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January 31, 2008

Quakes, Crew, DC United to play in San Luis Obispo

The Washington Post's Steven Goff reported two weeks ago that the Quakes would be playing DC United and Columbus in San Luis Obispo in February. Today, we've got details!

In what is billed as the MLS Central Coast Showcase, the Quakes will play the Crew at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 22 and will square off against DC United at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 24. Sounds like the makings of an epic weekend road trip.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday, February 1) and can be purchased at (805) 756-5806, online at gopoly.com, or at the Cal Poly Ticket Office.

The Quakes tell us that ticket prices will be as follows:

If you're after those youth tickets, you'd best be 14 or under. Cal Poly students, bring your IDs.

If you're looking for a hotel room, we've always found this site helpful.

Posted by Jay at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2008

Where are they now: Martin Vasquez

Martin Vasquez was only in San Jose for one year, 1998, after two seasons with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. He was an unremarkable player on a pretty poor team; he made 24 starts and never scored a goal for a side that went 13-19. It was his last year in MLS.

So, where is he now? We're not sure of his whereabouts at this exact moment, but on July 1 he'll be in Munich, serving as Juergen Klinsmann's assistant at Bayern.

From the story at teamtalk.com:

"I have known Martin since 2003 when he was a coach at an elite camp in the USA," said Klinsmann.

"I was impressed by his positive style of leadership and his passion.

"I am lucky that he will now work alongside me at Bayern."

Hmm, Vasquez was at Tampa Bay at the same time as Frank Yallop. Wonder if Bayern has any up-and-comers they might loan out to the Quakes for a season?

Posted by Jay at 02:04 PM | Comments (2)

More draft reviews; plus, bed it like Beckham

As one of their picks in last week's supplemental draft, the Quakes selected defender Tim Jepson of Duke, about whom we know little. (North Carolina is a long way from Northern California, so we didn't see Duke play last season.)

Thanks to Duke's student newspaper, The Chronicle, now we know a little bit more about Jepson:

Despite missing the first 10 games of his senior season with a hamstring injury, Tim Jepson started all 77 of his matches as a Blue Devil. The lynchpin of the Duke defense, Jepson scored two goals and recorded four assists. The two-time team captain and Yorba Linda, Calif. native was one of five finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award for men's soccer in 2007 as well as a member of the ACC All-Tournament team in 2006 and two-time member of the All-ACC Academic team. Jepson was also named to the NCAA All-South region team last season after Duke lost to Louisville, 1-0.

On a totally unrelated note, MTV Canada reports the following:

DAVID BECKHAM HELPS DUDES KICK IT. According to the World Entertainment News Network, a Chinese condom company is using David Beckham's name to promote their new brand of condom. The firm does not have permission from the soccer star to use his name, but is claiming that men who use these condoms "will score in bed like the L.A. Galaxy star does on the field." Apparently, Beckham's contraceptives have become the best selling condoms in China.

Hmmm... so users "will score in bed like the L.A. Galaxy star does on the field," eh? Judging from past results, potential customers would be better off saving their money. Beckham didn't score at all last year in MLS.

Posted by Jay at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2008

If it's Tuesday, this must be San Jose

Not sure why we're starting today's entry with a reference to a movie that came out 40 years ago, but we'll blame it on the rain.

Our journey today takes us to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, which has a great story on new Quake Adam Smarte.

From the description in the article, he sounds like a good prospect — very athletic with a solid foundation of soccer skills to build on. Good luck!

Posted by Jay at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2008

Eddie Lewis to Quakes?

ESPN.com's Ives Galarcep writes about MLS teams' efforts in the transfer market, throwing out a few ideas for every team in the league.

Here's his comment on the Quakes:

San Jose Earthquakes -- The Earthquakes have been quiet this winter on the foreign player front, but there has been talk of San Jose potentially luring former San Jose standout Eddie Lewis back from England.

On the plus side, Lewis is a known quantity to San Jose fans and the front office, and we'll always remember his sweet cross to Landon Donovan to score the USA's second against Mexico in the 2002 World Cup. On the down side, his Wikipedia entry notes that he'll be 34 in May, and Lewis left Derby's weekend FA Cup match in the 23rd minute with an injury.

Oddly, Lewis never played a game for the Quakes. He left San Jose in early 2000, just after the team's name change. Lewis did wear a Quakes jersey, though — he, along with John Doyle, modeled the new shirts at the press conference announcing the rebranding.

Posted by Jay at 10:37 AM | Comments (3)

January 26, 2008

Blue Jay Way

With about a week to go before the Quakes open training camp, one question on everyone's mind is this: Where are the rest of the players? The team has acquired a bunch through the three drafts (expansion, Super, and supplemental), but they don't have enough to complete their roster just yet. There's not even enough to hold an 11 v 11 scrimmage! We know that GM John Doyle, coach Frank Yallop, and assistant Ian Russell have been on scouting trips outside the U.S., and the Quakes have a bunch of allocation money for acquisitions. Still, where are the rest of the players coming from?

Today, we get part of the answer, in this story on supplemental pick Tim Bohnenkamp, which mentions that Creighton teammate Danny Minutillo has been invited to the Quakes' pre-season camp.

