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2010-02-16T10:38:00.001-08:00

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2010-02-16T09:48:00.001-08:00

New-Look ESPN.com

2009-01-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

ESPN.com launched a new-look page design that includes a much more user-friendly look. It is also much more soccer-friendly, as "soccer" is listed as the fourth choice along the upper sport menu bar, ahead of NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball and the NHL. Clicking the "soccer" link takes you to the ESPNSoccernet home page that focuses primarily on the English Premier League and European action. MLS and U.S. Soccer is a primary focus of Soccernet as well, however, and the heavy prominence on ESPN.com is a great thing for the sport in general in this country.

On another note, ESPN has put together a gallery of former ESPN.com themes that is pretty entertaining to scroll through. This is a pretty fun scroll through memory lane.

Conrad Gets Team of the Year Nod/Streeter's Predictions

2009-01-02T07:41:00.000-08:00

Hartman makes a list of the top 50 players in MLS put together by a Toronto FC fan.

Allen Ramsey over at Goal.com came up with his MLS Team of the Season yesterday. Captain Kansas City made the list at center back alongside Chad Marshall for his stellar season both guiding the Wizards defense and pushing forward to score six goals. Well done, Jimmy.

Also David Streeter of the Topeka Capital-Journal came up with his predictions for 2009. I think you'll like his pick for MLS Cup. Read up.

In other news, a TFC fan blogger came up with his 50 players of MLS. Kevin Hartman and Jimmy Conrad make his list from KC. I'd add Davy Arnaud and Claudio Lopez to the list (and probably Harrington and Jewsbury too), but it's an interesting starting spot. Check it out and offer him your comments.

Welcome to 2009 and year two of Hillcrest Road. Hopefully the second season was just as fun and useful as the first.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from the Kansas City Wizards and us here at Hillcrest Road. Hopefully 2009 brings you a great year; we're hoping for the same. What do you wish this new year brings the Wizards? Tell us below in the comments section, and then read the Best 22 posts of 2008 even farther down. Enjoy! See you soon!

Best 22 of 2008 on Hillcrest Road

2008-12-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

In the time of the Best XI and year-end recap, we decided to look back at the first year of existence for Hillcrest Road. I tried putting together a Best XI, but frankly, there were too many favorites, so I decided to do a Best 22. I know no one really does this, but it's like two teams starting against one another. Here are the 22 players from Hillcrest Road that start the end-of-year recap with a little blurb about each.

1. The first-ever post. Enough said.

2. The streaker post. Enough said. Not really, this was the first real in-depth interview done here that didn't focus on a Wizards player. We beat Ives Galarcep to the story. Now it's enough said.

3. Wizards beat RSL 1-0 in Saturday Cup. This was the first-ever live commentary here at Hillcrest. Not a bad way to start, with Jimmy Conrad scoring a goal. Who knew we'd see that so many times this year? Not us.

4. Wizards defeat D.C. United 1-0. The first-ever regular-season game and first-ever regular-season win blogged about here. Glad it came against DCU.

5. Former Wizards Leading Teams. This post turned into an article in the KC Star by Bob Luder a couple of months later. That's called breaking a story.

6. Crashing the Cauldron is named. Nothing like starting a term.

7. KCSoccerStore.com opens. It's not so much for our post here as it is about the online presence of a Wizards store. That's a great move for our organization.

8. Conrad language commercial. The first time my Spanish was ever corrected by someone publicly. Now the significant other does it regularly.

9. QnA with Lauren Fowlkes. She went on to win the U-20 World Cup with the USA team. Nice pre-emptive interviewing here.

10. The Will Daniel Story. One of my favorites. This kid really loves soccer, and our players are really great to him. Please read this one.

11. Help us Help Others. Another of my favorites. QnA with a young kid who is really making a difference. Read it.

12. Robb Heineman's emotions. Good read. Love seeing an owner who cares so much, so publicly.

13. 80's commercials. Hilarious.

14. Buy your kid a Wizards monkey. This illustration by the young fan is GREAT.

15. Interview with Mike of Down the Byline. This came after he won his award from the Pitch. Congrats again.

16. Cauldron video. Watch it, imbed it, show your friends. We want the Cauldron to keep on growing!

17. Coldplay photos. I kind of feel like TMZ for this one. Wish I saw Coldplay up close like the players did.

18. Blogger fight. We get into it with Red Bull Reader from RBNY. I love blogger fights. This was our first.

19. The Cauldron Crashes Columbus. It was incredible seeing and hearing the Cauldron all the way in Columbus. That was sweet. Good seeing Robb Heineman and Cliff Illig greet them as well.

20. Owners wives in Columbus. The wives of our owners were also on hand for the game and posed with the Cauldron. Fun stuff.

21. Wizards Wonderland wrap-up. First effort with Picasa. Glad the event was so busy and went so well.

22. Holiday shopping list. We give our best gifts for the Wizards fans in your lives. Still very relevant. Read and shop.

Wizards 3-2 Win Over San Jose Chosen MLSnet Best XI

2008-12-31T07:19:00.000-08:00

We all knew it was, but the great deciders over at MLSnet.com chose our dramatic, last-gasp 3-2 victory over San Jose as one of the Best XI matches of the season. As you recall, we scored brilliant goals off the feet of Claudio Lopez, Davy Arnaud and Herculez Gomez (his coming deep into stoppage time) to help cement our place in the playoff picture. Head over to MLSnet.com to see the other ten best games of the year, read the recap from our exciting match and see some video highlights as well.

Jewsbury Called to U.S. Camp

2008-12-30T11:21:00.000-08:00

Jack takes a rip in the first home New England game last year.

Congrats Jack! Our favorite attacking midfielder/right winger/right back/holding midfielder Jack Jewsbury is getting a look from Bob Bradley and the U.S. National Team. In all seriousness, Mr. Jewsbury had a great year for our boys in blue. After he moved to the central holding midfield role, we went 5-1-1 to close the regular season.

In all likelyhood, Jack will be battling with Ricardo Clark and Brian Carroll for holding midfield duties in the Sweden game. If he can put in a good showing, Jack could potentially become a more regular candidate for the National Team. Hopeful Mr. Bob Bradley likes what he sees! We Wizards faithful know Jack is capable.

The camp begins Jan. 4 and concludes with a home qualifier against Sweden on Jan. 24 at 3:30 p.m. CT on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision. Hopefully we'll see Jack in that game.

Jack says:

“It’s quite an honor to be called in by your national team. As a player, you always strive to reach that level. I’m excited to show the coaches what I can do and represent the Kansas City Wizards well.”

Back From Break

2008-12-30T07:17:00.000-08:00

Wow, that was quite a long layoff here at Hillcrest Road. In some ways it was hard, but it was a nice break from the daily grind. Now we're back (though New Year's Day will be another slow day), and all eyes are squarely pointed at the 2009 Major League Soccer Season. I'll update you now with some important dates during the upcoming month.

Jan. 9 - combine starts with training session for all players

Jan. 10 - combine first day of games

Jan. 11 - combine second day of games

Jan. 12 - day off for combine participants

Jan. 13 - combine third day of games

Jan. 14 - Day 1 of NSCAA national convention at The Westin in St. Louis, Missouri

Jan. 15 - MLS SuperDraft held at NSCAA convention and broadcast live on ESPN 2 and MLSnet.com

Jan. 16, 17, 18 - NSCAA convention continues in St. Louis.

Read Ives Galarcep's mock draft version 2.0 here. So far, he's had us take two central attacking midfielder types in his first two mock drafts. What position do you think we should go after with our first selection (number 8 overall)? Vote to the right. The poll will be up until just a couple of hours before the SuperDraft.

Wizards players will report for training in the week after the SuperDraft and start their preparations for the 2009 season at that time. Once we get a final date, we will let you know. We'd love to see several of you out at the first training sessions.

Also, U.S. Soccer should be announcing the roster for the January camp today. Word is there will be Wizards representation. We'll let you know once it's public.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

Season's greetings to all of our readers and fans! Hopefully you and yours have a wonderful holiday season. Hillcrest will be in and out over the next week, so posts might be a little hard to come by. Feel free to share your Christmas wishes for the Wizards in the comments section below!

New Additions

2008-12-23T11:48:00.000-08:00

It's a Web 2.0 world out there.

On this Christmas Eve Eve, I thought it a great time to point you to a couple of new additions here at Hillcrest Road, the blog.

First of all, the top right corner links to the very first post. Read it once in a while. It's fun to look back.
Second, we have a link to the Wizards Facebook fan page. The page is pretty plain right now, but we'll be working on adding some fun stuff as the 2009 season approaches. Be ready.
Third, look below at this nifty little "tell a friend" button. If you're one of those who "shares" stories via a social media site, here's your easy-to-use button to make it happen. This one contains many of the more popular sites, but if you hear of a better button to use, feel free to send it my way (krogers@kcwizards.com).
Fourth, there's an RSS subscription button on the right-hand side. If you're an RSS user, subscribe.

We'll be focusing a lot on making sure all of our fans read Hillcrest Road frequently in 2009. Hopefully this will help. If you're a social-media guru and have anymore suggestions to make, comment them below or send them to my email. We're always looking for ways to improve.

Pre-and-Post-Holiday Shopping

2008-12-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

First of all, let us wish all of our Jewish readers a very happy Hanukkah. It starts today (sunset last night) and runs through sunset on Dec. 29. If you're looking for last-minute Hanukkah gifts, some of these might strike your fancy. For those of you observing Christmas, Festivus or Kwanzaa (Dec. 26 through Jan. 1), this list is also for you. We've got the top 10 things a Wizards fan should purchase this year for yourself or your loved ones. Hopefully you enjoy:

10. T-shirts from Objectivo or Bumpy Pitch. Both of these sites are great for the soccer fan. I have a couple of Objectivo shirts. They're great. Bumpy Pitch I haven't worn yet, but they look outstanding and have made appearances on some pretty

big-time people (such as Ryan Seacrest and Joe Cannon).

Check them out, especially this Objectivo shirt on the right. Vamos Missouri Azzurri. That has a cool ring to it. Cost: Objectivo $19.99 and up. Bumpy Pitch $36.

9. Adam Cristman #9 Wizards jersey. Yes, Cristmas has chosen his number for next year, and yes he will wear #9. Though he hasn't appeared in a W

izards uniform yet, now is a great time to acquire the jersey of our latest acquisition. Cost: Jerseys start at $50 for for kids ($70 for adults) and cost $20 for customization.

8. Jimmy Conrad Has a Posse gear. Our center back has a posse; it's true. Head over to the previous link to pick up the latest merchandise with the bad-ass logo above. The proceeds go to a good cause, as Jimmy is sending money to his favorite charities from the sale of this gear. Good job Jimmy. Cost: $2.99 for the sticker, other gear from $14.99.

7. History of MLS Cup. This is a fun one, especially the chapter about the 2000 season. Watch and enjoy. Cost: $19.99.

6. Trip to St. Louis for MLS SuperDraft 2009. SuperDraft takes place well within driving distance at the Westin St. Louis. Get some friends together and head across the state of Missouri to make some noise as the Wizards make their selections (starting with #8 in round 1). Cost: $44.12 in gas (500 miles at 17 miles per gallon and $1.50 per mile) plus hotel cost. You should be able to get back to KC for less than $200, especially if you car pool.

5. Wizards pilsner glasses. What better way to drink a beer (Dropkick Ale, perhaps) than out of a Kansas City Wizards glass. Head over to KCSoccerstore.com to pick up your set of four. Cost: $14.99.

4. MLSlive.tv package. Watch every MLS game not shown exclusively on a national broadcast partner (MLS Primetime Thursday night games or FSC Saturday games) from the comfort of your computer. Cost: $19.99 for the entire season, $4.95 for a single-day pass.

