Field Goal Fun

Some of the boys, including former high school place kicker Kerry Zavagnin, imitated Ryan Succop today at the Chiefs' indoor facility. Looks like Kurt Morsink would make a decent American football kicker:

Nelson Pizarro's Travels

Former Open Tryout participant Nelson Pizarro is back trying to make the 2010 squad. Check out this video about his travels since he left the Wizards in the middle of last season:

Speaking of the open tryout, if you'd like to participate in this year's version (March 13-14), click here and sign up.

NSR but Still Sweet

The students told him he'd win tickets to the NCAA Final Four if he made the shot. They were kidding. He wasn't. Joke's on them. The NCAA has chipped in and invited Mr. Branstrom to the Final Four anyway.

MLS and Players Union Agree to Continue to Negotiate Through Feb. 12

NEW YORK (Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010) – Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Major League Soccer Players Union (Players Union) today announced that the two organizations have agreed to continue to negotiate through February 12, as they work towards reaching a new collective bargaining agreement.

“While we still have areas of disagreement, the talks have been constructive and both parties believe it makes sense to continue to work hard to reach agreement,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “This extension provides both MLS and the players the opportunity to continue our discussions while clubs are in training camps preparing for the 2010 MLS season.”

“Both the Players Union and MLS have concluded that a new agreement will not be reached by February 1, but we have agreed to continue to talk and we will be meeting over the next two weeks to determine if a new agreement can be reached,” said Players Union Executive Director Bob Foose. “In the meantime, MLS Players are reporting to training camp, and preparations for the 2010 season will continue.”

The current CBA, the first in MLS history, is a five-year agreement that had been scheduled to expire on Jan. 31, 2010.

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. MLS features many stars from the U.S., Canada, and around the world. MLS kicks off its 15th season on March 25, 2010. MLS features 16 clubs each playing 30 regular season matches in 2010. Those teams include Chicago Fire; Colorado Rapids; Chivas USA; Columbus Crew; D.C. United; FC Dallas; Houston Dynamo; Kansas City Wizards; Los Angeles Galaxy; New York Red Bulls; New England Revolution; Real Salt Lake; San Jose Earthquakes; Seattle Sounders FC; Toronto FC; and, in their inaugural season, Philadelphia Union. Expansion teams in Vancouver and Portland will debut in 2011. For more information about MLS, log on to the League’s official website at MLSnet.com.

ABOUT THE MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYERS UNION
The Major League Soccer Players Union, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is the exclusive bargaining representative for all Major League Soccer players. For more information about the Players Union, log on to its website at www.mlsplayers.org.

EA Sports Launches WC Game April 27

Was nosing around the web looking up some information on FIFA 10, when I stumbled across this nifty treat. EA Sports will be launching 2010 Soccer World Cup South Africa April 27 on all major gaming platforms. That's right folks, a dedicated game for this summer's magnificent tournament. Think it's just a repeat of FIFA 10 with some new color schemes? Think again. Read this producer blog about the differences from FIFA 10 to this summer's only official World Cup game.

Sold already? Go ahead and pre-order yours today. If not, they did some demos today at Stamford Bridge, so I'm sure some reviews and screen shots and such will be coming out shortly.

Lots of Wizards Links

-KC Star's story that ran yesterday regarding the first day of training and all the fitness that went with it.

-Soccer America talks about the "First Son of MLS", Teal Bunbury, and what it means to start having father-son combos play in the League.

-Match Fit USA chimes in with their own take on what Teal's entrance to the League means. They correctly compare how long it took other major leagues to gain national prominence to our steady growth.

-CBCsports did a story Tuesday about Teal and Alex, which we haven't pointed you to yet.

-Thad at the Back Post gives his thoughts on Day 2 of training, the first day with the ball.

-The Basehor Sentinel covers the approval of our stadium project and goes into some of the benefits to the Bonner Springs area.

WC TV Schedule/More

The only ESPN network not showing games.

Yesterday, ESPN announced the full 2010 FIFA World Cup schedule, which includes 44 ESPN games, 10 ESPN2 games and 10 ABC games (all in HD). The United States kicks off its 6th-straight World Cup finals Saturday, June 12 against England at 1 p.m. CT on ABC. The USA will then play Slovenia Friday, June 18 at 8:30 a.m. CT on ESPN and Algeria Wednesday, June 23 at 8:30 a.m. CT on ESPN. All ESPN and ESPN2 broadcasts will be simulcast live online at ESPN360.com, with ABC matches re-shown later on the website. For the full match schedule, click above.

