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    With the three Canadian teams holding three of the first four picks in the 2012 SuperDraft, the top NCAA talent may want to consider renewing their passports soon.
    But, should Canadian fans be excited by the prospect of their arrival? Last week we looked at the affect of the homegrown rule so far and the evidence suggested that the Canadian teams are relying on homegrown players more than most American teams. We speculated that the reason for that might be because of a combination of the (however limited) Canadian quota and a reluctance of some American players to come to Canada.
    However, it would be foolhardy to ignore the possibility of picks 1, 2 and 4. Although the importance of the draft may be gradually reducing, it’s not totally useless. There are players to be had.
    With that in mind, we looked at the history of the draft to try to see if there were any patterns that should be considered. The results are below the jump.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The first thing we wanted to do was to see just how useful the draft is at finding players. Using the objective stat of total appearances, we looked at every player picked in the first round from 2000 to 2011 (there were a few players that we could not find data for. We’ve omitted those players).
    We categorized the players into four levels of success – exceptional, solid, poor and failure. An exceptional player appeared in at least 75 per cent of games over their career (to allow us to compare the older drafts, we considered six seasons to be a typical career and 30 games to be a typical season – i.e. players drafted from 2000 to 2006 were expected to have appeared in 75 per cent of 180 games). Solid players appeared in 50 to 74 per cent of games, poor picks appeared in 25 to 49 per cent and failures appeared in less than 25 per cent.
    In real numbers:
    2000-2006 – More than 134 (exceptional), 90-134 (solid), 45-89 (poor), less than 45 (failure)
    2007 – More than 112 (exceptional), 75-112 (solid), 38-74 (poor), less than 38 (failure)
    2008 - More than 89 (exceptional), 60-89 (solid), 30-59 (poor), less than 30 (failure)
    2009 – More than 67 (exceptional), 45-67 (solid), 23-66 (poor), less than 23 (failure)
    2010 - More than 44 (exceptional), 30-44 (solid), 15-43 (poor), less than 15 (failure)
    2011 - More than 22 (exceptional), 15-22 (solid), 8-14 (poor), less than 8 (failure)
    *indicates a significant amount of appearances in European or South American league of similar or better quality of MLS
    By draft year (Bold indicates exceptional pick, italics indicate failure):
    2000 - Steve Shak – 22 (age in draft year) – 38 (appearances) – New York
    2000 - Nick Garcia – 21 – 296 – Kansas City
    2000 - Adin Brown – 22 – 85 - Colorado
    2000 - Carlos Bocanegra – 21 – 87* - Chicago
    2000 - Aleksey Korol – 22 – 40 - Dallas
    2000 - Danny Califf – 20 – 186* - Los Angeles
    2000 - Wes Hart – 23 – 92 - Colorado
    2000 - Travis Mulraine – 23 – 15 – San Jose
    2000 - John Wilson – 23 – 32 – Kansas City
    2000 - Alan Woods – 22 – 19 - Colorado
    2000 - Sasha Victorine – 22 – 239 – Los Angeles
    2000 - Bobby Convey – 17 – 164* - DC United
    Total – 12 picks.
    Average appearances – 108
    Median appearances – 86
    Average age of picks: 21.5
    Exceptional picks: 4
    Solid picks: 3
    Poor picks: 2
    Failures: 3
    2001 - Chris Carrieri – 21 – 70 – San Jose
    2001 - Ali Curtis – 23 – 50 – Tampa Bay
    2001 - Mark Lisi – 24 – 120 – DC United
    2001 - Ryan Nelsen – 24 – 81* - DC United
    2001 - Joselito Velasco – 19 – 94* - Dallas
    2001 - Craig Demmin – 30 -19 - Tampa
    2001 - Ryan Suarez – 24 -75 - Dallas
    2001 - Santino Quaranta – 17 -180 – DC United
    2001 - Brian Mullan – 23 – 273 Los Angeles
    2001 - Duncan Oughton – 24 – 136 - Columbus
    2001 - Isaias Bardales Jr – 22 – 12 – Los Angeles
    2001 - José Luis Burciaga – 19 – 127 – Kansas City
    Total – 12 picks.
    Average appearances: 103
    Median appearances: 87.5
    Average age of picks: 22.5
    Exceptional picks: 3
    Solid picks: 3
    Poor picks: 4
    Failures: 2
    2002 - Chris Gbandi – 23 – 111 - Dallas
    2002 - Taylor Twellman – 22 – 174* - New England
    2002 - Brad Davis – 20 – 271 – New York
    2002 - Justin Mapp – 18 – 223 - DC United
    2002 - Kelly Gray – 21 – 167 - Chicago
    2002 - Luchi Gonzalez – 22 – 30 – San Jose
    2002 - Kyle Martino – 21 – 141 - Columbus
    2002 - Carl Bussey – 22 – 9 - Dallas
    2002 - Daouda Kante – 22 – 26 – DC United
    Total – 9 picks (no stats for three players).
    Average appearances: 128
    Median appearances: 154
    Average age of picks: 21.2
    Exceptional picks: 5
    Solid picks: 1
    Poor picks: 0
    Failures: 3
    2003 - Alecko Eskandarian – 21 – 125 – DC United
    2003 - Ricardo Clark – 20 – 181 – New York
    2003 - Nate Jaqua – 22 – 193 - Chicago
    2003 - Mike Magee – 19 – 196 – New York
    2003 - David Stokes – 21 – 24 – DC United
    2003 - Todd Dunivant – 22 – 218 – San Jose
    2003 - Diego Walsh – 19 – 30 - Columbus
    2003 - Guillermo Gonzalez – 17 – 12 – Los Angeles
    2003 - Pat Noonan – 23 – 172 – New England
    2003 - Shavar Thomas – 22 – 174 – Dallas
    Total – 10 picks.
    Average appearances: 132.5
    Median appearances: 173
    Average age of picks: 20.6
    Exceptional picks: 6
    Solid picks: 1
    Poor picks: 0
    Failures: 3
    2004 - Freddy Adu – 15 – 111*- DC United
    2004 - Chad Marshall – 20 – 210 - Columbus
    2004 - Joseph Ngwenya – 23 – 118 – Los Angeles
    2004 - Matthew Taylor – 23 – 54* - Kansas City
    2004 - Ryan Cochrane – 21 – 145 – San Jose
    2004 - Ramón Núñez – 18 – 75*- Dallas
    2004 - Clarence Goodson – 22 – 74* - Dallas
    2004 - Clint Dempsey – 21 – 71*- New England
    2004 - Scott Buete – 24 – 21 - Chicago
    2004 - Steve Cronin – 21 – 86 – San Jose
    Total – 10 picks.
    Average appearances: 96.5
    Median appearances: 80.5
    Average age of picks: 20.8
    Exceptional picks: 2
    Solid picks: 2
    Poor picks: 5
    Failures: 1
    2005 - Nikolas Besagno – 16 – 8 – Salt Lake
    2005 - Brad Guzan – 21 – 79*- Chivas
    2005 - Chad Barrett – 20 – 173 - Chicago
    2005 - Danny O'Rourke – 22 – 152 – San Jose
    2005 - Ugo Ihemelu – 22 – 185 – Los Angeles
    2005 - Drew Moor – 21- 193 - Dallas
    2005 - Hunter Freeman – 20 – 107 - Colorado
    2005 - Troy Roberts – 22 – 61 – Los Angeles
    2005 - Michael Parkhurst – 21 – 110 - New England
    2005 - Jack Stewart – 22 – 39 - Chicago
    2005 - Scott Sealy – 24 – 128 – Kansas City
    2005 - Tim Ward – 18 – 71 – New York
    Total – 12 picks.
    Average appearances: 108.8
    Median appearances: 109
    Average age of picks: 20.75
    Exceptional picks: 4
    Solid picks: 3
    Poor picks: 3
    Failures: 2
    2006 - Marvell Wynne – 19 – 146 – New York
    2006 - Mehdi Ballouchy – 22 – 163 – Salt Lake
    2006 - Jason Garey – 21-97 - Columbus
    2006 - Yura Movsisyan – 18 – 81 – Kansas City
    2006 - Sacha Kljestan – 19 – 114*- Chivas
    2006 - Dax McCarty – 18 – 124 - Dallas
    2006 - Justin Moose – 21 – 8 – DC United
    2006 - Patrick Ianni – 20 – 91 - Houston
    2006 - Kei Kamara – 21 – 145 - Columbus
    2006 - Calen Carr – 23 – 98 - Chicago
    2006 - Nathan Sturgis – 18 – 75 – Los Angeles
    Total – 11 picks (no stats on one player)
    Average appearances: 103.8
    Median appearances: 106
    Average age of picks: 20
    Exceptional picks: 3
