Who is Going to "Replace" Kamara?

With Kei Kamara's departure for Norwich for at least the first 10 games of the MLS season, there's a hole to fill not only on the right wing, but offensively.

First, let's just get it out of the way, you can't just replace Kamara.  No one on KC's roster at this time plays the same style and the same way that Kamara does.  We're not just going to be straight up replacing him on the field.  There will likely be changes in the way things are done to compensate for his loss.

In the 2012 season, Sporting went 7-3 in the first 10 games of the season.  Kamara scored 4 goals and added 2 more assists during that stretch.  He also missed a penalty kick against FC Dallas in the 3rd game of the season.

On the surface that doesn't seem like a lot, but outside Kamara, only 4 players scored 4 goals in league play last year all season.  CJ Sapong had 9, Teal Bunbury and Graham Zusi had 5 and Jacob Peterson had 4.  It's certainly easy to say that Claudio Bieler will be able to make up those 4 goals lost from Kamara and Benny Feilhaber should easily be able to make up the 2 assists in that stretch that KC is losing. 

The thing with that line of thinking though is that Bieler and Feilhaber weren't brought in just to make up for the goals KC is now losing from Kamara.  They were brought in to add to KC's goal total by either putting the ball in the net or setting up others. 

Another worry is that if Norwich does pick up the option to buy Kamara.  Then you have to replace a player who had either a goal or an assist in 45% of KC's goals in the 2012 season.  And in the past 3 years, he's contributed to 38% of KC's goals with 30 goals and 18 assists.  That's quite a bit of offense that will need to be replaced.  As mentioned above Beiler and Feilhaber were brought in to help supplement Kamara's goals, not straight replace them.  Replacing the goals will certainly be one thing that will need to happen for KC's success this year.

Along with the offensive production, there's a hole now on KC's right wing in attack.  A lot of KC's attack in the last two seasons has gone down KC's right hand side, especially after Bobby Convey's injury last year.  Kamara and right back, Chance Myers, did a fantastic job of combining down the right side the past two years for KC. 

As I stated above, KC isn't going to be able to just straight replace Kamara and they're not just going to be able to replace that attack.  The first thing that will hopefully help to fill the hole left by Kamara is going to be the health of Convey.  When Convey was healthy, KC was able to attack more down both sides of the field.  If Convey can remain healthy for the 2013 season, he'll take some of the pressure off of whoever fills in Kamara's role in the right wing position.  Not putting as much pressure on that position to produce the same numbers as Kamara did will help.

There's also who will replace him on the field.  During his Twitter chat on the way back from Tucson, Robb Heineman was asked who he thought Peter Vermes would play in Kamara's spot.  Heineman's response was that CJ Sapong was probably at the top of the list.  Last night in the team's friendly against FC Tucson, that's exactly where Sapong played, in the right forward role.  And while it was a minor league team, Sapong and Myers combined well down the right and Myers got off plenty of crosses.  The other end of the crosses was the problem last night.

While Sapong is probably the leader to start on the right, there are other options.  Graham Zusi, who was away with the national team last night, is another option to start on the right.  He spent time as a wide forward last season after Teal Bunbury and Jacob Peterson went down and Convey remained injured.  Zusi did a strong job on the wing, and that's a position he's played for the USA when they've run a 4-3-3, so he isn't out of his element on the right hand side.  The argument against that is that you miss his presence in the middle.  But with the addition of Feilhaber that may negate that a bit.

You also have the currently injured Jacob Peterson.  Peterson enjoyed a career year with KC last year that was cut short by injury.  He equaled a career high for league goals last year with 4 and was one of KC's most consistent players in the middle of the season when they were struggling at times to get results.  Peterson spent time out wide on the left wing last season, but KC's system last year saw him spending time on the right side as well as he and Kamara flowed from one side to the other.  The question with Peterson is going to be how long he's going to be out still recovering from the shoulder surgery.  He's already set to miss the season opener because of it.

Teal Bunbury is an outside option of the forwards that could play on the right side.  He's probably the least likely of those listed so far.  So far with Sporting he's not shown a great ability out wide.  He's played out there occasionally, his first professional goal for example, came from him playing out wide against the Colorado Rapids in the US Open Cup.  The big issue with Bunbury, like with Peterson, is his current injury.  He's out until at least the summer probably, which means he'd likely only be seen as a replacement for Kamara if the move to Norwich becomes permanent.  Still I'd prefer Sapong, Peterson, or Zusi to start on the right wing over Bunbury, and see him in the middle either as a starter or spelling Bieler.

You also have a few wild cards that could play out wide as well.  Guys like Benny Feilhaber or Peterson Joseph could move up from midfield and potentially play out as a wide forward.  Both are more suited for the midfield, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. 

Another two wild cards are KC's other two forwards, Dom Dwyer and Soony Saad.  Dwyer was close to going on loan to St. Mirren earlier this transfer window, but had the loan called off at the last minute, was the Norwich interest in Kamara the reason for that?  If you want to connect dots it certainly looks like it.  Dwyer has spent some time on the wing for KC, specifically in his run out against Orlando in the US Open Cup.  Much of the rest of his time has been spent in the center of the forward line.  Like Dwyer, Saad isn't really a wide forward, but has spent time there for KC since he joined the club.  Saad though seems more likely to drop further back, into the midfield than move wide.  He didn't spend much time at all out wide last night in the friendly against Tucson, instead staying more centrally.

So there are options to replace Kamara at the right wing position for the short term.  Baring injuries in the rest of preseason, I expect the forward line on March 2nd in Philadelphia to be Convey on the left, Bieler in the middle, and Sapong on the right side.  Once Peterson is healthy I could see him getting more starts on the right, allowing Sapong to come in off the bench for Bieler, especially if Bieler's fitness issues don't get resolved quickly (he finished second to last on the beep test after Jimmy Nielsen).

At this time, I don't believe that we're going to see Sporting jump back into the market looking for a forward to replace Kamara on the right hand side, instead I think they're likely to stick with who they have, at least for the short term.  Overall, while Kansas City won't be able to get a straight swap for Kamara on the wing, the team does have options that can at least fill in adequately until he returns in May or it's apparent he won't return and KC starts shopping for someone who plays right wing as their primary position.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates.  Lots of former Wizards are on trial.  Neal Kitson has apparently been trialing with the Chicago Fire.  With him training with Chicago is Rauwshan McKenzie.  Even though he's on trial with the Fire McKenzie is still under contract with Chivas.  Khari Stephenson is another player trailing with another MLS squad, Real Salt Lake.  Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Korede Aiyegbusi
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Cyprian Hedrick
Aaron Hohlbein
Will John
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Julio Cesar - Toronto - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Los Angeles - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason

NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason

USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason

PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason

NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse Silver Knights - No game this week.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Had an assist in Baltimore's 20-9 win over Rochester.  Played in Baltimore's 14-11 loss to Missouri.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in either of Missouri's games.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Out injured
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 10-3 win over Harrisburg. Played in San Diego's 6-5 loss to Dallas.

International
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Offseason.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Did not dress in Esteghlal's 0-0 draw with Persepolis.  Started and played 55 minutes, scoring a goal in Esteghlal's 3-0 win over Paykan in their cup match.
Omar Bravo - Atlas - Mexico - Did not dress in Atlas' 2-2 draw with Irapuato in the Copa Mexico. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Atlas' 2-1 win over America.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Dressed but did not play in Sporting's 0-0 draw with Atletico CP.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Off until February.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 2-0 loss to North East Stars.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Offseason.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Wigan's 2-2 draw with Stoke.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Did not play in the Stars 2-0 win over W Connection.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 84 minutes in Santos' 2-0 win over Leon.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - No game this week.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Bahia's 1-1 draw with ABC. Started and played 63 minutes in Bahia's 1-0 win over Ceara.
Kei Kamara - Norwich - England - Just moved to Norwich.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - On winter break until March
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - On winter break until March.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - No game this week.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Started and played 83 minutes in Xanthi's win over PAOK.  Lost 2-0 to Veria in the cup.
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 2-0 win over Hansa Rostock.
Ivan Trujillo - America de Cali - Colombia - Offseason.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Offseason.

Kamara Loaned to Norwich

Sporting KC and Norwich made official today the news that had been rumored for a little while now and was confirmed even more last night by Josh Gardner.  Sporting's leading scorer each of the last 3 seasons is leaving the club for at least the first 10 games of the MLS regular season.  Kei Kamara is joining the Canaries on a loan deal until May 6th pending the club receiving his immigration clearance.  In the grand scheme that is a formality.  Kamara has received his work permit, which is usually the bigger sticking point when it comes to new players signing in England.

As part of the deal, Kamara's contract with MLS has been extended.  Sporting will receive a "substantial loan fee to use as allocation money."  Sporting will receive 2/3rds of the loan fee per MLS rules.  Should Norwich be impressed with Kamara's performance while he is at the club, they will have the option to buy the Sierra Leone international's contract.  If they turn down that option, Kamara will be back in the US and would be available immediately for selection by Sporting.  KC's first game after Kamara's loan ends is May 12th in Houston against the Dynamo. 

