Top Stories

Good morning from Baltimore (Draft Day Rumblings)

Hello folks. The 2008 MLS Draft is upon us and I can tell you that there hasn’t been this little enthusiasm about a draft since World War II. Coaches were talking trade all of last night and the impression I got after talking to some people is that teams just aren’t going to pay much for picks. You can thanks San Jose for that after the Nick Garcia deal.

Most of the league’s coaches could be found at the hotel bar last night as teams were testing the waters hoping to either move up or move out of the first round. Here is a rundown of what was seen and heard last night:

I didn’t hear of any trades going down but after seeing Crew head coach Sigi Schmid and Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey in deep discussions it wouldn’t surprise me to see them make a deal. There was some talk of Kansas City turning around and dealing the No. 1 overall pick less than a week after getting it, but I can’t imagine the market will be strong enough to justify dealing it.

From the "Oh Really" department comes word that Chivas USA is entertaining the possibility of trading forward Ante Razov. If the Goats are serious about dealing Razov, you can expect the line of interested coaches to circle the block at the Convention Center. Where might Razov wind up? How about Chicago, where he could join in on the 1998 Chicago Fire reunion taking place. San Jose would also be interested in the all-star striker.

Speaking of the Fire, the reunion that I told you would happen last weekend has now taken place. Frank Klopas has been named Fire technical director and Mike Jeffries is the club’s new assistant coach. And to no one’s surprise, Chris Armas has also joined the coaching staff in Chicago. The team hasn’t issued a release on this but it was pretty clear that this is the new brain trust when Denis Hamlett, Jeffries, Klopas, Daryl Shore, Armas and John Guppy were all huddled around a table at the hotel bar plotting strategy.

I’m sticking to my call of Julius James as the first overall pick to Kansas City. I know some folks think it will be Patrick Nyarko but I think KC will address forward needs elsewhere.

In other news, Andy Iro continued his game of "If you’re a team I don’t like then don’t draft me" by telling this website that Preston North End are one of the English teams he spoke to this winter. So let me get this straight. Preston has real interest but you’re still taking your chances in the MLS Draft even though you have no contract with the league? At least one team official said he doesn’t think there’s nearly as much interest in Iro overseas as he is trying to suggest, while one coach said he had bucket for feet and would struggle in MLS.

One person not working the bar for trades was Juan Carlos Osorio, who called it an early night in preparation for today’s draft. The impression I get is that he’s done talking trade and will focus on finding value with the No. 16 pick.

Another popular subject last night was word that Eric Wynalda and Dave O’Brien are being replaced as U.S. national team and major MLS game commentators for ESPN. A team of JP Dellacamera, Bruce Arena and John Harkes was being rumored to take over. Let me be the first to say that Dellacamera as national team play-by-play guy can’t happen soon enough. He’s the best in the business. Let me also say that the three-man booth model just doesn’t work for soccer. Hopefully someone realizes this eventually. This hasn’t been made official yet by ESPN though so stay tuned for confirmation.

That’s all for now. I will be heading to the Convention Center at around noon to set up shop. For those of you who hadn’t heard, I will be doing a live chat from the draft on ESPN.com. You will be able to fire your questions at me during the first two rounds of the draft.

I will also set up a post on SBI for you to follow along with the draft so be sure to check back in for more draft day news.

Comments

  1. Why the O’Brien hate? He’s not a soccer guy, sure, but he’s not terrible. And he’s improved markedly since 2006. Wynalda’s a little over the top for me since he likes physical contact a little too much. This came out, esp., in the MLS Cup Final. And Arena’s useless. I don’t understand how he keeps getting jobs.

    As long as ESPN stays away from three-man booths (those don’t work anywhere) and Arena, I’ll be happy.

    Reply
  2. J.P./Arena/Harkes tandem would be great. J.P. is the best, Harkes is very good, and I love Arena’s delivery. And he actually knows his stuff, so along with the hilarious deadpan style he gets good info and analysis in there.

    Wynalda is the worst. O’Brien sounds like every soccer match he does is the first one he’s ever watched.

    Reply
  3. Hey, now…Ives has a great blog and is one of the two Alpha Dogs in soccer blogging, but “great scoop, Ives!” isn’t fair to the little old blogger who had the JP/Harkes story yesterday. 🙂

    Reply
  4. According to Foxsports.com, the USMNT will play Spain on June 4th. Is this true Ives and if so, do you have info on where it will be?

    Reply
  5. Delacamera and Harkes were the best of the ESPN teams at the World Cup, so that’s a nice move.

