Sounders Pick Up Four In Supplemental Draft, Plus One More From RSL

The Supplemental Draft, intended for the distribution of the remaining college players invited to the Combine and left over after the SuperDraft, took place this morning and saw the Sounders pick up four more players plus another via trade after the draft was over. With their first pick, 33rd overall, they selected UCSB defender and little brother of DC United midfielder Chris Pontius, Tim Pontius. Second, immediately after their first pick and 34th overall, the Sounders selected EPL reserve midfielder Jason Banton. With their third pick, 53rd overall, the Sounders then selected University of Washington forward Abdul Aman, And finally with their fourth pick, 72nd overall, the Sounders picked up Cal Poly defender Wes Feighner. Only hours after the draft, the Sounders announced the acquisition of midfielder Andy Rose in a trade with Real Salt Lake for the rights of one of last year's draft picks Leone Cruz.

The most exciting of these picks is definitely Banton. He has many striking similarities to Steve Zakuani. Much like Zakuani he came up through the youth systems in the Premier League, not only that but he is much in the same mold as Zakuani as a player, providing an attacking presence on the left wing. Through these similarities, he definitely has plenty of potential. I certainly look forward to seeing how he developes as a player and how he ultimately fits in with the Sounders.

Sounders Sign Cordell Cato

His signing had been rumored for the past couple of months, and yesterday the club confirmed the signing of the Trinidadian 19 year old. Apparently much along the lines of former Sounder Sanna Nyassi, Cato is said to be a versatile player who can play up top (in fact the news release states him as a forward) or on the wing who has plenty of pace.

It looks like the Sounders are going after regaining much of the pace on the right wing that was lost when Vancouver took him in the expansion draft last year and subsequently traded him to Colorado. The incredibly young age is a great bonus, meaning he'll have plenty of time to develop and settle into the team. It will be interesting to see what sort of role that Cato will find himself playing.

Detroit Auto Show Picks

Acura NSX Concept

The concept that really took this year's Detroit Auto Show by storm was Acura's NSX concept. Just over six years ago the production of Acura's flagship sports car ended, and ever since there have been rumblings and rumors of a new model. Now it seems that the NSX is back on track to getting a second generation an re-entering production. What is most notable about this concept, as I'm sure you tell by the image above, is the styling whose sharp lines prove to be incredibly attractive. The much detested power plenum grill is incorporated, but thankfully Acura's designers have quite tastefully integrated the company's controversial signature look into the concept.

2013 Cadillac ATS

Late last year Cadillac unveiled their next full-size sedan, the XTS, at the LA Auto Show. Now they've taken the wraps off of the long-rumored ATS, which offers full competition to BMW's 3-series. The styling is very much in line with that of the previously mentioned XTS, taking Cadillac's design language to a higher level.

2013 Dodge Dart

When it comes to small cars, Dodge has been struggling a bit lately. The Caliber, the rather popular Neon's replacement, was never really able to find success and now that the small car segment is heating up in the US Dodge desperately needs to stake their claim in the market. Sourced mainly from Alfa Romeo, it seems that the Dart could do just that. Gone is the inelegant truck-like styling, and in enters much more attractive and flowing lines. The Dart's taillight design greatly mirrors that of the Charger refresh, a very welcome sight. Unfortunately, for now at least, Dodge only plans to offer the sedan body style.

Lexus LF-LC Concept

Lexus' styling has exactly been all that breathtaking, but they're slowly beginning to change that with the new GS and now the LF-LC concept which has been stated to be the inspiration for all future styling of Lexus models.

Lincoln MKZ Concept

It's no secret that Lincoln has been really struggling lately, and this concept car is intended to show what the future will hold for the Ford sub-brand. The MKZ concept features styling more in tune with the swooping four door coupe style currently in trend. It is certainly much more appealing to the eye than anything currently on offer by Lincoln. Hopefully this soon to be production car will lead to a reinvention of the luxury brand.

Sounders Pick Up Duran And Sodade In SuperDraft

The Sounders certainly surprised many by selecting Creighton defender Andrew Duran with the first round pick, ignoring some enticing Generation Adidas players like Enzo Martinez and Dom Dwyer in the process. Later with their second round pick they selected UAB forward Babeyele Sodade. As previously mentioned, there was much surprise surrounding their picks, especially of Duran. Those critics are simply looking at the pick according to the players available at the time of the pick, not from the perspective of a team that has has positional needs that need to be fulfilled. While the team finished second in the league last season, defense was becoming a bit of a concern and an area that was promised to be addressed in the off-season; the pick of Duran reflects that. While the team scored the most goals of any team last season, forward was another position of concern, as Fredy Montero was the only forward last season to reach double digits when it comes to goals. O'Brian White certainly looked good early on into the season, but he was quickly sidelined with a blood clotting issue. Sodade is intended to fill the void left by White while he remains out, as well as providing the size that left with Nate Jaqua.

