We have three new contenders on the National Soccer Hall of Fame players ballot: Chris Henderson, Eduardo Hurtado and John O'Brien.
Welcome to the ballot, gentlemen. Now take a number.
On the ballot for the last few years, we've had ...
- Thomas Dooley. U.S. captain in the 1998 World Cup and perhaps the best overall player on the U. Click to continue reading...

Salt Lake vs. Chicago: Saturday's MLS playoff teams have one thing in common -- their goalkeepers are the shortest starting netminders in the league. Chicago's Jon Busch is listed at 5-10; Salt Lake's Nick Rimando at 5-9.
"People that tell me I wasn't going to achieve anything because I was too short, I just remember that, and I like to shove it in their face whenever I can," Rimando says. Click to continue reading...

After a year as a Nielsen-rated channel, Fox Soccer Channel isn't quite challenging Monday Night Football in the cable ratings but can point to impressive growth across the board -- doubling or tripling its ratings from fall 2008 for most programming.
Here's the most impressive part: The ratings gain can NOT be explained by an upsurge in cable and satellite companies adding the channel, says FSC executive VP and GM David Sternberg. Click to continue reading...

Six teams, two playoff berths. We'll keep the standings atop the post and update them with final results. Standings include opponent, goal difference (for/against), and tiebreakers. All times ET

40 Colorado: +7 (42/35), even on tiebreakers
39 Toronto: -4 (37/41), beats NE and DC, loses to DAL
39 D. Click to continue reading...

Can't stand the suspense or the scenario-crunching? Here's what will happen this weekend in MLS, chronologically:
Toronto at New York, 7:30 p.m.: A lot of people seem to be assuming Toronto will march right over the last-place Red Bulls. Don't overlook the motivation of New York playing the final game of a magical era -- the interim coachship of Richie Williams. Click to continue reading...

Seven teams, three berths, endless combinations.
The tiebreakers for MLS playoff berths go in this order:
1. Head-to-head (points per game if more than two teams tied)
2. Overall goal difference
3. Overall goals scored
The list below shows all seven teams, their final opponents (all times ET) and their head-to-head records (U. Click to continue reading...

The next-to-last weekend of MLS action sees the teams broken down into three groups:
1. In the playoffs, still alive for Supporters Shield
2. Not yet in the playoffs
3. Out of the playoffs
Every contending team has two games left except Chivas USA, which has three.
We'll update this glance as the day goes on, pressbox wi-fi permitting (wi-fi or not, check Twitter updates). Click to continue reading...

The ratings barely matter. The game in a nutshell: Wide-open start, five minutes of awful defense, U.S. dominance thereafter.
GK Tim Howard 5: Not at fault on the goals; little else to do.
D Steve Cherundolo 5: Not in the vicinity on first goal. Click to continue reading...

It was a bit of a shock when U.S. Soccer's Michael Kammarman called today's press conference to order and said he had an announcement -- Charlie Davies was in a single-car accident with a fatality on the George Washington Parkway, a scenic route along the Potomac River in Virginia.
Kammarman made it clear that the team and U. Click to continue reading...

Driving past the Washington Monument and the White House on the way home tonight, one thing stood out -- the USA often fares well as an underdog.
And make no mistake, the USA was not a big favorite to win in Honduras and clinch a World Cup berth.
Not in a country desperately seeking an escape from political chaos. Click to continue reading...

Quick look at the most meaningful World Cup qualifiers Saturday. Home teams first, all times Eastern, all predictions wrong.
ASIA/OCEANIA
Bahrain-New Zealand (11:30 a.m., FSC). First leg of a playoff to send a team to the World Cup that will excite no one.
EUROPE (second-to-last group games unless noted -- group winners advance, eight runners-up advance to playoff)
Group 1: Portugal-Hungary (3:40 p. Click to continue reading...

The games are getting tight in MLS. Chivas USA was the only team to score two goals last week.
MLS also has hit a lull in the schedule thanks to World Cup qualifying. Just one game Wednesday, three on Saturday and one the next Wednesday. Several teams will be watching at 4 p.m. ET Saturday hoping to see Toronto lose at home to San Jose, which would all but clinch playoff spots for the three teams on 41 points. Click to continue reading...

The MLS playoff race, as simplified as I can make it (point total at left, all times ET):
CONFERENCE LEADERS
46 Columbus - They're in. With a five-point lead and game in hand over Chicago, they're a good bet for the top seed in the East.
43 Houston - Can clinch a playoff spot with a win Sunday vs. Click to continue reading...

Ever wonder what happens in "microfracture surgery" and how a soccer player recovers? Houston's Eddie Robinson, who scored a rare goal in his return from surgery last week against Arabe Unido, fills us in:
I think my body's still getting used to a new anatomy. I have a little bit farther to go on my fitness. Click to continue reading...

Last year, MLS teams made an embarrassing splat in the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League. This year, their performance is hit and miss.
Sure, Houston didn't show much against Pachuca, using some second-stringers out of necessity and then falling to 10 men. (Note the presence of U.S. midfielder Jose Francisco Torres in that game. Click to continue reading...