Pregame interviews...

Bobby Rhine, Aaron Pitchkolan, and Dario Sala on the upcoming game against Colorado...

Injury updates...

Many of you saw that Duilio had to leave Wednesday's game just as the second half began. He took a hit to his right ankle in the first half, and after the 15 minute halftime break broke, he quickly realized he would not be able to continue.

He had x-rays taken after the game, which proved negative. While the bruised ankle was still slightly swollen on Thursday, he also told our staff that his left leg was sore. He had an MRI last night to determine if there was any issues, there weren't. As often happens, he unknowingly adjusted his running after the hit, putting more strain on his other leg, thus favoring it.

Duilio worked out on the bike indoors today. We'll list him as questionable for Sunday until after Saturday's session, though he tells us he'll be ready to play.
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Dax has been recovering from his sports hernia surgery from a couple weeks ago...he's been working with the athletic trainers on the side of the field, and tells us he'd like to try training on Saturday...we'll list him as doubtful for now...
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In the last seconds of Wednesday's game, Dario fell awkwardly on his right side...he at first thought it may have been a hamstring injury, though after a couple of days he's more sore on his right hip...he worked on the side today with the trainers...we'll list him as probable for now since he's expected to train fully on Saturday.

Not happening...

Last month, we posted on this blog that some articles had prematurely 'announced' that Borussia Moenchengladbach would be coming to play FC Dallas this summer. Here's the reason we never officially announced this game: The game was never finalized.

Soccer United Marketing had been working with the German Bundesliga, through the partnership, on having a team play against MLS teams here this summer. They could not come to a mutual agreement for 2008 to make the game (s) happen.

FCD 2, Houston 2

UPDATED: frustrating draw tonight...now we know how Salt Lake felt last week...that's the game of soccer for you...

The guys had nothing but encouraging words for each other following the game. It's clear they don't want to let this result sit as a negative right now. They take a lot of positives out of the game, and as Marco said: "They worked very hard, and we had some opportunities to put the game away, and we didn’t. We’ll go back and we’ll review it. We’ll figure out ways to get better.”

As always, check fcdallas.com for recap, boxscore, highlights, and more...Marco, post-game.

Gameday...

Don't forget today you can get $ 1 beers on the stage from 6:30-7:30 and $1 sausage all game long...Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm...Click here for the notes...

Prior to the game, we'll also be presenting the first 15 players (of 40-44 players) to committ to the FC Dallas Juniors program in a private event...we'll bring them back out at halftime with their jerseys to take their first Starting XI (err, 15) photo.

See you at the stadium.

Run For Cover

At 10:30 am this morning, while the team was practicing under massive dark clouds, the grounds crew informed us that the storm would hit Frisco in "about 30 minutes." Sure enough, by 11 am, the rain started coming down and the guys were running off the training field to finish with a stretch inside the locker room. It didn't cut the practice short much, as the team usually goes for about an hour on the day before a game.

After the team stretched together inside, Marco and some of the guys spoke with the media in one of the auxiliary locker rooms, while the rain continued to pour down in sheets outside.

Heads up -- Dominic Oduro will appear as a guest on tonight’s SouthWest Kia SportsTalk hosted by Josh Roe. The show airs live on KFWD-52 at 6:30 pm with a replay at 11 pm. Feel free to call into the show at 214-787-1008 or send an email to sportstalk@belo.com.

Back to Work

While many of us are off for the Memorial Day holiday, the team went to work this morning on the adidas Field to begin preparing for Wednesday night’s game against Houston and Sunday’s game at Colorado. Still recovering from sports hernia surgery, Dax worked off to the side with the trainers as he did last week.

Blake Wagner and Brek Shea are returning from France today after the U.S. U-23 Team was eliminated from the Toulon International Tournament over the weekend. Both played in all three games for the U.S. squad, including yesterday’s 2-0 loss to Italy. Both players will be coming in this afternoon for a workout today and will join the rest of the team for Tuesday morning’s training session.

Ray Burse will be one of the available keepers against Houston. He will arrive in Dallas tomorrow, but is not expected to land in time for practice.

FYI - Dom’s game-winner against Salt Lake is a Sierra Mist Goal of the Week nominee. You can check out his and the other nominees’ goals and vote your favorite here.

