Back to Business

    So the Holidays are over and it’s time to get back to business. First order on the table is InterLiga Friday and Tuesday at Pizza Hut Park. Tuesday will have the better atmosphere with Chivas and Club American playing, but Friday featured the best team in North American, Pachuca.

Photo Credit: Jason Gullege, 3rd Degree

120 Fahrenheit: The Thing About Numbers

A little primer in the lore of numbers and why the matter

January 3rd, 2009 . By: Buzz Carrick

The world of soccer fandom is divided into two groups (ok so it’s a lot more than two groups, but bear with me) those who think uniform numbers are important and those that do not. This piece is not a judgment one way or another about which way you should fall, I just happen to be a person who thinks the history and tradition of numbers matter. If you fall into the don’t care school then this article is probably not going to do much for you.

2009 Preliminary MLS SuperDraft Midfield Rankings

December 31st, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

At first pass the midfield class this year looks weak, but that’s a bit of a misconception. While it’s not a flashy group of attacking talent, there are some good defensive mids available and some outside flankers with potential. So much of the pure attacking talent has been picked out previously by MLS underclassman signings and players going overseas that it’s hard to find pure ballers here.

2009 Preliminary MLS SuperDraft Defender Rankings

December 26th, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

While the defensive position isn’t on the surface as deep as previous years, there still is some talent to be had. MLS team’s tend to spend big money at forward and midfield, which means defense is perhaps the easiest spot to make a MLS squad. MLS teams will be looking for bargains who can turn into starters.

Senior Targets

The MLS list of potential senior target for pre-Draft signing.

December 21st, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

You may have noticed that I got my hands on the initial Generation adidas interest list and updated the 2009 Generation adidas tracking with it. But what I didn’t mention at the time is that said Generation adidas list also has a small selection of seniors MLS sent to coaches to gauge direct signing interest.

Fun Photos

December 19th, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

Ruiz Bike by Aaron Brock

We get a lot of photos sent to us over a season, some of which are from pros who like the site, a couple are from FCD and are used with permission, but most of them are by dedicated fans of FC Dallas and 3rd Degree. As sort of a fun recap to the year I put togehter a bucn of fun ones to share in a little slideshow. I hope you enjoy.

2009 Preliminary Goalkeeping Prospects Rankings

December 18th, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

Welcome to the first preliminary rankings of the 2009 off season. This is the first of a series of SuperDraft prospect rankings that will be appearing leading up the MLS Combine. These are preliminary rankings so they can and will changes as I get feedback from various people and view some of these players myself at the MLS Combine.

Top Ten Right & Wrong from Last Winter

December 16th, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

Each winter at 3rd Degree we do a fair amount of content in preparation for the nest season of Major League Soccer. From previewing the off season plan, to scouting of College players for the SuperDraft, to in person MLS Combine coverage, and finally our draft day chat room. I’m fairly confident that we do good work on those projects. Part of that process is to evaluate what I got right and what I got wrong. So here’s ten things good and bad form our coverage of last off season.

Monday Morning Gaffer: College Cup Final

December 15th, 2008 . By: Buzz Carrick

Great final, two very good teams and a good college game on offer. Sure I wanted to see Wake/Maryland, but this matchup is a good one. While not the lock pro talent of Wake, both these teams have a ton of young talent that will end in MLS sooner rather than later. Some of it as soon as this year. What a great goal to win it as well, nice build up and a terrific finish.

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