Author: Beau Dure

The guy who wrote a bunch of soccer books and now runs a Gen X-themed podcast while substitute teaching and continuing to write freelance stuff.
soccer

NWSL supplemental draft: Who arrrre these people?

Posted on by Beau Dure

In case you followed along on Twitter but didn’t place some of the names (it helped that the W-League and other organizations congratulated their alumni as they were drafted, and it also helps that Wikipedia was in a frenzy today) …

And still, these player histories are not comprehensive. If you know something not mentioned here, please say so in the comments.

The year by their college name is their senior season, not their graduation date.

Quick note on WPS drafts: 2008 had a general draft for players who were not allocated. That was one of two drafts before the league started play. The 2009 draft still included non-college players — Briana Scurry and Brandi Chastain were among the selections.

Players in italic are players whose 2013 participation is in doubt. Teams retain their rights through the 2013 season.

FIRST ROUND

1. Washington: Stephanie Ochs, F, San Diego 2011. WPS draft: 2012, first round (third overall). Given the update on Camille Levin (overseas) from my last post, that accounts for everyone in the 2012 first round. 2012 team: Western New York (WPSL Elite).

2. Seattle: Nikki Krzysik, D, Virginia 2008. WPS draft: 2009, second round. Started with Chicago in WPS, moved to Philadelphia and became a defensive cornerstone. 2011 WPS Best XI. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

3. Boston: Joanna Lohman, M, Penn State 2003. WPS draft: 2008 general, fourth round. Played for Washington and Philadelphia in WPS; also did some time overseas. Reuniting the JoLi Academy crew with Lianne Sanderson already a Breaker. 2012 team: D.C. United Women (W-League).

4. Chicago: Lindsay Tarpley, F, North Carolina 2005. WPS original allocation. Former national team player with some injury concerns in the past. The only Chicago draft pick who didn’t play for Red Stars last season, but she started her WPS career there before moving to St. Louis, Boston and magicJack. 2012 team: Missed season (pregnancy).

5. Sky Blue: Katy Frierson, M, Auburn 2011. WPS draft: 2012, second round. Also played with Atlanta Silverbacks at some point. 2012 team: Western New York (WPSL Elite).

6. Kansas City: Courtney Jones, F, North Carolina 2011. WPS draft: 2012, second round. 2012 team: Boston (WPSL Elite).

7. Western New York: Estelle Johnson, D, Kansas 2009. WPS draft: 2010, third round. Two seasons with Philadelphia (WPS). Currently an assistant coach with Avila University in Colorado. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite)

8. Portland: Tina Ellertson, D, Washington 2004. WPS original allocation. Played for Saint Louis, Atlanta and magicJack. Longtime friend and teammate of Hope Solo. Former national team player and outstanding marking back. Just one problem: She says she’s not playing this year. Pro Soccer Talk’s Richard Farley says Portland is optimistic about getting Ellertson and fourth-round pick Marian Dalmy. 2012 team: FC Salmon Creek Nemesis 99. OK, she was the coach.

(Still on the board: Goalkeepers, Tasha Kai, Casey Nogueira … unless they’ve all signed elsewhere already.)

SECOND ROUND

1. Washington: Tori Huster, M, Florida State 2011. WPS draft: 2012, second round. Also the first pick in that second round. 2012 teams: Western New York (WPSL Elite) / Newcastle (Australia).

2. Seattle: Lauren Barnes, D, UCLA 2010. WPS draft: 2011, third round. Played for Philadelphia. Assistant coach at UC Riverside in 2012. 2012 team: Beach FC (WPSL)

3. Boston: Katie Schoepfer, F, Penn State 2009. WPS draft: 2010, third round. Played a few games for Sky Blue, then moved to Boston in 2011 and will play for the Breakers in a third league. 2012 team: Boston (WPSL Elite).

4. Chicago: Lauren Fowlkes, D, Notre Dame 2010. WPS draft: 2011, first round (fifth overall). Also formerly Pali Blues. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

5. Sky Blue: Brittany Cameron, GK, San Diego 2008. WPS draft: 2009, eighth round. Played in WPS with Los Angeles, Gold Pride and Western New York. 2012 team: Western New York (WPSL Elite).

6. Kansas City: Bianca Henninger, GK, Santa Clara 2011. WPS draft: 2012, third round. Given the hype around her for years, it’s stunning to see her taken this low. Could be a steal, especially if Nicole Barnhart needs to miss some time. Third-round pick in 2012 WPS draft. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

7. Western New York: Angela Salem, D, Francis Marion 2009. WPS draft: not selected. Worked her way from small school to WPS, playing a little bit with Sky Blue in 2010 and a little bit more with Atlanta the next year. 2012 teams:  Western New York (WPSL Elite) / Newcastle (Australia).

8. Portland: Angie Kerr, M, Portland 2007. Formerly Angie Woznuk. WPS draft: 2008 general, third round. Has some U.S. national team experience. 2012 team: unknown

THIRD ROUND

1. Washington: Jordan Angeli, M/D, Santa Clara 2009. WPS draft: 2010, second round. Played for Boston in WPS. Has had a few injury problems but has tweeted that she’s excited to be joining the Spirit and working toward a return. 2012 team: None

2. Seattle: Laura Heyboer, F, Michigan 2011. WPS draft: 2012, fourth round. 2012 club: Western New York (WPSL Elite).

3. Boston: Bianca D’Agostino, M, Wake Forest 2010. WPS draft: 2011, third round. Also played for Penn State. Played for Atlanta in her WPS season. 2012 team: Boston (WPSL Elite).

4. Chicago: Michelle Wenino, D, Colorado 2008. Whirlwind three years with Chicago, Freiburg (Germany), Pali Blues and Sky Blue. Also does sales and finance for GQ Formalwear. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

5. Sky Blue: CoCo Goodson, D, UC Irvine 2011. WPS draft: 2012, second round. 2012 team: FC Twente (Netherlands).

6. Kansas City: Merritt Mathias, F, Texas A&M 2011. Started college at North Carolina. Not picked in WPS draft. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

7. Western New York: Kim Yokers, M, Cal-Berkeley 2003. Played with FC Gold Pride in WPS, 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

8. Portland: Michele Weissenhofer, F, Notre Dame 2009. WPS draft: 2010, fourth round. Played in Germany with Essen-Schonebeck. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

FOURTH ROUND

1. Washington: Tasha Kai, F, Hawaii 2005. PWow! Longtime national team player gets picked this late? Are they taking a chance that she’s interested in playing? Played for Sky Blue and Philadelphia. 2012 team: As far as I can find, none.

2. Seattle: Liz Bogus, F, Arizona State 2005. WPS draft: 2008 general, third round. Played a lot of places, including Pali Blues, before stints with Los Angeles and Boston in WPS. 2012 team: Pali Blues (W-League).

3. Boston: Jasmyne Spencer, F, Maryland 2011. WPS draft: 2012, fourth round. Short but speedy and effective scorer. 2012 teams: New York (WPSL Elite)/Brondby (Denmark).