El Reto Final - Legends Game...

More soccer at Pizza Hut Park tonight, when the Legends of Chivas de Guadalajara take on the Legends of Club America in El Reto Final.

Part TV show and part game, this is the third installment of the Reto Final series. A few years ago, the show matched up the veterans of the U.S. Men's National Team versus the Mexican National Team...last year, the show featured a match between Argentina and Mexico old-timers...

Fox Sports en Español televised a series in which a host would approached former players of both Chivas and America, and invited them to participate in one final Classico, El Reto Final. The Classico takes place tonight at 8 pm at Pizza Hut Park, and will be televised live on FSE and on delay on Fox Soccer Channel (11 pm CT).

Duilio took part in the show, but will not be playing...Click here for the PHP release...or Fox Sports en Español's coverage.

FCD 2, RSL 1

UPDATED: Some drama tonight, but the boys found a way to get the result. Dominic Oduro came on for Abe in the 65, and tied the game in the 83rd minute when he flicked a header over the keeper. Then, in stoppage time, Dom took a through pass from Rocha, beat a defender by cutting to his right, and slotted the ball just the left of the keeper to give FCD the lead.

It was the fourth time in the last five meetings between the two teams in which Dallas has scored a goal in the final 10 minutes to give the team points (and that doesn't count Abe's 90th minute goal in 2006 which gave FCD a 1-0 win in Utah). This is the second time Dominic has done it to RSL, he also scored a stoppage time winner in Salt Lake last June.

Go to fcdallas.com for a recap, box score, hightlights and more.

(7:20 pm CT) - A couple of changes tonight. Thompson starts up top with Cooper, and Rocha playing behind the two. Anthony Wallace starts again on the left side..Marcelo returns to the lineup and starts next to Ricchetti. Making is first start since the season opener is Bobby Rhine on the right. Pitchkolan gets his first start at left back, with Davino and Moor playing center and right respectively.

Friday's finally here...

It's been an interesting week, which at times felt like the next game was a long time away...the guys had their final session this morning....after watching their third practice, and having talked to a bunch of the guys throughout the week, we can tell how much they're looking forward at the chance to turn things around tomorrow...

Dax is out, as are Blake and Brek - who each started in today's game for the U.S. U-23s in France. Everyone else is available. The only other injury is to Marcelo, who broke his hand at practice a week ago. He's been wearing a padded cast that allows him to play.

Click below to watch Drew and Dom talk about the game...Duilio also (Spanish)...

Marco Ferruzzi - Getting Ready for RSL

Marco Ferruzzi addressed the media after today's practice. Being the first time he's spoken on behalf of the team since being named interim coach, he wanted to talk to each media member individually, instead of all at one time. Since his Spanish is very good, neither Marco nor the Spanish media members needed our help in translating.

We caught up with Marco after his one-on-ones, asking him about the team's preparation for the Saturday's game versus Real Salt Lake.

Serioux and Canada to face Brazil

Adrian Serioux has been called up by Canada’s Men’s National team for its upcoming friendly match against Brazil, which will be played on May 31 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington.

Serioux will be available for FCD’s game against the Houston Dynamo on May 28 at Pizza Hut Park, and will join the Canadian team in Seattle on May 29. He will not be available for FCD's game versus Colorado on June 1.

His last appearance with the National team was in a 1-1 draw versus Costa Rica on September 12, 2007 at BMO Field in Toronto. He has made 10 appearances with the senior national team. PHOTO: Rick Yeatts / FC Dallas.

Short sleeves...

Following Monday's practice, the staff had arranged for the players to come in at three different times slots on throughout the day on Tuesday. Originally, the day was scheduled to be off. However, once the action was taken on Tuesday, the sessions were cancelled. Instead, the team met as a group and then had the rest of the day off.

So today, everyone was back on the field, getting ready for Saturday's game against Real Salt Lake.

Marco Ferruzzi and Drew Keeshan ran the session. Chris Clarke was also involved, as he's been for much of the season to date.

On Monday the team broke out the new short sleeve tops...some like them, some don't...Dax worked out on the side...he had his surgery last week in Germany, and tells us he's feeling much better this time around than when he had his first surgery a couple years ago...

