Archive for July 2008
Local Community supports Real Salt Lake’s Andy Williams and Family
July 31, 2008 by f4denz.
On the very first day that RSL took the pitch people in the stands were talking about the talent of Andy Williams and how entertaining of a player he is to watch, and he has lived up to that reputation at RSL through hard times and good times. Andy is one of two of the original players from the starting day roster in 2005 that is still with the team, Kenny Cutler is the other. Andy has always been good to the fans, and almost always has a smile on his face, even when the debacle of his contract clouded issues a while back Andy was still smiling and I think he has an inner peace that few of us will ever attain.
Recently Andy has had a couple of big events in his life, one good and one bad, the good one is that Andy came out of retirement for the Jamaican national team and has been helping them in their bid to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. So far they have done well but as the group stage begins that challenge will become more difficult in the group stage.
Life it seems is a very unfair thing and recently it was announced that Andy’s wife Marcia has been diagnosed with a rare form of Luekemia, and they are still running batteries of tests on her to determine what treatment options are available. Well the soccer community in every city is a very giving and close knit group and in response to this announcement the following information has come into me and I wish to pass it directly on to you.
WILLIAMS’ FUNDRAISERS
To: Friends, Fans, Business Acquaintances, and Sponsors:
Just recently we have learned that Marcia, Andy Williams’ (#77 – REAL SL) wife, has been diagnosed with Leukemia. The more test results they receive back, the more tests they want to run. Marcia’s Leukemia is extremely rare, and at this point the answers are unclear. The expense of all the tests, and a possible bone marrow transplant, is more than any of us could handle, let alone the emotional stress. The costs that the Williams’ family will incur are HUGE, therefore, we want to come together and do what we can to help.
We have formed a committee and have already planned our first fundraiser! (We will also be working on a golf tournament and will get you information on that as well) It will be a Casino Night and auction. It will be GREAT FUN, and a great fundraiser! We will be holding it on Saturday, October 11, at the Salt Palace Convention Center. If you have never been to a Casino Party, they are very fun. You buy a ticket to get in (Tickets will be on sale soon) that includes dinner and a few chips to start with. We will have Blackjack tables, craps tables, roulette tables, a DJ and even our own Texas Hold ‘Em tournament that you can buy your way into. We will raise money by people spending money on chips, although you can only win tickets to put towards prizes.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! We are currently looking for sponsors for our casino tables. The sponsorships will range from $500 for a 21 Table, to $10,000 to sponsor the Texas Hold Em Tournament. The sponsors will be recognized at their specific table, and the dealer can wear their attire. We can even place a celebrity dealer at the sponsor’s table for an added donation.
We are also looking for auction items, gift certificates, trips, and miscellaneous items, anything that we can put in an auction that will help us raise money. RSL players are actively involved in getting autographed items from around the league, but if you have connections, autographed items of any kind would be great!!
Please feel free to give anyone interested in sponsorships the attached form to fax to me, and I will fax back a confirmation. We will need to secure our fundraiser with deposits, so please get back to me as soon as possible. Also, if you secure any auction items, we will be collecting those as well, you can find me at Leo’s Pride in Carnival Real, or one of the committee members would be happy to pick them up. Below is my contact information feel free to give that out as well. We do have a 501c3 that will be available for the larger donations.
Let’s UNITE and make this event a HUGE SUCCESS! We ask that you keep the Williams Family in your prayers.
Debbie Harper
Debmadi@aol.com - Please put “Soccer Unites” in the subject line.