    Solid picks: 5
    Poor picks: 2
    Failures: 1
    2007 - Maurice Edu – 20 – 38* - Toronto
    2007 - Bakary Soumaré – 20 – 62* - Chicago
    2007 - Michael Harrington – 20 – 138 – Kansas City
    2007 - Chris Seitz – 19 – 31 – Salt Lake
    2007 - Wells Thompson – 22 – 129 – New England
    2007 - Nico Colaluca – 20 – 11 - Colorado
    2007 - John Cunliffe – 25 – 27 - Chivas
    2007 - Jerson Monteiro – 21 – 5 - Chicago
    2007 - Anthony Wallace – 17 – 32- Dallas
    2007 - Andrew Boyens – 23 – 68 - Toronto
    2007 - Bryan Arguez – 17 – 0 – DC United
    2007 - Amaechi Igwe – 18 – 22 – New England
    2007 - John Michael Hayden – 23 – 18 – Houston
    Total – 13 picks.
    Average appearances: 44.7
    Median appearances: 31.5
    Average age of picks: 20.4
    Exceptional picks: 2
    Solid picks: 0
    Poor picks: 3
    Failures: 8
    2008 - Chance Myers – 19 – 59 – Kansas City
    2008 - Brek Shea – 17 – 82 - Dallas
    2008 - Tony Beltran – 20 – 78 – Salt Lake
    2008 - Sean Franklin – 22 – 92 – Los Angeles
    2008 - Ciaran O'Brien – 19 – 1 - Colorado
    2008 - Andy Iro – 22 – 71 - Columbus
    2008 - Patrick Nyarko – 21 – 100 - Chicago
    2008 - Josh Lambo – 16 – 0 - Dallas
    2008 - Julius James – 23 – 84 - Toronto
    2008 - Pat Phelan – 22 – 80 - Toronto
    2008 - Roger Espinoza – 21 – 87 – Kansas City
    2008 - Dominic Cervi – 21 – 0* - Chicago
    2008 - Rob Valentino – 21 – 0 – New England
    2008 - David Horst – 22 – 19 – Salt Lake
    Total – 14 picks.
    Average appearances: 48.1
    Median appearances: 74.5
    Average age of picks: 20.4
    Exceptional picks: 2
    Solid picks: 6
    Poor picks: 1
    Failures: 5
    2009 - Steve Zakuani – 21 – 64 - Seattle
    2009 - Sam Cronin – 22 – 69 - Toronto
    2009 - Omar Gonzalez – 21 – 96 – Los Angeles
    2009 - O'Brian White – 23 – 40 - Toronto
    2009 - Peri Marošević – 20 – 11 - Dallas
    2009 - Rodney Wallace – 21 – 60 – DC United
    2009 - Chris Pontius – 22 – 70 – DC United
    2009 - Matt Besler – 22 – 72 – Kansas City
    2009 - Michael Lahoud – 23 – 62 - Chivas
    2009 - Kevin Alston – 21 – 81 – New England
    2009 - Jeremy Hall – 21 – 58 – New York
    2009 - Jean-Marc Alexandre – 23 – 38 – Salt Lake
    2009 - Stefan Frei – 23 – 81 - Toronto
    2009 - George John – 22 – 76 – Dallas
    Total – 14 picks (Stats missing on one player).
    Average appearances: 62.7
    Median appearances: 66.5
    Average age of picks: 21.8
    Exceptional picks: 7
    Solid picks: 3
    Poor picks: 2
    Failures: 1
    2010 - Danny Mwanga – 19 – 54 - Philly
    2010 - Tony Tchani – 21 – 43 – New York
    2010 - Ike Opara – 21 – 19 – San Jose
    2010 - Teal Bunbury – 20 – 55 – Kansas City
    2010 - Zach Loyd – 23 – 59 - Dallas
    2010 - Amobi Okugo – 19 – 26 - Philly
    2010 - Jack McInerney – 18 – 37 - Philly
    2010 - Dilly Duka – 21 – 26 - Columbus
    2010 - Zack Schilawski – 23 – 50 – New England
    2010 - Blair Gavin – 21 – 34 - Chivas
    2010 - David Estrada – 22 – 6 - Seattle
    2010 - Bright Dike – 23 – 11 - Columbus
    2010 - Corben Bone – 22 – 15 - Chicago
    2010 - Austin da Luz – 23 – 21 – New York
    2010 - Collen Warner – 22 – 31 – Salt Lake
    2010 - Michael Stephens – 21 – 49 – Los Angeles
    Total – 16 picks.
    Average appearances: 33.5
    Median appearances: 35.5
    Average age of picks: 21.2
    Exceptional picks: 5
    Solid picks: 4
    Poor picks: 4
    Failures: 2
    2011 - Omar Salgado – 18 – 14 - Vancouver
    2011 - Darlington Nagbe – 21 – 28 - Portland
    2011 - Perry Kitchen – 19 – 31 – DC United
    2011 - Zarek Valentin – 20 – 25 - Chivas
    2011 - Zach MacMath – 20 – 8 - Philly
    2011 - A. J. Soares – 22 – 28 – New England
    2011 - Kofi Sarkodie – 20 – 7 - Houston
    2011 - Michael Nanchoff – 23 – 5 - Vancouver
    2011 - Jalil Anibaba – 23 – 29 - Chicago
    2011 - C. J. Sapong – 22 – 34 – Kansas City
    2011 - Will Bruin – 22 – 27 - Houston
    2011 - Rich Balchan – 22 – 20 - Columbus
    2011 - Corey Hertzog – 21 – 5 – New York
    2011 - Víctor Mairongo – 23 – 9 - Chivas
    2011 - Justin Meram – 22 – 17 - Columbus
    2011 - Paolo Cardozo – 22 – 18 – Los Angeles
    2011 - Bobby Warshaw – 22 – 17 - Dallas
    2011 - Eddie Ababio – 23 – 0 – Colorado
    Total – 18 picks.
    Average appearances: 18.8
    Median appearances: 17.5
    Average age of picks: 20.1
    Exceptional picks: 7
    Solid picks: 4
    Poor picks: 3
    Failures: 4
    So, does anything jump out at us? Perhaps. It’s somewhat intuitive, but the numbers demonstrate that team’s selecting in the first round are more likely to select an exceptional player than a failure. It would also stand to reason that those exceptional picks are more likely to come from higher spots in the draft order. But are they? Here is the list of the 48 exceptional players drafted since 2000:
    2nd - 2000 - Nick Garcia – 21 – 296 – Kansas City
    6th - 2000 - Danny Califf – 20 – 186* - Los Angeles
    11th - 2000 - Sasha Victorine – 22 – 239 – Los Angeles
    12th - 2000 - Bobby Convey – 17 – 164* - DC United
    8th - 2001 - Santino Quaranta – 17 -180 – DC United
    9th - 2001 - Brian Mullan – 23 – 273 Los Angeles
    10th - 2001 - Duncan Oughton – 24 – 136 – Columbus
    2nd - 2002 - Taylor Twellman – 22 – 174* - New England
    3rd - 2002 - Brad Davis – 20 – 271 – New York
    4th - 2002 - Justin Mapp – 18 – 223 - DC United
    5th - 2002 - Kelly Gray – 21 – 167 – Chicago
    7th - 2002 - Kyle Martino – 21 – 141 – Columbus
    2nd - 2003 - Ricardo Clark – 20 – 181 – New York
    3rd - 2003 - Nate Jaqua – 22 – 193 - Chicago
    4th - 2003 - Mike Magee – 19 – 196 – New York
    6th - 2003 - Todd Dunivant – 22 – 218 – San Jose
    9th - 2003 - Pat Noonan – 23 – 172 – New England
    10th - 2003 - Shavar Thomas – 22 – 174 – Dallas
    2nd - 2004 - Chad Marshall – 20 – 210 – Columbus
    5th - 2004 - Ryan Cochrane – 21 – 145 – San Jose
    3rd - 2005 - Chad Barrett – 20 – 173 - Chicago
    4th - 2005 - Danny O'Rourke – 22 – 152 – San Jose
    5th - 2005 - Ugo Ihemelu – 22 – 185 – Los Angeles
    6th - 2005 - Drew Moor – 21- 193 – Dallas
    1st - 2006 - Marvell Wynne – 19 – 146 – New York
    2nd - 2006 - Mehdi Ballouchy – 22 – 163 – Salt Lake
    9th - 2006 - Kei Kamara – 21 – 145 – Columbus
    3rd - 2007 - Michael Harrington – 20 – 138 – Kansas City
    5th - 2007 - Wells Thompson – 22 – 129 – New England
    4th - 2008 - Sean Franklin – 22 – 92 – Los Angeles
    7th - 2008 - Patrick Nyarko – 21 – 100 – Chicago
    2nd - 2009 - Sam Cronin – 22 – 69 - Toronto
    3rd - 2009 - Omar Gonzalez – 21 – 96 – Los Angeles
    8th - 2009 - Matt Besler – 22 – 72 – Kansas City
    10th - 2009 - Kevin Alston – 21 – 81 – New England
    1st - 2010 - Danny Mwanga – 19 – 54 – Philly
    4th - 2010 - Teal Bunbury – 20 – 55 – Kansas City
    5th - 2010 - Zach Loyd – 23 – 59 – Dallas
    9th - 2010 - Zack Schilawski – 23 – 50 – New England
    16th - 2010 - Michael Stephens – 21 – 49 – Los Angeles
    2nd - 2011 - Darlington Nagbe – 21 – 28 - Portland
    3rd - 2011 - Perry Kitchen – 19 – 31 – DC United
    4th - 2011 - Zarek Valentin – 20 – 25 – Chivas
    6th - 2011 - A. J. Soares – 22 – 28 – New England
    9th - 2011 - Jalil Anibaba – 23 – 29 - Chicago
    10th - 2011 - C. J. Sapong – 22 – 34 – Kansas City
    11th - 2011 - Will Bruin – 22 – 27 – Houston
    So, 43.3 per cent (26/60) of top five picks turned out to be exceptional, versus 28.3 per cent (17/60) of picks 6-10. Only four picks, or 12.5 per cent (4/32) above 10th overall turned out to be exceptional. The possibility of getting an important player clearly drops off dramatically and quickly.
