• Dynamo focus on making home swing count [MLS Soccer] - [sarcasm] well, at least we haven't heard this before [/sarcasm]
• Mid-Season Report Card: Houston Dynamo [Total MLS]
• Sarkodie's confidence on upswing [Houston Chronicle] - it's amazing what some playing time will do for a talented rookie.

Do you remember when Ronaldinho was elite? Wait a minute, let me rephrase that, some of you might not be old enough...
Do you remember when the Galaxy was linked so heavily to Ronaldinho? Yeah, that was much more recent. Ronaldinho was the supposed third Designated Player heading the Galaxy's way in 2010 to join Landon Donovan and David Beckham.

Leander Schaerlaeckens of ESPN.com writes of how Jason Kreis has made it to the top of the MLS coaches food chain.
It was January 2010 and Jason Kreis had a problem. His Real Salt Lake players had just won the MLS Cup and proved them wrong -- the people who said RSL owner Dave Checketts was nuts for pulling his 34-year-old striker off the field and making him his head coach three years ahead of schedule, without serving an apprenticeship as an assistant.

Jeff Crandall continues to roll out the hits on the Chicago Fire news. We give a sample of articles on the Real Salt Lake vs. Monterrey game. There are a couple of more items of general soccer interest after the break.

Real Salt Lake vs. Monterrey in CONCACAF Champions League

Salt Lake's Showtime Disappointment | Pitch Invasion

Real Salt Lake's defeat in the Concacaf Champions League final does not overshadow a step forward for MLS in regional visibility - though the showtime element needs some work.

The more things change, the more they don't progress.
MLS was supposed to finally have announced to the region, the world, anyone who would listen, that MLS was a league to be reckoned with, that American soccer was here.
It's here alright, back in the same position as it ever was.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

By JOSE M. ROMERO

Those who take more than a passing interest in Major League Soccer knew Real Salt Lake would have quality side in 2011.

Twelve points and a tie for the Western Conference lead say so thus far.

Real Salt Lake and Monterrey will meet in the opening leg of this year's CONCACAF Champions League final tomorrow night. One of these two teams will become CONCACAF club champion for the first time and earn a trip to Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup, which hopefully will be a more enticing visit in eight months than it does now.

Jason Kreis and Real Salt Lake take on Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League final. I was on a conference call today about the match. The calls take a long time and to give everyone a fair shot, reporters are only allowed a question or two. It takes even longer to write up the quotes, and just as I was finishing, MLS sent out a quote sheet.