Ray Burse update...

On Tuesday, the United Soccer League announced its USL First Division Team of the Week for Week 2, which includes FCD's and Portland Timbers goalkeeper Ray Burse.

Ray tallied eight combined saves in the two wins last week over Seattle (2-0) and Minnesota (2-1). Ray was also in goal in the Timber's season opening 1-0 win over Puero Rico a week before. He has a 0.33 goals-against average, two shutouts and 11 total saves through the first three matches of the 2008 season.

Portland is currently in first place in the USL First Division with a record of 3-0-0 (9pts)...up next is the Rochester Raging Rhinos on May 8 at PGE Park.

Ray will join FC Dallas in San Jose this weekend and be available for the game against the Quakes on Saturday and the Reserve game on Sunday.

IndyCar's Dan Wheldon visits FC Dallas

One of IndyCar's top drivers, Dan Wheldon (currently ranked third), was a guest of FC Dallas today at training. Having flown in from Florida this morning, he came straight to Pizza Hut Park, first answering questions from the media then going out to the adidas Field.

Our kit man Marcus hooked Dan up with his own FC Dallas training gear, complete with his racing car's #10. Once Dan took the field, Steve Morrow introduced him to the team and then presented him a # 10 Wheldon FC Dallas home jersey. The guys then went out for extra 5 minutes of 11 v 11 drill, with Wheldon as one of the forwards.

It was all in fun, and Wheldon even took a penalty kick to cap off session. In typical soccer celebration, the guys then celebrated the goal as if a final was won.

While some guys stayed around for some finishing drills, we had set up a golf cart race between Dan and Marcelo Saragosa, who we knew to be a race fan.

Our staff had 'tested' the two golf carts - and the Pizza Hut Park one tested slower than the FCD branded cart. So, we put Marcelo in the FCD cart, and Wheldon on the PHP one (we didn't tell either of them).
The two got side by side on the blue lot....they looked at each other to say 'Go', and Wheldon got off his line real quick. Marcelo could only laugh while trying to catch Wheldon in the short race around the parking lot...everyone had a good time!

Fans can see Dan racing in town on June 7 at the Texas Motor Speedway when he races in the Bombardier Learjet 500.

Bundesliga...

You may have read a story or two 'announcing' that Borussia Moenchengladbach would be coming to the U.S. to play FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids...Stay tuned - as soon as we get word from Soccer United Marketing that the details are confirmed, we'll share them with you.

FCD at Revs date change...

Last week we hosted the New England Revolution here at Pizza Hut Park...we were expecting to play them at their place on Sunday, June 8. That game will now be moved to Friday, June 6, at 5:30 pm CT. The game will be available on the MLS Direct Kick package, and we're working on a local TV partner...

Timelapse video of Pizza Hut Park...

Our grounds crew staff tells us the field held up great - the weather's cooperation was vital, with the cool days, clouds, and little raining keeping the grass cool under the terraflor. We have another show on Saturday, then we have a two week break before we play again at home, so we should be in good shape for the May 18 game vs. LA.

We placed a video camera in the press box and began taping around 6 pm on Thursday, April 24 and stopped at night on Monday, April 28. The camera took a ‘half-second snapshot’ every ten minutes for a little over four days (so one hour was three seconds worth of video; one day was one minute, 12 seconds). In order to make the video shorter, we removed couple of overnight (dark) shots and then sped the video up (3 times). Click below to watch the four days in 1 min, 50 secs...

Special Guest in Training on Wednesday...

From time to time, we’ve seen FCD players interact with athletes from other sports, such as PGA Tour golfer Justin Rose, former Dallas Cowboys kicker Martin Grammatica, and most recently Olympic gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson. We’ll see that continue this Wednesday, when IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon joins the team in training. Wheldon, who won the Turbo Indy 300 yesterday in Kansas, will be in town to promote the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sat. June 7.

The English-born driver will hold interviews with media inside before joining the team in training around 11:30 a.m., where he’ll knock around the ball with the guys run and through some drills. Wheldon grew up playing soccer and is a huge fan of the sport, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do on the field.

Jimmy Buffett and EdgeFest 17 at Pizza Hut Park

Less than 24 hours from last night's kickoff, we've got the field covered and chairs in place for Saturday's Jimmy Buffett concert here at Pizza Hut Park. The RVs started coming in early this morning, and the red and gold lots are on there way to being filled already. If you're driving here on Saturday, make sure you read the parking rules.

Following the concert, we'll be working overnight to clean up, pick up the 11K chairs, and begin setting up for Sunday's EdgeFest 17 festival, which starts at noon and which will feature 22 acts playing on three stages - the main stage inside the stadium and two stages set up out on the blue lot. Acts include 3 Doors Down, My Chemical Romance, Blue October, Seether, Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, Finger Eleven, Filter, Miser and many more. Click here for the lineup and times of performances.