3. MLS Guaranteed Seating License. You have to have an mlsnet.com account to log in for the details, but a GSL guarantees you first dibs on all MLS All-Star game and MLS Cup tickets. Sign up today and always be the first in line for major MLS events. Cost: $500.

2. USA-Mexico tickets. They're not yet on sale, but they will be soon. Columbus Crew Stadium is the site, Feb. 11 is the date. For the latest on tickets and prices, visit www.ussoccer.com. This match will be epic as the two regional powers kick off the CONCACAF hexagonal. Each is expected to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. This is the first step in that process.

1. Kansas City Wizards season tickets. Get your seats to see Major League Soccer action right here in Kansas City. The Wizards have qualified for the playoffs in each of the last two seasons (both seasons under new ownership group OnGoal, in fact) and are poised to improve upon their record for a third-consecutive season next year. Tickets are affordable, the soccer is great and CommunityAmerica Ballpark provides a real home field advantage for our boys in blue (9-2-4 home record this year). Cost: Season seats start from $180, and there is something for everyone's price range. Click the link above or call (913) 387-3400 for more information.

KZ Joins Coaching Staff

2008-12-19T15:35:00.000-08:00

Zavagnin after his final regular-season home match in KC colors.

Long-time Wizards holding midfielder Kerry Zavagnin hung up his boots following the loss against Columbus in November. Now he has officially re-joined the organization as an assistant coach. Welcome back Kerry. We're happy you're staying. Quotes:

“We are proud to welcome Kerry Zavagnin to the technical staff as an assistant coach after his successful playing career in Kansas City,” Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes said. “One of our core philosophies is incorporating former Wizards players into the organization after their playing careers are over. Kerry was a great ambassador of the Wizards as a player, and he will continue that legacy as a member of the technical staff.”

“I’m excited to have Kerry join us on the coaching staff,” Head Coach Curt Onalfo said. “He was a very intelligent player with a good head for the game. These qualities will carry over and make him an excellent coach.”

“I am excited to begin my coaching career with the Kansas City Wizards, an organization that has meant a great deal to me over the past nine years,” Zavagnin said. “I will continue to serve this organization with the same passion, drive and commitment that I had during my time as a player.”

Espinoza to Train with Honduras National Team

2008-12-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

Espinoza preparing for a speed test during last year's pre-season.

As some of you have seen, Roger Espinoza has been tabbed to participate in a 25-man training camp for the upcoming UNCAF Nations Cup scheduled to begin Jan. 22 in Honduras. Espinoza has no previous National Team experience and is exciting about the opportunity to play for his birth country.

He told me earlier today by phone:

“I am very excited about the opportunity to play for the country I was born in. I am glad that I got the call to camp, and I am eager to show what I can do at that level. I hope to make the most of this opportunity.”

Peter Vermes said this about Roger getting the call:

“I’m happy for Roger because it shows he is improving as a player every day. It is always good when we have more players with international experience because it helps us to improve as a team.”

Honduras has a strong roster that includes scoring marchine David Sauzo of Inter Milan. Should Espinoza break into the first-choice side for manager Reynaldo Rueda, he could compete in games in the upcoming UNCAF competition, as well as World Cup 2010 qualifying and the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Good luck to you, Roger.

A Little Jack to Start Your Morning

2008-12-19T07:51:00.000-08:00

Look at those hot white Pumas.

Not that kind of Jack folks, a little Jack Jewsbury. As we posted a few days back, Jack has recently taken up the sport of writing/blogging over at SGFSoccer (soccer site based in Springfield, MO). This time our favorite #14 checks in regarding some OnGoal-related issues, including our upcoming stadium project and our beautiful Swope Park Training Center. Read all about the facility straight from a players' mouth (well, fingers).

Happy Holidays from the Wizards

2008-12-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

With Hanukah and Christmas coming up soon (and Festivus going on all around us as we speak), I felt it a great time to wish everyone in Wizville a wonderful holiday season from the club. As you can see above (and below), the Wizards office is in quite the holiday spirit. Our informal gift exchange is later on today (see some presents wrapped on the table), so we might be back with details of that if there are any gifts worth posting in this space. Instead of posting a list of holiday gift ideas, Hillcrest Road is going to present its top ten things to purchase with your post-holiday money and/or gift cards. Look for that either today, tomorrow, or first thing next week. It's a long but fun process to pick the best top 10. It'll be great.

USA-Mexico

2008-12-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

Will Davy Arnaud continue his time with the USA in the upcoming round of World Cup Qualifying?

U.S. Soccer announced yesterday that the upcoming matchup between the U.S. and Mexico on Feb. 11 will be played at Columbus Crew Stadium. Mexico, who generally struggles in cold-weather venues, is 0-2 all-time at Crew Stadium. Columbus doesn't have one of the larger Latino populations of the available venues, so that also makes sense for the USA.

What are your thoughts on this venue? Are you pumped? Are you going (I know Sam Pierron is trying to organize a trip. If you're close with him, let him know your interest level.)? How much are you looking forward to the hex? Which Wizards players would you like to see as part of the U.S. squad during qualifying? Let us know in the comments section.

A Little Facebook to Close Your Day

2008-12-16T14:56:00.000-08:00

So I was cruising through some work-related Facebook pages today and realized that there are a couple I haven't pumped up on here so far. First of all, Robb Heineman has a facebook page again. He checks periodically and has been known to wish fans a Happy Birthday once in a while. Find him here. Second, the Wizards have a team page. Find it here. Third, MLS has a League-wide fan page. Find it here, add the League and chat with other fans from around MLS.

Former Wizard Featured by Celtic Underground

2008-12-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

Former Wizards standout and current Toronto FC manager Mo Johnston was featured in a lengthy production recently by the good people of Celtic. Watch below for a recap of Mo's career beginning in Scotland and finishing up right here in KC.

Judas from celtic underground on Vimeo.

Conrad's Dad to Try Out!

2008-12-15T16:43:00.000-08:00

Conrad Kuhn posing with Santa Claus at Saturday's Wizards Wonderland event.

Made you look. The results are in and Mike Kuhn, father of Conrad Kuhn and author of Down the Byline, has to try out for the 2009 Wizards and let some players rate his performance. This should be fun. Give your best guess as the ranking they will give our blog-writing friend in the comments section below.

Remember, if you're interested in trying out or know someone who would be, get over to www.kcwizards.com/opentryouts for more information.

2008 Highlights

2008-12-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Enjoy:

Wizards Wonderland Very Busy

2008-12-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

Josh Wolff poses for a picture with some fans. Josh signed some autographs for about an hour during the day's event.

Adam Cristman does an interview for kcwizards.com. Adam wanted to take time out of his day hunting for a new place to live to stop by and meet some of his new fans. Thanks for coming Adam!

The Wizards Wonderland event was quite popular. Several new season ticket holders picked out their seats. As you see above, Josh Wolff and Adam Cristman stopped by for a time and Santa Claus and Dynamo the Dragon were hits with the kids as always. If you were at the event and want to see some pictures, check out the photo album below, then head to this link to download the shots. Feel free to use them for Christmas cards, Facebook profile pics or desktop backgrounds. Wizards pictures are great for any of those things!

Download these pictures here!

Wizards Wonderland

2008-12-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

Wizards Wonderland starts in 10 minutes. If you haven't already solidified plans to come out today, we certainly encourage you to. Your kids can get their pictures taken with Santa Claus and you can select your seats for the 2009 season. If you're an existing season ticket holder, no worries, your seats are reserved unless you choose to move them. If you're not, come on out today for a great Saturday afternoon that will include some awesome merchandise discounts (items up to 75% off!) and a sale of game-worn equipment from 2007. It'll be a fun one. See you here!

If you came out to the stadium today, check out the album here at our Picasa account to download pictures of your kids with Santa or random photos from the event. We will also use this Picasa account throughout the year for you to view and download photos from our other events. Enjoy.

Jackie J Blogs/GA Team Loses Final Match

2008-12-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

Jewsbury with some fans at our Season Ticket Holder event last spring at Dave and Buster's

Versatile Wizards midfielder Jack Jewsbury checks in with fans via sgfsoccer in Springfield about the season and an upcoming clinic he is doing. Read up and, if you're from the area, sign up for his clinic here. This is Jack's second attempt at journalism, according to him. Let us know what you think about it.

Also, Roger Espinoza and the Generation adidas team dropped a 3-2 result to West Ham United's reserve squad that featured American defender Jonathan Spector. Read about the match here at mlsnet.com. Espinoza entered in the 73rd minute.

"Vanishing Spray" to Keep Walls at Bay?

2008-12-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

A journalist in Argentina came up with a vanishing spray to help referees keep the wall back during free kicks. Now that's some cool stuff. Read about it here, thanks to The Telegraph in UK.

Fowlkes Featured in KC Star

2008-12-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

Lauren Fowlkes, a sophomore at Notre Dame, grew up in Lee's Summit before starring for St. Theresa's High School in Kansas City. Last weekend, Fowlkes was a prominent member on the U.S. Women's U-20 team that captured the U-20 World Cup championship in Chile. On the same day Fowlkes helped in the U.S. win, Fowlkes college club lost to North Carolina 2-1 in the NCAA College Cup. Quite a bittersweet day for the young player.

Hillcrest Road interviewed her back in June after the U-20 qualifying trip to Mexico. Read her responses here. The KC Star caught up with her recently and posted the story today. Enjoy.

Espinoza Checks in Again

2008-12-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

Sinclair.

The Generation adidas side played its second of three matches today, falling to the Chelsea FC reserve team that featured first-team striker Scott Sinclair. Sinclair, 19-years-old and a member of many England youth national squads, scored the hat trick for the Blues as they won the match 4-0 on a pair of goals in each half. Espinoza played the first half before exiting for Tony Beltran of Real Salt Lake. To read more about the match, click here.

Espinoza's take on the game:
The game against Chelsea didn't go too well for us today. We lost 4-0; they were a pretty good team. Their team seemed to be a lot better shape than ours, which makes sense since they’re in season right now. Although the score was 4-0, we still had many opportunities to score. They scored 2 goals on each half, and I played the first 45 minutes.

2009 adidas Combine Roster Announced

2008-12-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Overland Park product Matt Besler will take part in 2009 adidas Combine.

MLS released today the list of NCAA DI players participating in the 2009 adidas Combine. Of note is local product Matt Besler (Notre Dame, Blue Valley West High School); Creighton players Andrei Gotsmanov and Seth Sinovic; and St. Louis University players Calum Angus, Brandon Barklage and Kyle Patterson. Generation adidas, NCAA Division II and III and NAIA players will be announced at a later date. The annual player combine will be held at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 9-13, 2009. The MLS SuperDraft takes place Thursday, Jan. 15 in St. Louis missouri in conjunction with the NSCAA national convention.

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

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

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

Brigade Suspend Season?

2008-12-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

The KC Star is reporting that the KC Brigade (and the AFL) may suspend operations this year. If this is in fact true and you know someone who is a Brigade season ticket holder or has gone to several games, invite them out to attend a Wizards match. Our seasons overlap for the most part, so Saturday's they might have spent inside watching indoor football can now be spent outside under the stars watching Major League Futbol (err, Soccer).

The same is said for people dropping their Chiefs or Royals season tickets for financial reasons. Invite them out to a Wizards match. We're very affordable and certainly customer friendly!

Espinoza Reports Back From London

2008-12-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

Espinoza against the Houston Dynamo in his MLS debut.

Roger Espinoza checked in today via email regarding his trip to London, England so far. Today the Generation adidas players watched Chelsea defeat CFC Cluj (Romania) 2-1 to advance to the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League. Needless to say, it was a great moment for the players to watch.