As most of you know by now, Landon Donovan scored his first EPL goal yesterday in Everton's 2-0 victory over Sunderland. Donovan's calm settle and finish drew praise from Everton boss David Moyes, among others. Check out Steve Goff's rundown of what the British papers said about USA's #10. (Everton fans were chanting "USA, USA" after Donovan scored. Think that'll happen June 12 when he scores? [Count that as a bold prediction])

Ives Galarcep has been nominated by Soccerlens as the best Football writer of 2009. That's a pretty big honor for an American, as he's up against four from the islands. Go vote for your favorite.

Meet Octavio Zambrano

Check out this clip from after today's training session with new assistant Octavio Zambrano. He likes goals as much as the rest of us do.

How do you feel about bulldozers?

I, for one, like them a whole lot:

KC Wizards Play LA Lakers?

They did the other night...10shirt.net pulled the image:

No word on how Eric Kronberg and Nick Cardenas did in the paint against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

1st Day Update

Today was the first day of 2010 training, which consisted mostly of fitness testing. The players did the beep test, speed/agility drills and other running exercises. Below are videos of 1st rounder Teal Bunbury, the 2009 Hermann Trophy winner, and Fitness Coach John Pascarella. For more from the first day, including who is in and out of camp at the moment, head to The Back Post. Hint: Hartman, Kamara and Lopez are not at training. Louis Crayton, formerly of D.C. United, is.

International Footie

Today is an interesting day of international fixtures, as four Premier League games are on tap along with a pretty big international friendly between Argentina and Costa Rica and Copa Libertadores playoffs. Spurs-Fulham kicks off at 1:45 p.m. CT today on Fox Soccer Channel, with Wolves-Liverpool at the same time on Setanta. Follow all of today's matches live on ESPN Soccernet's scoreboard, including Bolton-Burnley in a showdown of Stuart Holden's trial teams (Bolton confirmed his capture today) and Portsmouth-West Ham in a showdown of teams who have had some financial troubles this season.

Diego Maradona will look to trim down his squad for this summer's World Cup, beginning with a mostly domestic roster for tonight's friendly against Costa Rica. Argentina fans will be interested to know the roster features four from Boca Juniors, three from Velez Sarsfield, three from Estudiantes and none from River Plate.

Goalkeepers: Cristian Campestrini (Arsenal, Argentina), Nelson Ibanez (Godoy Cruz)
Defenders: Carlos Matheu (Independiente), Guillermo Burdisso (Rosario Central), Gaston Diaz (Velez Sarsfield), Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes), Luciano Monzon (Boca Juniors), Matias Caruzzo (Argentinos Juniors)
Midfielders: Enzo Perez (Estudiantes), Federico Insua, Nicolas Gaitan (both Boca Juniors), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Franco Razzotti (Velez Sarsfield), Walter Erviti (Banfield)
Forwards: Gabriel Hauche (Argentinos Juniors), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes), Jonathan Cristaldo (Velez Sarsfield).

Major Linkage

-Robb Heineman answers some questions for Greg Seltzer of Soccer365 regarding the new stadium and what it means for our club.

-Greg Cotton did an interview with KMOX out of St. Louis Sunday regarding the stadium and other topics.

-Matt Besler checks in at MLS Insider Blog with his pre-season postcard.

-The Free Beer Movement buys us a beer for getting our stadium project up and running.

-Beau Dure of USA Today soccer-writing fame is publishing a book, Long-Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer. Pre-order your copy today; I already did.

-Ives Galarcep checked in with the remarkable recovery story of Charlie Davies.

-Practice starts today at 11 at the Chiefs indoor facility. Hartman, Kamara and Lopez will not be present due to on-going contract talks.

-Don't forget to respond to Robb Heineman's post here at Hillcrest last Friday and tell him what you want to see our club do in the future.

Espinoza Interview

We caught up with left winger Roger Espinoza, star of Honduras' 3-1 win over the United States Saturday, for a question/answer session regarding the Honduras game, his off-season training regimen and his thoughts on the upcoming season.

USA-Honduras

How about a bittersweet game for Kansas City Wizards fans? Yes, the USA lost. Yes, Jimmy Conrad was shown an early red for a highly questionable second yellow card that resulted in a PK. Roger Espinoza, however, did score the third and final goal for Honduras in a 3-1 victory over the U.S. at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Roger was dangerous all night, helping set up the second goal and taking part in the build-up that led to the initial PK. Watch the full match highlights. Let us know your thoughts on that PK call.

WHAT WE’RE REALLY DOING

We’re doing what we’re doing in order to create memories you can keep with you for your entire life. Some of my best memories involve sports, not always even necessarily the game itself but the experience it provided. I can’t remember having more fun than the Summer of 1998 waking up on a sunny Saturday morning, taking the “L” to Wrigley, having kegs and eggs at Hi-Tops and strolling in to the bleachers for an unbelievable afternoon with my buddies as both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased the home run record. Bears or Niners Sundays, Notre Dame Saturdays, Jordan and the Bulls Friday nights, or any sunny afternoon at Wrigley or Pac Bell Park, my 1990’s were grounded in fantastic experiences with my friends and family at stadium events. That was the best… What drives me about sports is the opportunity to author an afternoon that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand when you think about it 20 years after the fact. That’s why I go…..in order to remember how great it felt that day in the sun.

