Just in time for First Kick '09, the '08 Season Grades!

Ha ha ha, boy am I late with this one. But with no further ado, here are my final grades and such from the 2008 season:

Top 5 Grades (Season & Playoffs, minimum 15 games):
5-Dema Kovalenko 6.04167
4-Jamison Olave 6.06423
3-Robbie Findley 6.08344
2-Andy Williams 6.12655
1-Nick Rimando 6.66667

Honorable mention goes to Chris Wingert, who missed the list by approximately .0001, and Will Johnson, whose 6.41667 would have made the list but he appeared in only 12 games for RSL.

Regular Season Heroes (min. 15 games):
3-Robbie Findley 6.058
2-Andy Williams 6.180
1-Nick Rimando 6.633

Not surprisingly, since the playoffs were only 3 games, the top 3 are the same on both lists.

Clutch Performers (Top 3 Playoffs, min. 2 games):
2 (tie)-Nat Borchers and Javier Morales 6.667
1-Nick Rimando 7.000

All 3 players had a nice playoff run and it shows here.

Manliest Men (most RR Man of the Match awards, regular season and playoff):
3-Jamison Olave 4
2-Nick Rimando 6 (5 + 1 playoff)
1-Javier Morales 6 (4 + 2 playoff)

Although it was a tie and the top, I give the award to Javi for getting 2 of his 6 awards during RSL's playoff run.

And now, the awards no one wants, the low scorers for 2008:

Nerves of Butter (Lowest Playoff Scores, min. 2 games):
3-Robbie Russell 5.333
2-Clint Mathis 5.000
1-Kyle Beckerman 4.667

Russell parlayed an atrocious Conference Final into a 3rd place showing, while Cleetus and Kyle each made a solid run of subpar form throughout.

Season Suckers (Regular Season only, min. 15 games):
3-Kenny Deuchar 5.621
2-Ian Joy 5.333
1-Yura Movsisyan 5.106

Even some very clutch goals couldn't save Yura, who killed himself with some terrible early season form and way too many missed chances and selfish plays.

Big Loads (Reg. Season and Playoffs, min. 15 games):
3-Kenny Deuchar 5.6333
2-Ian Joy 5.3165
1-Yura Movsisyan 5.1732

Again the full season and regular season awards mirror each other. Let's hope that Yura can be in good form all season this year and not just for the last 6 games or so.

Based on all this, with some help by my own subjectivity, here are my Top 3 RSLers of 2008:
Honorable Mentions: Borchers, Williams, Wingert
3-Jamison Olave
Made some big mistakes at times, but was overall a beast in the back and his 4 Man of the match awards were double what any other defenseman got.
2-Javier Morales
Had a midseason dip in form that hurt his score (only 5.79), but when he was on, the team usually won. Plus, even with the rough patch he still came up with a (tied for) team-high 6 Man of the Match awards.
...and your 2008 Royal Review RSL MVP is:
1- Nick Rimando
What can I say? RSL's most consistent performer not only kept "super-prospect" Chris Seitz bolted to the bench, but he also won all 3 2008 grade awards as well as tying with Javi for most Man of the Match awards. It's hard to argue with that kind of performance, even if it was from a goalkeeper and not a field player. Congrats Nick Rimando!

And now, in about 6 hours, your 2009 season!

PS-If you want to see the grades for every player, for every game, I have uploaded them to http://drop.io/royalreview for you to download or just look at. They are in Excel format, bothe the new version and in a version for Excel 97-2003. Enjoy!

Coming Soon: A New Season

2009 is upon us, and with it, a new Ben Cup. There is no logo (yet), but the games are locked and loaded. This year's Ben Cup will take place on April 11th in Sandy at the River and on May 23rd in DC. Of course, the Review (and the Edgell Supporters) will have full coverage as the games draw near.

But before we move on to the '09 season, I have some finishing up to do from last year. I promise I will have the full season grades available for 2008 BEFORE first kick '09. Granted, that's not the November 2008 timeline I was looking for, but at least it is realistic! I will also update the sidebars and everything for the new year.

But for now, thanks for sticking with the Review after the last 5 months of inactivity (although RSL's 5 months of near-inactivity have contributed to that) and we should be back up and running soon, so stay tuned. Until then, and as always, GO RSL!

Playoffs: Round 1, Game 2: RSL @ TST: How Sweet It Is

Shinkes! I get stuck on a second shift at work and the site goes all to hell just like that! Sorry for getting so far behind so fast, life happens when you least want it to I suppose. Anyway, grades and pictures for game 1 coming after I wade through them all, but in the meantime, here's the grades and a few thoughts on the clinching game 2.

First off, let me just say, it is official: I hate Chivas TST more than any team in MLS. More than Colorado. More than just about any team in any sport that I can think off (they are in the rarefied air shared by the Yankees and the Lakers). I know I am supposed to hate the Crapids the most (and granted, I dislike them plenty), but, to me, there is just something about TST that I do not like. So imagine my joy in watching RSL win the series at the Home Depot Center. And after squeaking into the playoffs by breaking the hearts of Crapids fans everywhere? Sweet sweet icing on the cake. Couple that with the energy bovines' shocking win over Houston on Sunday, giving us home field for the conference final, and I am a happy boy. And now, I implore RSL to smack NY around. Not just for themselves, not just for us fans, but also for our Ben Cup brethren, the DCU fans who would love nothing more than to see the bulls go down in flames (on a side note, props to the Edgell Supporters for cheering for RSL this playoffs, well done). MLS Cup, here we come!

Grades:
Nick Rimando-7 Had some nice moments, but was helped by poor TST shooting.
Jamison Olave-8 Showed a ton of heart.
Nat Borchers-7 Solid in the back.
Robbie Russell-7 Made some big recoveries in this one.
Chris Wingert-6 Fairly quiet, I'd like to see more.
Dema Kovalenko-6 Would be a five, but a bonus point for the beautiful header.
Kyle Beckerman-5 Passing has been TERRIBLE as of late.
Javier Morales-8 Should've had 2 goals, but you can't argue with a goal and an assist.
(Fabian Espindola 87)-5 Looked a bit lost out there.
Will Johnson-7 Do we have this kid locked down long term yet?
Clint Mathis-5 Basically useless.
(Robbie Findley 72)-7 Needs to be getting into games much earlier than he is.
Yura Movsisyan-6 Meh.
(Andy Williams 80)-6 See Yura.

Coaching grade (Kreis)-7 Some of the sub patterns were odd, but we got the needed result.
Ref grade (head ref: Michael Kennedy)-2 Shockingly bad refereeing. Inconsistent on calls, lost control of the game early, missed calls, pretty much anything he could do poorly he did. Just terrible.

RSL Man of the Match: Javier Morales
Up to his old tricks! Scored a goal, got an assist, and helped drive the offense.

Assclown of the Match: Ante Razov
There were many contenders (give honorable mentions to Kennedy for piss-poor reffing and to Atiba Harris for his trademark recklessness), but I give it to Razov for his Oscar-worthy performance while getting the PK call. Dude falls down and pulls Javi on top of himself. Watch it again, it is clear as day. Super duper classless. Well done, ya assclown!

Game 30: RSL @ Crapids: One Tremendously Beautiful Turd

Wow. Just wow. Real just played an asstastic classic, and yet, were somehow able to throw out the plumber's snake and grab a goal from the sewage. RSL was continuously outplayed, outhustled, and outsmarted, but with the heroics of one Nick Rimando were able to keep Colorado at one goal. My oh my, RSL is off to the playoffs with a HUGE tie that also brings home the Rocky Mtn. Cup.

Game grade: A+/D-
An A+ for the massive achievement of FINALLY making the postseason. But really, that game and that effort was worthy of a D- at best (an F is more appropriate perhaps, but they did pull out a tie).

