Two More Blue Devils to the MLS (Maybe)

Last week's MLS Supplemental Draft, the less-than-Super cousin of the SuperDraft, doesn't get a glitzy page on MLSnet because it tends to be an afterthought. Instead of having an 8-round draft, MLS effectively splits it in two - the teams are given an additional 4 rounds a few days later to fill out their developmental rosters with more college talent. Considering that many 4th round picks don't pan out on the pro roster, there's not a lot of chance these guys will make an impact next year. Still, you never know unless you give them a shot - which begs the question, why didn't Toronto give anyone a shot?

The Blue Devils once again made a strong showing, with Zach Pope and Tim Jepson being selected 40th and 43rd, respectively, by Chicago and San Jose, respectively. I guess they can't all be Revs. Here's the Duke Athletics release, and the campus newspaper report.

Zach Pope was always a fan favorite. Blistering speed on the outside wing. Fun to watch. He kicks a pretty nice cross and got a fair number of assists at Duke but he'll need to make some big plays for the developmental side to impress his way into the big time.

Tim Jepson missed a lot of this year with a muscle pull which could be why he fell this low. He'll be a rookie on his next team, but this four year senior captain is a leader through and through. He's a tall-ish central defender who doesn't make mistakes. I have higher hopes for him than for Pope - a lot can happen on an expansion team, so there's a shot Jepson could get some minutes for the Quakes next year. That pulled muscle kept taking longer than announced to heal, and I felt like he was a half-step slow the whole rest of the year even once he was back - he'll need to get back to where he was before plus a little more, but if he can make the leap skillwise then I'm confident his leadership will translate.

So that makes 5 Dukies in this year's draft... throw in Joshua Medcalf (grad student from Vanderbilt who's eligibility is up), Paul Dudley (imagine Peter Crouch with less ballskill - tall guy who was intimidating and a scorer but unfortunately inexplicably bad on the headers), Justin Papadakis (excellent goaltender), Tomek Charowski (took the corners, and what a fun name to say!), the backup keeper and three depth midfielders. Those are the 13 seniors leaving the team. Throw in a new coach and you've got the definition of a "rebuilding year." Upside - we've still got Mike Grella and last year's #1 recruiting class... we'll have to see but for now I'm gonna say that a winning ACC season next year would transcend even the Ewing Theory.

Stealing from Wal-Mart Makes You a Target

Time for a break from soccer - on Monday night, the #2 Tennessee Lady Volunteers take on the #10 Duke Blue Devils (we, unlike the cutesy Lady Vols, don't need a diminutive form of our nickname to denote gender - we are all Blue Devils) in the never-friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium. Cameron is sold out, and I will be among the Cameron Crazies welcoming Tennessee into our house the only way we know how - jumping and screaming the entire game. The Crazies are the best and most creative college basketball fans in the country, and the closest thing in America to the soccer hooligans abroad. We've earned a reputation over the years as the most creative have earned their reputation primarily at Men's basketball games, but we pack the house for the big Women's games, too.

Pat Summitt, the coach of the Lady Vols, knows how loud we are, and she's afraid that somebody's feelings are going to be hurt. She's threatening to pull the series with the Blue Devils if the fans aren't nicer to her players. Backstory - Alexis Hornbuckle, now a senior at Tennessee, was arrested for shoplifting from Walmart back when she was in highschool. Two years ago, when Tennessee last played in Cameron, the Crazies came equipped with WalMart shopping bags, and chanted "WAAAAAL-MAAAART" while she was at the free throw line. A little heckling to try and rattle the other team's point guard, and it worked - she went 0-4 from the free throw line, and then-#2 Duke beat then-#1 Tennessee handily, holding the Lady Vols to a season-low 53 points.

Duke has won the last three meetings and leads the all-time series 5-4... what does Pat Summitt think of the series?

"This series has been a great series," Summitt said, "but I was very disappointed the last time I was there with the behavior, in particular of the students toward Alexis. They stepped way over the line on that one. Hopefully we’ve moved on... I wouldn’t be in favor of continuing the series if we’re going to go in a gym and they’re going to take personal shots at one of our players... Why would you subject a student-athlete to that type of harassment?"

There are three important points here, and the first one is that making fun of somebody's high school shoplifting charge is certainly not "crossing the line." Last year, the week before the Duke men's team played BC, two of their players were kicked out of school for marijuana, and we certainly could have heckled them to death for that, but you didn't hear so much as a "WHERE'S SEAN" chant. For the last two years, the men's team has opened the season against our neighbors NC Central University (the stripper who filed the false rape accusations in a big court case you may or may not of heard of... she was an NCCU student), and we are always on our best behavior (screaming loud, but leaving out the stripper jokes). Some things are too serious. Shoplifting is not too serious. If you want a lesson in crossing the line, follow the Duke lacrosse team on the road. Especially to the University of Maryland, where class and tact go to die.