Of Sodade, Schmid said:
"Sodade is a big presence up front, he's got good pace, he showed well at the combine. He's had a good career at UAB and he's the kind of player who could be a surprise guy like [Sporting Kansas City forward] C.J. Sapong was last year."

Of Duran:
"He is a player that's very two-footed. He's comfortable playing on the left side of the center in the back as well as the right side. He was the main defender on the team that was the best defensive team in the country last year so he's got to be doing something right."

Quotes sourced from The Seattle Times Sounders FC Blog

Changes Coming This Year For USOC Format

After outcry about the formatting of the competition was voiced in last years tournament, most notably by FC Dallas' head coach Schellas Hyndeman, changing are coming in 2012 for the country's oldest sports competition. The changes include:

• The expanding of the field of teams competing in the tournament from 40 to 64, the largest field of the modern era.
• All 16 MLS teams will take part in the competition for the first time ever, throwing out the old format of entry being determined by last season's performance along with a play-in process to determine the last participant.
• The bidding process is getting scrapped, up until the semi-finals at least. This was the most highly contested element of the competition, as clubs who actually care about the tournament like the Sounders and the Chicago Fire can claim home advantage throughout the entire tournament. Which actually makes sense, because the clubs that do care are more likely to advertise the competition and draw in fans for those matches.
• The tournament starts earlier and ends earlier, to help relieve schedule congestion for MLS clubs, especially those competing in the CONCACAF Champions League as well. The first round plays out on April 15th and the final will be played on either August 7th or 8th

Sounders Announce Signing Of Christian Sivebaek

After having been rumored to be a done deal by Danish sources, today the Sounders announced the signing of Danish midfielder Christian Sivebaek. At his former club, Midtjylland, he played at both the right midfield and and right fullback positions, although it seems that he will mostly ply his trade in the midfield for the Sounders as a back up in the occasion that Rosales isn't available. With his height of 6-foot-3, Sivebaek should prove to be an excellent target for corner kicks.

Technical director Chris Henderson stated in the release: "Christian is a player that we have been following for quite some time, he is a good one versus one dribbler who can provide consistent quality service to our strikers. He has good speed and physical presence."

Sivebaek is the Sounders fourth signing so far this offseason, along with Johansson, Gspurning, and Burch. He clearly provides much needed depth at right midfield, a crippling weakness that the Sounders had the misfortune of experiencing in the play-offs last season after losing Rosales only a few matches from the end of the season. He also provides always needed depth when it comes to other competitions as well.

One Year Reflections: Looking Forward

Thanks to my extreme laziness and pre-occupation with the start of winter quarter I am about a week off of when I was planning to get this written up and posted. I was so lazy as to even ignore Wunderlist constantly pestering me that I had an overdue task. Without any further delay, I will now delve into my plans and ideas for what I will cover and where my blog will go in this updating year.

1. Major League Soccer - If you've been following my blog, I'm sure you're plenty aware of my obsession with all things Major League Soccer and that the primary focus of my blog is a reflection of that. In 2012 I intend to offer a substantially wider rage of coverage, recapping more than just the Sounders matches. The transition of television coverage from the paid and largely unwatched as a result Fox Soccer to NBC Sports should allow me to do so.
2. Additional Authors - One of the major changes I'm planning on implementing this coming year is the introduction of two other authors to help me diversify the content and coverage of topics offered by my blog. In fact, one of them has already accepted my invitation as can be observed in the authors section on the right hand side of my blog's layout. He has yet to make a contribution, but I expect good things from him.
3. More Album Reviews - If you've read my previous reflection, you'll be aware that my initial intent was for this blog to exclusively provide coverage on music. This coming year, while my main focus will remain Major League Soccer, my hope is to expand upon that and write up and publish album reviews and opinion pieces much more frequently.