On Monday, we'll have all the pieces of teraflor lifted to give the field some more air - and then, the floor will go back down next Friday ahead of the Kenny Chesney concert on May 3.

The team is off until Monday evening, but our grounds crew, operations, facility, and business ops crews will be working pretty much around the clock for the next 50 something hours. Our FCD TV crew has set up a camera to record a time lapse of the weekend - this began yesterday during the game.

What will you be doing without FCD soccer this weekend? Golf, NFL draft, NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, MLB, MLS soccer, concerts?

We here at the blog are following the team's lead...see you all on Monday!

FCD 0, NE Revs 1

As always, a recap, box score, highlights, and comments can be found at fcdallas.com.

This was FC Dallas’ first loss of the season and the first time the team has been shutout this year...FCD is now 2-1-2, 8 pts in the season and in first place in the Western Conference...FCD’s all-time record versus New England is now 9-20-1, and 4-11-1 at home...the Revs goal in the 72nd ended Dallas’ streak of consecutive minutes without surrendering a goal at 252 minutes, the longest in the league this year.

Steve Morrow and Drew Moor talk about the game below...

Gameday...

Photo: Rick Yeatts/ FC Dallas

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It's looking like we'll have nice weather for the game tonight...it's sunny and blue skies out here at PHP right now, fitting for a night we'll honor Frisco Mayor Mike Simpson. This will be his last home game as mayor, so at halftime we'll recognize him for all he did to help get PHP built...

If you come up early, make sure to stop by the FC Dallas Experience, where Josh Lambo and Chase Wileman will be signing autographs before the game...we know the guys appreciate the support...speaking of, many of the players have also purchased tickets for tonight's game - not that they need to, just that they know it benefits the Frisco Education Foundation.

Following yesterday's practice on the stadium field, a bunch of the players and Morrow were requested for short interviews by the ESPN2 broadcast team of JP Dellacamera (play-by-play)and John Harkes (color), as well as Marc Connolly (researcher / stats).

The game will broadcast through the various ESPN International outlets to many countries around the world. For some of the players asking, we were able to confirm that it will be shown live in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil - as well as in the U.S. on both ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

Stats and notes can be found in the preview and the game guide.

Don't forget, $1 beers from 6:30-7:30 on the stage, and $1 sausages throughout the game.

Tune in...

As we get ready for Thursday's game, some of the guys have been requested for a few interviews...as likely happens to many teams, we have a few players that are requested often and / or repeatedly. When we can, we try to spread the players around - first, to get more of them exposure, thus fans can hear / see more players; and second, so we don't have to have one player doing all the interviews.

Here's what we mean...
* Dax talked with ESPN.com about the Olympic Draw...

* This morning, Duilio was on ESPN Deportes Radio's national morning show "Raza Deportiva"

* Steve Morrow had an interview with ABC Sports Radio this morning (UPDATE, cancelled at last minute)...he'll also be talking to The Oregonian newspaper who's doing a story on Ray Burse.. .

* Kenny and Drew will be on the Southwest Kia Sportstalk show tonight (KFWD-52, 6:30 pm and 11:30 replay)...

* Dario will 'chatting' on the ESPN Deportes site today at 2 pm CT (he tells us he'll take questions in English, if they allow them)...

* Arturo answered question's for Sports Illustrated's "Pop Culture Grid" (next week's edition)...

* Adrian will be doing an interview for a Canadian magazine today...

* ESPN2 will be taping player intros following today's practice - we'll do the entire team.

And, our own FCD TV talked to Marcelo, Blake, and Abe ahead of tomorrow's game below...

Abe and Blake...

A message from Cooper and Moor...

Frisco area residents may have heard that Thursday's game has been tagged as "Frisco Community Night." All Frisco Independence School District (FISD) students and staff will receive a ticket to the game, and portions of all other tickets sold to this game will go directly back to the Frisco Education Foundation - which provides scholarships to local kids.

Our players have made numerous appearances at schools over the past couple weeks, inviting the kids to game. Since we can't get to all the classrooms at all the schools, a couple of the guys made a video for the schools to show...we asked Kenny and Drew to come up with their message - and as you'll see below, they had some fun making the video...make sure you stay around for the 'bloopers' at around the 1:53 mark.

Dollar Nights...

If you didn't see this on Monday, we're starting a new promotion at this week's game. We'll have $1 beers available during an hour-long pregame on the stage and $1 Blue Ribbon sausage sandwiches for the duration of the game throughout the stadium.

We're planning on doing this for the four midweek games this year, starting with the upcoming game versus the New England Revolution on April 24 (7:30 p.m. CT).

Reserves: FCD 0, Chivas USA 3

Not a positive result this morning as Chivas won the reserve game 3-0. While FCD started a few guest players, Chivas was able to use the game to bring some players up to form - including Ante Razov - whose 109 regular season goals is second most in MLS history.

