March 12, 2009
The Rhinos have lost defender Scott Palguta to the Colorado Rapids of MLS a little over a week before their first pre-season game.
Apparently the out clause in Scott's contract had a March 15th cut off, so Steve Guppy and the Rapids swooped in just in the nick of time.
Apparently the contract is for one season with three one year options to follow.
This leaves the Rhinos with 16 players under contract and gives coach Darren Tilley fewer options at left back than he had last week.
It will be interesting to see what the Rhinos can pull off with the budget space created by Scott moving on to MLS.
News out of Portland and St. Louis
The Oregonian - Portland council debates soccer stadium deal as people line up to testify
The Oregonian - Soccer deal OK'd, short some green
The Oregonian Editorial Board - Going steady with Merritt Paulson
The Portland bid made a huge step forward with their stadium plan getting a favorable 3-2 vote from the Portland City Council yesterday.
It will be interesting to see if this puts them over the top or not.
St. Louis Today - Anheuser-Busch to bequeath soccer park to St. Louis Soccer United
It will be interesting if this little piece of news ramps up the competition for the two spots that many seem to think are earmarked for Portland and Vancouver.
But.........
The Oregonian - MLS hints at delay on expansion decision
I wonder if this is to give St. Louis and Ottawa more time to tighten up their bids?
If this happens, St. Louis could be a shoe in......
News & Notes:
- Freddie Ljungberg could be available for a cameo in the first game in Seattle Sounders FC history.
- I love this take on the ESPN Beckham interview.
- DC United's Kevin Payne responds to yesterday's report in the Washington Post.
- Could Veron be finally headed to MLS? I'll believe it when they have the presser.
- NY fans have heard this before. For their sake, he better follow Angel's lead as opposed to many who have come before Juan Pablo.
- Chivas USA have added a new forward to the mix.
- Bruce Arena is going to give the LA captain's armband back to Landon Donovan.
- I love the USL, but someone is going overboard here.....
- The USWNT lost the Algarve Cup final to Sweden in PKs.
- Cleveland picked up a midfielder from Joe Public.
- Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake will square off in this year's Carolina Challenge Cup final.
- Eddie Pope asks DC United fans to help a friend out.
- Is Gold Cup 2009 an audition for the 2018 World Cup? I wouldn't think that the US would need to audition after how things went the last time around.......
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
