Not Just A Hat Rack

Toto Soccer Prediction League

Last week, 11 of us set out to predict win, loss or draw in 10 matches chosen from MLS, WPS and World Cup Qualifying.  It's harder than you think, but two of us once-fired-GM's picked at least six of 10 correctly.  At the other end of the spectrum were three folks with 20 years around in the league who COMBINED to pick three games correctly.  I won't name names.

Anyways, we're turning it into a season-long contest... Here's 10 games to consider for this week, including the WPS debut of the Chicago Red Stars (I'm a proud season ticket holder!) and the border war between the Czechs and Slovaks in European World Cup Qualifying.  

If you'd like to join our league, submit your picks in the comments below.  We'll track you down for a donation if you're in for the season-long competition.

First game is early afternoon Eastern time on WEDNESDAY, so get your picks in right away.  Good luck.

Spring of '89

Although 4" of snow fell before Noon today on the Wasatch Front, the calendar says it's Spring, robins abound, soccer season is underway and it seems like James Taylor music should provide some light on a cloudy day.

A bundle of emotions came to mind this evening when I heard the song, "Shower the People" while washing dishes and checking out my nine varieties of tomatoes on the windowsill mocking the snow-laden bird feeder out the window.

It was the Spring  of '89.  Twenty years ago.

But first, during the winter of '89, I fled Chicago for Mesa, Arizona and my mandatory junior-year internship for my journalism degree.  Finish "Teaching Newspaper" and you were almost done with your degree - even if another year technically remained.  Several things happened while I was in Arizona.  

I wrecked my first car, but that's not really what this is about.  I decided I didn't want to work for a newspaper (and I'd already ruled out television and radio) and contemplated changing majors, but that's not what this is about.  My grandfather died, and I remember standing in a doorway with my roommate, Tribune editor John D'Anna, asking whether I should attend the funeral as I'd have to miss a school board meeting for my new two-week Education Beat.  

"Go be with your family," he said.

And while my grandfather's death had a profound impact on me, that's not really was I remember about the spring of '89.

I returned to Chicago in late March - back once again to the Communications Residential College.  CRC was the only place I'd lived on campus, where my friendships with Russ, Hannah, Louis, Dave K, Debbie and so many others started, grew and in the case of all five of those people, still flourishes today, albeit from a distance, through jobs, marriages, births, deaths.  CRC holds an irreplaceable fond spot in my heart.  

But CRC got a little competition that spring.

In the final days before departing for Arizona, I applied to be a Resident Advisor (RA) for my senior year.  Free room and board was the most enticing aspect.  I think I would have been lost as another Northwestern student living in the multitude of apartments off campus, but the prospect of living all four years at CRC seemed a bit sheltered to me.  Our RHC, Susan Stearns, suggested I should apply and, without much thought or anticipation, I did.

In the Spring of '89, I was informed that I was accepted.  Yes!  Then, I read on to discover I'd been assigned to the Jones Residential College for Theatre and Performing Arts.  Umm, no thanks.  I'll pass.

Jones was across the street from CRC - 100 yards door-to-door.  CRC and Jones shared a dining room.  Yet in three years I'd never set foot in the building and barely knew a soul that had.  It might as well have been the University of Chicago, Julliard or Czechoslovakia as far as I knew.  Jones people were strange.  No, thank you.

Susan Stearns was the first one to reach me and tell me that I should keep an open mind. After all, she said, the "co-RA" assigned to join me at Jones there was in tears, she said.  The two of us were having the same feelings - and neither one of us should make any rash decisions without meeting.

Jim Weis reached me soon after.  He was going to be the RHC - my boss - and we were going to have a great year together.

What ensued was 12 months that changed me more than the previous three years at Northwestern combined.

Those of you who know me know that Kathy Dedo was the co-RA.  But this is not solely a Dedo story.

That spring, eight of us (Me, Kathy, Laura, Todd, Elizabeth, David, Lance and Joanne), were selected to manage and lead more than 400 of our peers in four adjacent dorms.  Jim Weis supervised us.  And despite the reservations, fears, doubts, challenges, expectations and needs that we each brought to the RA position, he believed in us.

Twenty years later, I think about the first tentative meetings we had, the ice-breaking, the group-bonding and the trials that ensued.

"How can I care about these "residents" at Jones when I don't even want to be here," I recall thinking.

But "Shower the People" became an integral part of the soundtrack of my senior year.  We each had to choose a favorite song and explain why.   Todd, for example, picked "A Pirate Looks at 40." I chose "Solsbury Hill."  Laura offered "Shower the People," and explained how it reminded her to find the best in others, think of them first.