Minutillo, perhaps one of the most unsung Bluejays in recent years, will hope to catch on with the Earthquakes after an invitation to train with the team. The San Jose native was slowed by injuries during his freshman and junior seasons, but played in 64 games in his CU career, including 35 starts in the midfield. As a rookie in 2004, his lone goal was the game-winner against sixth-ranked UCLA. During his senior season, he started 18 of 19 matches, and proved to be one of CU’s most consistent forces in the midfield.

So there we go — now that the drafts are over, teams are free to invite potential signings to camp to prove themselves. Best of luck to both Bohnenkamp and Minutillo, who will be hoping to become the second and third Creighton alums to make a big impact with the Quakes. The first? This guy.

Posted by Jay at 07:10 AM | Comments (4)

January 25, 2008

Press publicizes plethora of picks

The Quakes made a pick to start off each round of the MLS Supplemental Draft yesterday, so we've got several newspapers offering up stories today.

The Mercury News went with the "local boy makes good" angle, focusing on former UC Santa Cruz forward Adam Smarte in their story. Reporter Elliott Almond also talks about the Quakes' next steps in building a team:

(The four draft picks) are expected to fill the team's developmental roster, meaning they probably won't make the 18-player team when the Quakes debut April 3 against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Earthquakes have at least five slots to fill before the regular season; they are pursuing international players and MLS veterans. But when training camp opens Feb. 3, the collegians - including midfielder Shea Salinas, who was drafted last week - will have a chance to impress.

"If Adam Smarte or any of these players play well, they have a chance to make the team," General Manager John Doyle said. "It's all up to them."

The Merc also points out the other local players chosen in the Supplemental Draft: "former Menlo-Atherton High and Cal forward Javier Ayala-Hil (Chivas USA), USF midfielder Daniel De Geer (Galaxy) and Stanford goalie Andrew Kartunen (Kansas City Wizards)."

The Santa Cruz Sentinel spoke with Smarte himself, who is excited and gratified to have been picked.

Soccer America has a list of all the picks as well as this tidbit:

Teams are permitted to start training Saturday, though some will commence next weekend. Teams are permitted to carry 18 players on the regular roster and 10 more on a developmental squad, and by March 3 they must be roster and salary-cap compliant, with the cap number reportedly set at approximately $2.2 million, though the league has not confirmed any official figure.

Amazing to think that our new team will be taking to the field soon.

* * *

Finally, as noted first on Steven Goff's blog for the Washington Post, former Quake Junior Agogo scored the lone goal in Ghana's victory over Namibia yesterday in the African Nations Cup.

Posted by Jay at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2008

And the selections are...

Came back from a late lunch to find an e-mail with the Quakes' Supplemental Draft picks. In order, they are:

  1. Adam Smarte, F, UC Santa Cruz
  2. Tim Bohnenkamp, F, Creighton
  3. Greg Curry, D, UC Santa Barbara
  4. Tim Jepsen, D, Duke

Congrats to the new Quakes!

UPDATE: The team has issued a press release about the four picks:

The San Jose Earthquakes had a busy day during the 2008 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft held today Thursday January 24, 2008. The Earthquakes added four new players to the team’s roster as they continue to prepare for the upcoming MLS regular season. The Earthquakes acquired forward Adam Smarte, midfielder Tim Bohnenkamp, defender Greg Curry and defender Tim Jepson.

With the first overall pick the Earthquakes acquired forward Adam Smarte from UC Santa Cruz where he was named to the All-Independent Team. During his last year with UC Santa Cruz Smarte played 20 games and scored seven goals and had 4 assists.

“We are very excited to get a local kid” stated John Doyle, General Manager of Soccer Operations for the San Jose Earthquakes. “Smarte is very fast, he has unlimited potential and we want him to show us that the sky is the limit.”

With the first pick of the second round the Earthquakes acquired midfielder Tim Bohnenkamp from Creighton University. During his last year at Creighton Bohnenkamp played 20 games, scored two goals and led the team with six assists. The Millard South graduate added two goals for 10 points this year, while he scored the game-winning goal in Creighton’s NCAA Tournament win over SMU. The senior midfielder was named to the MVC second-team as a senior. He established a Morrison Stadium career record with 15 assists.

“Bohnenkamp is a wide attacking player he can dribble and can deliver excellent cross” stated John Doyle, General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes.

With the first pick of the third round the Earthquakes acquired defender Greg Curry from UC Santa Barbara. In 2007 Curry played eight games and was a major piece of the Santa Barbara defense.

”Curry is a great organizer and a strong central defender” stated John Doyle, General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes. “He could be a wide defender in the league and we are looking forward to seeing him play.”

With the first pick of the fourth round the Earthquakes acquired defender Tim Jepson from Duke University. During his last year with Duke, Jepson played 10 games and had one assist. In 2007 the California native was named to the NSCAA South Region Team and the All-ACC Second Team.

“Jepson plays central defender and has a great attitude” stated John Doyle, General Manager of the San Jose Earthquakes. “We are looking forward to seeing him compete at the highest level.” San Jose Earthquakes New Players and 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft Picks

Adam Smarte (1st round)
Position: Forward
Height: 6-0
Weight: 168
Birthdate: 05/09/1987
Hometown: Monrovia, Liberia

Tim Bohnenkamp (2nd round)
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-7
Weight: 140
Birthdate: 01/17/1986
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska

Greg Curry (3rd round)
Position: Defender
Height: 5-9
Weight: 170
Birthdate: 10/12/1985
Hometown: Sacramento, California

Tim Jepson (4th round)
Position: Defender
Height: 6-0
Weight: 175
Birthdate: 04/30/1986
Hometown: Yorba Linda, California

Posted by Jay at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)

Mexico's Olympic team coming to Coliseum

It's deja vu all over again, except this time it will be Mexico's Olympic team filling in for the senior squad and Australia filling in for Ecuador. Yes, the Quakes are joining in with their partners from last year's successful exhibition match to bring more international soccer to the McAfee Coliseum, with a match featuring the Olympic teams of Mexico and Australia scheduled for Sunday, March 2 at 2:00 p.m.

