Farewell, Serioux, and thanks for the Cup

Well, Adrian Serioux was picked by Toronto FC in the expansion draft today, so he's no longer a Dynamo.

That's a bit sad, because he has been such a contributing player to our lineup. He's a regular at Centerback and seemed to be the only sub for Ricardo Clark as D-Mid. I think this works best for Kelly Gray, who now might have more opportunities as D-Mid, or Ryan Cochrane who might get more playing time as a back.

Serioux seemed like a no-brainer pick for Toronto since he's Canadian and a proven contributor to a winning side in the MLS. Still, there is some surprise since the coach of Toronto, Mo Johnston, was the coach of the NY Red Bulls when they traded Serioux to us at the beginning of the 2006 season. The player we traded for Serioux, Danny O'Rourke, was also picked by MoJo.

I think this move brings Serioux closer to his family, which is one reason why he came to the MLS from Millwall, England, to begin with. Thus, this should be a good move for him.

Here's the list of who Toronto picked. They didn't pick anyone from Dallas or Colorado:

1. Paulo Nagamura (Los Angeles Galaxy) - Midfielder
2. Danny O'Rourke (New York Red Bulls) - Midfielder- He was with San Jose/Houston at the beginning of last season, and we traded him to the Bulls for Serioux from the Bulls.
3. Jose Cancela (New England Revolution) - Forward
4. Adrian Serioux (Houston Dynamo) - Mid/Defender - Bye, thanks for the Cup
5. Nate Jaqua (Chicago Fire) - Forward
6. Rod Dyachenko (D.C. United) - Midfielder
7. Jason Kreis (Real Salt Lake) - Forward - the MLS career leader in goals scored...for now
8. Tim Regan (Chivas USA) - Defender - He's the guy who fouled Ching (or tried to) as Ching headed the game winner with 3 seconds to spare in the 2nd leg of the Western Conference semi.
9. Ritchie Kotschau (Columbus Crew) - Defender
10. Will Hesmer (Kansas City Wizards) - GK

Follow up:
Aaargh!! Serioux has been traded to FC Dallas for Ronnie O'Brien. Serioux, my heart goes out to you. You are now only 4 hours closer to your family and you're stuck with the rival of Dynamo-Houston!

Who'd have thought that your MLS Cup win would be on your homefield for next season.

You can play with our shiny new ball when you come down and visit...