For the 2011 MLS Combine, the league decided to include, for the first time, some of the running-shoes-and-stopwatches stuff that is the staple of it's NFL counterpart, an event which is about as boring as TV can get this side of The Golden Girls.
Unfortunately we don't have any video or other info on any of that.Nor do we know yet what the MLSPU reps told the attendees at their CBA-mandated closed door meeting. In previous years the reps simply trashed the league and encouraged everybody to run to Europe as fast as they could, and we'd love to know whether that speech has changed somewhat now that there's a new labor deal in place.
Onward to the action:
AdiPure 2-0 Jabulani
Waynes' little brother finished a first rate Matt Eliason (Northwestern) square ball which Bob Warshaw (Stanford)watched from the seat of his pants, but the second was a combination of a brilliant Demitrious Oomphrey (Cal, and 2011 best name in the Draft winner) cross to Jason Herrick (Maryland) who courteously gave 85 Warshaw,86 Konrad Warzycha Ohio State) and 87 Chris Taylor (Tulsa) the chance to drop a few spots in the draft due to putrid defense.
Adizero 3-2 AdiPower
Penn State forward Corey Hertzog, the player that Philadelphia tried to claim as a Homegrown (the league decided otherwise) and the top scorer in NCAA Div I this year, hit a pair of second half goals including a really telling seeing-eye shot from an angle which seemed unlikely if not impossible. He's the real deal.
The other major movement shown in the video would be downward, in the person of # 61 Daniel Keat who gave 18 MLS technical staffs huddled around the touchlines a lovely example of the kind of unforced and ugly midfield giveaway that loses games.
Vancouver finds themselves with a couple dilemmas going into Thursdays' draft.
Darlington Nagbe, who chose not to attend the combine (his agent, perhaps rightly, said he had nothing to gain) has apparently let it be known that he has no intention of playing for the Whitecaps, who have already turned down several offers for the pick which most observers assume will be used on the Akron forward.
So what do they do?
Nagbe could more than likely find gainful employment overseas for a couple of years and sticking to their guns could end up costing the Whitecaps a ton.
And picking him with the intention of trading him later isn't so safe either; whoever they end up dealing with will surely know that Vancouver is over a barrel, not the strongest of bargaining positions.
Conversely, simply passing him by and letting him fall to Portland – who would pinch themselves and then race the slip up to a waiting Don Garber at the podium before they woke up – would mean spending the next decade watching him score on them in those Cascadia Cup thingies.
If Nagbe is serious it would almost seem that they have to see what they can get for the pick and trade it prior to Thursday.
Additionally they've been told that another top attacker, Omar Salgado, won't be allowed to play in Canada, at least for a while, due to FIFA rules against transfers of underage players.
Reportedly they had MLS take a stab at getting a waiver from FIFA but Zurich refused to oblige. Apparently, saying no to the US is habit forming.
I'm sure they're not second guessing their decision to take the first pick in the Superdraft and let Portland have the #1 spot in the Expansion draft but they do have some things to consider.
Nonetheless, Tommy Soehn, in a head scratching comment that isn't likely to shock DC fans, says that he's REALLY TICKLED to have the first pick in the Superdraft because it's so deep.
But..but..oh nevermind.
Comments are closed