The SR boys are back to chat with Chris Heck, Red Bulls President of Business Operations. We discuss the 2012 home schedule, ticket sales trends, staffing changes, marketing plans, and success metrics for the season to come. First comes a review of Henry at Arsenal as well as roster additions in and around the MLS draft.

U.S. Under-23 national team defender Gale Agbossoumonde has endured a rough road in his quest for regular playing time since turning pro two years ago. With a recent stint at Eintracht Frankfurt failing to deliver him playing time, Agbossoumonde looked poised for a move to Major League Soccer.

Today was the second MLS draft, there was no ball room in Kansas City for the draft though. The Supplemental Draft took place on a conference call and took about as long as half the first round of the SuperDraft. After trading for Michael Thomas' rights, KC only had 4 picks, 1 in the first and second, and 2 in the third.

The process that brought him in was a little unexpected, but the end result really wasn't. Today, Sporting KC acquired the rights to former San Jose Earthquakes draft pick, Michael Thomas for a 4th round Supplemental draft pick, the 73rd overall. The fact that Sporting had to give something to San Jose for Thomas is the surprising part.

The full gallery from the draft Sporting KC's first round pick. @DDwyer14

It's that time again. Time to talk all things soccer in the first SBI Live Q&A of 2012.

We have plenty to talk about today, from the MLS Draft, to the U.S. national team camp and upcoming friendlies, to the U.S. Under-23 training camp and upcoming Olympic qualifiers.

We don't have to stop there.

It's that time again. With the new year upon us, and plenty to discuss in the soccer world, it's time for the latest SBI Live Q&A.

Join me at Noon today as I answer questions on all things soccer (and pop culture). Want to talk about the MLS Draft? The U.S. national team camp?

Yay, another day, another MLS draft. Today should be the last one for a while (that is unless there is a lottery taking place which could very well happen here soon too). The MLS SuperDraft was cut a round for the second straight season and because of that the Supplemental Draft's first round will still feel like the SuperDraft's third round to some.

The second MLS draft is coming up tomorrow, the Supplemental Draft is going to take place via conference call. Sporting KC hold 5 picks in the 4 round draft. KC have the 16th, 35th, 43rd, 54th, and 73rd picks in the draft tomorrow. KC currently has 27 players on their roster, although some players will still have to earn contracts, particularly Cyprian Hedrick who has not signed a contract as yet with the team.

This Friday the Portland Timbers will officially convene back here in Portland to begin their training for the 2012 season. With the SuperDraft behind us and a few weeks left open in the international transfer window there's a lot expected to go on, but the beginning of the training is probably the most exciting for the simple fact that it means.

Yes, Brucio is still away. Sources say he's exploring restaurant franchise opportunities in Newfoundland. Please be patient with me. I am an amateur.
So how did everybody fare in Thursday's MLS SuperDraft?
Over at No Short Corners, Will Parchman is apoplectic that Enzo Martinez fell all the way to 17th, where Salt Lake scooped him up.

When people look back at the 2012 MLS Draft, they will surely look at it as the first draft that didn't feature a multitude of trades. What they might wind up really recalling of the draft, however, is the amount of solid MLS talent that was available.

There were no draft pick trades in this year's draft, but teams still came away with some good talent throughout the league after picking from one of the deeper draft classes in recent memory.

Interestingish article here on the Portland Timbers website. (yes, this is Rich, but I like American things, too).

So while recent history suggests the Number 8 [pick in the MLS draft] has produced some promising young players, perhaps the most famous MLS Number 8's of all time was the New England Revolution's Number 8 selection in 2004: Clint Dempsey.

The MLS SuperDraft was held on Thursday and broadcast live on ESPN2. After two hours of televised coverage, the feed switched to ESPN3.com. Adrian Healey manned the desk while Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman handled much of the commentary heavy lifting and despite some hiccups, the broadcast was generally well done.

For the 3rd year in a row in the first round of the MLS draft, KC selected a forward. This year KC selected Generation Adidas forward from South Florida, Dom Dwyer. The native of Lonodon, England is smaller than KC's last two forward, Dwyer is 5'9", but another good addition to the team. Will have more, including quotes, later tonight.

