Konopka in England

I've heard that former Wizard Chris Konopka is on a three-week trial in England with English Football League One side Walsall FC.

According to a release, Konopka said he has received interest within the past week from clubs IFK Goteberg and Orebro from Sweden's Allsveskan and Legia Warszawa from Poland's Ekstraklasa as well as a few other clubs from England.

The Wizards elected not to exercise his contract extension, so the 22-year-old can sign anywhere.

Expansion draft

The MLS expansion draft is Wednesday and the league announced the protected players from each team. Here's who the Wizards made available:

Jose Burciaga; Eloy Colombano; Edson Elcock; AJ Godblot; Willy Guadarrama; Kevin Hartman; Aaron Hohlbein; Will John; Chris Konopka; Michael Kraus; Eric Kronberg; Amir Lowery; Ryan McMahen; Ryan Pore; Ryan Raybould; Tyson Wahl; Lance Watson.

Perhaps the biggest surprises (to me) are Hartman (probably has too big of a contract) and Colombano (thought he'd be given more time to show himself).

Here are the rules of protecting players:
** Teams may protect 11 players between their Senior and their Developmental Roster.
If the Player’s contract expires at the end of 2007, he will still be considered part of the Team’s Senior Roster.
** If a Team protects a player, it is not obligated to exercise the player’s option. It may renegotiate a new budget number for the player as in previous years.
** If a player retires, he will not be a part of the Senior Roster, but his Team will lose its right of first refusal to him should he ultimately decide to play.
** Designated Players do not have to be protected unless the player has a No-Trade clause in his contract in which case the player must be protected.

Go to KansasCity.com/sports for more Wizards coverage.

New Stadium stuff

Don't know if this every made our Web site or the paper, but here are some interesting tidbits from the feasibility study done on the potential Wizards stadium at Bannister Mall:

*The average paid attendance is expected to be 13,500 for 20 Wizards games
*Average ticket price: $20
*Parking would likely be $3, but would be rolled into the ticket price -- so it'd still be free
*The stadium will have 30 luxury suites and 400 club seats, which would generate an estimated annual premium revenue of $646,000
*There would be 12 women's pro games (expected attendance: 5,000)
*Naming rights for the stadium would bring in $800,000 in 2010 and rise to $900,000 by 2014
*Concession revenue would be split 50-50 between the Wizards and the stadium owners (the city)

Jersey sponsors

End of the season, so it's time to empty the notebook a bit.

This summer, Jose Burciaga, Jr., told me that the team had seen yellow/gold jerseys that were being considered as third jerseys. Wizards VP Greg Cotton laughed that off (literally) saying there were no plans for such jerseys. But I heard this elsewhere later, and while we have no announcement on jerseys for next year, we'll have to wait and see if this turns out to be true.

Burciaga also said that Sprint was on the front of the jerseys. Hmmm. That would make perfect sense as a jersey sponsor. The team is still working on that deal, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Sprint get the nod.

Anyone else have a company they'd like to see on the Wizards' jerseys next season?

Vote Kerry

Kerry Zavagnin's awesome goal against Chivas has made the cut. It's one of the top 10 finalists for goal of the year.

Here's where you can vote:

http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/awards/2007/goal_of_the_year/

Revisionist history: Bruce Arena

Here's something that has been kicking around in that empty space between my ears: What if Bruce Arena was still coaching the U.S. national team.

How could that happen? In 2005, when the groups for the 2006 World Cup were announced, the U.S. and Mexico were running neck-and-neck to get a top spot in one of the groups. Ultimately, Mexico got the nod. But what if FIFA had correctly given the top spot to the United States?

Instead of Italy, Ghana and the Czech Republic, the U.S. would have been grouped with Portugal, Iran and Angola. There's a good chance that the U.S. finishes second in the group and ends up playing Argentina in the round of 16.

Even if the U.S. had lost to Argentina, wouldn't the perception have been that the U.S. had a pretty good showing in the World Cup? It's not a leap to think Arena keeps his job and we never have to suffer through that messy Juergen Klinsmann courtship.