Back in 2006, I created a post that I think I called “help me – I don’t know what I’m doing,” that caused some consternation, but actually provided me with some decent information on what fans really thought about our organization and what improvements needed to be made. Well, I think it’s time to ask the question again; not because we feel lost in the woods, but on the verge of investing $150 million in a new way of life for OUR brand I think it’s important to figure out how we try to transcend sports in the way Saturday at Wrigley does. Why not see if we can create something bigger than a soccer team in Kansas City, and offer authentic experiences and interactions that attract interest from Seattle to Boston? I’m quite certain there is enough creativity from people on these blogs to begin to aggregate ideas, images and services that breathe life in to what soccer really can become in this country. Maybe they don’t show up in your specific stadium right away, but if it’s the right idea you’ll see it show up in ours – and hopefully you can be there to take the credit.

I’m guessing there’s better than a small majority of Y-Gens reading this post. It’s not all that insightful to suggest that you’re the key to the sort of revolution I’m proposing for American soccer. I think it’s important that the biggest evangelists for our club come from within and we create a culture in Kansas City that grows on top of itself every day. We’re going to do whatever we can to get the best and brightest to Kansas City, and if that’s you I’d welcome you to the ride.

I can’t help but think there’s a major lifestyle point we’re missing in how we go about putting our experiences together. We just connect so differently with people today than our parents did. Frankly, it’s probably just as likely to consider getting as many people together for a virtual tailgate prior to entering an online watch party through my Xbox Live subscription as it is to do a real tailgate 3 hours prior to a home game. Web 2.0 hasn’t flown in to the stadium experience quite yet, and 3.0 isn’t even at the ticket counter. There has to be a way for us to create experiences, services and amenities that better match your lifestyle. I think we have some ideas here that we’re going to try.

Technology can be a huge risk in these experiences – but oh well. One great thing about being owned by the two preeminent healthcare IT entrepreneurs is when it comes to technology and its disruption, you’re never afraid of trying something…..because as disruptive as it may seem it’s not even close to how disruptive they’re going to be over the next 10 years to the established healthcare system. Stadiums need to be “smarter,” they need to know you’re inside (if you want) and help you better connect to your friends (or those that should be your friends), preferences and benefits. I know there are literally hundreds of use cases that could be created on this topic.

One of the biggest opportunities we face is how wonderfully diverse our sport is. I think it’s laughable some times when we say that targeting 18-35 year olds is our goal in sports. Uuhh…so what you’re saying is we’re “targeting” a segment that has 2 generations, four micro-generations, 2 sexes, 6 levels of techno-sophistication, hundreds of ethnicities and languages….oh..that’s specific. The days of mass marketing are gone and figuring out ways to celebrate and cater to the diverse audience that walks in to the stadium (or better yet the audience that hasn’t yet walked in to the stadium) has to be a major goal. I think it’s one of the biggest challenges in sports and I’m not sure who’s got the best roadmap through it – maybe Toronto?

So this doesn’t come off as incessant rambling, let me see if I can bring this to any sort of conclusion. Basically, I’m the President of the third most relevant pro sports brand in the 32nd ranked DMA (Nielson) in the United States. Not the third most relevant sports property in the DMA, the third most relevant PRO sports property (and I’m sure NASCAR would argue with me). The point is, there is quite a challenge ahead for our brand, and the notion that strikes me is “why not here, why not now”. So that’s what we’re going to do; put our heads down and work hard, try everything once (“everything” everything, not everything) and try to deliver a memory as often as possible. I’m hopeful you’ll stay a part of the club, or give us the opportunity to convince you to become a part of what we’re trying to do – whether you live here, New York or San Sebastian, Spain. I’m always open to your thoughts and ideas. Thanks a lot and talk to you “down the byline” (shameless plug for a great blog – downthebyline.com). rh

USA-Honduras Tomorrow on FSC

Tomorrow night, the U.S. Men's National Team kicks off preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a "friendly" against also-qualified Honduras at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The match has the potential to feature up to three Wizards players, as Jimmy Conrad and Kevin Hartman are in U.S. camp and Roger Espinoza is in Honduras camp.

Watch the game live at 8 p.m. CT on Fox Soccer Channel. The American Outlaws are hosting a watch party at Willie's at 1501 Grand downtown south of Sprint Center. Join them if you dare.

