Good afternoon folks. I’m coming to you from the Baltimore Convention Center.
The ESPN live chat I was supposed to do was scrapped due to technical difficulties. I will now do a running commentary during the draft and will answer some questions. Just post the question in the comments section and I’ll answer some of them. Keep them short and I’ll see what I can do.
Let’s get started:
4:30pm- The Galaxy grabs goalkeeper Matt Allen at No. 34.
4:29pm- The Galaxy took Julian Valentin at No. 29 while Ryan Miller went No. 30 to Toronto.
4:28pm- The Red Bulls selected defender Luke Sassano at No. 32
4:06pm. Toronto selects Wake Forest goalkeeper Brian Edwards at No. 28.
4:05pm. I spoke too soon. Toronto has traded to acquire the No. 28 pick.
4:04pm- Okay folks. I’m going to take a break from the commentary to write some stories. I’ll check in now and then so feel free to come back and to comment on the subsequent picks.
4pm- The Galaxy is up and the best players available are goalkeeper Brian Edwards, midfielder Stephen King and forwards Xavier Balc and Yannick Reyering.
3:59pm- To catch you up on some picks I missed, Andrew Jacobson went No. 24 to DC United and Jon Leather went to Kansas City at No. 25.
3:58pm- New England selects Joe Germanese at No. 27.
3:55pm- The Chicago Fire selects Peter Lowry at No. 26
That is a great value pick for the Fire, which is having a dream draft, as much as you can have one here.
3:45pm- Kansas City just took defender Yomby William at No. 23.
3:45pm- The Crew takes Ricardo Pierre-Louis No. 22
3:39pm- Also look for Ricardo Pierre-Louis to go here.
3:38pm- FC Dallas has traded the No. 22 pick to the Columbus Crew. Could this be Xavier Balc?
3:36pm- MetroStars and Red Bulls legend Mark Lisi is in the house.
3:34pm- Los Angeles select forward Ely Allen at No. 21
3:33pm- Top midfielders left include: Peter Lowry, Stephen King, Andrew Jacobson and Joe Germanese.
3:32pm- Top Forwards left include: Xavier Balc, Ricardo Pierre-Louis and Yannick Reyering.
3:31pm- Columbus takes George Josten No. 20.
3:26pm– Top players still available include: Peter Lowry, George Josten, Jon Leathers, Stephen King, Brian Edwards, Andrew Jacobson.
3:25pm- A few picks for you:
Real Salt Lake takes Alex Nimo No. 17
New England takes Mike Videira No. 18
FC Dallas takes Eric Avila No. 19
3:24pm- Sorry folks, had to go interview Eric Brunner, a player the Red Bulls were hoping to draft. I wouldn’t go as far as to say he can start, but he provides some sorely-needed depth.
3:12pm- The Red Bulls wanted a left-footed central defender and have one in Brunner, who can also play left back.
3:11pm- The Red Bulls select Eric Brunner at No. 16.
3:11pm- The Red Bulls may go with Eric Brunner here.
3:10pm- The second rounds begins with San Jose taking Shea Salinas No. 15
3:01pm- Real Salt Lake selects defender David Horst No. 14
2:59pm- Valentino is a big defender and Generation adidas, which should help the Revs offset the cost of picking up Chris Albright.
2:57pm- New England selects Rob Valentino with the No. 13 pick.
2:56pm- The Fire buys some insurance in case Matt Pickens leaves for Norwich City. That is assuming Cervi signs with the league.
2:53pm- The Chicago Fire select Dominic Cervi No. 12.
2:53pm- Espinoza is a nice young player but I feel like he’s at least a year away from having an impact. We will see.
2:52pm- You can expect Chicago to take goalkeeper Dominic Cervi next.
2:51pm- Kansas City selects Ohio State midfieler Roger Espinoza No. 11
2:48pm- Mo Johnston just landed two of the three best defenders in this draft. Think about this back four: Todd Dunivant, Julius James, Pat Phelan and Marvell Wynne. That right there is pretty good.