Jim gathered the songs from everyone and made a tape for each of us. (20 years ago, we still had walkmans that played tapes!) 

It was probably the last tape I discarded - probably over a decade ago.  But that one song, in particular, take me back to that spring.  And that's not a bad place to be at all.

(to be continued... maybe)

The Weekend Awaits

It was an eventful week... Declan's fifth birthday.  Found a Play by Play announcer for team handball's debut on the US Olympic website, handball.teamusa.org.  Announced the Germany partnership referred to on the website.  Got skewered on another website.  Signed up to "Run with the Leopards" tomorrow morning - a 5K to raise money for East High School (i.e., "the place they filmed High School Musical").  It's supposed to be 29 degrees at 8am tomorrow - should be perfect actually.  It's great when you can jog to the start line, run the race, and jog back home.  Who needs a car.  Anyways, there was some other stuff this week, too.  I think.

Most importantly, I launched the Soccer Prediction League - a loose-knit assemblage of friends (and family!) to pick MLS, WPS and other soccer games on a weekly basis all summer.  To keep me honest, I'll post my weekly picks here.  It's the Euro format - pick home or road winner, or a tie. Simple.  Most correct picks over the course of the season wins the prize.  I've always wanted to do this - never had time or motivation to start it.

If you'd like to join in on the fun, send my your picks by 4pm ET on Saturday. Season entry fee is $10.

So, here goes... 

Game	Winner	AWAY	Tie	HOME	Winner
1		Washington		LA Sol (WPS)	X
2		Toronto FC		Columbus	X
3	X	Chicago		DC United
4		New England	X	NY Red Bulls
5		Kansas City		Colorado	X
6		Houston	X	San Jose
7		RSL		Seattle	X
8	X	Chivas USA		FC Dallas
9	X	USA (WCQ)		El Salvador
10		Costa Rica		Mexico (WCQ)	X

Here's an example of what it looks like in Italy...

Two Unrelated Tidbits?

Luis Arroyave is reporting on his blog for the Chicago Tribune that the Fire is expecting 10-12,000 for their home opener.  Then there's some mumbo-jumbo about home openers being a tough sell.

Meantime, a member of the Fire faithful informed me he saw erstwhile President/CEO/Soccer Ambassador/Nice Guy & Ego-in-Chief Dave Greeley for the first time recently.  Greeley, on hand to watch a Fire game in person (how spirited of him!), allegedly did not look up from his Blackberry for the first 35 minutes of the match.  Must have been working on some whiz-bang promotions like "Bob Avellini Appreciation Night," ""Turn Back the Clock to 1985" or "Soccer for Dummies DVD GIveaway."

So, who wants to put a wager on the better Opener attendance-wise... Red Stars or Fire?

 

MLS Weekend Rewind

Friends - I have been bouncing around the idea of syndicating a column about MLS to dying periodicals in the Western USA... No nibbles yet, but this is the type of weekly content I'd like to produce.  Your feedback (and leads!) is welcome.

           If you thought the remainder of Major League Soccer’s opening weekend couldn’t match Thursday’s debut of the Seattle Sounders, think again.

            This weekend offered buckets of goals, impressive rookies, surprise results and, thankfully, nary a 0-0 draw.  Who says five expansion teams in four years is diluting the excitement and talent of MLS.

Multi-goal Games

Early this week, the stat gurus at MLS will mostly likely tell us it's been years (if ever) since five players tallied multi-goal games in the same weekend.  Amado Guevara (Toronto), Paulo Nagamura (Chivas USA) and Fredy Montero (Seattle) all led their teams to wins.  Landon Donovan rescued a tie for Los Angeles with a pair of controversial goals in the final 10 minutes.

Only Davy Arnaud’s pair for Kansas City failed to yield a point, tarnishing the prettiest pair of goals of the weekend.

It’s March – Where Were These Guys?

The earliest launch of the season since 2002 left prominent big names behind – not just David Beckham.  Here’s “Baker’s 11” of players who weren’t ready for first kick:

GK –Donovan Ricketts (LA)

D – Eddie Lewis (LA), Ante Jazic (CHV), Eddie Robinson (HOU)

M – Freddy Ljungberg (SEA), Simon Elliott (SJ), Fred (DC), Steve Ralston (NE)

F – Jaime Moreno (DC), Edson Buddle (LA), Taylor Twellman (NE), Ante Razov (CHV)

Neither Chris Rolfe or Cuauhtemoc Blanco of the Chicago Fire was ready for kickoff, but both came off the bench late in the game to help the Fire protect a one-goal lead.  Blanco’s curling free kick clinched the Fire’s first win at Dallas since 1999.

