Let's dip into the playoff poll again, this time with one of the fallen favorites. We corralled Houston radio man Brian Zygo to tackle our Dynamo answers.NSC: What went wrong?BZ: In simple terms, a lack a finishing, the Houston Dynamo were having trouble putting the ball in the net. It took over 180 minutes of playing time in the first round of the MLS playoffs before the Dynamo scored a goal. Click to continue reading...

Oh man, I twisted the holy hell out of my ankle last night. Came down from a jump halfway on someone else's foot in the last minute of the game. Suddenly, my four flights of stairs up aren't so charming...#1 - Landon Donovan is your MLS MVP. He also won Goal of the Year. Somehow, he was beaten out for Save of the Year by Pat Onstad. Click to continue reading...

Our old ASD colleague Alex Abnos is an idea man, a musician. Today, he has all sorts of ideas on how to orchestrate a comeback season for the Kansas City Wizards. Lots of ideas. And-a-one-and-a-two...What went wrong?The short answer: this.The long answer: It's tough to point to any one thing, as I believe the team's failings in 2009 were the result of many little wrongs that built up over time. Click to continue reading...

Yeah, we had to do this one sooner or later. And being the Empire Supporters Club die-hard that he is, my former American Soccer Daily co-hort Jason Endres found a way to make the "What went right?" answer as long as the "What went wrong?" answer. But ya know what... that's New Yawk, baby. Now put the Strokes' cut Someday on and read. Click to continue reading...

With Uruguay seeing off Costa Rica, the field for World Cup 2010 has been completed.Africa - Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South AfricaAsia - Australia, Japan, North Korea, South KoreaEurope - Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, SwitzerlandNorth America - Honduras, Mexico, United StatesOceania - New Click to continue reading...

Ireland's exit was the stuff of nightmares if, like me, you have green blood coursing through your veins, or just cheer the underdog.Thierry Henry of all people...I've met him twice away from football and he is unfailingly charming off-field as he is scintillating on. But cross the white line when the stakes are as high as a place in the World Cup finals and private pleasantries evaporate in the Click to continue reading...

It will be talked about for a long time: a World Cup berth "handed" to France. Thierry's Henry helping hand assist (and a blown offside call) teed up William Gallas for the extra time clincher to leave Ireland feeling backhanded...... but that was hardly the only drama on hand.Earlier, Algeria, Greece and Slovenia procured invites to South Africa via upsets, with Portugal closing out a tidy sweep Click to continue reading...

Until espn2 picks up the game, I'm relying on a sometimes reliable Danish stream, so let's hope we have no problems.As always, you can also follow along at the U.S. Soccer Matchtracker.The USMNT line-up:Guzan; Hejduk, Spector, Bocanegra, Bornstein, Holden, Bradley, Clark, Feilhaber, Altidore, CunninghamBack near kickoff. Click to continue reading...

As you might expect, we have plenty of things going on today. Two or three plenties worth, actually...#1 - Let's begin with my double interview with Real Salt Lake strikers Robbie Findley and Yura Movsisyan.Other RSL tidbits:- Rogue Cavaliers Brigade blog Denz's Sopabox has interview videos- Have a ticket but no flight yet? Click to continue reading...

Today, we continue our series by launching an inquest into our first playoff team, the Revs. How they managed to make the postseason, I'll Nicol know... erm... never know, but luckily we have someone here to make sense of all things Beantown ball. For this one, I pass it over to former American Soccer Daily colleague (and Holy Cross midfielder) Ryan O'Hanlon. Click to continue reading...

I was watching Eastbound & Down again, and it hit me: we need a soccer equivalent, perhaps set in England to raise the likelihood of someone being that big a star at one point. I'm gonna think about this more, you watch TV...The ESPN Press Pass crew look ahead to a few of the remaining World Cup qualification battles. Click to continue reading...

The mission is simple if you choose to accept it: score USMNT ducats for the Cup next summer.Your first set of instructions is here.This message will not self-destruct, but chances are good it will go make peanut butter toast because it is hungry.- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...

It was a difficult year for the Bay Area boot squad, but an easy choice on who to ask for some answers. Sorting through the Earthquakes rubble for us is ESPN & Center Line Soccer all-star Jeff Carlisle.NSC: What went wrong?JC: Just about everything. Players like Francisco Lima and Scott Sealy werent adequately replaced at the start of the season. Click to continue reading...

And by MLS Best XI's, plural, I mean the official league edition and Du Nord's three-layer extravaganza.How much do I agree with these lists? I guess you'll have to wait until I unveil my team of the season over at S365 later in the week.- Greg Seltzer Click to continue reading...

Another international has shockingly been lost. Former MLS target Antonio De Nigris, who was playing with Greek side Larissa, has died of a heart attack at the age of 31.This is hitting the El Tri community hard, as you might imagine. NSC condolences go out to his family, friends, teammates and fans. Click to continue reading...