According to the Quakes, Mexico's side is likely to feature Memo Ochoa, Luis Angel Landin, Pablo Barrera and Cesar Villaluz. No word on who the Aussies will be featuring.

The Quakes will be selling a discounted two-game package combining the Olympic face-off with the Quakes' home opener against the Chicago Fire. The package will go on sale Friday, February 1 at sjearthquakes.com.

For those who just want tickets to the Mexico/Australia friendly, those tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 1 by either phoning (800) 225-2277, online at sjearthquakes.com, and at Raley's Tickets.com outlets. There will also be a Visa pre-sale online at sjearthquakes.com from January 28-31.

Posted by Jay at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2008

Jeff Bradley tracks Cannon, Riley, Guerrero, and Hernandez

This week, Jeff Bradley's First XI column covers "Old friends in new places," discussing the MLS veterans who have made offseason moves.

It won't surprise any of us that Joe Cannon is on the list, but Bradley also has words of praise for three new Quakes chosen in the expansion draft: Jason Hernandez, Ivan Guerrero, and James Riley.

How does it all add up? He says that the 2008 San Jose Earthquakes will be "a team that, in my opinion, looks like it's going to be the strongest expansion side since the 1998 Chicago Fire."

That works for us. The Fire won MLS Cup that year.

Posted by Jay at 03:24 PM | Comments (0)

Mercury News columnist asks for support for more soccer coverage

One of the recurring themes of this blog has been our criticism of the Mercury News and their general ignorance of the soccer community, whom they tend to treat like the proverbial red-headed stepchild of the Bay Area sports scene. While the paper's coverage has improved slightly — for example, staffer Elliott Almond has a piece today on the team's upcoming exhibitions against Houston, complete with quotes from Ryan Cochrane — we've never gotten the feeling that the paper has embraced soccer the way they do other sports.

Today, we have more evidence that our conclusions about the paper are accurate, delivered in the form of a cry for help. Columnist Patty Fisher's column, headlined "Area women seek goal of soccer team," begins this way:

My editor says no one is going to read this column. He doesn't understand why I feel I need to be writing about women's professional soccer.

The story details Women's Professional Soccer, the successor to WUSA, and the efforts of league commissioner Tonya Antonucci and general counsel Vicki Veenker in getting the new league launched.

Veenker, a partner in the Palo Alto law firm Shearman and Sterling, remembers well the day the WUSA folded. Her daughter, then an 8-year-old soccer player, asked why the CyberRays couldn't play anymore but the men's team, the Earthquakes, could.

"I didn't even want to explain it to her," she said.

You can read the whole column here, and we request that you please leave a comment supporting Fisher's goal of increasing the coverage of soccer in the local paper. While we believe that it's ultimately the newspaper's loss if they don't fully embrace the opportunity the soccer community presents, we're willing to keep hitting them over the head until they wake up to their own best interests.

Posted by Jay at 06:16 AM | Comments (5)

January 22, 2008

Quakes to play Houston in February

Are you ready for some football? The Quakes just officially announced two pre-season matches against the Houston Dynamo, confirming the story that Soccer America first reported last Friday.

The matches will take place on Wednesday, February 13 at 6:30 p.m. at PAL Stadium in San Jose, and Saturday, February 16 at 7:00 p.m. at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. (Wear your thermal underwear to that second one — Kezar can be frigid!)

Wednesday night's game in San Jose is free for season ticket holders and $15 for everyone else, with $10 going towards the Police Athletic League. Tickets at Kezar are $15 general admission.

Somehow this seems quite fitting — the team's first game back is against the players who once wore the Quakes' colors so proudly. It also seems appropriate that it's a pre-season match — out of the national spotlight, just a quiet get-together among old friends. (Plus, we can get all of the sentimental stuff out of the way in February so that the Quakes can kick Houston butt in the regular season!)

Posted by Jay at 05:09 PM | Comments (6)

Quakes to appear at A's FanFest, CYSA Soccer Expo

Quakes fans will get their first chance to see team members up close this Saturday at two different events in the East Bay.

From 12:00 to 12:45 p.m., Earthquakes players will be on hand at McAfee Coliseum to greet fans and sign autographs as part of the Oakland A's FanFest. Tickets are available online or for $10 at the Coliseum on the day of the event. The FanFest runs from 10:00 until 3:00.

After that stop, Quakes players will continue on to the CYSA Soccer Expo, where they will be signing autographs at the Earthquakes' booth from 1:30 to 2:15 p.m. The event will be held at the Oakland Marriott City Center. More details are available here.

Don't forget to wear your Quakes blue! And send us a photo if you go!

Posted by Jay at 11:52 AM | Comments (1)

January 21, 2008

Supplemental Draft happens Thursday

Don't look now but there's another MLS draft coming up. This one, the supplemental draft, is made up of all the players who weren't chosen in the SuperDraft. (Why they don't simply add more rounds to the SuperDraft is a mystery.) The Quakes have first pick in each of the four rounds.