GRADES:
Nick Rimando-9 Singlehandedly kept RSL in striking distance. When motivated and on form, Nick is truly a world-class keeper, I don't care what anyone says.
Jamison Olave-3 An absolute disaster of a game.
Kyle Beckerman-4 Lots of hustle, but tried too hard and forced things.
Nat Borchers-5 Not a good game, but MUCH better than Olave.
Will Johnson-4 Worst game in an RSL kit.
Javier Morales-4 Started to come on late, but a terrible game.
Ian Joy-3 Abused by Cummings all night.
(Robbie Russell 56)-7 Should've started, by far RSL's best defender tonight.
Yura Movsisyan-5 Bonus point(s) for the HUGE goal, but really a bad game, missed WAY too many.
Chris Wingert-5 Very up and down game.
(Robbie Findley 72)-6 Did fairly well with VERY limited service.
Dema Kovalenko-5 Meh.
(Andy Williams 54)-7 Also should've started, helped set up the winner.
Clint Mathis-5 Another one with an up and down evening.

Coaching (Kreis)-3 Starting lineup was all wrong, wasted 2 subs (55 min. in) putting in what should've been the starters. Team also looked strangely lifeless, it's JK's job to get their heads right.
Refs (Prus)-2 An absolute nightmare of refereeing. This game alone should get Alex Prus a pink slip. Absolutely atrocious in every facet.

RSL Man of the Match: NICK RIMANDO
Far and away the best player on the field tonight. Well done Nick, you didn't deserve a loss in this one.

Assclown of the Match: Alex Prus
There was plenty of assclown-ness to go around on the Colorado side, but in sympathy to their fans for the heart-wrenching way their season ended, and in honor of the absolutely horrible officiating, Alex Prus, you win!

REAL SALT LAKE:
2008 Ben Cup Champions
2008 Rocky Mountain Cup Champions
2008-First Ever PLAYOFF APPEARANCE

Also, welcome back and HUGE props to RSLFM.com for allowing us RSL fans to watch the game. Just massive what you did for us tonight!

Game 29: Dallass vs. RSL: First Win at the River

I'm a bit busy today so just player grades for this one. Not a pretty win, but a big 3 points for the boys and with only a tie against the Crapids/Cripids, RSL will be a playoff team at last!

Grades:
Nick Rimando-6 OK game for little Nicky
Chris Wingert-7 Got forward pretty well, assist on the Johnson goal
Jamison Olave-8 Beast in the back again, broke up a ton of early FCD breakaways
Robbie Russell-6 A little too quiet
Ian Joy-7 Played well, especially late
Kyle Beckerman-7 Played destroyer all night long
Dema Kovalenko-5 Could've (and possibly should've) had a red for slapping an opponent across the face
(Andy Williams 46)-6 Steady game for Andy
Javier Morales-7 Had a very quiet 2 assists, but I'm giving him credit for them
Will Johnson-7 Almost an 8, just one too many mistakes, but the goal was beautiful
Clint Mathis-7 Some good old up play from Clint, looked totally worn out by the end
(Kenny Deuchar 89)-6 Didn't have much time to affect the game
Yura Movsisyan-7 Got lucky on it, but a goal is a goal
(Robbie Findley 73)-7 Goal was almost as pretty as Will's

Coaching grade (Kreis)-8 Subs made sense and brought the proper attacking mentality to the 2nd half.
Refs grade-6 Calls were a bit uneven and maybe a bit card happy, but the game was very rough and they had a tough job to do.

RSL Man of the Match: Jamison Olave
Almost went to "Billy", but since he earned the only 8 I gotta give it to him.

Assclown of the Match: Pablo Ricchetti
Easy call. Dude unnecessarily takes out Johnson with an ugly tackle and gets a straight red. Then he proceeds to argue the call, not leave the field, and tries to pick a fight with Joy (granted, that's not hard-if he didn't PLAY soccer, he'd be a soccer hooligan!). Very classy Pablo. Assclown stuff all the way.


PS-If you are interested in taking a bus trip to see RSL beat "the Dicks" (sorry, any chance for a new Crapids insult must be used, especially if it can be used in a delicious double entendre) there is "official" information over on the DesNews blog. Also thanks to SoccerPrime for the original tip-off on this, I just haven't been updating as much as I should lately and hadn't gotten around to posting it!

Game 25: RSL vs. Chivas TST: The Third Time's A Charm

Ah yes, the third time's a charm. After blowing two games on the road, RSL broke their undefeated streak at home with yet another beautiful choke at home. This one courtesy of a Rimando/Borchers miscommunication where Little Nicky ran out of the box after a ball that Borchers was tracking back to. No one called the other off, the ball bounced off of Borchers's chest, right to Esky, who escorted the ball into the net after Rimando ran into Borchers, taking them both out of the play. Very much like earlier this year against TST. You gotta learn from your mistakes boys!
Other than that, the game was pretty uneventful, with Findley's touch being even worse than usual and Movsisyan showing his uncanny ability to screw up a finish no matter how easy it is. Throw in Morales turning the ball over every chance he got (and not once hitting a free kick anywhere useful) and you've got another disappointing loss. Yes, RSL outplayed TST for much of the game, but since they couldn't finish, it didn't show on the scoreboard. Worse yet, the loss takes RSL out of playoff position; a loss to San Jose this week and you can say goodbye to the 2008 postseason. At least my Chicago Cubs are doing well...

Game grade: F
They blew their third straight winnable game. Could the grade be anything else?

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Had a great game up until "the play"
Chris Wingert-6 Quiet but solid
Nat Borchers-5 Decent until "the play"
Jamison Olave-6 A decent game for big J
Ian Joy-6 Played pretty well, got into the attack
(Robbie Russell 82)-6 Didn't have a lot of time to effect the game
Andy Williams-6 Played well early on, but faded quickly
(Clint Mathis 55)-6 OK but nothing special
Kyle Beckerman-6 A pretty solid game for Kyle
Javier Morales-3 Terrible. Tons of turnovers, free kicks were useless.
Will Johnson-6 Probably his worst performance in an RSL kit, but still decent.
Robbie Findley-4 His touch killed him in this one
(Kenny Deuchar 70)-6 Aggressive
Yura Movsisyan-4 As usual, can't finish

Coaching grade (Kreis): 4 Team didn't really come out very aggressive in the 2nd half. What in the hell is the Russell for Joy sub when you are down late? Is Nunez hurt? He's no Pele or anything, but he is a striker and has scored before.
Ref grade: 6 Fairly even, but let the game get a bit out of hand.

RSL Man of the Match: Kyle Beckerman
No one really stood out, but Becks was solid and kept himself involved in the game.

Assclown of the Match: Alecko Eskandarian
Seriously? You're going to give the crowd the "quiet" gesture after scoring a goal like that? You'd think he'd have hit the top corner from 45 yards or something from him showing off. Certainly not a cheap goal that a drunk monkey could have scored.

Game 24: RSL @ Energy Bovines: That's More Like It!

Ah yes, RSL has returned. After looking like they may become a competent team and finally make the playoffs, RSL has now reverted to their normal state, completely blowing the second game in a row now. Welcome back, crap team, how we've missed you!

Game grade: F
This is the kind of game RSL needs to win if they want to be considered a good team. In a fairly even match, they take an early lead and then squander it with stupid mistakes. The Angel goal was especially egregious with Olave doing his now-signature half-assed follow the ball routine (perhaps he's been listening to Sherry Bobbins? "Don't pout, don't sob/Just do a half-assed job...It's the American way!"). Angel then did a little swim move past Olave (who inexplicably collapsed as though he'd been hit by a semi truck) got the ball and put it in the net. RSL has to earn some points on the road to make the playoffs and in the last two they have squandered at least 3 (2 to LA and at least 1 here). If the reds can't remove their heads from their rectal cavities, and soon, the season will be over in a scant 6 games... Is an F a bit harsh? Perhaps, but if they can't even pull a tie out of a game like this, they don't deserve any better.