    An interesting anomaly amongst the data is the failure of teams to select exceptional picks No 1 overall. Only twice -- Marvell Wynne in 2006 and Danny Mwanga in 2010 – has the top pick been in the top category (No 2 overall is the most successful place to pick with seven of 12 picks ending up as exceptional – so Whitecaps fans should be happy).
    There is, of course, a half empty way to look at those numbers – more than half of top five picks do not end up as exceptional picks. Drafting isn’t a science and it’s understandable if every top prospect doesn’t fully pan out. What good teams need to do is to avoid really blowing it by picking failures.
    In total, 36 players meet that unfortunate criteria.
    1st - 2000 - Steve Shak – 22 – 38 – New York
    5th - 2000 - Aleksey Korol – 22 – 40 – Dallas
    8th - 2000 - Travis Mulraine – 23 – 15 – San Jose
    9th - 2000 - John Wilson – 23 – 32 – Kansas City
    10th - 2000 - Alan Woods – 22 – 19 – Colorado
    6th - 2001 - Craig Demmin – 30 -19 – Tampa
    11th - 2001 - Isaias Bardales Jr – 22 – 12 – Los Angeles
    6th - 2002 - Luchi Gonzalez – 22 – 30 – San Jose
    8th - 2002 - Carl Bussey – 22 – 9 - Dallas
    9th - 2002 - Daouda Kante – 22 – 26 – DC United
    5th - 2003 - David Stokes – 21 – 24 – DC United
    7th - 2003 - Diego Walsh – 19 – 30 - Columbus
    8th - 2003 - Guillermo Gonzalez – 17 – 12 – Los Angeles
    9th - 2004 - Scott Buete – 24 – 21 – Chicago
    1st - 2005 - Nikolas Besagno – 16 – 8 – Salt Lake
    10th - 2005 - Jack Stewart – 22 – 39 – Chicago
    7th - 2006 - Justin Moose – 21 – 8 – DC United
    4th - 2007 - Chris Seitz – 19 – 31 – Salt Lake
    6th - 2007 - Nico Colaluca – 20 – 11 - Colorado
    7th - 2007 - John Cunliffe – 25 – 27 - Chivas
    8th - 2007 - Jerson Monteiro – 21 – 5 – Chicago
    9th - 2007 - Anthony Wallace – 17 – 32- Dallas
    11th - 2007 - Bryan Arguez – 17 – 0 – DC United
    12th - 2007 - Amaechi Igwe – 18 – 22 – New England
    13th - 2007 - John Michael Hayden – 23 – 18 – Houston
    5th - 2008 - Ciaran O'Brien – 19 – 1 – Colorado
    8th - 2008 - Josh Lambo – 16 – 0 – Dallas
    12th - 2008 - Dominic Cervi – 21 – 0* - Chicago
    13th - 2008 - Rob Valentino – 21 – 0 – New England
    14th - 2008 - David Horst – 22 – 19 – Salt Lake
    5th - 2009 - Peri Marošević – 20 – 11 – Dallas
    11th - 2010 - David Estrada – 22 – 6 - Seattle
    12th - 2010 - Bright Dike – 23 – 11 – Columbus
    7th - 2011 - Kofi Sarkodie – 20 – 7 - Houston
    8th - 2011 - Michael Nanchoff – 23 – 5 – Vancouver
    13th - 2011 - Corey Hertzog – 21 – 5 – New York
    It is quite rare to pick a bomb in the top five, with just 11.6 per cent (7/60) of selections turning out to be failures. The number drops even more dramatically when you limit it to the top four selections. There only 0.5 per cent (3/60) have been failures (interestingly two of those three were first overall).
    Almost a third (31.6 per cent or 19/60) of picks 6-10 are failures and a similar number (31.2 per cent or 10/32) above 10 fail. Whether a one in three chance to get a lemon is enough to justify trading those spots is up to others to judge.
    Beyond the somewhat obvious factor of draft order, are there any other factors that might predict success or failure? What about age? Let’s look:
    Of the 48 exceptional draft picks (rounding to nearest year) eight were younger than 20, seven were 20, 12 were 21, 15 were 22, 5 were 23 and just one was older than 23. By percentage of the total amount of players selected of the same age it broke down like this:
    Younger than 20 – 30 selected – 8 exceptional – 26.6% of total picked
    20 – 17 selected – 7 exceptional – 41.1% of total picked
    21 – 34 selected – 12 exceptional – 35.2% of total picked
    22 – 41 selected – 15 exceptional – 36.5% of total picked
    23 – 27 selected – 5 exceptional – 18.5% of total picked
    Older than 23 – 8 selected – 1 exceptional – 12.5% of total picked
    There is clearly a drop off after 22 (as well with those younger than 20). However, to get a full picture we should also look at the failure rate by age:
    Younger than 20 – 30 selected – 9 failures – 30% of total picked
    20 – 17 selected – 3 failures – 17.6% of total picked
    21 – 34 selected – 6 failures – 17.6% of total picked
    22 – 41 selected – 10 failures – 24.3% of total picked
    23 – 27 selected – 6 failures – 22.2% of total picked
    Older than 23 – 8 selected – 3 failures – 37.5% of total picked
    The younger than 19 numbers are once again interesting and seem to be in contrast with the rest of the numbers that suggest younger is better. There are a couple of possible reasons for that. Those drafted over the last few years may not have even reached the same age as the 21-22 year olds that have been more successful so far. It’s also likely that drafting a teenager is more of an all or nothing proposition. They may be a failure, but they may also become truly exceptional (as opposed to statistically exceptional as defined by this article).
    It’s also fairly clear that drafting older players is a risk. If they are older than 23 it’s a big risk. A risk that rarely pays off.
    There is a significant factor we’ve ignored up to now – who is drafting the players. Do some clubs draft better than others? Let’s have a look.
    Teams need to have made a minimum of five first round picks to receive a ranking.
    2000 - Steve Shak – 22 – 38 – New York
    2002 - Brad Davis – 20 – 271 – New York
    2003 - Ricardo Clark – 20 – 181 – New York
    2003 - Mike Magee – 19 – 196 – New York
    2005 - Tim Ward – 18 – 71 – New York
    2006 - Marvell Wynne – 19 – 146 – New York
    2010 - Tony Tchani – 21 – 43 – New York
    2010 - Austin da Luz – 23 – 21 – New York
    2011 - Corey Hertzog – 21 – 5 – New York
    Total picks: 9
    Exceptional picks: 4 (44.4%)
    Failures: 2 (22.2%)
    Success rate (Exceptional – Failures): 22.2%
    2000 - Adin Brown – 22 – 85 - Colorado
    2000 - Wes Hart – 23 – 92 – Colorado
    2000 - Alan Woods – 22 – 19 - Colorado
    2005 - Hunter Freeman – 20 – 107 - Colorado
    2007 - Nico Colaluca – 20 – 11 - Colorado
    2008 - Ciaran O'Brien – 19 – 1 - Colorado
    2011 - Eddie Ababio – 23 – 0 – Colorado
    Total picks: 7
    Exceptional picks: 0 (0%)
    Failures: 2 (28.5%)
    Success rate: -28.5%
    2000 - Nick Garcia – 21 – 296 – Kansas City
    2000 - John Wilson – 23 – 32 – Kansas City
    2001 - José Luis Burciaga – 19 – 127 – Kansas City
    2004 - Matthew Taylor – 23 – 54* - Kansas City
    2005 - Scott Sealy – 24 – 128 – Kansas City
    2006 - Yura Movsisyan – 18 – 81 – Kansas City
    2007 - Michael Harrington – 20 – 138 – Kansas City
    2008 - Chance Myers – 19 – 59 – Kansas City
    2008 - Roger Espinoza – 21 – 87 – Kansas City
    2009 - Matt Besler – 22 – 72 – Kansas City
    2010 - Teal Bunbury – 20 – 55 – Kansas City
    2011 - C. J. Sapong – 22 – 34 – Kansas City
    Total picks: 12
    Exceptional picks: 5 (41.6%)
    Failures: 1 (8.3%)
    Success rate: 33.3%
    2000 - Carlos Bocanegra – 21 – 87* - Chicago
    2002 - Kelly Gray – 21 – 167 - Chicago
    2003 - Nate Jaqua – 22 – 193 - Chicago
    2004 - Scott Buete – 24 – 21 - Chicago
    2005 - Chad Barrett – 20 – 173 - Chicago
    2005 - Jack Stewart – 22 – 39 - Chicago
    2006 - Calen Carr – 23 – 98 – Chicago
    2007 - Jerson Monteiro – 21 – 5 - Chicago
    2007 - Bakary Soumaré – 20 – 62* - Chicago