4. Chicago: Jackie Santacaterina, D, Illinois 2009. WPS draft: 2010, seventh round. Went to Chicago in the WPSL instead, and she’s still there. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

5. Sky Blue: Meghan Lenczyk, F, Virginia 2010. WPS draft: 2011, third round. Played for Atlanta. 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

6. Kansas City: Casey (Nogueira) Loyd, M, North Carolina 2009. WPS draft: 2010, first round (eighth overall). Played for Chicago and Sky Blue. Longtime U.S. youth international star seems to have dropped off the map, and there’s some concern that she might not play. Married FC Dallas’ Zach Loyd — maybe Sporting KC can trade for him so she’ll play? 2012 team: FC Dallas (WPSL).

7. Western New York: Val Henderson, GK, UCLA (NCAA). WPS draft: 2009, fifth round. Played for Los Angeles and Philadelphia in WPS and had signed with Atlanta for 2012. Also played in Sweden. Assistant coach at San Jose State and traveled to Singapore for coaching exchange. If she’s planning to play, it’s incredible that she was still on the board this late. 2012 team: Bay Area Breeze (WPSL).

8. Portland: Marian Dalmy, D, Santa Clara 2006. WPS draft: 2008 general, third round. Played for Chicago and magicJack. Another former national team player. Clearly, teams are now drafting in the hopes that some of these players will be persuaded to play now or later. Got married in early 2012. 2012 team: Can’t find one listed.

FIFTH ROUND

1. Washington: Megan Mischler, F, West Virginia 2010. Tweeted her excitement about being picked by the Spirit. Former PR assistant with Boston and fellow Our Game contributor. Also works on gameday PR for Pittsburgh Steelers. 2012 team: Hammarby (Sweden).

2. Seattle: Michelle Betos, GK, Georgia 2009. Also appears on past rosters for Atlanta Silverbacks, Boston Aztec, Apollon (Cyprus) and, most improbably, River Plate (Argentina). 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

3. Boston: Lauren Alkek, D, Oklahoma 2010. WPS draft: 2011, fourth round. Played for Bay Area Breeze in 2011. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

4. Chicago: Alyssa Mautz, M, Texas A&M 2010.  WPS draft: 2011, third round. Played for Sky Blue. Has been tweeting her excitement about the new league. 2012 team: Chicago (WPSL Elite).

5. Sky Blue: Kandace Wilson, D, Cal State Fullerton 2005. WPS draft: 2008 general, second round. Played for Ajax America and Pali Blues before WPS, then played for Gold Pride and Western New York (WPS).  Assistant coach at alma mater. 2012 team: Not found

6. Kansas City: Tina DiMartino, M, UCLA 2008. WPS draft: 2009, first round (third overall, between Megan Rapinoe and Yael Averbuch). Another former national team player, also played for Gold Pride, St. Louis and Philadelphia in WPS. How is she still available this late? Equalizer’s Dan Lauletta says she “has no intention of playing in NWSL.” 2012 team: New York (WPSL Elite).

7. Western New York: Ashley Grove, F, Maryland 2011. Trained with Paul Riley SuperGroup. 2012 team: Rochester (W-League).

8. Portland: Jessica Shufelt, F, Connecticut 2011. 2012 team: Ottawa Fury (W-League).

SIXTH ROUND

1. Washington: Heather Cooke, D, Loyola (Md) 2009. Appeared on The Real World: Las Vegas. Then she worked in the nuclear and fitness industries. And she played for the Philippines. 2012 team: FC Jax Destroyers (W-League).

2. Seattle: Kaley Fountain, D, Wake Forest 2009. WPS draft: 2010, second round. Played for Gold Pride, Atlanta and Western New York. Also did some reporting for CSN Bay Area. Tweeted that she will not be playing. 2012 team: Romney.

3. Boston: Jessica Luscinski, M, Boston University 2011. WPS draft: 2012, fourth round. Played college soccer in Boston, drafted by Boston, played WPSL Elite in Boston, playing NWSL … in Boston. 2012 team: Boston (WPSL Elite).

4. Chicago: Pass

5. Sky Blue: Allison Falk, D, Stanford 2008. WPS draft: 2009, second round. Scored first goal in WPS history for Los Angeles, then first goal in Philadelphia Independence history. WPS Defender of the Year finalist in 2010. Continued with Philly in 2011. Now an account executive at Eventbrite in the Bay Area. 2012 team: California Storm (WPSL), though no stats listed.

6. Kansas City: Casey Berrier, D, Loyola (Ill.) 2009. Retweeted the NWSL tweet of her selection. 2012 team: PK-35 (Finland).

7. Western New York: Pass

8. Portland: Pass

3
soccer

NWSL ready to take its supplements

Posted on by Beau Dure

We still have a couple of vacancies in each club’s allotment of free agent signings — presumably signings that the team and league know about but have not yet officially approved, stamped, notarized, sealed with the blood of a pirate or whatever they need to do to make such things “official.” And yet we’re moving ahead with the Supplemental Draft at noon ET.

Who else is available? Let’s take a look, bearing in mind that most of us have no idea whether these players are actually planning to play this year:

– WPS Best XI 2011: Harris, Sinclair and Wambach were allocated. McNeill and Buczkowski signed as free agents. Engen is in England. Riley is in Sweden. Marta, Seger and Boquete are with Sweden’s Tyreso (along with Christen Press and Meghan Klingenberg — dang, that’s some team). Sweden plays a summer schedule, so unless someone moves midseason, those players would seem to be off the table. Engen could conceivably come back earlier.

That leaves Nikki Krzysik.

Jeff Kassouf also drew up a Best XI. Huffman has signed, Ellertson has declared she won’t play. That leaves Tasha Kai, who was last seen coaching in Las Vegas. She’s not on the USA Rugby player pool at the moment, though she played a bit with the sevens squad not too long ago.

– WPS 2012 draft: Leroux and Noyola were allocated. Henderson is an unconfirmed Kansas City signing. Hagen plays for Bayern Munich. Taylor and Deines (Taylor Dayne?) signed with Seattle. Wells signed with Washington.

That leaves first-rounders Stephanie Ochs and Camille Levin, along with most of the next three rounds.

– W-League All-League 2012: Averbuch is overseas. Cox is pregnant. Huffman’s already accounted for. Perez was allocated to WNY. Others may be anyone’s guess.

– Goalkeepers: Where are Val Henderson and Bianca Henninger?

– Others to consider: Joanna Lohman, Casey Nogueira.

Everyone ready? Check back for updates …

1
soccer

NWSL free agent update: Feb. 9

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated after the Supplemental Draft. No, we didn’t know all the free agent signings by then. A couple were announced shortly thereafter.

