Everybody Soccered - Week 1

In case you missed anything in the American goalkeeping realm, these links should catch you back up. Also I included some great pics in case you're a soccer mom who accidentally ended up at my site. Enjoy, mothers and everyone else!

• Guzan is apparently a really friendly dude to all quasi-humans alike.
   
• Andre Blake was also announced as a Generations Product and will most likely go to Vancouver in the upcoming MLS Draft, January 16th.
   
• The MLS Combine finally rounded out with four healthy goalkeepers with Virginia Tech's KyleRenfro after announcing one that couldn't even run at the moment (sorry Mr. Richey). Renfro joins 
  • Rafael Diaz (St. John’s)
  • Kees Heemskerk (College of Charleston from Zaandam, Netherlands)
  • Fabian Otte (NC State from Münster, Germany)
  • and injured Spencer Richey (Washington).
     
• A goalkeeper with American-ties started and apparently did very well at Club Leon FC in Mexico. He is 24 and is very quick.
   
• Richard Lee lamented on England's less than desirable goalkeeping situation, stating that, "In fact, our goalkeepers are even considered to be below average in the eyes of our advancing foreign counterparts with Spain, USA, Italy, Germany and France leading the way in Goalkeeping development."
   
• Steven Goff tweeted, "Senegal national team GK Bouna Coundoul may return to #MLS. Cyprus club in '13. US passport. Visiting family in NJ. FC Dallas perhaps?" Here are some highlights of Coundoul.
   
• Stories of an Alaskan goalkeeper have defied all odds.
   
• ex-Atlanta Silverback JoeNasco is now a free agent.
   
• 1950s goalkeeping was still in its adolescence

• The Glove Bag showed us that 1974 was a badass year for goalkeeping kits.

• Some bloopers from Hungary's 1993 season surfaced but what does it say that I see these "bloopers" in the MLS a little too often. (Goalkeeping section starts around 3:45.)
   
• Some interesting BigSoccer threads... Best USMNT Goalkeeper Performances, Rutgers alum Kevin McMullen was in Poland, Discussion on Cody Cropper (in which the legendary Brian Sciaretta weighs in on my post).
   
• Lastly (and because it's not really America-related), the top ten saves from the first half of the Bundesliga. I only put them on here because there are truly some great ones in there. Also some bloopers because hey who doesn't like bloopers. (There is actually a mix of good and bad goalkeeping in there.)
   
• Bonus section: The Huffington Post listed the top 34 pizza moments of 2013.

Pat Wall Interview

Pat Wall is the starting goalkeeper for Notre Dame's men's soccer team. Fresh off a National Championship run with Notre Dame, Wall was named second team goalkeeper in the ACC after leading his team to a 17-1-6 record. I wrote about Wall back in October and after finishing his fourth year he has his fair share of options on the table. I talked to Wall last week about his Championship run and moving forward as a goalkeeper.

I read in your AMA on Reddit that you worked with NASA. How does a collegiate soccer player end up working at NASA?

Going to school at Notre Dame you get a pretty good education that you don't want to waste. I reached out to a lot of Notre Dame alumni who graduated with the same degree that I did and I got in contact with Bob Zehentner. I sat down with him for a couple of hours and asked him how to pursue playing professionally as well as trying to get a job in the real world. He actually offered me an internship at a company called L-3 Communications and it turned out I got to work as a subcontractor at the NASA Space Center (in Houston). I was fortunate enough to work on some projects like the Orion Flight Software. It was always a goal to help put something in space some time in my life and I was fortunate enough to do.

What was something that contributed to Notre Dame's success that most people couldn't tell from the outside looking in?

Honestly, I think there were two things that most people wouldn't really think about. Well the first one, probably some do… The first one is fitness. During the summer, we have a strength coach that really changed and amped up our fitness guide for the summer. Through that, I think our players got to be in the best shape out of any college team in the country. If you look back at our College Cup run, we only used thirteen different players through the last four games, including the final. So being able to have guys stay healthy and being able to play with the intensity that we did really gave a shout out to our fitness. Another thing that I don't think anyone really knows that we do at Notre Dame is our sports psychology training. We have a guy named Dr. Mick Franco who really works with us on getting all the potential out that we possibly can. I don't think a lot of other schools do that but it's a special thing about Notre Dame and it's been a big part of why we've been successful.

