Rebranding Still Coming

At this point, I think most people know that the Kansas City Wizards have played their final game, and that next March we'll see a "new" team taking the field as Sporting KC. There have been numerous signs that the change is coming, from the lack of merchandise throughout the season and the lack of any real discussion by anyone in the front office (when most of the time they're happy to discuss topics) to selling anything and everything that has the Wizards name on it after the last game at CAB. There has been plenty of hints that it's coming and the latest was during the pregame before this past game against San Jose. During a discussion with Sasha Victorine, Robb Heineman said that OnGoal wants a name that represents more than just a soccer team, and more than just professional sports, something that can also be more community involved as well, and the ownership is not sure that the name Wizards does that.

That conversation as a whole just drove the point home that the team will not be the Wizards next season. And in a few years expect there to be a lacrosse team, or some other minor sports team in KC with the name Sporting KC as well. The name and rebranding continues to be a polarizing topic, although most that don't want rebranding seem to see it as an inevitability at this point. Unlike the Seattle situation, where fans raised such an uproar about the name Sounders not being included on the ballot, the name Wizards does not hold the same level of support here. There are plenty of people here that don't want to keep the name. The thing with many of those fans that don't want to Wizards, is that they don't really want Sporting KC either. In an informal poll on Bigsoccer, while the support for KC Wizards is trailing the rebranding, of the 86 people that have voted on the third option, only 10 of those people voted for wanting to be Sporting KC over KC Wizards or some other rebranding option.

The name continues to be the topic of discussion in other areas of the net as well, with many that aren't Wizards fans. Twitter and blog posts by other people have also been critical of the name saying everything from bad marketing to the name being pretentious and fake. And it's really hard to argue with any of those opinions. As I've said previously, the name Sporting KC strikes me as OnGoal just trying to hard to be European/foreign name for the team. I'm sure we'll get a fairly in depth explanation for why they chose this name once the name is released. And I'm sure plenty of people will feel like they're just blowing smoke up the fans' asses. If it's done publicly, OnGoal has to be hoping they don't get this reaction to the change.

Former Wizards Update

The MLS season is winding down, the playoffs are starting this week. Will Hesmer's season though is done as he went off injured late in the Crew's 3-1 win over Philadelphia. The USSF division 2 season ends this coming weekend, with Amir Lowery the only former Wizard still playing. Speaking of the USSF division 2, Ryan Pore was named the MVP of the league this past week. Here's the rest of your former Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Nick Cardenas
Ryan Caugherty
Pablo Escobar
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestley

MLS
Preston Burpo - New England - Out with injury
Adam Cristman - DC United - Dressed but did not play in DC's 3-2 loss to Toronto.
Nick Garcia - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 3-2 win over DC.
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 2-2 draw with Colorado.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 2-1 loss to Houston.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Dressed but did not play in Dallas' 2-1 loss to LA.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Dressed but did not play in Columbus' 4-1 win over Joe Public. Started and played 85 minutes before coming off injured in Columbus' 3-1 win over Philadelphia.
Chris Klein - LA - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in LA's 2-1 win over Dallas.
Claudio Lopez - Colorado - Dressed but did not play in Colorado's 2-2 draw with RSL.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Real Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in RSL's 2-2 draw with Colorado.
Kurt Morsink - DC United - Started and played 74 minutes in DC's 3-2 loss to Toronto.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in San Jose's 4-1 loss to KC.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 62 minutes in San Jose's 4-1 loss to KC.
Carey Talley - New York - Did not dress in New York's 2-0 win over New England.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Seattle's 2-1 loss to Houston.
Alex Zotinca - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 4-1 loss to Chicago.

USSF Division 2
Doug DeMartin - Portland - Season over.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season over.
Luis Gil - St. Louis - Season over, returned to RSL.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Season over.
Aaron Hohlbein - Miami - Season over, returned to KC.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Season over.
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 2-0 loss to Puerto Rico in the first league of the USSF Division 2 finals.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Season over.
Abe Thompson - Miami - Season over.
Lance Watson - Austin - Season over.

National Teams
Sunil Chhetri - India - No game this week.

International
Vicente Arze - Aurora - Bolivia - Came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Aurora's 2-1 win over La Paz.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Did not have a game this week.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Dressed but did not play in Pachuca's 2-0 loss to Jaguares. Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Pachuca's 3-2 loss to Tigres.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Quilmes' 2-0 loss to Banfield.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Scored a goal in Harbour View's 2-1 win over Reno. Lost 1-0 to Benfica.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Beat NK MV Croatia Slavonski Brod 2-0.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Dressed but did not play in Fulham's 2-1 loss to West Brom.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Dressed but did not play in Waterford's 3-2 win over Athlone Town.
Carlos Marinelli - Györi ETO - Hungary - Dressed but did not play in Gyori's 2-1 loss to Paksi. Came off the bench and played 68 minutes in Gyori's 7-1 win over Barcs in the Hungarian Cup.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Randers' 2-1 loss to Brøndby. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Randers' 2-1 win over Fredericia in the Danish Cup.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 85 minutes, scoring a goal in Weiss' 3-2 win over Bayern Munchen II.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Colombia - Did not play in Quindio's 2-0 win over Cortulua.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not dress in Wellington's 3-0 loss to Adelaide.

Conrad Up for Year End Award

Wizards defender, Jimmy Conrad is up for one of MLS' year end awards this year. Conrad was named one of the 3 finalists for the MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year. Conrad is up against Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching and New York midfielder, Seth Stammler. Conrad's accomplishments this year include continuing his work with the Autism Speaks organization, he's also a player ambassador for the Child Protection Center, he's also served on the KC Zoo Board, the Boys and Girls Club, and finally he was the Wizards player representative for the Pepsi Refresh Project to improve Belvidere Park which took second place in the voting and won $25,000 for the project.

Auvray Sits as Guadeloupe Wins Group

With Guadeloupe already through to the next phase of the Digicel Caribbean Cup, their game today against Grenada was little more than a friendly. With that in mind, Wizards midfielder, Stephane Auvray did not play as Guadeloupe defeated the group's host 3-0 today. Guadeloupe grabbed the lead in the 15th minute and held the lead through half time. They then grabbed goals in the 69th and 79th minute to clinch the top spot in the group. The two teams both head to Martinique for the final group phase on November 26th.

