Blog

Ask Chris

2008-12-18T09:13:00.002-06:00

As promised by Luis Arroyave, who writes for the Chicago Tribune and covers the Fire for the length of the year, here is the second half of my answers to the questions from his blog. To check out the first half of the Q and A and learn more about the Fire throughout the year, you can Google "red card blog" or just follow the link above to his blog.

How would you describe Denis' coaching style? Is he upfront and open with his players? Did you see any rising tension between Denis and Frankowski before Tomaz vented to the media? - Fumar

Denis is a mix of all three head coaches he assisted with the Fire. From this year alone, it seems as if he likes to give the players some space to think on their own and to allow us to figure out things amongst ourselves before he feels the need to intervene. He works hard and takes his job seriously.

I feel like Denis is approachable. Tomasz had a tough year with us, so from that alone, I figured he wasn’t happy with anyone in a decision-making position.

Would you ever think of playing overseas? Preferably for Hearts of Midlothian in Scotland? - Liam

Playing overseas is something that could be an option throughout this year and into 2010. I would not close my door on any opportunities to continue to play this game.

Which of your teammates do you spend the most time with off the field? - Anonymous

I spend time with most of the players on the team that live in the city. This year, I’ve spent a lot of time with Stephen King, Nick Noble, Jon Busch and Justin Mapp

Best food...KU, Marycrest or VWK? I prefer none but if I had to choose, KU. - Mike

For those of you that didn’t go to UD, these are the dining halls on campus. I preferred KU my first year because it was the most convenient. VWK reminded me of soccer pre-season and that was the only time I’d eat there. Marycrest had a great candy section. After my first year, DiGiorno pizzas, pizza rolls, BW3’s, Milano’s and Papa John’s took priority.

Chris, You v. Luis, Wii Mario Kart, Rainbow Road... Who wins? - Mr. Goodbar

I would lap Luis, and the only thing he’d hit me with would be a blue shell.

Hey Chris, can you vote for me for employee of the month.....talk to Charles, I think he voted for Owen last month.........have a great Christmas...Jimmy - Janitorjim

We have employees of the month!? I'll submit a "write-in" ballot.

Chris, have you been offered an extension by the FIRE/MLS yet and Have any teams overseas spoken about your services?!?

Who from this years UIC squad would you think could help the FIRE the most in the coming years?!?

Does McBride smell like Irish Spring?!? - DJ

My agent is usually in talks with MLS regarding new contracts, and he’s also been busy speaking to teams interested from overseas.

UIC had a good team this year with some talented players. From what I saw, I think that the goalie Jovan could be a player who could do well eventually. The CM, Baggio, is comfortable and confident on the ball. I would like to see Pat McMahon play some more, because I liked the way he approached the games that I saw.

1. How do you get mentally ready for a game? 2. Who is your best friend on the team? 3. Are you happy with the fires performance in 2008? 4. Do you have any plans to play overseas> - Aaron

1. I prepare for the game all week mentally, so when it’s game day, I try to stay loose and keep my mind off of the game until about 3 hours before the game. That's when I start getting focused by listening to music and going over the things that I’ve been working on all week.

2. I’m good friends with a lot of the players on the team.

3. I thought we showed how great of a team we had at some stretches, but we failed in the end. Of course, a top 3 finish in the league and a loss in the Conference final is something to be proud of.

4. It's something that is always a consideration.

What do you think of my song I produced on my page (not fully done yet) www.myspace.com/warrenolay/ "Get Off Me." - Produced by me.

Second off, would you mind staying with the Fire even in your prime (like DeRo or even Landon for alittle bit) or are you planning to go to Europe? - Warren

I like the beat… it could use a banjo or fiddle though.

That is something I’d have to consider at that time.

Question 1: Who is your agent? Why haven't you been loaned out in Europe yet?

I work with a company based in Los Angeles. I think loan deals are pretty hard to do, and we haven't gotten any interest to do that.

Where do you think the USMNT should play Mexico when qualifiers resume? - Kelly

Anywhere that’s cold.

What was your favorite goal this season? Is it the obvious one, or something no one's mentioned? Do you expect to get much more time with the National Team? What is your least-favorite team to play? - Patrickhattrick

My favorite goal this year was Daniel Woolard’s against NYRB at the end of the season. The guy has been a complete pro since he was drafted and he’s worked hard to get in the lineup. He got injured on a horrific tackle in a friendly and that was his first minute on the field since that mid-summer injury. He deserved it.

I have planned on playing with the National Team since I was 10, so I probably won’t stop planning on that anytime soon.

My least favorite team to play is our own reserve team, whom we play almost every week. Our reserves are the best in the league. They're always pushing us to make sure we're in form and working hard so they are ready to perform when they make it onto the game field.

When is Chris going to get to those questions from before, Luis? I'd like to make a bold statement: Chris's website stinks. On ice. No offense intended, but there is so much room for improvement there. First, get rid of the annoying dark background. Second, Stop making it so that it's just the box with the text pictures floating in the dark abyss of a background. Third, Please update your blog. - Pattrickhattrick

It took me over a week to answer your questions - sorry for the wait. I'll take your comments and talk them over with my web designer. More than likely, we'll leave it the way it is since we've only gotten positive feedback about it. Thank Luis for this blog update.

1.What do you like most about the city of Chicago? 2.What do you think of the state of the MLS? 3.What overseas team do you support? - Steve

1. The quality and variety of restaurants.

2. I feel like most teams are doing pretty well for themselves at this point, but because of the recession, the next few years may not be as profitable.

3. Unfortunately, I don’t have a favorite team, so I tend to support the teams who employ Americans. I'd like to see my friend Brad Guzan do well, so I'm behind Aston Villa at the moment.

