All you who criticized Bruce Arena, said the game had passed him by, said he relied too much on old veterans...all you who said Dema Kovalenko was a one-dimensional hack...all you who said there was no way Ricketts or Berhalter would make it through the whole season...all you who said that Beckham and Donovan couldn't work together. Click to continue reading...

So I promised my wife I wouldn't swear as much these days, for fear that our child will one day greet her preschool teacher as a Saracen pig-dog. Fine, I thought, the Chivas series is over, I can take the pledge.
Then I read something in the new book, "We're Ripping Off Freakonomics," by Simon and Stefan, that really frosted my cupcakes. Click to continue reading...

Quote: His season with the Result (highlight to reveal): Galaxy has been similar to Alex Rodriguez's with the Yankees — short on drama and long on performance. Here's a fun game for you. Who is Jere Longman referring to in this sentence? I'd provide a link to Longman's New York Times article, but the answer is given in the link. Click to continue reading...

EDIT - BREAKING NEWS! Preki re-nominated for Hall of Fame! Feel free to factor in his performance over the weekend. (Yes, I know you're not supposed to.)
Now that I've got my head out of the oven, let's warm up with some trivia.
Depending on what happens Friday night, one bit of statistical weirdness will fall. Click to continue reading...

I'm happy for Salt Lake fans and all, but let's face it, Columbus losing is going to have some horrifying consequences.
(1) Some may suggest that Frankie Hejduk should not be on the World Cup roster next year. What, just because, contrary to what I predicted, he played perhaps the single biggest role in the Crew losing? Click to continue reading...

I, too, am removing my name from consideration for DC United's head coaching position.
Bill has his own take on the nominees. That reminds me, I need to fill out my MLS awards ballot.
Quote: Voting will close on Monday, October 26 at Noon ET. Oops.
Well, the good news is, you won't be able to blame me for any of this year's winners. Click to continue reading...

Working on the MLS Anti-Awards for 2009. Last chance for suggestions, but I'll give you a hint - couple of local Southern California players figure big.
But speaking of worst, I wanted to point out that the Daily Telegraph is an idiot.
The topic is worst sports uniforms. Coincidentally, one of my favorite sites, UniWatchBlog, is running a contest for worst American sports uniform of all time. Click to continue reading...

Well, I'm at home for reasons that would bore the hell out of you, might as well fake liveblog it.
Preceding program - Who Killed the USFL? Fascinating. Probably not what an MLS fan wants to see.
Wow, a sellout! I mean, David Beckham. Not attendance. I talk a lot about how illegitimate Chivas USA is, how bad they are for MLS, how bad they are for soccer, and what a great day it will be when they finally dry up and blow away. Click to continue reading...

I've got this weird mental block - I always have to remind myself whether it's CHRISTIE Rampone, or CHRISTINE Rampone. (It's Christie.)
Embarrassing, right? I wonder how people like, say, FIFA deal with it. Turns out they have a very simple way of making sure they don't make that mistake. Click to continue reading...

First of all, wow, what a peach of a game in Seattle tonight. The classic exciting 0-0 game. No, it wasn't a work of art, and yes, Houston fouled up and down the field. I fully expect Sounders fans to turn Rave Green into Rage Green, and I don't blame them one bit. Still, it was pretty exciting.
Fine, the LA-Chivas USA matchup. Click to continue reading...

World Series? Hey, you pre-empt "Glee," you're dead to me.
AND NOW...THE MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER 2009 REGULAR SEASON - A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
Well, that happened.
THIS HAS BEEN THE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE 2009 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER REGULAR SEASON
AND NOW, THE COMPREHENSIVE 2009 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYOFFS PREVIEW
Dunno. Click to continue reading...

Hi - I'm sure we're all settling in to see who the last playoff team is, so I just wanted to give some food for thought.
Under the current playoff format, fifth place teams are unbeaten in the first round. This is the third year out of three that it's happened.
Sixth place teams have no record in the playoffs yet. Click to continue reading...

The guy who isn't going to win Coach of the Year tells me Sirk has a book out. Surprisingly, it's not about furniture and decorative arts in the age of Louis XV. One assumes it's the Reverse Vampire version of "The Beckham Experiment," focusing on an unpretentious MLS team not finding new and exciting ways to embarrass the sport and everything around it. Click to continue reading...

Move over, Silky Johnson:
I'm going for Hater of the Year. And I don't care how many five-year-old-plus jokes I have to reference to get there.
Okay, the Western Conference race this year. I don't know who's actually going to win - probably Houston, but LA holds every tiebreaker, and CUSA has a game in hand, and I think Seattle still has a shot. Click to continue reading...

I don't want Prairie's banner of Charlie Davies off the top yet, so here it is again.
You can't separate out the emotional aspects of this week, because the emotions caused and overwhelmed the actual events.
Another of Andy's pictures is worth more than a thousand words, because most of the words are misleading or inadequate:
There's a lot going on there, and I'm sure when you saw Landon with that particular banner you felt a whole bunch of conflicting emotions. Click to continue reading...