Happy New Year!

Hey folks, sorry for the lack of new content recently. Holidays have been a busy time here in Denver. I should have an interesting look at the 2009 combine class coming out the first week of January, so look for that. In the mean time have a safe New Years Eve and a prosporus and happy start to 2009.

January will be fun around here. We'll get some mock drafts going, we'll see the rest of the player rankings from around the blogosphere, and we'll have the MLS SuperDraft!

Happy New Year!

NCAA Player Rankings Are Coming...

I'm not great at doing the whole player ranking game. I don't see enough games to do that and the honors I track won't cut it. I rely on others for this part of the equation, and the flow of information is starting. Remember to check the right margin section '2009 MLS SuperDraft Previews, Information & Links' to catch the latest. This morning I added Buzz Carrick's recently posted espn.com piece on Goal Keepers. Buzz does a great job, give him a read.

Attention...First Mock Draft of 2009...Attention...

Soccer By Ives has the first mock draft I've seen since the college cup ended with a Maryland championship. What do you guys think, is Ives smoking anything with Tracey going #1? Personally I'm not so sure about him going #1. Personally I think Generation Adidas players will be in higher demand this time around given the reduction in developmental spots. Opara, Gonzalez & Zakuani could all go before Tracey in my opinion due to the rule changes. Props to Ives for getting a solid first mock draft on the street.

MLS Draft Rules...

Each year MLS fans around the country look at the college SuperDraft and get excited to see who is joining their team through this annual event. However, each year training camp comes and not all of the drafted players are with their team. Some have gone to Europe, some have gone to the A-League, some have just dropped off the face of the planet. The MLS SuperDraft is an imperfect process that needs improvement. Soccer America has a great blog post about it today and I thought I would call some attention to it.

MLS needs to learn how to increase the talent pool in the league both with international players and domestic players. Many good soccer players are playing in American colleges and MLS still has not found the best recipe for how to bring them into the league and help them grow. Top underclassmen are woowed with Generation Adidas contracts but then top seniors are asked to play for next to nothing. MLS seems to be saying finishing your college education is a bad thing.

I don't need to go off on a huge rant about this. The net net is that MLS hurt itself by removing the reserve league this off-season. The 2009 draft is going to have a lot of talented players who are going to be competing with guys who have already been in the league a couple years for fewer slots on teams. That is going to force more quality young players into the USL or abroad. Read SA's article for more.

Result Of NCAA Men's Soccer Semi-Final Numer 1...

If you don't want to know, don't read on....


Huge upset in Texas as UNC beats Wake 1-0! Wake sees the defense of their 2007 championship end in heart breaking fashion. I got home just in time to see a Wake player, I think Tracey, laying on the ground dejected. Brian Shriver scored the lone goal in the 4th minute and the Tar Heels held on to win against their instate rivals. Most everyone thought Wake would get the win here, but it is not to be.

After I saw the goal scorer I checked to see if he is on the combine list. He isn't! I'm not sure how the UNC marksman missed the cut but it could be a sign of MLS teams understanding they're going to be drafting fewer guys who actually make the team. Shriver certainly hasn't been the most prolific scorer in his college career but he showed today he can come up big when it counts. He also led the boys in light blue in scoring in 2008 with 13 goals and five assists before his huge goal tonight.

Congrats to the Tar Heels, you've just killed my pool. I've still got Maryland winning it all. Go Terps!

All-Americans and Hermann Trophy Finalists...

Two announcements I picked up on today.

#1 - 2008 NSCAA All-Americans. These will be added to player's list of honors and will potentially add new players to my list.

#2 - 2008 Hermann Trophy Finalists. Props to Sam Cronin, Marcus Tracy & Steve Zakuani.

You won't find Zakuani on the combine list...he's a SOPHOMORE. 20 goals, 7 assists and a Sweet 16 appearance will help your cause when it comes to big awards.

2009 MLS Combine Class Announced...Commentary...

Yesterday I posted the 2009 Combine list as quickly as possible to get the MLS press release on the street. Now we've all had some time to digest and think about it. First off, so everyone understands these are all of the seniors who are invited to the combine. As the college season wraps up and under classmen decide whether or not to leave school for a shot in MLS, this list will expand.

