Real Salt Lake is still hoping to sign one or two more new players for the upcoming season. But everybody else who reported to Rio Tinto Stadium for the first day of preseason training camp today sounded ready to improve on the first Major League Soccer playoff run in team history last year.

"Everyone's excited," midfielder Will Johnson said. "I think we all feel that we have a little bit bitter taste in our mouth. We made huge progress for this club, but I don't think it stops there. Everybody realizes that this club and these fans and this stadium deserves a consistent winning team. It's not enough to have a flash in the pan here. We need to build on last year."

That might be a bit easier, with most of the players returning from RSL's run into the MLS Western Conference finals last season.

General manager Garth Lagerwey and coach Jason Kreis continue to shop for a striker and a left-sided midfielder -- striker Luis Miguel Escalada is one confirmed target -- after losing midfielders Dema Kovalenko and Nathan Sturgis and strikers Fabian Espindola and Kenny Deuchar in the offseason. Otherwise, though, the team is starting its two-month preseason odyssey ahead of where it was last year.

"I do feel more confident," Kreis said. "I really feel like we could have come into the season and made zero additions and we would have been a better team. All of that has to do with time together."

RSL won't quite be full strength when it trains in Utah this weekend before leaving on the first of three preseason trips to California, Florida and South Carolina.

Defender Chris Wingert is training with the U.S. men's national team in advance of its World Cup qualifier against Mexico next month, while fellow defender Jamison Olave was delayed by visa issues in his native Colombia. Olave is expected to meet the team in California next week, while Robbie Russell is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He won't train with the team until at least its third preseason trip, in March.

Last year "was very successful," defender Ian Joy said. "We got further than probably what most people thought we were going to do. But the second year is 10 times harder. This year is going to be 10 times harder than it ever was last year, and we have to improve. ... We have to take every little ingredient and make it better."

Fresh off his debut with the full team last weekend, defender Chris Wingert has been recalled to the U.S. men's national team as it prepares to meet Mexico next month in the first match of the final round of regional qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

The Americans will meet Mexico at Columbus Crew Stadium in Ohio on Feb. 11, with the game broadcast on ESPN2 and Univision starting at 5 p.m. MST.

Wingert was among 20 players recalled by coach Bob Bradley, after playing the final 11 minutes of the 3-0 win over Sweden in a friendly last weekend. Fourteen of the 20 camp invitees appeared in the Sweden game, and the group will begin training today at the Home Dept Center near Los Angeles. Wingert will miss at least the first six days of RSL's first preseason training trip, the team said.

If RSL is going to make the Major League Soccer playoffs again next season, it might have to do it before Labor Day.

The upcoming schedule that was released today shows that RSL won't have many opportunities to make up points late in the season, with only six games after the start of September. The team has two byes in that stretch, after playing six games in August.

RSL also has a bye on the opening weekend of the season around MLS -- something it probably would rather have a little later in the season, to help break up the long road. Instead, the team doesn't get its first break until the middle of July, nearly four months into the season.

Looks a like a good start could be crucial, starting with the season opener against the expansion Seattle Sounders on the road March 28.

Meanwhile, a report in the Orlando Sentinel said that coach Jason Kreis was spotted in Ecuador scouting striker Luis Miguel Escalada, a 23-year-old native Argentine who came up through the Boca Juniors lower divisions.

Well, look who's back in Major League Soccer.

Defender Daniel Torres, who played for RSL in 2006 and 2007 before moving to Bryne FK of Norway's Second Division, has signed with FC Dallas, the Hoops announced today. Probably not a coincidence that former RSL coach John Ellinger, under whom Torres played, is now an assistant coach for FC Dallas.

We'll find out when Torres will meet his old team tomorrow, when MLS releases the full schedule for the upcoming season.

Seems like just yesterday that Real Salt Lake was making its historic and unexpected run into the MLS Western Conference final, and yet here we are, already talking about the preseason.

The team has set its preseason schedule, with players due to report on Thursday in advance of a session with the media on Friday.

From there, RSL plans to train in Utah over the weekend before embarking on the first of its three preseason trips in advance of their season-opener on the road on March 28 (the opponent still has yet to be determined). It will train from Feb. 2-14 in Oxnard, Calif., where it will play exhibition games against the Ventura County Fusion on Feb. 8, the Shandong Luneng Taishan team from China on Feb. 13 and either UC-Santa Barbara or Cal Poly-SLO on Feb. 14.

After a brief return to Utah, the team will head to Tampa, Fla., from Feb. 18-28, where it will play games against the University of South Florida on Feb. 21 and the University of Tampa on Feb. 24.