Here’s what we know or think we know so far:

BOSTON
1. Cat Whitehill, D
2. Lianne Sanderson, F
3. Kia McNeill, D
4. Kyah Simon, F (announced after draft)

CHICAGO
1. Leslie Osborne, M
2. Lori Chalupny, M
3. Ella Masar, F
4. Taryn Hemmings, D
5. Jessica McDonald, F (replacement for Amy LePeilbet; announced after draft)

KANSAS CITY
1. Jen Buczkowski, M
2. Sinead Farrelly, M (not confirmed)
3. Melissa Henderson, M (confirmed on draft day)
4. Leigh Ann Robinson, D (confirmed on draft day)

PORTLAND
1. Allie Long, M
2. Nikki Washington, D
3. Becky Edwards, M
4. Nikki Marshall, D/F

SEATTLE
1. Jess Fishlock, M
2. Kate Deines, D
3. Tiffany Cameron, F
4. Lindsay Taylor, F
5. Elli Reed, D (replacement for Amy Rodriguez; announced day after draft)

SKY BLUE
1. Brittany Bock, D/M
2. Manya Makoski, M/F
3. Danesha Adams, F
4. Lisa De Vanna, F

WASHINGTON
1. Candace Chapman, D (confirmed day after draft)
2. Chantel Jones, GK
3. Ingrid Wells, M
4. ???
5. ??? (compensation for late-arriving allocated player(s))

WESTERN NEW YORK
1. McCall Zerboni, M
2. Adriana, F
3. Samantha Kerr, M
4. Sarah Huffman, D
5. Brittany Taylor, D (compensation for receiving only two allocations)

4
mind games, olympic sports

What is a sport? Chess? Figure skating? Modern dance?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Via Susan Polgar’s blog and featuring her Webster University chess team:

Based on a dictionary definition, the filmmakers boil it down to three aspects:

1. Athleticism

2. Skill

3. Competition

Chess fits the last two with ease. The “athleticism” argument is weaker. They argue that it’s draining — elite players lose weight in world championship competition.

But is that essential?

Other Olympic sports have all three elements. Figure skating is perhaps the most questionable, with the “competition” aspect only coming into the mix through judging that is still partially subjective.

Modern dance, like figure skating, requires athleticism and skill. Just watch Pilobolus sometime. But it’s not competitive, and no one’s seriously lobbying for it to be in the Olympics.

So we could say the Olympics require all three. The media, on the other hand, do not. ESPN televises poker and spelling bees. SI used to cover chess, along with many European sports departments. At USA TODAY, we used to cover the Westminster Dog Show through sports.

The media, though, don’t need to be exclusive. ESPN has a lot of hours to fill, and most Myriad readers would likely vote for chess, poker, dogs and quiz bowls instead of Skip Bayless yelling at people.

Does the “chess as a sport” movement go beyond that? There’s a practical reason we won’t see chess in the Olympics. Chess players can argue for months about their playing conditions. They’re not likely to hang out with the hard-partying swimmers in the Athletes Village.

And the Olympics don’t want to get bigger right now, even if the facility needs are cheap. Hosting is already far too expensive.

So is it a sport? Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter.

4
cycling, mma, olympic sports, rugby, soccer, tennis, winter sports

Monday Myriad: Feb. 4

Posted on by Beau Dure

Yes, this will be more of an evening thing from now on.

The week’s headlines:

– Jose Aldo defended his UFC featherweight title as Frankie Edgar suffered yet another close decision loss. The rest of the UFC 156 card scrambled the title chases in ways I’m still working out. Rashad Evans was supposed to fight for the middleweight title, but he lost a dreary light heavyweight fight to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In the heavyweight division, Alistair Overeem was supposed to fight for the title, but Antonio Silva knocked him out. And now lightweight contender Anthony Pettis says he wants to drop down to featherweight and fight Aldo.

– Steve Holcomb’s four-man sled set a track record in the fourth and final heat to take bronze in the World Championships.

– Noelle Pikus-Pace took silver in the skeleton World Championships.

– Erin Hamlin and Chris Mazdzer each placed sixth in their events at the luge World Championships. They, along with doubles team Matthew Mortensen/Preston Griffall, placed fifth in the team event.

– The U.S. men struggled past Brazil in the Davis Cup. Turned out to be a great first round for North America, with Canada upsetting Spain.

– Katie Compton was second in the elite women’s race at the cyclocross World Championships.

– Helen Maroulis was the Outstanding Wrestler at the Dave Schultz Invitational.

– U.S. sailors at the World Cup stop in Miami: Five golds, three silvers, three bronzes.

– Upcoming: Biathlon and Alpine skiing world championships, some of which will be televised. Also the U.S. men vs. Honduras as World Cup qualifying’s Hexagonal starts.

http://storify.com/duresport/monday-myriad-feb-4-features

0
soccer

Adjusting the U.S. men’s soccer depth chart

Posted on by Beau Dure

Strongly recommended from a couple of weeks ago: Soccer America’s exhaustive look at the U.S. depth chart. That sort of analysis always tricky once you get beyond “goalkeeper” because positions are so fluid. Their rankings separated “striker” from “forward,” and still. some players were listed where you wouldn’t expect (Eddie Johnson at left mid, Brad Davis at attacking mid, etc.).

But the analysis at each position is worth reading, even if some guy decided to comment several times that the USA needs to play more like Barcelona. Really, that has never occurred to anyone else in the United States. Thank you so much for sharing!

After reading that, today’s U.S. roster announcement has only a few surprises. The 24-man roster includes all the no-brainers (listed with SA’s rank):

  1. Tim Howard, #1 goalkeeper
  2. Brad Guzan, #2 goalkeeper
  3. Geoff Cameron, #1 center back
  4. Carlos Bocanegra, #2 center back (the only position on the SA chart from which two players will be in the lineup)
  5. Fabian Johnson, #1 left back
  6. Danny Williams, #1 holding mid
  7. Michael Bradley, #1 attacking mid
  8. Clint Dempsey, #1 forward

One core player has, in the words of Crocodile Dundee, gone walkabout and is not on the roster:

  1. Landon Donovan, #1 right mid

Another core player is out injured, and he’s singled out in the roster announcement:

  1. Steve Cherundolo, #1 right back

His backup’s commitment to the USA has been questioned, but odds are good that he takes the field in Honduras and ends the questions once and for all.

  1. Timmy Chandler, #2 right back

The attacking options are less settled. Jurgen Klinsmann has been challenging a lot of players, even Dempsey, to be more consistent internationally even if they’re tearing up their domestic leagues. For now, these guys are ahead of the rest:

  1. Jozy Altidore, #1 striker
  2. Eddie Johnson, #1 left mid, though we know him mostly as a forward

The next players down the depth chart who were selected and seem likely to be in the mix unless they lose form or health:

  1. Omar Gonzalez, #3 center back
  2. Edgar Castillo, #2 left back
  3. Jermaine Jones, #3 attacking mid (“attacking” may be an ironic word here)
  4. Graham Zusi, #2 right mid

The rest of the roster for Honduras would be the players you’d call “bubble” players:

  1. Sean Johnson, #6 goalkeeper
  2. Matt Besler, #5 center back
  3. Michael Parkhurst, #3 left back (also mentioned at right)
  4. Brad Evans, #5 left mid but listed on USSF release as a defender
  5. Maurice Edu, #4 holding mid
  6. Brad Davis, #4 attacking mid (more likely on wing?)
  7. Sacha Kljestan, #3 right mid
  8. Jose Torres, #2-tie left mid
  9. Herculez Gomez, #3 striker

Evans puzzles me. Is he on the roster because he can cover left back? That’s traditionally a weak spot for the USA (and most teams, really), but couldn’t F. Johnson, Castillo, Parkhurst and even Bocanegra keep that position covered?

