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from January 28, 2012
JANUARY 28, 2012
FROM THE KICK THIS ARCHIVES
Big News Day

WNY Flash Letter to Fans

WPS has chosen to not have a 2012 season. The WNY Flash are planning on fielding a professional team in the highest league in the US.

This news comes one day after the USWNT finishes an unbeaten, unscored upon CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament where WNY Flash F Alex Morgan starred in the final match with two goals and two assists in a 4-0 win over Canada.

Oh yeah, Abby Wambach scored twice, as well. That gives her 131 goals in her international career placing her in second place all-time behind Mia Hamm. And that's not just second all-time in USWNT history, that's second all-time in FIFA history. 

Rochester Lancers Update 

This weekend saw two predictable results for the Lancers.

On Saturday evening, they fell in Baltimore to the Blast by a score of 8-7. This was an instance of the game being as close as the score indicated as Baltimore's largest lead of the game was 4 points and the Lancers pulled to within a point on Chile Farias' 3-point goal with 5:09 left in the game. The Lancers also had two glorious chances stopped by Blast GK Sagu in the last 90 seconds with Patrick Hannigan pulled in favor of the 6th attacker.

On Sunday afternoon, the Lancers defeated the Norfolk SharX 17-8.

Coupled with Syracuse's loss in Milwaukee yesterday, the Lancers have a two game lead over the Silver Knights with six games to play. This is important as they are battling for the final playoff spot in the MISL's Eastern Division.

The February 12th game at the Blue Cross Arena between the Lancers and Silver Knights will go a long way towards deciding which team makes the playoffs. As will the four games that the Lancers have remaining against the Wichita Wings.

News & Notes:

Abby Wambach tied Mia Hamm with her 5th US Soccer Female Athlete of the Year Award. 

- Here is a Q&A with USWNT & WNY Flash F Alex Morgan. [Note: this came out before the WPS news]

- Rhinos GK Neal Kitson is off to England's 4th Division.   

Two Americans were better than one in the Everton v Fulham FA Cup match on Friday. 

MLS Soccer.com talks about what Klinsmann really brings to the USMNT.  

- NY Red Bulls D Tim Ream is off to Bolton Wanderers of the EPL. 

KCKRS really like the Orlando City kits for 2012. 

Portland's new DP should be a hit with Rangers fans. 

Gary Smith has a new gig with Stevenage FC of League One. I wonder if Steve Guppy will be his right hand man there? 

- Has Martin Rennie taken half of the RailHawks roster to Vancouver or does it just seem that way? 

- So much for the Beckham to PSG watch, huh..... 

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to jamesrweise@gmail.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.     


Waldo goes off

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3  

Former USMNT F and current Fox Soccer analyst Eric Wynalda did a presentation at the recent NSCAA Convention called "Why not US?".

It was pretty awesome. The written recap is long, but it is a fun read.

He also talked to The Free Beer Movement on this topic. 

News & Notes:

Indoor Soccer News had a good interview with Soccer Sam, as well as one with Lancers MF/D Elliot Fauske.

Lancers GK Patrick Hannigan has signed to play outdoor with the NASL's San Antonio Scorpions. 

- The Lancers fell to the Milwaukee Wave last night to fall back into a tie with Syracuse. Saturday's game between the Lancers and Silver Knights is going to be huge as the two teams fight for a playoff spot.

- The WNY Flash took Aquinas grad Erica Henderson with their last pick in the WPS Draft.  

- Lori Lindsey and Alex Morgan are the two members of the WNY Flash that made the USWNT Olympic Qualifying roster.

WPS CEO Jennifer O'Sullivan talks about the state of the league. 

Abby Wambach might not play in WPS in 2012 until after the Olympics. 

- Dan Borislow has gotten a favorable ruling in his lawsuit against the WPS. 

- The changes that US Soccer made to the US Open Cup structure for 2012 are very interesting. 

- The Rhinos are bringing D Quavas Kirk back for the 2012 season. 

Brian Bliss is helping out the U-20 USMNT. 

FC NY is one and done in the USL PRO League and won't be back for the 2012 season. 

- So much for Klinsmann getting Omar Gonzalez a chance to train in Germany.... 

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to jamesrweise@gmail.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.  


