WKRPFC

Town to town, up and down the table

Sorry for the lack of a recap yesterday, Denver Pop Culture Con on a 3 game week is not a good combination.  Needless to say a big result going on the road and getting a point.  And a very pretty goal combination from Shinyashiki and Lewis.  Tomorrow night we've got the new kids in town as expansion FC Cincinnati visits.  Its an odd start time, 6:30 pm, not 7, so keep that in mind for your planning.  I'll be heading out there after the Cary Elwes panel at the Con so I should make it by kickoff.  The tailgate for those not going to the Con starts at 3:30 for this one, and Fleming and 'Celo will have the game call on Altitude.

Injury Report:

OUT: D Kortne Ford

QUESTIONABLE: F Michael Lewis

Not great to see Lewis on the injury report.  I'm guessing we rest him after his midweek play and not risk anything.

Yes, we're wearing the whites at home tomorrow.  I don't know if Smith and Rosenberry have a third game in their legs this week, but I'm not sure who we'd start in their place.  Otherwise we'll see guys who rested on Wednesday in and guys who played both Saturday and Wednesday out.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Kamara and Nicholson.  Yes, for the first time in a while I'm actually predicting a win.  Cinci does not have a good offense and we actually do, while both defenses suck.  But I think on the road they wilt at altitude and we get enough to get the 3 points and pass them in the table, finally getting out of last place.

Rapids Travel East Looking For Three In A Row

Big news earlier today with the Fraser rumor but before we see where that goes we've got a match tomorrow.  The Rapids flew out to Philly today for their only look at Rosenberry's former team this season.  Can they make it 9 points in 3 games?  Kickoff tomorrow is at 5:30pm and Fleming and 'Celo will have the call on Altitude.  With a weeknight game there's no formal watch party but all the normal places will be showing the game.

Injury Report:
OUT: D Kortne Ford
QUESTIONABLE: GK Tim Howard, D Danny Wilson

I've been told that Howard didn't fly with the team today.  Resting him for this game by keeping him home and healing is a good move.  There's no reason to push him for a midweek game at this point.

Its really hard to predict the lineup for this one.  This is the first time Casey is facing a three game week and we don't know how he'll approach it.  I expect some rotation and I took my best guess as to who that will be, but really nothing would surprise me.

Prediction: 2-1 loss, goal by Kamara.  Short week, on the road, and a much better team.  We're improved, but we're not that improved.  We won't look horrible, but we're going to be the second best team tomorrow.

Robin Fraser Returning To Colorado?

Kristian Dyer of ESPN FC is reporting that former Rapids defender Robin Fraser is the lead candidate to be the next head coach, with Smith going in front of Stan later this week to get final sign off.  Fraser played for the Rapids from 2001-2003.  He also played for the Galaxy and the Crew.  After retiring as a player he was an assistant coach for the Red Bulls for four seasons before taking the head coaching job with Chivas USA.  In two seasons he was 15-21-32 (W-D-L) but you have to take into account that Chivas USA was a poorly run team,, even by Rapids standards.  Since then he went back to his assistant role with the Red Bulls before moving to Toronto FC as an assistant since 2015.

This hire would be a good move by the Rapids and one I suggested both post-Pareja and post-Pablo.  He has a ton of MLS experience, he's been a head coach before, and bonus, he's a former Rapid.  This isn't like our last four coaches who had no real club head coaching experience before and (outside of Pareja) had no real coaching experience of any type in MLS.  He'll come in knowing the league and the players and knowing what it means to be a head coach.  He's also going to be fairly cheap for a MLS coach so that fits the rumors of a limited budget.  Fraser has developed a reputation as a bit of a tactical whiz, which this team could use.  The real question left is how he'll handle the youth movement in Commerce City.

If things are as far along as the report suggests I can see Fraser being announced either late this week or early next week.  I expect that regardless of the time of the announcement Casey will lead the team through the two games remaining this week and maybe even the week after against Minnesota.  After that the Rapids have two weeks with only a USOC game due to the Gold Cup break which will be a great time for a new coach to step in.

They Called It The Streak!

Two wins in a row!  We're Colorado Rapids and we're on our way back!  Ok, ok, maybe we're not over the hump but its nice to actually be competitive after a long wait.  Its particularly good to see the Rapids continually press forward to re-take the lead after giving it up and not settle for a draw.  We're going to have to win a lot of games 3-2 this year, we should get used to it.

