Pictures from the Wizards' Stadium Construction

Over our wonderful labor day weekend that was filled with getting drunk, playing paintball, watching soccer, playing disc golf, and hanging out with friends in a church that's been converted to a bar, I headed over to the Legends area of Kansas City to buy a new pair of Copa Mondial shoes.

Of course, I soon found out that no one carries size 14 soccer shoes, but the trip wasn't a total waste. I took a long walk around the Wizards construction site taking photographs while standing on cement barriers.

Since I'm taking a graduate class on digital archiving, I decided to practice the skill a little and below you will find a map of the stadium I have overlayed with a diagram of the construction area and field and a marker for each place I took a picture.

Click on the photo icon to see the view from each spot. I also marked out where the Wizards webcam hangs from a lightpole.


View Wizards' Stadium Construction 5-31-10 in a larger map

I'd recommend opening the map in a new window for best results.

This Weekend in Major League Soccer Soccer

The second week of Major League Soccer is arriving, and it's just in time. The first week, for me, basically consisted of an incredible tailgate in the dirt parking lot by the Wizard's stadium.

The wind blew, it poured down rain, but about 15 people chugged summer brew out of a cooler and roasted random food on my awesome little gas grill. I really don't remember a whole lot about the game other than that I saw Bruce from duNord before the game, the Wizard's won, my stupid blue felt cowboy hat turned out to have a practical function (rain defense), and Jimmy Neilson was eager to clap to the crowd.

It was odd to go back and watch the game afterward. Everyone claims the Wizard's totally dominated DC, but DC had some incredibly bad pretty much open net misses plus a super clear penalty waived aside. With two bits of luck, the game could have been incredibly different.

Of course, the same could be said about any game of soccer. "Should have", "could have". But they didn't the Wizards fan cries.

Beating a team with too many "should haves" and "could haves" can signal false hope. I'm not ready to say the Wizards are going to be awesome yet.

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A lot of my attention for the first week was captured by the absolutely horrible release of Major League Soccer Soccer dot Com. It took me awhile to realize they had switched because they forgot to make the http://mlsnet.com url redirect to the new site.

Every designer and coder who follows MLS is living off the buzz of critiquing a major failure with their web designing twitter friends.

However, one man summed it all up with a beat down of epic proportions: Fake Sigi road his giant gut to the rescue with some incredible research.

You'd better read The MLS Website Disaster or Fake Sigi himself will beat you over the head with 404 errors.

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In other blogging news, I'm back. This time I'll make no promises about how often I post. I will continue my favorite format of research, music, pictures, and humor.

If my blog posts make Adam Spangler shed a single tear, mission accomplished.

A Long-Bow Story: The Parable of The Real Madrid fan and The Wizard's Fan

One day a Real Madrid fan, was walking along a country road when he overtook a poor Wizard’s fan going in the same direction. Now the Real Madrid fan was very grasping, like most of his class, and was lamenting that he had had no chance of making any money that day; but at the sight of the man in the Jimmy Conrad shirt he brightened up wonderfully.



'That is a piece of luck,' he said to himself. 'Let me see if this Wizard’s fan is not good for something'; and he hastened his steps.

After they had bid one another good day very politely, the Real Madrid fan said to the Wizard's fan:

'I was just thinking how dull I felt, when I beheld you, but since we are going the same way, I shall find the road quite short in such agreeable company.'

'With all my heart,' replied the Wizard’s fan; 'but what shall we talk about? A big soccer man like you will not care to hear about how the Red Bulls are going to be the worst MLS team of all time.'

'Oh,' said the Real Madrid fan, 'I'll tell you what we will do. We will each tell the other the wildest tale we can imagine, and he who first throws doubt on the other's story shall pay him a hundred euros.'

To this the Wizard’s fan agreed, and begged the Real Madrid fan to begin, as he was the bigger man of the two; and privately he made up his mind that, however improbable it might be, nothing should induce him to hint that he did not believe in the Real Madrid fan's tale. Thus politely pressed the great man started:

The Real Madrid Fan's Tale


'I was going along this road one day, when I met Manuel Pellegrini traveling with a great train of footballers laden with Nike boots --'

'Very likely,' murmured the Wizard’s fan; 'I've seen that kind of thing myself.'

