I hope they're not the best coaches we have...

Sigi Schmid, Fernando Clavijo, Mo Johnston. They've all coached multiple MLS teams with average or below average levels of success. They will all likely get more chances to succeed in MLS, either with their current teams or someone else who's willing to pull them out of the recycle bin. There's also John Hackworth, who flopped at the U17 World Cup, only to get kicked upstairs into an assistant job with the full national team. How does that work?

Ian Plenderleith surmises that it's because "there’s a shortage of really good" coaches out there, barring bringing in a big name expensive coach from overseas or dipping into the college ranks (which he seems to not endorse). I have to disagree, there are quality coaches out there. They just aren't getting the chance because the same coaches keep getting rehired after they couldn't cut it in the first place.

He seems to dismiss taking a chance on someone like Cobi Jones or Eddie Pope. Preki would like to wave hello at this point, look at the job he did with Chivas USA in his first year as the top man (second year as a coach after his apprenticeship with Bradley in 2006). Peter Nowak won the 2004 MLS Cup in his first year, and a Supporters' Shield in his third. Bringing in a former pro as a coach would just increase the potential pool, rather than say that the pool isn't up to the task.

Look at people in the pool who haven't received a chance as a head coach. Denis Hamlett received his 'A' license in 1997, has been the lead assistant for Chicago since 2001, and was only able to keep the seat warm for Juan Carlos Osorio after Dave Sarachan was let go. Oscar Pareja has been an assistant in Dallas for the past two years, his valuable international experience could be very helpful to a number of teams in the league. Paul Mariner has been Steve Nicol's right hand man in New England for four years. With all of the love for English coaches in America, why hasn't this veteran of the English national team received a chance? American veterans Richie Williams and John Harkes have went through their apprenticeship in New York, when do they get a chance?

I came up with list in about five minutes, can you imagine if there was actually some big research involved?

There are plenty of potentially great coaches sitting right here in America waiting for the opportunity. However, the same small group of retreads keep getting jobs. The "good ol' boy" network is in full effect, and it's hurting our sport in this country.

MLS Awards thoughts

Rookie of the Year: Dane Richards, Maurice Edu, Adam Cristman
I have to go with Richards here. It has to be between Edu and Richards, I was thinking of Michael Harrington of the Wizards before Cristman. I wouldn't be horribly upset with Edu winning, he's had a very strong rookie season. Richards has been a huge part of the Red Bulls this year, with six assists. There's very few players in the league who can keep up with him. Once he adds a bit more skill to his game, we could be looking at Cobi Jones, v.2.0.

Defender of the Year: Michael Parkhurst, Eddie Robinson, Claudio Suarez
I'm rolling with Robinson here. Houston's defense has been awesome all year, and Robinson has been a huge part of that. That said, I think Parkhurst has a higher profile and will probably win.

Goalkeeper of the Year: Brad Guzan, Pat Onstad, Matt Reis
Brad Guzan better win this one. Onstad and the Dynamo D have been strong, Reis has done his usual good job, but Guzan has made some huge saves to keep his Goats in games. For the sheer number of ridiculous saves he's made, he deserves the award. I think Houston and New England could've made do with other keepers, Chivas needed El Guzano.

Coach of the Year: Dominic Kinnear, Preki, Tom Soehn
Soehn and Kinnear have two of the stronger rosters in the league, and their teams haver performed accordingly. Preki has done the most with a lesser group of players, and thus deserves the award.

Newcomer of the Year:
Most Valuable Player: Juan Pablo Angel, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Luciano Emilio
Shouldn't the same guy win both of these awards? While Blanco has been the key to Chicago getting this far, he hasn't been here all year. Emilio has been awesome, but I think New York would be in the gutter without Angel. He deserves the award. I suppose you could give Blanco the Newcomer of the Year award because of his impact off the field, but I think that's a copout.

A few other personal awards...

Best Hair: Guy Roland-Kpene
The guy went from an awful wannabe Drogba 'do to the brightest peroxide dye job seen since Jaime Moreno in 1997. That deserves something...

Best Goal: Joseph Ngwenya
I almost wanted to go with Parkhurst's bomb against Toronto on the last day of the season, but Ngwenya's goal during a Thursday night game on ESPN2 blew my mind. Probably because of who scored it, but it was pretty awesome. I was more shocked that the didn't make all those moves, then put the ball into the upper deck. That's his usual M.O.

Biggest Disappointment: Carlos Pavon
The guy came into the league riding high after the Gold Cup, then stunk up the joint for the Gals. Adios.

Best DP Signing: Cuauhtemoc Blanco
He's revitalized the Fire single handedly, both on and off the field. For all of Angel's brilliance on the field, the Red Bulls are still mostly ignored. Beckham never got much of a chance to show what he could do for the Gals on the field, but scored big time in the league's bank accounts.

Worst DP Signing: Claudio Reyna
I know most people think it's Denilson, but I'm going with Reyna. He hasn't done much of anything for the Red Bulls, and he was supposed to be a leader. He's a solid MLS player at this point in his career, but he isn't worth the money he's being paid. Denilson's been a big bust, but he's also only been there for 8 games. Reyna has been with NY for the whole season, and their production on the field is nearly identical.

Best Game: NY v. LA, August 18
The Saturday night game on FSC easily was the most entertaining game I've seen in MLS this year. I bet the ESPN suits were breaking things over this one.

No siestas for the Silverbacks

For our 500th post, I figured we should bring it back home to the ATL. Let's look at what's going on in the Monkey House:

• Omar Jarun played for Palestine in a World Cup qualifier against Singapore, earning his first cap. His father is Palestinian, and he was contacted the team's coach this season. He is out of contract with Atlanta, and doesn't appear to be returning. It's stated in the article that he's looking for a new club, possibly in the Gulf region. He's also signed a two week trial contract with Vancouver and will play in their friendly against the LA Galaxy on November 7. Joey Worthen (Carolina) and Darren Spicer (Minnesota) have also joined the Whitecaps for the match.
• Rodrigo Rios featured for Hollywood United against a 1997 DC United alumni team in Marco Etcheverry's testimonial match at RFK Stadium. Assistant coach Alex Pineda-Chacon also played in the match, alongside French World Cup winner Frank Lebouf, Scottish defender Richard Gough, American veterans Tab Ramos, Dante Washington, and Eric Wynalda. Other celebrities playing with Rios were Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld of Hootie & the Blowfish, and actor Anthony LaPaglia.
• Rios is also playing with San Diego of Liga Lawrenceville during the offseason. Many other players are keeping active in the local leagues. Macoumba Kandji is playing with the Silverbacks Reserves in ADASL, David Hayes is scoring goals for AC Silverbacks in ADASL, and Felipe Quintero is playing for Portugal in Liga Lawrenceville.
  
• The Silverbacks Reserves (without Kandji, who wasn't registered in time for the competition) won the Champions League at the RE/MAX over the weekend, with a 3-2 win over Tierra Caliente. That's a nice chunk of cash the team earned as well, $15,000.
• Silverbacks players are also keeping busy in the indoor game with the MISL. Machel Millwood and Scott Buete are playing with the Baltimore Blast (Millwood is scoring goals early in the season) and Angel Rivillo is in Philadelphia with the Kixx. Alvin Hudson played with Chicago in the preseason, but isn't on the roster as of yet.
  
• Rumors are out there about MVP runner-up and USL D-1 leading scorer Dan Antoniuk leaving Atlanta. Unless they signed him to a new contract when he joined the team prior to the season in a trade, he's likely out of contract and is free to go elsewhere.

EDIT: It looks like Antoniuk can be added to the MISL crew as he's on the New Jersey Ironmen roster...

MLS Saturday Night Live

The Bakery experiment of watching all three games at once was a bit of a success. After playing in a tournament all day, sitting on a couch without moving sounded like an excellent idea. Since all laptops in the house were in use, there was no time for the live blogging. However, here's a few thoughts afterwards:

• New York disappointed me. Starting Angel, Altidore, and Doe and not getting any goals to show for it is a bad sign. I also thought Mathis should've come on earlier. A win for the Red Bulls was crucial. I'm not so sure they can go up to Massachusetts and get one.
  
