The US knows their fate

Published December 4, 2009

MNT Blog Grant Wahl @ SI.com Big Apple Soccer.com Bob Bradley and the USMNT have to be pretty happy today after the World Cup Draw. The US will open up their 2010 World Cup campaign against England on Saturday June 12th at 2:30pm EST. Then they will fave Slovenia on Friday June 18th at 10am EST. T...

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Drama

Published December 3, 2009

Devo's Direct Kicks There is one good thing about the whole USL vs TOA tug of war: it generates a lot of talk during the off season. During the usual off season where the only discussions are coaching changes and player moves, things usually get quiet around Jeff's blog, internet message boards, and...

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A day after the leap to the NASL

Published December 1, 2009

Soccer is a Kick in the Grass - Interview with Rob Clark D&C.com Devo's Direct Kicks Pitch Invasion A day later and everyone seems to be celebrating the news that the Rhinos have opted to join the NASL. Since it's 24 days until Christmas and I love to play devil's advocate, I'll act like the Gri...

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Back from my Turkey Week hiatus

Published November 30, 2009

Rhinos Soccer.com It's my first day back from vacation and I get to talk about fresh news on the topic that will likely carry us through most of the off season: USL vs TOA/NASL. Rob Clark and the Rhinos made the jump to side with the NASL in the power struggle to control 2nd Division pro soccer in t...

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Crazy day

Published November 20, 2009

It's been a crazy day and here are a handful of the highlights: - Tampa Bay and Crystal Palace Baltimore are reportedly joining the TOA league for 2010. - There is more on the potential Minnesota USL team for next year. - USL News.com is reporting that the TOA league may be named the NASL. - F...

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John Ball will not be back

Published November 19, 2009

D&C.com Devo's Direct Kicks Bob Lilley said that he expected a lot of player turnover this off season and John Ball is a veteran Rhino that will not be back in 2010. Given that Lilley was pretty critical of the Rhinos defense, it shouldn't be too surprising if we hear that anyone along the Rhinos b...

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Day 1 of Lilley's tenure in Rochester

Published November 17, 2009

Devo's Direct Kicks D&C.com Live Q&A at D&C.com Rhinos Soccer.com Devo's Direct Kicks Soccer is a Kick in the Grass Press Conference Podcast Bob Lilley will have a pretty busy first 28 hours or so on the job with the Rhinos.  Yesterday they had the press conference. Earlier this afternoon he di...

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Bob Lilley it is

Published November 16, 2009

Devo's Direct Kicks Jeff is reporting that Bob Lilley is the 4th head coach in Rochester Rhino history. I like the fact that Lilley has more A-League/USL 1st Division Coach of the Year Awards on his shelf than Pat Ercoli. (2 to 1) I like the fact that Lilley has won a USL 1st Division title at th...

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Rhinos to unveil head coach on Monday

Published November 13, 2009

The Rhinos have called a press conference for Monday afternoon to unveil the next head coach of the club. The big name being rumored as the choice is former Vancouver, Montreal, and Hershey head coach Bob Lilley. It will be interesting to see if that is the case or not. Personally, I would have some...

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Kick Around Thursday

Published November 12, 2009

I'm trying to get my gameface on for playoff night at the Rochester Sports Garden, so I'm going to be lazy today since there still hasn't been any big news from Rhinos HQ about the next head coach of the Rhinos. - Charlie Davies is out of the hospital and well on his road to recovery. - The USL h...

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TOA league moving forward

Published November 10, 2009

Devo's Direct Kicks The Kartik Report WV Hooligan Carolina RailHawks.com SBI.net The Original Winger The Fake Sigi Schmid Blog 3rd Degree.net Pitch Invasion Big Apple Soccer.com The TOA is moving forward with the 7 remaining teams (scratch Tampa Bay from the above list) as they are applyin...

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Connecting the dots in Minnesota

Published November 9, 2009

Inside Minnesota Soccer.com - Thunder Release Players USL Soccer.com - Austin releases 14 from 2009 squad Austin Aztex.com - Djorn Buchholz named CEO Over the past few weeks, there have been some rumors that a whole host of players with the Minnesota Thunder would be moving south to the Austin A...

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Does the USL have the TOA on the ropes?

Published November 6, 2009

The USL has put out their press release about the rosy future for their 1st Division during the team owners meetings in Beaverton, Oregon. With TOA member Tampa Bay at the USL meetings, that would appear to give an edge to the USL in this power struggle. One of the potrential USL-1 expansion teams...

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Devo has the USL meeting guest list

Published November 4, 2009

Devo's Direct Kicks The USL is holding a meeting of team owners that are committed to the 2010 USL 1st Division season and some expansion candidates at Nike HQ in Beaverton, Oregon this week. Jeff has some early reports out of the meetings as Rhinos owner Rob Clark has given out the teams that are r...

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Pat Ercoli is making the rounds

Published November 2, 2009

Kick This! - October 31st, 2009 Soccer is a Kick in the Grass - November 1st, 2009 Pat Ercoli was on the radio both days over the weekend to talk about his re-joining the Rhinos organization, this time as the GM and Director of Soccer. From what Pat said on both shows, it's obvious that he will not...

