Somewhere shy of satisfying but productive enough not to be alarming, it’s been a tight- fisted affair for the Commerce City side this season in MLS.
The Rapids have suffered just one loss in their last six MLS games. But they have just two wins in that span. The steady collecting of points, via ties, in the standings has pegged the side with a very specific character — stingy, on both ends of the pitch.
With Kansas City in town Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Colorado coach Gary Smith this week started hinting at the need for more punch.
The Rapids’ defense has a slim 0.93 goals-against average this season, one of just five squads allowing less than a goal per game. But the local XI also aren’t scoring, ranking 12th in the league with 16 goals this season.
Just shy of the halfway point, Conor Casey’s six goals lead the Rapids, with fellow striker Omar Cummings at four. But the tandem are well off their pace from last season when they combined for 24 goals.
“I want a player who can add six goals; I would take a player like that,” Smith said at .
So what are the Rapids looking for?
“Someone who is clinical in front of the goal or can do more in terms of creation,” Smith said. “I have no interest in moving the players we already have here. I just want to add creative players that can fit into a particular system.”
If they’re to pull away from the pack in the Western Conference — the Rapids are in a three-way tie for third place in the division with 22 points, at 6-4-4 — the need for more goals, and wins, is now.
MLS action: Kansas City at Colorado
7 p.m. Saturday, at DSG Park in Commerce City, KWGN-2
AROUND TOWN
Going for perfection.
Danzip, a 3-year-old Colorado- bred gelding who has won all five of his career starts, will go for No. 6 Sunday in the Colorado Derby at Arapahoe Park.
The estimated $30,000 stakes race for 3-year-olds drew a field of eight when entries became official Thursday, and it will be run at 1 1/16 miles.
It wasn’t considered automatic that Danzip would run in the derby, since it would be his fourth race in seven weekends at the Arapahoe meeting. His most recent victory came in the Colorado Thoroughbred Breeders Association Derby on July 3, and that was his first distance race.
After that race, co-owner Keith Grinolds of Loma said he was undecided if Danzip would run in the derby or the Mount Elbert Stakes on Aug. 1, or perhaps neither. He said Danzip would make the call himself with his condition and attitude, and it was determined this week that he’s ready to run again.
Danzip didn’t race as a 2-year-old because of an injury. This year, he won two races at Turf Paradise at Phoenix by a combined 18 1/2 lengths, and then three times in Arapahoe stakes races — the Inaugural on May 30, the Aspen Stakes on June 13 and then the CTBA Derby.
For the Colorado Derby, Danzip drew the No. 7 post position and again will be ridden by Russell Vicchrilli. The other horses in the field Sunday are E F Five, Humor and Heart, Valued Assets, Tyee, Cheatin a Little, One’s Own Accord and Mr. Omeara.
The Derby will be the eighth race on Sunday’s Arapahoe program and is expected to go at about 3:55 p.m. In the ninth race, Vicchrilli will ride Utah’s Bf Sonic Boom in a $100,000 quarter horse futurity. The 10-horse, high stakes field will be net one of the biggest purses of the season at Arapahoe.
Terry Frei, The Denver Post
STAY ON THE COUCH
British press takes over Tiger’s tales.
When did American golf reporters get so gutless? Legitimate and newsworthy questions for Tiger Woods have gone unasked for weeks.
Is your divorce affecting your golf game? Do you regret acting like a jerk? Will you try to curse less in front of kids on the course? Do you feel like you duped golf fans with all those heroic advertisements when really you were acting the opposite?
Enter the British press. They’ve grilled Woods all week at the Olde Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, site of the British Open. Finally some straightforward questions.
Woods’ overdue accounting will give another watchable background to a tournament already full of drama. The Open airs today through Sunday in the wee hours of the morning, on ESPN, 2 a.m. today, 4 a.m.,Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday. Re-airings are on KMGH-7.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Nighttime is the right time.
From landmark to landmark, block to block, Saturday’s Moonlight Classic charity bike ride in Denver will light up the night, from LoDo to Cherry Creek to Civic Center and beyond.
Blur your eyes, and the blinking beacons of cyclists might look like a river of light, streaming by in the darkness.
The 10-mile, noncompetitive late-night ride starts at 10:30 p.m. with a family wave. A gonzo group goes off at 11:30 p.m. Complete as many laps as you can within the time limits. The course, closed to traffic, rides through several neighborhoods and begins and ends at the Capitol building at Lincoln and Colfax. Check .
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Coloradans still in the ring.
Ricky Rodriguez, a senior at Greeley West High from Evans, has more than 125 amateur fights on his boxing resume and has climbed the national ranks. This week in Colorado Springs, he has been on perhaps his biggest stage.
The USA Boxing National Championships will crown American titles in men’s and women’s divisions. Rodriguez, at 123 pounds, fought in a semifinal bout late Thursday against Toka Kahn Clary of Providence, R.I.
He joins Denver’s Louie Byrd, who also fought a semifinal bout Thursday at 108 pounds. He’s seeking a third USA Boxing championship and an eighth national title. Fountain’s Jeffrey Spencer (178) and John Franklin (114) of Fort Carson also were still alive.
Championship bouts will take place Saturday night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Springs.