Player Grades:
Nick Rimando-8 Some great saves to help keep RSL in it.
Robbie Russell-5 Not a great night for Russell, too many little mistakes.
(Ian Joy 84)-6 Not really enough time to do anything.
Chris Wingert-5 Was overrun by Richards in the 1st half.
Nat Borchers-8 Without Nat it is probably 6-1.
Jamison Olave-3 Absolutely terrible in every facet. And we let Mantilla go for nothing...
Kyle Beckerman-7 Pretty active, tried to lead the charge.
Javier Morales-4 Too many giveaways, not one good free kick. Not one.
Will Johnson-8 Man, has he been a great pickup. We better make sure he is locked up long-term, and soon.
Andy Williams-6 OK game.
(Clint Mathis 59)-5 Did nothing, as per usual.
Robbie Findley-5 Beautiful assist, otherwise his touch killed him. Should've probably had 2 goals...
(Kenny Deuchar 78)-6 Tried, but was smothered by Bovines.
Yura Movsisyan-7 Nice goal, but like Findley, probably should've had more.

Coaching grade-4 I get the Mathis sub, but when you are down late you put in Deuchar for Findley??? And then Joy for Russell??? How about Deuchar for Wingert or Russell? Where's Tino Nunez? How about looking for the tying goal? How about 'fortune favors the bold'?
Officiating grade-8 Other than a soft yellow or two on RSL the officiating was solid.

RSL Man of the Match: Nat Borchers
Nat is retaking his title as the brick wall in center defense. He stopped everything that came his way (and quite a bit that went other ways). A great performance by Nat.

Game 23: RSL @ LAG: Broken result, broken leg

Sigh...kind of a tough game to watch. RSL really outplayed the Galaxy for 99% of the game and yet could only come away with a draw against a very beatable LA team. A Galaxy squad that was also missing Beckham and MLS's leading scorer Landon Donovan. Instead, RSL decided to use some defensive moves from RSL circa 05-07 to give up 2 goals to nobodies. And in the process, give up two points that will be very crucial coming down the stretch. In addition, the inevitable finally happened and Espi injured himself doing his celebratory backflip. To add insult to injury, the goal was waved off. To make matters worse, the official word is that Espi has broken his leg. Well, that was a nice 80 or so minutes he gave us since the first injury...
On the plus side, RSL did get a point on the road, which is sadly a vast improvement over their usual road result. In addition, Yura finally played a game where he didn't look 100% lost. His goal was just a right place, right time affair, but credit is due on the assist on the Johnson goal. That was a beautiful pass. Unfortunately, if you discount the 15 seconds that those plays took up, he was completely invisible in this match. At least it is a step in the right direction.
Overall, this is a game RSL could and should have won and one that will come back to haunt them. If RSL misses the playoffs, they will look back to this game as the point where it got away. That being said, they did outplay LA on the road and looked like a team that may be able to put a couple road results together yet.
GAME GRADE: B-

Individual Grades:
Nick Rimando-5 Put in a bad position on both goals, but if he's going to dive after the ball he needs to get it clear at the very least.
Chris Wingert-6 Pushed forward well, pretty good defensively.
Nat Borchers-5 See below
Jamison Olave-5 I wanted to give 6's across the board for the D, but those two insane scrambles that led to the goals (that prominently featured these 3) push them all down to a collective 5.
Ian Joy-5 See above
Will Johnson-8 Has been a great pickup; nice goal and was EVERYWHERE on the field.
Kyle Beckerman-7 Finally, some of the feistiness that's been missing.
Javier Morales-6 Meh.
Clint Mathis-5 Didn't really provide much of anything.
(Dema Kovalenko 67)-6 Nice to see Dema on the field.
Kenny Deuchar-6 Kept the defense honest throughout.
(Robbie Findley 75)-6 Why he came in so late is beyond me (did he run over Jason's stupid cry kids or something?); was ok after coming in.
Fabian Espindola-3 Broke his leg celebrating a goal that got called back...at least wait on the celebration until you know it stands!
(Yura Movsisyan 9)-7 Goal and (very nice) assist, yes, but invisible for the other 80 minutes he was on.
Coaching grade-6 JK lucked out with the Movs sub, but I'd still have liked to have seen Robbie get some extended minutes against a club that he would have something to prove to. Why exactly does Jason hate Robbie anyway? He seems to be SO reluctant to use him...
Refs grade-6 Would've been a 7, but really, does it really take 15 minutes to decide whether a goal stands or not? On top of that, there were a few foul calls both ways in this game that came in REALLY late. It almost seemed the ref was watching the game on tape delay or something...

RSL Man of the Match: Will Johnson
Scored a goal and, with Beckerman, was really the catalyst for the offense. On top of that, he worked hard defensively as well and was more than willing to mix it up.

Assclown of the Match: Fabian Espindola
I love ya, Espi, but 80 minutes between major injuries isn't going to cut it. Especially when it's 100% preventable...

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack: Crapids vs. RSL 8/29

Hey everybody, sorry about the long break since the last post, I have fallen way behind. Between work and vacations and everything else, I have been pretty busy. I did finally get to watch a game live (on TV) last night (hooray!) and so I'll do some quick grades here to start getting back in the flow. I have work in a half hour and have the cold from hell so this is the best I can do for now! Enjoy.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-8 Positioning was good, made some key plays.
Chris Wingert-7 No big mistakes, played 90 in a shutout.
Nat Borchers-7 Got slightly caught off guard a couple times but otherwise solid.
Jamison Olave-8 RSL's defensive rock for the night.
Ian Joy-7 Played pretty well, pushed forward when opportunities arose.
(Robbie Russell 46)-7 Had a very similar game to Joy: quiet but good.
Will Johnson-7 He was active and looked to be helping to push the RSL attack
Kyle Beckerman-7 While still missing some of that spark from last year, he was feisty in the midfield.
Javier Morales-6 Disappeared for stretches, had 8,000 corner attempts, maybe 1 was any good. Long assist to Espi was nice though.
(Clint Mathis 81)-6 Wasn't on the field long enough to judge well.
Andy Williams-8 Played well both ways, his assist on the first goal was a thing of beauty.
Kenny Deuchar-6 Looked pretty active but blew a header and was a bit too unselfish.
Fabian Espindola-9 Simply amazing. Best player on the field by miles.
(Yura Movsisyan 72)-4 Why this guy is getting paid to play soccer is beyond me. Should've had 2 or 3 goals with the chances he had. On the flip side, much more active than usual.

Coaching grade: 5 The lineup seemed to play well together but points off for the subs. Yura Movsisyan should be working at Burger King, not being the first sub off the bench. If you're going to pull Espi, and not a mediocre Deuchar, at least put in Robbie "I score millions of goals as a sub" Findley over Movs. Hell, put a wheelchair bound grandmother in before you put in Movs.

Ref grade: 6 Decent, but a bit inconsistent. Second half was better than the first but (especially early) he would let hard, obvious fouls go, and then call ticky-tack little fouls that no one should ever call. But for the most part seemed fair and eventually got a handle on the game before it got too rough.

RSL Man of the Match: Fabian Espindola
Was there any doubt?

Assclown of the Match: The Crapids
In a surprisingly (and somewhat unfortunately) low-key RMC match, no one really stood out. So I give it to the whole Crapids organization, just for being them.

Game 18: RSL vs. Chicago: POST 100!

