Week 23 in Major League Soccer proved to be a big one for some clubs. New York finally got off the losing end of things, New England won two straight to move into playoff contention, San Jose finally turned the tide late in the games, and LA got four quality road points in the week.

Yes, week 23 changed a decent bit of things in the rankings.

When six MLS teams took the field on Tuesday night in U.S. Open Cup play, the group was expected to be able to handle competition from lower level USL teams (and one PDL team). By the end of the night, only D.C. United was able to win in regulation, while four other MLS teams saw their U.

There are a number of interesting things going on in the Yanks Soccer world today, so it's time for us to catch up on all the things going on. More after the jump...

-To start off, I need to pimp three articles I have written for goal.com recently. The first is the new outlook of the US World Cup Roster based on the post Azteca fallout.

Today#8217;s preview is brought to you by Irish Steve, one of the keepers of Chicago Fire Offside. He#8217;s joined over there by Johnathan, author of a recent interview with former Fire player/icon Diego Gutierrez. Be sure to stop by and say, #8220;Hey.#8221; Nuts and Bolts: Over the past few years, the Fire have [.

Chicago's Wilman Conde, left, heads in the winning goal over the head of Rapids defender Kosuke Kimura and beyond the reach of goalkeeper Matt Pickens.
(photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

The game was a dud, and so were the fireworks.

Chicago Fire central defender Bakary Soumare is bound for France and has seen his final days in Chicago.
On Wednesday, the Fire officially announced the transfer of the All-Star defender to Boulogne of the French Ligue 1, where he reportedly will earn $2.15 million.
"We would like to thank Bakary Soumare for his contributions to this club and wish him the best in his future playing career," Fire technical director Frank Klopas said in a release.

Wondering how the recent moves of Chris Rolfe and Bakary Soumare to Europe will impact Brian McBride's offseason decision? Well, I asked the 37-year-old McBride - who is in the last year of his contract with the Fire - just that question after the Fire's practice last Thursday. Here is what the Arlington Heights native had to say.

Thank you, NBCU.
Props to NBC Universal for answering the call of soccer fans around the country looking for the Aug. 12 World Cup Qualifier between the United States and Mexico to be available widely in English. They have now agreed to make Mun2, Telemundo's bilingual channel, available for free to all cable providers Aug.

I was going to pick out some interesting facts about the All-Star Game and make some lists out of them (three Colombian MLS All-Stars: Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Fredy Montero, Wilman Conde). But I thought it might be more valuable to readers just to have the rosters, especially Everton's. So here they are:

EVERTON FC
Carlo Nash, goalkeeper, Bolton, England
Tim Howard, goalkeeper, New Brunswick, N.

Looks like the locker-room issue in Chicago surrounding defender Bakary Soumare and manager Denis Hamlett is resolved today. Reports from France say the Fire have sold the All-Star defender to French club Boulogne for a little over $2 million.

For a club struggling for consistent play at home, losing their best defender in this manner is going to be a bigger blow than some people will be willing to admit.

This man is going to stretch his legs with a stroll over to Ligue 1 side Boulogne.
According to L'Equipe (click here for the original article en francais and all the details), Bakary Soumare of the Chicago Fire has been sold to French Ligue 1 side, Boulogne, for 1.5 million euros.

This man is officially heading out of MLS and to Ligue 1!
The Chicago Fire today announced that defender Bakary Soumare has been transferred to Boulogne of the French first division pending the completion of a physical with the French club. Per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

Americans Abroad / USMNT
USA Qualifying Update - Soccer Insider
Tickets Still Available To WCQ: US vs El Salvador - Keepin' It Real
Another Call-Up - Behind The Shield
Beckerman To Be Named To US Qualifier Roster - Deseret News
Beckerman To USMNT For Upcoming Matches - Keepin' It Real
Beckerman Getting Call For Qualifiers - Salt Lake Tribune
Beckerman Named To USA National Team - ABC4.

The MLS match of the weekend kicks off tonight at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, where the Chicago Fire play host to the Seattle Sounders.