As expected, there was media watching today's practice, waiting to get reaction from the players and Marco...Duilio, Bobby, Dario, Drew, Pablo, Abe, and Juan were requested, and they took their turns talking to the media following practice. (we'll have video later today).

Marco will address the media for the first time following Thursday's practice.

Posting Issue

We apologize that we had to stop accepting comments for the time being. We feel that we have been fair in providing fans a forum to express their opinions over the past couple of days - especially on the team blog.

That being said, there are other online forums that may accept comments that have foul language, inappropriate images, personal attacks, or copy pasting the same phrase and / or words over 100 times in over 15 comments. This is not one of them.

BREAKING NEWS: Morrow relieved of duties

FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock announced today that Steve Morrow has been relieved of his duties as head coach, effective immediately. Marco Ferruzzi, in his fourth season as assistant coach, will coach the team on an interim basis.

UPDATED (7:45 pm CT). Hitchcock held a teleconference call with media this afternoon, where he answered numerous questions on today's announcement....click here for the MLSnet.com story...there are plenty of other wire stories, analysis, opinions, predictions, etc. out in cyber space...

Hitch met with the players at noon today here at the stadium. We saw the last of the guys leave a little past 12:30 pm...we intended on getting reaction from a few of the players, but given how the day played out, we decided to wait until we see them tomorrow.

Today was an extremely busy day for us blog writers, as we took call after call, and responded to many emails and instant messages throughout the day from media and colleagues from all over.

The guys will be at practice on Wednesday at 10 am...we'll look to get comments from a few players at that time...we're expecting there will be some media there also, since some players told us today that they preferred to do interviews following training...

FCD Juniors - taking on Houston...

About a month ago, we mentioned the newly created FC Dallas Junior Program, which will include the formation of two elite youth teams that will compete in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy this summer. Click here for details.

The FC Dallas U-16 and U-18 squads will serve as the flagship teams for the FC Dallas Youth Development program. The two teams will be financed exclusively by FC Dallas, and players will be eligible for promotion directly to the FC Dallas professional team without having to enter the MLS drafts.

The first games for each Juniors team will be a friendly home-and-home series against the Houston Dynamo U-16 and U-18 teams, playing at Robertson Stadium in Houston on June 26 and at Pizza Hut Park on July 27. The FC Dallas Juniors will also participate in the second annual Soccer United Marketing U-17 Cup.
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Photo: Gabriel Funes, winner of Sueño MLS, is one of four players invited to join the inaugural FC Dallas Juniors teams. Credit: Michael Clements/FC Dallas.

Chelsea vs. Manchester United

The UEFA Champions League final will be played on Wednesday, May 21, featuring England's Manchester United taking on Premiership rival Chelsea FC. We'll be opening up the Verizon Wireless Club here at Pizza Hut Park to watch the game, and invite anyone to join us.

The game will be shown on the 29 flat panel TV’s inside, as well as the two huge outdoor video board. We'll offer a limited food & beverage menu, and, we're told that some players and team staff may also be here to watch.

The Club will open at 1 pm, with kickoff slated for 1:45 pm CT.

Feel free to offer your prediction in the comments section...Man U or Chelsea?

FCD 1 vs. LA Galaxy 5

UPDATE: As always, recap, boxscore, highlights, etc on mlsnet.com...we understand and expect that some fans will be disappointed today, believe us, we are. That being said, please use caution when posting comments on this blog post.



Also, click here for Pablo's comments in Spanish...

Eric talks to Kenny...

A good practice session today...it appears the coaches are looking into a couple of different options with regards to the lineup...with the LA Galaxy coming to town, we had a guest reporter helping our FCD TV crew today...

Duilio also talks about the game...

Cooper in U.S. Soccer Player Pool...

True FCD fans know what a hard and honest worker Kenny Cooper is...and, you've seen his work pay off in the positive contributions he's made and continues to make to the team, and it's not just with the goals he's scored early this season...

Tonight, U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley named Cooper to the 33-man player pool that will be used to select rosters for the upcoming trio of blockbuster friendlies against England, Spain and Argentina.

Congrats to Kenny for making it this far...we'll be sure to keep you informed if he gets called in for any of the games.