    2008 - Patrick Nyarko – 21 – 100 - Chicago
    2008 - Dominic Cervi – 21 – 0* - Chicago
    2010 - Corben Bone – 22 – 15 - Chicago
    2011 - Jalil Anibaba – 23 – 29 - Chicago
    Total picks: 13
    Exceptional picks: 5 (38.4%)
    Failures: 4 (30.7%)
    Success rate: 8.4%
    2000 - Aleksey Korol – 22 – 40 – Dallas
    2001 - Joselito Velasco – 19 – 94* - Dallas
    2001 - Ryan Suarez – 24 -75 - Dallas
    2002 - Chris Gbandi – 23 – 111 - Dallas
    2002 - Carl Bussey – 22 – 9 - Dallas
    2003 - Shavar Thomas – 22 – 174 – Dallas
    2004 - Ramón Núñez – 18 – 75*- Dallas
    2004 - Clarence Goodson – 22 – 74* - Dallas
    2005 - Drew Moor – 21- 193 - Dallas
    2006 - Dax McCarty – 18 – 124 - Dallas
    2007 - Anthony Wallace – 17 – 32- Dallas
    2008 - Brek Shea – 17 – 82 – Dallas
    2008 - Josh Lambo – 16 – 0 - Dallas
    2009 - Peri Marošević – 20 – 11 - Dallas
    2009 - George John – 22 – 76 – Dallas
    2010 - Zach Loyd – 23 – 59 - Dallas
    2011 - Bobby Warshaw – 22 – 17 – Dallas
    Total picks: 17
    Exceptional picks: 3 (17.6%)
    Failures: 5 (29.4)
    Success rate: -11.8
    2000 - Danny Califf – 20 – 186* - Los Angeles
    2000 - Sasha Victorine – 22 – 239 – Los Angeles
    2001 - Brian Mullan – 23 – 273 Los Angeles
    2001 - Isaias Bardales Jr – 22 – 12 – Los Angeles
    2003 - Guillermo Gonzalez – 17 – 12 – Los Angeles
    2004 - Joseph Ngwenya – 23 – 118 – Los Angeles
    2005 - Ugo Ihemelu – 22 – 185 – Los Angeles
    2005 - Troy Roberts – 22 – 61 – Los Angeles
    2006 - Nathan Sturgis – 18 – 75 – Los Angeles
    2008 - Sean Franklin – 22 – 92 – Los Angeles
    2009 - Omar Gonzalez – 21 – 96 – Los Angeles
    2010 - Michael Stephens – 21 – 49 – Los Angeles
    2011 - Paolo Cardozo – 22 – 18 – Los Angeles
    Total picks: 13
    Exceptional picks: 7 (53.8%)
    Failures: 2 (15.3%)
    Success rate: 38.5%
    2000 - Travis Mulraine – 23 – 15 – San Jose
    2001 - Chris Carrieri – 21 – 70 – San Jose
    2002 - Luchi Gonzalez – 22 – 30 – San Jose
    2003 - Todd Dunivant – 22 – 218 – San Jose
    2004 - Ryan Cochrane – 21 – 145 – San Jose
    2004 - Steve Cronin – 21 – 86 – San Jose
    2005 - Danny O'Rourke – 22 – 152 – San Jose
    2006 - Patrick Ianni – 20 – 91 - Houston
    2007 - John Michael Hayden – 23 – 18 – Houston
    2011 - Kofi Sarkodie – 20 – 7 – Houston
    Total picks: 10
    Exceptional picks: 3 (30%)
    Failures: 4 (40%)
    Success rate: -10%
    2000 - Bobby Convey – 17 – 164* - DC United
    2001 - Mark Lisi – 24 – 120 – DC United
    2001 - Ryan Nelsen – 24 – 81* - DC United
    2001 - Santino Quaranta – 17 -180 – DC United
    2002 - Justin Mapp – 18 – 223 - DC United
    2002 - Daouda Kante – 22 – 26 – DC United
    2003 - Alecko Eskandarian – 21 – 125 – DC United
    2003 - David Stokes – 21 – 24 – DC United
    2004 - Freddy Adu – 15 – 111*- DC United
    2006 - Justin Moose – 21 – 8 – DC United
    2007 - Bryan Arguez – 17 – 0 – DC United
    2009 - Rodney Wallace – 21 – 60 – DC United
    2009 - Chris Pontius – 22 – 70 – DC United
    2011 - Perry Kitchen – 19 – 31 – DC United
    Total picks: 14
    Exceptional picks: 4 (28.5%)
    Failures: 4 (28.5%)
    Success rate: 0%
    2001 - Ali Curtis – 23 – 50 – Tampa Bay
    2001 - Craig Demmin – 30 -19 – Tampa Bay
    Minimum amount of selections not met
    2001 - Duncan Oughton – 24 – 136 - Columbus
    2002 - Kyle Martino – 21 – 141 - Columbus
    2003 - Diego Walsh – 19 – 30 - Columbus
    2004 - Chad Marshall – 20 – 210 - Columbus
    2006 - Jason Garey – 21-97 - Columbus
    2006 - Kei Kamara – 21 – 145 - Columbus
    2008 - Andy Iro – 22 – 71 - Columbus
    2010 - Dilly Duka – 21 – 26 - Columbus
    2010 - Bright Dike – 23 – 11 - Columbus
    2011 - Rich Balchan – 22 – 20 - Columbus
    2011 - Justin Meram – 22 – 17 – Columbus
    Total picks: 11
    Exceptional picks: 4 (36.3%)
    Failures: 2 (18.1%)
    Success rate: 18.2%
    2003 - Pat Noonan – 23 – 172 – New England
    2004 - Clint Dempsey – 21 – 71*- New England
    2005 - Michael Parkhurst – 21 – 110 - New England
    2007 - Wells Thompson – 22 – 129 – New England
    2007 - Amaechi Igwe – 18 – 22 – New England
    2008 - Rob Valentino – 21 – 0 – New England
    2009 - Kevin Alston – 21 – 81 – New England
    2010 - Zack Schilawski – 23 – 50 – New England
    2011 - A. J. Soares – 22 – 28 – New England
    Total picks: 9
    Exceptional picks: 5 (55.5%)
    Failures: 2 (22.2%)
    Success rate: 33.3%
    2005 - Nikolas Besagno – 16 – 8 – Salt Lake
    2006 - Mehdi Ballouchy – 22 – 163 – Salt Lake
    2007 - Chris Seitz – 19 – 31 – Salt Lake
    2008 - Tony Beltran – 20 – 78 – Salt Lake
    2008 - David Horst – 22 – 19 – Salt Lake
    2009 - Jean-Marc Alexandre – 23 – 38 – Salt Lake
    2010 - Collen Warner – 22 – 31 – Salt Lake
    Total picks: 7
    Exceptional picks: 1 (14.2%)
    Failures: 3 (42.8%)
    Success rate: -28.6%
    2005 - Brad Guzan – 21 – 79*- Chivas
    2006 - Sacha Kljestan – 19 – 114*- Chivas
    2007 - John Cunliffe – 25 – 27 - Chivas
    2009 - Michael Lahoud – 23 – 62 - Chivas
    2010 - Blair Gavin – 21 – 34 - Chivas
    2011 - Zarek Valentin – 20 – 25 - Chivas
    2011 - Víctor Mairongo – 23 – 9 – Chivas
    Total picks: 7
    Exceptional picks: 1 (14.2%)
    Failures: 1 (14.2%)
    Success rate: 0%
    2007 - Maurice Edu – 20 – 38* - Toronto
    2007 - Andrew Boyens – 23 – 68 - Toronto
    2008 - Julius James – 23 – 84 - Toronto
    2008 - Pat Phelan – 22 – 80 - Toronto
    2009 - Sam Cronin – 22 – 69 - Toronto
    2009 - O'Brian White – 23 – 40 - Toronto
    2009 - Stefan Frei – 23 – 81 – Toronto
    Total picks: 7
    Exceptional picks: 2 (28.5%)
    Failures: 0 (0%)
    Success rate: 28.5%
    2010 - Ike Opara – 21 – 19 – San Jose 2
    Minimum amount of selections not met
    2009 - Steve Zakuani – 21 – 64 - Seattle
    2010 - David Estrada – 22 – 6 - Seattle
    Minimum amount of selections not met
    2010 - Danny Mwanga – 19 – 54 - Philly
    2010 - Amobi Okugo – 19 – 26 - Philly
    2010 - Jack McInerney – 18 – 37 - Philly
    2011 - Zach MacMath – 20 – 8 - Philly
    Minimum amount of selections not met
    2011 - Omar Salgado – 18 – 14 - Vancouver
    2011 - Michael Nanchoff – 23 – 5 - Vancouver
    Minimum amount of selections not met
    2011 - Darlington Nagbe – 21 – 28 – Portland
    Minimum amount of selections not met
    To summarize, the best to worst drafting clubs are:
    Los Angeles – 38.5% success rate
    Kansas City -- 33.3% (second tie breaker of less failures)
    New England – 33.3%
    Toronto – 28.5%
    New York – 22.2%
    Columbus – 18.2%
    Chicago – 8.2%
    DC United – 0% (first tie breaker of most exceptional picks)
    Chivas – 0%
    San Jose/Houston – (-10%)
    Dallas – (-11.8)
    Colorado – (-28.5%)
    Salt Lake – (-28.6%)
    This concludes our breakdown. We encourage others to look at the data and add to the discussion below.
    Guest
    Toronto FC has learned who its opponent will be in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals next March: the L.A. Galaxy, a team that could very well be reigning MLS Cup champions. The two other teams TFC could have been drawn with were a pair of Mexican outfits, Santos Laguna and Monterrey.
    The exact dates of the games are yet to be announced, while the club also has yet to decide whether the home leg (to be contested on either March 6, 7 or 8) will be played at BMO Field or the Rogers Centre.
