Tag Archives | Dwayne De Rosario

Dwayne De Rosario Suspended For Two Matches

By on March 1, 2013 | Follow @WVHooligan |

A fun way to start out the Eve of the 2013 MLS Season.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended D.C. United forward Dwayne De Rosario for two games and fined him an undisclosed amount for violent conduct that endangered the safety of his opponent, Philadelphia Union midfielder Danny Cruz, during a preseason game between the clubs on Feb. 23. The referee issued De Rosario a red card for violent conduct in the 60th minute of the match.

The MLS Players Union appealed the decision on behalf of De Rosario. MLS Commissioner Don Garber heard the appeal yesterday and upheld the Disciplinary Committee’s decision.

De Rosario will serve his suspension this Saturday when D.C. United opens its season against Houston Dynamo and on March 9 when D.C. hosts Real Salt Lake.

I wonder if this is the first player to be suspended for an season opener due to a preseason game. Just an interesting story line to watch out for this weekend.

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Summer Wish List: Eastern Conference

By on June 5, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

Are the Red Bulls set to make a Supporters' Shield run? (Getty Images)

Over the next day or so I will be taking a quick look at what each club can do to either get back on track to make the playoffs, stay on course to reach the post season or ultimately win the Supporters’ Shield.

Today I will start off with the Eastern Conference clubs. Since the playoffs are now structured to have five clubs from each conference reach the post season, things this season in the Eastern Conference are going to be tighter than ever, but the big question is will the produce better clubs than in the last few year?

Time will tell on everything here and once teams level out on terms of games played (this unbalanced schedule is a pain), we’ll have a good sense of where things are going.  Continue Reading →

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2012 MLS, Week 9: What To Watch For

By on May 3, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

San Jose and Vancouver have the potential to be the matchup of the weekend. (Getty Images)

Whew. Last night was quite a night in Major League Soccer. One game had eight goals, while the other two combined for five. Crazy night really when you throw in the two Amway Canadian Championship to the mix.

Now it is time to focus on the weekend ahead, all clubs that were involved in games last night have second games this weekend. So lots of double-dips here in Week 9.

Nine games are on tap this weekend starting tomorrow night in LA with Chivas taking on the Chicago Fire all the way until Sunday evening in Frisco when FC Dallas hosts the Colorado Rapids. Busy, busy weekend ahead.

Here are a few stories I will be following this weekend as MLS gets rolling further into a new month. Continue Reading →

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MLS 2012, Week 6: Predictions

By on April 13, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

All eyes will be in SKC-RSL but SJ-NY could be just as good this weekend. (Getty Images)

Just as we mentioned yesterday, this weekend we have a full slate of games in Major League Soccer. Eight games tomorrow and one on Sunday to be exact. There are actually plenty of good games this weekend for a change, including one massive showdown in Kansas City.

One thing is for sure, after this weekend we should know a lot more about how the Supporters’ Shield race will lineup this season and whether or not teams like the LA Galaxy or Portland are actually going to be the thick of things like we had originally thought going into the season.

Here are my predictions for the weekend, feel free to leave your own at the bottom. Continue Reading →

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2012 MLS Season, Week 5: What To Watch For

By on April 5, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

Rocky Mountain Cup is on the line this weekend. (Getty Images)

The weekend is finally getting here. For those that know me and know what this past week or so has been like for me on the day job front, you know how excited I am to see the weekend ahead. A three day weekend in fact.

Time to take a look at the weekend ahead and we get started a day early with a game tonight in Dallas.

This is another weekend where there are plenty of quality games to discuss. Only three East v. West matches this weekend but the big focus will be on two rivalry games and a big showdown between KC and LA.

1. Revs hoping to make it three straight. Never would have guessed this version of the New England Revolution would be going for three straight wins tonight (and two straight road wins), this early in the season. Give credit to Jay Heaps for the hard work he’s put into this club. I think the big thing is seeing  Shalrie Joseph finally have some supporting cast around him is making the difference. Clyde Simms has been huge in the midfield with Joseph and the defense is slowly stepping up and is making things tough for other clubs. Saer Sene is gaining some confidence with two goals as well. New England hasn’t had a quality striker like Sene in some time and if he can keep it up the Revs will definitely contend in the East. Continue Reading →

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2012 MLS, Week 4: What To Watch For

By on March 29, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

Will DC and Dallas battle to any goals this year? (Getty Images)

Here we are, at the end of the first month of the season already and by the end of the weekend we’ll be in April. Week 4 in Major League Soccer gets started a little early with a game tomorrow night in DC with United hosting FC Dallas.

The theme of the season will still be going on as we have five matches between Eastern and Western conference clubs. Unlike last weekend though the majority (three) will be in Western conference venues.

