March 15, 2007
Former Rhinos midfielder Shaun Tsakiris will be making a comeback with the Montreal Impact. Tsakiris last played pro soccer in 2005 with the Rhinos. Tsakiris came to Rochester in a 2003 trade from the Syracuse Salty Dogs.
The next question is will Soccer Slick break out his huge Shaun Tsakiris banner when the Impact come to town on August 24th?
USWNT takes 2007 Algarve Cup with 2-0 win over Denmark
Abby Wambach set up Kristine Lilly in the 12th minute and tournament MVP Carli Lloyd iced things with a goal in the 51st minute as the USWNT won their fifth Algarve Cup in twelve appearances in the tournament.
The US is also on a 39 game unbeaten streak which covers all 38 games in head coach Greg Ryan's national team career.
The USWNT's next match will be on April 14th in Foxborough, Massachusetts versus Mexico.
Jay Demerit and Frankie Simek to get called in by USMNT
Two Americans who have made a name for themselves in England may be getting their first taste of national team duty soon. Defenders Jay Demerit of Watford and Frankie Simek of Sheffield Wednesday are to be included among 13 foreign-based players to be called up by interim USMNT boss Bob Bradley for matches against Ecuador in Tampa on March 25th and Guatemala in Frisco, Texas three days late according to Yanks Abroad.
Hopefully they show well as both of their stories are pretty darn good and it's nice to see hard work get rewarded.
Houston-Pachuca match postponed
It doesn't appear that the Dynamo didn't pay their electric bill. But, a lack of power to Robertson Stadium has caused the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal between the Dynamo and Pachuca has been postponed until 5pm tonight. That will give Fox Soccer Channel a nice doubleheader with DC United and Chivas kicking off at 7pm.
Red Bulls away games to be called by announcers sitting in Madison Square Garden?
OK, so the Rhinos can pay for Don Stevens to travel on the road, but the Red Bulls, or MSG, has a problem sending Shep and JP on the road?
I hope they realize how bad an idea this is before the season gets under way.
Rhinos coaching rumors
People have been speculating as to what the real rationale was for Willie Fitzpatrick's retirement less than a month after being named the women's team head coach. When I first heard that Willie was stepping away, I thought that perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back was that the Rhinos weren't sending him to the combine in Florida that starts on Saturday. Although, I've also heard from a few people that Willie was never thrilled with being named the women's team head coach and perhaps it just took a while for Willie to decide that wasn't the job for him?
And as far as who will replace Willie as the women's coach, Devo hinted at his blog that the Rhinos have interviewed Craig Demmin for a dual role as player-women's team head coach. To add to the former-Rhino players interviewing list, I had a close friend of Bill Sedgewick tell me at the gym last night that Bill has interviewed with the team as a potential player-assistant coach with the men's team.
If the Rhinos hire those tow, that would be a huge PR boost for the club. And who knows, perhaps one, or both, of those moves will be announced later today at the press conference the team is holding down at the stadium.
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.