More dominoes: The Wizards would be playing a Bob Bradley-led Chivas USA instead of Preki. And maybe, Mo Johnston is still in New York facing New England, while Bob Gansler finishes his first season in Toronto.

For more on the MLS playoffs, check out today's soccer notes in the Star:

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/wizards/story/338189.html

Chivas quotes

Thought I'd drop a couple of postgame quotes in here from Chivas USA. They're feeling confident despite being down 1-0.

From Jesse Marsch: "We feel good about tonight's result. I thought we dominated the match. We were able to dictate the game the way we wanted. We didn't give them any chances tonight, and we were unfortunate that the free kick glanced off the wall."

From Brad Guzan: "I think we were unlucky to have the ball deflect off Paulo (Nagamura)'s face on the free kick. Other then that I thought we dominated the game. Look at the second half we dominated the possession. We created the majority of chances (and) just couldn't put one in the net."

Here's is Bob Luder's game report in the Star:
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/wizards/story/336474.html

Any predictions on the return leg?

MLS playoffs

Not to fans those flames of being underappreciated, but MLS seemed show KC no love. How'd that happen? The league sent out the playoff schedule and had game one of the Wizards-Chivas game starting at 7:30. The Wizards sent out a release saying the game started at 7 p.m. (which it does).

MLS came back Wednesday with an "Updated MLS Cup Playoff Schedule" that showed the game starts at 7:30! C'mon. Think that'd happen with D.C. United?

OK, so it's a stretch, even for a conspiracy theory, but it is a little embarrassing.

Here is Bob Luder's preview of Saturday night's game ...
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/335334.html

Anyone dare to make a prediction on this game?

MLS playoff format

Here's a little something I had on the MLS playoff format today:

www.kansascity.com/sports/wizards/story/331820.html

While it's nearly like the European model during Champions League, of course, the playoffs are a little different here.

Jimmy Conrad thinks MLS one day will go to the format that's used in Europe: giving greater weight to the road goals. It's just that the average football/basketball/baseball fan doesn't have the brain capacity to figure out how that works. (My editorial comment, not his)

"I think we're just trying to give them small doses of what I think will eventually happen," Conrad said. "You have to give the home team the advantage. They have to go on the road first, knowing they're going to go home. Once they have that result in mind, now they can go home and get the best out of that result. It's not something that doesn't happen now, but teams know if they can get it going and get a road goal, how crucial that is.
"It just gives it a different wrinkle, a different feel. Every goal matters. It it's weighted twice, it's a big deal."

It really is. To me, it seems that MLS went to the current playoff format less to appease soccer fans (although the best-of-three was a bad idea) than to make sure each team gets a home playoff game. So it's the owners who can make a few more bucks rather than worrying about the purity of making sure the best team advances. If the league changes to the current European model (which would include a home-and-home in the conference finals), then I'll admit the owners are doing it to ensure the best team wins.

Chivas update

Just heard that Chivas USA will be arriving in Kansas City a day earlier because of the wildfires in California. They'll be here Thursday instead of Friday. It'll give them another day to acclimate to this cool fall weather as well.

Incentive for Wizards?

Check out Grant Wahl's latest Q&A with soccer fans. Near the end, he makes a promise on what he'd do if the Wizards make the MLS Cup final.

Just click on the title of this entry to get there.

MLS expansion

MLS sent out an e-mail to journalists today clarifying its expansion plans. Nothing too exciting here, but I thought I'd pass along the key points the league highlighted:

* The 15th and 16th expansion clubs may be announced by the end of 2007 or even as early as MLS Cup 2007, but MLS does not have a set deadline to make that announcement. Thus, it may early 2008 before both teams are announced.

* MLS is currently in discussion with potential expansion team owners and local governments in more than a dozen markets across North America.

* Major League Soccer’s timeline for expansion allows us to take our time in evaluating potential expansion markets as we are not relying on expansion revenue to fund our ownership group. We expect to reach 16 markets by 2010, but we will only add teams when it makes strategic sense. We understand that the League must expand its footprint to increase its profile, but we are not in any rush.

