Preaseason thus far

By: travis | February 22nd, 2008

Strap yourselves in ladies and gents, this is going to be doozy of a post.

That first post didn’t count. I wrote “the Wiz is back” and the “Wiz are back” in two different parts of the entry. I’m shaking my head in embarrassment.

Anyways, to continue, I’m going to write a bit more about myself before getting to the Wizards. And yes, I will never refer to them as “the Wiz” again. I had to do that at least once. I live in Sydney, Australia right now where I’m studying for a Masters. I am a fan of the beautiful game, as well as the MLS. I can’t claim to be a die hard fan of the Wizards. However, I intend on scouring the web and finding plenty of news and updates about the team, as well as throwing in my own two cents from time to time. Because after all, soccer and writing are two things that I love to do. Mixing them on some sort of platform is my idea of a good time. And there are plenty of fan sites and blogs that can tell you what the Wizards do everyday. I kid you not. It’s pretty remarkable, the Internet.

Two more facts about me that may only interest myself: part of the reason I decided to pick up this gig is the fact I went to the same University as Kurt Morsink, a Wizards midfielder. I wrote about one of their games here. He was in my stats class sophomore year. So that’s my connection to the team that can peak my interest. The other interesting fact? I have written a few books. Here is one of them. I promise you that I’m not lying and that this is the last time I’ll talk about myself. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog.

Because I’m overseas for the first half of the season, I’m going to use this blog as a filter for all things Wizard-related. I’m going to scour the Internets and find the latest news and up to date coverage on the squad. My own analysis will be thrown in from time to time, but until I get back to the States and can catch a game or two, I will limit my own opinion. To sum it up, this will be a filter of Wizards news. That’s how I’m going to start doing things from the start. Feel free to comment and leave me suggestions.

Now to the Wizards. Here are a few of the headlines from the pre-season thus far:

Eddie Johnson leaves
Another prominent MLSer has left to play overseas. See previous post for article link.

Wheelings and dealings
The Wizards have made a number of changes during the past few months:
-Defender Jose Burciaga was traded to the Rapids.
-Veteran Nick Garcia was dealt to San Jose for the number one pick in the Super Draft. Used to pick Chance Myers.
-Five others were picked in the Super Draft: Yomby William (D, Old Dominion University), Jon Leathers (D, Furman), Matt Marquess (M/D, Santa Clara), Roger Espinoza (D, Ohio State), and Rauwshan McKenzie (D, Michigan State).
-Columbian Forward Ivan Trujillo is signed from Deportivo Cali, and the paper work has been completed. It took nearly two months to get everything approved and signed.
-Is Argentinian Claudio Lopez on his way to KC?

Stadium
The Kansas City council passed a deal that will have a new soccer-specific stadium ready for the 2010 season.

New Kit
The Wizards have a new look for ‘08. I’m trying to sort out how to post the pictures. I’ll have them up when I can. In the meantime, here are links to the away kit and the home kit.

New Formation
After having success with a 4-4-2 formation last season, Coach Curt Onfalo reveals talk of switching to a 3-5-2 formation. Definitely one of the strong questions facing the Wizards coming into 2008.

Those are some of the major headlines from the post season. More to come. Remember, I’m playing catch up here, so please bear with me.

Last but not least, if you live in the Kansas City area, why not try out for the Wizards this weekend?