From Espinoza:

The trip has been fantastic so far. We practiced at the Chelsea facilities the second day we got here, and it was a first-class organization. Everything was amazing. The time change has been very difficult for everyone to adjust to, but we are doing pretty well now. In the game against Reading, we played pretty well. I was expecting them to be at a whole different level than us, but the game was pretty even. Both Chelsea and Reading have treated us very well.

Watching Chelsea play in the Champions League today is what I have enjoyed this trip the most. It was the best soccer game I've been to. The passionate people in the stadium makes the game so interesting because everyone is chanting and supporting their team the entire game, and the level of soccer: it was incredible from both teams.

Other then that, I really haven't done that much the walk around the mall here and shop some. During the weekend is when we start doing things like getting a tour around town and go watch Liverpool, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Tomorrow we play the Chelsea reserve team in the morning. I'll let you know how that goes too.

PV Interview/4Years Ago Today

2008-12-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

Vermes soaking trainer Chet North after a training session on Chet's birthday.

So I pulled my head out and figured out the link issue that had been perplexing me (thanks Dave). Now, here's a link to the interview posted yesterday at kcwizards.com with Peter Vermes. Listen, learn and enjoy.

Also of note: 4 years ago today, Lamar Hunt announced that he had put the Kansas City Wizards for sale. Lamar, thank you for your years of service to the sport and the organization. OnGoal, thank you for buying the team and giving us the resources to be succesful. The Kansas City Wizards will be one of the premier soccer and sports organizations in the country. Stick with us and watch us grow!

Wizards Wonderland/Marinelli/Hillcrest Road Songs

2008-12-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Don't forget about the Wizards Wonderland event this Saturday at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. From 1-5 p.m., we'll host our new season ticket holders, potential season ticket holders and current STHs who are interested in upgrading or changing their seat locations. Santa Claus and Dynamo will be on hand for pictures with the kiddos, so bring the whole family out. Read more here, including info about a used gear sale.

Word from South America is that Carlos Marinelli has signed with Colombian club Millonarios, the former club of Chicago Fire defender/midfielder Wilman Conde and Red Bull Head Coach Juan Carlos Osorio. Read (in Spanish) the info from the club. Good luck Carlos.

Hillcrest Road, the band based out of Wisconsin that we interviewed here yesterday, has informed us that you can download some free versions of their songs via the band's fansite. Check out the site here for some free downloads of the quality music.

Espinoza Goes 60 in Loss to Reading Reserves

2008-12-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

The Generation adidas youngsters took on Reading FC today, losing 1-0 to the English Championship side's second team. Wizards midfielder Roger Espinoza went the first 60 minutes for the GA team. Hillcrest Road will catch up with Roger in the next couple of days about his trip to England and experiences as part of the GA team. Don't forget to check out the audio interview currently available at kcwizards.com with team Technical Director Peter Vermes. PV chatted with PR guru Dave Borchardt today about the off-season and his plans for the club.

Hillcrest Road Interview

2008-12-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

HcR, the band

Sounds a little conceited doesn't it? Well, this time, Hillcrest is actually interviewing Hillcrest Road, the band. We got in contact with these guys a while back after running a search for www.hillcrestroad.com and coming across their website. After a listen to their music on iTunes (it's pretty good!), we shot them an email. After some back and forth chit-chatting, we decided to do a QnA so that our two versions of Hillcrest Road could come together for some time on the interweb. So, here is the first-ever Hillcrest Road (the band) interview on Hillcrest Road (the blog). Enjoy--then go browse their website and iTunes! (They've also got a side project named after their lead singer Scott Dangerfiend. Check that out at www.myspace.com/scottdangerfield)

QnA-

1. How did you first discover Hillcrest Road, the blog?

Tom: You know, it was almost a year ago I think... I was feeling rather narcissistic and tried Googling ourselves. Lo and behold, your blog popped up. At first I was a little confused, but the more I read and figured things out, the more interested I was. Heck, as a big MLS and in general soccer fan I should have already known about this. Regardless, I was happy to have found out and now find myself following the blog's updates fairly regularly!

2. What were your thoughts when you found out a professional soccer team could potentially have a stadium on a street with the same name as your band?

Patrick: I was excited to hear it! It's also somewhat coincidental, as most of us in the band grew up playing soccer. Even though I spent a lot of time on the bench, I still love playing the game and watching games on TV.

Scott: Hillcrest Road is actually a pretty common street name. We receive lots of messages from fans that live on or nearby a Hillcrest Road from all over the country. Although it is pretty cool that something big like this will be associated (at least in some circles) with our band.

3. Are you guys soccer fans? If so, who do you support?

Tom: We are all soccer fans, though Jake and I are definitely the biggest ones out of us all. Living somewhat near Chicago, I guess I'd consider myself a Fire fan... but that's more out of default than anything else since it's the easiest team for me to get tickets to. Having lived in London for a bit, I'm also a pretty big Premier League fan. And because of my ties to Jay DeMerit, I'm definitely a Watford supporter.

Scott:I don’t know where Tom got his sources but I’ve never really been a soccer fan. It’s a cool sport, just never grabbed my interest I guess. I was always more of a basketball, football (American), and baseball player.

4. Will you now support the Wizards, given your name ties to the organization?

Tom: I already do! This really is just the icing on the cake...

5. How did you chose your name?

When we were first starting out, one of the many songs that never made it onto our set-list was called "At Hillcrest Road and Francis Creek." We ended up dropping all but the Hillcrest Road and adopted that as our title. The actual Hillcrest Road that we're named after is about halfway between Green Bay (where three of our original members lived) and Milwaukee, where we like to stop for Subway sandwiches, gasoline, and take potty breaks.

6. What song of yours should Wizards supporters check out and why?

Tom: If I had to pick one track off our first album, Life After Liftoff, I'd suggest "It's Been You," because it definitely has gotten the most response from our fans. Two of my personal favorites off that album are "Postcards Lost (In the Mail)" and "Options Limit Actions," because they really show off the band's range and diversity. What I would really tell people, however, is that every single track off our upcoming album, The Definition EP is now my favorite. We'll start releasing new songs sometime in late December or January, and when we do those tracks would be the ones I'd suggest everyone checks out.

Scott: My personal favorite is Marvelous. It’s a slow and simple song but it dives much deeper than any of our others. In other words, I don’t like it because it’s popular; I value it because it has meaning.

iTunes.

7. Explain your style of music and musical influences to Hillcrest Road readers...

Our musical influences vary greatly, including everything from rock, to hip hop and pop, to jazz. While we are usually characterized as "pop rock," we like to include elements of the other genres we love to listen to. Probably the most important thing about our music is that we do not write anything we would not want to listen to ourselves. Some have compared us to Mae or Anberlin, others to Motion City Soundtrack, but really the comparison should be up to you the listener to decide for yourself.

8. What is the long-term ambition of your band?

Patrick: We absolutely love writing and playing music. In the long term, getting paid enough to support ourselves by playing music would be a dream come true.

9. Once Hillcrest Road is built, would you like to play at the venue?

We are always looking for places to play, and a venue that has such close ties to our name is definitely an exciting idea. The prospect of not only playing at such a fantastic facility on a road of our namesake, but for such an impressive organization is definitely something that interests us!

10. Anything else you want to tell fans?

The fans are important, but when it comes down to it, we use music as an avenue for self and group expression. Music has the ability to transcend boundaries that the spoken word cannot. It’s an art. It can be interpreted in an infinite number of ways and therefore can touch any person regardless of differences. But most of all it allows us to extract emotions that we otherwise wouldn’t know how to get out. Even if those emotions don’t reach anybody else’s ears, it’s more than worth it. In other words, there is always a reason to play music…even if you are your own audience.

Mike Looks In/Ask the Fans

2008-12-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

With only one day down, it seems the voting already has clinched that Mike will participate in the Open Tryout. Congrats to you buddy, we're also trying to get a couple of media people to join you. That should really be interesting. Jake Gutierrez anyone?

It's the offseason now, so we're starting to reconsider everything about everything in the front office. I know we've asked you these things before, but we'll ask again. What do you want to see most in 2009. Do you like that times have changed to 7:30 p.m.? Did you like the bus program this year? Let us know of any ideas and/or preferences you have in the comments section.

Down the Byline at Open Tryout?

2008-12-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

If Mike signs up for the open tryout, he could be playing on that field next season.

Last year, Mike of Down the Byline came to the open tryout and rated some of the players he saw. Read his ratings and see Kevin Souter in that second picture he posted. At the time, Kuhn told me how he would likely have tried out, but his knee wouldn't allow it. Well folks, as many of you know, Mike is back at full strength. In chatting with him today, I suggested that he tryout this year. He claims to be open to the idea. If he does try out, I'm sure we could get some players to watch the trial and rate Mike's performance, as he so often rates their performances. You get to decide. Should Mike tryout and let the Wizards players rate him? Make the call in the top-right corner.

Open Tryouts are Back

2008-12-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Kevin Souter at last year's open tryout.

Souter just a few weeks later at a pre-season practice.

Souter on the field against Guillermo Barros Schelotto and the Crew in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Just ask Kevin Souter and Nelson Pizarro, open tryouts work. Last season, each player showed enough while competing against over 200 other hopefuls that the Wizards eventually signed them to contracts. Souter eventually emerged as a starter down the stretch, playing in the Wizards final six matches, including our two MLS Cup Playoff bouts with eventual-champions Columbus.

Now, the 2008 version of the open tryout is upon us. If you're interested, or know anyone else who would be, visit www.kcwizards.com/opentryout.

Supporters' Shield Created by One of Our Own

2008-12-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

Stud.

Jeff Bradley checks in at MLSnet.com with his latest version of the First XI. Our own Saturday Night Sammy J Pierron gets a little lovin' in #1. Great job Sammy!

And one more for good measure.

Wizards Wonderland Dec. 13/Welcome to Blogville

2008-12-03T09:12:00.000-08:00

Wizards fans out there, make sure to join us on December 13 (it's a Saturday) out at CommunityAmerica Ballpark for this year's version of a seat-selection event. We will be winter holiday themed, with door prizes and Dynamo the Dragon and Mr. Santa Claus available for pictures with the kiddos. If you've already put down your season ticket holder deposit, make sure you come out between 1-5 p.m. that day. Even if you haven't already put down your deposit, come on out and take a look at the seating options anyway. We'll take your deposit there and seat you.

We'd also like to welcome Wizards fan and aspiring writer Graham Fox to the blogosphere. Graham has started his new blog, Advantage Played, at www.advantageplayed.blogspot.com. Stop by and check out his notes and musings when you're not reading Hillcrest Road.

MLS First Kick Announced

2008-12-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

The full slate of games for MLS Week 1 is now available (below), as is the fact that we're switching our start times to 7:30 p.m. CT next year. Our first match will come Saturday, March 21, 2009 against Toronto FC at the CAB at 7:30 p.m. Single-game tickets won't go on sale until 2009, so the only way to guarantee a ticket to the opener against Mo Johnston's side will be with season tickets. Purchase them at (913) 387-3400 or visit this page at kcwizards.com for more information. Help us sell out all the matches next year!

Our second game comes on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at the Colorado Rapids at 8:30 p.m. CT.

