A bad feeling about this, I have

Heading into tomorrow's Dynamo v. Sounders match in the Emerald Rain Forest, let's take a look at this team and you tell me what you notice (aside from the fact that's it's a nine-person side with six defenders)

Ching-Weaver
Holden-Cameron-Barrett
Hainault-Robinson-Boswell-Waibel

What I am seeing is, if you were to plug another midfielder there and a relatively stout keeper, you'd have a side that could challenge just about any MLS team on any day. Unfortunately, they won't be doing that this weekend as you are looking at nine guys who (with the possible exception of His Imperial Baldness Waibelinho, who is listed as probable) will not be on any MLS field Saturday. The Orange will be as depleted a side as I have ever seen wearing the Houston kit (six defenders out!!) with a possible starting line-up that looks like this:

Kamara-Oduro
Ashe-Davis-Clark-Mullan
Chabala-Mulrooney-James-Waibel/Ustruck?
Onstad

Subs: Tally Hall, Danny Cruz, Ade Akinbiyi, J-M Hayden, Ustruck/Waibel and some guy picked up wandering the streets

I am still seeing that it's a line-up with promise, but what I am also seeing is that the first team I listed up there would probably beat this second one (possibly even with just the nine of them!).


But. let's start with the positives. The midfield is clearly the strongest asset here. Ashe, Davis, Clark and Mullan are going to have to turn in the games of their lives, but mostly they'll have to be tracking back and supporting the inexperienced back line, especially as the game wears on and weariness starts to set in. It is anathema for any Orange squad to play back defensively, but as this game gets late and the score is knotted up (or, wonderfully, we have a lead), it's likely what they'll have to do. I'm thinking that Kinnear starts in his standard 4-4-2 and then gradually morphs it into more of a 5-4-1 (or maybe even an anti-football 6-4-0!), with Clark especially playing far back and clotting things up for Montero, Jaqua and Ljungberg.

If Seattle gets a 1-goal lead and maintains it for awhile, this whole strategy could go to pot in a hurry, though. Sigi's no fool, and we can all expect the Sounders to push forward early and often. If the guys can weather the early onslaught, or even better, exploit it, then you might see a game. But if Seattle scores early or possibly even makes it a two-goal lead, then it's likely the week ahead could be a long one.

For all of those reasons, my head tells me that it's likely Seattle will win Saturday. Make no mistake, I believe in Dynamo and think the guys will turn in a complete game, but I think it would be foolhardy to expect that that cobbled-together back line will hold against as solid an attack force as Seattle will bring. Expect the Sounders to attack in waves and Dynamo to get few clear chances. An orange-tinted result is doable here, but the lads may just need some inspiration from Sen. Blutarski and his pals:



So, on the picks:

Last week: 3-3
Season: 50-60 (.455, nine games over random chance)

DYNAMO at SOUNDERS 1-1 Tie. What, you think I'm going to pick a loss after that clip?

WIZARDS at REVOLUTION. 1-0 KC Wow, now add Wells Thompson to the list of Revolution players out with injuries, call-ups or suspensions. But even so, that KC team we saw last week is still barely able to play. And yet, we all know Josh Wolff was unlucky in the extreme. Watch him score and be a real hazard for NE all game as the Wizards get a rare road win.

CREW at FIRE. Chicago 2-1 Columbus was very lucky to get that one point at home vs. DC last week and Chicago is starting to play far better. GBS almost rescues the Crew, but in the end the Fire are just too much at home against a Col side lacking Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers.

FC DISASTROUS at RAPIDS. Colorado 2-0 Frisco may win without Kenny Cooper once, but not twice and not on the road.

TORONTO FC at EARTHQUAKES. 2-1 Reds Dwayne De Rosario goes to town against the Trembles.

CHIVAS USA v GALAXY. 2-2 Draw Landon Donovan just will not let the improving Gals lose in the SuperClasico, but that still doesn't mean that crap side without Donovan Ricketts will win here against a rested and motivated las chivitas. Read more!

Red, White, Blue and Orange

First Goal-den Holden the other night and now Ching Kong tonight. The Red, White, Blue and Orange just keep rolling! Read more!

Collection of videos after the KC win

This was all filmed by Erin Dutka and comes courtesy of Bryan Zygo's post on Major League Soccer Talk. Now if anyone has video of Kei's MJ moves after his goal, please post as I accidentally deleted it from my DVR (DOH!).

Dom


Chewbacca


Kei Kei the Wonderful Guy (about his MJ celebration)



Super Canuck
Read more!

Open Cup win redux and some love for Jonathan Yardley

Find more videos like this on MyDynamo.net


Thanks to the Dynamo for posting this video sequence from the win over the Austin Aztex earlier this week. I was stuck here in Houston for the game, but listened to Jonathan Yardley call it on KBME.

I have to say, that Yardley is excellent on the radio. If you've not had a chance to listen to the guy call a game, he's everything you want. Smooth, keeps the focus on the game, constantly updates the minute and score (in the old Red Barber with an egg timer style) and works the booth alone, so no constantly propping up a color guy. We could be seeing a major soccer broadcasting talent aborning here with the Houston Dynamo.