Down the Byline Wizards Team Awards

The Wizards season is over and it's time to look at the year end awards. First let's look at the team's year end awards. This year the team handed out 5 awards, Golden Boot, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year, and Bob Gansler KCW Juniors Player of the Year.

MVP and Golden Boot both went to Kei Kamara for his 10 goals and 6 assists this season. Defensive player of the year went to goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen, Humanitarian went to Jimmy Conrad, and the Juniors player of the year went to defender Konner Knoll. The media got to vote on 3 of those awards, MVP, defensive player of the year, and humanitarian. So as a voting media member, who got my vote? MVP and humanitarian were the same person on my ballot, Kamara. My defensive player of the year went to Michael Harrington who had himself a very big season for the Wizards. In fact, award winner Nielsen finished 3rd on my ballot behind Harrington and Roger Espinoza. Here are my awards, the same as last year.

Rookie of the Year
Teal Bunbury
Probably the easiest selection this year, mainly because the only competition for Bunbury was Korede Aiyegbusi who played in a little over 100 minutes this season. Still Bunbury finished his rookie season with 5 league goals and 2 assists along with a goal in the US Open Cup qualifier against Colorado.

Defender of the Year
Michael Harrington
As I stated above, Harrington finished at the top of my official ballot. Harrington had a season that brought back memories of his rookie season where he looked like a potential option for the US at the outside back position, if he's healthy enough I'd hope he'd get a look in the January camp, if not a surprise call up for the upcoming South Africa friendly.

Goal of the Year
Josh Wolff vs Houston
While Birahim Diop's strike against San Jose was a thing of beauty, Kamara's goal where he channeled Roger Milla was fantastically taken, and Davy Arnaud's curling goal against Chicago was world class, I have to agree with Gooch on this one and give the goal to Josh Wolff for his winner against Houston. It was a beautiful ball by Harrington and a very nice finish by Wolff. Combine that with the timing of the goal and how huge it was at the time this goal takes it. Check the goal out again below.



Performance of the Year
Birahim Diop vs San Jose 10/23
It was the final game of the season, but Diop's performance against San Jose was great. There were 3 very good finishes and that last one was world class. Diop may not have done a lot in some of his other performances, but this one was the top performance of the season.

MVP
Kei Kamara
As I started above, Kamara was the Wizards MVP this season, he played a roll in many of the Wizards goals this season, even ones that he didn't get an assist on. Jimmy Nielsen was an early favorite, but he faded a bit down the stretch and while Harrington was solid defensively, he wasn't flashy enough to be a big MVP candidate.

October Player of the Month

The Wizards season is over, but before I hand out my year end awards, I have to first hand out my final player of the month award for this season for the month of October. In October the Wizards went 2-3, scoring 7 goals and conceding 5 times. Here are some of the stats for this month:

Birahim Diop - 3 goals
Davy Arnaud - 2 goals
Teal Bunbury - 1 goal, 1 assist
Josh Wolff - 1 assist
Jonathan Leathers - 1 assist
Craig Rocastle - 1 assist
Jimmy Nielsen - 1 shutout

For me, stat wise, no one really stands out, yes Diop's hattrick against San Jose was nice, but other than that he didn't really do anything in the month. One of Arnaud's goals came from the penalty spot, while Bunbury's goal and assist came in the same game.

For me this month, the award goes to Craig Rocastle. Rocastle has been consistently one of our best players once he finally adjusted to the style of play in MLS. With Stephane Auvray struggling for form the past month or so, Rocastle has stepped up and helped to continue shutting down the middle of the field. Rocastle has also provided plenty of help getting the offense started. Rocastle's vision for passing has been good and has helped the Wizards transition well getting up the field.

Comets Sign Former MVP

The Missouri Comets continue to fill their roster, and they've added a big name to the roster, former indoor MVP, Byron Alvarez. Alvarez was the 2008 MVP of the NISL while playing with the Monterrey La Raza, where he scored 39 goals. He was also a member of La Raza's championship team last year in the MISL. Alvarez also has history in the outdoor game as he's played for the Metrostars, Charleston Battery, and Portland Timbers before moving indoors. From those that know more about the indoor than myself, this is a very big signing for the Comets, while Alvarez is 32, he'll provide the Comets with a consistent, proven goalscorer.

Auvray, Guadeloupe Advance in Digicel Cup

Stephane Auvray and the Guadeloupe national team secured passage to the final phase of the Digicel Caribbean Cup today as they defeated Puerto Rico 3-2 today. The win assured Guadeloupe of a top 2 finish in their group. Guadeloupe started off quickly, scoring in the first minute after working the kick off down the wing. They doubled the lead in the 10th minute. Unfortunately for Guadeloupe, they again found themselves down a man as the scorer of the second goal, Ludovic Gotin was sent off for kicking out at a player. Guadeloupe though continued to control the game, and in the second half scored their third via the counter. Auvray led the counter, a 3 on 1 break, and finished the chance for his second international goal for Auvray and the third of the game. After that Puerto Rico worked their way back into the game, scoring 2 goals, but it was not enough as Guadleoupe is now set to advance to the final group stage of the tournament.

Sunday After Stats

The season is over, here's your last post game stats hit. I'll be posting some seasonal ones as well in the next coming weeks.

For the first time since 2005 the Wizards finished with a positive goal difference (+1, 36 for 35 against).

In the 27th minute, Davy Arnaud moved past Preki and into 4th place for the most minutes played for KC in league play, Arnaud finished the game with 17,863 minutes played.

Arnaud also made his 218th league appearance for KC, tying him with Preki for 4th place on that list.

Josh Wolff made his 144th league appearance for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 9th place on the list.

Jack Jewsbury made his 142nd league start for KC, tying him with Mo Johnston for 7th place on that list.

Ending on a High

The Wizards closed out the 2010 season on a high note, the same way they began it, by putting 4 on the board, this time against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Earthquakes put out a fairly first team lineup for the game, including MVP candidate, Chris Wondolowski. The Wizards on the other hand threw out a lineup that included many reserve players. Players like Chance Myers, Graham Zusi, Korede Aiyegbusi, and Eric Kronbereg all got rare starts with KC having nothing to play for.