A short recap will be up on the sites soon...

Scoring Summary:
CHV – Ante Razov (Daniel Paladini) 20
CHV – Ante Razov (Daniel Paladini) 35
CHV – Atiba Harris (Keith Savage, Francisco Mendoza)

FC Dallas (3-4-3): Ray Burse (Mike Graczyk 68); Andrew Daniels, Michael Dello-Russo, Alex Fichera (Aaron Pitchkolan 68); Brek Shea, Eric Avila, Chase Wileman, Jamie Watson (Anthony Wallace 68); Abdus Ibrahim (Daniel DeGeer 82), Dario Saintus (Abe Thompson 68), Dominic Oduro

When the subs entered in the second half, FCD went to the more familiar 3-4-1-2. Dello-Russo moved from center back to the right side while Pitchkolan took over the center. Wallace came into the middle, next to Chase, with Brek moving across to the left side of midfield and Ibee dropping back to right mid. Avila then stepped up to play behind Oduro and Thompson.

FCD 2, Chivas USA 0

UPDATED (post-game): Game recap, boxscore, and highlights on mlsnet.com and fcdallas.com.

• This was FCD’s second consecutive win, bringing the team’s record to 2-0-2, 8 pts. FCD is now in first place in the Western Conference, and is the only undefeated team in MLS.
• FCD is now 6-3-4 all-time versus Chivas USA. With a tie and win, FCD has won the season series for the first team since 2005.
• Dallas is now 1-0-1 on the road this season. It was the team’s second consecutive shutout and first on the road since a 1-0 win at Colorado on June 23, 2007.
• Cooper’s fourth goal of the year places him in second place in MLS behind Landon Donovan’s five goals...Cooper has now scored at least one goal in three consecutive games, the first time he’s accomplish the feat in his career....he has scored nine goals in 12 career starts during the month of April...and, FCD is now 15-0-3 all-time when Cooper scores a goal.
• Abe Thompson scored his first goal of the year and 12th of his career.
• Dax McCarty, who led the team with seven assists in 2007, recorded his first assist of the year today. Ricardinho, making his first start of the year, registered his second career assist.
• Rookie Brek Shea made his MLS debut today. The 18-year old joined the team in Los Angeles on Saturday night, arriving from Portugal after playing 75 minutes for the U.S. U-20 team against the home country on Friday.
• Adrian Serioux, Duilio Davino, and Dario Sala have played every minute of all four games this year. Cooper has played all but three minutes; and Blake Wagner has played all but four minutes.
• Dallas midfielders Pablo Ricchetti (right groin), Juan Toja (right quadriceps), Bobby Rhine (hip), and David Wagenfuhr (concussion) were not available due to injury.
• FCD today wore the new blue-and-white striped road uniforms.
• FC Dallas returns home to face the New England Revolution on Thursday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. CT live on ESPN2 from Pizza Hut Park.

Steve Morrow on the game: “I think we started the game very well; we possessed the ball well early on. I think as each game has gone on through the start of the season we’ve started to move the ball a little better. We came in here with some big players missing as well; we left Toja behind, Ricchetti behind, Bobby Rhine behind, so to put in the performance that we did is a credit to the guys. The subs came on and did a good job as well. It was a real team effort tonight. "

In-n-Out Burgers...

A bunch of us went to the LA vs. Houston game last night...good fun game, and not a bad result for us. In fact, a few decent results - with RSL and Colorado also losing...

After the game, hunger struck a few of us...or maybe it was not as much hunger, as it was the fact we could get In-n-Out burgers here. If you haven't had one, you may have heard how highly many people talk about them - and the fries and shakes.

We dropped the coaching staff at the hotel and went out in search of the popular burger place. It only took about 15-20 minutes to find one, off the 405 and Inglewood. Keep going...

Impressive to see the drive-though line snake around the parking lot, and security managing the traffic. We know they were popular, and as we pulled in we were wondering if they were giving something away. We decided to park and go inside.

While waiting, our conversation turned to the number of people in the place. It just seems like a way of life here. In the conversation, since we're in LA, we discussed if and how celebrities come here.

Next thing we see is a guy in a suit walk in and place an order - apparently for a few people. As he waited, we noticed the flack jacket he had on under the suit - and then the curly wire coming out from his collar to his left ear.

Some young people walked in talking loudly about the black truck with rims that was parked outside, and how they wanted to go see who was in it. The 'suit' heard the chatter, and quickly said "you don't want to do that." Like that didn't make the youngster curious...

Next, he took three large cokes out to the car, and gave them to someone that rolled down the back seat window. The suit then came back in an waited for the rest of the order. Of course, now he had everyone's attention.

His order number was called, and he brought two large bags back to the black Cadillac Escalade. This time, he gave the bags to the driver - at which point you could see both driver and passenger wearing vests.

