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2010 MLS Combine: Matchday Three (Live Commentary)

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The last day of the 2010 MLS Combine is underway and this morning should help solidify draft places for many of the top spots in the draft.

I will be providing some live commentary (and sharing some of the good tidbits of info) throughout the morning (power supply permitting). Feel free to follow along, and as always, share your thoughts below.

Enjoy the action.

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FINAL– F50i defeated Predator X, 1-0.

That's all for now. We will be posting a recap of today's action later on today, and I will be writing up a new (and final) Mock Draft as well as a Draft Big Board, that will run on Wednesday. Also, I will be having a pre-draft Q&A at some point tonight with answers posting on Wednesday, so stay tuned for all of it as we draw closer to the 2010 MLS Draft. Thank you for following along here.

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12:30pm– Apologies for the lack of comments. I'm cranking out an ESPN.com piece as we speak.

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12:27pm– Considering the weak Combines of Wiedeman and Akpan, I have to think McInerney is moving up draft boards. He's 17, but plays and carries himself like an older player.

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12:20pm– Liking what I'm seeing from the following Game Two participants:

Jack McInerney

Blair Gavin

Michael Stevens

Kwaku Nyamekye

Sean Johnson

Irving Garcia

Drew Yates

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12:01pm– Collen Warner had another good game today in the first half. Nothing outstanding today, but good stuff each day.

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11:57am– Andrew Wiedeman with another disappointing day. I have to think he's played himself out of the Top 10, though he should still be a first-rounder (10 or 11 is whereI projected him).

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11:54 am– Michael Stephens with a nice pass that Joseph Noone can't get on to.

HALFTIME- No score.

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11:45am– Here are the Game two lineups:

ADIDAS F50i

————-Wiedeman————-Millien—————

Garcia—————–Yates———————–LaBaeux

————————O'Brien——————————

Sarkodie—–Hadevag——Cardenas———–Herold

———————–Moore——————————-

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11:33 am– Andre Akpan hits the crossbar with a shot and then gets clattered into chasing down the rebound. He was down for a bit but is back up.

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11:29am– Apologies if there are fewer updates for the second match. I'm cranking out an ESPN.com piece on people who's stock has risen and fallen.

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11:27am– Tony Tchani isn't the world's best quote (yet) but I love his confidence (reminds me a bit of 16-year-old Jozy Altidore in terms of the way he carries himself confidently). I asked him what he thought he could have done better and Tchani took a long pause and just smiled, as if to say "You know, I can't think of anything". He's not wrong. I can't think of a prospect who has been more universally loved by scouts than Tchani. This isn't some player overachieving at the Combine. This is a player who clearly looked miles better than the competition.

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11:26am– GOAL Tennant McVea with a nice header and Team F50i takes an early lead. It would be funny if the team widely-regarded as the worst one here wins two of three matches.

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11:22am– The MLS Combine's second match is underway and first-game interviews cut into that time.

Dilly Duka missed the first match with an ankle injury suffered during the first match. Missing the match won't hurt his stock because he played so well on day two that he's a safe bet as a Top 10 pick at this point.

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11:02am– I'm about to go on with the MLS Insider blog for a live video preview and review so go to MLSInsiderBlog.com to check it out.

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11am– FINAL. Condivo 1, Jabulani 0 and Condivo clinches the MLS Combine Cup (okay, no such thing exists, but they're 3-0 and were the best team here).

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10:57am–  Nice shot from Estrada and a great save from Brian Perk.

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10:51am– Hoxie just had a would-be goal cleared off the line. Great header that looked over the line.

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10:41am– Trade talk is starting to smolder and teams are tapping up both New York and Dallas about their picks. Tony Tchani, Teal Bunbury and Zach Loyd are players teams covet.

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10:36am– Justin Morrow is having another good day. He's having a good battle with Collen Warner.

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10:33am– The funniest thing I heard recently? Ran into Peter Nowak and he goes, "You know, I came all the way to Florida to see this kid Mwanga, and he's not even here." Nowak has a rep as a serious guy but actually has a great sense of humor.

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10:30am– Zach Schilawski has looked good. With some of the forwards looking bad so far this Combine I'd say Schilawski has moved up the forward list.

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10:26am– Andrew Hoxie is in the match. He's tied with Eric Alexander for the Combine Golden Boot with two goals. We'll see if he can score a third to pick up the Luke Kreamelmeyer Combine MVP Award.

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10:26am– Tony Tchani is on the field for the second half. No sign of Opara. I will look to find out what the situation is with his injury.

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10:22am– Here's another news item, or at least an item I hadn't heard reported before now. Ike Opara is apparently going to stay in school at Wake Forest to finish his degree, meaning he won't join the team that drafts him until May. This development would seem to make it even more likely that the Red Bulls will draft Tony Tchani.

The last top prospect to stay in school into his rookie year is Patrick Nyarko, who went from potential No. 1 overall pick to No. 7 the year he came out.

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10:20am– The second half just kicked off.

Some news items of note. UConn central defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe is out today and has apparently suffered a skull fracture during Monday's action. No word yet on how long that will keep him out, but that's devastating news for a player who looked like a solid first-rounder.

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10:10am– GOAL CONDIVO. Eric Alexander hits a blast from 30 yards out. Spoils some good possession from

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10:06am– Ike Opara took an early knock and has left the match. Amobi Okugo is looking good early on.

