RBNY News & Notes: (Almost On) The Way To San Jose

Good evening! As our boys prepare for their trip to San Jose - where 25,000 tickets have already been sold - let's take a quick look at the news.

While there's no proven link with his being up in a skybox on Tuesday night, word came out today that head coach Hans Backe is recovering from surgery today and will not be available for the match at Stanford Stadium this Saturday night. Assistant coach Jan Halvor Halvorsen will be stepping in for the San Jose game with no major changes in strategy. We wish Coach Backe all the best towards a speedy recovery.

Two faces we haven't seen in a while made appearances at training today: Chris Albright returned to the pitch and, per Kristian Dyer, is "fully recovered". Albright may make his return during the Open Cup game at Chicago to help strengthen the back four. Meanwhile, Brian "Wants To Play In A Big Club" Nielsen did some cardio training. Whether or not he will see any playing time since last June remains to be seen.

Dax McCarty, fresh off this week's shocker trade with DeRo, made his first comments to the media today. He indicated that he was happy to take a supporting role, and that the RBNY style of play "suits [him] very well", comparing it to FC Dallas' system which he thrived under last year. While many of us are still scratching our heads about the trade, Dax looks primed to blend into the team and we eagerly await seeing what we look like this Saturday. He will be wearing the #11 jersey, previously held by DeRo.

Erik Soler is not done shaking up the lineup after the McCarty trade, claiming two more players will be coming in over the summer. Speaking of Soler, he's on this week's Extra Time podcast speaking about the trade.

Newly signed Red Bull Mike Jones has joined Twitter.

In non-RBNY news:

New England's front office held a summit with their three supporters' groups regarding the recent incidents during the Chicago game, but if the article comments are anything to go on, nothing was resolved.

DC, Houston, and Chicago all waived players before the contract deadline, while New England declined options for two players.

Next Tuesday is the last day for fan voting for who plays in the All Star Game. With a week left, RBNY is still showing well in the voting - but you should still vote early and vote often.

After pulling a Drogba, USMNT (and former Metro) goalkeeper Tim Howard apologized Tuesday for his comments about the post-Gold Cup ceremonies. The apology was largely for the language he used, as he did not back down from calling CONCACAF's ceremony "disrespectful to the players".

Lastly, kudos to the Columbus Crew for having the weirdest piece of merchandise in the MLS store.

RBNY News & Notes: (Almost On) The Way To San Jose