| Another year has come and gone, which means we can now look back at the wonderful fearless predictions bit. Let’s see if I broke 5 points this year. |
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| This is one of my favorite running bits on 3rd Degree, the original Bold Predictions. Last year I actually made a slight step forward in the point total. |
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| Let’s see how I did in 2009 |
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| Score: 8 |
| That’s one of my best seasons yet. |
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| Twenty Fearless Predictions for 2009 |
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| (For recreational purposes only, please no wagering) |
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| 1 | David Beckham won’t play for LA Galaxy again. By the time Goldenballs is supposed to return he’ll be “injured” and won’t see the pitch before MLS sells him prior to the start of the next Euro season. Cash in hand is better than a bird in the bush. |
| | He played in 11 regular season games, but is heading off to AC Milan again soon. Is 11 games really playing? At $5 mil that’s just under $500k per game. – 0 points. |
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| 2 | Taylor Twellman will be Comeback Player of the Year for the Revs. Perhaps I should say that I really hope he is for the good of MLS, it’s fans, the Revs, and for Twellman himself. I never wish an injury on anyone, but particularly concussion-related symptoms. |
| | It’s heartbreaking what has happened to Twellman. His career is probably over I would think. – 0 points. |
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| 3 | This summer Freddy Adu will return to MLS and will join LA Galaxy with their top ranked allocation. If anyone was made for LA it’s Freddy. LA will use the cap space they are getting from selling Beckham to fit Adu. Not that anyone will be able to tell the difference in the LA performance. |
| | He should have. – 0 points. |
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| 4 | West Finish: Real Salt Lake, Colorado, FC Dallas, Houston, San Jose, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chivas USA. It’s RSL’s year in the west, they will start hot and stay strong. Colorado I just think has a good combination and will be solid all year, particularly after they get a DP. I feel a meltdown at Chivas coming. LA is marginally better but still a circus, Seattle just doesn’t have enough. Houston, who will start slow, pimps San Jose down the stretch. FCD starts inconsistent but turns it on the second half to finish third. |
| | Didn’t see the LA or Seattle teams coming. Col I was right on until injuries, by the end RSL was what I expected. Without Zach I would have been right on Chivas – 0 points. |
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| 5 | Garber will announce MLS is going with a play-everyone-twice schedule when Philly enters the league, making MLS a single table in all but name. That play everyone twice works for 16 teams (30 games) and probably for 18 teams (34). MLS won’t go single table officially because at 20 teams a P-E-T schedule won’t work (38 games). |
| | Nailed it – 1 point. |
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| 6 | East Finish: Columbus, Chicago, Kansas City, Toronto FC, New England, New York, DC United.You can’t argue with the Crew roster, but Chicago will make it interesting. I really liked KC last year in the preseason and their end of season form got them close to what I expected, I see another step up this year for them. TFC finally puts a good team on the field and holds off the Revs who really miss Parkhurst. Red Bull have to many changes this winter to be good this year and DC United is going to be flat out terrible. |
| | Almost got that one. Swap KC and NE, DC melted, just not as much as I thought. I’m feeling generous on this one. – 1/2 point. |
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| 7 | Bakary Soumare will be Defender of the Year for the Chicago. The best (and easiest to spot defender) on the best defense in MLS. |
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| | He might have won if not for the cataclysmic debacle with his coach and his subsequent vanishing act. – 0 points. |
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| 8 | Preki will be the first coach fired and the parent club will replace him with a Mexican coach. A combination of age, injuries, Suarez retirement, Kljestan sale, lack of ownership support, poor defense, and below average goal keeping do the coach in. Chivas will “fix” it with one of their own, which won’t work either. |
| | Didn’t happen during the season and Sampson isn’t really a Mexican coach. A 1/2 point? Not close enough I don’t think. Edit: Martin Vasquez is a lot more like a Mexican coach. I’m taking the half. – 1/2 point. |
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| 9 | Colorado Rapids will be US Open Cup Champions. On any given day Colorado can (and does) beat anyone, including a USL team in the final. |