The suit then went to his own SUV, parked right next to the Escalade. The people in the restaurant anxiously looked out the window, hoping to get a glimpse of who may be in the vehicle.

So now you want to know who was in the SUV, right...well, we don't know either...Our guess - a musician, actor, and / or some political personality...either way - they also apparently like In-n-Out burgers.

On the road again...

As this is our first regular season road trip out of state, the little bit of chaos we encountered upon arrival today in Los Angeles was somewhat expected, and those of you that followed our road trips last year will agree...keep reading...
First, there was a morning practice; followed by lunch in the locker room lounge; followed by a bus trip to the airport. The flight was scheduled for 2:50 pm CT, and left on time.

Most of the guys have window and aisle seats. Even more interesting was to see a tall volleyball player in a middle seat. He'd just been eliminated from today's AVP Croc's Tourney at the Ballpark in Arlington, and we're not too sure how comfortable he was with his knees hitting the seat in front.

The flight was relatively smooth. We landed on time, at 4 pm PT....and...here we go...

About an hour after we arrive, the bags start coming around the carousel. Our team admin had gone to pick up the rental van and was on his way to the hotel. The league had scheduled a 401K meeting for the players at the hotel, for 5 pm.

The bus that comes to pick us up at the airport circles around a few times - security won't let him park and wait for us. Finally, we see him on one of his 'cycles', and stop him. After explaining that we're waiting for the bags, he informs us that he may not be able to wait much longer, since he's supposed to pick up Houston to take them to the stadium (Houston plays LA tonight).

Of course this surprised us. Surely they would have another bus. Taking a deep breath, we asked if they could call another bus to pick up Houston, since at this point, the bags were coming out. We run in, and while the carousel is moving, no more bags are being sent around.

A quick check revealed we were missing ten bags - eight equipment and three personal ones. One of the bags has all the uniforms.

We get all the players and coaches on the bus, and two staffers stay back and head to the airlines office, with bag descriptions.

The bus pulls into the hotel, and the Houston players and coaches are all waiting outside. We unload, they load up, and before we get everyone in the lobby the bus is moving again. It's now about 5:50 pm.

Some fans are waiting in the lobby, asking for photos and autographs. Ray Burse was here also.

We get everyone up to the second floor for their meeting. Team admin had already gathered all the keys, and gave each theirs as they entered the meeting. Then, we go back downstairs and start hauling the 20 or so bags that did make it, up to the rooms.

At the same time, we get a call from the airport. The others bags have arrived, on a different flight. Team admin takes the van to pick up the other staffers, and bags. Brek, Ibee, and Wallace are not here yet. They're coming in from NY, and should be here this evening.

Dinner is set for 6:30 pm - and a bunch of us are heading to the stadium to catch the LA vs. Houston game...that is, as soon as the van gets back, with the other bags.

Getting ready for two...

On Saturday, we're planning on taking most of the team to LA since we've got two games scheduled against Chivas USA. The first team game is on Sunday at 7 pm CT (KFWD-52, Lochranns Irish Pub), and then the Reserve Division game on Monday morning.

Adrian return to training today, so did Arturo. We also brought in Alex Fichera, who will join Jamie Watson, Mike Graczyk, Dario Saintus, and Daniel DeGeer as guest players for the Reserve Game.

The interesting note with Alex is that he was one of the 18 Finalist from the recently completed Sueno MLS event. Unlike some of the other finalists, Alex is no longer eligible to play in school, therefore can be signed to the short-term weekend contract that comes with being a guest player.

We had been trying to move the reserve game to Sunday night, but it appears that neither the league nor Chivas USA were willing to budge. As it is, instead of returning in the afternoon on Monday, we'll be arriving around 11:30 pm - normally not an issue, but with a Thursday game...well, it is what it is...

Atletico Paranaense's New Jersey

On Thursday evening, we received the flattering news that our Brazilian partner, Clube Atletico Paranaense, formally introduced their uniforms for 2008 - including a third kit which is a tribute to FC Dallas.

Here's the team's official site with some photos, including the commonly known red-black verticle striped kit.

CAP sent us this link to a site run by their fans, which has the photo to the right plus others.

FCD has done something similar before, when we used the blue-yellow uniform to honor our partnership with Tigres back in 2006. Management has been and ic continuing to explore this concept again. We'll keep you updated if it happens.

FCD Joins U.S. Development Academy

Gabriel Funes, 17, is one of four players invited to join the new youth initiative.
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We kind of let this news out last month, and today, the U.S. Soccer Federation made it official. FC Dallas is among the 12 new clubs that were selected to join the U.S. Development Academy program in 2008-09. In order to better identify the club's elite youth teams, we'll call this the FC Dallas Juniors program. FC Dallas will soon send out an official press release with complete details about the FC Dallas Juniors program. Keep reading...