The Sounders will be looking to win their first game on grass this year, having lost their only other match on grass to Chivas USA. The Fire comes in unbeaten, but has been dropping points by settling for ties in matches it has been favored in.

It's a full set of matches in Major League Soccer this week with Chivas USA hosting Chicago on Thursday, 6 games on Saturday, and one more on Sunday. On Wednesday Columbus played San Jose and won 2-1 with a goal from Schelotto. Chivas vs Chicago will be the marquee match as its the top team in the East battling the top team in the West.

A delicious match-up tonight between the respective conference leaders, with the Fire's MLS-best offense facing Chivas USA's MLS-best defense.

The Fire are undefeated in 10 games, while Chivas USA haven't lost in five and are beginning to field a stable lineup.

Just one change in Preki's starting XI from the team that drew 1-1 with Kansas City last time out, Mexican striker Eduardo Lillingston replacing Fontana's Chukwudi Chijindu (who is on the bench), in attack.

Colorado Rapids striker Conor Casey is leading Major League Soccer's race for the Golden Boot, but Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman is making a run at the league's Golden Ankle award.

He is tied for the league lead with five yellow cards in 11 matches.

So as the Rapids prepare to travel to Utah to face RSL on Saturday, The Tuesday List looks at yellow cards and fouls.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

With the summer transfer window fast approaching, several MLS players are expected to be the subject of transfer offers in the coming weeks.

More fuel to the spreading rumor that Montreal is set to be awarded the next league expansion franchise. The city gets great USL support and should flourish.
Also, RSL's Will Johnson, Chicago's Bakary Soumare and Chivas USA's Zach Thornton have all been added to the MLS all-star game to replace tired and injured folk.

Bakary Soumare and the Chicago Fire have officially parted ways as of this afternoon, with the Eastern Conference club confirming the transfer of the All-Star defender to French club US Boulogne (full name: Union Sportive de Boulogne-sur-Mer Côte d'Opale) in a press release. Several reports put the transfer fee for the Mali international at €1.

Yes Fire fans, Mr. ESPN is leaving the Fire in the January transfer window. So for those of you who hate soap operas, I'm sorry. As the Chicago Fire World Turns will continue on and I'm sure that the drama will be top notch.

As my colleague Matthew, has punctually stated in his recent article "I Wish I Had A Crystal Ball," the Fire are on the verge of a possible exodus of players with the question marks and explanation points surrounding the exits and of Blanco, McBride, Rolfe, Pappa, Soumare, Prideaux, Segares, Conde and even Dennis Hamlett.

MLS rosters are finally frozen. Here's a look at how much each team has changed since March.
Also worth checking is something that can shake up a roster without a personnel decision: the injury list.
CHICAGO
Hasn't changed much since the beginning of the season except for the departure of unhappy defender Bakary Soumare to Europe.

The Chicago Fire wrapped up a successful two-game road trip (1-0-1), and now they have the comfort of Toyota Park to come home to. The Fire host the New York Red Bulls (0-1-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday (televised on My50) for their home opener.br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.

Got an article from the past 24 hours that we missed?
Send the link(s) to us at majorleaguewriter@gmail.com
Total articles found today: 63
Americans Abroad / USMNT
Americans Abroad, Monday Edition - Soccer Insider
Report: Heath Pearce Demoted By Hansa Rostock - Goal.

Whether you like cross-country clashes, or tense reunions, this weekend's MLS schedule has something for you.

This weekend in Major League Soccer will be headlined by a battle of East vs. West as five intra-conference match-ups line the schedule. Perhaps more intriguing than those match-ups are the reunions Sigi Schmid will have with former club Columbus and Dwayne DeRosario will have with former club Houston.

Frankie Hejduk at MLS Cup '08

As fans prepare for tonight's USMNT World Cup qualifier with Costa Rica, I had our MLS fans in mind as I was looking ahead to this week's matches.

Several teams are shorthanded due to International callups. Nothing new for experienced MLS fans. For newbies there are plenty of stories, posts, opinions about the conflicts between MLS and International schedules to mull over, so I'm not going to get into that in this post.