There's the idea that college stunts the growth of soccer players. As someone who is on the tail end of their collegiate career, what are you thoughts on college as a development program for players?

To be honest, a lot more people look down on the college game than they should. I think the college game is essential for 90% of American players out there. You can look at certain programs and say "That's not where you want a player developed at" but, a little plug for Notre Dame, if you go to a school like Notre Dame you're basically a professional. You're treated with top quality coaches. Playing for a guy like Bobby Clark is an incredible experience. Being able to spend four years with him to get to learn from all little tidbits he has, it really helps you get to the next level. A lot of people debate on if you should stay through college through the four years or if you should even go at all. But Matt Besler was a Notre Dame grad who obviously has done really well and he stayed for four years. Dillon Powers, the MLS Rookie of the Year, stayed for four years and he's an incredible player. If you go to the right places, going to college is a great path for some Americans.

[Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark was named Coach of the Year after winning the title.]

You were in the Dynamo Academy. When did you sign with them and what was that experience like?

I can't remember what year I signed with them… I think I was… 14 or 15 years old at the time. That's when I originally signed with the academy. Let's see… back when I was fifteen years old, a guy named Mike Toshack was the goalkeeper coach there. [Toshack is now the goalkeeper coach for the Portland Timbers.] He invited me to train with the first team in Houston. Having that experience to be able to go with them even at the age of fifteen really helped start my career. And ever since then, for the past seven summers, I've been fortunate to be invited in at to train with the first team. Getting to meet all the assistant coaches and goalkeeper coaches that have come through Houston, getting my name out there, and learning what Houston is about was something special.

Did the academy try to get you to sign with them?

They always try to encourage us to sign with the first team as early as possible. The academy's whole purpose is to get players to the first team. For me, I thought it was pretty important to develop my game at a different level first. If I would have gone to, say, the MLS out of high school. I would have been sitting on the bench for three to four years, regardless. Right now, there are very few high school goalkeepers, if any, that could really step up in a league like MLS and make a major impact. So I decided I should go to college and find the best program that I could, and I did.

So what's your decision going forward? Are you looking at a fifth year with Notre Dame, a homegrown contract, or the MLS draft?

I talked with a lot of different people, some people throughout my life that have been pretty influential. I made a deal with my parents that if I was going to start my degree at Notre Dame then I would finish it and that will happen in May for me. So I'm going to stay for my fifth year at Notre Dame and try to develop more as a player and a person under the great staff we have. I looked at the MLS-option, I think that would be a great thing. I am very excited for the opportunity when that comes up but even if I were to sign in the next month or two, I would basically have two to three years to move up from a number three goalkeeping spot to a number two goalkeeping spot. And before I want to jump into that challenge, I want to make sure I'm as developed as I possibly can be.

You've talked about the necessity of getting games to grow as a player. The Fall is full of games but the Spring y'all are out of season. How do you combat this to make sure you're still getting better as a player?

The spring season for us is not exactly an easy down time. I think for a lot of programs, Spring is a little bit more of a relaxation time. For us it's completely opposite. They're killing us fitness-wise and we actually get some pretty good games in the spring as well. We play Indiana pretty much every year. We played the Mexican U-20 National Team, which was a great game. Then, for me personally, to get to train with an MLS team in the summer really helps me get ready for my season as well and to be a prepared player for the MLS, if that is what happens. There's an eleven month cycle for me and fortunately I'm in the month where I get to rest. We start in January and work all the way through December.

Book Review: Zoe's Goal

This is Everybody Soccer's first book review. I plan on doing more in the future but only if they are limited to three pages. The book is called Zoe's Goal and apparently is viewed as cannon in the Muppet universe.

The cover is pretty telling of what we're getting into. The title "Zoe's Goal" seemingly refers to a soccer term but understanding that Zoe is actually referring to "Zero Energy", as in a zero energy goal, things become much clearer. The unnamed shooter, who has little to no soccer training (notice how much she is using her hands to reach out for the ball and stiff arm the goalkeeper), might want to consider groundskeeping as a better venture as the field is having trouble with level grass and has not been mowed in so long that flowers are beginning to sprout.

