Gary Smith is a now officially the head coach for the Colorado Rapids. Smith was signed to a 3 year deal. The Rapids also announced they re-signed Pablo Mastroeni, coming off arguably his best year ever in the MLS, to a 4 year deal. Mike Petke, Bouna Coundoul and Jose Burciaga Jr. are all out of contract with no announcements having been made on their status. Click to continue reading...

Instead of trying his luck in Italian soccer, something he has been exploring for some time, Colorado Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni has decided to stay on in Denver. He had been previously linked to Serie A side Cagliari plus a handful of Serie B teams before deciding to stay with his current club. His decision seems in part to do with the signing of interim coach Gary Smith to a three year deal. Click to continue reading...

US Soccer announced this morning that Bob Bradley has called in Chris Rolfe and Brian Carroll to replace two players who suffered injuries in their Sunday matches, Robbie Rogers (sore back) and Pablo Mastoeni (knee).  It's a shame I was looking forward to seeing Rogers play.  And I was about as excited to see Mastroeni play [. Click to continue reading...

Everyone got their breath back? The final whistle blew almost 24 hours ago and I can't seem to shake this game out of my mind. The image of Mehdi Ballouchy's fantastic cross onto Conor Casey's outstretched boot in the final minutes of the game remains largely fixed. It was not that the defenses were so poor on both sides. Click to continue reading...

Overseas interest in Colorado Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni is at an all-time high right now, with two possible countries emerging as his most likely destination for next year: Spain and Italy.Mastroeni has always spoken of his desire to ply his trade in Europe before he calls it a career. Italian club Cagliari has expressed interest in the US international midfielder in the past, as have several Serie B clubs, but the newest teams to enter the hunt are reportedly Spain's Malaga and Real Betis. Click to continue reading...

Transplanted Brit reporter Nick Thomas has sweetened the long-running Pablo Mastroeni-to-Europe serial by uncovering a pair of Spanish suitors in Málaga and Real Betis. Of course, the veteran midfield stopper is also wanted in Italy (by both Serie A and Serie B clubs, so they say). Mastro would prefer a move to Italy, but I'm actually much more excited by these La Liga possibilities, especially Click to continue reading...

As we've reported here before, it appears USA and Colorado Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni is set for a move to Europe in January, the only question is where.

While a handful of Italian clubs (such as Cagliari, Catania, and Palermo) have been whispered to have interest, LFV friend Nick Thomas is reporting that interest is also coming from Spain's Real Betis and Malaga. Click to continue reading...

Pablo Mastroeni, club captain of the Colorado Rapids, is getting closer to his dream of playing in Europe. This week, he has received calls, via his representative in Spain and Italy, from two clubs in Spain - Malaga and Seville's Real Betis. The offers are good, says Pablo, but much remains on the table. Click to continue reading...

It was nice to see the Rapids pick up their 3 win in 5 games with Gary Smith in charge on Sunday. The only other time the Rapids have gone into half-time with a 2-0 lead this year was the July 4th game against New York Red Bull. That game was also at home at Dicks Sporting Goods Park.

With better finishing and possession against Chicago, the Rapids could have done more damage to the league's best road team.

Click to continue reading...

The Colorado Rapids look a very settled team. Something has happened since the coaching change and the Rapids finally look like they have a rhythm and the personnel to keep that rhythm going all the way to the playoffs. The team emerged victorious yesterday, dousing the Chicago Fire with an own goal and a splendid individual effort by Omar Cummings, both goals coming in the first half. Click to continue reading...

This post is only tangentially related to the Galaxy, because of the presence of Landon Donovan in the US Men's National Team Player Pool. But I thought it would be fun to go through the candidates for player of the year and see what Galaxy fans thought about the choices. (I totally stole this idea from Luis Bueno over at Sideline Views who actually gets to cast a vote that counts in his capacity as a member of the media.

Click to continue reading...

Forbes has a breakdown of MLS' money streams, which we already knew looked a lot healthier today than they did six years ago.

Included: A list of each team (excluding San Jose, which just returned to the field this year), with estimates of team value, revenue and operating income.

Los Angeles, Toronto and Dallas are profitable, according to the estimates.

Click to continue reading...

One thing that may be sneaking up on everyone is next Monday's trade deadline. Yup, Major League Soccer is just like every other American sports league by having a trade deadline. The big question is who is left to be traded at this point? - New York is looking for a striker within the league. We've known [. Click to continue reading...

Holy Crap! Victory is ours. The Colorado Rapids went all the way down to Texas and beat FC Dallas 1-0. The team's first away victory since April. In a week that saw us down in the dumps having lost another road game against Salt Lake and in which we said goodbye to a fan favorite, a header from Mike Petke (where was the Dallas defense? Click to continue reading...

Don't worry. This blog is not "very bad for you."

Nor is it "mind blowingly inappropriate." Or "OMFG!"

And it is definitely not "every parent's worst nightmare."

There, I said it. My attempts at making this blog appear sexy have utterly failed.

For those of you who don't get those quotes, it's from the new radio spots for the C-Dub's Gossip Girl. Click to continue reading...

Crikey! Didn't we just play a game? The Colorado Rapids have a very quick turnaround this week and will be off tomorrow for the game on Thursday night against Dallas. Unfortunately, that gives me no time to get up to training due to work commitments to suss out camp mood and get an idea of the line-up. Click to continue reading...

OK folks, now that Michael Bradley has found a new home at Borussia Monchengladbach, we still have 12 hours before we know if Oguchi Onyewu is going to PSG, Espanyol, Lazio, Bologna, or someplace England. The Italian deadline is at 6PM (12 PM EDT) so if its a Serie A move, expect to know earlier in the day. Click to continue reading...