New Elite Juniors Camp

This year, our KCW Juniors will hold elite camps March 15-17 for boys ages 11-16 who are interested in joining our program in the future. The camp registration fee of $125 also includes a Wizards training top and a ticket to our home opener March 27 against D.C. United. The camp will take place at our Swope Park Training Center. All players will be evaluated by our KCW Juniors coaching staff, with some invited back to train with the team at a later date. To register for the camp, click here.

In other news, Wayne Rooney was a huge Paul Rideout fan when he was younger.

Welcome Pablo Escobar

How about that for a first impression? You can't tell me that shot doesn't intrigue you! Pablo Escobar joins us from Colombian power Deportivo Cali, after also spending time at Quindio. Before Quindio, Escobar spent a couple of months in the academy program at Boca Juniors. Here's a longish interview with him on a wide variety of topics (Spanish).

Escobar is on the left. We hear he's big and he's FAST.

Auvray, Escobar Announced

Call him sweet-hair Stephane.

As Thad told you the other night, Stephane Auvray is joining the Wizards. So too, is Pablo Escobar. Not that Pablo Escobar...Pablo Andres Escobar, a 22-year-old central defender from Colombia. Well, the country is the same, but he's not related to the former drug kingpin. We'll start with some videos of Auvray (and one story), and get you some Escobar-related content here shortly.


A video compilation of Auvray highlights.

guadeloupe nicaragua gold cup 2009
by beaurenom

His goal from the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Nicaragua.

Seat Selection Saturday

Greetings People of Earth (Yes, I'm for Coco), just wanted to drop a note to make sure everyone is aware that Saturday is our seat selection event out at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Should have posted this earlier, but as you've seen, there's been a lot of fun news regarding our new stadium just down the street. Here's the full scoop. If you have any questions, give us a call at 888-4KC-GOAL or 913-387-3400.

First Dig Video

Check it out:

Dirt Has Moved

The first shovel-full of dirt.

That's right everyone, we started moving soil at our new stadium site today. Robb Heineman did the honors, picking up and dumping out the first loader full of dirt on the stadium site. Here are a couple of pics. We'll have more up on the website later. Don't forget, fans please upload your photos to our Flickr group to document stadium construction: http://www.flickr.com/groups/kcsoccerstadium/

The very first hole ever dug at the stadium site (middle-right).

More digging.

Robb Heineman climbs into the loader.

The document that says we can be on site.

Construction Starts at 1 p.m.!!!

Robb will be back moving dirt today.

Those yellow machines that we told you about a few weeks back will start moving today at 1 p.m. CT, as OnGoal CEO/Wizards President Robb Heineman will operate the machinery for the first dirt movement. If you want to join to see the proceedings, you can park in the back parking lot at Nebraska Furniture Mart. We'll provide updates via Twitter, and I hear Mike of Down the Byline will be joining us.

Some Photo Fun

Latest rendering of the stadium in KCK.

A watercolor of the Cauldron Club. Not 100% final, but it's close.

Watercolor of the stadium club. Again, not 100% final, but close.

Stadium Approved!

Development team posing for celebratory photo after today's special meeting.

Tonight, the Unified Government approved unanimously both motions relating to the development agreement with OnGoal, Lane4 and Cerner. Stadium construction will begin tomorrow. What do you think Wizards fans? Excited construction is now just hours away?!

Wyandotte County Calls Meeting

Wyandotte County has called a special Board of Commissioners meeting tomorrow at 5 p.m. CT regarding the Wizards stadium development agreement. All fans are encouraged to attend the public meeting to show their support for the Wizards. (Wear your Wizards gear!) If the plan for a soccer-specific stadium in Village West for the Kansas City Wizards is approved tomorrow, construction would begin immediately.

View Larger Map

PV's Draft-Day Reactions

Check out Peter Vermes' opinion of last week's SuperDraft right after all the action ended:

Thank You Kansas City Fans!

To all the Wizards fans out there, thank you so much for doing your to help ensure Kansas City was one of 18 American cities included in the USA Bid Committee's bid to FIFA. You have all been tremendous supporters throughout the process. We're not done yet, so keep signing up and inviting your friends and family to www.goUSAbid.com/kc.

Preki Enters Hall of Fame

Preki accepting his 2003 MLS MVP award.

Props to Preki, our all-time leader in goals and assists, who played nine very successful seasons for the Wizards. Preki won the MLS MVP award in both 1997 and 2003, becoming the only player in MLS history to win MLS MVP twice. He helped Kansas City win the 2000 MLS Cup, 2000 Supporters' Shield and 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Peter Vermes finished 9th in voting. Read the press release last night from the Hall:

Preki Radosavljevic, Major League Soccer’s only two-time MVP, and Thomas Dooley, the 1993 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, have been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2010 on the Player ballot.

