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Houston Dynamo Supplemental Draft pick Yannick Smith (@Yanaldinho4) was part of the group of MLS Combine invites that visited the Miami Seaquarium. MLSsoccer.com's Josh Whisenhunt (otherwise known as the @MLS_Insider) chronicled Smith's experience with the acquatic mammals.
More than 200 fans, sponsors and dignitaries packed House of Blues Monday night to commemorate the new partnership between the Houston Dynamo and GOW Media. Last week, the two entities announced they would be joining forces to make Yahoo! Sports Radio 1560 AM and ESPN 97.5 the new radio home for Dynamo soccer.
The event began with Afternoon Delight hosts Adam Clanton and John Wessling broadcasting their show live from House of Blues. The radio hosts chatted with Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear and first round draft pick Jason Johnson, among others. Listen to their interview with Kinnear:
The event continued with a special presentation, as each radio host from GOW Media was presented with a personalized Dynamo jersey from head coach Dominic Kinnear, team president Chris Canetti and the Dynamo Girls.
As part of the new agreement, Dynamo All-Access with Glenn Davis will air on 1560 AM or ESPN 97.5 every Monday from 7-9 p.m. CT. Davis hosted his first All-Access show under the new partnership last night. All-Access featured interviews with Kinnear, Dynamo defenders Corey Ashe and Bobby Boswell and Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark. (We'll post the link to the podcast as soon as it's online).
Thank you to all the fans that came out to celebrate this new partnership. Here are a few reactions from the Twitterverse about last night's event:
Fantastic @houstondynamo & @espn launch party at @houseof_blues. Thanks for having us! #DaleDynamo CC: @arredondevas @sanjeeeezy
— Jerry Peruchini (@peruchini) January 22, 2013
Thanks to all @houstondynamo @hobhouston and Yahoo Sports Radio 1560 for making it easy to do radio last night on Dynamo All Access debut!
— Glenn Davis (@GlennDavisSoc) January 22, 2013
Great times at the @houstondynamo launch tonight! Excited about the upcoming season! #Dynamo #Houston
— dave morales (@daveBackstageOL) January 22, 2013
Having a blast @hobhouston for the @houstondynamo launch party! @chriscanetti & @glenndavissoc on the air! twitter.com/frederickercia…
— D Rock (@frederickercia) January 22, 2013
The 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft will be held Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT. The Dynamo enter the draft with three picks; a first round, third round and fourth round pick. Houston traded its second round pick to Colorado when it acquired Omar Cummings in the off-season.
The Supplemental Draft is another mechanism for MLS teams to acquire players. Players who are drafted today will have the opportunity to enter preseason camp and earn a contract with the first team. In 2012, the Dynamo selected Brian Ownby with the No. 7 overall pick. Ownby signed a first team contract with Houston and featured in seven regular season matches.
Click here to see the complete Houston Dynamo Supplemental Draft history.
For updates of this year's selections, follow the Dynamo on Twitter @HoustonDynamo. We'll have a full recap with player bios later today on HoustonDynamo.com.
With the grass cut low and the sun shining bright, the Dynamo opened up their 2013 training camp Monday morning at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.
A mix of old and new faces emerged from the locker room, as the Dynamo underwent little turnover following their 2012 MLS Cup runner-up finish. Notable absences from the squad include Brad Davis, Will Bruin and Tally Hall, who are currently with the U.S. men's national team, and Boniek Garcia, who is with the Honduran national team. Calen Carr was also not present, as he is currently rehabbing his knee following off-season surgery.
It was a light first day for the men in orange, as the club resumes training only seven weeks after the 1-0 loss to the Galaxy in the MLS Cup final, and only 40 days before the season opener.
Monday's scrimmage was a mix of footwork / speed drills using ladders and cones, and small-sided keepaway games.
Kinnear's first opportunity to see his team (and the trialists) in a full-sided game will be on Thursday, when the Dynamo first team takes on the Dynamo Academy U-18 squad, presented by Statoil, at 3 p.m. at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.
Following Monday's trianing session, Kinnear and the players spoke to the media about the opening of camp.
Sports Illustrated and FOX Soccer's Grant Wahl joined Rob Stone on Goals on Sunday to talk a variety of topics including the possibility of Brad Davis sticking with the USMNT for the upcoming qualifiers.
Elsewhere around the internet, Ives Galarcep, of the blog Soccer by Ives, spoke with Davis about his time in camp and the differences between playing with the national team and the Dynamo. It's an interesting read as Davis discusses the differences in tactics between Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear and U.S. men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Check out the final mock draft on MLSsoccer.com as Jason Saghini, Matt Doyle and Simon Borg predict the 38 players that will be drafted in Thursday's SuperDraft.
