MLS has released the rules for the draft and they're slightly different from what I listed in my
last post. There appears to be no automatic protection for players on the season-ending injury
list. Only 3 of our internationals need to be protected however. Given that, here is my revised
list:
*GA Players (Automatically protected)
O'Brien
Valentino
*Required 3 Internationals
Baudet
Cummings
Kimura
*Roster (8 spots left)
Casey
Clark
Harvey
LaBrocca
Mastroeni
Moor
Pickens
Smith, if he's expected to make a full recovery, otherwise Palguta
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On this busy day of international soccer, check out this interesting piece from Soccer America
magazine on Real Salt Lake owner, Dave Checketts. I don't know anything about the man and maybe he
is not Mr. Nice Guy but, according to goalkeeper Nick Rimando, at least he seems to care about his
team. Can anyone imagine Mr.
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OK, time to get back to a more regular posting schedule. This week I'll hopefully have a season
review, a recap of where the European teams I'm following are, and maybe a new team to talk about.
First lets start with next week's Expansion Draft for next year's Philadelphia Union.
The draft will be a week from Wednesday.
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Press release from the Rapids today. Good to see further recognition of Casey's talents. Does
anybody else think that having only three defenders nominated is a bit weird?
MLS Commissioner Don Garber today announced that Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey has been named
to the 2009 MLS Best XI during his annual State of the League address.
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Yesterday there were reports from the Denver Post and that the players and coaches got into a
shouting math after practice last Thursday, with Conor Casey stomping off the practice field
challenging Gary Smith to trade him and Pat Noonan leading the players in refusing extra
"punishment" laps. Obviously this isn't what you want to see from a team that collapsed in the
final quarter of the season.
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Looks like
Conor Casey's call-up to the US national team for friendlies against
Slovakia and Denmark could not have come at a better time. Take a look at this article on
www.mlsnet.com for some uncomfortable news on how the team has reacted to the disappointment of
missing out on the playoffs again.
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51 responses to Jeff Plush's letter to fans on the Rapids' blog as of 10am November 5. It shows
there are some passionate fans out there. Not that I ever had any doubt about that. What I do have
doubts over are the very future of this club and here's why.
I have never really understood why sports trophies are given to the owners of clubs when they win
championships.
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"We need better players," said Smith. "What was very clear tonight was that some of the guys in
that changing room are not good enough."
As of 5pm Tuesday, 27 responses to Jeff Plush's letter to fans on the Rapids' blog. When you
address the fan's real needs, you get a response.
The coach's quote and the response to the GM speak volumes.
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The Rapids choked away a chance at their best season ever with a 7 game winless streak culminating
in the embarrassing 3-0 loss to FaKe SaLt Lake Saturday night. They finish in a tie for the last
playoff spot but lose the tibreakers, missing the playoffs for a 3rd straight year. 2 years in a
row they've missed the playoffs by a point.
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The Colorado Rapids will not be going to the postseason for the third straight year after New
England beat Columbus today. Remarkably, the Rapids were still in with a shout at getting a playoff
spot after their 3-0 beating by Real Salt Lake yesterday. Results elsewhere meant that they could
still get into the postseason, apparently if Columbus beat New England.
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I left the Bulldog early once the third goal went in and came home and ranted about everything that
was wrong about the Rapids. The lack of decent media coverage, the fact that true fans often get
shunted aside by the powers that be, you now, that kind of thing. But, because of some freaky
results elsewhere, it seems to me, bizarrely, that the team is still in possible playoff
contention.
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What is there to say? Destiny in their hands, playoff berth on the line, players playing against
their old clubs on both sides, arch rivals, Rocky Mountain Cup. What more do you need? The only
thing I am certain of is that CBS4 Denver will not be bothering to cover any of this game but will
instead be focusing on Brandon Marshall's inane comments in a bye week.
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When the schedule came out it was obvious that this was going to be the biggest game of the season
regardless of thee standings. There was a pretty good chance that at least one team would be
fighting for the playoffs, plus you add in the rivalry and the Rocky Mountain Cup and its was
always going to be an important game.
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Colorado is in with:
- a win
- a draw and only one of DC, FCD, NE, and TFC winning
- a loss by 1, FCD draws or loses, and 2 of DC, NE, and TFC losing
- a loss by 2, FCD draws or loses, and DC, NE, and TFC losing
They also get in by finishing top 2 in the following tiebreakers (with the teams from the
FCD/DC/NE/TFC group not involved losing)
- Colorado-DC-FSL
- Colorado-NE-FSL
- Colorado-DC-FSL-NE
- Colorado-Dallas-DC-FSL
- Colorado-Dallas-DC-FSL-TFC
Or losing to FSL by only 1 goal gets them in through this tiebreaker:
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I'm going to dispense with my normal game recap. Needless to say that if you've seen our last 4
games you've seen this one, with the exception of Noonan finding a way to get a ball across the
line. The Rapids gave up two goals off of two free kicks and never looked like they were in a game
where a win would have clinched a playoff spot.
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The only good thing about the weekend shakeout is that the Rapids still hold their playoff destiny
in their hands. The problem is, they have been doing that for many weeks now and they still need a
win in their final game on the road against arch rivals Salt Lake to achieve it.
Gary
Smith said a few weeks ago, from memory after the home tie against San Jose, that God
forbid it would come down to another end of season climax with Salt Lake.