The book posses a very sharp meta aspect to it. As the reader turns the page, the soccer ball (which is akin to a squeeze toy) stays not in place but transcends time and space. For all the advances in soccer we think we make the game is essentially the same since its beginning. The void created by the ball on the left side of the page alludes to our disinterest in past soccer over current, more popular teams. A hole is formed in our knowledge of the game as we only continue to look forward and not build off of what is already known.[1]

In the background, we can see a looming city. This is a clear representation of the limit of most federations' grasp in reaching out to the lower communities. The upper-class cities leagues, with their high club fees and expensive uniforms, are so distant from the playground games that inspire creativity, harvest a true love for the game, and can, in this case, break down archaic gender roles. Although the book shows that there are downsides to rural organizations, shown in the gaudy amount of the attacker's jewelry. Law 4 clearly states that, "A player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player (including any kind of jewelry)." Had there been a referee with any experience, the attacker would have had to removed the jewellery to be on the field. Also maybe the referee would have insisted that there be any lines on the field, teammates wear corresponding uniforms, and that the ball be regulation size, not one that magically grows in size as it wishes. The inefficiencies covered in this book, while focused on mainly the player-club relationship, do hit on the lack of competent referees in nearly every country.

The two bugs that have floated in on either side of the picture are not simply for visual aesthetics. It is clear the author is pointing out that even though you may be teammates with the utmost selfish players, you should still move into space. The practice of covering space is a great habit to ingrain, especially in young players. Even if you do not receive the pass despite being in a great position, you can still affect the run of play by pulling a defender over to cover you and out of the way out the shot. Although Oscar the Grouch is unlucky in that two of his defenders are still climbing the hill (seen in the background) and another is a tree, which for all the aerial prowess it may display is routinely criticized for its lack of mobility. Also it should be stated that monstrous bugs half the size of your head are dangerous and you should do whatever you can to not encourage them to come close to you (like sharing possession of the ball).

We do not know how soon into the game the shot takes place but that is not the point of this frame. Notice the shooter's planting foot and where it is pointed. It is no wonder his shot fires well wide of the goal. (The goalkeeper is so unphased by the shooter's line up that he rests his left arm on his garbage can.) It is clear that the shooter thinks highly of himself and goes for the shot even though his teammate has the better angle back post.

We should note that these photographs were likely taken well before the turn of the century. This is evident from the goalkeeper's hat to block out the setting sun (note the falling shadows) and he shows no interest in having foot skills, both common traits of goalkeepers in the twentieth century.

At first we are thankful that a coach enters the scene and starts to instruct the team but all hope of his aide is quickly abandoned. His first action is to completely ignores the selfish striker (in red) and speaks with harsh undertones to the other striker (the author makes this evident with the blood red colors on the command "kick"). The striker in red (whose name we do not know) surely picks up on the subtext and tries to redirect his teammate's immense energy into doing the basic of actions in soccer. Again the author does a perfect job in addressing the many problems with youth soccer: an ineffective coach who is lambasting an player with vague, unhelpful advice. Luckily, the player is completely oblivious to the tense dynamics ("dancing" is sited as a main distraction) and continues to play on. [2]

The culture and environment are hinted at on this page and help the reader to understand the situation a bit more. Despite the sun being out, the coach is wearing the thickest sweater possible; the humidity is so immense that the clouds are literally about to burst right over a looming firehouse; a bug that is a tenth of the size of the ball wants to participate in the game. Clearly this culture values irony and this might explain the red striker's large ego despite poor mechanics.

There is some debate on this page's connection to the last page. Scholars tend to agree that this is not another picture of the game as the orange striker is performing a nutmeg on the red striker (a common school ground trick practiced on opponents).[3]  Two other possible situations remain: either the coach has stopped the informal match to instruct and threat his players OR this is a picture of a following day's practice. If the latter were true, which I tend to towards (due to the change in shadows), the next page would likely be the second leg between the two teams.

Like most game footage from the twentieth century, the "highlights" given are only of goals scored. (Perhaps a handful of clips of various run of plays would be spliced in as well.) Regardless of the timeline here, the main focus is on the growth in the shooter's ability. She is hitting a shot with the outside of her foot to bend the ball around the goalkeeper into the lower back post corner. For anyone familiar with soccer, the sharp angle and difficulty of the shot are palpable and the player is now recognized as an established player. [4] This shot of the goal distinctly harkens back to the 1950 US-England World Cup game where the video caught all but the lone goal scored.[5]

A lot of details are left out of the ending (final score, how much time has elapsed, future outcomes of players, etc). This is done on purpose to not distract the reader from the main point of the story. The shooter has overcame her disadvantages (rural community, poor coaching, selfish teammates) and has focused on what she can control. She has honed her skills despite hurdles that would frustrate others to the point of quitting. This point is driven home by the complete decimation of the once proud city that stood in the background.

