Amid the controversy surrounding the Jose Moreno fiasco, an interesting piece of news came to light on Thursday. After he was waived - rather surprisingly - by DC United on February 3rd, second-year forward Blake Brettschneider tweeted today that he would be joining the New England Revolution for a trial on Sunday.

Philadelphia Union

The Goalkeeper has a transcript of Wednesday's press conference with Peter Nowak. Among the highlights:

On Pajoy: "He's a guy who brings not only character but also a mentality to the game. He's very physical, and very fast as well. He can change the game, because he's a different option.

The off-season has been busy for the teams in Major League Soccer with players moving in and players moving out. This is the first part of a three-part look at the league's transactions. Today I'll be taking a look at the teams on the East Coast and how they stack up for the upcoming season.

Besides a simple 'IN' and 'OUT' look for players, I'll be using the terms 'Minutes XI Returning' and 'Minutes Gameday 18 Returning'.

By THOMAS FLOYD

With Thursday's acquisition of Albanian striker Hamdi Salihi as their second Designated Player, D.C. United is making one thing abundantly clear: After spending the past few seasons breaking down and rebuilding an aging roster, this team is once again ready to win now.

Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

After D.C. United and the Chicago Fire had their fair share of defensive struggles throughout the 2011 MLS campaign, the two teams both had a notable silver lining to take away from their friendly Sunday: no goals allowed.

D.C. United has used the number seven overall selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft to select Nick DeLeon a midfielder out of Louisville.
DeLeon will look to join forces with the rest of the young United squad and hopefully contribute quickly as the Red and Black are looking to return to the MLS playoffs this season.

There was only one thing DC United fans knew for sure going into the 2011 season, and that was this season couldn't be any worse than the previous one. After setting the standard for futility, the team not only climbed ...
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This time last year, the San Jose Earthquakes were riding high. They had upset the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference playoffs and had seen the emergence of Chris Wondolowski as a bona fide goal scorer. Although the ...
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In my 2011 season preview, I predicted that Toronto would struggle for the first few months under its newest leadership structure (new general manager and head coach) but toward the end of the year start to look like a promising ...
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The Netherlands' # 1 feline holiday celebrity - Suarez Soolsma
One of the great things about the Holiday Season is the nightly treat of festive television specials. From claymation to variety specials and all things puppet-related in-between, December is a cornucopia of sugary TV treats.

Philadelphia Union

Kerith Gabriel reports that the Philadelphia Union will announce a "blockbuster deal" with Panamanian international Gabriel Gomez. Gabriel says that Gomez is the "the same box-to-box defender/midfielder that was a beast in Panama's 2-0 win over the United States in the group stage of this summer's Gold Cup.

The New England Revolution selected two players in today's MLS Re-Entry draft, forward Nate Jaqua from the Seattle Sounders and defensive midfielder Clyde Simms from DC United. These players, in addition to the acquisition of defender Danleigh Borman from Toronto FC in last Monday's first stage of the re-entry draft, total the Revs' additions to three new players thus far this off-season.

Mais um jogo das eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo de 2014, foi realizado no dia 02/09/2011, na cidade de Toronto-CAN, onde jogaram as seleções do Canadá (102º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção de St. Lucia (184º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções nunca haviam jogado.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

Editor's note: At the end of the 2010 season, we posted a series of season reviews of every Philadelphia Union player. Over the next several weeks PSP continues with a review of the 2011 season.

In the Philadelphia Union's signature win of 2011, a 1-0 home victory over the New York Red Bulls, praise was deservedly lavished on the two second half substitutes who combined for the winning tally.

I know I'm a few days late, but I was not impressed with this MLS cup. People are talking about how great and "best" this LA Galaxy team is. I'm thinking far from it. It has taken 3 years under the "Beckham Experiment," as SI Soccer Analyst Grant Wahl put it, to finally get the MLS Cup final victory (they were there before but ended up losing to Real Salt Lake).

