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Ready Steady Stoned

Filed under: Imported

Sunday at 5 p.m. the Minnesota Thunder open their season at the Metrodome against the Calgary Mustangs. Here's what I wrote for this week's  A List in City Pages

For a team that advanced to the A League championship last year, the Minnesota Thunder have undergone a surprisingly radical overhaul. The most dynamic player during last year's playoff run, Johnny Torres, has defected to arch-nemesis Milwaukee. This means the offense will be even more reliant on diminutive speedster Johnny Menyongar for goals. The key playmaker in midfield will once again be cagey veteran Marco Ferruzzi, but he should get ample support from imports Godfrey Tenoff (South Africa) and Michael Wilson (New Zealand). Perhaps the biggest question mark is defense, where Dustin Branan, last year's surprise standout, will be joined by fellow youngsters Chris Brunt and Kevin Friedland. But the most momentous change for the Thunder has nothing to do with personnel: After today's opener at the Metrodome, the team will move to its new urban home, James Griffin Stadium in St. Paul.

A couple of other points worth noting:

1. Most significantly, Feruzzi is now on the shelf for Sunday's game. He sprained his knee yesterday while practicing at the Metrodome, the latest victim of the facility's new turf. I'm not familiar enough with this year's roster (which features 12 new players) yet to make a definitive assessment, but last season Feruzzi proved the one irreplaceable component of the team. His ability to hold the ball in the midfield, and his marvelous vision and distribution, are qualities not often found in A League players. Newcomers Jeff Mateo, Tenoff, and Wilson will have to step up.

2. Andy Wattenhofer and Bruce McGuire have created a fine new Thunder supporters site, Blue Sky Soccer. Hopefully I'll be contributing in some way as the season proceeds. 

3. Aforementioned soccer geeks, and others including myself, will be gathering pre-game Sunday to drink beverages possibly containing alcohol and eat food, a practice popularly known as "tailgating."

3. Despite the Thunder's move to St. Paul, the Pioneer Press still won't assign a beat writer to cover the team. This is ridiculous. I'd cancel my subscription, but nobody else at City Pages regularly reads the damn thing. Michael Rand will once again be covering the team for the Strib.

4. I just received the figgs' forthcoming album in the mail. It's brilliant. They're at the Triple Rock on the 30th. More on this later.

Posted by Paul Demko at April 23, 2004 3:29 PM

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