Give Season Tickets for Christmas

Still need a last-minute present for your favorite soccer lover? How about Sporting Kansas City 2011 season tickets? We have this nifty holiday special allowing you to secure your seats immediately without paying until February. Since we're now just two days from Christmas, you're going to need something to put under the tree. We've got that covered too. 

If you fill out the holiday special form HERE on our website and email socialmedia@SportingKC.com saying you've done so by noon tomorrow, we'll email you back a .PDF signifying your season ticket purchase just in time to give that gift to your loved one.

Finish up you holiday shopping in style, and pay for it later!

Last-Minute Buys

Woah, bad blogger! It's been far too long, and we've had some exciting news during the blogging break. We know we play our first home match in the new stadium June 9 against the Chicago Fire, and Teal Bunbury has been called in for his second U.S. National Team camp. 

If you haven't yet purchased your loved ones Sporting Kansas City gear (Yeah, we know there isn't enough available yet. We're sorry.) for the holidays, you now have another shopping option. The Kansas City Store now has our stuff available at their retail locations on the Plaza and west of Union Station in the National Archives building. I'm told that the hats are still en route, but the shirts are already in stores. Hopefully hats will arrive tomorrow.

On the Plaza
314 Ward Parkway
816-756-1997

At the National Archives
400 West Pershing Road
816-268-8078

Staff Holiday Party Time

While not as ubiquitous as T-Shirt Time, Staff Holiday Party Time is pretty well known during the month of December. Sporting Kansas City will be embarking on our own staff holiday party shortly, so if you need any of us urgently, call the cell phone number that you have. If not, leave a message, and we'll get back to you accordingly. Emails generally work well too.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Kempin Posts Shutout for US U18s

Kempin and the U18 USMNT with Jerusalem in the background

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempin started and posted a shutout on the international stage yesterday as the United States Under-18 Men's National Team tied hosts Israel 0-0 in Kfar Saba. It was the United States second of three games at the four-team Traditional Winter Tournament, and Kempin was given the starting nod by Head Coach Mike Matkovich after being kept in reserve in Tuesday's 3-0 loss to France.

Kempin faced five shots in the match and saved each of the two attempts put on frame for the shutout. The U.S. will now face Germany today, who leads the tournament after a 7-0 win over Israel and 2-1 victory over France.

Following Friday's friendly, Kempin and the U18's will return home this weekend.

Gold Cup Coming to KC

As you might have seen, the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup is coming to KC Soccer Stadium June 14th. We are planning on holding a home Sporting Kansas City match before this time, so this wouldn't be the first-ever event in the new venue, but it will be one of the first. Tickets to the match will be included in season ticket packages. If you don't yet have your tickets, get them today by calling 888-4KC-GOAL or checking out our virtual venue: www.SportingKC.com/VirtualVenue. More details on the Gold Cup coming.

One reason this is a big deal? The 2011 Gold Cup qualifies teams to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. Remember, in 2009 our USA team upset Spain 2-0 to reach the Confed Cup final, the first time our men's team had ever reached a final of a FIFA tournament. For this reason, expect all Gold Cup rosters to be full of first-choice players.

Re-Entry Stage 2 Day Over

Good luck Josh and Jimmy.

It was a busy one. Sporting Kansas City was involved in the first two selections, as Josh Wolff was taken straight away by D.C. United and Jimmy Conrad taken next by Chivas USA (literally seconds after D.C. announced their pick). Sporting then took Frankie Hejduk of Columbus, only to trade him later in the day to Los Angeles for the rights to Luke Sassano. View the full draft results here.

First of all, good luck to Jimmy and Josh. They have both been in Kansas City since 2003 and were part of the 2004 team that won the U.S. Open Cup and fell to Handball United 3-2 in the MLS Cup title game. Interestingly, Wolff will now play in DC. For more on their careers in Kansas City and highlights of each player, read this story on the website.

Sassano (left) at a party in NYC.

We now have seven days to offer a contract to Sassano, who has spent the last three years with the New York Red Bulls. He has played all over the field, mostly at holding center mid and center back. Sassano is 25 years old and played college ball at Cal. Read more about him on his Wikipedia page.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Well, not quite, but here comes the MLS Re-Entry Draft #2. Part 1 saw only two players taken (one of whom happened to be Sporting Kansas City CB Aaron Hohlbein to Columbus). Part 2 should see much more activity because players selected in this round do not have the same constraints of a previous contract option. Teams can now make offers to players selected, and the back-and-forth process will begin. 

