By definition, the Nelly Award goes to the United player who has made the most significant positive impact in his first year with the club. The award's namesake Ryan Nelsen became a starter shortly into his first season with United, and would go on to guide the team to an MLS Cup in 2004.
It's a testament to the total failure of our 2008 acquisitions that not one of last year's nominees is still on the team.

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Earlier today, Maurice Edu, an American who plays his club football for Rangers, sent out the following message over his Twitter account:
Its sad n embarassing that people follow me so they can write racist comments...smh...its '09 people, let's grow up n mature a lil bit
It is sad and embarrassing, and it's also very ignorant and pathetic. Click to continue reading...

I know I'm not the only one who thinks that DC United has gotten screwed by poor officiating multiple times this season, but this is really starting to get out of control. I can now count 7 points that have been stolen from us in 2009. If you're in the mood to be pissed off, view the videos and see for yourself. Click to continue reading...

Almost the end of the week here as Friday gets closer by the second. Tonight I've got a couple links and items to discuss. Pretty much they are all MLS based, with some reactions to stuff that people wrote earlier in the day.

First up I want to get into a post that Steve Goff wrote earlier today about the lack of quality on Tuesday night's FSC broadcast of the CONCACAF Champions League.

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Two main points learned from this match: 1) Houston is really good. 2) The DC defense isn't.
Can you imagine how great this team would be if Dwayne De Rosario was still on the roster? This is already an all-star midfield, with Stuart Holden, Brad Davis, and Ricardo Clark all playing the best of their careers. Click to continue reading...

By TRAVIS CLARK

It's been 11 days since their last competitive match, and with the Colorado Rapids heading to the nation's capital on Saturday, D.C. United will be anxious to be back home for their first league match at RFK since June 13. Their home record of 4-0-4 leaves a bit more points on the table than most team's would prefer, but they remain right in the thick of things in what is becoming a tightly-contested Eastern Conference.

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By TRAVIS CLARK

It's been 11 days since their last competitive match, and with the Colorado Rapids heading to the nation's capital on Saturday, D.C. United will be anxious to be back home for their first league match at RFK since June 13. Their home record of 4-0-4 leaves a bit more points on the table than most team's would prefer, but they remain right in the thick of things in what is becoming a tightly-contested Eastern Conference.

Click to continue reading...

So now that we've already reviewed and analyzed DC United's acquisitions and departures since the close of the 2008 season, let's take a look at the trades. Basically just one big one, and a couple players swapped for late-round draft picks.
1. The biggest offseason move was DC United trading Ivan Guerrero, Colorado's own designated player slot, and a 2010 2nd round draft pick to the Rapids for Christian Gomez and goalkeeper Mike Graczyk.

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This is our second of four posts in review of the moves DC United has made since the end of last season. Last week we looked at their acquisitions, today we'll look at the players who departed, and then later we'll look at their trades.
1. It's hard to imagine how different DC United's season would be had they retained Marcelo Gallardo in 2009. Click to continue reading...

D.C. United have announced that the club will not exercise the option on Louis Crayton's contract, ending the goalkeeper's one-year stay with the Black-and-Red. Crayton's current deal is set to expire June 30, at which time the club will have a roster spot available in advance of the summer transfer window.

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Sorry to all the casualties of the league.

• Seattle Sounders FC waived former UW Husky and Pac-10 Player of the Year Kevin Forrest, a really cool guy as I've come to know him.
  
  
• Josh Wicks ascendancy as D.C. United's No. 1 goalkeeper, paved the way for the team to release Louis Crayton.