Saturday night, I may just turn the sound down on the TV and turn up the radio to listen to JY.

And I have to say, JY is right. Akinbiyi got robbed on that offsides call. That twice he's gotten robbed on offsides calls that should have been goals (The one in NY being the other). Read more!

To the Death! MLS predictions

With the recent spate of celebrity, ah, moving-ons, what better theme than that for this week's MLS predictions, now that I'm back from vacation and ready to be back in the flow.

With the quicky picks from the Hill Country last week, I'm at 40-57, a .412 mark, increasing my lead over blind chance to a season-best eight games. So I'm starting to feel my oats here, leading to a wild bout of celebrations, much like this guy here:



Well, hopefully, not like that.

On to the picks:

EARTHQUAKES at REAL SALT LAKE. RSL 2-0. Alright, aliright, RSl has started to play better, I'll admit it. And even though those guys ticked me off earlier in the season but losing winnable games right and left, maybe they are starting to turn things around. But even if they did not, a home game against the RBNY of the Wild West? Well, let's just say it would take a selling job of the first order to convince me that RSL will not win this game. Kinda like this one:



UNITED at CREW. Columbus 2-0 Columbus at home, just one point back of DCU in the Eastern Conference race. The defending champs are rolling. Call-ups might play a big role in this one as Columbus is without Robbie Rogers and and Chad Marshall, while DC suits up minus Santino Quaranta and Dejan Jankovic. However, injuries might be worse as DCU will not have Jaime Moreno, and probably not Luciano Emilio, while Fred is just coming back from an injury. That tilts it over to Columbus and GBS, who will score one and assist on the other, as is his wont. His game is oh so pretty, though perhaps not as pretty as:



FIRE at RAPIDS. Chicago 2-0 The string of clean sheets continue here. The Fire return after a three week MLS layoff missing only Bakare Soumare and Logan Pause, while the Crapids are without both Colin Clark and Omar Cummings. Chicago has their share of problems, true, but I think Colorado is on a free fall to Nowheresville. Colorado just doesn't have a Carson to come bail them out on this one.



DYNAMO at WIZARDS. 2-1 Orange. I will not hide the fact that I am nervous about this game. Even though we've got Rico back, it's no small thing to be missing this list of guys: Ching, Holden, Hainault, Barrett and Waibel. I think that's going to leave Kinnear with a lineup of

Kamara-Weaver
Ashe-Davis-Clark-Mullan
Chabala-Cameron-Boswell-Mulrooney
Onstad

Bench: Akinbiyi, Oduro, Cruz, Hayden, Hall, James

The good news is I think this is still more than enough to beat the Jimmy Conrad and Davy Arnaud-deprived Kansas City Wizards. With Espinoza and Christman also out, you begin to see how the Dynamo's depth beats any other team's in MLS. It's the kind of insurance you just can't leave home without these days, right Karl?



RBNY at FC DISASTROUS. 1-1 Tie Oh. My. God. You know, there are those of us who defend MLS all the time. I really do think it is, like Grant Wahl said on World Soccer Daily once, to the rest of the world's leagues like a mid-major conference in the NCAA. But then you get a game like this that comes along and it just makes the job that much harder. Not only that, but loko at this absence list:

INJURY REPORT: FC DALLAS - OUT: DF Steve Purdy (R knee); MF Alvaro Sanchez (R ankle); DF Daniel Torres (R hamstring); MF Marcelo Saragosa (R hip); PROBABLE: GK Dario Sala (L knee) ... NEW YORK RED BULLS - OUT: DF Kevin Goldthwaite (groin); DF Carlos Mendes (L hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: FW Juan Pablo Angel (R hamstring); FW Macoumba Kandji (R hamstring strain)

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: DAL: Kenny Cooper (USA, CONCACAF Gold Cup) ... NY: Dane Richards (JAM, CONCACAF Gold Cup); Alfredo Pacheco (SLV, CONCACAF Gold Cup)

What's left are two groups that are not so much quality soccer teams, but they play ones on TV. Eventually, it's all just an impression, like this guy:



REVOLUTION at GALAXY. 2-0 LA. When was the last time the Galaxy were clearly the superior team? They might just be this time, when you look at the New England injury list (Castro, Shalrie, Ralston, Twellman, etc. etc.). Not only that, but Donnovan is back and LA will be playing new acquisition Eskandarian. The Galaxy will miss Donovan Ricketts, but then again, with New England's makeshift attack corps, whoever is between the pipes for LA might not have much to do. LA should make out like a Smooth Criminal on the night.

Read more!

Quick picks from the vacation

On vacation this week and grabbing the small Internet time I can to post the following picks.

TORONTO 2, RBNY 0: What's a tonic for a losing streak? Hosting RBNY. Reds romp

RAPIDS 2, FC DISASTROUS 1: See the Toronto note. Anyone who is fooled by Frisco's win last week needs to have their head examined.