Ladies, gentlemen, we have now entered the last 24 hours of the 2011 MLS Season. It's been a good one, perhaps one of the best, and, as we prepare for the final in LA, I'm sure we all have our bets on which team will take the cup. But first, let's catch up on the results of MLS's annual awards.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

CARSON, Calif. -- His career already full of accomplishments, Dwayne De Rosario was nevertheless humble in accepting his 2011 MLS Most Valuable Player trophy Friday afternoon at the Home Depot Center.

Playing for three different teams in one season clearly had an effect on his perspective.

Since yesterday's post dealt with a former Houston Dynamo player who was a member of the squads that won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups, a video, shown below, that I came across made me decide to do a post about another member of those Dynamo championship teams: Stuart Holden.

Holden, who grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, a suburb of Houston, joined the Dynamo in 2006 and made his MLS debut in a 1-1 draw at New England Revolution on May 27th.

OK, I guess by now we have all let the news sink in that Dwayne De Rosario has been named the 2011 MLS MVP and not our very own Brad Davis. (I put that photo up there just to kind of soften the blow for everyone if you had not heard.)

Personally, while I would have given the award to Davis (Don't get me wrong.

D.C. United's Dwayne De Rosario will receive the MLS MVP Award today in Carson (AP Photo).

There are three days left to go until MLS Cup 2011 in Carson between the Galaxy and Houston Dynamo.

*The interactive guide to MLS Cup activities in the South Bay and beyond is here.

Photo: Courtesy Matt Riley/University of Delaware

Local

University of Delaware upset No. 20 ranked University of Virginia with a 1–0 double overtime win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night. Sophomore John Dineen headed the winner with 4:14 remaining the the second overtime period.

The 2011 Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player was always going to be controversial. There have been many arguments for and against the Canadian winning the MVP award. In 2011 he played for 3 teams, Toronto FC, New York and D.C. United. The bulk of his season was spent with D.C. United and it was there that his case for MVP was made.

Houston Dynamo fans will be a bit disappointed when they wake up this morning to discover that Brad Davis was not named the 2011 MLS MVP, but that disappointment will be tempered a bit since Dwayne De Rosario, once an important member of the Dynamo, is this season's MVP. In fact, the last time De Rosario won the MVP, in 2007, he was a member of the back-to-back MLS Cup winning Dynamo.

Houston Dynamo fans will be a bit disappointed when they wake up this morning to discover that Brad Davis was not named the 2011 MLS MVP, but that disappointment will be tempered a bit since Dwayne De Rosario, once an important member of the Dynamo, is this season's MVP. In fact, the last time De Rosario won the MVP, in 2007, he was a member of the back-to-back MLS Cup winning Dynamo.

EDITORIAL NOTE: I will be in LA beginning tomorrow afternoon to personally witness MLS Cup 2011, so the illustrious King of the Plains People Graham Fox will helm the du Nord company truck on Friday, and the Jester-Midwester Exemplar of Salisbury Paul Demko will enlighten you all on Monday. I will be back to entertain you on Tuesday of next short week.

Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez were a big part of the Seattle offense in 2011. (Getty Images)

I had every intention of doing this revisit sooner but things happen as you know. Today, we'll finally wrap up this positional rankings revisit with a look at the forwards.

To recap, here the midfield, defense and keepers.

MLS announced today their Best XI today in a teleconference where Don Garber read the names. MLS Reserves had similar names on the list, but not quite an exact match. The MLS Reserves set up its own criteria and considered all players under it.
Considered these selections was the effect these players had on their team, their individual efforts, statistical prowess, presence in the locker room and ultimately how good they were throughout the season.

There are 11 days to go until MLS Cup 2011 in Carson.

Commissioner Don Garber also announced the MLS Best XI, which includes a league-high four Galaxy players:

Goalkeeper - Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC)
Defender - Todd Dunivant (Galaxy)
Defender - Omar Gonzalez (Galaxy)
Defender - Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake)
Midfielder - David Beckham (Galaxy)
Midfielder - Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)
Midfielder - Dwayne De Rosario (D.