While away, Sporting will play 10 games, although Kamara was only likely to play in 9 of them due to a Sierra Leone World Cup qualifier on March 22nd, a day before Sporting play New England.  With the deal announced today, there are 12 games for the Canaries after today's game against Tottenham and the end of Kamara's loan.  Norwich have 2 more league games after Kamara's loan is supposed to end.  The game that will still out for Sporting fans is the March 30th game where Norwich will take on Roger Espinoza and Wigan.

Robb Heineman posted a message on Sporting KC's website regarding the move and the clubs reasoning behind it.  Heineman discussed the climate of soccer in MLS and how players will have the dream of moving on to Europe and trying their luck there.  They don't want to be seen as a club that keeps players from doing that.

I really do agree with Heineman that this was probably the right move to make for the club.  The moves of Roger Espinoza and Kamara especially could lead to KC being able to bring in better players.  The reason for that is KC showing that they're not going to hold a player back from moving on to bigger things.  While it will hurt KC in the near term and hurt for fans of the club who don't want to see one of the best in social interaction leave the team.

Espinoza and Kamara's departures also do another thing in helping Kansas City in the future with players as well.  The development of those players while in KC will speak to Kansas City's and Vermes' ability to coach players up and get them to the next level.  Kamara, for example, came to Kansas City with baggage, he was talked about as a locker room cancer and having a poor attitude.  In KC under Vermes though, Kamara has flourished, especially on the right wing in Vermes' 4-3-3 system, which has gotten him to the point of evening being able to be linked with a move to Norwich.

Good luck to Kamara in England, I hope he does well, but not well enough to get a full time deal, I want him back in Kansas City.  But if he does catch on in England I'll be disappointed, but happy for him and his future.  If he's going to go, now's about the time to do it, he's got only another 1-2 contracts in his career, so getting the pay day now is big for him.

US Play to 0-0 Draw with Canada

In a game that did a good job of putting people to sleep, and is thankfully being overshadowed by bigger KC news today, the US played to a 0-0 draw with Canada last night in Houston.  It's the second time in about a year that the US and Canada have played to a very lack luster 0-0 draw.   Last year it was in Toronto that the two teams looked uninterested in scoring. 

On the bright side for KC fans, Matt Besler earned his first national team cap, becoming the 32nd player to represent their national team while playing for KC.  Besler earned the start alongside Omar Gonzalez.  Besler's Sporting teammate, Graham Zusi also got the start.  Sporting's 3rd national teamer, Benny Feilhaber came on as a half time sub. 

All 3 had their some moments during the dull game, and all 3 would have to be at least considered for a call up to the World Cup qualifier in Honduras next week.  Besler could be a numbers casualty at centerback as I'm not sure Jurgen Klinsmann will take both Gonzales and Besler to Honduras.  Feilhaber is another fringe possibility. Zusi is the one of the 3 that I expect to be a lock to go to Honduras.

Josh Gardner's Comments Overshadow Preseason Game

Sporting KC played to a 1-1 draw with FC Tucson tonight in Arizona in the team's second preseason game.  Soony Saad scored early off a cross from Chance Myers.  Shortly after that Tucson equalized.  It was actually Tucson who had some of the better chances, putting a shot just wide and hitting the cross bar.  KC though controlled most of the first half and probably should have scored another goal or two.  KC made full scale changes plugging in many of the new players, trialists, and draftees in a lineup that played without a true forward.  KC had much of the play in the second but couldn't find a winner as KC played to it's second draw of the preseason.

The most interesting part of the game came in the second half when Sporting KC midfielder/defender Josh Gardner joined the broadcast booth.  Gardner was asked about joining Sporting and his playing style and how it fit it.  Gardner mentioned his getting forward and crossing ability and then said "we'll miss Kei a little bit with his size." 

A short while later when about Sporting's national team players and specifically Graham Zusi, and where he fits in, Gardner finished a comment saying "with Kei leaving."

Nothing officially has been stated from Sporting regarding Kamara's status, but he hasn't played in either of Sporting's two preseason games and from comments people have made it sounds like he is actually in Kansas City currently, not Tucson.

Earlier in the broadcast, the two calling the game for the MLS stream made it sound like Kamara's deal to Norwich would only be a short term loan deal instead of a permanent deal.  A loan would likely see Kamara leave Kansas City until May or so and then returning to KC.

Any move for Kamara would have to be completed before the close of the transfer window in England, which ends on Thursday around 5pm Central time. 

The loss of Kamara would be a rough one for Sporting to recover from.  Kamara's speed and size on the wing causes all kinds of problems for defenses and he has the ability to finish as well.  He's been at least joint leading scorer for KC each of the last 3 seasons, including a career high of 11 this past season.

Youngest and Oldest Goal Scorers for KC

Here's a look at the updated youngest and oldest goal scorers in league play and all competitions for Sporting KC in their history. 

This year on the list of youngest goal scorers, there was only 1 new addition to the list.  Oriol Rosell landed himself at 3rd on the list for goals in league play at 20 years and 56 days when he scored against Toronto.

1. Soony Saad - 19 years, 0 days - 8/17/2011 vs Portland
2. Yura Movsisyan - 19 years, 293 days - 4/25/2007 vs Toronto
3. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 56 days - 9/1/2012 vs Toronto
4. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 137 days - 7/14/2010 vs Columbus
5. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 146 days - 6/20/1999 vs New York
6. Michael Harrington - 21 years,  80 days - 4/14/2007 vs DC
7. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 243 days - 8/23/1998 vs Miami
8. Roger Espinoza - 21 years, 266 days - 7/17/2008 vs Columbus
9. Ryan Pore - 21 years, 344 days - 9/3/2005 vs New York
10. Eddie Johnson - 22 years, 1 day - 4/1/2006 vs Columbus

In all competitions, Rosell is one spot further down the list, as the fourth youngest player to score in all competitions.

1. Soony Saad - 19 years, 0 days - 8/17/2011 vs Portland
2. Yura Movsisyan - 19 years, 293 days - 4/25/2007 vs Toronto
3. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 45 days - 4/13/2010 vs Colorado
4. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 56 days - 9/1/2012 vs Toronto
5. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 146 days - 6/20/1999 vs New York
6. Michael Harrington - 21 years,  80 days - 4/14/2007 vs DC
7. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 243 days - 8/23/1998 vs Miami
8. Roger Espinoza - 21 years, 266 days - 7/17/2008 vs Columbus
9. Ryan Pore - 21 years, 344 days - 9/3/2005 vs New York
10. Justin Detter - 21 years, 363 days - 8/4/2004 vs Dallas

On the list of oldest goal scorers, Julio Cesar joined the list with his goal against Toronto this year.

1. Preki - 42 years, 113 days - 10/15/2005 vs Dallas
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 5 days - 4/18/2001 vs Miami
3. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 vs DC
4. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 2 days - 8/16/1998 vs Columbus
5. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 211 days - 6/16/2012 vs Toronto
6. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 209 days - 9/22/2010 vs Houston
7. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 197 days - 8/28/2010 vs LA
8. Peter Vermes - 33 years, 188 days - 5/27/2000 vs Tampa
9. Kerry Zavagnin - 33 years, 27 days - 7/29/2007 vs Chivas USA
10. Mark Santel - 33  years, 24 days - 7/29/2001 vs New England

In all competitions, there were no changes for the oldest goal scorer from their league play.

1. Preki - 42 years, 113 days - 10/15/2005 vs Dallas
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 5 days - 4/18/2001 vs Miami
3. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 vs DC
4. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 2 days - 8/16/1998 vs Columbus
5. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 211 days - 6/16/2012 vs Toronto
6. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 209 days - 9/22/2010 vs Houston
7. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 197 days - 8/28/2010 vs LA
8. Peter Vermes - 33 years, 188 days - 5/27/2000 vs Tampa
9. Kerry Zavagnin - 33 years, 27 days - 7/29/2007 vs Chivas USA
10. Mark Santel - 33  years, 24 days - 7/29/2001 vs New England

All Competitions Top Scorers Through 2012

More stats, here's the goal scorers in all competitions through the end of the 2012 season.  One new player joins the list this year.  First here are the previous years.


1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

 1. Preki - 81 (71 league, 8 playoff, 1 open cup, 1 international) (-)

2. Davy Arnaud - 52 (43 league, 4 playoff, 5 open cup) (-)

3. Josh Wolff - 46 (43 league, 1 playoff, 2 open cup) (-)

4. Chris Klein - 43 (39 league, 3 playoff, 1 open cup) (-)

5. Kei Kamara - 33 (31 league 2 open cup) (+3)

6. Mo Johnston - 32 (31 league, 1 playoff) (-1)

7. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 31 (28 league, 2 playoff, 1 open cup) (-1)

8. Scott Sealy - 30 (28 league, 2 open cup) (-1)

9. Teal Bunbury - 24 (19 league, 2 playoff, 3 open cup) (+3)

10. Mark Chung - 21 (20 league, 1 playoff) (-2)

11T. Chris Brown - 20 (15 league, 1 playoff, 1 open cup, 3 international) (-1)

11T. Igor Simutenkov - 20 (12 league, 3 playoff, 5 open cup) (-1)

11T. CJ Sapong - 20 (14 league, 1 playoff, 5 open cup) (N/A) - With 11 goals in all competitions this year, Sapong makes his way onto the list for top scorers in all competitions with KC.  A goal in the CCL next year, and Sapong becomes the 6th player for KC to score in a league, playoff, open cup, and international match.  Bunbury above can join the list as well.