Everyone party! The Review turns 100 today! 100 posts that is. That's 100 entries of my pointless ramblings for your reading (dis)pleasure! To be honest, when I started this I wasn't sure how long it would last; I'm glad I've stuck with it, it's been fun! Anyway, enough of that, on to the review!


First half grade: B
RSL played what was probably their most aggressive half on the road so far in '08. The attacking mentality seemed to work with RSL creating many chances. Unfortunately, the coaching staff stuck with the goal-anorexic tandem of Movsisyan and Nunez for a second straight game, meaning that RSL would almost assuredly not score. And they didn't, even with some quality chances. While I did like the
attacking pressure shown by RSL (and I think with decent, aka our regular, forwards in there it would have paid off), it did leave the team open to counter attacks, which Chicago took advantage of with regularity. Chris Rolfe especially seemed to be dangerous going forward, especially with the help of Loungais' (er, I mean, Blanco's) quality passing. Still, with some hustle and some luck, and after a hard fought first half, RSL took the game to the locker room 0-0.

Second half grade: F
Ah yes, vintage RSL, how we have missed you. RSL came out extremely flat in the second half, while Chicago looked like they had exchanged jerseys with an actual soccer team at the half. The Fire came out firing (damn, that's a clever pun) and had tons of chances. Luckily for RSL, their attack looked about as limp as RSL's normally does. And really, the lone bright spot of the second half offensively for RSL was Robbie Findley, who came on at the half. For the second straight game, Robbie came out like a man possessed, causing havoc for Chicago all over. Unfortunately, his best chance came early in the half when he took a misplayed ball into the box, one-on-one with the keeper, Jon Busch. Robbie fired low to the near post, but Busch made an outstanding acrobatic save to just push the ball wide. In fact, both goalies in this game were outstanding. Not long after that, RSL seemed to give up on the game, I'm not really sure why. Instead of trying for the win, they just bunkered and tried to hold off wave after wave after wave of Chicago attacks. Sound familiar? It looked very much like Ellinger-era RSL, and it was terrible. The clearances were bad and often right back to the Fire. Positioning was often questionable as well. No attempt was made to hold possession or move the ball upfield. Very, very ugly. However, despite the poor play, with the help of a couple great saves by Little Nicky, the defense held on just long enough for RSL to escape Illinois with a 0-0 tie (and a sorely needed road point).

Pros:
-RSL steals a point on the road.
-Findley again looked sharp.
-Rimando looks to be rounding back into the form he showed last year (when he should have been MLS keeper of the year).
-RSL's defense somehow was able to keep the ball out of the net.
-The game was on KSL so we all could enjoy Bill Riley on the call.
-Real Salt Lake stays in first place for another week!

Cons:
-Morales decided to prove Steve Nicol right by having a terrible game.
-Beckerman still doesn't look right out there.
-The bunker ball needs to go! Play to win, boys, not to tie!
-Blanco is hard to watch, his diving is infuriating.

Game grade: D+
A pretty good first half is wiped out by an astonishingly bad second half. The team showed little passion or fight in the second, which does not bode well coming into the home stretch of the season, especially considering how many road games (7) the team has left. With only a one point lead in the conference (and with the teams behind them with a game, or even two, in hand), RSL needs to look to get as many points as possible. That means playing to win, not bunkering for an entire half.


Player grades:
Nick Rimando-9 This game featured two goalies on top of their game.
Chris Wingert-7 Seemed pretty solid in his first game back.
Nat Borchers-7 A little iffy early, became a brick wall late.
Jamison Olave-6 A few too many mistakes.
Ian Joy-6 Perhaps a little generous on the score, but this was possibly his best game for RSL.
Andy Williams-7 The only consistent performer in the midfield.
(Tony Beltran 89)-6 Wasn't on long enough to make an sort of impact.
Dema Kovalenko-6 Pretty bad early, had a solid second half.
Javier Morales-4 Pretty much useless all night. Even his free kicks were bad.
Kyle Beckerman-5 Touch is still terrible, played better very late.
Yura Movsisyan-6 First game I can recall not hating every second he was on the field.
(Kenny Deuchar 67)-6 Actually dribbled (well, tripped) around someone!
Tino Nunez-5 Not a good game for Tino.
(Robbie Findley 46)-7 Came out like a man possessed; once the team refused to attack, his influence waned.

Coaching staff-4 Yes, it's a road point, but the Nunez/Movs experiment must end now and allowing the team to play like that in the second half is unacceptable.

Referees (head ref: Ricardo Salazar)-6 Perhaps let a little too much go, but most of the calls were fair and he seemed to take control when needed. Overall, an average performance (which for MLS is probably an exceptional one!).

RSL Man of the Match:
Nick Rimando
Didn't have to make a lot of saves, due to some decent defending and poor attacking, but positioned himself well, and when he needed to make the big save, he did. Well done, Little Nicky!

Assclown of the Match:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco
Dude, seriously. Quit your diving and whining. It's obnoxious as anything. It's the sort of behavior expected of an...assclown...how fitting!

Game 17: THE Crew at RSL: Good buds, good times, good results

I finally made it to my second game of the year, this time accompanied by my lovely wife and a charming fellow by the name of DCU Ben (who, on a side note, was allowed 10 seconds to look at the Ben Cup before it was returned to its rightful place). With lovely weather and some good company, a good time was had by all. Anyway, on to the game!

First half grade: B
The Royals came out with a bang-bang combination. The first was the shocking forward line of Yura "I play like a 4th grader" Movsisyan and Tino "Still just a rookie" Nuñez. The second was Javi Morales' gorgeous free kick goal from just outside the area in the 4th minute. What a wonderful way to start off a game! From there Columbus looked shell-shocked, letting RSL control the game and mounting very little offensively. On the other hand, RSL was a bit sloppy and unnecessarily killed a few offensive opportunities by slowing the attack too much (especially Movs), but they play reasonably well for the most part and took a well deserved lead into halftime. 1-0 RSL.

Second half grade: C
Whatever was said and done in the Columbus locker room at halftime sure worked, as the Crew looked like a completely different team in the second half. Part of it I think stemmed from the realization that the combination of Nuñez and Yura posed no threat. On top of that, the Crew came out motivated and RSL looked a bit complacent. THE was able to mount attack after attack (aided by some shaky defending by the defenders, minus Olave), but poor finishing doomed them. However, that all changed in the 64th with the insertion of Robbie Findley. From the moment he stepped on the field, he looked like a man on a mission, just barely missing a goal wide in the 70th. Minutes later (with the help of a fresh Kenny Deuchar, on in the 69th), Findley gave RSL the insurance goal it sorely needed, taking a touch around the keeper and burying it in the top of the net. Columbus futiley tried to answer back, but to no avail, RSL wins 2-0, and takes over first place in the West for the first time ever.

Pros:
-Findley looked great.
-Morales' free kick.
-Olave once again was a beast in the back.
-RSL is in first!

Cons:
-The backline (minus Olave) was pretty awful.
-Especially Beltran, who was consistently hesitant AND out of position.
-Beckerman was also hesitant and mostly useless.
-The clock stopped at 45 and 90, making it so you had no idea how far into stoppage the game was.