First Kick and Home Opener Schedule:

REGULAR SEASON – WEEK 1 (FIRST KICK)

Thursday, March 19, 2009 (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)
New York Red Bulls at Seattle Sounders FC, 8 p.m. (ESPN2/Deportes)

Saturday, March 21, 2009
Columbus Crew at Houston Dynamo, 7 p.m. (Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports en Español)
Toronto FC at Kansas City Wizards, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago Fire at FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Colorado Rapids at Chivas USA, 9:30 pm (Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports en Español)
New England Revolution at San Jose Earthquakes, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 22, 2009
D.C. United at Los Angeles Galaxy, 2 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON – WEEK 2

Saturday, March 28, 2008
Toronto FC at Columbus Crew, 3 p.m.
San Jose Earthquakes at D.C. United, 6:30 p.m.
New England Revolution at New York Red Bulls, 6:30 p.m.
Kansas City Wizards at Colorado Rapids, 8:30 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON – WEEK 3

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Columbus Crew at Real Salt Lake, 8 p.m. (ESPN2/Deportes)

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Seattle Sounders FC at Toronto FC, 2 p.m.
FC Dallas at New England Revolution, TBD

Sunday, April 5, 2009
New York Red Bulls at Chicago Fire, 2 p.m. (Telefutura)

Holiday Auctions Courtesy of USSF

2008-12-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

The United States Soccer Foundation is hosting its annual holiday auction to raise funds for their wonderful programs (which last year included helping fund community events at Field 3 at our gorgeous Swope Park Training Center). Click here to bid on the jerseys. There are autographed Wizards jerseys from 2007 and 2008 available, as well as jerseys from other MLS clubs and several top clubs from around the world. The auction runs through Dec. 15. Enjoy!

Also, don't forget that MLS will announce MLS First Kick (Week 1) and the home opener for each MLS team later today. We'll check in then with the Wizards first match and the early-season schedule for the rest of the League.

Espinoza Joins Generation adidas Trip

2008-12-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

Espinoza volunteering for a clinic last summer for Verano MLS.

Our team Rookie of the Year is earning a nice trip to England with a group of 16 Generation adidas players from around MLS. Espinoza stepped in and logged some quality minutes this season on the left side of midfield after being taken with the 11th overall selection in last January's MLS SuperDraft. Read the story about the trip here at MLSnet.com and see Espinoza's bio and stats here.

Generation adidas roster for England Trip (Still confirming a 16th player):

Ciaran O’Brien (Colorado Rapids)
Bakary Soumare (Chicago Fire)
Josh Lambo (FC Dallas)
Bruno Guarda (FC Dallas)
Eric Avila (FC Dallas)
Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas)
Roger Espinoza (Kansas City Wizards)
Rob Valentino (NE Revolution)
Amaechi Igwe (NE Revolution)
Anthony Beltran (Real Salt Lake)
Alex Nimo (Real Salt Lake)
Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
Yura Movsisyan (Real Salt Lake)
Abdus Ibrahim (Toronto FC)
Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

Itinerary:

Friday, Dec. 5 Departure date to London
Saturday, Dec. 6 Attend West Ham United vs. Tottenham or Arsenal vs. Wigan match
Sunday, Dec. 7 Training at Chelsea Academy (two sessions on Sunday)
Monday, Dec. 8 Match 1- Generation adidas VS EPL or West Ham Reserve Team.
Tuesday, Dec. 9 Training Session at Chelsea Academy; Stamford Bridge Stadium and Museum Tour and visit to the Chelsea Mega Store
Wednesday, Dec. 10 Match 2- Generation adidas VS Chelsea Reserve Team; Attendance UEFA Champions League Match - CHELSEA vs -CFR CLUJ NAPOCA
Thursday, Dec. 11 Match 3- Generation adidas VS Aston Villa Reserve Team (TBC).
Friday, Dec. 12 Watch Chelsea 1st Team Training Session at Chelsea Academy; London Eye private tour; Bus tour of London
Saturday, Dec. 13 Late morning in London - sightseeing Oxford Street, Harrod's department store; Attendance EPL Match - CHELSEA vs WEST HAM (Note - Match could be moved to Sunday)
Sunday, Dec. 14 Return flights to the US

Back From the Break

2008-12-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

After the longest break in the history of Hillcrest Road, we're back and raring to go. Hopefully your Thanksgiving celebrations were cheerful and your post-Thanksgiving shopping successful. If you have a soccer fan on your list and haven't purchased anything yet, visit www.kcsoccerstore.com.

Here's a look at some stories of note from the past few days:

Article about new 12-field soccer complex in OP

KCBJ article on The Trails from Lane4's perspective

Bob Rusert breaks down the 2008 regular season

Then Rusert poses 5 questions from this year and looking ahead to next year

Article on the Seattle Sounders ticket-sales rate - good stuff from the newest team

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2008-11-27T10:46:00.000-08:00

Now stop reading Hillcrest Road and go eat some turkey! Enjoy!

Goodbye Tyson, Ryan, Carlos and Ivan

2008-11-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Good luck to you Tyson--except against KC.

Today, the Wizards lost defender Tyson Wahl to Seattle Sounders FC in the expansion draft and waived forwards Ryan Pore and Ivan Trujillo and midfielder Carlos Marinelli. Good luck Tyson in Seattle and the other three in their future endeavors. We appreciate their efforts here in KC and wish them nothing but the best.

Expansion Draft/Science of Soccer

2008-11-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

Well, the day is here that we will potentially lose one player to Seattle Sounders FC via the expansion draft. Who will it be? Ives says Hartman. Hopefully our roster remains in tact, but there are some quality players left off our protected list. We'll find out around 12:45 p.m. CT.

Also, our friend Pete Grathoff of the Star did a science of sports story last week on the bend of a soccer ball a la David Beckham, Dwayne De Rosario or Roberto Carlos. Read about it here. Embedded below are the YouTube clips of goals Grathoff mentions in his story. It's a nice little read about the science behind our sport.

WOW!:

Um...WOW again!

Cristman Comes Early

2008-11-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

That right there is the headline of the year. Love it. Here's a round up of all the reports about our acquisition of the New England striker. Looks like most are pretty complimentary of the young player. We look forward to seeing him up close!

Expansion Draft/Trade Info - KCStar.com

Cristman Comes Early - MLSnet.com/kcwizards.com

Wizards Conjure Cristman Capture - Goal.com

Wizards Acquire Cristman from Revolution - ESPN.com

Revs Trade Cristman to KC - Soccer by Ives

Revs Trade Cristman to KC - Soccer 365

Revolution Send Adam Cristman to KC - Boston Herald

Revolution trade Cristman to KC - Boston Globe

Unido en Azul

2008-11-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

Some of you who subscribe to the Wizards YouTube page might have already come across this, but we've put together a little video about The Cauldron, our screamin', yellin', fightin' supporters group. If you're not a member and are somewhat interested in becoming one, take a look and see if you'd like to join the group. If you are a member and want to show someone you work with, go to church with or live next to what we're all about, send them the link or imbed this video on your blog. We'd love the whole world to see it and join you guys at CAB next year!

Expansion Draft

2008-11-24T14:30:00.000-08:00

Ten current MLS players will join the ranks of Seattle Sounders FC Wednesday. Below is a list of the players protected by KC ahead of the expansion draft. Remember that Chance Myers and Roger Espinoza are also safe due to being members of the Generation adidas program. Remember that Seattle Technical Director Chris Henderson was an assistant here in KC last year, so he knows some players on our roster pretty well. Due to League rules, it was mandated that we protect three of our four international players. Teams will have to protect a set number of internationals based on how many they have on their roster. Gen adidas players also don't count against this number.

Protected Players

M Davy Arnaud

F Adam Cristman

D Jimmy Conrad

M Herculez Gomez

D Michael Harrington

M Jack Jewsbury

D Jonathan Leathers

F Claudio Lopez

M Carlos Marinelli

M Kevin Souter

F Josh Wolff

Busy Weekend/Wizards Acquire Cristman

2008-11-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

Cristman goes up against Jonathan Leathers back in April.

Seems like forever ago since I've posted here...sorry for the delays. We'll get into all the excitement from this weekend in a little bit, but first we'd like to let you know we just traded for two-year MLS veteran Adam Cristman from the New England Revolution for a 3rd round pick in the upcoming MLS SuperDraft and allocation money. Below are a couple of goals from Adam this year scored against the Galaxy and here's a link to his bio at mlsnet.com.

He has scored 10 goals and added five assists in his two MLS seasons. This year was shortened by a toe injury, but he has been jogging already this offseason. Last year, he was a finalist for the Gatorade Rookie of the Year award that was won by now-Rangers player Maurice Edu. The release will be up shortly at kcwizards.com.

Cristman, who played at the same university as Wizards Head Coach Curt Onalfo and assistant coach Kris Kelderman, scored a hat trick Oct. 20, 2006 against Virginia Tech, alma mater of Wizards goalkeeper/fitness coach Dave Tenney.

In talking with Adam today, he mentioned that he's excited for him and his wife to come to Kansas City and start chasing tornadoes. I like his spirit!

SuperLiga Here we Come!

2008-11-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

So Mr. Garber speaks and the whole League listens. Yesterday, the Wizards found out that due to the new qualification procedures, we will qualify for SuperLiga during the 2009 season.

We've also found out the MLS Reserve Division won't be back next year. The KCW Reserves (Swope Park Rangers) have, thus, finished 2nd in their last-ever RD season. We will still schedule reserve exhibitions, so you'll still get to see them in competition.

The gala awards are later today, so if any Wizards are named to Best XI, we'll let you know.

From the Road

2008-11-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

Hillcrest here blogging from the road to Wichita. It's an off day, but I thought I would check in for some MLS Cup discussion. Who is going to win? Will Guillermo win Cup MVP as well? Submit your predictions below and have a great MLS Cup weekend!

Coldplay: A Photo Essay

2008-11-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

So some English blokes came to town last week, and word is that their concert was pretty rad. Fifteen Wizards players were on hand to check it out and were even invited backstage for a private meet-and-greet with the band. Not too shabby ey? Jimmy Conrad even found out who they support back home; Chris supports Exeter City, Will likes Southampton while guitarist Johnny Buckland bleeds for San Jose Earthquakes' partner club Tottenham. Nice reporting, JC. Check out these pictures below from the players.

From Tyson Wahl:

And three from Herculez Gomez:

USA Handles Guatemala 2-0, Arnaud Earns CAP 2

2008-11-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

Last night, the United States easily dispatched of Guatemala 2-0 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park outside of Denver. Read the U.S. Soccer match report here. Wizards midfielder/forward Davy Arnaud also made his second appearance for the U.S. National Team, entering in the 83rd minute for goalscorer and wonderkid Freddy Adu. (In his two CAPs, Arnaud has been late-game replacements for Landon Donovan and Adu. How about those two names Davy has entered for?) Arnaud put in a workmanlike effort in his seven minutes on the field, including a cutting pass to Sacha Kljestan inside the penalty area seconds before time expired. Kljestan took a touch, and Guatemala knocked the ball out of bounds for a corner kick. Had the play happened earlier in the game, Davy might have been responsible for a U.S. goal.

Let's look back at the predictions from Tuesday to see how we did.

In the 18, we only missed one player. Unfortunately, one player Bradley didn't dress I had in the starting lineup. Conor Casey, in reality, was in the 18 and played, while Sean Franklin was not in the 18 and, thus, didn't start.

In the starting lineup, Hillcrest nailed eight of 11 starters. Here was the actual lineup with our correct picks in bold. If we missed the pick, our choice will be listed in parenthesis:

(4-4-2) Guzan; Thorrington (Franklin), Goodson (Gibbs), Parkhurst, Bornstein; Adu, Mastroeni, Clark, Kljestan; Altidore, Cooper (Ching)

Subs: We had Cooper entering for Ching, so flip flop who started and who entered and we're still on track. We had Arnaud for Mastroeni, but he actually came in for Adu. We had Moor for Franklin, but the sub was Conor Casey for Altidore. Not terrible, but not great here.

As for numbers, we got only six of 18. Not too good. We flip-flopped Adu and Ching and probably would have had a better chance had Franklin actually been in the lineup. Oh well, there's always next time.

The Don Speaks/Cepero Doesn't Win

2008-11-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

Commissioner Don Garber speaks to Jack Bell of the New York Times in a very candid Question/Answer session about the state of MLS and the future of the League. There's some great stuff in here, and it offers a nice preview of what could be in the State of the League press conference Friday. MLS Comms put out a statement yesterday saying he is expected to reveal some competition-related news. Stay tuned.

