Stupid in Seattle

Last Saturday's game sucked big time.  It may have been my fault though.  I didn't watch the first 30 minutes of the match because I was busy trying to get out of the restaurant that i was in and get to a television.  And apparently, those 30 minutes saw a crappy RSL team out there struggling to do what they did the entire second half; dominate.  Everything that I watched during the game was positive for RSL, except for one lucky shot from 35 yards away.  There is no need to panic yet, because it is just one game in front of a sold out crazy crowd on the road.  There were a lot of good things that went on in that game.  The biggest fear for RSL fans has to be that we are on the road to dominating every game that we play in and still managing to lose them.  Lets hope we can snap that streak ASAP.

The two brightest spots for RSL had to be from one of its oldest players and one of its newest.  First the oldest:  Clint Mathis.  He was the Ace Slideshows, LLC Bad Ace of the Match for sure this week.  He was sharp and active for the entire time he was in the game that I saw.  He put the ball in dangerous spots with every one of his touches.  That through ball to Yura for a breakaway was sublime.  Next: Rafael Cox.  He didn't get that many minutes in this game, but he made every one of them count.  He did something dangerous with everyone of his touches in the offensive half without sacrificing any of his responsibilities in the defensive half.  It was an instant upgrade over having Beltran in there.  Beltran is a good athlete with good skills, but he doesn't have a brain.  Cox, being left footed, brought a great spark to the left side of the attack that I'm sure would have produced a goal or two if he had more time.  He was very impressive in his debut and handled the preasure and hostile environment very well.  Lets hope that the RSL coaching staff saw the same thing that I did and Cox will get some more time very soon.

Next up:  Columbus.  Morales will need to make a strong bid for Bad Ace of the Match for RSL to be successful.  Lets hope that the snow isn't a determining factor tomorrow.  If it is a factor, it should be an advantage for us because hopefully the guys are more used to it than the visitors.  We'll see you at the Riot tomorrow.

Bad Ace of the Match

First off, I would like to appoligize to all of my readers for the delay in getting this post up. I've been traveling every day since the game and haven't been able to sit down to finish this. Now to the good stuff...

The Ace Slideshows , LLC Bad Ace of the Match for the Columbus game last Saturday is Javier Morales. He set the tone for the rest of the team early with a goal and he controlled everything in the game from then on. Every touch he had was beneficial for the team. He kept the ball and didn't lose it cheaply. He was the leader and influenced every thing that hapened in that game. Everyone on the team was inspired by hos performance. He is well deserving of the title of Bad Ace.

I'll have another post about the Chicago game soon as well as a report about Toyota Park because I will be in Chicago for the game this Saturday! Untill then, let's just enjoy our position at the top of the table...we better get used to it cause we're here to stay!

Another Chance at First

Tomorrow evening, Rice-Eccles could be the site of the 2nd major event in RSL history this week. The '09 All-Star Game was announced in Sandy on Wednesday morning, and RSL have yet another golden opportunity to seize control of the West by taking first place in the standings with a win against Columbus on Saturday evening. Here are the keys to getting the win, brought to you by Ace Slideshows, LLC:

• Keep up the D - Wingert (aka Weenert) will have to sit this one out, which means both Joy and Beltran will likely be getting the starting nod. They'll both have to be on top of their game to match up against the wing play of Robbie Rogers and the Crew's midfield. Olave and Borch back in the middle have been solid all year and they need to continue what they've been doing.
  
• Kovalenko needs to get sharper - He has his reputation of being an angry tasmanian devil, which is a good thing, but he's got to pull his brain out of his ace and be smarter and sharper. He has been playing like he's got frying pans on his boots and hasn't made the simple plays that he needs to be making to keep possession for our midfield.
• Score some flippin' goals - The Dr. has had ample time to come up with a diagnosis and needs to begin treatment tomorrow night. Morales, Beckerman and Thug aka Williams need to get some good service to Dr. and Dr. needs to score. Findley is in need of a goal too, but not as badly as the Dr. If the Dr. can get on the scoresheet twice by having someone finally finish off one of his sweet knockdowns in the box, that would help out greatly as well.

There you have it. Score goals and don't give up goals. Schelotto and his dreamy hairstyle need to be sent packing. Our confidence will be shot if we don't capitalize on our 4th chance to take over first place.