Article by Pedro Gomes
Midweek MLS action was plentiful. Among all the chatter about US Open Cup and the Canadian Championship, the league held some exciting matches. New York fans honored Juan Pablo Angel with a deserved banner and Columbus stunned Seattle with a 2-0 win.

This game was nuts. Inexplicable referee decisions. Overly physical play. Weird penalties. Poor set piece defending. Golazo! Dives. Goalie Coach ejection. Yellow cards. Two (!) penalty saves. Nerve racking final minutes. All of this resulted in an ugly, but a rather satisfying (Hi Brimstone Cup you sexy thing you) victory.

The middle of HATE week is here as the Fire square off tonight against FC Dallas. The Men in Red will no doubt come out of the gates fast and furious to try to avenge the loss to Portland. FC Dallas, on the other hand, comes into the game reeling a bit. They did manage to pull out a draw vs. Philly, but dropped 3 straight contests before that.

The California rivalry highlights a busy Wednesday night. (Getty Images)

Can you believe it? We're sitting at Week 12 already here this season. Things have been moving quickly but after this week things will settle down a little bit for June which also means the summer friendly season is right around the corner.

With the international break nearly here, MLS teams are cramming in games before World Cup qualifiers begin, and the result is a numerous mid-week matches.

Four MLS games and a friendly accompany the Canadian championship on the docket Wednesday night, highlighted by the New York Red Bulls' five-game winning streak being put to the test by recent trade partner Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy looking to end their struggles against the San Jose Earthquakes in the California Clasico.

Major League Soccer and the Chicago Fire released their full schedule today. Here are some highlights. Full schedule after the break.

Chicago is slated to appear in a total of 13 nationally televised broadcasts. The Sunday, July 8 game vs. LA Galaxy will be on ESPN. The October 6 game vs.

Chicago Fire games at Toyota Park are all done for the 2011 season. The MLS Playoffs roll on without cf97 (the Columbus Crew and FC Dallas are already out so things are looking up!). There are many changes and tweaks that will have to be made to the team before the sun rises on the 2012 campaign.

By DAVE GUBALA

BRIDGEVIEW, IL -- The Chicago Fire went into Wednesday night's match against FC Dallas knowing that anything short of a victory would all but erase their chances of reaching the playoffs. For FC Dallas, the match was about trying snap a losing streak and poor run of form.

Sebastian Grazzini -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire missed out on the Brimstone Cup yet again. But even worse, their postseason hopes virtually have been eliminated.
Sebastian Grazzini's late goal for the Fire was all Chicago could muster as FC Dallas gained a two-goal lead and held on for a 2-1 victory on Wednesday in front of 10,362 at Toyota Park.

The MLS season resumes Wednesday night with a couple of matches featuring teams in the thick of the playoff hunt. Both D.C. United and the Chicago Fire need to come away with points to maintain their hopes at sneaking into one of the remaining playoff berths.

While Vancouver can play spoiler for D.

Time is running short for D.C. United and the Chicago Fire, and an accelerated level of stress is put on each of the remaining regular season games for two teams with postseason aspirations.

As two of the three teams on the outside of the current playoff picture but within striking range, United and the Fire need to pile on the results beginning with tonight's matches against the Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Dallas, respectively.

Thanks to Toronto FC drawing in a wild 3-3 game against D.C. United last night, the Chicago Fire enter tonight's game in sole position of last place in the Eastern Conference. Fortunately for Chicago, their opponent is the expansion side Vancouver Whitecaps who are in last place in the Western Conference and have even less points than Chicago (19 vs 15).

Throughout their history, Sporting Kansas City Wiz/Wizards have never had a traditionally hated rival. In the first two years of the league it looked like Dallas could become that rival with some rough games and the 1996 playoffs, but with the addition of Chicago in 1998 and the Brimstone Cup, and then the addition of Houston, we've fallen well down the list in terms of rival for Dallas.

FC Dallas has a few so-called "rivalries". There's the Brimstone Cup, between FCD and the Chicago Fire, which has been well documented. There's also the in-state rival Houston Dynamo, which has accounted for more than one off the field skirmish, many of which can be attributed to the trash can that is Robertson Stadium.

FC Dallas has a few so-called "rivalries". There's the Brimstone Cup, between FCD and the Chicago Fire, which has been well documented. There's also the in-state rival Houston Dynamo, which has accounted for more than one off the field skirmish, many of which can be attributed to the trash can that is Robertson Stadium.

The Chicago Fire opened their 2011 campaign with a 1-1 draw and will have to share the Brimstone Cup until the two clubs meet again October 12.

Diego Chaves had a great debut by opening the scoring, but the Fire relaxed a little too much and quickly relinquished the equalizer. Dallas defender Brek Shea earned a red card by pulling a passing Gaston Puerari to ground as the last man, but the Fire could not capitalize on the man advantage.

Fire's Orr Barouch (R) -- Getty ImagesThe Chicago Fire handled 2010 MLS runner-up FC Dallas with composure in their season opener, earning a 1-1 draw on Saturday in the first leg of the Brimstone Cup at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
Uruguayan forward Diego Chaves netted his first MLS goal for the Fire as both teams scored within the first 20 minutes.

Anxious to open the Chicago Fire's 2011 MLS season? We are too!

The wait is almost over as kickoff approaches at 7:30pm CST. Broadcast by Comcast Sportsnet.

Don't have access to the game on TV? Visit MLS Match Day Live for your live stream!

Get up to speed with the new look Fire and FC Dallas by reading the following articles previewing tonight's matchup.

In a league that is short on rivalries, FC Dallas and the Chicago Fire try hard to maintain whatever semblance of a rivalry once existed between the two teams. Names have changed, conferences have realigned, but the Fire and the club formerly known as the Burn still play for the Brimstone Cup each year.

By AVI CREDITOR

Call it a glitch, call it a technicality, but it's Week 2 in MFLS circles.

Week 1 (AKA Los Angeles' 1-0 win over Seattle) was pretty fruitless from a fantasy standpoint unless you started Juninho, who scored the only goal, or had the foresight to go with Josh Saunders as your goalkeeper.

MLSSoccer.com has a great profile on Mundelein, IL native and University of Louisville alum Charlie Campbell. Campbell, like any good Midwestern soccer player, grew up a Chicago Fire fan. He even considers Patrick Nyarko and Baggio Husidic to be good friends. Now there is a twist in that fandom as FC Dallas selected Campbell with the 35th overall pick of the 2011 MLS Draft.