Kei fuh-reakin' Kamara. Thank you Dom

Very simply, and I'm looking through the precise blog-writer's phraseology book right now to express my emotions on this point...

Uh, OH, here it is.

Yes.

No, wait a minute:

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

OK, that's right.

Fallas' story here.

July 25, 2008, 2:29AM
Dynamo acquire forward Kamara from San Jose
By BERNARDO FALLAS
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
As Major League Soccer prepared to host the All-Star Game on Thursday, the Dynamo were busy in Toronto nailing a deal to bolster their forward line.
They got it done just in time to enjoy the show. The Dynamo acquired up-and-coming forward Kei Kamara from the San Jose Earthquakes for a first-round pick in next year’s draft and allocation money.
The deal got the league’s approval less than an hour before the MLS All-Stars were to take on English club West Ham United at BMO Field.
Kamara, 23 and a Sierra Leone native, is in his third season in MLS, where he has tallied seven goals in 45 appearances. A powerful and speedy forward, the 6-3, 186-pounder is expected to bring pace to the front line.
“We’re happy to add another forward to the team,” coach Dominic Kinnear said. “With the crowded schedule coming up, we need a strong squad, and we feel Kei adds strength to our squad.”
Kamara, who had two goals in 12 appearances with San Jose this season, comes with the benefit of not counting toward the Dynamo’s salary cap or the 18-man senior roster because of his status as a Generation Adidas player.
Kamara, who played two years at Cal State Dominguez Hills, has four caps for the Sierra Leone national team.
He becomes the second striker addition to the team in as many weeks. The Dynamo recently re-signed Nate Jaqua and released Argentine rookie Franco Caraccio.
"We expect (Kamara) will play a positive role as we head into the second half of the season,” Dynamo chief operating officer Chris Canetti said.
Both Jaqua and Kamara will be added to the roster ahead of Tuesday’s SuperLiga semifinal against Mexican club Pachuca at Robertson Stadium, the team said.

Is Kei Kamara this year's Joseph Ngwenya? Actually, I think he's better than Ngwenya. Though Juergen Klinssman might disagree as Joe is still, inexplicably, on Bayern Munchen's roster (I saw him on GolTV the other night as they got drilled by Borussia Dortmund.).

He's bigger, more physical and every bit as speedy. Thank you Frank Yallop for coming to your best pal Kinnear's aid on this one.

Looking at the New England Revolution this year, who has easily been the class of the league, one area that we had no match for was their pace on attack with Dube and Nyassi. Kamara at least puts us in the same ballpark with those guys now. So our attack up front (speaking in depth terms) is now Ching, Jaqua, Kamara, DDR, Brian Mullan, Brad Davis, Corey Ashe and Stuart Holden. That is very stout my friends.

Here are some shots of Kamara in action. The first came just days after the death of his brother:



And here's the Game Before the Game from late May.



And finally, here's Special K scoring against us:

Read more!

Q&A: Dynamo/Earthquakes preview

Our Q&A this week is with Offside-San Jose blogger extraordinaire Melissa. You can check out her excellent game preview here.

Quite simply, everything seems to be aligning for this to be the Orange's third consecutive win. Dynamo has never lost on ESPN Thursday, posting 4-0 scores last year against las chivitas, RBNY and Chicago (to go with a 2-1 win over Colorado). What's more, they're facing a Temblor team that is in seeming disarray on the field (though I have to admit, in what was an otherwise poorly played game last week, if it were not for James Riley's entry in the Worst Brain Freeze ever contest, they would have lost to the Revs only 1-0), has a rash of key injuries and players playing out of position and an expansion side to boot. Add in the whole San Jose history and the stars don't seem to be aligned any better for a big Dynamo road win.

Which of course leaves me very nervous heading into the game. There's no more dangerous animal than a wounded one, and a wounded one playing at home against the team that used to bear their same name in front of what should be a very hostile crowd with all of that history is a dangerous animal indeed. San Jose is likely to be more motivated for this game than any other so far this season (with the possible exception of their home opener). And after all, they are professionals for a reason. Mister3d pointed out (which you will read more about in the post below), that the Quakes 3.0 have indeed shown they have skills and they will be no easy mark. This isn't DC United and Zach Wells for goodness' sakes (Sorry DCU fans, but after last night's goal to Dichio where no fewer than three players had to screw up to make that happen, you get what you deserve. You lose to TFC at home this weekend and you are officially yesterday's news, or at least Soehn is.)

My official prediction, though, is that with all the history, national TV and all, it is Dynamo who will seize the moment more than the new Quakes. I am predicting a 3-1 pasting.