The second point is that as college students, these girls are adults and can handle themselves - they don't need Mama Pat looking out for them. That's a message that someone needs to pass along to Ms Summitt, who earlier this season benched Candice Parker for missing curfew before a game in her hometown. Parker, who was the first and so far only girl to win the slam dunk contest at the McDonalds High School All-American game (and is probably one of the top five women's basketball players in terms of name recognition because of that feat alone), had 60 friends and family members in attendance. Mama Pat is opposed to other people embarrassing her players, but has no problem doing it herself. We were teaching Alexis a lesson too, Pat - don't steal from WalMart! Set a good example for all the young girls watching you! You're a public figure now, being on a nationally-ranked basketball team - and that means that sportswriters, talk radio, and fans of both your team and the other team are going to talk about you. Get used to it.

The third point is that Pat Summitt would be making a huge mistake for her team and her school by canceling the Duke series. Earlier in the year, she made a similar stink with UConn and mysteriously canceled her series with the Huskies. Duke and UConn, of course, are two of the only schools with winning records against Pat Summitt, and she appears determined to find any excuse to not have to play these teams in the future. Say goodbye to your RPI and strength of schedule, Tennessee! And say goodbye to your recruits - for the best players in the country, the chance to prove themselves against the other best players in the country will outweigh the draw of the best coach in the nation. I'm not denying that she's a great coach (though it's never really noted that she inherited a 25-2 team back in '74...), but her recent antics have to make you wonder how much longer she'll be on top.

As a final note, you don't see any men's teams complaining about the Crazies not being nice to their players. Pat Summitt's complaint is one giant leap against Title IX. The girls can take it. Let them play. Way to go, Pat.

The Exciting Thing About Soccer Is...

...that sometimes it's not exciting at all. Sydney-Queensland was a 0-0 draw. The teams take Australia Day off and the first game of the Major Semi is Sunday night (their night, our morning) in the brilliantly named EnergyAustralia Stadium.

Here's a recap, box score, and highlight reel from the game.

Probably the Most Important Australian Sporting Event This Weekend

Okay, I know I said Super Bowl coming up, but with the Super Bowl still over a week away, and with Australia Day right around the corner, I decided to focus on the most important Australian sporting event this weekend - the first round of the A-League playoffs! ...oh yeah, and I guess they're playing some "major" tennis tournament this weekend too... but back to the A-League Finals Series. We are now less than two hours away from Sydney-Queensland getting underway. Honestly, I think this is one of the coolest tournaments in sports.

The A-League is the top soccer league in Australia, currently in its 3rd year of existence. And you thought the MLS had no history! (More on A-League History in a moment.) Going into last week, the final week of the season, the top four teams all had the same number of points - all had clinched the four playoff spots, but they were all fighting for seeding. Drama. The Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners came out with wins earning the top two spots, with Sydney FC tying their way into 3rd and the Queensland Roar limping into 4th with a loss.

But the playoff format is what makes the A-League so interesting. Instead of your standard American bracket, with #1 v #4 and #2 v #3, the A-League's first round has a "Major Semifinal" with the top two teams, and a "Minor Semifinal" with teams #3 and #4. Two games, home-and-home aggregate goals, yadda yadda yadda... And then the loser of the Major Semifinal gets to face the winner of the Minor Semifinal in the "Preliminary Final." The winner of the Preliminary Final and the winner of the Major Semifinal then face off in the "Grand Final" in Sydney.

I love this playoff format - imagine if we used that over here in the NFL? This year, we would've had a Major Semifinal of Pats-Colts and a Minor Semifinal of Packers-Cowboys... there's so much epicism there I don't even know where to start... the potential for 2 Pats-Colts playoff games, where each team had just seen the others' tricks! Who would you pick in that Grand Super Bowl - the winner of the first fresh from a week off, or the loser of the first with a chip on their shoulder? Imagine if the Pats lost the Semifinal - would they be able to salvage a Super Bowl win? Sure, a first-round bye is a nice treat for a good season - but imagine a second chance in the playoffs. I'm sure Peyton would've stayed on the field in Week 17 if that were at stake.

I'm really excited to see how this goes, because this is my first A-League playoffs - I got my first exposure to the league this summer (our summer, their winter) when there were talks of Robbie Fowler signing with Sydney FC, and my first reaction was "There's a pro soccer league in Australia?" So naturally I read up on it and I was hooked - the league's story is pretty fascinating when you sit down and look at it. In 2003, there was a complete overhaul of the governing body Soccer Australia after an independent review (if only the same would happen in Canada...). The new league began in 2005 and after just three seasons, it's made many strides that took the MLS eight or nine years. Several Socceroos (gotta love those kooky Aussies) returned home, and the league's overall average attendance in the first year was over 12,000 - and more impressively, that number went up in Year Two (MLS averaged about 17,500 in the first year; the number fell each of the next 4 seasons and still hasn't reached that high since).