| | Seattle. – 0 points. |
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| 10 | Chicago Fire will win the SuperLiga. Fire depth pays off in this tourney as does Blanco’s desire to beat the Mexican teams. |
| | Tigres beat Chicago in the final – 1/2 Point. |
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| 11 | Gary Smith will be MLS Coach of the Year. He’s the coach of the Colorado Rapids since you ask. Smith guides the misfit Rapids to a respectable 2nd in the West, an impressive feat in the also-ran Rapids organization. |
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| | I think he would be if his wide players had not gone down injured. – 0 Point |
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| 12 | The Rookie of the Year will be Kevin Alston. It’s gotten to the point playing time for a rookie is enough to get rookie of the year and I think Alston will start most of the season for the Revs. Omar Gonzalez will start all year for LA, but won’t get the votes cause Sean Franklin won last year. |
| | I was right that Alston would start most of the year for the Revs, but so did Barnes. I was also right about Omar starting, I should have picked him. – 0 Points |
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| 13 | When Tom Soehn loses control of his locker room and is fired later this year, Ben Olsen will be named coach in his place. Benny’s been virtually running this franchise for years already. Has any player meant more to a MLS team on and off the field? |
| | Soehn quit before he got fired and almost their entire fan base wants Olsen to coach. That’s close enough. – 1 point. |
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| 14 | Columbus Crew will win the Supporters Shield. 17 wins last year was a lot, that ain’t a fluke, but I don’t think they’ll run away with it this year as Chicago and RSL should give them a good chase. Crew keep it by a point or two. The loss of Schmid will hurt only a small amount. |
| | Yup, by 4 points – 1 points. |
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| 15 | Kenny Cooper will win the MLS Budweiser Golden Boot for FCD. The addition of Dave van den Bergh and David Ferreira means assists galore as Cooper and Cunningham light it up. After he scores 22 goals Cooper will be sold following the MLS season. |
| | Cooper sold, Cunningham won the Golden Boot for FCD. – 1/2 point. |
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| 16 | Real Salt Lake will be MLS Cup Champs. Despite the 2+2 thing in each conference I see 4 teams from each making it cause the 4th team is Houston for me and they are good enough to keep New England out. Chicago takes KC, then knocks off the Crew in the East final on a Blanco free kick. RSL advances to MLS cup by beating Houston and then Dallas in the West Final (yes FCD turns the table upsetting Colorado in the playoffs). RSL wins MLS Cup over Chicago on a Movsisyan goal. Yes, defense (Chicago) wins championships, but Movsisyan is a big moment clutch goal scorer. |
| | RSL are MLS Cup Champs. Yes, I called it. Although I had them beating Chicago in the Cup itself instead of the East final. – 1 Point. |
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| 17 | Javier Morales will be MLS MVP. While it was hard to argue with Schelotto as MVP last year, Morales was a strong candidate. This year with RSL on top he’ll get the attention he deserves and bring home the MVP award. |
| | A great second half run and wonder playoffs until he got hurt in MLS Cup. But no MVP. – 0 points. |
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| 18 | Although he won’t make the field, Dax McCarty will get called up for a US Qualifier camp. With his new found intensity and danger passing, Bob Bradley will want to take a look at Dax as a filler for the middle of the park when European players have to miss out. |
| | He got called into camp and eaerned two caps, just not for a qualifier. – 1 Point. |
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| 19 | During the second transfer window FC Dallas uses their ranked allocation on Gregg Berhalter.By then FCD will be sitting #1 on the allocation list and Berhalter, on a two season final MLS tour, will by the final piece that pushes FCD into a real playoff threat by allowing them to push Purdy wide left (Purdy, Berhalter, Moor, Saragosa). |
| | They used it on Heath Pearce instead, Berhalter went to LA. Same difference. It almost got them into the playoffs – 1/2 point. |
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| 20 | Cam Weaver will by the MLS Newcomer of the Year. It would be easy to pick Fredy Montero, I think he and David Ferreira will be candidates, but I’m picking Cam Weaver. I expect CAM to score 12 to 15 goals for an improved San Jose. |
| | Cam didn’t pay off, but I did say it would be easy to pick Montero and Ferreira would be a candidate so I’m taking something from this one. – 1/2 point. |