2:46pm- Toronto selects Pat Phelan No. 10
2:45pm- Andy Iro has told the media that he intends on playing in Columbus. What a surprise, he doesn’t have the European options we thought he had. That’s a big score for Columbus and I wonder what that means for a player like Danny O’Rourke.
2:44pm- James WILL start for Toronto FC. You can book that one. He’s MLS-ready and Toronto neds him.
2:43pm- Toronto FC takes Julius James No. 9. Mo Johnston is leading a charmed life.
2:42pm– Lambo is a stud prospect but FC Dallas already has Ray Burse and Dario Sala, pretty surprising pick if you ask me. Might we see a trade?
2:39pm- FC Dallas takes Josh Lambo No. 8. WOW
2:35pm- FC Dallas is loving life right now. Julius James is available and must be the pick. If he isn’t I would be pretty shocked.
2:34pm- Great pick for the Fire. Who would have tought that Nyarko would be at No. 7 today? WOW.
2:33pm- Chicago takes Patrick Nyarko No. 7
2:32pm- The Tony Beltran and Ciaran O’Brien picks are the shockers so far.
2:30pm- Columbus selects Andy Iro No. 6.
2:24pm- A pretty shaky pick in my mind. I wasn’t impressed with O’Brien at all at the Combine. I’m shocked the Rapids didn’t take Nyarko or Avila. O’Brien is also a defensive midfielder. Does this mean Mastroeni is on his way out?
2:23pm- The Rapids select Ciaran O’Brien No. 5.
2:22pm- Rapids should take either Nyarko or Avila.
2:20pm- The LA Galaxy has traded Chris Albright to New England for allocation money. We saw that one coming. Great move for the Galaxy, shedding major salary, getting allocation money and adding the best right back in the draft.
2:19pm- LA taking a right back tells me they have dealt either Chris Albright or Chris Klein to New England.
2:18pm- The Galaxy select Sean Franklin No. 4
2:16pm- The Galaxy has made a trade with New England, sending a player to the Revs. No word yet on the player.
2:15pm- Los Angeles is on the clock and has some good choices. Julius James, Eric Avila, Patrick Nyarko. The Galaxy need to save some money so Avila may get the nod.
I’m also hearing that UCSB defender Andy Iro’s stock is dropping fast as teams are being scared away by his interest in Europe.
2:13pm- Real Salt Lake selects Tony Beltran No. 3
2:10pm- And just like that, the two best young talents in the draft go one and two. Now Real Salt Lake is up. Don’t be surprised to see this pick traded.
2:08pm- FC Dallas takes Brek Shea No 2.
2:07pm- KC makes a very good pick for a number of reasons. In a league where good left-sided players are scarce, KC just added the only good one in the draft.
FC Dallas should take Patrick Nyarko here.
2:06pm- The Wizards select Chance Myers with the first pick (as first reported on SBI).
2pm- We’re still waiting for the draft to begin. KC is on the clock.
1:58pm- We’re about to begin and I haven’t heard any new developments on the trade front.
1:54pm- Red Bulls fans are dominating the fan section at the draft. They just shouted down some Toronto FC fans. I’m still waiting to see of the handful of Chicago Fire fans go after Juan Osorio when the Red Bulls pick.
1:38pm– As reported just a few minutes ago, sources are telling me that Chance Myers is going to be the first pick. Kansas City was toying with the idea of trading the pick, and still might deal Myers, but the UCLA left back is one of the most coveted players in the draft.
Sources are also telling me that Tony Beltran has moved up pretty high on some team’s list.
Patrick Nyarko could wind up sliding past the No. 2 pick, and if he does, don’t be surprised if the Columbus Crew trades up to grab him at No. 3.
this Fire fan couldn’t be more elated with how the draft shook out for us (on paper)
I hope we take a chance on Reyering in training camp. He would be a DEADLY target forward to team up with Temo and be a fan favorite. (lotsa lotsa Germans in Chicago–myself included…though I live in LA now…go figure… :p )
He will probably sign with the Crew, they have to be happy if they get him
What happened to Balc!?