Game grade: B-
Yes, it was a 2-0 win, but it was a surprisingly lackluster 2-0 win. With the exception of Olave and Findley, no one really stuck out and the front line of Nuñez and Movs proved useless. While I think Tino has a future and is just not ready for prime time yet, I presonally think it is time to let Yura on his merry way. The dude sucks period. He killed way too many attacks with his clumsy footwork and slow mind. Back to the game, it was, nevertheless, a solid win over a good team and topping the standings (although both LAG and TST are only a point behind with a game in hand) should do wonders for the confidence of the team.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-7 Tested little, but solid when called upon
Tony Beltran-3 Absolutely awful. Mistake prone on nearly every play all game.
Nat Borchers-5 Some good plays, others were awful.
Jamison Olave-8 Nearly single-handedly shut out the Crew.
Ian Joy-5 Pretty meh.
Andy Williams-6 OK game, didn't seem to do a lot.
(Nathan Sturgis 89)-6 Very short appearance, nice to see him on the field!
Dema Kovalenko-6 Poor early, but really came on late.
Javier Morales-6 Brilliant goal, kind of dissapeared afterwards.
Kyle Beckerman-4 Poor touches, bad decisions, and worst of all, seemingly none of the passion he is known for.
Yura Movsisyan-3 Absolutely useless. I can has pink slip?
(Robbie Findley 64)-8 A one-man wrecking crew. Really should have had two or three.
Tino Nunez-5 OK, but not ready to basically be a lone striker (Movs didn't count).
(Kenny Deuchar 69)-6 Active, and got an assist, but missed a gimme goal.

RSL Man of the Match:
Robbie Findley and the kid in about row 20 of E37 (TIE)
Robbie changed the whole face of the game by providing RSL with strike ability that they had been lacking all game. He then put the game away with a sweet 78th minute goal. The kid earns it for his priceless line halfway through the national anthem: (in a whiny five-year-old voice) "Do I have to stand up?" Priceless.

Assclown of the Match:
The people running the scoreboard at Rice-Eccles
I wanted to give it to Schelotto for his Blanco-worthy diving, but I'm giving it to the crew at the stadium for not keeping the clock running into extra time like they usually do. Fat lot of good it does us to know there are four minutes of extra time when we don't even know how far into extra time we are. KEEP THE CLOCKS RUNNING, ASSCLOWN!

Cleaning House (Cordobas, Predictions, and Grades; oh my!)

Yes, I know there has been a distinct lack of content here on the Review as of late. I apologize and throw myself at the mercy of the soccer gods! ...Or something. Actually, I recently got a new job and am currently having a very difficult time adjusting to the hours, which has made it hard to keep the site up. I'll try and keep it up better in the future. Anyway, on to all that needs to be done!

First off, if you missed it, Matias Cordoba is gone, back to Argentina (thanks, SL Tribune). Apparently, he was upset with the paltry amount of playing time he'd gotten. Of course, if he'd shown ANYTHING in that playing time, maybe he'd have gotten more; I'm just sayin'. That means RSL has two roster spots and, if I recall correctly, they also have two international slots available. Hopefully Jason and Garth can get us a striker (Archie dammit! Or even Indra perhaps?) and another attacking minded midfielder or outside back (Kipre, come home!). Actually, let me revise that, hopefully they can get us someone who can actually put the ball in the net. That would be a nice change.

Secondly, let's get back up to date with 'Ye Olde Royal Predictions.' Here's my picks for this week:

Thursday, July 3rd:
Creamsickles 2 vs. REAL SALT LAKE 3

Friday, July 4th (Happy 232!):
Kansas City 1 vs. Dallas 2
Energy Bovines 0 vs. Crapids/Cripids 2
NERds 3 vs. LAG 2

Saturday, July 5th:
Chicago BSOF 1 vs. Columbus The 2
NTOTB 2 vs. TST 2

Last 2 weeks' results:
Week 13: 2 right (1 exact), 7 wrong (22%, 11%)
Week 14: 3 right (1 exact), 4 wrong (43%, 14%)

MLS Season Total:
41-59 [7 exact] (41%, 7%)

And finally, here are the player grades for the ugliness that was RSL at Kansas City:
Nick Rimando-7 Distribution lacking, but solid keeping.
Tony Beltran-3 Beat all night, passed to opposition, scored an own goal.
Nat Borchers-5 Missed a few marks, clearances were fairly poor.
Jamison Olave-8 A beast all night.
Chris Wingert-5 Too many passing mistakes.
Andy Williams-5 OK, but seemed to wear out in the 2nd half.
(Kenny Cutler 80)-5 Didn't have much effect on the game.
Dema Kovalenko-5 More poor passing by an RSL player.
Javier Morales-4 As leader of the offense, needs to do a LOT more.
Kyle Beckerman-7 Feisty and all over the place. Good game.
Robbie Findley-6 OK considering he was out of position all night.
(Tino Nunez 69)-5 Barring one play, largely invisible.
Kenny Deuchar-5 Wore down early 2nd, needs to shoot AROUND defenders, not INTO them.
(Yura Movsisyan 69)-5 Looked energized against his old team. Lots of effort, no results; needs to pass now and then.

Jason Kreis-4 The 4-5-1 got beat all night. Findley is NOT a middie. Taking out Findley AND Kenny for Tino and Yura???!?!

Officials (Head Ref: Alex Prus)-4 Let way too many tackles from behind go, often when an RSL player was headed towards the 18. Let the game turn ugly.

RSL Man of the Match:
Jamison Olave-Forget OnGoal, Olave owns the Wizards!

Assclown of the Match:
Jason Kreis-Ah yes, Professor Kreis! How goes your "How Not To Coach A Soccer Game 101" class?

Like I said, I will do my best to keep the site up in the future! Thanks for sticking with the site, I appreciate it!

Game 13: SJ vs. RSL: What's Indra Up To These Days?

Turdriffic. That's the word I'd use to describe RSL's latest 0-0 debacle at Rice-Eccles. That now makes it two straight home games where RSL has thoroughly outplayed the competition and not been able to win. I guarantee that those 4 points will come back to haunt RSL by season's end. Even now, it would put RSL near the top in the West. But I digress, on to the review!

First Half Grade: C-
A very boring first half. In fact, at different times I got up and went and got something to drink and then later to make a sandwich. Of course, I didn't miss much. The highlight was Jason Hernandez's stupid foul on Findley in the 44th for his second yellow (ie a red). Although it was scoreless at halftime, things were looking up for RSL. They had slightly outplayed San Jose at even strength; up a man, how could they not win?

Second Half Grade: F
By being RSL, that's how they could not win! A complete lack of finishing, which resulted in a game total of 24 shots, with a whopping FOUR on goal (according to the MLSnet Match Tracker). That's a whopping 17%! Seriously, I'll get paid to play soccer if that's as well as you have to do! Sign me up! Anyway, combine that with a very lacksadaisical attitude and an odd substitution of Nunez for Deuchar not even 60 minutes in and you have a 0-0 tie, even with the extra man. This was vintage RSL: shots missing the goal by 30 feet and no one providing any life or passion. Meanwhile, Kreis stoically stood on the sideline (at least, every time they showed him he was). Dude needs to get on his team, light a fire under them. They obviously weren't going to do it themselves. So while RSL completely controlled the second half, due to the man advantage, their lack of heart and attack leads to an F.

Pros:
-RSL still unbeaten at home.
-Rimando gets his third straight clean sheet.
-The defense looked pretty good when tested early on.
-We get Andy back next game right?

Cons:
-No passion at all. I think I cared if they won more than they did!
-Nunez showed me nothing in extended minutes.
-Is it too soon to call Cordoba a bust? He's done nothing in 2 straight starts.
-No one on RSL seems capable of keeping shots on frame.
-After only one game away, RSL seemed to forget how to play the turf.
-RSL really didn't (or couldn't because of poor passing) play the possesion game that led them to the last win over NTOTB.
-RSL has blown 4 easy points in their last two at home.
-You have to beat the expansion team, those are points ripe for the taking.

Game grade: D-
I really wanted to give RSL an F for this one, but they did only tie, not lose. So as awful as this result was, there were some minor positives. Although it resulted in nothing, RSL did try to attack and did control the game when they had the man advantage, as they should. Unfortunately, this was one of those games where by about 70 minutes in, you could tell RSL wouldn't score. Sure enough, I was right. But far outweighing any positives was the lack of passion showed. Kudos to the RSL fans who booed the team at the game's end. If that's all the effort they will give, they deserve it.

