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.