Buzz Carrick's excellent 3rdDegree web site has the scoop on some of the players who will be available and the draft order.

Posted by Jay at 01:32 PM | Comments (0)

New practice field on the way

As you can see from the photo above (click on it to see a bigger image), construction is well under way on the new practice field that will be shared by the Earthquakes and Santa Clara University's soccer squads. The trench on the right will be filled with gravel for proper field drainage; you can see Buck Shaw stadium, the Quakes' temporary home for the next few seasons, in the background.

* * *

Today's Salinas Californian features a column by Embele Awipi on local hero Ramiro Corrales, who put in a solid 90 minutes for the U.S. in their 2-0 victory over Sweden Saturday night.

Posted by Jay at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2008

Donovan, Houston, and Salinas

Unless we were having an extremely vivid dream yesterday, we could have sworn that we wrote an entry for the blog about Ann Killion's Friday column speculating about Landon Donovan's potential return to the Quakes. We'd like to blame its loss on some sort of cyber snafu, but we suspect the problem sat somewhere between the chair and the keyboard, so we'll try to re-summarize today.

As mentioned, Killion asks, with the return of Ryan Cochrane, Joe Cannon, and Frank Yallop to the Quakes, if Donovan is going to be next. This issue has been discussed at length in the press and there are two facts that have emerged over and over: Donovan has a no-trade clause in his contract and his wife, actress Bianca Kajlich, has a TV series that presumably shoots in LA. Those would appear to be two pretty strong indications that we won't be seeing Donovan in San Jose at all this year.

Here's the thing, though: Killion has been spooky accurate with some of her predictions so far. Back in September, before the Quakes had a GM or a coach, she wrote, "I can't promise that (Frank) Yallop will be the new coach of the expansion Earthquakes... but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was," and, "Don't be surprised, when the Earthquakes are finally put together, to see familiar names involved, such as John Doyle."

Time will tell if she's right again.

We had a couple other items yesterday. First off, congrats to former Earthquakes hero Dwayne De Rosario, who has been named Canadian player of the year. Also, Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America has an interesting item in his blog. First off, he writes that SUM is negotiating with both Real Madrid and Barcelona for potential appearances in the U.S. this summer. Either one would be likely to fill the Coliseum, but we're particularly fond of the idea of seeing Barcelona there, with their star-studded lineup of players like Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, and Henry.

Soccer America is also reporting that Houston will be playing two games against the Quakes prior to the Dynamo's appearances February 20 and 23 in Honolulu in the Pan Pacific Cup.

The story also has this tidbit: "Yallop and Kinnear have been discussing trades as well as the two-game series, with Yallop seeking players willing to return to the San Francisco Bay Area. Yallop is trying to land former San Jose and MetroStar defender Ramiro Corrales from Norwegian club SK Brann, but he is not out of contract and his MLS rights are held by Houston."

Also in the rumor category is today's entry by Chicago Tribune writer Luis Arroyave on his blog, which states that he "heard that Pat Noonan could be on his way to the Colorado Rapids and Pablo Mastroeni could join the San Jose Earthquakes."

Stay tuned...

* * *

Now then, back to today's regularly scheduled programming, "The Shea Salinas Story." Although at least one wag at the Quakes' SuperDraft party couldn't resist asking, "What? Johnny Walnut Creek wasn't available?" when Salinas's name was announced, he appears by all accounts to be a great selection. An outside mid with speed and the stamina to run the flanks for 90 minutes, it's easy to see why he was the team's top choice.

If you're looking for the GM's perspective on acquiring Salinas and the team's other plans for filling out the roster, check out this article on MLSnet.com. If you'd like more info on Salinas himself, Mercury News writer Elliott Almond has that covered :— he even spoke with Salinas's mom and high school soccer coach. Here's the Quakes' press release on the pick.

Our congratulations also go out to the other local players who were selected yesterday (thanks for the list, Noah!):

13. New England: Rob Valentino, USF. hometown: Cave Creek, Arizona
24. DC United: Andrew Jacobson, California. hometown: Palo Alto (Gunn HS)
26. Chicago: Peter Lowry, Santa Clara. hometown: Fair Oaks
32. New York: Luke Sassano, California. hometown: Huber Heights, Ohio
39. Kansas CIty: Matt Marquess, Santa Clara. hometown: Palo Alto (Gunn HS)
45. Dallas: Jamil Roberts, Santa Clara. hometown: Fremont (Washington HS)
46. Los Angeles: Brandon McDonald, USF. hometown: Glendale, Arizona
51. Los Angeles: Matt Hatzke, Santa Clara. hometown: San Jose (Bellarmine Prep)

(Oh, and our condolences to those last two. We hope you guys are inspired by Brian Mullan, Brian Ching, Craig Waibel, Joe Cannon, and even Frank Yallop, all of whom successfully escaped Los Angeles to proudly wear Quakes blue.)

Finally, the Santa Cruz Sentinel has a story on yesterday's SuperDraft party.

Enjoy your weekend and we'll see you on Monday.

Posted by Jay at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2008

Quakes select Shea Salinas in draft

The Quakes picked Shea Salinas, a forward from Furman, with the first pick of the second round of the SuperDraft. We've been told by a member of the Quakes' front office that, "This is the guy we wanted — we weren't sure he was going to be available this late."