Player Grades:
Nick Rimando-7 Solid when tested.
Tony Beltran-6 Active but needs to do more with the ball on both ends.
Jamison Olave-7 Helps get a 3rd straight clean sheet.
Kyle Beckerman-6 Decent game, but as captain, needs to inspire his team.
Nat Borchers-7 See Olave.
Matias Cordoba-4 The guy is invisible when on the field.
(Kenny Cutler 67)-5 One of the few with any life, but didn't do much.
Robbie Findley-6 Generous 6; drew a red card, only legit threat in the 2nd.
Javier Morales-6 Some nice plays, but not his best effort.
Kenny Deuchar-5 For someone known for headers, his sure suck.
(Tino Nunez 57)-4 Too tentative.
Chris Wingert-6 Decent game, turf ate him up a couple times.
Dema Kovalenko-7 Starting to impose himself on games again.

RSL Man of the Match:
Dema Kovalenko - A tough call. Another game where no one really wanted it or stood out. Dema gets it for his hard-nosed play and for being one of the few at least trying to attack late, even if his shots were horrible. An A (well, A- maybe) for effort.


Assclown of the Match:
The whole officiating crew - I agree, Beckerman was offsides on the "goal" in the 73rd, I*'m fine with that. However, you CAN NOT wait for 3 minutes, after a complete goal celebration and everything and then call it back. If you don't make the call, you didn't make the call. I really think the assistant waited for a replay on the video screen and then made his call. Poor.

Game 12: RSL vs. TST: Some Home (Depot) Improvement

Well, while RSL certainly made it much more adventurous than it needed to be, they did go on the road, to the place where RSL teams go to die, and pulled out a 1-0 victory. The win at Chivas TST was RSL's first road win on the season and will hopefully start the team down the right path for the rest of the year.

First Half Grade: B
No, it wasn't pretty, but RSL played TST even (if not a little better) for most of the half. Neither team looked real sharp, but for a team that has struggled as much as they have on the road, especially in the Home Depot Center, RSL looked pretty good. While both teams struggled to create any definitive chances, it was RSL who was able to bust through. In the 34th minute, Kyle Beckerman played a nice ball forward from the midfield. Robbie Findley ran free and onto the ball, which drew TST keeper Dan Kennedy out of the goal. Robbie took the ball, ran past a chasing Klejstan, around a charging Kennedy, and buried the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 RSL. TST turned up the attack after the goal, forcing RSL into some pressure situations, but never really got anything on net. Halftime score: 1-0.

Second Half Grade: D
Wow. Not just ugly, but OOGLAY! Apparently Jason's speech at halftime was: OK, we got a goal, now everybody sit back in the final third and try to repress wave after wave of TST attack for 45 minutes. I hate this "Let's play not to lose" mentality, and it has cost RSL more times than I can count. In this game, it almost cost them again, as TST attacked again and again and again and again. Credit to Olave and Borchers who repelled TST over and over. Chivas TST's best chance probably came in the 53rd, when Utah native Justin Braun (who couldn't possibly have been onside, but I digress) ran free into the 18 and put a hard shot directly into the arms of Nick Rimando. Little Nicky did a good job cutting off the angle, but credit to Braun for making that one WAY too easy for Nick. Finally, around the 80-85th minute, RSL remembered they were allowed to hold possesion and even move forward in attack and easily killed the rest of the game. Despite facing a deluge of shots in the second half, with the help of some poor TST finishing, RSL was able to "Kansas City" their way to the shutout. Final score 1-0, RSL.

Pros:
-Findley scores again.
-The two center backs look very legit.
-Beckerman seems back to his old active, pestering self.
-Morales was all over.
-Justin Braun can't shoot.
-Rimando was solid.
-Tino Nunez looked pretty good.
-A WIN AT THE HOME DEPOT CENTER!!!

Cons:
-Cordoba looks lost out there.
-Second half tactics were, to be kind, atrocious.
-Another card for Olave. He's pulling a Mantilla 2007.

Game Grade: C
I can't really be too harsh, as RSL went on the road, where they are awful, to the HDC, where they are awful, and beat Chivas TST, which is always nice (suck it, Luis Bueno!). A very painful second half, but RSL showed some character in hanging on and earning the win. Now back home to face San Jose yet again, which will be tough. Can RSL beat them again for the 500th time in the last month or will the NTOTB finally have RSL's number?

Player Grades:
Nick Rimando-7 Solid when tested
Tony Beltran-7 Some iffy tackles but good
Nat Borchers-8 A brick wall in the back.
Jamison Olave-8 Big, enforcer style game; I love it!
Chris Wingert-6 Decent game, let "Whiny Sacha" get in his head a bit.
Dema Kovalenko-7 Much more of a factor than he had been recently.
Matias Cordoba-4 Did he play?
(Yura Movsisyan 62)-4 Mostly a non-factor, left injured after 25 min.
(Kenny Cutler 87)-6 Team seemed to settle when he came in.
Robbie Findley-7 Had a goal, and looked good even out of position in the 2nd.
Javier Morales-7 Pestered the goats all over the field.
Kyle Beckerman-7 Nice to see the old Kyle back.
Kenny Deuchar-6 Once again, hustled, but little else. Is he a bust?
(Tino Nunez 80)-7 Limited minutes, but pushed forward well.

RSL Man of the Match:
Jamison Olave - When Kreis decided he didn't want to win, but just "not to lose," it was Borchers and Olave who stepped it up. Both were great, but Jamison gets the nod for a couple well-timed, crucial tackles and clears, but mostly for the tough guy attitude that ran through his game all night long. Well done.

Assclown of the Match:
Jason Kreis - I wanted to give it to "Whiny Sacha" Klejstan for his incessant complaining (what is it about LA and whiny athletes/coaches? See: Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, the rest of the Lakers, Landon Donovan, etc. etc. etc.), but Jason won it with his tactical "brilliance." A not-even-totally-fit Yura Movsisyan at right mid? Robbie Findley seemingly playing left wing back? The complete bunker ball strategy employed the whole second half? As the kids say, "WTF?"

Game 11: KC vs. RSL Grades

I'm finally trying to get the Review back up-to-date so here's the grades for the 0-0 draw-that-feels-like-a-loss (DTFLAL) against Kansas City on June 7th.

1st Half Grade: B
2nd Half Grade: B
Both halves were very similar, with RSL dominating the possesion and attacking consistently. They also ended up with nothing to show on the scoreboard.

Game Grade: C+
How do two Bs make a C+? I'll tell you. If you thoroughly outplay your opponents and create as many chances as RSL did over 90 minutes and don't win, well, you don't deserve much more than a C+.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Got the clean sheet with no effort required
Tony Beltran-6 Very up and down game
Nat Borchers-7 KC didn't test him much, but when they did, they were denied.
Jamison Olave-6 Played well, but had a few too many mental mistakes.
Chris Wingert-6 Pretty quiet game for Chris.
Andy Williams-6 Involved but nothing special.
(Matias Cordoba 70)-5 I think I saw more of him when he was on the bench!
Dema Kovalenko-6 Decent game for Dema
Javier Morales-7 Really making himself the catalyst for this team.
Kyle Beckerman-7 2nd half was his best effort in a while.
Kenny Deuchar-4 Needs to finish some of these golden opportunities.
(Tino Nunez 76)-6 Didn't really get a lot of time
Robbie Findley-5 Finishing wasn't as egregious as Kenny's, but still awful.

RSL Man of the Match:
Javier Morales - Most of the good offensive opportunities for RSL were created by Javi. His confidence is visibly through the roof and it is paying dividends on the field.