KC started the game brightly and Zusi almost had his second goal of the season inside the first 2 minutes as he collected a ball out on the left, cut inside and fired a shot that hit the top of the bar. Zusi continued to be an early threat and in a similar situation to his first chance, Zusi pushed a shot just wide of the post. KC controlled much of the game early on, and Kronberg, in his first MLS start had little that he really had to do as much of San Jose's possession in the Wizards offensive half was cut off by the defense in front of him. In the 36th minute, KC got themselves on the board as Jonathan Leathers picked out Birahim Diop on a long ball over the top. Diop out raced his defender and headed the ball past the ball past an onrushing Jon Busch and into the net giving the Wizards the early lead. Shortly after the first goal, KC had a great opportunity to double the lead. Zusi played a cross into the box that struck the hand of a San Jose defender. No call was made, but the ball fell to Diop around the penalty spot. Diop took a touch and fired the ball on goal, but Busch did well to knock the ball away for a corner.

Into the second half, KC continued to have the better run of the play and doubled their lead in the 60th minute. Roger Espinoza got down the left wing and played a cross into the box, the ball went over Diop to Jack Jewsbury, but was cut off by a San Jose defender. The ball went up into the air, and Diop was the first to react, heading the ball past Busch and into the side netting for his 4th goal of the season. San Jose started to finally get some decent chances, and at least forced Kronberg to make a few saves, then in the 70th minute, San Jose made a game out of it as Geovanni got away from Leathers on the right side and played a ball across the middle to the back post where Wondolowski was completely unmarked, the MVP candidate put the ball away easily getting San Jose back in the game. How a guy that had scored 17 goals this season coming into the game last night was that wide open on the back post in anyone's guess, but it looked like Roger Espinoza got caught ball watching. KC shortly later put the game away though. A quick turnover in midfield by San Jose fell to Craig Rocastle who one touched a ball over the top to Diop, who had again gotten behind the Earthquakes defense again. Diop brought the ball down into his path and then fired a left footed volley from about 25 yards out, over Busch and into the net giving Diop the hattrick. Shortly after Diop finished his hattrick KC should have made it 4-1. Zusi played in a great free kick to the back post. Matt Besler met the ball, but his header was right at Busch whose reaction save knocked the ball over the bar. KC did get their fourth in stoppage time as Kei Kamara beat two defenders down the line and played a cross along the ground towards Josh Wolff. The cross though was met by Eduardo who directed the ball into his own net. While it doesn't top making it into the playoffs, it at least allowed KC to end the season on a high note and close out CAB.

Wizards Man of the Match - Birahim Diop - I've been hard on Diop for much of the season, he's been fairly frustrating to watch at times, but last night was a great performance by the Senegalese forward/midfielder. All 3 of his goals were well taken, especially the third, which was truly world class.

Player Ratings - Kronberg 5, Leathers 5, Besler 6, Thomas 6, Espinoza 5, Arnaud 5, Jewsbury 6, Aiyegbusi 5, Zusi 6, Diop 8, Myers 5. Subs Rocastle 6, Kamara 6, Wolff 6

Kronberg to Get First League Start

Eric Kronberg appears set to make his first league appearance for the Kansas City Wizards tonight when they play the San Jose Earthquakes. Yesterday we heard that Jon Kempin was set to dress for the first time and it became a question of which keeper was not dressing, whether it was Kronberg or Jimmy Nielsen. It looks like it'll be the White Puma that will be watching this game from the stands. Kronberg will be making his 5 competitive appearance for the Wizards, having played 1 Open Cup Qualifier and 2 Open Cup games back in 2008, and this year's Open Cup Qualifier against Colorado. This will be the first time since the 2006 season that the Wizards will use a second goalkeeper for a league game, in that season, Will Hesmer played in 3 league games for the Wizards while he backed up Bo Oshoniyi.

With there being nothing to play for in the game tonight for KC, I like this, Nielsen has been good for us this season, but he's not going to be around for ever, and with Kronberg having been with the team since 2006, it's time to see what he can do in a league game. He's the 4th most tenured Wizards player (after Davy Arnaud, Jimmy Conrad, and Jack Jewsbury) and with the signing of Kempin it's close to make or break time for Kronberg. Even with the extended roster looking to be coming next year, Kronberg needs to prove that he is a guy the Wizards can look at as a guy that could start in goal for the Wizards in the future. He wouldn't still be around if they thought he could, now is his chance to prove it in some capacity.

Another Ending Likely Saturday

This sticker has brought me plenty of joy since I first saw it across the street from Lee's Summit North High School. It makes me smile with the great memory of the fact that the Wizards were saved. For those that don't know the story of those stickers, back in 2004 after Lamar Hunt put the Wizards up for sale, a group of fans got together and former the Heart of America Soccer Foundation, with one of the primary goals being to help keep the Wizards in Kansas City. The group can take some responsibility in helping find the members of OnGoal and getting them to purchase the team. Part of the early things the organization did was make up those stickers. One person decided to put their sticker up on the traffic pole, and almost 6 years later it is still there.

Lately that sticker has been sticking in my mind for different reasons, and that's because of the, what looks to be impending, rebranding of the Wizards. By now most people have heard or read the rumors that the Wizards will rebrand next year, with the leading candidate being Sporting KC. According to fans on Bigsoccer from the Pacific Northwest with contacts with Adidas, that name has already been selected and will be the team's name next season. From other places and sources I've heard the same thing, and in all honesty the thought of it sucks. Saturday's game appears to not only be the final game at CAB and the final game of the season, but the final game as this team being the Kansas City Wizards.

Sadly, I more or less expected this to come sooner than later, most likely when the stadium opened, but it doesn't mean I have to like it, want it, or be happy with it, especially with a Euro-centric name like Sporting. I had told friends earlier in the season when it looked like rebranding was in fact going to be a reality, that really the only way to save the name would have been for the Wizards to go on to win MLS Cup, with KC out of the playoff hunt that is certainly out of the picture. The name Sporting though, just does nothing for me. When I think of Sporting I think of Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese club, not anything to do with Kansas City or this region, which Robb Heineman and OnGoal seem to want with the new name. Heineman has said that "to us [OnGoal], we’re not sure if [the Kansas City Wizards] is something that can be a regional or national brand."

I don't understand how they can see Sporting KC as having any more potential of being a regional brand or national brand than KC Wizards is. At least the Wizards have the history of not just MLS Cup 2000, 2000 Supporters' Shield, and 2004 US Open Cup, but more recently they have a very high profile win over Manchester United. Even if it was just a preseason friendly for Manchester United, you can't buy that type of brand recognition no matter how much money you throw at it.

What about Sporting makes it a better candidate for a regional and national brand than Wizards?

