This page will serve as a running blog on the Kansas City Wizards with the latest news and thoughts on the team and Major League Soccer and US Soccer.

To respond or share your thoughts, send e-mails to brad.porter@twcable.com. I will post reader responses in this spot.


• Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star (of whom I am a fan) reported last week the Wizards may have an option to move two of their games to Arrowhead Stadium in the 2008 season. The conventional wisdom is the Wizards would like to host David Beckham, and the Los Angeles Galaxy – of course, on September 13th, at Arrowhead and maximize ticket sales and revenue. The idea makes perfect sense. But, personally, I would like to see the game played at Community America Ballpark in KCK. Why? For a purely selfish reason – I want to see the look on Beckham’s face when he walks into a minor league baseball stadium with temporary seating and try to play top shelf soccer. Comfortable Beckham would be? Not!

• The Wizards and Major League Soccer released their schedules last week and Kansas City fans have to be ecstatic. Kansas City’s Team will have 11 home games played on Saturdays, two on Sundays, one on a Wednesday, and one on a Thursday. A big break for the locals who suffered through the 2007 schedule that featured three Wednesday games, one Thursday game, and five Sunday games. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

• The Wizards first game of 2008 – March 29th, at home against DC United, is nearly sold out. My guess is the presence of “special guests” Scobby Doo and Dora the Explorer has little impact on sales. Does it seem odd to call two cartoon characters “special guests?”

• That said, my kids would be waaaay more impressed with meeting Scooby and Dora than, say, Ivan Trujillo or Eloy Colombo. No offense.

• In my humble opinion, Bob Bradley made a mistake leaving Jimmy Conrad off the roster for the Mexico game. Call it being a “homer.” I guess Bradley knows what Conrad can do and wanted to see the younger guys. I guarantee Conrad would not have made the kind of mistakes that led to at least one of Mexico’s two goals.

• My guess is US goalkeeper Tim Howard thought seriously about strangling his “wall” after the game against Mexico. Did you see the game? Howard looked like a man possessed screaming, to no avail, at his “wall” which failed in every instance to hear him or obey his orders. Crowd noise was the prevailing factor, I know, by sheesh! Isn’t this something that should be worked out in practice? Like the NFL working on the “silent count?”

• Jozy Altidore made quite an impression with his first goal, a header, in his first start for the US National Team. But after the game, Landon Donovan was quick to critique the teenager saying the kid needs to understand that he needs to move without the ball and not keep waiting for the “perfect service” because it rarely happens. Interpretation: don’t be so lazy when you don’t have the ball.

• Donovan also pointed out that Freddy Adu needs to understand when to pass the ball. Interpretation: 1) don’t be a ball hog and 2) fancy dribbling only gets you so far and 3) fancy dribbling doesn’t equal results.