Disney Day 7: Nothing like a couple of 1-0 games

I don't know where to start with for this one - it's been an exhausting seven hours. I worked on the ESPN3 broadcasts of the Pro Soccer Classic for the second consecutive year, which is a real thrill because the production value (audio, number of cameras, graphics, etc.) is on a different level from anywhere else I've worked. There were some big changes to the setup from last year, and I think they mostly worked out very well - I had a good time calling both games, and hopefully the broadcasts worked for our viewers in Texas, Canada, and wherever they were watching.

Larger-than-life Hassli a happy camper in 2012

Wherever he goes, Eric Hassli stands out. With his size, his tattoos, and his almost-shaved head, he can be seriously intimidating. A minute later, however, his face creased into a smile, he exudes a youthful exuberance that is a magnet for those around him. Standing a head taller than many of his teammates after a Whitecaps training session Friday morning, Hassli was one of the chief jokesters as Jay DeMerit tried to organize the group for a video to be played inside BC Place. Hassli yelled louder than everybody else (often out of turn) and yelled, “Again, again,” when the group broke up after the second take, just to see how many teammates would take the bait and stick around. MLS Insider Shawn Francis caught some additional hijinks on camera.

Almost exactly one year after signing with the Whitecaps as their first designated player, Hassli is a happy camper in his first full preseason with Vancouver. New head coach Martin Rennie has the Whitecaps – and Hassli – set for a 180-degree reversal heading into the new year, with an impressive array of talent, a more cohesive work ethic, and a 3-0 mark with a 7-0 goal differential in the Disney Pro Soccer Classic.

Disney Pro Soccer Classic: Statistics

I've been keeping statistics throughout the Disney Pro Soccer Classic, because that's just something I like to do, so I thought I'd share them ahead of Saturday's third-place and championship games. It's preseason, several teams put out reserve lineups, and there are other mitigating factors, so none of these are too big a deal, but I always find it interesting to look at the numbers. After the jump, I'll give the top five in each category, followed by the other leaders from each team.

Disney Day 6: What's in a nickname?

Well, in our final broadcast together for this tournament, Simon Borg and I spent time in the first half basically picking on Toronto FC and pointing out how not ready they were for Wednesday's Champions League first leg against the LA Galaxy. Then rookie midfielder Luis Silva woke his team up, scored two goals in five minutes, and turned our show into a discussion of potential nicknames for Silva. QuickSilva (@BobbyBrizzo) and Luis Skillva (@MikalManu) were my favorites of the Twitter suggestions, and Simon went with QuickSilva for the rest of the show.

Disney Day 5: Distinct anti-climax

Well, the second game wound up being a playoff game of sorts, with Houston and Montreal battling to determine who would advance to Saturday's third-place match, but the ending was distinctly short on drama. A chippy game ended in a 1-1 tie, meaning Houston, Montreal, and Kansas City all tied with identical 0-1-2 records, having tied games against each other and lost to tournament juggernaut Vancouver. With goal differential as the tiebreaker, Houston (-1) advanced ahead of Montreal and KC (both -3), while Montreal finished third in the group by virtue of its two goals scored. I'm honestly not sure I've ever seen a four-team group end with one team 3-0 and the other three ALL finish at 0-1-2.

Disney Day 4: Controversy rules

That's me on the left.

After attending MLS broadcasting meetings yesterday and today, I found myself on the air again tonight in the fourth doubleheader of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic. Simon Borg and I called the Dallas-Orlando City game in the nightcap, a big game for me because (a) I'll be calling a lot of Dallas games this year; (b) the atmosphere is a lot better when Orlando City is playing; and (c) the teams played two tight games last year. So I was looking forward to this one, and rightly so.

The game turned on a fourth-minute play in which Orlando goalie Sean Kelley had a rough touch on a backpass and then was forced to take down Dallas forward Blas Perez in the penalty area. Everybody agreed with the foul and penalty kick, but it was the red card about which my esteemed colleague disagreed. Orlando stayed in the game for maybe 25 minutes, but Dallas pulled away to lead 2-0 at the half and win 4-0, taking control of the group. That didn't mean we weren't still talking about that red card!

Disney Day 3: Quiet afternoon

Sunday's games lacked the compelling storylines of Friday and the in-stadium atmosphere of Saturday, with all four teams putting out lineups laced with reserves. With a threat of rain hanging over the afternoon, we arrived to call the Houston-Vancouver opener and worried a bit about what would happen if it started to rain - more worried about the technical equipment from the broadcast than anything else - but thankfully didn't have to worry about it.

Disney Day 2: High winds, high entertainment

I had seen enough weather reports to know that today, Saturday, would be the coldest day of the tournament, but I still wasn't prepared for the cool temperatures and whipping wind that wreaked havoc with any notes that weren't taped down and kept my nose at a constant run. Despite that, I felt like Simon Borg and I got to call the best game of the tournament so far in the opener, and I enjoyed watching the nightcap despite the weather.

Disney Day 1: Quick hits

I'm exhausted after the first day of this year's Disney Pro Soccer Classic, so I'll just give a brief recap and add the boxscores from today's games. I'll try to post later on the whole experience of the day.