Gabriel Funes (17, Arlington; above), Alexei Reyes (16, Dallas), Noel Luna (17, Fort Worth), and Rafael Martinez (16, Dallas) have been identified by FC Dallas as the first players invited to form the FC Dallas Juniors. These four players were selected from the Sueño MLS tryout event held at Pizza Hut Park earlier this year.

FC Dallas, the Los Angeles Galaxy and the New England Revolution were added to the Academy, bringing the number of MLS teams to nine overall. They join the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, D.C. United and New York Red Bulls as Development Academy participants. The Kansas City Wizards will join in 2009-10. The other nine new clubs in 2008 come from Texas and California.

Launched in the fall of 2007 after a detailed review of player development systems in the U.S. and across the world, the Development Academy has provided over 3,000 players, 400 coaches and 500 referees with a nationally-coordinated program designed to enhance their development environment. Focusing on all aspects of player development, the Academy has improved the training environment, provided relevant, high-level matches on a consistent basis, increased the level and efficiency of scouting for the national teams and provided players, coaches and referees with structured programming.

16 Count...

Despite having Wednesday off, it was not enough time to get some of the guys back out on the training field. For the second time this week, we had 16 players available for training. We're still optimistic that Pablo, Arturo, and Juan could be ready for Sunday, though we'll have to see how they respond to the rest before we leave on Saturday.

Dario and Steve preview the upcoming game (in English)...


Dario, in Spanish...

Meanwhile, over in Portugal...

While today was an off-day for the guys here in Frisco, three FCD players suited up for the U.S. U-20 team in the Campos Verde International Tournament in Beja, Portugal.

On Tuesday, April 15, the U.S. lost to the Cape Verde U-20's 3-1, with the lone U.S. goal coming from FCD's Brek Shea (left). FCD teammates Anthony Wallace, the U.S. captain, andIbee Ibrahim joined Brek in playing 90 minutes.

Today, Brek wore the captain's armband for the U.S. in a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland. Wallace and Ibrahim did not play today.

The U.S. will finish up the round-robin tournament against hosts Portugal on Friday, April 18.

Comments from Alex...

Last week, we told you that Alex Yi had decided to retire from professional soccer. Here's the press release. We had asked Alex if we could tape him for an FCD TV episode, or at least get comments for the sites. He said no problem, but asked us if we could wait until after the game versus New York.

When we asked him why, he told us that he didn't want to take any attention away from the team as they prepared for the home game. On Sunday, he sent us the following to share with you.

======================

First of all I would like to apologize to all those who are huge fans of FCDTV, I was offered the idea of doing something on camera but turned the opportunity down. I must say that I'm a little camera-shy and not as savvy as Chris Gbandi at saying good-byes.

I feel it was time to stop playing soccer for a couple different reasons. The main reasons for me were my constant hamstring injuries, obviously, and my strong desire to finish school. Before I had the chance to really think about retirement seriously, I was always excited at the prospect of continuing my education after my career. That time has arrived sooner than later, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity.

Soccer will always be a passion, an obsession really. I've had an amazing life playing with some of the best players in the country and even the world. I have old teammates all around the league and different leagues around the world; many, many memories and friendships to last a lifetime.

I know soccer will always be in my life – if it's coaching and training kids, kicking a ball around on weekends - I will always love this sport, not just for the amazing spectacle that it is but for everything it has given and taught me.

I want to thank everyone for their support: the FC Dallas coaching staff, past and present; Marcus Owens, Josh Watts, Daniel Granados and Robbie Cox.

I want to thank the fans and supporters of FC Dallas.

Finally and most importantly I want to thank my teammates. I have had the best teammates any player in this league can ask for, through the most difficult times I have always been given unbelievable support and I thank you guys for that.

I know how hard we've all worked for the season and I truly believe there is something special in this locker room.

See you at PHP!

Thanks,

Alex

Missing a few...

Small numbers at practice today...

With four players out of town, one recently retired, Rhine, Wagenfuhr, and Lambo injured, and Adrian out while attending to personal matters, we went to practice expecting to see 19 players training.

However, Toja stayed in to do weights and get treatment on his left quad; Pablo, whose left knee if feeling better, had to leave practice early with a groin strain; and Arturo working on the side getting over a tender hamstring, it left 16 roster players available for training.

The did some possession work and then split the guys into two teams for a passing/shooting drill and race.

We're looking forward to Wednesday's off day, hoping to get at least 3-4 guys back into training on Thursday and Friday.

Recovery Day...

Before the start of today's 'practice', Kenny, Steve, and Dario did some interviews for the local NBC, ABC, and Telemundo sportscasts.

With most of the players having played in the two games over this past weekend, and with the next game not until Sunday, today was a pretty light session. After a short jog around the complex, the guys teamed up in two’s and played each other in a round of soccer golf.