Like the MLS, the A-League has a salary cap to keep costs down, but the A-League was way ahead of MLS in allowing each team one "Marquee Player" who doesn't count under the cap - that rule's been in place since day one. The cap is only $1.8 million Australian (about $1.56 million US), which limits salaries even more than MLS does (I don't know if the MLS cap number is actually out there anywhere - I've heard anywhere between $2 mil and $2.5 mil). Actually, there was a big controversy this summer when DC United and MLS stole Player of the Year Fred away from champions Melbourne Victory by offering to pay him three times as much. Even if the Socceroos' coach isn't a big fan of the A-League as it is, the league was included in FIFA 08, so that gives it some legitimacy (I would argue that the boys at EA Sports' opinion means more than that of a coach who made 39 call-ups for a Qualifier, but that's just me).

In last year's Grand Final, 55,000 fans watched Archie Tompson scored 5 goals in Melbourne's 6-0 thrashing of Adelaide United, and somehow the New Zealander is still toiling away in the A-League... Sadly, Melbourne won't have a chance to repeat, but apparently the Aussie advertisers are thrilled to get a Sydney-Queensland semifinal... If I'm making a prediction, it's Sydney all the way. Despite their hideous sky blue jerseys that remind me a little too much of UNC, Sydney FC are my team in the A-League. After following them in the Robbie Fowler saga, and then in the build-up to their match with the David Beckham Roadshow, I can't get behind another Australian team.

I like Fox Sports AU's coverage of the A-League better than ESPN's (which still listed last years stats 3 weeks into the season, though they expanded their coverage as the year went on). The best columnist out there writing on Australian soccer is Jesse Fink, who's blog Half Time Orange used to be at Fox Sports AU and now runs at The World Game.

And as far as the Australian Open, I guess I'm pulling for Federer? Honestly I lost interest when John Isner lost in the first round. Gotta pull for the guys who went to college.

The End of an Era

I mentioned the possibility two days ago, but now it's true - Pat Noonan has left the Revs for greener pastures in Norway. The Rev's didn't pick up the option on his contract, hoping they could start talks lower than the $225,000 salary he earned last year, but instead lost him to Norwegian Premier League side Aaeslund Fotballklubb (or AaFK for the abbrv'sters). I would find it hard to find a reason not to go to sunny Åeslund, which sits about 4º South of the Arctic Circle. But though Åeslund may not have much sunlight in the winter, they apparently get NESN - after the 2004 MLS season, which saw Matt Reis earn the starting job in New England, the former Revs goalkeeper Adin Brown joined AaFK.

From the Revs perspective, it's always disappointing to see one of your starters going, especially when it leaves us with only two forwards with game experience on the roster. And he and Twellman were buddies, so Noonan's departure won't help keep Twellman here... but if I'm being completely honest, I'm not too upset to that Noonan's leaving.

I always found Noonan remarkably frustrating to watch. He scored goals, yes, but he had a terrible tendency to miss wide open opportunities. My frustration always prompted me and my brother to yell "NOONAN" in the middle of Revs games... you remember Newman from Seinfeld? I'm not saying that Noonan is the embodiment of all that is evil, but it was that sort of a yell. Alas, love him or hate him, it's the end of an era. He played for the Revs for 5 years... runner-up Rookie of the Year... and just as Superman had his Lex Luthor and Jerry Seinfeld had Newman, I'm sad to see Twellman and Noonan splitting up.

MLS.com had an interesting piece on all the changes the Revs are making this offseason... and I thought it seemed like a lot, but this fleshes it out a bit more clearly. Again, it's out of necessity, and we knew this was coming - last year was always going to be the last chance that group had to win something, as it became clear early on that Twellman/Ralston/Parkhurst/Joseph were going to keep getting interest from abroad. And to their credit, they did win something - the much-maligned but much-loved-in-my-book Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - but the MLS Cup once again eluded them. Reading this article, though, I realized that a lot of these moves - the draft picks, Albright - could fill in the missing pieces better than I had anticipated. Maybe last year wasn't the last chance after all.

Best of luck to Noonan and his fellow ex-Rev and expatriate (ex-Patriot?) Adin Brown. I'm glad I now have a team to follow in the NPL, or Tippeligaen in Norwegian (which is impossible to read). Last year, AaFK just barely escaped relegation, finishing 11th out of 14. But at least the skiing's good? Maybe Aqua will come through town on their reunion tour?