From Sporting, Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff are available for other teams. Conrad was out of contract, while the option was declined on Wolff. If we end up losing these two long-time Kansas City stalwarts, we will wish them all the best of luck. Both players have been outstanding players on the field and valuable community members off the field.

The re-entry order is below. Sporting will have the 8th selection.

1.  D.C. United  
2. Chivas USA
3. Philadelphia Union
4. New England Revolution
5. Houston Dynamo      
6. Toronto FC   
7. Chicago Fire 
8. Sporting Kansas City
9. Seattle Sounders 
10. Columbus Crew
11. New York Red Bulls
12. Real Salt Lake            
13. San Jose Earthquakes           
14. LA Galaxy   
15. FC Dallas
16. Colorado Rapids
17. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
18. Portland Timbers

Available players:

Chivas USA: Marcelo Saragosa (option declined), Alex Zotinca (option declined)
Colorado Rapids: Claudio Lopez (option declined), Ciaran O'Brien (option declined), Peter Vagenas (option declined)
Columbus Crew: Frankie Hejduk (option declined), Duncan Oughton (option declined), Gino Padula (option declined), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (option declined)
FC Dallas: Jeff Cunningham (option declined), Dario Sala (option declined)
D.C. United: Jaime Moreno (option declined)
Houston Dynamo: Ryan Cochrane (option declined), Richard Mulrooney (option declined), Joseph Ngwenya (option declined, selected by D.C. United in Stage 1), Pat Onstad (option declined), Adrian Serioux (option declined)
Los Angeles Galaxy: Jovan Kirovski (option declined), Dema Kovalenko (option declined)
New England Revolution: Preston Burpo (option declined), Nico Colaluca (option declined), Cory Gibbs (option declined), Khano Smith (option declined)
New York Red Bulls: Juan Pablo Angel (option declined), Luke Sassano (option declined), Carey Talley (option declined)
Philadelphia Union: Fred Carreiro (out of contract), Chris Seitz (option declined)
San Jose Earthquakes: Khari Stephenson (option declined)
Seattle Sounders: Tyrone Marshall (option declined)
Sporting Kansas City: Jimmy Conrad (out of contract), Aaron Hohlbein (out of contract, selected by Columbus Crew in Stage 1), Josh Wolff (option declined)
Toronto FC: Nick Garcia (option declined)
League Pool Goalkeeper: Chris Sharpe (option declined)

Kempin in Israel

Sporting Kansas City Home Grown Player Jon Kempin is currently in Tel Aviv, Israel with the United States Under-18 National Team as they take part in a four-nation tournament featuring the U.S., Israel, Germany and France. Kempin, one of two goalkeepers on the trip, backed up Andrew Wolverton and did not play as the United States opened the competition today with a 3-0 loss to the French U18 National Team.

Kempin and Wolverton are familiar competitors for the starting spot, having both been in U18 National Team camps together before. In fact, as recently as 10 days ago they were splitting time for the 92/93 Academy Select team at the Winter Showcase in Phoenix.

The United States remaining matches are on Thursday against hosts Israel and on Friday in a rescheduled meeting with Germany. Follow JonKempin21 on Twitter for his updates and the U.S. U18 Men's National Team page on USsoccer.com for other news from the tournament.

Congrats Akron

Teal Bunbury's alma mater Akron captured the NCAA Men's Division I soccer crown yesterday, winning 1-0 on the strength of a goal from Scott Caldwell (a New England Revolution academy product). Read the recap here. Watch highlights here, and get ready to see several Akron players enter MLS next year. They have a very talented roster. Pretty soon, Teal will be seeing lots more former teammates around the League.

Want a New SKC Scarf?

Check out this one from Ruffneck Scarves coming in January. Looks pretty sharp, doesn't it? Learn more about them on Facebook.

Hohlbein Drafted by Columbus

Only two players were taken in today's Re-Entry Stage 1 Draft, but one was Sporting Kansas City defender Aaron Hohlbein who was drafted by the Columbus Crew. Hohlbein entered MLS through the 2007 Supplemental Draft and spent four seasons in Kansas City, playing in 43 games. He played in two matches in 2010 and was loaned to Miami FC of the USSF D2 for the second half of the season.