Here's more from the Southern Conference web site:

Salinas, a two-time first team All-SoCon pick, garnered NSCAA All-South Region honors as a junior in 2006. The midfielder from Grapevine, Texas, tallied five goals and added nine assists while helping Furman to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament and a No. 20 national ranking.

The folks at 3rd Degree had projected Salinas as a first-round pick for the Revs:

13. New England - Shea Salinas (Furman) Nicol always surprises me so here’s my surprise pick for him. Salinas is fast, mobile, with good ball skill. He’s is a perfect fit for Nicol’s system, an aggressive, north/south midfielder that can really cover ground.

(That's the second time we've seen Salinas referred to as a midfielder, although Furman's web site says he's a forward. Let's just say he's versatile.)

Here are the first round picks, brought to you from Double D's in Los Gatos. You can also track the draft online at MLSnet.com.

1. Chance Myers, D/M, UCLA, KC Wizards
2. Brek Shea, M, FC Dallas
3. Tony Beltran, D/M, UCLA, Real Salt Lake
4. Sean Franklin, D/M, Cal State Northridge, LA Galaxy
5. Ciaran O'Brian, M, UC Santa Barbara, Colorado
6. Andy Iro, D, UC Santa Barbara, Columbus
7. Patrick Nyarko, F, Virginia Tech, Chicago
8. Josh Lambo, GK, FC Dallas
9. Julius James, D, U Conn, Toronto
10. Pat Phelan, D, Wake Forest, Toronto
11. Roger Espinoza, M, Ohio State, Kansas City
12. Dominic Dervi, GK, Tulsa, Chicago
13. Rob Valentino, D, USF, New England
14. David Horst, D, Old Dominion, Real Salt Lake

Aside from the picks, there were two trades: LA has sent Chris Albright to New England for allocation money and Alecko Eskandarian goes from RSL to Chivas USA for allocation money.


That's it for our draft coverage. Thanks for stopping by!

Posted by Jay at 11:02 AM | Comments (8)

January 17, 2008

Goff: SJ vs. DC in SLO

According to Steven Goff of the Washington Post, the Quakes will be playing DC United in a February pre-season match in San Luis Obispo. Goff adds that coach Frank Yallop is planning a game against Columbus at the same venue.

To answer your next question: about 185 miles, according to Google Maps.


View Larger Map

Posted by Jay at 11:21 AM | Comments (1)

More about the Garcia deal, plus Cannon and Cochrane return to Buck Shaw

There's still a bit of buzz in the air from this week's acquisition of Nick Garcia from Kansas City, as evidenced by this story on MLSnet.com that details how the deal went down from the Kansas City side. Quakes fans, take note: By all accounts, this was a decision that was not made lightly by KC GM Peter Vermes. Garcia is the Wizards' all-time leader in games played, games started, and minutes, and has played his entire professional career there. (That makes him sound old, doesn't it? He's not — he's only 28.)

For his part, Garcia sounds excited about his new opportunity:

"I haven't had any experience with Frank before. I know I've heard nothing but great things about him from guys who played for him," said Garcia. "He is a total player's coach, and I think he will be a great asset for me and for San Jose to help us get back to San Jose's glory days of MLS Cup."

Before the first incarnation of the club moved to Houston previous to the 2006 season, the Quakes won MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003 under Yallop's guidance.

"This is not a typical expansion scenario because you have a team that has been around before, you have coach who has [vast] experience. I see it as a team that is being built with veteran leadership and veteran players who have the experience to start off right of the bat," Garcia said, referring to players like Ryan Cochrane and goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

Speaking of Cochrane and Cannon, the weekly undergraduate newspaper of Santa Clara University checks in with the once and future Quakes, both of whom graduated from that institution. They're happy to be back, as they told writer Nicholas Pinkerton:

"I think coming back to the Bay Area is something special," said Cannon. "I want to uplift the legacy of the Bay Area and get it off on the right foot."

and

"It's exciting for the area," (Cochrane) said. "It's exciting to be one of those guys who gives back to San Jose."

Who knows who else is on the way to San Jose? ESPNsoccernet reports that U.S. midfielder Benny Feilhaber is ready to return and play in MLS, and we think the hero of the Gold Cup might look good in Earthquakes colors. (Come to think of it, we've had pretty good luck in the past with young U.S. internationals returning from bad experiences in Europe.) The Quakes also still have their second round pick in tomorrow's SuperDraft (don't forget the party), and there may be more trades on draft day. In any case, there are a lot of faces to be added to the roster before opening day.

Finally, we have one last item for you. SSV president Don Gagliardi was among the city council members, local big wigs, and other VIPs yesterday at Mayor Chuck Reed's "State of the City" speech. This annual address recaps the previous year and sets the agenda for the year to come, and was broadcast live on KLIV 1590. We'll let Don pick up the story from here:

At the end of a long litany of accomplishments, Mayor Reed said with gusto, to resounding applause, "...And the San Jose Earthquakes are back!"

Remember when San Jose had a mayor who couldn't even be bothered to show up at SSV's first fan rally? We sure do. Looks like those days are long gone!