A few years ago my friend told me he read you had done some sort of thing in Iceland. Is this true or was my friend just pulling my leg knowing about my obsession with the country? If it's true, what were you over there for? - Eiki

(i almost didn't ask this just because it's so random but after reading some of the other questions, i decided "what the heck?")

I think your friend got the better of you. I have never been to Iceland, but I hear it’s nice…

Just curious here, what do most Fire players do during the off season? Go back home? Train? Find a job...(since 1/2 the team make min. wage)? - John L.

Most of the Fire players leave Chicago for warmer weather, however, I’m not that smart. I take some time off for vacation(s) but usually stay around Chicago. I continue to exercise to some extent, and pick it up as the off-season progresses. The frequency of workouts, what I work on and the techniques all depend on how my body feels after the season.

Thanks for all the questions and interest! The winter must be tough without any GOOD soccer to watch, but at least those European leagues are still playing... Happy Holidays!

Muscle Activation Technique

2008-11-21T13:00:00.002-06:00

Well, I've been a little wary of writing this blog for a while now, but now I think is a good time to address it. In 2007, I suffered a bad ankle sprain that kept me out of the lineup for a goof part of the summer. Upon my return, I felt pretty good, but there was still an uncomfortable feeling when I stressed my ankle. I felt a little unstable, so I continued to rehab with the same results. I rested in the off-season and went into pre-season accepting the idea that my ankle wouldn't feel as solid as it did prior to the injury.

Near the final whistle of the first game of 2008, I suffered another sprain in the opposite ankle that I injured in '07. This time, however, I did not "roll" my ankle. At this point, I was directed to talk to a Muscle Activation Technique trainer in Chicago. After a long chat (I can be difficult to persuade) I agreed to meet with Ralph Klisiewicz, a certified MAT trainer and personal fitness trainer. I explained to him my most recent injury and he made sense of it for me. I was still compensating from my left ankle injury a year ago which put unnecessary stress on my right ankle among other parts of my body. After one hour with Ralph, my ankle felt more stable.

The best part about this "rehab" or muscle activation is that all I had to do was lay on a massage table. I don't know all the scientific explanations behind this technique, so I won't even attempt to explain anymore of it. However, if you are interested you can read more by clicking this link.

I think this approach can help people of all ages. I think it can help an athlete achieve optimal efficiency from his/her body. As far as my experiences with rehabilitation goes, this seems to be the best way to recover from an injury. Also, anyone dealing with chronic pain can also be helped using this technique.

If you have any questions regarding this, I will be happy to honestly answer them - just send a message using the 'contact' link in the top, right corner of my homepage.

And thanks Ralph, for making this my most successful (and pain free) professional season to date!

2008-11-01T14:19:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been about two weeks since my last post (or two months - who's counting though?), so I've had enough time to tally up the votes for different hairstyles. The polls are officially closed. The total number of votes cast were 174; a number computed after dismissing a few fraudulent voters who voted twice or cast their votes under the names of people no longer breathing. ACORN did not respond to our requests for interviews. The results are as follows:

Shorter w/ product 68%
Longer buzz 21%
Long hair college look 6%

*others receiving votes - skin head, hockey mullet, new-age soccer mullet and a mohawk

And the results have lead me to my current look. Thanks to everyone who voted.

Now to the good stuff - IT'S PLAYOFF TIME! We had the privilege of starting off this end-of-the-year tournament last Thursday night in Boston, while the other 3 games will be played today. It's a great testament to the hardwork, focus and discipline to be included in the top 8 teams in the league after 30 games. Starting on February 1st every year, each team focuses on a goal at the end of the year. That goal is to be 1 of 8 teams left standing come November. Sometimes it's not easy to stay focused on those hot summer days down in Texas or those afternoon games that reach 100 degrees at Toyota Park, but the team that is capable of doing that consistently tends to help their chances of making the playoffs. Just look at the 2 teams which finished last in the league this year (San Jose and the L.A. Galaxy - 33 points). They were only 6 points away from the last team included in the playoffs (New York - 39 points). That's only a difference of two wins over the course of 30 games. So that's how important some of those games are that may not seem to have significance at that time.

We finished 3rd out of 13 teams with 46 total points this season (13-10-7). However, the playoffs are a whole different story. Each team can forget what they did the previous 8 or 9 months, because once the playoffs start, suddenly everyone is equal again. Sure, some teams go into the playoffs on a hot or cold streak, which can help how they initially perform. Besides that, the slate is wiped clean. Now the league has 8 teams that believe they can win the MLS Cup. Everyone can see the prize at the end of the line, and it's only 4 games away. All 8 teams are thinking the same thing.

Speaking of the MLS Cup, MLS Commissioner Don Garber unveiled a new MLS Cup a few days ago. There's a short video of the event on MLSnet.com on the left side of the homepage under "Behind the Scenes Footage".

Keep sending in your questions as the playoffs continue through the 'contact' button on my homepage if you're interested in knowing more.

2008-08-11T18:04:00.003-05:00

I think more people may care about my hairstyle than me playing soccer. Or maybe you all are more vocal about that than soccer! So I will explain the latest story in full detail here... Typically when my hair gets to a length where I get sick of dealing with it, I get the buzzers out and get rid of it. I tend to use a 1/4" or 1/2" inch guard - pretty standard. Wednesday afternoon, I reached my limit with my hair and figured it was time to take care of it. So, I spent a good 20 minutes buzzing most of it down to a 1/4". Before I touched up the edges or made sure the back was cleaned up, I decided to run back over my head a few times to make sure I got all the stray hairs that I missed the first time (HD tv has made this process much more time consuming). I'd looked in the mirror a few times and liked the transformation. I was listening to the radio and they were playing some good songs. I was feeling good... Then I heard the sound that changed my hairstyle - well my hair length at least. It was a quiet sound - barely audible or even noticeable at first. It was the sound of plastic on porcelain. As I made two more strokes on the back of my head with the buzzer I finally realized what that wonderful sound was. Ahhh yes. That's it. It was the 1/4" guard from my buzzers falling into the bathroom sink. I started to chuckle and immediately wished my friends were there to witness it, because I know they all would have found it hilarious. I slowly lifted my hand to the back of my head (hoping that the slower I went the less chance my hair would be gone?) to feel for the bald spot. It all felt the same to me - maybe no damage was done! Could it be?! (I find it interesting that I can convince myself of one thing no matter how obvious it is that it's not true. My girlfriend would probably use a different word in that sentence other than "interesting"). Like before, I SLOWLY walked to the bedroom to get my camera in order to see the back of my head. After a few poorly aimed photos, I realized that I had indeed created a pale rectangle on the back of my head (see image above). And that's how I got my new look.

