SuperDaft (yeah, as in DAFT)

After covering MLS for a few years, I was hoping that maybe - just maybe - I’d wake up one glorious morning - with the sun shining, birds chirping, and the welcoming aroma of chocolate chip pancakes on the griddle - and everything would finally make sense to me.

Sigh. That day still hasn’t arrived because MLS’s annual rite of winter - SuperDraft – has once again sent me shaking into violent tremors.

I mean, seriously, is this how the league’s still selecting players in 2010? “With the fifth pick, the Los Angeles Galaxy select (inset random player whom no one but his parents, frat brothers and girlfriend have ever seen play and will likely fail because the league’s current infrastructure stunts real development in the absence of a reserve league and formal loan agreements with second and third division clubs).”

If this is a dream, please, throw some cold water on my face, then hurl some haymakers.

When SuperDraft’s initial incarnation – the College Draft - birthed itself during the league’s inaugural season back in 1996, it made sense. At the time, MLS was doing the “American sport/foreign sport” shuffle, and thus, a draft made sense. It did because, heck, every other professional sport had one. Why not soccer?

And it worked. Guys like Steve Ralston, Jeff Cunningham, Eddie Pope, were all plucked from college campuses and took to the league like coeds to a hot tub. Those were the days.

Even when the powers that be combined the College Draft and its redheaded sister, the Supplemental Draft, and transformed it into – wait for it – the SuperDraft, it still held a great deal of relevancy.

But as the league’s talent began to sharpen as the 2000s progressed, it became noticeably difficult for college kids to adjust to the level of competition. More campus stars disappeared amid the pressure of pro soccer. Rosters became thinner than the Olsen twins. Once the later rounds arrived, GMs knew they were simply selecting training bodies, and simply stated "pass" by selection 40. By now, you would think that this was some sort of joke. That this was all a part of some sort of global conspiracy orchestrated by the Illuminati of MLS owners.

Yet, here we are, in 2010, and this godforsaken forum for selecting players survives!

Haven’t we reached the point where we can take this thing behind the barn and shoot it already? Hasn’t it become clear the competition gulf between MLS and the NCAA continues to widen, rather than close, every year? Isn’t it obvious that more “can’t miss” collegiate prospects – if such a term rightfully exists in MLS – are finding themselves exiled to the bench for the bulk of their careers? What happened to progress? A house with white picket fences? The American dream?

I’m not especially smart, but to me, it’s more obvious than Mariah Carey’s mental health issues. SuperDraft is a super waste of time.

Is MLS SuperDraft losing relevance?

It all takes place in a glorified conference room complete with the obligatory assigned seating, and performed to the soundtrack of running commentary from a pair of soccer buffs. It typically starts at noon sharp before a viewing audience that a cable access show would kill for. In essence, it's the unpopular kid's birthday day party, the mid-week staff meeting, and the wait at the dentist's office, all wrapped up into one big, MLS-produced package. Welcome to the MLS SuperDraft.

With its latest highly-anticipated release overshadowed by a flick featuring a yet-to-be-determined monster/sea creature/(insert latest Cloverfield rumor here) on 1-18-08, the annual event seems to unwittingly remind many of the league's spotty structure of developing the very draftees celebrated every season.

Spotty, you retort? Well, when you consider that many draftees fail to stick with their clubs beyond their rookie seasons each and every year, you've got wonder aloud whether something�s amiss.

The world standard for developing players is the club-operated training academy, much like the ones in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, and quite possibly, Antarctica. The concept is quite simple: a club recruits promising teenaged prospects to its academies in order to develop them to the point where they someday grace the pitch with the first team. It seems to work quite well, as many clubs develop these young footballers residing at its academies for its own on-field performance and/or future financial benefit via transfer fees. This approach to developing future world-class footballers is where MLS begins to fall short of its global counterparts.

(Full disclosure: I am not a Eurosnob in any shape or form. While I enjoy football abroad, my heart belongs to the footballers who play in this wonderful country. There, I said it.)