Posted by Jay at 08:53 AM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2008

The press weighs in on the Garcia trade

"Knowing that Kansas City gave me up for the No. 1 pick . . . I'm flattered by it, and I come into San Jose guns-a-blazin'"

That's the word from new Quakes defender Nick Garcia, who said that and more to Elliott Almond for his story in the Mercury News. Almond also spoke to Quakes GM John Doyle, who promised that yes, the team would consist of more than just defenders and goalkeepers on opening day. Doyle also explained that the team would be signing young players to develop, so fans shouldn't see the trade of the number one pick as an indication that the Quakes would be looking exclusively for MLS veterans. Meanwhile, Coach Frank Yallop explains the team's decision to trade away the number one pick thusly:

Yallop said this year's draft doesn't have one great choice. "If you can get a good solid pro, you go with the known instead of the unknown."

Garcia is just that, adds Ridge Mahoney in Soccer America. Mahoney points out that Garcia "has played both outside back slots and central defense for the Wizards," and that "his durability is remarkable: he's never played fewer than 24 games in a season."

Welcome to San Jose, Nick. And if history repeats itself, it's worth mentioning that Jerry Garcia didn't achieve greatness until he left the Warlocks, so maybe that will be true of Nick Garcia and the Wizards.

(OK, technically Jerry didn't leave — the Warlocks just changed their name to the Grateful Dead. The whole Garcia/Garcia Wizards/Warlocks thing was too much for us to pass up, though...)

* * *

But wait, there's more. Not only did the Merc's Elliott Almond pen the previously mentioned story on the Garcia trade, he's got an interview with prodigal son Joe Cannon in the paper today as well. It's relatively short, so we won't try to summarize — click on over and have a look.

Posted by Jay at 06:37 AM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2008

Nick Garcia to Quakes

The Kansas City Star is reporting that defender Nick Garcia has been traded to the Quakes for the number one draft pick in Friday's SuperDraft. Garcia turns 29 in April and has averaged 28 starts and over 2,500 minutes per season over his eight years in the league.

1:35 p.m. We've just heard from the Quakes and they have confirmed the deal.

Hey, look! There's even a press release now.

Posted by Jay at 11:25 AM | Comments (2)

Eight former Quakes on hall of fame ballot

A host of former Quakes are on the newly-issued National Soccer Hall of Fame ballot. While some of them played only a minor part in San Jose, we think that's a pretty impressive number!

Here's the list:
Jeff Agoos
Mike Burns
Mark Chung
Troy Dayak
Raul Diaz Arce
John Doyle
Dominic Kinnear
Manny Lagos

It's the first year of eligibility for Agoos, Chung, Dayak, and Lagos. Full details on voting and biographies of each nominee are available at the link above.

Posted by Jay at 09:18 AM | Comments (1)

Mahoney story details past, present, future of Quakes

In a three-page article on si.com, Ridge Mahoney covers the past, present, and future of the Earthquakes. The story, which originally appeared in Soccer America, features quotes from many of the team's VIPs, including Lew Wolff and team president Michael Crowley.

The article also clears up a question that has had many Quakes fans wondering: When was Wolff approached to buy the team?

The day before AEG moved the team to Houston in December '05, Wolff took a pair of phone calls. The first came from AEG president Tim Leiweke, yet another of Wolff's extensive contacts in the sports industry. The second call came from someone he'd never spoken to: MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

"I didn't follow the Earthquakes too closely, I was so busy with other things in San Jose, where I'm active," says Wolff, who among other properties in the South Bay owns the Fairmont Hotel. "I didn't know Don, but he said, 'We're moving the team. Would you be interested in considering taking the Earthquakes name?' They wanted to keep the team name, so I said, 'Yes. Tell me what you want us to do,' and he said he'd get back to me."

That phone call evolved into an option to buy the team, which he exercised last summer.

Aside from a couple minor errors — John Fisher is the son of the Gap's founders and didn't start the company himself, for example — Mahoney turns in an excellent piece on the team.

Posted by Jay at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2008

Quakes to hold SuperDraft viewing party this Friday

Everyone is eager to see who the Quakes will sign next, and now we'll be able to celebrate when it happens. The Quakes are throwing a SuperDraft viewing party at Double D's in Los Gatos this Friday. Doors open at 10:45 a.m., the draft begins at 11:00, and the Quakes hold the first pick. There will be burger specials and more for lunch.

All the details are available on the Quakes' web site.

Posted by Jay at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2008

Goodson signs for IK Start of Norway

We'd never heard of them, either. Here's the Wikipedia entry, which informs us that they were relegated in 2007 and now play in Norway's second division (or "Adeccoligaen").

So, to sum up: Clarence Goodson, who was just called into his first ever U.S. National Team camp, passed up a chance to play in San Jose and opted instead for a club in the Norwegian second division. It may be sour grapes, but that sounds like a terrible decision to us. We recall how a move to a Danish team removed Wade Barrett from the national team radar, and they were in the first division!

Wow. On the bright side, we suppose, choosing a second division Scandinavian club over the Quakes is probably a good sign that you were never Earthquakes material to begin with.

Nonetheless, good luck, Clarence.

Posted by Jay at 11:38 AM | Comments (4)

The return of the Joe

Here at the blog, we're just starting to pull down the blue and black crepe-paper streamers from the walls and sweep up the confetti after celebrating the announcement that Joe Cannon would be returning to San Jose.

