"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" said a famous philosopher centuries ago, but he may as well have been writing for MLS Talk about the 2011 Eastern Conference champions. The Houston Dynamo took advantage of a ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

With their 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo yesterday, the Galaxy reached their season-long goal of winning an MLS Cup and certain high-profile players notched their first North American championship. Anytime a team wins a championship, writers and bloggers take ...
Visit http://www.

Photo: Courtesy MLS Soccer

MLS

LA Galaxy defeated Houston Dynamo 1–0 to win the MLS Cup. Landon Donovan scored the lone goal and was named MVP. Player ratings are here.

All teams must submit their protected list to the league for Tuesday's Expansion Draft by 5pm today.

The league made two big announcements on Sunday, one concerning the shift to a conference-based schedule, the about changes to the playoff format aimed a rewarding those teams with better regular season records.

LA wins 2011 MLS Cup. (Getty Images)

For five years the suits in the Major League Soccer front office and the guys with the big time pocket books have been waiting for this moment. They came close in 2009 in Seattle. Some expected it to happen last year in Toronto only to see the LA Galaxy upstaged by a better FC Dallas team in the conference finals.

LA wins 2011 MLS Cup. (Getty Images)

For five years the suits in the Major League Soccer front office and the guys with the big time pocket books have been waiting for this moment. They came close in 2009 in Seattle. Some expected it to happen last year in Toronto only to see the LA Galaxy upstaged by a better FC Dallas team in the conference finals.

On Sunday evening in a rainy Carson, California it seemed that all the stars had aligned for MLS, for AEG, for Don Garber, and for the Designated Player concept as David Beckham, Robbie Keane, and Landon Donovan teamed up to give the Los Angeles Galaxy the 2011 MLS Cup winning goal in the 72nd minute at the Home Depot Center.

The second try turned out to be the charm for Bruce Arena and his Los Angeles Galaxy. Landon Donovan's outside right-foot finish past Tally Hall in the 72nd minute put the Galaxy on top for good. Keane picked up the ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

Since yesterday's post dealt with a former Houston Dynamo player who was a member of the squads that won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups, a video, shown below, that I came across made me decide to do a post about another member of those Dynamo championship teams: Stuart Holden.

Holden, who grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, a suburb of Houston, joined the Dynamo in 2006 and made his MLS debut in a 1-1 draw at New England Revolution on May 27th.

LA and Houston battle in the 2011 MLS Cup this weekend. (Getty Images)

Well, here we are, the final game of the 2011 season. MLS Cup 2011 or 2011 MLS Cup...whatever way you look at it we are at the final game of the year.

I've been sitting quiet all week on this game, mostly due to the work load I've had at my day job but also because there were other items to get through here.

Photo: Courtesy Matt Riley/University of Delaware

Local

University of Delaware upset No. 20 ranked University of Virginia with a 1–0 double overtime win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night. Sophomore John Dineen headed the winner with 4:14 remaining the the second overtime period.

Houston Dynamo fans will be a bit disappointed when they wake up this morning to discover that Brad Davis was not named the 2011 MLS MVP, but that disappointment will be tempered a bit since Dwayne De Rosario, once an important member of the Dynamo, is this season's MVP. In fact, the last time De Rosario won the MVP, in 2007, he was a member of the back-to-back MLS Cup winning Dynamo.

The 2011 MLS Cup Final at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California is only days away, and with the Houston Texans on a NFL bye week, the Dynamo have been feeling the love in their home city. On Wednesday evening a rally was held in Houston for the Dynamo before their departure to California.

Maybe it's just happening when I'm watching, but based on my (unscientific observations) it seems that NBC has made an attempt to devote a little more time to coverage of the 2011 MLS Cup, which takes place at 8:00 pm central time on Sunday. In light of the news that NBC Universal has obtained a broadcast rights package for MLS matches starting with the 2012 season, it isn't surprising that NBC stations and programs have given airtime to the 2011 MLS Cup.

Union

Danny Califf said of the Union's long-ball tactics against Houston, "It played right into their hands. They have a couple of big center backs, and all of them, aside from Corey Ashe, are big, and along with their midfielders they eat that up."

CSN Philly completely sidesteps the issue of Peter Nowak's selection and tactical decisions by saying that, in losing to Houston, the Union were beaten by a better team.

Now that the Whitecaps have finished their season and were unable to reach the playoffs, it's time to follow the journey to the final of the MLS Cup. El Jimador has announced their "Your rules your shot" competition, in which 10 lucky winners will get a chance to win a VIP trip to the MLS Cup!
The competition consists in creating a creative rule which all MLS fans should follow.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

Union in the playoffs

Houston's 3–1 win over LA Galaxy on Sunday night means the Philadelphia Union finish third place in the Eastern Conference behind Kansas City in first and Houston in second. The Union will host Houston at PPL Park on Sunday, October 30 in the first game of a two-game Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2011) – el Jimador, 100 percent blue agave tequila, announces the launch of its soccer-themed consumer contest, which will award 10 winners an opportunity to attend the MLS Cup in Los Angeles on Nov. 20, 2011, along with a guest.
To participate, consumers are invited to submit a rule aimed at improving the sport of soccer.

I just wrote up a little piece on how MLS Cup is going back to LA for SBnation.com. Yeah, I can't say I'm overly thrilled with this news.

While I like the HDC as a venue and a host for MLS Cup, I don't like the start time for the game. A 9pm ET start isn't ideal in any way for the league's showcase game.