New Year News

Since my last post, the Lancers defeated Norfolk 26-10 at home, they lost a close game to Milwaukee at home 10-6, they lost in the last minute to in Norfolk 18-16, and they defeated Norfolk at home on Monday afternoon 24-11

The Lancers are currently a half-game behind Syracuse for the final playoff spot in the MISL's Eastern Division at 6-7. The Lancers are 6-2 vs Syracuse and Norfolk and 0-5 against the rest of the league so far this season. The Lancers have only 3 games remaining this season versus those two teams (@ Syracuse 1/21, @ Norfolk 1/29, & vs Syracuse 2/12).

If the Lancers are going to make the playoffs, they need to start getting some wins against the other teams in the league. Their next chance will be when they travel to Baltimore on Saturday night.

Mauricio Salles has received a couple of MISL honors over the past two weeks. First, it was a Player of the Week Award  and then it was the MISL Offensive Player of the Month for December.

Devo thinks that Salles is a top MVP candidate. But, that will take a hit if the Lancers have a losing record and miss the playoffs. 

But, Salles is leading the league in scoring right now and that will definitely help his case. Although, the Lancers do have 4 players in the top 8 in league scoring today.

MISL News & Notes:

- The MISL is happy with attendance so far this season.

Baltimore has signed veteran midfielder Ricardinho. 

Missouri has picked up MLS veterean MF Craig Rocastle. 

Syracuse signed F Anthony Maher who has played in Syracuse before with the Salty Dogs. 

Wichita cut indoor veteran F Carlos "Chile" Farias. Farias was 2nd in the MISL scoring with five games to go in the 2010-11 season when he was released by the Omaha Vipers. It's also interesting that most teams won't speak publicly about why they have let him go.....  

Other News & Notes:

Rochester native Brian Bliss will assist the US U-20 coaching staff. 

The WNY Flash signed USWNT MF Lori Lindsey this week, with the earlier signing of Allie Long in the midfield, it will be interesting to see if the Flash change their style of play in 2012 from the 4-3-3 that they played in 2011. Lindsey is the 4th WNY Flash player that was namedto the 29 player USWNT Olympic Qualiftying Camp roster  along with Ashlyn Harris, Whitney Engen, and Alex Morgan.

- It looks like Yael Averbuch will not be back with the Flash with sources telling Jeff Kassouf that she's heading to the Atlanta Beat. 

Tim Howard didn't celebrate his wind aided goal for Everton yesterday because he felt bad for the otehr keeper. Howard is definitely a classy guy. 

- Landon Donovan played his first game on loan for Everton yesterday and got some respect when the TV announcers said he wasn't a diver.

- Donovan isn't the only member of the LA Galaxy spending time across the pond during the MLS off-season. Robbie Keane is training with Tottenham and Omar Gonzalez is on loan FC Nurnberg.  

- It looks like David Beckham might be back with the Galaxy after all..... 

- Thierry Henry could be going on loan to Arsenal.  

- Speaking of which, this video entitled "If Americans Invented Soccer"  is hilarious. 

- USMNT MF Jermaine Jones is being called the nastiest player in German soccer.

The Free Beer Movement is looking to grow in 2012. 

- Here is a cool sit down interview with USMNT & Fulham F Clint Dempsey.

Preston Zimmerman has ripped Jurgen Klinsmann on Twitter. And his takes definitely have some merit. The rubber will meet the road for Klinsmann as the USMNT coach once World Cup qualifying kicks off.

- It looks like the Colorado Rapids will hire Oscar Pareja as the team's next head coach. 

- The USMNT may be playing a friendly versus Italy in late February.

Wilmer Cabrera is out as the US U-17 coach. 

Eddie Johnson joined Puebla and then was cut by Puebla before you even knew it. 

Steve Davis looks at the US Soccer storylines for 2012. 

Jenna Pel & Jeff Kassouf look back at a wild 2011 in women's soccer. 

- Could the LA Vikings be in the mix for future WPS expansion to the west coast? 

Heather O'Reilly is headed to the Boston Breakers and Becky Sauerbrunn is headed to Sky Blue FC. 

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to jamesrweise@gmail.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them. 


Abby Wambach gets an early Christmas present

US Soccer

Devo's Direct Kicks

Abby Wambach was named the AP Female Athlete of the Year this week.

In so doing, she becomes the first individual soccer player to win either the AP Male or Female Athlete of the Year award.

The 1999 Women's US National Team won the AP Female award as the first soccer honorees.

So, Abby now has done one thing that Mia Hamm was never able to do.....

News & Notes:

- The Rochester Lancers host the Norfolk SharX tomorrow evening as they hope to get back to .500 and solidify their spot ahead of Syracuse for the last playoff spot in the MISL's Eastern Division.