Below are some talking points going into the new week.  Continue Reading →

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2012 MLS Season, Week 3: Predictions

By on March 23, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

Red Bull Arena should be lively on Sunday. (Getty Images)

Looking at this weekend’s schedule a couple things jump out to you. For one it is a lot of East v. West with the Eastern clubs hosting the majority of the games (4 of 6). Second of all, it is a lot of good team against bad team. Oh boy.

There are a couple really intriguing games on the menu but for the most this weekend could be a “miss” for the league. Hey it happens.

Only the LA Galaxy are off this weekend and I’m sure they are going to enjoy the time off.

Friday

Houston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders FC – Probably one of the better matches if not the best match of the weekend on paper. Houston has started strong with two straight road games, though against weaker clubs. Seattle got off to a nice start to the season last weekend against Toronto. Houston can say they are the only Eastern Conference club to beat anyone from the West at this point and a win in Seattle will certainly quiet folks like myself that are doubting this team. I just think however that Seattle is too much to handle at home. Alvaro Fernandez, Fredy Montero, and now David Estrada are all too much even for a stingy Houston defense.  Continue Reading →

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MLS 2012, Week 2: What To Watch For

By on March 15, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

Just an incredible scene last night in LA. I won’t go into the sad facts of Seattle down in Mexico but let’s all tip our hats to Toronto FC for being the only MLS side left standing in the CCL after last night. Wow. I never thought I would type that little bit of info.

Now LA, Toronto and Seattle have to move on to another weekend of league play. For LA and Seattle, home games should be a little bit of comfort after losing in the CCL. Though for LA it seems that home is not where the heart is as they’ve lost two in a row at the HDC. Weird times indeed.

We have a massively large weekend ahead of us with nine games on the menu – seven of them set for Saturday. The lone team not included for those keeping score at home is the Columbus Crew.

There certainly are plenty of good talking points going into the second weekend of the season so here is what I’ll be watching out for.

1. The Big O. Montreal is planning and hoping to blow the roof of the Olympic Stadium. Over 50,000 are expected to be on hand and the Impact are hoping to make it closer to 60,000 by kickoff. Yeah you read that correctly, 60,000. The Impact host a hungry Chicago Fire team that had last weekend off. You have to figure the Fire are ready for this one, even though they’ll face a monster crowd at the Big O.

Montreal is looking for their first MLS goal as well. Last weekend they struggled on offense against an up-and-coming Vancouver defense. I’d expect an even tougher task against a Chicago defense that is stronger this season. Second-year defender Jahil Anibaba is a guy that will dictate a lot in the defensive third.  Continue Reading →

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2012 MLS Season: Week 1 Predictions

By on March 9, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

LA and Salt Lake resume their rivalry to kickoff the season. (Getty Images)

The 2012 season is finally here folks. After a few months of offseason and preseason madness, the new season is ready to kickoff. Many clubs have reason to be optimistic going into the new season while expectations are already being placed on the big boys in the league to do well again once more this season.

Three clubs are without games this weekend while everyone else is in action. The first weekend of the season is spread out on three days with plenty of decent games to discuss. (For more look at my What To Watch For post to see the main talking points on the weekend)

Let’s get down to the game predictions, shall we? Feel free to leave your score predictions below as well.

Saturday

Montreal Impact at Vancouver Whitecaps – The new season gets started with an all-Canadian feature. Vancouver has a new coach and a loaded offense while Montreal is an expansion team playing in their inaugural MLS game. BC Place will be rocking in this one and while I like what Jesse Marsch has done with his squad going into their first season, the growing pains will be tough to overcome in time for this opener on the road. Vancouver has some growing pains to go through as well with a new coach and new system but I love their offensive weapons. If their defense holds up this could be a fun team to watch this season.

WVH Prediction: Vancouver 2, Montreal 1 Continue Reading →

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What To Watch For: Week 1

By on March 8, 2012 | Follow @WVHooligan |

BC Place will be rocking for the season opener. (Getty Images)

We are finally back to the normal weekly posts here. It is Thursday which means it is time to take a dip into the stories I’ll be focusing in on this weekend as Major League Soccer kicks off their 17th season.

We got things off to a bit of a bang last night in the CONCACAF Champions League, with Seattle downing Santos 2-1 and Toronto and LA playing to a 2-2 draw in front of a rocking crowd at the Rogers Centre.

The First Kick schedule this weekend last three days, spanning Saturday through Monday. The unbalanced schedule however means that there will be a team or two off each week. Both Seattle and Toronto will be off this weekend, thanks to their involvement in the CCL.

Let’s get started shall we? Continue Reading →

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