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Americans Abroad / USMNT
USA 2, Spain 0: A Look Back - Soccer By Ives
Fearrington Club Search Continues - Yanks Abroad
US Shocks No. 1 Spain In Confederations Cup - Washington Post
USA Gold Cup Roster - Soccer Insider
No Deep Depor Torres Talks - Soccer365
Still In Dreamland, USA Shocks Spain - MLS Talk
Torres' Deportivo Move Not Off Yet - Yanks Abroad
Bradley Names 23 For Gold Cup - No Short Corners
Donovan Turns Opinion - Match Fit USA
Bradley: Spain Win A Stepping Stone - Yanks Abroad
More US National Team Thoughts - WVHooligan
Casey Checks In From South Africa After 'The Win' - Undercurrent
US Gold Cup Roster Announced (A Closer Look) - Soccer By Ives
Donovan: We Need To Start Strong - Yanks Abroad
Chicago Fire
Chivas USA
Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew
DC United
United Drops Crayton - Soccer Insider
Quaranta's Call-Up - Soccer Insider
FC Dallas
Zip It: FC Dallas at Colorado Rapids - 3rd Degree
Eric Avila Wins Goal Of The Week - The FCD Blog
Cooper Named To Gold Cup Roster - The FCD Blog
Vote Kenny For An ESPY - The FCD Blog
Houston Dynamo
No Surprises: Holden, Ching Called Up For Gold Cup - Soccer y Futbol
Kansas City Wizards
Another Draw - Down The Byline
Arnaud And Conrad On Gold Cup Roster - Down The Byline
Los Angeles Galaxy
New England Revolution
Heaps Earns US National Team Call For Gold Cup - Revolution official site
New York Red Bulls
Spend Some Time With Ernst Obster - Red Bulls Reader
Real Salt Lake
Headed To The Gold Cup - Behind The Shield
San Jose Earthquakes
Denton And Gray Waived - Center Line Soccer
Seattle Sounders FC
Sounders Will Show USA Game On Screen - Prost Amerika
Video: Behind The Price Is Right - Sounders FC official site
What We've Learned After A Three-Game Week - Next Season Sports
Video: Showcase Showdown - Sounders FC official site
Kevin Forrest Placed On Waivers - Prost Amerika
Evans Called In For USA Gold Cup Team - Sounders FC official site
Video: Call Ups - Sounders FC official site
Brad Evans To Be Called Up For USMNT Duty - Next Season Sports
Brad Evans In USA Squad - Prost Amerika
Toronto FC
MLS Expansion
Montreal Bids For A 2011 MLS Expansion Slot - ESPNsoccernet
MLS General
Mid-Day Musings - Soccer By Ives
SuperLiga Adding To The SUM - MLS Talk
Thursday Kickaround - Soccer Insider
Players In Need Of A Change - WVHooligan
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As mentioned earlier today, lots of clubs are starting to clear off roster space for the summer months. Two clubs cleared out some room today.

DC United waived keeper Louis Crayton.

San Jose waived two, defender Eric Denton and midfielder Kelly Gray.

Crayton was on the block for a while to get released and it was really only a matter of time.

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Perhaps better known for his entertaining unorthodox goalkeeping tactics than a solid steadying presence in goal as well as an unfortunate incident involving a fan in Houston, DC United's Liberian goalkeeper has been released by the club. It should be noted that we received a rumor two weeks ago stating he was gone but at the request of DC United we contacted them for clarification and they denied he was on the outs with the club. Click to continue reading...

Goalkeeper Luis Crayton is no longer a member of DC United after the club refused their option to renew his contract. Crayton joined DC a year ago. "We'd like to thank Louis for his contributions to DC United, which included a US Open Cup title," general manager Dave Kasper said. "We wish him the best of luck in the future. Click to continue reading...

This is the third in a recurring series where we look at the DC United season, five games at a time.
Results: 2-1-2. 8 GF, 6 GA
Standings: First place in the Eastern Conference
Statistical Leaders: Christian Gomez (2 goals), Jaime Moreno (2 goals), Fred(1 goal, 1 assists), Santino Quaranta (1 goal, 1 assist), Luciano Emilio (2 assists),
Most frequent lineup:

What we liked:

• Goalkeeper controversy resolved - The only low point that I wrote about in both of my first two posts in this series is an issue no longer.

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The games that matter:

1:30 p.m. Saturday ESPN2 Galaxy at San Jose Earthquakes
5 p.m. Saturday KFTR San Luis at Chicago Fire
7 p.m. Saturday Tigres at Chivas USA
11 a.m. Sunday ESPN Brazil-Italy
11:25 a.m. Sunday ESPN2 Egypt-U.S.
3 p.m. Sunday Fox Soccer Channel FC Gold Pride at Sol

Meanwhile, the Galaxy tradition of shipping out apparently subpar players only to see them become reborn elsewhere continues in Portland with former goalkeeper Steve Cronin and in the nation's capital where Josh Wicks is supplanting Louis Crayton.

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Last week's ranking is in parentheses.
1. Houston Dynamo (1)
There should be no debate over this choice: Houston is in fine form right now and deserves the #1 spot in everyone's power rankings. In their last nine games, the Dynamo are 8-0-1 and have outscored opponents 16-3 in that span. Click to continue reading...

The DC United goalkeeping situation is something which has been in flux for quite some time. Ever since the departure of 2006 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Troy Perkins, the club has been searching for an answer between the pipes. After the 2007 season, Perkins decided to test his mettle in European soccer, signing with Valerenga of Norway.

