Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com

The Houston Dynamo are still actively trying to improve their forward options, and they took a step in that direction by swinging a trade Wednesday night.

The Dynamo traded a conditional 2014 draft pick to the Colorado Rapids for Macoumba Kandji, adding the athletic, Senegalese striker to a stable that currently has Calen Carr, Will Bruin, Cam Weaver and rookie Colin Rolfe.

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.

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.

Here is the official list of protected vs. unprotected players the Houston Dynamo released. I like who's been protected and unprotected generally, but I have a few quibbles (below).

HOUSTON, TX. (Monday, November 21, 2011) - The Houston Dynamo have announced their 11-player protected list for the 2012 Expansion Draft to take place on Wednesday, November 23 at 2 p.

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.

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.

BY ADAM SERRANO

CARSON, Calif. -- Long derided for being injury prone, Calen Carr is used to be written off, but for Carr, redemption could be only 90 minutes away.

Since returning to from a concussion suffered in preseason while he was with the Chicago Fire, Carr has earned a starting spot alongside Dynamo captain Brian Ching, with his fast paced play adding a cutting edge to the Dynamo attack.

It's going to take not only a great effort from the Houston Dynamo tonight to win their third MLS Cup, it's going to take Houston getting some breaks as well. Fortunately, that kind of thing happens all the time in soccer matches so while the Los Angeles Galaxy are massive favorites on paper (and rightfully so), we all know that in a one off playoff game, anything can happen.

photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

CARSON, Calif. - When pundits and fans talk about the Los Angeles Galaxy's success this season, the names most often mentioned are David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and Omar Gonzalez.

One player whose name is not mentioned as frequently but probably should be is A.

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.

Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo squared off in the Eastern Conference Final in front of 20,839 fans at LiveStrong Sporting Park in the win or go home match.
Both teams had experienced an up and down season but each were bringing impressive late season results into the match. Although Sporting KC might have been the favorite heading into the match Houston had developed a stouter defense of late and were undefeated in their last 6 matches heading into the Conference Final.

That's about the best way I think I can describe my feelings about last night. I'd even tried to prepare myself for it, telling myself it wouldn't happen. Still didn't make me feel any better when the final whistle blew. KC bowed out of the playoffs at home for the first time since 1997 last night to the Houston Dynamo 2-0.

Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City November 06, 2011 -- LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, Kansas City KSEastern Conference finalAttendance: 20,839

Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Andre Hainault 2 (unassisted) 53
HOU -- Carlo Costly 1 (Luiz Camargo 1) 87

Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe, Danny Cruz, Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo, Brad Davis (Jermaine Taylor 39), Brian Ching (Carlo Costly 78), Calen Carr (Will Bruin 68).

Philadelphia Union vs. Houston Dynamo
November 03, 2011 -- Robertson Stadium
Eastern Conference semifinals -- Game 2
Attendance: 24,749

Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Brian Ching 1 (Brad Davis 2) 48+

Philadelphia Union -- Faryd Mondragon, Sheanon Williams, Carlos Valdes, Danny Califf, Gabriel Farfan (Roger Torres 66), Michael Farfan, Brian Carroll, Veljko Paunovic (Freddy Adu 66), Sebastien Le Toux, Jack McInerney, Danny Mwanga (Justin Mapp 66).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Union

Faryd Mondragon said, "If we play the way we know how to play, we can beat anyone."

Sebastien Le Toux on Houston: "We know we can beat them."

And, as Marc Narducci reports, Danny Califf knows it can be done. Califf was on the LA Galaxy team that, in the 2003, beat San Jose 2–0 in the first leg, was up 2–0 in the second half, and lost 2–5 in extra time.

Calen Carr -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
Former Chicago Fire and current Houston Dynamo forward Calen Carr has had his share of injury spells over the past several years. This year it was a concussion that he suffered during the Fire's preseason in February when the team was training in Ave Maria, Fla.

Calen Carr -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
Former Chicago Fire and current Houston Dynamo forward Calen Carr has had his share of injury spells over the past several years. This year it was a concussion that he suffered during the Fire's preseason in February when the team was training in Ave Maria, Fla.

There is something fishy about Simon Borg's article about the Gabriel Farfan's tackle on Danny Cruz that was posted today on both the league's and Union's website.

If you read the version of the article posted on MLSSoccer. com (HERE), it looks different from the version posted at PhiladelphiaUnion.

Leg two of the MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals match-up between the Houston Dynamo and Philadelphia Union takes place at Robertson Stadium in Houston at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday November 3, 2011, and in preparation for the match, the City of Houston will be holding a Rally to support the Dynamo, who won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups, on Wednesday November 2, 2011.

Leg two of the MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals match-up between the Houston Dynamo and Philadelphia Union takes place at Robertson Stadium in Houston at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday November 3, 2011, and in preparation for the match, the City of Houston will be holding a Rally to support the Dynamo, who won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups, on Wednesday November 2, 2011.

The River End belts out the National Anthem.

Zombie-mode in full effect as Corey Furlan gets the beat going.

The header from a Brad Davis free kick begins to make its way into goal...

...and moments later Faryd Mondragon celebrates Seba's beautiful goal.

STARTERS
GOLDEN GOOSE EGGS! My Minnesota Stars won the NASL Championship on Saturday night down in Fort Lauderdale by tying the Strikers 0-0 after winning the 1st Leg at home 3-1! Oh what a glorious rainy night in South Florida for the Dark Clouds and all Minnesota players, staff, fans, families and friends!

Tempers flared as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 at Red Bull Arena, in their Western Conference semi-final first leg match.

Mike Magee's early goal off a cross from David Beckham was enough to give the Galaxy the win, and they only need a draw at home on Thursday to progress to the Conference Finals.