Also, congrats to Will Johnson of Real Salt Lake for winning the Sierra Mist Goal of the Year Award. Check out his goal below:

Joining Twitter/New Media Update

2008-11-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

A little birdie (ha-ha) told us that Twitter was all the rage, so Hillcrest Road decided to make an appearance on the new site. If your daily posts here at blogspot weren't enough, now you can follow our twitter account that allows even more instantaneous updates. Check us out at www.twitter.com/hillcrest_road. We'll try to keep updates regular and not too boring, so hopefully you'll enjoy the content. Let us know what you want to read about on Twitter in the comments section below. You'll be able to see all of our Twitter updates in the right-hand column here at the blogspot version of Hillcrest Road.

Also, don't forget out other "new media" locations:

www.myspace.com/kansascitywizards

www.youtube.com/kcwizards96

And the Facebook page of our President Robb Heineman. I know he was on here before, but Facebook said we were spamming people because we added too many Wizards fans in a short amount of time. If he's not longer youf friend, go add him again.

Blogger Fight!

2008-11-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

It looks like NY didn't like very much that we called out Danny Cepero's goal as not that great. Yeah it was historic and made a nice highlight, but come on, is that a quality goal? Should that represent the Sierra Mist Goal of the Year for all of eternity? I think not. The voting is now over, so hopefully MLS fans did the right thing. Danny, your goal was fun to watch, but it wasn't the best this season. Apologies. I'm glad the MLS Fan Blog agrees.

Don't forget that tonight's match will be at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN Classic not ESPN 2. I know initially we said the match would be shown on the deuce, but that has changed from the initial scheduling. If you can't be on your couch at that time, set your TiVo so you can see Davy Arnaud hopefully sport the Red, White and Blue kits.

U.S. Roster for Tomorrow?

2008-11-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

Let me preface this by saying I have no knowledge of the team for tomorrow's 2010 qualifier against Guatemala at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN Classic and Galavision. Here are the things we know: 2 players must be dropped from the current 20-man roster for the final roster. Shirt numbers for qualifiers must be from 1-18 only. So, with that info, Hillrest makes the following predictions about tomorrow's match:

Matt Pickens (GK) and Conor Casey are dropped from the roster. Not sure why on Casey, just a feeling. That leaves the following players to make the roster, in my PREDICTED jersey numbers. We'll check this out Thursday to see how I've done.

1 GK Troy Perkins

2 D Sean Franklin

3 D Jonathan Bornstein

4 D Clarence Goodson

5 M Pablo Mastroeni

6 D Cory Gibbs

7 M Sacha Kljestan

8 D Drew Moor

9 F Kenny Cooper

10 F Brian Ching

11 M Freddy Adu

12 F Jozy Altidore

13 M Ricardo Clark

14 F Davy Arnaud

15 D Michael Parkhurst

16 M John Thorrington

17 F Chris Rolfe

18 GK Brad Guzan

Let's go with the following lineup (4-4-2): Guzan; Franklin, Parkhurst, Gibbs, Bornstein; Kljestan, Clark, Mastroeni, Adu; Ching, Altidore

and subs:

Cooper for Ching

Arnaud for Mastroeni (Kljestan to the center)

Moor for Franklin

Offer your thoughts on the 18-man roster, numbers and lineup below.

Albert Pujols Wants STL MLS Team

2008-11-18T13:19:00.000-08:00

Pujols' goal celebration of choice.

Apparently Fort Osage grad and MLB star Albert Pujols wants to bring the Kansas City-St. Louis rivalry to Major League Soccer. It was announced today that Pujols is joining St. Louis Soccer United ownership group in their bid for an MLS expansion team. Pujols won his second National League MVP award yesterday and is now hoping to own a professional football team in his town.

How do you feel about another non-soccer athlete joining a prospective MLS ownership group? (Steve Nash of the NBA is the other.) Would you like to see a team go to St. Louis? Would they instantly become our most hated rivals? Share your thoughts below.

Happy Tuesday

2008-11-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

Greetings Hillcrest Road followers, glad to be back feeling well and posting earlier in the day. A few notes for you all this morning:

1st, head over to the USSoccer.com's 2008 Best of U.S. Soccer Awards page to vote for your favorites from the world of U.S. Soccer from this past year. Click on the logo in each category to vote in this category.

Since we're in blogville, up for blog of the year are:
-duNord (Bruce McGuire)
-Soccer by Ives (Ives Galarcep and, recently added, Dylan Butler)
-Soccer Insider (Steven Goff, Washington Post)
-Behind the Badge (D.C. United team blog...Hillcrest Road is gunning for this spot next year)
-The Offside Rules (S.F.)
-Unprofessional Foul
-The Red Card (Luis Arroyave, Chicago Tribune)
-Goal - The New York Times Soccer Blog
-U.S. Men's National Team Blog (U.S. Soccer)
-U.S. Women's National Team Blog (U.S. Soccer)

2nd, Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse!

3rd, Congratulations to UMKC for qualifying for the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer tournament by winning the Summit League tournament last week. The 'Roos start their tournament quest this Friday at 7 p.m. CT at the University of Tulsa, Ryan Pore's former school. If they win, they'll travel to take on Michael Kraus' former school Creighton next Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. CT. Read about the 'Roos here then check out the full tournament bracket here.

Wizards with a rooting interest in the tournament include:
UCLA- Jimmy Conrad, Kevin Hartman, Chance Myers
North Carolina- Michael Harrington, Kerry Zavagnin (though he has retired, he's still part of the team until next year starts)
California- Eric Kronberg, Tyson Wahl
Ohio State- Roger Espinoza
St. Louis- Jack Jewsbury
Creighton- Michael Kraus
Michigan State- Rauwshan McKenzie
Tulsa- Ryan Pore
Maryland- Abe Thompson

Virginia- Curt Onalfo and Kris Kelderman (former players)
George Mason- Kris Kelderman and Dave Tenney (former coaches)

5th Floor Wins

2008-11-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

It's a couple of days overdue, but the 5th floor utterly dominated the 3rd floor sales staff by a count of 5-0 Friday at Swope Park. First-half goals from Christian Geidus (German intern) and Kyle Rogers (Hillcrest) started the scoring with the wind behind the back of the upstairs crew. Geidus ripped a 20-yard blast into the side netting after a cross bounced around in the area. Rogers dribbled to the end line, carried toward goal and slotted home inside the near post from close range.

In the second half, the sales staff pushed forward with the wind at their backs looking to claw back into the game, but the 5th floor crew used the added pressure to counter attack effectively. James Flexman put home a close-range shot after a counter attack started deep in the 5th floor crew's end and Flexman raced past two defenders before slotting inside the near post. Jacques Tournoy then put in a beautiful chip from 15 yards out after Rob Thomson started the counter attack with a quick outlet to Rogers, who slipped a ball between two defenders for Tournoy. Rogers capped the scoring seconds before the final whistle after a shot from Dave Borchardt was initially stopped by Sales goalkeeper Darren Gertsen and Rogers slid the ball in from just off the goal line to complete the comprehensive shutout. Goalkeeper Chad Reynolds made three wonderful saves, including a full-extension effort on a blast from Brian Roberts in the second half.

On behalf of the 5th floor, thanks for the pizza and beer, sales staff.

Davy Makes U.S. 20-Man Roster

2008-11-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the late post today, Hillcrest is under the weather and playing hookie from work. Congratulations to our Golden Boot winner Davy Arnaud for making the final 20-man roster for this Wednesday's World Cup Qualifier against Guatemala at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. Arnaud is one of six "forwards" listed on the roster, but you all know well he could enter the match either up top, wide right (or left) and in a central midfield role. Davy has one previous CAP, a late cameo against powerhouse Brazil in September of 2007. The rest of the roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Matt Pickens (out of contract)
DEFENDERS (6): Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (Colorado Rapids), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire)

Watch the game at 7 p.m. CT live on ESPN Classic in English or Galavision in Spanish. Well done Mr. Arnaud.

Staff Soccer

2008-11-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

With the season over, our staff is heading out to the Swope Park Training Center for another Staff Soccer fixture between our 5th floor staff and our 3rd floor staff (sales floor). The match will be an intense one, with a larger pizza + beer wager on the outcome of the match. Trash talk has been fervent, so check out the lineups for the 3:30 CT kickoff.

5th floor (lineups subject to change) (4-1-3-2)

---------------------------Chad Reynolds (Graphic Design)----------------------------

Dave Borchardt (PR)---Dan Drelich (Ops)---Adam Meloan (Experience Development)---Nick Dombrowski (Accounting)

-------Christian Geidus (German intern, friend of Aaron Hohlbein)---------

-Rob Heineman (President)--Rob Thomson (PR)--Todd Adams (Corp. Partnerships)-

----------Kyle Rogers (PR)-------Jacques Tournoy (Merchandising)----------

Subs-
James Flexman (Flexmandinho, Crop. Partnerships)
Jeff Foster (Crop. Patnerships)
Shawn Quesnell (Finance)
David Ficklin (Development)
Erin Lawless (CR)
Jill Prather (Experience Development)
Greg Cotton (Exec. VP)

3rd floor (lineups subject to change) (4-4-2)

-----------------------Darren Gertsen (Account Exec)-------------------

Kristin Bock (intern)----Josh Wisenhunt (Inside Sales)---Nikki Shepard (Inside Sales)--Meredith Wilmes (Inside Sales)

Matt Orlando (Inside Sales)--Shayne Donohue (VP of Ticket Sales)--Brian Roberts (Account Exec, former Wizard)--Brian Roth (Account Exec)

--Nahuel Rodriguez (Account Exec)--Ben Madeo (Account Exec)--

Subs-
Sam Pierron (Customer Service)
Emily Hanover (Account Exec)
Shaun Culley (Ticketing)
Evan Gitomer (Director of Ticket Sales)

We'll be back with info after the match.

Boots/Davy/Chance/Michael (times 2)/Charity

2008-11-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

Kevin Hartman and the book you know very well about by now, Boots Saved the Day, is featured currently in a story on MLSnet.com. Read it.

Davy Arnaud correctly picked the score and winner of last night's game on the U.S. Men's National Team Blog. See it.

Thad spoke with rookie midfielder/defender Chance Myers and posted a ripped-abs pic of him over at The Back Post. Hear it and see them.

Then Thad spoke with Michael's Harrington and Kraus. Hear them here (Harrington) and here (Kraus).

There's going to be a star-studded charity game featuring some of the world's best players Monday, Nov. 17 at noon CT. Read it here then watch it on Fox Soccer Channel.

Get Your KCW 2009 Wallpaper

2008-11-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed the new graphic used on the splash page currently up at kcwizards.com prompting you to buy season tickets for next year. You may also have noticed it on the front page where the scoreboard feature is during the season. Well, now you can put that very same graphic on your computer's desktop. Check out this page at kcwizards.com to download your own version of the KCW 2009 Wallpaper.

Oh yeah, and buy your season tickets here.

Welcome to Blogville/Season Wrap-ups/Auctions

2008-11-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

First of all, we'd like to extend a hearty welcome to the blogging community to our friend David Streeter (EZStreet) of the Topeka Capital Journal. He's opened up his own blog, Word on the Street, at www.davidstreeter.blogspot.com. Check him out.

Second of all, read the season recap from Randy Covitz at the KC Star here then watch 53 of the best goals from around MLS this season. We scored two of them, allowed five of them (it took something special to score on us this year) and Abe Thompson scored two while with FCD (one against us, as you remember). Watch and enjoy:

Don't forget about the auction that U.S. National Teamer (for this camp) Davy Arnaud and Wizards teammate Lance Watson are doing to benefit a former youth soccer coach of theirs whose house was destroyed during Hurricane Ike. Their game-worn boots are available here.