 

Where are the Goalkeepers?

For only the second time in the past eight years, opening weekend games averaged more than 3 goals each.  Is it a reflection of  deteriorating goalkeeping in MLS, teams breaking in new keepers, or signs that the USA has lost a generation of netminders?

Of the seven goalies who allowed at least two goals this weekend, three were making their debut with their clubs (Matt Pickens/Rapids, Josh Wicks/DC and Stefan Frei/TFC). Two others, New York’s Danny Cepero and Los Angeles’ Josh Saunders entered 2009 with just one regular season win with their clubs.  Arguably, all but Pickens are fill-ins, but depth at the position seems to be an all-time low in MLS.

The league’s best keepers are all well into their 30’s.  (Shutouts were posted this weekend by 39-year-old Kasey Keller and 33-year-old Matt Reis.)

Who’s got next?

With the exception of 24-year-old Brad Guzan, currently playing at England’s Aston Villa, there are no USA prospects in their 20’s currently playing in MLS.  Will Hesmer (27) and Matt Pickens (26) are quality MLS players but will never challenge Guzan or 30-year-old Tim Howard on the USA National Team.  Some think the best of the bunch might be Chris Seitz of RSL (still only 22 years old), but he has yet to record his first MLS victory in two years on the bench in Utah. 

Great debuts

How about those Maryland Terrapins?  Five Terps were drafted in the first 23 picks of January’s SuperDraft, and all five played significant minutes in their MLS debuts. 

The Galaxy lined up Omar Gonzalez alongside A.J. De La Garza on the left side of their defense – and the pair held their own, despite through some shaky moments.  Their former teammate, Rodney Wallace, had an active debut on the other side of the field for D.C. United – getting forward aggressively like the Costa Rican national teamer Harold Wallace (no relation).

 On the road in Seattle, Red Bulls’ coach Juan Carlos Osorio didn’t hesitate to bring on 11^th overall pick Jeremy Hall from Maryland in the game’s first 30 minutes. Finally, Kansas City started Graham Zusi, who played 61 minutes.

In other debuts, DC United’s Chris Pontius showed he belonged on the field even before he scored his gorgeous goal.  The UCSB product will have to fight for playing time once Fred and Santino Quaranta return, but stated his case clearly.

Duke product Darrius Barnes went 90 minutes for New England. 

But the debut of debuts goes to Seattle, where nine players made their MLS debuts.  Cuban Osvaldo Alonso played a nasty and creative central midfield (like a young Dema Kovalenko) and the baby-faced platoon of Sanna Nyassi (67 mins.) and Steve Zakuani (23 mins.) ran up and down the flank all night long.

News and Notes

·       When D.C. United defenders Devin McTavish and Greg Janicki collided violently with 15 minutes remaining in the game against Los Angeles, abundant blood was the least of the unfortunate outcomes.  Landon Donovan promptly scored on 9-man D.C. on a penalty kick; and added another just minutes later to snatch a point away for an embarssingly inept Galaxy side.

·       Claudio “The Emperor” Suarez announced he will play one more year for Chivas USA.  The league’s oldest player, and Mexico’s most decorated star, told Telefutura he expects to be back at full fitness by late April.

·       It was good to see Ben Olsen back on the field for DC United.  He missed the majority of 2008 with ankle injuries – and tormented us instead with his oh-too-frequent appearances on the Dick’s Sporting Goods commercials during MLS broadcasts.  He may face stiff competition for Comeback Player of the Year honors from Kasey Keller and Tony Sanneh – both of whom sat out last year as well.

·       San Jose and Seattle are two teams pinning their scoring hopes on former USL-1 top scorers.  The Quakes' Cam Weaver scored 18 goals to lead USL in 2006.  Sounders' midfielder Sebastien LeToux led USL with 10 goals in 2007, and added 14 more last year.  Although Brian Ching and Mykel Galindo made dramatic jumps from USL to MLS, more common is the lack of success of players like Thiago Martins and Alan Gordon.  Martins scored 22 goals in 2003 in USL Pittsburgh, but only tallied six in five injury-plagued years in MLS.  Alan Gordon burst on the scene with 17 goals in 2004, but has scored just 12 in his MLS career.  Oh, and don’t ask RSL fans about Melvin Tarley

·       Kenny Cooper’s 9^th minute goal from midfield was one of the most shocking moments of the weekend.  But Chicago, many pundits’ favorite to win the East this year, shrugged it off to win in Dallas for the first time in a decade.

