Some 14 months after Major League Soccer announced initiatives that would allow MLS teams to sign players they develop through their own youth programs, three MLS teams are set to take advantage of those initiatives.

Chivas USA, D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls have been identified by MLS as having players who qualify to be signed to the senior teams directly.

Some nice eye candy made its way around the track and field stadium today. Not sure who these ladies were but they were easy on the eyes.

Can you believe we shopped around JPA?!

Well, get ready for this one folks.

Óscar Héctor Quintabani, head coach of Colombias treasured NACIONAL, was looking for some extra fire power heading into the Copa Libertadores.

Who did he want? You guessed it.

Angel filled Nacionals need for a quality striker, and was said to be part of the transfer process.

Good morning folks. As you can tell, it has been a pretty slow week as MLS clubs go through the paces in pre-season camps. There is always some news to go over. I have a few tidbits for you but before I get those I will address a rumor that has picked up way more steam than it needed to.

Stop of you've seen this scenario play out.

Good afternoon everybody. While we await word on some big news on the MLS front, here are some of the answers to the last Q&A session I did on the old SBI site.

JASON- USA MNT 1st XI since 1990?

IVES- Wow. Got a tougher question?

You could make a pretty strong case for Juan Pablo Angel. He did miss an open shot today against Chivas USA, pushed it just wide actually, but it's just rust that he'll have overcome by the start of the season. Better to miss those now than in April. Also a nice guy and stopped to take pictures with onlookers, even with a schmuck wearing a Pachuca jersey (thanks gly!

Nothing official about the Barcelona game yet, but all indications CONTINUE to point towards a Bulls / Barca game.

RedBullReader reports that the DC United game, scheduled for August 9 at 7:30 will now be moved to Sunday, August 10th.

Early August - get your wallets ready - I am telling you, Barcelona is coming to town!

According to some pictures on the main site of Greek side Ergotelis FC (because, honestly, who can read greek anyway? anyone?), and some nifty investigating by theoffsiderules.com, Clint Mathis is going to Greece!

Ah . . . now we can all smile again.

Mathis gets a rare opportunity, especially amongst veteran American players - a second chance for a shot abroad.

SBI EXCLUSIVE

Lost in the commotion surrounding the European transfer of Eddie Johnson and the failed transfer move by Brad Guzan was a transfer bid that stayed under the radar and nearly became the biggest story of the MLS off-season.

Red Bulls and U.

Good morning everybody. Hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend, though I'm sure Arsenal and Liverpool fans were probably not in the most festive mood.

We will get back to European soccer later today. For now, I want to point out that the lengthy MLS off-season is almost over and we are just a few days away from the start of the 2008 MLS season.

My post-match report on the Red Bulls-Galaxy game for MLSnet.com, from the New York point-of-view.
Juan Carlos Osorio called the three points "massive" but the way in which they got them speaks volumes. Not only did they put the clamps down on Landon Donovan and David Beckham, the Bulls showed quite a bit of character after Alan Gordon's equalizer.

ITS GOOD TO BE BACK!

And we have definitely missed a bit haven't we?

Where to begin?

JON CONWAY

Conway has been negotiating his return with the Bulls, and is eyeing the starting spot. With a raving supporter in Jeff Agoos, who has publicly stated that Conways time is now, and that he deserves the starting spot, and with very little competition for signing on any other team, I would venture to say his position is secure, for the first time in his career.

Ante Razov scored in the fourth minute off a feed from Sacha Kljestan to give Chivas USA a 1-0 preseason victory against the Red Bulls at Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Yes, that's trialist and former MetroStar Diego Serna on the ball (with Claudio Suarez closing him down).

Photo by ISI Photos

Red Bulls managing director Marc deGrandpre has resigned. He is leaving the club to take a position with another company.

DeGrandpre informed the team at a meeting this afternoon. According to sources, deGrandpre decision to leave was his own.

The Red Bulls completed their second pre-season friendly and have spent almost two weeks in California. If you're wondering how things are going, wonder no more. Here is a rundown of some tidbits from Red Bulls training camp.

Jeff Parke was nursing a groin injury, which is why he didn't play vs.

(Summary is not available.)

Marc DeGrandpre left the managing directors position vacant. And after a six month search, plus a visit from the Salzburg ownership, the Red Bulls have a new face manning the ship.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Erik Stover.

Taking a look at his "resume," there are definitely pro's and con's to the hire.

The New York Red Bulls have bid farewell to assistant coach John Harkes, choosing not to retain the former U.S. national team captain on the staff of new Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio. Currently in Colombia looking at players, Osorio could not be reached for comment. Phone messages left for Harkes were not returned.

Here is an interesting tidbit from Boston.com :

In yesterday's training session, Twellman was paired with New York's Jozy Altidore at striker during a full-field scrimmage. The opposing team included Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst and forward Pat Noonan.

Its in a story relating to Preston North Ends interest in Twellmans service.

Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has settled on his first, and only, assistant coaching hire. Osorio is set to name New Jersey Ironmen head coach Omid Namizi as Red Bulls assistant coach, a source with knowledge of the decison told Soccer By Ives on Tuesday. The club will announce the hiring on Wednesday.

Photo by ISI Photos

When Wilman Conde made the move from Colombian club Millonarios to Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire last year, he did so in order to continue playing for Juan Carlos Osorio, a coach he respected greatly and felt could him improve as a player.