Oh, and PS - This doesn't scare me. Patriots opinions coming.

The New England Blue Devils?!?

It's been a busy weekend in the sports world, and I just started writing, so it'll take me a little time to catch up with all the stories, but I wanted to start with the most important story from the weekend - the MLS SuperDraft. Hundreds of tens of people watched in awe on ESPN2 as 56 youngsters were selected for the opportunity to earn $15,000 a year playing professional soccer in a league ridiculed in its own country and abroad...

But as both an MLS fan and an NCAA Soccer fan, I was interested in the results. A lot of the UC system players went in the first round - Duke didn't play anybody west of Valparaiso this year, so I don't know much about those guys. I mostly just cared about a) where the Duke players went, and b) who my New England Revolution took.

Lo and behold, the three Blue Devils taken in the draft all wound up going to the Revolution. Michael Videira and Joe Germanese went in the second round, and Spencer Wadsworth was taken in the fourth. There are two other Dukies on the Revolution roster - Jay Heaps, who walked on to Coach K's basketball team back in '95-'96 as a freshman and now starts at right back for the Revs; and Kyle Helton, a graduate of the USMNT's Bradenton Academy who was drafted in the fourth round last year but spent all year in the reserves. Not mentioned in the GoDuke article is that Chris Loftus was on the Revolution roster last year as well, despite going undrafted until the third round of the less super "Supplemental Draft" last year. He made one appearance during the US Open Cup for the Revs but was apparently cut at the end of the season. Even without Loftus, that's still 5 Dukies on the Revolution's roster, for now earning them the name New England Blue Devils.

As for this year's players, Videira is a solid, smart player and a great playmaker. He had 34 career assists at Duke, sixth best in school history. Germanese was always scrappy but a little underwhelming. The Revs definitely needed more depth at midfield - Andy Dorman's gone, and long term contract or not, I still get nervous about Shalrie Joseph going to Celtic every time the transfer window opens. I could see Videira working his way into the starting line-up. Germanese might spell Ralston occasionally but I don't think he'll be getting too much playing time.

The wildcard of the Dukies is Wadsworth - and I guess second to last pick of the draft is the perfect chance to take a flier on a wildcard. Videira and Germanese could blend into the field and be anonymous at times, but you always knew when Wadsworth was out there. Think of back when you played U-12's or U-14's and there was that one cocky kid who was a bit of a showboat and had a tendency to try and dribble around one too many defenders - and now imagine that player being selected in the MLS SuperDraft. Wadsworth has flashes of brilliance, but in general I just always found him frustrating to watch. I guess you expect a fourth round pick to be inconsequential, but when you look at the Rev's roster, knowing that Noonan's free to head to Europe if he can find a club, who is going to back Twellman and Christman up at forward? Youth Developmental Player Abdoulie Mansally? Does Khano Smith move up to Forward? When the season gets underway, there may just be a spot for Wadsworth. (Truth be told, I'd love to see Smith and Wadsworth try to play together - their play styles would either clash horrendously and become a me-first pissing contest or they would mesh brilliantly...)

As for the two non-Duke players drafted, I don't know much about them... two defenders, one from San Francisco and one from Brown. We lost Riley in the Expansion Draft, and Avery John hasn't resigned yet, and Parkhurst may still get interest from abroad, so these two and Chris Albright (who we received in a draft-day deal with LA) will work their way in somehow.

At the end of the fall, I had been really down on both of my teams - the Revs just lost another MLS Cup and stood to lose a lot of talent overseas, and the Blue Devils underperformed all year, graduated 13 seniors and lost their coach to retirement - but now, I'll get to root for both teams AT THE SAME TIME. Excellent. Now I just hope this trend continues and the New England Blue Devils can get the amazing Mike Grella in SuperDraft 2009.

Allow myself to introduce... myself.

So Pete Smith told me to start a blog, so I did. The *edit: first* name for the blog was "One More Post..." which comes from D2: The Mighty Ducks when Gordon Bombay and Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson are going one on one for ice time/bragging rights before the championship game and after Stansson crushed Bombay's beach ball with his bare hands. The full line is "One more post and you go home crying... by the way, Stansson, you owe me a beach ball." I thought it sounded blog-y.

While I'm at it, the title for this post is from Austin Powers.

EDIT 1/25: Well, since I'm four posts in and they've been not at all about hockey, I changed my mind on the title. It's only four posts in, so I can do that. I decided to rename it "Mystery Minutes." That's what my sister always calls the end of a soccer game - you know, what the rest of us call "stoppage time." There's no visible clock for it at a game, making it pretty much a mystery if you missed the announcement. I also think the title fits because my posts have wound up being way longer than planned and I waste too much time writing them. I should work on that.