Dooley, eligible on the Player ballot for the last time, was named on 71 percent of the ballots, while Radosavljevic was named on 68 percent of the ballots. A Player must be named on 66.7 percent of the selection committee’s ballots to earn election.

The two players were both members of the 1998 U.S. FIFA World Cup team, and the European-born duo started back-to-back MLS All-Star games together in 1998-1999.

“What a great pleasure to announce two extraordinary players and individuals as the newest Hall of Famers – Thomas Dooley and Preki,” said National Soccer Hall of Fame President Jonathan Ullman. “These two players have made historic contributions to soccer in the United States, changing the character of the American game by bringing their international experience to our domestic players. Both individuals have been close to election previously, and it is wonderful to see this well-deserved honor finally come to pass.”

Dooley and Radosavljevic were the top two vote-getters not elected in the 2009 balloting, when Jeff Agoos and Joy Fawcett were elected. In 2008 when no player appeared on the required 75-percent of ballots, Radosavljevic and Dooley finished first and fourth in the voting. Dooley had been named on at least 50 percent of the ballots in each of his previous six years of eligibility, but never earned the call.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame as a Player, an individual must have been retired for at least three full calendar years but no more than 10 years, and either 1) Played at least 20 full international games for the United States or 2) Played at least five seasons in an American first-division professional league and was selected as a league All-Star at least once. Any player named on less than five percent of the ballots is dropped from eligibility on the Player ballot.

The selection committee for the player election includes all current and former coaches of the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Team, active MLS coaches with a minimum of four years tenure, select soccer administrators, designated members of the media and all Hall of Famers. The committee members name up to 10 Players from the list of eligible candidates on their annual ballot.

Information on the Veteran Player and Builder 2010 ballot results will be released in the coming weeks. The Class of 2010 induction ceremony will likely be scheduled for this summer. Details are still being finalized and will be announced at a later date. 2010

Player Ballot Elections Results
Players Votes Percentage
Thomas Dooley 83 70.94 %
Preki Radosavljevic 80 68.38 %
---------------------------------------------
Earnie Stewart 68 58.12 %
Shannon MacMillan 64 54.70 %
Joe-Max Moore 61 52.14 %
Marco Etcheverry 59 50.43 %
Carlos Valderrama 55 47.01 %
Cindy Parlow 45 38.46 %
Peter Vermes 44 37.61 %
Chris Henderson 37 31.62 %

Live SuperDraft Coverage

Free live streaming by Ustream

The MLS SuperDraft begins today at 1 p.m. CT, with the first round broadcast live on ESPN2. The video player above will feature live commentary (and possibly the picks before the picks are turned in) from Wizards President Robb Heineman throughout the proceedings. Refresh your browser as the Wizards come on the clock. We will alert you when the stream is live via Twitter. We control five picks in the draft, including the #4 overall selection. Our picks:

Round Pick (Overall) Note
1 4 (4) F Teal Bunbury (Akron)
2 4 (20) D Korede Aiyegbusi (NC State)
3 4 (36) D Nick Cardenas (San Diego State)
3 9 (41) F Mauro Fuzetti (Michigan)
4 4 (52) Natural Selection

Wizards Take Ofori Sarkodie in 4th

Ofori Sarkodie, an outside defender from Indiana, was our final selection in the 2010 SuperDraft. You see a bit of Ofori above. He is a VERY well spoken individual, similar to 1st rounder Teal Bunbury. Sarkodie's brother Kofi played with Bunbury at Akron. Sarkodie was a nominee for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award this year.

Wizards Pick Two in 3rd

Nick Cardenas Draft Diary Part One from mlsinsider on Vimeo.

In the 3rd round, Kansas City added defender Nick Cardenas of San Diego State and forward Mauro Fuzetti of Michigan...check out his page on Fanbase.

Cardenas is a 6-5 defender, who scored 12 goals in a four-year high school career. He was named First Team All-Pac 10 in 2009 and was the 2006 Pac 10 Freshman of the Year. Cardenas was featured

Fuzetti was a two-time member of the All-Big 10 1st team after scoring 9 goals as a junior and 8 as a senior. For his career, he recorded 23 goals and 15 assists. Fuzetti holds dual citizenship with the United States and Brazil.

More on Bunbury

Bunbury with Akron teammate Blair Gavin, who was taken #10 by Chivas USA.

Here's the RH side of the conversation in a post-pick phone call between 1st round pick Teal Bunbury and President Robb Heineman:



Here's father Alex speaking about son Teal immediately after the selection:

SuperDraft 2010: Alex Bunbury on Teal BunBury from mlsinsider on Vimeo.

Wizards Select Aiyegbusi in 2nd

A stylized picture of Korede Aiyegbusi (co-REH-day eye-a-BOO-see).