Since I am not computer savvy enough to figure out how to put one of those convenient polls on my blog, I will do this one the old-fashioned way. Feel free to send your answers via the 'contact' button at the top of the page, leave them under this post or make a sign and bring it to a game. The question is: What hairstyle is your favorite? You can write in your own answer if you want, but here are a few options to start you off:
-Skinhead
-Longer buzz w/ or w/out natural rat tail
-Shorter - pretty boy with product
-1990 Bowl cut
-1994 "pineapple" (buzzed head minus the bangs)
-Long hair, grunge college kid
-Mullet?

Let me know and I'll get back with the results in a week or two. The post below has a few visuals to help you make your opinion.

2008-08-11T16:56:00.003-05:00

2008-08-11T16:56:00.002-05:00

Our win Saturday night in Boston increased our MLS unbeaten streak to seven. Those three points had even more significance, because it brought us to second place in the league and one point behind the Revolution. That was also the first time that we've swept the Revolution in the regular season since I've been on the Fire. We did it impressively, outscoring them 9-1 in those three games. Right now it's something to strengthen our confidence, but we'll need to take care of business in November for it to really mean something. However, I know how much our fans love being able to say that we took care of New England three times this year, so celebrate it! Our reserve team also finished the regular season 2-0 against their reserve team with an aggregate score of 6-1 (so it's actually 5-0 on the season, but who's counting?).

It was good to see Gonzalo and Wilman score... it's about time they helped us forwards out! Gonzalo's goal is up for goal of the week. You can vote for him at www.mlsnet.com. It was also good to see Taylor Twellman back in the lineup for New England. He made his first start of the season and got his second goal of the year Saturday night. He's a player that I respect and who makes the league better, so I was happy to see him out there.

Here are a few quick notes about former Fire players. Floyd Franks is entertaining opportunities in Denmark right now, but I haven't heard if he's signed yet. Chad scored his first goal for Toronto in their 1-0 win Saturday (he's also up for goal of the week so we'll see where your loyalty stands!). Nate Jaqua is back in MLS playing with Houston again. The Chicago Fire still have the rights to Matt Pickens, but don't expect much out of that situation.

2008-08-05T13:54:00.003-05:00

The Superliga final is being played tonight between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo. The Superliga is a tournament of 8 teams, 4 from both the MLS and the Mexican Primera Division. The teams are split into two, four team groups until each team has played the others in their respective group. The two teams with the best records from each group move onto the semi-finals with the winners reaching the final. The tournament lasts for nearly a month in the middle of the MLS season, but during pre-season for the Mexican clubs. The bright side to all of this - the champion gets $1,000,000 prize.

Well, I guess I should be more specific. If a Mexican team wins the tournament, then the champion gets a million dollars. However, if an MLS team wins the championship, then the champion only gets $150,000 and the owner(s) get $850,000 because, according to MLS commissioner Don Garber, "...they (the owners) have to incur the costs of putting on the games. We're producing some of these games and they have to fly the clubs from Mexico".

Mr. Garber is correct in saying, "those players (on the championship team) are getting a darned good payday for... five games." However, at our club, we spread our championship bonus money amongst our staff and our players. Therefore, we would split the $150,000 between, at least, 37 people - possibly more. That means that each team member would receive about $4,054 before taxes. After taxes, they'd each receive about $2,878 or $575 per game. There are men's amateur teams in Chicago that will pay you as well as that. On top of that, Chicago's average salary, excluding Cuauhtemoc Blanco, is around $73,493. If you divide that by our 30 game season, you get a figure of $2,449 and after taxes that becomes approximately $1,739 per game.

So the grand prize for winning this prestigious, million-dollar tournament is a hefty $2,878 per player or 1/3rd of the average payout per game during the regular season, according to our team's salaries. In all reality, it would be a nice bonus, but then you realize that 85% of that is going to a different recipient. It just seems a little lop-sided. What would the owner of the championship team walk away with? Well, the average attendance for a game in this year's Superliga is 13,227. That's a good amount of revenue considering the final game's average ticket price is $37. Add to that, some other standard revenues like parking, concessions and merchandise sales and it doesn't seem all that "risky".

Also, remember that by adding extra games, especially in the summer, the risk for injuries increases. You don't have to look far to see how one of these mid-season tournaments had a terrible impact on one of our players this year. The competition is a great idea and it's something that I would be excited to be involved with. However, when you look at the figures, it just feels like our players are being taken advantage of. Maybe I have a biased opinion, but that's the way I see it.

2008-07-31T18:11:00.000-05:00

Our team has parted ways with two quality guys/players in the past week: Chad Barrett and Brian Plotkin. Both of them are friends of mine, as most, if not all, of their teammates would say. This is one of the more difficult parts of professional sports in my opinion. Our daily activities, our work together to attain goals, our locker room experience and all the emotions that go along with that make most teammates more than just teammates. So when a teammate, or two in this case, are dismissed, it allows me to refocus on how important my teammates are in my daily life.