14. Matt McKeon - 18 (13 league, 3 playoff, 1 open cup, 1 international) (-2)

15T. Miklos Molnar - 17 (12 league, 5 playoff) (-1)

15T. Eddie Johnson - 17 (17 league) (-1)

15T. Jimmy Conrad - 17 (17 league) (-1)

18. Francisco Gomez - 16 (11 league, 2 playoff, 1 open cup, 2 international) (-1)

19T. Jose Burciaga Jr. - 15 (13 league, 1 playoff, 1 international) (-1)

19T. Sasha Victorine - 15 (13 league, 2 open cup) (-1)

19T. Claudio Lopez - 15 (13 league, 1 open cup, 1 international) (-1)

19T. Jack Jewsbury - 15 (14 league, 1 playoff) (-1)

Like with the league scorers list, Graham Zusi has a very good shot at joining this list this year as he only sits two goals away from it.  The hope again would be that Claudio Bieler would get very close to this list if not end the season on it.

Here are the rest of the active players.

Graham Zusi - 13
Aurelien Collin - 8
Jacob Peterson - 5
Soony Saad - 3
Paulo Nagamura - 2
Chance Myers - 2
Matt Besler - 2
Bobby Convey - 1
Oriol Rosell - 1
Seth Sinovic - 1

Comets Fall in Rochester

Only fifteen hours after an impressive victory over the Blast in Baltimore, the Comets were humbled by the Rochester Lancers.  Rookies Robert Palmer and Ramone Palmer each had a goal along with veteran defender Ryan Junge and captain Vahid Assadpour, but that’s all that Missouri could muster as they fall 17-8 in front of over 10,000 fans in Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena.

Last week’s matchup between these two teams saw the Comets scoring early and often.  In a complete reversal of the script, the Lancers’ Alan McGreal scored the first goal a little over two minutes into the game.  The sluggish start continued for the Comets as Rochester’s Doug Miller knocked in four straight goals. Before the half was over, Missouri was down 15-0.

The team showed a little more life in the second half as they pushed the pressure to try and force some scoring.  Ramone Palmer broke the shutout with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter, but forward Mauricio Salles answered right back to keep the Lancers ahead 17-2.  Assadpour, Robert Palmer and Ryan Junge each had tallies in the final quarter.  Robert Palmer’s was his first in the MISL.  Ultimately, the Lancers defended well when they needed to and held on for the 17-8 victory.

The Comets return home to the Independence Events Center February 1st at 7:35pm to take on the Rochester Lancers again.  Fans can enjoy the World Famous Mascot Game, featuring Calvin the Comets Mascot, KC Wolf, Sluggerr and all their friends, playing soccer at halftime.

Gibson's Third Hattrick Leads Comets to Win

The Comets made a statement with last week’s 30-17 win over Rochester, and hoped to make some more noise against the Baltimore Blast tonight.  Playing in 1st Mariner Arena, where the Blast had an 18 game winning streak dating back to last season, they knew they had their work cut out for them.  Coady Andrews scored less than two minutes into the game and Leo Gibson turned in another hat trick performance (7 points overall) as the Comets won their second in a row, 14-11.

For the second straight game the Comets were without their leading scorer, Byron Alvarez, forcing Leo Gibson into the forward lines again.  An injury to Stefan Stokic in practice this week left them short on the defensive end as well.  Captain Vahid Assadpour stepped up to the challenge and along with Cristiano, Brian Harris and Ryan Junge held the Baltimore Blast to under 12 points at home for only the third time this season. 

Coady Andrews once again got the Comets off to a great start with a goal less than two minutes into the game.  Leo Gibson followed up with another goal of his own exactly five minutes later.  Baltimore picked up after that and the action was fast as both teams were going end to end.  Ptah Myers and Lucas Roque were able to tie it up for the Blast before the quarter ended. 

The action didn’t stop in the second quarter, but the defense picked up for both teams.  The only goal of the quarter came off Missouri’s Milan Ivanovic into his own net after Lucio Gonzaga took a restart outside the arc and tried to cut it across the box.  As the teams went into the locker room, the Comets were down 7-4, but fans in the arena knew this was far from over.

Mike Lookingland opened the second half scoring in the sixth minute of the third quarter giving the Blast a 9-4 lead, a lead that Baltimore might have thought was insurmountable based on their previous performance against the Comets, particularly at home.  John Sosa hit a rocket from the right side to climb the Comets back into the game. Less than two minutes later the 5’6” Gibson jumped over the 5’11” Vanzela for a header goal. Suddenly only down 8-9 the Comets had new life.  Tino Nunez extended the Baltimore lead to 11-8 with a goal late in the quarter, but Gibson answered by closing out his third straight hat trick moments later.  After three periods the Comets were hanging in there, down 11-10.

As the third quarter opened, the Comets poured on the pressure.  Defender Brian Harris showed off his speed by blazing past the Blast defense on the left side and finding Stefan St. Louis for wide open in the middle for the go-ahead goal.  Gibson then chipped in an assist four minutes later feeding Cristiano for the Comets 14-11 lead.

Despite adding the sixth attacker in the final three minutes of the game, the Blast could not crack the suddenly stellar Comets defense.  In winning this game 14-11 the Comets scored more points than Baltimore has allowed to any team this season, snapped their own seven game road winning streak, and ended Baltimore’s 18 game home winning streak.  Current MISL Player of the Week, Leo Gibson, did his best to retain that title scoring three goals and an assist.  With his seven points he now has 29 points in the last three games, the highest output of anyone in the league over that time span.

The Comets don’t have time to celebrate though as they face the Rochester Lancers tomorrow night in Rochester at 12pm CDT.  Fans can join the Comets Nation Watch Party at Coach’s or watch online at MISLNation.com.

Top League Scorers Through 2012

Another stat update for you.  Here is the top goal scorers for Sporting KC throughout their history.  See the links below for previous years.

1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - 2011

One new player joined the list in 2012, and two more continued to move up the list and into the top 10.  Course one of those two could be seeing his time in KC come to an end soon.

1. Preki - 71 (-)

2T. Josh Wolff - 43 (-)

2T. Davy Arnaud - 43 (-)

4. Chris Klein - 39 (-)

5T. Mo Johnston - 31 (-)

5T. Kei Kamara - 31 (+3)

7T. Digital Takawira - 28 (-1)

7T. Scott Sealy - 28 (-1)

9. Mark Chung - 20 (-1)

10. Teal Bunbury - 19 (+3)

11T. Eddie Johnson - 17 (-1)

11T. Jimmy Conrad - 17 (-1)

13. Chris Brown - 15 (-1)

14T. Jack Jewsbury - 14 (-1)

14T. CJ Sapong - 14 (N/A) - Sapong scored 9 goals in league play this past season to work his way onto the list.  Sapong and Bunbury rotated time until Bunbury's injury ended his season, alloowing Sapong to continue a move up the list.

16T. Matt McKeon - 13 (-1)

16T. Jose Burciaga Jr. - 13 (-1)

16T. Sasha Victorine - 13 (-1)

16T. Claudio Lopez - 13 (-1)

20T. Igor Simutenkov - 12 (-1)

20T. Miklos Molnar - 12 (-1)

20T. Chris Henderson - 12 (-1)

Zusi is a very good candidate to move into the top 20 in the next season since he's currently only 1 goal behind the 3 players currently tied for 20th place on the list.  After him there's a drop off to Aurelien Collin who sits on 6.  With new designated player, Claudio Bieler on the roster, the hope would be that he'd be close to this list if not on it by the end of the season.

Still active players
Graham Zusi - 11
Aurelien Collin - 6
Jacob Peterson - 4
Matt Besler - 2
Bobby Convey - 1
Paulo Nagamura - 1
Oriol Rosell - 1
Soony Saad - 1

Five Former KC Players Up for Hall of Fame

US Soccer came out with their list of players eligible for election to the US Soccer Hall of Fame.  On the main list and the veteran ballot, there is a total of five former Wizards on the ballot.  On the main ballot there are two players.  Chris Henderson and Roy Lassiter.  Henderson, who is currently the technical director in Seattle spent the 1999 and 2000 season with Kansas City before being traded to Miami.  He returned to Kansas City as an assistant coach in 2007 before moving into his role in Seattle.  Lassiter spent the 2001 and part of the 2002 season in Kansas City before being traded away.  He'd been brought in to help replace Miklos Molnar's goals but was unable to.

On the veterans ballot there are three more former KC players.  Mike Burns ended his playing career in Kansas City, playing the 2001 and 2002 seasons with Kansas City.  He's currently the director of soccer for the New England Revolution.  Mike Sorber was the then KC Wiz's first allocated player back in 1996.  He only spent the one season in KC before being traded to New York.  After his playing days he's spent time as an assist with the US national team and Montreal Impact.  The final KC player up for election is the team's current coach and technical director, Peter Vermes.  Vermes spent the 2000 through 2002 season in Kansas City before retiring. 

Sporting Tie 0-0 in First Preseason Run Out

Today in Arizona, Sporting KC had their first preseason game of the year against the New England Revolution.  Sporting and the Revolution played to a 0-0 draw in a game that lacked many chances for either side.