    And suddenly, Toronto fans have a pressing reason to keep an eye on David Beckham's 2012 status.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    In an entirely unsurprising move, MLS announced today that Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario has been named to the three-man shortlist for the league's Most Valuable Player Award.
    De Rosario is up against Brad Davis of the Houston Dynamo, and FC Dallas' Brek Shea. The league will announce the winner of the award on November 18th.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    After racking up 16 goals and 12 assists between three MLS teams during the 2011 regular season, De Rosario was considered a no-brainer to be named as an MVP candidate.
    Davis, who led the league in assists with 16 (while also chipping in four goals), was also thought to be a lock as an MVP finalist.
    The only surprising finalist is 21-year-old Shea, who took the reigns of Dallas' offence after the club's key creative threat Davide Ferreira was felled by injury early into the 2011 campaign. Shea's 11 goals and four assists don't stand out as much as Davis' and DeRo's numbers, but the lanky youngester's stellar play buoyed Dallas during a heavy schedule and caught the eye of US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
    The league also announced the finalists in all of their other end-of-season awards, including Newcomer of the Year candidate Eric Hassli of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Hassli's competition for the award are Seattle Sounders catalyst Mauro Rosales and New York sparkplug Luke Rodgers.
    Guest
    The Vancouver Whitecaps announced today that they are parting ways with 24-year-old midfielder Alexandre Morfaw and 21-year-old defender Omar Elmasri.
    Cameroon native Morfaw joined Vancouver in 2010 when the club was still part of the USSF-D2 league, and was brought up to MLS when the club transitioned to the top tier in 2011. After having made six appearances with the D2 side, Morfaw participated in only two MLS matches this year (as well as numerous appearances for the Vancouver reserve and residency sides).
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Elmasri joined the Whitecaps as a trialist this past August, and took part in three Reserve League matches.
    New Vancouver head coach Martin Rennie is currently putting the Whitecaps players through their paces in a post-season evaluation camp, after which more player moves can be expected. The camp wraps up later this week.
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by John Herdman, the head coach of the Canadian women's national team, to talk about the current direction of the team, where things fell apart at the World Cup and what they're doing to correct it. Not one to shy away from an opinion, Herdman gives some pretty blunt assessments of the former leadership and where he's taking the team now.
    We'll also look at the recent signings and releases by Toronto and Vancouver, talk about some of the moves in the lead up to the next Canada game and discuss the Canadian contributions in the MLS playoffs over the weekend.
    The archive show is now up.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/27135/nov82011final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    If you have problems with the audio player you can download the show here and on iTunes.
    The next show will be on Friday.
    Guest
    A pair of highly-entertaining Conference Finals matches set the stage for MLS Cup 2011, with a plucky underdog side looking to add the biggest names in the league to their growing list of recently-claimed scalps.
    In the East final, Houston travelled to Kansas and blanked one of the best attacking teams in the league en route to booking their trip to the championship match.
    On the West Coast, Salt Lake and Los Angeles fought an epic battle that saw the cream rise to the top as the Galaxy's highest paid stars earned their paycheques in lifting LA to the season finale.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Sporting Kansas City 0-2 Houston Dynamo
    (Houston advance to the MLS Cup final)
    Despite losing talismanic midfielder (and MLS MVP candidate) Brad Davis early into the match, Houston found enough in the tank to put two goals past Kansas City on the road in one of the most imhospitable buildings in the league.
    An over-sold Livestrong Sporting Park watched a game played at a frenetic pace as Sporting looked to rely on their athleticism and the three-headed attack that had carried them to rarified heights during the regular season and opening stages of the playoffs.
    Instead, it was Houston grinding out a victory after seeing their best offensive weapon felled by a quad injury just over a half hour into the contest. With Davis out, the Dynamo needed to find other ways to get on to the scoreboard, and they did just that through Canadian defender André Hainault, who tapped in a loose ball from inside the six yard box following a set piece in the 53rd minute.
    The scoreline forced Kansas to open up, and they threw every attacking option forward in search of the tying goal. The available space allowed Honduran forward Carlo Costly to run on to a through ball late in the game and seal the Houston victory with a well-placed shot past KC 'keeper Jimmy Nielsen.
    Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 Real Salt Lake
    (Los Angeles advance to the MLS Cup final)
    The Western Conference Final featured two of MLS' heavyweights in recent years, and they didn't disappoint as the sides traded blows in an instant classic.
    A rematch of the 2009 MLS Cup Final (won by a then-unfancied RSL side), Sunday's tilt wasted no time in kicking into high gear, with both teams going for the throat early and piling up several near-misses in the opening moments.
    It would be LA who drew first blood, with Landon Donovan converting a 23rd-minute penalty kick following a rather soft foul called in the Salt Lake area against Andy Williams.
    RSL responded to the controversial opening marker in the best way possible -- with a nearly immediate goal of their own. In the 25th minute, the Utah side earned a corner kick, and -- through a combination of a beautifully-executed set play and some remarkably lax Los Angeles defending -- Alvaro Saborio nodded home the equalizer.
    It was "game on" in Carson as both teams looked to take control of the match, but neither side could break through for the rest of the half.
    After the halftime break, it became apparent that the toll of three playoff games in a week was weighing heavily on both teams, although LA seemed to be coping better with the fatigue. Nearly 15 minutes into the second half, a quick breakout orchestrated by Galaxy striker Robbie Keane -- who was lively all game long -- led to a vintage David Beckham cross that met the head of a diving Mike Magee, who made no mistake from five yards in putting LA up 2-1.
    For Magee, it was his third goal in three playoff matches so far in 2011 -- all three of them coming from Beckham's service.
    The match was put out of reach ten minutes later when a long pass from Donovan found an onrushing Keane, who brought the ball into the RSL area and smartly cut around defender Jamison Olave before blasting a low shot past Nick Rimando and inside the far post.
    --
    MLS Playoff Wrap appears after each playoff round is completed.
    Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC, MLS, and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams, and has contributed to Goal.com and other soccer media. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
    Guest

