by Matt - US Soccer Daily It seems like Jim Mora and many fans around MLS have been on the same page lately. Five playoff matches have been played, and the crowds have been unimpressive, to say the...

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Feel the passion!

Thanks to the dozens of you who entered the first ticket contest with prizes courtesy of the Galaxy.

The winners: Mike Crandall of Glendora and Kristinne Uy of Rosemead, who win a pair of tickets each to Sunday's big game.

They correctly answered the question: who is the only player to score for both the Galaxy and Chivas USA this season?

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On this week's Match Fit USA Soccer Show, Jason and Zach talk about the MLS playoffs, cover the USL-TOA saga with David Fellerath of Triangle Offense, and debate the fine handed down to DC United's...

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When Don Garber finally assented to allowing the Chivas USA franchise to call Los Angeles its home in 2004, it was a sacrifice. The MLS cares about geographic expansion, and was looking to grow into Canada, the Northwest, and back into Florida. Adding a team into a well-established market, and have that team plant itself at the Home Depot Center was not part of the long-term plan.

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Houston and Seattle played a classic match last night on national television. The unsporting Freddy Montero was unable to hand the physical pounding Dom Kinnear and the Houston defenders had in store for the much hyped, but little regarded (at least in Colombia) forward. Montero's solution: whine and go to ground easily.

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So once again, right here on the cusp of the playoffs, when we should all be feeling good about MLS and the competition and the soon-to-be champion, we get reality smacking us in the face that this is a league that is run by a bunch of marketing executives who think that selling toothpaste is the same as running a sports league. Click to continue reading...

There isn't much tonight for the evening links and thoughts. Got some USL-TOA talk and a brief thought about Kevin Payne's fine from the league earlier today.

But first there we gotta go back into the TOA-USL talk that we've been going around and around with for the last few weeks. Reports tonight suggest the TOA and their clubs could very well soon be forming their own league, even as soon as TOMORROW.

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There are a few things that have been detrimental to the image of MLS this week, including Alexi Lalas' face appearing every time I open the MLS homepage. High on my list would have been MLS moving the Fire's away playoff game at New England to Sunday from Saturday, just two days after they had scheduled it for the original date in the first place.

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I've written that Garber keeps his ideological cards close to his chest, but in fining DCU Prez Kevin Payne $5000 today for calling a spade a spade—that the onfield product in MLS is not good enough and won't draw in more fans until it is—means that the guy isn't hearing what needs to be heard.
This is really not good, especially in light of the fact Payne didn't even mention bringing better players with more money, everyone's favourite MLS bugbear. Click to continue reading...

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber has fined D.C. United President Kevin Payne $5,000 for public comments about the Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake and the New England Revolution, which Garber deemed detrimental to the public image of the League.

Payne's comments appeared in the Soccer Insider blog by The Washington Post's Steven Goff:

"We don't want to play like Colorado or New England, which most of the season sat with eight or nine guys behind the ball.

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Jozy Altidore made headlines last week for the wrong reasons with his Twitter outburst after inexplicably showing up late to a match. This saw the striker, who is on his fourth club in fifteen months, suspended.

Altidore's skill set may be impressive but his body of work both at the club level and as an international is hardly Premiership caliber, at this point.

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Though the rain may have followed it's way over from Giants Stadium to Red Bull Arena, and the sky was as gray as ever, it could not dampen nor cast a shadow on today's accomplishment. Ladies and Gentlemen, say goodbye to plastic turf; the final piece of sod is in place, and the Red Bulls Kentucky Blue Grass pitch is finally complete.

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MLS PLAYOFFS
Who you pickin' to win in this round?
dN
Steve Davis at Soccernet gives us an initial preview of the teams who made the playoffs.
dN
Greg Lalas at Sports Illustrated is pretty fired up about the LA-Chivas series!
dN
First Round playoff matches, home and away series:
1st Leg
WESTERN CONFERENCE
-Thu Oct 29
Seattle Sounder FC (3) v Houston Dynamo (2) - 9pm central on ESPN2
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
-Sun Nov 1
Chivas USA (4) v Los Angeles Galaxy (1) - 4pm Central on ESPN2
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
-Sat Oct 31
Real Salt Lake (4) v Columbus Crew (1) - 5pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
-Sun Nov 1
New England Revolution (3) v Chicago Fire (2) - 12pm Central on FSC
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
dN
2nd Leg
EASTERN CONCERENCE
-Thu Nov 5
Columbus Crew (1) v Real Salt Lake (4) - 7pm Central on ESPN2
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
-Sat Nov 7
Chicago Fire (2) v New England Revolution (3) - 7:30pm Central on FSC
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
WESTERN CONCERENCE
-Sun Nov 8
Houston Dynamo (2) v Seattle Sounder FC (3) - 2pm Central on Telefutura
Venue: Robertson Stadium - Houston TX
-Sun Nov 8
Los Angeles Galaxy (1) v Chivas USA (4) - 6:30pm Central on ESPN2
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
MLS
Brian Strauss of Fanhouse comments on commissioner Don Garber's appearance last night on Fox Football Fone In. Click to continue reading...

Has there ever been a final weekend of league games in the history of the universe where every single match actually meant something?
I bet Don Garber lit himself a big old Red Auerbach style victory cigar last night. All the other commissioners over at the Commissioner's Club are getting set to throw him a roast. Click to continue reading...

In last Friday's Team Owners Association (TOA) update I reported that Selby Welman had told IMS some time ago, that this would be a decisive week for the collective of teams.

Kartik Krishnaiyer has been Inside Minnesota Soccer's reporting partner on the this breakaway group and this morning he is reporting that the dispute between the USL and the TOA will come to a head in the next 48 hours.