The Montreal Impact will make the first draft pick of their MLS history today as the league's 19th team kicks off today's 2012 MLS Mock Draft.

The Impact are expected to pick between Darren Mattocks and Andrew Wenger as the top pick in this year's draft, with Mattocks expected to be the selection.

The 2012 MLS Draft is set to kick off in a few hours as teams from across the league look to add those missing pieces to the puzzle.

The 2012 draft class is a strong one, with depth at a variety of positions, such as centerback and attacking midfielder. There are quality prospects available that have teams trying to trade up into the top four, where the likes of Luis Silva, Kelyn Rowe, Enzo Martinez and Sam Garza have drawn considerable interest.

The 19 blogs that individually cover each Major League Soccer team on the SB Nation network came together on Sunday to conduct the annual mock MLS Draft. It's a very imperfect science as no one has the long term plan of any front office at their disposal. We don't know if a big striker signing is in the works so a team will pass on a talented ready to start forward and go defense surprising everyone.

Fire fans have certainly had an exciting week already. From the rumored signing of Rafael Robayo becoming a concrete reality, to the report of Pavel Pardo re-signing with the Fire, there has been a lot of news, and it's only Wednesday. Well, the news will keep on coming Fire fans, as business is about to pick up even more with the MLS draft on Thursday.

Galaxy GM and Coach Bruce Arena gave a handful of reporters an update this afternoon ahead of Thursday's MLS draft (9 a.m. live on ESPN2). First, let's talk roster since that's likely to have more of a bearing on the coming season: *Robbie Keane's pending loan to Aston Villa is

The forward class in the 2012 MLS Combine is an intriguing one, as teams try to figure out who the top strikers will be on the board once Akron star Darren Mattocks is taken, as expected, with the first or second pick in the draft.

Three of the most likely candidates to go early from the forward pool are UCLA product Chandler Hoffman (pictured), Maryland standout Casey Townsend and South Florida star Dom Dwyer.

The MLS Combine got under way on Friday with hopeful MLS draftees descending on the Fort Lauderdale areas to showcase their wares in front MLS coaches, executives and more. MLS' official website has really ramped up the coverage of the pre-draft events, including live streaming of all of the combine matches and video features.

The 2012 MLS Combine kicks off today in Fort Lauderdale as the nation's top college talent (and seven random international players) look to impress MLS coaches and boost their stock ahead of the 2012 MLS Draft.

The MLS website is live-streaming today's matches, but SBI will be providing live commentary on today's action, so please feel free to follow along here.

The 2012 MLS Combine is set to kick off this afternoon in Fort Lauderdale, and SBI will be providing coverage throughout the next five days, as players look to improve their stock ahead of the MLS Draft.

The Combine will be live-streamed on MLSSoccer.com, while Fox Soccer and SBI will feature extensive coverage, including game recaps, player rankings, video interviews and breakdowns of all the action.

The MLS Generation adidas class will feature nine players after the league secured the signings of three players on Wednesday night.

South Florida striker Dom Dwyer, Creighton fullback Tyler Polak and UConn central defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste were all signed to Generation adidas contracts after being made offers on Tuesday.

And then there were six.

North Carolina playmaker Enzo Martinez signed has signed a Generation adidas contract, becoming the sixth member of the 2012 Generation adidas class, but teammate Billy Schuler passed on the final MLS offer, and ultimately signed with Hammarby.

Schuler's decision to bolt for Europe has opened the door for MLS to expand the class, with the league extending Generation adidas offers to Creighton fullback Tyler Polak, South Florida striker Dom Dwyer and UConn centerback Andrew Jean-Baptiste.

When the MLS off-season springs to life, it does so with a vengeance.

We learned as much yesterday, in one of the busiest days of off-season newsiness I can remember. David Beckham spurned the sultry advances of Paris Saint-Germaine, FC Dallas may have gotten the striker they've needed for so long, and Colorado got a coach, just days before the MLS draft.

We're about a week and a half away from the MLS Superdraft in Kansas City. It's the first of two drafts for the league, with a supplemental draft following a week later. KC have their natural 16th pick in the 1st round of the Superdraft, and then have the 30th selection in the second round. That selection came from FC Dallas in the trade that sent Kevin Hartman to Dallas.