• The second leg of Dallas-Houston should be fun to watch. These teams just don't like each other. Carlos Ruiz throw a nasty elbow to Eddie Robinson on a header, and then Cochrane and Robinson were both able to get some revenge later. Dallas got the best revenge though, with a goal by Clarence Goodson of all people.
  
• I don't know if Dallas can defend for 90 minutes in Houston. I hope Morrow doesn't get too conservative, I don't think it plays to the Hoops' strengths.
  
• Chivas was kind of screwed going into the game, with both Galindo and Razov out of action. They were forced into an unfamiliar 4-5-1 with Le Croissant playing by himself up top.
  
• I guess Preki wanted to start conservatively, then have the option of bringing on Cunliffe to play their traditional 4-4-2 if needed. Well, it was after Davy Arnaud's free kick went through the wall and took a deflection to get past Guzan.
  
• Cunliffe looked dangerous, but it wasn't enough for the Goats. Knowing who they were missing, I think they're actually okay with the one goal deficit.
  

I hate fantasy sports and prediction contests. I have the worst luck in them, and usually just end up jinxing whoever I pick. It used to be a running joke in my fantasy football or baseball leagues that I would just ruin the career of whoever I took. The worst was when I drafted the reigning AL Rookie of the Year. One month into the season, he went on the DL for "headaches". He was back in the minors a few months after that. I picked Twins' catcher Joe Mauer during his first year. He went 3-3 on opening day, and tore his ACL. I apologize to Cubs fans for picking Mark Prior and Kerry Wood consistently, their balsa wood arms never stood a chance.

That being said, it's no shock that I haven't even scored a point in the Cupcakes/Center DUEL. Maybe next week I'll pick what I don't want to happen, a little reverse psychology might reverse the curse. Either way, it's looking like the Mad Dog might be calling my name...

Friday Blues + MLS Picks

Sorry for the late pics ya'll.

Friday was a forgettable day for yours truly.

B$ and I went to watch our alma mater, Georgia State, drudge through another awful loss.

The Panthers fell 1-0 to William & Mary in Colonial Athletic Association play, failing to score a goal for the fifth consecutive game. No, that's not a typo. That is five straight games without scoring.

The predictability of GSU has become so pathetic that it's laughable.

PK chance in the second half? Of course it was going to be stopped (why let the player who was fouled take it instead of your best player, Eduardo "Lalo" Liza?).

GSU gave up the winning goal in the 89th minute on one of their textbook defensive breakdowns.
William & Mary had been winning every header all game long, and they played a cross to the far post, where the Tribe forward won the ball over 5'8" left back Javon Carrington. The sad part of this is that GSU had a 7-on-3 advantage defensively yet failed to win the most important ball of the match.

What's even more pathetic is the fact that this team cannot send players forward. Everytime a GSU player had the ball in the final third, there was no option to pass the ball to a player who had an opportunity to create a chance. This comes down to bad coaching, something that has plaged Georgia State for years.

It's not like Georgia State had bad players. Liza is a great playmaker in the middle, yet is usually forced out of position or isn't given options to distribute effectively. Spenser Sumpter is a nice defender, but since he's constantly bombarded he's has no margin for error. And goalkeeper Felipe Carvalho has saved the Panthers from getting embarrassed consistently. One could only imagine how well he would do with a team who could actually score goals and play better defensively.

Afterwards I went home to watch UAG Tecos play Jekyll and Hyde against San Luis and lose 3-2. Los Tecolotes dominated the first half and should have been winning better than 1-0 at the half. Then capitan Juan Carlos Leano and the rest of the defense fell asleep in the second half, giving up three awful goals.

Time for work, so here's my MLS picks for Saturday:

New York 3-1 New England
FC Dallas 1-1 Houston
Kansas City 2-0 Chivas USA

My apologies and Saturday picks...

One game into the MLS Playoffs and it looks like I'm carrying the torch for the boys from Atlanta at this point. I must apologize for the piss-poor performance of my contemporaries, as the boys from Center Holds It have a cumulative edge of 3-2 on points after Chicago's 1-0 victory.

Frankly, last night was filled with piss-poor performances all around. Blanco, D.C. United and my fellow bakers made the first night of the 2007 MLS Playoffs less than memorable.

Hopefully tomorrow night will bring more points from yours truly and Shoe and ECB can get on the scoreboard.

Here goes with my picks:

New York 2-2 New England - The score last time at Giants Stadium, so I'm sticking with it.

Houston 1-0 FC Dallas - I really don't like Dallas and don't think they can do much. Let's just hope the Dynamo can find the back of the net.

And now what you've all been waiting for:

Kansas City 2-0 Chivas USA - I haven't been convinced of Chivas USA's offense since Razov went down with an injury. And this is a safe pick for me. Why? Because, I'll be happy with a Chivas USA victory or even a draw. By making this pick, I'll be a little happy with a Wizards win. I WIN ALL AROUND!

Doesn't look like we'll be up at the Brewhouse tomorrow night, we'll probably have the TV and dual laptops with all 3 games going at The Bakery. Beer will probably be involved. I just don't want to get tempted by that damn Golden Tee machine.

Welcome to the playoffs

The first game of the 2007 MLS Cup playoffs is in the books, and #4 Eastern seed Chicago defended their home turf with a 1-0 win over Supporters' Shield winning DC United. It wasn't the prettiest of games, but the intensity was there. I love these types of games, except when my team is the one taking the loss.

DC looked uneasy from the start. That could have had something to do with both Moreno and Emilio starting the game on the bench and young Guy Roland-Kpene playing as a lone striker. Perkins made one excellent save on Rolfe, but couldn't keep his second chance out. After a mix-up on a long ball out of the back between McTavish and Vanney, Marc Burch watched as Rolfe sprinted in past him and ripped a volley home. Ball watching will get you killed at this level.

The goal snapped DC to life a bit, but they were limited with Kpene as the lone striker. He always looked to play the ball backwards or wide, never going to goal. The attacks were limited and took far too long to build. Moreno coming in at the half for him changed things a bit, but it was only when Emilio came on for Brian Carroll late that DC really looked dangerous. There wasn't enough time for him to get going though. Christian Gomez ended up with the best chance, putting a header right at Pickens.

Generally, the ref was okay as this wasn't an easy one to handle. The kick to the back of Gomez was a really cheap shot, but he couldn't see it. Nice to see Gomez didn't fall for CJ Brown's thuggery and spit at him this time around. I thought more cards should have been thrown to Chicago players for persistent fouls. Every time Fred started to take off, he was brought down. It was an effective strategy by the Fire, because the yellow cards weren't coming out and DC didn't do anything with the restarts.

I expect to see Chicago play very defensively at RFK next week. I just don't know if DC can break them down. I think United is an excellent team playing even up, or when they're ahead. I wonder about them when they have to chase a game. They aren't very direct in style, and that is sometimes needed. They also don't have great team speed. It's going to take all the wiliness and cunning Moreno, Gomez, and Fred have to create chances for Emilio.

I'm expecting to see a war at RFK next week.

Trouble in the FireHouse (and other assorted Chicago-DC stuff)

There's an interesting story today in the Colombian press about Juan Carlos Osorio being interested in the Deportivo Cali coaching position. Great timing, huh? It's interesting to me that he says that the job can't match the money he makes in Chicago, but he implies that the prestige would be much greater.

More discussion on the subject here...

Over at the Soccer Insider, Mr. Goff throws this tease in his post about DC's traveling party...

I am also checking on two rumors with major implications for the DCU ballclub. At the moment, they are just rumors. As soon as I know more, I will share them with you. Be patient. Might be a while.

In the comments, he goes on to say he'll hopefully have more before the game starts and that they have nothing to do with a uniform sponsor or stadium news. Hmmmm.....

This is grounds for a horrible beatdown...

This guy wouldn't make it out of the Brewhouse alive...

Western Conference Playoff Predictions, Matchday 1

Saturday
Dallas-Houston, 8:00 (DK)
Houston has only lost once in their last nine games, while the Hoops have only won two of their last ten. The defending champs will be without Ricardo Clark this postseason, for his attempted beheading by boot of Carlos Ruiz.

