Teams add creamy filling to rosters

Here are the team-by-team selections from Thursday's supplemental draft which is sort of like day two of the NFL draft (only none of the players get to pose in team hats because it's done via conference call). The Supple Draft used to be non-collegiates signed by the league, but then they created the Superdraft in 2000. In 2003 they re-instituted the Supple Draft to allow teams to select players signed by MLS post-Superdraft. Now, it's essentially become extra rounds to fill developmental rosters and reserve teams. Since the switch over, most of the players never seen the pitch for their respective MLS teams. In the 2005 Supple Draft there were a few exceptions, however. Dallas selected Abe Thompson in Round 4 and Jeff Larentowicz (see picture) was taken by New England in the final round.

2008 Supplemental Draft

Chicago Fire (6): M -- Kai Kasiguran (Messiah College), F -- Adrian Bumbut (Liberty University), M -- Zach Pope (Duke University), D -- Steve Bode (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), M -- Timothy Conway (Nyack College), GK -- Melford James Jr. (University of Montevallo)

Chivas USA (4): F -- Kraig Chiles (San Diego State University), F -- Javier Ayala-Hill (California State), M -- El Hadj-Cisse (North Carolina State University), D -- Andre Sherard (University of North Carolina)

Colorado Rapids (4): F -- Kevin Forrest (University of Washington), M -- Cesar Zambrano (Univ. of Illinois-Chicago), GK -- Mike Graczyk (University of New Mexico), M -- Daniel Antunez (University of Hartford)

Columbus Crew (4): GK -- Billy Chiles (Towson State), M -- Corey Elenio (Evansville), F -- Lukasz Tumicz (University of Rhode Island), F/D -- Zola Short (University of Virginia)

D.C. United (3): D -- Brandon Owens (UCLA), M -- Dan Stratford (West Virginia University), GK -- James Thorpe (Franklin Pierce)

FC Dallas (2): F -- Yannick Reyering (University of Virginia), M/D -- Ben Shuleva (Southern Methodist University)

Houston Dynamo (4): M -- Johnny Alcaraz (Westmont College), F -- Craig Thompson (Colorado School of Mines), M -- Kieran Hall (Fort Lewis College), F -- James Georgeff (University of Central Florida)

Kansas City Wizards (4): M -- Pat Healey (Towson University), M -- Vicente Arze (Mercer University), M -- Tom Gray (Monmouth University), GK -- Andrew Kartunen (Stanford University)

Los Angeles Galaxy (4): D -- Michael Gavin (Portland University), GK -- Charles Alamo (Univ. of California-Riverside), D -- Greg Folk (UCLA), F/M -- Daniel De Geer (University of San Francisco)

New England Revolution (4): F -- Mkokheli Dube (Coastal Carolina University), D -- Chris Tierney (University of Virginia), M -- Kyle Altman (Trinity University), F -- Saidi Isaac (Winthrop University)

New York Red Bulls (4): M -- Danleigh Borman (University of Rhode Island), M -- Michael Palacio (Stonybrook University), D -- John Gilkerson (Winthrop University), D/M -- Manuel Laurent (Brown University)

Real Salt Lake (3): F -- Tino Nunez (Univ. of California-Santa Barbara), M -- Kevin Reiman (Michigan State University), F -- Kenny Anaba (Cincinnati University)

San Jose Earthquakes (4): F --- Adam Smarte (Univ. of California-Santa Cruz), F -- Tim Bohnenkamp (Creighton University), D -- Greg Curry (Univ. of California-Santa Barbara), D -- Tim Jepsen (Duke University)

Toronto FC (1): F -- Xavier Balc (Ohio State University)

Source: ESPNnet

U.S. blanks Swedes, 2-0

LD's PK courtesy of youtuber Fabstar101:

Landon Donovan became the all-time leading scorer in U.S. national team history after scoring a PK in the 2-0 U.S. victory over Sweden at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Saturday night.

Although it was clearly LD's night, the U.S. got on the board first thanks to Eddie Robinson, an unlikely turn-of-events for the part-time national teamer who hasn't come close to solidifying a place on the Nats WC qualifying roster.

The U.S., featuring an MLS-heavy roster, was clearly the aggressor from the opening whistle, winning the lion's share of chances. Robinson's goal, however, was a bit fortuitous, as the ball bounced right to the Houston Dynamo defender after Brad Davis' corner kick was deflected at the near post by Pat Noonan. It was Robinson's first international goal. Early in the second half, super sub Jozy Altidore won a penalty kick and allowed Donovan to convert his historic 35th goal*.

