Wizards Defeat Municipal 2-0 in Albuquerque

Sorry so blurry, the Moto Q camera phone on 6X zoom isn't the highest res ever. Coach talking to media, Jimmy signing autographs and Jimmy holding the trophy.

Ok, the running commentary is done. Some other notes. Jimmy Conrad's post-game speech to the crowd upon taking the trophy from an event organizer included the following:

"Thanks for coming out. We hope to make this an annual event and dominate all challengers."

Nice Jimmy.

Conrad, Pore, Trujillo and Colombano stayed behind for 15-20 minutes signing autographs. Pore then gave the jersey off his back to a fan of his who traveled here from Colorado to see him play. That was sweet, Ryan.

Results so far tonight are looking good for us. Thanks to West teams for picking up the play a little today.

Lance Watson is a star. UNM's SID raved about him throughout the match, though Lance tried to play it off.

Kansas City vs CSD Municipal Running Commentary

91st minute: Kronberg takes a free kick and the Wizards possess the ball up the field. As soon as Municipal touches, it is blown dead. KC wins 2-0. Good showing from the Wizards. Trophy presentation takes place now on the field. KC now 2-0-0 in "cup" play this year, including Saturn cup win. Thanks for watching, folks.

89th minute: Our younger guys looked a little out of sorts early but have settled in nicely. McKenzie and Hohlbein have been good centrally and Souter/Pizarro are very creative. Morsink had some nice through balls and Colombano was running all day, as usual.

87th minute: Municipal clears, but KC keeps possession momentarily, eventually losing it when Colombano is dispossessed by two defenders in penalty area.

87th minute: Pizarro collects a loose ball in midfield and feeds wide to Kraus. Municipal defender slides to put ball out for Souter CK.

85th minute: Kraus enters for Trujillo. All Wizards field players on the trip have appeared in the game. Pardo remains the only sub not to enter. I expect Kronberg will not be removed.

84th minute: Myers puts Colombano behind defender with great lofted pass...Colombano serves low and hard for Trujillo who slides but cannot catch up, missing a hat trick but an inch.

82nd minute: Municipal subs their goalkeeper, bringing in Rony Alvarez for starter Paulo Motta. Motta played well.

81st minute: Colombano drifts wide right and serves a back-post cross that goes for for a GK.

78th minute: Morsink puts Colombano through with nice long pass...Colombano cuts a defender but shot from 15 held by Motta. Again going for the bent back-post shot.

74th minute: Pizarro sends an excellent diagonal ball to Colombano running the channel. Eloy brings it down neatly off his chest and fires with his left from a tough angle. Motta punches it over the bar. KC CK...headed out...Souter takes second straight corner. Ball ends up on Colombano's foot 24 yards out. His back-post curl attempt is caught cleanly by Motta.

74th minute: Avila collects loose ball top of 18 and shoots low to the near post. All of 6-5 Kronberg is there to smother the chance without much difficulty.

73d minute: Mun. forward goes down in the penalty area to no call. Municipal fan launches a water bottle onto the field in protest. Classy.

71st minute: Municipal free kick from the right wing skips once and is taken cleanly by Kronberg. Sorry for lack of posts. Less actual attacks and a post-game press release to write. Many more fouls in this half. They have made only four subs to our nine thus far.

66th minute: Silva shoots just over the bar. KC GK.

65th minute: Myers fouls a Mun. attacker just outside area. Acevedo and Silva around the ball.

63rd minute: Pizarro enters for Pore

62nd minute: CK for Municipal...cleared by KC.

61st minute: Morsink collects a free ball 40 yards from goal, carries and fires from 30. Motta pops the ball up and holds it.

Sorry this is late, no PR help from Municipal. Now on the field for Mun: Motta, Melgar, Villatoro, Medina, Acevedo, Pociano, Pappa, Chaparro, Figueroa, Marroquin, Silva

58th minute: Trujillo takes a touch challenge from Mario Acevedo. Acevedo turns around and shoves Trujillo while he is still on the ground and both teams come together. Yellows to both Acevedo and Trujillo.

56th minute: Our coaches take exception to what they thought was inappropriate action by the Mun. coaches near the side line...Onalfo and the Mun. manager converse heatedly from their respective bench areas.

55th minute: Souter gets his leg up with a late challenge near the Mun. bench. Yellow card. Mun. coaches are not happy and Morsink/Colombano tell them he meant nothing by it.

KCW:

-------------Kronberg----------

Myers--McKenzie--Hohlbein--Marquess

Souter--Morsink--McMahen--Pore

-------Colombano----Trujillo----------

51st minute: Sorry for the delay, was on the field helping facilitate an interview with Lance. He is quite the legend around here. He's in the press box now doing an interview with the Alb. Journal. In the 49th, Mun. had a shot just high and wide by Avila. Yellow in the 51st to sub Renato Blanco. Lots of new Wizards. Lineup as soon as I post this one.

46th+: Halftime is here. Municipal has some very good technical abilities, but we were far superior in organization and athleticism. Trujillo was dead on with both his header attempts. Marinelli was excellent until he was removed for Colombano. Conrad and Wahl dealt with all balls into the area nicely, and both Leathers and Harrington got up into the play offensively often and effectively. Jewsbury and Zavagnin limited all passing and dribbling through the middle. Overall, a great half of soccer by KC.

43rd minute: Chaparro sends the corner to Silva, who uses a cheeky back heel that is stopped by Zavagnin on the near post. Kronberg smothered after Zavagnin trapped it.

42nd minute: Chaparro sends a back-post ball that Kronberg fumbles out of bounds. Ensuing corner is cleared by KC, but Mun. gets another CK.

41st minute: Municipal with a bit more possession since I said that. Conrad fouls 45 yards from goal.

37th minute: GOAL!!! TRUJILLO AGAIN!! Arnaud got the lose ball and served a ball form 40 yards out to a cutting Trujillo. His header went again into the upper left corner past a helpless Motta. Possession has been about 70-30 Wizards.

37th minute: Pore takes takes the free kick, off the wall but the Wizards keep possession.

36th minute: Pore is fouled 20 yards from goal after a long run through midfield. Pore, Arnaud and Trujillo standing around it.

35th minute: Colombano enters for Marinelli. Carlos has been a little banged up, so this is likely a precautionary move. Pore drops into midfield with Colombano up top.

31st minute: GOAL!!!! Marinelli swings the ball to the head of Trujillo for a lazer header into the upper left corner from the PK spot. We have been the better team, good to see us go out in front 1-0. Another goal from a Marinelli CK. He has been excellent today. Either we are a much better team or want this game much more than Mun.

30th minute: Pore gets through with a give-and-go with Trujillo...ball ends up to Leathers at the back post who serves it in again...cleared for another Marinelli corner.

