Wednesday, February 29, 2012

2012 Whitecaps Bucket List




I wrote an article for 24Hours Vancouver about what should be on your Whitecaps Bucket List for the 2012 season. What would be on yours?


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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Umbro Speciali 92 Contest



On Sunday night, Paul Dolan, Whitecaps FC Radio Analyst; Canadian Mens National GK coach and Umbro rep joined Full-Time to talk about the new Umbro Speciali that is currently available. The new line is limited edition lifestyle capsule collection from Umbro to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their iconic Speciali boot. The items in the collection range from:


The Speciali 92 Pro Football Boot; Leather Ball; Leather Bag; Leather Milton Shoe; and Leather Anthem Jacket. 


See the full line by clicking here


Time now to explain the CONTEST: With all the buzz surrounding Speciali '92, we've decided to giveaway a few pieces! Starting Monday December 5th, to December 16th we will be posting one trivia question per day. Each question will have a point value, in order to earn points you must correctly answer each question. For Facebook participants: you simply comment on the corresponding status update with your answer. For Twitter submissions, just reply to our tweet. The first person to get 92 points will win the contest. 

In order to participate you must "Like" the UmbroCanada Facebook page and/or follow UmbroCanada on Twitter

First place: Umbro Speciali '92 Anthem Jacket - Retail price: $750CDN

Second place: Umbro Speciali '92 Weekend Bag - Retail price: $500CDN
Third place: 
Umbro Speciali '92 Milton Lifestyle Shoe - Retail price: $150 CDN





The question today is:

Name the player that said:  “I’ve worn Umbro Specialis throughout my career and I’ve scored many memorable goals – both at club and  international level. As a youngster, I would take great care in looking after my boots and my dad would encourage me to clean them after every game. Umbro’s Speciali boot is so close to my heart that I even named one of my horses after it!” 


Hit up the Umbro Facebook Page or Twitter page to enter.


A closer look at a few of the items in the Umbro Speciali 92 line.



Friday, December 9, 2011

Barber Leaves - Front Office Woes

Whitecaps FC CEO Paul Barber resigned today with current COO Rachel Lewis and President Bob Lenarduzzi taking extra duties.

Barber is leaving for another opportunity, but left it vague as to where he may end up. Most speculate it's back in the English Premier League. Some have even said the London Olympics, but hiring someone of his stature this late in the game seems confusing. So we'll stick with soccer at the highest level in England.

In giving Lenarduzzi and Lewis more responsibility, the Whitecaps are seemingly taking a step backwards, back to the USL and NASL days with the same top level execs that had a division 2 team running.

For many, Bob Lenarduzzi is seen as a great spokesman for the club and does that role extremely well, but many of the fans and business people don't see him as a businessman, instead he trades on his name ad legacy. A person that attended one of his speeches at a BMO event, gave me this review, "what was the point? He told stories that had no interest to the business people there."

In Rachel Lewis, the clubs chief operating officer, they have someone who is regarded as Business in Vancouver's 40 under 40 list in 2009. Some would even suggest she has quietly been a key figure for the Caps behind the scenes. But she's quiet, and perhaps that's the problem.

The other problem lies in talking to people associated with the club during the division 2 years at Swangard Stadium and the city of Burnaby. The reviews of Rachel Lewis with those people are less that desirable.

The Whitecaps have gone from a man at the top of his professional with major experience in the soccer world and could captivate a group with his stories and his business sense. Now you have a quiet COO with some less that desirable reviews and a President with an apparent lack of business aptitude. One interested observer suggested it's 'quite the downgrade'.

It's now three coaches in one year and a CEO gone. It's going to be an interesting time in the Whitecaps front office on the business side of things. Barber has two months to make sure there's a plan in place and Lewis and Lenarduzzi can step their games up to a major league level.


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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

MLS First Kick Dates

SAVE THE DATES: MLS Schedules All 19 Home Openers for 2012 Regular Season
First Kick presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods begins Saturday, March 10, 2012

NEW YORK (Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011) – Major League Soccer’s 17th season will kick off on Saturday, March 10, 2012 with six matches. First Kick presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods will continue with two games on Sunday, March 11 and one on Monday, March 12.

