This takes down February's best footy related video award easily.

Kei Kamara of the Kansas City Wizards dons the gorilla suit for a series of pranks during a set of real or staged interviews. It doesn't really matter it's all awesome.

It is also very likely Cyprion Hedrick wet his pants.

This takes down February's best footy related video award easily.

Kei Kamara of the Kansas City Wizards dons the gorilla suit for a series of pranks during a set of real or staged interviews. It doesn't really matter it's all awesome.

It is also very likely Cyprion Hedrick wet his pants.

In the first part of our FM scouting series, we looked at United's new DP forward Hamdi Salihi. Now it's time to turn our attention to central defender Emiliano Dudar...

click to enlarge

What jumps out immediately is Dudar's marking ability and aerial power, the later of which, given his size, was to be expected.

The Union confirmed on Wednesday through the team's Twitter account that Zac MacMath is joined in preseason training by Chase Harrison, who had temporarily joined the club late last season when Faryd Mondragon and Thorne Holder were both out with injuries before the club declined the option to sign him in November to make him available for the Re-Entry Draft.

The beginning of the 2012 Major League Soccer season is right around the corner and the folks over at MLS Soccer have released their first preseason power rankings. As expected the LA Galaxy are on top, while the New England Revolution get no love, as MLS Soccer ranks them below the expansion side Montreal Impact.

Another week of Sporting KC Wizards updates. As mentioned yesterday, 8 former players are up for the US Soccer Hall of Fame. Coming up soon, Stephane Auvray will figure out his new team in India when the new premier league holds it draft for "lesser known" and Indian players. Also, Neal Kitson is on the move, joining Northampton Town of the Football League 2.

Today, US Soccer came out with their list of candidates available for selection to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. On that list are two current coaches of Sporting KC. Head coach and technical director, Peter Vermes is on the list again, as is assistant coach, Kerry Zavagnin, in his first year of eligibility.

Silly season continues to go on around the world, and today Sporting KC was named in the silliness. Sky Sports is reporting that the "Kansas City Wizards" are interested in Scottish international striker, Kris Boyd. The 28 year old striker was most recently with Eskisehirsqor in Turkey, where he recently had his contract canceled.

Alex Bunbury foi um internacional canadiano que durante seis épocas, entre 1993/94 e 1998/99, foi a principal referência atacante do Marítimo. Vindo dos ingleses do West Ham, o possante avançado rapidamente "pegou de estaca" na equipa madeirense. Hoje com 44 anos, Alexander Bunbury está retirado do futebol, após ter terminado a carreira nos norte-americanos do Kansas City Wizards e acompanha a carreira dos seus dois filhos: Teal (21 anos) e Logan (16) e nascido em Portugal.

A few weeks ago, comments were made publicly about Michael Thomas coming to Kansas City. As mentioned previously, the Notre Dame grad has played with multiple members of Sporting KC, including Matt Besler and Seth Sinovic. Word out of Sweden is that Thomas will definitely not be returning to club, Ljungskile SK.

Columbus Crew technical director Brian Bliss can add U.S. Under-20 national team assistant coach to his resume after becoming the first assistant appointed to Tab Ramos' staff on Wednesday.

Bliss will maintain his duties with the Crew while assuming the added international responsibilities.

With 2012 marking the beginning of the USA's FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign and the players here hoping to make a big impression, we decided to look back at the January camp roster from this time in the previous two cycles to see if there is any forecasting to be done on how many players will actually reach the World Cup.

Continuing on with the caps trend, here's the updated stats for caps as a member of the SKC Wizards. First is the caps that a player got while with KC, the second number is goals scored in those caps.
Josh Wolff - USA - 38 - 6
Jimmy Conrad - USA - 28 - 1
Preki - USA - 26 - 4
Roger Espinoza - Honduras - 21 - 3
Kerry Zavagnin - USA - 21 - 0
Eddie Johnson - USA - 20 - 3
Shavar Thomas - Jamaica - 19 - 0
Chris Klein - USA - 17 - 3
Gary Glasgow - Trinidad & Tobago - 16 - 1
Khari Stephenson - Jamaica - 15 - 3
Scott Sealy - Trinidad & Tobago - 14 - 1
Tony Meola - USA - 12 - 0
Craig Rocastle - Grenada - 9 - 0
Sunil Chhetri - India - 9 - 5
Stephane Auvray - Guadeloupe - 8 - 1
Davy Arnaud - USA - 7 - 1
Kei Kamara - Sierra Leone - 6 - 0
Nick Garcia - USA - 6 - 0
Uche Okafor - Nigeria - 6 - 0
Onandi Lowe - Jamaica - 3 - 2
Mike Sorber - USA - 3 - 0
Miklos Molnar - Denmark - 3 - 0
Teal Bunbury - USA - 2 - 1
Mark Chung - USA - 2 - 0
Jermaine Hue - Jamaica - 2 - 0
Peterson Joseph - Haiti - 1 - 0
Chris Henderson - USA - 1 - 0
Steve Pittman - USA - 1 - 0
Digital Takawira - Zimbabwe - Unknown
Unfortunately I've still been unable to find a source for Digital Takawira's caps for Zimbabwe while with Kansas City, I've tried contacting the FA and the CAF, but have struck out in both instances.