    Attakora to replace Stinson for WCQs

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that defender Nana Attakora of Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes has been added to Canada's roster for the upcoming pair of World Cup Qualifiers against St. Kitts & Nevis.
    Attakora replaces 19-year-old Matt Stinson, the Toronto FC rookie who was set to make his first appearance with the full national team. Stinson was removed from the Canadian squad due to injury.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    If Attakora takes part in either match (Nov. 11 in Basseterre and Nov. 15 in Toronto), it will be his first action for the senior national side since appearing in a 1-0 friendly loss at Jamaica on January 31, 2010. That match was also his first cap at the senior level.
    Guest

    Omphroy, Gold to be released

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Although the club has yet to make an announcement, both Matt Gold and Demitrius Omphroy let fans know today that they will not be returning to TFC in 2012.
    On Twitter, Gold had this to say:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    Directly asked by fans, he confirmed that the Tweet was in reference to him leaving the club.
    On Facebook, Omphroy said the following:

    The release of two players just coming out of their first year as professionals may be surprising, but it likely speaks to a philosophical direction of the club -- i.e. older NCAA products had better be able to step in and contribute immediately. Players much older than 20 are not going to be long-term projects under Aron Winter.
    Gold is 23, Omphroy 22.
    Guest
    There is nothing sports writers and journalists like to do more than talk about “journalistic ethics,” on anything from the use of unnamed sources to when it’s appropriate to report potential conflicts of interest. Often they’ll do this to cover their asses both professionally and legally, but a lot of the time it’s to demonstrate to their colleagues that they operate on a higher moral plane (“Oh, I would never do that sort of thing myself, etc.”).
    One topic that often comes up for debate is the impartiality journalists are supposed to observe when it comes to covering their chosen sport. The rules state for example that when you write about a team that you personally support, you should refrain from any and all self-identification or “fan boyism.”
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    This makes obvious sense when it comes to writing newspaper or wire stories, but the perception for some is that Canadian soccer blogs are blurring the important distinction between fan and journalist, as they’re now the source for highly biased, highly personal fan frustration AND primary source news. Sometimes writers will try to put on their “news hat” in a newsy piece and their “fan blogger” hat in another within the same site, but the distinction is often fairly blurry.
    But a lack of impartiality is nothing new in the history of Canadian soccer journalism, and journalists have often gone as far as taking an active role in the growth of the sport in this country. Leagues like the USA and the NPSL in the 1960s, precursors to the NASL, were formed by millionaire businessmen in cahoots with local soccer writers and journalists from the US and Canada. The original Canadian Soccer League (1987-92) was in part the brain child of TSN’s Soccer Saturday host Dale Barnes. Journalists are often the glue that brings money and talent together, which makes sense; they make a living out of earning the trust of their sources on either side of the divide.
    The closeness between journalists and the game they cover (and love) isn’t always comfortable however, particularly in Canada where professional soccer is a fairly small beat and it’s pretty easy to shit where you eat.
    That issue has come up in a big way this week. First, we had Andre Hainault’s remarks to Noel Butler over comments Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest made during the last Canada telecast. Hainault made a few headlines the last time around for refusing a call up because of an important match with his MLS club Houston Dynamo, and Dobson and Forrest were not alone in expressing their disdain. Hainault criticised the two for their remarks and said all they had to do was “pick up the phone” to call him and talk about the reasons why he said no to Canada this time around.
    Before that, we had Teal Bunbury’s legendary father Alex speak of the remorse he felt for the role he played in raising expectations his son would cap for Canada and not the US. Some soccer writers after reading the piece went so far as to express regret for the bad things they said about Teal, embarrassed they had let their love of the national team cloud their journalistic duty to impartiality.
    So should Canadian soccer pundits tread more diplomatically when it comes to their source material? That’s the MO of some, but it’s an approach that can be equally journalistically dodgy. Avoiding pointed criticism to keep your sources happy under the guise of “impartiality” leads to a noxious form of sycophancy that is rife in certain quarters of Canada’s soccer media, to the extent that speaking out too vociferously on the game here can cost you your job. Give me Paul James any day over a milquetoast, post-match quotes guy.
    I think the “solution” as it were is to carefully maintain the status quo; to not attempt some rigid, pie-in-the-sky idea of impartiality except when it’s explicitly appropriate; and to realize that tension is sometimes part of the job. I don’t see what Dobson and Forrest calling Hainault beforehand would have achieved, as his explanation, while interesting, doesn’t exactly change the facts on the ground surrounding his decision to play for Houston and not Canada. While Alex Bunbury gives some much needed context, it doesn’t tell us anything we don’t know; that choosing another nation to cap for is a complicated, highly-personal affair for players. We know it’s hard, and that each case is different and has its own lengthy back story. But that in and of itself doesn’t make it necessarily right.
    It also doesn’t mean the job of a soccer journo is to merely report both sides of the story and wash their hands of it. If Canadian soccer journalists had done that over the last one hundred years, the game would have gone nowhere in this country. Nor does it mean they should be biased, self-interested fans, bending the truth to fit their own personal world view.
    At the end of the day, journalist integrity is about being true to yourself, and telling the truth as you see it. That means reporting the facts, but also trying to parse the right from wrong, and being free to speak your mind. This is sport, not international politics. The freedom to speak out for the good of the game shouldn’t be dispensed with because of a quixotic ethical ideal.
    Guest

    It's Called Football Live

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    Friday, we'll be emptying the mailbag and take questions from the chat in an hour long live It's Called Football.
    If you haven't taken part in an extra time version of It's Called Football before: it is a little looser than the regular show, we have a few drinks and talk more openly about subjects we wouldn't normally put on record.
    There is no archived edition so the only way you can hear it is if you tune in.
    The live show kicks off at 2pm ET.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The regular show returns Monday. Our guest will be Canadian Women's Head Coach John Herdman.
    Guest
    A crazy set of Conference Semifinal second legs set the tone for what should be a highly entertaining pair of matches to determine which two teams will battle for MLS Cup.
    In the West, a former Cup winner managed to secure advancement by the slimmest of margins, while the number one seed justified their league standing in a battle of the superclubs.
    On the East side of the bracket, the defending champs just couldn't overcome a serious manpower shortage, and a recent playoff powerhouse showed signs of re-emergence over a new challenger.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Wednesday, October 2
    Sporting Kansas City 2-0 Colorado Rapids
    (Sporting win 4-0 on aggregate, advance to Eastern Conference Final)
    A serious shortage of warm bodies plagued Colorado, already down 2-0, from the get go in a weather-battered Livestrong Sporting Park.
    Down seven regular starters due to injury or suspension, the Rapids couldn't muster any of the magic that lifted them to an unlikely championship in 2010.
    The hosts were not sympathetic to Colorado's plight, taking the game to their visiotrs as if they were the ones down two. A fantastic attacking display by KC's front three was much more than the overmatched, makeshift Rapids backline could handle.
    Seattle 2-0 Real Salt Lake
    (RSL win 3-2 on aggregate, advance to Western Conference Final)
    In what ended up being American goalkeeper legend Kasey Keller's final match as a professional, the SEattle Sounders finally found their playoff scoring boots in front of an impassioned home crowd.
    Despite having made the post-season in all three of their MLS seasons thus far, Seattle had never won a playoff match. In fact, they'd only ever scored once in 2.5 playoff campaigns, and their woeful 3-0 losing start to this year's post-season didn't make it look like any hope was in sight.
    Looking straight up a mountain, the Sounders battled from the opening whistle, but the savvy RSL side thwarted all Seattle forays for the opening 45 minutes. A questionable penalty call at the 56 minute, converted by Osvaldo Alonso, woke both the Sounders and their huge home crowd up, and just five minutes later local boy Lamar Neagle pulled the green-clad hosts to within one.
    For the next half hour, wave after wave of Seattle attacks were absorbed by Salt Lake, who were full marks for doing exactly what they had to dfo in the first leg and defending that lead like hell in the return match.
    Thursday, October 3
    Houston Dynamo 1-0 Philadelphia Union
    (Houston win 3-1 on aggregate, advance to Eastern Conference Final)
    Over the past month or so, Houston have been the hottest team in the league. They've showen no signs of cooling down after dispatching a confused Philadelphia Union team in this one.
    The Union, who dug themselves into a hole in the home leg by setting up a hyper-defensive shape in hopes of countering Houston's set piece dominance, did just about the same thing in the return fixture, despite needing to win out at Roberston Stadium.
    Houston, who win or lose would be saying goodbye to their home of six seasons, relied on wily old Brian Ching to nod them into the lead. The 48th minute marker was Ching's first goal since early August, and his eighth in playoff history for the Dynamo.
    The rest of the match would see a puzzling strategy play out by Philly, as they brought on three offensive weapons around the hour mark in a despereate attempt to claw back into the series. The question of why Union coach Peter Nowak didn't use his attacking options from the beginning will need to be asked.
    Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 New York Red Bulls
    (LA win 3-1 on aggregate, advance to Western Conference Final)
    The marquee match-up of the round didn't fail to disappoint.
    Just four minutes in, a great sequence of passing ended with a perfectly weighted through-ball by Thierry Henry pounced on by fiesty strike partner Luke Rodgers to put New York up 1-0 and pull the series level. The Galaxy responded well, patiently taking over the possession game and eventually getting a beautifully-headed goal from first game hero Mike Magee.
    LA put the match and series on ice after NY left back Roy Miller somehow managed to commit three separate fouls inside the area in a three second span. The ensuing penalty was converted by Landon Donovan, and the Galaxy put in a professional team effort to kill off the rest of the clock.
    --
    With the above results in, the Conference Finals are set.
    In the East, Kansas City will host the surging Houston Dynamo, while the Western final sees RSL travel to the Home Depot Center to take on the LA Galaxy.
    Both games look to be intriguing, as all four teams have momentum on their sides. It's hard not to favour the home sides in both matches, but both visiting teams have a ton of big game experience and coaches who have tasted success in these situations before.
    --
    MLS Playoff Wrap appears the day after each playoff round is completed.
    Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC, MLS, and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams, and has contributed to Goal.com and other soccer media. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
    Guest