Random Musings:

• The Rapids scored twice from corner kicks in this one.  I can remember whole seasons when it felt like the Rapids didn't score twice from corner kicks.
• The third Rapids goal was a nice counterattack where both our wingers combined.  A nice run by Nicholson freed up Lewis to get the ball from Sam.  More of that please.
• Meanwhile the first Columbus goal looked like the bad old days of the defense marking nobody.  Lots of yellow bananas running through the box wide open.  People were distracted by the multiple players on the deck (from both teams) but you have to keep your focus and play to the whistle.
• The good news is that the second goal was just Wynne getting beat.  I mean, that's not good, but at least its not a systemic problem.  And Zardes beating a backup CB isn't something to be completely ashamed of.
• Tommy Smith once again looked capable (first Crew goal aside).  He's still not producing at the level for the salary we're paying him but a pairing of him and Abubakar might be serviceable for the season.  Maybe a change in leadership is what he needed.
• Mezquida has been much better coming off the bench than as a starter.  Casey figured something out there.    That said I was complaining about his wayward shots before he scored.  You can't score if you don't shoot I guess.  BTW, should his nickname be Mosquito or is that just me?
• That's two weeks in a row a sub has come in and got the winning goal.  That's a sign of good coaching.
• Kamara is the textbook selfless striker.  Happy to lay the ball off, happy to do the hard work in the back (like clearing a sure goal off the line), and doing it all with a smile.
• Lewis is a bit raw but man does he have talent.  Early returns on that trade are looking good.
• Rubio got back in to the lineup but didn't do a ton.  We need more out of him.

Man of the Match: Sam Nicholson.  On top of the previously mentioned assist he put in a ton of work running at the Crew defense.  He also took a couple of hard fouls and bounced right back.  MLS named him in the Team of the Week for his effort.

The Still Columbus Crew Come To Town

What an actual winning crew team looks like

Congratulations Columbus, you kept the Crew!  Sincerely every MLS fan is happy for you guys.  Now that we've dispensed with the niceties, take an L and get out.  :D  Yes the Village People, still of Columbus, are in Commerce City tomorrow night to face the Rapids who are on a 1-game winning "streak".  Traditional kickoff time of 7pm tomorrow so the tailgate will start at 4.  Since its Memorial Day we can expect the surrounding fields to be packed with the annual soccer tournament and the stadium to have a larger than normal attendance at the game.  If you can't make it, Fleming and 'Celo will take care of you on Altitude.

Injury Reporrt:

OUT: D Kortne Ford

Availability Report:

Unavailable: D Lalas Abubakar

Because Abubakar is on loan to us from Columbus he's not allowed to play against the Crew so we have to make do without him this week.  Its not a horrible thing as with 3 games this week (@Philly on Wed, Cinci next Saturday) odds are he would have to miss one of the three games anyway, it just forces our hand as to which game he misses.

I'm honestly not sure who's going to be on the back line.  Given Anderson and Wynne both had rough games at left back I think Vines will get a shot there.  Smith looked ok last week and I think Casey will want to run out as much of the same lineup so he'll start but it could be Wynne,  Opare, or Sjoberg next to him.  I think Rubio will have to work himself back into the lineup after the success Lewis and Nicholson had last week.

Prediction: 1-1 draw.  Goal by Lewis.  Columbus has the second worse offense in the league, but our defense sucks without Abubakar.  We saw that against Vancouver, who had the worst offense in the league.  I think we're better than we were then but I'm not yet confident enough to predict a win.

Finally

12 long games and by the end of the last one the Rapids finally came out on top.  Probably the best played game by the team as a whole all season as while there weren't a ton of stars, nobody really had a bad game, for the first time this year.  To be fair, had Zlatan played the result in probably different but 3 points is 3 points.  Colorado got the stops when they needed to due to a big game from Tim Howard and a goal-line clearance from Rosenberry.  The Rapids could have made it move than one if Kei had not been having a off night or Lewis had finished his first breakaway as a Rapids, but Shinyashiki got the job done, all we needed was one.

Random Musings:

• Casey is obviously going to play as a counter-attacking team. Sit in deep, it them on the break, try to minimize the damage to our patched together defense.  That's the smart move right now given where this team is at.
• Despite his late start to the year Lalas Abubakar is making a run at team MVP already.  Since he's on loan from Columbus he can't play against them next week, it will be interesting to see how we look without him.
• Tommy Smith looked decent lined up next to Abubakar, with natural LB's and RB's outside of him.  That might be a manageable defense until/if Ford gets back.
• LB is still a hole.  Wynne didn't look great.  If Vines is healthy next week might as well see what he can do.
• Nicholson was driving at Polenta all night, clearly they saw something in the footage that suggested he was weak.
• Seeing Glad's red card get overturned last week and not seeing Polenta's card being upgraded this week leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  
• I love Kamara, but last night was probably his worst game in a Rapids jersey.  I hope it was just a one off and not a sign of lacking confidence after his poor PK last week.
• Shinyashiki has two goals this year.  They both came after the 80th minute and led to 4 points (out of 5 total).  Not too bad for a rookie.
• The win caps our losing streak and a team-record tying 8 games, and our start-of-season winless streak at a league-record tying 11 games.  That also keeps FSL in the record books alongside us with that record.

Man of the Match: Jonathan Lewis.  We got our first real good look at what he can do in this game.  Yeah, he missed his first breakaway but that's just the minimum requirement to be a Rapid these days.  Other than that he was dangerous all night and gave LA fits.  He topped off his performance with a spot on the provisional Gold Cup roster announced today.

Rapids Head To The Coast To Face Zlatan-less Galaxy

Its off to LA-LA land tomorrow as Colorado tries to avoid a couple of ignoble records.  A loss would be a team-record ninth in a row, while a draw (or loss) would be a league-record 12 games to start the season without a win.  By the way, the league record losing streak (post-Shootout) is 10, owned by the 2005 FSL squad.  The good news is that the Rapids won't have to face Zlatan, who was suspended yesterday for two games due to his neck choke of NYCFC's keeper last week.  The bad news is that the Rapids won't have Diego Rubio again, as the DisCo extended his suspension for his punch in the Vancouver match for an extra game (a joke considering right before that punch they let Roldan completely off the hook for contact to the face).  Kickoff on Sunday is at 6pm on Altitude with Fleming and Balboa.

Injury Report:
OUT: D Kortne Ford
QUESTIONABLE: D Sam Vines

Disciplinary Report:
SUSPENDED: F Diego Rubio

Sam Vines picked up an ankle roll just before the last match, which explains the disastrous Seb Anderson, LB experience last week.  Lets hope we don't see a repeat of that tomorrow.

I think we'll likely see the same lineup as last week, except putting Serna in for Anderson.  Maybe Casey goes with the second half plan from last week where Rosenberry goes to LB and Anderson stays at his natural RB, but I think he'll go with the Dillon's greater experience.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Kamara.  11 of LA's 18 goals this season have gone through Ibra.  No Zlatan, no party.  That said I'm not yet ready to predict a win for the good guys.  So a goal a piece and we break our losing streak but we set the record for longest start of a season without a win.

Yep, That Was A Rocky Mountain Cup Match

Typical Rocky Mountain Cup match.  We go down two early, one on a PK.  We battle back to tie.  We go down again.  We get a PK.  We miss the PK.  We get a tying goal late.  Tying goal is ruled (correctly) offside.  That's our RMC luck in a nutshell.

There's been lots of talk about the officiating in this one.  I'm by no means an expert but I've spent some time reading refereeing forums.  From my POV, here's how I'm looking at the calls:

• Both PK's were equally soft, and both were for feet getting entangled.  Either you call both or you call neither.
• The offside on the Rapids goal was very close, but accurate
• The VAR discussion right before that was for a possible hand ball in the box.  The ball did hit his hand, but it also hit Mezquida's hand in a much worse way right after that.  I don't think either of them should have been called handling though as neither met the standard
• Glad's red card is the one that I don't feel was handled 100% correctly.  For me it was an orange card and whatever the ref called on the field was probably the right card.  It doesn't seem to me to be "clear and obvious" that either a yellow or a red card is the wrong call on that play.  Glad came in fast and with an extended leg but he did make a successful play on the ball ("getting ball" doesn't forgive a foul but it can factor into the play) and at the last second he angles his foot down slightly to try to lessen the impact.  His leg is also not "locked" as he makes impact.  Again, if you want to call that red i won't argue with you, but I also wouldn't feel a yellow was an unjust result.  The call on the field probably should have stood.

Outside of the officiating problems the big story was Seb Anderson getting beat, over and over.  I understand that Vines was a late scratch and with the season lost getting our kids playing time is the priority, but Anderson is barely up to playing his natural position, much less being swapped to the other side of the field.  If there was any match to rest the kids and go with more known quantities (like Serna), this was it.  The rivalry was the only thing left to play for and now down a goal going to Utah its going to take a 2 goal win to bring the Cup home.

With this loss the Rapids now have the worst start through 11 games in league history at 2 points.  The 2007 FSL team went 11 games without a win to start the season but had 5(?) draws in that time.  Nobody has ever gone the first 12 games without getting a win.  The Rapids also tied their team record losing streak at 8 games.

Man of the Match: Lalas Abubakar.  Yes, with an unlucky bounce and being a bit out of position you could make the case he was responsible for the winning goal, but he also only got here on Wednesday.  Its not surprising he might not have all his defensive assignments down yet.  Despite that he looked really good on Saturday night.  Looking good as a Rapids CB is not a high bar to clear this year but he actually looked like a competent MLS CB.  He got involved in the attack as well.  He was also one of the first (along with the other new guy, Lewis) to pull Acosta away from Glad when that red/yellow card tackle happened, which is a good sign that he wants to be a good teammate despite being here on loan.

Rocky Mountain Cup 2019, Round 1

Its time to get this season on the right track and this is the game to start it with.  Everyone knows its Rocky Mountain Cup week, and FSL hasn't had a great start to their season.  They are likely without Rimando who's Questionable (though he has a habit of being "injured" just until he gets to play us) and they're without Beckerman.  If neither of them play this will be the first ever Rocky Mountain Cup match where none of Beckerman, Rimando, or Mastroeni play or coach.  Year 15 of the competition may have a different look to it.  Kickoff tomorrow is at 7pm, so the tailgate starts at 4.  I'll be delivering the Cup to the Altitude set for Fleming's and Balboa's pre-game show at 6:30 before it appears on the Rapids Tailgate Live stream and then, sadly, returns to the FSL supporters.

Injury Report:
OUT: D Kortne Ford

Disciplinary Report:
SUSPENDED: F Diego Rubio

This is Casey's first full week in charge and that, combined with Rubio's suspension and the new acquisitions this week, makes me believe some changes in the starting XI.

I would expect Nicholson and Lewis to be a little higher than this formation allows me to show.  I'm not 100% about Bassett and Price but I think the formation is about right.  Who lines up next to Abubakar is anyone's guess.

Prediction: 2-2 draw, goals by Kamara and Lewis.  Yeah, I'd love to predict a win but I feel like this draw is even optimistic at this point.  This will be the first real good look to see if the moves over the last 10 days have made a real effect on this team.  If somehow a repeat of the last RMC game that we don't talk about happens, or even half as bad, then the whole thing needs to be torched, top to bottom.

Ins and Outs in Commerce City

A trio of trades by the Rapids before the window closed last night has certainly generated some discussion today among burgundy fans.  We're going to break each one down in order of complexity and then talk about the bigger picture.

Rapids loan CB Lalas Abubakar from Columbus until the end of the season for $125K in TAM

This is pretty straight forward.  The Rapids needed CB help immediately and Abubakar wasn't getting a ton of time in Columbus.  I expect Lalas to start ASAP, maybe even on Saturday.  I also get the impression that the teams will work out a long-term deal to keep him here before the season ends.  Abubakar is a 24 year old Ghanaian who was the 5th overall pick in the 2017 SuperDraft.  He made 20 starts for the Crew last season but has only made 1 start this year.  He played for the Ghana U-20 team but got his green card last year.  He's not a top MLS starter but he can do the job.

Rapids acquire F Jonathan Lewis from NYCFC for $650K of TAM and a 2020 international slot

Lewis is the big pickup of the day.  A 21 year old winger/forward from Florida, he got his start by signing for Bradford City (his mother is English) before realizing he'd rather be home in the States.  He came back and played for a year at Akron before being drafted by NYCFC with the 3rd overall pick in the 2017 draft.  He's made 31 appearances for the Pigeons over 3 years with 3 goals and 5 assists.  He's also been capped by the U.S. Nats 4 times in 2019.  He's best as a winger, which we're not currently playing with, but can also tuck under a striker more centrally.  Probably not a true #10 but might be able to serve in a pinch.  He came at a high cost though, with a lot of TAM going to NYCFC.  According to reports there were multiple teams pursuing him, which pushed his price up.  Depending on unannounced performance targets the TAM price could go up by up to another $100K.