'No less than one hundred and one footballers,' continued the Real Madrid fan, 'all tied together by their nose strings -- and stretching along the road for almost half a mile -- '

‘Well?' said the Wizard’s fan.

'Well, a hawk swooped down on the foremost footballer and bore him off, struggling, into the air, and by reason of them all being tied together the other hundred footballers had to follow --'

'Amazing, the strength of that hawk!' said the Wizard’s fan. 'But -- well -- yes, doubtless, yes -- well -- one hundred and one fooballers -- and what did he do with them?’

'You doubt it?' demanded the Real Madrid fan.

'Not a bit!' said the Wizard’s fan heartily.


'Well,' continued the Real Madrid fan, 'it happened that the Sheik of Manchester City, Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was sitting in his private garden, counting his money, when he looked upward and that wretched hawk, with its prey, went soaring overhead; and, as luck would have it, the footballers gave an extra kick just then, the hawk lost his hold, and the whole hundred and one footballers dropped right into the Sheik's left eye!’

'Poor thing!' said the Wizard’s fan; 'it's so painful having anything in one's eye.'

'Well,' said the Real Madrid fan, who was now warming to his task, 'the Sheik shook his head, and sprang up, clapping his hand on his eye. "Oh dear!" he cried, "I've got something in my eye, and how it does smart!

'It always does,' observed the Wizard’s fan; 'perfectly true. Well, what did the poor man do?’

'At the sound of his cries, Robinho came running to his assistance. "Let me look," said he; and with that she gave the Sheik's eyelid a twitch, and out came Cristiano Ronaldo, which Ronaldo put in his pocket --' (' Ah!' grunted the Wizard’s fan) --' and then he just twisted up the corner of his handkerchief and fished a hundred more of them out of the Sheik's eye, and popped them all into his pocket with the other.'

Here the Real Madrid fan gasped as one who is out of breath, but the Wizard’s fan looked at him slowly. ‘Well?' said he.

'I can't think of anything more now,' replied the Real Madrid fan. 'Besides, that is the end; what do you say to it?’

'Wonderful,' replied the Wizard’s fan, 'and no doubt perfectly true!’

'Well, it is your turn,' said the Real Madrid fan. 'I am so anxious to hear your story. I am sure it will be very interesting.'

'Yes, I think it will,' answered the Wizard’s fan, and he began:

The Wizard's Fan's Tale


'My father was a very prosperous man. Five rainbow Wizard’s jerseys he had, and three ticket stubs to the MLS cup, and half a dozen autographs, and memorabilia in abundance; but of all his possessions the thing he loved best was a Wizard’s blue Chevrolet Camaro. Oh she was -- oh, a very fine car!’

'Yes, yes,' interrupted the Real Madrid fan, 'get on!’

'I'm getting on,' said the Wizard’s fan; 'don't you hurry me! Well, one day, as ill-luck would have it, he drove that car to the Wizard’s vs DC United game with a torn seat cover. A six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon sat in the tear and ripped it further, so that when he got home there was a rip as big as the palm of your hand.'

Yes,' said the Real Madrid fan impatiently, 'what next?’

'It was June,' said the Wizard’s fan, 'and you know how, in June, the air is full of dust-storms with rain at times? Well, the poor car got dust in that rip, and what's more, with the dust some grains of wheat, and, what with the dust and the heat and the wet, that wheat sprouted and began to grow!’

'Wheat does when it gets a fair chance,' said the Real Madrid fan.

'Yes; and the next thing we knew was that there was a crop of wheat on that car's seat as big as anything you ever saw in a hundred-acre field, and we had to hire twenty men to help reap it ! '

'One generally has to hire extra hands for reaping,' said the Real Madrid fan.

'And we got four hundred bushels of wheat off that seat!' continued the Wizard’s fan.

'A good crop!' murmured the Real Madrid fan.