A few guys stayed inside recovering from injuries, while others took advantage of the light day to recover from knocks they took over the weekend.

In addition, Ray returned to Portland this morning; Ibee, Brek, and Wallace are in Portugal; and Sheldon Emmanuel and Matt Graczyk went home on Sunday evening. One kind of new face was the return of Jamie Watson, who will be with the team this week.

They’ll get in a session on Tuesday morning before taking Wednesday off.

Oh, and same drill as before: if you want to help your favorite blog people out, let the media know you appreciate their coverage of your team.

FCD 0, SMU 1

SMU proved againt to be a tough opponent. Today, they took an early lead and then held on for 87 minutes to defeat FCD 1-0 at PHP.

Dallas played with three forwards for the duration, with Ricardinho getting the best chance in the 40th when he beat the keeper on the left side then hit the left post while two defenders stood on the goalline.

Saragosa received two yellows in the first half, but Dallas brought in former SMU player Dario Saintus to keep 11 on the field for the second half....Brek Shea, Anthony Wallace, and Abdus Ibrahim were not available, as they flew to New York to meet up with the U.S. U-20 team for their trip to Portugal tonight. All are expected to fly to LA next weekend for the Chivas games.

FCD lineup (3-4-3): Ray Burse (Matt Graczyk* 46), Sheldon Emmanuel*, Aaron Pitchkolan, Andrew Daniels, Chase Wileman, Marcelo Saragosa (Dario Saintus* 46), Eric Avila, Michael Dello-Russo, Ricardinho, Dominic Oduro, Abe Thompson. (*guest players)

FCD 2, NYRB 0

UPDATED (11 pm CT) - First win of the year, now with a record of 1-0-2, 5 points. Only FCD and Chicago are undefeated through three weeks.

• With the win, FC Dallas evens its all-time regular season record at 162-162-47.
• FCD now is 15-14-2 all-time versus New York.
• Alvarez’s goal just 51 seconds into the game was the second fastest goal ever scored by a Dallas player. The fastest goal ever was scored by Aaron Pitchkolan, when he tallied 31 seconds into his first career start on May 22, 2005 in a 5-2 win at Chivas USA.
• Cooper scored his league-leading third goal of the year. This was Cooper’s first goal at home since Oct. 7, 2006 in a 2-1 win versus LA at Pizza Hut Park.
• FCD is now 14-0-3 all-time when Cooper scores a goal since he joined MLS in 2006.
• Serioux tonight registered his first career assist.
• Dario Sala registered his 12th career shutout. Last year, FCD registered its first shutout on June 14, which was the 13th game of the year.
• Dallas used the same starting 11 as last game, a 3-3 draw at Houston.

Free Hats...

It's hat give-away (above) on Saturday night for the first 5,000 fans through the gates for the FCD vs. New York game. Gates open at 6:30 pm (kickoff is 7:30 pm).

Here's what we're looking at in terms of available players: Lambo (jaw), Wagenfuhr (concussion), and Rhine (hip) are out; Cooper and McCarty are probable as both missed some practices this week with sore backs. Marcelo returned to training this week so he should be available. Everyone else is available.

Ray Burse will be flying in from Portland, expecting to arrive around 11:30 am on Saturday (he's not on an American flight, though it is Alaskan, which we're told is run by American). We've also called up MLS pool goalkeeper Matt Graczyk so he'll also be available. Graczyk, from New Mexico, was selected by Colorado in the 08 Supplemental Draft.

Brek, Wallace, and Ibee have early flights on Sunday for Portugal. We're looking to see if they can take later flights so they can play in the scrimmage against SMU that morning (10 am, adidas Field).

Here's the preview and game guide.

Talking with: Dax and Adrian

Hablando con: Juan Toja

For our Spanish viewers / listeners...

What a storm!

The talk this morning here at the office was last night's weather. Fortunately, it appears that no one here sustained personal or (much) property damage from the strong winds and voilent storm that passed through the Metroplex overnight.

Many had stories of fallen trees and power loss, as well as laughter at spending time huddled in closets and bathrooms while the storm passed through and the tornado sirens blared. We had a short trial for this last week, when the sirens sounded during the workday and the staff went down to the tunnel to wait it out.

We're hoping everyone out there is also safe and sound this morning. It's cleared up here at Pizza Hut Park this morning, and the team is outside training.

La Flecha Roja

La Flecha Roja = The Red Arrow.

If anyone listened to the Telefutura broadcast of the FCD at Houston game, you heard the announcers give Dax McCarty the nickname "Flecha Roja."

It is meant as a compliment, as they were referencing how the 'red-head' seemed to be flying around all over the field breaking up plays.

What do you think? Can this nickname stick? If so, which version, Spanish or English?

Breaking News - Alex Yi

Alex Yi has informed the team that he is hanging up the boots in order to go back to school. He first told us that he was considering this last week, and then took the weekend to make sure of his decision.