Fax 801-553-2221
Cell 801-750-4808
WILLIAMS’ FUNDRAISER
SPONSOR SIGN UP
CASINO NIGHT – OCTOBER 11, 2008
PLEASE NOTE: TICKETS FOR THE EVENT WILL BE ON SALE SOON, DETAILS TO FOLLOW
CONTACT NAME_______________________________________________________________________
CONTACT ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________________
CONTACT PHONE #_____________________________________________________________________
CONTACT EMAIL_______________________________________________________________________
BUSINESS NAME_______________________________________________________________________
SPONSORSHIP:
21 TABLE - $500.00 (15 AVAILABLE)________________________________________________________
ADD CELEBRITY DEALER TO YOUR 21 TABLE – $100.00 - (20 MINUTES)____________________________
ROULETTE TABLE - $1,000 (4 AVAILABLE)____________________________________________________
CRAP’S TABLE - $1,500 (4 AVAILABLE)______________________________________________________
TEXAS HOLD EM TOURNAMENT – (32 PLAYERS) $10,000_______________________________________
LIQUOR WAGON (PURCHASE RAFFLE TICKETS FOR GIVE AWAY) - $1,000(2 AVAILABLE)_______________
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION (PLEASE ATTACH) AMOUNT $_________________________
I HAVE SECURED THE FOLLOWING AUCTION ITEM____________________________________________
I WILL DROP OFF AT LEO’S PRIDE________________ PLEASE ARRANGE TO PICK UP__________________
PLEASE FAX TO 801-553-2221 – CONFIRMATION WILL BE SENT BACK
MAIL DONATIONS TO: SOCCER UNITES P.O. BOX 1650 DRAPER, UTAH 84020 *PLEASE NOTE: TAX DEDUCTIONS AVAILABLE FOR LARGER DONATIONS ONLY.
The people behind this effort are some of the nicest people I have met in a very long time and they work hard to support local causes and charities around our community, they have for several years been the workers behind Leo’s Pride at RSL matches, if you or the company you work for want to do something worthwhile and support a organization, a player, a family, and a community of people who love soccer, there is no better way than to do whatever you can to support this effort. I am already checking for items that I could donate to the auction or as a prize for the night.
I know they are also selling some great t-shirts to raise money and doing other things, as I get details I will be sure to keep everyone updated.
THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT I AM SURE YOU WILL OFFER
Borghetti to Real Salt Lake- debunked
July 30, 2008 by f4denz.
So there has been some renewal of an old rumor about RSL signing Borghetti, recently it was discussed on a couple blogs and websites:
http://www.mls-rumors.net/2008/07/incoming-jared-borghetti-to-real-salt_30.html (which comes with the following picture)
(http://bp2.blogger.com/_plt_LafzKm0/SJAPRMTEwBI/AAAAAAAAAVg/zMbzDtH0QkI/s1600-h/DSC_0009.JPG)
The hype was bought into by one local blog:
http://keepinitrealsl.blogspot.com/2008/07/borgetti-to-rsl.html
So I cannot account for the photo above, but I did catch a mystery player at RSL’s practice on Sunday and they appear to be the same person. Here are a couple of pictures I took of this mystery player:
So this is the same mystery guy down to the socks and shoes
Another shot of the “mystery” man
No mystery that is former RSL team member Adam Acosta who often practices with the team. Oh he had a great practice on Sunday,
Rumors can be fun, so let me start one, the real mystery man who will be the new RSL forward is none other than former New England striker Pat Noonan, who wants to come back to MLS, but New England doesn’t really need him or have a spot for him. My source, nothing I just made it up, such is the nature of rumors.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Real Salt Lake 2- Toronto FC 1 match recap & photos
July 29, 2008 by f4denz.
OK, my attempt at trying to take pictures, watch a great match, and blog (semi live) was a bit of a debacle. So I am about to watch the match again and I will post my observations and thoughts about the match. I will also pick out the best 5-6 pictures to post and I will provide a link to photobucket where I will post more pictures from the match. It will also be interesting to see if soccer pundits around the world jump on the Real Salt Lake bandwagon, I have started to see RSL ranked as high as 3rd in recent MLS power rankings.
So the starting lineup was a bit different with Yura and Robbie up front, Kyle, Dema, Javi, and Kenny Cutler in the midfield, and the best back line in MLS with Joy, Wingert, Olave, and Borchers, with Nick Rimando in the back. Rumor was that TFC would be playing Chad Barrett, but he wasn’t in the starting lineup and not even on the 18 man roster, it was the very young Abdus Ibrahim at forward, he is just 16 years old.
RSL is doing a nice job of figuring out how to play against TFC, this will be a match that sees RSL control the possession for a majority of the match, the first great chance came in the 7th minute when a great ball played in by Dema and Yura fired a shot on goal that required a big save but Sutton was able to push it out of bounds. The following corner kick didn’t do anything to impress anyone, but the TFC counter was even less impressive and Nick cleaned up a loose ball for RSL. The attack keeps coming from RSL as first an attempt to cross the ball by Kyle is blocked out of bounds by TFC, it is followed up by a decent shot, but again Sutton is there. Jamison Olave is showing everyone on the pitch that he is the man in charge out there, he truly is coming into his own in MLS and hopefully we can come to terms with his club in Columbia to make his loan a permanent transfer.