Part 1
Part 2
Over the past four years, Dynamo Charities, presented by The Halliburton Charitable Foundation, has parterned with the Teammates for Kids foundation to fund various initiatives in the Houston community. Originally founded by country music star Garth Brooks, Teammates for Kids focuses on helping children in the areas of health, education, and inner-city outreach.
Each year, Teammates donates a grant to Dynamo Charities. That money has been put toward projects including Soccer for Success, Big Brother Big Sister mentoring programs as well as Soccer Night in Newtown.
Why are we talking about this partnership now? Because from now until January 18, Garth Brooks will donate $1 to the foundation for every new follower to the @Teammates4Kids Twitter account.
Brian Ching did it and so should you!
Amazing concert for @teammates4kids please follow Garth he is donating a dollar per follower twitter.com/brianching/sta…
— Brian Ching (@brianching) January 13, 2013
It's a topic that is hotly debated among the Dynamo faithful. No, it doesn't have to do with Houston's upcoming draft pick. And no, it doesn't have to do with a potential designated player signing. It's something that hits closer to home, and by home I mean the within the confines of BBVA Compass Stadium.
Since the opening of BBVA Compass Stadium, fans have asked the Dynamo front office to allow streamers at Dynamo games and in 2013 their prayers have been answered. Check out the following change to the BBVA Compass Stadium policy guide:
Streamers
Streamers are permitted at Houston Dynamo home games. Each guests will be limited to 3 rolls per person, 81 ft long/4.5 inches in diameter (same policy as 2012 playoffs). Throwing objects at players, referees, personnel, or guests is subject ejection from the stadium. Guests are encouraged to throw streamers after the national anthem and at Dynamo goals. The streamer policy for non-Houston Dynamo events is at the discretion of BBVA Compass Stadium management. Confetti is prohibited.
So what do you say Dynamo fans? Are you happy about the policy change? Will you be bringing your streamers when the Dynamo open the season on March 2 against D.C. United?
Houston Dynamo SuperDraft History |
||
|---|---|---|
| 2006 - January 20, 2006 - Philadelphia, Pa | ||
| Round | Name | College |
| 1 - 8th overall | Patrick Ianni | UCLA (Generation adidas) |
| 3 - 32nd overall | Andrew Schmid | St. John's |
| 4 - 44th overall | Mike Chabala | Washington |
| 2007 - January 12, 2007 - Indianapolis, Ind. | ||
| Round | Name | College |
| 1 - 13th overall | John Michael Hayden | Indiana |
| 2 - 26nd overall | Corey Ashe | North Carolina |
| 3 - 39th overall | Mike Sambursky | South Carolina |
| 4 - 52nd overall | Eric Ebert | Cal |
| 2008 - January 15, 2008 - Baltimore, Md. | ||
| Round | Name | College |
| 3 - 42nd overall | Geoff Cameron | Rhode Island |
| 4 - 56nd overall | Jeremy Barlow | Virginia |
| 2009 - January 15, 2009 - St. Louis, Mo. | ||
| Round | Name | College |
| 3 - 41st overall | Danny Cruz | UNLV (Generation adidas) |
| 4 - 56nd overall | Marcus Tracy | Wake Forest |
| 2010 - January 14, 2010 - Philadelphia, Pa. | ||
| Round | Name | College |
| 3 - 43rd overall | David Walker | California - Santa Barbara |
| 3 - 46th overall | Samuel Appiah | Boston |
| 4 - 62nd overall | Euan Holden | New Mexico |
| 2011 - January 13, 2011 - Baltimore, Md. | ||
| Round | Name | College |
| 1 - 7th overall | Kofi Sarkodie | Akron (Generation adidas) |
| 1 - 11th overall | Will Bruin | Indiana (Generation adidas) |
| 2012 - January 12, 2012 - Kansas City, Mo. | ||
| Round | Name | College |
| 1 - 18th overall | Colin Rolfe | Louisville |
| 2 - 37th overall | Warren Creavalle | Central Florida |
| 2013 - January 16, 2013 - Indianapolis, Ind. | ||
| Round | Name | College |
| 1 - 13th overall | TBA | TBA |
| 2 - 37th overall | TBA | TBA |
Tune into this year's SuperDraft at 11 a.m. CT. This year's draft will be streamed across all MLS networks including HoustonDynamo.com. For complete coverage leading up to the draft visit http://www.mlssoccer.com/superdraft/2013