The return of the Joe is exciting news, for a lot of reasons. Cannon was part of San Jose's 2001 MLS Cup championship team, of course, and he's won the league's goalkeeper of the year award twice. His return finally makes amends for the botched negotiations that led to his departure from MLS after the 2002 season, when he moved briefly to RC Lens of France. Even more importantly, Cannon is still one of the best 'keepers around, as anyone who watched the Galaxy in the Superliga or their end-of-season surge can attest. He still has the ability to take over a game and that's all that we at the blog ask for from a goalkeeper.

Cannon's homecoming overshadows the loss of Clarence Goodson, who has decided to pursue an opportunity in Norway. It's "not good news," as columnist John Ryan reports his anonymous Mercury News soccer expert tells him. (Yes, Ryan says that the paper has a soccer expert "and he shall remain anonymous," which we find amusing. It's not like newspapers are in the business of selling name-brand expert analysis to people, are they? Oh, wait — they are.)

In any case, the press have lined up to cover the Cannon story. The Merc has a piece in today's paper, and there's a piece with a detailed timeline of Cannon's career on MLSnet.com. Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated looks at what Cannon's move might mean for the Galaxy. (If you guessed, "They want to use the cash to buy an aging European superstar," give yourself five points.)

Ridge Mahoney's story for Soccer America is probably the best of the lot, since he also discusses some of the Quakes' other efforts to bring in new talent:

According to a source, the Quakes had tried to pry away a player from a local college team with eligibility remaining but were told he preferred to stay in school. Yallop has also watched Bronco senior defender Jamil Roberts, the brother of Troy Roberts, who played for Yallop with the Galaxy. Another local college defender, University of San Francisco product Chris Rodd, signed with Norwegian club Bryne last month.

Speaking of which, MLS has announced the signings for the new group of Generation Adidas players, as the Washington Post's Steven Goff writes here. Goff also has a separate piece on one of them, Patrick Nyarko, who had 31 goals and 24 assists in 57 games for Virginia Tech and "is projected to be one of the top three picks in the 14-team draft."

Posted by Jay at 06:57 AM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2008

Quakes sign Joe Cannon

isiphotos.com

This just in...

The Earthquakes have signed Joe Cannon from the Los Angeles Galaxy for a partial allocation.

Cannon is, of course, a fan favorite in San Jose, not to mention a native of Los Gatos. Welcome back, Joe!

The Quakes have issued a press release about the signing which we expect will be on their web site soon.

There's some bad news, too. The team was unable to sign Clarence Goodson, who has decided to pursue opportunities in Europe.

Posted by Jay at 11:31 AM | Comments (9)

January 09, 2008

Quakes to play in Carolina Challenge Cup

With less than half their roster complete and only two regular season games scheduled, there are still a ton of questions about 2008 for the Quakes. Part of the pre-season picture gets clearer today with the news that the team will participate in the Carolina Challenge Cup, along with New York, Toronto, and the USL Charleston Battery. The tournament runs from March 15 to 22.

The Charleston Post & Courier story linked above notes that past winners of the annual tourney have gone on to great success, although it gets some of the facts wrong. We'll issue their correction for them: San Jose won the tournament in 2005 and went on to win the Supporters' Shield, not the "Commissioners Cup," and Houston won the tournament in '06 and '07 as a prelude to MLS Cup victories those years.

More news on Ramiro Corrales: The Houston Chronicle reports that the Dynamo are hot on the trail of the former Quake, now playing with Norway's Brann:

"We want him," Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said.

Well, it just so happens that Corrales, who plays for Norwegian champion SK Brann, is pondering a move back to MLS.

"I'm married now, and my wife is not too happy there," said Corrales, who left for Norway in 2005. "I think it's time to come back."

It's just a guess, but we could see Corrales playing in central defense for Houston now that Ryan Cochrane has returned to San Jose. Corrales has always been a versatile player and saw action at several positions for the Quakes, most notably on the left side of the defense and midfield, as well as at central midfield.

Agoos promoted in NY: Bruce Arena didn't last in New York, but it looks like former Quake Jeff Agoos will be there a long time. The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that Agoos has been promoted to sporting director of New York Red Bull. According to a press release from the club, Agoos "will take the lead in scouting players worldwide, help manage the organization's youth developmental system and work hand in hand with the Red Bulls' head coach Juan Carlos Osorio, MLS League Office and other MLS clubs."

Posted by Jay at 06:22 AM | Comments (5)

January 07, 2008

Awipi interviews Glinton for Californian

Embele Awipi's first column of the year for the Salinas Californian focuses on new Quake Gavin Glinton, who is also a member of the fledgling Turks and Caicos national team. How new is that team? Glinton was on the field when they scored their first international victory, a 2-0 win over the Cayman Islands in 2006.

Glinton talks about his upcoming training stint with Turks and Caicos next month and his view of the upcoming season for the Quakes (he's optimistic). Worth a click, we think.

We have two other items today:


Posted by Jay at 07:32 AM | Comments (0)

January 03, 2008

Carlisle reports Beane's "Moneyball" strategy already in use at Quakes

Over the last several months, we've linked to several articles describing Oakland A's GM Billy Beane's fascination with soccer and the potential for applying his style of statistical analysis to the Beautiful Game. Most of those stories have been a little shaky on how this sort of strategy might be implemented for soccer, a sport that is not traditionally driven by statistics in the same way that baseball is.

Today, Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.com turns in the definitive story on the topic. Carlisle's fascinating report indicates that not only can statistical analysis be applied to soccer, the Quakes and other MLS teams are already doing it.