That covers the 24-man roster. Add the injured Cherundolo and the itinerant Donovan for a total of 26.

Who else could we see in the Hexagonal? The Twitter reaction I’m seeing is mostly about younger guys who might need more international seasoning before they’re thrown in the fire in Central America.

  1. Sean Franklin, #3 right back
  2. Eric Lichaj, #5 left back
  3. Mikkel Diskerud, #2 attacking mid
  4. Josh Gatt, #4 right mid
  5. Joe Corona, #2 left mid
  6. Terrence Boyd, #2 striker

They’ll have great chances to play their way onto the roster, and that takes us to 32 players in the pool.

Then we have players at unsettled positions:

  1. Nick Rimando, #3 goalkeeper. Johnson leap-frogged Rimando, Tally Hall and Bill Hamid to get the call this time. In the long run, Rimando offers more experience. 
  2. Juan Agudelo, #3 forward
  3. Chris Wondolowski, #2 forward

And a few more players who must have been close calls this time:

  1. Clarence Goodson, #4 center back
  2. Kyle Beckerman, #2 holding mid
  3. Ricardo Clark, #3 holding mid. Really, Edu is ahead of both Beckerman and Clark when he’s in form.

That’s 38 players who could be named to a qualifying roster without surprising anyone.

And still we have the younger wild cards:

  1. Bill Hamid, #5 goalkeeper. A good run at D.C. United could make things interesting. Still a young keeper.
  2. Alfredo Morales, not listed on defense. Youngster is new to the team.
  3. Chris Pontius, #4 left mid. Hard to imagine where he’ll be if he stays healthy.
  4. Brek Shea, #5 (tie) left mid. All over Sky Sports News for his EPL transfer. If he breaks into the lineup and plays well in England, Klinsmann will have a hard time overlooking him.

And the more experienced guys who’ll also be hard to overlook if they’re in form:

  1. Jonathan Spector, #5 right back. Experienced. Just needs to get in the swing of things in England.
  2. Oguchi Onyewu, #7 center back. Not too long ago, he and Jay DeMerit (and Spector and an out-of-position Bocanegra) shut down Spain.
  3. Benny Feilhaber, #5 attacking mid. Might have had his last audition for now. (Update: Or not — Klinsmann says he’s very much in the discussion.)
  4. DaMarcus Beasley, “also considered” left mid. If Eddie Johnson can have a renaissance this late in his career, surely Beasley can manage it as well.

That’s 46 players. That still omits a few players from the recent friendly against Canada (with good reason). It doesn’t include all of the 49 players who took the field for the USA in 2012. It doesn’t include Heath Pearce, who started 11 games in the 2010 qualifying cycle. It doesn’t include Freddy Adu, who played nine games in the 2010 qualifying cycle and is still quite young but last played for the USA in 2011.

Does that seem like too many? Consider the numbers from the last qualifying cycle, including the games before the Hexagonal: 48 players.

This is a long, long process.

1
medal projections, olympic sports, winter sports

2014 medal projections: Snowboarding

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated Dec. 31; overhauled, really. Other updates Jan. 21 and Feb. 3. And again when Shaun White withdrew from slopestyle Feb. 5.

Not the easiest sport to predict, given that the top halfpipe and slopestyle folks often don’t bother with FIS World Cup events or even World Championships. We have to compare across the X Games and other events. Thankfully, the World Snowboard Tour computes something like that.

The parallel events at least have a bit more info available, though I’ve yet to find any real trends in which some people are better at “special slalom” (do they eat Big Macs before they start?) or giant slalom.

Down the pipe we go …

HALFPIPE

Men

Gold: Shaun White (USA)
Silver: Iouri Podladtchikov (Switzerland)
Bronze: Greg Bretz (USA)

Also considered: Danny Davis (USA), Taylor Gold (USA), Ayumu Hirano (Japan), Taku Hiroaka (Japan), Markus Malin (Finland), Peetu Piiroinen (Finland)

2013 World Championships top 8: Podladtchikov, Hiroaka, Malin, Christian Haller (Switzerland), Ryo Aono (Japan), Scott James (Australia), Nathan Johnstone (Australia), Piiroinen

2013-14 World Cup standings: Bretz, Hiroaka, Gold, Hirano, Janne Korpi (Finland), Johann Baisamy (France), Haller, Ben Ferguson (USA)

2013 X Games Aspen: White, Hirano, Malin, Scotty Lago (USA), Bretz, Louie Vito (USA)

2013 X Games Tignes: Vito, Arthur Longo (France), Hiroaka

World Snowboard Tour points list (Dec. 26): White, Podladtchikov, Hirano, Hiroaka, Bretz, Vito, Gold, Lago

2010 Olympic medalists: White, Piiroinen, Lago

Women

Gold: Kelly Clark (USA)
Silver: Torah Bright (Australia)
Bronze: Arielle Gold (USA)

Also considered: Queralt Castellet (Spain), Holly Crawford (Australia), Kaitlyn Farrington (USA), Sophie Rodriguez (France), Hannah Teter (USA)

2013 World Championships top 8: Gold, Crawford, Rodriguez, Farrington, Castellet, Li Shuang (China), Mirabelle Thovex (France), Sun Zhifeng (China)

2013-14 World Cup standings: Clark, Li, Bleiler, Cai Xuetong (China), Rebecca Sinclair (New Zealand), Gold, Rodriguez, Clemence Grimal (France)

2013 X Games Aspen: Clark, Hight, Gold, Bright, Teter, Castellet, Farrington

2013 X Games Tignes: Clark, Hight, Gold

World Snowboard Tour points list (Dec. 26): Clark, Bright, Gold, Bleiler, Rodriguez, Hight, Chloe Kim (USA; too young for Olympics), Liu Jiayu (China)

2010 Olympic medalists: Bright, Teter, Clark

SLOPESTYLE (new Olympic event)

Men

Gold: Mark McMorris (Canada)
Silver: Staale Sandbech (Norway)
Bronze: Max Parrot (Canada)

Also considered: Roope Tonteri (Finland), Sebastien Toutant (Canada). Removed bronze medal pick Torstein Horgmo (Norway), who was injured in practice in Sochi, and silver medal pick Shaun White (USA), who was also mildly injured and dropped out.