The Dynamo dominated Dallas during the regular season, winning three of the four games. The last time they faced, Houston spanked the Hoops 3-0 at Pizza Hut Park. That was also the game with the Clark v. Ruiz madness. They haven't faced each other in the postseason before.

Dallas has so much attacking talent, they have to find a way to use as much of it as possible in the first leg. I wonder if they'll have a little extra motivation after the Clark incident in their last game. This one should be interesting.
Prediction: Dallas 2, Houston 2 (Ruiz, Alvarez; De Rosario, Ching)

Kansas City-Chivas USA, 8:30 (DK)
The Goats are limping into the playoffs with Ante Razov dinged up, while the Wiz got in after their first win in five games. I have to say that I wasn't really expecting KC to win in Dallas to clinch their playoff berth.

The regular season series was dead even between these two, with each team winning their home game. KC won 3-2 on an 89th minute Yuri Movsisyan goal back in July. Chivas clinched their playoff slot with an injury time winner by Ante Razov on September 22nd. This is the first time these teams have met in the playoffs.

Kansas City has never lost to the Goats at Arrowhead, winning all three games they've played there. A key to winning their fourth in a row there will be the health of playmaker Carlos Marinelli, who sprained his ankle in the Dallas game. He's a game time decision for Saturday.
Prediction: 0-0

Eastern Conference Playoff Predictions, Matchday 1

Thursday
Chicago-DC: 8:30 (ESPN2)
The Supporters' Shield winners are coming into this match a little banged up. Jaime Moreno is expected to start, even though he's suffering with a sprained ankle. Luciano Emilio is not as certain, he'll probably come off the bench. The Fire is coming in off their big win over LA to qualify for the postseason. They also haven't lost since Sept. 1, although there are 5 draws thrown in that run.

The teams played 3 times in '07, with DC winning one and the other two ending tied. The last two games, featuring Blanco, were the ones that ended level. As we all know, Chicago became a completely different team with Cuau in the side.

The upsetting thing about this draw for DC is that they've never beaten Chicago in the postseason. A loss in MLS Cup '98, combined with getting bounced out by identical 4-0 aggregate scores in 2003 and 2005, adds to the drama here.

I'm expecting a tight game at Toyota Park, especially considering DC's injuries. United will likely just be looking to get out of there alive.
Prediction: 1-1 (Barrett, Gomez)

Saturday
New York-New England: 7:30 (FSC)
The Red Bulls have been the better team over the last month of the season here, with only one loss in their last six. The Revs have won one of their last four.

New England won the season series, with two wins and one draw. Taylor Twellman had three goals in those games. Juan Pablo Angel had a late goal to level the last match these two played, Sept. 22 at Giants Stadium.

The last time these two played in the postseason, the then MetroStars had a 2-0 aggregate lead in the 60th minute of the second game. However, Jose Cancela led the Revs back with a goal and an assist before Khano Smith scored the series winner in the 83rd minute.

New York has to come out and score goals in the first leg, they can't count on them in New England. Everybody seems to be writing them off in this series, but I'm not so sure. Anytime you have strikers like Angel and Jozy Altidore, I don't think you can be counted out.
Prediction: New York 2, New England 1 (Angel 2, Ralston)

It's on like Donkey Kong

What have we gotten ourselves into now?

The first ever Center Holds It/Who Ate All the Cupcakes? MLS Cup Playoff Pick Extravaganza, or whatever we end up officially calling it, that's what.

Quick recap of the rules:

* Participating pundits will call every playoff game, specifically the result and final score. One point will be awarded for making the correct call (e.g. win, loss, and, in the first round, tie) and an additional point will be awarded for every entirely correct final score. (Games that end with PKs gets at the “entirely correct” clarification: a game that goes to PKs officially ends as a tie. So, in that case, “result” denotes winner of the game. If, by some miracle, a pundit guesses PKs, tie, and the ultimate winner, they’ll pick up the second point…slim reward for such top-notch prognosticatin’. We’ll call this rule subject to negotiation till the end of the first half of the first round.)
* The pundit who compiled the most points when MLS Cup ends will be the winner. All other pundits will be considered losers - and rightly so. They will be required to pay rewards and suffer punishments.
* For the two-leg first round series, predictions will be made one game at a time as opposed to making the call for the entire round. Predictions for each successive round will be game-by-game.
* Predictions will be made 6 hours before kick off.

Here's where it gets good:

* Each losing pundit will purchase and send to the winner a six-pack sample of the finest available beers from his/her home region.
The losing pundit(s) will:
* Be required to purchase and post a photograph of him/her wearing a shirt dumping on his/her abilities to see into the future. Ideally, this photograph will be taken in a public place - otherwise, what’s the point? We’ll be hitting up all y’all to write the slogan (more on this later)*
* Drink a fifth of MD 20/20; the specific flavor will be losing pundit’s choice. And, again, the best available photographic evidence will be produced to demonstrate compliance.
* Having drained our combined creative capacities simply to create this contest, we would like to solicit readers/visitors for the slogan that will grace the loser’s (losers’) t-shirt. So, drop your ideas into the comments field and keep ‘em free of anything that could get the wearer in real trouble (e.g. overt racism and sexism won’t fly). Otherwise, let it fly!

All I know is this, I have never had the pleasure of dancing with the Mad Dog 20/20 and I'm not intending to start now. I will, however, enjoy the finest of regional brews from around the country. That Pyramid was good when I was in Seattle a few months ago, I'm looking forward to a refill.

The Cupcake Nation will have their playoff picks for the first few games up over the next day, or early Thursday at the latest.

Have fun with the losers' slogans in the comments...

Wayne Rooney is smart

If you've seen the "Rock Star" video by Nickelback, you'll notice that tons of stars appear in the video. You have everybody from Kid Rock to Nelly Furtado to Gene Simmons to Wayne Gretzky. You could've had Wayne Rooney, but he turned it down.

Apparently Rooney turned it down as "he only listens to hip-hop and thought it would be bad for his street cred", according to the source.

Wayne Rooney: Too hood for Canadian posers...

Thanks to With Leather for the heads up.

MLS Post-Mortem: Examining the Dead

While the focus is on the 8 teams who will still be playing, let's take a quick look at the 5 who have to wait until next year...

Toronto FC
In their first year, nobody expected Toronto to compete for a playoff spot. They missed out by 15 points at the end. I don't know if Mo Johnston ever really got the roster set the way he wanted. He has some nice pieces to build around though. Maurice Edu starred as a rookie. Marvell Wynne started coming into his own late in the year. The fans found a favorite in Danny Dichio. Speaking of which, the hardcore fan support is what will be the lasting memory of Toronto FC's 2007 season. While those fans are coming back in greater numbers in 2008, some improvement will be needed for them to keep coming back.

Real Salt Lake
RSL just hasn't gotten their stuff together, have they? They showed a little promise late in the year, and will be hoping to build on the Rocky Mountain Cup victory over their hated Rapids in the last game of the year. I like the young Argentines that were signed. The Findley/Sturgis deal was masterful, and will pay off down the road. Kyle Beckerman was another nice acquisition that makes RSL better. Nick Rimando regained his pre-2005 form. Jason Kreis showed some promise as a young coach, let's see what he can do in a full season now. Losing Eddie Pope makes me think this young team might be in need of some veteran leadership for 2008.

LA Galaxy
Where do you begin with the "jewel" of the league? They caught a horrible break with Beckham arriving injured. However, the team was broken before that, and the moves Lalas made didn't help much. I still hate the trade that brought Chris Klein to LA, although it's no offense to Klein. He was a great soldier for the team, and his bicycle kick against Pachuca in the SuperLiga final will be the moment I remember best from this LA season.

It's obvious though that a talent upgrade is desperately needed. Carlos Pavon was a bad signing, but I won't blame Lalas on this one. Pavon played well in the Gold Cup prior to the signing and it was a decent gamble. It just didn't work out.

There's also the issue of Landon Donovan's contract. As of now, the Gals need a DP slot to keep him for 2008. That won't be easy to acquire, unless the league bails them out and allows teams a second slot. He also needs to be used more effectively, I hated how he was thrown out on the wing in the last 2 games. Yallop should've remembered how dangerous he was playing up top, in front of Beckham, before the knee injury took Becks out of commission. Becks has better chances for success delivering through balls to Donovan than Glinton, Buddle, or Pavon.

