Photo by ISIphotos.com
Good afternoon folks. As the week draws to a close I wanted to tie up some loose ends and point to some stories we missed and you might have missed:
For those of you who didn't see it, here is my 2009 Chicago Fire season preview for ESPN.com. I know Columbus is the easy choice to repeat as champions, but I have a feeling something is brewing in the Windy City and the Fire could be poised to lift its second MLS Cup trophy come November.
Speaking of the Fire, Chicago will face Club America in a friendly on April 29th at Toyota Park. The match will be part of a home-and-home series between the clubs, with the rematch set for Estadio Azteca on a date yet to be determined. The matches will pit Cuauhtemoc Blanco against his former club.
D.C. United signed forward Ange N'Silu on Thursday. The Congalese/French striker impressed during training camp and joins an already potent strike force. No word yet on a central defender.
Danny Cepero recently joined Juan Pablo Angel and Dane Richards in the group of Red Bulls to sign contract extensions. The Red Bulls are serious about tying up their nucleus.
Red Bulls goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell has left the club to pursue other options. Those options are likely to include the USL.
The love-fest is officially on in Dallas. Sources tell me Dax McCarty and FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman have patched things up and McCarty just might be ready to play a key role for the Burn (I know they're not the Burn anymore, but since people get bent about calling them The Hoops, I'm trying out different nicknames). Whether the love affair continues if and when FC Dallas succeeds in signing a veteran playmaker remains to be seen.
Speaking of FC Dallas, the Cowboys smashed Florida International, 9-0, in exhibition action on Thursday. Apparently there are no mercy rules when pro teams play college teams.
That's all for now. Share your thoughts on these and any other stories that slipped through the cracks in the comments section below.
Enjoy your weekend.
“The Red Bulls are serious about tying up their nucleus.”
hmm, except for jeff parke and dave van den bergh.
‘case anyone wants to know, Spector is starting for West Ham.
THE COWBOYS (SOCCER TEAM) OF COURSE!
DALLAS COWBOYS
Look out for the Rapids this year. Coach Smith had them playing some great ball (including a 2-0 domination of the fire) down the stretch. Give him a whole season and look out!
Anybody have a link to the B. M’Glabach game? Thanks
fenel,
Not only is Wilman Conde in camp with the Fire, he has a new agent: Diego Gutierrez, who just retired from the Fire and was a stalwart in the team. This year he came back to the Fire with no histrionics about leaving the Fire, going to RBNY, etc. Gutierrez suggested that Conde’s lack of representation last year caused him problems:
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/2009/02/gutierrez-comments-on-condes-status.html
hey, lay off B-mac’s features, the man has sacrificed half his face for US soccer – now THAT is a man. As for Conde? yeah, well, at least he doesn’t look like Dirk Kuyt.
Ives- best post ever, at least best Fire related post. Reading it made me excited for the start of the season, made me wish for “cactus league” tv coverage of mls Pre-season. I so expect the Fire to contend, and improve the overall record by beating, or burning, FCD. And did I miss the part where you credit Luis R. O. Yah-veh for um consultation on your facts and interpretations?
McBride…demon! Hsssss!
(Ives, buddy, that is one freaky lookin’ picture of McBride.)
Nice write up on the Fire’s prospects this year Ives. Nyarko showed promise before his injury and I hope he can make a name for himself this year. I’d also like to see more of Pappas. I liked what little I saw last year.
No reason to play Blanco the full 90. He’s prone to disappear in the final third of a match.
Fenel,
Conde is in camp with Fire.
I like “Red Stripes” as a nickname for FC Dallas; it’s way better than the not-intimidating-at-all “Hoops.” Ugh. With the solid backs, FCD’s jerseys don’t even have hoops anymore.
Posted by: Eugene T | February 20, 2009 at 06:38 PM
Please don’t Bastardize one of my Favorite Beers by associating it with a team who will probably change their name again in the next year or so.
;O)
P.S. – Ives is Genius with his Fire pick.
Whatever happened to william conde? I know he doesn’t want to come back to chicago. Has he been picked up by an other club yet?
I always thought the Toros was a pretty cool nickname.
more like FCkD
excellent piece Ives….
it always boggled my mind how the Fire would go through rough periods of last season… in my opinion, the fire had one of the deepest rosters and talented last season…. how we managed no hardware last year confused me…
This is going to be a great season for the Fire. They have come so close in the last few years and are so deep this season, it is time.
i like FCD for them.
I like “Red Stripes” as a nickname for FC Dallas; it’s way better than the not-intimidating-at-all “Hoops.” Ugh. With the solid backs, FCD’s jerseys don’t even have hoops anymore.
glad to see the red bulls tying up a nucleus. i feel that this is something the team has always lacked. it’s hard to stay competitive when every year your bringing in new key players. The teams that have had consistent success; Houston, New England, D.C. until last year all did by keeping a solid core group of players to build around.
James I was thinking the same thing about how creepy they both look.
BRIMSTONE baby! Oh yes they still have it – even has its own website:
http://www.brimstonecup.com
on FIU… has anyone seen the roster for the game – were those their regular players?
That picture looks like a Brian McBride mask… empty eye holes and a black gaping mouth.
lets see them try smashing the US U-17s!
I’m loving the Chicago Fire coverage Ives, here’s to a repeat (or better!) of last year’s successes!
Let it Burn baby! Do they still do the Brimstone Cup with the Fire?
I wonder if Hyndman’s sudden about-face has anything to do with McCarty absolutely tearing it up this preseason? Funny how that happens sometimes.
I guess Florida International will be a better team for it.
I like Dax and hope he can make it work. He can be a solid 2 way player.
Ha. Bringing back the Burn! It’d be funny if Burn caught on again as a casual nickname.