2013 World Championships top 8: Tonteri, McMorris, Janne Korpi (Finland), Billy Morgan (Britain), Clemens Schattschneider (Austria), Robby Balharry (Canada), Ryan Stassel (USA), Adrian Krainer (Austria)

2013-14 World Cup standings: Sandbech, Horgmo, White, Emil Andre Ulstetten (Norway), Chas Guldemond (USA), Sven Thorgren (Sweden), Stassel, Brandon Davis (USA)

2013 X Games Aspen: McMorris, Max Parrot (Canada), Seppe Smits (Belgium), Guldemond, White, Peete Piiroinen (Finland)

2013 X Games Tignes: Toutant, McMorris, Piiroinen

World Snowboard Tour points list (Dec. 26): McMorris, Horgmo, Toutant, Sandbech, Parrot, Guldemond, Piiroinen, Thorgren

Ty Walker rides at Worlds. Photo by Oliver Kraus/FIS via USSA
Ty Walker rides at Worlds. Photo by Oliver Kraus/FIS via USSA

Women

Gold: Jamie Anderson (USA)
Silver: Sarko Pancochova (Czech Republic)
Bronze: Spencer O’Brien (Canada)

Also considered: Torah Bright (Australia), Sina Candrian (Switzerland), Silje Norendal (Norway), Enni Rukajarvi (Finland), Ty Walker (USA)

2013 World Championships top 8: O’Brien, Candrian, Bright, Merika Enne (Finland), Walker, Jenny Jones (Britain), Isabel Derungs (Switzerland), Shelly Gotlieb (New Zealand)

2013-14 World Cup standings: Anderson, Pancochova, Cheryl Maas (Netherlands), Derungs, Jones, Rukajarvi, Elena Koenz (Switzerland), Jenna Blasman (Canada)

2013 X Games Aspen: Anderson, Pancochova, O’Brien, Rukajarvi, Candrian, Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas (Norway), Norendal

2013 X Games Tignes: Norendal, Anderson, Buaas

World Snowboard Tour points list (Dec. 26): Anderson, Pancochova, Rukajarvi, Norendal, Derungs, O’Brien, Buass, Walker

SNOWBOARDCROSS

Men

Gold: Alex Pullin (Australia)
Silver: Markus Schairer (Austria)
Bronze: Pierre Vaultier (France)

Also considered: Tony Ramoin (France), Omar Visintin (Italy). Removed Seth Wescott (USA), who didn’t qualify.

2013 World Championships top 8: Pullin, Schairer, Stian Sivertsen (Norway), Vaultier, Andrei Boldykov (Russia), Alessandro Hemmerle (Austria), Nick Baumgartner (USA), Robert Fagan (Canada)

2013-14 World Cup standings: Jarryd Hughes (Australia), Schairer, Konstantin Schad (Germany), Visintin, Kevin Hill (Canada), Alex Deibold (USA), Paul Berg (Norway), Sivertsen

2010 Olympic medalists: Wescott, Mike Robertson (Canada; retired), Tony Ramoin (France)

Women

Gold: Maelle Ricker (Canada)
Silver: Dominique Maltais (Canada)
Bronze: Lindsey Jacobellis (USA)

Also considered: Helene Olafsen (Norway), Chloe Trespeuch (France)

2013 World Championships top 8: Ricker, Maltais, Olafsen, Trespeuch, Michela Moioli (Italy), Raffaella Brutto (Italy), Samkova, Maria Ramberger (Austria)

2013-14 World Cup standings: Maltais, Jacobellis, Olafsen, Samkova, Charlotte Bankes (France), Nelly Moenne Loccoz (France), Zoe Gillings (Britain), Trespeuch

2010 Olympic medalists: Ricker, Deborah Anthonioz (France), Olivia Nobs (Switzerland)

PARALLEL EVENTS

Not many 2013-14 World Cup results yet, so we’re using 2012-13 standings. Abbreviations are PGS for parallel giant slalom and PS for parallel slalom. Parallel slalom is a new Olympic event.

Men’s PGS

Gold: Roland Fischnaller (Italy)
Silver: Andreas Prommegger (Austria)
Bronze: Benjamin Karl (Austria)

Also considered: Zan Kosir (Slovenia), Rok Marguc (Austria), Simon Schoch (Switzerland), Vic Wild (Russia)

2013 World Championships top 8: Karl, Fischnaller, Wild, Kosir, Prommegger, Schoch, Kaspar Fluetsch (Switzerland), Rok Flander (Slovenia)

2012-13 World Cup standings: Prommegger, Fischnaller, Marguc, Ingemar Walder (Austria), Kosir, Lukas Mathies (Austria), Schoch, Sylvain Dufour (France)

2010 Olympic medalists: Jasey-Jay Anderson (Canada), Karl, Mathieu Bozzetto (France; retired)

Men’s PS

Gold: Andreas Prommegger (Austria)
Silver: Roland Fischnaller (Italy)
Bronze: Rok Marguc (Austria)

Also considered: Benjamin Karl (Austria), Zan Kosir (Slovenia), Justin Reiter (USA), Simon Schoch (Switzerland), Vic Wild (Russia)

2013 World Championships top 8: Marguc, Reiter, Fischnaller, Prommegger, Schoch, Karl, Kaspar Fluetsch (Switzerland), Nevin Galmarini (Switzerland)

2012-13 World Cup standings: Fischnaller, Kosir, Aaron March (Italy), Prommegger, Stanislov Detkov (Russia), Reiter, Schoch, Wild

Women’s PGS

Gold: Isabella Laböck (Germany)
Silver: Tomoka Takeuchi (Japan)
Bronze: Marion Kreiner (Austria)

Also considered: Julia Dujmovits (Austria), Ekaterina Ilyukhina (Russia), Amelie Kober (Germany), Patrizia Kummer (Switzerland), Nicolien Sauerbreij (Netherlands), Ekaterina Tudegesheva (Russia)

2013 World Championships top 8: Laböck, Dujmovits, Kober, Engeli, Alena Zavarzina (Russia), Svetlana Boldykova (Russia), Takeuchi (Japan), Kummer

2012-13 World Cup standings: Kreiner, Kummer, Takeuchi, Tudegesheva, Caroline Calve (Canada), Sauerbreij, Anke Karstens (Germany), Claudia Riegler (Austrlia)

2010 Olympic medalists: Sauerbriej, Ilyukhina, Kreiner

Women’s PS

Gold: Ekaterina Tudegesheva (Russia)
Silver: Patrizia Kummer (Switzerland)
Bronze: Hilde-Katrine Engeli (Norway)

Also considered: Caroline Calve (Canada), Isabella Laböck (Germany), Amelie Kober (Germany), Marion Kreiner (Austria)

2013 World Championships top 8: Tudegesheva, Kummer, Kober, Engeli, Kreiner, Laböck, Natalia Soboleva (Russia), Takeuchi

2012-13 World Cup standings: Kummer, Kober, Calve, Kreiner, Tudegesheva, Dujmovits, Svetlana Boldykova (Russia), Laböck

BIOS

Men

Halfpipe and slopestyle

Peetu Piiroinen (Finland): 2010 Oly silver halfpipe. 2013 Worlds eighth halfpipe. 2013 X Games bronze in slopestyle.