Rapids acquire CB Abdul Rwatubyaye, $50K TAM, 2019 international slot, a 2nd round pick in 2020, and $250K season ending injury replacement allowance for Benny Feilhaber.  Teams also swap waiver wire priority order (KC to #1, Colorado to #5)

Yeah, that's as confusing as it looks.  Let's start with the players, then we'll move to the rest of the stuff.  Rwatubyaye is a 22 year old Rwandan defender who signed with KC this past offseason.  Before that he had played for 6 years in Rwanda, winning the Rwandan Premier League 3 times.  He's also a regular for the Rwandan National Team after playing at each national team youth level, playing for them in World Cup qualifying and African Cup of Nations qualifying.  He's played in all 4 of their most recent African Cup of Qualifying matches.  All that said, he's still very raw and is expected to be a long-term project, not a 2019 contributor.

In exchange Benny Feilhaber is going back to KC.  Feilhaber was somewhat of a surprise signing this offseason but was expected to bring senior leadership to fill the gap until we could get new DPs in 2020.  Obviously as this season has gone south the need for that senior leadership has evaporated.  At the same time it appears Benny wasn't aware, or wasn't up, for what he signed up for.  In quotes from a KC reporter:

My response to these quotes is "Benny, if you don't want to be here, we don't need you".  I understand the desire to finish on a high note, but its not like this is year 3 of a 4 year deal that hasn't gone well.  This is 10 games into a 2 year commitment for a team that could be expected to be, well, not this bad, but not competing for championships.

Outside of the player swap we also traded some assets.  The $50K of TAM, the draft pick, and the international slot explain themselves (we needed an slot to add Rwatubyaye to the roster).  Swapping of the waiver wire order seems fairly meaningless. I'm guessing KC knows, or believes, that a player they're interested in will be waived soon and want first dibs on him.  The season ending injury replacement allowance is a big name for teams being allowed to spend up to $250K of their own money to replace a significant player that got a season-ending injury in the early part of the season (before the window closes).  Essentially KC is paying us $250K out of their own pocket that we can use as GAM.

So, in the end, here's the combine total of today's activities:

OUT: Feilhaber, 2020 international slot, #1 waiver wire pick, $775K-$875K of TAM (most not payable until 2020)

IN: Lewis, Rwatubyaye, Abubakar (on loan through 2019), 2019 international slot, #5 waiver wire pick, KC's 2nd round pick in 2020, $50K in TAM, $250K in GAM

Essentially we gave up Feilhaber and about $500-$600K in TAM, plus swapped waiver wire and international spots, for a National team player, a raw CB prospect, and a starting CB on loan, plus a draft pick.  That's not a bad days work.  It, however, doesn't help us much for 2019.  Adding two or three young players to the list of Acosta, Anderson, Bassett, Ford, Hundley, Nicholson, Raben, Rosenberry, Shinyashiki, and Vines is a lot of youth at low cost for the next coach to work with.  We've got a full youth movement going, but its going to take time to pay off.  I'm not sure the fans, or Smith, has that time.

Hello Darkness My Old Friend...

Another game, another loss.  Sjoberg got worked for two goals, Kamara picked up two goals on PK, Rubio lost his head, and the Rapids lost the game.

With the loss the Bodmer Line now sits at 1.708 pts/game.  In 2016 we played the whole season at 1.706 pts/game.  Last year it was June 1st when we passed that mark and declared the season over.  I see no reason not to do the same now.  10 games in and 2019 is done.

(BTW, if you're wondering, the quickest the team could reach that mark is in 9 games, so the 2 points we have extended our season 1 game)

Really, at this point, we're down to three games that matter.  The two Rocky Mountain Cup matches (the first being next week) and our U.S. Open Cup game, and if we win that, the one that follows, etc.  Beyond that we should just use the season to determine what is salvageable from this roster.

Let The Conor Casey Era Begin!

