in reason and self control overtook Zidane on Sunday in front of nearly half the population of the planet.

Why one of the most graceful players to touch the game felt he needed to use his head as a battering ram and knock a man off his feet is still a mystery. Of course Zidane was provoked, but that still does not justify his action.

The sad thing is that the biggest loser in this drama is not Zidane or even his French national team that lost their chance at football glory of the highest nature, it's FIFA who less than 24 hours after the incident occured awarded Zidane with the Golden Ball as the MVP of the tournament. I won't deny that the fate of France rested on his single performance in every game of this year's Cup - and even through qualifying. But, what message are you sending to the millions of kids and young players all over the world who see Zidane freak out on the world stage? If FIFA were to trully stick by their "Fair Play" motto they would take the award from Zidane. The message would be powerful: everyone should play fair no matter how well they play with the ball.
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I should mention that the award is voted on by the press and the vote was taken prior to The Head Butt. But, FIFA should still revoke the honor because of the visibility and outright uncontrolled nature of the action.

WC: And a Pigstacker shall lead them...

2006-07-08T15:24:00.000-06:00

Bastian Schweinsteiger saved his best for last as he had a hand in all three German goals in their 3-1 victory over Portugal in the World Cup third place match.

Foreseeing the low amount of intensity in this match I actually opted to completely skip the first half and instead spend the time with my wife and five month old daughter at the pool. When I eventually started heading over to watch the game halftime was just ending. But, rather than drive up to campus as quick as possible, I decided I was hungry and went the opposite direction to Wendy's to pick up a couple sandwiches.

Now that I was really on my way I was surprised by how not rushed I felt. I figured the game was either knotted at nothing, or Germany blew the game out in the first 15 minutes. Neither was the case. All though the intensity was right about where I thought it would be. To me it looked just a hair more serious than an All-Star game.

It was the Schweinsteiger Show as the kid blasted a pair of beauties from distance and forced an own-goal. When Figo shuffled on to the pitch around the hour mark Portugal were able to pull a goal back after a precise cross from the former FIFA World Player of the Year (2002).

And to bring this all back around to the title. During the semi-final on Monday there was a lad in our group would lived in Germany for a few years. He snickered when heard Schweinsteiger's name. Explained that translated into english the name means Pigstacker...it's a good thing that kid can shoot.

RSL: Tweek the Frontline

2006-07-05T02:52:00.000-06:00

They haven't been losses, but the way the last few home games have gone they may as well be. I thought last year's team introduced me to all the different ways I could feel frustration - I was wrong.

The difference this year is that now we dominate play. RSL brought the New England Revolution to its knees a couple weeks ago. Ableit, it was a sputtering Dempseyless Revolution side at the time. And tonight they neutralized a hot Chivas USA squad that has not lost since May and have left such teams as Western Conference leaders Dallas in their wake. Both RSL games against the Revs and Goats should have been won, and had opportunities to be won.

We don't need to recall the missed chances from close range during said matches, but the point is clear: the finishing boogey man needs to be remedied.

In times where RSL have scored, like in Chicago at end of June, the defense has broken down. When the defense is clicking, as in tonight, the offense mentally goes on vacation and creatively botches sitter plays.

As I think the recent performances, our problems are all mental. In these last two home games we have seen that RSL can knock the ball around with any team and create chances. The chances have been dangerous - now we just need to finish them.

With all that said I submit what has been bubbling in this fan's mind. What would it be like to have 6'3" Atiba Harris paired up with Jamie Watson? Even just for a half, then bring Jeffy on for some late game heroics.

The rest of the squad is essentially figured out, and works for the most part. I'd like to see Ellinger fiddle just a bit more with our front line to see if the right combo could create a spark.

Much improved US; Not so for RSL

2006-06-19T22:10:00.000-06:00

USA v. Italy

Incredible play from the United States as a whole. Nearly every player left it all on the field - quite literally. I watched the match in my sister in-laws basement in 88-inch High Definition glory! In attendance with our small group was my Italian brother in-law from Milan and his friend who just flew in from Italy. The mixed partisan crowd added an element to watching that was entertaining. Each time the Italians would scream for the Azzuri, we would yell even louder for the Red White and Blue.

Well done boys. You made a statement with your much improved effort. Dempsey and Conrad, as new comers, looked fantastic. With Ghana's result over the Czechs we have a lifeline, setting up for a crazy Thursday. I'm sure all of us will be calling in sick.