Shaun White (USA). Two-time defending champion, six straight X Games Aspen titles … yeah, he’s the favorite in halfpipe. Also has five X Games slopestyle wins. 

Halfpipe

Greg Bretz (USA): Competed in 2010 Olympics at age 19, finishing 12th. Tied with Hiroaka for early World Cup lead in 2013-14.

Ayumu Hirano (Japan): 2013 X Games runner-up at age 14.

Taku Hiroaka (Japan): Competing in World Cup since 2011, when he was 16. Second in 2013 Worlds. Winner at World Cup stop in Sochi.

Iouri Podladtchikov (Switzerland): World halfpipe champion. Fourth in 2010 Olympics. Landed the first-ever Cab double-cork 1440 at X Games Tignes 2013 (then crashed on his next trick). Nicknamed I-Pod.

Markus Malin (Finland): Hat trick of impressive third-place finishes: 2011 Worlds, 2013, Worlds, 2013 X Games.

Scotty Lago (USA): 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, with a couple of X Games medals as well. Left 2010 Games early after controversial party photos popped up. Did not qualify for Games.

Louie Vito (USA): Fifth in 2010 Olympics. Won a couple of X Games Europe (Tignes) competitions and many Dew Tour and Grand Prix stops. Did not qualify for Games.

Slopestyle

Chas Guldemond (USA): Has a World Cup win. Fourth in 2013 X Games.

Max Parrot (Canada): Teen finished second to McMorris at 2013 X Games.

Mark McMorris (Canada): X Games 2012 and 2013 champion (the latter with a record score of 98); 2013 Worlds runner-up. Just turned 20.

Seppe Smits (Belgium): 2011 world champion at age 19. Third in 2013 X Games.

Roope Tonteri (Finland): 2013 world champion in slopestyle and big air.

Snowboardcross

Alex Pullin (Australia): Two-time defending world champion. Also plays in a reggae band. (No, I couldn’t find any video.) Nicknamed “Chumpy.”

Tony Ramoin (France): 2010 bronze medalist. Ninth at 2013 Worlds.

Markus Schairer (Austria): 2009 world champion. Second in 2013 Worlds.

Pierre Vaultier (France): Three-time World Cup champion (2008, 2010, 2012). Fourth in 2013 Worlds.

Omar Visintin (Italy): Third in 2013 World Cup.

Seth Wescott (USA): Two-time defending Olympic champion. Second at 2011 Worlds. Recovering from multiple injuries suffered in a freeriding accident and in some doubt for Sochi.

Parallel events

Roland Fischnaller (Italy): 2013 Worlds PGS runner-up; also third in PS. Third in 2011 Worlds PGS. Disappointing in three Olympics (best finish: 13th). Five World Cup PS wins.

Benjamin Karl (Austria): 2013 world PGS champion; sixth in PS. Swept world titles in 2011. 2010 PGS silver medalist.

Zan Kosir (Slovenia): Sixth in 2010 Oly PGS. Fourth in 2013 Worlds PGS. Early leader in overall parallel events in 2013-14 World Cup.

Rok Marguc (Austria): 2013 PS world champion, finishing medal collection from 2011 (2nd PGS, 3rd PS).

Andreas Prommegger (Austria): 2012 and 2013 World Cup parallel events champion; no worse than fourth in Cup standings since 2008. 2013 Worlds: 4th PS, 5th PGS. Ninth in 2006 and 2010 Games.

Justin Reiter (USA): 2013 PS Worlds runner-up, a stunning result for the 31-year-old with only one World Cup podium. Prepping for the Games while living in his truck.

Simon Schoch (Switzerland): 2006 silver medalist, losing in the final to his older brother, Philipp. 2011 world PS runner-up. 2007 world PS champion. Two podiums at 2003 Worlds: 2nd PGS, 3rd PS. In 2013: 5th PS, 6th PGS.

Vic Wild (Russia): Third in 2013 Worlds PGS. As you can guess from the name, he grew up in the USA but changed his nationality after marriage. Only one World Cup podium.

WOMEN

Halfpipe/slopestyle

Torah Bright (Australia): 2010 Olympic champion and two-time X Games champion in halfpipe. Fourth in Aspen 2013. In slopestyle: third in 2013 World Championships. Possibly competing in halfpipe, slopestyle and snowboardcross? Or boycotting because of safety concerns.

Halfpipe

Gretchen Bleiler (USA): 2006 silver medalist. Four-time X Games winner. Did not compete due to injury rehab at 2013 X Games but reached the podium in first two World Cup events of 2013-14. Did not qualify for Games.

Queralt Castellet (Spain): Frequent X Games invitee. Injured in 2010 Olympics after good qualifying runs. Fifth in 2013 Worlds.

Kelly Clark (USA): 2002 gold medalist also has 2010 bronze and the last three X Games Aspen wins.

Holly Crawford (Australia): 2011 world champion; runner-up in 2009 and 2013. Eighth in 2010 Olympics.

Arielle Gold (USA): World champion at age 16. Third in 2013 X Games.

Elena Hight (USA): Two-time Olympian is still in early 20s. X Games runner-up 2012 and 2013. Did not qualify for Games.

Sophie Rodriguez (France): Fifth in 2010 Olympics. Third in 2013 Worlds.

Hannah Teter (USA): 2006 gold medalist, 2010 silver medalist. Third in 2012 X Games; fifth in 2013. Active in humanitarian work.

Slopestyle

Jamie Anderson (USA): Four-time X Games winner; seven X Games podiums in eight years. Solid favorite.

Sina Candrian (Switzerland): 2013 Worlds runner-up. Fifth at 2013 X Games.

Spencer O’Brien (Canada): World champion. Third at 2013 X Games, her third X Games poidum.

Sarko Pancochova (Czech Republic): 2013 X Games runner-up; 2011 Worlds runner-up. Competed in 2010 Olympic halfpipe.

Enni Rukajarvi (Finland): 2011 world and X Games champion. 2012 X Games runner-up; fourth in 2013.

Ty Walker (USA): Fifth in 2013 Worlds at age 15.

Snowboardcross

Lindsey Jacobellis (USA): Three-time world champion (2005, 2007, 2011); seven-time X Games champion. 2006 silver medalist. Yes, she fell on the board grab, blah blah blah. Still the sport’s all-time best, winning 26 of the 48 World Cup events in her career through December, when she capped her comeback from a knee injury with yet another win.

Dominique Maltais (Canada): 2012 X Games winner, 2013 Worlds runner-up. 2006 bronze medalist. Four-time World Cup champion, including 2011-2013.

Helene Olafsen (Norway): Fourth in 2010 Olympics. 2009 world champion. Third in first two races of 2013-14.

Maelle Ricker (Canada): Defending Olympic and world champion. Also took a couple of X Games wins when the X Games still considered snowboardcross (or “Snowboarder X”) worthwhile.