All in all, it was a decent outing for a largely untested bunch. Chivas USA keeper Brad Guzan looked solid between the posts after only a handful of starts for the national team. Altidore continues to be stellar. Here's hoping that Bob Bradley noticed. The game was a bit slow and it certainly wasn't a dominant performance by the U.S., but it did show some of the depth the U.S. has in players like Clarence Goodson and Ramiro Corrales. It also showed us a glimpse of a very promising (and near) future in Maurice Edu. If Bradley gets Edu and Altidore on the field more, the U.S. will be fun to watch in 2008.

Scoring Chances
USA – Robinson (Noonan) 15.
USA – Donovan (PK) 48.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brad Guzan; 15-Drew Moor, 8-Eddie Robinson (16-Michael Parkhurst, 46) 12-Jimmy Conrad (7-Clarence Goodson, 46), 6-Ramiro Corrales; 10-Landon Donovan (capt.) (23-Jeremiah White, 81), 13-Ricardo Clark, 19-Maurice Edu, 22-Brad Davis (26-Sacha Kljestan, 72); 20-Taylor Twellman (14-Josmer Altidore, 46), 11-Pat Noonan (17-Chris Rolfe, 63)

SWE: 1 Rami Shaaban; 2-Mikael Lustig, 3-Mattias Bjärsmyr, 4-Peter Larsson, 5-Oscar Rönningberg (15-Behrang Safari, 61), 6-Daniel Andersson (capt.); 7-Niclas Alexandersson (18-Viktor Elm, 46), 8-Anders Svensson, 9-Andreas Johansson (16-Samuel Holmen, 61); 10-Rade Prica (20-Johan Oremo, 61), 11-Pontus Wernbloom (19-Andreas Dahl, 78).

*Editor's note: Actually, FIFA ruled that USA's 3-1 drubbing of Denmark last year was not an official "A" friendly and therefore LD is still stuck on goal no. 34.

Is it the suite life for Kansas City?

Kansas City selects Zak ... or is this Cody? 

(actually it's some Heydude wanna-be named Chance)

2008 MLS SuperDraft - Round One Results

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	POS.	Affiliation
1	KC*	Chance Myers	D	UCLA
2	DAL*	Brek Shea	M/D	U-17
3	RSL	Anthony Beltran	M/D	UCLA
4	LA	Sean Franklin	M/D	Cal.St.-Nthrdge
5	COL	Claran O'Brien	M	UC-SB
6	CLB	Andy Iro	D	UC-SB
7	CHI*	Patrick Nyarko	F	VT
8	DAL	Josh Lambo	GK	U-17
9	TFC*	Julius James	D	Conn
10	TFC*	Pat Phelan	M	Wake
11	KC	Roger Espinoza	M/D	Oh.St.
12	CHI	Dominic Cervl	GK	Tulsa
13	NE	Rob Valentino	D	SF
14	RSL*	David Horst	D	OldDom

*Acquired pick

For a complete round-by-round listing, click here for MLSnet Draft Tracker. Not that you should. After all, the history of the draft suggests that most of these names will be forgotten in a year.

New Year MLS transactions

January transactions

Chivas USA - Named Stephen Hamilton Vice President of Soccer Operations.

Colorado - Acquired defender Jose Burciaga Jr. from the Kansas City Wizards for a second-round pick in the 2009 SuperDraft.

FC Dallas - Re-signed midfielder Arturo Alvarez.

Los Angeles - Acquired Carlos Ruiz F from FC Dallas for Allocation and Draft Pick; re-signed defender Chris Albright, goalkeeper Steve Cronin and forward Alan Gordon

New York - Signed goalkeeper Zach Thornton; re-signed goalkeeper Jon Conway

San Jose - Acquired defender Nick Garcia from Kansas City Wizards for first pick in 2008 SuperDraft

Comments:
Ruiz's return to Los Angeles could be a significant move for L.A. who struggled to score last season. LD led scorers with just eight goals, followed by Edson Buddle who had five.

San Jose's decision to trade away the number one pick in today's Superdraft for Nick Garcia indicates one of two things: Either San Jose believe that there is no significant value in this year's draft or they have overvalued Nick Garcia. Garcia is a terrific defender. But is he someone you trade a potential star for? Probably not, which leads me to believe that SJ doesn't believe there are any stars in this year's draft.

Not exactly the Cohen brothers

I just watched the MLS "highlight video" for Patrick Nyarko. Wow, he sure stands around well.