RSL v. Houston

An event filled weekend caused me not to be able to catch Real's game in Houston live. I should mention that KSL, the local NBC affiliate, earned my huge respect on Saturday. When most other NBC channels were showing Game 6 of the Stanley Cup, KSL was showing RSL's match live. I believe this is the first time I witnessed a local MLS telecast preempting another national sporting event. Well done KSL!

Getting home late I watched the entire match in fast forward - stopping only for goals and other points of interest. Thus, I didn't get a whole lot out of it except for the scoring changes. My impression as the play moved frantically back and forth across the screen is that RSL is having the same struggles as earlier this season. One or two costly mental errors in defense - resulting in goals - and choking in the attacking third.

Returning home this Saturday let's hope our boys can reset their minds and get back to winning ways.

Spain v. Tunisia

I figured it badluck that I would skip Spain's first match - assuming they were going to be their normal World Cup lousy selves - against Serbia. It served me right to think so as they demolished the fellow european nation 4-0 in a dominating performance.

Two-thirds the way through today's match against Tunisia I figured I was get my just-deserved as Spain dominated play but couldn't pull the trigger on a scoring chance. But, as the Spaniards mounted a come back on Raul's second half follow up goal and then won on Fornando Torres' sublime touch around the Tunisian keeper. Torres also put away a penalty for the brace.

I was glad I skipped an afternoon of work.

ESPN Coverage

I realize that their coverage has been far from flawless, but I do want to point out something that ESPN is doing well during this World Cup. They talk about the US team at every possible chance. Every World Cup live I've seen and nearly every half-time show has had a segment on the US National Team.

That is one thing, I think, that ESPN is grasping this time around. Most of the people watching do care about the American team and by constantly reminding the viewers that we're still in the tournament it can only boost their ratings for the US games. Well done ESPN.

Nevermind the score. The US effort against Czechs embarrassing

2006-06-12T12:50:00.000-06:00

Retreat! Retreat! The Czechs look so scary! There is no way we can break their defense! Let's give the ball back to Kasey, he'll know what to do!

I feel bad for Kasey Keller. It seemed that guy touched the ball more than any other US player on the field today against the Czech Republic. And only one of those touches was a save. The United States looked so frightened to go forward, that there were times when Kasey decided to dribble around a bit. And why not, he had enough passes given to him during the match.

The only way to describe the US effort in their World Cup demoralization at the hands of the Czech Republic is a complete embarrassment.

During the warm up matches leading up to the tournament I was an optimist. The team would work out the kinks on American soil and then hit Group E play on all cylinders. Well, not a signal piston was firing during the entire 90 minutes of their opening match.

Jan Koller flowed like a harpoon between Gooch and Pope to spear home the first Czech goal just five minutes in. From that point most of the US players, stuck a fork in the match. They were done. With the exception of a few. Claudio Reyna pressed forward to get a shot off the post...and yeah, that was about it.

Just before ESPN 2 cut away from the match, showing mostly the Czechs congratulating themselves, there was one image that I hope some photographer captured. It was Josh Wolff with a look of absolute embarrassment. Nothing more needed to be shown or said. Not only did the United States mens national team embarrassed themselves, but they embarrassed their domestic league, and a growing fan base.

As a member of that fan base I have few questions for the team:

1.)In a World Cup match against a celebrated and experienced European side did you guys decide to stand around? It didn't matter if we had the ball or the Czechs, there always seemed to be a few blue shirts just standing in the camera shot.

2.)A team that is not very quiet about “playing their game” against any team in the world, why did you change your plans on this day? There was no taking on players, most players looked horrified to even receive the ball and thus made lots, and I mean LOTS of passes backwards.

3.)What's it like going for a nice leisurely stroll on a green grass field in the heart of Germany on a warm summer afternoon? Did you wonder what the guys in white were doing? It appeared so at times.

All hope is not lost. There are two more games, and it is possible to still get out of the group. But a must win situation against Italy or Ghana is not a favorable one. Although, if they were to pull it off, it would make for a great story. But the only story right now is why did the United States show so little effort and energy in a World Cup game? It's Baffling.

World Cup Day 1: A Great Start!

2006-06-10T23:02:00.000-06:00

The soccer gods were smiling on me today. Walking through the pouring rain to my work as a programmer the only thought in my head as that it was June 9th - World Cup Day. Nearly every for the next month would be a holiday in my mind, but his would be the commencing day.