JC Show/Bliss Inducted/Final 5 Named

2008-11-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to attend the FINAL Jimmy Conrad Show of the season tonight at 7 p.m. CT at McFadden's. Jimmy will host another one via podcast from MLS Cup in two weeks, but this is the final KC version. Head on down to the Power and Light District to watch Conrad and voice of the Wizards Sean Wheelock pontificate about futbol. Can't make it to PnL? Check it out on 810 WHB or www.kcwizards.com.

Former Wizards player and coach Brian Bliss is being inducted into the (take a deep breath) New York State West (another breath) Youth Soccer Association (another) Hall of Fame (exhale). That's a mouthful! Seriously though, congrats Blissy, and good luck tomorrow night versus Chicago.

The 5 finalists for the Sierra Mist Goal of the Year have been named, and Davy Arnaud is unfortunately not on the list. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go vote and make sure that Danny Cepero's fortunate goalie goal doesn't win. Seriously. Vote for Will Johnson's sick flick and finish or even Blanco's long-ranger, but please don't let Cepero win. Vote and watch the finalists here.

One that Slipped By/Arnaud Recognized

2008-11-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

Jack celebrates with the Cauldron after the dramatic 3-2 win over San Jose on October 18.

Before the LA Galaxy game on Sept. 13, Jack Jewsbury answered questions from Jefferson College players interested in playing at the next level. Quite an interesting read. Sorry for missing it initially!

Today, Randy Covitz did the daily rundown column in the KC Star and included mention of Arnad's selection to the U.S. National Team training camp. Read that and some other notes from around KC sports here.

Arnaud Gets National Team Call

2008-11-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

Davy's patented celebration.

Davy Arnaud is the Wizards representative at the upcoming U.S. National Team camp in Commerce City, Colorado. Davy has appeared for the U.S. one time previously, a late cameo against World Power Brazil in September of 2007. Check out the whole roster here from U.S. Soccer. These players aren't the only ones who will make up the roster for next Wednesday's qualifier. Players from Europe and some from next weekend's losing MLS teams will also get the call.

As a fun tidbit, I found some player ratings from Davy's first-ever appearance with the National Team. Greg Seltzer did these for American Soccer Daily. Quite a fun read. (Former teammate Eddie Johnson and current teammate Josh Wolff also appeared in the match and were rated.)

Beat writer Randy Covitz was quick with the news and already has it up on the Star's website.

Another Columbus Pic

2008-11-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

This one of the owners in their suite:

(L-R) Neal and Jeanne Patterson, Cliff and Bonne Illig, Robb and Amber Heineman, Greg and Liz Maday

Don't forget to vote for Davy Arnaud for Sierra Mist Goal of the Year. The permalink is in the top right-hand corner of the blog. You can vote up to ten times a day, so please do! The U.S. National Team will announce shortly a 19-man training camp roster in advance of next Wednesday's WC Qualifier against Guatemala. Some of these players will be included in the game roster but not all. More on that later.

Souter Interviews Across the Pond

2008-11-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

Souter during last season's open tryout.

Our open tryout star Kevin Souter checked in with the Aberdeen Evening Express last week before Saturday's Leg 2 in Columbus. The paper printed a nice lead-up (that features a picture of Souter with the Aberdeen first team) and the entire interview in question/answer form. Read and enjoy!

Owners Wives Crash the Cauldron

2008-11-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

Our owners passed along today a photo taken at Saturday's match in Columbus. Four of our owners' wives posed for a picture with some Cauldronites. Have a look:

The wives are in the middle behind the starred flag. Clockwise from top left: Amber Heineman, Bonne Illig, Liz Maday, Jeanne Patterson

Cauldron Crashes Columbus

2008-11-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

So it was the Cauldron doing the crashing tonight. Check out the pics below of the Cauldron entering Columbus Crew Stadium this evening. First, they meet up with some Columbus supporters (would you ever see European fans hug each other before a big match) and then are greeted by owners Robb Heineman and Cliff Illig atop the stairs as they climb toward their seats. Enjoy the pics. The man clapping toward the bottom is another owner, Greg Maday.

Tough Loss

2008-11-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

The Kansas City Wizards 2008 MLS season is over. It's been a fun one. Thanks for reading all year. We look forward to some updates and innovations of Hillcrest Road over the offseason, so keep on reading. Read the quotes and notables from tonight's match below. We'll post pictures either tonight or tomorrow. There are some quality ones from the Cauldron coming into the stadium.

· Kansas City is now 12-15-5 all-time in MLS playoff games.
· The Wizards have scored 44 goals and allowed 46 goals in post-season play.
· Kansas City concluded the season 11-11-10 in MLS matches.
· Including the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and two international friendlies, Kansas City was 15-12-10 on the season.
· This was the first-ever postseason series between Kansas City and Columbus.
· The Wizards finished the year 0-3-2 against the Crew, including three regular-season games.
· Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman made one save on the night to extend his MLS postseason record to 155 career saves.
· Hartman also leads in postseason wins (22) and shutouts (14).
· He became the first player in MLS history to surpass the 4,000-minute plateau in postseason play.
· Hartman now has 4,042 career postseason minutes.
· Hartman surpassed Cobi Jones for the all-time lead in games started (44).
· He is one behind Jones for the all-time games played lead.
· Forward Michael Kraus made his first appearance for the Wizards in a first-team MLS game.
· Kraus scored one goal and added four assists this year in 11 MLS Reserve Division matches.
· He also scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Mexican First Division club Atlas AC.
· Kraus attended Creighton University and was drafted by the Wizards in the 4th round of the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft.
· Kansas City had four rookies and two second-year players appear in Saturday’s match.
· Rookies Jonathan Leathers (90 minutes), Kevin Souter (90 minutes), Roger Espinoza (77 minutes) started the game and Matt Marquess came off the bench for the final 13 minutes.
· Second-year defender Michael Harrington started and played all 90 minutes, while Kraus came on and played the final 31 minutes.

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
His thoughts on the season:
“Obviously, we knew that it was going to be a difficult challenge but we believed that we were going to be able to do it and we just fell short. We have a lot to be proud of. Our team finished two points better than what we did last year. We did that, quite frankly, as a very, very young team. Similarly to what Sigi did here the last couple of years; playing young players and letting them get experience. We’ve been able to do that as well. This is another step in our progression as a group. Obviously, it stings; it hurts. We look forward to getting better as we move into next season.”

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS GOALKEEPER KEVIN HARTMAN
His thoughts on tonight’s match:
“They’re [Columbus] a good team, no bones about it. We also believe that we’re a good team, but unfortunately they got the result. It’s one of those things where maybe if we were able to come in with a goal advantage that we coughed up at home; but you’re always going to say what could have been at the end of the season. I have a ton of respect for the guys I played with this year. Even when we were down two-nil tonight we continued to fight, there weren’t guys arguing with one another; I think it’s a really class act and I’m proud to be a part of this organization.”

On Kansas City’s outlook for next season:
“I think it took us a while to figure out exactly what was going to work. Hopefully, now that we’ve found guys that can continue to do it on a consistent basis, next year will be a situation where we can accumulate more and more points and there’s not necessarily a feeling out period like I think we went through for a while this year.”

IT'S GAMETIME

2008-11-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, well we still have 15 minutes, but the decisive Game 2 is almost here. The boys were confident and calm leading up to the match, so it should make for an entertaining affair. The Cauldron announced its presence with fervor about ten minutes ago, stopping to chant at some Columbus supporters good-naturedly.

We got some great pictures of the Cauldron being greeted by members of OnGoal that we'll post after the match. It's VERY cold here in C-Bus, but the rain is supposed to hold off until after the match. Josh Wolff went through a fitness test before the game and passed, so he's in the 18 and available tonight. Also making his way into the 18-man roster is second-year player Michael Kraus. He has only been on the game day roster once this year. What a debut it would be in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series!

KC-
Hartman; Leathers, Conrad, Wahl, Harrington; Souter, Jewsbury, Arnaud, Espinoza; Thompson, Lopez

subs: Kronberg, Hohlbein, Marquess, Kraus, Zavagnin, Trujillo, Wolff

CLB-
Hesmer; Hejduk, Marshall, O'Rourke, Padula; Gaven, Carroll, Evans, Rogers; Barros Schelotto, Moreno

subs: Gruenebaum, Hendrickson, Iro, Miglioranzi, Ekpo, Noonan, Lenhart

Pics From Friday

2008-11-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

We promised training photos, so here they are. Workouts were light, with PK practice at the end. I won't say the order or who went which direction; you'll just have to find out if it gets that far tonight. Enjoy pics. The weather was soccer friendly (cool and rainy), but not camera friendly, so we didn't get too many.

There was a parade outsider out hotel, so it took a little longer to get going than usual.

But Team Administrator (read: the man) Rick Dressel got us sorted out.

Trainer Chet North was quite bundled up for the weather.

Pre-practice warmups.

Arnaud and Harrington share a laugh during 5-v-2 passing drills.

As do Arnaud and Kerry Zavagnin.

5-v-2 with Jewsbury, Leathers and Souter.

Souter winds up...

...strikes...

...and follows through.

Hola From Columbus

2008-11-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

Hillcrest here checking in from cloudy Columbus, Ohio. Yesterday while in transit, we learned that Davy Arnaud has been named one of 10 finalists for the Sierra Mist Goal of the Year Award. Congratulations to Davy...he smiled big when told of the feat. Weather for this afternoon calls for temperatures in the 60's and rain, so training should be nice and soggy. Saturday's forecast calls for chilly weather (50's) and showers, so it could be a cold, slippery track this weekend at Columbus Crew Stadium.

Watch Davy's Goal of the Year nominee below and vote for it here.

Conrad Wants to Dance

2008-11-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

With SI's Dan Patrick. Jimmy said so in the latest print edition of the magazine, so Dan Patrick invited him on the show today to chat about it. See what happened here.

The plane leaves in a couple of hours for Columbus, so Hillcrest will check back in from mid-Ohio this evening. Get ready for the big game!

Practice Fun

2008-11-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hillcrest had the chance to make it out to training today for the first time in a while. Saw some pretty intense back-and-forth during the 11-v-11 portion of the day and some fun stuff afterward. Herculez Gomez jumped in goal and fielded some penalty kicks from Davy Arnaud, Jack Jewsbury, Eric Kronberg, Asst Kris Kelderman and Kevin Souter. It was pretty fun to watch (Herc was pretty nimble in goal). Check out the photos below:

Arnaud lines up a shot against Herculez...

but puts it too close to the center of the goal.

Davy then chats with beat writer Randy Covitz about Saturday's match-up.

Coach Onalfo chats with some of the players during a break in 11-v-11 training.

Herculez is ready...

...and dives...

...but misses.

Kevin Hartman speaks with Sean Kosednar of MLSnet.com about the upcoming game.

I'll also be on the trip to Columbus, so expect some posts from the roadie with pictures and airplane stories. We leave town tomorrow afternoon after training, train in Columbus Friday, then play the Crew at 6:30 p.m. CT on HDNet, Metro Sports and Time Warner Cable Channel 5. Join fellow fans at Barley's Brewhaus in Shawnee for the watch party.

One Wizard up for Voting

2008-11-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

PV with Piojo

After yesterday's national election day, there's still another vote of interest to Wizards fans. Technical Director Peter Vermes is nominated for the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame for the third straight year. Vermes has been one of the first former players out of the running in each of the last two years, so he is on voters' minds. Read the story in the Star today here, the full list of nominated players here, and wish PV luck!

Thanks for the reminder, anon. Here are other former Wizards up for the hall:
Preki, Mike Burns, Frank Klopas, Roy Lassiter and Mike Sorber.

Get Your Vote On

2008-11-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

First of all, get out to your local precinct and cast your vote if you haven't already. Presidential races aren't the only ones that matter, so make sure you know about the other elections too. We have a historic vote on our hands, people. Either the first female VP will be elected or the first African American will be elected President. It's about time, if you ask me.