The first game was a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference final, but it was a very different encounter. Kansas City controlled play but created limited chances in a scoreless tie against Houston. The Dynamo got good news in a late appearance from Brad Davis, his first of the preseason, but were outplayed at times by a sharp, fit Kansas City squad. Still, that bend-but-don't-break Houston defense held out for another shutout. Bobby Boswell and Geoff Cameron are tough to break down. Sporting seemed to take the opening game more seriously than any other team, playing every starter available except one (Julio Cesar) and using only three substitutes. Houston played four-fifths of its starting defense and kept the back line on the whole game but used five subs in the offensive half.

The second game came to life after about 15 minutes, and Vancouver wound up with a well-deserved 3-0 win over Montreal. The Impact, playing their first gated game as an expansion club, competed hard but were outclassed in a chippy game. These teams used almost their entire rosters, so the second half got a bit hectic, but Vancouver put together some quality goals. The downside was injuries - Davide Chiumiento and John Thorrington both left hurt, with Thorrington looking particularly devastated at the prospect of yet another serious injury.

Boxscores from both games after the jump

Disney preview: Orlando City

The 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic starts on Friday, signaling the final countdown to the MLS season. I’ll be calling games at the tournament for the third straight year, teaming up with Simon Borg as part of MLSsoccer.com’s coverage of the group stage and then working the final day of the tournament on the ESPN3 broadcasts. As the week goes on, I’ll preview each of the eight teams set to participate in Orlando.

The tournament starts on Friday, but half of the teams will kick off on Saturday. This is the third edition of the tournament, but only the second with a host club. Orlando City, from the United Soccer Leagues’ PRO League, debuted last year and split its two games against MLS teams. Orlando City then won the inaugural USL PRO title on penalty kicks, and they’re ready for more MLS competition this year.

Disney preview: FC Dallas

The 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic starts on Friday, signaling the final countdown to the MLS season. I’ll be calling games at the tournament for the third straight year, teaming up with Simon Borg as part of MLSsoccer.com’s coverage of the group stage and then working the final day of the tournament on the ESPN3 broadcasts. As the week goes on, I’ll preview each of the eight teams set to participate in Orlando.

The tournament starts on Friday, but half of the teams will kick off on Saturday. This is the third edition of the tournament, and three teams have participated in each one: Houston, Dallas, and Toronto. Two of those will take the field on Saturday, and we’re now up to my sixth preview and a team I’ll see a lot of this year, Dallas.

Disney preview: Toronto FC

The 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic starts on Friday, signaling the final countdown to the MLS season. I’ll be calling games at the tournament for the third straight year, teaming up with Simon Borg as part of MLSsoccer.com’s coverage of the group stage and then working the final day of the tournament on the ESPN3 broadcasts. As the week goes on, I’ll preview each of the eight teams set to participate in Orlando.

This is the third edition of the tournament, and three teams have participated in each one: Houston, Dallas, and Toronto. Two of those will take the field for their first game on Saturday, and that brings us to my fifth preview, Toronto.

Disney preview: Sporting KC

The 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic starts on Friday, signaling the final countdown to the MLS season. I’ll be calling games at the tournament for the third straight year, teaming up with Simon Borg as part of MLSsoccer.com’s coverage of the group stage and then working the final day of the tournament on the ESPN3 broadcasts. As the week goes on, I’ll preview each of the eight teams set to participate in Orlando.

The tournament starts on Friday, and Simon and I will call the second game of the doubleheader. The first game, called by the Kansas City duo of Callum Williams and Jake Yadrich, is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference final. My fourth preview takes a look at Kansas City.

Disney preview: Houston Dynamo

The 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic starts on Friday, signaling the final countdown to the MLS season. I’ll be calling games at the tournament for the third straight year, teaming up with Simon Borg as part of MLSsoccer.com’s coverage of the group stage and then working the final day of the tournament on the ESPN3 broadcasts. As the week goes on, I’ll preview each of the eight teams set to participate in Orlando.
The tournament starts on Friday, and Simon and I will call the second game of the doubleheader. The first game, called by the Kansas City duo of Callum Williams and Jake Yadrich, is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference final. That brings me to my third preview, Houston.

Disney preview: Vancouver Whitecaps

The 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic starts on Friday, signaling the final countdown to the MLS season. I’ll be calling games at the tournament for the third straight year, teaming up with Simon Borg as part of MLSsoccer.com’s coverage of the group stage and then working the final day of the tournament on the ESPN3 broadcasts. As the week goes on, I’ll preview each of the eight teams set to participate in Orlando.

The tournament starts on Friday, and Simon and I will call the second game of the doubleheader, pitting Canadian rivals Montreal and Vancouver against each other in a preview of their March 10 opener. With that in mind, I started with a Montreal preview this morning and continue this afternoon with second-year MLS club Vancouver.

Disney preview: Montreal Impact

The 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic starts on Friday, signaling the final countdown to the MLS season. I’ll be calling games at the tournament for the third straight year, teaming up with Simon Borg as part of MLSsoccer.com’s coverage of the group stage and then working the final day of the tournament on the ESPN3 broadcasts. As the week goes on, I’ll preview each of the eight teams set to participate in Orlando.

The tournament starts on Friday, and Simon and I will call the second game of the doubleheader, pitting Canadian rivals Montreal and Vancouver against each other in a preview of their March 10 opener. With that in mind, I’m starting the previews with MLS expansion club Montreal.