Perhaps a stronger point for the reader is that the lesson learned by the striker have not been learned by all. The defenders are still out of position and are calling for offside but the referee (shown in blue) does not make the call (although out of fairness his assistant referees are out of position or non-existent); the goalkeeper, who is about to yell at his defense, I'm sure (haha), is still practicing poor technique by using just one hand to save the ball and the other to brace his fall (although he could be using a tactic similar of Darth Vader by only using one hand in combat); the coach is clearly too fat to fly.[6]

While it is unknown if this story is captured from history or is completely fictional, this book is excellent for aspiring players to learn the values of overcoming setbacks and for babies because of the squeaky noise the fun soccer ball makes.

Footnotes

1. A small sect disagrees and thinks that a hidden message of the abilities of time travel and buried in the book.

2. The coach may be the same ex-basketball player who, despite being up to eight feet tall in some reports, could not dunk a basketball ball and was is projecting his frustration his the lack of his athleticism on his players.

3. Although recent revisionists have argued that this would harken back to the culture's irony or that the red striker could simply be stepping over the ball to set up his trailing teammate (this would bring up a follow up point that perhaps the red striker has realized his selfishness and the potential of the youngster). However this does not explain the coach's coming on to the field.

4. Conspiracy theorists of this book claim that the ball accidentally ricochets off the shooter's back heel and its direction towards the goal is merely luck and that the book's main point is not of the unpolished skill in poorer communities but that all of life is random and meaningless. The angle of the camera may look like that but there are no reports that this game was decided on a fluke goal. Theorists also claim that the player's name is Zoe but have no evidence to back this up.

5. England's then goalkeeper, Bert Williams, was known as a very grouchy man although no evidence has surfaced that he lived in a trash can.

6. "Vader proved able to apply this personalized variant in many ways, sometimes opting to fight one-handed, relying on precision and economy of movement..." Vader was also known to be grouchy, much like Bert Williams.

2014 MLS Goalkeeper Shuffle Updates

An idea to track the current rosters for MLS goalkeepers for the upcoming 2014 season. We'll see if I stick with it. You can check out the original and quite lengthy article over at this little link.

Some interesting story lines you might want to follow are Columbus, Seattle, Kansas City, and New England. All are open for competition. I put some more comments below on the team sections.

If a player is waived, that means they're most certainly out of the organization. If they're out of contract or their option isn't picked up, they could return, so don't rule them out completely.

Teams without three goalkeepers: Chivas USA, Philadelphia Union

Here are the projected depth charts thus far:

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Chicago Fire

Starter: Sean Johnson (23)
Back Up: Kyle Reynish (30)
In Reserve: Alec Kann (24)

Out: Paolo Tornaghi (25 - waived)
In: Kyle Reynish (30 - signed)

Bill Vegas says: Paolo was a decent backup but I hope they sign an MLS SuperDraft. Let's get Kann on the bench.
edit 01.14.14: The Fire bring in Cosmos starter Kyle Reynish, which is a bummer because I wanted Kann to get closer to the field not farther from it.

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Chivas USA

Starter: Dan Kennedy (31)
Back Up: Tim Melia (26)
In Reserve: Jake McGuire (19 - college)

Out: Patrick McLain (25 - option declined)
In: none

Bill Vegas says: Kennedy is on the downhill and Melia isn't the answer. Not sure why they dropped McLain... Picking up a starting competitor and a SuperDraft would be smart.

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Colorado Rapids

Starter: Clint Irwin (24)
Back Up: Matt Pickens (31)
In Reserve: John Berner (22), Andrew Epstein (17 - college)

Out: Steward Ceus (26 - option declined)
In: John Berner (22 - drafted)

Bill Vegas says: If they sell Pickens (look for on draft day) they'll need a backup. A SuperDraft wouldn't hurt.
edit 01.16.14: Berner is a second round draft pick and unless Pickens moves Berner will get comfortable with the bench.