'And your father,' said the Wizard’s fan, 'a poor wretch, with hardly enough to keep body and soul together -- (the Real Madrid snorted, but was silent) -- came to my father, and he said, putting his hands together as humble as could be --'

The Real Madrid fan here flashed a furious glance at his companion, but bit his lips and held his peace.

"I haven't tasted food for a week. Oh! Great master, let me have the loan of sixteen pounds of wheat from your store, and I will repay you."

"Certainly, neighbor," answered my father; "take what you need, and repay it as you can." '

‘Well?' demanded the Real Madrid fan with fury in his eye.

'Well, he took the wheat away with him,' replied the Wizard’s fan; 'but he never repaid it, and it's a debt to this day. Sometimes I wonder whether I shall not go to law about it.'

Then the Real Madrid fan began running his thumb quickly up and down the fingers of his right hand, and his lips moved in quick calculation.

'What is the matter?' asked the Wizard’s fan.

'The wheat is the cheaper; I'll pay you for the wheat,' said the Real Madrid fan, with the calmness of despair, as he remembered that by his own arrangement he was bound to give the Wizard’s fan a hundred Euros.

And to this day they say in Kansas, when a man owes a debt: 'Give me the money; or, if not that, give me at least the wheat.'

-Taken word for word from The Olive Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Player Profiles: Zoltan and Edgaras

The MLS transfer window has brought two interesting developments, new players not from South America, but from Western Europe. Hungarian striker Zoltan Hercegfalvi was introduced today as Kansas City’s newest, and much needed, footballer.

Earlier this month, New England added a footballer with a very interesting past and storied carrier. Edgaras Jankauskas hails from Lithuania and has been named the Lithuanian footballer of the year five times.

Let’s look a little closer at each of their pasts, the clubs they have represented, and any video available of them working magic.

A Life in a Few Words: Zoltan Hercegfalvi

Zoltan Hercegfalvi, was introduced today as Zoltan (and shall here forward always be known in the media as Zoltan), was born in Budapest, Hungary.

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If you were a fan of the Hungarian football league, you would know who Zoltan is. Now at age 29 he has arrived in the United States having spent much almost all of his life playing in the tumultuous league.

Zoltan began his playing career with Budapest Hunved in 1998, where he stayed for five years before moving on to two other Hungarian teams, as well as one Czech team, before returning to his first team in 2006. Much of his life he has played in the small confines of Bozsik Stadium, a small but storied 5,000 seat arena.


Video


A Life in a Few Words: Edgaras Jankauskas

Edgaras Jankauskas was born in Vilnius, Soviet Union in 1975.

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By the age of 16 he was picked up by a local youth side and continued to make his ways up the ranks, moving from team to team until he made history by signing with FB Bruges for 2.3 million Euros.

Once in Bruges, Edgaras’ stock continued to climb until he reached the pinnacle of his career, signing with FC Porto, then coached by the special one, Jose Morinho, where he won every trophy imaginable except the FA Cup.

With Porto, Edgaras picked up two Portuguese league trophies, the Portuguese Cup, the Portuguese Super Cup, the UEFA Cup, and most impressively in 2003-2004, the UEFA Champions League, making him the only player currently in Major League Soccer to hold the honor.

Although Edgaras was not a starter, he still played an important part in the victories. After winning the Scottish cup with Hearts, he was about to settle down into coaching when Steve Nichol gave him a shot.

Video
Scoring a cracker for Porto (3 minutes in)


Scoring for the Lithuanuia vs Belgium in 2004


Playing Basketball in a High School gym?


Edgaras scored his first goal in America in this year’s Superliga.


Watch Edgaras as he romps through MLS and remember the storied history and trophies he has gathered along the way.

Beckham vs the Wizards

Not a full update, but I had to share this insider video of Beckman shaking hands with the KC supporters. It captures exactly what was said that made Beckman so angry.


I love it.

The Power of SuperLiga

This last Sunday night me and my new (first one) wife had the chance to celebrate our marriage by attending our first SuperLiga game, Kansas City vs Santos Laguna. For the first time I’d get to see a Mexican team in action, and I was excited to see Kansas City win.

