Are you kidding me?

A 4-0 loss on Opening Day does not typically signify a good season coming up. DC United did not look ready for its game on Saturday night, which is even more frustrating after the fairly successful run in Charleston at their preseason tournament. After a day to try to calm down, here's my thoughts:

• The defense struggled, but that was to be expected a bit. No Namoff & Burch through the preseason meant Pena & McTavish were getting most of the time with Jakovic & Wallace. However, Pena was not available due to visa issues & McTavish was injured on Saturday night. I think bringing in Carey Talley was a good move in light of the defensive injuries. My issue is with Simms at right back. I don't know how much experience he has there. Last season, when he played in the back due to injuries, it was in the middle. I would've much rather seen Talley on the right & Simms in the middle. Moving from a central position to an outside position isn't always an easy transition.
• The injury to Simms made things even more tricky, but these things happen when he's coming right back off an injury. Starting Julius James was probably the safer play from the beginning. Again, I would've rather seen James in the middle & Talley on the outside. James' limited amount of play at right back last season showed that he's not suited for the position. The second goal was due to the right back being out of position.
• Morsink, who I think fits DCU's style very well, did not play well. He consistently turned the ball over in dangerous positions. It really looked like he was trying to do too much. When the defense did perform well, Morsink turned it over at the top of the box.
• Up until the second goal, DCU dominated possession and looked like the better team. The first goal was against the run of play. I thought the offside call pulling a goal back was a bad one, and Quaranta could have earned a penalty in the first half. These incidents would have changed things greatly.
• That said, coming out and playing even worse in the second half is unforgivable. The team looked like they did not want to be there.
• I hope pulling Najar at halftime doesn't affect his confidence. He's going to be a project and needs to be built up. I hope pulling him at that point doesn't become a setback for him.
• Besides, after having to use a sub on Simms in the first half, I think pulling Najar wasn't necessary at that point. Leaving one sub for the last 45 minutes on Opening Day wasn't a good idea.
• I don't like the Allsopp/Moreno combination at all. Allsopp/Pontius would probably work better, but I don't think they used that once during the preseason matches. They rarely used Allsopp/Moreno. Most often in the last four preseason games, the forward combinations were Moreno/Pontius and Allsopp/Cristman. Not sure why pulling Najar, moving Pontius to right mid after saying throughout the preseason that you wanted to keep him up top this season, and pairing Moreno with Allsopp was the decision. It definitely didn't improve anything.

So which was it, the preseason was meaningless or the KC game was just a bad result? I'll abstain from the vote until after Saturday's home game with the Revs.

Other notes from around the league:

• Chivas USA needs some work, they did not look good at home against the vanilla Rapids.
• Columbus showed that they're the best in the East right now with a solid win.
• Nice goal by Lindpere to give New York the win. Where was everybody in the crowd though?
• LA looked alright, but New England was pretty much a non-factor.
• Didn't get to see it live, but Javier Morales is the truth. Two amazing goals Saturday night, is this the year he puts everything together and becomes an elite level player?

Rain on the DOOP Parade

Philadelphia was not quite ready for prime time last night as they dropped a 2-0 result to Seattle. Toni Stahl's red card before halftime definitely didn't help, but Seattle was in complete control of the match from the opening whistle. The Sounders' counterattack was in fine form, especially through Steve Zakuani down the left side.

The Union definitely need Fred & Shavar Thomas on the field, their young team didn't know how to react to the early Sounders' goal and the intimidating atmosphere at Qwest Field. Their defense especially needs work. The bright spot was the play of young Colombian Roger Torres. He's one to watch all year.

Seattle should be a top challenger in the West this year. Do they have enough to get past the first round of the playoffs? It's too early to tell right now, let's reassess that after Swiss international Blaise N'Kufo joins the squad after the World Cup. N'Kufo & Montero up top, with Ljungberg playing behind them could be more than most MLS defenses can handle.

Your 2010 MLS Preview

The quick & dirty 2010 MLS preview, mostly so I can see how wrong I am at the end of the season...

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Columbus Crew

Losing Alejandro Moreno could hurt more that the Crew are expecting, but they should be good enough to win the East.

2. DC United

DCU has looked good towards the end of the preseason, but depth could be a major issue.

3. New York Red Bulls

If the new stadium doesn't energize the Red Bulls, what will?

4. Chicago Fire

Handing over the team to a goalkeeper with no experience is an interesting move.

5. New England Revolution

Defense will have to carry them, who's going to score the goals?

6. Philadelphia Union

Could be a surprise this year, Nowak has a good roster to work with.

7. Toronto FC

De Rosario & De Guzman are going to have to carry this team if they're going anywhere.

8. Kansas City Wizards

Excitement level is negative for this group.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Real Salt Lake

Kreis is still improving as a coach, team remains mostly intact for the Champions.

2. LA Galaxy

The young Brazilians could put the Gals over the top.

3. Chivas USA

Kljestan has a lot to prove, continued development of Mayen & Flores should make the Goats tough.

4. Seattle Sounders

Expect the Sounders to be better than last year, but the West is tough.