    The DeRo MVP thing

    By Guest, in Onward Soccer,

    The Canadian Soccer Association sent around a bare-bones little e-mail last week, inviting the media to join a conference call with D.C. United drink-stirrer Dwayne de Rosario. He’d be offering his thoughts on winning the MLS Golden Boot, as well as Canada’s upcoming World Cup-qualifying home-and-home with St. Kitts and Nevis.
    I’m not a press conference guy. Driving out of my way to get the same story everyone else gets has never seemed either necessary or efficient to me. Whenever they held a press conference about the construction of BMO Field, I just wandered down to the building site instead. Building sites never try to spin ya, ya see.
    And even though there was no driving involved this time, I had an instant, visceral reaction to this particular presser invite.
    Turns out I just don’t give a sideways damn what a 2011 Dwayne de Rosario has to say – about anything.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Obviously, I’m in TFC-fan mode here. And clearly, I’m still ticked.
    On the one hand, Golden Boot, possible MLS MVP, local lad makes good, blah, blah, yaddy, so there.
    On the other hand, a selfish player who couldn’t forgive or forget the dysfunction of the Mo Johnston regime, and forced the Aron Winter brigade to dump him to the Pop Cans.
    The Pop Cans, of course, turned around and dealt DeRo to D.C. – at a considerable profit. DeRo, of course, put in your basic MVP season.
    It’s the second time in three seasons a dude dumped by TFC has walked off wearing the Golden Boot. But that’s not especially DeRo’s fault.
    So here’s a short, heartfelt riff on the word “valuable.”
    The man’s skills are sublime. He frequently lacks patience on the pitch, though, and way too many 30-yard no-hopers have flown over far too many crossbars for my liking.
    He’s impetuous for a team captain, but again it really isn’t his fault that TFC really didn’t have any captain material on the roster after Jim Brennan was put to sleep.
    I just don’t know how anyone who gets traded twice in the middle of the same season can ever be the league’s most valuable player.
    If he’s so irreplaceable, why did his home team dump him? And why did another team flip him for a better offer just a few weeks later?
    At D.C., damn right he’s valuable! He did great there – and this is a struggling side that may not even have a home right now. A season like DeRo’s, against all that as a background? Yep, howdy, that’s some kind of valuable.
    Of course, the man had legitimate peeves in Toronto. But the way he handled them – the cheque-writing fiasco against San Jose, the illicit side-venture at Glasgow Celtic, the relentless focus on “the contract” – well, I know the awards get settled on the field – as they should – but geez Louise regardless.
    Yes, Toronto FC is still wandering in the wilderness. But there’s a map now – a compass even. A truly valuable captain might have found a way, I think, to tough that out, and help his team go legit.
    I don’t think getting dumped by your hometown team because your talent’s not worth your attitude makes you particularly valuable.
    It certainly doesn’t make you an MVP.
    [ /fan mode ]
    Onward!
    Guest
    (This story has been updated since its original posting to include a clarification regarding the status of Andre Hainault.)
    As the second round of World Cup qualifying in CONCACAF draws to a close, Stephen Hart's men need just a single point in a pair of games against tiny St. Kitts and Nevis to clinch advancement into a third-round grouping with Honduras, Panama and Cuba next summer.
    So while things are virtually locked up already, there still need to be warm bodies in red/white kits to take the field in St. Kitts (next Friday) and at BMO Field (Nov. 15). Those warm bodies, as announced Thursday morning, will be some combination of the following 18 men:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
    2- FB- Nik Ledgerwood | GER / SV Wehen Wiesbaden
    3- FB- Mike Klukowski | TUR / Manisaspor
    5- CB- Adam Straith | GER / FC Energie Cottbus
    6- M- Julian de Guzman | CAN / Toronto FC
    7- M- Matt Stinson | CAN / Toronto FC
    8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake
    9- F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / FC Politehnica Timişoara
    10- F- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC
    11- M- Josh Simpson | TUR / Manisaspor
    12- M- Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault | GER / SC Preußen Münster
    13- FB- Ante Jazić | USA / Chivas USA
    14- F- Dwayne De Rosario | USA / DC United
    15- CB- David Edgar | ENG / Burnley FC
    16- F- Olivier Occean | GER / SpVgg Greuther Fürth
    17- LB- Ashtone Morgan | CAN / Toronto FC
    20- M- Patrice Bernier | DEN / Lyngby Boldklub
    22- GK- Kenny Stamatopoulos | SWE / AIK Fotbol
    There are 14 holdovers from the roster in the last two qualifiers in October; missing are Kevin McKenna, Iain Hume, Joseph Di Chiara and Terry Dunfield.
    On the other side of the coin, veteran Patrice Bernier makes his long-awaited return to the national team, while Mike Klukowski has also returned from injury. In a mildly surprising move, Matt Stinson has received his first call-up to the men's national team, while fellow youngster Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault is also back in the fold.
    One of the thorniest issues of the past month has been the status of defender Andre Hainault, who declined the call-up last month to focus on his club duties at Houston. Hainault suggested to Noel Butler on Wednesday night that he was not called this time. (Update 3:12 p.m.) Canadian assistant head coach Tony Fonseca -- speaking to media on behalf of Hart, who was unavailable due to a personal matter -- at first seemed to suggest that Hainault actually had been invited this time around, but had once again refused the call.
    The Canadian Soccer Association later clarified the situation, saying that Hainault was, in fact, not invited into the November camp -- which is consistent with what Hainault himself had suggested.
    As for the side that will take on St. Kitts, Fonseca said the roster selection was, as usual, based on finding "the best team possible", though "a lot had to do with injuries". Erstwhile captain McKenna is "recovering" and not yet match-fit, while Hume -- who tweaked a hamstring representing Canada last month -- "has some little things happening with injuries."
    As for
    and the 19-year-old Di Chiara, their exclusions were both coach's decisions."What we're trying to do is see as many players as possible," said Fonseca. "We look a look at (Di Chiara) and we felt (right now) we need to move on... Maybe the right thing to do is calling him at a later stage."
    But in the place of Toronto FC midfielder Dunfield and the youthful, promising Di Chiara... comes a youthful, promising Toronto FC midfielder in the form of 19-year-old Stinson. Fonseca called the emergence of Stinson and teammate Ashtone Morgan, 20, a "pleasant surprise."
    "Two young players playing at that level... for us it's been a blessing, seeing young blood coming in with a lot of desire and passion, and, over time, they will be a great asset to our team."
    Morgan and Stinson weren't part of the Canadian squad that competed at this year's men's U17 World Cup, obviously, though both have experience with national youth sides. That U17 team, you may recall, made headlines by being the first Canadian side to qualify for the tournament since 1995 -- way back when a young up-and-comer from Brossard, Quebec scored the only goal for the red and white.
    Sixteen years later, Patrice Bernier is still proudly accepting the call for Canada.
    "It's great to see Patrice performing again," Fonseca said of Bernier's knee-injury recovery and return to form with his club in Denmark. Fonseca said the recall of the 45-times-capped midfielder "all has to do with his performances with his club and his form."
    "(Patrice is) a quality person, a great asset to the national team at this point."
    The team, as always, is trying to assemble the right mix of current and future assets... with a few believed-to-be-past assets finding their way into the equation as well.
    "We don't care about the age (of a player), we care about performance," said Fonseca, when asked about 35-year-old Ante Jazic once again getting the call, as he has for all of this year's World Cup qualifiers. "As long as he's performing (the way he has), he's definitely part of our plans."
    Those plans, of course, are all centered around playing meaningful soccer in 2014, when the world gathers in Brazil. Should that improbable dream be realized, most of these 18 men won't be there. But the old cliches about taking things "one game at a time" and simply playing the opposition in front of you ring especially true with national teams in long qualifying campaigns such as this one.
    The immediate task, the seemingly easy one, is overcoming St. Kitts and Nevis. The tougher task, for each of the men who'll be out on the field, is proving to their coaches and their country that they've earned the right to be included in the next leg of the journey.
    .
    Guest