Thinking that I was a responsible recent college graduate I figured I was going to be missing several games in the name of staying employed. On this day I was rewarded for my commitment. Tragically, my computer refused to boot up properly, getting worse with each successive try. My boss walks in, I tell him my dilemma and he tells me to go home - he'll call me when it gets fixed. A software can't do much work when his machine is down and the network admin doesn't come in until the middle of the day, right?

What's a guy to do with a free day off work on a World Cup day? Michael Davies over at ESPN.com's Page 2 is blogging his experience during the tournament while traveling around Germany. Well, I can blog about my World Cup experience as seen from Utah.

Germany v. Costa Rica

The 2006 World Cup began with a nearly perfect match between the host country Germany against tiny Costa Rica. There were goals. Lots and lots of goals.

I caught the match on a small tv in the eating area of the Utah State student center known as the Hub. Free cable, with free wifi makes the location a regular spot for watching games.

Overall an exciting match. The Germans flexed their muscle and dominated the Ticos - bombarding their goal with long range missiles into the upper corners of the net. On the flip side Paulo Wanchope saved the match from turning into a rout by streaking through the German offsides trap and burying a pair of his own.

Representing RSL was Douglas Sequeira for the Ticos was practically invisible at his defensive midfield position. Which is good, you usually don't want to notice those guys.

During this match I ran outside the student center to get within range of a stinking cell tower to make a call. Something inside a window of a room I had never seen shocked me - the game was being shown on a very large flat screen.

At half-time I went searching for this room and found a dimly lit secluded corner of the building with big plush couches, love sacs, recliners, tables and chairs if you had food and of course the flat screen mounted on the wall.

This little known haven became my destination for the Poland-Ecuador match.

Poland vs. Ecuador

What a great upset. Poland looked like absolute crap! And the Ecuadorians were all over it like...well use your imagination.

Good on the South Americans for defying their critics who said they couldn't win at sea level.

Plus, watching the match from a nice plush couch with my feet up instead of in a cafeteria style eating area was a welcome change. And did I mention their was an even better wifi signal in this room?

US loss is no need to panic

2006-05-25T14:03:00.000-06:00

The first match of the World Cup send off tour for the US was all backwards.

How often is it that the United States is the power and the other team is the one huddled in a defensive bunker? Of course, rather than try to explain more of this idea I think the folks over at DC enters were spot on with their point.

The Czar over at Are You Loyal? does well to explain that there are two camps that have formed because of this result. Those who aren't worried and those who are jumping on the panic button with both feet. To see where he stands, go check out his post.

Using the train of thought put forth by the AYL Magistrate I would have to put myself in the those who aren't worried camp. I think the loss will do more good than a huge win at this point. The loss in and of itself means nothing. The important thing to watch now is how the US responds. If they come out against Venezuela looking like the disjointed version of Real Salt Lake circa 2005, which they did against Morocco, then there may be cause for concern.

In a sense, this pre-season and nothing counts until Germany. Although, it would be good to see improve in these next two games.

Blogger Lesson Learned: Go with your Gut

2006-05-25T13:06:00.000-06:00

Blogger lesson learned: Go with your gut when you have something to say.
Case: Jeff Cunningham

Earlier this week Ryan Hatch of Salt Lake based radio station 1280 The Zone, in attempts to describe Jeff Cunningham's role to the average Joe sports fan, compared the RSL striker to a relief pitcher: the go to guy you bring in off the bench to get you the win late in games. The comparison, in my mind, is quite accurate as Jeffy has scored three goals in the last two RSL wins coming on as a second half sub.

It's funny because driving home after the 1-0 loss to Columbus back on May 6 my friend and I were venting our frustrations about the lack of RSL results. Because everyone thinks they know more than the coach during hard times, whether you admit it or not, we were discussing what should be done differently. Among them was not starting Jeff Cunningham. Although the reason is rather obvious to RSL fans now, it made even more sense to us at the time.

If there is one thing Jeff Cunningham is known for it is coming into the game around the hour mark and demolishing tired defenses. Thinking back to last season, when Cunningham was with the Crapids, Jeff came on late in the All-Star game to score a pair of goals. During his post-game interview on television he discussed his role as a super sub.