Chad and I came to the Fire in the same draft class, 2005. The first thing that I noticed was how hard his shot was. My next thought - never get in front of it! Over the course of the next 3 1/2 years, Chad and I challenged each other almost everyday, which in turn led us both to become better players. We didn't get too many chances to play together as forwards, but the few chances we got, we had fun. Chad worked hard everyday for the team and was always proud to wear the Fire logo. I wish him the best of luck in Toronto, and maybe more importantly, luck in dealing with the turf!

Plotty has been with the team for 2 1/2 years, but I've known him for about 5 years. He spent some time with the Chicago Fire PDL team when I was still playing for them. At that time, he was a Chicago club soccer legend and a huge part of IU's national championship soccer program - something I could only dream of. Despite being a well-known soccer name, Plot was always friendly and a good guy to be around. That hasn't changed. I could always count on at least 12 high fives from him each day at practice (come on Skins...). I'm excited for Brian and what the future holds for him. He's got the chance for a fresh start and new challenges. Goodluck Skins-a-lot.

Those losses, however, have brought two new players into the Fire organization.
Marco Pappa made his debut in our win against Everton Wednesday night at Toyota Park. Brian McBride, as most of you have heard, will be joining us when his stint with the Olympic team in Beijing concludes. Both players should be able to help improve are team and to help us move towards an MLS Cup.

For those of you that have read the recaps regarding the Everton friendly, the red card tackle by a player by the name of Vaughan (I'll have to check that once I get the internet back) in the closing seconds of the game was horrible. It was completely uncalled for and one of the worst tackles I've seen live. The result of the thoughtless "tackle" could have been much worse had Vaughan's two feet connected with Daniel Woolard's knee directly instead of slightly above it. However, Daniel will be out for a while with some serious injuries caused by a foolish play. Other than that, it was another great opportunity to play a quality team. I'd also like to wish them luck in their upcoming season in the English Premier League.

You ask, I answer...

2008-06-13T12:29:00.006-05:00

Nick from Peoria, IL sent,

Chris - thanks for coming out to Peoria to play the Open Cup game verse the Crew. The Fire looked good and the game was exciting. How was the trip? What did you think about the support you received from the fans?

I enjoyed the trip to Peoria. The drive was no more than 2 1/2 hours - just long enough for us to watch a movie with a little extra free time (we watched a movie from 1981 with Bill Murray and John Candy that did a great job showing the generation gap between the younger players and John Busch - I mean the older players). We first went to Shea Stadium on the campus of Bradley University the morning of the game for a light practice. We were surprised by a large group of kids who had shown up to watch some of our practice and to get autographs, whom I'm guessing were on campus for a soccer camp. When we came back for the game that evening, the field had been watered and the grass had been trimmed to a nice level. By kickoff, the stands were filled and the surrounding standing areas were also occupied. A large group of our front office staff were in attendance, also, which was great to see. I've got to think that the sun was an issue for the fans sitting across from the benches in first half. I was playing on that side and trying to look across the field was difficult at times because of the level of the sun. It was hard to decipher who was on what team, which may have been apparent by my passes? Beats me, I couldn't see... In short, the trip went well, the people were friendly, the hotel food was bad, the field was great, the support was tremendous and we won!

Michelle from Dallas sent,

Hey Chris! What is your favorite place to play other than in Chicago?

I'd have to say, as most of you would guess, that my favorite place to play on the road is Columbus. I enjoy knowing that my family and friends are in attendance. That gives me an extra boost during the game. Another place that I don't mind playing at is D.C. I enjoy their field because it tends to be a quick, low-cut surface that is softer than most of the other fields in MLS. Recently, my brother has been able to make the games there, which like I said above, is always nice.

Rico from Los Angeles sent,

Chris, it was cool watching the U.S. National team play England, Spain and Argentina. I thought you would've helped the team. Were you mad that you didn't get to play those games?

It was great seeing the national team face up against those three teams. I believe that most kids growing up who play soccer fantasize about playing against teams of the that caliber. Of course I would have loved to have played in those games, but I'm not mad that I wasn't included. The coach chose the best team available to him, and whether I'm in that group or not, I will still be excited for the national team as a whole and the players involved. I'm very happy with the way things are going with the Fire and the fact that I've been able to play a role in our success so far.

Dave from Dayton sent,

Will you be watching the European Championship? Who is your choice to be crowned champions?

So far I've been able to catch quite a few games. I have been looking forward to this tournament since 2004. That summer, I was living in Romeoville, IL with a bunch of other professional soccer hopefuls while playing for the Chicago Fire Reserves PDL team. We didn't train until 8 or 9 at night, so we had all day to sit around and watch the games. Picture a decent two bedroom apartment with nothing more than a couch (from Goodwill) and a small tv sitting on a wooden table (from the dumpster) in the living room. Add to that a bunch of college kids including Drew Moor, Vedad Ibisevic, Danny O'Rourke, Dasan Robinson, Brad Guzan among others, eating microwave meals and/or fast food on the ground. All of June everyone was stuck to the television in our poorly furnished apartment just to watch those games. The tournament was exciting that year, but watching the games in that setting definitely added to the enjoyment, somehow.

This year I have to go with The Netherlands. Van Nistelrooy will do the creating up top and Van Der Sar will keep things tight in the back. If they get out of their group, I think they will have a good chance at winning the tournament. I also make a point of watching Portugal, Spain and Germany. Other than that, I'm not too up-to-date on my European soccer!

If any of you have questions that you'd like answered or anything you'd like to know about myself, the Fire or soccer in general, continue to utilize the "contact" tab in the upper right corner of the homepage.

2008-06-07T12:20:00.003-05:00

The 11th weekend of MLS games is about to begin this afternoon. I figured this would be a good time to analyze a bit of our season so far and give you a peek into the psychology of Chris Rolfe.