Assclown of the Match:
Kevin Hartman - Dude played out of his mind and somehow pulled a clean sheet out of his behind. Couldn't you have just let one sneak by Kevin? Really? Way to harsh our buzz, man! (There weren't too many good candidates in this one, so I gave it to Hartman for single-handedly stealing the points from RSL).

Game 10: Shakin the Quakes: NTOTB vs. RSL

Wow. Can we take that 20-25 minutes to start the second half and play that way for 90 minutes? Seriously, it makes the bad play all the more frustrating when you see what the team is actually capable of...

1st Half Grade: D
I'm not sure how this was the same team we saw in the second half. RSL was gifted a penalty early after a handball in the box. Javi proceeded to step up, use his body language to tell everyone where he was going, and then weakly kick it directly at Joe Cannon. Honestly one of the worst penalty takes I've seen. The rest of the half was vintage RSL...by both teams. Ugly pinball play in the midfield, few, if any, scoring chances, just very blah. An odd substitution came right before half, with Findley coming on for a fine-looking but apparently injured Espi. It seemed odd at the time, but didn't strike me as being too important. Boy, was I wrong... Halftime: 0-0.

2nd Half Grade: A-
Praise the Lord! Robbie Findley has remembered he is good! After making SJ defender Jason Hernandez look like, well, ME, he thenran to the edge of the box and absolutely blistered home a shot near post, getting it right past the outstretched arms of Cannon. Boom, 1-0. The goal seemed to finally energize the royals, with RSL dominating the next 20 minutes of play. In fact, I don't recall NTOTB making it past midfield on an attack more than maybe once in that whole span. Another brilliant goal came in the 60th, when Javi came screaming upfield. Smartly, he held onto the ball for as long as possible, drawing two defenders, before laying it off to Findley. Sensing the danger, both defenders turned to go at Robbie, who read the play perfectly and put a brilliant one-touch pass forward to a wide open Javi. Morales took the ball, and after a perfect extra touch to pull Cannon off his line, put the ball expertly behind Cannon and into the net. The RSL flurry continued with a couple of possible (but would-have-been-weak) shirt-pulling PKs going uncalled while a suddenly renewed Deuchar wreaked havoc in the box. RSL finally got its second PK, although not from Kenny, in the 73rd after Morales put a perfect ball into the box for Williams who was dragged down from behind by Nick Garcia as he prepped the shot. Smartly, the Reds kept Javi far away from the spot and Kovalenko stepped up, waited for Cannon to commit, and then went the opposite way for the third goal. 3-0 RSL. So why not an A or even A+ for the half? After going up 3-0, RSL got lazy. Meanwhile, SJ pressed, trying to salvage anything from the game. It didn't matter, that is, until John Cunliffe decided to take the game over. He took a brilliant back heel pass at the top of the box in the 84th and blasted it past Little Nicky to dirty up the clean sheet. He nearly did it again just minutes later, just missing the top left corner on another rifle shot. Luckily for RSL, the shot missed and any possible lifeline for the visitors was cut. Final score: RSL 3 - NTOTB 1.

Pros:
-Findley returns to form.
-Deuchar finally showed up in the second half.
-Javier Morales continues to be an assist machine.
-The defense (both on the backline and from the midfield) did well before letting the 3 goal lead get to their heads.
-The team showed better vision in creating attacks.
-RSL continues their home form, something they HAVE to do, given their road woes.

Cons:
-Much of the first half was awful.
-The midfield refused to settle a ball and try and hold possession in the first half.
-RSL quit playing after building the lead.
-Espi left injured.

Game grade: B-
A tough game to grade. When RSL was on, they looked like world beaters (granted, it was against an expansion side, but they still looked THAT good), but for the first half and the last 15-20 minutes, they looked pretty mediocre. Overall, I think it's a solid win, but I'd like to see a better effort over a whole 90 minutes.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Didn't have much to do.
Tony Beltran-6 See above.
Nat Borchers-6 Did get beat on the goal, but looked good otherwise.
Jamison Olave-7 Solid game by Jamison, although, again, the D didn't have much to do.
Chris Wingert-7 Have to give him credit as every attack seemed to go down the left side.
Andy Williams-7 Active and attacking, earned a PK as well.
Dema Kovalenko-5 Had a goal, but was otherwise nonexistent.
Javier Morales-7 Goal and basically 2 assists, but a missed PK and poor 1st half.
(Matias Cordoba 79)-5 Pretty blah after coming on.
Kyle Beckerman-5 Did better in the 2nd, but never really made his mark.
Kenny Deuchar-6 Bad first half, second half was his best effort in ages.
(Tino Nunez 85)-6 Too little time to really judge.
Fabian Espindola-6 One of the few even decent players early.
(Robbie Findley 45)-8 Almost a 9, just a brilliant game from #10.

RSL Man of the Match:
Robbie Findley - It's gotta be him. The whole complexion of the game changed after he entered and his goal woke up the whole squad. On top of that, his goal was a thing of beauty and he capped it off with a perfect assist to Javi. Is Robbie finally rounding into form?

Assclown of the Match:
Max Bretos - For the last !@#$ing time, it's Robbie FindLEY and WaSATCH not Findlay and Wasottch. Friggin hell.

Game 9: RSL vs. FCD Player Grades

Hey, cut me some slack, I'm only a week and a half late! Ha ha! Anyway, I just wanted to post some grades for the Dallas game so that all my season rankings and such still are correct.

Nick Rimando-7
Chris Wingert-6
Nat Borchers-3 Was at least partially responisble for both goals.
Jamison Olave-6 Defense held until he came off
(Matias Mantilla 77)-5
Ian Joy-4 Sadly, RSL's best player going forward in the first half, but can't forget the red.
Dema Kovalenko-5
Kyle Beckerman-4
Andy Williams-4
Javier Morales-5
Kenny Deuchar -4
(Fabian Espindola 54)-6
Robbie Findley-6 Thoroughly outplayed Deuchar, yet comes off instead of Kenny...
(Kenny Cutler 46)-4

RSL Man of the Match:
Nick Rimando - None of the field players earned it, and both goals were not Nick's fault. I have to give it to someone, so I give it to Nick and his 5 saves.

Assclown of the Match:
TIE Bobby Rhine and Jason Kreis - Rhine for his complete overreaction and unnecessary "assault" of Javi Morales. Kreis for his inexplicable substitution patterns.

Game 8: Rocky Mountain Disaster

1st Half Grade: C+
RSL looked like they could finally get their act together on the road in the first half. They were able to string passes together and hold possession. The defense was shaky at times but held. However, when they were unable to get a goal to really set the tone, I got worried about what may happen in the 2nd half. Boy, was I right on that one... Anyway, a decent, but entirely pedestrian effort in the first half.

2nd Half Grade: F
I believe RSL has invented a time machine! They had to have, because that was vintage 2005 RSL. No defense, no offense, no nothing. Every player that attacked wide for the Crapids was WIDE OPEN. I'm not sure if it was tactics or just laziness, but the outside backs (ESPECIALLY Beltran) didn't cover anyone in the 2nd half. Beltran was burned again and again and again by leaving Colin Clark wide open and he was finally able to make RSL pay by threading a perfect cross into the box in the path of Omar Cummings who put it away for the first goal. Of course, after that RSL went into a more attacking mindset, which resulted in very little extra offense unfortunately. Too many turnovers by RSL when they could not afford them. RSL's attacking did help Colorado's offense, however, as the defense became even more unorganized and scrambling. It was during one of these scrambles that a ball came up and hit Mantilla in the arm in the box. PK, Christian Gomez, drive home safely. 2-0 Colorado.

Pros:
-Borchers looks to have regained his form, he was huge in the back.
-Rimando was solid again. How much do you think DC wishes they still had him instead of Wells right now?
-Deuchar finally started getting involved in the attack again.

