Forward Calen Carr, who played a key role in the run to the MLS Cup final, has been limited this week while rehabbing from the left knee surgery he underwent late last month. "I had to get a little work done on my knee," he said. "It was nothing major. Just cleaned up some things." [...]

Judging by the general content of the comments around here (and in other places), the main concern going into the 2012 Houston Dynamo season is that team has dipped in quality with the loss of Brian Ching and Danny Cruz. The fear seems to be that we are in for yet another long season of middling to above average results with the possibility of a serious drop in form.

It seems like just yesterday the Dynamo played for the MLS Cup in Los Angeles, in fact it was only 66 days ago, but time waits for no one and the new season must get underway. Yesterday at the team's training facilities, the Dynamo did just that, kicking off the 2012 season with the opening of pre-season camp.

If you're a Dynamo fan, one of the highlights of the start of camp has to be the fact that Brad Davis and Cam Weaver are quite busy working out. Davis, who was a finalist for the 2011 MLS MVP award, tore his right quad muscle in the Eastern Conference final victory over Sporting Kansas [...]

If you're a Dynamo fan, one of the highlights of the start of camp has to be the fact that Brad Davis and Cam Weaver are quite busy working out. Davis, who was a finalist for the 2011 MLS MVP award, tore his right quad muscle in the Eastern Conference final victory over Sporting Kansas [...]

Geoff Cameron has been a standout for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, and has not only lead the Dynamo into the MLS Cup this past season, but also received a recent call-up to the US National team.
His play is worthy of national team consideration, but it's his presence and positive attitude that have been key components in his success.

Chalk up another win for the Los Angeles Galaxy

Only this one wasn't just for them, it perhaps was an important win for MLS as well. Despite massive offers from numerous European clubs, David Beckham officially chose to remain in the United States, agreeing to new multi-year contract with the Galaxy that keeps the famed midfielder in Los Angeles through the 2013 MLS season.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

At long last, the David Beckham sweepstakes is officially over, and the Los Angeles Galaxy are the winners.

The league's original Designated Player signed a two-year deal with the Galaxy on Wednesday, putting an end to a long-winded bout of speculation regarding his future.

Four time MLS Cup champion defender Eddie Robinson, one of the last remaining original Dynamo, announced his from professional soccer today. Robinson came with the team in 2006 when they moved from San Jose and was a key part of the team's two championships. Injuries have limited Robinson the last couple seasons, but his retirement from the game does not mean we'll be seeing any less of E-Rob around Houston.

"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.

Welcome to the 2011 Creamsicles: The Dynamo Theory Awards.

For the first time, Dynamo Theory will be honoring the best of the best from the 2011 Houston Dynamo season. Hopefully this becomes an annual extravaganza, but we'll have to see how things go this year first. We surveyed our readers and staff members to determine the winners and we'd like to first thank everyone for participating in the voting!

Photo: Earl Gardner

Philadelphia Union

MLS is scheduled to release the 2012 schedule today at 2pm. We'll post the Union schedule as soon as it is available.

Who will the Union play in their home opener? After using some logic based on what schedule details are already known (the Union open the season at Portland on March 12, play in Chicago on March 24, play in Toronto on May 26 and September 15 while playing host to Toronto on July 7), The Goalkeeper writes, "I would not be surprised if it is against the New York Red Bulls, the Houston Dynamo or David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy.

In the spirit of full transparency, and wasting no time since the balloting was announced, I am jumping in with both feet and giving you my picks for Dynamo Theory's 2011 Creamsicle Awards. Hopefully, we can finish the year and start the next with a healthy discussion and debate on reviewing what was, for me, the most fun Houston Dynamo season that didn't have a trophy-winning celebration at the end of it.

The time has come to award the first ever Creamsicles!

We're beginning this annual (hopefully) tradition with nine categories for Dynamo fans to vote on. The awards and nominees are listed below and the voting link will be at the bottom of the post. You have one week to vote, so get to it!

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Click Here to Vote for the 2011 Creamsicles

VOTING CLOSES THURSDAY, JANUARY 5th at 11:00am CT

Team MVP: Tally Hall, Brad Davis, Andre Hainault, Geoff Cameron

Forward of the Year: Brian Ching, Cam Weaver, Calen Carr, Will Bruin, Carlo Costly

Midfielder of the Year: Brad Davis, Luiz Camargo, Adam Moffat, Danny Cruz, Colin Clark

Defender of the Year: Geoff Cameron, Bobby Boswell, Andre Hainault, Corey Ashe, Hunter Freeman

Newcomer of the Year: Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo, Calen Carr, Colin Clark

Rookie of the Year: Will Bruin, Kofi Sarkodie, Alex Dixon

Moment of the Year: New Stadium Groundbreaking, Dixon's Goal vs.

The Major League Soccer season's crescendo was a flat one, but there was barely a pause to reflect upon it before the "draft season" got under way and speculation on Beckham's future overshadowed his club's glorious present. All that, plus the US's first multi-goal performance under Klinsmann in this month's State of the States.

I had it all wrong. There was no way that the Galaxy were going to defeat the Houston Dynamo 3-1. They always looked like winning Sunday's MLS finale, but it's only fitting that the final scoreline would be the Galaxy's 11th win by the minimum this season. The loss of Brad Davis, who was the league's best creator alongside David Beckham, crippled the Dynamo's midfield, and the in-match injury to Geoff Cameron weakened their backline severely.