And I know people's responses to many of my opinions here, "if they're Sporting you can still keep the nickname as Wizards." While that's true, it still won't be the official name of the club any more. "Changing the name won't erase our history." You're right it won't, but it changes it, it changes the 15 years of development of the Wizards name (and as Matt Schofield said in the Star, changing from Wiz to Wizards was not rebranding). "Wizards brings up thoughts of Harry Potter, LOTR, etc, and a name like that isn't going to bring in any respectable soccer person." If people aren't coming to games now because they think the name of the team is childish or geeky, those are the type of people that will just come up with a different reason to not come to games if the team is named Sporting.

Those mythical American soccer fans in KC who are begging to come watch an MLS team not named the Wizards aren't going to show up just because this team has changed it's name to Sporting. Seattle and Toronto's success in the league is not because of their names, it's because their front offices have had 12-14 years of experience learned from watching what failed to bring in fans in markets like New York and KC. Those markets have treated the game more professionally and haven't had to overcome the stigma of the early years of the league when it pandered mainly to the soccer mom crowd.

As for Wizards being a silly American name, look at some other names we have in sports in the US and how silly they are or the connotations behind them, the Anaheim Ducks, named after a kids movie. Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, named after the color of their socks? Seriously if those names didn't have the history behind them you would consider those fairly silly names for a sports team.

Bigger than anything, the best way to build a regional and national brand is very simple, win. Get 3 points in the standings, and trophies in the trophy cabinet and all of the sudden people forget what they consider the silliness of the name. Maybe if OnGoal put some of this money they're putting into rebranding into scouting or something, maybe this team wouldn't have missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

So the Save the Wizards idea has come up again, unfortunately this attempt appears to already be lost as it doesn't have the universal backing of the fan base that the original attempt did. And yes I know this article comes across a little bitter.

Auvray Goes 90 for Guadeloupe

Wizards midfielder, Stephane Auvray will not be playing tomorrow for the Wizards. He's currently in Grenada with the Guadeloupe national team at the Digicel Caribbean Cup attempting to qualify for the 2011 Gold Cup. Today was their first game as they took on St. Kitts and Nevis. Auvray went the full 90 minutes, as captain for Les Gwada Boys. He assisted on Guadeloupe's first goal playing a ball across the box that was finished by Gregory Gendrey. Guadeloupe went down a man shortly after, but were able to hold out until the 83rd minute when they allowed the equalizer from the penalty spot. Shortly after the goal, the two teams were level 10 v 10 as St. Kitts' goalkeeper was sent off for handling the ball outside the box. Jean Luc Lambourde put the direct free kick past St. Kitts' stand in goalkeeper as they'd already used all 3 subs and Guadeloupe held on for the win and the 3 points.

Ending the Season

The Wizards will play their final game of the 2010 season and their final game at Community America Ballpark tomorrow when the KC Wizards take on the playoff bound San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose comes into the game with one of the league's MVP candidates, Chris Wondolowski, who scored a hattrick on Wednesday night as a substitute in the Earthquakes 3-0 win over Chivas. Wondolowski is now tied for the league lead in goals with Edson Buddle with 17. The Quakes also have two former Wizards Scott Sealy and Khari Stephenson, who in his re-debut in MLS was a pain for the Wizards as he got the assist in the Quakes 1-0 win.

Like last year, the Wizards are limping into their final game of the season and appear set to have a bit of a makeshift lineup. Stephane Auvray is already gone, having left earlier this week to join the Guadeloupe national team for their Digicel Caribbean Cup games. Jimmy Conrad also appears set to miss the game as he's still recovering from the concussion he suffered in practice last week. Ryan Smith also has not returned yet from his personal business in England that has caused him to miss the last two games. On top of that, Michael Harrington, who left the game against New England early, is doubtful with a calf strain. And it looks like Jon Kempin is going to make the bench for the first time tomorrow. Does that mean KC is going to dress two goalkeepers to fill their 18 man roster for tomorrow or is Eric Kronberg or Jimmy Nielsen set to miss this game as well? We'll find out soon enough.

Nielsen
Leathers - Thomas - Besler - Espinoza
Arnaud - Rocastle - Jewsbury
Kamara - Bunbury - Wolff

Key Match Up - Matt Besler vs Chris Wondolowski - The MVP candidate is going to be a handful, and while Frank Yallop has said he'll get a chance to score, the way he said it makes one question whether that will be as a forward or a sub, but either way he'll be a handful for the Wizards back line to take care of.

PREDICTION - It'd be big to close out the season with a win tomorrow, just to give the fans something to cheer for one last time at CAB and enjoy closing out it's history as a soccer venue. San Jose could have an eye towards the playoffs and their potential seeding in the playoffs and could look past the Wizards. Hopefully KC looks at this as a chance to leave their fans with something to remember CAB fondly on.

KC - 2 (Kamara, Bunbury)
SJ - 1 (Wondolowski)

New Podcast

After a week off due to scheduling conflicts, From the Byline to the Back Post is back this week with another podcast. This week Thad and I discussed the rules for the expansion draft, the Omaha expansion news, some previous games, the upcoming game against San Jose, player news, and the Comets. Available on iTunes and Posterous. Enjoy.

Former Wizards Update

Here's this week's former Wizards update. Lots of goings on outside of on the field action. First, former Wizards, and one of the team leaders in games played, Chris Klein is set to retire from professional soccer at the end of the season. He spent most of his career with the Wizards before moving on to Salt Lake and then LA. Ryan Pore is on his way to MLS after being announced as one of the Portland Timbers MLS team's first four signings. Finally two former Wizards are headed indoors this winter, first, as mentioned previously, is Boris Pardo who has signed with the Comets, and Pat Healey who has signed with the Baltimore Blast. The other big news this week was that former goalkeeper, Will Hesmer put one in the net at the other end of the field, earning Columbus a late 2-2 draw with Toronto. Here's the rest of your former Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Nick Cardenas
Ryan Caugherty
Pablo Escobar
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestley

MLS
Preston Burpo - New England - Out with injury
Adam Cristman - DC United - Dressed but did not play in DC's 0-0 draw with Chicago.
Nick Garcia - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 2-2 draw with Columbus. Started and played 90 minutes in TFC's 1-0 win over Arabe Unido.
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 2-0 win over Dallas. Started and played 45 minutes in RSL's 3-1 win over Cruz Azul.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 2-1 win over Chivas. Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-1 loss to Saprissa.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Out with injury.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Columbus' 2-2 draw with Toronto.
Chris Klein - LA - Did not dress in LA's 3-1 loss to Colorado.
Claudio Lopez - Colorado - Dressed but did not play in Colorado's 3-1 win over LA.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Real Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in RSL's 2-0 win over Dallas. Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 3-1 win over Cruz Azul.
Kurt Morsink - DC United - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 0-0 draw with Chicago.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Dressed but did not play in San Jose's 1-0 loss to Houston. Started and played 83 minutes in San Jose's 3-0 win over Chivas.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 61 minutes in San Jose's 1-0 loss to Houston. Dressed but did not play in San Jose's 3-0 win over Chivas.
Carey Talley - New York - Did not dress in New York's 2-1 loss to Philadelphia.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 2-1 win over Chivas. Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-1 loss to Saprissa.
Alex Zotinca - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 2-1 loss to Seattle. Did not dress in Chivas 3-0 loss to San Jose.

