Rapids Enter 2016 U.S. Open Cup Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow the 4th Round of the U.S. Open Cup kicks off and due to the timing the first game will actually be the Rapids hosting the Colorado Springs Switchbacks at 7pm at the Dick.  This is the third year in a row the Rapids have started their USOC campaigns at home and I'm still getting used to it. :D  All tickets are $15 ($10 if your a season ticket holder) and are General Admission.  If its like the last couple of years only the West side of the stadium will be open.

This is a rematch of last year's 4th round game that the Rapids won 4-1.  Badji, Greenspan, and Serna (twice) had goals in that one.  I would expect Badji and Serna to start again tomorrow (Greenspan being still on Naval duty).  The Post reported earlier this week that Pappa is hoping to get some game time as he returns from injury as well.

Beyond that I won't predict a lineup.  Generally we have used reserves in the past and with a game Saturday against Chicago and a trip to LA next Wednesday I'd expect that to continue but given the long break we're coming out of some of the regulars might want minutes to knock the rust off.  St. Ledger and Burling are out due to injury and Gashi and Jones are with their National teams but otherwise everyone is available.

I won't put out a score prediction as it really depends on that starting lineup.  I do think the Rapids win this game though unless they look past the Switchbacks to wanting to keep their run going as league play starts on Saturday.  Colorado springs is playing well this year but based on what we've seen from the Rapids so far this season the burgundy boys should win this one.

Luton Shelton In Camp...Again

Yesterday the Rapids tweeted that Jamaican striker Luton Shelton was training with the team.  This isn't the first time the Rapids have been linked with Shelton, having him in camp at the beginning of last season.  He's been bouncing back and forth from his Russian team Volga NN to Colorado apparently since that time, recovering from a serious injury.  I heard his name being talked about earlier this season as well.

This may just be that Shelton likes Colorado and the chance to train with us but we might be interested in signing him as well.  Assuming this is real interest it poses a bit of a problem.  First of all we don't have an international spot open to sign him with.  That at least is easily solved buy removing the recall option in Castillo's loan to Charlotte.  That would make it a "season-long" loan at which point he would not take up an international or roster spot.

Secondly is the salary.  As noted before the Rapids are pretty close tot he cap based on the info we have.  Shelton ws making about $1.6 million a year in Russia but its been more than a year since he's played and at 30 years old coming back from a serious injury he's not going to command nearly that much.  My bet is that if we sign him it would be for something like $150K for the second half of the season.  We may have enough room and allocation money to make that work.  If we don't we'd have to move somebody to free up room.

Now I'd rather see us sign a CB than another striker.  While depth is good and Shelton certainly looks like the right kind of player for us our backline is so thin I'd like to see us get help there.

Burling Out Up To 5 Weeks

The Rapids announced today that Bobby Burling has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and will miss about 5 weeks.

If he had the surgery right after the Union game that means he could be back right after the 4th of July game.  If he had it this week that means he'll miss the July 11th game as well.  Either way we're looking at at least 3 more games (plus the USOC) game without him.

Pablo will probably turn to Jared Watts to fill the gap as he did to start the season.  Other possibilities would be Eric Miller or recalling Dennis Castillo from Charlotte.  It does show that if we make any move in the summer window (other than officially signing Howard) it needs to be a move for CB depth.  It was a weakness going into the season and we're desperately thin at that position now.

Unofficial: USOC Game Tuesday June 14th, 7pm

No official announcement from the Rapids yet but according to the Colorado Springs Gazette the U.S. Open Cup game between the Rapids and Switchbacks will be Tuesday June 14th at &pm at the Dick.

EDIT: I missed it, there was an official announcement of this date/time.  Tickets on sale Monday.

Euro & Copa Preview

Two big tournaments kick off over the next 8 days.  Tomorrow we get the start of the Copa America Centenario here in the U.S. and then a week later Euro 2016 starts in France.  Surprisingly the Rapids have 3, but only 3, players involved in these tournaments when 5 months ago we thought we'd be lucky to have one (and sadly that one, Kevin Doyle, isn't involved).  Here's a schedule of when the teams featuring the Rapids will be playing and the TV coverage (all times MDT).

Copa America Centenario:

USA - Jermaine Jones, Tim Howard
Fri 6/3 - USA vs. Colombia - Santa Clara, CA - 7:30pm - Fox Sports 1
Tue 6/7 - USA vs. Costa Rica - Chicago, IL - 6pm - Fox Sports 1
Sat 6/11 - USA vs. Paraguay - Philadelphia, PA - 5pm - Fox Sports 1

If the U.S. wins the group (not likely):
Quarterfinal Thu 6/16 - Seattle, WA - 6:30pm - Fox Sports 1
Semifinal Tue 6/21 - Houston, TX - 7pm - Fox Sports 1

If the U.S. finishes 2nd in the group (could happen):
Quarterfinal Fri 6/17 - East Rutherford, NJ - 5pm - Fox Sports 1
Semifinal Wed 6/22 - Chicago, IL - 6pm - Fox Sports 1

3rd Place Game Sat 6/25 - Glendale, AZ - 6pm - FX
Final Sun 6/26 - East Rutherford, NJ - 6pm - FX

Euro 2016:

Albania - Shkelzen Gashi
Sat 6/11 - Albania vs. Switzerland - Lens, France - 7am - ESPN
Wed 6/15 - Albania vs. France - Marseilles, France - 1pm - ESPN
Sun 6/19 - Albania vs Romania - Lyon, France - 1pm - ESPN2

If Albania make the knockout rounds (possible but not likely) the Round of 16 matchup could be one of 3 on either June 25th or June 26th.  A quarterfinal matchup would be somewhere between June 30th and July 2nd,  a semifinal would be July 6th or 7th, and the final is July 10th.

Ireland - Kevin Doyle could be added next week if a player is injured
Mon 6/13 - Ireland vs. Sweden - Saint-Denis, France - 10am - ESPN
Sat 6/18 - Ireland vs. Belgium - Bordeaux, France - 7am - ESPN
Wed 6/22 - Ireland vs. Italy - Lille, France - 1pm- ESPN

If Ireland make the knockout rounds (not likely given their presence in the Group of Death) the Round of 16 matchup could be one of 3 between June 25th and 27th.  A quarterfinal matchup would be somewhere between June 30th and July 2nd,  a semifinal would be July 6th or 7th, and the final is July 10th.