29th minute: Marinelli's out-swinger finds Jewsbury near the top of the 18. Jack's header hits the cross bar and goes over for a GK. Jack getting unlucky twice there.

29th minute: Jewsbury cracks the left post from 35 yards out after Harrington overlapped into space and dropped a ball back. GREAT shot by Jack. Defender cleared it out for a CK. Carlos to take it.

27th minute: Zavagnin gets a yellow for a late sliding challenge after Arnaud had won the end line and served a left-footed cross into the mixer. The ball was deflected clear, and Zavags slid to win the ball, missed and got a lot of a Mun. defender.

25th minute: Arnaud's in-swinger just misses the head of Conrad and goes out.

24th minute: Arnaud fouled 40 yards from goal after slaloming through three defenders. Arnaud to take the free kick. Conrad and Wahl in the area.

21st minute: Ruano serves a cross toward the back post, but Leathers heads it out for a CK. First corner of the match goes to Municipal.

20th minute: Up-and-down play through midfield for the last five minutes. A couple of misguided crosses but no real chances. Both teams are here to play, however. The speed of game is good and the players are playing with visible intensity.

15th minute: Chaparro serves another ball in the area too close to Kronberg. He is their most creative player so far.

13th minute: Marinelli cuts inside two defenders but the through-ball attempt is deflected by a sliding defender. He is abusing those attempting to mark him at the moment.

11th minute: Mun. counters quickly, but their back-post service eludes both on-rushing players for a goal kick.

10th minute: Marinelli serves inswinger from right flank (he had played some give-and-goes through midfield to switch sides) that is punched clear by Mun. keeper. Two Wizards in area, good play by Motta.

8th minute: Chaparro serves ball to Silva at the back post...he brings the ball down and shoots from close range, but Kronberg knocks the ball down and grabs it. First save for Kronberg.

7th minute: Leathers steps into midfield and fouls a Municipal midfielder in the Mun. half. First foul of match.

6th minute: Cristian Chaparro serves a cross into the area, but Kronberg snatches it easily. First dangerous look from Municipal.

5th minute: Davy puts Pore through behind the defense, but Pore's shot from 12 yards out was stopped by Motta. Nice save...great early ball from Davy.

1st minute: We hold the ball for the first 45 seconds, with Jack Jewsbury taking a shot high over goal from 30 yards out.

1st minute: And we're off. Kansas City kicks off going right to left.

KCW lineup will look like this:

-------------Kronberg---------------

Leathers--Conrad--Wahl--Harrington

Arnaud--Jewsbury--Zavagnin--Marinelli

-------Pore---------Trujillo---------

Subs: Myers, McMahen, Morsink, McKenzie, Hohlbein, Colombano, Marquess, Souter, Kraus, Pardo, Pizarro

Expect wholesale changes at halftime.

CSD Municipal: Paulo Motta, Pablo Melgar, Henry Medina, Claudio Albizuris, Selvin Ponciano, Juan Carlos Plata, German Ruano, Cristian Chaparro, Carlos Figueroa, Marwin Marroquin, Israel Silva

Subs: Pablo Villatoro, Mario Acevedo, Marco Pappa, Manuel Leon, Rony Alvarez, Renato Blanco, Hamilton Lopez


Hello sports fans. It's 45 minutes to kickoff and Boris Pardo is on the field warming up with goalkeeper coach Dave Tenney. It's in the mid-90s at the moment, but everyone tells us that it cools down significantly once the sun sets. Most of the field will be shaded by the press box/suites on the west side of the stadium, so the temp on the field shouldn't be too scorching.

Lance Watson will be in the building on the campus of his alma mater, but will not be in any sort of uniform. He'll be in the stands watching with some friends and family.

View beyond UNM's stadium to the mountains in the background. Albuquerque has some absolutely brilliant landscapes.

Hello New Mexico

G'day to you back in KC (and wherever else our loyal readers reside), Albuquerque is a pretty scenic city. We're staying in a hotel called the Nativo Lodge. As you might guess, it is Native-American themed, and it's definitely something to see. We arrived around 8 local time last night and started our stay with an excellent dinner. Hillcrest road got in a couple games of cards with Wahl, Harrington, Morsink and Kronberg (winning one of them, after a TERRIBLE plane ride) then hit the sack. Breakfast this morning was equally good.

BTW, check out the latest edition of Sports Illustrated. Rookie Chance Myers appears in the pop culture grid. He got a good ribbing from some of his older teammates for his answers. How would you have answered the questions? Post below.

A few pics from the hotel:

TP

Trippy

Selena Gomez Comes to Town

As those of you with younger children (a very rough age range...we'll say 4-14?) know, Disney Channel is king. They brought us Hillary Duff (Lizzy McGuire), Zach Effron (High School Musical) and Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana). Well, now they're set to bring us Selena Gomez (Alex Russo of the show "Wizards of Waverly Place"). That "Wizards" in the title of the show was too good to pass up. In conjunction with local Radio Disney channel 1190 AM and the good people of Panasonic, 15-year-old Selena Gomez will be at CommunityAmerica Ballpark Saturday, June 28 for our match against Real Salt Lake. She will be available before the game for photos and autographs.

If you have tweens (as they're apparently now called), make sure to let them know and bring them out to the stadium. When I told my younger cousin the girl from Wizards of Waverly Place would be coming, she jumped up and down and begged her mom to bring her in town from St. Louis for the match. Ms. Gomez is a huge deal. People Magazine just dubbed her the next Miley Cyrus. Very nice.

Here are some other Selena links courtesy of Buzzfeed.

Btw, former Wizards intern Heather L. confessed to me today that she (by herself) was watching Wizards of Waverly Place yesterday. She is 23, and she's coming to the match. See ya then, Heather! (She actually helped us land Ms. Gomez in the early stages of this process, so thanks for the help, Heather.)

MLS Recognized as Sports League of the Year

Wow. That's pretty significant news ladies and gentleman. MLS beat out the NBA, MLB, NFL and WTA Tour for the award. Now that's called taking on the best and winning. Sports Business Journal Release:

Major League Soccer Recognized as the 2008 Professional Sports League of the Year

Eleven Winners Honored with the Inaugural Sports Business Awards

New York, N.Y. – Major League Soccer (MLS) was honored as the 2008 Professional Sports League of the Year by the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. The award was presented live at a special ceremony held Thursday, May 29th at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City.

Major League Soccer was recognized as part of the inaugural Sports Business Awards program, presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily, the two leading publications on the business of sports. The Sports Business Awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in the sports industry for 2007.