(Earthquakes coach Frank) Yallop added that in the case of midfielder Ivan Guerrero, the information supplied (by Emeryville corporation Match Analysis) played a part in his selection.

"We looked at [Guerrero's] stats and saw that he was one of the best in possession in the league," said Yallop during the team's expansion draft announcement. "Getting the ball and keeping the ball is important, and Ivan does that."

Carlisle lays it all out: how the data is collected, how it can be used to identify skilled players, as well as the limitations of the current system.

An excellent read.

Posted by Jay at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

Merc interviews former NASL Quakes coach Terry Fisher

Mercury News high school beat writer David Kiefer interviews former Quakes coach Terry Fisher today on his blog.

Fisher, who coached the Quakes in '78 and '79, is currently leading the Half Moon Bay High team, but he has a lot to say about the past and current incarnations of the Quakes. Here's a sample:

Q: Do you agree with the MLS bringing back the Earthquakes nickname? This will be the fourth version of a team by that name. Does that do justice to the original franchise?

A: I think it’s a tribute to the ‘Quakes. The tradition is so strong and long.

Each one of those teams that retained that name is treated differently. And I think the MLS team was able to recapture the magic by winning championships. I think it will be great, and an honor to what was created in 1974.

Q: In that era, soccer was billed as the sport of the future, one that would became a major professional sport in this country. Is it time to put those hopes to rest?

A: When I started coaching at UCLA (in 1973), we charged $5 for a soccer clinic in Ventura. We were happy we got 30 kids and $150.

Now, we have 30,000 kids playing in that market. We’re no longer crusading. It’s now a viable sixth or seventh sport in America.

The whole model has changed, all for the better. In 1975, in the NASL, we were required to play one American. What do you mean, we have to play one American? We all tried to find a place to hide him, maybe in goal or at right back.

And another:

Q: Can any new pro team in San Jose equal the magic of the original Earthquakes?

A: It can. We do have a fervent group of supporters. And, 30 years later, the fans are so much more sophisticated. There’s so much more soccer on television than you could possibly watch.

Back in 1974, fans didn’t even know what a soccer ball was. It was irrelevent what happened on the field. It was entertainment, cheerleaders, Krazy George, and, by the way, a soccer game broke out at halftime.

The teams brought in players and the league kind of limped along. But then they brought in Pele, Beckenbauer, Best and Cruyff, and the payrolls got out of hand. The discrepancy became rich and poor was too great, and no one stepped in to save the owners from themselves.

We always enjoy seeing stories like this since they help publicize the tremendous growth that American soccer has experienced over the last few decades. Kiefer does a good job interviewing Fisher and shows off a surprising knowledge of NASL Quakes history. The story is well worth a click.

Posted by Jay at 09:27 AM | Comments (2)

January 02, 2008

Quakes hire Bruce Morgan


While most fans will recognize Dominic Kinnear and a few select players like Dwayne De Rosario as the constants in the Quakes' best years, 2001-2005, there was also a man behind the scenes looking after the athletes and helping keep them in top physical condition in those years: trainer Bruce Morgan. (Actually, he was there from the beginning, but we don't talk much about 1996-2000, do we?)

Morgan moved to Houston with the team after the 2005 season, but there's good news: He's back. The Quakes announced today that the two-time MLS Trainer of the Year is joining San Jose's staff. He returns as the only trainer in league history with four MLS Cup rings. Here's his bio from last year.

Welcome back, Bruce!

But wait, there's more...

The Quakes have also hired Alan Kakinami. You can find out more about him at alankakinami.com.

Posted by Jay at 05:02 PM | Comments (0)

Goodson negotiating with Quakes, exploring options in Europe

Thought we should pass along this item from Steven Goff's excellent blog:

* Defender Clarence Goodson and MLS/San Jose are in negotiations over a new contract, but in case a deal is not reached, his representatives have begun the process of exploring opportunities in Germany and Scandanavia.

We just want to add this, especially for Mr. Goodson and his agent:

Scandinavia and Germany - cold. Actually, often very cold. Average midseason high temperature in Hamburg is 39 degrees. The lows? Don't ask.

San Jose - average high temperature in midseason is 80 degrees. It cools down nicely by game time — the average low in July is just under 60 degrees.

We hope this makes your decision easier.

Posted by Jay at 12:36 PM | Comments (1)

Mercury News adds Quakes section to web site

It's the season for New Year's resolutions, and the Mercury News has unveiled a good one — they've added a special Earthquakes page to their online sports section! We hope this is the start of something big!

It could be that they didn't have any money to spend on this until their new annual budget kicked in, but we think that it may have been this that gave them a new respect for the power of the Quakes...

Posted by Jay at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)

January 01, 2008

Goodson picked for Nats camp

As the new year dawns, we note that U.S. Soccer snuck out a press release yesterday listing the invitees for the first training camp of the year. Among the names is Clarence Goodson, 25-year-old central defender for the Quakes, who will be vying for his first cap. Congratulations, Clarence!

Also on the list are former Quakes Dan Califf, Ricardo Clark, Jimmy Conrad, Ramiro Corrales, Brad Davis, Landon Donovan, Todd Dunivant, and Eddie Robinson. (Apparently if you ever played for the Quakes and your last name starts with "C" or "D," you're in. Unless you're Chris Carrieri, we suppose...)

Posted by Jay at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)