Speaking of later additions. Soccer By Ives took a stab at potential Generation Adidas players for the '09 class yesterday.

If you are in the area of the combine, head over and check it out come January. I went last year and it is a fun event to watch. There are some velvet ropes between fans and coaches but some of the coaches leave the protected area and you never know. I ended up talking to Paul Mariner and Steve Nicol briefly.

Let's dig into the list and some of the honors I've been tracking for these guys over the years. This isn't in any kind of ranking or order, just as my thoughts come to me.

Before I start, isn't it interesting that the list has GK, D & M/F. The league isn't trying to classify the forwards as compared to the midfielders this year. I think that is interesting. We've seen in the past that college forwards turn into attacking midfielders and vise versa, so now the league is acknowledging that coaches will decide where they play in MLS, not college experience.

Mike Grella - Duke University - M/F: Mike Grella has been on my list basically since I started it; his 2003 Parade Magazine All-American honor put him on my list. At the time I think there were 100 kids on there. Each year he has been in college I have looked at the list of honors and wondered if he was going to leave early. He hasn't. He's had a solid college career and has stacked up the following honors: 2003, 2004 Parade Magazine All-American, 2004 ESP All*Star, 2004 NSCAA National High School Player of the Year, 2005 StudentSportsSoccer.com #1 top prospect, 2005 All-ACC Freshman team, U-18 & U-20 National Team, 2006 Soccer America POTW, 2006 ACC All-Conference, 2007 CSN Pre-Season 2nd Team All-American, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 2nd Team, 2008 CSN 2nd Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 ACC Offensive POTY, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist
I am sure I am missing some of the things he's accomplished. This year he led the Duke Blue Devils in scoring with 14 goals and 8 assists.

Doug DeMartin - Michigan State University - M/F: DeMartin his my list last year when he was added to the 1st team in the Big Ten. This year he had a great season and won the honor of Big Ten Player of the Year. Here are some more of his honors I've tracked: 2007 1st Team All Big Ten, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 Big Ten All-Conference 1st Team, 2008 Big Ten Player Of The Year
I don't know a whole lot about him but given that he played well in a tough conference, leading his team to a top 10 ranking at the end of the season, I've got to imagine he could get some attention come January. He led his team in scoring this year with 17 goals and 3 assists.

Yohance Marshall - University of South Florida - D: Marshall is an athletic defender with good size and strength. He has quickly moved up the scouting lists after having a strong senior season leading the USF back line to a season where they gave up multiple goals in only two games. The young player from Malabar Arima, Trinidad will certainly be looking to have an impressive combine performance. I didn't hear about him until this year when he earned the following honors, but if you look at his USF profile you'll see I simply missed many other honors: 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI

Tosaint Ricketts - University of Wisconsin – Green Bay - M/F: Ricketts hit my radar when he played for Canada in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. At 6'0" he has good size for MLS and in high school he was one of the top short distance sprinters in Alberta, meaning he's got wheels. This season he led his team in scoring with 8 goals and 2 assists. Being a Canadian player he makes perfect sense for FC Toronto but a good combine performance could draw the eyes of other clubs looking for a quick striker. Honors: Canada U-17 Team, 2007 Canadian U-20 World Cup, 2008 Canadian U-23 Team.

Sam Cronin - Wake Forest University - M/F: Cronin is another player who has featured on my list since I started it or soon thereafter. He's had a great career at Wake being in the center of a team that has won the National Championship and is looking to repeat. This year he's continued to score goals and set them up with 10 scored and 4 assists. His honors list is long: 2003 NSCAA Youth adidas All-American, 2003 - 2004 ESP, 2007 TDS 3rd Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 2nd Team, 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist

Marcus Tracy - Wake Forest University - M/F: Marcus Tracy seems to be the complete package. He's skillful on the ball, fast and can put the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis. This year he had an impressive double double of sorts scoring 13 goals while creating 10. His honors list is also impressive and you can add the fact that he was heavily recuited by Duke, Maryland, UConn and Notre Dame before choosing Wake. Honors: 2004 NSCAA/adidas All-American, 2004 Connecticut Player of the Year, 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 CSN POTW, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist.