MLS was chosen from five nominees for Professional Sports League of the Year including, in alphabetical order, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, National Football League and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

“The launch of the Sports Business Awards coincides with the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the SportsBusiness Journal and her sister publication, the SportsBusiness Daily,” says Richard Weiss, publisher of the SportsBusiness Journal. “After chronicling the leaders in the sports industry for 10 years, we decided the time was right to recognize and celebrate these companies and executives who are at the industry’s forefront in a more formal manner.”

It was a defining year for Major League Soccer. New in 2007 were a team in Toronto, two stadiums, two television partners, three future expansion franchises and one global star in David Beckham. It was a year that surprised even soccer’s most fervent supporters and one that could mark the beginning of unprecedented growth of the game in North America.

Awards were presented in 11 categories. The winners, which were chosen from more than 450 entries and 49 nominees, included:

Sports Executive of the Year – Tim Leiweke, CEO, AEG
Athletic Director of the Year – Ron Wellman, Wake Forest University
Professional Sports Team of the Year – Boston Red Sox
Professional Sports League of the Year – Major League Soccer
Sports Agency of the Year – Octagon
Sports Event Marketing Firm of the Year – SportsMark
Sports Facility of the Year – AT&T Park
Sports Innovation/Technology of the Year – Sportvision
Sports Media of the Year – Fox Sports
Sports Online of the Year – ESPN Digital Media
Sports Sponsor of the Year – Pepsi Cola North America

Please visit the web site for articles on the winners and nominees – www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/ or www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/

New Mexico Cup Running Commentary

We don't know the travel roster for the match yet, but we do know that Hillcrest Road will bring you all the action. There will not be a match tracker or any sort of radio/TV covering the event, but we will do a similar running commentary to that from the Saturn Cup back in March. I'll make sure to do minutes instead of actual time in this installment. Hillcrest will be on the trip, so we'll try to check in with some good anecdotes from the roadie.

If you're in Albuquerque or know someone in the area, tickets to the event are available here.

Hillcrest out.

Golf Tour Update

For those of you who didn't, check out Bob Luder's story about the new Wizards Golf Tour created by players and salesdude Brian Roberts. Leg 3 took place Tuesday, with Ryan Pore winning his second-consecutive outing. Pore shot an 85 (67 with handicap). Jack Jewsbury remains in the overall lead. They're not sure, but guesstimate that Tyson Wahl is in last. Very scientific system they're using.

The boys played Swope Park this week. The participants were: Davy Arnaud, Jack Jewsbury, Ryan Pore, Kevin Hartman, Michael Harrington, Kevin Souter, Chance Myers, Andrew Kartunen, Geoff Miles, Michael Kraus and Brian Roberts.

When asked how he felt about friend and teammate Jack Jewsbury leading the tour, Davy Arnaud said the following: "I don't wanna talk about it."

Father's Day Promo

Hey guys, don't forget about our Father's Day promotion sponsored by M&I Bank. Head on over to www.WizardsThankDads.blogspot.com and submit a comment (make sure to include your name and phone number or email address, some have been forgetting) about why your dad deserves one free ticket to the Wizards game June 14 (one day before Father's Day).

Someone on our staff will get ahold of you, and any additional tickets you purchase to the game will come at the group rate, thanks to M&I. Dads will also get a T-shirt as part of the deal. If you know anyone looking for a neat Dads day gift, please pass along either a link to this post or a direct link to WizardsThankDads.blogspot.com. Happy Father's Day.

Wizards to Face Colorado Wednesday

Colorado defeated Los Angeles 1-0 Tuesday at The Home Depot Center off a Conor Casey goal, assisted by Terry Cooke. The Rapids will now come to Kansas City next week for a Wednesday showdown against our boys in blue for a spot in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup round of 16.

The match will start at 7 p.m. CT at Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kan. Tickets cost $20 for the general public ($15 for groups), and season ticket holders can use "Special Game A". For tickets, click here.

See you guys Wednesday.

KCSoccerStore.com Opens

As we mentioned a month or so back here at Hillcrest Road, the blog, we are opening an online team store that will transition into our physical location at Hillcrest Road, the stadium. A press release will go out shortly. Here's a quote from our merch guru Jacques Tournoy.

"We are excited about the launch of KCSoccerStore.com because it signifies the beginning of our future merchandising capabilities,” Wizards Vice President of Merchandising Jacques Tournoy. “This virtual store will eventually merge into our brick-and-morter store when it opens alongside our new stadium in 2010. Through KCSoccerStore.com, we will continue to build upon the relationships we have developed with our loyal fan base both locally and throughout the country."

On a personal note, props to Jacques for making our merchandise a strong and desirable set of swag. Not only is our new jersey very sharp, but all other options we've come up with in the last year are excellent. It will only continue to improve, folks!

Go shop folks! www.KCSoccerStore.com.

Fan Trip to FCD

Some of the Cauldron members are putting together a trip to the FC Dallas away match on Friday, July 4. The game takes place at 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on HDNet. To get involved with the trip contact Down the Byline author Mike Kuhn at mike@downthebyline.com or post on the Big Soccer thread here.

Hillcrest Road will be on the trip. I'll be sure to say hi. They're working on cooking up a friendly against members of the Inferno, so if you're a player, sign up.

Free Kansas City Star Clinic

We will be hosting a free clinic Wednesday, June 11 from 6-7:30 p.m. sponsored by the Kansas City Star. If you have children ages 6-14, head on over to kcwizards.com here and sign up now. Only the first 100 registrants will be able to participate.

Monday....Err Tuesday Roundup

Seems like a Monday around here. After a nice long weekend, we're back and raring to go. A couple things this morning to touch on, as it should be a busy day here at Hillcrest Road. First, check out Graham Jones' take on the game Saturday. Wow. Then, check out the love that yours truly received on Sideline Views Sunday. Thanks for the love, Andrea!

Also, have a look at Bob Luder's write-up of our guys' 12-week golfing tour. The winner of the tour will receive his own jacket and, of course, supreme bragging rights. We will update the tour on a weekly basis here at Hillcrest Road, with the first installment coming later today.

Our reserves played the Springfield Demize of the PDL yesterday at Swope, winning with a lopsided 7-0 score line. Further details later on. Goals from Colombano (2), Trujillo (2), Kraus (2) and Pizarro.

Jonny Leathers started the final game of the U-23s Toulon schedule, again playing the full 90 against Italy Sunday. For the second-straight time, he played right back in the first half and then switched to left back in the second half. For the second straight time, he helped settle down the left side, where both Italy goals originated in the first half. Look at the notes on the trip from the U.S. Soccer blog here. We'll talk to Leathers about his experience once he returns to KC. Leathers has also won Furman's Male Athlete of the Year for the second straight year. He becomes the first-ever two-time winner of the award. We'll ask him about that too.

Claudio Lopez is up for Sierra Mist Goal of the Week for his give-and-go then juke then blast in the first half Saturday. Vote for him here. That Beckham guy is also up for the award for his 70-yard bomb.