We're 9 games deep with an overall record of 6-2-1. That record represents the best start to an MLS season that I've been involved with. We are excited about our record on the road, 4-0-1, but a little confused about our home record, which sits at 2-2-0. So as a player, I give some thought to what could be different about my own mentality and approach to the game when we are at home. I've played in the first and fourth home games, with a resulting record of 1-1. The first game was a 4-0 win against New England with the help of a red card in the 7th minute to Larentowicz. How did I prepare for that game? Was I happy with my performance? Did I get enough sleep? How was my diet? Could I have been distracted by factors not directly associated with the game? What about the factors directly related to the game? Was it an emotional game?

So I think back to April 3rd and the week leading up to the game. First, was I happy with my performance? All in all, I felt that I did what I was supposed to. Of course, I could have been better at certain moments, but for this example there's no need to get specific. My legs felt good and I remember moving pretty well. Next, I look at the days leading up to the game. I don't specifically remember anything about training, which means it was probably demanding, but not enough to make me feel uncomfortable. We played 5 days before on turf in Utah, which can necessitate longer recovery time. I received a massage post-game and had a good meal with the team that should have enhanced my body's recovery. I slept well that week and ate routinely. Were there factors that would have distracted me? I had rented out my room during the pre-season months, so I was able to move back into my living space that week. The game was on a Thursday, so I didn't have the possible distractions associated with a weekend game. The game was to be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. That can actually help me focus earlier than usual for a game, because of text messages, phone calls and emails that tend to come when friends and family plan to watch a game on tv. On the other end, that can also be a distraction depending on how I perceive the attention I'm receiving. Along with that, the excitement was high in order to show our fans just how good we were. I was disappointed in how we played in our season opener in Utah, so that added to my insistence on proving ourselves at home. Thinking about all that I've written above, it seemed like I was happy with my performance, and all the factors leading into the game were more beneficial than harmful.

Now I fast forward to my next home game (the team's 4th) on Saturday, May 17th. This game was played against Houston and it resulted in a 2-1 loss. So i go over the same questions for this game as I did for the last. Did I feel that I played well? Well, for this game I was in a different role - a more defensive role played alongside Logan Pause in front of our backline. I wasn't as comfortable in that position as I was playing a more attacking role in our last home game. In the end, I felt as if I wasn't involved in the attacking side of things as much as I should've been. My legs didn't feel as good as usual which hampered me at times from joining the attack. My defense was sporadic. Overall, I think I could've been better. We were coming off of a seven day break where we played DC on the road. I got a very good meal after that game and also got a massage post-game. So that shouldn't have been a concern. However, training that week does stick out in my mind. On Tuesday that week, we did some lifting that stressed the legs and then trained afterwards. The team has done that on occasion this year, but this was my first go at it. I don't lift my legs much during the season, and a long lifting session could bother me for a few days at least. This could be a possible culprit for my legs not feeling great. My sleep was constant with a nap once or twice in the afternoons. My diet was the same as usual. My parents were in town that weekend and were in attendance at the game. However, they did not deter me from my regular activities leading up to the game. My phone was on silent and my windows were closed, so no weekend distractions occurred while I was sleeping. So I didn't feel all that great about my performance that night, and there were potential distractions and activities that could have played a role in that.

The differences from the two weeks included, guests, training styles, length between games, a few emotions due to the home opener and national tv, and the day of the game. A lot of that is uncontrollable by me. The way I see it, I can merely attempt to adjust to those factors. That's where, as a professional athlete, I can continue to "improve" or give myself a better chance to succeed.

Our game tonight against DC United is on Fox Soccer Channel. It's been 13 days since our last game and training has been quite different than usual. This is where compartmentalization comes into play. I set aside the factors that we've just gone over, and nothing else matters. Only positive thoughts are in my mind from this point on as I prepare for tonight - there will be no thoughts about anything other than my role, our objectives, my preparation and our opponent.

I hope this insight about my thoughts, which probably seem a bit crazy, help you understand a bit more about what goes into thriving to be the best I can be.

I also wanted to congratulate Brandon Prideaux and his wife on the birth of their first child - a baby boy.

To check out a little preview to our game tonight, check out this link and go to "DC United preview" at the top of the page.

2008-06-04T13:48:00.003-05:00

The coaches decided to give us a day off from practice today due to our hectic schedule approaching. We will play four games in 13 days between June 7th and June 19th. Three of those games won't be played at Toyota Park, so we will travel approximately 4,756 miles during that time period. Among our regularly scheduled games for this month, we've added a game on Tuesday the 10th of June for the U.S. Open Cup round of 16. We will match up against the Columbus Crew at a neutral site in Peoria, Illinois. Columbus has had a hot start to the season so this should be an exciting game amongst two of the top teams in MLS. We won this tournament two years ago by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in the final.

I have selfishly good news! I may have passed on the injury bug to my unsuspecting roommate. He was playing in a men's league game last night and was involved in a hard tackle with the goalie. The result, as we found out today, is the same ankle injury that I suffered last year in Toronto.

As most of you heard, the rumor is that Brian McBride could be coming back to play in the MLS. Apparently, Toronto has first dibs on him, but the Fire could look to make a deal to bring him back to Illinois. No one within the team has said much about this, yet.

Our latest signing, Lider Marmol, has torn meniscus in his knee during Monday's training. He had surgery to fix it yesterday. He will hopefully be back working out in three weeks.

I'm heading out to watch the U.S. vs. Spain game. Don't forget to vote for the MLS All-Stars that you want to see play at the end of July on MLSnet.com. And if anyone has any ideas for what I should do with my frequent flier miles courtesy of our schedule, let me know. I'm thinking of a warm beach city or maybe a ski trip in the mountains to give you something to start with...

