September 15, 2008
The good news is that the Rhinos had already clinched a playoff spot entering this weekend.
So, the fact that Puerto Rico came into Rochester and won 2-0 and then the Rhinos went to Carolina and grabbed a point on Ross Smith's late goal, shouldn't be alarming.
Coach Tilley did get some much needed minutes for guys like Andrew Gregor, Kenney Bertz, Alen Marcina, and Ryan Heins last night in Cary. He also got some much needed rest for Luke Kreamalmayer, Johnny Menyongar, John Ball, and Matthew Delicate.
So, the results may mean less than getting players ready for the playoffs.
Speaking of which, those that are looking at Montreal's loaded schedule over the next few weeks thanks to the CONCACAF Champions League, the odds of that match up happening are pretty slim.
If you go to Sports Culb Stats.com and look at what the Rhinos and Impact have left, you have to expect that Montreal will finish 3rd (69% chance overall). So, for the Rhinos to finish 6th, they need to draw (12% chance of finishing 6th) or lose (23% chance of finishing 6th) against Miami FC on Wednesday night and "get some help".
Right, the odds are that Charleston and Rochester will finish in some mix of 4th and 5th. And Charleston won all three games in that series this season...........
News & Notes:
- SBI.net is reporting that a Mac Kandji to the Red Bulls deal is really close to happening. With MLS's roster freeze happening today, I wonder if there is any way for the Silverbacks to keep Kandji for their last two regular season games since they will make the playoffs if they win out......
- The USWNT defeated Ireland 2-0 in the first match of their Achieve Your Gold Tour. The next stop on the tour is Giants Stadium on Wednesday night with the big WPS allocation announcement tomorrow sandwiched in between.
- SBI.net talks about Jozy Altidore's La Liga debut for Villareal from this past weekend. Personally, I'd love to see Altidore get a call up to the national team by Bob Bradley during the remainder of the semifinal round of qualifying.
- The KC Star has a piece about Beckham and how much he's really doing for soccer here in the US. Justin Timberlake's joke at the ESPYs is certainly ringing true...
- Sam wants an Italian player for the Rhinos, right.......
- Greg Lalas' latest at SI.com talks about the Forbes story about the value of MSL clubs.
- If you like long range bombs, click on the link to Davy Arnaud's cracker against LA in this week's edition of The Good, The Bad, and the Coyote Ugly from Steven Goff.
- Part 4 of TIAS.com's series on Clint Dempsey is up.
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.
