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Whitecaps ready for redemption

By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

he Vancouver Whitecaps are
| coming off their first season as

part of Major League Soccer
in what can be marked as a huge
disappointment for the franchise.
They finished at the bottom of the
Western Conference with a 6-18-10
record, a league low of 35 goals for
with a terrible defensive record of 55
goals against, and to top it all off a

dismal 0-12-5 record in away games.

Yes, that’s right, they didn’t even
win one road game all season. A feat
which is embarrassing even among
bottom-seeded teams. However,
heading into their second season

in the MLS, there seems to be some
optimism igniting around the city

of Vancouver with the new and

transformed Whitecaps organization.

The number one key ingredient
to this fresh-faced team is the arrival
of new head coach, Martin Rennie,
who signed a multi-year contract
with Vancouver last August. Since
then he has completely changed the
team; he has addressed the gaping
weaknesses with the additions of

some key players, built a squad that
appears to have some much needed
depth down the lineup, and rounded
up a young and confident coaching
staff that can work together in a
successful way. At the end of the
day, Rennie has brought the city of
Vancouver exactly what they need
after an unsuccessful crack into the
MLS last season: hope.

Hope can go a long way, and
in the Whitecaps circumstances
this season, all it means is making a
playoff appearance come fall.

They’re already off to a—hold
your breath—good start with regard
to their successful pre-season in
taking home the Disney Pro Soccer
Classic last Saturday against the
Toronto FC in the finals. It should if
anything, provide some momentum
for the Whitecaps as they enter the
regular season of the 2012 season.
The ‘Caps went a perfect 3-0 in the
round robin tournament down in
Florida first beating the Montreal
Impact 3-0, followed by a 1-0 victory
over the Houston Dynamo and then
another 3-0 win over Kansas City
to move onto the finals where they

ultimately defeated Toronto FC 1-0.

However, it was only pre-season,
and like all sports you can never
judge how successful your team
will be solely on the performance
in the pre-season. Perhaps veteran
‘Caps goalie, Joe Cannon said it best,
“We have a new regime in here and
guys have worked really hard over
the pre-season, but let’s not fool
ourselves, it’s just pre-season,” he
said. “We need to start on the right
foot [against Montreal]. ... We have
to wait and see and steadily build
this thing. It’s not going to happen
overnight.”

It will not happen overnight, but
it has to start somewhere. With Eric
Hassli, Camilo Sanvezzo, Sebastian
Le Toux, Atiba Harris, Darren
Mattocks, Davide Chiumiento, Long
Tan, and Omar Salgado commanding
the charge, the Whitecaps should
have no trouble scoring goals this
year—which was a huge issue that
was evident in last year’s season.

On the other hand, the defensive
side of the Whitecaps has gained a
significant amount of strength with
the acquisition of Lee Young-Pyo.

 

End of an era

   

By David Hollinshead, Staff Writer

Colts drafted star quarterback

Peyton Manning with the first
overall draft pick—but Manning’s
era ends now. Last week, the
Indianapolis Colts cut Peyton
Manning, after a dismal 2-14 season
in which Manning didn’t even play
due to injury. Over his 14 years,
he’s seen all there is to see as a
professional quarterback, the highs
and lows.

After being drafted from the
Tennessee Volunteers over mega-
bust Ryan Leaf, Manning set five
NFL rookie records in his rookie
season. The very next year, he threw
for his first 4,000-yard season. With
his personal success, the Colts did
not have a season where they won
less than 10 games, and in 2002
when Tony Dungy was hired as his
head coach, they went on to become

I: 1998, the lowly Indianapolis

ee at

Super Bowl contenders. Since then,
Manning has won four league Most
Valuable Player awards, as well
as guiding his team to two Super
Bowls, winning once.

In 2011 though, after signing a
huge five-year, $90-million contract,

house, firing a number of their front
office members. Rumours arose
that Manning had played his last
game as a Colt, and said himself
that he wasn’t lobbying to return

to the team, and was ready to

move on. In the 20 years predating
Manning, the Colts had won 116
games with a single division title,
making the playoffs three times.
With Manning, the Colts won 150
games, eight division titles, two
AFC championships, and one Super
Bowl.

As the NFL Draft approaches,
every NFL team has said from the
start of the season that Stanford
quarterback Andrew Luck is going
to the Colts, making Manning
either expendable, or a tremendous
mentor. The added contracts of Luck
and Manning would be huge. The

“In the 20 years predating Manning, the Colts had won 116 games witha
single division title, making the playoffs three times. With Manning, the
Colts won 150 games, eight division titles, two AFC championships, and

one Super Bowl.”

he had surgery to repair nerves

in his neck, and due to a setback,

it became clear that Manning
would not be available for the
opening game against the Houston
Texans. The era began to end as he
continued to require surgeries, and
was unable to play a single game
in the 2011 season. He watched
from the sidelines as his team only
won two games. Shortly after the
season ended, the Colts cleaned

first pick of the draft is guaranteed
a gross amount of money, while still
owing Manning tons of money.

So it happened, the Colts
released Manning. Despite having
a very average team around him,
Peyton Manning gave the Colts a
winning team, but as the NFLis a
business, there was just no more
room for him. Team owner Jim Irsay
said that even though he won’t be
officially retired, the number 18

Sports

The South Korean defender brings
loads of precious experience, having
represented his country at three
World Cups as well as spending
time with big European clubs such
as Tottenham Hotspur and PSV
Eindhoven. He will be another key
component in bringing hope to
Vancouver.

Last season, the Whitecaps hit
rock-bottom which was somewhat
unsurprising upon their inaugural
season. They went through two head
coaches before Rennie, they finished
as the worst team in the Western
Conference, and they failed to win a
single game away from Vancouver.
This season, they’re a completely
different team with loads of potential
and depth that has only one direction
to go—up. With a strong pre-season
performance the momentum seems
to be on their side; however that
isn’t always the case once the regular
season begins.

will be taken out of circulation in
tribute to Manning’s success there.
Luck though, is being compared to
Manning already. In 1998, the 2-14
Colts drafted a so called “can’t miss
quarterback” and hit big time. The
same is being expected of Luck, who
is stepping into the shoes that Steve
Young once did for Joe Montana.
He will most likely face the same
challenges, being doomed to fail.
Unless Luck (assuming that he does
go to the Colts, which is almost a
sure thing) wins two Super Bowls
in his career, he will most likely face
tons of criticism.

Manning’s career though is
not over, as there are several places
for him to go. Two likely places he
could end up are in the AFC East, to
play rival Tom Brady twice a year. It
seems like the Miami Dolphins will
be lobbying to get him, and former
teammate Reggie Wayne says he
would follow Manning there. NFL
Network's Michael Irving claims
that Miami would be a perfect fit for
Manning. The New York Jets also
want to make a move for Manning,
as he could more than likely clean
up avery immature locker room
with his leadership ability. The
Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos,
Arizona Cardinals, and Washington
Redskins have all expressed interest
in signing Manning, and each team
is a good quarterback away from
being a contender.

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