Union

More on Diego Gutierrez, the Union's new Head of Scouting and Player Development.

With the SuperDraft rapidly approaching (January 13—mark it on your calendar!) mock drafts are starting to pop up on the web. WV Hooligan sees the Union going for Corey Hertzog: "'I'd be a bit shocked at this point Philadelphia didn't select him in the draft after trying to get a Home Grown contract on him before it.

It may seem odd for me, a proud Cascadian, to proclaim this. And as an old media guy maybe you'll get a bit surprised because I'm not going to talk about the current TV/radio markets.

But the fact is that the Sun Belt is where the growth is. The census results are starting to trickle in, and while Washington and Utah both earned themselves a new congressman, every other state that did so is in the Sun Belt.

Man oh man, what a few weeks it's been. Apologies for the brief hiatus but the finals crunch has proved pretty time consuming. So I figured now would be as good a time as any to introduce a new segment called "In case you've been living under a rock..." where I'll run through all the top events that I've missed since my last post.

The Jared Montz Soccer Podcast is courtesy of Jared Montz Soccer.
Jared Montz is a former pro and the founder of Online Soccer Academy and College Recruiting Website .

Clemente Lisi interviews Colorado Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni, now an MLS Cup winner after 13 seasons in Major League Soccer. By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Dec 9, 2010) US Soccer Players -- Colorado Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni closed out the 2010 MLS season by lifting the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy at Toronto's BMO Field amid a sea of flying confetti.

Cover photo by Paul Rudderow

Union

Further information on the rumored signing of Colombian keeper Faryd Mondragon from FC Köln, which gained some new freshness after reports in the German soccer magazine Kicker yesterday suggested the deal was done. Tip of the hat to philly.com's unfortunately named The Goalkeeper for this quote from the Union: "There have been discussions, but the deal isn't there.

Changes in Columbus are one of the many items going on in the east this winter. (Getty Images)

December is about a lot of things to people. You have Christmas and all of that fun festive stuff but for MLS clubs its about getting their rosters in order for the new year. Today I'll be looking at each club in the Eastern Conference to see what items they need to get to have a better 2011 than they did in 2010.

J Hutcherson wrote a good article about Colorado Rapids' coach Gary Smith's comments recently, where Smith compared Major League Soccer to the English Coca-Cola Championship.

Smith told the League's official site that his MLS Cup champions would beat a team like Coventry "seven times out of 10," taking it that next step by criticizing the physical style of play that dominates the Championship.

**Apologies for the lateness of this post. I was having some internet/computer issues that I am still sorting out.**
　
The Second Stage of the MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on Wednesday. Here are the players who were picked up and the clubs that chose them:
　
Josh Wolff DC United
Jimmy Conrad Chivas USA
Ryan Cochrane New England Revolution
LA Galaxy Juan Pablo Angel
Cory Gibbs Chicago Fire
Chris Seitz Seattle Sounders (subsequently traded to FC Dallas)
Jeff Cunningham Columbus Crew
Luke Sassano LA Galaxy (subsequently traded to Sporting KC)
Tyrone Marshall Colorado Rapids
Fred New England Revolution
　
A couple of things.

As winter settles in and the MLS offseason is in full swing, it is not too soon to plan those warm weather summer tours where international teams play MLS squads. The advantages to both sides are obvious - MLS teams can show they can compete with their international colleagues while the international team can entertain their American fans.

As winter settles in and the MLS offseason is in full swing, it is not too soon to plan those warm weather summer tours where international teams play MLS squads. The advantages to both sides are obvious - MLS teams can show they can compete with their international colleagues while the international team can entertain their American fans.

The U.S. Soccer Federation announced the players who have been called up and accepted the invitation to the U.S. men's national team training camp in January. These players are the ones who will play in the next friendly against Chile in California and likely Egypt in Cairo. And the theme of this year's team is youth.

TORONTO, Ont. Toronto FC announced Tuesday they have acquired a natural third round selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft from Colorado Rapids in exchange for midfielder Joseph Nane. Nane, 22, was selected by Toronto FC from Old Dominion University in the fourth round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, 53rd overall.