Vote for Lopez, Jimmy Conrad and the rest of our Wizards for the 2008 Pepsi All-Star Game here.

Weston Ho!

Save the date.... June 21

You may recall a couple months ago I reported on an OnGoal partnership with our friends at Weston Brewing Company (http://www.westonirish.com/). We're developing a series of proprietary traditional beers that will be served cask-conditioned at the Trails. I'm pleased to report that Round 1 of beer production is complete. The Weston guys have produced 600 gallons (!) of a wonderful beer that is similar in style to Fullers ESB with a very refreshing finish. Robb and I conducted the first phase of quality control (ahem) a couple weeks ago and we both really enjoyed it. We hope to officially announce the event this week, but SAVE THE DATE for a June 21st watch party road trip to the Weston brewery with the opportunity to sample the new brew. We will likely run buses from several spots around KC up to O'Malley's pub on the property of the brewery... should be a great time. Details to come!

Game Day # 9

So we just lost 3-1 (2-1 plus a late, late, late bomb from Becks with Hartman in the other penalty area) in Los Angeles. We looked like world beaters in the first half; LA did so in the second half. Aftermath? Well, we're in 6th place in the powerful East. We'd sit just three points out of first in the West.

Lopez's strike was brilliant. He made McDonald look like the rookie he is and absolutely buried a shot inside the far post. Cronin stood no chance.

LA's own stars showed up. Donovan converted the PK with ease and assisted on Buddle's goal. Beckham played well all game; sent Donovan the ball that led to the PK; helped LA string passes together before the second goal and buried his 60-yard blast with Hartman somewhere behind him. What did he think about our boys after the match?

"It was a hard fought match. The first half wasn’t very good. The second half showed the character of our team. I give all the credit to K.C. They are the best team we have played in MLS so far."

That's pretty good stuff coming from a man with his experience. Hopefully his words will hold true and we'll start stringing together several wins. Looks like we have a new fan out west. Thanks for the kind words, Mr. BendIt.

Conrad had over 150 friends and family in attendance. As you know, Jimmy was born in CA, played soccer ball at UCLA and began his MLS career in San Jose. It was a homecoming of big proportions.

As you also know, Hartman, Victorine and Myers played at UCLA as well. Wahl and Kronberg grew up in Cali and went to Cal-Berkely. All had friends/family at the game.

Kids and Craic

Hello one and all! Hope your Memorial Day weekend is off to a great start. We have lots going on this weekend, and you are all welcome to join us.

First, in a couple hours we kick off against the Galaxy in LA. Be sure to tune in to Time Warner channel 1503 (HDNet) for the game. If you don't get that channel, please join us at Barley's Brewhaus in Lenexa or O'Dowd's in Zona Rosa for our offical watch parties.

Tomorrow we're participating in two excellent events: Governor Stumpy's Celtic Block Party runs from 3 pm to 9 pm and features great music by Flanagan's Right Hook and the Elders. All proceeds from the event go to Operation Breakthrough. Head over to the corner of Gregory and Oak.... you can't miss it.

Also, the first annual Kansas City Jiggle Jam (http://www.kcjigglejam.com/) sponsored by our friends at M&I Bank is down at Crown Center from 11 am to 6 pm. Jiggle Jam promises first-class family entertainment and music.

Have a safe weekend, and hope to see you out and about!

Greg

Friday Before Kickoff

Tomorrow we take on LA Galaxy at 9:30 p.m. CT on HDNet. If you don't have the channel (like I don't), head to one of our watch party locations at either O'Dowd's up north or Barley's Brewhaus in Lenexa. It should be a good one. Some Beckham guy or something plays for LA. I guess he's fun to watch. On KC's injury report? Only Lance Watson, out with a foot fracture. LA could possibly have Carlos Ruiz back. Status still TBD.

This afternoon after the offices closes, many members of the front office staff are heading to our training center at Swope for a staff soccer match. Details will be posted later.

Today, Corporate Partnerships guru Jeff Foster displayed his wonderful juggling skill. Not going to lie, it was pretty impressive. If you know Jeff or work closely with him, ask him to demonstrate. I didn't know he had it in him.

Jugglemeister

Jimmy C/Robb H

We can't get enough captain Kansas City now can we? Jimmy C checked in with kcwizards.com/Hillcrest Road for a spectacular QnA that should keep you entertained. Check it out over at kcwizards.com here.

Can't get enough Robb Heineman either, can you? Well, now you can get ahold of him another way. Robb has created a facebook account. Search for Robb Heineman on Facebook or go to the following link and add him as a friend.

Robb does.

Champions League Recap

Well, Man U won in PK's, so the pick was correct. If you count the very first penalty taken in the shootout, Carlos Tevez's conversion, Hillcrest Road correctly picked the score and three goal scorers. As it is, I'll take the winning team and two of three scorers.

Many members of the front office (including Greg Cotton, David Ficklin, Dustin Johnson and yours truly) were happy to see Man U prevail. Others (notably Chris Wyche) were saddened by the result. Still others (Chad Reynolds) were wishing Liverpool were still alive. Sorry Chad.

Hopefully everyone at the watch parties had a good time. We've heard back here at the ranch that the events went well. Hopefully those of you who were already Wizards fans enjoyed the mid-day, mid-week soccer viewing and those of you who enjoyed the soccer but weren't previously fans are considering coming out to a match. You should. It's a good time.

One thing we learned during the game: Nemanja Vidic and Carlos Marinelli could be twins. Check out the pics below and tell us what you think. How did you like the result? Let us know in the comments section.

Kansas City playmaker?

Man U center back?

Leathers Goes 90 for U.S. U-23s

Defender Jonathan Leathers played the full 90 for the U.S. U-23 team today in a 3-2 loss to Turkey in the Toulon tournament. Leathers played right back in the first half and left back in the second half. Those of you who watched the match on FSC, how did he look? Reports say he was excellent in the second stanza. We'll try to catch up with Jonny later for some thoughts on the match.

Captain Kansas City on The Offside/TJCS/CL Final

Once again, Mr. Conrad is spreading his love of Interpol and the MLS gospel to the world. While in New York, Jimmy sat down with Dave Martinez of TheOffside.com for a Question/Answer session about himself, his writing, USA, MLS and much, much more. Especially check out the five fan questions at the bottom. Good stuff from all. Check it out here.


As if you haven't gotten enough Jimmy here at Hillcrest Road the last couple days, don't forget to check out The Jimmy Conrad Show tonight at McFadden's in the Power and Light District downtown. The show runs 7-8 p.m. this week. As always, it will be broadcast on 810 WHB in KC and online at kcwizards.com. Check it out somewhere please. Jimmy and Wheels are hilarious.

