Follow the yellow brick road, and there might be a powerful wizard at the end able to grant you
whatever your heart desires. Or, as so often we find, after having stumbled through the many
potholes on that road you come to the end of it only to be met by an eccentric myth of a person
capable only of offering up false promises and trinkets.
Osi for the Giants...
When the New York Giants take on the the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday, it will be a battle of
the defensive ends that is a key to determining the outcome, positively or negatively, for both
teams.
For the Giants, a return of a healthy Osi Umenyori to support Jason Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul
on the outside means that the Giants can consistently collapse the pocket from the flank, contain
lateral runs, and basically wreak havoc.
After the all consternation, all the second guessing, all the doubts, the Houston Dynamo are
playing for the Eastern Conference Championship on Sunday. It's mind blowing to realize that this
really was a rebuilding year in Houston and despite the challenges and roster turnover, Dominic
Kinnear once again has his team in a conference final, the fourth time in the team's six
seasons.
Photo by Michael Pimentel/ISIphotos.com
By AVI CREDITOR
WASHINGTON -- D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid thought he was being spammed by a
telemarketer.
Nope, it's just new U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann offering an opportunity of a
lifetime.
On Tuesday at RFK Stadium D.C. United hosted local coaches for an Open Practice and Coaches Clinic.
Hundreds of coaches enjoyed a day that included observing an actual United practice session,
free...
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OK everyone, in the words of a certain Naval philosopher, "That's all I can stand, I can't
stands no more!" This is not going to be one of those posts that is meant to fire anybody up.
Rather, what I want is to look at this situation, as Gene Kranz once said, in terms of status.
"What do have on the spacecraft that's good?
Sounds nice doesn't it? The Houston Dynamo playing at home on a Saturday night with a chance to
take over first place in the Eastern Conference...I could get used to that, even if it's only May.
Thanks to some help from two of the Dynamo's old Western Conference nemesis last week, Houston will
have a golden opportunity tomorrow night to move to the top of East and gain some more momentum for
the start of a three match in eight day sprint.
Houston Dynamo (2-1-3) vs. DC United (2-3-1) Robertson Stadium - Houston, TX - 7:30pm CT
BROADCAST INFORMATION
FOX Soccer (ENG TV)
FOX Deportes (SPN TV)
SportsTalk 790 (ENG Radio)
La Ranchera 850 (SPN Radio)
REFEREE Jasen Anno
Anno MLS Career: 21 games; FC/gm: 22.
Tonight our defense is once again put to the test as they face one of the quickest producing
newcomers to MLS, Charlie Davies. The boys also put up their undefeated streak of five games,
looking to extend it to six. There will be a gamethread going up about an hour before the match is
slated to begin, and I will do my best to make sure it's updated with the score and action as it
happens (thank you MDL).
Dynamo show class, fly out Onstad's family for game Friday
According to JJO's blog, the Dynamo will fly out Pat Onstad's family for the Dynamo v DC United
match Friday evening. This is what I love about about the Dynamo, they are and have been since day
one in Houston (and well before then, too) a class act.
The New England Revolution held on for a gutsy 3-2 win over D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup
play-in match last night. The Revs will now travel to face Sporting Kansas City with a spot in the
formal U.S. Open Cup bracket on the line.
With two goals from Kheli Dube and one from Alan Koger, New England took a 3-0 lead after 69
minutes, and then had to hold on for dear life as D.
Nick Green is on my starting XI of well-informed, highly respected soccer writers. He works hard
and has smart opinions.
So I hope he won't take offense when I respectfully disagree with a little something he wrote.
It's just a wee disagreement. Think "friendly debate over icy cold Pacificos" more than "screaming
match in the bosses' office.
That's an aspirational headline, not an outright prediction. But, having hedged my professional
prognostication reputation with that disclaimer, let's just put it right out there: despite the
rigors of cross-country travel and lurking parity, the Los Angeles Galaxy is the better team in
each of the three match-ups that start tonight with the contest at RFK Stadium against DC United
(then Toronto FC and Chicago Fire).
By JOSE M. ROMERO
The Colorado Rapids are off to their best start ever in team history, offering further proof
that last season's MLS Cup run perhaps was no fluke.
Imagine, then, what more the Rapids might have accomplished with big Caleb Folan available to
them.
Hopefully everyone is feeling a little better this Monday compared to last Monday. Exiting a
weekend in which the Dynamo secured a point on the road tends to make one feel a little better
about things, at least for the time being. While it wasn't the prettiest match on Friday night in
Seattle, the Dynamo showed signs of the kind of effort and play they will need to bring week in and
week out.
Part Dark Cloud, part powered by Naranja Zach Woosley writes about the Houston Dynamo over at
Dynamo Theory. The Houston side troubled Seattle in '09, and are only challenged by the Los Angeles
Galaxy for team most often in opposition of Seattle. The Traffic Cones take on the Safety Vests
tonight, so what should we know?
