Sprinkles: Merlin casts a spell over LA

LA: The big winner of the Sueño Beckham open tryout, Laurent Merlin, was dropped by the Galaxy. It didn't take long, a couple of hours according to BigSoccer posters, for him to end up in a Chivas USA shirt in a scrimmage. DC and Red Bull have also expressed an interest in the young Frenchman. Shouldn't Kansas City look at Merlin as well, it just makes too much sense.

In other Galaxy roster news, they have brought Kyle Martino back into the fold and are also looking at former Fire player John Thorrington.

DC: Random rumors have DC making a name signing here soon. Iván Kaviedes of Ecuador is one name being bandied about, although I'm not sure how much sense that makes. Eddie Lewis, of soon to be relegated Leeds United is another, and that one would fill a need for United.

Colorado: After looking at the roster, it appears that Aitor Karanka, Fabrice Noel, Daniel Wasson, and Matt Jordan have been waived. Due to his salary, Karanka might have problems latching on somewhere else. Talent-wise, there's quite a few teams that could use him. Noel should land somewhere. If you're not familiar with his story, read this and you'll be hoping for someone to bring him in. The guy has a good deal of potential and really deserves the break.

The Rapids have brought in Costa Rican Yherland McDonald. He's 20, has played with Costa Rica's U17 and U20 national teams, occupies a youth international roster slot, can play left wing or forward, and has been playing in the Norwegian First Division.

Chivas USA: Andrew Robles, one of the dreamers in Sueño MLS, will join the Chivas USA U19 squad this year. He is still in high school, after all. Keep an eye on these MLS youth developmental squads, we could start seeing some fruit from these trees rather quickly.

Claudio Suarez scored for the Goats in a 2-1 loss to Chicago in a friendly yesterday. A couple of interesting notes from the MLS web site's write-up: newly signed Alex Zotinca played in defense, rookie John Cunliffe played in the midfield, and Preki went with the combination of Razov and Galindo up front. Galindo assisted on the Suarez goal. It was a busy day for Chivas, they played later in the day against UC-Santa Barbara, winning 4-2 on a brace from El Rooster Matt Taylor. Amado Guevara made his debut, assisting on the first Taylor goal.

Toronto: It's come out that Toronto does in fact want to sign Conor Casey, but don't want to use their #1 allocation slot to do so. They wanted to use their #6 slot instead. Columbus, KC, DC, and LA have slots 2-5, respectively, so Toronto would have to hope that they don't jump on Casey first. Personally, I don't think he'd get past Columbus. If for some reason the Village People were too busy at the YMCA, KC would definitely pick him up to fill in the shoes of Josh Wolff. Sorry Mo, but you're going to have to use that #1 slot if you want Casey.

Kansas City: Wizards, and ESPN US national team coverage, poster boy Jimmy Conrad signed a new 4 year deal with the league. There was talk of some Norwegian clubs being very interested. I guess they loved his radio shows prior to MLS Cup.

Chicago: The Fire beat Chivas USA 2-1 at the Home Depot Center yesterday in a preseason friendly. Justin Mapp scored the first, and had an overall strong outing. Rookie Mike Banner scored the winner in the 84th minute.

Columbus: Jon Busch is pissed about being dropped by the Crew and way Coach Sigi handled things. An interesting stat about the Crew roster is that 24 of the 28 members of the Crew have been brought in since Sigi signed on. That's what I call cleaning house...

Dallas: The Hoops are training in Brazil on the grounds of partner club Paranaense. They drew with the Paranaense B team 1-1 on Friday, with Carlos Ruiz scoring the Dallas goal. They won the day before against a 3rd division team, Mulacelli, with goals coming from Bobby Rhine and Kenny Cooper. Here's video of the Dallas goals in that game, courtesy of this excellent extension of the FC Dallas front office: