Preseason News and Notes - 3/13

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Work has kept me way too busy and I haven't had a chance to put anything together until now. The Rapids have been somewhat quiet this week though, unusually so for the next to last week of the preseason, so there's not that much to talk about. Next week I'll have a full season preview and a Chivas game preview next Friday.

• Multiple sources report that the Rapids have signed Scoot Palguta from the Rochester Rhinos.

All of those sources are based on the same Rochester newspaper article quoting Palguta. When the article came out on Wednesday I contacted the Rapids for confirmation and got a complete denial. Given the fact that the player has said he's signed I am betting that the Rapids are still dotting the i's and crossing the t's on the transaction but for right now he has not been signed yet.

• Rapids finish out the preseason with a 1-0 win over the Sounders in Seattle

It was a closed door match so we don't have much to go on. Casey scored a PK in the first half for the only goal. The biggest news out of the game is the starting lineup that included Peterson, Ballouchy, and Harvey and not LaBrocca, Cooke, or Guerrero. Given that this is the last game of the preseason the assumption is that the probable starters would get most of the playing time. I'm not real surprised about Ballouchy over LaBrocca, and Harvey over Guerrero is a bit of a surprise but that might be a defensive focus over a more offensive one. The real surprise to me is Peterson over Cooke. Based on last year's play Peterson would have had to significantly improve to rate starting over Cooke (or Cooke would have had to have fallen off a cliff). I hope Peterson has really improved that much and this isn't an instance of Smith trying to force in a player over a more talented choice.

• Altitude releases their TV schedule for the Rapids season

Altitude will once again be the TV home for the Rapids when they aren't on National TV. Altitude is covering every non-National game (7 games) except for the road games in Seattle and Toronto. There was no reason given, but the Rapids did say they are working on other options for those games. The Rapids need to step up and get every road game, if not every game, on TV. If they don't fans will be forced to go to Direct Kick or MLSLive.tv. All home games on Altitude will be preceded by a 30 minute pre-game, and Avs announcer Mike Haynes and Rapids legend Marcelo Balboa will be the commentary team.

• Supporters Groups season-kickoff party announced

Class VI and the Centennial Firm will be hosting a season kickoff party at the DSG Park Cantina on March 22nd from 6 to 8pm. The party is open to all fans regardless of membership in one of the groups. There will be a silent auction, raffle prizes, and Gary Smith will be there to give us a State of the Team update. This is the night after the Chivas game in LA, so hopefully we'll even have a win to talk about!

Only 8 days until the season kicks off!!!!