First of all, go vote for the AT&T Goal of the Year and Degree Men Save of the Year awards. Both Arnaud and Lopez are up twice for the Goal of the Year honor and Hartman is up three times for the Save of the Year award. You can find links to the highlights of these plays at previous posts below. Click to continue reading...

The Wizards have handed out their year end awards, and it's now time for me to hand out my end of the year awards to Wizards players. I'm going to hand out the same awards I did last year, I'm also adding a Performance of the Year award to the best single game performance by a player this season.
Rookie of the Year
Matt Besler
Not really a surprise, it was either going to be Besler or Graham Zusi getting this years award, and I don't think that Zusi got enough time this year to be considered for the award. Click to continue reading...

In what can be conservatively called a Bad season, Kansas City came back to tie D.C. United and kill their chances of moving into the playoffs.

Kansas City started with a different look using Kamara and Zoltan at the same time but kicking Kei off to the wing and leaving Zoltan up top with Josh Wolff; yes an improvement but not by much since Wolff did look slow on a couple of breakaways.

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It's bad enough we have had a horrible season. It's bad enough that we played basically the same lineup that has given us little to cheer about throughout the season (with Zusi and Zoltan being the exceptions). Saturday we decided to give the Sounders some help by giving away 3 goals on big mistakes.

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1) Shalrie Joseph for MVP? It seems like all the forces are converging and settling on him after his player of the week performance. Today alone, there were three articles touting his candidacy from Ives Galarcep (Soccer By Ives), Ridge Mahoney (Soccer America), and Kyle McCarthy (Goal.com).
He has a lot of things going for him. Click to continue reading...

Colorado finished its stretch of 3 games in 8 days with a quiet draw in Kansas City. Honestly there isn't much to say about this game. The Rapids were obviously hoping to steal 3 points by scoring on a counter-attack and sneaking out of town with a 1-0 win, but otherwise were happy with a scoreless draw. Click to continue reading...

Jimmy Conrad had a night to remember, and at the same time a night to forget. At the end the Wizards kept their hopes alive with a come from behind win against Dallas that puts them 7 points behind the last playoff spot with 5 games left.

The night started with the Wizards trying to win their first game at home since June 12th (yes, a 3 month drought, including Superliga).

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Went to practice today to see Kei Kamara, the newest Wizard. He chose 23 as his number in Kansas City. Here he is in Wizards blue...Stretching out and wondering why some guy keeps taking photos of him...I talked to him about the trade, why he chose the number, Hartman's hair color and goal celebrations. Click to continue reading...

That wasn't exactly how I wanted to see us play against one of the worst teams in the league, but a win is a win, and somehow I still feel like we earned this one. It definitely took this team 30 minutes or so to settle in, and gave up way too many chances during those first 30 minutes, but we looked like the better team in the second half, and ultimately we prevailed. Click to continue reading...

Real Salt Lake comes into town this weekend after trouncing Chivas USA on Wednesday. That's a perfect recipe for disaster for a team like the Wizards that has scored ONE goal in it's last 6 games (7 if you count the loss vs. Seattle for the US Cup).

I didn't go out to Swope Park to watch practice this week so my lineup prognostication will probably a bit off (vs.

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The Wizards are running out of time to right the ship and try to make a run up the table. They visit the Earthquakes in a match between teams that certainly had higher expectations for the 2009 than what they have been able to achieve up to now.

I liked the effort and the passing from KC last weekend (they tried to get away from "everything is a long ball" style of play) but their finishing let them down and they got shut out once again.

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I'm a little bit behind on the conversation, which is going on here in Bill's thread. Let me catch up a little.
I was growing to like Curt Onalfo. He was about number five on my list of former members of the 1996 Galaxy that I thought would be a good head coach, but he talked a very good game about bringing an attacking style to Kansas City, who had fallen on lean times post-Preki and post-Gansler. Click to continue reading...

On a great evening for soccer in Kansas City those of us who were at the CAB witnessed a beautiful goal by Argentinean star Claudio Lopez but were only able to enjoy it for about 8 minutes before the other Argentinean on the team Santiago Hirsig gave an easy ball away to, of all people, David Beckham who sprung Landon Donovan who scored the Galaxy's tying goal.

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Watch it live on ESPN2 at 6pm Pacific.

It looks like Edson is out and Gordo will be starting. Check out the video preview with thoughts from Bruce, Landon, David, and Alan Gordon.

And just in case you forgot, remember this goal from last year? Poor Hartman. I still miss that guy.

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Previous Updates
#1 4/12 68 players remaining#2
5/25
37 players remaining
#3
6/25
23 players remaining
OTFATT is short for "On the field, all the time." In these updates throughout the season, I'll be keeping track of which MLS players have played every minute of every game (regular season only). Click to continue reading...

The team did a full field scrimmage today. Starters versus the reserves, starters included Hartman, Besler, Hohlbein, McKenzie, Harrington, Lopez, Jewsbury, Gomez, Hirsig, Wolff and Thompson. The reserves were Pardo (Kronberg), Leathers, Marquess, Watson, "guest player", Myers, Zusi, Morsink, Kraus, Cristman and Zoltán. Click to continue reading...

From Jose Romero of the Seattle Times:
Fredy spoke to reporters after the match last night. He was asked if he was frustrated about not putting in earlier chances.
"Of course," Montero said in Spanish. "I'm always looking to score in every game. Well, today I couldn't score but I did draw the penalty to send us the semifinals. Click to continue reading...

