Vacation, all I ever wanted
by Hoover Dam
I went to LA to see the MNT play. It was all right. Little did I know that’s the last time I’ll see Noonan for a while. Guess it’s really time to start looking for those fares to Oslo…
Draft Day
by Hoover Dam
Valentino gives me pause because, while he sounds promising, the last time we picked a guy who’d spent the previous year out injured was the only Nicol-era draft where we got burned. (DeOlivera, 2006). As for the rest, looks like Duke is the new Wake. Very surprised we didn’t get Valentin, given his pedigree (babynats + Bradenton + Wake) would suggest a Nicol favorite, and disappointed Stephen King will not be set up with a host family in Bangor. (Really, people, the Fire fans are just going to waste those jokes).
The draft day news that threw me wasn’t a draft item at all, but a trade: Albright as a Rev for our good friend Al Location. Someone on a forum I’m on last week suggested Albright be traded to clear cap room, and I said no way, league history strongly suggests the path to success involves having a strong core of veteran players on your team, and, given LA’s earlier offseason deals, offloading Albright would be taking out their strongest defensive voice. Sure, you’ve got Ruiz coming back to the old neighborhood and there’s Landy again, plus that English guy, but ideally you’d want at least one reliable vet front to back. I’ve heard LA fans theorize that without Cannon, they’d have finished dead last in the standings in 07; the flipside of this, I’d suggest, is that with a healthy Albright, they’d have cleared a playoff slot.
What it means for the Revs, other than a back line with all curly hair: I suspect we’re not totally out of the woods as far as the possibility of a premature Parkhurst departure goes, and, as far as I know, Avery John’s status is still up in the air. Between the trade and the draft picks, it looks as though Nicol and co. were dead set on a preemptive strike against any additional defensive losses.
Beyond that, it’s ten more weeks until opening day, and in the meantime, it’s time to get the calendar rolling with a goofy domestic friendly that is so inconsequential I flew three thousand miles just to see it.
We’ve got something cooking for draft day, right? RIGHT?
by Hoover Dam
If anyone’s got any Revs-related offseason news that doesn’t make me want to take a header off the Pru, I’m all ears.
Sore subject
by Hoover Dam
Am I the only one who finds it disappointing when WNTers change their names upon marriage?
Ex-Rev Celebrity News
by tedski
I’m hearing rumors that Andy Dorman is getting together with Helen Mirren. Anyone know anything more about this?
Light from the darkest offseason
by Hoover Dam
Just by way of proving neither of us are dead, here are some observations:
- If you were watching the Arsenal-Portsmouth game on 12/26, you were probably bored, but more importantly, you heard the Sky commentators complaining how England needs a national youth academy like we have in the United States. So not only did you have English people complaining how we do something better than they do, it was youth development, which is a long-standing sore spot among many US fans. What a time to be alive…
- US-Sweden camp roster announced: I’m a bit surprised by Hesmer’s inclusion and Cooper’s exclusion, but other than that, no big shockers. Huge homer comment: Oh, how it will be good to see Noonan in US kit again, and let me just say that I dearly, dearly hope Parkhurst does not withdraw from camp for the same reason Dempsey did this time last year. I am more excited about traveling out for this game than anyone reasonably should be about a goofy midwinter domestic friendly, but I had a blast at last year’s winter camp, and this year I’ve got more people to meet up with, including taking my mom to her first game.
- Outbound transfers: Bye, Andy; I wish my fellow Terrier the best of luck, but I also kinda wish he’d gone someplace a little higher profile than the wrong end of the SPL.
- Draft: I would very much like to see the Revs eventually pick up this guy for very stupid and very obvious fan related reasons. I mean, come on–the Mainers in the Fort would wet themselves.
- 2008 road tripping already on the slate: LA in January, looking to do All-Star Game, and an inordinate amount of vacation time plus the prospect of yelling “HEY PICKENS, YOU SUCK” at Troy Perkins in the middle of friggin’ nowhere, Norway means I’ve gotta make an Aalesund game this year. Hi, Adin!