So, I did manage to get up to training today but I am probably not able to add too many insights into who will start tomorrow for the Colorado Rapids against RSL. That was because I got involved in a good conversation with club captain, Pablo Mastroeni. By the time we finished talking, the boys were off in the bus to take them to the airport for tomorrow night's game. Click to continue reading...

U.S. Coach Bob Bradley has just announced a 20-man roster for the pair of upcoming World Cup Qualifying games against Cuba Sept. 6 in Havana and Trinidad & Tobago on Sept. 10 in Chicago.

There are just two changes and two additions to the squad Bradley selected for the recent qualifier in Guatemala.

Click to continue reading...

A lot has been made of the players this summer who have left Major League Soccer for higher wages in Europe. I figured since today was a slower news day I would take a look at the next group of guys that could potentially cash in on a move across the pond. Feel free to give [...] Click to continue reading...

The Colorado Rapids go into Friday night's Rocky Mountain Cup showdown against Real Salt Lake with what amounts to a mini injury crisis. Pablo Mastroeni and Terry Cooke, two of the most influential players in the team, will not make the trip due to hamstring injuries. Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISIphotos.com

With three points in the bag after last week's 1-0 road win against Guatemala, the U.S. men's national team heads into the next set of World Cup qualifiers knowing that two wins could all but lock up advancement into the Hexagonal round.

Click to continue reading...

So much hope about a new era but the Colorado Rapids crashed to a 3-0 defeat against DC United on Saturday. After going into the game almost like a line of combat soldiers, we lost the battle. The question is have we lost the playoff war also?
The team was in the game for the first 40 minutes or so. Click to continue reading...

Standard Liege defender Oguchi Onyewu, seeming to be completely disgusted with the transfer process, told US reporters in Guatemala that "I only want to live in reality, and the reality of the situation is that I play for Standard. I enjoy it and what happens, happens."

Meanwhile, the buzz coming from cognoscenti back in the States links Onyewu to Serie A side Catania, which is still looking to replace top defender Juan Manuel Vargas after selling him to Fiorentina. Click to continue reading...

Here is Jack Bell's article from the New York Times that reviews each player's performance in the game with a rating scale of 1-10, which is commonly done in soccer. To begin, I believe that Jack's ratings vary a bit too much. Its usually pretty rare that players on the same team get a score of 3 and also 8. Click to continue reading...

Mixed fortunes for the Colorado Rapids players representing their national teams yesterday in various parts of the world. Pablo Mastroeni played 78 minutes for the US team as they defeated Guatemala 1-0 in Guatemala City in their first World Cup qualifying game of this next stage. Click to continue reading...

It's probably not the way anyone wanted his tenure to end but Fernando Clavijo's days with the Colorado Rapids are over.

Clavijo resigned due to personal reasons as he and the Rapids reached some sort of mutual agreement that allowed the two to part ways.

Still, Clavijo probably shouldn't have been around this long to being with. Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The first group stage of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying is set to kick off on Wednesday with the U.S. national team in Guatemala City to take on Guatemala. The Americans will be favored but can't expect an easy game, especially considering they have never won a qualifier in Guatemala before.

Click to continue reading...

Acting head coach Gary Smith punched the air as the referee blew for the 90 minutes. It sure was mighty relief for the Colorado Rapids organization and their fans that the team finally managed to score some goals and eke out a win against a frequently dangerous Kansas City side. Click to continue reading...

UPDATE: This list has been updated to include Darren Huckerby's salary, Emilio's big pay raise and Claudio Reyna's retirement.

Also the list of celebrity MLS fans has been updated here.



While MLS is not the English Premier League, that hasn't stopped a few players from making a tidy bit of coin and greenbacks. Click to continue reading...

United States Men's National Team coach Bob Bradley has unveiled his 18-man roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifying group game against Guatemala, which will take place in Guatemala City this coming Wednesday, August 20th. The game can be seen on ESPN2 and Galavision starting at 10 p.m. ET.
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton FC)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)

Midfielders: Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers)

Forwards: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC) Click to continue reading...

Everyone out there is upset that Kenny Cooper wasn't called up. Considering he's scored like 82 goals a game for FC Dallas this season, I'm upset too.

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England).

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege, Belgium), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock, Germany)

Midfielders: Michael Bradley (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Maurice Edu (Toronto), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby County, England), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado)

Forwards: Brian Ching (Houston), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Eddie Johnson (Fulham, England)

Young midfielders rule. Click to continue reading...

Interestingly no Freddy Adu called into this squad even though four other returning Olympians from the US side are called into the squad. The numbers are caps and goal in World Cup qualifying.

GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Tim Howard (Everton FC: 3/2 SO)
DEFENDERS (6): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 13/1), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96: 15/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC: 1/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 11/1), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 8/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 2/0)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen: 2/1), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC: 1/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 1/0), Eddie Lewis (Derby County: 19/3), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids: 10/0)
FORWARDS (4): Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 7/4), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 21/8), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC: 8/2), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC: 8/8)

What are everyone's thoughts about this squad?

Click to continue reading...

Bob Bradley named the squad that is going to face Guatemala in the upcoming World Cup qualifier and while looking through the roster the question that comes to my mind is - don't we have a better team then this? Hasn't the time for Eddie Lewis, Frankie Hejduk, and Pablo Mastroeni come and gone? Who is being looked to as the main goalscorer - Landon Donovan? Click to continue reading...

Bouna Coundoul, Pablo Mastroeni and Omar Cummings have all been called up for their respective national teams for international fixtures next week. Bouna will be off to Tripoli for a Senegal friendly against Libya while Cummings and Mastroeni will represent their countries in World Cup qualifiers against Canada and Guatemala respectively. Click to continue reading...