·       Finally, I could be wrong, but the quintet of Eddie Lewis, Tony Sanneh, Chris Klein, Landon Donovan and Jovan Kirovski has never played in the same game before.  Twice in 2002 (0-1 loss at Italy on Feb. 13 and 2-4 loss at Germany on March 27), four of the five (not including Lewis) played for the USA.  The four played against DC United on Sunday, but Lewis spoiled it again.  Give it a week or two… but you can’t take this team seriously!

Save Me a Seat on the Sounders Bandwagon

Where to start?  What a great day to be an MLS fan.

Some personal thoughts:

1) What if Kasey Keller had signed with RSL instead of Moechengladbach?

2) What if RSL had decided to pursue Sebastien LeToux instead of Jean Martial Kipre after the 2006 MLS Cup tryout that I orchestrated?

3) Should I have more aggressively pursued the conversations I had with Sounders owner-turned-GM Adrian Hanauer about moving to the Sounders organization?  Some may find it surprising, but I think the answer - all things being equal and known - is still no.

4) I want to March to the Match!

5) I'm wistful not to be part of MLS these days - in part because so many of us dreamed of nights like tonight - and I'm proud of the league and everyone who works so hard within it.  But I don't miss the stress and pressure.  I really don't.  Maybe it depends on who your bosses are?

Now about the game:

1) I LOVE the play of Osvaldo Alonso.  Reminds me of a young Dema Kovalenko, before the Ukrainian became old, slow and earned the "hack" reputation.  Alonso is all over central midfield, very aggressive, and can go forward.  He was a revelation.

2) Flank play in MLS is probably the weakest part of the game, but the two-headed monster of Nyassi/Zakuani has blazing speed, appears fearless and will be enjoyable to watch this year.  Let's see how they play when their backs against the wall, or, when they don't smell weakness in a really poor opponent.

3) If Fredy Montero scores 15 goals this year, either Chris Henderson, Sigi Schmid or Adrian Hanauer deserves some real recognition for finding him.  Wow. Wow. Wow.  Did you see the graphic that Paco Palencia scored two goals in his debut as well... that turned out great.

4) Sebastien Le Toux... I found him! :)

5) How does the expansion team have five better players on the bench than the 14th-year club?  Sturgis, Ianni, Stephen King, Sturgis, Wahl... plus the #1 pick Zakuani and the local sentimental favorite, Roger Levesque.  Oh, and that Ljungberg guy didn't even dress.  Compare with Dufty (who??!!), Borman, Mbuta, Sassano, Wolyniec... I'm ok with Oduro and Jeremy Hall.

6) Finally, Brad Evans is the real steal of the expansion draft.  What a clutch player.

7) Quick Seattle, develop some depth at defender and this team will make the playoffs.  

8) Have you ever seen an expansion team looked so organized and composed?

MLS Preview to come one of these days... off top of my head:

WEST

4 playoff teams: Houston, Colorado, Chivas, Seattle

1. Houston

2. Colorado

3. Chivas USA

4. Seattle

5. RSL

6. San Jose

7. Dallas

8. Galaxy

EAST

4 playoff teams: Columbus, Chicago, DC, New England

1. New England

2. Columbus

3. Chicago

4. Kansas City

5. Toronto FC

6. DC United

7. Red Bulls

1st Coach Fired: Juan Carlos Osorio

1st GM Fired: Dave Greeley

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Injects Humor in Demise

MLS Kickoff 2009

It appears that the Salt Lake Tribune is running an abridged version of my first column of the year tomorrow.  Here's the full version:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS ARE THE STORY OF MLS 2009

A marching band leads the fans “Pied Piper” style to the Qwest Field. 

Kasey Keller, one of this country’s best soccer goalkeepers ever, makes his hometown debut, 17+ years after departing Washington for Europe. 

Twenty thousand fans scream in anticipation – and that’s just the record-shattering number of season ticket holders.

Major League Soccer returns on Thursday and the story of 2009 will be the expansion Seattle Sounders FC.

How deliciously ironic that the new team that can seemingly do no wrong should play its inaugural game against the one that has done so little right in 14 MLS seasons.  New York Red Bulls – are you envious?

The Sounders – not just their colors – are equal parts Mountain Dew and Puget Sound.  A hyper-caffeinated pace of announcements has rained down soccer-starved fans in the northwest since the franchise was awarded nearly two years ago. 

First, Drew Carey is the lead investor, ambassador and drum major.  In addition to creating the 53-piece marching band (did you catch them in the Rose Bowl Parade?), he has offered fans the chance to vote out general manager, Adrian Hanauer, if they are not satisfied.