This will be the most interesting club to follow in the offseason, that's for sure. Will Yallop return? How much money will the club make in their exhibition games? Will Lalas return? Will Donovan return?

Colorado Rapids
I'll be shocked if Fernando Clavijo returns for a fourth season with the Rapids. There might be riots in the fanbase if he does. It seemed like Clavijo went out of his way to piss off the hardcore supporters.

The Rapids were definitely the league's biggest disappointment this year, I expected much more out of them. They had appeared to upgrade their roster from a team that somehow found itself in the Western Conference Final 2 years running. However, dealing for Facundo Erpen midway through the year was a big mistake (as seen by his play in the pivotal RSL game Saturday) and getting rid of Beckerman didn't make much sense.

What happened to Nico Hernandez this year? The team had pretty much no offense this year, which makes Alain Nkong's resurgence for Atlante in Mexico that much more upsetting. Daniel Osorno of Mexico was signed, and then played exactly 55 minutes. Conor Casey stunk for the majority of his time in Colorado, at least he showed a little something late in the year.

I hate to say it, but it looks like things are going to get worse in Colorado before they get better. At least their uniforms were cool this year, huh?

Columbus Crew
I never could understand this team in 2007. Sigi comes to town, rebuilds the roster around promising young players, then proceeds to give up on them. The Danny Szetela situation was baffling, the guy looked good in the U20 qualifiers at the beginning of the year, barely gets on the field for the Crew, then goes to the U20 World Cup and earns himself a deal with a La Liga club. Que? There's been talk of Eddie Gaven trying to find a way out of town as well, just as he's finally starting to turn into a complete player.

At least Robbie Rogers and Tim Ward started finding the field late in the year, and looked good in doing so. Rogers could be a revelation next year. Schelotto was what they desperately needed, but couldn't carry the team into the playoffs on his own. One true goalscorer could be the cure for all of the Crew's ills, I think the other pieces are in place.

Sigi will be back for another year, and I think he has to produce this time around.

Well, it's about time...

Steve Goff over at the Soccer Insider is reporting that there will be a teleconference Monday at 4:00 to address the status of USWNT coach Greg Ryan.

That undefeated streak was nice, but the embarrassment of the World Cup semifinal destruction, the horrible PR moves made by Ryan in SoloGate, and the general poor level of play for the team at the World Cup eventually added up. I'm glad that Gulati and US Soccer is not satisfied with the third place finish, even though some of the veteran players on the team sure made it seem like it was great.

We'll see who's on the short list to replace Ryan as the team prepares for next summer's Olympics shortly.

It's all about this...

Here are your matchups for the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs:

Eastern Conference:

#1 D.C. United vs. #4 Chicago Fire
#2 New England Revolution vs. #3 New York Red Bulls

Western Conference:

#1 CD Chivas USA vs. x-#5 Kansas City Wizards
#2 Houston Dynamo vs. #3 FC Dallas

x - Qualified as the 5th team from the Eastern Conference by having more points than Colorado, the #4 team in the Western Conference.

A early playoff schedule is available here. It looks like D.C. will lead things off on Thursday with a visit to Toyota Park on ESPN2. Sounds like fun.

We'll have a lot more for you this week, including previews and picks for each series.

I think I love John Thorrington...

I really didn't care who won today, I just wanted SOMEONE to win. A win by either team and Chivas USA avoided the Fire in the playoffs. And along comes Mr. Thorrington to ruin a spectacular day for Joe Cannon.

A few thoughts:

1. I'd be rather upset if I was a Galaxy fan. Roberts was manhandled by Dasan Robinson and didn't get a PK. If he's not fouled, he scores the go-ahead goal. No doubt about it.

2. Matt Pickens is a little bitch. What a season for this douche, from nearly inciting a riot in Toronto, to conveniently moving his hands out of the way to give Moreno and D.C. a gift point, to this crap today, whining about colliding with Buddle. Yeah, you got a bloody lip. So what? The ref called a foul, what do you want him to do, let you elbow Buddle in the head to make things even?

3. Deservedly so, Chicago is in the playoffs. This Galaxy team shouldn't have made it. Today they showed why they would have easily been the worst of the final 8.

4. As Ives Galarcep pointed out in his live blog of the game, Thorrington's goal makes things harder for them. Have fun against D.C. guys. Although I know Shoe and every other DCU fan isn't happy about seeing the Fire.

Video - Adu scores first for Benfica, B$$$ gets a glimpse of the future of the USMNT

Sprinkles: Savo the savior?

Toronto: The team kind of stunk on the field, but the fans are still rabid. TFC is looking at having over 16K season ticket holders for 2008, even with a price increase.

The Reds have also brought in Savo Milosevic of Serbia in for a trial. He played for his country in the 2006 World Cup and has previously featured for Aston Villa, Celta Vigo, and Parma. However, he's also 34 years old.

Portland: The MLS bigwigs paid a second visit to PGE Park and Portland this week, checking the facility out in action for the US v. Mexico women's game. I'm still of the opinion that Seattle coming into the league will help Portland's chances. With four spots available to get to 18 teams, you'd have to put money on Seattle, St. Louis, Philly, and Portland at this point. After that, you have the Canadian cities, a 2nd NY team, and others arguing with FIFA to increase the 1st Division size. Can you say MLS-2?

Colorado: Does Clavijo keep his job if the Rapids fail to make the playoffs? I'd have to guess no, but I didn't think he'd keep it this long. They have a tough one against their rivals this weekend.

Salt Lake: Must read article about Eddie Pope preparing for his life after playing...

Los Angeles v. New York, It's ON

Luckily, high school football has good timing, and the young'uns are celebrating just in time to get off the air.

¿Dónde Está Fernando? It's the original Tommy Smyth hanging out with us tonight, along with Waldo, Stoner, and Hopkins.

Cobi looks like a caveman on the special edition t-shirts everybody's wearing.

Becks and Xavier start on the bench tonight, as Yallop rolls with the guys who got him to this point.

Kyle Martino just put a ball into the Pacific Ocean, poor fella. Cannon stuffed Angel in the box to keep us scoreless. How in the blue hell is Juan Pablo Angel running free down the middle of the field?

Angel almost scores off a Stammler cross, he's looking extra caliente tonight.

Dane Richards smoked Rudolph on the wing, I'm looking forward to that match-up tonight.

I guess Claudio Reyna had to babysit for Bruce tonight and couldn't make the trip.

Kyle Martino as a left winger is a scary prospect. For the Gals... Why not slide Tudela out there and keep Martino's playmaking ability in the middle?

Chris Klein just saved the Gals big time. Angel was running rampant down the middle again, and slipped a nice pass through to Wolyniec. Luckily, Klein was tracking back and made the saving tackle.

GOAL GALAXY, Troy Roberts. He was up for a corner, Martino held the possession for LA, played it back out to Donovan who sent in a brilliant cross to the back post for Roberts to head in.

GOAL RED BULLS, Jozy Altidore. Jozy was wide open in the middle for a Van den Burgh cross at the top of the 6 yard box. That was WAY too easy. Two goals in the first sixteen minutes.

No long sleeve jersey for Pavon? He's stuck wearing the undershirt while Becks laughs at him.

Jonny Pants is kind of dangerous with the ball at his feet, NY might want to stop playing the ball back to him.

Carlos Pavon might need the offside rule explained to him.

I repeat, STOP PLAYING THE BALL BACK TO MR. PANTS!

Angel volleys right to Cannon, Joe might need to change his shorts after that ball fell to Angel inside the box like that.

Juan Pablo Angel, Los Hombres Más Sexy: Ay yi yi.... bonus points to Waldo for the change of subject.

Don Garber just name checked Seattle, St. Louis, and Philadelphia in expansion talk. Cue ridiculous posts on BigSoccer...

Waldo says they used to call Cobi "Weeble-Wobble" in high school. Nice...

OMG, the Waldo high school picture is unbelievably bad! Wow, that was awful.