All but one MLS club will play in front of their home fans by the end of Week 3 of the 2012 regular season. The Houston Dynamo look forward to their May 12 debut in a sparkling new downtown stadium built specifically for soccer. The Montreal Impact’s first home game in MLS will be played at Olympic Stadium on March 17. The newly-renovated Stade Saputo is scheduled to open in June.

Times, opponents, and national broadcast information for these games will be included in the entire regular season schedule, which will be announced upon its completion in the coming weeks.

Each club will play 34 games in the 2012 MLS Regular Season; CLICK HERE for details on the format.

The dates of the 2012 home openers for all 19 MLS clubs are below.

WEEK 1 – First Kick presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods
Saturday, March 10: Colorado Rapids, D.C. United, LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Sunday, March 11: Chivas USA, FC Dallas

Monday, March 12: Portland Timbers

WEEK 2
Saturday, March 17: Sporting Kansas City, Montreal Impact, Real Salt Lake

Sunday, March 18: Philadelphia Union

WEEK 3
Saturday, March 24: Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, Toronto FC

Sunday, March 25: New York Red Bulls

WEEK 10
Saturday, May 12: Houston Dynamo (new stadium opener)



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Monday, November 21, 2011

2012 MLS Expansion Lists

NEW YORK (Monday, Nov. 21, 2011) – Major League Soccer today announced the available player list for the 2011 Expansion Draft. On Wednesday, November 23, at 3 p.m. ET the Montreal Impact will announce their 10 player selections during a press conference from their Montreal offices. The event will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com and ImpactMontreal.com.

Each current MLS club has had the opportunity to protect 11 players from their 2011 roster. Generation adidas players (who did not graduate at the end of the 2011 season) and Homegrown players are automatically protected and do not count against a team’s 11 protected roster spots. Designated Players do not have to be protected unless the player has a no trade clause in his contract. MLS Clubs may lose no more than one player from their 2011 roster during the Expansion Draft.

COMPLETE LIST OF AVAILABLE PLAYERS FOR THE 2011 EXPANSION DRAFT

Chicago Fire
Banner, Michael
Chaves, Diego
Conway, Jon
Cuesta, Yamith
Dufty, Alec
Ferrari, Gabriel
Gargan, Dan
Husidic, Baggio
Kinney, Steven
Mikulic, Josip
Nazarit, Cristian
Paladini, Daniel
Pantazapoulos, Pari
Videira, Mike
Watson-Siriboe, Kwame

Chivas USA
Arias, Sergio
Boyens, Andrew
Chijindu, Chukwudi
Cortez, Chris
Courtois, Laurent
Elliot, Simon
Estupinan, Victor
Gavin, Blair
Jazic, Ante
Junior Lopes, David
Lahoud, Michael
Mayen, Gerson
Mondaini, Marcos
Thornton, Zach
Trujillo, Mariano
Valentin, Zarek

Colorado Rapids
Akpan, Andre
Comminges, Miguel
Folan, Caleb
Joyce, Ian
Kandji, Macoumba
Kimura, Kosuke
Marshall, Tyrone
Nyassi, Sanna
Palguta, Scott
Thompson, Wells
Wallace, Anthony
Ababio, Eddie
Amarikwa, Quincy
Ceus, Steward
Emory, Stephen
Holody, Mike
LaBeaux, Ross

Columbus Crew
Burns, Kevin
Cunningham, Jeff
Ekpo, Emmanuel
Francis, Shaun
Gardner, Josh
Gehrig,Eric
Grossman, Cole
Gruenebaum, Andy
Heinemann, Tommy
Mendoza, Andres
Meram, Justin
O'Rourke, Danny
Owoeri, John
Prim, Santiago
Riggs, Alex
Rusmir, Dejan
Sippola, Ben
Veeder, Corey
Williams, Joshua

FC Dallas
Cruz, Daniel
dos Santos, Maicon
Edward, Edson
Galindo, Maykel
Guarda, Bruno
Hall, Jeremy
Hernandez, Daniel
Lambo, Josh
Seitz, Chris
Stewart, Jack
Villar, Ricardo
Warshaw, Bobby

D.C. United
Barklage, Brandon
Boskovic, Branko
Brettschneider, Blake
Burch, Marc
Cronin, Steve
Da Luz, Austin
King, Stephen
McTavish, Devon
Morsink, Kurt
Ngwenya, Joseph
Quaranta, Santino
Zayner, Jed