Or tie, all they needed was a tie.

A Sea of Green

Driving up to the stadium it became apparent that this wasn’t going to be a normal Wizard’s game. Flags were flowing from cars and trucks, colors were represented by the supports marching to stadium, but instead of Wizard’s blue, they were Santos’ green.

Walking up to the stadium, Wizard’s fans were hard to find. A green mass covered the parking lot like algae on the Chinese sea before the Olympics. As we navigated through the crowd to the Cauldron bleachers behind the West goal a glorious vision laid itself out.

Instead of one section of the stadium standing, the whole stadium was on its feet. Wizard’s fans were minorities in their own stadium. Out of the 10,300 that fit into CommunityAmerica ballpark, at least 8,000 were Santos Laguna fans.

CommunityAmerica Transformed

Together we transformed the normal somewhat subdued atmosphere into something loud, spirited, and spiritual. The small mass of Blue in the Cauldron battled the larger Santos crowd. Together a roar emitted from CommunityAmerica that has never been heard before.

Sunday, the Wizard’s faltered. Jimmy Conrad picked up an injury in the 45th minute, effectively leaving a gaping hole in defense that his replacement, McKenzie, just could not fill. Santos took full advantage of the counter and despite good chances by the Wizard’s scored the first goal.

As I stood silent, I looked around me at the crowd, loud cheering, green, standing, happy. They had come together from all over Kansas for a taste of home. To see Santos Laguna run. To love the colors. To move away from rumors, telephone conversations, gossip, radio, and TV. A chance to see your home team after years in the flat fields of Kansas.

From Anger to Laughter

As the game moved on, Santos scored again rousing the crowd into ecstasy. The Wizard’s threw hope into the crowd when Lopez stroked an incredible free kick that floated into the goal.

My anger and frustration at the Wizard’s sloppy play made me yell and scream. It made me sit down and hold my head in my hands. It made me chant and sing.

Then Santos Laguna showed their speed and killed off the game on a lightning fast counter attack. All of a sudden our hopes were gone and my mood shifted from anger to laughter. I threw back my head and laughed. The Wizard’s had lost: we were destroyed, Santos had won, but my anger faded away.

Now was the time to enjoy the incredible atmosphere.

As the Santos Laguna crowd danced and sang, I smiled.

Of Marriage and SuperLiga

Well I am off to get married on Saturday! That means I won't be posting for a week or so. I will see you soon as there are all sorts of excited footballing events going on. Just like every American fan I am excited to see if we can break Spain's record breaking run of good play. My head is brimming with ideas about all sorts of MLS stories I want to write.

If you are going to the Wizard's SuperLiga game Sunday look for me. I'll be at the tailgate with my wife!

Here is a picture of me as I ponder why no one in MLS can cross consistently.

See you there!

Question and Answer with Kerry Zavagnin and Eric Kronberg

The great thing about living in Kansas City is I can finally go to little Wizard’s promos and talk to players. Tonight I went to a combined SPCA and Wizard’s event at a sports bar that was promoting dog night at the next Wizards home game. Wizard’s long time player turned Assistant Coach Kerry Zavagnin and injured backup goalkeeper extraordinaire Eric Kronberg were sitting around chatting. I took the opportunity to ask them both a couple questions.

As with every Major League Soccer player I’ve spoken with so far (sorry about the f’ed up audio Claude Simms), they were super nice.

Kerry Zavagnin

Do you like being an Assistant Coach over being a player?
That’ s a though call, very different. They both have their positives and negatives but coaching was something I wanted to go into and I knew that I wanted to go into it long before I finished playing. To do it in a place I’d played for so long made the transition much easier.

Are you putting in more hours now that you’re a coach?
Many more hours. The average player comes in at nine am and is out by one. Now I come in at 7am and sometimes I’m not out till seven. It’s a longer day.

Eric Kronberg

Are you looking forward to the Open Cup?
Ya If I can play. I’m injured right now.

What did you pick up?
I tore my labrum and my rotator cup in my shoulder. I’m been out the last five months or so. I’m coming back in a month hopefully.