John Harkes and Richie Williams are training for the El Diablo testimonial match and not with the team tonight. I wish I was going to be in DC this weekend, that testimonial match with the '97 DCU team against Hollywood United should be fun to see.

Those 1996 Galaxy uniforms were hideous.

Angel puts it over the bar, somehow. When Wolyniec serves you, you have to finish. That doesn't happen very often...

I have a feeling Donovan is going to get behind this NY defense at some point. They've been really close a few times now.

Damn, Waldo just said Carlos Hermosillo looked like Frankenstein. Ouch. That's easy to say when you looked like Johnny from the Karate Kid in high school, huh buddy?

Okay, ready for the second half now. NY subbed out Van den Burgh for Leitch, a slightly defensive move.

Good defense by Altidore on a Klein overlap, but he gives up a corner. Nothing comes of the short corner.

Angel and Richards combine for a great attack, but Roberts with a saving tackle. Both teams are looking suspect in the back.

OMG, Becks is warming up!!!!!!

Seriously, I'd like to see Beckham in for Tudela. Let Vagenas do the dirty work behind him and let Becks find Pavon and Donovan running free.

I'm impressed, Waldo hasn't complained about floated crosses yet. Way to get some new note cards, Eric!

Yallop is bringing in Glinton first, likely for Pavon. Nope, it's Martino heading to the bench.

Tommy Smyth verbally backhands Waldo. I agree, I think Becks can handle the situation here.
Donovan is almost off to the races, but Joe Vide fouls him first. Pavon is offside again, so nothing comes of it.

Angel puts a free kick into the side of the net, Yallop has a heart attack on the sideline.

Donovan isn't seeing the ball enough out wide on the left. They need to get an adjustment and get Landon back in the center of the park.

Buddle is coming on next for LA, maybe this one is for Pavon? He just blew another chance that Donovan giftwrapped for him. Carlos takes a seat, and the Riot Squad likely cheers.

Cannon gets away with a possible trip in the box on Richards. He barely got him, and the ball was already gone. I actually like the no call.

Jonny Pants makes a HUGE save on Vagenas. Great cross from Klein to pick him out.

OMG, Becks is coming in the game!!!! His warm-up top is off and the jersey is on. Is it goodnight for Tudela?

Nope, it's Vagenas coming off. I don't know if I like that, it leaves them really exposed in the middle defensively.

Tudela gets smoked by Altidore, corner for NY. Cleared away pretty easily.

They keep marvelling at how hard Beckham is playing. The guy takes this seriously, he's not here for a vacation, we get it already.

Leitch gives away a corner, for no good reason. Becks is on it. He played it short to Tudela at the top of box, Pants makes a nice save on it.

All the momentum is swinging for the Gals at this point. Becks has hit a couple of bad corners in a row. Donovan is freaking out, I'm sure.

Altidore barely puts it over the top on a counter. You can't let up with Angel and Altidore up top.

Roberts made a huge tackle on Angel in a 1v1. NY is starting to look dangerous on the counter.

Beckham gets pissed they don't play advantage, then almost sends Buddle in. Corner kick cleared away easily.

Lots of work, but not a lot of chances as we're in the last couple of minutes.

Altidore almost ended the Gals' season in the 91st, barely wide.

LA needs help from Dallas on Saturday now, the Hoops have to beat the Wiz and then LA has to beat Chicago on Sunday. It's possible...

Gals v. Energy Drinks in the BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR (so far...)

I've been looking forward to this all day. LA v. NY tonight on ESPN2. The Bulls are in a holding pattern until the playoffs start, while the Galaxy has to get a result tonight to stay alive. I'm actually hoping they do, because I want to see Sunday's game have meaning. Becks v. Blanco, Good v. Evil, for all the marbles.

Before we get there, the Gals have business to take care of tonight. I'll be back a little later with the live blog, but here's a couple of things to get you started:

• I'm calling minute 14 for when Waldo starts complaining about driven crosses.
  
• Nachos are wonderful.
• Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat is highly recommended.
  
• This could be Cobi's last match in LA.
  
• My big question is this: If the the game is tied or LA is losing at the half, how long does Yallop resist the temptation to put Becks in?
  

Discuss amongst yourselves, and I'll be back for the kickoff...

Things that make you look bad...

It's bad when you trade one of your young, promising forwards and he goes on to score five goals for his new team. It's worse when he earns his first cap for the national team in a big win in Europe.

It's bad when you leave one of your young, promising midfielders on the bench all year and he goes on to star at the U20 World Cup. It's worse when he then leaves for a La Liga team and assists on the game winning goal during his first cap in a big win in Europe.

I wonder how the Gals and Crew feel about the decisions they made on Robbie Findley and Danny Szetela today.

I leave Freddy Adu out of this because it was already well understood that he was leaving for Europe as soon as he was able. He was also impressive in his limited time today.

It wasn't the prettiest of games today in Basel, but those are the types of games that the US has to learn how to win consistently. Hopefully, this is part of the learning process.

The youngsters, Maurice Edu especially, were big today. Clint Dempsey has grown a lot in his time at Fulham, his poise on the ball is something we've been lacking on the field. El Guzano looked worthy of the Arsenal talk, with the exception of the possible handball outside the box.

Nice win today, and now I really can't wait for qualifying to start...

El Güero's head just exploded

Allen Hopkins is reporting online at Soccernet that Arsenal has been scouting El Guzano in recent weeks. Brad Guzan from Chivas USA to Arsenal? It's interesting...

Is he ready? I think so, although it will take him a bit of time to adjust. Does Arsenal need him? The sooner they replace Mad Jens, the better. I guess they don't think Alumnia is the heir apparent.

Let's hope the Goats can get a nice transfer fee out of him if it comes to that.

The A/V Room is open

While we're posting videos, here's my favorite all-time commercial involving MLS. It's an adidas ad featuring John Harkes from 1996...



Another fun one from ESPN back in the day, featuring the best GM in MLS...



This one starts off with highlights from the 2005 MLS season (including the best goal in MLS history, DDR's free kick against LA), but then goes into the MLS All-Time Best XI (through '05, of course). Would you make any changes today?



Meola, Agoos, Pope, Balboa, Nowak, Etcheverry, Preki, Valderrama, Donovan, McBride, Moreno. Hard to argue against any of them...

Where do they sell this stuff?

Has anybody ever tried Xango? I'd buy it just on principle after this commercial, but I've never seen it. This could be the greatest thing RSL has ever been associated with, it definitely tops the Nick Rimando for Nick Rimando and a draft pick deal...

Thanks to The Offside Rules for the heads up.

A legend says goodbye

Lost in the shuffle with the playoff race, and other hype in MLS this year, is the retirement of Eddie Pope. Honestly, that's probably the way Eddie wants it, he's never been one to seek out the spotlight. He repeatedly turned down deals to go play in Europe, instead deciding to build MLS and stay here. Luckily, he doesn't get the hate on that level as Landon Donovan does.

Pope walked on at North Carolina, and eventually earned a scholarship. 1996 was Eddie's breakout year on the American soccer scene. He represented the US in the Olympics, was a #2 draft choice by DC United, earned his first cap with the full national team, won the US Open Cup, and scored the winning goal in the inaugural MLS Cup. Not a bad first year as a professional, huh?

Eddie went on to become the best defender in American soccer history. Three World Cups, 82 caps, 8 international goals, and a three-time MLS champion, who else has a resume like that?

Pope has also been a leader in bringing minorities into the game, via his Eddie Pope Foundation. Gone are the days of Eddie's childhood, when he was the only African-American child on his teams. A lot of that is thanks to the efforts and hard work of a guy like Eddie Pope. Look no further than his former team, DC United. Midfielder Clyde Simms is from Eddie's hometown of High Point, NC.

Check out this great piece from David Beckham's Soccer USA honoring Eddie...

The second piece of hardware has been decided

The Supporters' Shield, which began as an idea among fans on an email list in 1996, has become a very important trophy in MLS circles. Its winner represents MLS in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, a strong sign that its importance is growing.

DC United won the trophy for a second straight season after Chivas USA lost to Colorado on Sunday afternoon. DC is the first team in the history of the league to win the Shield in back-to-back seasons, and 2007 makes the 4th time overall that United has taken the Shield home.