On to the questions and answers:

NUTMEGGED: Toronto did a lot of wheeling and dealing during its inaugural season. San Jose has played it cool and quiet. Is this a wise strategy? Who looks tradable and what player would you like to see in a Quakes kit?



MELISSA: Doyle says he is looking for guys who want to stay in San Jose. My general impression from the GM is, he is thinking more long-term than just this season and would rather sit on the DP slot or allocation money and wait for what he thinks is the right fit. And I get the sense that there's a bit of an emotional attachment here as well since he chose to stay in the Bay Area when the Quakes moved to Houston. I think it shows in some of the trades for former players, especially guys like Ramiro Corrales, who I read somewhere (the San Jose Mercury News?) Doyle has known him since Corrales was twelve years old. Also, a bunch of the guys on the roster are Santa Clara University graduates. I don't think this is purely coincidence. But I do think it's too early to say whether this "strategy" is a bad thing. Also, Center Line Soccer recently reported there will be a steady stream of trialists coming in and out until the next transfer window opens and the Quakes have already filed ten discovery claims. But most importantly, when you take away the angry pundit fans factor, Doyle and Co. actually have a ton of leeway to do all of these things since the new ownership group remains extremely supportive and everything is still on track for getting the soccer specific stadium built in San Jose.

I think Jason Hernandez is the most tradable right now. He's been the most impressive and the most consistent. Also, he's played in every game so far. This is a hard question to answer because of that factor alone.

I would love to see Nate Jaqua in a Quakes kit. I really don't have an explanation why I love that guy, but he was my number one choice to join the expansion team as soon as it was announced. Does Houston still have his rights? I hear he is just hanging out in Oregon now. Maybe he'll get more excited about playing again after he spends some time in Nats camp.

NUTMEGGED: Nate Jaqua? With Dynamo's scoring problems this year, don't be surprised if he winds up back here. Dynamo do indeed have his rights, and the price would likely be higher than it was for Ramiro Corrales.

But in the same vein, how do you reconcile keeping Joe Cannon on an expansion team considering his trade value?




MELISSA: Since SJ just traded Preston Burpo away, this question kind of answers itself. I can't even remember the name of the other goalkeeper guy they signed (ok, I checked the roster... Michael Gustavson). And the fans love Joe. The Quakes might have a riot on their hands if he got traded. I'm completely serious.




NUTMEGGED: Well clearly we asked that question in this e-mail format before Burpo got traded. There's no way San Jose would trade Cannon now. For their sake, I hope Cannon stays healthy!

Back to the questions. Ramiro Corrales has assumed an attacking mid role, not his forte as he is most valuable in a defensive mid linkman role or as a flank defender. Given the current roster, who do you think might better fit that role?




MELISSA: Yikes, this is a tough question. I guess I'd say Ned Grabavoy, when he is having a good day. But the thing about Corrales is, I'm pretty sure he was in the defensive mid role during preseason and early on this season so the attacking mid change is recent. Yes?





NUTMEGGED: Throughout this season, especially after last week in New England, it has been easy to focus on what has gone wrong for San Jose this season. Instead, let's focus on what has gone right. Speak to that. Given that a playoff berth this season is probably unlikely (or is it? What do you think?), what positives have you seen that contribute to San Jose's goal of building a contender for the future? (And Mister3d has this to add: there is no need for the earthquake faithful to worry, the wheels have been sent into motion----San Jose won the Carolina Challenge Cup. The supporters' shield or mls cup is a done deal. See this post.)



MELISSA: I could do the math to figure out the minimum number of points the team needs to make the playoffs but meh. I'm sure someone else will. Maybe in the comments to this post? For the Quakes right now, the big if is consistency. The Colorado game is an example of what went right so the team just needs to figure out how to repeat that performance. This may sound stupid, but I say the number one positive to take from that game is morale. During the Colorado game, the Quakes scored early which definitely set the tempo. The solution may or may not be something that simple but I don't think this is a situation that calls for a ton of specifics or statistics. Ronnie O'Brien is the real offensive spark right now and when he has a good game, the rest of the team does too. Also, when they're down, it takes the guys a good 45 minutes to pick themselves back up again and start creating real chances - which usually leaves them just a handful of minutes before the final whistle to get anything done. So it all seems to be slowly coming together for the team. But we still have terrible aim. We need to fix that asap.


NUTMEGGED: What is the perception of the Houston Dynamo in the Bay Area? Does it rankle the Earthquake faithful that the team has won back-to-back MLS Cups? Is there a sense that those titles rightfully belong in San Jose? Similarly, what kind of reception do you think the team will get there? More hostile than most visitors get or less?