All the Sporting KC players save for a few got their first taste of preseason.  Missing in action were the previously injured Teal Bunbury, Kevin Ellis, and Jacob Peterson.  All of whom are currently unable to play that the moment.  Of the players that were in Arizona with an unknown status, 4 didn't make the field, Claudio Bieler, Dom Dwyer, Josh Gardner, and Kei Kamara,

Before people start freaking out, all four appeared to miss out due to injuries or fitness issues.  Bieler is the one right now that has missed out due to fitness issues.  The other four, Dwyer, Gardner, and Kamara all missed due to injury.  Dwyer posted a picture on Twitter showing a pretty nasty bruise on his leg.  Which would certainly be a reason for him missing the game. 

Gardner and Kamara are both nursing groin injuries and sat out today's game.  Kamara's lack of appearance in the game immediately started off a whirlwind of questions regarding Kamara's status, especially with Norwich's manager acknowledging that there was interest in Kamara. Later in the day though as Robb Heineman flew back to Kansas City, he had a Twitter question and answer period where he was asked about the Kamara rumors.  He gave two responses that should hopefully give Kansas City fans a little bit of ease.

@cameronarey hard to say.we're working on a number of things with kei right now.we want to do what's best for both of us long term
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) January 25, 2013

thanks....landing.don't worry about kei.we're going to get something done that works for everybody - including u.#robbontwitter
— Robb Heineman (@RobbHeineman) January 25, 2013

That still leaves some questions that need to be answered with regards to Kamara's status.  But at this time I wouldn't be worried about Kamra leaving Sporting for Norwich, at least in the winter window.

Single Season Minutes

Another stat for you, this one the top 10 most minutes played in a single season both in league and in all competitions.  In league play, Jimmy Nielsen became the first Kansas City player to break the 3,000 minute mark in a single league season.  Playing every minute of all 34 of KC's league games gives him the number one spot on the list.  Kei Kamara also joins the list this year playing 2,871 league minutes in 2012.

1. Jimmy Nielsen - 2012 - 3060
2. Nick Garcia - 2000 - 2916
Peter Vermes - 2000 - 2916
4. Preki - 1996 - 2880
Bo Oshoniyi - 2005 - 2880
Matt Besler - 2011 - 2880
7. Mark Chung - 1997 - 2871
Kei Kamara - 2012 - 2871
9. Mark Chung - 1996 - 2847
10. Tony Meola - 2000 - 2826

In all competitions, the 2000 season and the run by Nick Garcia and Peter Vermes beats out Nielsen's 2012 run, but not by much.  Nielsen is the only one from the 2012 season to make the list.  Graham Zusi was less than 70 minutes from joining the list.

1. Nick Garcia - 2000 - 3695
Peter Vermes - 2000 - 3695
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 2012 - 3630
4. Kerry Zavagnin - 2002 - 3606
5. Nick Garcia - 2002 - 3531
6. Kerry Zavagnin - 2000 - 3522
7. Tony Meola - 2000 - 3485
8. Brandon Prideaux - 2000 - 3468
9. Matt Besler - 2011 - 3457
10. Preki - 1996 - 3420

New Byline to Back Post

A new From the Byline to the Back Post has been posted for your listening pleasure.  This week Thad and I discuss the MLS/USL, SportingKC/Orlando City partnerships, the Gold Cup, Kei Kamara to Norwich rumors, the draft, and more regarding Sporting KC.  In segment two, we discuss FCKC, their draft, rumored player signings, and national team call ups, as well as the Comets.  Listen on Posterous or iTunes.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates.  Jeferson got on the scoring sheet this week after barely appearing for Bahia over the past few months.  Meanwhile in the players looking for clubs department, it appears that former draft pick Stefan Antonijevic is trialing for a team in the Serbian first division, while Neven Markovic is trialing with DC United at this time.  Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Korede Aiyegbusi
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Cyprian Hedrick
Aaron Hohlbein
Will John
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Julio Cesar - Toronto - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Los Angeles - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason

NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason

USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason

PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason

NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse Silver Knights - Had an assist in Syracuse's 14-12 loss to Baltimore.  Played in Syracuse's 27-13 loss to Baltimore.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Had a goal in Baltimore's 14-12 win over Syracuse.  Played in Baltimore's 27-13 win over Syracuse.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in Comets win over Rochester.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Out injured
Paul Wright - San Diego - Played in San Diego's 6-5 win over Las Vegas.

International
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Offseason.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Started and played 90 minutes in Esteghlal's 0-0 draw with Malavan.
Omar Bravo - Atlas - Mexico - Did not dress in Atlas' 2-0 win over Irapuato. Started and played 90 minutes in Atlas' 1-0 loss to Tigres.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Dressed but did not play in Sporting's 0-0 draw with Vitoria.  Did not dress in Sporting's 2-1 win over Sporting Covilha.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Off until February.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 2-0 win over St. Ann's.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Offseason.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Wigan's 3-2 loss to Sunderland.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Did not play in the Stars' 2-1 win over Police.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Santos' 2-1 loss to Puebla.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Beat Arnett Gardens 1-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes, scoring a goal in Bahia's 3-2 win over Itabaiana.  Tied ABC 1-1.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - On winter break until March.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - On winter break until March.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - No game this week.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Started and played 76 minutes in Xanthi's 2-1 cup loss to Veria.  Started and played 90 minutes in Xanthi's 0-0 draw with Kerkyra.
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - No game until January 26th.
Ivan Trujillo - America de Cali - Colombia - Offseason.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Offseason.

Sporting and Orlando Form Partnership as MLS Partners with USL Pro

In a move that will hopefully pay dividends for Sporting Kansas City's young players, MLS announced today the rumored partnership between the league and the US third division, the USL-Pro.  As part of the agreement, MLS teams can have partnerships with a USL side and have long term loans for at least four players with the USL side.  Along with that, the 13 USL teams will play two interleague games against an MLS reserve side. 

Sporting immediately came out right after the announcement between the leagues announcing that they would have a USL Pro affiliate team.  KC set up their partnership with arguably the best USL-Pro team, Orlando City.  The two year deal between the two sides will begin this year. 

As part of the partnership, Sporting will send at least four players on loan for the 2013 to Orlando.  Peter Vermes though hints at more players joining the Lions on loan though and also states that if they have to pull a player back from their loan, they will replace that player with another.

With KC setting up the partnership, Sporting will not be competing in the reserve league this year, instead using Orlando to assist them in getting games.  With the USL-Pro schedule likely to be between 22 and 26 games this season, over double the 10 MLS reserve league games they got last year.  And while it's a smaller number that will be competing, the games, I think, will be more competitive since it's an actual league with a goal of the playoffs and championship at the end, unlike the reserve games.  The end, at least for the near term, of the Swope Park Rangers is a sad and depressing one for me, but getting more games for players is the key.

There are still questions regarding the deal and questions as to why teams would have affiliates.  Like what the plans are long term for this deal.  Is the hope that MLS teams will field a reserve team of their own in the 3rd division?  As for the near term, there are a few questions.  Vermes already answered one I had in the earlier linked article, and that's that players can be recalled from their loan.  Other questions though remain.  Like how those players will be reflected when it comes to the MLS roster.  Will they still count against the clubs 30 man roster, or could they technically have like 34 or 36 man rosters and then just waive players when they bring guys back from their loans?  Will there be any effect on the salary cap, will the USL-Pro team cover some of the salary? 

There are also questions regarding why a team would choose a partnership.  While some players would get more games, is that going to be better for the team's development than having 11+ players getting playing time in the reserve league?  Cause that is what KC is giving up with this partnership.  While 4-6 players may get 20-24 games, what about the other 5-7 players that would have played in reserve games?  Players 19-24 on the roster, who don't make the game day 18 but aren't out on loan?  Doesn't that hurt their development as well?

There's still a lot of questions that have to be answered regarding this.  But on first glance, I like the start of this deal with the USL, I think it's a step in the right direction.  But I would like to see a more detailed layout of what the plan is in 5 years, or 10 years.  Even in 2 years when Sporting's deal with Orlando City expires.  I do like that some of KC's younger talent, the likes of maybe Jon Kempin, Kevin Ellis, Mikey Lopez, and Soony Saad could all be getting more game time in a more competitive environment than the current reserve league.

Norwich Put in Bid for Kamara

For the fifth time this year, a Sporting KC player is being linked with a potential move abroad.  Sky Sports in the UK is reporting that Norwich have put in a bid for Sporting KC forward, and last year's leading scorer, Kei Kamara.  Sky is reporting that Kamara, who was named Sierra Leone player of the year, is in the last year of his contract, which would make sense following MLS's traditional 4 year contracts, since he signed one in the offseason after KC traded for him from Houston in 2009. 

The bid according to Sky Sports has been received by the league, the question would be whether both the league and the team agree to selling the player.  Both have to agree to selling the player.  KC has rejected a transfer deal in the past, in fact, OnGoal did that with Eddie Johnson only hours after they bought the team from Lamar Hunt.

