Is No News Good News?

By: Michael | May 1st, 2007

No word on Marinelli:
No matter how many times I anxiously refresh the MLS injury page, I cannot cause it to be updated, so we are left with speculation about Marinelli’s injury. All reports seem to agree its his hamstring and that the 16′ substitution is a precautionary measure. I’m optimistic: It was chilly (EJo was sporting some puffy black gloves) and Marinelli is still building up to full match fitness.

On a side note, refreshing the MLS injury page also does not update the Wizards’ logo. The “rainbowed” soccer ball has been replaced by the logo featured on the official site.

A Few More Thoughts about Saturday’s Game:
1) Seeing the Wizards get the job done against Toronto twice is great. While we still don’t have a win against anyone who has been anyone (who would have pinned DC to start 0-3-0?), we do have two tough away wins.

2) Toronto will have a strong franchise in the future. Assuming the wonderful support of their team continues and Canada continues to become more involved in soccer, I think we’ll see a very strong TFC threatening to bring the MLS cup north of the border as early as ‘09. Mo’s a good manager and the organization seems to have it together. The played well – especially in the 1st half, as Sam pointed out – and I think that first goal will most certainly come during their current homestand. Anyone visiting BMO should pack ear plugs for the occasion to avoid deafness.

3) Even though it’s getting stomped in the “Goal of the Week” competition competition, EJo’s finish was wonderful, a display of agile footwork and – huzzah! – a lethal and accurate finish. While there are still detractors – ESPNsoccernet will stand as an example: “Eddie Johnson can score against really bad teams, didn’t we already know this from his U.S. national team career?” – I think Onalfo might be right about EJo being ready to produce on a consistent basis.

4) I once again beat FIFA ‘03 in my predictions. While I predicted TFC 1 – 2 KC, FIFA ‘03 fell short on a SJ 7 – 1 KC scoreline. I’m not even kidding. So far I’m 2-1-1 in four games versus the machine.

Finally, a week’s rest:
The Wizards are taking a deep breath and nursing the battle scars of a proud opening stint. This week is the first since the opening bye week in which we’ve had only one game. To top it off, we’ll be at home against draw-crazy Columbus, and I think it’s about time the Crew finally tasted defeat this season.

The Wizards’ Offside now has an e-mail address:
Including reader questions/comments in this blog is something I’ve wanted to do for awhile now. As always, you can leave comments on each post (and please do!), but now you can also send anything you have to say/ask to KCOffsider @ gmail . com. Feel free to leave your first name and where your from and I’ll include those when I quote you in a post.