For the first time in a while, outside of the season opener, I'm excited and intrigued about a home match.  Tomorrow night the Conor Casey coaching era begins as the Rapids host Vancouver.  There will be lots of interested eyes watching how the team will react to the leadership change.  I expect the tailgate will have a more festive air than its had for a while when it starts at 4pm before the 7pm kickoff.  If you can't make it the dynamic duo of Fleming and Balboa will have the call on Altitude.

Injury Report:
OUT: D Kortne Ford

That's as good as the availability reports have looked all season.  Hopefully after his recent knee surgery Ford is on his way to a full recovery finally.

This is half educated guess and half "this is what I think he should do".  With his first game in charge its hare to know what Conor it thinking but I'm betting a pretty basic formation that gets as many people into their preferred positions to maximize the chances of success.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Kamara and Rubio.  Vancouver has the worst offense in the league, we have the worst defense.  So I think they'll get one, but only one.  Meanwhile I think Casey's attack-minded focus gives us enough to get two and our first win of the season.

Conor Casey Rapids #9 Is Back!

By now I'm sure you've all heard the news.  Anthony Hudson was dismissed as Colorado Rapids Head Coach today and Conor Casey has been given the interim title.  A much needed change for a club that's been at a historic awful start.  Hudson finishes with a league 0.77 pts/game average, worse in club history (not counting Wegerle's single game as player/manager at the end of the '96 season that he lost) and with only 8 wins in 46 competitive matches in charge of the club.  It was also the second shortest tenure for a non-interim coach, only Houghton's 31 games in 1996 was shorter.

So very much out with the bad and, hopefully, in with the good.  For now club legend Conor Casey has the reins and he was the logical choice.  Of all the assistants only two of them, Casey and GK coach Chris Sharpe, were not brought in by Hudson from his prior jobs and Sharpe splits time between the first team and working with the Academy keepers.  Combined with his top 3 all-time player standing (Pablo and Balboa being the other two) and for an interim role he's an easy choice.

Note, I said interim.  Let's talk about the full time role.  Padraig Smith has the biggest decision of his career ahead of him.  He has to get the right coach this time or this club is in deep trouble for a long, long time.  Smith has two options.  With many of the top leagues ending their seasons in the next couple of weeks Smith could already have targets lined up and be planning to hire somebody in the next few weeks.  The other option is to let Casey handle the rest of the 2019 season and hire the coach in the offseason.  Honestly I think this could go either way an neither option would shock me.  The only thing that would be surprising is hiring somebody before the end of the season but after, say, July 4th.  If I had to put my money on something I'd go with a quick hire.

So who should fill that role?  Not Conor Casey.  Well, with one exception.  If Casey has the club for the rest of the season and somehow makes a miracle run into the playoffs he can have the job.  Short of that however we should be looking for somebody for more experience.  After Hudson, Pablo, Pareja, and Smith, all having essentially no club head coaching experience we need to hire somebody who's run a club before, preferably successfully.  Despite what some people like to claim there's actually a number of selling points for the Rapids job.  One, there's nowhere to go but up.  Two, there is a lot of dead weight rolling of the roster at the end of the season allowing a chance to build the team the new coach wants.  Three, two big DP spots will be open going into 2020.  That's a great chance to shape the future of a club.  But it also shows the biggest risk to the club at this point.  A bad coaching hire and/or bad DP signings could block this club from moving forward for a long time.

A couple of names are already floating around out there.  The two most notable ones are Josh Wolff and Eric Wynalda.  I don't particularly like either pick.  Wolff might be a good coach but never having been a head coach before we don't really know.  Wynalda's actual results don't match his hype.  He's never spent more than one season with his team and his "big" successes were building a team specifically to make USOC runs, not play full league seasons.

I'm sure we'll hear more names as time goes on and we'll be talking about the most likely of them here.  For now though its a new start to 2019 for the Rapids, lets see if we can put a run together with this bounce.

Hudson Out, Casey In?

Multiple rumors have broken this morning that Hudson has been fired and Casey is now interim manager.  First long-time reporter Marco Cummings tweeted that the Rapids and Padraig Smith have scheduled a major announcement today.  Specifically Smith and the Rapids, not Hudson.  Cummings has since deleted that tweet.  Rapids Rabbi has just tweeted that sources are telling him Hudson has been fired and Casey is now in charge.  More on this tonight when, presumably, we'll have official news.