With Kamara possibly in the last year of his contract, it brings up an interesting debate, similar to the one that was had last year with Roger Espinoza.  Should KC sell Kamara, looking to cash in on the player, or ride out his contract and potentially let him leave on a free next January the way Espinoza went to Wigan?

I'm sure there will be people on both sides.  Initially I'd say absolutely not do you sell Kamara.  He's one of only 3 players to score 9+ goals each of the last 3 seasons in MLS and led the team in scoring with 11 league goals last year (12 in all competitions). While Sporting have brought in Claudio Bieler to be the go to goal scorer, Kamara's presence on the wing causes defenses all kinds of trouble and would be sorely missed in KC's system.

Whether this happens or not will remain to be seen, but Kamara joins a growing list of Sporting players, along with Espinoza (Wigan), Matt Besler (Southampton), Graham Zusi (West Ham), and CJ Sapong (Arsenal), linked with a move to an EPL club this offseason.  The draw backs of being a successful club in MLS means you're going to see rumors like this from teams looking to bolster their lineup on the cheap.

UPDATE

According to The Daily Mail, Norwich has put in a £1.2 million bid for the striker, that's about $1.9 million US.  Not a bad price considering what MLS clubs normally get, but I'm not sure it's enough to entice KC to sell right now.

Four FCKC Players Called Up

Today, US women's national team coach Tom Sermanni called in 29 players ahead of the team's first two matches of the 2013 season.  The roster is filled with many of the players that were allocated to the NWSL teams.  It's FC Kansas City that leads the way with selections to the team though.  The Blues have four selections on the roster for the camp.  The team's 3 US allocated players, Nicole Barnhart, Lauren Cheney, and Becky Sauerbrunn are joined by FCKC's first round pick Kristie Mewis.  All the other NWSL teams have 3 representatives except for Chciago and Western New York who both just have two. 

The camp is in preparations for two friendlies in early February, on the 9th against in Jacksonville and 13th in Nashville, both against Scotland.  The camp will also likely be a chance to impress before the Algarve Cup coming up in March.

Sporting Select 4 in Supplemental Draft

MLS' second draft was today via conference call, and Sporting KC added 4 new players to their roster today.  Sporting had 4 picks in the draft and used all 4 to add more players to their list of players down in Arizona at this time.  With the way the roster shapes out right now, it'll be a fight for any of these four players to make the roster.

With their first round pick in the draft, Sporting took former SKC Junior, Christian Duke.  The San Diego senior spent much of his time in midfield, but has been listed as a defender in the information that Sporting has put out.  He helped lead San Diego to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament this year and earned second team All West Coast Conference this past year.  From looking at some pictures of yesterday's training in Arizona, Duke is already there with the team participating with the team in preseason.

The surprise on my part came from the fact that KC had to use a draft pick on Duke.  I had figured that since Duke had been in the Sporting academy for a year he met the requirements to be used as a homegrown player.  I was wrong on that count, apparently while at San Diego, Duke did not meet the minimum requirements for training with Sporting to qualify as a home grown signing.  Which is why Sporting had to use a draft pick on the player.

In the second round Sporting selected a midfielder from Campbell, Mitchell Cardenas. Cardenas is a Mexican citizen who holds residency in the United States.  He had 8 goals and 14 assists this past season, earning first team All Big South and All South Atlantic region.  Cardenas also spent part of the summer of 2012 training with Sporting KC.

In the third round, Sporting selected defender Brian Fekete from the University of Tampa.  Fekete was a 3 time All American.

In the final round, Sporting went back to the midfield again, selecting Mike Reidy of Colgate University.  He had 7 goals and 2 assists this past year, earning him offensive player of the year for the Patriot League. 

If the players are not already on their way to Arizona they will be soon hoping to impress Peter Vermes and earn a roster spot.

Supplemental Draft Tomorrow

Tomorrow's is MLS' supplemental draft, the second of two college drafts for players coming into the league.  Sporting KC has four selections in tomorrow's draft, which will take place via conference call.

All four of KC's selections are their "natural selections."  Sporting has the 14th, 33rd, 52nd, and 71st in tomorrow's draft.  Last year KC selected Shawn Singh who spent a short period of time on the roster before being waived.  And Kyle Miller, who is still with the team and scored the team's lone goal in the 1-1 draw with Stoke City last year. 

Kansas City is going to go with the best available here, there's not a specific need that KC needs to look towards in the draft and with how late KC draft in each round it's hard to make a projection on who KC will take. 

Single Season Appearances and Starts

Jimmy Nielsen appeared in all 34 regular seasons this year for Sporting KC.  Nielsen becomes the second player to play in 34 games in a season, along with CJ Sapong in 2011.  Kei Kamara only missed one game this past year, while Graham Zusi missed 2.

CJ Sapong - 34 - 2011
Jimmy Nielsen - 34 - 2012
Kei Kamara - 33 - 2012
Preki - 32 - 1996
Mark Chung - 32 - 1996
Mark Chung - 32 - 1997
Nick Garcia - 32 - 2000
Peter Vermes - 32 - 2000
Bo Oshoniyi - 32 - 2005
Davy Arnaud - 32 - 2006
Matt Besler - 32 - 2011
Graham Zusi - 32 - 2011
Graham Zusi - 32 - 2012

In all competitions, Nielsen only missed a single game, the 3-2 win over Orlando City in the US Open Cup.  Nielsen becomes the 5th player to appear in 40 games in a single season for Kansas City, the current record.  Zusi missed just 2 games in 2012 to put him at 39.

Nick Garcia - 40 - 2000
Peter Vermes - 40 - 2000
Chris Brown - 40 - 2002
CJ Sapong - 40 - 2011
Jimmy Nielsen - 40 - 2012
Kerry Zavagnin - 39 - 2000
Preki - 39 - 2000
Chris Henderson - 39 - 2000
Kerry Zavagnin - 39 - 2002
Matt Besler - 39 - 2011
Graham Zusi - 39 - 2012

When it comes to starts, Nielsen set a new team record in league play, starting all 34 games this season for Sporting KC.  Kamara joined him on the list, starting 32 of the 34 games this past year.  And Zusi who started 31 of the 34 games in 2012.

Jimmy Nielsen - 34 - 2012
Preki - 32 - 1996
Mark Chung - 32 - 1996
Mark Chung - 32 - 1997
Nick Garcia - 32 - 2000
Peter Vermes - 32 - 2000
Bo Oshoniyi - 32 - 2005
Matt Besler - 32 - 2011
Kei Kamara - 32 - 2012
Sean Bowers - 31 - 1996
Kerry Zavagnin - 31 - 2000
Tony Meola - 31 - 2000
Brandon Prideaux - 31 - 2000
Chris Klein - 31 - 2005
Jose Burciaga Jr - 31 - 2005
Jimmy Nielsen - 31 - 2011
Graham Zusi - 31 - 2012

In all competitions, Nielsen tied a club record starting 40 games this past season.  No one else made the list from the 2012 season.

Nick Garcia - 40 - 2000
Peter Vermes - 40 - 2000
Jimmy Nielsen - 40 - 2012
Kerry Zavagnin - 39 - 2000
Kerry Zavagnin - 39 - 2002
Preki - 38 - 1996
Mark Chung - 38 - 1996
Tony Meola - 38 - 2000
Brandon Prideaux - 38 - 2000
Nick Garcia - 38 - 2002
Davy Arnaud - 38 - 2004
Matt Besler - 38 - 2011

Most Starts

Moe stats, this time the most starts for KC in their history.  In league play no one new joined the list, but Matt Besler, Jimmy Nielsen, and Kei Kamara should all hit the 100 mark this year for Kansas City with ease.

Kerry Zavagnin - 228
Nick Garcia - 224
Davy Arnaud - 213
Jimmy Conrad - 203
Preki - 199
Chris Klein - 183
Mo Johnston - 142
Jack Jewsbury - 142
Josh Wolff - 128
Michael Harrington - 128
Matt McKeon - 126
Tony Meola - 125
Jose Burciaga Jr. - 110
Diego Gutierrez - 108
Uche Okafor - 107
Sean Bowers - 104
Matt Besler - 98
Jimmy Nielsen - 94
Kei Kamara - 87
Graham Zusi - 65
Chance Myers - 65
Seth Sinovic - 50
Aurelien Collin - 49
Teal Bunbury - 47
CJ Sapong - 46
Paulo Nagamura - 19
Bobby Convey - 14
Lawrence Olum - 10
Jacob Peterson - 9
Peterson Joseph - 4
Eric Kronberg - 4
Michael Thomas - 3
Soony Saad - 2
Oriol Rosell - 1

In all competitions, three new players joined the list this year.  Besler and Nielsen both hit 100 appearances, along with the recently departed, Roger Espinoza.  Kamara should easily hit the mark in the 2013 season which Chance Myers and Graham Zusi also have a very good shot at getting to 100 starts in all competitions this year for KC.

