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from June 27, 2009
JUNE 27, 2009
FROM THE KICK THIS ARCHIVES
On to the Quarters

quartersD&C.com

D&C.com- Notebook

Devo's Direct Kicks

Rochester Homepage.net

Rhinos Soccer.com

MLSNet.com

Crew Xtra - Devo's game story for the Columbus Dispatch

Another Open Cup game, another OT/PK thriller for the Rhinos.

After the weather delay, the Rhinos were able to go through against the Crew's B squad thanks to a nice left footed finish by on loan defender Ty Harden and then Tim Melia's hustling save in PKs.

The glass half full take is that the Rhinos couldn't win the game in regulation against an MLS B squad, especially after they were awarded a PK and went up a man in the early stages of the second half.

But, the Rhinos did enough to not only entertain the crowd (announced at a decent 6098), but they advanced to host the USL 2nd Division's Wilmington Hammerheads next Tuesday in the Quarterfinals.

Should the Rhinos get through Wilmington, they will be looking at a Semifinal match up with the winner of the Harrisburg (USL-2) vs DC United (MLS) match.

More Confed Cup Post-Mortum:

- The Colbert Report chimes in on the Confed Cup run by the US. 

- Is the US gaining respect from the average fan?

- Here is a take from a US fan in Baghdad.

- Is it me, or is Pat Johnston looking for the Captain Obvious award with this take?

- MatchFit USA wonders why Landon Donovan wasn't the Bronze Ball winner ahead of Clint Dempsey.

- SBI.net has the tournament's top 10 goals.

- Sunil Gulati is excited about the increasing interest in the USMNT.

- Advantage Played has a very funny rewind on the tournament.

- Yanks Abroad has some lessons that were learned during the tournament.

- Ridge Mahoney has some props for Landon Donovan.

- Boston.com talks about the USMNT attempts to remain relevant. Winning in Mexico City would be a nice next step!

- The US is up to 12 in the FIFA rankings and Brazil knocked Spain from the top spot. And I know the FIFA rankings are a bunch of junk. But, the non-soccer sports media doesn't know that!

- The USMNT Blog has the player's reaction to the Brazil loss.

News & Notes:

- Here is what the Open Cup bracket looks like with 2 3rd Round games still to be played. It's unfortunate that MLS isn't taking this competition as seriously as they should, IMO.

- Mike Ambersley was named to the USL 1st Division Team of the Week. 

- Gerry Dobson votes Real Salt Lake's Rio Tinto Stadium as the best in MLS.

- The Austin paper focused the gameday story on Pat Onstad ahead of tonight's Dynamo-Aztex US Open Cup match.

- I wonder what the news of Colorado signing French defender Julien Baudet means for Scott Palguta and Ty Harden's loan to the Rhinos?

- Sunil Gulati feels that Beckham will receive an inevitable bad reaction upon returning to MLS. After reading the excerpt of Grant's Wahl's The Beckham Experiment, I hope he gets killed by LA and opposing fans alike.

- The Kartik Report has a nice post on Edgar Castillo.

- The USMNT will get an expanded Gold Cup roster due to playing in the Confed Cup.

- It looks like ESPN will pull out all the stops for next year's World Cup coverage.

- Chris Pozniak could be headed back to Toronto FC.

- With the build up to tonight's Seattle Sounders FC vs Portland Timbers US Open Cup match, I would be stunned if Osvaldo Alonso and the Sounders didn't go all out tonight. They obviously care enough to pull on the Rave Green unis and I'm sure Drew Carey and company want to start putting some hardware in their trophy case.

- Scott Vallow has a few spots left for a goalkeeper camp on July 26th at TSE. Tim Melia will be there as well. So at a minimum, they should get some great PK tips!

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.


US Open Cup blackout.......

blackoutDevo's Direct Kicks Part 1

Devo's Direct Kicks Part 2

D&C.com

Rhinos Soccer.com

MLSNet.com

Crew Xtra Blog

Rhinos owner Rob Clark is making tonight's match versus Columbus as the only one being hosted by a USL 1st Division club that won't be carried on USLLive.com.

He is also trying to see if he can pull the plug on radio broadcast of tonight's match as well.

The reason? He wants to sell more tickets to tonight's match, despite the threat of rain. Personally, I think the approach will do more harm than good in the long term. One only needs to look at how former Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz's similiar ban on local TV broadcasts of home games hurt that team's attendance. Things didn't pick up until Bill's passing and the policy was revoked by his son who inherited the team.

While I'm sure ticket sales for tonight's game are less than the team is hoping for, I don't believe this approach will draw fans to the game. It will likely have the opposite effect where fans may question whether they want to support the club any longer.

But let's look to the match, where I really like the Rhinos' chances as Columbus will be leaving the big guns either at home or they are on their way to LA to take part in the USMNT Gold Cup camp ahead of the US opener on Saturday in Seattle.

Sure, there are health questions on the Rhinos part with Danny Earls (ankle) and Scott Vallow (hamstring) questionable for this evening. But, if Columbus is counting on former USL players like Kevin Burns and Eric Brunner, this looks more like a match between Rochester and Puerto Rico than Rochester versus the defending MLS Cup champs.