Eva Samkova (Czech Republic): 2013 world junior champion has a couple of World Cup wins as well, including one in December 2013.

Chloe Trespeuch (France): 2013 world junior runner-up; fourth in 2013 World Championships.

Parallel events

Caroline Calve (Canada): Getting better in her mid-30s. First World Cup win was in 2011; third was in December 2013.

Julia Dujmovits (Austria): 2013 Worlds PGS runner-up; 10th in PS. Two World Cup wins; 11 podiums (through December 2013).

Hilde-Katrine Engeli (Norway): Fourth in both 2013 Worlds events. 2011 PS world champion. Got first World Cup win in March 2013.

Ekaterina Ilyukhina (Russia): 2010 Oly PGS silver medalist. World Championship best: 11th. World Cup best: 3rd.

Isabella Laböck (Germany): 2013 world PGS champion; sixth in PS. Five World Cup podiums. Police officer spurred on by memory of her late brother.

Amelie Kober (Germany): 2006 Oly PGS silver medalist. 2010 Oly PGS quarterfinalist while pregnant. Third in 2013 Worlds in both parallel events. Twelve World Cup wins, seven in PGS.

Marion Kreiner (Austria): 2010 Oly PGS bronze medalist. 2009 world PGS champion. 2007 world PS runner-up. Also works as a graphic designer.

Patrizia Kummer (Switzerland): 2013 Worlds PS runner-up. Third in 2009 Worlds PGS. Eight World Cup wins. 2012 and 2013 World Cup overall parallel events champion; early leader in 2014.

Nicolien Sauerbreij (Netherlands): 2010 Oly PGS gold medalist. 2011 world PS runner-up. Three-time Olympian — flag-bearer for Netherlands in 2002 opening ceremony.

Ekaterina Tudegesheva (Russia): 2013 world PS champion. 2007 world PGS champion. Fifth in 2006 Oly PGS; 10th in 2010. World Cup parallel events champion in 2011.

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medal projections, olympic sports

2016 medal projections: Men’s handball

Posted on by Beau Dure

Never too soon, right?

Spain was the runaway winner in the just-concluded World Championship, beating Denmark 35-19 in the final. They lost a group-stage game to eventual third-place finisher Croatia but otherwise won with ease.

Two reasons not to anoint Spain as the 2016 favorites just yet:

1.  Spain hosted the tournament, a big advantage.

2. The tournament, Team Handball News reports, didn’t find teams at their sharpest. Some are rebuilding, some may have tournament fatigue.

That said, Spain is no stranger to the podium and usually makes the knockout rounds at least.

Our likely contenders are:

– Spain: World champion, 2012 Olympic quarterfinalist (lost 23-22 to eventual champion France).

– France: Won nearly everything from 2008-2012 (2 Olympics, 2 Worlds, 1 European), then fell flat in Spain.

– Denmark: 2012 European champions, runners-up in 2011 and 2013 Worlds. Lost to Sweden in 2012 quarterfinals.

– Croatia: 1996 and 2004 Olympic champions. Third place in 2012 Oly and 2013 Worlds.

– Germany: Young team won 2013 group, ran into Spain in quarterfinals. Has the top-ranked domestic league (No. 2 is Spain.)

– Hungary: Ouch. Fourth place in the Olympics five times, with no medal. That includes 2012. Quarterfinalist in 2013.

– Slovenia: 2013 surprise — group winner and semifinalist.

– Russia: The Soviet Union was a handball power, and Russia has had some moments since the split. Not recently.

– Iceland: 2008 silver medalists won 2012 Oly group but fell in overtime to Hungary in quarterfinals. Not a factor in 2013, losing in round of 16.

– Sweden: Semifinalists at home in 2011. Runner-up in 2012 Oly. Failed to qualify for 2013 Worlds.

– Tunisia: Well, not really a contender, but if you want a non-European team, this might be your only choice. European teams tend not to lose to non-Europeans. Great Britain, which doesn’t do much in handball but got in as host in 2012, was one exception. Another was Montenegro, which upset Sweden to reach the 2013 Worlds but then lost all five games, including matchups with Brazil and Argentina. Tunisia won three games in 2013, including one over Germany, but also lost to Brazil.

The IHF theoretically has rankings, but they don’t seem to have been updated in a couple of years.

Projection time:

2012 projection: Denmark, France, Spain

2012 actual: France, Sweden, Croatia

2013 Worlds: Spain, Denmark, Croatia

2016 projection: Denmark, Germany, Spain

 

1
mma

The Ultimate Fighter 17, episode 2: We believe in you … maybe

Posted on by Beau Dure

What we learned from episode 2 of The Ultimate Redesigned Fighting Show …

– The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ cover of Higher Ground, which replaced the original TUF theme as the show’s intro music, has been replaced by … pretty much nothing. No montage of the fighters smiling and grimacing for the cameras. Just quick pictures of Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen and Dana White, in case you forgot what they look like.

– Josh Samman worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– The darker, more cinematic photographer makes the TUF house look bleaker than usual.

– Bubba McDaniels (not a pro wrestler, as far as we know) worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– Gilbert Smith misses his family and weeps in the backyard, staring at the flag of his home state, Colorado.

– Other fighters on Team Jones worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– Chael Sonnen’s coaching staff includes TUF vet/grappling ace Vinny Magalhaes and diet guru Mike Dolce. Jones’ staff include former TUF coach Frank Mir, who says little on camera even when cornered, and John Woods, who talks a lot more.

– Jones’ coaching staff worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– Sonnen’s training seems to be going well, and he’s going to go through it with them so he knows how it feels.

– Sonnen visits the house to tell Uriah Hall he’s the best, and that the coach just wants to make sure he gets through to the next round and avoids a difficult matchup in the first round. It looks a bit like Marmalard oozing elitist slimeball talk to Kevin Bacon at the Omega rush. But Hall insists he wants to fight tough opposition.

– Gilbert Smith worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt. At the very least, he’d like some positive reinforcement.

– Team Jones, in a fighters-only dressing room meeting, confronted Smith about his lack of mental and cardio readiness for the fight. Smith: “If that’s not an ambush, please somebody describe what an ambush is.”

– Jones listened through the door as if eavesdropping on people in the next hotel room, then entered the room to reassure Smith. “As I believe in you, you’ve got nothing to worry about. … Controversy is nothing.”

– Smith strikes a bodybuilder pose at the weigh-in, even turning to show off his rippling back muscles.

– Barnatt has a nine-inch height advantage but only a 3.5-inch reach advantage. Still, he has to reach down to touch gloves.

– Smith buried his head in Barnatt’s torso through much of the fight, occasionally getting a takedown and even flirting with an improbable slam at one point.

– With the new cinematography, we can’t see fighters in the background. Everything outside the cage is dark.

– In the second round, Smith shot for a takedown and ran straight into a flying knee. KO.