As always, feedback is welcomed and encouraged. I want to know how I can keep improving my blog and maintaining your interest and readership, so please don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Sounders Hire Ross Fletcher Of BBC As Arlo Replacement

Today the Sounders announced that they had hired Arlo White's replacement, Ross Fletcher of the BBC. In addition, they've also signed former goalkeeper and US legend Kasey Keller as a color commentator. Fletcher has spent the last five years as a soccer commentator and reporter for the BBC.

In the release, team majority owner Joe Roth stated in the release: "Ross and Kasey will bring a new dimension and perspective to Sounders FC broadcasts, the combination of Ross' experience and Kasey's knowledge gives us a sensational 1-2 punch which our fans deserve."

There are some fans out there complaining about and taking offense to the fact that the Sounders didn't sign an American commentator, despite the fact that it is a well known fact that a good American soccer commentator is a rare commodity. When it comes down to it, what matters is the individuals knowledge of the sport and the passion that they have for it, not their accent or nationality. From the following video reel, it is clear that Fletcher definitely fits the bill in both categories. Check out some of his work in the Youtube video embedded below:

You can read further about Fletcher and the signing here.

Also, here is a great interview with Fletcher from Prost Amerika.

Music of the Year - 2011

I completely blanked on doing this, so a week late I present my top artists and albums from 2011 as observed from my charts over at Last.fm. Notably, for my top ten artists my numbers are down significantly from last year. Where I had Minus the Bear ranking in at number one with just under 2000 plays last year, this past year my highest was Portugal. The Man with just under 1300 plays. Also this year for top albums I compiled the list based upon my Last/fm charts rather than iTunes.

Top Artists

1. Portugal. The Man (1263 Plays)
2. Dance Gavin Dance (1260)
3. Silverstein (1123 Plays)
4. The Dear Hunter (1043 Plays)
5. Modest Mouse (980 Plays)
6. Madina Lake (851 Plays)
7. Soilwork (617 Plays)
8. Slipknot (593 Plays)
9. Emery (584 Plays)
10. August Burns Red (571 Plays)

2011 Albums

1. Downtown Battle Mountain II - Dance Gavin Dance (684 Plays)
2. Rescue (Deluxe Edition) - Silverstein (671 Plays)
3. Leveler (Deluxe Edition)  - August Burns (435 Plays)
4. The Color Spectrum The Complete Collection - The Dear Hunter (429 Plays)
5. In The Mountain In The Cloud - Portugal. The Man (395 Plays)
6. World War III (Deluxe Editon) - Madina Lake (348 Plays)
7. Beast (Deluxe Editon) - DevilDriver (318 Plays)
8. Children Of Fire - Oh, Sleeper (268 Plays)
9. Scurrilous - Protest the Hero (164 Plays)
10. Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday (139 Plays)

MLS Releases Schedule for 2012

Lately fans have been getting a little impatient in their wait for MLS to release the schedule for the upcoming 2012 season. Thankfully the day is finally here. Notably, 2012 will see the longest season in league history, seeing regular season play carry out between March 10th and October 28th, and the play-offs concluding on December 1st. Also noteworthy, of the three hundred and twenty three regular season matches ESPN, NBC, and Galavision will be airing a total of eighty nine matches combined.

Head here to check out the full schedule.

Parke And Evans Called Into USMNT January Camp

News broke today that center backs George John and Omar Gonzalez, after finally getting their chance to prove themselves to Jurgen Klinsmann, had to withdraw from this month's USMNT camp in order to sort out club related issues (it's been reported that Gonzalez might be going out on loan and that John may finally be going over to Europe after making consideration last summer). To fill the void, Klinsmann has opted to finally call in a Sounder (makes that two actually).

The most notable of the two to get their first call up under Klinsmann, and notably their first call up of their career, is Jeff Parke. After getting picked up by New York in the 2004 SuperDraft, he quickly became a mainstay in the Red Bulls defense. Likewise, once he joined the Sounders early on into the 2010 season, he quickly became a mainstay in the back line. It seems that he's finally getting the recognition that he's due.

The other Sounder to get called up is the Sounders go to attacking midfielder, Brad Evans. Although only in restricted capacity, mainly coming of the bench as a right back, Evans has suited up for the US four prior times making three appearances in the 2009 Gold Cup and once in a friendly. Confusingly, rather than voice congratulations and support as they have with Parke, many Sounders fans are voicing confusion as to Evans call up. Sure he's been hampered almost insistently with injury, but that by no means should mark him worthy of such ire and malign. When he can remain healthy, he is one of the major pieces of the Sounders exceptional midfield and is clearly viewed good enough by Klinsmann to get the call up.