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Toronto FC has informed its fans, and the Canadian media, that it will reveal its newest head coach at a press conference on Thursday. You already know who it is.

Former Chivas USA head coach Preki will be introduced as Chivas USA's fourth head coach, and will have the task of guiding TFC to its first playoff berth in its fourth season of existence.

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Toronto FC has informed its fans, and the Canadian media, that it will reveal its newest head coach at a press conference on Thursday. You already know who it is.

Former Chivas USA head coach Preki will be introduced as Chivas USA's fourth head coach, and will have the task of guiding TFC to its first playoff berth in its fourth season of existence.

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The Fire's front office brass and Denis Hamlett are scheduled to have a sit-down in the next couple of days to discuss the Head Coach's future at the club.

"We're supposed to have a meeting in the next couple of days," Hamlett said on Tuesday afternoon. "We spoke yesterday and decided that we want to sit down and have a discussion.

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The MLS season is set to end on Sunday after the 2009 MLS Cup, and the MLS Expansion draft is looming just eight days away, meaning all the teams that need head coaches are about to take part in one of the most frantic coaching change flurries MLS has ever seen.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The MLS season is set to end on Sunday after the 2009 MLS Cup, and the MLS Expansion draft is looming just eight days away, meaning all the teams that need head coaches are about to take part in one of the most frantic coaching change flurries MLS has ever seen.

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Hey everybody, I have had an insanely busy last couple of days so unfortunately I wasn't able to write a full entry for this morning. However, I didn't want to leave the site blank for you guys so I thought I'd share a short -- yet loaded -- question with you all.

You can check out the poll after the jump.

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Expect a new look Fire in 2010. (Getty Images)

The 2009 season for the Chicago Fire was expected to be a big one. Talks of MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield were all the rage to begin the season. Early on this year it looked like the expectations were being met as the Fire lost a single game in the first three months of the season.

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A common saying amongst those in the soccer world is that a penalty kick shootout is a cruel way to decide a match.

After Saturday night, the Chicago Fire knows that saying back to front.

120 minutes of action saw the Fire and Real Salt Lake knotted at 0-0 so it all came down to a penalty shootout.

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In a move that was long expected, Preki has left Chivas USA after three seasons as head coach.

Preki took over as head coach for Bob Bradley before the 2007 season and guided the team to the playoffs all three seasons.

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The Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake are probably not the teams most observers would have pegged to be playing for the Eastern Conference title and berth in MLS Cup, but these two teams earned their places in the Final Four by virtue of strong first-round performances that should lead into a memorable East Final on Saturday night (8pm, FSC).

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The Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake are probably not the teams most observers would have pegged to be playing for the Eastern Conference title and berth in MLS Cup, but these two teams earned their places in the Final Four by virtue of strong first-round performances that should lead into a memorable East Final on Saturday night (8pm, FSC).

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With only three days remaining before they take on Real Salt Lake in the Eastern Conference Final, the Fire is looking for all of their injured players to return to the field to help Chicago advance to its first MLS Cup Final since 2003.

Unfortunately for the Fire though, it doesn't appear as if all of their banged-up players will be available on Saturday night at Toyota Park.

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I'll be talking with Denis Hamlett tomorrow so the time is now for you guys to pose questions to the Fire's Head Man. Try and post your questions by 10:30 a.m. tomorrow and I'll do my best to get them answered. No guarantees this time though, as I will be speaking to Hamlett via teleconference -- meaning the number of questions I ask will be somewhat limited. Click to continue reading...

Lost in the shuffle of the Fire's thrilling Eastern Conference Semifinals victory was the fact that the team announced the 2009 awards on Friday night.

Wilman Conde, Brian McBride and Logan Pause were the recipients of the honors, which included Team MVP, Team Golden Boot Winner, Team Defender of the Year and U.

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Patrick Nyarko was elusive and hard to pin down by the Revs

How did Pat Phelan not bury that pinpoint Kenny Mansally cross into the back of the net? It was the clearest look at the goal all night and Phelan heads the ball out. He could have been a hero forcing extra time. As it turned out, the Fire did not have to go through that route.

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What a night at Toyota Park.

After losing the first leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with New England 2-1, the Fire stormed back in dramatic fashion tonight, getting a 2-0 victory to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals on a 3-2 aggregate score.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco and John Thorrington scored the goals for the Fire, who will take on fourth seeded Real Salt Lake in the Conference Final next Saturday at Toyota Park.

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A storm of off-season change is coming. I just have this feeling that this is going to be a real shape shifter as off-seasons go, with more flux than usual in MLS management and personnel.

Today I learned that this season of significant winter movement will begin on Nov. 25, when manager Peter Nowak and his Philadelphia Union will cherry-pick off 15 MLS rosters.

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Back in late July and early August - when several Fire players began falling victim to injury - it was assumed that most would be able to return in time for the start of the playoffs.

Now, with the Fire only a couple of days away from the decisive Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series against New England, a few of those players have yet to return or make a significant impact while on the field.