Second of all, go to mlsnet.com and vote for Davy Arnaud and Josh Wolff for Sierra Mist Goal of the Year. They certainly deserve it for these efforts!

Team Awards Video/Charles Gooch Blogs

2008-11-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

The team awards video from Saturday night is now up on YouTube. Watch it below:

Jimmy Conrad Crowned Team MVP;
Davy Arnaud Earns Golden Boot, KCW Heart Award;
Jack Jewsbury Tabbed Defensive Player of the Year;
Roger Espinoza Takes Rookie of the Year;
Ivan Trujillo Named Reserve Team Player of the Year;
Kevin Hartman Receives U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award

Also, Mr. Charles Gooch of Ink Magazine and the KC Star blogged a bit about his experience during the Media Blue Team's 2-1 win over Media White Saturday at halftime of the match. Read Gooch's Ink KC blogs here and here and his Twitter here.

Davy, Lance Auction Shoes for Good Cause

2008-11-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

Wizards midfielders Davy Arnaud and Lance Watson grew up in the town of Nederland, Texas in the Southeastern part of the state that was most devastated by Hurricane Ike in mid-September. A former youth coach of both Arnaud and Watson named Brian Arendale had his house completed destroyed in the storm. Now Arnaud and Watson are auctioning off game-worn cleats, with all proceeds going to help the Arendale family rebuild their home. Visit this page at kcwizards.com to bid on the cleats from Arnaud and Watson for a great cause.

POST 500/Monday Morning Reading

2008-11-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

So ladies and gentlemen, this marks post number 500 on the vaunted Hillcrest Road. While they haven't all been from me, I've been in the drivers seat for much of the ride, so I'd like to thank you all for reading. We hope that we're providing useful and fun information on the organization. We also want to make sure we're giving you what you want. Have an idea, comment or suggestion? Post it below in the comments section. This is truly the direct online portal to the fans, so we want to make sure we're providing as much relevant and wanted information as possible.

Now for some fun reads. Last week, Jack Jewsbury was named the STLsoccer.net player of the week. Read about it here before they changed to a new player for this week.

Frank Dell'Apa, formerly the New England Revolution beat writer at the Boston Globe and now the Boston Celtics beat writer, checks in at ESPNsoccernet with a story on Celtics forward/center Kevin Garnett. Like fellow NBA stars Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant, Garnett is a huge footie fan. Imagine a 7-0 center forward. That's what Garnett plays in his back yard. Nice.

Steve Davis at ESPNsoccernet says the Wizards and Crew played the best game of the weekend. Thank you sir. Read the rest of his 10 highlights from the first round of playoff action here.

Kristian Dyer, also at soccernet, checked in last Friday with his positive take on the Beckham to Milan loan deal. A very interesting viewpoint.

Tough One

2008-11-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

The last-second goal is always a tough one to swallow, but it's now halftime of the 180-minute game. Watch next Saturday on HDNet or Metro Sports at 6:30 p.m. CT live from Columbus. Absolutely great goal from Davy.

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
On the game
“It was a hard-fought game. We said from the beginning this series is just a 180-minute game. Right now after 90 minutes, it’s even. I’m disappointed because I felt we should have walked out of here with a win and a one-goal advantage, but we didn’t. Nobody ever said this stuff is going to be easy. We know we have a difficult challenge going into their place where they’ve been very, very good. Having said that, I believe in these guys in this locker room. We’ve been through worse than this and we’ll find a way to rebound from this.”

On the team’s mentality after the game
“In some ways this does (feel like a loss) but we don’t have time to worry about that. What we’re doing is focusing all of our energy on getting ready for Saturday’s game. We’ve got to regroup, get it out of our system and move on.”

On the fans at sold-out CommunityAmerica Ballpark
“Our crowd was unbelievable tonight. They were loud the entire match and helped push our guys. We all want to thank Kansas City for coming out and getting behind our playoff run.”

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS GOALKEEPER KEVIN HARTMAN
On the second leg of the series next Saturday
“We’re definitely excited to go there and play. We did enough offensively the last time we were there to get a win. Unfortunately we had some defensive mistakes and they were able to capitalize on it. They’re a very, very good team. We just want to get a win. They had the better of us in the series this year, and we’re looking forward to having the opportunity to play well, and satisfy not only ourselves but our fans as well and try to move on to the next round.”

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER JACK JEWSBURY
On the game
“For the most part we played good soccer tonight, it was just a matter of closing the game out. We knew coming in the series was going to be 180 minutes long. We’re done with half of it and we’ve tied and now we know what we have to do going on the road to Columbus. We’ve got to go in there trying to win to advance to the next round and that’s what we’re going to do.”

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER DAVY ARNAUD
On the game
“I thought the goal was going to hold up. The guys worked really hard, and we put ourselves in a great position to get a win. What happened to Herculez wasn’t his fault. If you’re playing hard sometimes things like that are going to happen. I thought we continued to battle hard and had an unlucky break at the end. Having said that, we’re all square. We obviously wanted to win at home, but we didn’t lose any ground so we’re going into next weekend even and with everything to play for.”

On his goal
“I played it to Claudio, and I just wanted to get myself in the box and get another body in there since he had pulled wide. I just made a run and Claudio played a great ball. I just had to get my head on it somewhere on target.”

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MIDFIELDER HERCULEZ GOMEZ
On his red card
“I put my team in a bad position. I put the referee in a position where he had to make a tough call and unfortunately it didn’t go our way. I’m just extremely disappointed in myself for the position that I put my team in.”

COLUMBUS CREW HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
On his decision to sub in Steven Lenhart
“At that point we were playing a man up and we wanted to bring in another forward and Steve’s a big guy. We figured he could get in the box and get on the end of some crosses. The team sometimes calls him ‘magnet’ because the ball just seems to find him.”

On the game
“We believed we were going to get the equalizer. Their goal was a very good goal. It was a great cross by Lopez and a great header by Davy Arnaud. But I thought we had a little more of the game and we were creating some chances, but we weren’t putting the final touches on it. I think the next game, at home on a bigger field, I think that will make it a little better for us.”

On getting the game-tying goal
“It’s obviously important. I know Houston did the same thing today in New York. It’s been a while since our club has been in the playoffs, so there’s always a little bit of apprehension and tentativeness. I think to get the first game under our belt knowing we didn’t play our best game and being able to come out on equal footing at the end of the day, I think that was very important for our team.”

COLUMBUS CREW DEFENDER FRANKIE HEJDUK
On the game
“Our team battled back. It was a typical playoff game. Both teams were battling back and forth. The field conditions made it a little different because the game is a lot tighter. We knew that both teams were going to get a lot of chances. I thought we did what we needed to do in the first half, I thought we dominated and we had a couple of chances. In the second half, they came out with a lot of energy and brought the game to us. Obviously the red card killed them. That made it a whole different game. We had a never say die attitude but that’s not a shock. We’ve been doing it all year and we knew we were going to come back.”

· Kansas City is now 12-14-5 all-time in MLS playoff games.
· The Wizards have scored 44 goals and allowed 44 goals in post-season play.
· Kansas City is now 11-3-2 all-time at home in the playoffs.
· The Wizards are undefeated in their last three opening-round playoff series.
· Kansas City defeated Chivas USA last season, San Jose Earthquakes in 2004 and the Colorado Rapids in 2003.
· Los Angeles dealt Kansas City its last lost in an opening round series in 2002, while goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was playing for LA.
· Saturday was the first-ever meeting between Kansas City and Columbus in post-season play.
· The Wizards have now played post-season games against 10 different teams.
· The only MLS clubs Kansas City has not faced in the playoffs are:
o Toronto FC
o Real Salt Lake
o Red Bull New York
o New England Revolution
· Kansas City also faced the now-defunct Miami Fusion (2001).
· The Wizards are now 0-2-2 against the Crew this season, including three regular-season games.
· Decisive Game 2 comes next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT at Columbus Crew Stadium on HDNet, Metro Sports (English) and Time Warner Cable Channel 5 (Spanish).
· Midfielder Davy Arnaud scored his 4th career post-season goal, good for 3rd on the Wizards all-time list.
· Arnaud also scored last season as the Wizards upset top-seeded Chivas USA 1-0 on aggregate over two games.
· Arnaud won the team’s 2008 Golden Boot award after leading the team with seven goals on the year.
· This is the first season Arnaud has led the Wizards in goals since joining the team in 2002 out of West Texas A&M.
· Arnaud now has on goal in each of his last three games, including scores against the San Jose Earthquakes and New England Revolution.
· Arnaud was inducted to the West Texas A&M Hall of Fame last month.
· Argentine striker Claudio Lopez assisted on Arnaud’s goal for his first-career postseason assist.
· Lopez now has three goals and four assists in his last three games for KC.
· He was voted MLS Player of the Week after a one-goal, two-assist performance in week 30 against San Jose.
· Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman made three saves on the night to extend his MLS postseason record to 154 career saves.
· Hartman also leads in postseason wins (22) and shutouts (14).
· He surpassed former LA Galaxy Cobi Jones for career post-season minutes played. Hartman ended the night with 3,952 career playoff minutes.
· He will become the first MLS player to reach 4,000 career playoff minutes next Saturday at Columbus.
· Hartman also moved into a tie with Jones for the all-time lead in games started (43).
· If the Wizards reach the Eastern Conference Final and Hartman plays in both games, he would tie Jones for the all-time lead in games played.

Better Late Than Never: Zavagnin Tribute

2008-10-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

So it took us a bit to get this loaded on YouTube, with our upcoming playoff game and all, but here it is: The Kerry Zavagnin tribute played on the video screen at CommunityAmerica Ballpark before our home finale. Saturday will be Kerry's last home match ever in a Wizards uniform. If he plays in a postseason game this year, he'll break a tie with Nick Garcia for the most playoff games played in team history. Enjoy:

By the way, there are still some tickets left. If you don't have yours, BUY THEM NOW. It's going to be BEAUTIFUL tomorrow and a great night for some high-quality soccer.

Info Coming Out Our Ears

2008-10-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

If you want the latest and greatest on the upcoming Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, check out our postseason media guide and the League's playoff series guide. They are both .PDF files, but they should open in a web browser. Read up and enjoy.

Give us your predictions. Will the Wizards keep up their grand form and come out on top? Will Columbus beat us down like they did on their last visit to CAB? Let us know below.

Speaking of Goals of 2008/Conrad and Lopez up for Awards

2008-10-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

So just after the YouTube clip comes the start of official Sierra Mist Goal of the Year award voting. Number one and two from the previous clip are on the ballots for the award, which will face some stiff competition from flukey goals like Danny Cepero's goalkeeper tally and that David Beckham guy's long-range bomb into the open net against us in the dying seconds of our game out in LA. Resist the urge to vote for one of these and help get another Wizard into the upper echelons of Goal of the Year lore like Zavagnin's top 5 tally from last season.

Go watch all the goals, then vote for your two Wizards nominees here.

Also note that captain Kansas City and El Piojo are up for Defender of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, respectively. Conrad is up against Chad Marshall from Columbus and Bakary Soumare from Chicago. Lopez goes up against Darren Huckerby from San Jose and Andre Rocha from Dallas.

Goals of 2008

2008-10-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Our friend Climbingtheladder on YouTube has put together the top 10 Wizards goals of the season. I can't say that I'll argue with any of the 10. There are some pretty tidy scores in this bunch:

Media Game 2 Saturday/More Interviews

2008-10-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

We haven't yet mentioned in this space that we will be hosting a media game this weekend as a rematch to the July version. While goalkeeper stud Jake Gutierrez will be out, it should still be a pretty fun event. Charles Gooch, our friend from Ink Magazine, will be in this time along with a few other new faces. We hope you enjoy!