The other selection was made by D.C. United, who took Joseph Ngwenya from Houston. The Re-Entry Stage 2 Draft will take place next Wednesday at 1 p.m. CT.

Bunbury Shines with Generation adidas

Bunbury scored two goals, including the game winner, and added an assist in the Generation adidas team's 4-1 victory over Atletico Madrid reserves today. Bunbury came off the bench as a replacement for Jack McInerney at halftime and immediately scored the eventual match winner in the 46th minute, before scoring again in the 70th minute and earning an assist on Juan Agudelo's goal in the 62nd minute.

Generation adidas went 3-0 on the trip and Bunbury scored three goals against the Spanish competition. Read the recap on MLSsoccer.com and watch the highlights below.

Soccer Around the World

Today marks the final day of the UEFA Champions League group stage, with eight games on tap across Europe to finalize the field of 16 that will advance to the knockout phase, beginning in February. Three berths are still available, as are three spots in the UEFA Europa League for each group's third place finishers. A trio of matches are available live at 1:00 p.m. CT on the Fox network, with Fox Soccer Channel broadcasting Arsenal vs FC Partizan, Fox Soccer Plus showing Olympique Marseille vs. Chelsea and Fox Deportes airing Real Madrid vs. Auxerre. The draw for the Round of 16 will take place on December 17th.

Meanwhile, the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup begins today with a play-in match between Al-Wahda and Hekari United live on FSC at 10:00 a.m. CT. For the second straight year, the eight-team tournament is being hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi. Former Sporting Kansas City player Herculez Gomez will feature for Pachuca, CONCACAF's representative, who begin their campaign on Friday in the quarterfinal stage against Congo's TP Mazembe.

Which matches will you be watching and who will you be rooting for to advance?

Generation adidas Highlights

Video below of Teal Bunbury and Generation adidas 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano reserves today in Spain. Bunbury played the full 90 minutes and was cautioned in the 19th minute. Full recap on MLSsoccer.com.

Media Roundup

Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney has been ranking his top players in MLS at each position in 2010, starting with the goalkeepers last month and moving forward through the field. Three Sporting Kansas City players have made his lists so far, including Ryan Smith as the No. 6 left midfielder in today's ranking. Mahoney also rated Jimmy Nielsen as the No. 9 goalkeeper and Jimmy Conrad as the No. 12 center back. Click today's article for links to each positional list. Think someone was snubbed or undervalued? Let us know in the comments.

Andy Edwards takes a closer look at Sporting Kansas City players, specifically the defense, in a roster analysis on his blog. Be on the look out for a similar post on the offensive guys and where he thinks they stand going into 2011.

Teal Bunbury made his second straight start on the Generation adidas team's tour of Spain today, helping the MLSers to a 1-0 victory over the Rayo Vallecano reserves in a heavy rain. We'll post highlights once they're available, but until then check out some of the goals and saves from GA's training on Monday. The team will play reserves from Atletico Madrid tomorrow in their final match of the trip.

Finally, birthday wishes go out to former Generation Adidas member Chance Myers who turns 23 today.

Kempin Joins United States U18's

Kempin played in the Academy Select match on Saturday at the Winter Showcase.

One week after playing in the Torneo de las Americas with the United States Under-20 National Team, Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempin was announced today as a member of the U.S. Under-18 National Team that will be travelling to Tel Aviv, Israel from December 10th to 18th. Kempin, currently with our U18 Juniors at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase in Phoenix, is one of two goalkeepers on the United States 20-player roster and one of only two professional players picked.

The United States schedule features some top competition for the young men:

• December 13th vs. Germany
• December 14th vs. France
• December 16th vs. Israel

New Podcast of the Kansas City Soccer Show now available

A pleasant Monday morning to everyone out there.

If you are looking for something to get you through your workday, check out the new podcast of the Kansas City Soccer Show - http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=26&c=377&f=64118

Sports Radio 810's Jake Gutierrez and our own Josh Whisenhunt (photo below) recap the World Cup announcement and talk about the upcoming MLS re-entry draft and other Sporting Kansas City off-season news.

Caribbean Cup Comes to Close (UPDATED)

Auvray was one of six captains to get his hands on the tournament trophy.

