August 24, 2010
In the whole magic number stuff yesterday, I forgot to mention that the Rhinos and Austin Aztex became the first teams to clinch playoff spots over the weekend.
On the flip side, NSC Minnesota, Crystal Palace Baltimore, AC St. Louis, and Miami FC are the four teams that will need some help getting into the playoffs as they have the four lowest maximum points in the league.
News & Notes:
- Devo has a cool blog post that includes a handwritten diagram from Rhinos coach Bob Lilley where he tried to explain what he wants his players to do as they attack the opponent's box.
- The D&C also has a little piece that gives a reinforcement of why it was a great idea for the Rhinos to hire Bill Sedgewick this past offseason.
- The Utica Observer-Dispatch has an article that says Syracuse will have an I-League franchise starting in 2011 and that former Rhinos owner Frank DuRoss is advising an ownership group that is looking to bring an I-League franchise to Utica. Those are some nice and short road trips for the Lancers.
- Former Rhinos forwards Matthew Delicate (1st Team) and Chad Severs (2nd Team) were named to the USL 2nd Division All-League Teams.
- The Vancouver Whitecaps have the 1st pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, Allocation Ranking, and USL Player Priority and Portland has the 1st pick in the Expansion Draft and Designated Player Ranking. That was a big coin flip win for the Whitecaps as they think the 2011 SuperDraft is deep.
- Bob Bradley will be meeting with the US Soccer brass this week about his future as the USMNT coach.
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.