    Scratch one off the list

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    The Canadian Men's National team will announce its roster later this morning but you can already scratch one name off the list.
    The Houston Dynamo's Andre Hainault told Noel Butler, of TSN Radio last night, that he had not been called into camp.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    That should come as no surprise to close observers of the squad, as Hainault's club team is looking like a strong contender to advance to the MLS Conference finals - they hold a 2-1 aggregate advantage heading home against Philadelphia.
    What may serve to shock, though, is he appears to take a swipe at Sportsnet soccer hosts Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest surrounding comments made about his decision to refuse his last call-up.
    You can listen to the interview here
    Guest

    Rafa Marquez: A bad DP, or the worst DP?

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Rafa Marquez has a flair for the dramatic.
    In what has now become a familiar scene for MLS observers, Marquez famously clutched at his face and fell to the ground following a post-match scuffle after a playoff game between his New York Red Bulls and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
    The Mexican feigned injury in the melee after clearly not getting touched by anyone on either side.
    And oh yeah, it was a melee that he started.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The first leg of the NY-LA "derby" was a scrappy affair befitting of a playoff match, with lots of physical play and some genuinely hard-fought, wonderful soccer on display. The Galaxy won 1-0, taking that scoreline back to the west coast for tonight's second leg between the two sides.
    When the final whistle blew, Marquez -- with his years of top level experience and the supposed "wisdom" that comes along with it -- decided to throw the game ball at Galaxy and US national team foe Landon Donovan. Predictably, the action was not taken kindly by Donovan's Galaxy teammates, and, led by big striker Adam Cristman, they sprung to his defence.<br><br>Marquez took a wild swing at Cristman, then tried to head-butt him. Neither attempt connected. Seconds later, with multiple players from each side now involved, Marquez clutched at his face and fell to the ground in a heap -- an obvious attempt to get a Galaxy player in hot water with the approaching referee.

    (Click here for a full clip of the melee)


    His plan worked, somewhat. Fellow Red Bull Stephen Keel mimicked Marquez's face grab and managed to get LA midfielder Juninho sent off, eliminating the Brazilian from tonight's decider. Unfortunately for Marquez, he, too, was shown red in the fracas, and will have to watch this one from the press box (or from his Manhattan apartment, more likely).
    One would think that a $5 million former Barcelona player would be a big loss to the Red Bulls in a do-or-die situation such as tonight's.
    Well, if you were to believe the message board-o-sphere, you'd be mistaken.
    New York fans seem to be rejoicing the fact that Marquez will not be able to take part. The overwhelming sentiment on NY message boards is that the Mexican international killed two birds with one stone with his moronic actions over the weekend -- he took himself out of contention, and he also took a dynamic piece of the LA midfield with him.
    That Red Bulls fans would be happy that their second highest paid player -- third highest in the league behind David Beckham and teammate Thierry Henry -- cannot play in a playoff match speaks volumes to just how far Marquez has fallen.
    Last year, he arrived in New York amid huge fanfare, and for the most part he lived up to hit. Stepping up when Henry's injuries slowed him down and Juan Pablo Angel's declining form became painfully obvious, Marquez looked every bit the leader in his half season in 2010 as expected.
    His passing was Beckham-esque at times, and he scored a scorcher of a goal at BMO Field in August of that year. But more importantly, his presence at the back calmed and organized the NY defence, a la Torsten Frings for TFC this year.
    Marquez also took young defender Tim Ream under his wing, leading to an eventual partnership between the Mexican vet and the American starlet to open this season. That partnership eventually crumbled as Ream hit a huge sophomore wall and Marquez's physical skills declined sharply, leading to Marquez <a href="http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/rafa-marquez-blames-tim-ream-for-defensive-errors-14187" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/rafa-marquez-blames-tim-ream-for-defensive-errors-14187"><u>calling out his defensive cohort</u></a> and subsequently getting himself suspended by the team.
    Naturally, with Marquez out the Red Bulls flourished, putting together perhaps their most complete performance in a victory a hot Portland Timbers side. When Marquez returned, he was put into the midfield by NY coach Hans Backe, but it was clear that the 32-year-old had lost a step.
    His passing was off, his positioning even more so, and he was getting beat on individual challenges at just about every opportunity.
    Backe had figured out that Marquez was not longer able to play in the midfield at a level high enough to help the Red Bulls, which is why he tried to take advantage of the Mexican's wealth of experience while also limiting his need to chase the play as much by putting Marquez on the backline.
    But the plan back fired, because Marquez showed that mentally he was not up to the task of playing the wily veteran role. He needs to be at the centre of the action no matter what, and last weekend's antics reaffirmed as much.
    For $5 million, Marquez has become the most expensive headache in Hans Backe's career, and one that the coach will need to get rid of in order for New York to truly ascend to the next level in MLS.
    --
    Marquez is by no means the only DP flop in the short history of the rule.
    Signing an effective DP has proven a tough task for MLS GM's. For every good Designated Player signing (the aforementioned Frings, Henry, Angel, Danny Koevermans, Eric Hassli, Omar Bravo, Fredy Montero and even David Beckham this year), there seems to be a bust of equal proportions.
    Here's a look at the five worst DP flops (in no particular order):
    <strong>Denilson</strong> ($880,000 - FC Dallas): The Brazilian trickster turned out to be a one-trick pony. For all the freestyle-esque moves he brought to the table, Denilson played on a complete island, never clicking with his teammates or even attempting to play within the set tactical system. It's a wonder he was once a darling of the Brazilian national team.<br><br><strong>Nery Castillo</strong> ($1.8 million, Chicago Fire): The Mexican Denilson showed up to the Chicago Fire in woeful shape. On loan from Ukrainian giants Shaktar Donetsk, Castillo drifted in and out of all eight league matches he managed to feature in, not managing to score a single goal for the Fire.<br><br><strong>Mista </strong>($990,000, Toronto FC): Mo Johnston's last gasp, the Spanish forward was better known for his behind-the-goal celebrations of teammates' goals than for scoring his own. Did nab a dandy of a strike against Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League, but that one goal wasn't nearly enough to justify his inflated contract, especially as that contract was reportedly the straw that broke DeRo's proverbial back.<br><strong><br>Claudio Reyna</strong> ($1.25 million, New York Red Bulls): The most accomplished American player ever, Reyna came to New York a broken player who spent far more time on the trainer's table than the field during his two season with the Red Bulls. This one is a real shame as a healthy Reyna likely would have contributed a lot to the league.<br><br><strong></strong><strong>Branko Boskovic</strong><strong> </strong>($525,000, DC United): Speaking of spending a lot of time on the injured list, Boskovic has barely played since signing with DC in mid-2010. He has managed 17 league appearances for the club, registering zero goals and zero assists, which is not exactly great production for someone listed as an attacking midfielder/forward.<br><br><em>Honourable mention: Freddie Ljungberg, Luis Angel Landin, Mustapha Jarju, Luis Hernandez (pre-DP rule)</em><br><br>
    --<br><br>
    <font size="1"><em>Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC, MLS, and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams, and has contributed to Goal.com and other soccer media. Follow Rudi on Twitter, <u><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/RudiSchuller" target="_blank">@RudiSchuller</a></u>.</em></font>
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