While the transfer window in Europe opens up in less than 48 hours, Major League Soccer teams have been busy since the season ended, rebuilding and retooling for next season. Here is a team-by-team look at what each side has done so far this offseason. Who has had the best offseason?

Chicago Fire

IN: G Jay Nolly (12/5: trade from Vancouver); F Kheli Dube (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/New England)

OUT: F Christian Nazarit (12/7: option declined); F Gabriel Ferrari (12/7: option declined); G Alec Dufty (12/12: option declined); M Baggio Husidic(12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Colorado); G Jon Conway (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy)

Chivas USA

IN: M Ryan Smith (11/21: trade from Sporting KC); D James Riley (11/23: from Seattle, via trade from Montreal); M Arturo Alvarez (12/5: Re-Entry Stage 1/RSL); M Oswaldo Minda(12/21: SD Quito)

OUT: F Justin Braun (11/23: trade to Montreal); M Gerson Mayen (11/23: trade to Montreal); D Zarek Valentin (11/23: expansion draft); MPaulo Nagamura (11/29: trade to Sporting KC); D Andrew Boyens (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); F Chukwudi Chujindu (12/12: option declined); M Simon Elliott (12/12: out of contract); G Zach Thornton (12/12: option declined); D Mariano Trujillo (12/12: option declined)

Colorado Rapids

IN: M Baggio Husidic (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Chicago); D Hunter Freeman (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Houston)

OUT: M Sanna Nyassi (11/23: expansion draft); D Mike Holody (12/12: option declined); MBaggio Husidic (12/23: free/Hammarby)

Columbus Crew

IN: D Carlos Mendes (12/5: Re-Entry Stage 1/New York); G Matt Lampson (12/15: Home Grown)

OUT: D Josh Gardner (11/23: expansion draft); M Santiago Prim (11/23: waived); D Dejan Rusmir (11/23: waived); F Andrés Mendoza(12/6: option declined); M Kevin Burns (12/12: option declined); F Jeff Cunningham (12/12: option declined)

DC United

IN: D Robbie Russell (11/29: trade from RSL)

OUT: M Santino Quaranta (12/7: retired); DMarc Burch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Seattle); MClyde Simms (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/New England); M Brandon Barklage (12/12: option declined); G Steve Cronin (12/12: option declined); F Joseph Ngwenya (12/12: option declined); D Jed Zayner (12/12: option declined); D Devon McTavish (12/22: retired)

FC Dallas

IN:

OUT: D Edson Edward (11/23: waived); DJeremy Hall (11/29: trade to Toronto); F Maykel Galindo (12/12: option declined); F Maicon Santos (12/12: option declined); M Marvin Chávez (12/16: trade to San Jose)

Houston Dynamo

IN: M Nathan Sturgis (12/29: trade from Toronto)

OUT: F Brian Ching (11/23: expansion draft); MFrancisco Navas Cobo (11/23: waived); G Evan Newton (11/23: waived); F Carlo Costly (11/24: option declined); D Hunter Freeman (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Colorado); F Jason Garey (12/12: option declined); D Eddie Robinson (12/12: option declined)

LA Galaxy

IN: D Andrew Boyens (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Chivas USA); D Chris Leitch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/San Jose); F Pat Noonan (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Seattle); G Jon Conway (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Chicago); M Marcelo Sarvas(12/13: free/Alajuelense); M Jose Villarreal(12/22: Home Grown)

OUT: D Gregg Berhalter (12/9: retired);G Donovan Ricketts (11/28: trade to Montreal Impact)