– Dana White worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– McDaniels, who worried about Team Jones losing control, tried to goad Kevin Casey into fighting next, figuring that was one way to get some input into the next fight pick.

– Instead, the next fight pick is the fearsome-looking Uriah Hall against Adam Cella. And this is the fight that sends a fighter to an ambulance. You’d think Cella would be the victim, but is that Chael Sonnen running to the cage with a look of concern on his face?

– Coach Jon Jones realizes he made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

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soccer

Soccer Hall of Fame: Can we induct some people this year, please?

Posted on by Beau Dure

The National Soccer Hall of Fame: It’s so exclusive, it doesn’t even exist.

That’s not to make light of the Hall’s current plight. It’s a real pity to have so much soccer history stored away in North Carolina warehouses instead of in display cases somewhere. If the Hall can’t have a permanent building, perhaps we can at least build a “Virtual Hall” with all that memorabilia on a good website, then scatter some of it in various soccer facilities across the country. We do have a few people making tremendous efforts to keep the history alive — I bumped into Jack Huckel at Indianapolis, and Roger Allaway regularly posts mini-histories at BigSoccer. The U.S. soccer history movement is reeling, though, not just from the loss of the Hall but the loss of David Wangerin, whose two books are essential reading.

But as with other Halls of Fame, we have elections to honor people of tremendous accomplishment. And all such elections are controversial. Baseball writers, dealing with a decade or so of inflated numbers through drug use, has elected no one to the Hall this year. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally listened to fans (and musicians) and will welcome Rush to Cleveland at long last.

I’ve been a Hall of Famer voter for nearly a decade, and I usually use most of the space on my 10-player ballot. So do most writers who go public with their picks. Yet even with the bar for election lowered from 80% to 66.7% (after people like me whined, and after we had no players inducted in 2008), we’re still electing two or three people per year.

This year, I’d like to offer a challenge. If you have a Hall of Fame ballot, and you’re listing three or fewer people, explain why. Don’t just return a blank ballot and hide out. Tell us why.

In the meantime, let’s go through the annual rite: I’ll list all the players for whom I’m voting, then I’ll guess at which two or three will actually make it …

RETURNING (good data source: Kenn Tomasch’s archive of vote totals)

Last year, I voted for Tony Meola, Claudio Reyna, Marco Etcheverry, Roy Lassiter, Shannon MacMillan, Carlos Valderrama, Joe-Max Moore, Robin Fraser and Jason Kreis. And I hesitated to omit Peter Vermes, Cindy Parlow, Chris Armas and Mauricio Cienfuegos.

The election results: Reyna (96.08%) and Meola (90.20%) got in. That’s it. The rest, in order: Etcheverry, Moore, MacMillan, Valderrama, Parlow, Vermes, Armas, Kreis.

Vermes and Valderrama are no longer on the ballot — they’re up for the veterans committee to consider. That leaves these groups:

– Early MLS international stars (Etcheverry, Cienfuegos). The NASL is represented in the Hall not just by Pele, Beckenbauer and Chinaglia, but also by Willey, Granitza and Child. If Etcheverry and Valderrama don’t make the Hall, it’s going to be impossible to make a case for any foreign player who has played in MLS to date. Including David Beckham. We’ll have to see what the veterans do with Valderrama this year.

– Overshadowed national teamers (Moore, MacMillan, Parlow). Not “the” stars of their national team eras but important players nonetheless. Moore was crucial to several World Cup qualifying campaigns; MacMillan was a supersub who changed the course of vital games for the U.S. women in 1996 and 1999. I left Moore and MacMillan off the ballot a few years ago, but as years go by, I think their accomplishments stand up. I haven’t voted for Parlow, and I hesitate to say that because she’s already teasing me mercilessly about going to Duke and having to be the reporter to ask her about her own goal in the NCAA Tournament one year. Seriously, I’m reconsidering, and I’ll toss it up for discussion: What do you all think of Parlow’s case?

– MLS but not U.S. standouts (Armas, Kreis, Fraser, Lassiter). Ill-timed injuries cost Armas dearly — he was a sure starter before missing out on what turned out to be a great run in 2002. Fraser was one of the best defenders of his MLS years, then in and out of the national team. Kreis is still fifth on the MLS career goal-scoring list, but he never had much of an impact on the national team. I’m at a loss to explain how Lassiter isn’t in the top 10 — maybe the extra publicity from Chris Wondolowski’s pursuit of his scoring record will give him a boost.

I’m once again voting for Etcheverry, Lassiter, MacMillan and Moore. I’ll consider Fraser, Kreis and Parlow.

NEW

It’s a small group of nominees: Wade Barrett, Angela Hucles, Ben Olsen, Tony Sanneh and Taylor Twellman.

Olsen and Twellman had injury problems that robbed them of their prime years. Twellman still scored 101 goals in only 174 MLS games, but the Hall hasn’t been forgiving of other members of the league’s 100-goal club who didn’t break through on the World Cup scene. (See Kreis.)

Hucles and Sanneh had solid careers and one spectacular tournament each. Hucles was a defensive midfielder who moved up to forward after Abby Wambach’s injury in 2008 and became a scoring machine to the shock of everyone but Pia Sundhage. Sanneh bumped around between positions and suddenly became a lockdown defender in time for the 2002 World Cup.

I have room on my ballot for at least three of these players, but I’m not sure I see one who stands out. As with MacMillan and Moore, I could be persuaded. That said, next year’s vote is going to be a logjam — as Roger Allaway points out, we’ll be considering Brian McBride, Kristine Lilly, Briana Scurry, Kate Markgraf, Jaime Moreno, Steve Ralston, Clint Mathis and Eddie Lewis. Yikes.

So what will happen this year?

PREDICTIONS

Like Thomas Dooley and Earnie Stewart before him, Etcheverry is overdue, and I sense that people get that. MacMillan has surged from 27.34% in 2008 to around 50% each of the last three years, and this is an ideal year for her to bump up over the threshold. Moore has been steadier in the high 40s and 50s, and he’s probably a little less likely to make it. That leaves us with yet another class of two or possibly three players from the general voting pool.

I’ll also guess that the veterans committee, which tends to elect U.S. national teamers of the early 90s, will continue the trend and elect Peter Vermes.

MY BALLOT

Marco Etcheverry
Shannon MacMillan
Joe-Max Moore
Roy Lassiter

maybe
Jason Kreis
Robin Fraser
Cindy Parlow

MY QUESTIONS

– If you’re a voter who hasn’t been voting for Etcheverry, can you explain why?

– Out of the MLS-but-not-U.S.-standout group (Fraser, Kreis, Armas, Sanneh, Olsen, Twellman), who would get your vote?

– Is the 2008 gold medal run enough to get Hucles in the Hall?

– Parlow’s World Cup resume: Two Cups, 11 games, four goals — the most meaningful being the first goal in the USA’s 2-0 win over Brazil in the 1999 semis. Overall: 158 caps, 75 goals. Also a decent run in the WUSA with Atlanta. Is that enough?

3