Houston Dynamo
Ching, Brian
Costly, Carlo
Cruz, Daniel
Freeman, Hunter
Garey, Jason
Newton, Evan
Robinson, Eddie
Watson, JeVaughn
Weaver, Cam

LA Galaxy
Alvarado, Sean
Barrett, Chad
Birchall, Chris
Cardozo, Paolo
Cristman, Adam
Da Silva, Leonardo
Hejduk, Frankie
Jimenez, Hector
Jordan, Bryan
Keat, Daniel
Lopez, Miguel
McCarty, Dustin
Perk, Brian
Robinson, Dasan
Stephens, Michael
Thomas, Ryan

New England Revolution
Barnes, Darrius
Boggs, Zak
Caraglio, Milton Joel
Cochrane, Ryan
Coria, Franco
Dube, Mkhokheli
Guy, Ryan
Kinne, Ryan
Koger, Alan
Loewy, Otto
Mansally, Abdoulie
Murray, Tim
Phelan, Pat
Schilawski, Zack
Sousa, Andrew

New York Red Bulls
Albright, Chris
Auvray, Stephane
Ballouchy, Mehdi
Coundoul, Bouna
Horwath, Alex
Jones, Mychel
Lassiter, Tyler
Mendes, Carlos
Nielsen, Brian
Paullo, Marcos
Robinson, Carl
Rooney, John
Rost, Frank
Schneider, Teddy
Sutton, Greg

Philadelphia Union
Adu, Freddy
Gonzalez, Juan Diego
Harrison, Chase
Holder, Hasley Thorne
Houapeu, Levi
Langley, Morgan
Mapp, Justin
Miglioranzi, Stefani
Nakazawa, Kyle
Paunovic, Veljko
Richter, Ryan
Tait, Joe

Portland Timbers
Alexander, Eric
Braun, Freddie
Brown, Adin
Chabala, Michael
Dike, Bright
Gleeson, Jake
Goldthwaite, Kevin
Johnson, Eddie William
Lopez, Rodrigo
Lowry, Peter
Marcelin, James
Pore, Ryan
Purdy, Steve
Taylor, Chris
Thompson, Spencer
Umony, Brian
Zizzo, Sal

Real Salt Lake
Agorsor, Chris
Alexandre, Jean
Alvarez, Arturo
Alvarez, Yordany
Araujo, Paulo Jr.
Arnoux, Cody
Gonzalez, Nelson
Grabavoy, Ned
McKenzie, Rauwshan
Melia, Timothy
Reynish, Kyle
Russell, Robbie
Wagner, Blake
Warner, Collen
Williams, Andy

San Jose Earthquakes
Ampaipitakwong, Anthony
Attakora-Gyan, Nana
Burling, Bobby
Convey, Bobby
Corrales, Ramiro
Gjertsen, Joseph
Griffin, Maxwell
Leitch, Chris
Luzunaris, Matt
McLoughlin, Ellis
Peterson, Jacob
Ring, Brad
Sealy, Scott
Ward, Tim
Weber, Andrew

Seattle Sounders FC
Boss, Terry
Carrasco, Servando
Estrada, David
Ford, Josh
Fucito, Michael
Gonzalez, Leonardo
Graham, Taylor
Ianni, Patrick
Jaqua, Nate
Levesque, Roger
Meredith, Bryan
Montano, Miguel
Noonan, Pat
Riley, James
Sanyang, Amadou
Scott, Zacharias
Seamon, Michael
Wahl, Tyson
White, O'Brian

Sporting Kansas City
Aiyegbusi, Olukorede
Bravo, Omar
Cyrus, Daneil
Diop, Ibrahim
Goncalves, Jeferson
Harrington, Michael
Kronberg, Eric
Lorenz, Scott
Olum, Lawrence
Peterson, Joseph
Rocastle, Craig
Saad, Soony
Sassano, Luke
Sinovic, Seth
Stojcev, Milos
Thomas, Shavar
Warzycha, Konrad

Toronto FC
Borman, Danleigh
Bouchiba, Elbekay
Cann, Adrian
Davies, Kyle
de Guzman, Julian
Gold, Matt
Griffit, Leandre
Marosevic, Peri
Martina, Javier
Omphroy, Demitrius
Soolsma, Nick
Sturgis, Nathan
Viator, Eddy
Williams, Dicoy
Yourasskowsky, Mikael
Zavarise, Gianluca