- It was nice for the Lancers to get Andrew Hoxie (5 pts) and Patrick Hannigan (14 saves) in their win over Syracuse on Saturday.

- The WNY Flash have signed Spanish F Adriana and MF Allie Long away from Sky Blue FC.

- The Rhinos have signed F Conor Chinn and GK Brandon Miller.

- WNY Flash F Christine Sinclair contemplated going to Europe given all the questions about the future of WPS.

- All White Kit takes a couple of stabs at what the WPS Draft could look like given trades that have happened with teams that are no longer in the league.

- The Milwaukee Wave have Marco Terminesi back. The rest of the MISL just went "Uh oh..."

- The Baltimore Blast have lost Matt Watson to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

- Check out the Indoor Soccer News Christmas wishlist for MISL teams.

- FC Dallas are looking for a new stadium naming rights sponsor after Pizza Hut ends their deal with the club.

- It will be interesting to see if Ali Gerba gets a gig anytime soon.

- It's always fun to see MLS Designated Player signings go bad. Now it appears that Rafa Marquez wants to get out of NY.

- Speaking of Red Bulls DPs, Thierry Henry might be training with Arsenal soon.

- Montreal has a cool video about Stade Saputo and a Montreal native as it's most recent player signing.

- Landon Donovan might get thrown right into the mix during his loan to Everton.

- There were some ugly Christmas sweaters at the USWNT holiday party.

- This may be the craziest own goal ever.

- The Vancouver Whitecaps won the Lee Nguyen lottery.

- Edy Sebrango has been invited to Montreal Impact camp.

- The NASL's newest team, the San Antonio Scorpions, have signed their first players.

- FC Tampa Bay has acquired the rights to the Rowdies name.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to jamesrweise@gmail.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.


Hannigan early pick for Lancers MVP

I have to think that Patrick Hannigan missing Saturday night's game in Milwaukee helped Joe Hammes being named MISL Player of the Week this week.

The Lancers just play better with Hannigan in there. I hope his wrist is good to go on Saturday afternoon when the Syracuse Silver Knights come to town off their second win of the seaosn in Baltimore. 

And that win makes Saturday's game bigger as the Lancers are a half game back of Syracuse for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Division.

News & Notes:

- The MISL has over 100,000 fans come to games so far this season. 

Abby Wambach is on the short list for the FIFA Player of the Year award. 

- Former Rhinos D Carlos Mendes has moved from NY to Columbus in the MLS Re-Entry Draft. 

- WPS is alive for 2012 but needs a 6th team for 2013 and 8 teams for 2014.

The Atlanta Beat look to be better in 2012 with the signing of Christen Press. 

Bonnie Ford would rather see major changes, though. 

Sacramento is the latest market to get tabbed as a potential MLS expansion market. 

The Battle for San Antonio is on again..... 

- It looks like Brek Shea will be back with FC Dallas in 2012. 

- The Houston Dynamo have sold the naming rights for their new stadium.

- If you ever wondered what the US Soccer Federation's budget looked like, well here you go...

Brad Friedel inserted his boot in his mouth when talking about the career paths of Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey. 

Adrian Whitbread has replaced Colin Clarke as the head coach of the Puerto Rico Islanders. 

The 3rd kit for the Portland Timbers is some retro sweetness. 

Clint Dempsey now holds the record for EPL goals by a Yank.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to jamesrweise@gmail.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.  



SOCCERSAM.COM NEWS DIRECTOR JAMES WEISE

Read the latest news from the Rhinos and all around the soccer world with the latest news postings from Soccersam.com News Director James Weise. You can read James' soccer news and opinion column right here at soccersam.com.

SoccerSam.com News Director
James Weise

James became the Kick This! News Director in March of 2005. A long time listener and caller of the show, he jumped at the chance to audition when he heard there was an opening. He brings to Kick This! the voice of the fan who has always maintained a love for the game and his team.

Growing up, James was a fan of Sheffield Wednesday because they had an American midfielder by the name of John Harkes. When MLS started up, DC United became James’ team to follow because their marquee player just happened to be John Harkes.

As a student at Clarkson University, he enjoyed watching a guy who did a crazy flip throw in, and even got to play in an indoor fraternity league against him. His name.... Mike Kirmse. James is a long time season ticket holder and Kirmse will likely always be his favorite all-time Rhino.

James is also passing on his love for the game. Both of his boys play for the town of Chili, and his daughter is anxiously awaiting her turn. Although only a year and a half, she loves playing soccer with the boys...


JAMES WEISE'S NEWS ARCHIVE

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