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Cooper in his second game with the U.S. MNT in March 2007 at Pizza Hut Park versus Guatemala. Photo: Rick Yeatts

Abe Thompson on SW Kia SportsTalk Tonight

Catch Abe Thompson tonight on Southwest Kia SportsTalk with Josh Roe on KFWD Channel 52 (channel 14 on Time Warner in Frisco). The show airs at 6:30 p.m. but if you're unable to catch it live, no worries, the show will replay later tonight at 11:30 p.m. and the interview will be posted on the show's video site in the next few days.

Send your comments / questions sportstalk@belo.com or if you'd like to call into the show, the number is 214-787-1008.

Voting for All-Stars underway...

The MLS All-Stars will take on West Ham United of the English Premier League on Thursday, July 24 at BMO Field in Toronto. Twelve FC Dallas players are on the ballot...

The MLS First XI will be selected from a combination of online fan ballots (25 percent of the vote), with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote to combine for the remaining 75 percent. Online voting for fans concludes on Wednesday, July 2.

Click here for the official release...Click here to vote.

Cloudy Skies...

Ahead of Wednesday's off day, the team got in a two-hour practice this morning, starting and finishing the session with some running. But most of the time was spent playing 3 v 3 in a grid surrounded by static players around the perimeter, with Dario and Josh in the nets.

Ricardinho did not train with the team today nor yesterday due to a right thigh injury. Instead, he worked on the side with head athletic trainer Joshua Watts. He originally took a shot to his thigh at San Jose, was hit again in the same area in practice last Friday, and finally suffered another knock in Saturday's game at Salt Lake.

Dax McCarty left for Germany today to have his sports hernia surgery. He will be back in Dallas on Friday night.

Blake Wagner and Brek Shea will depart tomorrow to join the U.S. U-23 National Team in France for the Toulon International Tournament from May 20-29.

The rest of the guys will be back in to train Thursday through Saturday at 10 a.m. in preparation for Sunday's game against the Galaxy.

Lambo returns to training...

Josh Lambo was cleared to resume full contact training today, working with goalkeeper coach Drew Keeshan during the morning practice session.

As a reminder, the 17-year old sustained a couple of serious injuries in his first game back on March 30.

Josh has often asked us to pass along a big thank you from himself and his family to the fans for all the encourage words and support.

On another note, Ray Burse's Portland Timbers tied the Seattle Sounders 0-0 on Saturday. He and the Timbers defense have only given up one goal in five games this year, and his four shutouts lead the lead early on.

Two more going to Europe...

UPDATED: We told you this morning that Blake Wagner and Brek Shea might be going to Europe this week, and now it's been confirmed. U.S. U-23 head coach Peter Nowak has included Blake and Brek on the roster for the upcoming Toulon International Tournament from May 20-29 in Toulon, France.

The guys will leave Dallas this Wednesday and join the U-23 team in France on Thursday. Read the full press release here.

Dax McCarty will also be heading to Europe this week, for sports hernia surgery in Germany. This will be a quick trip for Dax --- he'll depart tomorrow afternoon and is expected to be back in town by Friday night.

Thanks to Seth Weaver for the photos.

FCD 5, RSL 3

The Reserves defeated RSL's Reserves this morning 5-3 in a game played in the mountains of Park Slope. RSL took a 3-2 lead into the half, but Dallas scored three unanswered second half goals to secure the win. We'll recap FCD's goals for now (the complete recap will be on the sites soon).

Dallas scored first in the 22nd. Blake Wagner sent a ball across to the far right post, where Eric Avila cleanly brought it down and quickly beat his man, then left the ball back for Bobby Rhine to score from 10 yards out.

Avila was involved on the second goal in the 29th. Taking a ball to the right endline, Avila sent a ball to the top of the six. Dominic Oduro's diving header was somehow saved by Chris Seitz, but the ball deflected in off RSL's Nick Besagno two yards from the goal.

In the 68th, Chase Wileman kept a ball in play on the right endline, staying onsides as an RSL defender guarded the goalmouth. From a very acute angle, Wileman's shot hit the far left side of net, tying the game at 3-3.

Aaron Pitchkolan then gave FCD the lead in the 77th, driving home a loosely cleared ball off a free kick with low volley from 18 yards out.