2 picks to go, no Balc
where’s Balc? Surely he’s worth a flyer at this late stage????
Ives???
I thought Xavier Balc was supposed to be pretty good. How has he not been picked yet?
or Balc
Even take a chance on Reyering.
Forrest, King, Roth…COL needs offense.
They’re not USL teams, they’re their club teams.
Scott, who were you hoping for? There’s nothing left.
They are announcing a lot of player’s club team as well as their college. Are they USL teams?
What a wanker pick for the Rapids. Clavijo is a joke.
DC took Cordeiro at 33. And I think Miller is to DAL, not TOR.
john harkes is hilarious! ha!
I’m hoping for Xavier Balc with the Rapids next pick.
Is Avila not going to play in MLS? Something fishy is going on if he slipped so far down the draft?
Also if you look at UCSB webpage, they only mention O’Brien and Iro as MLS draft picks.
http://ucsbgauchos.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/011808aab.html
FCD drafted the #1 & 2 midfielders on Ives and Buzz’s draft list as well as one of the top 2 Goalkeepers and none of them will count against the cap. Pretty genius to me.
Ives – can you please explain how “allocation money” works in a single entity system? Is is the same as in other pro sports where it’s a player for “cash considerations”?
Maybe switching to a 3-5-2 and drafting two center backs — doesn’t say much about Onalfo’s faith in Hohlbein and Wahl.
Leathers was a solid pick at 25 for KC.
Let’s everybody go here now! –>
http://wvhooligan.com/2008/01/18/live-superdraft-commentary/#more-640
Garber told Stone its down to Philly or St Louis, and they wouldn’t start until 2010.
Ives,
You are 10 picks ahead of MLS Draft tracker. How come?
And why did Avila drop as far as he did?
I saw some Philly guys on tv, any rumors on expansion?
Ah I see. Yeah, looks like he skipped them.
KC took William at 24. I was looking ahead. 🙂
MLSnet says DCU has #24, not CHI.
What happened to picks 24 and 25?
If KC takes Edwards at #25, this is an A+++ draft for them. Of course, I am higher on Espinoza than Ives is.
Red bulls should of stayed home…..and wathc what others are doing, casue they are not doing a thing!
I like Dallas’ picks even though risky. 2 of the best mids, and 2 player for the future.
Thx for doing this Ives, you’ve killed my productivity at work once again!
This is going to be cliche to the max but i’ll ask it anyways. Who improved the most though the draft so far over the first two rounds?
OK, just to get the record straight after that announcement by ESPN about Pierre-Louis – Lee University is NOT near Cleveland OH… It’s in f*ing Tennessee.
Any update on Valentino’s knee? I hope this isn’t another Leandro de Olivera situation.
Hey Mighty . . .
Mark Lisi a Legend (as first reported on SBI)
😉
put mms://a1366.l1150424224.c11504.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/1366/11504/v0001/reflector:24224
in your window media player “open url”
Mark Lisi A Legend?!
What did FCD get for the #22 pick?
Ask Lisi to join this years MLS FANTASY GAME.
kpugs, where is the “watch live” option on the site?
Ah, sorry. Jumping the gun.
Ives, isn’t Balc a top player still available?
I’m pretty sure Avila can play left wing.
Ives, why don’t you think Brunner can start for the Red Bulls? Do you think Leitch or Goldthwaite would be better at LB?
can avila play on the left and has he?
also in your opinion who’s the best left winger still on the board?
Interesting… Balc and Avila both passed over so far…
As usual, the Ives Tracker is more reliable and more Accurate than the MLSNET tracker!!!
They called a 5 min timeout. Wonder if JCO is looking trading up to take Avila…
Ives, Brunner’s Ohio State page says he’s right footed. Which is it?
Thanks guys, I had to refresh mlsnet couple of times before it showed up.