USSF Division 2
Doug DeMartin - Portland - Season over.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season over.
Luis Gil - St. Louis - Season over, returned to RSL.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Season over.
Aaron Hohlbein - Miami - Season over, returned to KC.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Season over.
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 1-0 loss to Montreal. Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 2-0 win over Montreal.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Season over.
Abe Thompson - Miami - Season over.
Lance Watson - Austin - Season over.

National Teams
Sunil Chhetri - India - No game this week.

International
Vicente Arze - Aurora - Bolivia - Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in Aurora's 2-2 draw with Oriente Petrolero.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Ferrocarril's 1-0 loss to Grupo Universitario.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Pachuca's 1-1 draw with Morelia.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 66 minutes in Quilmes 2-0 loss ot Velez Sarsfield.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Harbour View's 5-1 win over BOys' Town. Lost 1-0 to Tivoli Gardens.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Came off the bench and played 34 minutes in Vinogradar's 2-0 loss to Gorica.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - Came off the bench and played 6 minutes in Fulham's 2-1 loss to Spurs.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Dressed but did not play in Waterford's 2-0 win over Longford Town.
Carlos Marinelli - Györi ETO - Hungary - Dressed but did not play inn Gyori's 1-0 loss to Papa.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Randers' 1-1 draw with Midtjylland.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Weiss' 1-1 draw with Sandhausen.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Colombia - Did not dress in Quindio's 1-1 draw with America De Cali.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - Did not dress in Wellington's 2-2 draw with Melbourne.

Auvray Out for Season Finale

Wizards midfielder, Stephane Auvray will miss the Wizards final game of the season this Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes. Auvray will be leaving to join the Guadeloupe national team as they begin their quest to qualify for the 2011 Gold Cup. To do so they have to be one of the top 4 teams in this years Digicel Caribbean Cup. The second stage of group qualifying occurs this weekend for Guadeloupe in Grenada. Guadeloupe is in Group E and will begin group play on Friday when they take on St. Kitts and Nevis. Sunday they will take on Puerto Rico and they will close out group play on Tuesday against hosts, Grenada. The top two teams from their group will qualify for the 8 team Digicel Caribbean Cup which takes place in November and December in Martinique. Guadeloupe, which is not a member of FIFA due to being an overseas region of France, is a member of CONCACAF and is looking to qualify for it's 3rd straight Gold Cup.

Two More Signings for Comets

The Missouri Comets announced two more signings today for their team, both with ties to Kansas City and both should ring bells in the minds of soccer fans in this city. First the Comets have signed former Wizards goalkeeper, and Juniors goalkeeper coach, Boris Pardo. Pardo currently is likely to be the back up for Danny Waltman, who the Comets signed earlier this year. But with his skills with the ball at his feet could see plenty of time in goal for the Comets once he's had more time playing the indoor game.

The Comets other signing is known for both his play and his coaching, Nate Houser. Houser attended Baker University, then was drafted by the Wichita Wings in 93 before being traded to the KC Attack. Houser spent 11 seasons with the Attack/Comets. After the Comets went on hiatus, Houser became the head women's coach at his alma mater and later became the men's coach as well. While Houser is certainly not in the prime of his career he brings a lot of experience for the Comets.

First Look at Expansion Draft

We're about a month from this year's MLS expansion draft, which will occur the Wednesday after MLS Cup on November 24th. Last week, the rules were released for this year's draft which will see the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps each select 10 players in alternating picks. This will be my first of likely 2 predictions of who the Wizards will protect before the list of protected players is released. But with the season over when it comes to playoff chances, I figured I'd take an initial look at who KC will protect. Here are the are the rules for this year.

• Teams are allowed to protect 11 players.
• Generation Adidas and home grown players will be automatically protected, players graduating this year will be done before the draft.
• When one player is selected that team can pull one player back to be protected.
• Designated players don't have to be protected unless they have a no trade clause.
• Protecting a player does not require the team to exercise any contract option on that player.
• If a developmental player is selected they must be offered a senior contract.
• Teams may make available a number of their total internationals minus 3, meaning the Wizards, who have 7 internationals can make available no more than 4 for selection in the draft. Below is the list of internationals.

When it comes to Generation Adidas and home grown players, Chance Myers and Teal Bunbury seem likely to retain their GA status for another year, while Roger Espinoza is likely to graduate from the program. Jon Kempin is also going to be automatically protected as a home grown player.

The Wizards have 7 internationals, Korede Aiyegbusi, Sunil Chhetri, Zoltan Hercegfalvi, Nikos Kounenakis, Ryan Smith, Jimmy Nielsen, and Craig Rocastle. Shavar Thomas, Stephane Auvray, Birahim Diop and Kei Kamara all will not count as internationals. The one wild card in this situation is Omar Bravo. He obviously doesn't have a green card, but with him on loan to Chivas currently it's unknown exactly what his status will be for the expansion draft. If he does have to be protected it will obviously be as an international.