Oduro sealed the game with a break-away goal in stoppage time, taking a ball from midfield alone at goal, and rounding the keeper before easily shooting it in.

FC Dallas (3-4-1-2): Grazcyk, Daniels, Pitckolan, Dello-Russo, Wagner (McCarty 70), Wileman, Wallace, Rhine, Avila, Shea, Oduro.

Scoring Summary:
DAL - Rhine (Avila) 22'
RSL - Findley 25'
DAL - Own goal (Besagno) 29'
RSL - Cordoba (PK) 40'
RSL - Movsisyan 44'
DAL - Wileman 68'
DAL - Pitchkolan 77'
DAL - Oduro 92+

FCD 1, RSL 2

Recap, comments, boxscore, highlights on fcdallas.com and mlsnet.com...here's how they started...

-------------------Sala----------------------
----Moor--------Davino---------Serioux---
---Rocha---Saragosa----Ricchetti---Toja---
------Cooper---Thompson----Alvarez----

• With losses by Los Angeles and Colorado tonight, FCD remains in a first place tie with Colorado in the Western Conference (2-2-3, 9 pts).
• Dallas is now 8-3-1 all-time versus Salt Lake.
• This was Dallas’ first loss on the road this season (1-1-2)...also first loss to a Western Conference opponent (1-1-3).
• Tonight was the first time ever that Dallas has lost a game in which Kenny Cooper scored a goal. FCD is now 15-1-3 all-time when Cooper scores.
• Cooper’s fifth goal of the season ties him with Columbus’ Robbie Rogers for second-most in the League behind LA’s Landon Donovan (eight goals). It also surpassed Cooper’s goal total of 2007 (four), when a broken leg caused him to miss more than half the season.
• This was Cooper’s 20th career regular season goal, making him the eighth player in team history to score at least 20 goals, and third fastest to reach the mark (in 52 games).
• The goal snapped a streak of 236 minutes since the last Dallas tally, an 80th minute goal by Abe Thompson on April 20 in a 2-0 win at Chivas USA.
• RSL’s 28th minute goal snapped an individual streak for FCD defensive midfielder Marcelo Saragosa – it was the first time this year the opponent scored while Saragosa was on the field. The Brazilian had played 353 consecutive minutes this season without the opposition scoring, which was by far the longest such streak by a field player in MLS this season. New England’s Chase Hilgenbrink is second at 168 minutes.
• This was the first game this season in which Dallas trailed at the half.

Snow on the mountains...

No issues with the flights today...we landed here in Salt Lake City a little before 4 pm MT, and where at the hotel within the hour. The window shades were up as we flew over the mountains, still covered in snow and giving the impression of it being cold out - its actually nice out (now).

At just about all our trips so far, we've had at least one media outlet contact us in advance to request an interview with Duilio upon arrival. Today, as we requested, the TV crew waited for Duilio in the lobby - and he sat down with them for the 15 minute interview before checking in.

We brought 26 players, with Graczyk meeting us here. Dario trained fully this morning, so he should be good to go tomorrow. Adrian had another good session today, so he's also expected to also be available. Actually, everyone that is here is available - the coaches will have some decisions to make for the 11 starters and available subs.

We're off to dinner now, and we're told there are tickets available for the Lakers vs Jazz game; we may have to check that out...

Watching and reading...

English Video: Arturo and Steve Morrow...Spanish Video: Dario and Pablo...

If you're up for reading, click here for the preview and game guide...included: some good memories of previous contests between FCD and RSL.

In addition, RSL head coach Jason Kreis today was suspended for Saturday's game by MLS for public criticism of MLS officiating. Last June, Kreis was ejected a few minutes before Oduro scored his stoppage-time game-winning goal.

Goalkeepers...

Dario had to sit out the second part of today's practice with an injury to his left foot, which happened earlier in training...David Mosalve and goalkeeper coach Drew Keeshan each defended a goal during the short-sided games...Josh Lambo has been told that next week he can resume full training...we're bringing both Monsalve and Mike Graczyk to Salt Lake to be available for Saturday and Sunday. Ray will remain in Portland this weekend.

Morrow Focused...

Photo: Rick Yeatts / FC Dallas.