The scene was perfect on a brisk evening along the Delaware. PPL Park was ready. The 18,500 local fans and 25 or so Houston Dynamo fans that filled the seats and all the various nooks and crannies of the facility were ready. A national television audience was ready. The Houston Dynamo were ready. The Philadelphia Union, however, were not.

Well that was a bit ugly at times, nerve-racking at the end, but all that really matters is that the Houston Dynamo are returning home for the second leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal against the Philadelphia Union with a 2-1 lead.

The first 8 minutes of the game were wild. Danny Cruz gets Nigel de Jong'd by Gabriel Farfan, the Dynamo score on the ensuing set piece, only to have the defense melt down a minute later as Sebastien Le Toux equalized.

The Union will have a one goal differential to make up when they travel to Houston on Thursday evening in the second leg of their playoff match up. A frantic first half saw Houston score on only six minutes through Andre Hainault, only for the Union to equalize a minute later through Sebastien Le Toux.

The Union will have a one goal differential to make up when they travel to Houston on Thursday evening in the second leg of their playoff match up. A frantic first half saw Houston score on only six minutes through Andre Hainault, only for the Union to equalize a minute later through Sebastien Le Toux.

No more games in hand, no more disparity between games played at home and on the road, no more asterisks denoting games that didn't really count because the opposition was bad. With the regular season over and playoffs under way, we can finally look back on the MLS regular season and compare statistics through 34 games, where every team played every other team twice.

Fire's Dominic Oduro -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
The Houston Dynamo thought that Dominic Oduro was so much of a liability after missing a sitter in the season opener that they immediately cast him off to the Chicago Fire, trading him for Calen Carr.
Houston's misstep was Chicago's offensive answer, particularly in the final two thirds of the season, as Oduro received ESPN Chicago's vote for being the team's most valuable player in 2011.

LA Galaxy (19-5-10) vs. Houston Dynamo (12-9-13)
October 23, 2011 -- Robertson Stadium, Houston TX
Attendance: 30,018

Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Adam Moffat 2 (unassisted) 27
HOU -- Bobby Boswell 5 (Adam Moffat 2) 48
HOU -- Carlo Costly 1 (Brad Davis 16) 74
LA -- Jack McBean 1 (Chad Barrett 5, Michael Stephens 1) 88

LA Galaxy -- Donovan Ricketts, Frankie Hejduk (Ryan Thomas 77), Gregg Berhalter (Sean Franklin 46), Dasan Robinson, A.

Houston Dynamo (11-9-13) vs. Portland Timbers (11-14-7)
October 14, 2011 -- JELD-WEN Field, Portland OR
Attendance: 20,323

Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Andre Hainault 1 (Brad Davis 15) 36
HOU -- Danny Cruz 2 (Luiz Camargo 2) 59

Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe, Danny Cruz, Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo (Je-Vaughn Watson 77), Brad Davis (Colin Clark 74), Calen Carr (Will Bruin 81), Carlo Costly.

Here's a Tweet from Jose de Jesus Ortiz

@OrtizKicks Cam Weaver will have season-ending hip surgery to repair a labrum tear Thursday. More on chron.com later today.

This is a hit, but right now, we have so many forwards that I don't really think it's going to hurt too much.

Chicago Fire (7-8-16) vs. Houston Dynamo (10-9-13) October 1, 2011 -- Robertson Stadium Attendance: 17,544

Scoring Summary:

HOU -- Colin Clark 4 (unassisted) 33
CHI -- Dominic Oduro 12 (Baggio Husidic 2) 43

Chicago Fire -- Sean Johnson, Michael Videira, Jalil Anibaba, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares, Logan Pause, Daniel Paladini, Baggio Husidic (Pavel Pardo 67), Corben Bone (Marco Pappa 73), Dominic Oduro (Patrick Nyarko 51), Diego Chaves.

Dominic Oduro -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas certainly was not conceding Saturday's game against the Houston Dynamo. But with Tuesday's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Seattle Sounders FC and a recent 3-0 win at Real Salt Lake three days prior, Klopas decided to put several of Chicago's key cogs on the bench to start out.

Houston Dynamo (10-9-12) vs. FC Dallas (13-10-7) September 24, 2011 -- Pizza Hut Park, Frisco TX Attendance: 10,849

Scoring Summary:

HOU -- Geoff Cameron 5 (Brad Davis 14) 87

Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe, Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo, Brad Davis, Danny Cruz (Je-Vaughn Watson 58), Brian Ching (Carlo Costly 78), Calen Carr (Colin Clark 64).

San Jose Earthquakes (6-11-11) vs. Houston Dynamo (9-9-12)
September 17, 2011 -- Robertson Stadium
Attendance: 18,129

Scoring Summary:
SJ -- Khari Stephenson 4 (Steve Beitashour 5, Joey Gjertsen 3) 40
HOU -- Brad Davis 4 (penalty kick) 47
HOU -- Will Bruin 5 (Luiz Camargo 1, Danny Cruz 3) 79

San Jose Earthquakes -- Jon Busch, Steve Beitashour, Nanna Attakora, Bobby Burling, Ramiro Corrales, Joey Gjertsen (Jacob Peterson 63), Sam Cronin (Maxwell Griffin 82), Rafael Baca, Simon Dawkins (Matt Luzunaris 83), Khari Stephenson, Chris Wondolowski.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

The Houston Dynamo changed their fortunes for the better in the span of a week, capping off seven days that began with a loss to Sporting Kansas City and progressed with a draw at Columbus with a 2-1, come-from-behind win over the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night at Robertson Stadium.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

The Houston Dynamo changed their fortunes for the better in the span of a week, capping off seven days that began with a loss to Sporting Kansas City and progressed with a draw at Columbus with a 2-1, come-from-behind win over the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night at Robertson Stadium.