In the 11th minute RSL get a throw in deep in the TFC third, but the ball is cleared from the box by TFC. RSL keeps the ball in the TFC half of the pitch with a great effort by Dema to keep possession of the ball and a shot is made by Findley but you can tell he didn’t get all of it. TFC is clearly on their heels early in this one and unable to keep RSL out of their half of the pitch, a great job of attacking the ball every chance they get by RSL.
Damm the coverage by the Canadians sucks, the picture just got shrunk into a tiny box that is half of the screen, I am hoping they get this fixed quickly. In the 15th minute a shot by Robbie is blocked and sails out of bounds off a Toronto player, OK I can officially say I hate the coverage by CBC Sports, which is what is being shown on Direct Kick, not only is the picture still screwed up (ah it just fixed itself after 4-5 minutes), but the announcers sound like they are covering a golf match. In the 18th minute another attempted cross by RSL gets knocked out of bounds for a corner kick, Javi plays the ball in but it goes straight to Sutton, but he plays the ball all the way to Rimando and RSL get the ball again. Hey, some interesting trivia did you know that Jason is the youngest coach in MLS? A ball played into the box by Javi to Yura, but he is a step offside. So if the season ended today, should Jason get the coach of the year award? I am not sure how anyone could question that given that the turnaround for RSL appears to be very real as they hold onto first place in the Western conference.
RSL is really controlling the possession, I would say from the 5th to the 20th minute that RSL controlled at least 65-70% of the possession, and have had the better of shots and shots on goal as well, I hope that we can continue this aggressive controlling style as we go on the road for the majority of our next few matches. TFC gets a corner kick in the 23rd minute, but it is pushed away by Rimando, who is getting a really nice plug by the announce team, who mention that he is the shortest keeper in the league, but one of the most athletic keepers as well. A big collision between Sutton and Wingert has both of them down on the pitch, but it looks like Sutton took the worst of the damage.
Another ball played in by Morales but it goes just a bit long and Robbie can’t get to it. RSL comes right back and Robbie gets a shot off, but it goes off the frame of the goal, wow there are times that RSL has to think if it weren’t for bad luck, they would have no luck at all. 30 minutes in and a number of the TFC players look very winded already, TFC has another corner kick, but it is cleared out by Olave with authority, but they get another corner, this one again goes off Olave and a third corner for TFC, but this one goes over and out so RSL gets a goal kick and no real threat comes from the TFC corners.
A long distance shot from Kyle goes just over the top and a bit wide, it looked a lot like shots that Kyle has made earlier in the season and again shows how dominant RSL has been so far in the match, another shot by Kyle but this one goes very high and wide. The goal kick from Sutton ends up right back in RSL hands as they continue to attack well and control possession, TFC seems to only get one or two passes before RSL breaks up their effort. The coverage really is bad, twice the screen has gone black, and then there was that 5 minute mini screen period, MLS needs better quality control. A great ball played in by Wingert to Yura, but he is flagged for being offside, the TFC counter was broken up by Olave once again, he and Borchers are so solid in the back that it really is impressive to watch.
With under 10 minutes left in the first half it is more of the same as RSL really is controlling both the ball and the pace of the match, and while they haven’t scored yet, they have had by far the better chances and created better opportunities. A foul by Robinson on Morales just on the corner of the box, a couple more feet and it would have been PK, the free kick is cleared out of bounds by TFCRSL drives the ball back into the box but once again TFC clears it out of bounds. Some nice passes by RSL, a Kyle Beckerman shot from distance is stopped by Sutton once again, but the ball bounces out to RSL but nobody is able to get a follow up shot off.