Kansas City has selected NC State defender Korede Aiyegbusi from London, England. Aiyegbusi has both English and Nigerian citizenship and played for London at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia in the summer of 2009. Here is a story from NC State's website on Korede and a picture of him (#73) from the combine.

Wizards Select Bunbury #4

Teal Bunbury shakes hands with assistant Octavio Zambrano as Alex Bunbury hugs Peter Vermes.

Kansas City selected forward Teal Bunbury with the 4th overall selection in the SuperDraft Thursday, bringing the first son of an MLS player to the team his father played for from 1999-2000. We've tracked down (Thanks Alex) some info on our newest attacker, including his player bio from Akron, a feature story from Cleveland.com, an interview with Inside Minnesota Soccer, a podcast from the 24th Minute and the goal and interview below:

Draft Day is Here

The table where the magic will happen.

Draft day is upon us. Philly and New York fans are entering the draft room, creating lots of excellent atmosphere. We have the #4 overall selection, behind Philadelphia (who has also traded for #6 and #7 in the past 18 hours), New York and San Jose. Who would you like to see us pick? Also, if you have a question for Robb Heineman, tweet @Hillcrest_Road or comment to this post.

The Wizards on the Yellow Pages

Kansas City Wizards fans will see a familiar sight when they receive the new Yellow Pages in the coming days:

In a press conference today at the Wizards' Swope Park Training center, Wizards Executive Vice President - Revenue Andrew Steinberg, AT&T Area Market Manager Jayne Anglesano and Wizards midfielder Jack Jewsbury gathered to reveal the cover of the latest edition of the Kansas City Yellow Pages, featuring the Kansas City Wizards and its fans.

"The Wizards so embody what Kansas City is all about," Anglesano said of the decision to feature the team on the cover. "The successes of the team, the fans...there's just so much pride and excitement, and that's the type of cover that we like to feature."

Approximately 1.6 million copies of the yellow pages will be distributed across the metro area, with a shelf life of 12 months.

P.S: Bonus points to the first to identify the Wizards player pictured on the cover. Here's a hint: it's not Davy Arnaud.

The Game Is At The Marriott - **UPDATE** Now with more video!

To celebrate Kansas City's selection as a host city for the USA's World Cup bid yesterday, the downtown Marriott did something special with their exterior lights.

Unfortunately, this was a one night only deal. But for those that missed it, our resident graphic designer Chad braved the cold, ice, and general eerie-ness of the Liberty Memorial at night to get us this video:

**UPDATE**
The Back Post's Thad Bell also braved the elements to get some close-up video, and was mighty generous to allow us to show it to you all here. Thanks, Thad!

Robb Heineman to Provide Live Video Analysis During Thursday's MLS SuperDraft

Who will the Wizards select in this year's draft? RH will tell you here first.

Wizards President Robb Heineman will be doing live pre-pick video analysis here on Hillcrest Road during the draft tomorrow. Once the Wizards are on the clock, just come to here to the blog and Robb will give you the inside scoop of who the Wizards are about to select and why (please note that if you stay connected to Hillcrest Road throughout the draft, you will have to refresh the page prior to each pick/video update).

We will also tweet when the video feed is live so that you don't miss any of Robb's comments. If you aren't following us yet on Twitter, click here to do so.

Also, feel free to submit any other questions you have for Robb and we will try to work them into his video updates tomorrow. You can just leave a comment on this post with your question.

Watch Party Recap

Reading off the first 10 host cities for the final USA World Cup bid took USSF President Sunil Gulati almost two full minutes to accomplish on Tuesday. To most, that wouldn't be all that long, but to the attendees of the Wizards' watch party at the Plaza 810 Zone it seemed an eternity.

Need proof? Just look at the slowly changing body language of KC Mayor Mark Funkhouser in this video recap of the event, which also features reactions from fans, VP of Development David Ficklin, and "The Funk" himself.

KANSAS CITY MAKES BID BOOK

That's right folks, Kansas City is one of 18 cities to be included on the USA Bid Committee's bid to FIFA to bring the 2018 or 2022 World Cup to American soil! Help us celebrate by continuing to invite your friends and family to sign the online petition at www.goUSAbid.com/kc.

8 Questions with Jimmy Conrad

Lately Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad has been busy. He's been spending his days and nights at U.S. Men's National Team camp in Carson, Calif. He's also been showing up on just about everybody's list of MLS Team of the Decade, including at least a trio of nods for MLS Defender of the Decade. We talked to Jimmy about what he thinks of all that.

1. You've been tabbed as the Defender of the 2000's by multiple media members recently. Excluding yourself, who would you choose as the MLS Defender of the Decade and why?
Chad Marshall would be my choice. He really finished the decade strong and I expect him to have a very decorated career before he decides to hang them up.

