These guys are just a practice squad for the U23s to play against, but it's a good chance to impress the Bruce and get a January call-back. I read somewhere in these boards that Rusty Pierce was invited but decided to have work on his groin instead. Have I not heard from Bruce's mouth personally that he would never call up Pierce for his extreme thuggery as a youngster? Not that he's stopped being a thug. Maybe it was to simulate a bad defender the U23s might face in the Olympic Qualifiers. Wasn't it Pierce that messed up Kamler back in the day?
Ben has been consistently one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the entire MLS. He puts his all into every game. This is a well deserved honor for Ben! WTG, Ben!!!
If you look at the list of camp invitees, it consists almost entirely of guys who have been injured or out of form (so Bruce can check their conditioning) and players he hasn't seen before or recently (like Walker). It's good Ben is on the list b/c it means he's healthy enough to attend. But with qualifying coming up soon, Bruce knows he needs a deep MLS roster for emergency callups. That's why almost everyone on this list is from MLS. The presence of an Albright (like Vagenas) just says that Bruce wants to have lots of potential backup. Albright works hard, has height and great speed. He may not be among my first 20 choices for a callup on the US frontline but there might potentially be a situation when you want a tall, fast guy as a sub (or even to practice against).
Nope, it was Jake Dancy. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/grant_wahl/news/2003/06/26/wahl_insider/
Wishful thinking on Rusty's part! I carved up the turkey pretty good this past holiday, maybe I should volunteer to do a job on Pierce!