Thinking that I could find the stats to back up my theory I hit last years record books on Jeff's 12-goal season in Colorado. It turns out that my theory, at least for 2005, was wrong. Of his dozen goals 8 of them were scored in games were Cunningham started. Thinking my theory destroyed I opted not to write the post. The very next week Cunningham comes off the bench around the 70th minute and scores a brace (2 goals) to the shock and awe of all MLS to give Salt Lake their first road win ever.

Now that the outcome has repeated itself RSL fans know that Ellinger may never start Jeff again.

The moral of the story for this blogger is to go with your gut. Write the story when you feel it, it makes you look a lot smarter when you turn out to be spot on. That's why we blog, right? Because we think we have something important to say because we see things differently.

Woo Hoo!

2006-05-15T08:47:00.000-06:00

Like many other RSL fans I'm still in a bit of shock. I missed watching the game live and wasn't sure while I was watching the tape during the wee hours of Sunday morning if I was in a dream state or really seeing RSL score and continue to score.

But alas, it is true, Real Salt Lake have now won. And, even though the streak extends into the far reaches of memory of last season, Salt Lake is not the last team to win this season. The Red Bulls are 0-1-5. With the win we are now tied with Chivas with 4 points.

Some of the high points I've taken from this game. There were three goals scored and none of them by Jason Kreis. Last year nearly a third (9) of RSLs 30 goals were scored by Kreis. It's good that others are stepping up this year.

Jeff Cunningham has now scored his third goal for RSL. Seeing as it took him seven games to do this, I'd say he's on track to be more productive than the man we traded for him. Mathis scored a total of three goals all year in 2005.

And finally I really enjoyed how the guys came together. The team as been battling as a cohesive unit for much of the season, and it was nice to see it finally pay off.

Another interesting note. The last time Real scored 3 goals in a game came in a 3-0 shut out of FC Dallas back in July 2005.

SL County Mayor Peter Cartoon

2006-05-04T23:23:00.000-06:00

When it was announced Wednesday that Salt Lake County was going to deny RSL funding to help with the stadium project in Sandy, the news broke on most every medium and has already been blogged about repeatedly.

So, by the time I got home I figured the issue was dead and I didn't need to write about it. That was until I caught county mayor Peter Cartoon on Fox 13 News Thursday morning. What struck me was how nervous and rigid Cartoon looked as he took questions.

I would figure that a man who, in his mind, just saved the county $35 million would feel pretty comfortable about his decision. And you'd think a politician would feel natural in front of a camera. Cartoon looked neither. While he fielded the questions, giving the normal "the numbers don't add up" answers I could see in his eyes the real reason why the county denied RSL the money. As loud and clear as the beats of Samba Gringa ringing out at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Cartoon's rigid behavior screamed, "Why didn't I help Real build a stadium in Salt Lake county? Because Larry Miller told me not too!"

In all seriousness, let this news galvanize all RSL supporters. Make a special effort in getting out to the game this Saturday. We're playing the Crew (who are struggling) kickoff is at 7pm. Do everyone a favor and bring a friend...then tell them to do the same.

A thing of beauty

2006-05-04T08:55:00.000-06:00

With that title you know that I'm not touching anything about RSL with a 10-foot poll. Not with the on field performances that have already been chronicled and blogged about and now with the recent denial of funding from Salt Lake County to assist in the construction of the soccer stadium in Sandy, which I will post about later. So, forgive me for veering off topic while I talk about the 3A high school game I attended last night

The local high school, Logan High, had been receiving a lot of attention in the newspaper around these parts for their perfect 16-0 season. With the state playoffs starting this week, and the fact LHS had not won a playoff game since 1991 - before I was even in junior high, let alone high school.

Knowing what the normal fare of high school soccer presented (a hard-nosed long-ball game), I attended last night's first round playoff game with very low expectations. I even told the Mrs. that I would probably be home after the first half.

As I found a spot on the bleachers the game was a few minutes old, but no goals had been scored. What I saw on the field was shocking. None of Logan High's passes were hardly over 10 yards. Players commanded control of the ball with quality dribbling and quick one and two-touch play through traffic. The play was creative and of quality.

On the first goal a young lad named Edwin Sanchez received the on his foot at the top of the box, with his back toward goal. A defender pressured his back tightly but with a wicked cut back, across the front of his marker this striker destroyed any attempt at opposing his quest for goal. With no one in front of him after the devastating move, Sanchez easily slipped his shot past the keeper.

I found out later that Sanchez lead his team and the Valley (Cache, not Salt Lake) in scoring. And, he's only a freshman.

