Rapids In Valencia

As part of their pre-season training the Colorado Rapids went to Valencia, Spain. Their young defender Stephen Keel has been blogging about their trip. It's been the usual stuff, talking about taking in a game, things about home that he misses and such. What I'd like to know is how the training differs with a trip like this. Were they exposed to some new methods? Will it help the team to not have trained at altitude? But I suppose those are the sort of things the team doesn't want to put out there with the start of the season around the corner.

Woodgate Injured Again

Sky is reporting that Woodgate won't be available for the upcoming Israel match due to a knee injury. I was curious how things were going for him in terms of injuries. He's definitely had some injury problems. His loan with Middlesbrough's brought some better luck on that front with 23 appearances so far this year. But previous to that in his 2 years at Real Madrid he only got in 9 league appearances. Before that his year and half he spent at Newcastle he got in 28 games. It doesn't look like it's time to start calling him Sick Note II.... at least not yet.

The MLS Trade Merry-Go-Round

Rumors around Denver have it that Hunter Freeman has been traded to New York Red Bull. Toronto FC Blog is now reporting the same. If that is true, the question is what Colorado will be getting for Hunter (7th overall pick in 2005 Superdraft). As Toronto FC Blog sees it, if that's true it makes it all the more likely that the Jeff Parke to Toronto FC rumor is true. But what does Toronto have to offer for Parke? Future draft picks? They recently gave a partial allocation and a first round pick in next year's draft to bring Richard Mulrooney in from FC Dallas. Is Mo Johnston ready to give away next year's draft to make sure Toronto is competitive in their first year?

Stay Away From Blanco, Chicago

Steve Davis lays out a good case for why Chicago should not be pursuing signing Cuauhtémoc Blanco. It's not just about the money or his age, 34, but the questions over how well he's still able to play. Just as importantly, Davis questions how big of a disruption Blanco would be in the locker room and on the pitch. I think he's spot on. The question is, what players should Chicago be pursuing for their Designated Player slot?

Goldman Sachs Pulls Out Of Real Salt Lake Deal

As reported by the Deseret News, Goldman Sachs real estate investment arm Whitehall has pulled out of it's deal with Real Salt Lake. For their investment, they were going to own 50% of SCP Worldwide's Real Salt Lake. Typically these investment funds put their money into a project with a 3-5 year time horizon. Whitehall has over $30 billion in real estate investments and recently purchased the John Hancock tower in Chicago for over $300 million. What happened that caused Whitehall to pull out at the last minute?