Chivas

In the last month or so, it appeared as though the Wizards would face D.C. United in the playoffs. And during that month or so, the Wizards players were saying privately that they thought that was a good match-up for the team. Now they'll get Chivas USA. Haven't had a chance to talk with any of them in the last week or so, but that seems like a good match-up as well. The games this season have been competitive and Chivas will be without Ante Razov.

One other reason the Wizards liked the thought of playing D.C.: "No turf" as one player said. New York and New England each would have meant playing on artificial turf. That won't be the case in Carson.

One other thing: If you have any questions for me, drop me an e-mail at pgrathoff@kcstar.com. Some of you have posted questions/complaints. I'm always eager to talk with other fans.

New York attendance

Anyone else wonder why more isn't written about New York's absolutely pathetic attendance? The Wizards are a regular punching bag for fans around the league -- in particular Jamie Trecker, who wrote in 2004 that the Wizards would be relocated. Um, they're still here.

Yes, the Wizards don't currently draw well, averaging 11,586 a game. But New York is more than 10 times the size of KC and the Red Bulls are bringing in 16,583 a game. That's bloated because of the 66,000 on hand for the Beckham game. Just 16K in New York? Are you kidding me? In a town that size?

There were only 20,083 on hand Saturday for the Red Bulls' key game against the Wizards. Some will say wait until the Red Bulls move into their own stadium, that'll help attendance. Well, hey, ditto for KC.

Actually, maybe MLS should move the Red Bulls to St. Louis. I heard there's a waiting fan base there, right?

Wizards playoff opener II

Steve Goff of the Washington Post notes on his blog that D.C. likely will play its home game in the first round on Nov. 1. That's a Thursday and the game will be on ESPN2. Here's the link:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/

I'm just speculating, but perhaps that would affect the Wizards' home game if they end up playing D.C. in the opening round. Maybe the league would want both games on a Thursday rather than doing a Saturday-Thursday combo.

Wizards playoff opener

The Red Bulls announced they'll play host to their playoff opener on Oct. 27 (a Saturday) at 6:30 our time. That got me to thinking about the Wizards playoff opener and it'll be that same weekend. The great news is the Chiefs don't play that weekend, so hopefully the Wizards won't be stuck with a Friday night game again. Maybe the Wizards will get to choose the time and day they think will work best. When's the last time that happened?

Women's team in KC?

Here's a link to my story in The Star about a women's soccer team possibly playing at a new Wizards stadium. Anyone got an idea for a nickname for a women's team?

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/wizards/story/308948.html

Funny link

Saw this on deadspin and had to share it. Fans wonder why soccer has a bad reputation ... it's because of stuff like this. But this is funny.

http://deadspin.com/sports/soccer/man-that-had-to-hurt-307047.php

And AC Milan lost, so that's an added plus.

Catching up with Kerry

I had the chance to chat with one of the nicest guys in sports: Wizards midfielder Kerry Zavagnin.
What did he think of playing before a team record crowd of 32,867 last Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium?
“That was nice,” he said. “More importantly, a lot of people who went to the game were entertained, and while the home team didn’t win, it was in a lot of ways an exciting and entertaining game. It’s nice that we could provide that. It would have been better if we’d been able to win, but hopefully we converted some people into soccer fans and that’s the goal when you get a crowd like that.”
Even if the crowd didn’t get to see that guy from England, right?
“What guy?” Zavagnin quipped.
And for Wizards fans who worry about another late season fade, just know that Zavagnin is not sweating it.
“For some reason, I don’t know why, it feels so much different from the other seasons that we ended with such a bad run,” he said. “I feel like we play well. When you look at the game the other night, the other team has three shots with one on goal and it’s a deflection that lands on the guy’s head. We’re not scoring and not finishing chances on our end, but I really feel good about our team and I don’t feel like any of us feel like there’s a lot of pressure to do things that we haven’t been doing. We feel good about our chances.”
Not just to make the playoffs, but to make some noise when the postseason begins.
“I don’t think anybody would expect us to do well,” Zavagnin said. “First of all, there are probably a lot of people who think we’re never going to make the playoffs, and after that, they think we’re going to be a two-game-and-out kind of team, but we’re going to be a tough team whoever we play.”