To its credit, MLS has been emphasizing the urgency for clubs to develop and form its own such training academies to mimic the same football factories that have produced such talents as Cristiano Ronaldo, Leonel Messi, and even David Beckham. Most of the world's greatest talents rose from these academies sponsored or run by local and/or major clubs, where they ate, drank, and dreamt football 'round the clock.

In the meantime, the league has relied on the U.S. Developmental Academy and NCAA soccer as its breeding ground in search of the next Landon Donovan or Tim Howard. This is fine when such players come through and dazzle crowds, but for the large part, the league is brimming with one or two-year wonders manning a roster spot that will soon be filled by next season's one or two-year wonder.

This isn't to criticize the quality of play. By no means am I bashing the players who've made MLS the burgeoning league it's become since its 1996 inception. The league has unquestionably improved in just about every facet, and the overall quality of play is probably the greatest indication of this improvement. What I am stating is that the current system hinders the development of players who may be better off refining their game elsewhere, such as the USL or perhaps even abroad.

The counterpoint to the argument is that the draft allows for an expansion club to make an immediate splash in recruiting the best prospects available. Last January, the expansion Toronto FC landed Maurice Edu, and the skilled midfielder shined on an otherwise lackluster squad. Without SuperDraft, Edu's services would have simply put on the auction block with the big market teams (i.e. Los Angeles, New York and Chicago) stepping over each other for the recently-capped winger. Sure, SuperDraft is a valid argument for a league that preaches parity like a passionate Puritan, but at some point, MLS must throw away the parity crutch and begin to jog on its own.

Don't get me wrong - the idea of the draft is noble, and gives MLS the common thread of glitzy off-field presentations that may someday mirror the NFL and NBA drafts. No doubt there is an appeal toward these types of made-for-TV dramas, but the league would be much better served in the long run by having each individual club make its own concerted efforts to sign new talent rather than forcing the issue upon its general managers and coaches. I mean really - do you think Mike Burns or Steve Nicol salivated at the prospect of drafting - no offense - Matt Wieland, Adam Williamson, or Phil Marfuggi?

While the idea of promoting the in-house academies for each club is still in its infancy, perhaps the best approach toward bringing new players in the interim is to simply open a timeframe (preferably in the offseason) to which each club has 60-day window to sign any free agent it wishes to sign on the amateur, college or pro level. Sure, it won't have the sexiness of a Deal or No Deal game show, or come complete with the same ilk of intriguing storylines and subplots featured during the NFL or NBA Drafts, but it's a much more practical method for selecting soccer players. It allows the front office, scouts, and coaches adequate time to scout, evaluate, and come to terms with players they actually want to sign, rather than making selections out of mere obligation (check the results of last year's supplemental draft - a handful of clubs, including the Revs, actually bypassed or traded away picks, as if to say no mas). Thus, every signing is meaningful, rather than the current system of stocking talent via the theatrical SuperDraft and the bizarre supplemental draft.

Again, this isn't to diminish the status of players who've risen from the NCAA and US Developmental ranks to star in MLS via the Draft. Players like Edu, Jozy Altidore, and Clint Dempsey are all fine specimens of how the draft works. But think of other high-profile players, and you think of names like Juan Pablo Angel, Jimmy Conrad, Luciano Emilio and Juan Toja, all of whom never stepped foot on an NCAA pitch nor upon on the MLS SuperDraft stage.

The SuperDraft serves an admirable purpose - it opens the door to many college kids' pro soccer dreams while harvesting the country's brightest college stars. Yet, its time may be drawing to a close with once the proliferation of MLS youth academies and the designated player allocation comes to pass.

Three former Stingrays among MLS Combine participants

Major League Soccer announced its 2008 Player Combine Invitation List last month, and among the players selected to participate in this week’s combine are three former Rhode Island Stingrays. Matthew Britner (Brown University), Geoffrey Cameron (University of Rhode Island) and Lukasz Tumicz (University of Rhode Island) have all made the cut for the league’s annual showcase of college talent.


All three players certainly made an impact during their stays with the ‘Rays. Britner, who played for the Stingrays in 2006, was a solid defender during his time with the squad, where he played in all of the club’s 16 matches and recorded an assist. He was the anchor of a defending corps that finished third in the Northeast Division of the Premier Development League in goals allowed (29).