A smart and bold operator, Hanauer signed the highest-profile English Premier League vet this side of David Beckham – Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg. 

Sigi Schmid, with two MLS Cup titles to his resume is the head coach.  He was snatched from the Columbus Crew just days after he won MLS Cup last year.

Along the way, the Sounders have found northwest institutions to foot the bill.  Paul Allen and the Seahawks are on board.  Microsoft is paying millions of dollars to splash “XBOX 360” on the sea-foam jerseys.  The Space Needle is a sponsor. Television partners KING and KONG will broadcast every game. How appropriate.  Will Bigfoot be the mascot?

Sounders soccer is going to different.  And fun.

While wins might be in short supply as for any exhibition team, Seattle has assembled a roster worth watching.

Ljungberg played in two World Cups for Sweden and led Arsenal to two Premier league titles and three FA Cups.  And while he’s recovering from off-season hip surgery, the face of the franchise can fall back on a prolific modeling career for brands like Calvin Klein.

He might not even be the best player named Fred on this team.

Fredy Montero has led Colombia’s top league in scoring for two straight years, an

impressive feat considering he’s only 21 years old.  His acquisition on loan from Colombia’s 8-time champs Deportivo Cali could be the biggest steal of the offseason.

Sebastien LeToux was discovered at a two-day tryout for aspiring French players at MLS Cup 2006.  He toiled two years for the minor league Sounders waiting for Thursday night.

Nate Jaqua, James Riley and Brad Evans are going straight from the expansion draft to the starting lineup.  No MLS expansion team has reaped such a bounty from the expansion draft.

Osvaldo Alonso is a defector from the Cuban national team. 

This team’s got stories.

But back to the game at hand.

Playing the foil on Opening Night are the Red Bulls.  They are riding a ripple – if not quite a wave – of momentum after an unexpected run to the 2008 MLS Cup. Coach Juan Carlos Osorio has been lauded for turning around the team’s fortunes.  Striker Juan Pablo Angel is the league’s top goalscorer in the past two years.

It doesn’t matter.

The Sounders will swamp the visitors and become the first MLS expansion team to win its inaugural match since the 1998 Chicago Fire.

Then we’ll find out what the band plays for a post-win serenade.

 

Quick Musings

I agree with Peter Wilt that the soccer news is coming fast and furious these days - and that's great news for any football fan in this country.  Go Red Stars! Vancouver 2011 (that's an MLS team, not an Olympics reunion).  Seattle vs New York.  US Women AND Men coming to Salt Lake City this summer.  RSL has a new TV contract with Channel 2. I'll try to post some MLS picks later this week.

I'm not too upset about Northwestern's demise in the NIT tonight.

However, I'm really upset that Utahans are protesting Big Love's portrayal of a sacred LDS Temple rite.  Last week the legislature voted overwhelmingly to develop 10 acres for a rapid-transit station on land that the Goshute Indians consider some of the most sacred in North America - a place with 3,000 years' history. 

I filed our taxes today. Yeah for a refund! 

It's a rough day in the USOC world, as 50+ people were laid off today.

Let's turn back the clock to simpler days... 1999, I believe.  From Peter via Twitter.

Slumdog Miracle in Striped Pajamas

The visit of Grandma & Grandpa 'Hat Rack (Happy Birthday Dad!) allowed the Mrs. and I to get out of the house to see Slumdog MIllionaire last week.  I didn't know much about the movie going in - other than it won some awards, almost wasn't distributed and was set in India.

The movie was not like I imagined - much more layered and complex - and takes viewers on a bit of a roller coaster.  It's well worth the ride.  Considering the six months I spent trying to promote travel to India, Slumdog juxtaposes high-tech and slum life in modern-day India.  And it's memorable.  Go see it!

My parents wanted to see Miracle at St. Anna, but we couldn't find it during their stay here.  A couple nights later, Mrs. 'Hat Rack and I found it - and immersed ourselves into the 160-minute Spike Lee war epic. It's set in Tuscany - clearly the reason why Grandpa 'Hat Rack wanted to see it.  The movie makes reference to a town called Colognora - which is where the Pierangeli side of my family comes from - but I'm not sure if it's the same town or another of the same name.  Dad?  Well done, but too long.

 

Finally, we watched The Boy in Striped Pajamas last night.  The theme of the Holocaust's effect on children evokes Life Is Beautiful, but isn't done as well.  For the $1.07 that Redbox charges - it's worth your time (just 90 minutes) and money.