I don’t get as much news about you.
Ya you don’t hear as much about me right now, or ever.

Hey hey you were awesome in the Open Cup. I think a lot of fans appreciated your performance.
It was the first time I really got to play in a competitive match with a crowd in a long time. I played for Miami FC back in my rookie year and that was really the last time I played in front of a crowd. It’s been a couple of years. It was something special to me really getting my first time with the starting team.

Do you like being a backup goalkeeper?
Do I like it? Ummm. You’ve always got to put your time in. I was a backup in high school; I was a backup in college. I’m putting my time in and being patient. You’ve got to learn from the person above you and keep working at it.

Have you learned much from Kevin Hartman? What have you learned from him?
Oh Absolutely. It’s the little things like positioning wise and communication and little aspects of the game. Taking a step here instead of here.

I would think it would be a really intricate position because you play in such a small area of the field.
Kevin really simplifies what he does. A lot of keepers try and do too much. He really shows that you can take one step instead of three if it’s in the right spot. He knows what he’s doing, he’s been doing it for years and has all the records. It’s a great experience in my mind.

Five Weeks In: Five Questions Answered

Welcome back ya’ll, I’m still here and updating, I promise to get back on a regular schedule very soon. Big new over on the du Nordfront, Brucio is re-opened for business. That is great news all around. Now we will see some sort of competition between MLS Daily and du Nord. Should be interesting to see how that plays out. Hopefully they will work together for the greater good.

Five Answers
Will Gary Smith Improve Colorado?

Perhaps this question should be: how could Gary Smith not improve Colorado? Gary has everything going for him. He has put in place a system that rights all the wrongs Fernando Clavijo put in place.

Horrible tales were told while Clavijo coached. Absolutely no scouting other teams before they played. Practices with no structure, just open games. Little communication between teammates and the coach. Supporter groups held down and kicked out of the stadium. From the moment Gary took over new air flowed into Colorado. Order was restored, a up and coming coach was getting his chance, and the players were behind him.

A run towards the playoffs resulted and this season Colorado is off to a strong start.

Will the Wizard’s young players produce?

Kansas City’s 09 team is loaded with young players. And unlike some teams in the league, they are getting minutes, Besler, Kraus, Espinoza, and other young stars are expected to step up and fill the gaps. Curt Onalfo is building for the future. He needs his young quick agile players to quickly move into the ebb and flow of his system.

So far it has been a success. The Wizards got off to a rough start losing their first two games (not for a lack of scoring though) and then proceeded to go 2-1-0. Last week saw a jaw dropping come from behind victory at Chicago. When I was leaping through the air in my living room that tie sure felt like a win.


Will Fredy Montero be convicted of rape?

Earlier I reported on Fredy Montero’s rape charge and I am happy to report that all charges have been dropped due to lack of corroborative evidence. Fredy is safe, Seattle can continue to be proud of their nineteen year old star, and the league breathes a sigh of relief as their new model franchise goes unblemished.

Will MLSnet.com’s streaming service be any better?

Yes this is perfect representation of video streaming

I really wish I could say yes to this. I really really, really do. I am a huge fan of Major League Soccer’s media distribution model. They realize that letting their fans see almost every game is a win. They have embraced web 2.0 like no other soccer league in the world. While the Premier League actively tries to stop fans from watching online video, and on their site, provide zero video.

But MLSnet’s streaming service still has large problems. The Wizards game against Seattle that thousands were counting on failed horribly and no one knew why. No details that I am aware of where ever reported.

MLSnet, you need to at least provide a layer of transparency. I know that working with tech and streaming services can be hard and prone to problems, but at least let fans know what is going on. Provide updates on your front page instead of just removing the “Watch Live” links. Send out update emails about current problems. You will find much more forgiveness if you communicate with your paying customers.

How will the economy influence league attendance?

Is Major League Soccer free from the horrible economy? Unfortunately the answer is no. Attendance has been low for the first five weeks, and excuses have been forthcoming. Horrible weather, everyone had the flu, Giants stadium sucks, and your mom. But even with two huge outliers in Seattle and Toronto the attendance is down a bit. Obama, send a stimulus to Major League Soccer.