Cameron starred for the Stingrays for three seasons, beginning in 2005. In his first year with the club, he recorded four goals and an assist in 13 games. Although his stats were nearly identical in 2006 (4 goals, 1 assist in 16 games), he looked primed to have a breakout year in 2007. Unfortunately, injuries hampered him for the better part of the season, and limited him to only four games all season.


Tumicz was also felled by injuries in 2007, yet still managed to get on the scoresheet twice with the blue and gold by adding a pair of goals in five matches. The year before, in his first season with the club, the Rhody Ram displayed the goalscorer’s touch by blasting four goals in four games with the Stingrays in 2006.


The Stingrays have an impressive history of former players making the grade in MLS. During the 2007 MLS SuperDraft alone, two former Stingrays were selected: Nico Colaluca (6th overall, by Colorado) and Jeffrey Gonsalves (40th overall, by Toronto). Additionally, midfielder Rui Fortes, who was discovered during an open tryout with the Los Angeles Galaxy last February, accompanied the club during the 2007 preseason before failing to make the final cut just before the start of the regular season.

Holiday Cheer in New England

Taken aback by all the holiday cheer, the Revolution has apparently adopted its own ho-ho-ho holiday attitude during this snowy offseason. After all, what other explanation can there be for all of the gift-wrapped giveaways of both experienced and rookie players alike in the past month alone?

Yes, Jolly Old St. Nicol and his front office elves have taken to giving away presents to MLS, USL, and maybe even sides abroad this holiday season. Consider this: since walking off the RFK Stadium pitch as MLS's second best yet again, the club has already lost five players, along with two more who may be waving goodbye come New Year’s.

The gift giving commenced shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday when the versatile James Riley was plucked by San Jose in the expansion draft a mere three days after MLS Cup. But the merry cheer didn’t end there - it continued when the club gift-wrapped Marshall Leonard, Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Loftus, and Bryan Byrne via the holiday waivers.

Granted, the loss of Riley through the expansion draft was out of the hands of the Revolution, as team could only protect a limited amount of players. Thus, Riley was a casualty of a cruel numbers game. There's no question that the midfielder/defender’s versatility was valued, and would have been gladly welcomed back next season. His ability to provide help in the back or on the wing was a key reason why the Revs were able to ascend to the top of the Eastern Conference yet again in 2007.

In contrast, the departures of Loftus, Gonzalez, and Byrne can be chalked up to the annual attrition rate of many MLS rookies at the conclusion of their inaugural seasons, and their exits were not unexpected. All three earned the bulk of their minutes in the reserve league; Byrne earned first team minutes late in the June 2nd Real Salt Lake match. At the time, it appeared as if the Kilkenny (Ireland) Kid would become a prime candidate for further action with the first team while Steve Ralston was busy fulfilling US Men’s National Team obligations for the Gold Cup. However, the Irishman failed to accompany the first team lads again, and remained with the reserves for the duration of the season. Similarly, Gonzalez also gave the team greater depth in the midfield, but never lived up to the expectations that accompanied him after starring with the US MNT U-20s in 2006. Loftus, a tall target with good speed for player of his size, was simply stacked up against a clogged forward line that included Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan, Adam Cristman, and Willie Sims.

Leonard's departure was somewhat expected since the capable veteran, once a steady performer prior to his Achilles injury in 2006, spend the entire 2007 season relegated to the reserves. Like Riley, he provided the club added depth in both the back and in the middle. However, with Riley’s quick departure, it appeared that Leonard would have been a solid in-house solution to fill the void.

Of course, the list of former players doesn’t take into account the seemingly imminent departures of Andy Dorman and Avery John, both of whom are rumored to be heading overseas shortly after the holidays. If both players were to leave, then the Revs will have lost a quarter of their 2007 roster come New Year’s Day. And this doesn’t even touch upon the uncertainty surrounding Joe Franchino’s return. There have been many whispers that the former skipper may not be returning next season in light if his season-ending ankle injury last May.