With that jinx broken, now comes time to see if United can win MLS Cup. The last team to do the Shield/Cup double was Kansas City in 2000.

Let's recap:

US Open Cup: New England Revolution
Supporters' Shield: DC United
MLS Cup: TBD, November 18

The win on Sunday for the Rapids also keeps the playoff race quite interesting between KC, NY, Colorado, and LA. Let the fun begin on Thursday night with NY visiting the Gals at the Home Depot Center.

Temptation, You Have Killed Me

First off, I must apologize for my absence over the last few weeks. I've been rather ill and am finally starting to feel better. I think one of the things that's kept me from getting better is not missing work. 5 days a week I go into work and come home and collapse.

Luckily that means I haven't been spending any money, so I have a few bills burning a hole in my wallet and today temptation finally got the best of me.

I think it was this picture that got me:



Taken from his show a couple of weeks ago in Tijuana. I've been debating for a few weeks whether or not to buy a ticket, and I figured that it's rare Morrissey plays a venue as intimate as the Tabernacle, so it's worth the money.

And as I write this, Chivas USA probably blows any chance at the Supporters' Shield.

MLS Saturday Night: The Essence

Instead of watching the DC-Chicago matchup, I headed out the RE/MAX for Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League action. They're in the quarterfinals of this great tournament for the amateur champions of their respective leagues in the city. Unfortunately, the refereeing was not up to the quality of the match, as he had way too big of an influence on the final result. It just goes to show that the referee issues MLS faces (Bobby Rhine voices his great displeasure about you, Brian Hall) are the same as you go down the US Soccer pyramid.

From what I saw of the highlights, seems like I didn't miss too much at ol' Estadio RFK. Troy Perkins did break out the gray keeper jersey for the first time (I think). He always wears the baby blue one. It worked pretty well as he kept the Fire off the board.

Columbus rallies for a great win in New England, but it doesn't matter as the Fire's draw eliminated the Crew from the playoffs. Will Sigi keep his job? I liked the moves he made when he first came to Columbus, but letting Danny Szetela go, and now it looks like Eddie Gaven is ready to leave as well, doesn't bode too well.

KC just can't get their playoff ticket punched, as they fell 2-1 to Angel and the Red Bulls.

Somehow, someway, the Gals just keep winning. After a pretty active, but mostly bland, first half, Coach Yallop puts Gavin Glinton in and he, almost immediately, earns a PK. Marco Reda wasn't pleased, but it was the right call. Donovan put it away, and all looked well in La-La Land. Not so fast, as Collin Samuel scored out of nowhere to bring the score back to level. It took a Chris Klein run and cross to another substitute, the well traveled Edson Buddle, to get the win for the Galaxy. They just won't die.

I'm just hoping that it all comes down to the Chicago v. LA match next Sunday. Blanco v. Beckham for all the marbles, that will be tons of fun. Sorry Sigi, just because I said tons of fun didn't mean you were invited...

Our blog buddy Ives breaks down the MLS playoff picture very well over at his site after last night's action.

Sprinkles: Not quite the SI jinx, but close...

Salt Lake: I think Jack Stewart has suffered the first Cosmo jinx. After being hyped up as the top Utah bachelor, he's essentially been let go by RSL. Sounds really odd...

DC: The stadium battle of DCU ownership vs. DC mayor is heating up. Read up here...

Chivas USA: Ante Razov didn't pull a hamstring last night, he sprained his left knee and they're worried he could be done for the year. That would be a huge blow to the Goats' MLS Cup hopes. They have quite a few dings right now, hopefully they have time to get healthy.

Montreal: The expansion bandwagon is starting to fill up. The Impact are getting worried about being left out in the cold as MLS fills up. Read it in French here, or read the English translation here.

Minnesota: The Vikings owner is also talking about being interested in bringing MLS to the Twin Cities. However, the folks at BigSoccer are already pitching a fit about him being interested in following the Patriots/Revolution model and using the Metrodome.

Kansas City: The Wizards are looking to get out of Arrowhead while they're working on their own stadium, here's some info on a potential home for them in 2008.

The Bakery is open (aka Hoops-Goats live blog)

It's Juan Toja Wig Night at the Big Oven, this should be interesting...

Stoner is in rare form, "You can't spell mullet without MLS." That doesn't even make sense, Rob.

What, were some of the Hoops just too cool to wear the wig in the pregame introductions? Denilson did it, but Drew Moor and a few others wouldn't. What's up with that?

All is good, my friends Chico & Chang are on the way and we're ready for kickoff.

It's Wynaldo! And a wig flashback to come later, I can't wait!

Carlos Ruiz voted Ricardo Clark to his Best XI and defended him to the league. That's interesting.

It's really weird to see Chivas in navy blue jerseys. Waldo likes Kljestan's hair, but not as much as Toja's.

I agree with the compliments about Ray Burse, he's impressed me and I didn't know anything about him going into the year. Good to see the young'uns showing well across the league.

Stoner does not care for the braids on Arturo Alvarez. Tons of hair talk tonight, are we sure this isn't A&E or Lifetime?

They gave out 5,000 wigs tonight, are there 5,000 people there? Crowd looks pretty sparse on the tube.

Sacha Kljestan is growing up before our eyes, he looks so calm and composed in the attacking third. 12 assists this year is rather good, huh?

Thank you Fernando, Tommy Smyth's Hispanic replacement, for putting a stop to the talk about the USMNT needing size. We need more skills, not just big oafs.

Denilson hustling?!? My mind is blown...

I didn't need to see the replay of Kenny Cooper's leg getting broken, TWICE. It wasn't Joe Theismann or anything, but still tough to watch. I do agree with Bob Bradley, Cooper needs more "grit" to his game. Very skilled, but he's way too big to not be a hoss in the box. He's the perfect combination for these guys demanding "big" players, he has the skill to go along with the size. Cooper just plays like a smaller guy though.

Stoner was right, Alvarez's braids are horrible.

If you had 24th minute in the "Waldo bitching about a driven cross" pool, you are the big winner tonight. Fernando, who's quickly becoming my favorite, tells Waldo to shut up because the cross was effective.

"I'll throw a dime up in the air and let a truck hit you and see how you feel about it," is Waldo's retort. Que?

Great blast from Serioux draws an excellent save out of El Guzano.

Wynalda has been complaining about Denilson's crosses for ten minutes now. GET OVER IT!

Denilson just pulled one of the most ridiculous backheels I've ever seen, Stoner screamed like a little girl.

Abe Thompson gets through, somehow, but Guzan makes a great a kick-save to keep us scoreless.

Good to see the Dads in the FC Dallas fan base trying to give their kids beer. Nice catch, ESPN!

Allen Hopkins with the Toja wig is upsetting. Waldo calling him "Tojawkins" is even more so.

I'm over the supporters' groups singing the bass line from "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes. It was cool when they featured the Roma groups singing it on NPR LAST YEAR. Now, not so much.

Le Croissant had quite a chance, but it was tackled away nicely.

Great ball through to Mendoza, but his cross is cleared away. At least it was driven, right Waldo?

El Cubano and Razov are warming up for the Goats. Alvarez cuts through for the Hoops, but can't get much on his shot.

Razov in for the English Muffin Cunliffe. I wonder if he brought his crocheted cap from the Draft with him.

Wow, Preki looks like he wants to fish hook somebody! His chin was almost at midfield.

Denilson double teamed in the corner, and it's taken away easily. He looks so sad, poor fella.

El Cubano in for Le Croissant, let's see if the Goats can find a winner now.

Alvarez gets hacked down, and then he pulls his best Dida impression. He did catch a knee to the thigh. "It looked like Arturo was holding his Alvarez," Stoner says.

PLEASE REMOVE THE NOTE CARD ABOUT DRIVEN BALLS FROM WYNALDA!

The Flashback is Carlos Valderrama Wig Night from 1996. The best thing about the clip are the KC Wiz uniforms, I had forgotten how bad they were.

Toja and Serioux have played like "an accordion" according to Fernando. One goes up, one goes back. Not a bad analogy, not bad.

