Happy birthday, Seba! The Flyin' Frenchman is 28 today. Did you know he's the only remaining member of the '09 expansion draft class?

The Brotherly Game says an anonymous league source claims the 2012 MLS All-Star game will be in Philly or Kansas City. Yesterday, Broad Street Hooligans announced that a source within the Union had illegally discovered that the 2012 MLS All-Star game would be in Philly.

Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Broad Street Hooligans says they have "a few connections who work down at PPL" and that these connections "may have accidentally overheard their bosses super-secret text messages" to the effect that Philadelphia will host the 2012 MLS All-Star Game.

By 1916, exhibition soccer games on Christmas Day were a Philadelphia tradition that dated back at least to the inaugural season of the city's first organized league, the Pennsylvania Football Union, in 1889. As was the case then, the exhibition game in 1916 took place at the grounds of one of Philadelphia's professional baseball teams, this time at the Phillies Ball Park.

Major League Soccer -- Move over, soccer moms, the league's hard-core fan groups are here to stay - ESPN

That said, standing in the River End during a game, you can't help but be optimistic that MLS is veering toward an organic and testosterone-driven experience. That is perhaps the biggest sign of soccer's growth in this country.

The Philly Soccer Page " Preview: Philadelphia Union vs. Colorado Rapids
As perhaps the only MLS team to gain in confidence during a week of midseason friendlies, the Union must maintain the momentum gained against Everton and Real Madrid as they enter a stretch where they will play three matches in eight days.

The Philly Soccer Page " Match report: Union at Whitecaps

The Union lost 1-0 to the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday night. It was the expansion club's first win since the opening match of the season.

I'ma Let You Finish " Broad Street Hooligans

The US played terribly against Panama so it was nice to at least see them look like they had touched a ball before against Guadeloupe, obviously Ream and Agudelo didn't start.

[Editor's note: Shaun has done work for us for which we're forever indebted, including the 'Stache Bash shirt. We're more than happy to throw our name behind his idea. Read and please comment.]

I propose we have a group outing (filled out by some of the people over at Broad Street Hockey and The Good Phight) to the Lancaster Barnstormers on Saturday, July 9th.

The Philly Soccer Page " KYW Philly Soccer Show: Kyle Nakazawa

In the latest Philly Soccer Show podcast, KYW's Greg Orlandini and Philly Soccer Page writer Eli Pearlman-Storch are joined by Philadelphia Union midfielder Kyle Nakazawa.

Union Dues | The voice of the People
When I first saw the line-up against San Jose I thought this could be a real season changing game.

Win a prize for your involvement by providing ASN Philly with a picture of you in action.

A Day Out in Chester " Union City Blue
I had some time off this week, so I decided to check out some of the local eateries in Chester along Route 291 (2nd Street) on the way to PPL Park from the...

Fredy Montero Still Questionable For Philadelphia Union-Seattle Sounders Match - Sounder At Heart
Fredy Montero is still questionable for Saturday's match against the Philadelphia Union after undergoing wrist surgery last week.

A Reminder for Chester " Union City Blue

Now that Sash Bash is over and for those not looking for the open-ended commitment of Union's Fans Assist, it is still possible to donate directly to the...

MatchDay: Union vs. North Jersey Soda Cows " Philly Union Talk

The Cows are on their way, hopped up on caffeine and high fructose corn syrup for a showdown of epic proportions.

It's the eve of the Philadelphia Union's home opener and there's plenty of talk about the game but there's also a lot of talk about things completely unrelated to it. Despite the upcoming game, it seems that there is focus upon the possible head butting between the Union and their supporters group, the Sons of Ben.