Tonight, the Kansas City Wizards take on the Minnesota Thunder at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn. The game kicks off at 7:35 p.m. CT and can be seen live online at www.USLlive.com. We will also be providing a live running commentary from the match here at Hillcrest Road. With just over an hour before kickoff, the lineups are now in. Click to continue reading...

KC takes on Santos this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Community America Ballpark. By the time the game takes place KC will know what result it needs to qualify to the next round. A win and KC is in regardless; a tie will have the Wizards hoping for a New England win or at least a tie (goal differential will come into play at that time).

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KC travels to New England to play the walking wounded Revolution. A win for NE and they are in to the next round, while a KC win will get them close and leave everything in the group up in the air until next Sunday when they play Santos at the CAB.

After the exhausting game Sunday vs. Atlas in 95+ degree weather where KC lost Hercules Gomez to a heat injury and Roger Espinoza to a Red Card, I am totally in the dark regarding who they are going to play.

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Talked with Jimmy after practice yesterday. He discusses the last game, what the team need to do and about his loss as the Captain of the White media team...This is the "Bad News Bears" soccer moment Jimmy talks about. Conrad, Hohlbein and Hartman collide while going for the ball...Conrad and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, think the photographer got Jimmy's good side? Click to continue reading...

Another disappointing game. The game started off fairly even with the Crew maybe getting a little better of play but the Wizards had their chances.Herculez Gomez attempts to get off a shot...Then in the 14th minute Holhbein, Conrad and Hartman collide. It sounded like Kevin called off his defenders but they did not hear him. Click to continue reading...

Who should we interview this week?Graham Zusi - Rookie getting some playing time after recovering from injuryAbe Thompson - Solid play off the benchKevin Hartman - Wizards man of the matchRemember to vote here and over at Down The Byline. Both votes count. Click to continue reading...

Harrington wins a header over Matt Kuhn of the Brass.
Barcelona took it to Manchester United today, defeating the EPL champs 2-0 on goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi. The win makes KC forward Claudio Lopez happy. In speaking with him today after the scrimmage with the Brass, Piojo said he was rooting for Barcelona and indicated that Messi is a very quiet, nice person off the field, but (obviously) an animal on the pitch. Click to continue reading...

Previous Updates
#1 4/12 68 players remainingOTFATT is short for "On the field, all the time." In these updates throughout the season, I'll be keeping track of which MLS players have played every minute of every game (regular season only). That feat has been accomplished 35 times in 13 season by 28 different players. Click to continue reading...

Goal.com and other media sites often do roundups of other things, so today I'm going to do a roundup of Goal.com. First of all, they have a logo contest going on. Graphics guru Chad has pledged not to enter it, so everyone else out there still stands a chance. Monday, they listed Wolff on their team of the weekend, with Hartman getting an honorable mention nod. Click to continue reading...

It off to the West to meet the up and down Real Salt Lake who it seems expended all it's ammunition in a 6-0 defeat of New England in April and now is on a slide, having scored only 3 goals in 4 games. It's going to be a tough visit for the Wizards who have struggled to score and don't seem to have found consistency from the ever changing starting 11 that Curt Onalfo sends out.

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It is an absolutely gorgeous night out at the ballpark. The teams are out for pre-game warm-ups, and the fans are starting to file in for tonight's battle for 1st place. D.C. enters tied with Toronto FC atop the Eastern Conference standings. The Wizards will assume the top spot with a victory tonight. Click to continue reading...

That's right folks, as you already saw, his "Be Champions" sign got some major props at the beginning of the latest Special1TV episode. Now Jack Bell of the New York Times is giving him shoutouts. We'll make sure to post some pictures of the t-shirt once Mike dons it for an upcoming match. I have no doubt it will look great in the Cauldron. Click to continue reading...

In case you were wondering, last year's Missouri State Champions Incarnate Word defeated last year's Kansas State Champions St. James Academy 4-0 in today's doubleheader opener. We're about 30 minutes to kickoff, and the stands are starting to fill in nicely. It seems that plenty of people decided to arrive early for the bobbleheads. Click to continue reading...

Great night for soccer! The pre-game stuff was great. The B-2 bomber flyover was impressive. The weather could not have been better. The crowd was great. The soccer game itself was horrible. It made me forget our last ESPN game, the 3-3 offensive display at Columbus last year.

Recap: 2nd minute, Johnson was slow to react to a ball and a Wizards player beat him to it; Johnson trips him up with a slide and it resulted in a penalty and harsh red card.

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The red-hot Kansas City Wizards are home tonight for a New York Red Bulls squad coming off its first win -- and first two goals not as a result of an own goal -- of the year.

After losing its first two games of the year, the Wizards have reeled off three consecutive victories and currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind leaders Chicago.

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By CASEY CANNON

Hello and Welcome to the Soccer by Ives Fantasy Corner – now inspecting sewers near you!

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Who should we interview this week?Michael Harrington - helped spark the comeback, assist on second Wolff goalKevin Hartman - stood on his head to keep Chicago to only 2 goalsJosh Wolff - scores two goals to tie up the gameVote over on the right and remember that you can also vote over at Down The Byline and all the votes count. Click to continue reading...

It was a cold, wet, windy, miserable day out at Community America Ballpark today as the Wizards took on the San Jose Earthquakes. Rain and snow along with 40 mph winds made for a difficult game on the field for both teams as well as in the stands. The Wizards came out the quickest of the two teams and seemed to be the quicker to adjust to the elements as well. Click to continue reading...