2008-05-28T21:13:00.002-05:00

Phew. I'm finally done playing Mario Kart. Sorry for the absence, but the game is THAT good. I hope you were able to catch the game Sunday in New York. We played pretty well and were very efficient again in front of goal. I'll be honest, the games on the road this year have been pretty fun, which usually isn't necessarily the case. Wins of 3-0 at New England, 2-0 at D.C. and 5-1 at New York - all of whom are very good teams - have apparently made some people skeptical... so skeptical that MLS sent out CDT to perform drug tests on us today. We're not taking drugs, though. Just a few injections a couple of times a week, but everyone said those weren't illegal.

The U.S. played England today at Wembley, which most of you know. The end result was 0-2, but overall it wasn't too bad. We had a team filled with players not playing in the MLS except for Ricardo Clark of Houston. England had most of their top players including John Terry, Beckham, Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard. Josh Wolff was back in the lineup for us after some time away and Brad Guzan of Chicago played the 2nd half in goal giving up one goal that he could do nothing about.

Matt Pickens is back in the states and enjoying some time off. He's entertaining a few options already, for the upcoming season. He spent the last few months playing and impressing in England, while playing for the reserve team of Queens Park Rangers in the Coca-Cola Championship (2nd division pro in England). He'll probably make it back up to Chicago at some point for some Chipotle and a country concert, among other things. He was also in consideration for one of the 3 goalie spots on the roster for the U.S. in today's game, but he opted not to go.

So, many people have been writing in to me asking if the win Sunday felt like revenge or had any special significance because of Juan Carlos's untimely departure last year. The answer is actually no, despite what most of you seem to think. The only reason that I felt so good afterwards was because we regained a tie for 1st place in the league, we scored 5 goals, and we beat an in-conference rival. Maybe things felt better for our coaching staff, because they were the ones going head to head against Juan and seemed to have a better day. But I cannot speak for them. We still have to face them 2 more times this season and possibly more depending on the playoffs, so we can save any celebrating until then. But you all can feel free to celebrate as often as you like, and I'd encourage it. Especially the great group of Fire fans who showed up at Giants Stadium and were given tickets high and far away from the field - we still heard you! Thanks.

My eyes hurt...

2008-04-29T22:27:00.003-05:00

from two straight days of playing Mario Kart. I feel worthless, but I can't stop it. It's too much fun. Especially playing online with friends (one of which lucked out and beat me tonight but I will avenge that loss). If anyone reading this wants to challenge me, let me know your Mario Kart license ID number and I will accept the challenge. Stephen King and Peter Lowry made that mistake tonight and paid for it dearly. I hope it doesn't affect their confidence at training tomorrow.

I did take a break today to catch the Man U/Barcelona game this afternoon. Great goal by Scholes which put Manchester through to the UEFA Champion's League final against the winner of tomorrow's game between Liverpool and Chelsea. It will be a hard decision whether to watch the game or rev up the "standard kart L" with Donkey Kong and throw some shells...

highlights from rapids game

2008-04-28T18:37:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Justin, we have highlights from the game on Saturday...

Highlights

Meet the Team

2008-04-28T11:52:00.000-05:00

Last night we had our annual "meet the team" event. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sell any flat screens. Our front office made it a very fun event nonetheless. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. I got my hands on the the video game, Guitar Hero, for the first time and I was humiliated by fans of all ages. Thankfully, our goalie coach Daryl Shore, came over and boosted my confidence in my last attempt to play. I think I won the award for most active while playing though... so active I kept over-hearing people from behind questioning, "I thought they said his ankle was hurt. It looks alright to me...".

By the end of the night, I was walking out of the empty store with the new Mario Kart Nintendo Wii game and 3 extra wheels, which kept me and my roommate up late last night. Don't worry - today is an off-day, which can only mean one thing. More time on the couch tapping back into my teenage years! I've done a great job of keeping my roommate home from his job today, too. We all know that Mario Kart is more fun with a friend...

I'll be on my couch if you need me. And to all of you who beat me in video games last night, I will be practicing and I will be back (Joey, Jimmy, Anna, Mark, etc. etc.)!

Thanks for the pictures Julie

Rapids

2008-04-28T11:17:00.003-05:00

We grabbed three important points Saturday night at Toyota Park with the help of two impressive goals from John Thorrington. There aren't any highlights on the website because the game was broadcast in high definition, so I'll try my best to describe them to you from my memory. The first one - well I have no idea how the first one happened. But I know the ball was in the air and John was approaching it from the center of the field about 20 yards out and his volley hit the upper far post and went in. The second was off a great assist by Justin Mapp who crossed the ball on the ground to John at the far post where he took a touch and placed the ball in the upper corner again. Colorado pulled a goal back late on a free kick, but that was it.

A lot of you were asking about my status in that game. I was available as a substitute, but I wasn't needed because of the way the game was going. We did sub in Stephen King, Wilman Conde and Calen Carr who did a good job conserving the win.

Tyler Kettering

2008-04-25T18:50:00.002-05:00

After the decision of Dominic Cervi to try his chances elsewhere, we have been looking for a third goalie. Well, the search is over. We've signed goalie Tyler Kettering (great last name) who played last year with the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL. He's actually from the Dayton area, like myself, and played his college ball in North Carolina at Gardner-Webb where he set a few records. Apparently, he's the first player from Gardner-Webb to sign an MLS contract. That now makes four Ohio-ans on the team: Dasan Robinson, Kai Kasiguran, Tyler and myself.

Colorado Game preview

2008-04-25T17:04:00.003-05:00

My first week of practice since the beginning of the month is over and I'm... sore. But it's great to be back out there. It was celebrated (of course that deserves a celebration) by a late lunch with goalies Nick Noble and Jon Busch. Unfortunately, I still had to pay. Well I guess that's not too bad. At least I'm getting paid. I mean how can you expect someone who hasn't gotten a paycheck all year from Major League Soccer to buy lunch? I think his per diem from our trip to Mexico ran out a few weeks ago.