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The Rhinos have a new Director of Soccer

Published October 30, 2009

D&C.com Rhinos Soccer.com The best piece follow yesterday's news conference was the big "Being part of the solution" blog entry that Devo did today. It is going to be very interesting to see how Pat Ercoli does in his new role as the Rhinos GM & Director of Soccer. Who will he hire as the next he...

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Pat Ercoli back as Rhinos GM

Published October 29, 2009

Devo's Direct Kicks The press conference is happening a couple of days later than the rumor mill had expected over the weekend. But, the head coach that brought the Rhinos their 3 A-League and one US Open Cup titles is returning as the team's GM with Pat Ercoli being named as the new GM and Director...

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Vancouver & Montreal gone from the USL?

Published October 28, 2009

Corus Sports.com If you click on the above link and listen to the 30 second interview, new USL CEO Alec Papadakis states that talks have ceased between the TOA and the USL. He also sounds like Vancouver and Montreal won't be back. Who knows if this is just a negotiating tactic or not. But, if the US...

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Are we there yet?

Published October 27, 2009

It looks like Rob Clark has had another candidate slip off the hook. Last week Rob hinted that an announcement could be in the works for early this week when he was on Soccer is a Kick in the Grass. Then I had one person send me a message indicating that a press conference could be held today. And d...

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Devo's blog is blowing up

Published October 26, 2009

Devo's Direct Kicks You know it's the off season and there is drama in the air when a post at Devo's blog has 30 comments, some of which are from an anonymous "Rhinos insider" and Soccer Sam. And just so everyone knows, my D&C blog comment handle is JRW1974. From what I've seen, Rob Clark is far fro...

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Vallow re-signed through 2011

Published October 21, 2009

Rhinos Soccer.com Devo's Direct Kicks The Rhinos off season is off to a solid start with the announcement that goalkeeper Scott Vallow, who was set to be a free agent when 2009 contracts expired in a month or two, was signed to a contract through the 2011 season. I would hope that this signing is a...

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Waiting for the white smoke from Rhinos Stadium

Published October 20, 2009

Soccer is a Kick in the Grass Rob Clark was on with Andrew and Joe last evening [about 50 minutes into the podcast] and said that there could be a press conference as early as next week if the search for a new head coach and/or GM wraps up in the next couple of days. Apparently Rob Clark has had a c...

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Manic Monday

Published October 19, 2009

I'm having a wonderful Monday. I mean, Montreal won the USL-1 title over the weekend, the TOA drama seems to be spinning yet again, there is more Portland drama , and people want answers about the Matthew Ford dismissal. Are we having fun yet? SBI.net has an intriguing list of potential MLS hea...

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Friday one touch

Published October 16, 2009

I've got a sore ankle and I'm worn down, so here goes a little one touch of the news of the day. (And if you like this picture, here is where you can get the t-shirt ) - WV Hooligan and Fake Sigi have takes on the on going stadium saga in Portland. - Jonathan Bornstein has been nominated for the...

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Tie one for Charlie

Published October 15, 2009

SI.com - Grant Wahl - Match Report SI.com - Grant Wahl - 3 points SI.com - Freedman's Throw Ins US Soccer.com - Match Report MLS Talk The Offside Rules The Original Winger - Match Highlights US Soccer.com - Mixed Zone video The Original Winger - Photos Behind the Badge - Photos USMNT Bl...

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The US is headed to WC2010

Published October 13, 2009

USMNT Blog US Soccer.com - Highlights SI.com - Grant Wahl - Match recap NY Times - MLS can take credit SI.com - Grant Wahl on meeting the president and getting robbed at gunpoint US Soccer.com - Studio 90 for October 13th US Soccer.com - Reactions to the win MLSNet.com - Galaxy proud of La...

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Will the US punch the ticket to South Africa tomorrow?

Published October 9, 2009

USMNT Blog Yanks Abroad preview Grant Wahl @ SI.com Michael Lewis @ MLSNet.com SBI.net on Feilhaber SBI.net on Holden Miami Herald on Charlie Davies Big Apple Soccer.com on Feilhaber or Holden replacing Dempsey MLS Talk - Get wide The Original Winger - Inside the Lines I could complain abo...

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Where to look for coaching candidates

Published October 7, 2009

Since I went over my idea on the process for interviewing potential candidates for the Rhinos head coaching opening on Monday, I'd figure that I'd throw out some potential routes to go to get some good coaching candidates. If you like what Martin Rennie did in Carolina this year, you might want to l...

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USSF is stepping in

Published October 6, 2009

Cary News Inside Minnesota Soccer In an interesting development in the power struggle between NuRock/USL versus the TOA, the US Soccer Federation reportedly has stepped in and called a meeting in NY City today to involve the league, the owners, and US Soccer Federation and Kraft Soccer president Su...

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The process of hiring a head coach

Published October 5, 2009

Since I'm an engineer, I am intrigued by the process that Rob Clark will use when he hires the next head coach of the Rhinos. If I were to embark on this journey, I would try and be as methodical as possible. The first thing I would try and do is lay out all the various requirements that it would ta...

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