Wizards fashion models

You can see the Wizards' Kerry Zavagnin, Nick Garcia, Jose Burciaga, Jr., Will John, Tyson Wahl, Ryan McMahen and Eric Kronberg in the new issue of Urban Times.

They're the cover boys and inside they even pose shirtless.


http://urbantimeskc.com/pdf/september07/sept07_life_style.pdf


Next stop: GQ.

OnGoal ownership controversy

Ha. Just wanted to get your attention with that header.

In fact, if you're a Wizards fan, you've got to love OnGoal, in particular Cliff Illig. I had the chance to talk with him at length last month and he came across as a passionate supporter of the game, the Wizards fans (he loves the Cauldron) and the players. In fact, here's what he had to say about the boys in blue:

"I am impressed with how great a group these guys are. How smart they are, how tuned-in they are, how much they want to understand the way we would want things to work. I think they’re doing the very best they can to deliver on their side of it."

That didn't make the Q&A I had with him. Here's the entire interview (a partial version ran in The Star):


http://www.kansascity.com/sports/wizards/story/259168.html

Josh Wolff commercial

When I talked with Josh Wolff after the United States game against Brazil in Chicago, he said that his new employer, 1860 Munich, gets the players out and about. Turns out he was even in a commercial. Here he is:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Q8aJzrlcQ


You can see some 1860 Munich game highlights on youtube as well.

Bannister Mall tidbits

Reports on the proposed stadium at Bannister Mall put the stadium size at 18,500. But according to documents submitted to the Kansas City Economic Development Council, the stadium size would be between 17,000 and 22,000 seats and could expand to 27,000 with temporary seating.

The cost of the stadium would be $140 million, with Wizards’ owners OnGoal kicking in $65 million. The other $75 million would be part of the $267 million of public money that is being sought for the project.

One player said OnGoal was working with different companies to come up with the best turf for the conditions. He added that a heated field may be in the works as well. That would certainly be a good thing if KC were to get the MLS Cup here. You never know what the weather is going to be like in November.

Best of all: No football lines on the field. Ever.

Christian Gomez ... a Wizard?

OK, so the Wizards deal Yura Movsisyan to Real Salt Lake for part of the Freddy Adu allocation and two draft picks. Now D.C. United is reportedly going to bring in midfielder Juan Sebastián Veron.

http://njmg.typepad.com/sbi/2007/09/dc-closing-in-o.html

Veron plays the same position as Christian Gomez. The Wizards midfield could use a boost. Gomez is an Argentine. The Wizards have a couple of Argentines on the roster. The Wizards now have more money (thanks to allocation) and picks that they could deal. Is there a link? Or is this just a crazy thought?

Realignment?

As MLS continues growing, it's going to be increasingly difficult to create a balanced schedule -- unless it followed the rest of the world and had each team play a home-and-away with the other teams in the schedule.

There will be 14 teams in the league next year, so a home-and-away with each team would be a 26-game schedule. That seems like enough games, considering the plans to expand SuperLiga and the desire to play foreign clubs in friendlies during the season. MLS doesn't need to muck it up by trying to play more games against conference rivals.

But if MLS does, maybe the league should go back to three divisions, which look like this:

East: D.C., New York, New England, Toronto, Columbus
Central: Wizards, Chicago, Houston, Dallas
West: Colorado, Salt Lake, Chivas USA, Galaxy, San Jose

Here's the thinking: With St. Louis continuing to make strides, that franchise would be a natural to join the Central (that's why the Crew is in the East). For the playoffs you could take the three division winners and the next five teams based on points regardless of divisions.

Will Kuhns, the MLS director of communications, said in an e-mail: “At this time, there are no plans to go to a three-division alignment, but the entire competition structure is being reviewed by the Technical Committee, which will make recommendations going forward. It is too early in that process to say whether that will result in changes for next season or beyond."

Any thoughts?