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Columbus Crew

Starter: Steve Clark (27)
Back Up: Matt Lampson (24)
In Reserve: Daniel Withrow (23), Brad Stuver (22)

Out: Andy Gruenebaum (30 - out of contract)
In: Brad Stuver (22 - waiver draft), Steve Clark (27 - traded rights from Seattle)

Bill Vegas says: Gruenebaum and Lampson are equally shaky but in different ways. If things play out injury-free it'll be fine. If not...
edit 12.10.13: Gruenebaum could take a similar exit like Will Hesmer did last year. I'm sure there are health concerns. Lampson isn't there yet so if they run with him it'll be a bump first half of the season.
edit 12.17.13: Well I didn't call this. I figured Clark would end up at SKC but Columbus will definitely use him. Gspurning takes the void in SKC instead. Honestly this feels like an upgrade for all parties involved, except Seattle. The Withrow-Stuver battle might be interesting.

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D.C. United

Starter: Bill Hamid (23)
Back Up: Joe Willis (25)
In Reserve: Andrew Dykstra (27)

Out:
In:

Bill Vegas says: Nothing. They're set.

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FC Dallas

Starter: Raul Fernandez (28)
Back Up: Chris Seitz (26)
In Reserve: Richard Sanchez (19), Kyle Zobeck (23), Jesse Gonzalez (18)

Out:
In:

Bill Vegas says: Perhaps move Seitz to open the door a little bit for Sanchez but otherwise they're fine.

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Houston Dynamo

Starter: Tally Hall (28)
Back Up: Tyler Deric (25)
In Reserve: Michael Lisch (22)

Out: Erich Marscheider (20)
In: Michael Lisch (22 - Drafted)

Bill Vegas says: Nothing. They're set.
edit 12.17.13: This might be some foreshadowing for National Champion Pat Wall...
edit 01.06.14: Looks like Wall is staying another year in the NCAA. Houston is set.
edit 01.28.14: I don't know why they drafted Lisch, who basically had no press going into the draft. A real head-scratcher.
edit 02.01.14: Turns out Marscheider was not brought back although it is unfortunate that the only news about it is Marschy's Twitter bio update.

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LA Galaxy

Starter: Jamie Penedo (32)
Back Up: Brian Rowe (25)
In Reserve:  Brian Perk (24)

Out: Carlo Cudicini (40)
In:

Bill Vegas says: I shiver when I see Cudicini's name now but besides that they're set.
edit 01.28.14: To no surprise, Cudicini was dropped.

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Montreal Impact

Starter: Troy Perkins (32)
Back Up: Evan Bush (27)
In Reserve: Maxime Crépeau (19), Dominic Provost (20), Samuel Dufort (19)

Out:
In:

Bill Vegas says: Nothing, at the moment. They're set for one more year. After that...

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New England Revolution

Starter: Bobby Shuttleworth (26)
Back Up: Brad Knighton (28)
In Reserve: Luis Soffner (23)

Out: Matt Reis (38 - option declined), Luis Soffner (23 - option declined)
In: Brad Knighton (28 - traded from Vancouver), Luis Soffner (23 - re-signed)

Bill Vegas says: Someone to press Shuttleworth and a SuperDraft pick wouldn't hurt. Look for Soffner to return.
edit 12.10.13: Kudos to Reis on a great career.
edit 12.11.13: New England is on the ball. I think they're hoping for Knighton to press Shuttleworth but by the third game or so Shuttleworth should have it in the bag. The real battle would be between Soffner and Knighton.
edit 12.27.13: Soffner gets re-signed after his option was declined so obviously his contract has been re-structured. New England seems to like him.

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New York Red Bulls

Starter: Luis Robles (29)
Back Up: Ryan Meara (23)
In Reserve: Santiago Castano (18), Keith Cardona (21 - college)

Out: Kevin Hartman (39 - retired)
In:

Bill Vegas says: Nothing. They're set.
edit 12.17.13: Robles signs new contract. Details not out yet.

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Philadelphia Union

Starter: Zac MacMath (22) / Andre Blake (23)
Back Up:
In Reserve: Zack Steffen (18 - college)

Out: Chris Konopka (28 - traded to Toronto), Oka Nikolov (39 - waived)
In: Andrew Blake (23 - Drafted)

Bill Vegas says: Someone needs to honestly press MacMath for the starting spot. Not just be in the mix.
01.16.14 edit: I still think MacMath starts as he already has 74 starts under his belt despite Blake's skill. They still need a third goalkeeper though.

