CENTRAL DIVISION:
CINCINNATI RIVERHAWKS
Opener: April 18 at Virginia Beach
2002 Record: 8-20-0 (didn't make playoffs)
Coach: Nick Ranieri
Stadium: Town & Country Complex (capacity: 5,000)
Web site: http://www.riverhawks.com
The Riverhawks are probably the most-maligned franchises in the A-League. They've never done better than 11-17 in five seasons in the D2 league. Players on the 2002 team sought payment for back pay from last season into this spring. Nick Ranieri, Cincinnati's head coach and owner, has brought back Frenchman Philippe Godoy after stints in Milwaukee and Atlanta.
INDIANA BLAST
Opener: April 25 at Richmond
2002 Record: 6-18-4 (didn't make playoffs)
Coach: Jimmy MacDonald
Stadium: Kuntz Memorial Stadium (capacity: 6,760)
Web site: http://www.indianablast.com
The Blast didn't make the playoffs last year and had their fourth straight losing season since moving up from the D3 League. The arrival Indiana University star John Swann should help the defense considerably. Up front, Rodrigo Costa and Moussa Dagnogo, its top two scorers in 2002, return.
MILWAUKEE WAVE UNITED
Opener: May 16 vs. Minnesota
2002 Record (Rampage): 16-7-3 (champion)
Coach: Art Kramer
Stadium: Uihlein Soccer Park (capacity: 5,000)
Web site: http://www.milwaukeewave.com
The 2002 A-League champion Rampage folded in the offseason. Its place in the A-League was taken by the Wave of the indoor MISL. The outdoor team will play as the Wave United and be coached by Wave assistant Art Kramer. Macedonian Dino Delevski (Kansas City), the 2002 MISL MVP, and John Ball (Cleveland Force) should join United for the outdoor season. Gone is 2002 Young Defensive Player of the Year Destin Makumbu, who moved to Swedish Second Division club Bodens SK. Two other key players on the Rampage's championship team have moved to MLS: goalie Dan Popik (Los Angeles) and striker John Wolyniec (MetroStars).
MINNESOTA THUNDER
Opener: April 25 at El Paso
2002 Record: 14-9-5 (eliminated in quarterfinals of playoffs)
Coach: Buzz Lagos
Stadium: National Sports Center (capacity: 12,000)
Web site: http://www.mnthunder.com
The Thunder could be the most improved team in the West. Buzz Lagos has added a lot of talent in midfield: Danish attacking midfielder Niels Bo Daugaard (Icelandic First Division IBV) and Americans Carlos Parra (Atlanta), Marco Ferruzzi (Richmond), Jason Willan (Milwaukee) and Kevin Anderson (Charleston). Defender Steve Shak, the No. 1 pick in the 2000 MLS SuperDraft, arrives from the Colorado Rapids.
PACIFIC DIVISION:
CALGARY STORM
Opener: May 3 at Vancouver
2002 Record: 4-21-3 (didn't make playoffs)
Coach: Tommy Wheeldon
Stadium: Foothills Park (capacity: 4,000)
Web site: http://www.calgarystorm.com
The Storm had the worst record in the A-League last season and will struggle again to make the postseason. Three Jamaicans were picked up when Storm chairman Michael Vandale was in Jamaica with the Canadian U-17 team this winter. Richard Henry, Jermaine Richards and Ajai Authers will play on loan from Constance Springs.
EL PASO PATRIOTS
Opener: April 26 vs. Minnesota
2002 Record: 10-11-7 (eliminated in first round of playoffs)
Coach: Fernando Gutierrez
Stadium: Sun Bowl (capacity: 52,000)
Web site: http://www.elpaso-patriots.com
The Patriots, whose roots date back to 1989 and the indoor game, have a new home (UTEP's Sun Bowl) and a new coach (Mexican Fernando Gutierrez). El Paso has signed its top draft pick, forward Tim Pierce, a star on UCLA's 2002 national championship team. The Patriots hope to have several local products now playing abroad back for the 2003 season: Omar Mora (Mexican Second Division Zacatepec), Jose Lomeli (Mexican Third Division Juarez Astros) and Jose Abarca (Chilean First Division Union Espanola).
PORTLAND TIMBERS
Opener: May 1 vs. Seattle
2002 Record: 13-12-3 (eliminated in first round of playoffs)
Coach: Bobby Howe
Stadium: PGE Park (capacity: 20,000)
Web site: http://www.pgepark.com/timbers
Timbers fans got great news when McKinley Tennyson who scored 18 goals — 17 during the second half of the season — and a league-high 42 points, re-signed for a second season in Portland. The Timbers have signed Nick Downing on loan from MLS's New England Revolution.
SEATTLE SOUNDERS
Opener: May 1 at Portland
2002 Record: 23-4-1 (eliminated in quarterfinals of playoffs)
Coach: Brian Schmetzer
Stadium: Seattle Seahawks Stadium (capacity: 67,000)
Web site: http://www.seattlesounders.net
Leighton O'Brien, the 2002 A-League MVP, will leave the Sounders after their third game to join Swedish Superettan (Second Division) club Bodens SK. Seattle has also lost Brian Ching, who is starting for MLS's San Jose Earthquakes. O'Brien and Ching combined for 29 goals and 19 assists in 2002. Seattle added 21-year-old forward Hercules Gomez, one of the Los Angeles Galaxy's most promising young players, and Englishman Danny Jackson, who spent 2002 at the Colorado Rapids after helping the University of North Carolina win the 2001 NCAA Division I title.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS
Opener: May 3 vs. Calgary
2002 Record: 11-12-5 (eliminated in semifinals of the playoffs)
Coach: Tony Fonseca
Stadium: Swangard (capacity: 7,100)
Web site: http://www.whitecapssoccer.com
The Whitecaps were last year's big surprise in the postseason, ousting Seattle, which had the best record during the regular season, with 2-0 and 6-2 wins in the quarterfinals. The Whitecaps have beefed up their attack with the arrival of Liberian international striker Musa Shannon, who has played for Colorado and Tampa Bay in MLS and Portugal's Maritimo. Whitecaps coach Tony Fonseca also signed Angolan-born Mario Jorge, a 33-year-old midfielder and nine-year veteran of the Portuguese First Division.