See all the lowlights for this year's SuperDraft candidates, complete with bad techno music here. Seriously, are these Michael Scott Joints? C'mon, Garber. This is so Bush league.

You want to see a soccer video, check this out:

The not-so-Superdraft

The MLS Superdraft is tomorrow and I haven’t written anything about it. No mock drafts. No rundown of the top prospects. No trade scenarios. Why? Because it doesn’t really matter, that’s why.

As much as the MLS execs try to convince fans otherwise, with mock drafts, combine reports and scouting videos, the MLS Superdraft isn’t comparable to the NFL draft as much as it is comparable to (yuck) the MLB draft. Occasionally, you get undiscovered gems of sparkling talent, but more often than not, you get semi-serviceable guys ruined by college soccer coaches or pathetic practice fillers.

Need more convincing. Ok, let me put on my Mel Kiper hairdo hat and give you a rundown of Superdraft successes and failures in the past seven years:

2000
With the number one overall pick in the 2000 MLS Superdraft, the MetroStars select … Steve Shak. Shak played exactly 38 games in his MLS career. He was traded halfway through his second season with the MetroStars. He recorded only a single minute in 2002 for Colorado. Despite the obvious bust that was Shak-fu, 2000 also included four standouts: Nick Garcia (recently traded by Kansas City for the number one pick in this year’s draft), Adin Brown, Carlos Bocanegra and Bobby Convey (who was actually taken with the last pick of the first round). Glancing at rounds 2-6, I counted only seven guys who made any impact for their teams, the majority of the names never saw significant minutes, if they played at all. DC and Columbus actually passed in round six, rather than taking some mediocre collegiate.

2001
With the number one overall pick in the 2001 MLS Superdraft, San Jose select … Chris Carrieri. Huh? This UNC grad got a lot of press in the build up to the Superdraft, similar to what they have been doing with Patrick Nyarko this year. He was supposed to be the second coming of Eric Wynalda (yes, someone actually suggested this; I didn’t make it up). After vowing to lead San Jose to MLS Cup glory, Carrieri was traded five games into the season to Colorado (note: San Jose did win it, just not with him). After playing three unproductive seasons, he was dropped from MLS. He currently plays for the Carolina Railhawks in USL, where he continues to suck. The only standouts in this draft were defensive (which is actually the case in most Superdrafts): Ryan Nelsen (DC-pk.4), Ryan Suarez (Dal-pk.7), and Jose Burciaga, Jr. (KC-pk.12). Bryan Namoff and Craig Waibel also were selected in later rounds. There were a couple of offensive sparks added to MLS in Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson, although their value in terms of national team productivity is debatable. And, hey New York fans, remember Rodrigo Faria? He was selected at the top of round two, before both Ching and Johnson. Ouch!

2002
With the number one overall pick in the 2002 MLS Superdraft, Dallas select … Chris Gbandi. Defense, defense, defense. Teams had more success drafting defensively, in part, because defensive skill develops faster than goal scoring. Putting aside the occasional phenom (i.e. Jozy Altidore), most young strikers struggle in their first year, especially coming out of college where the defenses they face aren’t anywhere near the caliber of the pros in MLS (see Chris Carrieri or Ali Curtis). You may have scored 100 goals at Lehigh University, but that means squat at the next level. Of course, if you draft someone who has already played overseas in a professional environment that changes things, as it did in 2002 when New England selected Taylor Twellman with the second pick. Double-T wasn’t getting significant PT in Germany prior to joining MLS, but he was training with professionals and playing with reserves, which battle-tested him and allowed him to develop a lot more quickly. Subsequently, after getting Twellman and Shalrie Joseph (pk.14), New England, along with DC, passed in Round 6 and 7.

2003
With the number one overall pick in the 2003 MLS Superdraft, DC United select … Alecko Eskandarian. United violated the young striker maxim the very next year, hoping that pedigree would matter more than experience…it didn’t. Esky has been passed around more than herpes at a free clinic. The talent his father demonstrated in the NASL never materialized in the son (although he does have a great sense of humor). In the entire 2003 draft, only two players significantly impacted the league: Ricardo Clark (NY, pk.2) and Pat Noonan (NE, pk.9). Don’t talk to me about Todd Dunivant or Nate Jaqua. They are role players and trade bait, not stars. Again, New England and DC made their annual passes in Round 6.

