Real Salt Lake Places Five Players on Waivers
Real Salt Lake today announced that the club has waived five players - FW Chris Brown, DF Steven Curfman, MF Christian Jimenez, DF Jean-Martial Kipré, and DF Jack Stewart - in advance of this afternoon's MLS Waiver Draft. The veteran striker Brown was the most productive of the waived players during the 2007 campaign, with his five goals placing second on the squad and tying his single-season high in the category. Kipré was an immediate contributor to the squad after signing in May, starting 16 of 18 appearances during his debut MLS season, while Stewart started 12 of his 13 games for the Utah side in his second season with the team. The third-year pro Jimenez and rookie Curfman were the only two field players on Real Salt Lake that did not see action in an MLS regular season affair for the squad during the 2007 season.
RSL Assists Ryker Fox Foundation at Annual Festival of Trees in Sandy
Real Salt Lake is getting into the holiday spirit this week at the popular Festival of Trees event at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy (9575 S. State St.), as Utah's MLS side is proud to have donated items for a pair of decorated trees on behalf of the Ryker Fox Foundation. Ryker Fox was a vibrant, unstoppable seven-year-old who shone like a bright star, sharing his heart of gold and spirit of light with everyone he met - including his favorite sports teams in the area. While Ryker succumbed to cancer earlier this year, his hopes of helping other children will live on through his foundation's "A Child's Wish" project, which will look to provide a Build-a-Bear to all children that participate in the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Ryker's spirit of light and wish for other children became the theme for the trees being decorated in his honor, which garnered more than $10,000 in donation bids that will go to benefit the Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. If you would like to help with the "A Child's Wish" project, please contact Lori Fox at foxden1227@comcast.net for more information.
The Festival of Trees kicked off on Wednesday and will be open to the public from 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. MT through this Saturday, Dec. 1, at the South Town Expo Center. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $4 (adults) or $2.50 (seniors and children under 11), while children under the age of 2 will be admitted for free. Discounted tickets can also be purchased at all Zions Bank locations in the Salt Lake area ($3.50 for adults and $2.00 for seniors/children). This year's Festival of Trees includes more than 700 uniquely decorated trees and plenty of holiday-themed activities for both the young and the young at heart. Enter the magic world of Festival of Trees, where the community comes together to celebrate the holidays and raise money for children in need at Primary Children's Medical Center.
Seitz & Sturgis Lead Generation adidas Team to Win in Spain Tour Debut
Real Salt Lake GK Chris Seitz and D/M Nathan Sturgis are among 16 players from the Generation adidas program currently on an 11-day training and exhibition tour of Spain that will take some of Major League Soccer's best young talent on a whirlwind trip across one of the world's most soccer-obsessed countries. The team arrived in Madrid last Saturday and set up camp at the "City of Futbol" training complex before settling in for the week-and-a-half of work and play, with the itinerary including three exhibition contests, visits to the cities of Sevilla and Toldeo, and several chances to take in top-notch matches, including Sevilla FC's 3-1 win over Arsenal in Tuesday's UEFA Champions League match.
The RSL duo of Seitz and Sturgis helped the assembled Generation adidas team get off to a good start in its first exhibition contest against the Rayo Vallecano Reserves on Tuesday, as Seitz collected a clean sheet and Sturgis a first-half goal in a 1-0 win at the Ciudad de Futbol stadium. Sturgis would tally the game's lone goal in the 26th minute, when he collected a pass from Colorado FW Jacob Peterson at the top of the penalty area and scored on a shot that bounced off the far post and into the net. The young MLS contingent will face a stiffer test today, when the Generation adidas team will face off against the Real Madrid Reserves in Madrid. The squad will wrap up the trip and head back stateside on Monday, but Seitz and Sturgis will have no time to rest, as the duo will report to the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team training camp in Carson, Calif. by mid-week.
