So if Lopez signs this weekend he'll have two weeks to integrate himself into game shape, the Wizards team and gameplan. Glad we got Gallardo when we did.

"Does anyone have any idea when the Seattle franchise name and colors will be introduced?"

I'm guessing mocha and frothy white.

Goff - You and Grant Wahl should rotate on the soccer/basketball thing. Seems silly for us soccer fans to lose you both at the same time, yeah?

Fortunately a lot of soccer fans also get caught up in March Madness.

So it's good to have great journalists involved...

You forgot to mention that Houston has Zero forwards not named Brian Ching.

Houston is going to sink this year...

Classic comment on the Seattle franchise. Thank God Howard Schultz has nothing to do with the team; they'd be the Oklahoma Sounders sometime in the future!

Did Veron ever travel to meet with DCU or were we always going to him? I'm thinking that might be one of the future tipoffs to whether a deal is real or not - did the guy get on a plane to meet you and/or sign the deal...

Lopez is horrendous now. Incredible that KC is that stupid. 33 years old of a player who is bench in argentina. People laugh at us cause of this of throwing money for has-beens.

Fortunately a lot of soccer fans also get caught up in March Madness.

So it's good to have great journalists involved...

Posted by: seahawkdad | March 7, 2008 12:49 PM
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Yeah, but we need our soccer fixes from a great journalist too.

Yes they will with the anchor named Bosewell.

Boswell wasn't quite an anchor for United the past two years. We won two Supporters Shields. Don't count out Houston. They're well coached and they've had the same core group of players together for a while now, so they will continue to be a force.

You forgot to mention that Houston has Zero forwards not named Brian Ching.
===========================================
You're forgetting about the young Argentine (Caraccio) and Wondo.

Point taken, but I think LA was well coached at times last year too. Houston has the core and the coach. But there's something to be said about that D and that thin forward corps. With all these tourneys, all these games, stacked up against a West that has done some work with talent...I dunno, they have the silver ball and shield and all, but man they better stay injury free. That's all I'm sayin.

Lopez was caught up in a bad situation at Racing Club, most of the top players left the club, when he played he didnt perform poorly.

I do think Houston will be a lesser force than last season, but counting them out is a mistake no one in MLS (even Alexi Lalas) would be foolish enough to make. If they manage to pull off this trade for Mina, and Caraccio is even adequate, they won't suffer much from losing Ngwenya and Jaqua. In fact, a fit Mina is a slight improvement over both in my eyes. He's physically stronger than Ngwenya, and is faster, more coordinated, and more consistent than Jaqua.

Houston's problem is that when they have to play Waibel and Boswell in the back, they can very easily be exposed by speed. If you look at their preseason matches, those two have been out there for virtually every one. Once Clark's suspension ends (which should be the 3rd game of the season), Mulrooney will move back to right back, and you'll see the Dynamo giving up fewer goals as a result.

Any team with a midfield good enough to keep Holden on the bench is going to be a force in MLS. Even without acquiring Mina, they still have time to get another forward in.

At this point, I still see Houston making, at worst, the Western Conference Final.

Does Rico Clark's fish-kicking suspension include non-league games like Concacaf Champions Cup?

Can we get an update on Benny and when he could potentially be back?? Haven't heard anything about his prognosis lately.

How much would Dallas get for the rights to Mina? $100 allocation and a supplemental pick? Wasn't the issue that the league wouldn't sign off on a guaranteed contract for a guy that hasn't played in 2 years?

Benny was just on Washington Post Live. I planned to watch it, but only caught the end since I was making an omelette.

Mina is so unfit he couldn't run after about 5 minutes of exhibition games FCD played this spring. Might make an ok end of game sub that is it.

Benny was just on Washington Post Live. I planned to watch it, but only caught the end since I was making an omelette.

Posted by: sitruc | March 7, 2008 05:38 PM
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D@mnit man, where are your priorities?!? The he!! with the food, the smoke detector will tell you if it catches fire. What did Benny say????

J/K. :-)

Benny was just on Washington Post Live. I planned to watch it, but only caught the end since I was making an omelette.

Posted by: sitruc | March 7, 2008 05:38 PM
===================

Got an idea for a restaurant that serves breakfast all day, even at 5:38 PM. I'll call it "Benny's."

Juan says... "Lopez is horrendous now. Incredible that KC is that stupid. 33 years old of a player who is bench in argentina. People laugh at us cause of this of throwing money for has-beens."

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Couldn't people argue the same point about Gallardo?

I'm sorry I let you all down. If it is any consolation, it was a good omelette. I caught the end of them asking him about the new players and something about somebody is like Ryan Nelson.

**Off-topic**

As a Man.United supporter I'd like to congratulate Portsmouth, it sucks that we are out of the Cup but wish Pompey the best and hope that they go all the way.