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Boxall, Michael
Brovsky, Jeb
Cannon, Joe
Duckett, Bilal
Janicki, Greg
Jarju, Mustapha
Leathers, Jonathan
Morfaw, Alexandre
Nolly, Jay
Thorrington, John
Vagenas, Pete

COMPLETE LIST OF PROTECTED PLAYERS TEAM-BY-TEAM

Chivas USA
Angel, Juan Pablo
Braun, Justin
Flores, Jorge
Kennedy, Dan
LaBrocca, Nick
Moreno, Alejandro
Nagamura, Paulo
Pearce, Heath
Smith, Ryan
Umana, Michael
Zemanski, Ben

Chivas USA Homegrown Players
Bowen, Tristan
de la Fuente, Bryan

Chicago Fire
Anibaba, Jalil
Barouch, Orr
Gibbs, Cory
Grazzini, Sebastian
Johnson, Sean
Nyarko, Patrick
Oduro, Dominic
Pappa, Marco Pablo
Pardo, Pavel
Pause, Logan
Segares, Gonzalo

Chicago Fire Homegrown Players
Gulley, Kellen
Pineda, Victor

Columbus Crew
Anor, Bernardo
Belchan, Rich
Duka, Dilly
Gaven, Eddie
Hesmer, Will
James, Julius
Marshall, Chad
Miranda, Sebastian
Renteria, Emilio
Rogers, Robbie
Tchani, Tony

Columbus Crew Homegrown Players
Horton, Aaron

Colorado Rapids
Casey, Conor
Cummings, Omar
Earls, Danny
Larentowicz, Jeff
Mastroeni, Pablo
Moor, Drew
Mullan, Brian
Nane, Joseph
Pickens, Matt
Smith, Jamie
Wynne, Marvell

Colorado Rapids Homegrown Players
Armstrong, David
Janniere, Josh

FC Dallas
Benitez, Jair
Castillo, Fabian
Chavez, Marvin
Ferreira, David
Goncalves, Jackson
Hartman, Kevin
Ihemelu, Ugo
Jacobson, Andrew
John, George
Loyd, Zach
Shea, Brek

FC Dallas Homegrown Players
Hernandez, Moises
Leyva, Bryan
Luna, Ruben
Sanchez, Richard
Top, Jonathan
Ulloa, Victor

D.C. United
Davies, Charlie
DeRosario, Dwayne
Jakovic, Dejan
Kitchen, Perry
Korb, Christopher
McDonald, Brandon
Pontius, Chris
Simms, Clyde
Willis, Joe
Wolff, Josh
Woolard, Daniel

D.C. United Homegrown Players
Hamid, Bill
Najar, Andy
Shanosky, Conner
White, Ethan

Houston Dynamo
Ashe, Corey
Boswell, Bobby
Camargo, Luis
Cameron, Geoffrey
Carr, Calen
Clark, Colin
Davis, Brad
Hainault, Andrew
Hall, Tally
Moffat, Adam
Taylor, Jermaine

Houston Dynamo Homegrown Players
Deric, Tyler
Dixon, Alex
Navas, Francisco Cobo
Soto, Josue

LA Galaxy
Beckham, David
DeLaGarza, AJ
Donovan, Landon
Dunivant, Todd
Franklin, Sean
Gonzalez, Omar
Keane, Robbie
Magee, Mike
Pereira, Vitor
Ricketts, Donovan
Saunders, Josh

Homegrown Player
McBean, Jack

New England Revolution
Alston, Kevin
Feilhaber, Benny
Joseph, Shalrie
Lekic, Rajko
McCarthy, Stephen
Nyassi, Sainey
Reis, Matt
Shuttleworth, Robert
Soares, A.J.
Tierney, Chris
Zerka, Moncef

New England Revolution Homegrown Player
Fagundez, Diego

New York Red Bulls
Henry, Thierry
Keel, Stephen
Lindpere, Joel
Marquez, Rafael
McCarty, Dax
Miller, Roy
Ream, Tim
Richards, Dane
Rodgers, Luke
Solli, Jan Gunnar
Tainio, Teemu

