MLS has released the rules for the draft and they're slightly different from what I listed in my
last post. There appears to be no automatic protection for players on the season-ending injury
list. Only 3 of our internationals need to be protected however. Given that, here is my revised
list:
*GA Players (Automatically protected)
O'Brien
Valentino
*Required 3 Internationals
Baudet
Cummings
Kimura
*Roster (8 spots left)
Casey
Clark
Harvey
LaBrocca
Mastroeni
Moor
Pickens
Smith, if he's expected to make a full recovery, otherwise Palguta
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OK, time to get back to a more regular posting schedule. This week I'll hopefully have a season
review, a recap of where the European teams I'm following are, and maybe a new team to talk about.
First lets start with next week's Expansion Draft for next year's Philadelphia Union.
The draft will be a week from Wednesday.
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Yesterday there were reports from the Denver Post and that the players and coaches got into a
shouting math after practice last Thursday, with Conor Casey stomping off the practice field
challenging Gary Smith to trade him and Pat Noonan leading the players in refusing extra
"punishment" laps. Obviously this isn't what you want to see from a team that collapsed in the
final quarter of the season.
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While I've been moving, things have been falling apart in south-central Ireland. In the middle of
last week the directors of the team resigned, followed by the manager on Friday. This was leading
up to the team's final game of the season on Saturday at home to Shelbourne. Earlier int he week te
fixture was called off, but the fans got together with the remnants of the team and figured out how
to make it work.
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The blog's been quiet the last couple of weeks because I'm moving again. No, not out of Colorado,
but we bought our first place in Arvada. So don't expect that many posts for the next week or so as
we get settled. After that I'll be back with my list for the Expansion draft, a look at the player
moves I think we should make in the offseason, and the weekend Roundups.
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The Rapids choked away a chance at their best season ever with a 7 game winless streak culminating
in the embarrassing 3-0 loss to FaKe SaLt Lake Saturday night. They finish in a tie for the last
playoff spot but lose the tibreakers, missing the playoffs for a 3rd straight year. 2 years in a
row they've missed the playoffs by a point.
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When the schedule came out it was obvious that this was going to be the biggest game of the season
regardless of thee standings. There was a pretty good chance that at least one team would be
fighting for the playoffs, plus you add in the rivalry and the Rocky Mountain Cup and its was
always going to be an important game.
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Colorado is in with:
- a win
- a draw and only one of DC, FCD, NE, and TFC winning
- a loss by 1, FCD draws or loses, and 2 of DC, NE, and TFC losing
- a loss by 2, FCD draws or loses, and DC, NE, and TFC losing
They also get in by finishing top 2 in the following tiebreakers (with the teams from the
FCD/DC/NE/TFC group not involved losing)
- Colorado-DC-FSL
- Colorado-NE-FSL
- Colorado-DC-FSL-NE
- Colorado-Dallas-DC-FSL
- Colorado-Dallas-DC-FSL-TFC
Or losing to FSL by only 1 goal gets them in through this tiebreaker:
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I'm going to dispense with my normal game recap. Needless to say that if you've seen our last 4
games you've seen this one, with the exception of Noonan finding a way to get a ball across the
line. The Rapids gave up two goals off of two free kicks and never looked like they were in a game
where a win would have clinched a playoff spot.
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In 2002, 2005, and 2006 Colorado traveled to Dallas and knocked them out of the playoffs (In 1997
we knocked Dallas out in Colorado). In 2009 Dallas faces a must win game at home to Colorado to
keep their playoff hopes alive, while Colorado has a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win.
While not an actual playoff game, its essentially a do or die game.
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It's that time of year again, when we run the numbers and figure out what result can clinch us a
playoff spot when. The Rapids can clinch as early as this weekend if they win, depending on two
other results.
If the Rapids beat Dallas:
FSL must not beat Toronto
OR
New England must not beat Chicago
If the Rapids draw or lose to Dallas they can not clinch this weekend.
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Colorado Rapids - The Rapids 4 draws in 4 games has put them 5th in the West and 7th overall in
MLS. They are officially out of running for the Supporters Shield, but can still finish anywhere
from 2nd to 12th. Colorado is tied with Columbus for the second best offense and have the 6th best
defense.
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Conor Casey led the Nats to a 3-2 win in Honduras last night. With the win the U.S. clinches World
Cup Qualification and can book trips to South Africa next summer.
After going down 1-0 Casey battled for a Davies header and beat the Honduran keeper to it. off his
shoulder the ball looped up and over the onrushing keeper and rolled across the line.
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When I got home from work tonight I had a package from the Colorado Rapids. Inside was my 2009
season ticket holder's gift, a notebook cover with the Rapids logo on it. included was a note and a
insert that explained that the notebook cover was made from the Rapids old banners and billboards
as part of their Go Green and Play Clean initiatives.
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