RSS
… Checking it twice
Major League Soccer on Wednesday announced the finalists for its 2010 year-end awards. Winners for each award will be announced in the coming weeks.
The finalists, listed in alphabetical order below for each award, earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media.
This season’s most outstanding individual plays will be honored on Wednesday, Nov. 17, when the AT&T Goal of the Year and the NAPA Auto Parts Save of the Year are announced. Voting for the Goal and Save of the Year is conducted on the League’s official web site MLSsoccer.com.
The 2010 awards announcements, listed below the finalists, culminate on Friday, Nov. 19 with the unveiling of the 2010 MLS Volkswagen MVP and 2010 Commissioner’s Award.
2010 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists
Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
Kevin Hartman (FC Dallas)
Donovan Ricketts (LA Galaxy)
Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Fair Play Finalists – Individual
C.J. Brown (Chicago Fire)
Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union)
Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Comeback Player of the Year Finalists
Chris Albright (New York Red Bulls)
Bobby Convey (San Jose Earthquakes)
Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
Visa Defender of the Year Finalists
Nat Borchers (Real Salt Lake)
Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy)
Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake)
MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Finalists
Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards)
Seth Stammler (New York Red Bulls)
Adidas Referee of the Year Finalists
Mark Geiger
Kevin Stott
Baldomero Toledo
Rookie of the Year Finalists
Danny Mwanga (Philadelphia Union)
Andy Najar (D.C. United)
Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls)
Coach of the Year Finalists
Hans Backe (New York Red Bulls)
Schellas Hyndman (FC Dallas)
Jason Kreis (Real Salt Lake)
Newcomer of the Year Finalists
Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
Joel Lindpere (New York Red Bulls)
Alvaro Saborio (Real Salt Lake)
Volkswagen Most Valuable Player Finalists
Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy)
David Ferreira (FC Dallas)
Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthqakes)
Awards Announcements Schedule:
Schedule subject to change
Nov. 3: Rookie of the Year, Fair Play Individual & Team of the Year, and Goalkeeper of the Year
Nov. 5: Visa Defender and adidas Referee/Assistant Referee of the Year
Nov. 8: MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year
Nov. 10: Newcomer and Comeback Player of the Year
Nov. 11: MLS Coach of the Year
Nov. 15: 2010 MLS Best XI
Nov. 17: AT&T Goal of the Year and NAPA Auto Parts Save of the Year
Nov. 19: Volkswagen MVP & Commissioner’s Award
Please Note: There are 27 players and managers listed above. Absent from the list is anyone currently on the Rapids payroll. Nor is there anybody from the Columbus Crew, the team Colorado faces in the playoffs tonight.
What does this tell you? Not much. It’s a team game, and the Rapids are not noted by those within the league and outside of it for having any of the “best” individuals MLS can offer. This is not exactly a problem when the unit on the field excells.
But, if you’re a Rapids player or coach and you thought maybe your season merited a little individual consideration (Matt Pickens, Drew Moor, Conor Casey, Omar Cummings, coach Gary Smith) and you were looking for a little extra motivation on the eve of the team’s first playoff game since 2006? Well, here it is.
2 Comments »
Popular tags
Bill Hempen Bobby Muuss Colin Clark Colorado Force Colorado Rapids Colorado School of Mines Columbus Crew Conor Casey Dick's Sporting Goods Park Drew Moor Fort Lewis College Gary Smith Jamie Smith Jeff Larentowicz Julien Baudet Kosuke Kimura Landon Donovan Major League Soccer Matt Pickens Mehdi Ballouchy Metro State Nick LaBrocca Nikki Marshall Omar Cummings Pablo Mastroeni Real Salt Lake Scott Palguta Seattle Sounders University of Colorado University of Denver
Recent Twitters
- ColoradoSoccer: All right, back to work.
- ColoradoSoccer: Great game for Shea marred by atrocious play on would-have-been second goal. Great work and goal from Dempsey.
- ColoradoSoccer: @danielstroud It can't be done.
- ColoradoSoccer: Klinsi gets his first win in a Miami monsoon. Not convincing, but there were signs of life. Let's not go back to Miami any time soon.
- ColoradoSoccer: And that's the end. #USMNT wins 1-0 over Honduras on a 36th minute Dempsey strike.
- ColoradoSoccer: Brek and Clint just missed one another. Dang.
- ColoradoSoccer: In the 2nd minute of injury time. Let's get it over. Still 1-0 #USMNT.
- ColoradoSoccer: Kudos to Bradley for making a run and taking a chance.
- ColoradoSoccer: @CrazyJon85 Yep. I think you see where I am headed on this.
- ColoradoSoccer: After this game and CONCACAF Champions League, I am questioning the quality of officiating in this quarter of the Earth.
The Rapids Undercurrent
- Undercurrent & ColoradoRapids.com Update
- Find the Jumbo Jabulani
- Time to return...
- Witness to the drama!
- Ellis Park, USA Game Two
- The Annoying Vuvuzelas
- The Argentina game
- Africa Unite!
- Rustenburg - Royal Bafokeng Stadium
- South Africa, first view...
About ColoradoSoccerNow
Our goal at ColoradoSoccerNow.com is to cover the sport in this state like no one else, from colleges to the Colorado Rapids, from the W-League to the U.S. men's and women's national teams.
About George: George Tanner fell in love with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the North American Soccer League while living in the Tampa, Fla., area in the mid-1970s. He got his first taste of newspapering while following the Rowdies every day in the Tampa Tribune, and from there grew the seeds of a journalism career in which he has worked at the Colorado Springs Sun; the Daily Camera in Boulder; the Durango Herald; The Daily Independent in Ridgecrest, Calif.; the Greeley Tribune; and the Rocky Mountain News.
E-mail George here.
About Cole: Not since the days of Ace Ntsoelengoe, the Minnesota Kicks and the North American Soccer League has Cole McGinnis been so excited about soccer. Cole handles the business functions of ColoradoSoccerNow.com, and he's the man to speak with about front-office issues.
E-mail Cole here.
About Jonathan: Jonathan Ingraham is a Colorado native, sports hound, outdoors enthusiast and Metropolitan State College student, working on a journalism degree. Outside of school, he works as a freelance photographer and is available for photographing places, people, events, games or artistic shoots for businesses or personal collections. E-mail Jonathan here.
About Tom: Tom Auclair remembers watching the New England Tea Men when he was younger and thinking what a terrible name that was for a sports team. He has worked for the Rocky Mountain News, Longmont Daily Times-Call and several newspapers in New Hampshire. He's currently working as an editor and photographer for a collection of Web sites. He can't believe how quick Omar Cummings is. E-mail Tom here.
1) validation: i thought borchers was among the best defenders in the league in 2009. glad to see someone take note of how good he is. his accolades are few. he’s spent very little time on the national team (was that game in albuquerque his only cap?) and outside of that it seems the only people who know about him are folks from colorado and utah and at least one scout from norway.
2) omar gonzalez is crazy good.
3) every year, mls recognizes a referee. i have yet to see one who deserved it. the officials in the league are mediocre across the board. i have not been impressed by any of them.
I have to agree on No. 3. It’s the ultimate in embracing mediocrity. It’s like celebrating the worse with the least awful halitosis. There are no winners in that competition.
Leave your response!