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If the Chicago Fire were hoping for reinforcements to bolster their chances against New England in Saturday's second leg playoff match, they'll have to look beyond Gonzalo Segares. The defender is currently listed as out for the upcoming do-or-die encounter set for Saturday at Toyota Park.

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If the Chicago Fire were hoping for reinforcements to bolster their chances against New England in Saturday's second leg playoff match, they'll have to look beyond Gonzalo Segares. The defender is currently listed as out for the upcoming do-or-die encounter set for Saturday at Toyota Park.

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Hey everyone, I just got off the phone with Fire Head Coach Denis Hamlett and I got quite a bit of reaction to the 2-1 Game 1 loss to the New England Revolution.

A lot of the quotes are same old, same old from Denis (funny how that happens when the team struggles with the same problems over and over again.

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Here are a few links to get your day started...
The 'Players Only' section of the Chicago Tribune did a fun little piece with Fire midfielders John Thorrington and Logan Pause the other day. Thorrington interviewed Pause for the entry, asking Logan all sorts of things in rapid-fire format. Click to continue reading...

As mentioned earlier on my Twitter feed today has been a slow day due to some bad headaches on my end. I won't go into it much but I am feeling a little better after some medicine kicked in here (thanks to the few who asked). I didn't have much planned for tonight but I did want to get into the coaching carousel that is going on in Major League Soccer.

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I'll be interviewing Fire Head Coach Denis Hamlett tomorrow and I wanted to open the floor for you guys to pose some questions.

Try and get your questions in before 11 a.m. tomorrow and I'll do my best to get them answered. I'll be starting the interview around 1 p.m. tomorrow so I should have a Mid-Week Update post up around 3 or 4.

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One of the big questions of the offseason, is who will be the Wizards coach next season? A few weeks ago after the final home game, Peter Vermes talked about potentially becoming the permanent coach for the Wizards, and Robb Heineman said that he wants to have the head coach in place before the MLS expansion draft, the week after MLS Cup. Click to continue reading...

The Fire headed into Sunday's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the New England Revolution knowing that they couldn't afford to give the Revs many set piece opportunities.

"We have to limit their set pieces," Fire Head Coach Denis Hamlett said earlier this week. "[We have to be careful on] throw-ins and corner kicks because they do well with those.

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Through the Chicago Fire's first decade, the MLS team was led on the field by one of two men, former Poland National Team Captain Piotr Nowak through the team's first five seasons and former United States National Team Captain Chris Armas through its second five. Piotr was on hand last Thursday night, along with fellow Ring of Fire members Frank Klopas, Bob Bradley and me, to welcome Chris into the team's hall of fame.

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Hey everyone, just wanted to open up the floor for any questions you have for Fire Head Coach Denis Hamlett. I'll be interviewing him tomorrow afternoon so get your questions posted by noon and I'll do my best to get them answered.
Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday. I'll be back tomorrow. Click to continue reading...

When the Fire played the New England Revolution on Oct. 17, many saw the match as a possible playoff preview.

Now that the MLS regular season has come to a close those predictions of a Fire-Revolution postseason battle have come true. The sides will begin their two-leg Eastern Conference semifinal series at 3 p.

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Hey everyone, I'm settled in at a very rainy Toyota Park and the Fire and Chivas are almost set to kick off their all-important match. The Fire will be looking for a win or a tie to clinch the Eastern Conference's second seed in the upcoming playoffs but Chivas will be gunning for a win to take the lead in the tightly-packed Western Conference. Click to continue reading...

Now that I've finally spoken to Fire Head Coach Denis Hamlett, I can provide you guys with a couple of updates regarding the Fire's injury situation and give some reaction to the 0-0 draw with New England this past Saturday. Here we go... Injury Updates: Wilman Conde - Game day decision Conde, who missed last Saturday's game at the New England Revolution with a hamstring injury, has yet to train this week.

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I'll be interviewing Fire Head Coach Denis Hamlett this afternoon and wanted to open up the floor for you all to pose some questions to the man in charge of the Fire. If you get your question in before 1 p.m., I'll do my best to get it answered for you. I should have a post-interview piece up for you guys at around 3:30, so be sure to check back for that.

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Could Preki be on the move after this season? (Getty Images)

I must say today has been full of good stuff. From MLS playoff scenarios to U-17 World Cup rosters to other items it has been a full day. Needless to say if you have missed some of these items you are in luck as I have saved some of the best links of the day to discuss here tonight.

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The last time the Chicago Fire won a game was a thrilling 3-2 comeback against the visiting Colorado Rapids on Aug. 23, erasing a 2-0 second-half deficit. Since then, Chicago has posted a 0-2-3 record.
The Fire clearly want to get out of their funk, especially since they still control their own playoff fate. Click to continue reading...

I'll be talking with Fire Head Coach Denis Hamlett tomorrow afternoon and (in what is becoming a weekly feature here...) I wanted to open the floor for you all to pose a few questions.Try and get your questions in by 12 noon tomorrow and I'll do my best to get Hamlett to answer them for you. This will be my last post until tomorrow afternoon, when I'll be back with any news that Hamlett passes along.

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