* Wizards Enter Final Stretch With Two-Week Break
* Catch The Jimmy Conrad Show Live Wednesday
* Wizards Weekly on Metro Sports This Week
* Garcia to Appear on Harrah's Lucky Break Saturday
* Local Youth Team to Visit Wizards Practice
* Four Wizards to Host Ability Camp Wednesday
* Kansas City Wizards Training Schedule
Wizards Enter Final Stretch of Regular Season With Two-Week Layoff Before Making Playoff Push
Heading into the final stretch of the 2007 Major League Soccer Season, the Kansas City Wizards have positioned themselves well for a strong push toward the MLS Cup Playoffs. With 29 points through 19 matches, Kansas City currently sits in second place in the highly competitive Eastern Conference and ranks 4th in MLS in total points.
Kansas City will now have a two-week break to prepare itself for the final 11 matches of the 2007 campaign. The Wizards next match comes Sunday, August 19, against the New England Revolution, who currently sit atop the East with 33 points. That match is another DiGiorno Ultimate Family Four-Pack night. Purchase tickets through the plan here.
Immediately following the showdown with New England, the Wizards will host Mexican international Cuahtemoc Blanco and the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, August 22. Tickets for 'Temoc's first-ever visit to Kansas City are available here. The game will be the final of three Gail's Harley Davidson's T-Shirt giveaways.
The Jimmy Conrad Show Live Wednesday
Kansas City Wizards defender and captain Jimmy Conrad and the voice of the Wizards Sean Wheelock will co-host The Jimmy Conrad Show live from the Plaza 810 Zone Wednesday. The show, broadcast live at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN Radio 97.3, will feature Wizards assistant coach Chris Henderson and goalkeeper Joe Cannon of the Los Angeles Galaxy
Conrad and Wheelock will discuss the first two-thirds of the MLS season with Henderson and how he has transitioned from one of the best midfielders in league history to the sidelines as a coach this season. With Cannon, they will cover the arrival of international superstar David Beckham and the remainder of the Galaxy's packed schedule.
Catch the show on 97.3 FM or streamed live at kcwizards.com.
Wizards Weekly on Metro Sports This Week
Wizards Weekly, the official Kansas City Wizards weekly highlight show, broadcast on Metro Sports Thursday at 11:30 p.m., Friday and 4 p.m. and again Saturday at 11:30 a.m., will feature Head Coach Curt Onalfo and midfielder Kerry Zavagnin.
Onalfo and show host Brad Porter will discuss the match last Thursday in New England and his team's progress two-thirds of the way through the MLS season. Zavagnin, fresh off a goal-of-the-week performance against Chivas USA last Sunday, will provide insight into his career-high three goals on the season and his mentality as the team prepares for its final 11 regular-season matches.
Defender Nick Garcia to Appear on Harrah's Lucky Break Saturday on KMBC Channel 9
Defender Nick Garcia will Appear on Harrah's Lucky Break Saturday on KMBC Channel 9. Garcia, who has appeared on the show co-sponsored by Harrah's, Mix 93.3 and Channel 9 several times previously, will appear as a celebrity judge on the weekly karaoke show broadcast Saturday nights at 11 p.m. on KMBC.
The show, which features Kansas City residents trying their hand at karaoke in front of a live studio audience at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill at Harrah's in the Northland, will be taped Tuesday night beginning at 8 p.m.
Local Youth Team to Visit Wizards Practice
Who: The Kansas City Wizards Coaches, Players, and Staff
When: Wednesday, August 8; 10:30-1:00 p.m.
Where: Swope Park soccer fields, 6310 Lewis Road, Kansas City, MO
What: The Southland Storm soccer team will take a field trip to watch their Kansas City Wizards at work, on the soccer field, at their new Swope Park training facility.
Four Wizards to Host Ability Camp Wednesday
Who: Coach Kris Kelderman, D Jimmy Conrad, F Yura Movsisyan, M Will John, F Ryan Pore
When: Wednesday, August 8; 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Where: Swope Park soccer fields, 6310 Lewis Road, Kansas City, MO
What: The Kansas City Wizards are partnering up with the National Sports Center for the Disabled to hold their annual Ability Camp for children in Kansas City. The children will have the opportunity for the first time to play on the team's new fields at Swope and will receive prizes from the players after the clinic.
Kansas City Wizards Training Schedule:
Tuesday, August 7
Training 10 a.m.
Wednesday, August 8
Training 10 a.m.
Thursday, August 9
Training 10 a.m.
Friday, August 10
Training 10 a.m.
*All training sessions are held at the new Swope Park training facility off of 63rd and Lewis. Practice times are subject to change.
Tidbits From Thursday's Match Against New England
• Following the match, Kansas City sits 8-6-5 (29 pts.) in 2nd place in the competitive Eastern Conference, four points behind New England.
• Kansas City is now 3-3-3 on the road and 3-6-2 when allowing the first goal.
• New England beat Kansas City at home for the first time since 1999, a span of 11 matches.
• Kansas City is now 7-1-4 in their last 12 trips to Massachusetts and 5-1-4 all-time at Gillette Stadium.
• Kansas City is now 15-9-7 all-time against New England and 8-4-4 all-time on the road.
• Revolution Head Coach Steve Nicol improved to 3-7-7 in his career against Kansas City.
• The loss ended a four game unbeaten streak for the Wizards (2-0-2) that began July 7.
• Kansas City won the first match of the season series 4-3 at Gillette on May 26 behind a three-goal performance by star striker Eddie Johnson. It was Johnson's first hat trick of the season.
• Johnson went on to record a hat trick in the next match, a 3-2 win over New York June 2 to become the first player in MLS history to record back-to-back hat tricks.
• He is now the Wizards all-time leader in hat tricks recorded (2).
• Jack Jewsbury played in his 100th career MLS match. All have been with the Wizards.
• Sasha Victorine played his 201st career MLS match Thursday. Victorine's first 121 matches came with the Los Angeles Galaxy where he was a teammate to current Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Victorine remains 10th on the Galaxy's all-time games played list
• Victorine was traded to Kansas City prior to the 2005 season and has now played 80 matches for the Wizards over the last three years.
• New England's stoppage-time goal gave them a 2-goal win. Kansas City had not lost a match by more than one goal through the first 18 games of 2007. The Wizards are 6-5-0 in one-goal matches.
• The Wizards last 14 games had been decided by one goal or less.
• Kevin Hartman, facing former Los Angeles Galaxy teammate Matt Reis in goal, made his most saves as a member of the Wizards.
• Hartman and Reis teamed up in the 2007 MLS All-Star game to shutout Scottish power Celtic FC.
• With eight saves on the night, Hartman now has 971 career saves, good for 3rd in the history of Major League Soccer.
• With two goals, the Revolution overtook Kansas City as the team with the most goals in MLS. The Revs now have 33. Kansas City remains on 32.