Okay, I've had a day to reflect on Life, the Universe, and Everything. The last few months have been a wild ride- the State of Texas cancelled funding for the job I've held for the past more than 5 years and my agency decided, in its infinite wisdom, to give me an entry level position for the same salary.

This just in from Kerith Gabriel at the Daily News:

Tweet No. 1: According to French pub L'Equipe, @PhilaUnion is said to be vying for the services of @chelseafc forward Nicolas Anelka.

Tweet No. 2: Source within @PhilaUnion camp just confirmed there IS interest but said it's a stretch given other offers Anelka has received.

The Los Angeles Galaxy claimed their first MLS Cup of the David Beckham Era with a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo Sunday night at the Home Depot Center.

While much was made of Sunday night's game in light of Beckham's contract which is set expire in the offseason it was Landon Donovan who took center stage by burying a Robbie Keane ball in the 72nd minute to seize the proceedings and give the Galaxy their third MLS Championship in team history.

The 2011 MLS Cup Final was won in a dream fashion. The LA Galaxy capped off an incredible season where they won the Supporters Shield, achieved success in the CONCACAF Champions League and impressed everyone with their quality throughout. With the 1-0 win over a resistant Houston Dynamo the Galaxy secured their third MLS Cup and did so in front of 30,281 screaming fans who weathered the rain.

The morning after losing a championship game is never enjoyable. Despite the fact that you tell yourself ahead of time, it's just great to be here, no one expected us to make this run, we're playing the best team in the league, all the things to try to prepare yourself mentally, it sucks.

Fortunately for Dynamo fans, the 2011 season which at one point looked on the verge of being a second straight season without playoffs, turned in to a magical run all the way to the brink of a third MLS Cup.

By FRANCO PANIZO

CARSON, Calif. -- Minutes before the Los Angeles Galaxy blasted music and opened bottles of beer in their locker room at the Home Depot Center, the Houston Dynamo sat in theirs with glum faces and blank stares. The silence that filled the air spoke volumes.

A substitution and tactical shift garnered much of the credit for the breakthrough goal scored by Landon Donovan in the 72nd minute by which Los Angeles downed Houston, 1-0, Sunday night in the MLS championship game.
Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America offers a recap of the 2011 MLS Cup.

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.

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 Los Angeles Galaxy beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0 to win the 2011 MLS Cup. In a match touted as David Beckham's final MLS match, neither side made a terribly compelling case for a title match victory during a mostly dull 90 minutes, the hyperbolic ESPN commentary notwithstanding. In the end the match was won on a single goal from Landon Donovan late in the second half, securing the final result nearly everyone expected.

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo will do battle tonight as they each search for their third MLS Cup titles in tonight's 2011 MLS Cup Final (9pm, ESPN).

The Galaxy come in as the heavy favorites, playing at home in Home Depot Center, where they haven't lost in MLS all season.

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

CARSON, Calif. - Ever since the participants in Sunday's MLS Cup booked their tickets to the season's grand finale two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Galaxy has been widely pegged as one of the biggest favorites the final has ever seen.

Almost game time...

TSG's MLS Cup Final Preview, right here.

Still several hours away from tip off.

Toe-to-toe they go for the big price, Houston's Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy for the season ultimate prize, the Supporter's Shield MLS Cup.

Rain is all over the forecast and you have to believe despite squirmy Calen Carr's ability to squirt through a backline that is favors Los Angeles.

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.

The season ended weeks ago for most of us Sounders fans. It feels even longer since the league scheduled the MLS Cup after the international break. However, the real end of the season is nigh as the Los Angeles Galaxy take on the Houston Dynamo this weekend. I'm expecting an entertaining, if decidedly one-sided match-up this weekend.

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.

The 2011 MLS Cup Final is being considered in most circles as a mis-match between the strongest team in the league and a team that road a hot streak into the post season. The Los Angeles Galaxy are the heavy favorites to lift the trophy in their home stadium, but the Dynamo aren't ready to just play the role of punching bag.

MLS Cup Betting Insider There are just two teams left alive in the 2011 MLS season, and only one will be left standing after Houston and Los Angeles faceoff in the MLS Cup Final on Sunday night. Let's preview the unlikely matchup for the league's most important match. This game will be shown on ESPN [.

It's a special MLS Cup edition of the Friday Five today, where we peer into the crystal ball to explore whether Brad Davis' absence has unofficially put the kabash on Houston's chances, whether Donovan has anything left to prove and if Jacob has the stones to pick against LA. Let's dive in, shall we?

OK, I guess by now we have all let the news sink in that Dwayne De Rosario has been named the 2011 MLS MVP and not our very own Brad Davis. (I put that photo up there just to kind of soften the blow for everyone if you had not heard.)

Personally, while I would have given the award to Davis (Don't get me wrong.

D.C. United's Dwayne De Rosario will receive the MLS MVP Award today in Carson (AP Photo).

There are three days left to go until MLS Cup 2011 in Carson between the Galaxy and Houston Dynamo.

*The interactive guide to MLS Cup activities in the South Bay and beyond is here.

Do you work on Monday? Me too.

Feel like joining me in offering a salute to the bigwigs at Major League Soccer for playing their most important game of the season at 9pm Eastern Standard Time (on ESPN) on a freaking SUNDAY? A time at which 90 percent of the owners of tiny Beckham jerseys up and down the Eastern seaboard will be unable to watch because it's a school night?

D.C. United star Dwayne DeRosario has enjoyed one of the best careers in MLS history and is widely regarded as one of the best players the league has ever seen. He has won multiple championships, and most recently a Golden Boot, but the one honor he hadn't won before was MLS Most Valuable Player.

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.