The twelfth week of MLS action kicks off in its semi-normal Thursday night time slot, with ESPN carrying its game of the week from Washington, D.C. The New York Red Bull return to the scene of their 5-3 humiliation in a U.S. Open Cup play-in game, eager to prove themselves on the road. On Friday night, an interesting match up in Chicago takes place, with the Fire hosting the surging Houston Dynamo.

Confederation Cup players are back but many more Gold Cup call-ups leave their teams as we head into the second half of the MLS season.

This week's slate of games features one very good Eastern Conference clash, one reunion in Dallas and quality inter-conference battle in Colorado as the Chicago Fire take on the Rapids in a tilt loaded with quality match-ups.

A few noteworthy topics from within the confines of the Chicago Fire and Chicago Red Stars:
• Gold Cup update: Chicago Fire midfielder Logan Pause got his second start for the U.S. Men's National Team during Wednesday's 2-0 victory over Honduras in the CONCACAF Gold Cup at RFK Stadium. Pause stayed in the game until Benny Feilhaber replaced him in the 64th minute.

Photo by ISIphotos.com
By TRAVIS CLARK

Overshadowing last night's Chicago-Los Angeles game were reports that Bakary Soumare's bust up with coach Dennis Hamlett may signify that the African's tenure in Chicago is over.

According to a report from Goal.com, Fire defender Bakary Soumare is finally making his long-awaited move to Europe as he will leave Chicago to join Boulogne-Sur-Mer of the French Ligue 1 for a reported fee of 1.5 million Euros ($2.15 million)....

Well after months of rumors and a few days of unofficial reports, the transfer of the now former Fire Defender Bakary Soumare to Boulogne of the French First Division has finally gone through....

It was a great experience to go to another MLS stadium last weekend, not least because we were hosted by the Fire Supporters Club who looked after us grandly. I wanted to share a few observations picked up over the weekend because I think they are of interest to all soccer fans. Maybe we could even learn some things from them.

The Los Angeles Galaxy takes on the Chicago Fire in a battle of second place teams on Friday, October 2 at 8PM. The game will be on ESPN2.

On paper this should be a tough, hard fought match between two teams that need to be peaking right now if they have hopes of going deep in the post-season.

Rolfe's late goal salvages tie, keeps Chicago unbeaten
The Chicago Fire had to battle back all game and wound up with the final tally en route to a 3-all draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday in Major League Soccer action at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Chris Rolfe's long strike from a little more than 20 yards out tied the score at 3-all in the 85th minute.

Hi Fire fans. Sorry for the hiatus, I had some visitors from Ireland who kept me busy over the past 10 days or so. I have a few Fire links for you to enjoy. Look out for my Fire vs KC preview tomorrow!

Can the Fire get 60 points this season? At least 1 Fire fan thinks so!

Read a great question and answer with Bakay here.

Got an article from the past 24 hours that we missed?
Send the link(s) to us at majorleaguewriter@gmail.com
Total articles found today: 80
MLSnet Game Previews
Kansas City Wizards @ Chicago Fire
Toronto FC @ FC Dallas
Colorado Rapids @ Houston Dynamo
Los Angeles Galaxy @ San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders FC @ Chivas USA
Other Previews
Game Of The Week Preview: D.

Superb 1st half all for naught as Chicago settles for draw
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Chicago Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch was not going to sugarcoat the situation. He and the Fire knew full well that they had Saturday's game. Instead, they settled with a 2-all draw against the Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer action at Toyota Park.

Chicago defender Bakery Soumare publicly thanks Hamlett for direction. Chicago Fire defender Bakary Soumare wants it made clear that his game is a team sport. Speaking to his team's official website Soumare said: "We value personal awards too much. Granted, it's great to get recognition, but at the end of the day soccer's a team sport and it's all about championships.

STARTERS
Gaaaaaaaaaak - Twitter: dunord
dN
USA June 3 & 6 World Cup qualifying matches roster to be announced on ESPN on Sun May 24 at 9am, along with a feature story on Tim Howard! Right on. Set your DVR, cuz you'll still be asleep like me.
dN
Boca Juniors were knocked out of the Copa Libertadores last by losing 0-1 at home to Defensor Sporting of Montevideo, Uruguay.