The recent health struggles of Marcia Williams (wife of RSL midfielder Andy Williams) have been well chronicled here and in other places. Many of you have graciously offered your support time and again. Well now is the time that we can really make it happen.

As you may know, the treatment of Marcia’s condition requires the usage of a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, to this point, an appropriate donor has not been found. Hopefully that will change on Saturday, December 13 when Real Salt Lake hosts a bone marrow drive at Rio Tinto Stadium from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

We ask that anyone willing join us in the Center Circle Club at the stadium and undergo free testing to see if you’re a match. All it takes is a little paperwork and a swab of your cheek. In order for Marcia to survive, it is essential that a matching donor. For the sake of Marcia, Andy, and their two daughters, let’s make this happen.

If you are still curious for more information, head over to SoccerUnitesUtah.com for info on Marcia’s condition and DKMSamericas.org for more on what it means to be a bone marrow donor.

With a roster stocked full of young, promising pieces, RSL seemed bound to lose someone to Seattle today as expansion side Seattle Sounders FC made their expansion draft selections. Well, that player turned out to be midfielder Nathan Sturgis. The 21-year-old midfielder heads to Seattle having made eight MLS appearances for Real Salt Lake after being acquired, along with Robbie Findley, in the trade that send Chris Klein to the LA Galaxy midway through the 2007 season.

Injuries have plagued the young midfielder over the last couple years, limiting his availability, but the potential has always been there. A mainstay in the U.S. National Team’s Youth system, Nathan has always been a highly regarded prospect.

We’re certainly sad to see Nathan go. Not only was he a solid player, but he was a good guy. We wish him all the best…

Today is a busy day on the competetive side of things for Real Salt Lake. On top of signing defender Jamison Olave to a contract extension, today is the day that the protection lists from all 14 MLS teams are due for Wednesday’s expansion draft for the new Seattle Sounders FC. We’ll get to the list in a moment, but before we do there were a couple other pertinent moves that had an effect on the decision making process.

RSL finished the season with five players who enjoyed Generation Adidas status during the 2008 campaign; Nik Besagno, Tony Beltran, Alex Nimo, Chris Seitz, and Yura Movsisyan (Yura was not officially Gen. Adi. but his status was effectively the same). Both Besagno and Yura were graduated today, while Alex, Tony, and Chris remain in the program. This is important because Gen. Adi. players are automatically protected in the expansion draft process and do not take up one of the team’s 11 protection slots.

When coupling these moves with the competition changes announced this weekend, RSL has made the decision to release Dustin Kirby, Kenny Cutler, and Nik Besagno. The remainder of the roster, including their status regarding the expansion draft is listed after the break…

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Sorry to all the forwards out there in MLS, but you will still be at risk of suffering “The Olave” next year. Garth just dropped us the news that RSL has purchased the rights to the massive Colombian from Deportivo Cali and signed him to a contract extension that will keep him in Salt Lake through the 2012 MLS season.

After joining the club in the offseason the 27-year-old defender solidified his spot in the center of the RSL backline just a few games into the 2008 campaign. Olave was an integral part of Real’s reversal of fortunes this year and the club is glad to have him on board on a more permanent basis.

What do you think of this move? Let’s hear your feedback below…

Lookin for a way to work off some of the calories from your huge Thanksgiving feast next week? We’ve got an opportunity for a little pre-feast workout for you here. In keeping with what is an increasingly fun annual tradition, RSL is proud to support the 2008 Gravy Cup. For those of you who don’t know, the Gravy Cup has, for four years running, been an opportunity for RSL supporters and soccer fans in general to get together and give thanks for everything they’ve got (while getting a good workout in the process).

This year’s event will take place at the Cottonwood Heights Rec Center (7500 South 2700 East) at 10:00 a.m. sharp next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. All ages and skill levels are welcome, as are non-playing observers (it’s the holidays, the more, the merrier really!). All you need to do is bring some non-perishable food items for donation to the Utah Food Bank and you’re set.

So come on out and lace up your boots for one last time this season. It’ll be a great time and we hope to see you all there!

With the season wrapping up and our upcoming move out to Rio Tinto Stadium set (our office operations that is), we’re doing some cleaning and streamlining over here. You, folks, can be the beneficiary of that move, as our merch crew is currently offering a killer deal on some leftover 2007 merchandise. Give the guys a call at 801.924.8572 or stop by our offices at Trolley Corners (515 South 700 East, Suite 2R - until Monday that is…) and you can get your hands on one of the 2007 RSL kits pictured below (only sizes XL and XXL remain) for just $30. Hurry up, quantities are very limited and this is a great bargain…

Good work folks! Your diligent and persistent voting has earned RSL midfielder Will Johnson MLS’ Goal of the Year. Apparently it wasn’t good enough for Goal of the Week, but Goal of the Year? You got it…

Congratulations Will. It’s certainly well deserved.

P.S. If you don’t remember the wonder-strike (or simply want to see it again), check it out below…

Well, if you’d like an excuse to head down to L.A. for the weekend (or you’re already going to be there), why not check out the MLS Cup Championship Game at The Home Depot Center? Tickets are hard to come by though, so we’ve got a little opportunity for you. Our boy Dunny over at The Original Winger let us in on a little contest they’re running for free MLS Cup 2008 tickets. Just click here and follow the directions once you get there (it’s pretty simple, something like type your name and your in…) to get yourself entered for the contest… Good luck. We wish we were going to be there ourselves…

Update 2: Want to check it out? Well you’re in luck, click the link below and you can watch the entire episode…

The Price is Right!!!

Update: Congrats to Trent who absolutely killed it on this morning’s show. He repped RSL well as he cleaned CBS’ house for a new car, trip to Italy, new ski-boat, and a kitchen range. Party time at Trent’s…

We just got dropped a little hint from one of our season ticket holders and let’s put it this way, any RSL fan should tune in to The Price Is Right tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. MT on Channel 2. We haven’t seen it ourselves, but the word is that we get some serious love on the air and are repped pretty well. Keep in mind that The Price Is Right host, Drew Carey, is a die-hard soccer fan, major supporter of the game in America, and part-owner of Seattle’s new MLS franchise.

Congratulations to those involved. We’ll be watching…

With RSL being eliminated from MLS Cup contention last weekend, our players (unfortunately) have some free time a week earlier than they planned. Many of the guys will take some time to wind down from the long run, take some vacation, and regroup. Not midfielders Andy Williams and Will Johnson though… at least not yet. Just days after fighting tooth and nail together on the pitch, the pair are headed to Jamaica for this Wednesday’s Thursday’s 2010 World Cup Qualifier between Jamaica and Canada, to face each other. Andy will be suiting up for his Reggae Boyz as they look to book their spot in next year’s final round of qualifying, while Will will take the pitch for his native Canada as they battle for respectability (due to previous results, Canada has been eliminated from contention for the final round).

Good luck guys, we’ll be rooting for both of you…