Mendoza scores, but it's offside. That was close, Panchito was on, but someone else was off. That should've been a goal.

Denilson subbed out in the 76th, he really didn't do that much.

The Dallas forwards have stopped moving completely. Instead of mentioning it, Waldo is talking about how young Joe-Max Moore looks. This is a weird broadcast.

There's bodies down all over the place, this is nuts. BOBBY RHINE JUST GOT A RED CARD. What happened?!? The producers are digging for a replay to show what happened, without any success.

Always good to see one of the Event Staff joining in the Wig Night promotion as he walks Rhine off the field.

Bobby Rhine told Allen Hopkins that he asked for a yellow card, and got a straight red. Huh?!? Okay, they clarify saying that Rhine was asking for a yellow on the play before, and I have no idea what he wanted the card for. Rhine went on to complain about Brian Hall's ego and chip on his shoulder.

I don't think Wynalda understands what happened at all. "I'm guessing that I'm right."

Fernando says that US referees are never trusted in international games. Interesting comment...

They give Preki a verbal tonguebath for about five minutes. It's excessive, but Preki has definitely been my Coach of the Year.

Razov is badly bothered by a left hamstring pull, could that be a lingering problem during the postseason?

Arturo Alvarez just beat two guys on the left wing, cut into the middle, showed cross, then blasted a left footed drive off the post. Wow, the guy is a human highlight reel. Paging Bob Bradley...

Stoner asks who you'd rather have on your team, Alvarez or Denilson right now?

Bornstein is completely out of gas, he just can't run anymore.

Fernando is horrified at the ballboys giving the ball right to Chivas.

Kljestan with a horrible free kick deep in injury time, and that's all she wrote. 0-0

Will they wear flannel?

That should be the most important question in this whole Seattle MLS business, shouldn't it? No? Can they at least come onto the field to "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? My bad, I was having grunge flashbacks again...

Some interesting news late in the day on the Emerald City. There's talk of an official announcement tomorrow, we'll see about that. The other is a link to this post from the GOALSeattle forums (excellent forums, BTW). It appears that Paul Allen's stake in the team is being given to him in exchange for the Sounders (or whatever they're going to be called) playing RENT FREE at Qwest Field.

In my opinion, that's a pretty sweet deal. I was already okay with Qwest, but this makes it even better. I'm not overly thrilled about sharing ticket and sponsorship staffs with the Seahawks, but I'll wait and see on that one.

Sprinkles: The Barber Shop is open for business

DC: Owner Will Chang lost his bet with Chivas de Guadalajara owner Jorge Vergara in the Copa Sudamericana. Chang is a man of his word, and his head was shaved. It would've been a lot cooler if Vergara had done it at midfield after the game or Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake was involved...

Toronto: Season ticket renewals are at 94%, even with a price increase, for 2008. They can't score goals, but they can sell some tickets, eh?

Salt Lake: Here's something for the ladies (as if Brutus wasn't enough already). Jack Stewart of RSL is continuing in the proud MLS bachelor tradition by being named Utah's top bachelor by Cosmo magazine. Bobby Boswell failed, not for a lack of effort, in his bid to win the national honor, maybe Jack can win the $10K.

Portland: It looks like Portland is still in the running for an MLS franchise, even with Seattle supposedly already a lock. The league footprint talk, brought up over at Center Holds It, could be manifesting itself here.

I'd be glad to see the Timbers get into MLS, especially if they get to renew their rivalry with the Sounders. The talk about PGE Park being refurbed is fine by me, the talk of the minor league baseball team moving out is even better. Now, let's replace the old, worn out turf there and we'll be in business...

Los Angeles: Cobi Jones might not be retiring after all. I'm sure he doesn't want to go out on this much of a disappointing season, although Cobi's been pretty solid as a sometimes starter/sometimes sub.

A new fan in Kansas (or, Sigi has competition)

Wow Coach, I had no idea...
Thanks to Deadspin for the tip.

Sprinkles: Sleepless in Seattle

Seattle: Paul Allen will be joining the MLS Seattle ownership group. If you don't know him, he's the fifth richest American according to Forbes. He's a chairman of two huge businesses, and he owns the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks. There were rumors earlier this year about Allen being interested in a takeover of Southampton FC, but they were denied.

Allen's involvement will keep the team at Qwest, which has upset some of the people who think MLS teams must be in soccer specific stadiums to thrive. I loved my visit to Qwest, even with a small Sounders crowd only on one side of the stadium. The design of the stadium allows you do some pretty cool things to block off the upper deck, and the lower bowl seats 30K. That should work quite nicely.

It's not so much the size of the stadium that matters, it's the control of the revenues.

New York: "I haven't talked to Claudio at all about next season," says Bruce Arena. Poor Claudio, he's been the biggest bust of the DP crop this year. As much as I love mocking him, I would feel kind of bad if he retires after this sorry season. However, he's so injury prone that I don't think he can last another year.

Colorado: The reserve team has repeated as the Reserve Division champions this season. What does that say about the first team, when they're going to miss out on the playoffs?

DC: RFK is being remade now that the Nationals are done with the stadium. All the baseball stuff is being pulled out, and the field has been redone with a real/synthetic turf blend like the Big Unit in Colorado. Also, over 20K tickets have been sold so far for the MLS Cup final.

Josh Gros suffered another head injury in Guadalajara and didn't travel with the team to Kansas City for Friday night's game. A number of other players were suffering with "stomach ailments", which makes the draw a little more impressive.

Handicapping the MLS Races

Don't look now, but there's only two weeks left in the MLS regular season.

Five of the eight playoff spots have been secured, with two all but clinched.

Real Salt Lake and Toronto have been eliminated from playoff contention, leaving four teams fighting for the last playoff spot.

1. Chicago - 36 points, two games left (at D.C., vs. L.A.)
2. Colorado - 34 points, two games left (at Chivas, at RSL)
3. Columbus - 31 points, two games left (at N.E., at D.C.)
4. Los Angeles - 30 points, three games left (vs. Toronto, vs. New York, at Chicago)

First, Columbus is done. Sorry guys, but the blueprints that Sigi had at the beginning of the season didn't quite work. Sigi vigorously ate them last night after the Crew fell 3-1 to Dallas.

The 8th spot is Chicago's to lose. If they get a result next week at D.C., they should be in.
Colorado can lay claim to the final spot with two wins, but I just can't see them going into the HDC and beating Chivas.
L.A. has won four straight but needs to keep it going if they want any chance. They should beat Toronto, then will need a win against a decent New York team.

Here's to hoping the October 21 match between Chicago and L.A. means something. You just know MLS will do basically anything to get Beckham in the playoffs, especially if that means screwing Temoc and El Fuego.



The race for the Supporter's Shield is just as close, but after Sunday it's a two-team race.

1. D.C. United - 54 points, two games left (vs. Chicago, vs. Columbus)
2. Chivas USA - 51 points, three games left (at Dallas, vs. Colorado, vs. Houston)

The first tiebreaker is goal differential, and D.C. currently is +23 to Chivas' +19.
If D.C. wins out (as expected), then it's going to be difficult for Chivas. The Goats will have to win out (not out of the question) and do it decidedly.

Me thinks that D.C. has this pretty much wrapped up. If I were Chivas, I would concentrate on winning the West first. The match against Houston on the 20th could be for the conference title.

2007 MLS Awards

It's almost getting to the point of the year. The MLS regular season is in the home stretch, and it's time to start deciding who gets the pretty trophies to sit in the living room.

MLS has been doing an Awards Tracker (supposedly completely unofficial), and here's the updated top 3 for each award.

MVP
Luciano Emilio, DC
Juan Pablo Angel, NY
Shalrie Joseph, New England

Thoughts: They went with the top goalscorers for the top two places, which I don't think is necessarily fair. Angel is more important to NY's success than Emilio is in DC. I'd even go so far as to say that Ben Olsen should be considered as the most valuable player in DC. Maykel Galindo (ranked 4th) is the most valuable of the forwards in the league, in my opinion. Joseph is important, but not critical, to New England's success.

Newcomer of the Year
Luciano Emilio, DC
Juan Pablo Angel, NY
Maykel Galindo, Chivas USA

Thoughts: Juan Toja should be higher than 5th. It's a shame Blanco arrived so late in the year, or he'd be a shoe-in for this one.

