9th Annual Awards
| The 3rd Degree Awards were created in 1998, with the addition of the Spark award in 1999. Award History |
| 2005 FC Dallas |
| Napalm Award: Ronnie O’Brien (MVP) |
| Two years in a row for ROB. 7 times 3rd Degree’s Man of the Match, 6 goals 12 assists. 2 game winning goals, 1 game winning assist. |
| Band-Aid Award: Mark Wilson (best mid season addition) |
| No impact on the score sheet, but his arrival plugged the Mulrooney hole and coincided with the return to form for FCD and the end of the losing skid. (Note: Roberto Mina is not eligible for midseason award as his signing process was begun far in advance of the season and his arrival was delayed by visa paperwork.) |
| Phoenix Award: Ramon Núñez (best emergence or rebirth) |
| 5 goals and three assists as Nunez burst into a sure starter. Even two months ago he was an afterthought, now he is one of the first names down on the team sheet and his form may determine how far FCD advances. |
| Spark Award: Abe Thompson (best rookie) |
| 4 goals including a game winner in only 674 minutes of action while filling in for the massive amount of games missed by Johnson, Ruiz, and Mina. 5 more goals and 2 assists for the reserves to top off his first team accomplishments which would have won him the award anyway. |
| 3rd Degree’s 2005 MLS Awards |
| MVP: Dwayne De Rosario, San Jose Earthquakes |
| 9 goals and 13 assists, and most of all at the beginning of the season San Jose was not very good. When De Rosario moved central the Quakes no longer missed Donovan and proceeded to dominate the league. |
| Best Player: Clint Dempsey, New England Revolution |
| Best player on a loaded team, 10 goals and 9 assists. Sometime go to a Revs game and just watch Dempsey, his work rate is relentless. The guy is just moving non-stop and he only gets better each time he plays. He’s the reason Twellman should not be MVP. |
| Best Defender: Danny Califf, San Jose Earthquakes |
| Best defender on the best defense with a astounding team 31 goals against. |
| Best Goaltender: Matt Reis, New England Revolution |
| Both Reis and Onstad have nice numbers. But look at their “normal” defenders. Onstad: Califf, Barrett Robinson, Gray. Reis: Heaps, Parkhurst, Franchino. Case closed. |
| Rookie of the Year: Chris Rolfe, Chicago Fire |
| Rolfe, a rookie drafted in the 3rd round, has carried the Fire all season. 8 goals and 4 assists gets him the Fire MPV (if it was our call) and our rookie of the year. |
| Best Mid Season pick up: Juan Francisco Palencia, Chivas USA |
| This guy is for real, as if 75+ caps for Mexico didn’t tell you that. Just watch one Chivas game and you will know he is a fantastic asset for MLS and for fans in this country. A true joy to watch. |
| Trade of the Year: Ricardo Clarkto San Jose fora Portion of an Allocation and a YI spot to MetroStars. |
| 28 starts, 30 games, 3 goals, and 2 assists doesn’t being to tell the story of Clark’s impact with San Jose as his presence frees up De Rosario to wreck havoc in the attacking third. Think Metro couldn’t have used Clark in in their defensive midfield? |
| Pack Your Bags Award: Steve Sampson, Los Angeles Galaxy |
| Winning the USOC was nice, but when you can buy home ice it devalues a bit. Falling to fourth and getting shelled in the playoffs (can we assume that yet) hurts. The awful road form is really brutal and his best player wants him out. This is a guy who was hired to play exciting, attacking, and most of all winning football, and Chivas USA is only going to be getting better… clock is ticking on Sampson. |