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9:56am– As I mentioned on Twitter, Tony Tchani has bypassed Ike Opara as the top draft prospect here. Not sure there isn't a team wishing it could trade up to get him and I'm starting to lean toward projected the Red Bulls selecting Tchani over Opara.

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9:51am– Here are the lineups for game one:

CONDIVO

—————–Dike———Kissi—————

Alexander———Thomas—————-Loyd

———————-Yanez————————

Morrow—–Opara———-Kinney——Braun

———————-Perk————————–

JABULANI

————–Bunbury—–Schilawski————–

Warner————Nakazawa————-Estrada

———————-Okugo————————–

Aiyegbusi—-Tangney—–Schuler———Welch

———————Haggerty————————-

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9:50am– Kyle Nakazawa has had a few early free kicks, but he sent one wide and sent one into the wall. Michael Thomas still has the best free kick of the Combine.

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9:47am– No score about 15 minutes into the first match. I'll sort lineups shortly.

Comments

  1. Yeah Ives I have been wondering the same thing, being a student at Bucknell, curious about how he is stacking up against others at the combine. I know he had a great career at Bucknell, but curious how that translates to the broader picture, i.e. the MLS.

    Reply
  2. ive watched him as a terp as well and witnessed similar things which is why i was curious how he’d done in ives’ eyes during the combine

    Reply
  3. I am really starting to think that McInerney is the the player DC could use most (assuming Opara doesn’t fall down that low due to his studies). We could use an American forward who could be a long term investment, instead of relying solely on the South American talent which is clearly hit and miss for us.

    Reply
  4. Will he have work permit issues? I can’t imagine that he’ll have enough caps to satisfy the UK Work Permit office. Are his family connections close enough to Europe to get a second passport?

    Reply
  5. Unless Yates had made a drastic transformation, I have a hard time believing he is one of the best at the Combine. I’ve had the opportunity to watch him play several times at Maryland and although he can be quick, he DRIBBLES way too much and generally ends up losing the ball.

    Reply
  6. Any impressions on Conor O’Brien? (Being a Bucknell alum myself, I have some parochial interest.) I saw your mention of him yesterday but have been struggling to find any news, otherwise.

    Reply
  7. ives no need to apologize for slow updates, you’re writing another column for us to read. there’s no complaining on this end. thanks

    Reply
  8. Marty said…

    Ives, what happened to Mark Blades from Nortwestern. Coming out of college, I believed him to be rated very highly. I haven’t seen coverage of him at all…was he invited?

    Marty,

    Mark Blades wasn’t invited. I’m not sure why, but he wasn’t. I think a lot of teams would have liked him since he’s a natural left back.

    Reply
  9. Ives-

    What do you think of Eric Alexander? You haven’t listed him as far as I can remember on any of your mock drafts but it sounds like the kid is having a decent combine with two goals and the one from 30 yards out sounds like it was a blast. I remember the kid playing at a local high school near me back in Michigan and if I recall correctly ended up winning the Gatorade National Player of the year. What do you think the prospects are for him?

    Reply
  10. The problem I see with McInerney is that any team taking him risks losing him in a few years. If he does well in MLS, he will get better European offers and make the jump. Teams have to be a bit wary, when there are others who are more likely to be here for the long run.

    Reply
  11. you give a lot of props to drew yates. just how much has he improved his stock during this combine and where is he playing during the combine?

    Reply
  12. Ives- Edgington from Louisville, a second round pick lock or will he drop?

    I don’t get excited about anyone outside the first round as even some first rounders disappear off the MLS map (look at who the Rapids drafted last year)

    Reply
  13. Ives, what happened to Mark Blades from Nortwestern. Coming out of college, I believed him to be rated very highly. I haven’t seen coverage of him at all…was he invited?

    Reply
  14. That would only happen if Dc scum would give us Wallace and all their draft picks this year ,and we will give u 2pick and Agoos in return

    Reply
  15. Man, Ives that guy who does the interviews with you on the MLS Insider is just painful to listen to. Not just in the interviews with you but the others, he is Chastain-esque in how he stumbles over his words and his questions never seem thought out.

    Your answers, by contrast, are clear and concise and make for good listening. You really should do the podcasts… just not with the guy from MLS Insider.

    Reply
  16. The funny thing about a GA deal, is you can come out just a single year early, and get a cap exempt GA deal for up to 4 years. That makes SO MUCH more sense than waiting to be a senior and having to either accept a DEV deal or a a cap-hit full/senior contract.

    A junior as a GA seems like the perfect signing, in theory at least.

    Reply
  17. With the way Tchani is impressing at the Combine, maybe United could offer this year’s 1st rounder and next year’s to move up to NY’s spot? As a UVA player, he might like to stay in the DC area — might keep him in MLS longer. Of course, with the report that Opara is planing to stay in school to finish the semester, maybe DCU hold on to the pick, hoping Opara slides down to #7?

    Reply
  18. Ives – While I must admit that I enjoy giving you grief over JCO, I must also admit that your combine coverage has been excellent & informative.

    Reply
  19. From what I’ve heard around Charlottesville Tony wants to play with Cameroon. But you never know, if I was the Bob i would be asking.

    Reply
  20. is Tchani likely to play for our Nats, if he hasn’t already done so on some level? i read that he didn’t leave Cameroon until only a few years ago.

    Reply
  21. Ives,

    Is Mauro Fuzetti (Michigan/Michigan Bucks) at the combine? I haven’t seen him listed at all by you. He was on the initial invite list.

    Reply

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