US Open Cup, Quakes Update, Champions League, Where is Ronnie?

...alot of things to write about today.

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - "What Happened?"

One of the oldest cup competitions in the sport and many have never heard of it. Those who have heard of it really don't care too much about it (MLS teams definitely do not see it as any priority - this can be seen when you watch Cup qualifer rosters filled with reserves and developmental squad lads). Basically what happened was that the Cup went the way of the sport of "soccer" in America (Baseball and American football took over and real football faded to the background of the American sporting scene.) I understand that back in the early 1900's, football leagues were heavily dependant on overseas talent and little development was being done to improve America's talent pool. Doesn't sound too much different from today's game! So the US Cup will probably stay in the shadows for eternity (and that's a long time!)

2009 Champions League:

Man Utd is heading to Rome after trashing Aresenal at the Emirates today (3-1, aggregate after 2nd leg 4-1). Man Utd dominated this game. Tomorrow is the showdown between Barca and Chelsea to see who will face Man Utd in the UCL finals. 1st leg was a nil-nil draw at camp nou. Tomorrow's game at Stamford Bridge will be interesting.

Quakes v. Chivas USA:

The Q's looked horrible again. Alot a credit does go to Chivas though (they are a great looking team right now). It reminds me of how the first part of the season was last year - we have little to no offensive threat on the field. Ryan Johnson will be marked be every team and so will Arturo. What has damaged the team the most? (3) Jason Hernandez injury (2) Darren Huckerby injury and (1) THE LOSS OF RONNIE O'BRIEN.

The team is not the same without Ronnie. Is he still available? I don't know for sure, but as far as I can tell, he isn't under contract with anyone right now. There was some web chatter about a possible interest by the Portland Timbers (that better not happen!). We need to get him back. I bet the supporters would be willing to pass the hat if that would help the front office get him back in the black and blue.

Post Game Meals:

I haven't posted much about the post-game meals H and I have had recently. We did hit Hot Pot City again after the US Cup game against NY. The meal was great as always. After the most recent game against Chivas, H wanted to go to a wildlife-themed restaraunt that he was familiar with in Campbell. I said that that sounds interesting. He told me that the specific focus was on avian species, especially one specific type of raptor. I thought, "Wow, intriguing." He mentioned that he knew a Theresa there, so I assumned this must have been one of the raptor specialists. Thanks H.

Oh, and by the way, this is H's friend Theresa...

Say It Ain't So Ronnie

It was reported on Centerline Soccer that Ronnie O'Brien will not be with the Quakes for the upcoming season. From what I have read online, Ronnie came to the Quakes last year (from Toronto) with the understanding that his salary would be reduced in '09. But apparently what has happened is that he was offered a huge cut in pay without any offset such as the security of a multi-year contract. Plus - he now doesn't have alot of time to seek another contract elsewhere.

H and I reside in the Fault Zone (right next to the KFC corner) and loved yelling out "R-O-N-N-I-E watching Ronnie work the right side in front of us. Ronnie always brought intensity and enthusiasm to the game and this especially showed when Hucks, Sealy, and Lima arrived. Ronnie appeared to really be happy here in San Jose (but what do I really know).

I wish Ronnie much luck in the future and thank him for making the Quakes return memorable. I just hope that he doesn't end up on the roster of a conference rival!

Do or Die

Well - I think tomorrow's game against Chivas USA will determine the fate of the Quakes this season. If we can win and pick 3 points, we'll still be in the hunt for that final playoff spot. If we tie or lose, I think that will be our season unless something really crazy happens.



The keys to the game: ALL of our key starters need to have their A games on.



#1 JOE CANNON: Has been solid in net all year and I am sure he will be the same tomorrow at the SBSS.



#2 RAMIRO CORRALES: Ramiro has been injured much of the season and I hope that he returns in this game - we need his midfield experience.

#3 FRANCISCO LIMA: Francisco has been such a playmaker since he has arrived to SJ, but has been off of his game the last several outings. We need his spark again.

#4 ARTURO ALVAREZ: Arturo has not gotten his shots the last couple games and we need his offensive presence to be felt early in tomorrow's game.

#5 DARREN HUCKERBY: Hucks continues to be on fire, but has been slowed down due to an injury this week. We pray that he is 100% for tomorrow - without him, we really help the Chivas defense in planning for the game.

#6 RONNIE O'BRIEN: Ronnie is another major player on this team that has not been on his game in recent weeks. I am sure he is really beat up at this point in the season, but I hope that his energy and spark from the right side shines tomorrow night.

#7 NICK GARCIA: Nick is our warrior! He is the key to our amazing defense and I'm certain that he will be giving 200% at the SB San Siro tomorrow.

#8 SCOTT SEALY: Scott is another player the Quakes brought on that has energized the team in the 2nd half of the season. He and Lima need to be in perfect harmony in the midfield for us to have a chance.

Game this Saturday @ Houston

Just read some infomation on Centerline Soccer that Nick Garcia (hamstring), Ronnie O'Brien (ankle), and Darren Huckerby (hip) sat out of practice yesterday. Also - there seems to be a question still on whether the game in Houston will be played or not due to the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Lets pray for the people affected in Texas (and also for Nick, Ronnie, and Darren to make a full recovery).

http://www.centerlinesoccer.com