When Denis Hamlett was let go by the Fire on November 24th of last year, my personal reaction
was a bit mixed. I thought it was the right move for the Fire, but I was a bit sad to see Denis go.
Though he could be pretty harsh to some journalists on the Fire beat, Denis seemed to take a liking
to me (something I attribute to the fact that I'm young and seem completely non-threatening) and we
became something like friends by the end of the season.
A couple of news items for you to chew on this afternoon...
MLS just released the full 2010 schedule and -- at first glance -- the Fire's looks relatively
back heavy. The Fire plays 10 of their 30 regular season games in the final two months of the
season, finishing up with three games at Toyota Park.
I might not have been at practice yesterday, but I have a few updates from Wednesday's training
session thanks to the email report of a faithful reader who attended the session. Here we go...
John tearing it up --
Apparently, it hasn't taken trialist Collins John long to get acclimated to the Fire.
Every now and again in the world of sports, a player who was originally expected to be selected
with a top-5 pick will slide way down on draft day. These experiences, which are incredibly
uncomfortable/sad if the player is actually attending the draft (remember Brady Quinn and Aaron
Rodgers?
With only one day left until the Fire officially kicks off its preseason schedule, the time has
come for an assessment of the Fire's offseason. And who better to evaluate the last few months than
the man behind all the moves, Frank Klopas? Take it away Frank...
"I think that we made very good decisions going forward," Klopas said in a phone interview last
Friday.
Unfortunately I won't be able to attend today's Fire practice today at the MAX indoor facility
in McCook (class beckons...). But that doesn't mean I don't have to post. So, with that, here are
three storylines that should play out throughout the Fire's 6-week long training camp.
1 -- What will the final roster look like?