The MLS Draft is less than two weeks away, and the MLS Combine is now less than a week away, meaning it's getting close to time for clubs to start figuring out what needs they want to address and which players they plan to target when the draft kicks off in Kansas City.

There is still plenty we don't know about how the draft will shape up.

With the 2012 MLS Draft just two weeks away, the 2012 MLS Generation adidas class took a step closer to being completed after the signing of the highest-rated unsigned underclassman.

UCLA playmaker Kelyn Rowe has signed a Generation adidas deal, sources told SBI on Wednesday. Rowe is the fifth player to sign a Generation adidas deal, joining Andrew Wenger, Darren Mattocks, UCLA teammate Chandler Hoffman and Sam Garza.

The blog that follows UVA sports, Streaking the Lawn, is reporting that Virginia sophomore winger Brian "Cobi" Span signed a contract today with Djurgarden IF of Sweden's top flight, Allsvenkan.
Streaking the Lawn | UVA Soccer Standout Brian "Cobi" Span Signs With Djurgarden IF of Sweden
According to Ives Galarcap of Fox Soccer, Span is ranked as the 7th best player on the 2012 MLS Draft Big Board.

The 2012 MLS Draft is less than a month away and Major League Soccer has secured the services of the two highest-rated prospects coming out of college this year.

Sources have told Fox Soccer that Duke standout Andrew Wenger and Akron star Darren Mattocks have signed Generation adidas contracts, with MLS expected to announce the first of its Generation adidas signings on Tuesday.

As we draw closer to the 2012 MLS Draft, Major League Soccer is moving closer and closer to trying to secure the services of the players who will make up its Generation adidas draft class, and things are still very much in flux with less than a month to go before the draft.

MLS is expected to announce the first of its signings in the coming week, and offers have already been sent out to most of the top targets.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

With the 2012 MLS Draft now less than a month away, I have unveiled my first Fox Soccer 2012 MLS Mock Draft in an attempt to give people a sense of how things just might shake out when teams start making their selections in Kansas City four weeks from now.

The NCAA College Cup Final always has its share of scouts tracking the top talent, and last weekend's matches in Hoover, Alabama drew extra attention from foreign clubs interested in the handful of top pro prospects on display.

At the top of that list was North Carolina striker Billy Schuler, who helped lead the Tar Heels to their second NCAA title after scoring the vital equalizer in the semifinal win against UCLA last Friday.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

The 2012 MLS Draft is a month away, and the Montreal Impact's options with the No. 1 overall pick are ready to get a lot weaker.

Akron University striker Darren Mattocks, a consensus pick to be among the first two players selected in January's MLS Draft, is ready to pass on the Generation adidas contract offered to him by MLS to sign in Europe.

Each year Major League Soccer holds it's Player Combine leading up to the MLS Draft to give coaches and scouts an up close look at possible draft picks.
This year two players from the University of Virginia where invited to the MLS Player Combine.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia seniors Hunter Jumper (Plano, Texas) and Brian Ownby (Glen Allen, Va.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

The latest Fox Soccer MLS Draft Big Board is out, and with six weeks to go, there have been plenty of changes to the list of Top 25 prospects heading into Janaury's MLS Draft.

The very top of the Big Board is largely unchanged, with Duke's Andrew Wenger and Akron's Darren Mattocks remaining at the top, with UCLA's Kelyn Rowe and North Carolina's Billy Schuler following them.

The San Jose Earthquakes wasted no time finding a new option for the left side of midfield after parting ways with Bobby Convey, and found a familiar face to fill the role.

The Earthquakes traded for former San Jose winger Shea Salinas, acquiring him from Vancouver in exchange for an undisclosed amount of allocation money.

Soon to be heading in the same directionToronto FC got into the holiday shopping mood on Tuesday with the acquisition of defender Jeremy Hall. The 23-year old Florida native arrives from FC Dallas after previous MLS stops with Portland and New York. Primarily a right back, Hall was the 11th overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and provides The Reds with a little more depth on the corners of their back line.