Kerry Zavagnin - 281
Nick Garcia - 272
Davy Arnaud - 234
Preki - 229
Jimmy Conrad - 228
Chris Klein - 216
Jack Jewsbury - 162
Matt McKeon - 159
Mo Johnston - 157
Tony Meola - 156
Josh Wolff - 144
Michael Harrington - 143
Diego Gutierrez - 135
Jose Burciaga Jr. - 123
Uche Okafor - 116
Matt Besler - 114
Sean Bowers - 113
Roger Espinoza - 106
Bo Oshoniyi - 105
Mark Chung - 103
Jimmy Nielsen - 103
Sasha Victorine - 102
Kevin Hartman - 100
Kei Kamara - 97
Chance Myers - 79
Graham Zusi - 77
Seth Sinovic - 61
Aurelien Collin - 60
Teal Bunbury - 57
CJ Sapong - 54
Paulo Nagamura - 22
Bobby Convey - 14
Jacob Peterson - 14
Lawrence Olum - 13
Eric Kronberg - 12
Peterson Joseph - 8
Soony Saad - 4
Michael Thomas - 4
Oriol Rosell - 2
Jon Kempin - 1
Dom Dwyer - 1

Comets Take Down Rochester

In a game that didn't feature a ton of defense, the Comets took an early lead, held it throughout the middle of the game, and pulled away at the end to win 30-17 against the Rochester Lancers at the Independence Events Center.

The Comets got off to a perfect start as the Ryan Junge won the ball in the Comets end, raced down the wing and fired a shot that went into the far corner to give the Comets a 3-0 lead after only 18 seconds.  The Comets continued their quick start only a minute later as Mads Falck played a pass to the back post where an unmarked Leo Gibson turned it in to make it 5-0 and force the Lancers to take a timeout after only 1:10 of game play.  The Lancers employee a different defense than I have seen from most MISL sides as they basically left 1 player up at the midfield or Comets yellow line most of the time, forcing the Comets to have someone sitting deeper or risk a break away.  It didn't matter early on though as just over 3 minutes into the quarter Gibson won the ball and raced down the right wing before firing a shot into the far corner that beat Patrick Hannigan for another 3 pointer, making it 8-0 Comets.  And just past the 6 minute mark the Comets made it 10-0.  Bryan Harris picked out Gibson whose initial shot was saved by Hannigan but he couldn't hold it and Gibson poked it past him and into the net, completing his hattrick and the rout appeared to be on.  The Lancers continued to try to push the game but couldn't create much in the way of dangerous chances and when they did Danny Waltman made the saves.  He did need some help from his defense as Waltman got pulled out away from goal making a save and on the rebound, Junge had to save the ball off the line.  Late on in the quarter the Lancers got on the board.  Rey Martinez fired a shot from the corner that took a deflection off of a defender on the way through and ended up going through Waltman's legs and into the net. Just before the quarter finished, the Comets went on the power play.  As Stefan Stokic tried to lead a break, Doug Miller made a sliding tackle, getting too much of Stokic for the referees liking and Miller got to end the first quarter in the box.

In the second quarter the Comets couldn't capitalize on the rest of the power play.  Shortly after the power play expired, the Lancers got themselves within 6 points.  Maruricio Salles fired a shot off the post.  The ball bounced to Martinez who tapped the ball past Waltman to make it 10-4.  The Comets pushed the game attempting to restore their lead as the open game continued.  Just a minute after the Lancers goal the Comets worked the ball around the perimeter.  Junge played the ball in to Lucas Rodriguez in the corner.  Rodriguez turned firing a curling shot into the corner to restore the Comets 8 point lead.  A minute later the Comets added another goal.  Falck did a good job of winning the ball after losing it.  He then played a ball across to the far side for Cristiano who beat Hannigan to make it 14-4.  The open game in the quarter continued and Stephen Basso picked out Salles who fired a 3 pointer that beat Waltman to the near post making it 14-7.  The quarter continued to be open and with just over 5 minutes left, the Comets made their lead 9.  Vahid Assadpour and Gibson played a 1-2 with Assadpour receiving the ball in the middle of the box.  He beat Hannigan to make it 16-7.  The Lancers employed high pressure on the Comets in their own end and Waltman ended up giving the ball away to Luis Enrique who fed the ball to Miller to knocked the ball in off the post to make it 16-9.  Shortly after the goal the Comets found themselves up only 5.  Cristiano fouled Miller as he broke in on goal earning himself a blue card.  The foul also earned a shootout attempt for the Lancers.  Miller took the shootout and beat Waltman to make it 16-11.  With under 3 minutes remaining Bryan Harris restored the Comets 8 point lead.  Harris won the ball in the Comets end and raced towards goal.  At the yellow line Harris fired a shot into the corner to make it 19-11.  With time running out in the quarter the Lancers were able to cut the lead again.  Evan McNeley played a ball across the face of goal where Pedro Franco tapped the ball home at the far post to make it 19-13 at the half time break.

The third quarter saw the Lancers jump out early and get themselves closer to the Comets.  Basso picked out Sallas in the corner and he beat Waltman to get the Lancers within 4.  The fourth quarter saw both teams play with 4 men for two minutes after Gibson and Jake Schindler got into a shoving match and got matching blue cards.  The defense in the third quarter picked up as neither team was really able to get going.With under 5 minutes left, the Comets got another power play opportunity after Basso received a blue card.  The Comets took advantage of the power play.  Assadpour picked out Gibson who fired from outside the 3 point like to make it 22-15, restoring the 7 point lead.

Early in the fourth quarter the Lancers again closed the lead to 5 as McNeley finished a chance to make it 22-17 just 30 seconds into the fourth.  That's as close as Lancers got though.  Just over half way through the quarter the Comets restored their 7 point lead again on a magnificent goal.  Assadpour played a long ball over the top towards Gibson.  Gibson turned and biked the shot past Hannigan and into the net.  An absolutely fantastic goal for his 5th of the game.  Twenty seconds later the Comets made the lead 9.  Gibson played a ball through for Cristiano who touched the ball past a rushing Hannigan and into the net making it 26-17.  After the Cristiano goal the Lancers came back out with the 6th attacker.  While the Lancers had the extra attacker the Comets were the one that had the better possession, causing all sorts of problems for the Lancers and they really never got the offense going with the extra attacker..  In fact it was the Comets that took advantage.  Gibson won a ball away from the Lancers 6th attacker and scored his 6th goal of the net, equaling Miller's mark that he scored vs the Comets earlier this year.  The Comets weren't done against the 6th attacker either creating a number of opportunities.  Waltman even tried to score off a punt.  His shot was deflected, but the deflection went to Gibson who raced down then played a nice little ball to Rodriguez who raced in on goal and after the goalkeeper committed, he dumped the ball to Coady Andrews who touched the ball home to make it 30-17.  Gibson finished the night with 6 goals and 2 assists wrapping up player of the week honors.

Comets vs Lancers Play by Play

Here's tonight's play by play for the Comets vs Lancers

Talk of Soccer Fields and Sporting KC

The past few days in Kansas City there's been a lot of talk about youth fields on both sides of the state line and a connection to Sporting Kansas City on both. 

On the Missouri side of the Missouri side of the state line, we appear to have a resolution between the city of Kansas City and the Raytown School District when it comes to the Winchester TIF district.  The city had wanted to use $11 million in allocated funds to improve the soccer fields around Sporting KC's training complex and expand Sporting's complex.  The school district had felt that this was outside the realm of the original TIF and the funds should be returned. 

In the compromise, the district and other jurisdictions will get about $3.4 million.  The city will get $5 million.  The city and Jackson county will pledge another $5 million from tax revenue to expand the complex. After the spat between the city and school district was made public, Sporting stepped away from the table when it came to building the fields, Sporting didn't need the negative connotations of fighting a school district for funds to build soccer fields.  With the new plan in place though, expect Sporting to be back at the table as they're expected to help manage the complex.  The hope is that the complex will be able to compete with and compliment the Overland Park Soccer Complex.

On the other side of the state line, things don't appear to be going as well.  Originally when the Unified Government of Wyandotte County agreed to help with STAR Bonds to help build Sporting Park, Sporting was going to build soccer fields in Wyandotte.  Sporting was supposed to build almost 2 dozen fields in the county.  Three were supposed to be inner city fields while they were also supposed to build 18 tournament level fields as well. 

Apparently deadlines for the building of these fields have passed without a word from either the county of the team.  The 3 fields in the urban core were supposed to be completed in 2011, but no work has been done.  The 18 field tournament complex was supposed to be built to the southwest of Sporting Park in Wyandotte County Park.

The fields with the stadium were something that I had been wondering about for a little bit because I remember seeing them in some of the original renderings of the Legends area with the stadium.  It's sad that the team hasn't gotten started on this yet.  I understand that they've had other issues on their plate, but if they want to continue their good image in the city, they need to get these fields started.  There is definitely still a lack of "tournament quality fields" in this city and the Overland Park Soccer Complex is usually well overbooked.  Another complex to help with that would be a big plus and combined together could help bring some very big tournaments to the city.  Hopefully Sporting get back on top of this.

Most Appearances

Some more stats for you today.  This time appearances for KC.  Here's the list of players currently with 100 or more appearances for Kansas City.  Also included is the current players and where they stand.  Joining the list in league play was Roger Espinoza and Matt Besler hitting the 100 appearance mark.  Kei Kamara, Graham Zusi, Jimmy Nielsen, and Chance Myers should all hit the mark this coming season.  Teal Bunbury is an outside chance if he gets healthy quickly.

With the departure of Harrington and Espinoza, Besler is now the active leader in appearances.