On Monday afternoon, he met with Steve and confirmed that he'll proceed with his intentions of retiring from professional soccer. He's applied to both UCLA and UT-Austin, though he's not yet decided which one he'll attend.

Many know of the frustration Alex has endured with his hamstring injuries the past couple of years. He's visited specialists in and out of Texas, who have not been able to determine the cause of his pain. Combining his ideas of returning to school with his latest setback, Alex decided this is a good time to make the call.

Obviously, this is a bit of a surprise to the team, especially given how well Alex was playing and that even as of March 22 he was scheduled to be the starting right back in the season opener. Both current and former teammates have always spoken highly of Alex not only as a player, but also as a person and teammate.

We'll come back with more on this development in the coming days. Alex will be up here at PHP this week to sign all his papers and therefore make the announcement official. At that point we'll sit down with him to get more on this decision.

Soccer Balls to Iraq

Today, we shipped over 350 soccer balls to Iraq on behalf of former FC Dallas employee and friend, Peter Burks. The 26-year old Burks was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army when he was killed by a roadside bomb while on duty in Baghdad, Iraq last November.

Two weeks before his death, he had emailed our front office asking if we could help him with a campaign to provide soccer balls to children in Iraq. A special thanks to all the fans that donated soccer balls to this cause. Another thanks to Bill Martin at the U.S. Post Office, who spent over three hours this morning getting the boxes ready to be shipped.

Foundation's Online Auction

The FC Dallas Foundation today launched the debut of the Online Auctions. Fans may bid on various items with all proceeds going to the FC Dallas Foundation. In the inaugural launch, the items to bid on are jerseys of former Dallas players, including Chris Gbandi's, Eddie Johnson's, Carlos Ruiz's, and Ronnie O’Brien's. Click here to bid.

Three Called to U.S. U-20 Camp

FCD's Anthony Wallace, Ibee Ibrahim, and Brek Shea have been called in to the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team that for the Campos Verdes International Tournament from April 13-19 in Beja, Portugal.

The U.S. will train for two days in Beja, leading up to its game against Northern Ireland on April 15, the Cape Verde Islands on April 16 and Portugal on April 18.

Josh Lambo was also originally on the list, however the injury will prevent him from participating.

FCD 4, Midwestern State University 0

That's not Serioux on the ball, it's Sheldon Emmanuel.
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FCD defeated Midwestern State University 4-0 in a scrimmage this afternoon on the adidas Field. Wally opened the scoring in the 4th minute, followed by Ibee (14’), and two goals from Ricardinho (30’, 72’).

Below are some highlights on video, including the first three goals. Ricardinho was so sneaky on the final goal, which we missed…he stole a pass played from the MSU keeper intended for a defender and easily knocked it into the net.

The coaching staff brought in a few guys to get a look at…we got a chance to see St. Lucian defender Sheldon Emmanuel...League pool goalkeeper Mike Graczyk had a couple of impressive saves...and we also saw former SMU player Mike Uremovich, whom made an appearance for the Chivas USA Reserves against FCD on March 30.

Today's Lineup (4-3-1-2): Graczyk, Daniels, Pitchkolan (Wallace 60’) Emmanuel, Dello-Russo, Wallace (Wileman 46’), Avila, Shea (Uremovich 67’), Ibrahim, Thompson (Ricardinho 60’), Ricardinho (Oduro 41’)

Goal of the Week Nominee

Photo: Anthony Vassar / FC Dallas

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Kenny's first goal against Houston is up for the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week. The other goals up for vote were scored by: LA's David Beckham, Chicago's Tomasz Frankowski, RSL's Kenny Deuchar, and Houston's Geoff Cameron: Click here to vote.

FCD 3, Houston 3

Congrats to Kenny and Arturo for their goals today...Kenny had a long way to recovery in between goals, while Artie had a disappointing game last time he was here...Thanks to Anthony Vassar for the photo.
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UPDATED (6 pm CT) - We're sitting here at the airport waiting for our return flight to Dallas...needless to say, the locker room after the game was pretty quiet...we know it's still early in the season, however, for many it just felt like a loss...some notes:

• FC Dallas is now 3-4-6 in the first road of the season, and 2-0-6 over the last road eight road openers. The team’s record after the first two games of 2008 is 0-0-2, 2 points.
• For Dallas, it was the first time coming away from Houston with a point (0-4-1). Dallas is now 1-5-3 all-time versus Houston. The teams will meet again on May 28 in Frisco and June 26 in Houston.
• Kenny Cooper scored his first MLS goal since May 17, 2007 in a 2-1 win at Chicago.
  For Cooper, it was his first career multi-goal game in MLS play. He previously recorded a hat trick in an Open Cup game in 2006.
• These were Cooper’s first ever goals against Houston. He’s now scored at least one goal against nine of the 11 teams he’s faced, with Columbus and D.C. the two remaining.
• Andre Rocha registered his first MLS assist with the 40 yard lob from midfield on Cooper’s first goal…Arturo Alvarez scored his 11th career goal and it was his 10th career assist…Pablo Ricchetti registered his fourth career assist…Toja earned his second career assist.
• FC Dallas made four changes to the lineup that started the season opener last week. Drew Moor and Alvarez returned from suspension to replace Aaron Pitchkolan and Abe Thompson respectively. Also, McCarty and Ricchetti replaced the injured Bobby Rhine (hip) and Marcelo Saragosa (groin).
• Along with Moor and Alvarez, Ricardinho and Anthony Wallace made their 2008 debuts.

Steve Morrow on the end of the game: “We’re very disappointed, it feels like a loss. I think we should have had the game won by then. We had two or three chances to go 4-2 up and we should have finished off the game. We’re disappointed to give up a goal so late. We did the same thing last week, so we should be sitting on two wins and six points right now. It’s still very early and there’s a lot of positive things we take from the game; so we’ll take those, move on, and continue to get better.”

First Road Trip, that counts...

It's not really the first trip of the year, but it is the first one in regular season play...in other words, the first trip where the result counts...Click here for a preview (game guide is linked to that page).

The team got another training session in this morning at PHP, then flew down here to Houston, arriving at the downtown hotel around 5 p.m. The players that traveled: Sala, Wallace, Ricchetti, Pitchkolan, Moor, Ricardinho, Wagner, Rocha, Cooper, Dello-Russo, Oduro, Toja, Thompson, McCarty, Serioux, Davino, and Alvarez. Ray will be joining the group later this evening as he's flying in from Portland.

The guys have a dinner set up tonight, and we're thinking a few will be watching the NCAA Final Four (and of course, checking out what happens in the other MLS games).

Previewing Houston

It was even chillier today at practice than yesterday...most guys wore hats, some wore gloves, and yet others made it seem like a summer.

The updated injury report: OUT - Lambo (jaw/concussion), Wagenfurh (concussion), Yi (L hamstring); Questionable - Saragosa (R groin), Rhine (R hip).

Two guys that will hope to make their 2008 debuts are Drew Moor and Arturo Alvarez - interestingly, their first game this year could be against the last team they faced last year. We're not gonna re-live that game, but we did catch up with both players for some comments (also Steve Morrow).

Clouds at practice...

The team was back at practice today after having Wednesday off...at one point the clouds, which started getting a bit darker just as practice was wrapping up, were accompanied by the lightening sirens in the distance (for those in Frisco, they were as noticable as Monday's tornado sirens, which caused a good part of the PHP/FCD staff to take shelter in the tunnel downstairs). Still, the team got a good workout in and the storms / rain held off...

Marcelo and Ibee worked off on the side with the team athletic trainer, both players overcoming groin strains...Alex did some jogging around the complex before heading inside to continue his workout...Bobby Rhine left the practice halfway through, then sat on the sideline holding ice on his a right quad...

On the flip side, Ricardinho and Dax participated fully, both appearing to be fully recovered from ankle and back issues respectively...Dax had been alternating with the guys in the middle of the field, then moved out wide right when Bobby left...Arturo played entirely up front...Drew was back out on his regular right back spot...

Do you remember back in the early part of preseason when we mentioned that St. Lucian left-sided player Sheldon Emmanuel was coming in for a trial? Well, we did intend to bring him in a few times - however with visa and passports issues, as well as timing, we weren't able to make it to happen. We're told now that he'll be arriving tonight and train with the team through next Monday's scrimmage against Midwestern State. The coaching staff first noticed Sheldon during the team's trip to Trinidad last December.

The team will be back for morning sessions on Friday and Saturday before flying down to Houston on Saturday afternoon...

UPDATE: We forgot to mention that last week, Dallas traded the rights to Jamil Roberts to San Jose in exchange for the Earthquakes 2009 natural 3rd round Supplemental draft selection.

Goalkeeper update...

Josh had successful surgery on Tuesday to repair the jaw fractures. He's expected to be released from the hospital later in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Ray Burse was back at practice this morning on the adidas Field at PHP. He'll return to Portland for a preseason game this weekend, before flying to Houston on Saturday afternoon to be available for Sunday's game between FCD and Houston.

One of the options the team is considering is the newly introduced rule for Short-Term Injury Replacement (Letter K):

A team with a player who has a short-term injury can replace that player on its roster, while remaining responsible for the full amount of the injured player's salary. A player can be placed on the short-term injured reserve list once another player has been signed as a replacement. Note that the injured player will have to sit out a minimum of six (6) MLS League matches before he can rejoin the team's roster. International player limits still apply at the time a short-term replacement is made (with the player being replaced not counting against those limits).