Next up is our game against the Colorado Rapids tomorrow night at Toyota Park at 7:30. If you can't make it to the stadium, the game is also being televised nationally on HDNet. If the atmosphere created by our fans is anything like last Sunday, I'd urge you to get tickets to this game.

Colorado is currently in 2nd place in the Western Conference after playing five games and coming away with six points. We know a little about their team from pre-season when we played them in Mississippi a week before the season started.

This Sunday we have our annual "meet the team" gathering. It will be held at a Best Buy store. So if any of you want to come browse the dvd section with me or sit in the 'surround sound' room and watch a movie, this is your chance! I may just try to sell an HD tv or two and hope for commission on the sale to recoup some of the money that MLS is taking back from my paychecks.

The Makeover

2008-04-22T12:53:00.002-05:00

As you have already seen, the website has been updated. There are some new features, updated videos, new pictures and new articles, so be sure to look around if you haven't yet. Give us some feedback on the ease of navigation, any problems you come across (let's be serious, my web designer is pretty flawless), and anything you'd like to see added or implemented.

For those of you who have been looking for an update on the soccer side of things, here's your tiny section.

The 17,000 of you at the game on Sunday saw how many great chances to score we created and how few we showed to Kansas City. If you only caught the highlights on MLSnet, then you didn't see the whole story. I watched the game with my parents from the stands and I appreciate all of you who came up and said nice and encouraging things to me. I wasn't on the roster for this game because of an ankle sprain that happened at the end of the New England game. No, it's not the same ankle as last year. No, it's not as bad as last year's debacle. Yes, I plan on returning to play soon. No, I am not made of glass or porcelain or any other fragile material. Yes, I set the record for all the pop-a-shot games at Slugger's last night after the Cub's game.

We have two guys on trial right now. One is a left-footed player from Moldova (Jared Montz had a great joke about this that I really want to put in here, but just can't) and one is a right-footed defender from Paraguay. I'll see more of them as I progress back into practice sometime this week.

The mood of the team is very good. We're 2-1-1 with a home game coming up this Saturday, which we are already excited about.

Happy Earth Day

2008-04-22T11:58:00.002-05:00

Today marks the 39th official Earth Day celebrated across the world, which was created by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in hopes of creating awareness for the deteriorating environment. Although we have done a good job of taking steps toward a sustainable environment with the help of alternative sources of energy, natural agricultural techniques, more efficient products and use of recycling programs, there's still a lot work that we can all do to help.

Whether you believe that global warming is truth or fiction or if you are uncertain of its cause, the environment is being affected by our throw-away society. Take a second to think about how much trash you produce in a single day, especially if you don't participate in recycling. Take that small pile and multiply it by 303,000,000, the number of people in the U.S. today. It's tough, but try to imagine how much trash we all produce in a single day. Now take into account the amount of energy you use on a daily basis: this includes air conditioning/heat, gas, electricity (anything plugged into an outlet is drawing wattage unless the outlet is turned off), and the energy used to create the products you consume. This continually pollutes our air, ground and water and has already drastically affected many ecosystems.

I wasn't aware of the impact that I was personally having on the environment growing up, but now I realize how much waste I've already contributed to landfills and the pollution I've produced and it's not cool. Some guys on the team and myself have been more responsible in the way we go about our daily lives. For example, we recycle when possible, we try not to drink bottled water (most tap water is safe to drink, but if you don't believe that it is, you can buy a rather inexpensive water filtration system), we don't 'red-line' our cars when driving, we use public transportation, walk or ride bikes when possible, we use more efficient CFL bulbs at home and we use linen bags for shopping instead of plastic bags. There are numerous, little things that you can do to help the environment just like we have done here, and most of it will save you money either initially or over the long-run.

If you want to start recycling, but don't know where to do so, check out this website for a recycling center near you. I think we all can do a little better in this area. And if that wasn't compelling enough for some of you guys... girls really like guys who care about the environment!

2008-03-27T22:28:00.002-05:00

Well, we're headed back to the airport again tomorrow, but this time it's not to play the u17 National Team, to eat unknown meat in Mexico, nor to play the University of Mobile all-decade team. Believe it or not, the season is starting. Saturday afternoon at 4:00, we'll be kicking off the season at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The forecast says it should be in the mid 40's with most of the precipitation coming down in the morning hours. That should feel warm for us after training in Chicago today. For those of you not in the area, it was in the low 30's with rain and sleet when we started training, which turned to snowflakes the size of Brian Plotkin's head. It was as if someone was throwing snowballs at us from up above. But because we're all so tough on this team, we continued to train. Well I guess I would've gone inside if I could've, but I don't think Denis would've appreciated that.

It's a great weekend for all you Fire fans as the season is about to begin. And it's another lonely weekend for all of the family members of the players. After being teased by having us home for a couple days, we're being drug away again... don't worry the off-season is only 8 months away.

Congrats to our national team for beating Poland 3-0 yesterday in Poland. And a late congrats to Chad Barrett and our under 23 US National Team for qualifying for the Olympics in Beijing.

A pre-season day in the life of

2008-03-17T13:37:00.004-05:00

The team got into Jackson, MS yesterday morning for our last pre-season trip of 2008. It's a good feeling to get this trip started not only because soon we'll be able to spend more time in our homes in Chicago, but also that it means we're closing in on opening day. On top of that, the people of Jackson are always extremely hospitable, which makes this week more enjoyable.

So I've gone over my schedule for a normal day during the season, but I've had some interest shown on the normal day during pre-season. I figured today would be a good day to do one...