Homegrown Players
Agudelo, Juan
Hot, Sacir
Kassel, Matt

Philadelphia Union
Califf, Daniel
Carroll, Brian
Daniel, Keon
Farfan, Gabriel
Farfan, Michael
LeToux, Sebastien
Mwanga, Danny
Mondragon, Faryd
Torres, Roger
Valdes, Carlos
Williams, Sheanon

Homegrown Players
Pfeffer, Zachary

Portland Timbers
Alhassan, Kalif
Brunner, Eric
Chara, Diego
Cooper, Kenny
Danso, Mamadou "Futty"
Horst, David
Jewsbury, Jack
Palmer, Lovel
Perkins, Troy
Perlaza, Jorge
Wallace, Rodney

Real Salt Lake
Beckerman, Kyle
Beltran, Tony
Borchers, Nat
Espindola, Fabian
Johnson, Will
Morales, Javier
Olave, Jamison
Rimando, Nick
Saborio, Alvaro
Schuler, Chris
Wingert, Chris

Homegrown Players
Toia, Donny

San Jose Earthquakes
Baca, Rafael
Beitashour, Steve
Busch, Jon
Cronin, Sam
Dawkins, Simon
Gordon, Alan
Hernandez, Jason
Lenhart, Steven
Morrow, Justin
Stephenson, Khari
Wondolowski, Chris

Seattle Sounders FC
Alonso, Osvaldo
Evans, Brad
Fernandez, Alvaro
Friberg, Erik
Hurtado, Jhon Kennedy
Montero, Fredy
Neagle, Lamar
Ochoa, Sammy
Parke, Jeff
Rosales, Mauro
Zakuani, Steve

Sporting Kansas City
Arnaud, Davy
Besler, Matthew
Bunbury, Teal
Collin, Aurelien
Espinoza, Roger
Kamara, Kei
Myers, Chance
Nielsen, Jimmy
Santos, Julio Cesar
Sapong, CJ
Zusi, Graham

Homegrown Players
Ellis, Kevin
Kempin, Jon

Toronto FC
Avila, Eric
Dunfield, Terry
Eckersley, Richard
Frei, Stefan
Frings, Torsten
Harden, Ty
Iro, Andy
Johnson, Ryan
Kocic, Milos
Koevermans, Danny
Plata, Joao

Toronto FC Homegrown Players
Cordon, Oscar
Henry, Doneil
Lindsay, Nicholas
Makubuya, Keith
Morgan, Ashtone
Stinson, Matthew

Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Chiumiento, Davide
Demerit, Jay
Harris, Atiba
Harvey, Jordan
Hassli, Eric
Gerson, Koffie
Tan, Long
Mitchell, Carlyle
Rochat, Alain
Salinas, Shea
Sanvezzo, Camilo

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Homegrown Players
Davies, Philippe
Khalfan, Nizar
Sylvestre, Brian
Teibert, Russell

Generation adidas Players

Player
Team
Graduated
Bingham, David
SJ
No
Bone, Corben
CHI
No
Bruin, Will
HOU
No
Gil, Luis
RSL
No
Hertzog, Corey
NY
No
MacMath, Zac
PHI
No
McInerney, Jack
PHI
No
Nagbe, Darlington
POR
No
Nanchoff, Michael
VAN
No
Okugo, Amobi
PHI
No
Opara, Ike
SJ
No
Salgado, Omar
VAN
No
Sarkodie, Kofi
HOU
No
Tetteh, Michael
SEA
No
Wiedeman, Andrew
DAL
No
Bunbury, Teal
KC
Yes
Cruz, Daniel
HOU
Yes
Duka, Dilly
CLB
Yes
Gavin, Blair
CHV
Yes
Johnson, Sean
CHI
Yes
Kitchen, Perry
DC
Yes
Lambo, Josh
DAL
Yes
Marosevic, Peri
TOR
Yes
Mwanga, Danny
PHI
Yes
Tchani, Tony
CLB
Yes
Valentin, Zarek
CHV
Yes


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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Whitecaps FC Co-Owner Jeff Mallett Admits Hargreaves Interest

The Vancouver Whitecaps FC have made the first public statement about their interest in former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves. Speaking with the Globe and Mail’s David Ebner, Whitecap co-owner Jeff Mallett said that Hargreaves “knows our interest”, adding that “We’ll make sure, when he makes the decision, that we’re on the option list.

Full details here.