Wingert is having a great first half, he is getting forward and playing great balls in and his defense is super as he gets back to break up plays so quickly. Yura fires a shot on goal, but again Sutton is there to catch the ball but as we have seen a number of time he plays the ball out and it goes all the way back to Rimando and RSL takes possession again. Funny as the announcers play up Kyle Beckerman, we know that TFC asked for him if we wanted the rights to Brian McBride, I think telling them nowwas another great move by Jason and Garth. TFC finally looks threatening but like RSL’s attempt earlier the TFC shot by Robert goes off the cross bar and nobody is there to follow up, but TFC get another corner kick this time the young kid Ibrahim fails to get his head on the ball and it goes out of bounds. Robbie gets an offside flag as he attacks the goal with the first half winding down, this time I think he was simply a step too quick and the official couldn’t keep up with him.
1st half photos
Ready to start the match
Yura readys to head the ball
Sutton makes the save, he had a good night an made some big saves
Kyle runs past a tired looking Ricketts
Javi on the attack
2nd half
Well RSL makes a change at halftime with Cutler coming out and Andy Williams coming in to provide a little more offensive punch. TFC tries to maintain its energy from the end of the first half into the start of the second half, but the action is slowed as Dema goes down hard and RSL gets the ball. One nice thing about tonight is that only two more times will we have to play at RES with those damm football lines on the pitch, soon we will get to play on some nice green grass, I hope to stop out to the stadium later this week and get some pictures. In the 48th minute Kyle has the ball inside the box, but can’t get a shot off as Sutton grabs the ball off of Beckerman’s foot. That one should have been a goal if Kyle had taken a quicker shot, TFC is doing a bit better this half and actually have keep the possession battle very even in the first 5 minutes of the second half.
You can still see a number of TFC players who look to be out of gas already in the second half, a nice long ball played to Findley but it goes a bit long and back to Sutton. The TFC attack is broken up by a strong play by Javi who takes the ball away from the attacking player, a foul on Findley in the attack but RSL drive the ball into the box and Yura’s header goes just wide of goal, nice effort. Well it seems that RSL has finally started playing like they did in the first half by attacking the ball in both the offensive and defensive sides of the pitch, and the result is that they are getting a better share of the possession. Wow a hard foul by Joy gives TFC a free kick from about 30 yards out, but the ball goes high over the goal and no threat from TFC. TFC is doing a better job of attacking, but the RSL defense is too strong as TFC shot seems to bet frozen on the goal line as it deflects off Dema and stalls on the line and Rimando covers up the ball. RSL counters and the shot is blocked by the arm of Marshall, but it is one of those ball to arm and not the other way so the official Kevin Stott waves it off.
We have hit the one hour mark and the score is still 0-0, Morales drives in a great ball off a set piece but Olave’s header goes just wide of the goal. He is looking good on set pieces both defensively and now he is getting his head on the ball on the offensive side as well. In the 62nd minute Kenny Deuchar is on for Yura Movsisyan. The corner kick is cleared out but RSL keeps possession and while Olave is still in the offensive third he gets a super ball played in by Wingert and he heads it home. RSL is up 1-0, and that seems to have energized both the fans who are making a bit more noise, and the players who are attacking again, but the ball goes over the end line for a goal kick.
A new player is ready to come into the mix and it is the all time leading scorer for RSL, Jeff Cunningham coming on for Smith in the 66th minute. We should remember that Cunny scored the winner last year against RSL. Wow, Chris Wingert fires a rocket on goal and it is just a bit high but an exciting shot from 25 yards out. TFC counters as Cunny is fouled by Dema, welcome back to a whole new RSL Jeff, oh as a sidebar, when the TFC players came out Cunny congratulated us on the good season that RSL is having, that was a nice touch.
RSL continues to do a nice job of closing down the TFC attack and getting forward looking for a second goal, it does seem like both teams have gotten a bit more energy by bringing in some fresh legs. Every time TFC tries to counter the RSL defense is up to the task and Olave is doing a good job of protecting his goal so far, Andy is doing a great job of closing in on whoever has the ball, no idea where he gets the energy as he played 70 minutes on Saturday in a match for Jamacia in the heat of Dallas. Ian Joy is down and we get to see Robbie Russell in his first RSL match as he comes in for a limping Joy, I hope based on his performance of late that Ian isn’t hurt too bad, he has been a star since winning back a starting 11 position.