First Kick 2011 for the Houston Dynamo is on three days away and to continue to prepare our
readers for the new season, myself and new writer Fuzion have been joined by Jordan Wise from SB
Nation Houston to offer our thoughts. We each give our preferred projected lineup, thoughts on
individual positions and answer some key questions about what to expect this year.
I love the predictions game! Truth is, as Beau Dure points out,
no one knows anything when it comes to season predictions. Since I accept this truth to be self
evident, I have decided to make my predictions with a heavy DC United bias. Thus, let me present
the MLS award predictions for the 2011 season with Black and Red colored glasses.
Amanda and Megan discuss Grant Wahl's curious decision to challenge Sepp Blatter's position as
FIFA president. They consider his chances and address some of their issues with his platform.
Charlie Davies' recovery trail has led him to DC United. Pat Onstad is coming out of retirement,
but both girls agree that he is no Brett Favre.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
In light of the series of player moves that have happened this offseason, most notably this past
week, a number of Major League Soccer teams have improved themselves significantly - at least on
paper.
Although not many of the playoff stalwarts did much tinkering heading into 2011, some of the
league's worst teams have appeared to take large steps in closing the talent gap, which should make
for a pretty exciting season, one whose opening game is less than a month away.
Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz
Union
Peter Nowak is among the 25 on the Player Ballot for the 2011 class of the National Soccer Hall
of Fame. Congratulations!
The Brotherly Game quotes a report from Monday in Guatemala-based Prensa Libre that says Carlos
Ruiz was in discussion with the Union but terms could not be reached.
Pat Onstad Resumes Playing Career, This Time For D.C. United
Continuing the busiest offseason of any non-expansion MLS side, DC United announced this evening
that new assistant coach Pat Onstad will also be new goalkeeper Pat Onstad. The move was somewhat
forced on the club after Steve Cronin broke his wrist in training and will miss the next eight to
ten weeks.
WASHINGTON — D.C. United assistant coach Pat Onstad is coming out of retirement because the club
is in need of healthy goalkeepers. The team said Thursday that Onstad will begin working with the
team at training camp to prepare to play in the regular season. The 43-year-old Canadian was the
oldest player in MLS when [.
Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com
The solution to D.C. United's goalkeeping problems appears to have been right in front of the
club all along.
Goalkeeper coach Pat Onstad is coming out of retirement to compete for the club's starting
keeper job in the aftermath of Steve Cronin breaking his wrist.
STARTERSMy new fave Brazilian player name is: Wallyson! From Cruzeiro.
dN
CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals start next Tuesday night! Feb 22! Are you ready?
dN
FC Miami Blues officially became the Fort Lauderdale Strikers today.
By AVI CREDITOR
Major League Soccer and Canada's The Sports Network have reached a six-year deal to broadcast
the league's games nationally north of the border.
TSN will carry 24 MLS games this season, all of them featuring Toronto FC or the expansion
Vancouver Whitecaps.
March 19... March 19...
Just over a month until Philadelphia's soccer-crazed fans slide onto bar stools across the city
and try to convince the local establishment that LiveWell is indeed a real television channel.
There is a different mindset for Year Two of the Philadelphia Union. When last season began,
Danny Mwanga emerged as a midfielder (still mind-boggling) and the starting lineup featured Toni
Stahl and David Myrie.
By AVI CREDITOR
To date, perhaps no team has had as active a preseason than the Houston Dynamo. And the club has
barely hit the training pitch.
With the team breaking ground on its new downtown stadium last week and the club being shifted
to the Eastern Conference (for this season at least), change is in the air in Houston.
Hopefully everyone had a better weekend that your humble Dynamo blogger had thanks to a
wonderful cold that kept me basically incapacitated for the better part of the last four days...but
enough about me.
The Houston Dynamo completed their first week of pre-season training and resume their schedule
today.
By AVI CREDITOR
After putting last season's historically bad campaign in the rear-view mirror, D.C. United is
aiming for a fresh start with Ben Olsen at the helm of a team on a mission.
With a bevy of new faces in camp and a fresh attitude to boot, expectations of a vast
improvement are abound in the nation's capital.
With MLS' drafting season nearly complete (the Supplemental Draft is tomorrow...more on that
after the jump) we can start to get a better picture of what the Houston Dynamo roster will look
like in 2011. The most obvious change is the youth movement, with several veterans not returning
including Pat Onstad, Richard Mulrooney and Adrian Serioux.
Catching up with Danny Cruz
The Dynamo midfielder talks about his travels abroad, his 21st birthday, Pat Onstad and his
preparations for 2011. (HoustonDynamo.com)