    Wyanlda didn’t work as a color guy, because he likes to talk too much and he doesn’t nuance his opinions. That doesn’t work in a soccer booth, however, he would be terrific as a studio analyst leading into games and providing analysis at halftime. Especially if ESPN finds someone to antagonize him.

    I would bet that ESPN uses him in this capacity with Rob Stone hosting the studio/on location broadcast… then pairs those two to do college games on ESPN U.

    I doubt ESPN would get Hudson to leave his beloved Florida. I can’t see him traveling all over the US for games, when he can do 20x as many games and never leave the Gol TV studios in Miami.

    In his current set-up, his income all comes from Florida, and that means no state taxes. If he traveled with ESPN, his tax return becomes much more complicated, and he wouldn’t be making the same return (given salaries are equal).

    Reply
  6. Its no surprise that Osorio (AKA Sylvester McMonkey McBean) went to bed early. At the Fireworks for Kids golf outing, last August, he was remarking about the players were drinking beer and eating hot dogs. No Janice Joplin he.

    Reply
  7. I actually never had a lot of problem with O’Brien and Wynalda. I DO, however, have a problem with Arena. He is awful. Speaks poorly and holds this know-it-all attitude over everyone. Extremely grating. I guess I can always watch with it muted…

    Reply
  8. agree w/Tony in Quakeland about christopher sullivan. he gives the best analysis in the business. i think his analysis would be too intelligent for espn though.

    Reply
  9. Ives, isn’t Arena somewhere in Scotland? Arena is kind of boring as a commentator, but so far he has been one of the best US National coaches no doubt about it. JP should be great.

    Reply
  10. Have my gripes with Wynalda and Arena in the booth but I´m OK with both. Hudson very entertaining. Yay for no 3-man booth. And sorry to be mean, but thank every deity for being rid of O´Brien. I honestly felt hatred for him after listening to games.

    Reply
  11. VictorM, sadly I am in that same club. My cable provider only offers GolTV in espanol. No Ray Hudson for us.
    Might get a dish next time I move.

    Reply
  12. Hey Ives,

    any news on possible transfers in or out of the MLS? There seems to be quite a few players on trials in Europe and few who seem like they may be coming back to the US

    Reply
  13. JP JP JP! This is great news!

    David: JP does play by play, Hudson does commentary. Both are great.

    I’m also starting to think Iro is overrated, and that this draft is going to be mostly uninspiring.

    Reply
  14. JP is the best in the biz and a monstrous improvement over O’Brien, who ESPN kept wayyyy too long (for soccer). Harkes would be an improvement over Wynalda but Brucie is just terrible. Wynalda is an arrogant jerk but he knows his stuff and adds a little edge to the broadcasts. So keep Wynalda in a more minor for halftime segments and any non-game related work. He always seemed to compete for airtime so having him as a 3rd commentator would be a bad idea. The 3 commentator format doesn’t work well. Maybe it would work if the broadcast team had no ego and good chemistry, but too often the discussion becomes muddled and confusing and distracts from the game. A good play-by-play and color commentator is definitely the best option.

    It would be interesting to see what Ray Hudson would do, I think it’s worth a try. He does attract some different viewers but it can get a little tiring when you just want some insight into the game rather than 90 minutes of over the top praise for every single player. So in a way, I think it would be best to go the conventional route with Harkes and JP.

    Reply
  15. Ives,

    Besides Iro, is there gossip on any of the other college kids passing on MLS and heading for Europe?

    Joseph Lapira has been assumed to be gone but we’ve seen nothing of it in print and there was something on another site (not that I read anyone else!) that Duke’s Mike Videira is Europe-bound.

    Hearing anything about these and others?

    Reply
  16. JP is the best. Love it if it happens.

    I know Ives disagrees with me, but I think Christopher Sullivan is the best analyst – he’s smart, reads the game well and isn’t afraid to say what he sees.

    Ray Hudson is vastly entertaining, but he cheer leads for certain players and they can do no wrong. I laugh when Ray calls a game – I just never learn anything.

    Reply
  17. I live in the Philly area and read in the paper today that the Sons of Ben will be in Baltimore for Draft Day. Is there any chance you could write about them? Philly has to be the only place with a fan club for a team that does not exist.

    Reply
  18. I agree with someone above–JP and Harkes, no Arena! O’Brien was garbage, but Wynalda got better over time, I don’t think they should get rid of him…

    Reply
  19. JP is the man, I hope this rumor comes true. As for Ray, I’m not a big fan of his work. I feel like he’s colorful and amusing but does not provide much useful insight. Even though he can sometimes be a pr-ck, I would like Eric Wynalda to remain as the color man. JP and Eric would be make a solid combo, IMO.