Montreal Impact

IN: D Nelson Rivas (10/3: free/Inter Milan, Italy); G Evan Bush (10/21: NASL Impact); D Sinisa Ubiparipovic (11/1: NASL Impact); M Hassoun Camara (11/3: NASL Impact); D Jeb Brovsky (11/23: expansion draft); D Bobby Burling (11/23: expansion draft); F Brian Ching (11/23: expansion draft); D Josh Gardner (11/23: expansion draft); M Justin Mapp (11/23: expansion draft); M Sanna Nyassi (11/23: expansion draft); D James Riley(11/23: expansion draft); D Seth Sinovic (11/23: expansion draft); M Collen Warner (11/23: expansion draft); D Zarek Valentin (11/23: expansion draft); F Justin Braun (11/23: trade from Chivas USA); M Gerson Mayen (11/23: trade from Chivas USA); D Tyson Wahl (11/23: trade from Seattle Sounders); M Bryan Arguez(11/25: free/Ft.

Today Sporting Kansas City announced a portion of their preseason schedule. As expected, the team will be making a return Arizona, but as announced previously will not be competing in the Desert Cup, instead they'll also spend part of preseason in Orlando for the Disney Pro Soccer Classic.
Preseason kicks off on January 19th, a week after the MLS SuperDraft, and 2 days after the Supplemental draft, where the team has a combined seven draft picks, with physicals.

The post from yesterday regarding the youngest and oldest players to ever appear for Sporting KC was spawned by the fact that earlier this year, Soony Saad, on his debut became the youngest goal scorer in the Wizards history when he scored against the Portland Timbers on his 19th birthday. With that in mind, here are the youngest and oldest goal scorers in KC's history.

So the offseason has calmed down just a little bit, and while there will be the occasional rumor that pops up, there is unlikely to be a ton of movement until the draft in January and preseason beginning. Until then and with less than 100 days until the home opener on March 17th, what can you do? Well here's a list of some things that I've put together that you could look to do during the rest of the MLS offseason.

Every year at the Development Academy Showcases, scouts from all over the world come to get a look at some of the country's most talented players. There were more than 300 scouts from Major League Soccer teams, colleges and foreign clubs at the 2010 Winter Showcase in Phoenix, Ariz. U.S. Soccer employs its own armada of scouts, with a total of 65 being used throughout the country to help identify and mentor the top youth talent.

photo courtesy Jarred Donalson
So one of the longest careers in Sporting Kansas City Wizards history ended today with Davy Arnaud being traded from Sporting Kansas City to the Montreal Impact for Seth Sinovic and allocation money. I've never been good at eloquently writing down how good a player was for this team or how much I'll miss seeing them in a Kansas City jersey.

photo courtesy Jarred Donalson
Sporting KC was busy today, making one trade, another player announcement, and talk of a second trade taking place. It started during the weekend with a Tweet by Robb Heineman stating that there would be an announcement today. At 1:30 we got the first of the announcements, a surprising trade.

By Sharon Hom
The greater Kansas City area is fortunate to have 3 different teams providing year-round professional soccer in the metropolitan area. The Kansas City Wizards were a founding member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and won the 2000 MLS Cup. Now known as Sporting Kansas City, the team has advanced to the 2011 MLS playoffs.

By Sharon Hom
The greater Kansas City area is fortunate to have 3 different teams providing year-round professional soccer in the metropolitan area. The Kansas City Wizards were a founding member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and won the 2000 MLS Cup. Now known as Sporting Kansas City, the team has advanced to the 2011 MLS playoffs.

Houston Dynamo vs. LA Galaxy The Home Depot Center - Carson, CA - 8:00pm CT MLS Cup Final

All-time series: Galaxy lead 8-5-4

BROADCAST:

ESPN (ENG TV) Galavision (SPN TV) SportsTalk 790 (ENG Radio) ESPN Deportes 1180 (SPN Radio)

THE MATCHUP:

MLS Cup 2011 will match two of the most successful clubs in Major League Soccer history when the LA Galaxy take on the Houston Dynamo.

On the latest edition of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast : This Week in US Soccer, your host Chris Riordan is joined by legendary USMNT, Metrostars and Wizards Goalkeeper, Tony Meola. In partnership with Allstate, (we've all seen the ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

On the latest edtion of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast : This Week in US Soccer, your host Chris Riordan is joined by legendary USMNT, Metrostars and Wizards Goalkeeper, Tony Meola. In partnership with Allstate, (we've all seen the ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

One year ago today, the Kansas City Wizards had an announcement at the Power and Light District in downtown KC to announce their identity change from the Wizards to Sporting Kansas City. Included with the new name was a new logo, new colors, and basically a new identity.
Overall the first year of "Sporting KC" would be classified as a success both on an off the field, on the field the team went from missing the playoffs two straight years to topping the Eastern Conference in the regular season and making the conference finals.