Oh yeah...and don't forget about the Champions League Final watch parties today at both 810 Zones. Parties start at 1, with coverage starting closer to 1:30. The game kicks off at 10:45 p.m. Moscow time. Is that crazy or what?

Photographic Bliss/Conrad Writes Stott

Captain Kansas City cleans up well.

Jimmy posted his latest ESPN.com journal entry, this one a carefully-thought-out letter to center referee Kevin Stott, the official in the center during the TFC match. Stott gave Jimmy a yellow in the match after Amado Guevara scored the first goal of the game on a disputed play. What does Jimmy think about that yellow? What does he think about Stott? What does he think about MLS officials? Read it all here.

Champions League Watch Parties

For a little more info prior to the UEFA Champions League Final tomorrow between Chelsea and Manchester United, check out our friend Samuel Siringi's preview of the match over at kcstar.com. Then, after Sam gets you all jazzed up about the all-English final, head to one of the two area 810 Zone locations for our watch parties. The events start at 1 p.m. CT for the preview, with the match kicking off closer to 1:30. We will have merchandise giveaways at halftime and Starting 11 Girls will be present at both locations. Several players will be at the Leawood 810 Zone to enjoy the festivities.

Thoughts? Predictions? I have Manchester United winning 2-1. Goals from my boy Cristiano Ronaldo and Tevez. Chelsea goal from Lamps.

Eat your heart out ladies.

Hillcrest out.

Piojo on TV/All-Star team?

Claudio El Piojo Lopez starred in a commercial running now on Time Warner Cable commercials. Check out the spot below then vote for him (and the 11 other Wizards eligible) for the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game.

Soccer-Tennis Tournament

Plaza Landmark

As some of you have seen, we're holding a soccer tennis tournament June 28 & 29 at the Plaza Tennis Center next to the Country Club Plaza. All fans are encouraged to enroll and show off your own skills. As part of the deal, each team gets tickets to the June 28 match against Real Salt Lake.

Wizards Soccer Tennis on the Plaza

* Three (3) games guaranteed
* Each team receives five (5) tickets to the Wizards game June 28 vs. Real Salt Lake

Registration Fee: $125
Competition: 4-versus-4
Team: Up to 5 team members
Location: Plaza Tennis Center
Dates: June 28 – 29, 2008
Age Groups: U-12, U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16, U-17/open
To register: Contact the Wizards youth soccer department at (913) 387-3400

Call today and talk to Brian, Ben or Brian downstairs. This will be a very fun event in a neat location. Sign up your team and spend your spare time walking around on the plaza. If you already have season tickets but want to play, go ahead and register and bring some friends to the match.

Hillcrest out.

Conrad up for GOW/Hartman Makes Best XI

Conrad's third header of the season has been nominated for Goal of the Week. I still love seeing Marinelli place the ball perfectly at the near post as Conrad/Victorine getting their defenders in a bind. Perfectly executed corner kick that was! Vote for GOW here.

Hartman was named to Ives Galarcep's Best XI for the week after a 7-save performance against New York at the weekend. Well done Hartman. See the rest of the XI here.

Also, don't forget to vote for your 2008 Pepsi All-Star game First XI. Twelve Wizards are eligible for selection. Vote at kcwizards.com or MLSnet.com.

Wizards Father's Day Promo

Hey guys, the generous people over at M&I Bank have partnered with us for a special Father's Day promotion. As part of the deal, we will provide one ticket to a limited number of fathers whose families recognize them via our special website www.wizardsthankdads.blogspot.com. Head over there and post a comment about why your dad or a dad you know deserves one free ticket to our match Saturday, June 14 at 7 p.m. CT against the Columbus Crew. Additional tickets are available to families at the group rate courtesy of M&I Bank and T-shirts will be provided to dads as part of the deal.

Neat stuff guys. Give your dads the gift of soccer this Father's Day!

Intern Start Day - Summer 2008

Today our new batch of interns start for the summer semester. Martie "the Godmother" Harter is in the middle of a tour, but Hillcrest Road stopped by to chat with them and quiz them on a couple of fun questions.

Intern coming from the farthest away: Alex H. (Video/PR) of Nebraska-Lincoln

Intern from the closest: 12-way tie between all the rest. The vast majority of our interns are from local schools, including: Benedictine, William Jewell, Baker, Park, UMKC, KU and K-State.

12 of 13 present today have been to a Wizards game (Shame on you Jill P. from Park)

12 of 13 present today consider themselves soccer fans (We'll convert you Libby C.)

Favorite players:
I don't know-5
Conrad-2
Hartman-2
Lopez-1
Arnaud-1
Sealy-1
Jewsbury-1

Three interns have previously read Hillcrest Road. They're already my favorites.

Shockingly, the first two that attempted could read my writing. It's bad folks. I was impressed.

Taking the tour

Conrad Scores for Conrad

All of you saw captain Kansas City's brilliant header goal this weekend. One KC family was especially excited. Mike Kuhn, Cauldron member and author of KCW Fan Blog www.downthebyline.com and his wife had their first son Saturday morning, naming the child Conrad Michael Kuhn. On the day of Conrad's birth, the bigger Conrad nodded home the Wizards only goal in the 1-1 tie. How about that for a 0th birthday present.

Conrad weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 20 inches long. Congratulations to Mike! We look forward to seeing little Conrad at Wizards games for years to come. Jimmy, your fan base just got bigger.

KCW Reserves Unbeaten

Yesterday, our reserve team topped New York's 2-1 on a late goal from recently signed Nelson Pizarro. We are now 3-0-2 in MLS Reserve Division play, tops in the league.

Eloy Colombano opened the scoring in the 38th minute, taking a pass from Aaron Hohlbein near the top of the 18 and curling a right-footed shot into the top corner at the back post for his second Reserve Division goal of the year.

New York equalized in the 72nd on a penalty kick from John Wolyniec before Pizarro's winner. Morsink received a switch on the left flank and curled in a cross right into the path of Pizarro who nodded it down past Zach Thornton for the winner. Pizarro now leads the reserves with two goals and two assists, including one game-winning goal and one game-winning assist.