MELISSA: I think a few old-school pundits believe the titles Houston won should belong to San Jose. But most fans don't share that opinion. I think the faithful are just happy the new owners are so supportive and the team gets to keep the old titles. And besides a sort of collective general mental pause over the absurdity of the situation, people don't really think about the connection much anymore. Keep in mind that Quakes fans already got the initial Houston meetup out of their systems during preseason so they'll just be treating the Dynamo like any other MLS team - except The Galaxy. That hatred never went away.


NUTMEGGED: Fair enough, and if Landon Donovan keeps barking, you may have the support of an entire nation behind you! :> And finally, a bonus question: Prediction for the match?




MELISSA: I'm going to remain optimistic and say 0-0.







NUTMEGGED: Thanks Melissa, and we hope you enjoy the game, but not too much, you understand. Read more!

Why Dynamo left SJ, and the value of going back

Just saw this brief story in the San Jose Mercury News this morning. Apparently Dynamo are going to take on the Earthquakes 3.0, or rather, the Bay Area Wanderers, in a few weeks. I think this is great news, but not for the reasons you might think. You can follow the link or check out the brief item here:

New, old Quakes in two warm-up games
By Elliott Almond
Mercury News
Article Launched: 01/23/2008 04:17:54 AM PST

The new Earthquakes will make their debut next month against the old Earthquakes.
The expansion team announced Tuesday that it has scheduled two home exhibitions against the Houston Dynamo, the two-time defending Major League Soccer champion that left San Jose in 2005. The games are Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at PAL Stadium and Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium.
Houston boasts a nucleus of players and staff from the San Jose team that moved to Texas because it wasn't a financial success. That move left a bitter taste for many Bay Area soccer fans.

"They're the Houston Dynamo now," said Quakes defender Ryan Cochrane, who previously played in Houston and San Jose. "As soon as everyone can come to grips with that the better."
Although the Quakes still need to add five players to fill their 18-man roster, Cochrane is glad to play the league's best team immediately.
"It is the best way to start," he said. "Right away you will be able to see where you're at, see what the level is. It's a smart move for us."
Cochrane, a former Santa Clara University star who was the Quakes' first pick in the November expansion draft, also sees the exhibitions as an opportunity to begin a healthy rivalry with his one-time teammates.
"It's going to be exciting for the fans to see the old guys from the Quakes team," he said. "And those guys are going to be excited to come back to San Jose."
The game at PAL Stadium is free for Quakes season-ticket holders. General admission will be $15, with $10 going to the Police Athletic League. At Kezar Stadium, all tickets will be $15 general admission.
Contact Elliott Almond at ealmond@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5865.

I think this is going to be a fabulous way to get up to speed before heading to the Pan Pacifics in Hawaii. Above and beyond the value of playing live competition during training camp, I think these games also might be a good way to put the whole is there/is not a rivalry issue in the past. The teams have more in common than not and are not natural rivals in any way. Dynamo is opposed to FC Dallas and the Bay Area and LA have that whole NoCal/SoCal thing going. A friendly competition between teams who have much in work to do in preseason and a special historical bond? Yes. Rivalry? No.

But the amazing thing is that the story appeared in the Mercury-News at all. Our good friends at the Soccer Silicon Valley blog have a nice reference to a column (read it here) by the SJMN's Patty Fisher that refers to her constant struggles with editors to write more soccer-related stories and have more soccer-related coverage.


As to Fisher's piece, I think that is hitting the nail on the head. The Houston Chronicle's soccer coverage has been beyond all of our wildest expectations here, I think we'd all agree. We get front page coverage of the Mexican leagues and Champions League update, as well as a weekly Soccer Page on Tuesdays. I have found at least a brief soccer item at least every other day in the paper, and frequently more than that. The Chron has stepped up to the penalty spot and realized the benefits with increased readership and national cred in the soccer press. It's waaay past time the SJMN did the same.


The Chron's coverage is of course not perfect, and many who know me may point out my homerism in lauding the paper's virtues in this regard, but I am merely echoing comments made by several outside the city sources, not the least of which are SF at The Offside Rules and Jeff Bull at Center Holds It, as well as Ives Galarcep at Soccer by Ives. Dynamo enjoy tremendous support here in Houston, both of a grass roots and institutional nature. Judging by Fisher's piece, not only was that not true back in San Jose, it still is not true. The Mercury-News pursues this path at their own peril, as evidence points to a significant market there that is not being served by their paper. At a time when so many traditional media sources are having trouble expanding their market share, to turn their back on soccer (or, I guess to be fair, their sides as they cover it sort of), is not only bad editorial policy, but a terrible business decision. Read more!