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Portland Timbers

Starter: Donovan Ricketts (36)
Back Up: Jake Gleeson (23)
In Reserve: Milos Kocic (28), David Meves (23), Blake Hylen (23), Justin Baarts (23)

Out:
In: Andrew Weber (28 - signed)

Bill Vegas says: Ricketts doesn't have a lot of gas in the tank left and Portland is not prepared for that. Trading Ricketts after winning GKOTY would be the best move but that's not going to happen.
edit 01.14.14: This is too many goalkeepers. I never thought I'd say that.
edit 02.01.14: Gleeson plays the second half of a preseason game so I guess that makes him second string.

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Real Salt Lake

Starter: Nick Rimando (34)
Back Up: Jeff Attinella (25)
In Reserve: Eduardo Fernández (20)

Out: Josh Saunders (32 - option declined)
In:

Bill Vegas says: Nothing. They're set.

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San Jose Earthquakes

Starter: Jon Busch (37)
Back Up: David Bingham (24)
In Reserve: Bryan Meredith (24), Billy Knutsen (21)

Out: Evan Newton (25 - option declined)
In: Billy Knutsen (21 - drafted), Bryan Meredith (24 - signed)

Bill Vegas says: SuperDraft pick and hopefully we see the rise of David Bingham this year.
edit 01.28.14: Knutsen fills Newton's void.
edit 02.01.14: Well not a ton of faith in Knutsen but okay...

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Seattle Sounders

Starter: Stefan Frei (27)
Back Up: Marcus Hahnemann (40)
In Reserve: Josh Ford (26), Zac Lubin (24), Earl Edwards (21 - college)

Out: Michael Gspurning (32 - option declined), Andrew Weber (30 - loaned back), Steve Clark (27 - traded rights to Columbus)
In: Stefan Frei (27 - traded from Toronto)

Bill Vegas says: Uh. They need... anyone?
edit 12.10.13: I don't think Frei is the answer long term but he'll do for this next season. Hahnemann will likely return.
edit 12.17.13: Gspurning wasn't exactly thrilled to leave and Seattle really got some chump change for an MLS starter. The also brought Hahnemann and Ford back into the fold.
edit 01.28.14: John McCarthy is on trail against Josh Ford and Lubin is on a trail in Sweden. I think McCarthy can steal Ford's position.

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Sporting Kansas City

Starter: Eric Kronberg (30)
Back Up: Andy Gruenebaum (30)
In Reserve: Jon Kempin (20)

Out: Jimmy Nielsen (36 - retired)
In: Andy Gruenebaum (30 - traded from Columbus)

Bill Vegas says: A starter would be nice unless SKC want 11 field players.
edit 12.17.13: SKC picks up a solid starter but how many games will he play with health issues? Could be a big win for SKC or a bust.
edit 12.22.13: Kronberg has been named the starter but I don't believe it. I mean, I think they think Kronberg will be the starter but I just don't think he can hold down the position the entire year with Gruenebaum on the bench.
edit 02.01.14: Kronberg started in the preseason match but I just can't believe it. I just can't...

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Toronto FC

Starter: Joe Bendik (24)
Back Up: Chris Konopka (28)
In Reserve: Quillian Roberts (19), Garret Cypus (21), Angelo Cavalluzzo (20), Chad Bush (19)

Out: Stefan Frei (27 - traded to Seattle)
In: Chris Konopka (28 - traded from Philadelphia)

Bill Vegas says: Some more space. Frei is worth at least a fourth round draft pick.
edit: 12.10.13: Turns out Frei is worth a first round pick! (It's conditional on something and for 2015) Toronto is set going into next season.

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Vancouver Whitecaps

Starter: David Ousted (28)
Back Up: Paolo Tornaghi
In Reserve: Marco Carducci (17), Carraco, Callum Irving (20), Sean Melvin (19)

Out: Joe Cannon (38), Simon Thomas (23), Brad Knighton (28 - traded to New England)
In:

Bill Vegas says: Either a decent backup or someone to press Ousted.
edit 12.10.13: Thomas not likely to re-sign and he doesn't sound too happy about it.
edit 12.11.13: Good move on Vancouver's part to get something before losing him completely.
edit 01.06.13: Look for Vancouver to pick up Generation Adidas product Andre Blake.

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Best Available Free Agents

Joe Cannon (38)
Doug Herrick (24)
Patrick McLain (25)
Steward Ceus (26)
Josh Wicks (30)
Chase Harrison (29)
Evan Newton (25)