News & Notes:

- While Portland has a hot ticket as they host Seattle tonight, the funding plan for their MLS stadium may have hit another snag.

- I love this bit about LA Galaxy GK Donovan Ricketts working to get All Star votes.

- So much for Bouna Time in Philly.

- Pavel Nedved to MLS? That's interesting. I wonder what team is going to go after him?

- While Steven Goff downplays Edgar Castillo wanting to play for the USMNT instead of Mexico, he does play left back. And unless they keep Carlos Bocanegra out there, it is pretty wide open for competition.

- I think that is more than I wanted to know about tonight's DC United-Ocean City Barons USOC match. 

- I'll leave you with this tasty treat: an excerpt from Grant Wahl's soon to be released book entitled The Beckham Experiment.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.


The clock struck midnight for Cinderella

LDUS Soccer.com

MLS Daily - Lots of links

Grant Wahl blog

Yanks Abroad

MLSNet.com

Big Apple Soccer.com

The first half was a dream that no US soccer fan wanted to wake up from.

The second half was reality crashing hard on the hopes of those same fans.

That said, the US can only be proud of the effort and results that this team put together after getting off to about as bad a start as could be imagined.

Now everyone wonders what's next. Will this help push soccer from a niche sport in the US to a more mainstream sport? Will this tournament elevate the USMNT to a more legit contender for the 2010 World Cup?

For me, I think we need to temper things a bit. To truly become more of a mainstream sport in the US, I think MLS needs to make huge strides and get numerous under-30 world stars to play here and make the league's level of play strong enough so that a player like Landon Donovan isn't questioned when he decides to ply his trade stateside.

On the USMNT level, this team needs to develop into one that doesn't need to merely "get a result" against world powers like Spain and Brazil. They need to develop into a team that can possess the ball enough to kill the game when they have a 2-0 halftime lead, regardless of the opponent.

But, I will say this: the US is THE team in CONCACAF. The torch has been passed from Mexico to the US, regardless if Mexico wants to admit it or not.

I also believe that the US has developed to the level that they should not only expect to qualify for the World Cup, but they should be expected to advance out of group play unless they get placed in a crazy "Group of Death". Although, they showed in the Confed Cup that they are able to pull off a miracle escape from a group of death that contained the eventual tournament champs and the reigning World Cup champs.

Plus, I like the USMNT's chances in a World Cup that isn't being held in Europe or South America.

Our day didn't come yesterday. But, it looks closer than it has since the 1-0 loss to Germany seven years ago.

News & Notes:

- Maybe the US did win some respect along the way.

- Tim Howard was named the best goalkeeper and Clint Dempsey was named the 3rd best player in the tournament.

- Michael Lewis wants to see more consistency from the USMNT.

- Andrea Canales looks ahead to the Gold Cup that starts this weekend and SBI.net looks at the rest of the summer for the USMNT.

- Grant Wahl has more on the story surrounding FIFA looking into Michael Bradley going off after his red card in the Spain game. Michael needs to learn to control his emotions in the future.

- Jozy doesn't want to go back to Villareal, Ricardo Clark might be joining Carlos Bocanegra at Rennes, The Kartik Report has a couple other rumors, and SBI.net has some rumors on where Charlie Davies could land next.

- The US YNT blog has the take on the Spain game from some of the best American youth players.

- US Open Cup.com has their 3rd Round preview up. The good news for the Rhinos is that Neil Sika, the radio voice of the Crew, is expecting 80% of the Crew's starters to be rested on Tuesday.

- Oh yeah, the Rhinos were able to go on the road and get a 2-1 win over Minnesota on Saturday night. Andrew Gregor and Mike Ambersley got the goals, Ty Harden played the full 90, and the team was able to get some rest from some of the more beat up players on the roster ahead of tomorrow night's Open Cup tilt versus Columbus.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.

 


Links for the weekend

Since it's Wegmans LPGA weekend, here are a boatload of links:

- Only $51 was wagered on the US winning the Confed Cup despite 999 to 1 odds.

- Here is a video to watch before Sunday's final. Maybe Sunday is our day?

- Bill Archer is calling for Bob Bradley for President.

- MLS Talk looks at the development of Jay DeMerit and Charlie Davies.

- Stefan Fatsis at SI.com looks at the Euro-snob factor and the uphill battle for US Soccer.

- Match Fit USA says Landon Donovan has changed people's opinions about him. Personally, I have never been that down on him....

- Bruce at du Nord says that Michael Bradley could get a multi-game suspension by FIFA for abuse of officials after the Spain match. That would not be good. I liked the fire Michael showed after the Egypt win, but he has to keep his head in situations like that one.

- The USMNT blog has player reactions after the Spain win. 

- Bob Bradley views the Spain win as a stepping stone. The key will be to use the momentum for bigger and better things.

- Grant Wahl looks at the Brazil-US match up and the chance for the US to make history.

- Clint Dempsey is looking forward to a rematch with Brazil.