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Despite the fact DC United has used a variety of goalkeepers and still might not have decided on a starter for that crucial position, the team has managed to compile one of the best records in the league, but will Soehn begin to rue his refusal to pick a starter? Click to continue reading...

Let's try out a different format this time for my much heralded "Versus" series. Here we'll take a look at each of our three potential starting goalkeepers (Louis Crayton, Josh Wicks, and Milos Kocic) on a number of different categories to see if we can come up with a consensus.

Stats to date:
Including Open Cup matches, these three aren't too different.

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Tomorrow evening in Rome, Manchester United and FC Barcelona will play in argubaly the biggest soccer game of the year when they face-off in the Champions League final. With the likes of Barcelona's Messi, Eto'o, Henry and Iniesta squaring off against Man U's Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs, it's sure to be a memorable battle.

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This is the second in a recurring series where we look at the DC United season, five games at a time. Of course I failed already because I miscounted and should have written this one last week, so this post is through the Chivas match, and does not include the scoreless draw with RSL.
Results: 2-0-3. Click to continue reading...

Let's put this in a different perspective. It makes sense that eventually DC United was going to go a full match without scoring a goal. Wouldn't you rather that match happen when we also don't allow a goal? And so I don't feel terribly about this uninspiring match as we extend our unbeaten streak to 9 in all competitions. Click to continue reading...

Ever wonder what happened to the guys from long ago? Yeah, me too, but that will take a little more digging. Until then, here's the latest on the latest former Galaxy guys.

After training with Seattle Sounders FC in the preseason, Ely Allen is now playing for USL's (Premier Development League) Seattle Wolves FC.

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                                                                                 Photo by ISIphotos.com

Without making anybody's head hurt like an episode of Lost, Josh Wolff sure does look like the 2002 version of himself.

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                                                                                 Photo by ISIphotos.com

Without making anybody's head hurt like an episode of Lost, Josh Wolff sure does look like the 2002 version of himself.

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Post-game press conference with Preki and player interviews from Bryan Namoff, Christian Gomez, Santino Quaranta, Louis Crayton, Ben Olsen, Carey Talley, Clyde Simms, Jamie Moreno, Rodney Wallace, and coach Tom Soehn.
Random Tidbit: Louis Crayton actually had some of his input for the VW Road to the MLS Cup Video series. Click to continue reading...

The team is down in Charleston, with just a little over two weeks until the start of the season, and with very few questions left to answer. We've got our MIDUN. The developmental roster is set, with Milos Kocic (the new Shawn Crowe or the new Troy Perkins?), Brandon Barklage (the new Dan Stratford or Ryan Cordeiro? Click to continue reading...

As promised, this is the first of a new recurring feature here at the DCUMD blog. In the NFL, coaches and analysts often divide the season into four quarters when discussing how their team is doing. For example, the Redskins were a good 3-1 in the first quarter of their season, but finished 1-3 in their fourth quarter. Click to continue reading...

DC United fans on the east coast might need to take a nap on Saturday afternoon to make sure they stay up for the 11pm EST kickoff of the match between the East's and West's best, DC United and Chivas USA.

In case you didn't know, Chivas are pretty good. Their 7-1-1 record is good for 22 points and an eight point cushion on Seattle, who are 2nd in the West.

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I've been pretty busy with house additions and family functions the past couple weeks, so without the capability to DVR matches that frustatingly are not on television, my reactions to these past two matches are coming only from video highlights and the written opinions of other fans, bloggers, and reporters. Click to continue reading...

I'm having a real hard time figuring out how to feel about this tie. The ending kind of makes it feel like a win. I can tell you with certainty that that was the loudest I've yelled at my tv this year with Benny scoring a goal in extra time. But apparently the recurring theme of the season to date is earning ties against teams that we are better than. Click to continue reading...

Maybe it's just me, but I found most of that match to be pretty boring. What I saw were two teams who didn't seem inspired, and a whole lot of players on each side who may have been content with just one point while still at or near the top of the Eastern Conference, and with another game just three days away. Click to continue reading...

This is part 1 in a...multi part series where we'll go over a situation that needs to be addressed by the Front Office or Tommy and lay out the pros and cons, and ask you to decide.

Today's issue: the goalie position.

As I wrote earlier, Louis Crayton appears to be on the outs. Both from my sources and from Martin Fernandez from United Mania, Crayton appears to be rubbing people on the staff the wrong way with his attitude.

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