So what can the club do? Surely, the club’s heartwarming charity opens up roster space before the MLS SuperDraft in January, and some of it must be devoted to clearing room for SuperDraft selections. Yet, the open spots could also be used to add experienced players from other clubs.

The great thing about an offseason prior to expansion is the list of players left unprotected by their respective clubs for the expansion draft. A cursory glance at this year’s list of players left unprotected by their clubs for the expansion draft indicates that there is a great deal of talent available for little in return. What other exercise forces each club to show its hand on its view of its own talent? After all, these are the very players that each team was willing to part with for absolutely nothing back in November. Francis Doe (New York), Ricardo Virtuoso (Colorado) and Abe Thompson (FC Dallas) are all young players that play with a great deal of tenacity and fearlessness that the Revs attack could certainly use - with the caveat that Nicol would be willing to cut ties with certain players that have not played up to expectation.

Then again, why not add a veteran like Jose Burciaga (Kansas City) at left back? How about a guy like Jovan Kirovski (Colorado), a seasoned (and well-traveled) player who would certainly give the club some veteran depth up front? Again, these are the types of players to which the asking price would be presumably low given their availability during last month’s expansion draft.

There's no question that Nicol already faces a considerable task by trying to keep the Revolution ship afloat for yet another run at the MLS Cup next season. The recent departures make the gaffer's job that much tougher. But without any off-season trade buzz on the radar, the red-cheeked Revolution is apparently content with its own philanthropy until the MLS SuperDraft.

Sunday Morning Striker: Soccer from the Pizza Oven!

After gorging himself silly on a buffet of draftniks, draftspeak, and Mel Kiper, Jr.’s drafthair, Sunday Morning Striker was more than ready to shed those unflattering draft party pounds by taking in some good ol’ non-American football Sunday afternoon.

The match kicked off amid steamy temps (81 degrees, 55% humidity according to weather.com) and Avery John followed suit with a rather hot-headed foul on FC Dallas forward Carlos Ruiz, earning him the brightly-colored yellow card. FCD mounted good chances on offense early, with the Hoops inhabiting the Revolution zone for a good part of the early first half.

Then, at 3:19pm ET, the ball magically found itself in the FCD half. After the aforementioned ball exchanged a few Revolution player appendages, Steve Ralston found himself with the ball from about 40 yards out. The captain then looked left and fired in a pass to Taylor Twellman, who volleyed the ball right past Shaka Hislop for an early 1-0 lead for the Revs.

At 3:32pm ET, a passing locomotive blasted its horn beyond the oven-like confines of Pizza Hut Park as an Andy Dorman ball carelessly sailed over the left touchline. This had to mean something. A sign from the gods? Perhaps a call to arms for FCD to saddle up and crash the net?
Less than a minute after the signal, Clarence Goodson took a cross that found itself right into the mixer, before Matt Reis intercepted the missile for safe keeping. FCD then displayed what became a recurring theme: trotting back on defense one failed offensive chance after another.

To FCD’s credit, they continued their assault. Despite that, Jay Heaps contained Carlos Ruiz remarkably, thereby limiting FCD’s most potent weapon to the role of non-factor. The Revs held tough with Michael Parkhurst back in the starting eleven, although he showed some noticeable rust on a 40th minute foul on Franklin Nunez, which set up a dangerous free kick just outside the Revolution box. The kick sailed of harm’s way, and FCD looked visibly frustrated after the miss.

By the end of the first half, FCD had recorded six corner kicks, which proved that while their chances had often materialized, the Revs snuffed them out by neutralizing the Nunez-Ruiz scoring tandem.

For the second half, Steve Nicol inserted James Riley at left back for the recently-carded John, who played the first half like a man who was looking to add another.

Just as the ball was kicked off for the second half, an ominous television graphic flashed: "The Revs are 20-0-2 when leading at the half." Normally, SMS types “Game Ovah” on his laptop when such a stat appears, but not this time. Not in Dallas, er, Frisco, especially after last year’s four-goal thumping.