2004
With the number one overall pick in the 2004 MLS Superdraft, DC United select … Freddy Adu. After drafting Esky in the previous draft, the selection of Adu was United’s do-over and there was absolutely no way they could screw it up, especially since the fix was in. Adu wanted to play in DC, and guess who magically gets the first pick? Pat Noonan was taken again by Chicago. It must be the first time a player was drafted in consecutive drafts. Oh wait, I’m being told that this Noonan was just Chicago’s way of trying to jinx the other teams (“NOO-nan”). Along with Adu, national team star and poor-man’s Eminem, Clint Dempsey was taken by the Revs with the eighth pick. Other than that, there were a few current starters taken, but none of note. Although I do find it funny that 2004’s Mr. Irrevelent, Jeff Parke (pk.60), started 26 games for the Red Bulls last season.

2005
With the number one overall pick in the 2005 MLS Superdraft, Real Stupid Names (Salt Lake) select … Freddy Adu-lite -- aka Nikolas Besagno. Besagno was 16 when he was selected, and has averaged just fewer than three games a season. The jury’s out on the kid, so I won’t dog RSL for making him their first-ever selection. Plus, it isn’t a bad idea to consider youth club additions through the draft, rather than looking at it as a place to improve the present state of your club. Other notable names in 2005 were Brad Guzan (Chv, pk.2), Chad Barrett (Chi, pk.3) and Michael Parkhurst (NE, pk.9). Chris Rolfe was taken in Round 3, but he’s terribly overrated so I wouldn’t exactly call him a steal.

2006
With the number one overall pick in the 2006 MLS Superdraft, the MetroStars select … Marvell Wynne. Wynne (a player whom Bruce Arena inexplicably traded away) is a solid defender, but he hasn’t materialized into the kind of player that deserved to be picked first. Only two notable names in the first round: Sasha Kljestan (Chv, pk.5) -- regular readers will know him as a fixture on TYH’s MLS Best 11 -- and Dax McCarty (Dal, pk.6). One of the biggest steals in draft history came in Round 2 of 2006, when the MetroStars selected Jozy Altidore with the 17th overall pick. Chivas got a steal as well in defender Jonathan Bornstein in Round 4 (Chv, pk.37). Other than that, it was bench warmers and terrible players galore.

2007
With the number one overall pick in the 2007 MLS Superdraft, Toronto FC select … Maurice Edu. It is tough to gauge last year’s draft after only a season, but Edu certainly seems like a smart pick so far, as does Michael Harrington (KC, pk.3). Dane Richards, Adam Cristman, Ty Harden and Corey Ashe all showed some sparks but only time will tell for this draft class.

So taking trip down Superdraft memory lane, I’ve hoped you’ve learned a few things. First, the Superdraft yields only a handful of talent for the league, so therefore most teams leave without any significant improvement. Second, when in doubt, draft for defense and/or experience. And finally, most of the players selected will soon fall off the face of the earth.

MLS to PNE: Jog on! (updated)

In another sign that the American league is headed in the right direction, Major League Soccer has twice denied English club Preston North End’s attempts to secure New England striker Taylor Twellman, according to Yanks Abroad.

According to YA, PNE, cellar dwellers in England’s Championship division (second-tier), offered a $1.5 million for Double-T, and then upped the offer to $2 million.

This is the right move for MLS. The league cannot allow itself to become the farm system for lower divisions in Europe. As one of MLS’s stars, it would be a ridiculous decision to allow Twellman to move to English obscurity.

It would hurt the league, in terms of removing both consistent scorer and a recognizable face, and it would hurt the national team because the no matter what some pale-faced, peanut-brittle-toothed Brit says, the quality of MLS is far superior to England’s Championship and it’s not as far away from the EPL as one might think.

But according to Washington Post uber-blogger Steve Goff, Twellman's not happy and claims the offer rose to $2.5 million. He quotes Double-T in a recent post:

"I want to go. It's perfect timing. It's the right club and, being 27, it's the right time to go to Europe."

"When I ask MLS, they say the Revs rejected it. When I ask the Revs, they said it was MLS. Look, you're not going to get more than that for a guy like me, who is not always with the national team. It's a good offer. Anytime a team wants you that bad, of course you want to go."

Tex-Mex: Dallas eye Davino

FC Dallas are reportedly close to a deal with Mexico defender Duilio Davino, 31, formerly of Club America.

Davino has 84 caps with the Mexican national team, including earning a spot on Mexico's 1998 World Cup roster, in addition to making over 300 appearances for Club America. He was released last season. He is the son of the former Argentine footballer Jorge Davino.

MLS brass are trying call this a high profile move, second only to Blanco, but something tells me that he will have less of an impact than his former Club America teammate had last year in Chicago. "Mexican defender" is a bit of an oxymoron.