Thursday, October 26, 2006

Two great BASAs, one fun post

Yesterday the BASA for Rookie of the year was handed out late in the evening. The presentation of the award hit a major snafu when Kenny Cooper showed up at Scaryice's house and demanded to be included. He started breaking bottles and chairs, which oddly enough, he brought with him. He kept saying, 'I need to win the BASA or Ruiz will make me sleep in the corn fields.'

Thankfully for all concerned, Mr. Fish of The Kin of Fish showed up in the nick of time to talk Kenny out of smashing up his Dodge Caravan (he loves the tailgate seating).

With Cooper driving back to Dallas, Scaryice was able to release the BASA.

And the winner is, Jonathan Bornstein of Chivas USA. It wasn't even close.

Second place went to teammate Sacha Kljestan, while Mehdi Ballouchy (RSL) came in a close third. Dasan Robinson (Chicago) had enough to secure the fourth spot.

My ballot looked like this:

1- Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas)
2- Dasan Robinson (Chicago)
3- Mehdi Ballouchy (Salt Lake)

Just like everyone else (except for 1), Bornstein seemed like an easy choice. His role in the back for Chivas was amazing for a vet, much less for a newbie. He was also able to provide some power up front, which is always a plus (but then again, he did play as a forward for UCLA)

Robinson did some good things for the Fire and brought a calm when he was on the pitch.

Ballouchy was so much fun to watch. Throughout the season he kept getting better. His time with Jeff Cunningham, Jason Kreis and Eddie Pope is really helping transform him as a player.

The second BASA went to Defender of the Year.

This one was closer then rookie, but was still pretty lopsided. And by pretty I mean Bobby Boswell of DC United won it. Jose Burciaga Jr. (KC) made a good show in second while Facundo Erpen (DC) just snuck by Chris Albright (LA) for third. Then there were 13 other players who also got some votes.

Here is my ballot:

1- Bobby Boswell (DC)
2- Craig Waibel (Houston)
3- Jose Burciaga Jr (KC)

For me Boswell was easy as he was the one part of DC's defense that seemed to work for the whole of the season while Burciaga was just about the only part of KC's lineup that can be proud of his season. Then there is Waibel in the second spot. He's not really a 'made man' of MLS soccer, but he is impressive. It seemed like every time I watched Houston, he was making a mark on the game in little ways. Add to it that he was out for almost all of last season with a torn LCL and ACL and you've got the makings of something special.

By the way Waibel tied with four other players for 7th place, but was the only 7th placer to get more then one vote (it is a weighted voting system).

Tomorrow we will find out who gets young player of the year awards. For Scaryice's sake, I hope it goes to Cooper because he said he would be back if he didn't win.

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