July 3, 2007
I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but I couldn't believe this when I read it this morning.
If the Rhinos are lucky enough to advance past the New England Revolution a week from tonight in the 3rd Round of the US Open Cup, they will not have another home date versus an MLS opponent as a reward for their victory.
If DC United defeats the Harrisburg City Islanders, then they will host the 4th Round match up versus either Rochester or New England on Tuesday, August 7th.
I thought that one of the perks of having PAETEC Park was that the Rhinos wouldn't need to travel in US Open Cup play as they wouldn't have to worry about getting a home date AND having their own stadium would allow them to outbid even MLS clubs for the games.
Somehow DC United has outbid the Rhinos and it's not even a game that they will play at RFK. The potential game will be played at the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, Maryland.
Perhaps DC United's new owners have dipped way into their pockets to avoid having to come to PAETEC Park to play. But, with all the financial issues that the Rhinos and the Rochester Sports Group have been dealing with lately, this appears on the surface to be another sign that things are not going well with the club.
I hope that's not the case, but this news is, at best, really annoying.
US falls 3-1 to Paraguay in Copa America
The US-Paraguay game from last night can be simply summed up as Paraguay finished their chances and the US didn't.
For the second straight game, the US hung in the game for a long time and came out on the short end of the result. And this time around, the match was even closer than the 3-1 final scoreline would suggest.
Sacha Klejstan and Drew Moor both had free headers from just outside Paraguay's six yard box. Klejstan's shot wasn't on frame and Moor's was right at the keeper.
The US had a few other quality chances that they didn't convert and that was the difference between a loss and getting some points that they needed if they hoped to advance beyond group play.
The US is on life support, but it is possible that they could advance should they defeat Colombia on Thursday evening.
But again, I'm going to go into the match hoping for the best, yet expecting the worst.
Greg Howes and the Seattle Sounders come to PAETEC Park tonight
Two of the top four teams in the USL 1st Division square off tonight when the Seattle Sounders come to town.
Former Rhino Greg Howes is one of four Sounders with three goals on the season joining Roger Levesque, Nathan Knox, and Sebastien Le Toux at the top of the stats table for Seattle.
Seattle was 3-1-1 in the month of June, including a 2-0-1 swing through Charleston, Atlanta, and Carolina.
The Rhinos were 3-1-3 in June with a 2-1-1 record at home. Although, the Rhinos have gone back to back games at home without a win thanks to their 1-1 tie with California and Friday night's 2-0 loss to Atlanta.
The Rhinos will once again be shorthanded as Kevin Novak is out and Stephen Shirley-Black and Mike Ambersley are questionable for tonight's game.
Also of note, the Rhinestones and Venom , the Rattlers dance team, will be collecting money tonight that will go to the "Fairport-Perinton Dollars for Scholars" for the families and community of Fairport who recently lost five graduates in a tragic car accident on June 26th.
News and Notes
- You can pre-order your David Beckham LA Galaxy gear . I'm sure Andrew Battisti would love a Beckham jersey for Christmas.
- The Chicago Fire are up for sale and Frankie Klopas is a part of one group that is looking to buy the club.
- The rumor mill has Phoenix being a market that is in the mix for future MLS expansion.
- Kasey Keller might be retiring if he can't get a deal he likes in Europe or from an MLS team. Personally, I don;t get why Keller wouldn't take a non-DP contract for say $250,000 to play in MLS. But, I'm the kind of person that would be playing until people were paying me to stay away.
- Could Arsenal be better with Thierry Henry playing for Barcelona? Maybe if they use that $32 million from Barca to go out and make their own splash this offseason.
- Casey Zimny was in today's Washington Post. There was an article about the Washington Freedom and the planned return of a top level pro women's soccer league in 2008 and Casey was quoted in the article.
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.