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Steve Morrow on the rumors this morning linking him to the Walsall coaching opening:

"The rumors from England linking my name with the Walsall job are exactly just that - rumors! There is typically much speculation in England at this time of year as the season is finishing. Obviously I am under contract here at FC Dallas, very happy and focused on winning a Championship this year."

The Marquee is up...

It took a long time, in fact, a couple years of back and forth discussions between local government entities and us to finally approve this, but the tollway marquee is finally up.

The entire piece is 51 feet tall from the ground to the top of the arc...the graphics LED board is 24 feet wide by 20 feet tall. It's located about halfway up the PHP complex, in front of the soon to be completed hotel, adjacent to the service road which boarders the Tollway, and in site of our offices - which helps since we'll be controlling the graphics from here.

A few months ago, when the tollway opened past Pizza Hut Park, the NTTA estimated the number of vehicles passing to be at 80,000 per day. We're thinking that has grown by now...

We're expecting all the pieces to be in place over the next couple days, and then begin testing the graphics by the weekend if not early next week. If all stays on course, it should be functioning by the May 18 game.

Roster adjustments...

A few weeks ago, Alex Yi retired from professional soccer, leaving open a spot on the team's 18 man senior roster. We're now in the process of filling that spot - the player will be third-year defender/midfielder Michael Dello-Russo (Right, photo: Seth Weaver/FC Dallas).

It's also been a while since David Wagenfuhr has played, and it will be at least another six weeks before he's even eligible to play again.

Following the team's preseason game versus Atletico Paranaense, in which David scored a goal, he informed the team of the headache he had. It was quickly determined he had sustained a concussion, though he didn't have symptoms until a few days later. On Friday of last week, he was placed on the six-week disabled list, which means he must sit out the next six weeks before being eligible to play again.

The six-week DL is new this year (scroll down to letter K), and also allows a team to replace such a player on the roster, provided the team has salary cap space available. Taking David's place on the senior roster for the next six weeks is defender Andrew Daniels.

These adjustments leave two open spots for developing players under the age of 25 (for the time being) .

FCD TV - Wheldon's visit...

We made it back to Dallas fine last night, which maybe should have been its own post...today, the guys went through a workout outdoors, at one point playing through a 15-20 downpour...they'll be back on Wednesdsay...

In the meantime, the latest FCD TV gives you a look at Dan Wheldon's visit last week...

FCD 2, San Jose 0

The reserves played this morning, putting on the best performance of the year. Abe scored a minute before the half, and Eric Avila followed in stoppage time.

The defense held the shutout, though seeing fewer chances than last night.

Lineup (3-4-3): Ray Burse (David Monsalve 46), Andrew Daniels, Aaron Pitchkolan, Michael Dello-Russo, Brek Shea, Chase Wileman, Eric Avila, Bobby Rhine, Dominic Oduro, Ricardinho (Jamie Watson 63), Abe Thompson.

FCD 0, San Jose 0

Adrian didn't pass a pregame fitness test, so Anthony Wallace gets his second career start - and first at left back. The other change is the combination of Marcelo Saragosa and Pablo Ricchetti in the center of the field, with Andre Rocha going out right. Dax is available and on the bench, as is Bobby Rhine.

UPDATED (post-game): recap, comments, box score, highlights on mlsnet.com and fcdallas.com...some other notes...

• FC Dallas is now 2-1-3, 9 points on the season, and remain in first place in the Western Conference. It was the first time facing San Jose since the 2005 season.
• This was the first of six consecutive games against Western Conference opponents. Dallas is now 1-0-3 versus the West this year.
• This was the team’s third shutout of the season; it was also the second consecutive shutout on the road.
• FCD has surrendered only one goal in its last four games (360 minutes). The three shutouts place Dario Sala in a three-way tie for most in MLS.
• Dallas is undefeated on the road this year (1-0-2), and is 2-0-2 over its last four road games dating back to 2007. The four game road undefeated streak is one off the all-time team record set from May-June 2005.
• Adrian Serioux did not pass a pre-game fitness test (left leg injury) and was replaced in the starting lineup at left back by Anthony Wallace, who made his first start of the year and second career start.
• Duilio Davino and Sala are the only two players to play every minute of every game this season.