The Revs took advantage of a weary FCD defense early. In the 50th minute, Khano Smith ran down the left flank and crossed in the direction of a charging Twellman before the ball was ultimately deflected well over the goalpost by an FCD defender.

In the 54th minute, looking for a sequel, Ralston once again found Twellman about ten yards in front of the goal, where Twellman then knocked home what looked like his second goal of the game. But the sideline official called Twellman offside. Replays showed him seemingly even with the last FCD defender, causing TV38 color analyst Dave Dir to speculate that Twellman may have been offside “by a nose hair.”

Embarrassing nose hairs aside, FCD continued to mount pressure on the Revolution backs. In the 65th minute, Nunez launched a high-velocity shot on Reis, who gracefully batted the ball out of harm’s way. However, FCD remained poised to clinch the equalizer, as they held the ball in the Revolution half again for large chunks of the second half.

With the sands of time dwindling toward the 90-minute mark, FCD made another valiant attempt to equalize. Dominic Oduro broke through the Revolution defense and rocketed a shot that just went wide off the side of the Revolution goal in the 86th minute.

Just before extra time expired, the home team was given one last chance to even the scoreline. With the seconds ticking away during extra time, FCD set up to take a left side corner kick.
To the surprise of almost everyone not wearing the red hoops, the 6’ 4” FCD keeper himself, Shaka Hislop, came out of his goal and threw himself into the box, hoping to get a piece of the ball.

Instead, as the ball floated toward Reis, Hislop took down Reis, as the ball found itself just in front of an unsuspecting Abe Thompson all alone on the about ten yards out. The FCD midfielder took one clear look at goal and fired just right of the Revolution goal.

Seconds later, the final whistle blew, and the Revs took three points from their Western Conference foes, earning a well-deserved 1-0 victory

Stat of the Match, Part 1: With Taylor Twellman’s 13th minute volley, it’s officially official: 57% of the goals scored by the Revs this season have come from the blonde bomber himself.

Stat of the Match, Part 2: This marked the third consecutive game in which the Revs faced an opponent that was shut out in its previous match.

Stat of the Match, Part 3: Dating back to 2006, Taylor Twellman has scored in six of his last seven matches. In the six matches Twellman has scored, the Revs are 4-1-1.

Stat of the Match, Part 4: With the Revs win on Sunday, the navy and red are now 10-4-1 in their last 15 contests versus FC Dallas.

Stat of the Match, Part 5: 476-0. Total minutes played by 2007 Revolution Super and Supplemental Draftees this season, in comparison to their 2006 counterparts.

Sweet Play of the Match: The course of events on the match’s lone goal was truly one to behold. Initially, Pat Noonan found himself on the right flank, and launched a cross that serendipitously deflected off an FCD defender right to Shalrie Joseph. Joseph, then found Jeff Larentowicz in the middle of the field, about 40 yards out, and headed the ball toward Steve Ralston on his right. Ralston, the consummate pro, received the pass, took a few short steps upfield, and sailed a perfect diagonal pass for Twellman, who then flicked the ball past Shaka Hislop. One-nil, boys in blue.

Sour Play of the Match: In the 87th minute, with his team trailing, Dominic Oduro raced behind Revs defender James Riley deep into the Revolution end for the ball. Instead of allowing Riley to catch up to the ball, which would have forced him deep within his own territory nowhere to go, Oduro proceeded to push Riley out of bounds, giving New England a fortunate and time-consuming throw-in.

Why didn’t Bill Parcells have his number last year? In the 35th minute, Franklin Nunez launched a loopy-looking corner kick that flew well above the box before landing a good 10-15 yards outside of the Revolution goal. The harmless duck led to a Matt Reis goal kick, and prompted SMS to coin Nunez “Mike Vanderjagt”, after the erstwhile Dallas Cowboys placekicker.

Hidden Meaning of the Match: In the 4th minute, Avery John was given a yellow card for a hard tackle on Carlos Ruiz. Approximately 61 minutes later, his substitute, James Riley, was yellow carded for delay of game. Interestingly, John’s number (4) squared is equal to 16…which just so happens to be Riley’s number. To quote wicked-smaht writer Gregg Easterbrook, “This is the kind of hidden indicator that is essential to an insider's understanding of the game.” In other words- SMS has no idea what this means!