As I watched Logan completely dominate with their creative short passing I should mention it wasn't the domination that impressed me, but the style of playing from the boys. They know how the game is supposed to be played. And the thought occurred to me, if this is happening in 3A Utah high school soccer it gives me hope that this style of play is getting played by younger and younger american players.

RSL Optimism

2006-04-28T15:14:00.000-06:00

There are a lot of reasons why I like the fact that RSL is hosting the LA Galaxy on Saturday. The two clubs have a lot in common this year, none the least of which is their records (RSL: 0-3-1, LAG: 1-2-1) and the lack of goal scoring production (both tied for the league worst of 3).

While voices from either side are generally upbeat and can be heard speaking of being very close to being very good there is a distinct difference in the tone from Salt Lake then there is in LA...at least in what is being said to the press.

After last weeks overdose of Tang, RSL team members continued to uplift each other in the press. Even reserves such as Nelson Akwari showed their support to the level of it being publicly praised by several of his team mates.

On the other side of the coin there is LA who have been let their frustrations vent about their team mates to the press.

After allowing Chicago to equalized on a freekick in the 86th minute at home Landon spoke his mind about his team.

"I honestly feel like I'm on a high school team sometimes with the decisions people are making and the things people are doing. You don't go sliding into a tackle on the edge of the box against Justin Mapp. It's just stupid. You get away with that in college. You get away with that in high school because guys aren't good enough."

The following line from Landon is my favorite, and another reason why the ployoff system needs to be rethought.

"We were able to hide things a lot last year because we put together four good games at the end of the year but it doesn't hide the fact that we have some issues," (Soccer America).

Then after losing to the Crew on another late freekick Kevin Hartman let his voice be heard.

"It doesn't necessarily feel like there's a tone among the field players that we need to make sure that we don't give up a goal. I'm not sure if we're mature enough as a team yet in terms of decisions that we make and tactically how we play," (MLSnet).

Add this negative attitude inside the team with the whole Lalas-Sampson fiasco being egged on by Eric Wynalda and it spells a distracted LA Galaxy coming to Rice-Eccles Stadium, a place where RSL has shown that they can play well.

Like I said before, I'm optimistic for Saturday.

Tang Colored Dynamo

2006-04-23T00:36:00.000-06:00

As I waited for my MLSnet MediaPlayer to make it's connection so I could watch RSL take on the Houston Tang-amo I noticed the flaw in the Player window - they showed me the score. Why would I want to watch a game I already knew the score of? Message to mlsnet tv guys - PLEASE TAKE THE SCORE OFF THE PAGE WITH THE VIDEO!

There was a time when such an activity was appealing to me - thus explaining the hundreds of game tapes in my video collection - but that time has largely passed. Especially since history was not made tonight for Real Salt Lake. We are still winless on the road.

After an entire season, and now three more games on the road with largely a new group of players, you have to wonder what is wrong with the RSL game day routine on the road. I know, those who saw the game might point to Kries' free kick in the second half that hit both posts and cry that RSL was "unlucky" not to get a tie or even the win, but I disagree. The Tang colored Dynamo dominated. Well, it looked like they dominated. Really what happened is that RSL was simply disconnected.

It seemed as though the only way t get the ball forward was lumping it up to the strikers. Going through the midfield wasn't working, the ball kept getting turned over to the Orangemen... midfield turnovers, now that sounds familiar. So, rather than loose the ball at the center circle it made sense to sky a ball out of the back and hope for Cunningham or Harris to find their way under neath it.

All biases aside, Houston has a great team that plays fast attractive soccer. I hope the Texan city knows what it has. I know the small band of flag bearers behind the left goal understand, it's the rest of the city I'm thinking about.

Yeah it's late...but oh well you're still reading it

2006-04-13T12:47:00.000-06:00

What can I say about the Dallas game that hasn't already been said. The team's on-field attitude improved and it was a closer result because of that. If RSL were to follow the natural progression of things they would tie the Red Bulls in Salt Lake this weekend and then beat the Dynamo in Houston the next. Or, maybe those should be switched...

To be honest I only caught the first half of the game last week. I was already in Salt Lake and so I made my way over to a fan gathering at Iggy's. It was fun to be with fellow RSL supporters, and great to see the good number of people gathering at Iggy's, as I know there are multiple gathering spots for RSL supporters around Salt Lake.

