1. Chicago. Came back three times on the road, escaped with draw.
2. Chivas USA. Have most points in the league; scary thing is, there's a lot of room for improvement.
3. New England. Busiest week in league history? Not for Revs, who had bye week.
4. Seattle Sounders FC. Coming off first loss, Seattle now has some adversity to deal with.

I gave myself the better part of two days before committing this Galaxy-FCD postmortem to the foreverness of the internets because I wanted to get past the bitter taste of frustration lingering in my mouth after Saturday's excursion to Frisco. I wanted to see if that would change what I had to say.

*rubbing my temples* I am sensing a win. Why? Because it's about damn time!

No, no, that's not the only reason.

The bad news? The Earthquakes have a very good midfield. Bobby Convey, Simon Elliot (effective when with the Galaxy), Arturo Alvarez, and Darren Huckerby (scary assists leader).

Lovely evening for football at Rio Tinto Stadium where the temperature is a balmy 68 degrees, the field immaculate and the snow-capped Wasatch Mountains glistening in the background.

The Galaxy have made just one change to the team that beat New York 1-0 last weekend with Stefani Miglioranzi playing in midfield in place of Josh Tudela who retreats to the bench.

We want you!

If you are attending the game tonight between the Galaxy and the Rapids we would love to have your comments on the game. The match is not being televised, so us lowly out-of-towners will be missing all the action.

Will Berhalter start in an attempt to solidify the defense before this weekend?

Good evening from the Home Depot Center where the Galaxy are seeking their first win of the season and New York just their second.

Both teams undoubtedly sense the opportunity the game provides, but it remains to be seen whether the antagonists will react to their respective plights with fear or seize the occasion.

The Los Angeles 'Super Clasico' will determine a playoff winner for the first time as the LA Galaxy play host to Chivas USA at Home Depot Center in Game Two of their Western Conference playoff series.

The teams tied, 2-2, in Game One, and tonight the Galaxy will be the home team.

For the fourth straight game 3-0 Chivas USA is dressing all 18 of the healthy players on the club's roster, but Coach Preki makes just one change to the starting lineup, restoring right back Mariano Trujillo to the first XI after he sat out last weekend's game against the Columbus Crew with bruised ribs.

For both myself and the Galaxy.

I drove past the HDC while in SoCal and gave it a wave. My husband thought I was nuts. I probably am, but goodness I miss watching the Galaxy live.

I was also able to find a store willing to create a nonBeckham shirt for me. I have been looking and looking for a new Donovan t-shirt to expand my wardrobe.

There has been some talk lately about how the USMNT has regressed from its best teams of the past decade – that a lack of veteran leadership has made this team shakier and that Bob Bradley is making do with a hand full of poor cards. I don't believe that to be the case. The current US team has as much potential as the 2002 World Cup quarterfinalists, and if they can catch some of the same breaks as that 2002 team, they can go just as far if not farther.

An important game for two teams with identical records as the regular season winds down and playoff implications on the line.

Lovely warm fall night here at Home Depot Center; let's hope the crowd fills in.

Not surprisingly, Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena has rung the changes in the wake of the disappointing 2-0 loss to Columbus last weekend.

The Galaxy (4-4-2) make four changes to the starting lineup that saw them score two goals in second half stoppage time to tie Real Salt Lake 2-2 Wednesday night and extend their unbeaten streak to five games.

Tony Sanneh comes into the back four for Sean Franklin, who has a slight hamstring issue and is sitting out as a precautionary measure, Jovan Kirovski and Mike Magee get starts in midfield in place of Chris Klein and Eddie Lewis, while Alan Gordon gets the nod up top and Edson Buddle drops to the bench.

My second consecutive noon Sunday Galaxy game and what a difference a week makes.

The clouds are clearing in Carson, but instead of 30,000 screaming green-bedecked Sounders fans in Seattle last weekend it's a half-empty stadium with the makings of an ugly game in store given these two teams' records.

