Big Day Thursday

Saying Thursday is a big day is an understatement. Thursday (evening in Europe, morning here in lovely, wintry Kansas City) two nations will learn that they are the focus of the international soccer (football) community for the next 8 or 12 years. FIFA will vote on the host nations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup tournaments. The USA is in the running for the 2022 event, along with Qatar, Australia, South Korea and Japan. 

MLS is doing its best to help out and has donated $2 million to the USA Bid Committee. Wednesday is the last chance to impress FIFA, as Landon Donovan, Sunil Gulati, David Downs, Morgan Freeman and former President Bill Clinton will state the case for the USA bid.

What can you do to help? Well, make sure you and all your friends/family text "KansasCity" to 22442 or sign the petition at www.goUSAbid.com/KC. It might not seem like much, but every signature shows another person in the United States willing to support the tournament and shows that Kansas City is excited about the prospects of hosting games.

If you want to watch the announcement with friends, join us for our watch part at the 810 Zone on the Plaza beginning at 8:30 a.m. CT. RSVP here on Facebook and invite your friends.

Sporting v Sporting Tonight

Tonight, Sporting Kansas City midfielder Staphane Auvray will be in action against Sporting Kansas City defender Shavar Thomas as Guadeloupe takes on Jamaica in a 2010 DIGICEL Caribbean Cup group stage match at 6:30 p.m. CT. Watch the match live on CONCACAF.com.

Enjoy Black Friday

Want to buy some Sporting Kansas City gear for your soccer-loving loved ones? Head to a local Dick's Sporting Goods store today (or any time between now and Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa). They have the following apparel items for now. Many, many more will be coming after the new year.

•    SS Shirts
•    LS Shirts
•    Sweatshirts

What's a "local" store, you ask? Click here to see the area DSG options. Prefer to shop online? Click here for MLSGear.com.

Expansion Draft (UPDATED)

Best of luck to Jonathan Leathers in Vancouver. We'll welcome you warmly upon your return to our new stadium next season.

DRAFT RESULTS:

1. Portland: Dax McCarty (Dallas protects Daniel Hernandez)
2. Vancouver: Sainey Nyassi (Seattle protects Patrick Ianni)
3. Portland: Eric Brunner (Columbus protects Kevin Burns)
4. Vancouver: Atiba Harris (Dallas can lose no more players)
5. Portland: Adam Moffat (Columbus can lose no more players)
6. Vancouver: Nathan Sturgis (Seattle can lose no more players)
7. Portland: Anthony Wallace (Colorado protects Wells Thompson)
8. Vancouver: Shea Salinas (Philadelphia protects Chris Seitz)
9. Portland: David Horst (Salt Lake protects Collen Warner)
10. Vancouver: Alan Gordon (Chivas protects Mariano Trujillo)
11. Portland: Robbie Findley (Salt Lake can lose no more players)
12. Vancouver: O'Brian White (Toronto protects Julian de Guzman)
13. Portland: Peter Lowry (Chicago protects Dasan Robinson)
14. Vancouver: Alejandro Moreno (Philadelphia can lose no more players)
15. Portland: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas can lose no more players)
16. Vancouver: Joe Cannon (San Jose protects Tim Ward)
17. Portland: Jordan Graye (DC protects Kurt Morsink)
18. Vancouver: Jonathan Leathers (Kansas City protects Eric Kronberg)
19. Portland: Arturo Alvarez (San Jose can lose no more players)
20. Vancouver: John Thorrington (Chicago)

Big day for the two newest members of MLS as Portland and Vancouver participate in the 2010 Expansion Draft. Coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. CT on ExtraTime Radio and MLSsoccer.com with the draft scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. CT. We'll update this post with the results as they are announced so stay tuned.

While we're waiting to find out if any Sporting Kansas City players are selected, check out Matthew "Soda" Potter's post today with a slideshow of Sporting supporter photos from the 2010 season and vote in the year's Best of U.S. Soccer awards. Kansas City's watch party at KC Live! in Power & Light is included twice in the "U.S. Fans Unite Back Home" nomination for Best South Africa Moment. Jon Kempin also deserves mention as part of the "Influx of Homegrown Academy Players in MLS" that is up for Best Academy Story.