Richard Jata - Campbell University - M/F: If nothing else Jata is an interesting case study in Internet self promotion. I've received comments and emails from Richard's brother who is his foremost cheerleader. Jata's brother has created a blog to follow Richard's quest for a professional career. Kudos to the Jata brothers for chasing a dream and using today's technology to get noticed. I hope it works out for you. Honors: 2007 1st Team All A-Sun Conference, 2008 A-Sun POTY, 2008 A-Sun 1st Team.

As I said earlier the combine class will be supplemented as Generation Adidas players sign with the league. Buzz is doing a great job keeping on top of that market.

There are some highlights of the combine class. I'm sure I missed some honors. Who are some of the players you are interested in seeing at the combine?

2009 MLS Combine Class Announced...

To be honest, I didn't see this list coming out until after the College Cup finishes up. Here is the official release from MLS:

For Immediate Release

Contact: MLS Communications

(212) 450-1227

communications@mlsnet.com

2009 adidas MLS Player Combine To Feature 65 of College Soccer’s Top Division I Seniors

Eight 2008 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists among invitees

NEW YORK (Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008) – Major League Soccer today announced the initial list of 65 college seniors from 45 Division I schools who have been invited to participate in the 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine. The annual player combine will be held at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 9-13, 2009. The game schedule for the player combine is also included below.

The coaching and management staffs of all 15 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine, which concludes two days before the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. At the 2008 MLS SuperDraft 43 of the 56 players drafted participated in the 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine; 12 combine players were selected in the first round. The 2009 MLS SuperDraft will be held on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Mo.

The list of invitees is highlighted by eight players who are semifinalists for the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, NCAA soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. The MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists invited to the player combine include Wake Forest University’s Sam Cronin and Marcus Tracey, Michigan State University’s Doug DeMartin, Duke University’s Mike Grella, Creighton University’s Andrei Gotsmanov, University of California-Santa Barbara’s Chris Pontius, Indiana University’s Brad Ring, and UNC Charlotte’s Chris Salvaggionne. The 2008 MAC Hermann Trophy finalists will be announced on Dec. 12, 2008, and the winner is announced on Jan. 9, 2009.

The initial player list was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches representing all conferences who nominated and voted for players in conjunction with MLS coaches. Youth players from the Generation adidas program will join additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II and III schools, NAIA schools and Division I alternates to finalize the 2009 adidas Player Combine. The final player list and team assignments will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine will separate all players into four teams and feature two games per day at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 10, 11 and 13. Each team will be led by an experienced Division I coach and will be assigned a youth coach, to be named at a later date. Santa Clara University Head Coach, Cam Rast has been selected to coach Team adidas Tiro. Caleb Porter, a former MLS player and current assistant coach at Indiana University will coach Team Predator PowerSwerve. Entering his ninth season at Providence University, former MLS player Chaka Daley will lead Team adiTunit. University of Notre Dame Head Coach Bobby Clark will lead Team adiPure.

The Sheraton Yankee Clipper Hotel and the Harbor Beach Marriott will serve as the official headquarters of the adidas MLS Player Combine and the host hotel for players and coaching staffs.

Media interested in securing credentials for the 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine should contact MLS Sports Communications Manager Stephen Rodriguez at 212-450-1227 or stephen.rodriguez@mlsnet.com.

The game schedule and the 65 players selected, broken down by position and by school are included below:

MLS PLAYER COMBINE GAME SCHEDULE

All games are open to the public. All times eastern and schedule is subject to change.