Davy Arnaud - 240
Kerry Zavagnin - 237
Nick Garcia - 224
Preki - 218
Jimmy Conrad - 204
Chris Klein - 200
Jack Jewsbury - 195
Mo Johnston - 149
Michael Harrington - 149
Josh Wolff - 144
Matt McKeon - 144
Tony Meola - 125
Chris Brown - 123
Diego Gutierrez - 119
Uche Okafor - 119
Jose Burciaga - 115
Francisco Gomez - 114
Roger Espinoza - 113
Sean Bowers - 111
Sasha Victorine - 106
Digital Takawira - 103
Matt Besler - 103
Kei Kamara - 98
Graham Zusi - 96
Jimmy Nielsen - 94
Chance Myers - 89
Teal Bunbury - 77
CJ Sapong - 65
Aurelien Collin - 52
Seth Sinovic - 50
Paulo Nagamura - 27
Jacob Peterson - 23
Lawrence Olum - 22
Bobby Convey - 16
Soony Saad - 13
Peterson Joseph - 11
Michael Thomas - 7
Oriol Rosell - 5
Eric Kronberg - 5
Dom Dwyer - 1

In all competitions, a few more players have hit the 100 appearance mark.  Along with Espinoza and Besler hitting the mark in 2012, Zusi, KAmara, Myers, and Nielsen all hit the mark as well.  In 2013, Bunbury is only 12 appearances away in all competitions depending on how he returns from his ACL tear.  CJ Sapong should likely hit the mark this year as well.  With all the games KC will have year, it's also still possible for Aurelien Collin and Seth Sinovic to also get to 100 appearances.



Kerry Zavagnin - 291
Davy Arnaud - 273
Nick Garcia - 273
Preki - 254
Chris Klein - 235
Jimmy Conrad - 230
Jack Jewsbury - 218
Matt McKeon - 183
Michael Harrington - 170
Mo Johnston - 169
Josh Wolff - 165
Tony Meola - 156
Chris Brown - 150
Diego Gutierrez - 147
Francisco Gomez - 141
Jose Burciaga - 130
Uche Okafor - 130
Roger Espinoza - 130
Matt Besler - 121
Sean Bowers - 120
Sasha Victorine - 114
Digital Takawira - 111
Bo Oshoniyi - 110
Graham Zusi - 110
Kei Kamara - 110
Mark Chung - 104
Chance Myers - 104
Jimmy Nielsen - 103
Shavar Thomas - 101
Kevin Hartman - 100
Teal Bunbury - 88
CJ Sapong - 78
Aurelien Collin - 63
Seth Sinovic - 61
Paulo Nagamura - 30
Jacob Peterson - 28
Lawrence Olum - 26
Soony Saad - 18
Bobby Convey - 17
Peterson Joseph - 16
Eric Kronberg - 13
Michael Thomas - 8
Oriol Rosell - 6
Dom Dwyer - 3
Jon Kempin - 1
Kevin Ellis - 1

FC Kansas City Add 4 in First Draft Class

FC Kansas City picked up their first 4 draft picks today in the first NWSL draft.  FCKC had the 3rd pick in the draft, which was figured by a panel that compared the strength of their allocated players.  Today at the NSCAA convention KC made their 4 picks.

In the first round, the Blues selected Kristie Mewis from Boston College.  Mewis is a midfielder who was a MAC Hermann award semifinalist and first team All-American.  Mewis has been a member of the US U-17 and U-20 national teams.

In the second round, FCKC selected Erika Tymrak.  The midfielder from the University of Florida has been selected as an All-American and is in the US U-23 pool and a MAC Hermann award semifinalist.

In the third round, the Blues selected a local player, Whitney Berry from the University of Kansas.  The first team All Big 12 midfielder/forward led KU in assists this year and finished as the leader for KU in assists for her career.

In their final selection, Kansas City went with another local option, drafting Nia Williams from Missouri State.  Williams is the daughter of FCKC assistant coach, Huw Williams.  Williams was a 4 time All Missouri Valley player and was the MVC Defensive player of the year.

The four players will join the seven that were originally allocated to FCKC.  The rest of the Blues roster will be filled through free agent signings, and from Twitter today, a dispersal draft of other pros.

Sporting Announce Sponsorship Deal with Ivy Funds

Before the announcement that Sporting KC had selected Mikey Lopez with their first round pick in today's Superdraft, the team unveiled their brand new jersey sponsor, Ivy Funds.  Aurelien Collin modeled Sporting's secondary jersey with the new logo on the front of the jersey. 

The rumors had been around for a few weeks now that this would be announced soon.  Overall I think the Ivy Funds logo looks good on the Sporting jersey.  Yes it is currently a little high, but word is that this was because it was a quick mock up, and that on the real jerseys the sponsor will be about an inch lower.  There's been photos posted on Twitter showing the logo on last year's primary jersey with the logo and name right next to each other, unlike today's announcement where the Ivy Funds logo was below the words Ivy Funds

The multi-year deal was mentioned during the draft broadcast as being a 5 year deal worth over $2.5 million a year for the club although none of the club's releases mention the length of the deal or the amount. 

So with the deal in place how does it match up with other deals?  Here's a list of team's and their sponsors and how long, how much they are worth (Thanks to Hot Time in Old Town for the original link on this).

Chicago - Quaker - 3 year, $8 million ($2.67 million a year), signed in January 2012
Chivas USA - Corona -  multi-year, undisclosed amount, signed in January 2011
Colorado - No sponsor, with KC now having a deal, Colorado is the only team to never have a sponsor.
Columbus - Barbasol - 5 years, undisclosed amount, signed in February 2012
DC - Volkswagon - 5 years, $14 million ($2.8 million a year), signed in 2008, with company extension for 2014.
Dallas - AdvoCare - multi-year, undisclosed amount signed in June 2012
Houston - Greenstar Recycling - 5 years, $12.7 million ($2.54 million a year) signed in December 2010
LA - Herbalife - 10 years, $44 million ($4.4 million a year) announced extension in March 2012
Montreal - Bank of Montreal - 5 years, undisclosed amount signed in June of 2011.
New England - United Health Care - multi-year, undisclosed amount in signed April of 2011.
New York - Red Bull - Red Bull owns the club.
Philadelphia - Bimbo - 4 years, $12 million ($3 million a year) signed in January 2011.
Portland - Alaska Airlines - 4 years, undisclosed amount signed in December 2010.
Salt Lake - XanGo  - 3 years, $3 million ($1 million a year) renewed in July 2009.
San Jose - No sponsor at this time, their deal with Amway expired before last season.
Seattle - Xbox - 5 years, $20 million ($4 million a year) signed in May of 2008.
Toronto - Bank of Montreal - 5 year, $20 million Canadian ($4 million Canadian a year) renewed in June 2010.
Vancouver - Bell Canada - multi-year, $4 million plus a year signed in June of 2010.

So looking on the surface, KC would appear to have one of the lower sponsorship deals money wise, but has always been the case, Sporting hasn't wanted a sponsor just to have a sponsor, they were looking for one that fit with them and their plans.  And overall, I really think they found it on this deal.

Watch the video from Sporting regarding the sponsorship below.

Sporting KC Select Mikey Lopez

Sporting KC only had 1 Superdraft pick, but they certainly made the most of it.  Sporting selected Generation Adidas midfielder, Mikey Lopez from the University of North Carolina. 

This in my opinion is a great pick for KC.  Lopez wasn't really expected to fall anywhere close to KC at the 14th spot.  He's a central midfielder that fits a need that I felt KC needed to fill this offseason adding depth there, so from that regard it's very good.  Lopez is 19 years old currently, turning 20 next month.  He's also a member of the US U-20 team and is currently part of the same camp that Jon Kempin is currently attending down in Mexico.  He's a defensive minded midfielder that may in the long run be able to help fill the void left by Roger Espinoza and Julio Cesar.

With Lopez being a Generation Adidas player he won't count against the salary cap for Sporting KC which is a big bonus for KC this season.  And while he might miss time while being with the U20's he'll be competitive games that way which will be a bonus for KC.

Last weekend at the Combine, Lopez had said that he wanted to go to Chivas, because "from what I have heard of Chivas USA, I like what they want to do."

But I really don't think he'll hate the idea of coming to KC, with the style of play that Peter Vermes employees.

Here's a video of his goal at the Combine.

New Byline to Back Post

Episode 2 of 2013 of From the Byline to the Back Post is up for listening.  Thad and I discuss Livestrong/Sporting KC, Ivy Funds jersey sponsorship coming, the all star game, the draft and more in the first half.  In the second we go indepth about FC Kansas City and their player allocation and also discuss the Missouri Comets and former Wizards.  Check it out on Posterous and iTunes.

Draft Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the 2013 MLS Superdraft.  This year the draft takes place in Indianapolis.  Sporting will have a quiet day overall though.  KC just has one pick in the Superdraft after trading both of their second round picks, for Josh Garnder (a pick acquired from New York originally) and Ike Opara.  Earlier this month, I took a look at how the 14th draft pick has worked out for teams over the years. 

So what does KC need?  KC doesn't have a pressing need, they're looking for depth most likely and a player that can contribute some, especially during KC's busy summer.  Sporting appears to have the luxury of being able to just pick the "best available player" instead of drafting for a specific need tomorrow.

