It's the season ending gala that everyone's been waiting for and the day has arrived for the little bronze statuettes to be handed out. Ummm… okay maybe we don't have statues and we don't have a gala but we are going to give out our awards for the top performances of the season. Most awards are easily debatable but these will go further! These will be the most easily debatable awards ever given out… or maybe not. At any rate, the show must go on so here are our picks for MVP, Coach of the Year, Organization of the Year, Playoff MVP, Goalkeeper of the Year, and Defender of the Year.
This season's Goalkeeper of the Year Viewee goes to: Scott Vallow. He held up the back-line for the Rhinos all season long and helped keep them organized. While a lot of the pressure on him was taken off by the ability of the Rochester defense you have to respect a 'keeper who plays this well through the course of an entire season and playoff run. The runner-up was Dusty Hudock who played his way into the hearts of the Charleston Battery fans this season and had a more than solid season in the nets for the club who won the Atlantic this year.
This season's Coach of the Year Viewee goes to: Alan Dicks. The coach of the Charleston Battery only fell short when his club came up against the soon to be crowned Rochester Rhinos in the second round of the playoffs. Playing on back to back days against last year's defending Eastern Conference champs didn't help matters any especially since they had to go to Rochester in the first leg. During the regular season, though, he guided his club through the closing moments of the season brilliantly as they claimed the Atlantic Division crown and the Eastern Conference regular season championship. The runner-up in this category has to be Neil Megson of the Sounders who put together a good squad and had a great run this season.
The Organization of the Year award goes to: hold the phone we have a split decision. This award is shared by both of this year's finalists. Minnesota deserves the award because of the absolutely tireless work of Buzz Lagos not to mention the fact that he had the class to remain with club he's built instead of running off to Tampa. Rochester deserves the award simply because of their fans and the avid support of the community. These two clubs both deserved the award so they got it.
The Defender of the Year award goes to: Rochester defender Craig Demmin. He provided a lot of stability in the Rochester back line and added some timely offensive help for his club. Through the playoffs he proved his worth by providing some timely passing from the back and stifling attacks in front of Scott Vallow. The runners-up in this category were Charleston's Dean Sewell, though he didn't play as much later in the season for the Battery, and Toronto's Milan Kojic who was solid in defense while adding offensive punch to the Lynx squad. All three of these players were two-way threats for their clubs but it was the defensive abilities of Demmin that put him slightly over the top in this category.
This year's playoff MVP Viewee goes to: Rochester forward Onandi Lowe. Lowe was explosive in the Rhinos run through the playoffs. He was consistent throughout the long campaign of the regular season and when it came time for the playoffs he lit up the A-League. While he did have some lackluster stretches during the regular season amid rumors that he was leaving when everything was on the line he showed up, not only for his club, but also for his country. The runners-up for this award were Digital Takiwara, Scott Vallow, and Morgan Zeba. All three were outstanding for their clubs through their respective playoff runs but Lowe was undeniable this year in Rochester's run to the Championship.
Finally, the overall MVP Viewee goes to: Milwaukee's Digital Takiwara. No one had quite the same effect on his club that Digital had this season on the Rampage. Takiwara successfully resurrected his North American soccer career with the Rampage this season by being at or near the top of the league as an offensive producer all year. His assists and goals were arguably the most important reason for Milwaukee running Minnesota close throughout the entire season. His inspirational efforts this year might also earn another call from the MLS clubs during the off-season. If not he may make things awfully uncomfortable for the Thunder again next year as Milwaukee gathers themselves for another run at Minnesota.
That's all for the Viewees this year. If you don't agree I'm sure I'll hear about it! If you do like our selections then let us know that way we can bask in the glow of knowing the fans are with us.
Back to the Future
Headed into next season we know a couple of things. One is that the classic Great Northwest rivalry will be renewed as the Portland Timbers make their way into the league. The surprise in all of this is the decision made earlier this week to announce the name change by Vancouver from the 86ers back to the Whitecaps! So now we'll see some serious NASL flashbacks when schedules show the Whitecaps, Sounders, and Timbers facing off this season. While we're talking about the future we should also congratulate the 12-16 year olds from Seattle who get a Thanksgiving vacation to Germany where they'll get to see what soccer life is like at Werder Bremen's academy. They'll be in Bremen from November 20-27 and will get to play against the German club's youth squads and get some instruction from the German coaches. While we're on the subject of youth we should also congratulate Landon Donovan who was the major catalyst in the U.S. Men's National Team victory over Mexico scoring the opener and getting the helper on the second goal in the 2-0 victory. While Bruce Arena was upbeat he said Landon still has a ways to go but he also admitted that Landon is currently one of the most talented players the U.S. has in the attacking third. Somehow I expect Landon may show up in Barbados on November 15th and show that he's ready to score for the full team in big games. I also want to make sure I congratulate the whole squad for the U.S. for beating a Mexican squad who may very well have been looking for the same thing the U.S. was in their match. Namely a quality second squad that can get results if need be. Sorry for this week's abbreviated column but I'll be back with more next week when I'll hopefully have more news. Thanks for reading. As always that's the view from here.
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