So who will KC protect? Here is my first prediction on who KC will protect:

Davy Arnaud
Stephane Auvray
Omar Bravo
Teal Bunbury (GA)
Sunil Chhetri
Roger Espinoza
Michael Harrington
Kei Kamara
Jon Kempin (HG)
Jonathan Leathers
Chance Myers (GA)
Craig Rocastle
Ryan Smith
Graham Zusi

EXPLANATION - So why the picks I made? There are 3-4 internationals on the list depending on Bravo, Chhetri is there because I think at this point the Wizards have invested a lot of marketing on the player and while he has yet to appear I think KC will protect him inn hopes he'll come good this year. Rocastle is there because I think while he's got an attitude, that is something the Wizards have lacked lately and need in their midfield, he's the type of guy you want on your side in a fight and having that on the field isn't a bad thing. Finally Smith is the most obvious of the internationals to put on this list. Continuing with internationals people may wonder why I didn't protect Jimmy Nielsen. While Nielsen has been one of the Wizards MVPs this season, I think there are other players that can be protected. Also looking at history of the expansion draft the past few years and the Wizards protected players, Kevin Hartman was not protected in those years, so I don't know if we'll see the Wizards change that up, especially when Nielsen currently occupies an international slot.

I think Auvray, Arnaud, Espinoza, Harrington, and Kamara are all ones that you can't afford to leave exposed. Each one of those guys would get picked in an instant if they were left exposed in my opinion.

That leaves 2 players on the list to explain, Leathers and Zusi. Both are on developmental contracts. Leathers may be surprising to some, but I think with him being the only defender on the bench for much of the late run of the season makes me think Leathers could get himself a spot on the list. Zusi I think will be a little less controversial, I think a lot of people see potential in Zusi that he can contribute in the future to this team. And leaving him exposed would give Portland or Vancouver a young attacking minded midfielder.

So that leaves the following players exposed.
Jamar Beasley
Matt Besler
Jimmy Conrad
Birahim Diop
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Aaron Hohlbein
Jack Jewsbury
Nikos Kounenakis
Eric Kronberg
Jimmy Nielsen
Shavar Thomas
Josh Wolff

I've explained the Nielsen inclusion on this list. While I love Conrad, he's coming to the end of a great career and with another concussion that kept him out of the New England game, I can't see either team stepping up to grab him. Thomas, while protected on Gooch's list over on the Star's site, was solid in central defense, I think his salary is high enough that neither team will look to grab the center back. The two most likely to be taken on this list in my opinion are Besler and Jewsbury, Besler could be a starter or spot starter either at left back or in central defense for either team, and Jewsbury would be a good veteran utility player for either side that could play almost anywhere on the field.

We'll see what happens in November, but this is the way I currently see things break down.

Full Comets Schedule Out

Today the Comets released their full season schedule for the 2010-2011 season. The first month, and the home dates were known, but now we know the full schedule. We also know the name of the 5th team, the Chicago Riot. Here is this season's full schedule, but I'm not entirely sure what they mean by Premium Game schedule for February 26th.

Opponent	Date	Time
Milwaukee Wave	11/12/2010	7:35 PM
Omaha Vipers	11/19/2010	7:35 PM
at Omaha	11/21/2010	4:05 PM
at Milwaukee	11/26/2010	7:00 PM
at Baltimore	12/11/2010	7:35 PM
at Chicago	12/12/2010	6:00 PM
Chicago Riot	12/19/2010	3:10 PM
Baltimore Blast	12/29/2010	7:35 PM
at Milwaukee	12/31/2010	2:00 PM
Chicago Riot	1/7/2011	7:35 PM
Omaha Vipers	1/16/2011	3:10 PM
Baltimore Blast	1/22/2011	7:35 PM
at Omaha	1/23/2011	4:05 PM
Milwaukee Wave	1/28/2011	7:35 PM
at Omaha	1/30/2011	4:05 PM
at Chicago	2/6/2011	7:00 PM
Chicago Riot	2/20/2011	3:10 PM
Omaha Vipers	2/25/2011	7:35 PM
Premium Game	2/26/2011	7:35 PM
Chicago Riot	3/6/2011	3:10 PM
at Baltimore	3/13/2011	5:05 PM

Sunday After Stats

Here are the stats from this weekend's game.

Michael Harrington made his 130th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Jose Burciaga and Uche Okafor for 15th place on that list.

Harrington also made his 115th league appearance for KC breaking his tie with Francisco Gomez and tying him with Burciaga for 15th place on that list.

Harrington also started his 113th game for KC in all competitions, tying him with Sean Bowers for 15th place on that list.

Davy Arnaud started his 217th game in all competitions for the Wizards, breaking his tie with Chris Klein for 5th place on that list.

Playoffs Totally Out of Reach Now

The headline on the Wizards website reads "Missed Chances Doom KC: Wizards take plenty of shots, can't convert." That headline could basically be used to describe the entire season for KC, which while it didn't end last night, their playoff chances did, as the Wizards fell 1-0 to the New England Revolution. Missing Ryan Smith again due to family illness, and Jimmy Conrad due to a concussion, the Wizards played like they did much of the season, holding possession, but poor shot selection or inability to create opportunities doomed the Wizards.

New England almost grabbed an early lead through Sharlie Joseph, as he took a shot from the top of the box that hit the post and bounced out into play. Joseph had Jimmy Nielsen beaten, but couldn't beat the post. KC controlled possession and had 1 of a few penalty shouts shortly after as Kei Kamara got pulled down a bit from behind. Kamara had another good chance in the 15th minute, when a corner by Roger Espinoza was headed back into the middle by Shavar Thomas, where Kamara couldn't direct his header on goal. New England grabbed the lead a bit against the run of play as Chris Tierney played a long ball over the top to Joseph. Thomas looked to have decent positioning on Joseph to make him go wide of goal. Nielsen though for some reason came off his line attacking the ball. Joseph took a touch to round Nielsen and put the ball into the empty net. Nielsen, who has been solid for the Wizards this season has to accept the blame on that play as he had no business coming out to get that ball when Thomas was in a good defensive position. KC came back and continued to hold possession, but couldn't create any real dangerous chances to test Bobby Shuttleworth in the New England net. The big worry of the first half, though, could be the injury that Michael Harrington sustained late in the half having to be replaced. A big disappointment for a guy that has had a superb season for the Wizards at right back.