Rookie of the Year
Maurice Edu, Toronto
Dane Richards, NY
Adam Cristman, New England

Thoughts: Richards is my rookie of the year, even over the impressive Edu. There haven't been as many impact players in the rookie crop this year.

Goalkeeper of the Year
Brad Guzan, Chivas USA
Pat Onstad, Houston
Troy Perkins, DC/Matt Reis, New England

Thoughts: I agree with this one, too. Guzan has been awesome for the Goats this year, and should be forcing his way into the national team pool for good.

Defender of the Year
Eddie Robinson, Houston
Michael Parkhurst, New England
Claudio Suarez, Chivas USA

Thoughts: This is always a hard category for me. It seems like it usually goes to either the defender who scores the most goals, or somebody from the top defensive team in the league. That said, I agree with the top 2 choices here. Robinson just keeps improving his game. I would have to throw Wade Barrett into consideration as well.

Coach of the Year
Preki, Chivas USA
Tom Soehn, DC
Dominic Kinnear, Houston

Thoughts: Preki has done the most with the least out of the top teams in the league, he deserves the award. I would also put Steve Nicol in my top three. He's lost talent (Dempsey), but kept the Revs strong.

Let's hear from the Cupcake Nation in the comments...

Driven

I walk in the door, turn on the end of the Toronto-New York game on ESPN2, and the Red Bulls have a free kick. Waldo says that they've been chipping the set pieces into the box. Before I can even think it, Stoner says, "You want them driven, right?"

Oh, how I've missed you and your predictability, Waldo...

Sprinkles: Paint It, Black

Columbus: Glidden is on board as the Crew's jersey sponsor. It's apparently a four year deal, but the dollar figures haven't been released.

New York: Claudio Reyna isn't making the trip to Toronto for tonight's ESPN2 game. Shocker! Honestly, my mind is so blown that I don't know if I can continue...

Oh wait, this has already happened a bunch this year. Never mind.

Seattle: Rumors are flying about Seattle making a 2008 MLS debut, not 2009. I just don't buy it. I think MLS will want to get another city ready so they can get back to an even number next year (with San Jose), and then add 2 in 2009 (Seattle and ???). I do like the rumor here about the kits being green (I would assume blue would be a secondary color), it would at least be something different in MLS. The Sounders have worn green in the recent past (2005, I believe).

Los Angeles: OMG, BECKS TRAINED YESTERDAY!!! The LA Times is reporting that he hopes to play again this season.

Dallas: The Hoops left Denilson off the gameday roster for the Open Cup final last night. Is it time to say adios?

Milan: While Celtic security is a disgrace for allowing a fan to get onto the field and that close to a player, Dida should be suspended for his pathetic acting. We all know what he was trying to do, get the result overturned due to a fan's interference. Dida, meet Roberto Rojas, you two might be able to trade stories soon.

Here's a link that includes a video of the sorry scene, in case you missed it.

The Cupcake Fashionista Diaries

San Jose presented their new look at a press conference today. Thoughts? I had heard about the black and blue combination ahead of time and didn't think I'd like it. I was wrong, it's actually pretty smooth. Thumbs up from me.

Some of the fans in Casbah-land aren't so sure...

The New England Revolution finally win a trophy

Congratulations to the Revs for winning the Open Cup final tonight in Dallas in a really entertaining match. Wells Thompson scored what eventually became the winning goal, and the Revs held off a furious comeback attempt from the Hoops.

A guy like Steve Ralston definitely deserves this, he's been a class player in MLS since Day One. He's adjusting quite nicely to playing in the middle, huh? I even felt happy for Taylor Twellman for a minute or two. I'm sure Waldo was pleased for his boy.

I really want to see this tournament turn into a bigger deal. The early rounds, with the amateur teams taking on the pros, is always fun to see. We saw two teams from USL-D1 make the semis this year, with Carolina and Seattle giving the MLS teams all they could handle. Those semifinals have to start finding their way to TV, that would be a nice step to make this tournament more important.

My favorite Open Cup moments go back to watching the final in 1996 when DC completed the double, reading about expansion Rochester defeating Tampa Bay in a 4-3 legendary match earlier in that same tournament, and then seeing the Rhinos actually win the whole thing in 1999 after knocking out four MLS teams.

Now that the Revs have opened their trophy account, are they up for a double dip this year?

Sprinkles: Guadalajara blues

DC: United fell 1-0 to Chivas last night, going out of the Copa Sudamericana on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate. The first half saw some nice counterattacks, but the bunker was built too early to start the second half. You just can't give away that much possession to a team of Chivas' quality in their stadium. It took a world class strike from Ramon Morales, but that's all Chivas needed.

Houston: The Dynamo are waiting on the suspension for Ricardo Clark for his attempted punting of Carlos Ruiz. Just in case you haven't seen it yet, watch it here. I've never seen anything like that happen, I'd love to hear what exactly set Clark off. There was talk about a punch from Ruiz in the back, but I couldn't see it. Ives says it certainly looks like a punch was thrown.

San Jose: The "new" Earthquakes are making a major announcement this afternoon. No early word on what it could be yet, I guess we'll just have to wait.

EDIT: John Doyle has been named General Manager of Soccer Operations. Quality move by the Quakes, Doyle should do well in this role. He has to be better than Alexi, right?

Columbus: The Crew are also on announcement duty, unveiling their jersey sponsor this Thursday.

Seattle: There's still conflicting reports about the actual status of the MLS bid for 2009, and the if the name will be Sounders, but some kind of word is expected in the next few weeks. The USL Sounders are also up in the air, due to the MLS move. We'll just have to wait it out.

Silverbacks Post-mortem

A 4-0 loss in the title game is a little hard to swallow. It's easier when you weren't expected to be there in the first place, but it's still tough. Seattle was the best team in the league this year, they spanked Colorado of MLS, they are very deserving champions.

Even with the success this year, there are some things in the Monkey House that need to be addressed:

• First priority should be securing this roster for next season. Most everyone should be back according the word on the street, but you never really know in this league.
  
• Some greater diversity in style of play and tactical variance is greatly needed. The team rarely changed out of its 4-4-2 formation, and even more rarely changed from its direct style of play. That works against the lesser teams in this league, but teams like Seattle eat that up. With the talent available and the time to train them, it is surprising that we didn't see more variety.
  
• During the final, I kept waiting to see the team go to 3 in the back, or 3 forwards, or 5 in the midfield, something to chase the game and try to get back into it. It was obvious at halftime that we weren't creating enough chances and a change was needed.
  
• Putting all your hopes and dreams on a hot goalkeeper can only get you so far. McIntosh carried this team in the second half of this season a long way, but he can't do everything.
  
• A conservative style is fine in this situation, but there were not enough true counterattacks. There were 2 or 3 times in the first half where an attack was built up and the 'Backs looked dangerous. However, there were many more times when the ball was just launched high and long and Millwood and Ukah had to chase. Atlanta should be deadly on counters with its speed, but it never really happened this year.
  
• The shape was out of whack all night. I don't know what happened in Seattle, but it looked like ten guys running around for a good portion of the game. That wasn't normal for the team, and killed them against a well-organized team like Seattle.
  
• I'll never understand the late season benching of Antoniuk, especially when you're just going to keep launching long balls. He was obviously the point person for the attack up front, leading the league in assists, and he was missed. Ukah and Millwood are not the same type of player. Ukah was very opportunistic, scoring on half-chances, but the team could've been more effective.
  
• All season, our subsitutions never changed the team's shape. They were always position for position. Again, that can only get you so far. Championship teams can adjust to what their opponents give them. The sub patterns were very predictable as the season went on, except for bringing on a defender in the last five minutes of a game when you're down 3-0.
  
• There's so much potential for more with the talent on this team. The success this year is great, but these are issues that have to be addressed in order to sustain it.

That's enough to start the discussion. Chime away in the comments if you like.

All that said, this is the best season for an Atlanta pro soccer team since 1995. Congratulations to everyone involved for an amazing accomplishment, and best of luck in continuing this upward trend.