MLS Colorado Rapids

Rapids Weekly Report

Published on January 26, 2004 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Colorado Rapids News Release


1.) PLAYERS REPORT TO RAPIDS PRESEASON TRAINING CAMP TODAY

Today is the first day that Rapids players are reporting in to camp for the 2004 season. Veterans from last year's squad will be meeting up with new draft signees as the Rapids preseason gets underway this morning!

Here is the latest Rapids preseason training schedule:


-TODAY: All players report for first day of preseason training camp.
-JAN. 26-FEB. 10: training sessions at Rapids Training Center, Westminster.
-TUES. JAN. 27: Entrance physicals.
-FEB. 11-25: Spring Training Camp in Bradenton, Florida. Games vs. NY, Chicago, and DC.
-FEB. 28-MARCH 2: Training sessions at Rapids Training Center, Westminster.
-MARCH 3-17: Training camp in Malaga, Spain. Games TBA vs. various Scandinavian teams.
-MARCH 18: Rapids return to Colorado.
-MARCH 21-31: Training sessions at Rapids Training Center, Westminster.
-MARCH 27TH: Exhibition match vs. MetroStars in Austin, Texas.
-SAT. APRIL 3: Opening Day of 2004 MLS season.
(NOTE: All training sessions at Rapids Training Center in Westminster are free and open to the public.)

2.) RAPIDS DEFENDER WES HART BECOMES FREE AGENT

The Colorado Rapids announced Friday that defender Wes Hart is available to negotiate with teams outside Major League Soccer after being unable to come to terms with his club to renew his contract for the 2004 MLS season.

"Wes has represented both our club and soccer in Colorado very well, performing at the highest level in this country" said Rapids General Manager Dan Counce. "It is very unfortunate that we are not able to keep him within the club due to budget-related issues."

Playing a variety of positions throughout the 2003 season, Hart fell one game short of being the only Rapids player to play in every regular season game last year. He played in 29 games, recording two assists, and only a bruised right knee injury was able to keep him off the field for the season finale against the Dallas Burn. His versatility took him to perform in roles such as right, center and left defense as well as center and right midfielder during the season. The 26 year-old athlete played a total of 68 games with the Rapids since joining the club in 2000.

3.) BECKERMAN, BORCHERS HEAD TO MEXICO WITH US OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TEAM

Colorado Rapids midfielder Kyle Beckerman and defender Nat Borchers were among the 22-player roster announced last week by U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team head coach Glenn "Mooch" Myernick. The group traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico for the 2004 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, taking place from Feb. 2-12. The team will train for a few days before Myernick must cut down the roster to 20 players by the Jan. 31 deadline imposed by CONCACAF.

Beckerman, who has been a regular fixture with the Under-23 U.S. National Team during their preparation for this tournament, returns to the squad as the Stars and Stripes will compete for a ticket to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The 21-year old athlete recorded five assists with Colorado this season, ranking third in that department.

Borchers, the Pueblo, CO resident, anchored the Rapids defense during 23 games in his rookie season, logging more than 2100 minutes in 2003. The Rapids 2003 Defender of the Year is a solid contender to start in the back line for the United States as they begin their run to the 2004 Olympic Games.

The U.S. U-23s will first face Panama on Tuesday, Feb. 3, followed by matches against Canada on Thursday, Feb. 5 and Honduras on Saturday, Feb. 7. All three U.S. opening round matches in Group A will be played at the 10,000-seat Estadio Tres de Marzo (in Guadalajara) and kickoff at 7 p.m.

(MT). U.S. games can be followed by fans live via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics. To read the whole story, and see the entire Olympic squad roster, click here: http://www.mlsnet.com/content/04/us0122usor.html

4.) USA OLYMPIC QUALIFYING GAME DATES AND MATCHUPS

GROUP A (All matches at Estadio Tres de Marzo) Date Match-up Kickoff (MT) Feb. 3 Canada vs. Honduras 5 p.m. Panama vs. USA 7 p.m. Feb. 5 Honduras vs. Panama 5 p.m. Canada vs. USA 7 p.m. Feb. 7 Canada vs. Panama 5 p.m. Honduras vs. USA 7 p.m.

GROUP B (All matches at Estadio Jalisco) Date Match-up Kickoff (MT) Feb. 2 Costa Rica vs. Jamaica 5 p.m. Trinidad&Tobago vs. Mexico 7 p.m. Feb. 4 Costa Rica vs. T&T 5 p.m. Jamaica vs. Mexico 7 p.m. Feb. 6 T&T vs. Jamaica 5 p.m. Costa Rica vs. Mexico 7 p.m.