The second half KC continued to control the tempo of the game. Kamara had a great chance in the 59th minute from a frozen rope free kick that he put just wide of the far post. KC had another penalty shout later in the half as Jack Jewsbury appeared to be pulled down from behind in the box, but Jair Marrufo didn't call the foul. KC was lucky to get away without a penalty getting called as well, as Matt Besler handled the ball in the box, but again Marrufo kept his whistle in his hand. In the 69th minute, Teal Bunbury almost pulled the Wizards back into it with a nice piece of individual skill as he turned his defender and fired a shot that he the elbow of the post and bounced out of bounds. KC continued to press the game, and had a great opportunity early in stoppage time as Bunbury was played behind the New England defense. Bunbury was pulled down by Emmanuel Osei in what looked to be a denial of a goalscoring opportunity as Bunbury only had Shuttleworth in front of him. Marrufo though only gave Osei a yellow card. Not that a man advantage would have helped KC that late in the game, but an inconsistent call by the referee in a game where he was nothing but inconsistent for both sides. The ensuing free kick amounted to nothing and KC's playoff chances were completely gone. Not that they wouldn't have ended later in the day yesterday as Colorado came out and beat LA 3-1, which would have ended KC's hopes even if they had won last night. Last night was just another one of those games that explained the entire season in a 90 minute period. And when the team needed a goal in the second half, the only offensive sub they bring on is Graham Zusi, who happened to be the only real credible offensive threat on the bench anyways. Chance Myers came in and immediately slotted in at right back while Jonathan Leathers slide into the center of defense, there were no real tactical changes because there were no offensive options on the bench.

Wizards Man of the Match - Shavar Thomas - Shut down New England's attack and if not for a brain fart from Nielsen likely would have prevented Joseph from scoring the Revolution's lone goal.

Player Ratings - Nielsen 4, Harrington 5, Thomas 6, Besler 5, Espinoza 5, Arnaud 5, Jewsbury 4, Rocastle 4, Kamara 5, Bunbury 5, Wolff 4. Subs Leathers 5, Zusi 4, Myers 4.

More Signings for Comets

The Comets continue to build their team for the upcoming season. Today the team announced the signing of two more players, a forward, Leo Gibson, and a midfielder, Vahid Assadpour. The Comets seem to be pulling in a few players that have experience with the Detroit Ignition from the XSL. Below is their profiles provided by the Comets.

Leo Gibson, Forward: Born in Monrovia, Liberia, this speedy forward played last season with the Rockford Rampage of the MISL, and before that, Gibson racked up 15 points in only nine games playing for the MISL’s Philadelphia KIXX. Gibson was a key contributor to the Detroit Ignition’s Xtreme Soccer League title run during the 2008-2009 season, registering eight goals and eight assists. Gibson played college soccer at King College in Tennessee. Gibson has signed a one year contract.

Vahid Assadpour, Midfielder: Born in Toronto, Canada, Assadpour played his college soccer at Detroit Mercy University. He was the leading scorer and assist leader on the Detroit Ignition’s Xtreme Soccer League championship team during the 2008-2009 season. The season prior, Assadpour led the ignition’s rookie class with 15 points in 21 regular season games. Assadpour has signed a two year contract. __________________

Comets News

Catching up on some news on the Missouri Comets from this past week. First, the Comets schedule has come out (at least the dates), you can purchase home game tickets through Ticketmaster. You can go to the team's website and check out the schedule and see the first month. The Comets start with two games at home on Fridays against the Milwaukee Wave and Omaha Vipers, then go on the road for games against those same two teams. Speaking of the schedule, there are some changes coming to the scheduling process as only this week it was revealed that the Philadelphia Kixx would not be returning this year. Also finally official is that the Monterrey La Raza would not be returning either along with the Rockford Rampage, although it seems many people did not expect either one of those teams to be back. In fact, in some form Rockford will be back as another expansion team has been announced as Chicago will now be joining the league and will apparently have some of the Rampage players on their roster.

Finally, the Comets have reached a deal with Nike to be the apparel and equipment supplier for the team.

Another Win or We're Done

The Wizards continue their win or go home schedule, after their win over Chicago on Tuesday night kept KC alive, tomorrow in New England when they take on the Revolution. The Revolution, already eliminated from the playoffs, will be looking to play spoiler, but will be without a few of their starting players. Kevin Alston and Matt Reis are set to miss the game with injury, while Corey Gibbs and Pat Phelan are both suspended for the game due to yellow card accumulation. Those are certainly absences that could play a big role for KC in a stadium where they have played well since it opened (7-1-6 at Gillette since it opened).

KC has to win this game, as with Tuesday, a loss or a draw eliminates the Wizards from the playoffs. The good news for the Wizards, as I stated above, is that Gillette has been a good place for the Wizards to play. But New England is not a team to overlook and certainly will be looking to take the game to KC. Obviously Steve Nicol is unlikely to also play the 3-5-2 that saw New England dismantled in KC earlier this season. Ryan Smith is still a question mark due to his trip to England earlier this week for personal reasons. With that in mind I think Peter Vermes will go with the same 11 that defeated Chicago during the week.

Nielsen
Harrington - Conrad - Besler - Espinoza
Arnaud - Auvray - Rocastle
Kamara - Bunbury - Wolff

Key Match Up - Craig Rocastle vs Sharlie Joseph - Joseph has been one of the best midfielders in the league the past few years, it'll be a really interesting match up to watch him go up against the physical Rocastle. In the game earlier this season Rocastle and Auvray were really able to keep Joseph from having much of a difference in the game.

PREDICTION - Again this is a MUST win, and there's no way around this, you lose or draw you're done. You win, you go back to the locker room and start cheering for LA to clinch the Supporters' Shield by defeating Colorado and you set up a very interesting final week of the season. We'll see what happens, but lately while I've liked the way we've played I still have questions and just don't feel like we'll win all 3 of these remaining games.

KC - 1 (Bunbury)
NE - 1 (Stolica)

Bravo Wants to Stay at Chivas

The 2011 season was supposed to see the Wizards with their second designated player, Omar Bravo. The Wizards signed Bravo in August of this year to make him the clubs second designated player. He was then loaned back to Chivas for the Apertura season in Mexico as the club was in the middle of a run to the Copa Libertadores final. Now some reports out of Mexico are reporting that Bravo doesn't want to leave the club where he's played the majority of his professional games for. Bravo says that he's not sure if he's going to go to KC, but he has a contract with the MLS club. He makes mention of potentially getting the loan extended, but he keeps reiterating that he has a contract with the Wizards to honor.

Not exactly the stuff you want to hear from your designated player. Bravo sounds super excited to be coming to KC now, doesn't he. The Wizards and Bravo may have some damage control to do regarding these quotes. It's certainly not going to make him a lot of friends among Wizards fans.

A Close Rival Would be Nice, but Omaha?