Now go take care of 4/20.

Soccer in America: Kevin Souter

Music Kevin Likes


On Friday of last week I talked with Kevin Souter and tried to understand a little about him and where he is going on this crazy ball of dust. It was a great talk; Souter is a friendly guy. It is imperative that you read his words in a Scottish accent.

Kevin Souter in the Beginning

What is your first soccer memory?
My actual first soccer memory was when I was really really small. As soon as you started walking [in the UK] you were going to be kicking a ball. I remember being over at my grandparents. I’d be in a hallway in his house just kicking the ball back and forth with my grandpa. We’d do it for a long, long time. Just him kicking the ball and kicking it back to him. It’s something I always remember.

Then I remember playing outside. There was a little parking lot we used to play in. I must have been three years old during that time.

You were in Scotland, how did pick Graceland out of all the American colleges?

Well something I’ve always had an eye on is soccer in the states. My high school PE teacher always said there is opportunity to go and play soccer in the states and get a scholarship and do some schooling over there. So from high school I’d always had it in the back of my mind.

When I was in high school I was picked up by a Scottish Premier League team Aberdeen and I was on their books as an academy player. I was with their youth team growing up. I never really thought about education. I’d always hoped I’d make it with Aberdeen.

That was my dream and boyhood team. As I progressed through there, [some of the] coach’s thought I was doing well with the younger team and the reserves but the head coach didn’t think I was progressing as much as I should have been and decided to part ways.

I took a little knock there and was pretty disheartened and went and played for some part time soccer team and did a college course back home. After a while I thought “I really do love soccer and I want to get back into it and continue with my education as well.”

A guy I was playing with had been over and was at Harvard University, a NCAA school. I talked to him and his coach contacted me and we talked a little bit. By that time he couldn’t get me over so the plan was to go to another school for a year and then transfer as long as my grades were good.

Graceland University contacted me. The coach that called me was the assistant woman’s coach, a goalkeeping coach. His son (Josh Wagenaar) was the goalkeeper at Harvard University. By this point I was ready to go anywhere. So I took the chance right away.

I had never seen the place, never heard of it, and it was an eye opener for sure. The people there were great, the coaching staff was great, and we had a lot of success. I grew a lot as a player and as a person and I have a lot of respect for the organization and the coaching staff there.

Playing in NAIA
How competitive do you think NAIA is?

I was pleasantly surprised by the standard of competition. Our strength was we were a hard team to beat, a hard working team. We played several teams that were better technical with guys from Brazil or South Africa, but our team was very hard to break down. We got goals off of set pieces - breakaways. Wherever it was we worked for it.

In terms of the league we played William Jewel, Benedictine, and Mid America. There was a lot of good team we would consistently play. Then going to the National Tournament as well, there were a lot of good players.

To be honest I think the NAIA is underrated. All the hype is about Division I and NCAA and during the draft all the players come from there, but there are a lot of good players in NAIA who are seemingly overlooked which is a shame but that’s the nature of it.

Current players in NAIA still talk about how good you were. Do you think you were better than the pack?
When I first came I probably lacked self belief. The coach was getting his doctorate in sports psychology and besides the team side of stuff he was probably working on sports psychology stuff. That really helped my game as a player and my confidence. I had experience in the past, professional experience, coming through a youth setup and seeing how it was done so I knew I had ability.

He gave me a license to take charge and the confidence to be a leader on the team and to take games by the scruff of the neck and be in charge. I felt I was a strong competitive player in the league. It’s a testament to the team, we’d go to some teams who’d been scouting us and they’d put two guys on me. That’s says something about me right?

We were a team so if two guys were on me we’ve got one guy spare. I loved my three years at Graceland and I’d never change them. I love the league and I had some great times there and it was defiantly great competition.

I put my head down and worked every spring and summer time. The coach would give me things to work on and I’d work on them and improve on them by the following season. It’s all about progression.