Watch Party for WC Bid

Clear your calendars for next Thursday morning. FIFA will be announcing it's vote for hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup and we will be co-hosting a Watch Party at 810 Zone on the Plaza to see if the United States bid for 2022 -- which includes Kansas City as a potential host city -- is successful. All the details below and on the Facebook event, RSVP now.

Cup Photos

So, the good ol' camera phone isn't so great when people are moving around very rapidly (celebrating a Cup championship) or your hands are shaky from the cold, but here are a few (blurry) pics from Colorado's victory Sunday. Can't wait to see Sporting Kansas City lift one of these. It was a neat experience to be in a winning locker room.

Back from Toronto

After a day of crazy travel, your loyal blogger is back in good ol' Kansas City and getting ready for the holiday action. Yesterday saw several MLS trades and the announcement of the expansion draft protected lists. What do you think of ours? Yesterday also came word that four of our players are going on international duty coming up. See the details of Auvray, Kempin, Rocastle and Thomas' news. Later today I'll have some Colorado locker room celebration photos (I was stationed as an extra hand for Colorado's communications team while in Toronto). It was a pretty neat atmosphere. Can't wait to be in the room when Sporting Kansas City celebrates our next title.

MLS Cup Watch Party

Tomorrow night, the Colorado Rapids face FC Dallas in MLS Cup 2010 live from BMO Field in Toronto. I'm on site here north of the border, and the week/weekend has been pretty exciting so far. Both teams are excited to be here, and both coaches are quite entertaining when speaking with the media. 

If you'd like to watch the game with friends, head to Johnny's Tavern in the Power & Light District. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and Galavision. Enjoy MLS Cup, even though your boys aren't in it.

Another US National Team Call-Up

Congratulations are in order for 17-year-old Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempin who found out today he will be participating in the U.S. under-20 National Team camp going on in Georgia for two games next week in the Torneo de las Americas against Colombia and Mexico. Kempin, one of two goalkeepers on the 18-player roster, will travel with the Sporting Kansas City U17/U18 Juniors to Texas this weekend for more action in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy before joining Thomas Rongen's squad for his first ever U20 call-up.

Speaking of the Juniors, best of luck to the four Rockhurst guys (Daniel Hare, Derek Schrick, Cole Stevenson and Luke Stanley) in the Missouri Class 3 state semifinal tonight in St. Louis. Also, a big congrats to the U14/U15 squad for winning the 2010 Heartland Invitational Tournament in the U16 Gold division last weekend at the Overland Park Soccer Complex. Even playing up a year (or two for some), Edmond Rugova's team went 3-1-0, outscoring their opponents 8-3 in the four matches.

Lastly, Robb mentioned it in his chat this morning so we wanted to share a pic of the Lamar Hunt tribute that will be inside the back of every authentic Sporting Kansas City jersey next season. Pretty nice touch that speaks to Lamar's legacy in Kansas City and Major League Soccer. Also, photo album is up on the Sporting Kansas City Facebook page from the Dick's Sporting Goods launch of our merchandise last night.

Which games are you most looking forward to watching on TV this weekend?  Clear your schedule for the 2010 MLS Cup on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and Galavision. The Sporting Way's Kyle Rogers is live in Toronto, so be on the look out for some on-site tweets from the SportingKC Twitter feed.

Online Chat with Robb Heineman

Sporting Club President Robb Heineman will be taking questions online from 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. CT this morning in a live online chat. Heineman will be available for his comments on everything from the recently announced Sporting Kansas City rebrand to Designated Player Omar Bravo's arrival in Kansas City this week. 

Bunbury's Big Day

It's been just over 24 hours since Teal Bunbury made his international debut but the verdict has come in loud and clear, he impressed in forty-five minutes of action against South Africa yesterday. While fans here in Kansas City have seen him play all season, a lot of people were watching Teal for the first time and he left a lasting impression based on some of the comments below. Check them out...

