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Jeff Larentowicz may be the original Ginger Ninja, but it's looking like he might have some competition. Kosuke Kimura returned from the California portion of preseason with red hair, though that was not his intention...he explains in the video below:
In recognition that the club expects to announce a new player later today - one who had been referred to by Paul Bravo and Tim Hinchey as a playmaker, or "a #10" - we put compiled the history of the Colorado Rapids all-time #10s. See how many you can answer....we'll post the history on ColoradoRapids.com at some point following the announcement.
How many players have worn the #10 for the Rapids since 1996?
What was the only year that no Rapids player wore #10?
Which Rapids #10s scored playoff goals?
How many Rapids #10s were born in the United States?
How many Rapids #10 were born in Africa?
How many Rapids #10s were born in South America?
How many Rapids #10s were born in Europe?
How many Rapids #10s were born in Central America or the Caribbean?
Name the three Rapids #10s that attended college in the USA?
Which Rapids #10s were acquired during a season?
Of those #10s acquired within a season, how many goals did they combine to score in the season they were acquired?
Which player changed from #10 to a new number after one season?
Who is the only #10 to coach a game for the Rapids?
Which #10 scored the first-ever goal at Dick's Sporting Goods Park?
Well, they were much braver then the rest of us.
Members of the front office staff dressed in Rapids uniforms and old cheerleader outfits and topped with a Rapids burgundy beanie jumped into the icy waters of Chatfield Reservoir this afternoon as part of the 4th Annual Colorado Polar Plunge to help raise money for the Special Olympics.
At a little after 1 pm, with the temperature not quite at 20 degrees, the group walked out on the ice of the reservoir to the cut out triangle that formed the four feet deep 'pool.' I can only imagine the questions going through their heads as they stood on the edge and finally jumped in.
Well done, crew!
(Clockwise from top row L-R): Peter Schwartz, Wayne Brant, Jeff Jacobson, Alex Teal, Christa Dellebovi, Tim Hinchey, Rachel Sweeney, Rebecca Payne, Kristen Sonsma
According to Weather.com, Saturday's noon tempurature in Denver is supposed to be about 27 degrees, with a 'feels like' of 19 degrees. That's what nine members of the Colorado Rapids front office staff will be facing as they take the Polar Plunge to help raise awareness and money for Special Olympics Colorado.
President Tim Hinchey and CMO Jeff Jacobson are among the staffers that will dress in old Rapids uniforms and the old cheerleading outfits and jump into the freezing waters of the Chatfield Reservoir. The other members of the staff (that have not yet chickened out) are Wayne Brant, Alex Teal, Rebecca Payne, Rachel Sweeney, Christa Dellebovi, and Kristen Sonsma.
Even though online registration is closed, people (or teams) can sign up on the spot beginning at 11 am. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.
After the bus ride from Oxnard to San Luis Obispo, Ian Joyce, Matt Pickens, Wells Thompson, and Drew Moor went out for a walk to stretch their legs.
As they strolled into town, they saw a fire truck that was about to leave a call they just made. Ian and the guys said hi to the firemen and started asking them questions, and the crew obliged. Next thing he knew, Ian was on top of the fire truck learning how they assist steering the vehicle from the back 
of the ladder.
"It was awesome," Ian wrote in an email. "I was like a kid in a candy shop. I've always loved fire trucks and respected the firemen's line of duty!"
Not sure if the pun was intended, but Ian also says they came across a vintage 70's style candy shop with old school pop bottles and candy cigarettes.
(Wells tweeted the pic of Ian inside the truck, Drew tweeted the candy store pic, and Ian emailed us the pic from above the truck.
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We saw this story posted on MLSsoccer.com's 
morning Kick Off article. It's a story posted on MLSReserves.com of a kid who's kindness and passion for the sport has touched countless of MLS players, including the Rapids' own Brian Mullan.
Evan, 10, met Brian when he was playing in Houston with the Dynamo. Allow yourself some time to read how Evan has positively affected by the players he's met, and how his own battles with countless surgeries has also inspired so many players in the League: READ THE FULL STORY.
Following Tuesday's preseason match against Chivas USA, coach Oscar Pareja and midfielder Jaime Castrillon were guests on the national ESPN Deportes show, Nacion ESPN with David Faitelson and Adriana Monsalves. It doesn't look like they've posted the full Spanish interview, but they did post this short web-version in English with Adriana and Oscar:
The team today held a final training session at Oxnard College before packing up and moving north. They'll play the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday night at Cal-Poly University at 7 pm MT. By the way, the 'Quakes PR / Digital team is looking into the possibility of a live stream of the game, we'll keep you posted).
It looks like Drew Moor is taking a pic of Wells Thompson while he's tweeting his photo...
On the road to San Luis Obispo..#Rapids twitter.com/drewmoor/statu…
— Drew Moor (@drewmoor) February 9, 2012
On the road again headed to San Luis Obispo. Ain't bad scenery at all! twitter.com/WellsThompson/…
— Wells Thompson (@WellsThompson) February 9, 2012
MLSsoccer.com was the guinnea pig for the blog format, so they went live on The Sideline blog first. One of the first posts on the Out of Focus video blog (LINK), they dug up this classic...that's Paul Bravo, now Technical Director, in a never-again-seen celebration from his days playing for the Rapids...
Fans on twitter have come to know that Rapids President Tim Hinchey is pretty active on that platform. On Tuesday, he threw out this nugget about a new player joining the team soon:
With P1 Visa now sorted, looking forward to our new 22 year old Argentine play maker to arrive by Hawaii.Nice work Oscar and Bravo #COYR
— Tim Hinchey III (@tkhinchey3) February 8, 2012
Reader Justin Hein then replied to Hinchey, suggesting a contest to see if anyone could guess the name, and Tim agreed:
@justin_hein I am up for that. Deadline next Monday at 9am.Good luck!#COYRapids
— Tim Hinchey III (@tkhinchey3) February 9, 2012
After an exchange in which Hinchey 'named' Hein the 'commish' of this contest, Justin provided the rules for winning:
Via @tkhinchey3, first person to guess the 22yr Argentine wins a 2012 #Rapids kit. Ends 2/13 at 9am. 1 guess per day must include #COYRapids
— Justin Hein (@justin_hein) February 9, 2012
So there you have it...guess the name of the player Hinchey is referring to by sending him a note on twitter by Monday, Feb. 13 at 9 am MT with the tag #COYRapids. First one to get it right wins a 2012 Rapids kit...