What we missed

by Martin Shatzer on Apr 26, 2008 11:35 AM EDT Comment 0 comments

So I spent a week away on business, and cruising the college bars at IU (Has anyone else played "Sink the Biz"? Great fun. And probably the easiest way to get random girls to come over and drink with you.) In anticipation of tonight's home leg of the Ben Cup against RSL, I figured I'd take a quick chance to review what I missed while I was away.

DC United signs Francis Doe to their last remaining spot on the Senior roster. Doe should give us the speed that we've all been yelling about since Emilio started apparently playing with twenty pound weights in each of his pockets. Goff is saying though that Doe has yet to receive his work visa, so will not be eligible to play tonight.
As United prepares for tonight's revenge match against Sideshow Kyle and Real Salt Lake, it looks like Santino Quaranta will be starting at right midfield in place of the injured Devon McTavish. Also emerging from this week's practices was this fantastic quote from Zach Wells after a collision with Franco Niell: "When I lift my shirt later, there's definitely going to be an imprint of a gnome on my chest."
The Men's Olympic Team gets I think a pretty tough draw, in a group with Holland, Nigeria, and Japan. I guess it's far from being a Group of Death or anything, because I think all four groups are actually pretty even, but it will certainly be tough. The Netherlands won all of Europe, knocking out England in the semifinals and then won the meaningless final against Serbia. And we've consistently had a hard time with African nations. But the Americans are lucky to avoid Brazil, Argentina, and Italy in the group stages.
The defending Supporters' Shield winners DC United and defending MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo each find themselves in last place in their respective divisions. This isn't really new for either team, because both of them started fairly slowly last year too, and I don't think it's really too surprising for Houston this year either given the loss of some key players. But DC seemed to upgrade at every position other than goalkeeper. They should be due for a big win tonight.
Toronto and San Jose each earned victories last weekend, making it two in a row for TFC. The Rapids continue to be wildly inconsistent. One week after a big victory over New England on the road, the Rapids lose at home to give San Jose their first win. In an effort to rebound, Colorado will announce this guy as their new defensive midfielder at halftime.