In San Jose...

We arrived into San Jose on Friday around 6 pm local time. As we taxied to the terminal, we could see the Dallas Stars' plane sitting on the tarmac. We'll leave it to your imagination the comments that were overheard from players and staff as they saw the plane, complete with the green star on the tail and large words "Dallas Stars" across the body of the plane.

We got our bags and went straight to Buck Shaw Stadium, the Earthquakes home for the next few seasons until their own stadium is built.

We've read how much work has been put into the stadium to make it a nice home for the Quakes. We quickly realized that the playing surface is great. They've just recently installed it, and both San Jose and FCD had a chance to walk through it on Friday for the first time. We're told by the Quakes that it's 71 x 110 yards, and that it will accommodate over 10,000 fans.

Adjacent to this 'mini-stadium' is a turf field, which is the Quakes training field and where tomorrow's Reserve game will be played. In our opinion, also a nice field (for a synthetic surface). Ricardinho had fun calling some of the guys off the main field walk through, telling them to join him in checking out the field the Reserves will play on on Sunday.

We then checked into our hotel, the Fairmont here in downtown San Jose. Very nice! We learned the Stars were staying here, though we didn't see them following the loss (wonder if they just flew right back to Dallas?). Right up the road, the Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland A's at the Coliseum.

As you wait for tonight's game, click here for the game preview and notes.

Going back to Cali..

Here we are, sitting at DFW airport at 4:20 pm CT, waiting for our scheduled 4:30 pm flight to San Jose...and... the reason we can type now is because, well, we're not boarding...we haven't heard any update as to why, so we'll take this opportunity to update you.

24 of the 27 roster players are here with us - Wagenfuhr is still out; Ibee is on an extended leave of absence, and Ray will be joining us in San Jose. We've also brought Alex Fichera, David Monsalve, and Jamie Watson. Josh Lambo is on the trip, as is Adrian, who will be a gametime decision.

We incorrectly reported yesterday that Adrian has pain in his back/groin. We were corrected today - he's having problems on his left leg, which may have stemmed from his lower back. The MRI proved this not to be the case. He's day to day at the moment.

Finally, here's a little trivia: It's only been two years since San Jose had a team (they moved to Houston in 2006, but kept their name, color, and history). Of the 27 players on the FCD roster, only 8 were playing in MLS when the Quakes last suited up...can you name them...

FCD TV - a national TV broadcast

We walked into the ESPN2 TV truck last week and were pretty impressed, so we decided to shoot a behind the scenes video to give fans an idea on what goes on - off camera - on ESPN2's MLS Primetime Thursday...Associate Director Shaw Brown walks us through the truck, while JP Dellecamera gives us a bit on how the announcers prepare...enjoy...

Practice update...

How about we give a little update on the team today...so going back to Monday, most of the guys came back from out of town trips, and the team went through an evening session...Tuesday saw the guys go out to the Michael Johnson Center...Wednesday and Thursday they were all back on the adidas field for complete sessions

A couple notes from the week:

* Dax found out last week that he has a sports hernia - this time on the left side. For those unfamiliar with the injury, players can often play through this - when the discomfort and / or pain become more extreme, the player usually decides to to rest or have surgery. In Dax's case, he tells us he's fine to play right now. However, knowing that we have a the majority of the season ahead of us, and that he has a chance to possibly play in the Olympics this summer, the staff has scheduled an appointment for him to get this taken care. He'll be heading to Germany in a couple of weeks for the surgery, though he's available to play in the short term.

* Dominic took advantage of the weekend off to rest an injured ankle, which was swollen last Friday morning following the NE game...he's trained this week...

* Adrian has been kept off the field the last couple of days after incurring some pain in his left hip / groin...we'll see how he feels on Friday and Saturday before determining his status...

* Bobby Rhine has returned to full training this week...

* Josh Lambo started working out outside with the trainers this week, though he's not yet been involved in any goalkeeping drills...

* Finally, we brought in league pool goalkeeper David Monsalve, who will be with the team for the next couple of weeks.

The team will train at 10:30 on Friday. We're expecting to arrive in San Jose around 6 pm, hopefully go straight to Buck Shaw stadium for a walk-through before checking in at the hotel.