Finally, RSL will travel to Charleston, S.C., for the Carolina Challenge Cup.

The team will be in South Carolina from March 4-15, with games against D.C. United on March 7, Charleston on March 11 and Toronto FC on March 14. Then, it plans to play one more exhibition on March 21, though the opponent and location have yet to be determined.

Midfielder Andy Williams' wife continues to battle leukemia, and her condition is not getting any better.

Marcia Williams must wear a mask now and avoid crowds, a family friend reported through the team, because her white blood-cell count is so low -- and doctors discovered a chromosomal abnormality in her blood that Williams said "essentially means that she most likely won't be cured by chemotherapy alone."

So the family continues to search for someone with matching bone marrow, to allow a transplant, lest Marcia Williams have to attempt a "cord-blood transplant," which is riskier and unpredictable. What's more, the Williams' doctor has not performed the procedure "and would like us to be the first," Williams said. "Which I assure you it is not very comforting at this point."

In another attempt to find a bone-marrow match, the Grace Community Bible Church -- where the Williams family attends services -- will host a drive on Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. It's located at 11592 S. 1300 East in Sandy. The team will host another drive, too, next Thursday at Rio Tinto Stadium from 3 to 7 p.m. All 30 players who will be invited to preseason training will be tested to see if they're a match.

All it requires is a cheek swab and some paperwork. It's that easy.

Not only is striker Kenny Deuchar not returning to RSL next season, but striker Fabian Espindola also will not be back, after RSL did not pick up an option on his contract. The native Argentine signed with Deportivo Anzoategui in Venezuela last week.

Espindola scored five goals, but missed nearly two months after hurting his ankle while executing a back flip in celebration of a goal that was later disallowed.

Looks like Kenny Deuchar will not be back with Real Salt Lake next season.

The target striker whose scoring prowess in the Scottish Premier League never came close to translating in Major League Soccer evidently has has worked out a buyout of the final year of his contract and signed with the Hamilton Accies of the SPL on a free transfer.

General manager Garth Lagerwey said recently that a new league rule would allow RSL to buy out the final year of Deuchar's two-year contract and effectively release him. The team also did not pick up a contract option on striker Fabian Espindola, meaning he also is unlikely to return to the team next season.

While Espindola missed much time with an ankle injury suffered embarrassingly while executing a back flip in celebration of a goal that was later disallowed, Deuchar almost never could find the net for RSL. He scored three goals, but became known more for the waves of open shots he missed. By the end of the season, he was scarcely playing, and his "Dr. Goals" nickname seemed more like a joke than an honorific.

Now that RSL has made its choices in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft, let's take a look at each of the three players it chose, and what general manager Garth Lagerwey thinks about them.

Midfielder Jean Alexandre was the No. 12 pick in the first round, and team officials said they had been hot after him ever since he scored against them in a preseason exhibition game last year. The native Haitian is 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds -- "a miniature Olave," Lagerwey has said -- and can play just about anywhere on the field. He was a striker for his senior season at Division II Lynn University in Florida, because a new coach hadn't been able to recruit another before the season, but also has played all around the midfield and at both outside back spots.

Alexandre scored 23 goals with seven assists last season, while the Fighting Knights went 18-2. He also has played for the Haitian national team, though he will not require an international roster spot because he holds a green card as a permanent American resident.

"With us moving to a fast and wide field at Rio Tinto Stadium, we feel the need to bring in athletic and versatile players, and selecting Jean helps us accomplish those goals," Lagerwey said. "We took a chance taking a kid from a smaller school, but [goalkeepers coach] Jeff Cassar and I both have numerous contacts in South Florida from our Miami Fusion days that we contacted about Jean, so we felt very comfortable taking a chance with him at that pick."

Meanwhile, the team also chose Washington's Raphael Cox and Alabama A&M's Futhi Bhembe in the fourth round, and both have to be regarded as fairly long shots -- though Cox is the kind of left-footed midfielder the team was seeking. A two-time All-Pac-10 selection with the Huskies, he scored 14 goals with 17 assists in 59 games, and impressed RSL coach Jason Kreis with his ability to take the ball right at people. Kreis said that while he doesn't like to put expectations on players in general, Cox "potentially could be a guy who could fight for a starting position on our team."

"We felt the need to add a true left-sided player to the team during this draft," Lagerwey said. "He's a very athletic and technical player that will be an exciting addition to the squad."

The 5-foot-11 Bhembe is a 26-year-old striker from Swaziland who enjoyed a surprising senior season at Alabama A&M, scoring 14 goals in 16 games and tying for fifth in points per game in Division I. "He's a quick attacking player that got things done at the collegiate level," Lagerwey said, "so we're anxious to see if that can translate to the pros."