- US Soccer President Sunil Gulati has to be loving life.

- No Short Corners has some great video links up today.

- MLSNet.com looks at the roster changes that the Columbus Crew have been dealing with.

- Iran is claiming that no players were punished for wearing green wristbands in solidarity with the political opposition during a World Cup qualifier last week.I hope that is the case.

- Devo's blog posting looks at Yari Allnut's signature celebration given the passing of Michael Jackson.

- We are expecting a jam packed show tomorrow with John Ball, Brent Sancho, and Tim Melia scheduled to join us in the 11 o'clock hour and Lori Chalupny of the USWNT, Columbus MF (and former Rhino) Kevin Burns, Minnesota's Manny Lagos, and Columbus radio voice Neil Sika scheduled to join us in the 2nd hour.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.


Playing with house money

reactionMLS Daily - Links

du Nord

The Kartik Report - Links

Goal.com - Bob Bradley: Neutralising Xavi was the key

WV Hooligan

Yanks Abroad - Match Report

Grant Wahl's Blog @ SI.com

USMNT Blog - Headlines from around the world

The Kartik Report - How the English press covered the match

Landon Donovan on the Dan Patrick Show

Big Apple Soccer.com

SBI.net - A Look Back

MLSNet.com

US Soccer.com - Match report , Bob Bradley Quotes , and Player Quotes

What is there to say a day after one of the biggest non-World Cup wins in US Soccer history?

Some people said that the US needed to play tougher competition in meaningful matches after what happened in the 2006 World Cup.

Well, the US just beat the #1 team in the world, the reigning UEFA champions, a team with a world record 15 game winning streak, and a team that was one game away from tying the world record 36 game unbeaten string in a FIFA sanctioned tournament knockout round match. 

And if anyone wants to question how badly Spain wanted to win yesterday, I think the fact that more than a few Spanish players stormed off in a huff and didn't partake in the jersey exchange tradition goes against any theory that they were taking the game lightly.

And on that note, what is up with Spanish speaking teams reacting that way to losing to the US by a 2-0 scoreline?

The only downside to the match is Michael Bradley's red card in last 5 minutes of the match. 

And after the game, Landon Donovan was looking ahead to the finals and at least one critic of Bob Bradley was offering up an apology.

Rhinos sign a forward and pick up a defender on loan

Rhinos Soccer.com

Devo's Direct Kicks

The Rhinos have signed former Atlanta forward Warren Ukah for the remainder of the season and picked up defender Ty Harden on loan from the Colorado Rapids. 

Ukah has played in two matches for the Portland Timbers PDL team and scored 3 goals on 12 shots in 114 minutes of play this season. Ukah had been trying to earn a contract with the Timbers USL 1st Division team.

Harden has played for 34 minutes in 4 matches for the Rapids this season. Harden's one start ended in the 18th minute when he hurt his hamstring and Scott Palguta came in to replace him. Palguta hasn't come out of the starting lineup since and Harden has gotten in one match as a sub for Palguta.

Harden is on loan to the Rhinos until July 26th.

News & Notes:

- Devo has the Party like it's 1999 story up at D&C.com.

- Will Columbus be without Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers on Tuesday as they have been called into USMNT camp ahead of this year's Gold Cup? I'm working on getting an answer to that very question.

- Former Rhino Kevin Burns is starting to impress in Columbus.

- With questions about whether Frankie Hejduk will play on Saturday versus the Red Bulls, I'd be stunned if he were in the Crew lineup here on Tuesday.

- Montreal looks to be pushing to join MLS in 2011.

- The MLS stadium plan in Portland got a boost yesterday when the City Council approved a plan for an MLS stadium. But, this plan de-links the MLS upgrade to PGE Park and the building of a new home for the Beavers......

- Rossi to ManU and Jozy Altidore to Greece? Those are two of the rumors floating around. But, my favorite one is Thierry Henry to the New York Red Bulls in 2011.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.



SOCCERSAM.COM NEWS DIRECTOR JAMES WEISE

Read the latest news from the Rhinos and all around the soccer world with the latest news postings from Soccersam.com News Director James Weise. You can read James' soccer news and opinion column right here at soccersam.com.

SoccerSam.com News Director
James Weise

James became the Kick This! News Director in March of 2005. A long time listener and caller of the show, he jumped at the chance to audition when he heard there was an opening. He brings to Kick This! the voice of the fan who has always maintained a love for the game and his team.

Growing up, James was a fan of Sheffield Wednesday because they had an American midfielder by the name of John Harkes. When MLS started up, DC United became James’ team to follow because their marquee player just happened to be John Harkes.

As a student at Clarkson University, he enjoyed watching a guy who did a crazy flip throw in, and even got to play in an indoor fraternity league against him. His name.... Mike Kirmse. James is a long time season ticket holder and Kirmse will likely always be his favorite all-time Rhino.

James is also passing on his love for the game. Both of his boys play for the town of Chili, and his daughter is anxiously awaiting her turn. Although only a year and a half, she loves playing soccer with the boys...


JAMES WEISE'S NEWS ARCHIVE

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