One year ago today, the Kansas City Wizards had an announcement at the Power and Light District in downtown KC to announce their identity change from the Wizards to Sporting Kansas City. Included with the new name was a new logo, new colors, and basically a new identity.
Overall the first year of "Sporting KC" would be classified as a success both on an off the field, on the field the team went from missing the playoffs two straight years to topping the Eastern Conference in the regular season and making the conference finals.

The early offseason continues to be fairly busy for Sporting KC fans to follow, and continues today with news out of Mexico on one of the Wizards designated players, Omar Bravo. Bravo was apparently down in Mexico today visiting his old club, Chivas de Guadalajara. Bravo is apparently interested in training or playing with a team while MLS is in it's offseason.

As power is starting to make its return to the Greater Hartford area, we thought it would make sense to recognize the successful front office in Kansas City. As we said last week, Sporting is our PR Department of the year. In 2010, we interviewed Rob Thomson, the team's VP of Communications. At the time of that interview, the Wizards were still the KC franchise and Community America was still the team's home.

Don't say the Portland Timbers never won anything in their first year as it looks like they're taking home the trophy for "most polite."

Well, not really. In actuality, the award is for the team that committed the fewest fouls over the entire season. The Timbers came in a low 347 fouls with the Colorado Rapids coming in next at 374 fouls.

This week's former Wizards update is out, congrats to Kevin Friedland and the NSC Minnesota Stars on winning the NASL championship this past week. Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
JT Murray
Anthony Noriega
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ryan Smith
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson
MLS
Stephane Auvray - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 1-0 loss to LA.

The final numbers are in and Major League Soccer saw a 7% increase in attendance this year, from 16,675 fans per game to 17,870 fans according to MLSAttendance.blogspot.com .

Out of the 18 teams in MLS only four saw a decrease in average attendance. They were Chicago, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Toronto.

Winning Wednesday night seems such a distant chance. In MLS current, yet short, playoff format only 8 times has a team scored three goals or more in an MLS Playoff game. Only twice have teams come from behind two goals down in a two leg aggregate goals series. The last time that happened was 2004.

The first legs of the round of 8 are over. RSL was very impressive in getting a 3-0 win over SSFC. The result may have been a surprise to a good number of people, but the score was a surprise to most all non-RSL fans. It will be very hard to Seattle to overcome 3 goals. I expect RSL to advance.

Tempers flared as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 at Red Bull Arena, in their Western Conference semi-final first leg match.

Mike Magee's early goal off a cross from David Beckham was enough to give the Galaxy the win, and they only need a draw at home on Thursday to progress to the Conference Finals.

Last night Colorado defeated the Columbus Crew 1-0 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, advancing to face KC in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The game will kick off at 6:30 central time Sunday out in Denver. KC split the season series with Colorado, both on the backs of 1-1 draws. Colorado's goal scorer in both games was the now injured Conor Casey.

@

Columbus Crew @ Colorado Rapids

So one team finishes their season and one team goes on to play Sporting KC. I got off to a bad start on the playoff predictions last night with the NY win, but I'm sure the Rapids are going to put me up to .500. I have to go with the Rapids because I'll be able to watch the game because I happen to be close enough to Colorado that I get Altitude Sports and Entertainment on my satellite!

Here is this week's former Wizards update.
Active without a club or unknown
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Michael Kraus
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
JT Murray
Anthony Noriega
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ryan Smith
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson
MLS
Stephane Auvray - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 1-0 win over Philadelphia.

Now that the Dynamo have finished off the season we finally know what the playoffs are going to look like. Next weekend the wildcard teams will play.

NY Red Bulls (4) @ FC Dallas (1)

Columbus Crew (3) @ Colorado Rapids (2)

The the rest of the team join in on the fun. The winners of those 2 games will be placed based on which is the higher seed of the winners.

With their win over LA tonight, the Houston Dynamo finalized the playoff seedings. With that we have a better idea now of who the Wizards will face in the conference semifinals. Of the four wild card teams, Dallas is the 7th seed, Colorado 8th, Columbus 9th, and New York 10th. KC will play the highest of the remaining wildcard teams after the wild card round.