My night went quite well actually. I saw the good half the game, where Klein tucked away a curling free kick and then I left at half time for a sweet show. The great part about the concert was that I didn't have to sit through the several opening bands. We showed up to the venue just as the last opener was finishing up. Some friends saved us some great seats and we only had to watch the band we wanted to see.

If you're curious, we saw a band called The Format, a great set of musicians from Phoenix. I recommend their music highly.

As for RSL, at least the boys look and play like they care.

UPDATE: Sergio Flores not in Portland

2006-04-05T18:51:00.000-06:00

It seems that the enigmatic Sergio on trial with the Timbers this last weekend was not Sergio Flores, but rather Sergio Iniguez. My first clue was seeing Flores at the gym this morning - in Logan, UT. He knows me as "the crazy guy at the gym who knows who I am and talks to me," so I asked him about Portland. He looked puzzled. I mentioned that people had thought he was on trial with the Timbers and his exact quote was, "it wasn't me."

When I made it over to the soccercityusa.com forums to inform the Timber faithful, they had already figured it out. Mainly due to the pictures, which I had not previously seen before writing the previous post. To compare, Flores is pictured above in his RSL kit. The Sergio from the trial is pictured in green below, and Sergio Iniguez is pictured as well. Looks like a closer match than with Flores.

Thanks again to the folks over at soccercityusa.com for the Iniguez pictures.

More Utah Influence for Timbers

2006-04-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

So that we can get last Saturday behind us, I'm going to focus on something totally unrelated for the time being - the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division, which is the second division in the US professional ranks.

It started with the acquisition of former RSL assistant and Blitzz boss Chris Agnello, and now that their roster is becoming more and more familiar I would have to say that, after being aware of the leagues existence for several years, I have finally picked an second division team to follow.

As one of the most widely blogged about teams of the lower divisions, information about the Timbers is quite plentiful.

One such blog, timberblog, I came across in the SoccerBlogs.net aggregator. Agnello's name caught my eye and I followed the link to a post about a scrimmage. In there you find that after being jettisoned by RSL Luke Kreamalmeyer has resurfaced with the Timbers (pictured here at the scrimmage, photo courtesy of SoccerCityUSA.com) . From all accounts from the Timbers fans who saw him at the the scrimmage, they're salivating to have the former RSL midfielder in Portland.

Also spotted was a player known only to those in attendance as "Sergio." It was discovered by the timberblog that it was Sergio Flores. The difference with Sergio than Kreamalmeyer is that Luke is signed and Flores is not. The Smithfield native may only be training with the Timbers until he goes back to the Bolivian league.

UPDATE: It was later decided that it was not Sergio Flores, but another Sergio.

Another blast from the past is former Utah Blitzz member Jacobi Goodfellow, pictured below in a Blitzz uniform playing in a 2004 US Open Cup match against the Timbers on June 30th in Salt Lake. The Timbers beat the Blitzz that night. He has apparently signed with the Timbers.
Not surprising that Agnello is going with some guys that he knows. It's causing me to take interest and wondering if I can sneak a trip out to Portland this summer.

RSL picking up where it left off...

2006-04-03T01:19:00.000-06:00

More of the same, only the cast has changed. The impenetrable force that is the goal for RSL - meaning the goal they're attacking - continued it's dominance into the teams second season. Chivas USA blanked Real Salt Lake 3-0 in the opening game of the season for both clubs at the Home Depot Center.

I should say early that I'm not calling for anyone's heads. It's only one game. But as a fan, it's frustrating. I don't remember Guzan having to make any fantastic saves. When you watch your team build up toward goal what you want to see are shots on frame. For me anyways, that would be promising. According to the stats on the league site, RSL had 2 to the Goats 8.

I did like how Douglas Sequeira won balls at the middle of the park. The man is a battler and fought to regain possession for Salt Lake the whole match. When he consistently passes to RSL team mates and not the other team, he'll be great.

Mehdi was all right. He was imaginative and has a very nice touch on the ball and well weighted passes. It wasn't a WOW performance by the Moroccan by any means, but it was positive.

Nothing else really stood out to me as far as individuals. It seemed like the defense ran away from the man with the ball a lot. And the passing at midfield was nice, unless of course it was meant to go to an RSL player. And then the play in the attacking third was as baffling as it was last year.

But, I'd like to be an optimist. We can learn from such a loss. This beating got our boys' attention. It will now be interesting to see how this group responds to the adversity. Next stop is Dallas who beat out a good Fire team 3-2 on Saturday.