Ladies and gentlemen – The Revolution blog  can now be found here: revolutionsoccer.net/blog.

Just like his fellow countryman and teammate Kenny Mansally, Gambian Sainey Nyassi is entering his sixth season with the team. And just like Kenny did last Friday, Sainey today celebrates his 23rd birthday.

Sainey shares his birthday with musician/actor Justin Timberlake, actress Minnie Driver and MLB legends Nolan Ryan & Jackie Robinson. And of course,
Sainey shares his birthday with Montreal Impact midfielder and twin brother Sanna.

Do you share a birthday with Sainey Nyassi? If so, happy birthday!

Veteran Revolution midfielder Kenny Mansally is entering his sixth season with the team. Despite his tenure with the club, Kenny turns a mere 23 years young today.

Kenny shares a birthday with comedian/actor Patton Oswalt, actress Bridget Fonda, NFL analyst Cris Collinsworth and the one and only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Do you share your birthday with Kenny? If so, happy birthday!

Revolution and USMNT midfielder Benny Feilhaber turns 27 years young today. Happy birthday, Benny!

Benny shares his birthday with actor Shawn Wayans, former NFL star Junior Seau, actress Katey Sagal, recording artist Robert Palmer, actress/recording artist Dolly Parton, late recording artist Janis Joplin and famous poet Edgar Allen Poe.

Do you share a birthday with Benny? If so, happy birthday!

The players have reported to the first day of preseason training here in Foxborough, and we’ll have photos, video and more for you later on this afternoon on revolutionsoccer.net.

In the meantime, check out today’s Headline News and a few tweets below from some of the players below.

The locker room is ready and awaiting the players’ arrival shortly yfrog.com/ob7f0eyj

— NE Revolution (@NERevolution) January 16, 2012

“We’re going to hit the ground running … I don’t want a day to go by where we don’t get better.” – Jay Heaps bit.ly/zL7M2w

— NE Revolution (@NERevolution) January 16, 2012

Back to work

— Ryan Kinne (@RyanVKinne) January 16, 2012

The Jay Heaps era is official. First day of preseason bright and early#lets get it

— Shalrie Joseph(@ShalrieJoseph21) January 16, 2012

Let’s get itt! twitter.com/KAlston30/stat…

— Kevin Alston (@KAlston30) January 16, 2012

Flights were good. And in New England now! #Successful day so far.

— Tyler John Polak (@TylerJohnPolak) January 15, 2012

My fellow Far Post Podcast comrades Jeff Lemieux (Newcastle supporter) and Cathal Conlon (Liverpool supporter) made a friendly bet around Dec 30′s matchup between their respective clubs. Sorry Jeff – it’s only for one day, and at least it’s Friday, right?

Newcastle and Liverpool are set to square off again on March 31, and I am willing to bet that Jeff will be at least checking the score on his phone around 4am PST from his LA hotel room. So, if Jeff looks a little tired for the 3/31 Revs. vs. LA Galaxy Gameday video, you know why.

Lastly, we’ll be back with a new Far Post podcast the first week of February, following our  trip to Casa Grande, Ariz.

The Major League Soccer world has descended upon Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for the 2012 MLS Player Combine, which is the precursor to next Thursday’s SuperDraft at the Kansas City Convention Center. During the course of the next five days, 68 of the top prospects will be showcasing their skills in front of every MLS technical staff, all in the hopes that they’ll be impressive enough to be drafted next week.

Last year, both A.J. Soares and Stephen McCarthy participated in the Combine before being selected by the Revs in the first and second rounds of the 2011 SuperDraft, respectively. With the Revs slated to pick third overall in the 2012 SuperDraft, it’s more than likely their first selection will be on display this weekend at Central Broward Regional Park.

That’s why you should watch. All six matches at the Combine will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com, with games slated for Friday (2:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.), Sunday (2:30 p.m. and 4:25 p.m.) and Tuesday (10 a.m. and 11:55 a.m.). You can find full details and additional coverage from Ft. Lauderdale HERE.