SINGLE ELIMINATION (All matches at Estadio Jalisco) Semifinals Date Match-up Kickoff (MT) Feb. 10 Semifinal #1 (A1 vs. B2) 4:30 p.m. Semifinal #2 (A2 vs. B1) 7 p.m. Final / Third Place Date Match-up Kickoff (MT) Feb. 12 Semifinal Losers 4:30 p.m. Semifinal Winners 7 p.m. You can follow Olympic soccer online all summer long at the official website of the Athens Olympics by clicking here: http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/index_uk.asp?SportCode=FB

5.) SEASON TICKET HOLDER BALANCES DUE APRIL 1ST

It's no April Fools joke! All Rapids Season Ticket holders must have their Season Seat balances paid in full by Thursday, April 1, 2004. Rapids Mini-Plan holders will receive their Game Selection Forms in February, and then must submit them back to the Rapids by Thursday, March 11.

All season plan holders can contact their personal account representative for information on their account by calling the Rapids Ticket Hotline at (303) 825-GOAL.

6.) RAPIDS TO PARTICIPATE AT 2004 "CHOPPER'S DINNER"

The Colorado Rapids this year will participate for the first time at Chopper's Dinner, an annual event that is a lasting tribute to former Denver Nuggets trainer Robert "Chopper" Travaglini, to be held Wednesday, February 4 at the Pepsi Center. Reservations are now being accepted for one of the Rocky Mountain Region's most cherished fundraising events. Join your favorite Colorado Rapids players and coaches, along with the Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Crush, Colorado Mammoth and Denver Nuggets, for this exciting evening! For more information, click here: http://www.pepsicenter.com/Events/NewsDetails.asp?ID=316 or call (303) 405-6091 to find out how you can be seated at a table with your favorite Rapids player!

And don't forget, the Rapids Community Care Foundation will also be hosting the 5th Annual Rapids Kickoff Luncheon, at the Pepsi Center on Wed. April 14, 2004. For tickets and more information about this Rapids signature fundraising event, please email Kelly Ward at: kward@pepsicenter.com

7.) MASTROENI ATTENDS WEEKEND NATIONAL REFEREE CAMP

This past weekend, Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni and player representatives from the other MLS clubs attended the annual National Referee Testing and Certification Seminar for the first time in Torrance, California. Last year's event saw the participation of nine MLS head coaches and one general manager, the first time in the history of the event that MLS teams were represented at the national gathering of the country's top soccer referees.

"The participation of players at this year's National Camp will further add to the positive experience of last year's event in fostering mutual professional respect between MLS clubs, players and referees," said MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis. "The open forum that includes both the athletes and match officials will help to maintain and develop a line of communication between them on the field of play."

The list of MLS players that attended included: Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Pope (MetroStars), Jesse Marsch (Chicago Fire), Mike Clark (Columbus Crew), Jason Kreis (Dallas Burn), Dema Kovalenko (D.C. United), Tony Meola (Kansas City Wizards), Kevin Hartman (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian Kamler (New England Revolution) and Troy Dayak (San Jose Earthquakes). Along with observing the high-level training and tests that the referees undergo, MLS players also partook in panel discussions that addressed current issues in refereeing. The National Camp, a four-day clinic that closed Sunday, Jan. 25, was required attendance for the entire pool of referees and assistant referees who will officiate in MLS competition during the upcoming 2004 campaign. To read this entire story, click here: http://www.mlsnet.com/content/04/mls0122refcamp.html

8.) ONLINE SOCCER STORY OF THE WEEK

Read Alan Pearce's great article as he caught up with Kyle Beckerman and Nat Borchers on the eve of their trip to Mexico to try and qualify for the Olympics; the article was published in Friday's Rocky Mountain News. Click here to read it: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/olympics/article/0,1299,DRMN_261_2597476,00.html

9.) RAPIDS PLAYER FEATURE OF THE WEEK

Check out a story on new Rapids draft signing Kevin Richards, as published by his hometown paper in Bermuda, the Royal Gazette: http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040121/SPORT/101210067

10.) RAPIDFIRE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Today's RapidFire quote of the week come from US Women's National Team star Julie Foudy, responding to FIFA President Sepp Blatter's recent comments that women soccer players of the world should start wearing tighter uniforms to increase their male fan base:

"We'll start wearing tighter shorts when Blatter starts doing press conferences in his bathing suit."

Read ESPN.com's humorous take on the whole women's apparrel controversy online by clicking here: http://espn.go.com/page2/s/bloc/040120.html

11.) BIGSOCCER.COM FAN DISCUSSION TOPIC OF THE WEEK

This week's most stimulating fan topic: "WHAT ARE YOU MOST STOKED ABOUT?"

Click here to read this week's featured topic (and post your reply!) on the Rapids Discussion Boards on Big Soccer.com: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=92351

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Major League Soccer Stories from January 26, 2004


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