Got five minutes? Great. Here's what you need to know about the Seattle Sounders participation in Thursday's MLS SuperDraft. Minus who Seattle will pick. That's up to you to guess.
First of all, this is a one day affair, unlike the multi-day media extravaganzas put forth by the MLB and NFL. But never fear, ESPN will still be there to cover it, with the first round starting at 9am PT on ESPN 2 and ESPN 3.
There are three rounds in the MLS SuperDraft, with an additional three rounds included in the Supplemental Draft. No, I don't know why they split them up. Maybe because no one knows the players in the last three rounds? Anyway, three. The expansion teams get first dibs, with Vancouver Whitecaps picking first and Portland Timbers choosing second.
Seattle will pick five during Thursday's draft, having earned more slots via trades last year. The Sounders have the 11th slot in the first round, picks 21, 27, and 29 in the second, and the 47th choice in the third round. The 21st pick comes via DC United, obtained when Seattle traded Stephen King, while 27 comes from Chicago Fire via the Freddie Ljungberg deal.
Finally, in case you were wondering, Seattle Sounders will have Adrian Hanauer, head coach Sigi Schmid, technical director Chris Henderson, assistant coach Brian Schmetzer and assistant coach/scout Kurt Schmid on the floor in Baltimore. The team says that they have their picks and strategy all worked out, but they're not revealing one little word before Thursday.