    Reply
  20. Captain Monotoooooooooooooone! Back in the Booth! Hooray. Arena can wow us with no inflection and his killer tactics that got him fired from two places in the past two years. Hooray!

    That was my negative. The positive is that JP and Harkes will be there. Seriously, this is great news. Wynalda and O’Brien drive me crazy when it comes to commentating. I will agree with NJ7 that they should keep Wynalda in a 30-minute a week, all-soccer show and he can pull a PTI-like segment. He could definitely do that and we could hear him say inappropriate things in that venue.

    Great scoop, Ives!

    Reply
  21. I agree with many of the other posters. If ESPN is serious about recruiting into a wider audience Ray Hudson teamed with JP is the way to go (although I wouldn’t want to lose him on Gol Tv). Like the other poster, my wife, who normally doesn’t watch soccer, watches La Liga when Ray is on, because she loves his commentary. The entertainment factor of watching La Liga with Gol TV’s other set of commentators is MUCH lower than with Ray Hudson demonstrating the importance of a great commentator to attracting new viewers.

    Reply
  22. why is it so easy for us US/MLS soccer fans to find a consensus that JP & Ray Hudson are the best we’ve got, yet no one at ESPN (whose job it is to do so!) can figure this out? Uy, its an exciting time to be a fan in the US, but there’s alot of bad (Arena in a 3 man booth) with the good (JP re-instated).

    Reply
  23. JP has a full-time gig in Atlanta doing hockey play by play. That’s why his MSG appearances have lessened. Maybe Stoner could cover in his absence during the overlap between NHL & MLS seasons?

    Ray has to be in heaven doing La Liga from his home in Miami. Fat chance he leaves that.

    Funny how the Comments in this thread all turned to broadcasting.

    Ives, would be great to see you do a piece sometime on soccer on TV in the US. Between the Cult of Ray (Hudson), FSC and ESPN, we do see a ton of games these days, and it’s still a pretty unique and underground situation. Wish we had more games in HD (c’mon FSC & GolTV)!

    Reply
  24. JP is great, remember what a terrific job he did on the 99WWC final against China. He deserves the top slot and will make whoever works with him better. I’d like to see Wynalda work with JP and agree that that Hudson would be terrific. Harkes is not bad either.

    Reply
  25. i really enjoyed the JPD/Harkes commentary during the world cup. professional, good chemistry, good tempo. looking forward to hearing soccer terminology other than ‘inswinger’ and ‘outswinger’ in the play-by-play.

    Reply
  26. Yeah Dave O’Brien, while a nice guy, sure did suck doing soccer. He’d be better doing baseball or basketball.

    I like the idea of JP, The Bruce and Harksey though three guys is a little much. Maybe have Harkesy on the field?

    Maybe Eric Wynalda can get on FSC? I still like his commentary…

    Reply
  27. I never understood why ESPN axed JP but kept Balboa after 06 qualification… JP is great and hes been great for years — never gotten the full respect he deserves from the suits at ESPN.

    If I had to choose between John or Bruce, I would take John in a second. Bruce has an odd voice for the broadcast booth — I just don’t think he belongs there. I guess the Scotland job fell through for him.

    Reply
  28. Praise the Lord, ESPN has finally figured it out!

    Now just set up a studio show (MLS Live/ MLS Tonight/ MLS Countdown/ etc?) and let Wynalda run his mouth there. For as annoying he can be, he is quite entertaining when he goes off on his rants, as long as he’s not interrupting a match.

    Reply
  29. Bruce is terrible on TV. Wynalda takes a lot of heat but i like his honesty and brashness. He is one of the only people that stands up for soccer on ESPN

    Reply
  30. o’brien is god-awful. i still remember him call a defender a “defenceman.” dellacamera is awesome. harkes is really good as well. there is no need to bring arena into the booth though.

    Reply
  31. Thank god Dave O’Brien is out. What an ugly experiment; I can’t believe ESPN let him last as long as he did.

    Moreover, JP Dellacamera is the right choice!

    Reply
  32. im sorry, but the best on air personality in the biz is roy hudson… i don’t know what was better, watching the late season drama unfold of la liga last year or laughing at the stuff he had to say…

    if espn wanted to court some traditional american sports fans, this guy would be the way to go..

    Reply

Leave a Reply to EDB Cancel reply