• South African newspaper The Citizen said "Bunbury caused problems with his physical approach."
• US Soccer expert Grant Wahl tweeted, "Like what I'm seeing from Teal Bunbury up top. Good speed of thought, already bringing more than Findley did in 1H."
• Goal.com's Allen Ramsey said, "Who was good? Teal Bunbury showed some strength up front and didn't do a poor job for a young man making his debut. Service lacked at times and at other times Bunbury looked as though he could have attacked the ball a bit more, but for his first showing in the Red White and Blue, he looked like a promising prospect."
• Christopher Boulay of Park the Bus wrote, "Teal Bunbury and Aguedelo looked spectacular. It was almost criminal that Teal couldn’t net one in his debut, but he certainly looked good."
• The Sports Doctor gave a glowing analysis: "Teal Bunbury played well in his first national team action and has tremendous physical gifts (6-foot-2). He showed a composed first touch and has the skill to make things happen with the ball in his feet" 
• And The Soccer Insiders added, "The star of the early second half was definitely Teal Bunbury, making his first appearance for the United States after representing Canada less than a half-dozen times at the U-17 and U-20 level."
• Lastly, in Noah Davis' article on MLSsoccer.com, "It was Bunbury who started the momentum. He came on… and nearly created a goal immediately." 

Add all of this to his endorsement by Sir Alex after Manchester United's friendly in Kansas City this summer, and he's building quite the list of believers. Bunbury even got to sit front-and-center in the team's picture with Nelson Mandela today.

Roger Espinoza and Shavar Thomas were also in action on Wednesday as Honduras fell 2-0 to Panama while Jamaica played a scoreless draw versus Costa Rica. Both Sporting Kansas City defenders played the full 90 minutes in their international friendlies. Congrats to all three players on their latest caps.

Sporting Kansas City Swag

Tonight from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m., Jimmy Conrad, Matt Besler and Jack Jewsbury will be making a special appearance at the Dick's Sporting Goods in Leawood, KS (11801 Nall Avenue) to officially kick off the launch of Sporting Kansas City gear in their stores. Following last night's pre-sale of merchandise at the KC Live! announcement, tonight will be the first opportunity for Kansas City soccer fans to purchase Sporting Kansas City items to show off the new look. The guys will have Sharpies on hand, so get your new gear autographed before you leave.

Not near Leawood? Check with your nearest Dick's Sporting Goods store to find out if they'll be carrying the line and pick up some new Sporting Kansas City items in time for the holiday season.

UPDATE: I've been informed that ALL local Dick's Sporting Goods stores should have an assortment of Sporting Kansas City short-sleeve and long-sleeve shirts, as well as Sporting Kansas City sweatshirts.

Lots of Links

Sporting Kansas City is a hot topic across the world wide web today, and some of the best coverage has been by our club's faithful bloggers. Check out their takes from yesterday's announcement at the links below:

• Down The Byline has video along with his reaction
• Mike was also quoted in the Kansas City Star's story
• The Star's Full 90 blog has Gooch gauging the water cooler talk today 
• James Starritt shared his thoughts as a supporter
• The Offside was "quite excited as to what the future will bring" on the Eve of the Change
• SideshowKC paints the picture at Power & Light last night and interviews Robb
• Sodagraphics slideshow has top notch photos from the event
• Thad at The Back Post pens a very well-written editorial
• This week's Byline to Back Post podcast for your listening pleasure
• Kansas City Soccer Show also available with Jake and Josh
• Andy's Final Thought after spending all day at KC Live!
• Du Nord contributing editor Graham Fox live tweeted the event
• Finally, the NSCAA's Ryan Knapp takes a deeper look at the new model

Enjoy the reading. We'll be back this afternoon with a recap of the three Sporting Kansas City players in international action yesterday.

Some Housekeeping

Omar Bravo rocking Sporting Kansas City's Sporting blue primary jersey.

First of all, HUGE THANKS to everyone that came out to the announcement tonight. The show of support was really outstanding on a night with pretty terrible weather. See some more pics from the event here on Facebook.

