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The San Jose Earthquakes and FC Dallas had the framework in place for a trade involving out-of-favor FCD midfielder Dax McCarty but the deal fell apart after Dallas tried to extract more out of San Jose.
According to sources with knowledge of the discussions, FC Dallas attempted to sweeten its end of a proposed swap of McCarty for a draft pick, only to see the Earthquakes walk away from the negotiating table.
Both San Jose head coach Frank Yallop and FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman have denied that a trade was ever in the works but sources have informed SBI that trade talks did take place and an agreement was nearly reached before FC Dallas asked for a better deal, which lead to talks stalling.
So what now for McCarty? If FC Dallas is asking for too high a price you just might see McCarty in limbo for the foreseeable future. It will certainly be interesting to see if FC Dallas finds a better offer than the one it originally had from San Jose.
FC Dallas did get one deal done on Tuesday, signing Costa Rican defender and former Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake player Daniel Torres. The 31-year-old spent 2008 playing for Bryn of the Norwegian second division. He played for FCD assistant John Ellinger with RSL in 2007.
Sounders sign Cuban midfielder
The Seattle Sounders landed their second USL-1 Best XI player on Tuesday, signing Cuban midfielder Osvaldo Alonso. The former Charleston Battery midfielder enjoyed a strong season in 2008, earning All-USL honors after starting 31 games for the Battery.
Alonso defected from the Cuban national team during the 2007 Gold Cup in Houston. He had made 17 appearances for Cuba before defecting.
The 23-year-old central midfielder spent time on trial with the New York Red Bulls a year ago, but passed on a developmental contract offer before signing with Charleston.
MLS bosses in Ottawa
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber and president Mark Abbott arrived in Ottawa on Tuesday to begin surveying the Canadian city's bid for a 2011 MLS expansion franchise.
Ottawa is the final expansion candidate to be visited by Garber and Abbott as they attempt to choose two cities to be awarded the two MLS expansion bids in 2011. St. Louis, Portland, Vancouver and Miami are the other four remaining candidates.
MLS is expected to choose the winning bids by mid-March.
MLS schedule to be released
The 2009 MLS schedule will be released on Wednesday. The league revealed the first home games for all 15 teams earlier this month, with New York traveling to expansion Seattle on March 19th in the league opener.
What do you think of the above stories? Disappointed that San Jose wasn't able to land McCarty? Think Alonso will start for Seattle? Does Ottawa have a realistic chance of being one of the two MLS expansion cities for 2011?
Share your thoughts below.