2. You're back in U.S. camp and lots of people consider you one of the center backs with a chance at the World Cup roster. What would it mean to take part in your second World Cup squad?
My first World Cup was an amazing experience and easily the highlight of my career so to be able to compete for another opportunity to represent my country is very exciting.

3. Obviously it was a tough club season last year with the Wizards missing the playoffs. What will it take to turn it around and get back into the postseason and challenging for MLS Cup?
I think I sound like a broken record when I say this, because I say it a lot, but we need to be more consistent in our performances. The fans deserve to see a team that plays a distinct style so when they go home after a game, they can say (pardon the cheesiness), "We played Wizards soccer tonight." Now, maybe that doesn't win every game but if we implement the vision of Peter Vermes and staff and can execute it on the field consistently, then we'll find ourselves right in the thick of it come playoff time.

4. JC.com is always good for a laugh…how much fun do you have with the website?
I have a team of creative and talented people who help me make the magic happen, which, let's be honest, makes me seem cooler than I really am. So, in short, I have a lot of fun with something that makes me look awesome. Thanks for plugging the site.

5. If you were a baseball player, what song would they play as you came up to the plate? Should they play songs as players walk up to the PK spot?
As a purist, I don't think they should play songs as players walk up to the PK spot but if they did, then I would want "Mr. Big Stuff" by Jean Knight. It's quite the jam.

6. Have you and Hartman run into one another at National Team camp yet?
Are you referring to the goalkeeper with bleached, spiky hair, and all the MLS records at his position? Haven't seen him.

7. Outside of yourself, who is the funniest player in MLS?
Joe Cannon deserves to be mentioned (if only because he would be upset at me if I didn't mention him), Taylor Twellman has his moments, as does Heath Pearce and Pablo Mastroeni but I'd say Matt Reis makes me belly laugh more than anyone else. The guy is a riot.

(This next question was posed and answered by Mr. Conrad himself)
8. Do you think your good looks helped you secure the endless showering of MLS Defender Of The Decade honors?
I'd like to think that my looks had no part of my accomplishments on the field but if I'm being honest with myself, then how could they not? Have you seen me lately? My hair is really feeling it these days.

Stories on PV & KZ

Greetings all...apologies for the late post today, a day of travel to Philadelphia for League meetings in advance of Thursday's MLS SuperDraft. What went down today? Well, there was plenty of action at the MLS Combine. Check out MLSinsiderblog.com for in-depth coverage. Soccer by Ives also has some quality content, as does Kyle McCarthy.

Today, a great interview with former midfielder and current assistant Kerry Zavagnin showed up at Pro Soccer Weekly. Kerry talks about everything from his current duties as an assistant to his time as Roberto Donadoni's teammate to his national team experience. Check it out; it's a great read.

Jeff Carlisle also ran a story yesterday on ESPN Soccernet about early American forays into European soccer, featuring our own Peter Vermes. Carlisle gets stories from PV's time at Rabo ETO (Hungary) and FC Volendam (Holland). Peep that. Also featured in the story is American defender Steve Trittschuh.

Bid Committee to Announce 18 Tues

The USA Bid Committee will announce next Tuesday the 18 cities included in their bid to FIFA. Kansas City is one of 27 metro areas still in the running to make this list, with nine cities set to be trimmed next Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. CT live on ESPNews.

We will host a watch party live at the Plaza 810 Zone beginning at 2 p.m. to see if Kansas City is one of the final 18 cities included in the bid. Tuesday will be 2 for 1 burger day at 810 Zone, and there will be big beer specials. We will also give out some 2010 World Cup swag to those in attendance. To RSVP to the watch party, visit the Facebook event.

Miami has sneaked back in front of us for 5th place among the bidding cities. Let's re-pass them by Tuesday! Visit www.goUSAbid.com/kc and invite your family and friends.

SuperDraft Coming

The 2010 MLS SuperDraft is coming up quickly (next Thursday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2 for the 1st hour), but before that, we have the combine. Goal.com's Kyle McCarthy breaks down the spectacle and gives us five things to remember. You can follow Kyle's coverage throughout the combine via his Twitter account: www.Twitter.com/KyleJMcCarthy.

The combine starts Saturday and concludes Tuesday. You can follow the action at www.MLSInsiderBlog.com. They will be running around with live video updates and other content throughout the four-day event.

MLS PLAYER COMBINE GAME SCHEDULE
All games are open to the public. All times eastern and schedule is subject to change.