Cons:
-Tony Beltran was absolutely horrible.
-Matias Mantilla was also horrible.
-Beckerman's first touch seems to be getting worse.
-Morales was injured and couldn't go.
-Espi was trying to do too much.
-For a Rocky Mountain Cup game, there was little to no passion from RSL.
-We lost to Colorado.

Game Grade: F
Yes, the second half was THAT bad. It cancels out any positives from the first half. For whatever reason this team is beyond terrible on the road. If RSL has any designs on the playoffs, they better get this figured out, and quick.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-7 Confident play from 'Little Nicky'
Tony Beltran-3 Atrocious. No defense and turnover prone.
Kyle Beckerman-6 Active, but unspectacular.
Nat Borchers-8 A rock in the back.
Fabian Espindola-5 Tried to take on too many defenders too many times.
Kenny Cutler-5 OK, nothing special.
(Robbie Findley 69)-5 Never really got going.
Kenny Deuchar-6 Needs to keep his headers down.
Chris Wingert-6 Hard to score. Great going forward, weak in defense.
(Dustin Kirby 87)-6 Did all right with very limited time.
Dema Kovalenko-8 Was all over the field all night.
Matias Mantilla-3 Clearances were terrible, gave up the (inadvertent) handball in the box.
Andy Williams-6 Performance dropped as the game wore on.
(Matias Cordoba 84)-5 Never really had a chance to get involved.

RSL Man of the Match:
Dema Kovalenko - He seemed to be one of the few capable of passing tonight. Or seeing the field and changing the point of attack. Or going at Crapids players. A good game on any night stood out even more because of the lack of quality from most of his teammates.

Assclown of the Match:
Pablo Mastroeni - Just because.

Game 7: Dallas vs. RSL

I'll try and get an actual review up, but just to be safe, I wanted to throw out my grades and awards for the game.

Game grade: B-
Too many defensive lapses (that, luckily, didn't cost us for once), but RSL seemed in control most of the game and pushed to the end. A fair result and a solid, if unspectacular, win for the boys in red.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-6 Pretty good game, helped by some bad Dallass finishing.
Jamison Olave-4 Didn't make a mark on the game.
(Andy Williams 40)-8 All over the field, involved in nearly every positive RSL play.
Matias Mantilla-5 OK, but Dallass got way too many open chances that they squandered.
Nat Borchers-5 See above.
Tony Beltran-6 A clear improvement over Mr. Joy.
Kyle Beckerman-6 Came on late in the game, goal was nice, but touch was AWFUL all game.
Dema Kovalenko-6 Hard nosed, solid effort.
Javier Morales-7 Solid game for Javi.
(Kenny Cutler 57)-7 Looked good in the midfield.
Chris Wingert-5 Odd game from him (and for him, position wise).
Fabian Espindola-7 RSL's most dangerous forward on the day.
(Robbie Findley 80)-6 Hard to judge, not a lot of time to do much.
Kenny Deuchar-5 Needs to impose himself on the game more.

RSL Man of the Match:
Andy Williams - Kept his head in the game and stayed active. Really helped push the attack. And his assist on the Beckerman goal? Perfect.

Assclown of the Match:
Ricardo Salazar - No, not for the officiating (which was surprisingly decent), but I can't remember when I've seen a ref get in the way of the action so many times. He even got hit by passes at least twice. GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY, RICO SUAVE!

Game 6: LA vs. RSL

1st Half Grade: C-
The first 20-30 minutes of this game were a thing of beauty. RSL came out and took the game to the Galaxy, scoring twice and nearly netting a third on a couple occasions. Both goals were solid goals too, both with superb service from Javi. The first ended with a gorgeous chest trap to Espi, who settled the ball on the run and beat Cronin to the far side. The second was a perfectly weighted ball that Deuchar headed into the back of the net with purpose. Then came Beckham's first goal. Given a 10 yard cushion by RSL, he neatly settled a pass, used his foot to set it up just right and then rifled what basically became a free kick from 25 yards into the side netting. And both Borchers and Wingert just stood there and watched it happen. Minutes later, Beckham took an actual free kick from around the same distance (but this time straight on net), put it over and around the wall and into the net. Many have been blaming Rimando on this one, but he had his wall there to cover the near post and put himself where he could get to a ball on the far side. When the wall got beat, it was all over. After that, RSL scored a third goal on a gorgeous step over move and pass from Beckerman, who found Deuchar at the far post who put it away. Unfortunately, the assistant ref was on LSD at the time and imagined an RSL player to be offsides when they clearly weren't. After this, RSL seemed deflated and coasted to half, 2-2.


2nd Half Grade: D
What a blah, boring second half. This was the RSL we know and love. Giving up possesion cheaply. Defensive lapses in dangerous areas. Shaky coaching. A complete and total lack of anything resembling finishing. Luckily, Nick Rimando seemed to think it was 2007 all over again and made some superhuman saves including a point blank reaction save of a Donovan rifle shot header from about 2 feet. Amazing. Go watch it if you haven't seen it, quality stuff. RSL had some chances of their own but never really challenged Cronin and never looked able to finish. Findley came in late and looked active out of his...right midfield role??? Did JK not watch the Olympic qulaifying??? The man is a striker and that's all. Get him up front! Yura came in even later and did his usual "completely stall the offense" routine. Cordoba came in with about 2 minutes remaining, much too late to add anything to the midfield. RSL limped it home to a 2-2 tie.


Pros:
-Beltran looks to be a solid pickup (I'm still not sold on the #3 pick) and looks to be a big improvement over Ian Joy.
-The RSL of the first 20 minutes. Now THAT is a team to watch!
-Espindola seemed to provide an instant boost just by being back in the lineup.
-Deuchar finally got another one (two, really). Can he heat up?

Cons:
-Nearly every RSL midfielder disappeared in the 2nd half.
-The first goal. Why would anyone give Beckham that kind of time and space?
-The phantom offsides call that nullified the go ahead goal.
-The complete lack of finishing capability shown in the 2nd half.
-RSL giving away 2 points they easily could have had.

Game grade: D+
RSL showed some flashes of brilliance, but basically handed the win away. And with the way this team plays on the road, RSL needs every point it can get at home...and they just blew two.

Player grades:
Nick Rimando-7 Stood on his head for a couple of those saves.
Tony Beltran-7 MUCH better going forward (and faster) than Joy.
(Robbie Findley 74)-6 Did well considering how poorly utilized he was.
Nat Borchers-4 Grade probably a little harsh, but we know what he's capable of.
Jamison Olave-5 Was solid, but mistake prone. A big version of Matias?
Chris Wingert-5 Back down to Earth for Chris.
Andy Williams-7 Pretty solid, for more than 45 even!
(Matias Cordoba 90)-6 Hard to judge, VERY limited time.
Dema Kovalenko-5 A little too quiet, knock someone's teeth out or something!
Javier Morales-6 Stellar first half, invisible second.
Kyle Beckerman-5 Keeping up his 2008 "Mr. Invisible" routine.
Kenny Deuchar-6 Great 1st half, seemed tired in the second.
Fabian Espindola-6 Brilliant early, useless by the time he came out.
(Yura Movsisyan 79)-3 Came on and was promptly outrun by a 80-minutes-of-fatigue Chris Klein. Seriously.

RSL Man of the Match:
Nick Rimando - Tough choice this week as no one really stood out. It was Javi's to lose, and he did by doing nothing of note in the second half. Nick's huge saves on Vanney and Donovan alone earn him this one.

Assclown of the Match:
TIE! Landon Donovan and the ref who called the offsides on Deuchar's second goal - I hate giving them to refs but that offsides call was SO egregious he earned it. Landycakes earned his AOTM for his near-constant cheap shots after plays. We get it, you're "tough" now...assclown.