Scoring Summary:

KC: Eloy Colombano 2 (Aaron Hohlbein 1) 38’
NY: John Wolyniec 1 (penalty kick) 72’
KC: Nelson Pizarro 2 (Kurt Morsink 1) 87’


Disciplinary Summary:

NY: Chris Leitch (caution) 74’
NY: Jonathan Giraldo (caution) 86’
NY: Chuck Kim (caution) 86’


KCW Reserves: Eric Kronberg (GK), Ryan McMahen, Rauwshan McKenzie, Aaron Hohlbein, Matt Marquess, Roger Espinoza (Nelson Pizarro 61’), Kurt Morsink, Kerry Zavagnin, Kevin Souter, Eloy Colombano, Ivan Trujillo (Michael Kraus 77’)

Subs not used: Boris Padro (GK), Geoff Miles*

RBNY Reservers: Zach Thornton (GK), John Gilkerson, Carlos Mendes, Chris Leitch, Danleigh Borman (Angel Rivillo* 46’), Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Gordon Kljestan* (Jonathan Giraldo* 76’), Ricky Schramm, Kevin Mesa, John Wolyniec, Chris Megaloudis (Chuck Kim* 76’)

Subs not used: Caleb Patterson-Sewell (GK)

* - Guest Player

Leathers Checks in From Toulon

Jonathan Leathers checked in this afternoon with Hillcrest Road from Toulon, France where the U.S. U-23 squad trained today on a rainy field in the beautiful city. Leathers is rooming with Tony Beltran, the 3rd overall pick in this year's MLS SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake. He said that Nowak is a very good coach. Leathers described him as very funny off the field, but all business between the lines--something Leathers says he likes.

They're staying in a Holiday Inn with a beautiful view of the mountains on the outskirts of the city. If you don't know much about France's geography (like me), look below for a better understanding. Toulon is situated in the south of France along the Mediterranean. Beautiful country.

Nice.

Very nice!

What would you be doing on your free time in Toulon? Sight-seeing? Hitting up the local hot spots? Practicing your French (a la Jimmy Conrad in his International One Price Commercial)? Not Jonathan Leathers. Though he assured me he would get out and see the sights of the city during the stay, he's currently doing homework. Leathers has three classes remaining to finish his degree from Furman, and he wants to do so this semester. More power to you bro! Keep up the good work!

Watch Parties Times Two

As you all know, we will be hosting watch parties tomorrow for the Wizards away match at New York at O'Dowd's in Zona Rosa and the Barley's Brewhaus location in Lenexa. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT on Metro Sports. Also, next week Wednesday, we will host a watch party at each 810 Zone location for the UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea.

Starting 11 Girls and Wizards ticket reps will be at both locations selling $8.10 tickets for the June 4 Open Cup match and the June 14 MLS match against Columbus. Kevin Hartman, Jack Jewsbury, Michael Harrington, Kurt Morsink, Chance Myers and Roger Espinoza will be at the Leawood location to peep the match. We will have giveaways at halftime of the game, which airs live on ESPN 2. The party lasts 1-3:30 p.m. CT, so head to either 810 Zone for some soccer fun with friends and the Wizards.

RBNY Preview/Injury Report/Open Cup

First, check out the RBNY preview done by my boy, Sean Kosednar at MLSnet.com:



Then, check out the injury report:
Out-Watson
Probable- Arnaud, Conrad, McKenzie

Then, come see us play either Colorado or Los Angeles on June 4 at Shawnee Mission North HS. This match is the final play-in game for the U.S. Open Cup. If we win, we'll move on to the round of 16. Individual tickets cost $20, with group tickets $15. Season ticket holders use "Special Game A" and the parking pass for that match. A limited number of reserved parking spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to STH regardless of the color of your pass.

Commercials Keep on Comin'

Many of you in Kansas City (especially those of you who attended the Season Ticket Holder event at Dave & Buster's) have already seen this clip, but there have been clamorings from other corners of the country for access. So, behold the brilliant work of Liquid 9. We will have more from them coming soon.

Vote for All-Stars Now/Another Conrad Clip

Hola Wizards fans, MLS All-Star game voting is now available at MLSnet.com. Vote now at www.kcwizards.com.

The following Wizards players are on the ballot in the following positions:

Goalkeeper-Kevin Hartman

Defenders-Jimmy Conrad, Tyson Wahl and Michael Harrington

Midfielders- Kerry Zavagnin, Jack Jewsbury, Carlos Marinelli, Chance Myers, Kurt Morsink

Forwards- Claudio Lopez, Scott Sealy, Ivan Trujillo

Also, take a look at a Wizards promo that will run on Metro Sports and other Time Warner Cable stations. Jimmy, as always, was at his best:

Tyson Wahl Gets Some Love

Steve Davis over at MLSnet.com gave a little early-season loving to our new man in the middle, Tyson Wahl yesterday in his weekly recap. Davis went through players making a name for themselves early in 2008, saying this about our center back from Cal:

Center backs are rarely on the fast track to national acclaim. So it will be no surprise if the casual fan still hasn't heard of young Kansas City defender Tyson Wahl. He had 10 starts coming into the season. But playing opportunities were sparse while he sat for two seasons behind Jimmy Conrad and Nick Garcia. When Garcia moved to San Jose in the offseason, the spot instantly belonged to the well-regarded Wahl, who is having a nice season so far.

Tyson

Read the rest of Davis' report here.

Something I Don't Normally Do

Hello Hillcrest Road faithful, as you know, this is the official blog of the Kansas City Wizards. This is, however, a site about soccer, Major League Soccer and human beings. The following story comes from our Houston MLS brethren. Last year, Dynamo players Craig Waibel and Stuart Holden befriended a 14-year-old boy with terminal cancer. Houston Chronicle writer Richard Justice tells the rest of the story of their ensuing friendship. This is touching stuff. Seriously. I got tingles.

Great work Craig and Stuart; you make us all proud.

Leathers Called to U-23 Tournament

Rookie defender Jonathan Leathers of Furman University has been called into U.S. U-23 camp for the upcoming international tournament in Toulon, France. Leathers has never before appeared for the U.S. at any level. The tournament takes place May 20-29, and all matches will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel. For more info, see U.S. Soccer's release here. Players arrive in Toulon on May 15 prior to the tournament.

Congrats Jon! Represent us well.

Leathers

Jimmy Habla Otros Idiomas

Some of you may have seen Jimmy Conrad on the latest Time Warner Cable International One Price advertisements. If you have not, check it out below. Jimmy, as usual, is great on camera.



Muy bien hecho, Jimmy.

Starting 11 Girls Meet David Cook-We Have Proof

So they really did meet this now-famous Blue Springs resident. Jenny didn't get the best shots (so she said) of the group, but apparently the American Idol camera guy did. So maybe you'll be seeing the girls on the show or the website? As Jenny said, our fingers are crossed. As it is, here is what she got. A couple of these are already on Jenny's MySpace page.

Kansas City White 2-2 Kansas City Orange

Today, the boys took part in a spirited scrimmage out at Swope since we don't have an MLS match this weekend. The game was just as you would expect for a weekend MLS contest. Lots of high-energy play, including a few physical tackles, yellow cards and players yelling at the opposition.

White took the lead early through Marinelli then surrendered two goals to Morsink and Pore before equalizing through Sealy just 30 seconds from the final whistle. All healthy players took part in the contest, including Davy Arnaud.