With the Major League Soccer SuperDraft about to begin, Real Salt Lake has traded midfielder Dema Kovalenko to the Los Angeles Galaxy for allocation money and a future draft pick, a team spokesman confirmed Thursday.

The deal was consummated late Wednesday night, and will give RSL a draft pick in 2011 based on how much Kovalenko plays for the Galaxy, in addition to the allocation money crucial to signing high-priced free agents.

The fiery 31-year-old midfielder from Ukraine was a mainstay in the lineup for much of last season for RSL, starting 19 games and appearing in 22 while battling injuries during the second half of the season. He scored one goal and had two assists in the regular season – then scored a crucial equalizer in RSL's draw at Chivas USA that pushed them through to the MLS Western Conference final.

RSL has the 12th, 54th and 57th picks in the draft today in St. Louis, and are widely expected to pursue a midfielder, though general manager Garth Lagerwey said he doubts any players in the draft will be able to step in and help the team right away.

Still not sure why RSL is describing its contract extension for coach Jason Kreis is three years, when he already was under contract for 2009 and the extension runs only through 2011, but no matter. The point is that the man whose vision helped construct the first playoff team in franchise history isn't going anywhere for awhile.

The team announced the extension -- and it is an extension, a spokesman said, not a new contract to replace the last year of the previous one -- on the eve of today's Major League Soccer SuperDraft in St. Louis, where Kreis and general manager will try to find a few pieces with the 12th, 54th and 57th picks to help build the franchise in the years to come.

Owner Dave Checketts said in a statement that "Jason continues to fit the profile of every great leader I have worked with throughout my career."

High praise, indeed.

Meanwhile, Kreis expressed just the sort of genuine sentiment you would expect.

"First and most importantly, I am extremely grateful to Dave Checketts and the rest of the ownership group, Bill Manning and Garth Lagerwey for this gesture of faith," he said. "It is a reflection on the team-oriented approach that the entire technical staff has embraced since day one.

"This also would not be possible without the dedication, hard work and success of the players on the field," Kreis added. "We have turned things around to the point where the great people of Utah believe, as I do, that 'Fortune Favors the Bold.' Everyone involved in establishing the expectations of success for our team continues to work towards earning championships, and I do not take that responsibility lightly."

After building and building and building to finally reach the playoffs and enjoy its best season ever, Real Salt Lake is about to realize one of the consequences.

Poor draft position.

By virtue of its playoff position and some of the moves that put it there, RSL will have only the 12th pick of the first round at the Major League Soccer SuperDraft in St. Louis on Thursday -- the worst opening pick in its history -- as well as two fourth-round picks. But that doesn't seem to bother general manager Garth Lagerwey; he believes the draft is only marginally better than the "historically poor" one last season, and doubts that any but a precious few incoming players could help a team right away.

"I don't think you fill needs in the draft," he said. "The gap between college and MLS is such that outside of maybe the first couple of picks, you're not going to get somebody who's going to step in and play."

The team itself has proved that.

Although RSL has enjoyed some of the draft's top picks the past few years because it had finished so poorly the previous seasons, it has seldom selected a player who has made much of a difference.

Arguably its best selection was midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy three years ago, mostly because the team later traded him for captain Kyle Beckerman -- though goalkeeper Chris Seitz and defender Tony Beltran remain potential impact players. It embarrassingly wasted its only No. 1 pick on bust midfielder Nik Besagno four years ago, and otherwise has compiled a draft legacy littered with forgettable names such as Luke Kreamalmeyer, the only fourth-round pick in its history.

Trading up in the hope of selecting a better player seems an unlikely option, then, because the team probably would have to give up some of the valuable pieces it has worked so hard to acquire.

"The message we have is we really like our team and we feel like we made progress last year," Lagerwey said. "We're not going to frivolously trade away a player for potential, unless it's a really, really special player."

Primarily, Lagerwey said RSL is seeking a left-footed midfielder to improve its wide play on that side of the field, and "possibly" a striker, with the potential departure of Fabian Espindola (who's contract option was not picked up) and Kenny Deuchar (whose contract might be bought out). Adding a collegiate striker to the remaining mix of young players doesn't make much sense to Lagerwey, though, suggesting the team is more likely to pursue those needs in the free-agent market.

Unlike last season, when RSL had a stockpile of picks, the team traded away a couple in this draft. It lost its second-round pick as compensation for luring goalkeepers coach Jeff Cassar away from FC Dallas, and traded its third-round pick to Kansas City in the trade for striker Yura Movsisyan. One of its fourth-round picks was acquired from Chivas USA in the deal for striker Atiba Harris.