Saturday, January 9
3:00 PM Predator X vs. Jabulani
4:45 PM Condivo vs. F50i

Sunday, January 10
2:00 PM Predator X vs. Condivo
3:45 PM F50i vs. Jabulani

Tuesday, January 12
9:30 AM Jabulani vs. Condivo
11:15 AM Predator X vs. F50i

Inter'l News/79 Days to Opening Day

Manchester City are close to signing Frenchman Patrick Vieira from Inter Milan. Read about it. The New York Red Bulls hired today Swedish coach Hans Backe, keeping Richie Williams on board as their top assistant. Read about it. USA midfielder Demarcus Beasley wants to stay at Rangers. Read about it. Fernando Torres says Liverpool teammate Pepe Reina is the best goalkeeper in the world. The only thing weird about this statement is that they are both Spanish, and Iker Casillas is the #1 goalkeeper and captain of the Spain national team. Reina is Spain's #2. Read and think about it.

Does the below video make March 27 a bigger game for you, especially around the 14:00 mark?

Studio 90 from Carson, CA

You see the U.S. Men talking about opportunities. Can Jimmy Conrad make it onto his second World Cup roster? Can Kevin Hartman put on a good show and climb higher up the GK depth chart? Hopefully we'll see one or both of them Jan. 23 when the USA hosts Honduras and Roger Espinoza.

Espinoza Training with Honduras

Espinoza at Honduras training...check out that sweet ball.

As you all know, Roger Espinoza is training with the Honduras National Team in advance of a friendly Jan. 23 against the United States at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Diez.hn, one of the top sports news sites in Honduras, printed a story yesterday about Espinoza's history with the national team and his plans for the future. Clearly, he wants to take part in the World Cup next summer in South Africa. If you're not a Spanish reader, check out the rough Google translation of the story.

Espinoza, fellow Generation adidas member Chance Myers and goalkeeper Eric Kronberg spent a few weeks this offseason training with Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia to keep themselves sharp and work on their skills in a new environment.

Clint Dempsey!

WOW:

Gomez to Mexico

Good luck to you, Herc.

As Mike over at Down the Byline has uncorked, Herculez Gomez has left MLS and the Wizards to join Puebla FC of the Mexican first division. Puebla is currently taking part in InterLiga 2010, winning their first match Sunday against Tigres 4-1. Another former MLSer, Carlos Ruiz, scored two goals in the game. Puebla next plays Jaguares Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT at Robertson Stadium in Houston. Everyone at the Wizards wishes Herc the best of luck in Mexico and with his career in the future.

Conrad: MLS Defender of Decade

Conrad gets the proverbial Gold Star.

How about that for a title? Check out Brian Straus' story on the decade that was the 2000's for soccer in America. He votes Conrad his MLS Defender of the 00's, among some other awards.

Monday Roundup

How about another commercial for ya? This one highlights Landon Donovan's big-time status south of the border. For those of you who don't speak Spanish, check out Ives' explanation.



We are considering creating a Twibbon (Twitter Ribbon) for fans to post on their Twitter profiles. If you'd add the twibbon, tweet @Hillcrest_Road and tell us so.

Also in the social media scene, we're currently the 14th ranked soccer blog on the BallHype Soccer Blog rankings. Thanks to everyone out there who sends links our way! Down the Byline is ranked #41. The Back Post isn't currently in BallHype's system, but we put in a request for them to be added. The top 15 is below, click here for their full rankings:

1. Soccer by Ives
2. 101 Great Goals
3. EPL Talk
4. The Offside
5. Dirty Tackle
6. Match Fit USA
7. Pitch Invasion
8. Kickette
9. World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010
10. Yanks Abroad
11. The Original Winger
12. Major League Soccer Talk
13. Soccerlens.com
14. Hillcrest Road
15. The Offside Rules

**Update** The Back Post has now been added to their ranking system.

MLS Cup will remain at a neutral site in 2010. Read about it.

Kei Knows Celebrations

Wrong jersey, but check it out anyway:

Welcome to 2010

Greetings all, welcome to 2010 here at Hillcrest Road! It's going to be a great year for soccer and for the Wizards. Some things to look forward to:

1. In the very near future (Jan. 23), the USA will face Honduras in a friendly to kick off preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Jimmy Conrad and Kevin Hartman will be with the U.S. National Team, while Roger Espinoza is with Honduras. This will be a fun one for Wizards fans.

2. The World Cup. Duh. This is probably number one, but since it is a little further away, we'll leave initial prep for the World Cup #1. The year's event begins Friday, June 11 and concludes Sunday, July 11. Get ready for a month of football craziness!

3. The decision on the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. This comes next December, and the USA is a favorite to take one of the events. Kansas City is in the running to be a host city should the USA bid be successful. Show your support!

4. The 2010 SuperDraft. It's coming January 14. Who will the Wizards select at #4? Only time will tell.

5. First kick 2010. D.C. United comes to town Saturday, March 27 with newly hired Head Coach Curt Onalfo leading the way. Should be a fun one.

That was just five things to look forward to in 2010. What are you all excited for during the new year? Let us know below!