D.C. United looking only at Buzzard Point, and other news

For the first time since their unveiling, all three D.C. United owners (or operators, if you want to be pedantic), were at the game against Chivas USA. While in town, Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner got to talk to Jason Levien, the member of the triumvariate who is leading the day to day efforts of getting D.C. United a stadium. There are all the regular highlights of a United stadium story, but there is two key bits of news that Stouffer ferrets out. The first is that Levien seemingly has the support of the major political leaders in the District, which in of itself is a big accomplishment. As we said when he was announced as one of the owners, Levien's key strengths are his background in both sports business and politics. Give him his cut of the team for free if he is able to seal a stadium deal.

But the other key bit of news that I had not seen before is that United is currently focused only on Buzzard Point, not on other locations in the District and not on any locations in Baltimore. The talks with Baltimore were always first designed to push the District government into action, and that feint combined with new ownership seems to be working. Even Steve Goff, highly skeptical on all things stadium related, has softened his stance since the new ownership has come on board. There is still a long way to go, and I do not want to jinx it, but things continue to look promising.

Last we heard from Santino Quaranta, he was making the jump to the newly founded Bengal Premier Soccer League, playing with Fabio Cannavaro and for Marco Etcheverry. However, financial troubles have delayed the start of that league indefinitely, and so Quaranta has returned to his native Baltimore to be an assistant coach for The Friends School. In a similar move, Barry Rice, who played for United during the lost season, is now an undergraduate assistant coach at the University of Kentucky, his alma mater.

Andik Vermansyah, the Indonesian Messi and poster of B&RU articles on his Facebook page, has ended his training stint with the team. When asked if he sees himself returning to United as a player, he apparently grinned and said "God willing."

Finally, the Maryland SoccerPlex, home of many of D.C. United's U.S. Open Cup matches, will be getting an upgrade which focuses on new turf, irrigation, and lighting. Might it eventually include some wifi or streaming abilities? One can only hope.