5. Houston Dynamo

Losing Clark & Holden will be tough to overcome, hopefully Landin can step up.

6. Colorado Rapids

Are the Rapids the most boring team in the league?

7. FC Dallas

Eric Avila is one of the only interesting things about this team, hoping to see Brek Shea get some time too.

8. San Jose Earthquakes

I take back the Rapids comment, this could be the most boring team in the league.

MFLS is open

With MLS gearing up, I'm hoping to be in the Bakery much more often.

For those interested, you can join our MFLS Division, just search for Who Ate All the Cupcakes? Don't forget about predicting the games there too...

See you at the bottom of the standings...

DCU starts playing well, now the Union takes a strike vote, coincidence?

Just kidding, although it is just my luck. Maybe United is starting to get its act together after a great win in Mexico over Santos Laguna. Everyone's favorite, Party Boy, got the fiesta started and Boyzzzzzzzzzzzzz scored the game winner. Not too shabby, even if it was just a friendly.

The upsetting news comes that we still don't have an agreement between MLS and the players' union. While they haven't exactly voted to strike, they have at least dusted off the panic button with their nearly unanimous vote this week. Many others have said it far more eloquently than I, but this deal must get done. 2010 is too big of a year for American soccer for a labor stoppage in MLS. Both sides need to make some concessions and come to an arrangement that makes sense. Do we have to send the Get Along Gang in on this?

For everyone's sake, especially the lowly paid MLS squad players who can't weather a strike, please get this done so we can kick off the season.

CONCACAF Champions League, why bother?

MLS is in a catch-22 situation when it comes to the CCL. As it stands now, outside of a high-profile match-up with Chivas or Club América (which will bring in more fans of the other team than yours), most of the matchups aren't appealing to the casual soccer fan.

On top of that, the games are tough and your club might not look so great against a team casual fans don't really know anything about. It's one thing to go watch the Sounders get pounded by Chelsea or the Red Bulls lose big to Barcelona, but everybody knows how good they are. It's another to watch the Red Bulls lose to W Connection or the Revolution get hammered by Joe Public. It doesn't send a good message to the public about your team.

So what do you do? You could take the approach of the Columbus Crew last night, market the game as a "premium event" and sell tickets for $25. Didn't work so well, did it?

Personally, I think you can use these games as a way to expose new people to your product. Since they're not drawing well, slash the ticket prices. Make it $5, really push these games to people looking for a deal. Last night's game was entertaining, as are a good majority of these CONCACAF games, it's a shame only a little over 4,000 people saw it. American fans love a chance to chant for the USA, really push the international aspect of the game.

Most importantly, offer the fans who come out to these games a coupon for coming back to league games. Do a buy one, get one free deal on the back of the ticket, something to maximize your club's exposure.

Until the MLS teams start winning this tournament and performing at the World Club Cup, it's going to take some work to make it matter. It's up to the MLS teams and the league office to make this important.

AnnouncerGate, Lando, & other assorted tales

Being sick for most of the week gives you time to think about stuff. I'll spare you my thoughts on faulty sinuses, the joys of Kleenex with lotion, and the horrors of minestrone soup. Here's a few things that crossed my mind...

• ESPN announced 4 Brits to call play-by-play during the World Cup. Why is this such a big deal? Many of the people who are railing against it, demanding that an American voice call the game in America, are the same ones who don't follow MLS as much as the Premiership. Why aren't you demanding that MLS get as much attention as the Premiership? It's not as good, you say? Maybe that's how ESPN felt in choosing their announcers.
• Look, the game is global at this point. I think most American soccer fans are used to watching games from elsewhere with announcers from different countries. Even casual fans are starting to get into watching Champions League and the Premiership. An announcer with an accent is no longer that big of a deal. I just want announcers who are of a high quality. If they do a crappy job, then let's complain.
• Landon Donovan has become everybody's favorite American player at this point, huh? Well, at least the EPL snobs. He was still LandyCakes when he left, but he plays well in the Premiership and becomes beloved. It's sad that most of those people who endlessly criticized him didn't give him credit for his amazing play in MLS and with the USMNT. Yes, it didn't work out for him in Germany. Tons of high profile players have made moves that didn't work out, it happens. Donovan is the best player America has ever produced. He was before he went to Everton. The people saying that MLS needs to let him stay are ridiculous. MLS has a business to run and the Galaxy need their best player back to begin the season.
• Very disappointing game in the Netherlands this week. I didn't think the Dutch looked spectacular. They were far more physical than I expected, and they rarely looked dangerous. However, the USMNT were even worse. Far too many giveaways and tentative play killed the team. For every ball that Bradley did well to win in the midfield, he gave away nearly as many with horrible distribution. Robbie Findley made good runs off the ball, but then looked like he wet his pants every time he touched the ball. We had very little meaningful possession throughout the match. The final 5 minutes, after the Dutch had taken a couple of their most influential players off, do not make up for the whole match. Let's hope a few players get hot for their clubs in the last part of the season and can continue that form into the World Cup.