Saturday, January 10

2:30 PM Predator PowerSwerve vs. adiTunit (Lockhart Stadium)

4:30 PM adiPure vs. adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

Sunday, January 11

3:00 PM adiTunit vs. adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

5:00 PM Predator PowerSwerve vs adiPure (Lockhart Stadium)

Tuesday, January 13

9:15 AM Predator PowerSwerve vs adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

11:15 AM adiPure vs adiTunit (Lockhart Stadium)

2009 ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (7): Chris Brown (Boston College); Evan Bush (University of Akron); Steward Ceus (University of Albany); Alec Dufty (University of Evansville); Neal Kitson (St. John’s University); Milos Kocic (Loyola College); Sean Milligan (Dartmouth College)



DEFENDERS (20): Lyle Adams (Wake Forest University); Calum Angus (Saint Louis University); Trevor Banks (Old Dominion University); Darius Barnes (Duke University); Rhett Bernstein (Brown University); Matt Besler (Notre Dame University); Evan Brown (Wake Forest University); Oscar Castillo (University of Connecticut); Chris Clements (University of Tulsa); AJ Delagarza (University of Maryland); Paul Gerstenberger (Boston College); David Hertel (Michigan State University); Wes Knight (College of Charleston); Otto Loewy (Winthrop University); Yohance Marshall (University of South Florida); Ryan Mirsky (Southern Methodist University); Babjide Ogunbiyi (Santa Clara University); Kyle Russell (Coastal Carolina University); Seth Sinovic (Creighton University); Jack Traynor (Notre Dame University)



MIDFIELDERS/FORWARDS (39): Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (George Mason University); Quincy Amarikwa (University of California-Davis); Brandon Barklage (Saint Louis University); Josh Boateng (Liberty University); Graciano Brito (Quinnipiac University); Pav Castenada (Duke University); Aaron Clapham (University of Louisville); Raphael Cox (University of Washington); Sam Cronin (Wake Forest University); Dylan Curtis (University of California-Davis); Doug DeMartin (Michigan State University); Jokul Elisabetarson (University of North Carolina-Greensboro); Michael Fucito (Harvard University); Andrei Gotsmanov (Creighton University); Mike Grella (Duke University); Alex Grendi (University of Pennsylvania); Juan Guerra (Florida International University); Jeffrey Harwell (Southern Methodist University); Bryan Irwin (University of Portland); Richard Jata (Campbell University); George John (University of Washington); Keum Sung Kim (Loyola University); Michael Lahoud (Wake Forest University); Ryan Maduro (Providence College); Patrick Murray (Furman University); Kyle Patterson (Saint Louis University); Nick Perra (University of California-Santa Barbara); Chris Pontius (University of California-Santa Barbara); Matt Poole (University of Virginia); Akeem Priestley (University of Connecticut); Daniel Revivo (Winthrop University); Tosaint Ricketts (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay); Brad Ring (Indiana University); Chris Salvaggionne (University of North Carolina-Charlotte); Jordan Seabrook (University of South Florida); Marcus Tracy (Wake Forest University); Nick Zimmerman (James Madison University); Graham Zusi (University of Maryland)


ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY SCHOOL


Boston College
Chris Brown
Paul Gerstenberger

Brown University
Rhett Bernstein

Campbell University
Richard Jata

Coastal Carolina University
Kyle Russell

College of Charleston
Wes Knight

Creighton University
Andrei Gotsmanov
Seth Sinovic

Dartmouth University
Sean Milligan

Duke University
Darrius Barnes
Mike Grella
Pav Castaneda

Florida International University
Juan Guerra

Furman University
Patrick Murray

George Mason University
Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe

Harvard University
Michael Fucito

Indiana University
Brad Ring

James Madison University
Nick Zimmerman

Liberty University
Josh Boateng

Loyola College
Milos Kocic

Loyola University
Keum Sung Kim

Michigan State University
Doug DeMartin
David Hertel

Old Dominion University
Trevor Banks

Providence College
Ryan Maduro

Quinnipiac University
Graciano Brito

Saint Louis University
Calum Angus
Brandon Barklage
Kyle Patterson

Santa Clara University
Babajide Ogunbiyi

Southern Methodist University
Jeffrey Harwell
Ryan Mirsky

St. John’s University
Neal Kitson

University of Akron
Evan Bush

University of Albany
Steward Ceus

University of California - Davis
Quincy Amarikwa
Dylan Curtis

University of California – Santa Barbara
Nick Perera
Chris Pontius

University of Connecticut
Oscar Castillo
Akeem Priestley

University of Evansville
Alec Dufty

University of Louisville
Aaron Clapham

University of Maryland
AJ Delagarza
Graham Zusi

University of Norte Dame
Matt Besler
Jack Traynor

University of North Carolina – Charlotte
Chris Salvaggione

University of North Carolina – Greensboro
Jokull Elisabetarson

University of Pennsylvania
Alex Grendi

University of Portland
Bryan Irwin

University of South Florida
Yohance Marshall
Jordan Seabrook

University of Tulsa
Chris Clements

University of Virginia
Matt Poole

University of Washington
Raphael Cox
George John

University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
Tosaint Ricketts

Wake Forest University
Lyle Adams
Evan Brown
Sam Cronin
Michael Lahoud
Marcus Tracy

Winthrop University
Otto Loewy
Daniel Revivo

1999 US U-17 Team...Where Have I Seen That Before...

Right now I'm not sure if I should feel honored or ripped off. Or is this such a common theme that anyone could be inspired to write about it? You see, today I went to ESPN.com and found this story by Justin Rodriguez. Immediately I thought about the blog post I wrote regarding this team. I even spread it out over multiple parts.

If you read Rodriguez's story it is obvious he didn't rip off any content. He actually wrote it as a journalist getting quotes and doing interviews; something I rarely do. He obviously put more work into it than I ever did. But it brings up the question, at what point is credit due to someone else for doing some base research?

Look, I don't know if Rodriguez read my post over two years ago, or ever for that matter, and got the idea and took off from there. I don't know if Justin Rodriguez has ever read my blog at all. With the proliferation of blogs it does bring up an interesting gray area.

Justin Rodriguez, or anyone at ESPN.com who can pass on the message to Justin Rodriguez, did I provide any inspiration for this story, or did you think it up all on your own? That's all I want to know.

**EDIT** I should add that I give a lot of props to Justin Rodriguez for the research he did into this team. I did my best to Google all these guys but people like Danny Bolin didn't hit my radar as well from my desk in Denver. Nice piece Justin.

Colorado Rapids Supporters Holiday Party....

To those who live in Colorado and are soccer fans take a look at this! The Rapids are co-hosting a Holiday party with their supporters groups. The money raised will go to benefit the supporters groups. Sounds like fun.

WHAT: 2008 Colorado Rapids Supporters Holiday Ball

WHEN: Saturday, December 13, 6:30-9:30pm

WHERE: The Press Level (3rd floor) inside Dick's Sporting Goods Park

ATTIRE: Cocktail/Holiday attire is suggested

PRICES: Couples $25, Indviduals $15, Children $10, with a maxium ticket spend of $50 per family!

REGISTER: Sign up today by clicking here! You can also register by phone at (303) 727-3541.

If you've ever been interested in meeting some supporters club members or Rapids players and staff, what are you waiting for? Register!

NCAA Men's Soccer Championship - Elite 8...

November Nuttery has run into December Dodgery, and that is a poor name. There are eight teams left standing in the 2008 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.

#1 Wake Forest
#8 South Florida
unseeded Northwestern
#13 North Carolina
#3 St. John's
#6 Indiana
#7 Creighton
#2 Maryland

How many of those did I pick you ask? 4 or 50%. I did better picking the sweet 16. 11 of 16 or 69%. I think I'm middle of the road in the BigSoccer pool.

Anyway, you've still got three of the top four seeds. Michigan St. couldn't keep their ranking intact. They lost their first match against the University of Illinois - Chicago. Serves them right, State Sucks, Go Blue! Michigan's dream season ended against Indiana in the Sweet 16. I call it a dream season because back in the 90's the Michigan program wasn't even DI, it was just club. The coach there has taken the program a long way and as a fervent Wolverine supporter, I'm proud of them.

The next round of the tourney kicks off this weekend. Keep an eye on Wake, they destroyed a capable Dartmouth team 7-0 in the last round. Yeah, they put up 7 goals.