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber announced the league's Best XI on Thursday, and a number of familiar names appear on the list of honorees.

Landon Donovan, Jamison Olave, Omar Gonzalez, Chris Wondolowski and Dwayne De Rosario are all repeat Best XI performers from 2010; however, a number of players garnered Best XI honors for the first time, including retired Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller and Designated Players Thierry Henry and David Beckham.

During his State of the League teleconference on Thursday, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber named the MLS Best XI for 2011. GK: Kasey Keller (Seattle) DEF: Todd Dunivant (Los Angeles), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles), Jamison Olave (Salt Lake) MID: David Beckham (Los Angeles), Brad Davis (Houston), Dwayne De Rosario (DC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles) FOR: Thierry Henry (New York)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis has been named to Major League Soccer's Best XI, league commissioner Don Garber announced today. It is the first career Best XI selection for Davis, a finalist for the 2011 MVP award, which will be announced on Nov. 18, and a four-time MLS All-Star.

The MLS Best XI recognizes the league's top 11 players at each position on the field - one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards.

The 2011 Major League Soccer season was arguably the best in league history, from both a competition and entertainment standpoint, and as a result, it made for some tough calls when deciding on the league's Best XI.

MLS commissioner Don Garber will announce the league's official Best XI later today, but based on the voting of the SBI editorial staff (Ives Galarcep, Avi Creditor, Adam Serrano, Mike Nastri, Jose Romero, Thomas Floyd, Joey Samuel), we came up with a first, second and third team to honor those who put forth standout performances this season.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

It appears that Frank Rost's time in Major League Soccer has come and gone.

Hans Backe told the New York Post Tuesday that he expects New York's midseason acquisition and Designated Player goalkeeper to return to Germany, leaving the Red Bulls with an unresolved situation in goal yet again.

Now that the finalist for the 2011 MLS Awards are out, it's time I share how I voted with everyone. I'm a firm believer in the need for transparency in award voting if for no other reason that if you submit a crazy ballot, you should be accountable for your choices.

We were allowed by MLS to select two choices for each category from a pre-selected list.

MLS announced the finalists for individual awards today. Three Seattle Sounders graced the lists. Coach Sigi Schmid will battle the only coach with a better regular season record (Bruce Arena) and a worst to first performance by Peter Vermes in Kansas City. There is no surprise to see Kasey Keller on the keeper short list with Kevin Hartman and Faryd Mondragon (maybe surprising).

DC United has a very young roster that Ben Olsen will try to save. (Getty Images)

Moving on today in the expansion draft lists, I really wanted to get to this one yesterday but ran out of time.

DC United just missed out on the playoffs this season. Injuries and poor form down the stretch really hurt them when it mattered most.

STARTERS
Fort Lauderdale here I come! The team that nobody wanted is going to win the cup. See all the details below in the NASL section.
dN
New England Revolution head coach Steve Nichol was relieved of his duties today.
-Who will replace him? Who would want to?

Let's not waste any time getting this started shall we?

But first, a look back:

Yes, you read that headline right. The playoffs are a brand new season with a logic and weirdness all of its own. And right now, while it's clear looking over the time spent since that wonderful win over Frisco in Corpus Christi this past February, that the Dynamo are not the best team in the league, I would not bet against the Orange.

NEW YORK (Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011) – With 16 goals, D.C. United forward Dwayne De Rosario has claimed the 2011 Budweiser Golden Boot, awarded to the League's top goal scorer at the end of the regular season.
De Rosario's career-high goal tally tied him with San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski for the league lead this season.

Happy Monday to you. With the MLS season concluded, we now have a clear picture of the playoffs and are able to look back on the season with retrospective eyes. Here are a few things bouncing around my head as we enter the second season of MLS action.
No Wondo, No DeRo: How remarkable is it that the Golden Boot winner and his main competition are done for the season?