Marinelli put white up in the 23rd minute off a nifty bit of combination play that started with right back Chance Myers. Myers played a long ball from around the half line curling behind the orange defense for Claudio Lopez. Lopez spun on a defender and played a square ball for Marinelli streaking through the middle. Marinelli calmly finished past Kronberg from the top of the area for a 1-0 lead.

Morsink tied the match in the 36th minute after collecting a loose ball 25 yards off the end line in the middle of the field. Morsink cut to his right and looped a bending ball into the upper corner off a slight deflection to tie the match 1-1.

Orange took the lead in the 44th minute through Ryan Pore. Midfielder Roger Espinoza flicked a ball to Pore at the top of the 18 yard area, and Pore blasted it inside the near post along the ground for a 2-1 lead.

White equalized in the dying seconds when Sealy put home a short goal inside the six-yard area. Eloy Colombano began the play, coming up the right flank and serving a long pass to the back post for Davy Arnaud. Arnaud headed the ball centrally to Sealy, who fought off a defender and poked home a shot from close range past on-rushing goalkeeper Boris Pardo.

Coach was pleased with the contest, citing the intensity and quality of play from both sides as highlights.

Lineups:

White-Hartman, Myers, Hohlbein, Wahl, Harrington, Colombano, Jewsbury, Marinelli, Victorine, Lopez (Arnaud 46), Sealy

Orange-Kronberg (Pardo 46), Leathers, McKenzie, McMahen, Kraus (Miles 62), Souter (Pizarro 46), Zavagnin, Morsink, Espinoza, Pore, Trujillo (Souter 82)

Scoring:

KC White- Marinelli (Lopez, Myers) 23rd minute
KC Orange- Morsink (unassisted) 36th minute
KC Orange- Pore (Espinoza) 49th minute
KC White- Sealy (Arnaud, Colombano) 90th minute

Intra-Squad/David Cook

Jenny Matthews just gave a shout out to her Starting 11 Girls while talking on the air to David Cook, who is still currently in studio. Don't forget to head out to Swope at 10:30 for an intra-squad scrimmage on our bye week. Practices have been intense this week, and today's match should be no different.

**Updated**

Also, take a look at Martin Rogers' ranking of best players in MLS, where our own Claudio Lopez falls at 12th. Think he should be higher than that? Read the article and let Martin know.

Starting 11 Girls Photo Shoot II

Now that the pics have entertained you for a while, here's a behind-the-scenes YouTube video. I know we've had Starting 11 Girls like crazy lately, but I don't really think anyone is complaining too much.



Make sure to watch NBC 41 tonight, as Davy and Jack were interviewed after winning a soccer tennis tournament. They got a nice little surprise while on camera. Good stuff on TV.

Starting 11 Girls to Meet David Cook

David Cook, as you may know, is from this area. David Cook, as you may know, is also pretty big on that American Idol show or something. Well, he'll be in town tomorrow for "David Cook Day" and is going to sing the National Anthem at the Royals game. That's all fine and dandy, but the highlight of the day will certainly come tomorrow morning when he stops by over at Mix 93.3 beginning at 9 a.m. for a little on-air interview with our favorite radio personality, Ms. Jenny Matthews. Jenny says she wants all of KC to storm Westport when he gets there tomorrow, and that he might even do a little impromptu performance at the Sun Fresh. Shhhhh.

What's even bigger news for David, we're sure, is that 10 members of the world-famous Starting 11 Girls will be present as he speaks to Mix. He is, no doubt, stoked to meet Monica, Marissa, Sarah, Jamie B., Jamie H., Amber, Mandy, Paige, Jenni and Kelli. Say hi for us girls. Most of Kansas City won't get this close to David for a long, long time.

meet

Starting 11 Girls Photo Shoot

Last night, the Starting 11 Girls held a photo shoot for promo materials for the season. Below are some of the results of the shoot, and some more will be posted online at kcwizards.com soon. Enjoy.

Mandy

Paige

Group

Mandy, Jenni, Taylor, Shelby

Jillian

Taylor

Shelby

Great work ladies. You all look beautiful.

Hillcrest out.

Bowl for a Cause and Jimmy C Show

Starting 11 Girl Sarah K. has hooked us up with a great cause. Next Wednesday, May 14, head on over to Lucky Strike Bowl in the Power and Light District. For just a $25 donation, you get free bowling, shoe rental, Wizards prizes and more. All proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so get over there, then visit The Jimmy Conrad Show right down the block at McFadden's.

See the informational flier here.

Soccery-Volleyball II Goes Wonderfully

St. Pius X held our second soccer-volleyball fund raiser of the year today and it was a resounding success. The gym was packed, our boys won (2 games to 1). Defender Chance Myers, midfielder Kurt Morsink, midfielder Roger Espinoza and league pool goalkeeper Andrew Kartunen represented the Wizards, while various St. Pius students and faculty rotated into the game. St. Pius X used this game as a chance to fundraise for Eurosport, which provides sports equipment to children in developing countries. After the match, our guys signed autographs (including some for some young ladies who apparently found the guys pretty darn cute -- one a couple asked Chance sign their arms) and THEN Chance and Roger played a little basketball against some of the students. It was a fun day all around.

To sign your school or group up for a soccer volleyball fundraiser, contact Erin Lawless our CR guru at elawless@kcwizards.com or 913.387.3424.

Bob Luder, our beat reporter went to the event and had a blast. Read his story about it here and see the video from Jim Barcus here.

Piojo Stars on The Offside Rules

Cartoonist and footie fan Brian Barkey featured Piojo in his streamer shower at the weekend in Columbus. View the original link here at The Offside Rules.


Also, with the off weekend coming up, the coaching staff wants to implement a serious game atmosphere this Friday. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., we will play an intra-squad scrimmage on the fields at Swope. As always, it is open to the public, and all are encouraged to attend.

Chance and Roger Get Props

Jeff Carlisle over at Soccernet did a piece over the weekend on impact rookies. He rated Chance as the number 2 rookie so far and Roger as the number 5 rookie so far. Also getting props in the story were Michael Harrington for his early goal last season and Tyson Wahl for cracking the starting 11 for us this year. Enjoy the story here.

Chance

Happy Monday/Reserve Game

Greetings Kansas City, it’s good to be back. After a 0-1-1 trip to Columbus, sleeping on a friendly bed last night was nice. The reserve squad tied Columbus yesterday morning 1-1 on a first-half free-kick goal from Ryan Pore. Pore stayed behind in Ohio with family after the game and had a small contingent at the reserve match. They were excited to see him score.

There was an Argentine consulate of sorts set up behind the north goal at The Crew’s Obetz Training Center. Wizards Claudio Lopez, Carlos Marinelli and Eloy Colombano chatted with Crew members Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Gino Padula for most of the reserve match. Another Argentine, Nico Hernandez, played all 90 for the Crew reserves.