Pitch Pass is a work in progress. How could it not be after just a handful of episodes. I'm still trying to get my feet under me as a sports interviewer. But it's also an adjustment for the players. This episode is a prime example of that.

I know what I want this show to be: casual, fun conversations with the people in MLS who matter.

I expected a massive turnover during the offseason and it looks like the management are wasting no time in offloading all of the dead wood in the current TFC squad. In addition to the players let go last week, Nane Joseph was traded this week to the Colorado Rapids. In exchange, TFC have acquired a third round pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo.— The Colorado Rapids have decided not to pick up options on midfielders Claudio Lopez, Ciaran O'Brien and the recently acquired Peter Vagenas. All three are eligible for the MLS re-entry draft this month, if they choose to participate. Lopez joined the Rapids on April 2 and appeared in 11 games for Colorado.

On Wednesday, one of the many brainchildren of our new CBA will come to fruition in the form of MLS's first ever Re-Entry Draft. Aimed at increasing player movement and affording players more job security, the proccess essentially serves to keep players who have been waived or have not had their contracts renewed employed.

It took penalty kicks, but Shavar Thomas and the Jamaican team defeated Stephane Auvray and his Guadeloupe team 1-1 (5-4) in the Digicel Cup final. Colorado Rapids forward, Omar Cummings gave Jamaica the lead in the first half, but shortly after Guadeloupe equalized through Ludovic Gotin. Jamaica had the better of play through most of the rest of the game, but some good defending and goalkeeping, along with the some poor decisions by Jamaica kept the score level.

Jamaica defeated Guadeloupe 5-4 on penalties (1-1 after 120 minutes) to win the Caribbean Cup for the second time running, and the fourth time in all. Omar Cummings of the Colorado Rapids scored the opening goal after 32 minutes, but locally-based striker Ludovic Govin levelled the scores four minutes later with a well-taken half-volley.

Bob Levey - Getty Images

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On Sunday night in Martinique, Jamaica defeated Guadeloupe 5-4 on penalty kicks to win the 2010 Digicel Caribbean Cup.

Just a quick break from "All sour grapes, all the time" World Cup bid coverage for a second. If Bill was disappointed by the re-entry draft fizzle, I was devastated.
Was it my imagination, or was this supposed to be a big deal? Or, in the words of St. Frank Zappa, a kind of deal at all?

Posted by Jared Montz

The Jared Montz Soccer Podcast is presented by OnlineSoccerAcademy.com – a Jared Montz Soccer, LLC company. The Online Soccer Academy is your gotta have it, need to train now, want to get better, trying to prepare for Saturday's game, 24/7 coach. It teaches you how to train on your own time outside of team training through easy to learn from online training videos.

Welcome back to the State of the States. The inescapable US soccer news over the past couple of weeks has been the bid for the 2022 World Cup and the corresponding fallout from the failure of that bid. Regardless of allegations of FIFA venality and corruption or USSF's faults, the bid's failure is a blow to the advancement of soccer in the States.

In the Tuesday, Dec 14, 2010 edition of The Soccer Daily, we try to really compare Major League Soccer to England's Championship and look at another European league changing things up. By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 14, 2010) US Soccer Players -- Let's talk about the almost backwards compliment paid to Major League Soccer last week when one of their coaches compared MLS favorably to England's Championship.

Keeping Omar Cummings is a big part of the Colorado offseason checklist. (Brian Stevens for WVHooligan.com)

The other day I took a look at each eastern conference side to see what items they needed to do this winter. Today is all about the other side of the MLS world in the western conference.

Keeping Omar Cummings is a big part of the Colorado offseason checklist. (Brian Stevens for WVHooligan.com)

The other day I took a look at each eastern conference side to see what items they needed to do this winter. Today is all about the other side of the MLS world in the western conference.