This is why, This is why I’m hot: Taylor Twellman sported bright neon yellow boots for the first time this year. The last Revs player to wear such flashy footwear: Clint Dempsey, who ironically sported almost identical boots in Frisco last year during the MLS Cup Final. Normally, the soccer gods swiftly punish such forms of attention grabbing (as they so unmercifully did last year in Frisco), but there would be no such repercussions. SMS was timid until the final whistle blew at 5:01pm ET.

Say it with me…Shal-REE: While SMS was pleased with the TV broadcasting tandem of Brad Feldman and Dave Dir (former FCD manager), SMS chuckled at Dir’s numerous unsuccessful attempts at pronouncing Shalrie Joseph’s first name. Dir often called our dreadlocked hero “Sharlie” throughout the proceedings, which prompted Feldman to save Dir late in the game by stating something to the effect of, “Don’t worry, all of his teammates call him Charlie.”

Hey, it’s better than “Second Place in the 2007 Eastern Conference Standings”: SMS was peeking through his latest issue of AAA Horizons Southern New England when he stumbled upon an advertisement for Revs tickets on page 10. The ad implored the reader to “Come See the Eastern Conference Champions!” Aaaiiiiiieeeeeeee!!! Let it be known that SMS has a huge inferiority complex due to recent MLS runner-up finishes, and shuddered at apparent pride taken in the referenced second place finish. Note Revs: for the long-term health of SMS, please win 2007 MLS Cup to avoid future runner-up references.

He may be good, but he’s no Luis “El Lobo” Fangoso: How about that dead animal residing on FCD midfielder Juan Toja’s dome? The 21-year old River Plate alumnae has played pretty well during his first tour of MLS, appearing in all six of FCD’s matches this season. It was reported during a recent espn2 MLS telecast that Mr. Toja is a Led Zeppelin fan, and sports the old school hair in tribute to them. Note to Senor Toja: SMS loves Flock of Seagulls, but…nevermind.

Jimmy Buffet concert on Saturday: Pizza Hut Park played host to sold-out Jimmy Buffett concert mere hours before FCD-New England Sunday afternoon. The music legend entertained more than 26,000 fans for a 9:00pm concert Saturday night, and by noon on Sunday, the field was ready to go.

Soccer on Sunday: Reportedly, many of the fans that showed up for the festivities the night before returned the following afternoon disguised as red seats. SMS is sure this would have never been allowed to happen in Foxboro.

US Women’s National Team Feature: In 2005, she helped her University of Portland squad win the NCAA championship. Lately, Stephanie Lopez has helped anchor a defending corps that has only allowed an amazing four goals in eight matches in 2007. While at Portland, she majored in psychology, which means your lines won’t work on her. The 21-year-old native of Elk Grove, CA is one of the team’s youngest and most formidable defenders, and will look to bring the squad back to World Cup glory in September.

Join us again after Thursday night’s match vs. DC United. Hey, it’s another national telecast! A guaranteed live telecast for SMS’s viewing (and scheduling) pleasure. SMS promises to break down the game like only he can do – which isn’t saying much of anything!

Chances of a live broadcast (barring any unforseen technical glitches): Optimal, 100%.

Lochhead Mystery Solved; Byrne Signs with Revs

Revsnet colleague Mike Marshall recently posted a missing persons bulletin for Tony Lochhead, the New Zealand left back who turned sprite soon after the "Meet the Revs" celebration on April 1.

My initial inclination was that he was waived, and the corresponding move would be to sign SuperDraftee Bryan Byrne, who had been training with the club for the bulk of the preseason. A notice from the Revs confirmed this very transaction today, as Lochhead has been waived, and Byrne has been signed.

Byrne, a native of Kilkenny, Ireland, will occupy Locchead's Senior International roster spot on the club, and will don number 26 for the local 11.

No, I do not know the winning Powerball numbers for tomorrow's drawing.