Well here is our chance to see how well RR can fit in with only three days with the team, right away he is up in the attacking third of the pitch and wow he does a great job of getting back on defense along with Olave, as RSL dodges a bullet. 15 minutes left and RSL is protecting their one goal lead, but doing so by trying to control possession and keep the ball in the TFC half of the pitch. I really am liking how both RF and Kenny are getting back and helping out on defense, it shows that everyone on the pitch is playing team ball. Another TFC counter is broken up by RSL, that really has been the situation all night long, but you can see as we get close to the 80th minute that RSL is playing a little more defensively and trying to protect their lead. I am surprised that TFC has not made any other changes, with 10 minutes left and down a goal on the road you have to think they should be bringing in anyone who can add some fresh legs or offensive power.
Oh another RSL attack poked away by a TFC defender, RF was attacking up the side and was just outside the box as the ball was poked away before he could get a shot off. The follow up corner kick was played in and Kenny Deuchar tries to get his offense going with a bicycle kick attempt but it goes high and wide. Olave picks up a yellow card as he reached out and just barely tripped up Guevara, the free kick from just outside of the box and Guevara puts a great shot on goal and finds the top corner just beyond the reach of Nick Rimando, the first goal RSL has given up in 4 matches.
RSL is trying to get back into the attack as there are under 5 minutes left, a pass goes long and it is cleaned up by Sutton who is having a great night so far. Beckerman takes a great shot and it is saved by Sutton again, but the rebound is hammered into the back of the net by Robbie Findley and Sutton gets a touch but not enough to keep it out of the goal. 2-1 RSL, hey wait a second that sounds familiar, that is the score I picked for this match. RSL continues to attack, as the clock hits 90:00, but the 4th official is showing 4 minutes of stoppage time. TFC gets another dangerous free kick from a couple yards outside of the box, but it his headed away by Borchers, but TFC keep possession but their attempt on goal goes wide and it is a RSL goal kick as stoppage time starts.
RSL is slowing down the pace, but they are still playing more in the TFC half of the pitch than their own. TFC is frantic in their attempt to get the ball and try to make something good happen for them, but RSL counters as Findley goes one on one with the keeper but again Sutton does a great job and shuts him down. Kevin Stott blows the whistle and this one is over as RSL remain undefeated at home with a 2-1 win to extend their lead in the West to 4 points in front of both Houston and LA, while improving their goal differential to a +2.
Well done and now RSL is starting to make believers out of a lot of people in and around MLS.
A couple pictures from the second half
Just a bit out of Nick’s range- but what an effort
Javi and Andy defend a free kick
Findley almost makes it 3-1
Robbie Russell shows his appreciation for a warm welcome
What more could anyone say?
Link to more photos from last night: http://s51.photobucket.com/albums/f358/f4denz/TFC%207-28/
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Real salt lake vs. TFC semi liveblog
July 28, 2008 by f4denz.
Here are a couple picks from warm ups:
Not sure if TFC will be starting Barrett, but he is supposed to be in the 18 man roster for the match.
Real Salt Lake vs. Toronto TC preview
July 28, 2008 by f4denz.
Well it is the MLS version of Monday night football, and if you’re asking yourself why play on Monday the answer is simple. RSL has stated that they would not play home games on Sundays, so despite 8 other MLS teams playing their matches on the weekend for the convenience of their fans, but in SLC it is all about not offending those who may have gone to church in the morning. In case anyone has forgotten that many decision by the team are still made based on not what may be best for the team, but rather what will offend the fewest members of the LDS church. What can you do?
Toronto looks for points on the road
So Toronto comes to town and they have had a decent season and have won as many matches as RSL has, and they have also lost the same number as RSL, but having played two fewer matches they have two fewer ties. They have a couple other things in common with RSL, first they have only one win on the road and 6 losses, both sides also are unbeaten at home (they are the final two teams in MLS that can say that) Toronto’s road record has one major advantage over RSL, they have been able to score, they have put up 9 goals on the road to RSL’s 4. That goal differential is made up when you know that RSL’s defense has given up five fewer road goals than TFC.
TFC will have a bit of a hodge podge line up as Maurice Edu and Marvell Wynne are on national team duty with the US Olympic team (as is RSL back up keeper Chris Seitz), injuries will keep Danny Dichio and Todd Dunivant out of the lineup, and could keep Kevin Harmse out of the line up as well. Of the available TFC players only Jeff Cunningham has more than two goals, his 3 goals make him the most potent offensive threat for TFC, I am sure they will be happy to get the deal with Chicago done so they can add Chad Barrett to their roster of strikers. Perhaps then TFC will be able to get a win, something they have done only once in the last two months (1-3-2 in June and July).
Why MLS Why?
So I have to ask why MLS would do something so stupid as to assign Kevin Stott to another RSL match, knowing that everyone remembers the debacle the last time he was in charge of a match at RES. OK, maybe not everyone remembers the 2-2 draw against the LA Galaxy that involved Stott making a wrong call on a free kick that resulted in a LA goal, and worst yet that he let a offside call stand when it was clear there was no offside. Don’t trust me, review my blog post with details from US Soccer. In light of this I really question the decision to send him back to be the head official in a RSL match, here is hoping RSL doesn’t get another crap match from Stott. My prediction is that if his precious LA Galaxy happen to win against Dallas, that RSL will find the officiating very tilted toward TFC’s favor, there is little doubt that some at MLS HQ would much happier with the flagship of MLS being in first place, and I am sure they would like to see “the model of a new franchise” move up the standings in the East to ensure they make the playoffs. So if it happens don’t be surprised.
What is up with the TFC roster?
So I have to ask what the heck is up with the number of international players on the TFC roster? First MLS gave them a huge advantage on the number of international players they were allowed to have:
with the exception of Toronto FC who were awarded seven Senior International slots (three of which could be used only on domestic U.S. players) and five Youth slots…Toronto FC has been awarded two additional international player slots, which they may use only on domestic U.S. players. These slots shall be in effect for two (2) seasons and will be reviewed at the end of the 2009 MLS League Season.
So this leads me to believe that TFC should have no more than 14 international players and 5 of them are for US players, so when I look at their roster I see more than that, now a couple of those players are listed as Developmental players, but I am not sure how they are still listed that way, when they are listed as starters, or are playing on the first squad. Of the 25 players currently listed on the TFC website, only 6 of them are listed as being from Canada, so one has to wonder what if any rules are really being applied to the TFC roster spots, not that they are the only team with issues, does anyone know how LA has ended up with 3 DP’s, or how Chicago is going to add McBride when they already have a DP in Blanco (is Brian going to play for less than 400K)? Just more examples of the rules only applying when MLS wants them to, perhaps the solution is to have them follow the same rules as other MLS teams, but to count all North American players as domestic players?
RSL looks to say atop of the West
Well RSL has been one of the hottest teams in MLS over the last couple months, posting a 3-1-4 record in June and July, and the result has been that Real is sitting in first place in the Western conference. With the Galaxy getting beat 4-0 at Dallas, and it looking like Colorado will go down against the Crew (they trail 1-0 with 15 minutes left), that means that RSL will be in first place until the weekend even with a loss or draw. With this being their last match for 19 days, getting a full 3 points will probably be the only way RSL can hold onto first place over their extended break.
The scoring woes of RSL continue as they have only scored 4 goals in their last 5 matches the upside is that all four goals came at home, and with the offensive punch lacking in recent weeks it was nice to see Fabian Espindola get a little playing time against Saprissa. I am not sure if he will be a part of the 18 man roster for the match, but he could provide a great punch coming off the bench. Also playing to RSL’s favor is the fact that TFC will be starting two players with very little MLS experience Tyler Rosenlund has 78 minutes of in his MLS career, and Nana Attakora-Gyan has a whopping 3 minutes of MLS action, so the question is can RSL take advantage?
I expect a hard charging RSL who despite being in first place still are not getting a lot of respect around the league, I also expect that players know that RSL has never beaten TFC and that last years expansion team holds a couple victories over Salt Lake. This should be an exciting match as Jeff Cunningham tries to get out of the dog house for missing an easy goal in the recent TFC vs. Montreal match to determine which professional team would represent Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League, with the end result being a 1-1 draw TFC was knocked out by the USL side. Robbie Findley will be out to prove that while he may not be the fastest guy on the RSL roster, he still is our leading scorer. This one is going to be a huge 2-1 win for RSL, they may give up a goal, but they will get all 3 points as they again beat a Eastern Conference foe at RES.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