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In last Friday's Team Owners Association (TOA) update I reported that Selby Wellman had told IMS some time ago, that this would be a decisive week for the collective of teams.

Kartik Krishnaiyer has been Inside Minnesota Soccer's reporting partner on the this breakaway group and this morning he is reporting that the dispute between the USL and the TOA will come to a head in the next 48 hours.

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The next few days promise to be big ones in US professional football. Major League Soccer has proven this summer and into the fall to be the most compelling and competitive first division the English speaking world. The MLS season comes down to the next few nights of football: every match in the final weekend has an impact upon the title race, unlike the final weekends in most European leagues.

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Any MLS supporter who still has a club in the race for the final playoff spots knows by now how completely wacky the tie-breaker system is in the event of two or more clubs ending up even. MLS must have hired unemployed former Soviet scientists to come up with such a series of win-loss-tie possibilities for this weekend. Click to continue reading...

I know today has been a little light from me. I've had a super busy day at my normal day job so posting items on here kind of went out of the door. I came close to posting an updated MLS playoff scenario chart but I will be honest there are so many damn tiebreakers that could happen it will make your head spin.

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STARTERS
ADVANCE NOTICE: Don Garber will take calls on Fox Football Fone-In show on Mon Oct 26 from 6-8pm Central.
CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
This is ti! The last round of the group stage.
dN
Official Web Site, and video highlights from all the games. Click to continue reading...

Gansler coaching the team during the 2001 season.
Former Wizards Head Coach and 2000 MLS Cup Champion Bob Gansler has been named to the 2010 Builder Ballot for the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Last season, Gansler finished second behind Bruce Arena on the Builder Ballot by one vote, with no one entering the Hall from the ballot. Click to continue reading...

ONEONTA, NY (October 19, 2009) – Four highly respected coaches and six nationally recognized administrators have been named to the Hall of Fame's Election 2010 Builder Ballot, the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum announced today. The ten finalists are:

Bruce Arena, current coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy
Chuck Blazer, FIFA Executive Committee Member General Secretary of CONCACAF
Dr.

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ONEONTA, NY (October 19, 2009) – Four highly respected coaches and six nationally recognized administrators have been named to the Hall of Fame's Election 2010 Builder Ballot, the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum announced today. The ten finalists are:

Bruce Arena, current coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy
Chuck Blazer, FIFA Executive Committee Member General Secretary of CONCACAF
Dr.

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Jason and Zach discuss the USMNT's emotional draw with Costa Rica, bring in Shane Evans of Goal.com to cover the mood of the team and evironment at RFK, talk about the American injury concerns, and...

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Here also is how a typical gas furnace works
Many MLS followers are having a hard time figuring out just what needs to happen in MLS' final week of fixtures in order for their team to qualify, so AMSL will helpfully explain it to you in clear language that you can understand.
You see, it's not as complicated as you might think. Click to continue reading...

Earlier this morning, none other than Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber tweeted the following:
Great games last night. Tightest MLS Playoff race ever. 7 MLS teams vying for last 3 playoff spots!
I love MLS. I've watched it since the beginning. I've gone to games since the very first year - even driving through the remnants of a hurricane to get to one in '96. Click to continue reading...

There is a delicious sense of the absurd in the way Don Garber has gone about his MLS business in the last few days, almost like a Steven Colbert satirizing the moronic "ideas" market of the Blatter/Warner contingent in order to expose football's upper echelon time-wasters for what they are.
First, we had Garber telling European clubs that MLS could be a model for wage sharing on the continent, the equivalent of asking the Germans to slow down on the Autobahn or the French to "clean up those unions so everything can run better in the country and there'd be less strikes and stuff. Click to continue reading...

Most of you probably at one time or another saw the reports yesterday that Don Garber and Major League Soccer are "looking into playing indoors to shift season schedule." I waited until this morning to really gather my thoughts on this matter and because I just ended up with no time last night to get anything done (I had a good excuse I was seeing U2 play here in Dallas).

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Big Story
After years of torturous ownership from the insulting and patronising Halls to the clueless and inept Mike Ashley it would seem no wonder that Newcastle fans would be interested in attempting to assert some control on the destiny of their club, especially given their huge numbers and seemingly endless willingness to pump cash in through ticket sales and merchandise.

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STARTERS
YES! YES! YES! We are going to South Africa! It's now official, the USA have qualified for the World Cup for the 6th time in a row! Wow! We have come a long way since I was a kid learning about the game in the mid-70's.
dN
The Associated Press has quotes from MLS commissioner Don Garber talking about the league figuring out a way to match the international calendar. Click to continue reading...

The United States has qualified for every World Cup since breaking their forty year drought back in 1990. That's six in a row, a feat that is impressive in itself, no matter their ultimate...

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Reading through the submissions these past two weeks, stories of waiting for years for a club to arrive in your hometown a decade too late, seeing your club switch stadiums only for the supporter culture to die off, wondering what Don Garber has up his sleeve regarding the league's growth in the next five to ten to twenty years; you get the impression that, ultimately, the future of MLS is out of our control. Click to continue reading...

It has been quite a full day for some, others are left catching up on all the twitter messages that were lost today. There are plenty of good links to discuss so let's not waste any more time with the formalities.

First up is the lovely discussion that will be on going for the next 20 or 30 years with Major League Soccer.

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It was a welcome announcement that MLS will not schedule matches during the group phase, semifinals and finals of the 2010 World Cup. That means the league will not play from Friday, June 11 through Friday, June 25. The WC round of 16 will be played from Saturday June 26 through Tuesday June 29.

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Don Garber is in England, speaking with the creme de la creme of European football, "spreading the gospel" of the business side of American soccer. Garber's focus is financial restraint, cost...

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