Little Argentina.

Scoring Summary:
KCW - Ryan Pore (unassisted) 22'
CLB - Steven Lenhart (Emmanuel Ekpo) 43'

Columbus Crew Reserves (0-1-1) - Andy Gruenebaum, Ryan Junge (Andrew Peterson 65), Andy Iro, Jed Zayner, Ryan Miller, Nicolas Hernandez, Emmanuel Ekpo (George Josten 45), Stefani Miglioranzi-C, Brad Evans, Steven Lenhart (Guilherme Só 85), Jason Garey

Substitutes not used: Casey Latchem, Steve Traeger

KCW Reserves (2-0-2) - Eric Kronberg, Matt Marquess (Nelson Pizzarro 45), Aaron Hohlbein, Rauwshan McKenzie, Jonathan Leathers, Roger Espinoza (Michael Kraus 64), Sasha Victorine, Kerry Zavagnin-C, Ryan McMahen (Kevin Souter 45), Ryan Pore, Ivan Trujillo (Scott Sealy 45)

Substitutes not used: Boris Pardo, Geoff Miles

Misconduct Summary:
CLB - Jed Zayner (caution) 59'
CLB - Brad Evans (caution) 67'
KCW - Kevin Souter (caution) 77'

Goalkeeper Eric Kronberg was on quite a roll during the game. After a whistle stopped play while the ball was still in the air and heading toward goal, Kronberg decided he didn’t want to let it into the net even though it would not count. He scrambled back quickly and jumped to grab the ball. He misjudged the ball, however, and it fell through his arms, off his knee and straight into the goal. Everyone on the bench had quite a chuckle. Moments later as the ball was in the Crew end of the field, Kronberg turned to the bench and took a bow, again eliciting quite a laugh.

In the second half, forward Scott Sealy was taken down by Columbus in the penalty area for a spot kick. Everyone let out a loud appeal for the call, with Kronberg the loudest of the bunch. As the referee pointed to the spot and quieted the masses, Kronberg let out a yell of “RED CARD” from his goal area, taking everyone by surprise. The entire bench burst into laughter again and Kronberg gave his supporters a wave.

Hillcrest Road did not win any card tournaments for the trip, but again showed moderately well on the return flight. In 6-man and 5-man tournaments, Hillcrest came in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Hillcrest did win a three-man game, however, so that was good.

Thoughts from the trip:
-Captain Kansas City plays some mean MarioKart on Nintendo DS.
-Aaron Hohlbein sat next to Kansas City Royals pitcher Luke Hochever’s wife on the way back to KC. Very nice girl.
-One lady from the plane claimed to be an “analyzer” and was telling our players their personalities based on their signatures. Pretty humorous stuff.

Hillcrest out.

Game Day #7

It's cloudy and breezy in middle Ohio as we near kickoff. The US Women are currently tied 4-4 in a crazy affair against the ladies from down under on FSC, with our game to follow immediately. There's a chance of rain, but that should not last long if it does come. The temperature is good, so if the rain holds off, it will be a great evening for footie.

**Corrected**
Executive VP Greg Cotton and OnGoal member Pat Curran greeted The Cauldronites who made the trip with two cases of beer. Welcome friends. I spoke with Robert Houghton briefly outside the stadium, and he said around 20 will be behind the south goal sporting the Cauldron banner, some drums and a few flags. Let's get some goals toward that end, boys.

Our lineup:
Hartman, Myers, Conrad, Wahl, Harrington, Colombano, Jewsbury, Morsink, Espinoza, Lopez, Trujillo

subs:
Kronberg, Hohlbein, Zavagnin, Victorine, Marinelli, Sealy, Pore

Hesmer passed the pre-game fitness tests and will start in goal. Ezra Hendrickson will fill in at left back for the injured Padula.

CLB lineup: Hesmer, Hejduk, O'Rourke, Marshall, Hendrickson, Gaven, Carroll, Moffatt, Rogers, Schelotto, Moreno

subs: Gruenebaum, Iro, Miglioranzi, Ekpo, Evans, Garey, Hernandez

Greetings From C-Bus

Hillcrest Road checks in from its first road trip of the year. The flights from KC to CHI and CHI to CLB were a little bumpy, but we arrived in one piece. The landing in Chi-town had a nice little hop and skip to it, but the pilot did what he gets paid to do. The layover in CHI was a little lengthy, but it made for some quality reading time for some and card-playing time for others. Captain Kansas City found a neat rocking chair to post up in, picture below.

For those of you keeping score at home, Hillcrest has been involved in four card games thus far, finishing in 2nd, 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively (final game was a three-person game, but 3rd place looks better on paper than last place). Not a bad record for the first roadie. The team is in relax mode after a nice dinner of soup, salad, chicken Parmesan, roast beef, pasta and rice. Yum, yum.

Jimmy says hi KC.

Also, forgot this morning about Roger Espinoza having friends/family in town for this match. After playing for a year at Ohio State, he knows some people around. The crowd is sounding like it will be more and more Wizards friendly.

Pore Off Injury List; In Hometown Paper

Midfielder/forward Ryan Pore received a little lovin' today from his hometown newspaper, the Mansfield News Journal. Curt Conrad (no relation to Onalfo or Jimmy) put together this nice piece about Pore, his early season injury, and his return to his home state.

Pore, who rooted for Columbus growing up, will have around 600 friends/family from the Mansfield area at Crew Stadium this weekend. Add that number to the group of Cauldronites making the trip, and Columbus could feel strangely home-like for KC this weekend.

Wizards Partner for Cheer/Dance Camp

As so many of you with young daughters know, cheer and dance camps, clinics and classes are hugely popular. We are joining the trend, partnering with Lynn O'Brien Cheer and Dance Camps for a program in early June at KC Sports Lodge that coincides with our match against Columbus on Saturday, June 14 at CAB. For more info, read the release here at kcwizards.com.

You can also head to lynnobriencheer.com for more details and register for the camp here.

Some Stories We Missed

Mr. Siringi and Matthew Schofield of the KC Star continued their world footie features this week, but I didn't notice until today. Siringi offers up another breakdown of Champions' League clashes. (Man U and Chelsea fans smile here). Schofield weighs in on the Premier League race (Man U and Chelsea fans smile, again, here) and the fate of several of our Americans in the EPL. Unless Fulhamerica completes a massive two-game performance, we might be in trouble.

"Great stuff" to you both. There is a large community of soccer fans in this town, and they have been pining for more about The World's Game.

Not to be outdone, Mr. Pete Grathoff checked in with his MLS Notebook that features former Wizard goalkeeper William Hesmer and his strong performance so far this year. "Great stuff" to you as well, Pete.

Scholes winner:


Chelsea-Liverpool highlights: