A lot has been made of the players this summer who have left Major League Soccer for higher wages in Europe. I figured since today was a slower news day I would take a look at the next group of guys that could potentially cash in on a move across the pond. Feel free to give [...]

If you were to take a poll asking people who the best defenders in MLS are, the list would include each of the following names:

• Chad Marshall

• Michael Parkhurst

• Bakary Soumare

• Bobby Boswell

At least three of those names enjoyed career-type seasons while the fourth, Parkhurst, still played at a very high level.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

When the U.S. national team takes on Trinidad & Tobago at Toyota Park tonight, there will be at least one Chicago-based USA fan with a little more interest in the match than most.

Tonight the Galaxy tries to keep its flickering post-season hopes alive in a must-win showdown in Bridgeview, IL against the Chicago Fire. Chicago has been struggling of late, losing the last two games by a combined score of 6-1, but the legendarily leaky Galaxy defense might be just what they need to get back on their game.

Like Laurie over on the LA Galaxy Offside, I really, really want to dig into whole upcoming Superdraft explosion, but....well, here I am some considerable yet unknown number of days after Buzz Carrick posted the first of his Superdraft scouting series for ESPN (goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders; forwards are pending) and I've still got nuthin'.

MLS has now conducted 106 of its 210 regular season games, making this the perfect time to take a look at how the teams rank on offense and defense, as well as how they have changed since last season in both of those categories.
I'll also be posting a few quotes from my season preview article which I wrote back in March.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

As you may or may not know, the 18-man MLS All-Star team isn't the only list of players selected with relation to the All-Star game. There is also a group of players known as "inactive" all-stars, who are considered the players who would also be all-stars if the MLS All-Star Game still had the same MLS-only format.

After watching the Fire get dismantled by Dallas last Sunday I decided that it would be better if I forgot about the game completely and not write about it. So with that being said lets move on to the next game which happens to be tonight against everyones favorite team to make fun of: The LA Galaxy.

Here's the complete First XI:

Goalkeeper: Matt Reis (New England Revolution)

Defenders: Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution)

Midfielders: David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

Forwards: Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

And here is a list they released of some of the top vote-getters (only those named to the first XI on this list are guaranteed a spot on the roster):

GOALKEEPERS Fans Players Media Coach/GMs Combined Matt Reis 11.

NEW YORK -- Major League Soccer announced that Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein, New England Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston and FC Dallas midfielder Juan Toja were selected by All-Star head coach Steve Nicol to replace Sacha Kljestan, Michael Parkhurst and Robbie Rogers who were named to the U.

There is plenty to discuss regarding this weekend's match-up between the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls, from the intense battle that wound up being decided by one mistake to the return of Juan Carlos Osorio to Toyota Park (there is also my 48 hours in Chicago, which I will get into later).

It might not seem like it, but the MLS season is barreling toward the midway point, which means it's getting to be that time to vote for the MLS All-Star Game. Fan Balloting has been under way for quite some time but media were only given their ballots this week.

This got me wondering what lineup you, the SBI Mafia, would vote for to play against West Ham United in this summer's All-Star Game.

It might not seem like it, but the MLS season is barreling toward the midway point, which means it's getting to be that time to vote for the MLS All-Star Game. Fan Balloting has been under way for quite some time but media were only given their ballots this week.

This got me wondering what lineup you, the SBI Mafia, would vote for to play against West Ham United in this summer's All-Star Game.

Top XI
G: Joe Cannon Kevin Hartman
D: Bakary Soumare
D: Ramiro Corrales Claudio Suarez
D: Michael Parkhurst Frankie Hejduk
M: Emmanuel Ekpo
M: Guillermo Barros Schelotto
M: Steve Ralston
M: Marcelo Gallardo
F: Kenny Cooper
F: Brian Ching
F: Luciano Emilio
Coach: Tom Soehn went right after the LA Galaxy's defense and kept the pressure on one of the league's worst defenses and never really let the league's top offense get on track.