Speaking of Facebook, we've got some new URLs to fill you in on. Let the links begin:

• Website - SportingKC.com
• Blog (here) - TheSportingWay.com (Hillcrestroadblog.com should forward shortly, and we're working on the current RSS issue)
• Facebook - Facebook.com/SportingKC
• Twitter - Twitter.com/SportingKC
• YouTube - YouTube.com/SportingKansasCity (we'll have that as SportingKC soon too)

We know it was a little crazy trying to find us in some places right after the announcement. Thanks for hanging with us. We believe everything is up and functioning correctly now. If you see something amiss, feel free to share in the comments section. If you see one of our old logos anywhere (sports website, in a newspaper or anywhere else, feel free to comment here on the blog or mention it on Facebook or Twitter so we can alert the outlet to the change.)

If you haven't yet visit SportingKC.com/brand, do so. It walks you through some different parts of the logo and their meanings. Pretty interesting stuff. Also, for a 3D virtual tour of our new stadium, visit SportingKC.com/VirtualVenue. From there, you can click on a link to put down your deposit for 2011 season tickets. It's going to be a great year.

Heineman on Sporting Kansas City

See what Robb Heineman has to say.

Bunbury to Wear #9 for USA

That's right, our own Teal Bunbury will suit up for the U.S. National Team today wearing #9 for the friendly in South Africa against South Africa (1 p.m. CT on ESPN2, Galavision). See a list of all squad numbers for the match here.

If you want to enjoy the match with friends (or want to get to Power & Light early for our big announcement at 5:30 p.m. CT), head over to Johnny's Tavern. American Outlaws will be hosting yet another watch party for the match. Cheer on Teal and the boys while eating lunch and/or drinking a beer.

Juniors Open USSDA Play

See highlights and reactions from the U16s and U18s this weekend in Dallas:

Giant Soccer Balls Around Town

Giant Soccer Balls with the URL bignewsforKC.com, which most of you know redirects to our Facebook event for Wednesday's announcement in the Power & Light District, are invading Kansas City. These giant spheres were at the OP soccer fields this weekend and all around KC today. Look out for them tomorrow and Wednesday leading up to the big event, which will start at 5:30 p.m. CT. Make sure to RSVP for the event...we look forward to seeing everybody there!

2010 Highlights

Enjoy. Lots of good goals and saves this year. Kudos video guru Jake for putting it all together.

Big Announcement Wednesday

Head over to bignewsforKC.com (aka a Facebook event) and RSVP for our event next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. CT in the Power & Light District followed immediately by a pub crawl. Invite all your friends. Hopefully Teal Bunbury scores a hat trick earlier in the day against South Africa so it's an all-day party. See you there!

On Teal Bunbury

As you already know, Teal Bunbury was named to the U.S. National Team for next Wednesday friendly in South Africa. As you might already know, lots of Canada fans are none too happy about it. That's fine.

Here's what doesn't make sense: the Canadian fans who now say that Teal Bunbury isn't that good. Quote: "Playing regularly with a poor Kansas City Wizards team, the traitor put in a decent but by no means overwhelming rookie season. On merit, he wouldn't make the Canadian senior men's team, let alone the American."

Seriously?? Are we talking about the 20-year-old bull who scored as many goals in 13 MLS starts as USA World Cup striker Robbie Findley (15 starts), Swiss World Cup striker Blaise Nkufo (11 starts) and Rookie of the Year Andy Najar (22 starts)? The same guy who set up the Wizards' opening goal against Manchester United with this piece of hold-up timing and drew praise from Sir Alex Ferguson specifically after the game?

Not long ago, these same folks were saying that people like Teal Bunbury picking Canada would make them the clear-cut 3rd best team in CONCACAF. I tend to agree. 

Being mad is fine, but calling Bunbury all sorts of names on message boards I won't link to or saying he's not very good is another matter. He's a very high-end prospect who improved throughout the 2010 season. Will he end up being a world class player? We don't know yet, but we definitely can't rule it out.

It sucked when Rossi, Subotic and others picked different nations, but it was great when Jones decided to skip out on Germany and suit up for the USA. Maybe that's the difference. Canada hasn't had many players with multiple options pick them. The USA has been scorned a few times, but we've picked up a few wins along the way. Hopefully Teal becomes the biggest win of them all.

Bunbury named to USA Squad!