Osorio promise #1 of 2 Western Hemispherically Oriented signings?

Check.

Oscar Etchevarry is now a Red Bull. For reals.

The Atletico Nacional vet has been with the Bulls most of the preseason, which answers the question "When will our signings have time to gel with their teammates?

The vibe in Red Bulls land is a happy one following the club's 2-0 win against Columbus on Saturday. Beating the Crew without Jozy Altidore and without injured starters Dane Richards and Hunter Freeman provided a sense of relief for fans who were worried the club was heading into the season unprepared to compete.

Just got back from downstairs. I had the chance to talk to Dave van den Bergh and asked him what David Beckham said to him when the Galaxy captain barked at a fallen van den Bergh in the second half. He smiled and said "I, uh, I don't know".
After our chat as he walked away, he turned around, smiled and said "I won't repeat that.

No, not for the match today, but permanently, for Villareal.
Can I just say how excited I am to have young American talent going to La Liga again?
I've known Jozy since he was fifteen and playing ping-pong with Dan Kelly at the U17 World Cup in Peru. What struck me at the time was that his parents weren't along for the trip - although he was the youngest one there.

Take a look into the future of Jozy Altidore - through the wonderful world of MS Paint!

Huelva seems his likely destination. And that is best. A young man of his skill deserves a chance to start - the key word being "chance." Always keep this in the proper perspective - just because he is transfering to a less than glamourous side does not by any means imply that he will be their immediate starter.

The past few days have been a roller coaster of excitement for many Red Bulls fans, what with the sale of Jozy, and incoming rumors of summer transfers. One would expect that this energy would carry over to the team, and that a generally quiet Giants Stadium would have been rocking with fans for a nationally televised Prime Time game.

Well, the day I have been waiting for is finally here.

USA v. ARGENTINA

My favorite team (#1 - USA) and my favorite team (#1A - Argentina) will be fielding their top squads against each other.

The only other time I witnessed a US / Argentina match was at RFK in DC, where the US came out on top of a 2nd squad Argie team.

Hey Guys,

Since I am constantly trolling sites for information, and speaking to anyone who wants to hear about MLS, I figured i should share the wealth - be the Drudge of Red Bulls Soccer - with the simple twist of my own commentary.

So here are some headlines from around the US - RBNY related of course .

In what should be seen as a landmark moment in MLS player development, the Red Bulls are set to make their youth academies free to all participants. This decision will make the Red Bulls the first MLS team to do so.

The standard structure for MLS youth programs has been similar to traditional youth programs, where players pay fees and costs to be a part of the club, but now the Red Bulls have become the first pro club to waive these fees and pick up costs for all players.

SBI EXCLUSIVE

Lost in the commotion surrounding the European transfer of Eddie Johnson and the failed transfer move by Brad Guzan was a transfer bid that stayed under the radar and nearly became the biggest story of the MLS off-season.

Red Bulls and U.

I've been out and about doing family stuff for most of the afternoon so I haven't yet gotten a chance to post about today's Chivas USA-Red Bulls match. The Red-and-White beat New York 1-0 on an early goal by Ante Razov. It was so early in fact that I didn't see it. Thanks to bad traffic on the 91, I didn't get to the game until minutes after Ante scored.

FIRST ON SBI

The Red Bulls have bolstered their forward crop by signing Colombian striker Oscar Echeverry.

The 30-year-old forward is expected to step in and push for starts and is seen as the team's main cover for Jozy Altidore, who is expected to miss several matches.

Red Bulls defender Eric Brunner (left) and forward Oscar Echeverry (right) go for a header in Friday's match vs. Hammarby as rookie midfielder David Roth (background) looks on.

The Red Bulls are facing Swedish club Hammarby in a pre-season match that kicked off at 1pm Eastern.

One of my favorite Ray Hudson quotes is about Dema Kovalenko, and it goes a little something like this:
"(Kovalenko) would stab his grandmother in the eye for another bowl of porridge." - Ray Hudson, American Soccer
Talk about heart in a season that lacked it at times.
Talk about leadership and hustle when the bricks were down.

Within the last two weeks, Red Bulls have been linked to two Spanish Giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, for an exhibition game rumored to be played in Giants Stadium.

In Coach Arenas first year, we witnessed an exciting (if not lopsided) game against Barcelona, where our Bulls came to play and .

HOME

AWAY

Not much has changed. The away looks . . . ummm . . . louder. The Home is basically the same. But we have all been waiting for the 08 look - and here it is. Enjoy!

The Red Bulls are in South Carolina for the Charleston Cup and will play the Charleston Battery tonight in the first of three matches in the coming week.

A few tidbits:

Juan Carlos Osorio is not with the team. He is in South America scouting players this weekend. As SBI reported during the week, Osorio has stated that he has two international players lined up to be signed before the end of the MLS transfer period (April 15) but the club is hoping to land another South American-based player.

This will be the I TOLD YOU SO post.

RED BULLS v. BARCELONA - AUGUST 7th

DC Game mysteriously moved for nothing? I think NOT! Of course it was moved for Barcelona!!! They will need their rest after chasing Henry and Ronaldinho up and down the field.

Claudio Reyna was featured on the MLS 2008 Preview Show for the Fox Soccer Channel. And boy did he have some interesting things to say.

Of course, you cant expect controversial comments to come from fluff piece shows like this one. But, any loyal Red Bulls fan will know ...