Time to revisit my projections for the last time. Who will be available for the Philadelphia Union to select? The rules were announced recently, and they're exactly the same as the past few drafts.
The following players should graduate from Generation Adidas status: Alston, Beltran, Frei, Gonzalez, Hall, Nyarko, Wallace, Zakuani, and Zayner. Click to continue reading...

Who to protect and who to expose is the guessing game for the Fire. (Getty Images)

This year unlike the last couple the expansion draft caught up with me here. I almost feel like I am a little late getting these lists out for the draft which is a couple days after MLS Cup. Starting today I will release a team-by-team list of who I think will be protected and who I think will be left exposed.

Click to continue reading...

Donovan pushes L.A. into first in the West
Chicago Fire players were colliding with each other - Jon Busch and Wilman Conde (right), Mike Banner and Calen Carr. There were some open gaps within the Fire's defense, including leaving Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan wide open a couple of times above the box. Click to continue reading...

Time to revisit my projections of who will be protected and who will be left available. What's changed in the past month? For last month's review, click here.
A few days ago I posted about when players graduate from Generation Adidas status, which is highly relevant to this topic. Check out that post for further info. Click to continue reading...

MLS rosters are finally frozen. Here's a look at how much each team has changed since March.
Also worth checking is something that can shake up a roster without a personnel decision: the injury list.
CHICAGO
Hasn't changed much since the beginning of the season except for the departure of unhappy defender Bakary Soumare to Europe. Click to continue reading...

Who will Peter Nowak and the Philadelphia Union take? Who will each team protect? I don't know, but I'll give it my best guess three months before everyone really starts focusing on it. You remember the rules, don't you? I'm assuming they'll stay the same as the past three years: 11 players can be protected, must protect three foreigners, GA players are exempt. Click to continue reading...

Last night my wife and I went to the Chicago Fire vs. LA Galaxy game at Toyota Park outside Chicago. Despite the threat of nasty weather it turned out to be a perfect night for soccer. Just wet enough grass to get the ball moving quick, 73 degrees, a cool breeze, and Section 8 (Chicago's Die hard fans) cheering as loud as ever!

Click to continue reading...

Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride will be undergoing surgery to repair a labral tear in his right shoulder later today, the team has announced in a press release. Depending on the outcome of the operation, the former US international should miss the next 4-6 weeks of action.
McBride, 37, has scored six goals in sixteen appearances this season for the Fire. Click to continue reading...

Which college soccer program has the best lineup when looking only at the MLS players it has produced (so no Euro players allowed)? Read on and judge for yourself.
If a player played for two colleges, I'm only counting the latter. Players are included who have played for an MLS team in any official competition (not just the regular season). Click to continue reading...

For most match preview, I usually wax philosophically about an issue related to the opponent or the goings on of the league. However, I would say that my thoughts on the whole Brian McBride situation would qualify with that. Besides, what is there to say? It's a Columbus-Chicago match up. If you need to be excited for this one, then you also might want to check and make sure you, in fact, have a pulse still.

Click to continue reading...

These predictions were originally posted at Bunky County
In past years people have asked me to contribute preseason predictions, at which I have failed so miserably that I picked Columbus to finish at the bottom of the East last season. So I thought, Why not go for again? I am that big of a fool. Click to continue reading...

The reserve division stats on MLSnet are incomplete for both 2005 and 2007; the pdf's for those seasons only go up to a certain point in the season. The former is only missing the final four games, but the latter is missing a huge chunk of the season, so I had to go through each match report and add up things by hand. Click to continue reading...

Chivas USA take on Chicago Fire Saturday after a break. The team has been out of action for two weeks, and have not played an MLS game in a month due to Superliga.

So whats up?

Injuries are plenty, but that's not news. Raphael Wicky and Alex Zotinca are out. However, a few of our usuals are coming back.

Click to continue reading...

This just fell into our inbox:
"I have it on good authority that Chad Barrett has been traded to Toronto FC along with another player to Toronto for rights to sign Brian McBride. The deal may also involve another player, possibly (Calen) Carr"
Commissioner Don Garber stated at halftime during the MLS All Star game that a deal with Toronto was brokered and would be announced Friday. Click to continue reading...

SuperLiga begins Saturday!
~and~
It's nice to have your own hotel. (Thanks to FS for the photo.)
US Open Cup
One last round before the tournament takes a month off.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
4th Round/Quarterfinal Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jul 8
New England Revolution v Crystal Palace Baltimore
DC United v Chicago Fire
FC Dallas v Charleston Battery
Kansas City Wizards v Seattle Sounders
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
MLS Scoreboard
Week 15
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Jul 3
Salt Lake 0-0 Houston
Attendance: 17,898
-Fri Jul 4
Dallas 1-1 Kansas City - FCD goal by Abe Thompson. Click to continue reading...

Crystal Palace Baltimore, Charleston Battery & Seattle Sounders upset New York Red Bulls, Houston Dynamo & CD Chivas USA respectively in the 3rd round of the Open Cup last night. Huge wins for those 3 teams!!
~and~
Toronto lost their first home game of the season in all competitions last night, dropping 0-1 to Vancouver in the Canadian CONCACAF Champions League qualifying tournament. Click to continue reading...

The euphoria of last week's Chicago Red Stars debut gave way to some not so good news yesterday. First, due to the Great Wisconsin Flood of 2008, i had to rip out all my basement carpeting and throw it away along with a few sentimental possessions. Next, a small deer hit my wife's car (it was in the side of the car, so she technically didn't hit the deer, the deer hit her). Click to continue reading...

When Cuauhtemoc Blanco signed with the Chicago Fire last year many of us wondered how many red cards he would earn. In a huge surprise, he got none during his 14 games and only earned 3 yellows. So has Blanco let go of his John McEnroe type image? In a quick answer, no.
During last night's exhibition game with Toronto FC, Blanco and Maurice Edu nearly came to blows in the first 15-minutes. Click to continue reading...

I'm about to do something I almost never do: preview a game, namely, the Eastern Conference Final pitting the New England Revolution against the Chicago Fire. For the record, I blame the quality stuff other people are turning out. Even MLSnet.com's typically tepid preview contains a vital information-nugget: Shalrie Joseph will have to [...] Click to continue reading...

Last night was my first chance to see Blanco, Denilson and Wanchope in action as the Chicago Fire traveled to Pizza Hut Park to take on FC Dallas. This was a big game for both teams as the Fire are fighting for the last playoff spot and FC Dallas would like to get back up to the top of the Western Division.

Chicago has been on a good run recently and FC Dallas has been on a bit of a slide since their wonderful start to the season.

Click to continue reading...