Bob Bradley noticed the potential on display from youngster Teal Bunbury this year in Kansas City and has rewarded the 4th overall selection in the 2010 SuperDraft with a USMNT call. Bunbury is one of 18 players on the roster for next Wednesday's friendly against South Africa in South Africa (1 p.m. CT on ESPN2, Galavision). Bunbury's father Alex played for the Wizards and was a star for the Canada National Team.

Read about Bunbury and other international reps Roger Espinoza, Shavar Thomas and Sunil Chhetri here. See what Bunbury has to say about the call here:

Kansas City Skyline

If you needed anything to jazz you up about our fine city, take a look at this video of the skyline at night. Pretty sweet stuff. Kansas City would make a great World Cup city, wouldn't it? Show your support at www.goUSAbid.com/kc or by texting "KansasCity" to 22442. Do it!

HD AERIAL VIDEO OF KANSAS CITY SKYLINE NX from isaac alongi on Vimeo.

Wizards Say Goodbye to MLS Vets

As is the case every year in MLS, some long-time veterans have hung up their cleats for good. This year's crop is extra impressive and includes: Mike Petke, CJ Brown, Brian McBride, Taylor Twellman, Jaime Moreno and former Wizards star Chris Klein. We talked to some of our players about each of these MLS standouts and their careers. Watch and enjoy:

Chhetri Back-Heel

Missed this a while back, but take a look at one of Sunil Chhetri's goals while with the India National Team. Not bad, eh?

Best of U.S. Soccer Nominations Open

Last year we here at Hillcrest Road were lucky enough to be a finalist (the only among MLS teams) for Best Soccer Blog in the Best of U.S. Soccer awards. Nomination time has rolled back around for the 2010 awards. U.S. Soccer is now taking nominations in four categories: Best Soccer Bar, Best Soccer Specialty Store, Best Soccer Blog and Best Fan Costume. Click here to nominate and for more information. 

If you are still enjoying our content and point of view, we would appreciate your nomination for the honor once again. There will be several more rounds of nominations and then voting among the finalists after that. Keep track of everything at USSoccer.com.

Oh Those Cheeky Brits

Leave it up to BBC making fun of Sky Sports to bring you this hilarious spot of hyperbole. (See what we did there...spot, like spot of tea, as a British person would say? Aren't we clever.) Watch and enjoy:

Watch US Women Tonight

Tonight, your U.S. Women's National Team takes on rivals Mexico for a berth in next year's FIFA Women's World Cup. The match kicks off at 9 p.m. CT. Watch live through CONCACAF.com. You can also fallow along via Twitter from @ussoccer_wnt. The USA's all-time record vs Mexico in Women's soccer? 24-0-1.

Stadium Pics

These are always fun. Two below and more through this link (to Facebook).

More Proof Kei Kamara is Awesome

He shows up to surprise 3rd graders that write to him. That's pretty cool, right?

Ryan Pore Talks MLS 2011

FW/MF Ryan Pore will be back in MLS next year, having already signed a contract with the Portland Timbers. Take a look at his thoughts on Portland and his stay in Kansas City as they look ahead to joining the top flight next season.

Buy a Jimmy C Puzzle Piece

As you might know, Jimmy Conrad is a huge supporter of Autism Speaks. This relationship is just one reason that Jimmy won our 2010 team Humanitarian of the Year award and why he is a finalist for the League-wide MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year award. Help Jimmy and Autism Speaks raise money by buying a virtual puzzle piece here.

More Pelada for Your Pleasure

After a sellout crowd last Thursday for the charity Pelada showing at the Glenwood Theater in OP, they've decided to run the movie for one week, starting Friday. Buy your tickets here. For more info on the movie, visit pelada-movie.com.

Showtimes Friday through the follow Thursday:

Fri-Sat 1:15 5:30 7:40
Sun 1:15 5:30
Mon-Thurs 2:15 7:00

Randy Moss to Kansas City?

Apparently the Vikings have waived Moss just a few weeks after dealing a 3rd round pick to New England for him. People in the Twitterverse are already saying that the Chiefs should make a run at him. My question is, should the Wizards?