For those that missed it, Omaha's mayor is trying to get his city into the MLS expansion talks. Jim Suttle cites the cities United Football League team's attendance as a reason Omaha should be considered for MLS expansion. The Nighthawks have averaged 23,000 for their first two games, both sell outs, at Rosenblatt Stadium. Suttle says that the cities new baseball stadium, TD Ameritrade Park would be perfect for an MLS.

While it'd be nice to have a team closer than 8 hours, I just have to laugh at Suttle's comments. The Wizards playing at a baseball stadium the past few years, while better than the situation at Arrowhead, has not exactly been a shining moment for the franchise. So a team playing in one permanently would be even worse. The Nighthawks will move to the stadium in 2011, and it's field would go down the first baseline, so it's likely that any MLS field would as well. But a stadium designed for baseball is going to give a lot of bad views for soccer.

On top of the stadium issues, there's the fact that Omaha would be by far the smallest metropolitan area in the league. Even when you factor in the Lincoln metropolitan area just over an hour away, the area only has a population of 1.15 million people. Salt Lake City is the next smallest city with 1.13 million people, and that's not factoring in the fact that Sandy, UT, the location of RSL's stadium is about half way to Provo, UT, which adds another half a million to the potential fan base. So Omaha would easily be the smallest city, and at this point in MLS' development they are looking more towards TV markets that can help the league, which is why cities like New York, Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, and St. Louis have been mentioned lately in expansion talks.

In the end though, outside of those issues, Omaha could still get a team, the biggest thing they'd need is an owner/investor willing to invest in the league. Get a person willing to invest the money into the team and it's certainly possible to get a team. As I said, it'd be nice to have a team close enough for a day trip drive, and a 3 hour trip to Omaha certainly fits that bill, but I just don't really see that happening. KC fans though will at least get that rivalry in some form as they'll have the Missouri Comets-Omaha Vipers rivalry this winter.

Inside the Stadium

This past week, season ticket holders had their first opportunity to go inside the stadium on tours and hear from both Robb Heineman and Dave Ficklin as they answered questions about the stadium itself. Unlike the Bannister site where I could stop by on my way home from work it's been harder for me to get inside the stadium in it's location. So Saturday was my first opportunity to really get inside the stadium. I'd heard from talks with Thad at The Back Post, and James at KCWFans.com about how great it was inside. So I was excited to finally get inside myself and I was not disappointed. I didn't the indepth tour that they've previously gotten (I hope to sooner than later). I took a few photos of the event from different locations around the stadium and there are certainly isn't a bad spot in the stadium judging by the views that I saw. It truly will be one of, if not the best stadium in the league and I'm absolutely looking forward to when it opens.

I had planned this post to be a bit of an uplift after the Seattle game, but unfortunately other commitments got in my way and it's a nice addition to the win last night against Chicago. Here's the rest of the photos I got.

Former Wizards Update

The American seasons are starting to wind down. Only 1 former Wizards player in the USSF second division is still playing as Amir Lowery and the Carolina Railhawks advanced to the semifinals. Other former Wizards are enjoying their time with their national teams as Sunil Chhetri and Yura Movsisyan both scored for their national teams in games this past week. Here's the rest of your former Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Nick Cardenas
Ryan Caugherty
Pablo Escobar
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Pete Marino
Ryan McMahen
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestley

MLS
Preston Burpo - New England - Out with injury
Adam Cristman - DC United - Did not dress in DC's 2-0 loss to San Jose.
Nick Garcia - Toronto - Started and played 73 minutes in Toronto's 3-0 loss to Chivas.
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake - Back from loan, did not dress in RSL's 0-0 draw with New York.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 2-1 win over KC.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Out with injury.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 2-0 loss to Chicago.
Chris Klein - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 1-0 win over Philadelphia.
Claudio Lopez - Colorado - Dressed but did not play in Colorado's 2-2 draw with Dallas.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Real Salt Lake - Dressed but did not play in RSL's 0-0 draw with New York.
Kurt Morsink - DC United - Started and played 90 minutes in DC's 2-0 loss to San Jose.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Started and played 90 minutes in San Jose's 2-0 win over DC.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 59 minutes in San Jose's 2-0 win over DC.
Carey Talley - New York - Did not dress in New York's 0-0 draw with RSL.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 2-1 win over KC.
Alex Zotinca - Chivas USA - Did not dress in Chivas' 3-0 win over Toronto.

USSF Division 2
Doug DeMartin - Portland - Started and played 74 minutes in Portland's 2-0 loss to Vancouver. Started and played 64 minutes in Portland's 1-0 win over Vancouver.
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Came off the bench and played 2 minutes in Minnesota's 4-0 loss to Carolina.
Luis Gil - St. Louis - Season over, returned to RSL
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Season over.
Aaron Hohlbein - Miami - Season over, returned to KC.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 2-0 loss to Puerto Rico. Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 2-1 win over Puerto Rico.
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Carolina's 4-0 win over Minnesota.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-0 loss to Vancouver. Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 1-0 win over Vancouver.
Abe Thompson - Miami - Season over.
Lance Watson - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 3-2 loss to Montreal.

National Teams
Sunil Chhetri - India - Started and played 90 minutes, recording a hattrick in India's 3-1 win over Vietnam. Started and played 90 minutes in India's 6-3 loss to Yemen.
Eddie Johnson - USA - Dressed but did not play in the USA's 2-2 draw with Poland. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in the USA's 0-0 draw with Colombia.
Yura Movsisyan - Armenia - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Armenia's 3-1 win over Slovakia. Started and played 53 minutes, scoring a goal in Armenia's 4-0 win over Andorra.

International
Vicente Arze - Aurora - Bolivia - Started and played 90 minutes in Aurora's 2-0 loss to Real Potosi.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Started and played 62 minutes in Ferrocarril's 1-1 draw with CA Liniers.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - Missed Pachuca's 3-2 win over Pumas due to illness.
Santiago Hirsig - Quilmes - Argentina - Started and played 55 minutes in Quilmes' 1-1 draw with Newells Old Boys.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Play Boys' Town yesterday.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Started and played 64 minutes in Vinogradar's 4-1 win over Suhopolje.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - England - On international break.
Chris Konopka - Waterford United - Ireland - Dressed but did not play in Waterford's 3-1 win over Finn Harps.
Carlos Marinelli - Györi ETO - Hungary - On international break.
Yura Movsisyan - Randers FC - Denmark - On international break.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - On international break.
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío - Colombia - Did not dress in Quindio's 3-2 win over Sante Fe.
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix - Australia - On international break.