CREW 2, RBNY 0: Again, the Toronto lesson from Wednesday night just keeps on giving. JCO may not even get on the plane ride back to New Jersey after this game.

RSL 1, TORONTO 1: Second straight tie for the Royals and suddenly the Reds start feeling good about themselves again.

SOUNDERS 1, RAPIDS 0: Another nice game in Seattle and Keller turns in a gem.

DYNAMO 2, GALAXY 1: Hmmm, makeshft lineups as Hainault, Goal-den Holden and Rico are all gone, with Landon out for the Gals. This has tie written all over it, but I'm thinking an offensive-minded Orange will go through that defense with ease. Read more!

A camera into the future?

Red Bull Arena construction time-lapse: November 2008 from Red Bulls Reader on Vimeo.

Squint your eyes just a bit and it won't be New Jersey you see in the background there, but downtown Houston. (Nothing like a little optimism on a Friday morning!) Read more!

Where do I sign up?

A class in soccer? Sometimes I wish I were still in school. Read more!

Bobby, me and MLS Week 14

Is Bob Dylan a soccer supporter? Well, since his songs are about all of life, I'm going to assume for today that Minnesota's favorite son is indeed and, like his music does in the video above, that his work speaks to this week's somewhat truncated 6-game MLS schedule.

Mr. Zimmerman performed this song regarding a person who has everything going for her and then is out on her own after getting full of herself (Maybe the Christiano Ronaldo Story ca. 2010?). Well, I am not getting full of myself here, despite the fact that after going 4-3 last week (and if I had not brain farted and missed the TFC/RBNY game, 5-3!) my record is on a steady march up. As it is, I now stand 37-54 for the year, which is .407, or seven games over blind chance. This is the best I have been all year, which of course means that an 0-6 week is coming. So I'd back away slowly if I were you or this Siamese cat on my shoulder will tell you I'm not really where it's at.

Still, I'm not going to think twice and it's alright to pick these games this way:

DC UNITED at SOUNDERS: 1-1 draw. A hard rain is almost always falling in Seattle in the summer right? Well, this game tonight at Qwest Field will be something of a watershed for Seattle. Josh Wicks is the real deal, but so is Kasey Keller. This is the best DCU team we've seen in a few years and I fully expect them to make the playoffs this year, but it doesn't take a genius to predict that Seattle can hold serve at home. Jaqua's back for the Sounders, but Ben Olsen is also probably for DCU. This just points to a closely-fought, tough draw for me as every good point for one team is matched by one for the other.

GALAXY at EARTHQUAKES: 1-1 draw So down at the bottom of the table, here are two teams looking to avoid those Subterranean Homesick Blues. The thing is, the Trembles are almost completely woeful, while the Galaxy are just, well, they're just plain woeful, especially without Landon. LA on paper should win this one as they seem to match up better than SJ at almost every position. Plus, this game is over at the Athletics' place in Oakland, which can seem especially cavernous when the Quacks play there. So, why the draw? Because this isn't Dynamo/FC Disastrous here. When it comes to two relatively even teams and you get blood rivalries going, I just think the Trembles will keep from losing. I just don't think they're good enough to do any more than that.

SOUNDERS at NYRB. 1-0 New York. OK, OK, I know that the Steers are really bad, but I also know that when you go coast to coast after a tough game, you can be seriously hampered. That's tougher than it looks people. Plus, when you get there, you're playing on that Giants Stadium tarmac, which, if you're not used to it, can really bite you. If Dynamo tie there, what is Seattle on two days rest going to do? The stars just look aligned for NYRB to knock on Heaven's door and get an answer they like this time around.

CREW at FC DISASTROUS. 2-1 Columbus Where's the mystery here? Anyone who really thought that Frisco's win in Chicago was any more than a fluke or that their four-game unbeaten streak was built on anything other than sand got a rude awakening this past weekend. Well, Columbus is playing their best ball of the season and the candystripers are in total free fall singing the Tombstone Blues. Columbus wins this one going away, though Ferreira or Cooper (What is this team going to do if he gets called up to the Gold Cup team?) scores a late goal when it's all said and done.

RSL at DYNAMO. 3-1 Naranja Wow, seven whole days off! RSL may have blown out a Landon-less Galaxy team on the road last weekend, but that's a big difference than going against a rested Dynamo team firing on all cylinders at Robertson. To be fair, you overlook RSL at your peril and I was there at Robertson when a 4-0 blow out lead was turned into a narrow 4-3 win against RSL in 2007. Still, down, dirty and focused on finally rising over the MLS landscape like a full shining Houston sun, Dynamo will close these guys out with aplomb.

DC UNITED at RAPIDS. 1-0 Colorado. If it weren't for picking NYRB, this would be the biggest upset of the weekend. Here's what I think will hurt DCU: Playing on short rest, at altitude, against a good Rapids team fully rested and ready to prove itself at home. I just think a draw is the best the Washingtonians can hope for here, and I don't think they're going to get it in the face of some Thunder on the Mountain. Read more!