UPDATE: Jamaica defended their Caribbean Cup crown, beating Guadeloupe in penalties (5-4) after a 1-1 draw in regulation. Sporting Kansas City defender Shavar Thomas captained Jamaica to the title, earning bragging rights over teammate Stephane Auvray, who captained Guadeloupe. Cuba earned third place with a 1-0 win over Grenada.

Today is the final day of the 2010 Digicel Caribbean Cup, being held in Martinique. Three Sporting Kansas City players have featured prominently in the action, as Craig Rocastle, Stephane Auvray and Shavar Thomas all helped their countries earn repeat berths to the CONCACAF Gold Cup which will be hosted in the U.S. in June.

Grenada face Cuba in the third place match at 2 p.m. CT, as Rocastle caps off his international debut for the Spice Boys.  Thomas and Auvray will then meet for the second time in the tournament at 5 p.m. CT in the Caribbean Cup championship between Jamaica and Guadeloupe. The finals will be streamed on CONCACAF.com so tune in to see the Group I rematch (won 2-0 by Jamaica less than a week ago).

The federation website is also holding a poll for Most Valuable Player of the DCC 2010, featuring Auvray as one of the nominations. Vote for the Guadeloupe captain here and read the feature written about him last week in which he discusses his rise from the French 5th division and his thoughts on MLS.

Juniors at Winter Showcase

Head over to The Junior Way for updates from the Sporting Kansas City U16 and U18 Juniors as they compete at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase in Phoenix, Arizona. Both teams are unbeaten after two games each and will face MLS rivals New England Revolution on Monday.

U16 midfielder Derek Schrick, a junior at Rockhurst High School who scored for the Hawks in both the semifinal and state championship last month, scored two goals in the Juniors 2-2 draw on Friday against Cosmos Academy East. His first, a volley from 12 yards out, made the U.S. Soccer All-Access Top 10 Winter Showcase Goals from Day 1. Check it out...

Bunbury Checks in From Spain

 
As you probably know, Sporting Kansas City forward Teal Bunbury is currently overseas on a Generation Adidas trip.

Teal scored a goal in the GA team's 2-1 victory over Real Madrid's reserve squad on Thursday morning.

Here is a video blog (narrated by Teal) that chronicles the Generation Adidas team's visit to Madrid, including the game this past Thursday.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/videos?catid=112&id=10840

Re-Entry Process List

So, the first-ever re-entry draft(s) are coming up, and it might end up being pretty hectic. Read about the process here. See the list of available players here.

From Sporting, Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein and Josh Wolff are available. Conrad and Hohlbein are out of contract, so they are still subject to a contract negotiation if they are selected by another team. Wolff has an option left on his contract, so any team that takes him will automatically exercise that option, and he will be immediately placed on their roster. If a player is not taken during this round of the re-entry process, we are then free to make subsequent contract offers. If no agreement has been reached, the player will then go into stage 2 of the process. At that point, the team that selects the player would have to make a new offer.

Have you taken a look at the list of available players? Is there anyone on that list you'd like to see us take with the 8th selection?

2010 Year in Review

Re-live the 2010 season above with the year-end highlight video or below with our 2010 year in review stories from beat writer Andrew Wiebe (at SportingKC.com). It's some good stuff. Enjoy:

• 2010 Best & Worst
• Offseason Checklist
• Peter Vermes Q&A

USA Misses Out

You can see reactions from Heineman, Funkhouser, Ficklin above. See the reactions from Qatar here.

What do you think about the decision? I'm majorly bummed. Here's to USA 2026. A 12-year buildup to the biggest sporting event in the world would have been truly incredible. Too bad it won't be happening. Thank you so much for all your support of the bid. Kansas City coming in 5th among the 18 USA bid cities is a great accomplishment.

GO USA BID!

The USA Bid presentation kicked off at 10 a.m. CT. Watch live here. On a similar note, Kansas City has jumped up into the top 10 (currently 5th) in the city petition rankings thanks to the support of our local youth soccer associations and their members. Thanks to their generous support, we have surpassed 74,000 signatures!! Thanks for the support of Kansas City and the USA bid. 

USA Bid Petition Top 10

Watch 2022 Bid Presentations Live

Want to see what the USA is up against? Tune in right now here at FIFA.com to watch Qatar give their final presentation to the FIFA Executive Committee. The USA will present with Landon Donovan, Morgan Freeman and President Bill Clinton at 10 a.m. CT. You will be able to watch all the presentations from the same link.