6:30am - Hotel clock alarm goes off (Apparently the previous guest needed to be up early)
6:45am - Hotel clock alarm goes off again (Must have hit snooze the first time)
7:00am - Hotel clock alarm goes off again (Must have hit snooze again...) This time I make sure to turn the alarm off
7:10am - Cell phone alarm goes off
7:15am - Cell phone alarm goes off again (Yep - hit snooze the first time)
7:20am - Roll out of bed and throw on some shorts and a shirt and head down for team breakfast in the hotel restaurant
7:22am - Get back in the elevator and go up to the room to get my breakfast coupon that I forgot so I can eat
8:00am - Finish breakfast (Omelette, yogurt, fruit, oj and a glass of water) and go back upstairs
8:10am - Get our practice gear for the first training session and get heels taped in the training room
8:30am - Back in the room reading the USA today and attempting to get a few words in the crossword puzzle
8:45am - Change into practice gear, tape toes and get everything ready for practice
8:50am - Go downstairs to drive to training
9:00am - Leave hotel for training field
9:15am - Arrive at field and start warming up
11:15am - Practice concludes and we head back to the hotel
11:30am - Arrive at hotel, go upstairs to get cleaned up and ready for lunch
11:40am - Return gear to Charles, the best equipment manager in the league
12:00pm - Meet up with other guys in the hall and decide where to go for lunch
12:15pm - Walk a few blocks to a sandwich shop
1:15pm - Walk back from lunch to hotel
1:30pm - Back in bed (hotels don't give you many other options for relaxing) to watch some tv, read and check email - that usually leads to a nap, but being the 2nd day of the trip, I may tough it out today and stay awake
2:00pm - Write blog...
2:15 - Watch some tv and catch up on the NCAA basketball tournament - doing very well to stay awake
2:45 - Realizing just how tough I am by not napping
3:00 - Asleep...
3:30 - Phone alarm goes off, get up and rush to get taped for practice
3:45 - Continue to get ready for practice in the room
3:50 - Downstairs to catch a van to practice
4:00 - Leave for practice
4:15 - Arrive at the field and play 5 v 2 before training starts
7:00 - Leave field after practice and head back to the hotel
7:15 - Arrive at hotel, clean up and return gear to the equipment room
7:30 - Downstairs for dinner in the hotel restaurant
8:30 - Done with dinner and back upstairs to check and see if I am getting a massage tonight - I'm not
9:00 - Hang out with a few teammates
10:00 - Exhausted and in bed and finally done with this ridiculous blog entry

So there's a day in the life of a pro soccer player during pre-season. Most days are very similar to that, although I/we attempt to make them different depending on the opportunities we have.

...and let's cancel pre-season

2008-03-10T15:09:00.003-05:00

I wish you all could have seen this field we're supposed to play on tomorrow night. Unfortunately, I didn't have my video camera. It's on a baseball diamond, for starters. The ground in the "outfield" is uneven and the grass is worse quality than the grass in a pasture. The infield of the baseball diamond takes up the whole right half of one half of the field. The infield is covered with little strips of what felt like fake grass you'd put on your patio, and it was painted a bluish - green. It was so bumpy that even if I looked down and ran, I'd still stumble. So I doubt we're going to play tomorrow night against San Luis, but only time will tell. As soon as I find out what our plans are, I will try to update.

The poker King

2008-03-09T13:30:00.004-05:00

We've reachted the final leg of the "Blanco Tour". After a morning involving an ingenious fitness session that made use of all the tools Necaxa had to offer, we traveled by bus and plane to our final destination - Mexicali. I'm not sure which was more unstable, the bus ride or the flight, but we made it. I know you all are empathizing with me right now. Spending the winter in warm climates, going to the beach, not paying for much, weekly (sometimes nightly) massages, receiving free clothing and shoes, having poker tournaments, and playing tennis, ping pong, pool, video games and soccer tennis can be very draining. Okay, so we live a good life, but can't I still complain from time to time?

While I'm on the topic of complaining, Justin figured out how many days we've been out of a hotel or "at home" in 2008 so far. From what I can tell, by the time this trip is over, I'll have spent 62 days this year on the road out of a possible 72. In fact, I've been living out of the same Nike duffel bag containing the same contents the entire time, as well (relax - I find a place to wash the clothes in between trips).

Like I said above, we did have a poker tournament in Aguascalientes the other night. Everyone on the team was involved, and the winner was unlikely. Steven King, our rookie from the University of Maryland, came into the contest with little to no knowledge of the game and came away with the championship. Second place went to our second-year goalie, Nick Noble and third place went to nearly acquired forward, Andy Herron.

I hope everyone is enjoying the recent snow storm in Ohio and there were some snow days involved. If anyone feels the need to help my old, weak, helpless father shovel or plow our driveway, let me know and I'll tell you how to get there. (just trying to help, Dad, don't take it personally)

One last thing. If you do write in and comment on the blog, please use language that would be appropriate when speaking to a child. I've gotten a few comments recently that have had good content, but the language isn't quite suitable. Thanks for considering the overall audience for this site when writing in.

Roster update

2008-03-05T16:33:00.003-06:00

A few quick notes about our roster situation...

As the rosters were cut down, our organization decided to release forward Floyd Franks, defender Osei Telesford, and defender Jeff Curtin. We wish the best for all three of them and will miss each of them.

As of now, our newest class of players includes Steven King, Peter Lowry, Kai Kasaguran, Dwight Barnett, Dominic Cervi and Austin Washington.

Wilman Conde and Bruno Menezes participated in their first training since Bradenton this morning in a 2-2 tie with Necaxa's reserve team in a 60 minute game. CJ Brown also made his first appearance in an exhibition by solidifying the defense. Peter Lowry scored both goals - the first was a left-footed bomb that hit the underside of the crossbar, hit the ground, bounced back up off the crossbar and in. His second was from the penalty spot.

John Thorrington and Daniel Woolard also arrived yesterday, whom are both coming off injuries.