U.S. MNT forward Kenny Cooper has signed for 1860 Munich and is set to undergo a medical with the 2.Bundesliga club. Cooper, who was recently named to the CONCACAF Gold Cup all-tournament team, scored 40 goals in 93 appearances for FC Dallas since joining them in 2005. 1860 Munich has some history with American internationals, having had World Cup veterans Gergg Berhalter and Josh Wolff on their books as recently as a few years ago.

I have to say that as the summer is winding down and the kids are almost back in school, I am getting a bit late and lazy with these previews. Last weekend I was sick as a dog, but this weekend I have no excuse. I promise to do better in the future! And much love to my co-blogger Nathan for writing entertaining and thorough post game analyses.

The day's top Western Conference clash pits the red-hot Los Angeles Galaxy against the struggling Seattle Sounders.

The Galaxy will be without the services of Landon Donovan, who is being held out as he battles the H1N1 flu virus (and the fatigue of having played in the USA's World Cup qualifying loss vs.

Let's play armchair manager, shall we?

Sorry folks, no David Beckham or Eddie Lewis tonight due to red cards. This could mean we finally get to see Chris Birchall in a playmaking midfield role. We already know he can shut down players as well as Miglioranzi, but can he put together better offensive play?

The biggest rivalry in Major League Soccer will have its first playoff installment today when the Los Angeles Galaxy faces Chivas USA in the first game of their Western Conference playoff series (5:30pm, ESPN2).

The Galaxy enters as the No. 1 seed in the West, and this series will feature David Beckham's debut in the MLS playoffs, while also signaling Landon Donovan's first appearance in the playoffs since he helped lead LA to the 2005 MLS Cup title.

Whatever happens tonight it's the last game of the season at Home Depot Center with a trip to MLS Cup 2009 in Seattle against either the Chicago Fire or Real Salt Lake in the offing for the winner.

Looks like another good playoff crowd gradually filling in with the temperature about 60 degrees and excellent for football.

US World Cup veteran Gregg Berhalter was recently let go by 1860 Munich and is headed to the MLS.
The Galaxy sit first in the allocation table and stand a chance of acquiring Berhalter, if they choose to keep him and use the choice to take him. It wouldn't necessarily be the greatest choice as you never know what will happen.

The New York Red Bulls are at Home Depot Center tonight to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy in a battle of struggling teams.

The Red Bulls enter the match with just one win, while the Galaxy is still looking for its first win of the season. Three points is crucial for both teams, with a draw not likely to easy early-season fears.

Greetings from my humble house south of Seattle,
Galaxy v Sounders....this means Donovan v Sounders. He is the key to the game for most Sounders supporters. If we hold him down then we have an excellent chance at three points.
I think this will be a team effort to stop him, to many times has Donovan made holding mid-fielders look extremely bad.

What happens when a playoff race involves almost a dozen Major League Soccer team? Every single game becomes vital.

There are no throwaway matches on this MLS Matchday 28. The league-worst New York Red Bulls aren't in the playoff hunt, but tonight's opponent, Chivas USA, absolutely needs three points in its quest for a playoff berth and high seed.

Well, my laptop just died so I'm depending on the kindness of coworkers here to blog (sporadically).

Here's the scenario: if the Galaxy win they'll face the Houston Dynamo at home 8 o'clock Friday; if Chivas USA wins they'll travel to Houston for a Sunday game.

There's just one change for the Galaxy today: Chris Birchall has fallen ill (nothing serious I'm told), so Chris Klein replaces him in midfield.

The Los Angeles Galaxy will be going for its third MLS Cup title tonight against Real Salt Lake (8:50pm, ESPN/Galavision/Telefutura), which is appearing in its first MLS Cup Final.

The Galaxy, led by MLS MVP Landon Donovan and David Beckham, will look to build on a season that saw LA go from one of the worst teams in MLS to Western Conference champions.

1. Darrius Barnes (New England)
Forget his own goal given as simply a consolation goal in the last five minutes of a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake. The Revs have been on a tear since the All-Star break and you have to point out the fact that two rookies and a newcomer are the ones manning an impressive backline (kind of like the Galaxy with Gonzalez, DeLaGarza, and Berhalter).