Tomorrow
Davy Arnaud --- 8:15 a.m. on KFKF 94.1

Roger Espinoza --- 3:45 p.m. on La Super X 1250 AM (Spanish)

Tyson Wahl --- 5 p.m. on Hot Talk 1510 AM

Enjoy!

Three KCW Juniors Score for Blue Valley/UMKC Soccer Stadium

2008-10-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

Last night, Blue Valley High School defeated Blue Valley West 3-2 in overtime in a first-round playoff match. Three members of the KCW Juniors scored goals, including the overtime winner from Bryan Romero. Read the Star's report on the match here. Romero, a U-16 players, was joined by fellow U-16 Tom Adams and U-18 Mohammad Ramahi. Ramahi was also the East Kansas League Offensive Player of the Year. Ramahi set up Romero's game-winner in extra time. Well done Juniors!

Also, check out this story in the KC Star on UMKC's new soccer facility set to open next fall. It's great to see a local school putting some serious resources behind our game.

Charla con Piojo/Interview Schedule

2008-10-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Claudio Lopez QnA with ESPN Deportes just ended. Read the transcript in Spanish here. The people from ESPN told us it was one of the most anticipated live chats ever by an MLS player, with questions coming from many countries all around the world. Great job Piojo, and thanks!

Also, many media outlets are getting pumped up about our postseason opener this Saturday. Listen to our boys on the following shows:

Today--2:40--Jack Jewsbury phone interview--610 Sports

Wednesday--8:20 a.m.--Jimmy Conrad phone interview--Mix 93.3

Wednesday--6:00 or 7:00 p.m.--The Jimmy Conrad Show--Sports Radio 810 (The Show will be at 6:00 if the World Series is still going on, 7:00 if it's over)

Thursday--7:50 a.m.--Kerry Zavagnin in-studio interview--105.1 Jack FM

Thursday--8:10 a.m.--Kevin Hartman in-studio interview--106.5 FM The Wolf

Thursday--12:45 p.m.--Kevin Souter in-studio interview--Channel 4 midday show

Thursday--2:00-3:00 p.m.--Weekly Spanish TV Show/Radio Show live on TWC Channel 5 and La Playa 1480 AM--Guests--Curt Onalfo and Herculez Gomez

Thursday--3:00 p.m.--Curt Onalfo phone interview--Sports Radio 810 (this will be taped at 11:45 am)

Thursday--3:30 p.m.--Curt Onalfo weekly press conference on Metro Sports with player guest Kevin Hartman

Thursday--9:30 p.m., Friday 6:30 p.m., Saturday 11:30 a.m.--Wizards Weekly TV show on Metro Sports--Guests--Curt Onalfo and Herculez Gomez

Friday--8:10 a.m.--Jimmy Conrad in-studio interview--Star 102.1 FM

Friday--8:40 a.m.--Abe Thompson phone interview--610 Sports

Saturday--8:40 a.m.--Kerry Zavagnin in-studio interview--Channel 41 morning show

Vote Davy for GOTW/C-Bus Bus

2008-10-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was remiss in reminding you all that Davy Arnaud is up for Sierra Mist Goal of the Week for his second-half strike against New England that turned out to be the game-winner. Well played Davy (and Claudio and Roger, for that matter).

Watch it, then vote for it:

I also wanted to let our loyal readers know that the front office is organizing a bus trip to Columbus for Leg 2 on Nov. 8. The bus, which is an Arrow Charter line that includes TVs and a restroom on board, would leave that Saturday morning and then stay overnight in Columbus. Cost is $125 for the bus and a game ticket. There is a discount rate at the team hotel. Quadruple-occupancy rooms cost $105, so you can reasonable spend $150 for travel and board, plus however much you want to spend on libations and such at the match. If interested, contact customer service guru "Saturday Night" Sammy J Pierron at 913.387.3413 or spierron@kcwizards.com. Hillcrest Road will be on the trip. Hope to see you there!

Charla Con Piojo/Interesting Tidbit

2008-10-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

For those out there who speak Spanish, check in here at ESPNDeportes.com for a live chat with Claudio Lopez that will take place tomorrow at 12:45 p.m. CT. Submit a question then check back at the same URL afterward to see if your question is picked.

Also interesting to note is that Kansas City and Columbus finished the regular season as two teams with the fewest fouls committed. Though it is always a tough, physical game when our teams face one another, we were the two cleanest teams in MLS in terms of fouls. KC checked in with 321 fouls committed (10.7/game), while Columbus committed just 326 infractions (10.87/game).

Don't have your tickets yet to the playoff game? Buy them now!

Houston Reserves Win 3-0

2008-10-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Houston won 3-0 today against Chivas USA's second team on three second-half goals to secure the MLS Reserve Division crown. We finish 2nd with an 8-1-2 record on the season. Claudio Lopez's former club Racing is currently up 2-0 on Argentine league-leading San Lorenzo on a pretty 2nd minute goal and a PK in the 20th minute. Vamos Racing.

Reserves Win 3-0

2008-10-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

Our boys won in the second match as well, earning a comprehensive 3-0 victory over the Revs' second team. We finished the year 8-1-2 and will be Reserve Division champions if Houston loses or ties tomorrow against the Chivas USA reserves. We'll keep you updated.

Scoring:
Trujillo (Hohlbein) 31
Watson (Pore) 42
Kraus (Marquess) 65

Espinoza left late in the first half with an injured ankle after a hard tackle from NE.

Notables and Quotes

2008-10-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

FYI-Reserves are up 2-0 at halftime. First half goals from Trujillo and Watson. Espinoza was taken off after being injured on a (reportedly) dirty tackle.

• Kansas City concludes the regular season 11-10-9, 42 pts in 4th place in the Eastern Conference.
• Kansas City will now face the Columbus Crew in a two-game, total-goals playoff series.
• The first match comes next Saturday when Kansas City hosts Columbus at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be shown nationally on HDNet.
• Kansas City has now qualified for the playoffs in nine of their 13 seasons.
• The Wizards have made the playoffs in both seasons since OnGoal took over the team late in 2006.
• Kansas City finished the season with their highest point total since 2005 (45).
• Kansas City is now 17-11-7 all-time against New England, including a 9-5-4 record in New England.
• The Wizards are 8-1-4 in their last 13 games at New England, including a 6-1-4 record at Gillette Stadium.
• Kansas City finished the season 5-1-1 in their final seven matches, including a 3-0-0 record in their last three.
• Striker Claudio Lopez recorded one goal and one assists on the night.
• He finished his first MLS season tied for second on the team in goals (6) and tied for the team lead in assists (7).
• Lopez recorded two goals and three assists in his final two regular-season games.
• Davy Arnaud scored his 7th goal of the season, clinching the team Golden Boot after scoring two goals in his final two games.
• This is the first season Arnaud has led the Wizards in goals since joining the team in 2002 out of West Texas A&M.
• Arnaud was inducted to the West Texas A&M Hall of Fame last month.
• He has 32 career goals, breaking a tie with Mo Johnston for 3rd on the Wizards all-time list.
• Rookie Roger Espinoza picked up his 3rd assist of the season, playing a low ball along the ground for Arnaud.
• Kansas City’s 3rd goal came off the foot of Revs defender Michael Parkhurst after Ivan Trujillo played a ball in toward Davy Arnaud in a dangerous position in the center of the penalty area.
• It was the 5th time this season Kansas City scored three goals and the second-straight match.
• Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and defender Jimmy Conrad are the only Wizards to play all 2700 minutes this season.
• They entered the match as two of six players in MLS to play every minute for their team in 2008.
• Conrad and New England defender Jay Heaps finished as the only field players to play all 2700 minutes this season.
• Hartman, Conrad and defender Michael Harrington are the only three players to start in all 30 MLS games.
• Hartman now has 138 career wins, an MLS all-time record.
• Hartman made two saves on the night and now has 1131 for his MLS career.
• He trails only former Wizards standout Tony Meola (1136) for the all-time MLS lead.
• Hartman finished with 118 saves on the year, good for 3rd best in a single-season for Kansas City.
• The total is tied for the second-best single-season save total of Hartman’s 12-year career.
• Hartman helped create two goals on the night.
• His long clearance put Claudio Lopez into space behind the New England defense before he was pulled down for a penalty kick.
• Hartman then unleashed a long throw to Trujillo that eventually became the own goal.
• Hartman and the Wizards defense are guaranteed a share of the MLS lead in shutouts (10).
• The shutout total is the second-best of Hartman’s career.
• Kansas City is currently tied with Chicago on 10, while Columbus and former Wizards ‘keeper Will Hesmer have nine and play Sunday at home against D.C. United.
• Kansas City’s reserve team faced off with New England’s immediately after the MLS match.
• A Kansas City win coupled with a Houston tie Sunday would clinch the Reserve Division crown for KC. The Wizards would also win with a tie Saturday night and a Houston loss Sunday against Chivas USA’s reserves.

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
“Any time you get three points, you’re obviously happy with that. It was a strange game with two red cards in the first half and us being up two men for the entirety of the second half. It’s a game that you don’t put a lot of attention to. We got our three points and now we’re playing the best team in Major League Soccer in the Columbus Crew.”

“It was another opportunity for all 11 of our players to continue to get galvanized and realize how they have to move on both sides of the ball, staying disciplined and grinding out a result on the road. That’s what we take from it. But it didn’t have a whole lot of meaning in the game for (New England) and where they stood in the standings. We’re just happy to have gotten three points and end the season on a good note as we go into the playoffs.”

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS FORWARD DAVY ARNAUD
“It feels good. It was important for us to keep the momentum that we built the last month-and-a-half or so with all of the home games that we had. Tonight didn’t really matter in terms of us getting into the playoffs, but we wanted to come in and get a result just to keep that positive thing we have going into the playoffs.

“We were in a little bit of a hole. We had our backs against the wall, and we needed to get some wins at home and we really made an effort – everyone on the field – to work hard for each other. We’ve been difficult to play against, and if you do that, you’re going to get some wins.”

On the Wizards’ success at New England
“We always seem to do pretty well here for whatever reason. We haven’t had a whole lot of road wins this year – I think that was maybe our second one – so it was a good one to get going into next weekend.”

Great Win/Reserves up Now

2008-10-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

KC took care of business tonight up two men to secure a 3-1 victory to close the regular season on fine form. We're now 5-1-1 in our last seven and will face Columbus next Saturday in the first game of a home-and-away total goals playoff series against the Supporters' Shield winners. Buy tickets for that game here.

We'll be back later with more tidbits and quotes. Currently the reserves are taking on New England's with a chance to capture the MLS Reserve Division title. If we win tonight and Houston loses or ties tomorrow, we'll be RD champions. Vamos Swope Park Rangers!

Lineup:

Kronberg

Myers, McKenzie, Hohlbein, Marquess

Watson, Zavagnin, Morsink, Espinoza

Pore, Trujillo

subs: Pardo, Kartunen (guest player), Miles (guest player), Kraus, Pizarro

Adding to Your Reading List

2008-10-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

Here are four stories you need to read. Some of them were posted before we clinched a playoff berth, so give the authors some slack for that.

1. MLSnet.com piece from our friend Bob Rusert on Kerry Zavagnin and his fond regular-season farewell last weekend. Some very good, insightful quotes here from KZ and company.

2. Soccer365 piece on Claudio Lopez and his first season in MLS. Good work Mr. Greg Seltzer.

3. Goal.com piece on our late-season playoff run and the additions of Herculez and Abe by Vermes and Onalfo. This one was posted today but obviously turned in before New York's loss last night.

4. Article on Autism Speaks website from an event Jimmy Conrad was at a couple of weeks ago. Also check out the YouTube below.

Another Fun Comment

2008-10-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

I can't stop smiling today....I think I know why:

Click the picture to enlarge if needed.