DAILY ALMANAC
Today is Saturday, March 13, the 72nd day of 2021. There are 293 days left in the year.
On this date in:
1639: New College was renamed Harvard College for clergyman John Harvard.
1781: The seventh planet of the solar system, Uranus, was discovered by Sir William Herschel.
1862: President Abraham Lincoln signed a measure prohibiting Union military officers from returning fugitive slaves to their owners.
1925: The Tennessee General Assembly approved a bill prohibiting the teaching of the theory of evolution. (Gov. Austin Peay (pee) signed the measure on March 21.)
1933: Banks in the U.S. began to reopen after a “holiday” declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1934: A gang that included John Dillinger and “Baby Face” Nelson robbed the First National Bank in Mason City, Iowa, making off with $52,344.
1938: Famed attorney Clarence S. Darrow died in Chicago.
1947: The Lerner and Loewe musical “Brigadoon,” about a Scottish village that magically reappears once every hundred years, opened on Broadway.
1954: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu began during the First Indochina War as Viet Minh forces attacked French troops, who were defeated nearly two months later.
1969: The Apollo 9 astronauts splashed down, ending a mission that included the successful testing of the
Lunar Module.
1996: A gunman burst into an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland, and opened fire, killing 16 children and one teacher before killing himself.
2013: Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope, choosing the name Francis; he was the first pontiff from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium.
2018: President Donald Trump abruptly dumped Secretary of State Rex Tillerson – via Twitter – and moved CIA Director Mike Pompeo from the role of America’s spy chief to its top diplomat.
Jazz drummer Roy Haynes is 96. Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka is 82. Singer Candi Staton is 81. Actor William H. Macy is 71. Comedian Robin Duke is 67. Actor Dana Delaney (“Body of Proof” “China Beach”) is 65. Bassist
Adam Clayton of U2 is 61. Jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard is 59. Drummer
Matt Mcdonough of Mudvayne is 52. Actor
Annabeth Gish (“The West Wing,” “The Xfiles”) is 50. Actor Tracy Wells (“Mr. Belvedere”) is 50. Rapper Common is 49. Rapper Khujo of Goodie Mob is 49. Singer Glenn Lewis is 46. Actor Danny Masterson (“That ’70s Show”) is 45. Musicians Natalie and Nicole Albino of Nina Sky are 37. Actor Noel Fisher (“Shameless”) is 37. Actor Emile Hirsch (“Into the Wild”) is 36.
It’s almost impossible to demand more out of Lucas Zelarayan.
The Crew attacking midfielder already sealed his fate as a player who will be remembered forever in club history with two goals and one assist in last year’s MLS Cup final.
If there’s anything more the Crew can ask of Zelarayan in his second year with the club, it’s what he gave last year but at an even greater quantity.
With a target on his team’s back as the reigning champion, Zelarayan will carry the responsibility of steering the Crew toward another MLS Cup, elevating the club’s presence internationally in CONCACAF Champions League and mentoring a new player at his position.
He and coach Caleb Porter don’t think that’s too much to demand.
“We expect, obviously, for him to keep performing, even better than he did last year,” Porter said, “but it’s hard to beat what he did last year.”
Zelarayan handled his arrival about as well as anyone could have expected. He scored in his first game of the season, performed well when the season resumed in a bubble in Florida and was clearly the best player when the Crew claimed its secondever MLS Cup in December.
The extent of his talent was fully revealed in MLS Cup, but he played in just 16 of 23 regular-season games and dealt with three different injuries. Zelarayan was named last season’s MLS newcomer of the year, and he hasn’t yet played a full season.
“I haven’t seen many guys transition as quickly as (Zelarayan) into our league and into a team and to be able to perform right out of the gates,” Porter said.
Zelarayan left the biggest impression in the last game of the year, so naturally he’ll enter 2021 as a favorite to win MLS MVP. Normally, athletes will brush those predictions aside and say they don’t pay attention to it. Zelarayan,
however, acknowledged that he’ll carry higher expectations this season and plans on delivering.
“Whenever people speak like that of you, it’s nice to hear that, but at the same time I want to live up to those expectations,” Zelarayan, an Argentine, said through a translator. “Having said that, the fact that we have new teammates, whom also I believe are very good, means that all of us are going to be better and that’s only going to help the team.”
Zelarayan will have even more help this season in the attack. Winger Kevin Molino, forward Bradley Wright-phillips and 21-year-old Romanian attacking midfielder Alexandru Matan, who will play some on the wing, all should help Zelarayan as much as they’ll benefit from his talent.
The addition of Matan gives the Crew a true No. 10 to play in compacted windows when Zelarayan will have to rest. The Crew sees Matan as a piece of its future and Zelarayan seems to already be embracing a mentoring role.
“The idea of having someone who’s young like that excites me because then I’ll be able to teach him,” Zelarayan said. “However I can help him I’ll be sure to do that.”
Zelarayan can really make an impact in the CONCACAF Champions League. He has made 17 appearances in the tournament and was a part of three runner-up finishes with Tigres UANL. That’s vital experience for a club that hasn’t been in the tournament since the 2010-11 season.
Zelarayan kept a promise he made with midfielder Artur and defender Milton Valenzuela by getting an MLS Cup tattoo on his calf. Last season’s triumph quite literally will always be a part of him.
But that’s in the past, and more is expected this season.
“I would say the expectations are higher,” Zelarayan said. “We’re coming off a really good season, but with that said, we want to get even better this season.” jmyers@dispatch.com @_jcmyers