After watching the games, come back here and let us know which players you liked and who you think the Revs should take with the third overall pick next Thursday. If you’re feeling particularly Nostradamus-y, you can even debate who you think would be a good pick in the second round (22nd overall).

Check that, we found a camera – an old Sony Handycam – while doing a bit of offseason cleaning a few weeks back. The camera had no charger, cord, or battery. It did, however, have a tape inside. With no power source, it was impossible to eject said tape. So, we did what most anyone would do in that situation and pried it open with a screwdriver. The tape survived, the camera was thrown in the trash, and we dug up a Hi8 player to import the video.

The footage on this tape predates just about everyone in the building (Jeff Lemieux was 14 and practicing his standups in front of his bedroom mirror in his autographed Revs jersey), as it is from two Revs training sessions (August 20/21, 1998). The Revs were preparing to take on the LA Galaxy on Aug. 22 at Foxboro Stadium. How many former players/coaches and current FOX Soccer Analysts can you name in this video?

So, we compiled some clips from the roughly 15 minutes of footage on the tape and threw in some sweet 1998 music for your listening/viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

We hope everyone is enjoying our “Heaps Speaks” series thus far. So far we’ve released four videos –  if you haven’t seen them yet, you can check them out here.

We’ve also had an unexpected number of comments on these videos regarding Jeff Lemieux‘s choice of attire for this series of interviews, namely his zip-up Argyle sweater. What do you think? Yea or nay? Guys, would you wear this? Ladies, do you like the look?

I’ll be the first to admit that my knowledge of the college soccer landscape is limited.

With the majority of my time devoted to covering the professional game, particularly our beloved Revs, I rarely have time to keep up with which college teams are topping the polls and at the present time I probably couldn’t pick the top college prospects out of a lineup. I’ll spare you the uninformed piece about which players to keep an eye on during the NCAA College Cup this weekend because the fact is that I haven’t seen most of these players kick a ball. Essentially, I’d be faking it.

Luckily for me – and for fans starved for information ahead of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, which is now just five weeks away – there are those who devote countless hours to following college soccer. One such devotee is MLSsoccer.com’s Travis Clark, who put together a comprehensive list of the top 25 college seniors and 10 potential Generation adidas candidates. You can find that feature here, and I’d suggest you start reading to familiarize yourself with the names which could be called when the Revolution makes the third overall pick on Jan. 12.

Ten of the 35 players listed will be in action at this weekend’s College Cup, featuring semifinal matches between Creighton and UNC-Charlotte (Friday, Dec. 9, 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU), and UCLA and North Carolina (Friday, Dec. 9, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU). The winners will face off in the 2011 NCAA College Cup Final on Sunday, Dec. 11, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

While I haven’t watched more than a few minutes of college soccer thus far in 2011, I’ll certainly be tuning in this weekend and Revolution fans might want to do the same. With the third overall pick in the upcoming SuperDraft, there’s a chance future Revolution players will be on the field in Hoover, Ala., on Friday and Sunday.

I know some fans have mixed viewpoints on the types of players the draft produces, but it’s been years since the Revs had a draft pick as high as number three. In fact, the last time New England was on the clock so early on draft day, the club selected a guy by the name of Taylor Twellman with the second overall pick in 2002. That seemed to work out for everybody.

For reference, recent third overall selections have included Perry Kitchen (D.C. United, 2011), Ike Opara (San Jose Earthquakes, 2010) and Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy, 2009). Most teams would take any of those players in a heartbeat. Oh, and the Revolution’s selection of A.J. Soares with the sixth overall pick last year was pretty decent, as well.

Before people get too wound up, I’m not saying the draft is the only way to acquire proven talent in the offseason. I’m not even saying it’s the best way to acquire proven talent in the offseason. If it was, Michael Burns and Jay Heaps wouldn’t be scouring the earth for international signings right now.

All I’m saying is this: the Revs could pick up some quality players in the SuperDraft, especially with the third overall pick. And those players could be playing in the College Cup this weekend. So read Travis Clark’s piece and watch.