Juan Pablo Angel is heading west to be with the LA Galaxy. (Getty Images)

Much like last week's stage one, if you blinked you missed something. Stage 2 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft went by in a flurry over Twitter earlier today. With every club and nearly every other fan following along to the draft the tweets made it nearly impossible to keep up.

Juan Pablo Angel is heading west to be with the LA Galaxy. (Getty Images)

Much like last week's stage one, if you blinked you missed something. Stage 2 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft went by in a flurry over Twitter earlier today. With every club and nearly every other fan following along to the draft the tweets made it nearly impossible to keep up.

Today's was the MLS Re-Entry Draft, which is usually a pretty boring affair. But not this year as eight players were chosen. The biggest name being Juan Pablo Angel who went west to the Los Angeles Galaxy where Angel will be reunited with his former coach Bruce Arena.

Ángel, who scored 61 goals (including playoffs) in four seasons in New York, could line up a front line of Ángel and 2010 Best XI selection Edson Buddle, along with big names Landon Donovan and David Beckham in pursuit of a second consecutive Supporters' Shield.

Just a month after rebranding themselves as Sporting KC, the former Wizards front office pulled off another shock by selecting the moniker "Colorado Rapids" in the MLS Re-Entry draft. The Rapids front office immediately declared that they were surprised that leaving their name exposed had turned out so badly for them.

Recently my computer ran into a series of issues that has rendered it incapacitated and made me realize its place in my life. It loads slowly and lacks many of the modern amenities in many computers, but when working properly it is has enough memory to run fairly quickly and is perfect for the tasks for which I need it, mainly posting to this site, running my fantasy teams, and doing other mundane tasks like email and social media.

The Colorado Rapids took a page from the past on Wednesday and drafted a former member of the club in the second round of the re-entry draft.

The Rapids selected defender Tyrone Marshall with the 16th pick in Stage 2 of the 2010 Major League Soccer Re-Entry Process.

By drafting Marshall, the Rapids are now required to make an offer to him within seven days.

The Colorado Rapids took a page from the past on Wednesday and drafted a former member of the club in the second round of the re-entry draft.

The Rapids selected defender Tyrone Marshall with the 16th pick in Stage 2 of the 2010 Major League Soccer Re-Entry Process.

By drafting Marshall, the Rapids are now required to make an offer to him within seven days.

VANCOUVER, BC Sounders FC was active in stage two of the MLS re-entry draft, and after a day's worth of dealings gained a draft pick Wednesday. Seattle acquired goalkeeper Chris Seitz from Philadelphia with the ninth overall pick in the re-entry draft — the league's controlled form of free agency introduced this year by [.

Posted by Tim Patterson

Well there you have it. The Goals from the MLS Champs. Enjoy.

Based on the picture below, courtesy of Erin Dutka, it appears that defender/midfielder Hunter Freeman is joining the Houston Dynamo:
This move has not been officially announced, but the above flyer was created and issued by the Houston Dynamo.
Freeman, a native of Allen, Texas, had played for the Colorado Rapids, RedBull New York, and Toronto FC before heading to Norway in 2009 where he played for IK Start.

MLS announced today the opening fixtures of the 2011 season:

Tuesday, March 15

Seattle Sounders FC vs. LA Galaxy, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, March 19

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC, time TBD
D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.

Major League Soccer's 16th season will kick off on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 when Seattle Sounders FC host the LA Galaxy as apart of the league's annual First Kick. The first weekend of action is full of games including the newly crowned MLS Cup champions the Colorado Rapids opening up their first title defense against one of the two new expansion clubs, the Portland Timbers.

The cold days of winter have gotten a little sunlight - MLS today unveiled their schedule for "First Kick 2011", the first home games for every MLS team in the upcoming season. The week will be the first week of the new balanced scheduling and offers some tantalizing match-ups for American soccer fans.

Coach Bob Bradley and U.S. Soccer announced the players that will join the January training camp (Camp Cupcake! with mostly MLS-based players) at the Home Depot Center. Bradley will name players to suit up for the international friendly against South American side Chile on the 22nd (also at the HDC) at a later date.