12-31-2019, 08:06 AM
VANCOUVER -- For at least a few hours, the Vancouver Whitecaps could put the Camilo Sanvezzo saga aside. As their best player continued to orchestrate his dramatic exit from the club, the Whitecaps added size and creativity at Thursdays Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Vancouver had two picks in the first seven, taking defender Christian Dean at No. 3 before adding midfielder Andre Lewis at No. 7. "Being selected is a dream come true," said Dean. "Especially a team on the West Coast, growing up in California ... (Vancouver is) close to home." Hearing a player actually wanting to be with the club should come as welcome news for fans of the Whitecaps, who are now resigned to the fact that Sanvezzo -- the flashy Brazilian striker who won the 2013 MLS Golden Boot -- will be sold to a Mexican team after forcing Vancouvers hand. And its not only Dean who is happy about his new team. "My mom is ecstatic," he added. "I think shes happier than I am." The 20-year-old from East Palo Alto was selected using the pick Vancouver acquired in the July 2012 trade that sent striker Eric Hassli to Toronto FC. Dean spent the last three seasons with the NCAAs California Golden Bears, starting all 55 games he played. "I bring energy. Big, athletic, on the larger side," said Dean, who stands six foot three and weighs 198 pounds. "Good feet -- especially at centre back, I kind of pride myself a little bit on that. Its something that I like to use to my advantage." The Philadelphia Union, who hosted the draft, traded up to take Connecticut goalkeeper Andre Blake with the first pick before D.C. United used the second selection to take defender Steve Birnbaum, who was Deans college teammate at Cal. "I dont know much about Philly," said Blake, who originally hails from Jamaica. "I heard something yesterday about how its the place for a cheesesteak or something. Thats as much as I know. But Im pretty sure Ill get adjusted and learn everything I need to know." Meanwhile, the Montreal Impact took Creighton defender Eric Miller with the fifth pick, FC Dallas took Calgary-born striker Tesho Akindele from the Colorado School of Mines at No. 6, and Toronto FC traded up to draft Xavier defender Nick Hagglund at No. 10. Left-footed with the ability to play either in the centre or left of defence, Dean said he will have to increase the physical side of his game against MLS competition. "I think I will have to adapt. College was a physical game, especially stepping up from the youth level to college, it got more physical," he said on a conference call. "I think playing against bigger and stronger people, Ill have to become a lot more physical and to do that Ill just have to make a little mental jump." Dean might just get that chance as Vancouvers backline has at least one hole heading into training camp next month with the retirement of Y.P. Lee. Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit doesnt have a contract for 2014, but new head coach Carl Robinson has said he wants to bring the veteran back into the fold. "I think Im ready to come in and play, wherever I would have ended up," said Dean, who suited up as a centre back in college this season after two years on the left. "Especially with Vancouver, coming in the defence will be something that will be a possibility for me." Robinson said the Whitecaps had Dean rated high on their draft board and were delighted to see him available when it was Vancouvers turn to pick at No. 3. "Christian is a fantastic athlete. I think it was clear for everyone to see at the combine, as well as throughout the college season, that he was a fantastic prospect," said Robinson. "Hes got a lot to learn, but hes got a good head on his shoulders." Dean has never been to Vancouver and said that he wasnt tipped off during pre-draft discussions with the club that the Whitecaps would be his destination. "I talked to the coaching staff while I was at the combine during one of the player meetings and hit it off," he said. "Other than that there was no real talk of Hey, well select you or stuff like that. "It was kind of a bit of a surprise, but in the end Im happy that I got picked by Vancouver." Lewis was also pleased to be joining the Whitecaps, but for different reasons. "Im a fan of Vancouver because of Darren Mattocks," the 19-year-old said of the Whitecaps striker and fellow Jamaican. "I love the support that the fans give to Vancouver. Im looking forward to starting my professional career with the Whitecaps and to just go there and work hard and do my best." Lewis said he and Mattocks live about 10 minutes apart but that pair didnt speak about the possibility of being teammates in MLS. The five-foot-nine, 145-pound midfielder, who will join the Whitecaps from Jamaican club Portmore United F.C. when pre-season training begins next week, represented his country at the under-17 and under-20 levels before earning his first senior call up in 2012. "On the pitch, I always want to be a top player," said Lewis. "Win or lose, I want to be on top of my game at all times." Robinson said that like Whitecaps striker Kekuta Manneh -- a player that Vancouver selected fourth overall at last years draft -- Lewis has "something special." "I think hes got a fantastic football brain," said Robinson. "Hes got a fantastic understanding of the game for someone so young and he was a prospect that we wanted to make sure we got on board." Notes: As a Generation Adidas player, Deans salary will not count against the MLS salary cap. ... Dean said he is friends with Whitecaps striker Omar Salgado from their time with the U.S. under-20 team. ... In the second round, Toronto selected Elon midfielder Daniel Lovitz at No. 24, Vancouver took Connecticut striker Mamadou Diouf at No. 30 and Montreal went with Cal Poly midfielder George Malki at No. 37. ... The third and fourth rounds of the draft take place on Tuesday. Mark Teixeira Jersey . -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. Alex Rodriguez Jersey . Some teams got significantly better, some teams divested themselves of talent and some teams had quiet afternoons, keeping the status quo. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/custo...1764i.html. The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell. Chad Green Jersey . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga. Whitey Ford Jersey . The 19-year-old from Westmount, Que., was edged 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3 by third-seeded Alize Cornet of France. Cornet broke Bouchard twice in the last set and saved six break points in the three-hour match. BOSTON -- A year after the Boston Marathon bombings, the Red Sox had plenty of chances to make a special day even more memorable. They almost succeeded. Boston scored one run in each of the last three innings -- stranding runners in scoring position in all of them -- -- in a 7-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Mondays traditional Patriots Day morning game Not bad, though, considering the Red Sox trailed 6-0 after three innings. "Our guys battled and fought and did a good job of making a game of it and it came down to the last pitch," David Ross said. "We did a good job of representing Red Sox baseball today. We just want to win, obviously, for the fans and the whole situation." Boston beat Tampa Bay 3-2 in last years Patriots Day game. About 40 minutes after the final out, two bombs went off near the marathon finish line a little over a mile from Fenway Park, killing three spectators. This year, Mondays game began at 11:09 a.m., 12 hours, 28 minutes after Bostons 6-5 win ended Sunday night. "Once you show up here, we have a job to do," Baltimores Adam Jones said. "It doesnt matter what time it is." The game started about an hour before Meb Keflezighi crossed the finish line as the first American man to win the Marathon since Greg Meyer in 1983. A long, loud cheer went up when the result of the race was shown on the centre field video screen. Bostons Mike Napoli called Monday "a special day." "Of course, you want to go out there and win," he said. That seemed unlikely when Baltimore scored six runs off Clay Buchholz in the third inning. The Red Sox, who overcame a 5-0 deficit Sunday, started to come back again. "It never seems to be enough against these guys," said Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis, who fielded Mike Carps grounder and stepped on first for the last out. "They claw and battle and continue to score runs and put pressure on us to score more runs." Boston loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on a single by Brock Holt, a double by Dustin Pedroia and an intentional walk to David Ortiz. One run scored on Napolis groundout to second before Tommy Hunter escaped with his fifth save. Nothing special for Hunter. "Its another inning, another game," hee said.dddddddddddd "I was actually pretty calm." Wei-Yin Chen (3-1) and five relievers pitched well enough for Baltimore to gain a split of the four-game series. Baltimore started the third with consecutive singles by Steve Lombardozzi, David Lough, Nick Markakis, Nelson Cruz and Davis that produced three runs. Jones drove in another on a forceout at second base before a run-scoring double by Steve Clevenger and an RBI single by Jonathan Schoop made it 6-0 and knocked out Buchholz (0-2). Buchholz had slept over at Fenway Park after Sunday nights game and doesnt regret the decision. "Id have had to wake up earlier than I did here to get here this morning," he said, "so that had nothing to do with it." Boston cut the lead in half with three runs in the fifth on RBI doubles by Jackie Bradley Jr. and Pedroia and a sacrifice fly by Holt. In the seventh, Boston made it 6-4 on Ross first homer and then had a chance to go ahead after Holt singled and Pedroia walked. But Ortiz hit an inning-ending groundout. Ryan Flahertys RBI single in the eighth made it 7-4 before Napolis solo homer in the bottom half. Singles by Xander Bogaerts and Daniel Nava put runners at first and second with one out, but pinch-hitter Jonathan Herrera struck out as the runners took off and Bogaerts was tagged between second and third. "It takes some added energy," Boston manager John Farrell said of the repeated comeback attempts. "Wed certainly like to get the offence going a little bit earlier rather than having to dig out of a hole." NOTES: Marc Fucarile, who lost his right leg in last years Boston Marathon bombing, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He was married in Fenway Park last Thursday. ... Bostons jerseys had the word "BOSTON" on the front instead of the usual "RED SOX." ... Davis singled and walked twice and tied his career-high by reaching base in 17 straight games. ... The Red Sox send Jon Lester (2-2) to the mound Tuesday night for the start of a three-game home series against the Yankees. Masahiro Tanaka (2-0) pitches for New York. The Orioles will start Miguel Gonzalez (1-1) against R.A. Dickey (1-3) of the Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series at Toronto. ' ' '