That said, there is one area that I would like to see KC improve their depth, and that's in central midfield.  Two players that I've seen on some mock drafts that I think could fit that are Dillon Powers of Notre Dame and John Stertzer of Maryland.  Both players I feel would slot in well to KC's midfield.

I've also seen some left sided midfielders thrown out there as potential picks for depth, names like Donnie Smith and Blake Smith.  Blake Smith even spent time with KC training which may tip him to be the pick.  I'm not sure I agree with that, KC at the moment would seem to have some left winger depth.  CJ Sapong, Jacob Peterson, and Graham Zusi all have played the left wing position along with Bobby Convey.  KC's fluid lineup transition forces players to play multiple positions throughout the game. 

Personally I think getting a central midfielder is the priority.  That said, the past 2 years or so I've said we needed a center back to help depth wise, and KC's drafted CJ Sapong and Dom Dwyer with their first round picks.  So I expect KC to go a different route than I expect them to go.  They'll probably draft a center back this year.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates.  Roger Espinoza made his first appearance for Wigan this past week, starting and playing 90 minutes in Wigan's FA Cup win over Bournemouth.  Also, Julio Cesar has a new club, signing with Toronto FC for the 2013 season.  Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Korede Aiyegbusi
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Mauro Fuzetti
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Cyprian Hedrick
Aaron Hohlbein
Will John
Mike Jones
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Neven Markovic
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Julio Cesar - Toronto - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Portland - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Los Angeles - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason

NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason

USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason

PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason

NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse Silver Knights - Scored a goal in Syracuse's 15-14 win over Rochester.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored a goal in Baltimore's 13-8 loss to Chicago.  Had an assist in Baltimore's 10-8 loss to Milwaukee. 
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 18-6 loss to Milwaukee. Played in Missouri's 12-11 loss to Wichita.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Out injured
Paul Wright - San Diego - No game this week.

International
Stephane Auvray - DPMM FC - Brunei (Singapore League) - Offseason.
Vicente Arze - Esteghlal - Iran - Did not play in Esteghlal's 2-1 win over Mes Kerman.
Omar Bravo - Atlas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Atlas' 2-0 win over Pachuca.  Play Irapuato in the Copa Mexico tonight.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Did not dress in Sporting's 1-1 draw with Oliveirense.
Eloy Colombano - UAI Urquiza - Argentina - Off until February.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 0-0 draw with Caledonia.
Pablo Escobar - Atletico Huila - Colombia - Offseason.
Roger Espinoza - Wigan - England - Did not dress in Wigna's 1-1 draw with Fulham.  Started and played 90 minutes in Wigan's 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the FA Cup.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Did not play in the Stars' 1-0 loss to Defence Force.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Started and played 88 minutes in Santos' 2-0 win over Chivas.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Beat Sporting Central 2-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - No game until January 19th.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - On winter break until March.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - On winter break until March.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - No game this week.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Ryan Smith - Skoda Xanthi - Greece - Came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Xanthi's 1-0 loss to AEK Athens.
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - No game until January 26th.
Ivan Trujillo - America de Cali - Colombia - Offseason.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Offseason.

Sporting KC and Livestrong End Relationship in Messy Fashion

We all probably saw this coming in one way or another after all the news this week regarding Lance Armstrong and his apparent confession to Oprah in regards to doping.  I'm not sure that we expected the ending of the relationship to end quite like this.  Tonight, Darren Rovell broke the news on ESPN that Sporting and Livestrong had severed their relationship with both sides laying the blame on the other.

Things got messy really quickly between the two as just last week, Robb Heineman said that they were still reviewing the situation.  And then tonight the shit hit the fan.  First with the article from Rovell that stated Livestrong was the one that was ending the deal, telling the team this week that they had not paid the $1 million that was owed to the foundation, stating that Sporting had only paid $250,000 of it.  Sporting has refuted this claim.  One would assume if money is owed, then we can probably expect some sort of legal action to take place between the two.

Sporting fired back in the same ESPN article with Heineman stating that the Livestrong Foundation forced Sporting into an "unacceptable arrangement" and that due to the faith and trust in the partnership had been damaged, Sporting was ending the partnership. 

Heineman elaborated on the comments in the ESPN article in a statement on Sporting's website.  Heineman explained how since the announcement off the name of the stadium, the organization has taken a bit of a beating publicly over getting into a relationship with the Livestrong organization considering the problems it was facing with it's founder, Armstrong.  He also discussed how Livestrong's "spirit" for the partnership had changed and wasn't the same as Sporting.  It's certainly easy to argue that Sporting had done more to push the Livestrong brand than the other way around.  The statement is fairly well crafted and and makes no mention of Armstrong himself, only that the actions of Livestrong were surprising considering they were "in the midst of a significant transitional phase for their organization."

Things have moved very quickly since the announcement, the stadium portion of the Sporting KC site has been changed to reference the "new" name of the stadium, Sporting Park, with no mention to the previous name.  The website for the stadium, www.livestrongsportingpark.com is offline.  And out at the stadium, the big signage that says Livestrong is no longer lit up.  I'd expect that signage to come down over the next few days/weeks.

I'm still amazed at how quickly this whole thing has gone down.  Sure there had been the rumors that changes were coming to the name of the stadium because of the issues that were going on with Armstrong, but I'm not sure anyone expected it to come this quickly.  The way it's gone down has also been surprising. .  The messy "divorce" looks likely to turn into a big he said/she said situation.  I've seen lots of people taking both sides of the situation tonight.  People believing the comments made by Greg Lee that Sporting hasn't paid.  When seeing Heineman's comments, people are responding by asking if people are surprised someone associated with an organization founded by a "lying cheat" would say something like that. 

Overall I seriously doubt we'll ever hear the full story on this situation.  At least not on the record.  I'm sure there is some truth to what both sides are saying.  The search for a new stadium sponsor will begin though.  Either way, this is a very messy end to the sponsorship.  Hopefully Sporting will go the route of a sponsor that will pay this time.  Like the jersey sponsor, this is a revenue stream that Sporting has missed out on.

Landmark Goals

Another stat for you, Sporting's landmark goals.  This year KC hit two marks, Aurelien Collin got the 700th league goal for KC, scoring in first half stoppage time against FC Dallas in March.  Then in June, CJ Sapong scored KC's 500th goal in all competitions at home with his goal against Toronto.  Next year KC should get their 300th league away goal and their 900th in all competitions.

League play - currently 737 goals
1. Digital Takawira - 4/13/1996 - 71st - Colorado Rapids
100. Mark Chung - 7/19/1997 - 15th - DC United
200. Preki - 3/25/2000 - 63rd - Chicago Fire
300. Chris Klein - 7/13/2002 - 64th - New England Revolution
400. Josh Wolff - 4/2/2005 - 34th - Colorado Rapids
500. Eddie Johnson - 4/25/2007 - 5th - Toronto FC
600. Josh Wolff - 9/5/2009 - 91st+ - New England Revolution
700. Aurelien Collin - 3/25/2012 - 49th+ - FC Dallas

League play home - currently 439
1. Digital Takawira - 4/13/1996 - 71st - Colorado Rapids
100. Paul Wright - 9/5/1998 - 59th - San Jose Clash
200. Eric Quill - 5/3/2003 - 89th - Columbus Crew
300. Dave van den Bergh - 10/7/2006 - 50th - Chivas USA
400. Teal Bunbury - 8/3/2011 - 34th - Real Salt Lake

League play away - currently 298
1. Uche Okafor - 4/21/1996 - 16th - San Jose Clash
100. Roy Lassiter - 6/2/2001 - 52nd - Tampa Bay Mutiny
200. Davy Arnaud - 5/19/2007 - 58th minute - Colorado Rapids

Competitive play - currently 872
1. Digital Takawira - 4/13/1996 - 71st - Colorado Rapids
100. Edmundo Rodriguez - 6/21/1997 - 87th - DC United
200. Preki - 7/31/1999 - 35th - San Jose Clash
300. Roy Lassister - 8/12/2001 - 90th - Colorado Rapids
400. Stephen Armstrong - 7/4/2003 - 90th - Colorado Rapids
500. own goal - 5/21/2005 - 62th - DC United
600. Jose Burciaga Jr. - 5/5/2007 - 90th - Columbus Crew
700. own goal - 6/24/2009 - 85th - New England Revolution
800. Kei Kamara - 8/21/2011 - 19th - DC United

Competitive home - currently 517
1. Digital Takawira - 4/13/1996 - 71st - Colorado Rapids
100. Preki - 8/26/1998 - 21th - DC United
200. Preki - 5/4/2002 - 29th - LA Galaxy
300. Davy Arnaud - 6/25/2005 - 70th - Chivas USA
400. Herculez Gomez - 10/18/2008 - 93rd+ - San Jose
500. CJ Sapong - 6/17/2012 - 18th - Toronto

Competitive away - currently 352
1. Uche Okafor - 4/21/1996 - 16th - San Jose Clash
100. Matt McKeon - 10/3/2000 - 29th - LA Galaxy
200. Josh Wolff - 5/14/2005 - 89th - Columbus Crew
300. Davy Arnaud - 8/28/2010 - 1212 - LA Galaxy