Stars und Sternchen! » Who would have thought

VANCOUVER - There were dark clouds and a cold, driving rain Monday as the Vancouver Whitecaps held their final on-field training session but the players and coach showed a sunny disposition as they looked forward to next years Major League Soccer campaign.Under rookie head coach Carl Robinson the Whitecaps accumulated a 12-8-14 record for a franchise high 50 points. Vancouver went 4-0-1 down the stretch to finish fifth in the Western Conference and clinch the final playoff spot. They lost 2-1 to FC Dallas in a heartbreaking playoff game that was decided on a questionable call by the referee.You dont need to be a psychic to read the signs that the Whitecaps have the potential to grow and improve.Were moving in the right direction, said defender Jordan Harvey. Making the playoffs, getting 50 points, all those landmark kind of things . . . it was a successful season.Im as excited as the next guy for coming into next season.Veteran defender Andy OBrien said the Whitecaps have laid a solid foundation.The club will no doubt be looking to get stronger and develop, said OBrien. In terms of the way we finished the season, I think that was a good blueprint in terms of how to start (next) season.As a coach Robinson is perpetually optimistic and supportive of his players. He has the team playing an entertaining, up-temp style on the field and created a positive culture in the dressing room.Of the 28 players currently on Vancouvers roster, 18 are 24 years or younger. That means the Whitecaps are still maturing and developing.I know we can do better, said Robinson, the 38-year-old former Welsh international. I know we can be better prepared not just on the training field but off the training field . . . to make things run easier.Players like midfielder Pedro Morales, holding midfielder Matias Laba, forward Sebastian Fernandez, defender Kendall Waston and goalkeeper David Ousted are part of the teams core.Robinson knows he must add to that group for the Whitecaps to make the next step.There will be changes, said Robinson. There will be additions because I want to strength the squad. The Whitecaps biggest need is the additional of goal scorers. Vancouver scored 42 goals last season, the least of any team making the Western Conference playoffs. Only four other teams in MLS scored less goals.Morales led the team with 10 goals and 12 assists.We lacked a goal scorer, said Robinson. If we had someone that could score 15, 20 maybe 30 goals, then we would be in a totally different position.Thats what we have to try to do to add to the group Ive got. Not to take away anything because we are building here. I want to build a core in here to move forward, not just next year but the next three, four or five years.The Whitecaps have had success finding Latin American players, but Robinson doesnt rule out looking for talent in Europe.I will turn over every rock, he said.One player Robinson would like to add to Vancouvers roster is Erick Torres, who scored 29 goals for Chivas USA this season before the team halted operations.One hundred per cent I would like him on my team, said Robinson. If you ask the other MLS coaches Im sure they would say the same.The Whitecaps will face some new challenges next season. Being the Canadian MLS team with the highest points standings earned Vancouver a berth in the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League. That means playing extra games during the season.Next season will also see Sporting Kansas City, the 2013 MLS champions, and the Houston Dynamo move into the Western Conference. That will make the fight to make the playoffs that much harder.In the coming weeks there will be four MLS drafts, including an expansion draft, the Chivas dispersal, a re-entry draft and the SuperDraft. One of the first decisions facing Whitecaps management is which players to protect in the expansion draft.Its very difficult but thats the sign of a good team and a good squad, Robinson said.I have decisions to make. It will be for the benefit of the team and the club moving forward.One player Robinson must decide about is OBrien. The centre back turned 35 in June and moved into a leadership role when captain Jay DeMerit retired due to injury.OBrien says he wants to come back and would consider a reduction in his salary of US$280,000.Its not all about money, he said. Its about being wanted.Robinson plans to meet with OBrien soon.I would like to try and keep Andy in some capacity with the club, he said. I think hes a very good leader.Because we are in a salary cap league it depends on the financial side of it as well. Wholesale Air Jordan 6 Ireland . -- Max Gilbert captured his first pro victory at the Tour Championship of Canada. Air Jordan 6 Ireland . Less than 24 hours after the Wolves lost at home to the Mavericks, 100-98, NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced Tuesday that Kevin Love was fouled on his right arm by Shawn Marion in the closing seconds and should have been awarded two free throws. http://www.cheapairjordan6ireland.com/ . The Rangers announced after Thursdays 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees that they would purchase Williams contract from Triple-A Round Rock. The 32-year-old Williams was released by Houston earlier this month after going 1-4 with a 6. Air Jordan 6 Ireland Online .com) - John Wall had 15 points, 12 assists and four steals as the Washington Wizards defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 92-85 on Monday night. Cheap Jordans Ireland . Diego Costa headed in Gabis corner seven minutes from time to secure victory ahead of the return match in Madrid on March 11. "We know that at Madrid it will be another game, which will also be important and very difficult," Milan coach Clarence Seedorf said.TALLADEGA, Ala. -- A group decision for all of the cars powered by Earnhardt Childress engines to work together at Talladega Superspeedway proved the correct call in NASCARs new knockout qualifying format. Richard Childress Racing drivers and their affiliates swept the first three rows on the starting grid for Sundays race, with the pole going to Brian Scott, who will lead the field to the green flag in just his fifth career Sprint Cup Series start. "Who would have thought that, huh?" Scott asked after Saturdays qualifying session. Cars with ECR engines took six of the 12 spots in the third and final round of knockout qualifying, and they all waited patiently on pit road for someone to make a move. It came with roughly 2 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the 5-minute session, when all 12 drivers made their way onto the track. Tony Stewart posted the fastest lap as he worked with the other three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers, and as the clock neared the final buzzer, it appeared the three-time NASCAR champion had the pole locked up. Then came the ECR pack of cars, with Ryan Newman leading, Scott somewhere in the middle and Paul Menard bringing up the rear. Team owner Childress had designated Newman as the driver to decide when the pack should go, and Menard was charged with pushing them along. Just as time expired, the entire group shot past Stewarts speed and moved to the top of the leaderboard. It was Scott on the pole, followed by Menard and then AJ Allmendinger, an RCR-affiliated driver. Casey Mears, also an affiliated driver, qualified fourth and was followed by Daytona 500 pole-sitter Austin Dillon and Newman. "It was just a great plan by RCR, getting all the RCR alliance cars working together," Allmendinger said. "We worked on that (in practice) and felt like we all had great speed.ddddddddddddRyan was the guinea pig for all of us and timed it right, and that last session, it was just basically who was going to wait the longest to go out there." It was the first time NASCAR has used its new knockout format on a restrictor-plate track in the Sprint Cup Series. Daytona 500 qualifying in February was done with traditional single-car runs. "The qualifying format, I think there are good tracks for it and bad tracks for it, and this is definitely a great track for it," Menard said. "We had a plan and we tried to stick to the plan as best we could. Ryan, we put the burden on him to decide when to go and where to go, and the rest of us held it in line. ECR top-six and RCR cars all up there is pretty exciting." Now Scott gets to show what hes made of on one of NASCARs fastest tracks. A Nationwide Series regular, hes got three previous starts this season and finished 25th in the Daytona 500. "Ive got that dreaded yellow (rookie) stripe on the bumper, and thats going to make people run away from me like the plague," Scott said of finding drafting partners on Sunday. Stewart wound up 12th in the final session after it appeared he had the pole locked up. SHR put all four of its cars in the final round, and Danica Patrick earned the highest starting spot at seventh. Joey Logano, meanwhile, failed to advance into the final round of qualifying for the first time this season. Hed made it through all three rounds in eight previous sessions. He qualified 16th. "Its not by a good car or not, its just by strategy," Logano said. "We put a lot of work and effort into keeping that streak alive. Its unfortunate." 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