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Even if Real Salt Lake win in Toronto (unlikely, but you never know), the
Colorado
Rapids can still clinch a playoff position tonight with a win in Dallas if New England
fail to win their game. The beauty is that
Gary Smith will know the results of
both the Salt Lake and New England games before the kickoff tonight against FC Dallas.
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In 2002, 2005, and 2006 Colorado traveled to Dallas and knocked them out of the playoffs (In 1997
we knocked Dallas out in Colorado). In 2009 Dallas faces a must win game at home to Colorado to
keep their playoff hopes alive, while Colorado has a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win.
While not an actual playoff game, its essentially a do or die game.
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It's that time of year again, when we run the numbers and figure out what result can clinch us a
playoff spot when. The Rapids can clinch as early as this weekend if they win, depending on two
other results.
If the Rapids beat Dallas:
FSL must not beat Toronto
OR
New England must not beat Chicago
If the Rapids draw or lose to Dallas they can not clinch this weekend.
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It may have been a quiet week for the Rapids but all the noise from the other MLS games has left
their task very clear. A win in Dallas and they could be in the playoffs. Such a scenario will take
place for sure if the Rapids win in Texas and Real Salt Lake fail to beat New York tomorrow night,
something they haven't done in the past 10 games against the Red Bulls apparently.
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Well, Dallas did beat San Jose, setting up a mega-game in Texas next weekend for the Rapids. It's
looking very difficult for the boys but testing times call for big characters so we'll see what
happens.
No Rapids news to report on but I did want to alert you to a fantastic blog I stumbled upon the
other night.
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When I got home from work tonight I had a package from the Colorado Rapids. Inside was my 2009
season ticket holder's gift, a notebook cover with the Rapids logo on it. included was a note and a
insert that explained that the notebook cover was made from the Rapids old banners and billboards
as part of their Go Green and Play Clean initiatives.
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OK, quartered is an overstatement, but we didn't do our chances much good with only 1 point in our
final home game. The Rapids once again went down early only to get bailed out by a PK to get a 1-1
draw.
The first half was pretty quiet. The first of two notable events happened very early as Ballouchy
was lining up for a free kick.
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Dallas' game with San Jose on Wednesday could help decide the Rapids' playoff hopes. If the
streaking Hoops conjure up another win against the also improving San Jose Earthquakes, they will
still be in the playoff hunt. If they lose, they will be eliminated from the postseason, presumably
making Colorado's trip to Texas October 17 a little easier for the Burgundy and Blue.
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The Colorado Rapids notched their fourth tie in a row tonight, making their playoff hopes no more
fulfilled. As Seattle and Chivas snatched vital away victories, the Rapids could only draw at home
in Colorado. A 56th minute penalty kick from Conor Casey, his 16th goal of the season, equalized
for the home team after Kheli Dube had opened the scoring for New England in the 29th minute.
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A poor first-half for the Rapids with very few outright chances created. A 29th minute header by
Kheli Dube from a leftfield cross crashed past Preston Burpo for the only goal of the first 45
minutes. Dube was left virtually unmarked in the penalty area. Frustrations abound for the Rapids
as the playoffs look more distant at the break.
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On October 3rd 1777 the American revolutionary army under George Washington began its march to
Germantown to face the British. On October 3rd 2009 the Revolution under Steve Nicol will march
into Commerce City to face the British-led Rapids. The battle of Germantown was a victory for the
British, let's hope history repeats itself tomorrow night.
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The MLS Players Union has updated its list of 2009 salaries. Its current as of the roster freeze
date on September 15th.
There are 8 Rapids added and 5 removed since the last release on March 15th. We finally get the
number for Palguta and Holody, it moves Moor, Noonan, and Valentino from their former teams to
Colorado, and it adds the salaries for Baudet, Diz, and Jamie Smith.
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Casey was on the 22-man roster announced today for the final two World Cup Qualifiers on 10/10 and
1014. Oct. 10th is our bye week, we don't have a game after Saturday's match until Oct. 17th. Casey
will probably travel with the team to Honduras for the match on the 10th and to DC for the final
game of the hex on the 14th.
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Some crackers from
Gary Smith in true English footballing terminology ahead of
this weekend's huge game against New England. These quotes are taken from a letter he addressed to
players with the Colorado Fusion soccer club which signed an agreement this week to be part of an
adidas alliance with the Rapids.
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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.
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Press release today from the Colorado Rapids:COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (Friday, September 25, 2009) – Colorado Rapids midfielders Jacob Peterson
and Jamie Smith have been ruled out for the remainder of the 2009 season, the club announced
today.
Peterson has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee after
injuring himself in Wednesday night's match against San Jose.
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I have to declare an interest here. I wasn't able to see this game. All I have are the postmatch
comments of both the team and friends who called me after the game to fill me in.
What I can say is that a point in Kansas is a very valuable one at this stage of the season. I know
the Rapids are not picking up three points on anything like a consistent basis but we cannot
underestimate the injuries that have befallen them.
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A short turnaround from Wednesday's night disappointment to our next game tomorrow night, a short
road trip to Kansas City. The Rapids will have a depleted lineup after learning today that Jacob
Peterson tore his ACL in Wednesday night's game. Game time is at 6:30pm and the game will be
televised on Altitude.
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