MLS Season One

How do you feel about your first Major League Soccer Season?
It was unexpected to be honest. Going into open tryouts I had that self belief in myself. I got picked up after the tryouts and went to Argentine with the team. As soon as I got myself adjusted to the team and the speed of play I started to understand a bit more what I could do and the potential I had. The coaches liked it and signed me up for the year. My targets for the year was to continually work hard and progress and that meant putting in all the extra time in the gym or after practice.


It was a long road getting to where I was. I wasn’t going to give it up that easy. I was going to do all that extra work. Stick around after practice working on certain things and implement them in the games. I was trying to get to the reserve team for starters. As I got more and more minutes there I would start to show a bit more and hopefully at the end of year to come away having earned a senior roster spot. That’s what I did. On top of that I got to make the A team and play a few games and I made my debut against my long time hero David Beckham.

You stole the ball from him with your first touch didn’t you?
Yeah. That was special. I went in on right side. I figured he’d be on the opposite side. Beckham was on my side for whatever reason and I think it was a corner. He took a bad touch and the ball got away from him and I got in there.

I have a picture sitting up in my room of me shaking hands with him after the game. That’s something I’m going to cherish for a long, long time.

After that things just took off. I got starts. I got a goal the following week when we played Toronto. It was a lucky hit but the records show it was mine so I’m taking it.

I started in Chicago and managed to keep myself in the lineup right through the playoffs. My task is to build off that this season.

2009 Preseason
You just got back from Guadalajara, what is it like?
Well the hotel was nice. We trained at Atlas’ facilities which were nice. They were very hospitable and we went and watched one of their games which they won 2-0. In terms of the city itself there are some nice areas and some rundown areas.

A few of us got a couple of taxis and went to a market. It was very nice and cool to see, a big market, a lot of stuff in there. We did a little sightseeing.

Guadalajara is kinda the same altitude as Colorado. In terms of training we were breathing heavy. Coming back the last couple days everyone is doing great.

No one was cut from the Wizard’s roster. How did that affect the preseason?
For the most part we had meetings before we left and got an idea of where we stood. The coach has enough confidence in all the players here. Certain spots have more depth but we got the majority of the guys back from last year. We didn’t add too much, just a little more depth. The guys like myself, John Leathers, Chance Myers, Marquess, the second year guys gained a lot of experience. Roger Espinoza with the Honduras National Team.

Guys are gaining more experience and on top of that we got a couple good acquisitions, the first year guys, Graham Zusi, and Beasler. We’ve got a pretty solid team. We have 24 but we still have Chance and Kronberg who are injured reserve right now. They are probably going to be added to the team too.

We went down to Florida and saw several teams down there with a lot of players, 40, 50, and it must be hard trying to get them all minutes and assessing all those players. We had maybe 25-30 guys and it was a lot more manageable. We could get straight to business and make more of the preseason this year than we did last year.

Thoughts on the 2009 Season
How will the Wizards do in the upcoming season?
I thought we finished really strong last year and I don’t think it will be any different this year. Our goal is to keep a really good home record which puts us in good stead and pick away at away games and try to get some wins away from home.

The squad is more than capable of getting results. Other teams have been adding to their squads and getting strong as well but I think we’ve got good balance and are gaining more experience. The coach has trust in the guys from last year.

There are no wholesale changes. In practice we’ve been working more on defensive movement and more offensive movements as well. As we play more as a team, we fight as a team, we win as a team. I think it’s going to show this year.

Our goal again is to make the playoffs and we want to win the conference and take it from there.

Do you think you will continue starting? I know you made a strong run at the end of last season.
It’s hard to say. This preseason has been kinda up and down for me. I feel like I started slower in the preseason but it has come around; I feel like I’m really getting sharp again. Again we’ve got so much competition in these spots. The acquisition of Hirsig, he’s been playing on the right in some preseason games, Zusi has been playing well along with Herculez who’s just come back from injury.

I feel I am starting to show more of the potential I have, getting sharper again and back to normal. There are plenty of options and it really depends who the coach decides to go with at the time. I’m always striving for a starting spot and whether it happens the first game or not I’m going to continue working.

When I’m called upon I’m going to do my job.