RSL Trio Called Into U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team Camp
U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team head coach Peter Nowak has called 22 players into training camp at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., in preparation for a two-match tour in China where the U.S. will face the Chinese U-23 national team. Included among the 18 players from Major League Soccer that will take part in the camp is a trio of Real Salt Lake teammates - FW Robbie Findley, GK Chris Seitz, and D/M Nathan Sturgis. Findley will join his fellow campers when the team gathers this Saturday, Dec. 1 in Carson, while Seitz and Sturgis will join early next week upon completion of the Generation adidas team's current tour of Spain. The U.S. U-23's will train in the Los Angeles area for a week before departing on Dec. 8 for China, where they will play two matches against the Chinese U-23s, first on Dec. 13 at the Changsha He Long Sports Centre in Changsha, then three days later at the Yue Xiu Shan Stadium in Guangzhou.
National team call-ups are becoming a common occurrence for the 20-year-old Seitz, who has already represented the USA at the Under-20 level and been called up to his first two U.S. senior team camps during an active 2007 for the first-year professional. After flirting with representing his parents' native land of Trinidad and Tobago while training with the "Soca Warriors" U-23 team earlier this year, Findley is now a full-fledged member of the U.S. National Team system, and the 22-year-old striker hopes to build upon his first senior "cap" with the Red-White-and-Blue with a strong showing with the U.S. U-23 MNT over the next two weeks. Like Seitz, Sturgis has been a longtime member of the U.S. youth national teams, and Nowak will look forward to the versatility the 20-year-old defender/midfielder has offered the USA's U-20, U-18, and U-17 squads in the past.
This will be the first gathering of the U-23 MNT since Nowak took the reins in August, and is the first major camp in preparation for the final round action of the 2008 CONCACAF Men's Under-23 Championship to be held from March 11-23, 2008, in Los Angeles, Tampa and Nashville. The eight-team tournament will send the two finalists to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Give the Gift of Real Salt Lake this Holiday Season via Real Sports' Three Locales
Stumped on the perfect gift for your loved ones this Holiday season? Real Salt Lake has you covered no matter where you are, as a wide array of officially-licensed Real Salt Lake and other adidas merchandise and apparel is now available at Real Sports' three merchandise kiosks spread throughout the Wasatch Front:
Real Sports at Fashion Place Mall
6191 S. State St. in Murray, UT
801-281-1920
Real Sports at Valley Fair Mall
3601 South 2700 West in West Valley City, UT
801-955-KICK
Real Sports at Provo Towne Center
1200 Towne Centre Blvd. in Provo, UT
Fans heading out to any of the Real Sports locations can take advantage of several new items in stock, including gear from David Beckham's line of adidas merchandise for men, women and children; Real Salt Lake backpacks and duffle bags; 2006 RSL long sleeve jerseys; RSL stadium jackets; and much, much more. If you want to avoid the weekend crowds, Real Sports is also offering a Monday-Thursday special which gives customers that spend $50 or more 50% off on any additional items. For more information on the Real Sports kiosks throughout the area, please call 801-924-8572.
RSL Holiday Pack is the Gift that Keeps on Giving into 2008!
If visiting the mall is not your ideal way of shopping during the Holidays, Real Salt Lake is also offering a limited-time offer to catch next year's biggest games through the RSL Holiday Pack. The perfect stocking stuffer for the soccer fan in your life, the RSL Holiday Pack includes two tickets to three of RSL's most-anticipated games next season - RSL's 2008 Home Opener, the return of Real Madrid to Salt Lake City, and the annual July 4th contest - in addition to four tickets to any other RSL regular season contest and an RSL scarf to help keep your favorite RSL fan warm until the '08 season kicks off. The RSL Holiday Pack is available in two prices ranges - $199 for Corner Kick seats ($260 value) and $399 for VIP section seats ($540 value). For more information on the RSL Holiday Pack, including how to order yours in time for the Holidays, please call 801-924-8585 or visit the "TICKETS" section of www.RealSaltLake.com.
