Hey @TimbersFC fans, I am currently and will be speaking with Eddie Johnson and we will work 2gether to help him @ThinkTaylorORG #noworries

A Tweet from Taylor Twellman and a real classy thing to do and say.

The Portland Timbers played their second pre-season exhibition on February 10, facing the Montreal Impact, a former rival from the Timbers' previous days in lower division soccer that now joined them in MLS. While the action was brisk at points, neither side could muster a goal as the teams played to a scoreless draw.

The Oregonian's Geoffrey C Arnold has reported via Twitter that "Eddie Johnson sustained another concussion during training Monday and has returned 2 [sic] Portland."

Merritt Paulson has also tweeted: "eddie's out indefinitely. His health and well-being are the #1 priority for everyone in the organization"

This news is a huge setback for the team.

Despite being a closed session today without any tasty tidbits from John Spencer to chew on, today's Timbers practice was an interesting one none the less.

Although Kris Boyd was, not surprisingly, not yet practicing we were told that he would likely join the team in around ten days while they are in California.

The Timbers practice today was an uneventful one on the field but saw several developments on the sidelines. Once again Jose Adolfo Valencia was missing from practice which was yet again explained as being further fitness testing. John Spencer went on to say that as soon as he was done testing we would see him back on the field.

Fox Sports has kicked off the Timbers' draft day with a bang, reporting that the Portland Timbers have traded star striker Kenny Cooper to the New York Red Bulls for a reportedly large amount of allocation money and a 2013 first round draft pick.

Timbers fans have had mixed feelings about the former US International, as he played below expectations for much of the season, especially in terms of the number of goals he scored in a Timbers kit, when compared to his performance with FC Dallas.

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates, some extra news this week as well. By now you've heard about Craig Rocastle signing with the Missouri Comets, but there's other news as well. Eddie Johnson's club career continues to spiral down for him, as he's already out at Puebla in Mexico. Apparently the forward failed his physical and was not fit and was released basically 2 days after showing up in Mexico.

Another week of former SKC Wizards updates, some extra news this week as well. By now you've heard about Craig Rocastle signing with the Missouri Comets, but there's other news as well. Eddie Johnson's club career continues to spiral down for him, as he's already out at Puebla in Mexico. Apparently the forward failed his physical and was not fit and was released basically 2 days after showing up in Mexico.

Photo: Earl Gardner

Philadelphia Union

A leaked copy of Toronto FC's 2012 schedule obtained by Canadian Soccer News shows the Union traveling to BMO Field on May 26 and Sept. 15, with the Canadian team at PPL Park on July 7. This unbalanced schedule thing is gonna take some getting used to.

Union

Nick Sakiewicz tells the DelCo Times about starting the Philadelphia Union and how he financed the first four months of operation on his AmEx. Yikes.

The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association will hand out a Special Achievement Award to Seba Le Toux at the end of January.

Eddie Johnson's quest to revive his playing career appears to have hit a major snag after he was reportedly dumped by Mexican club Puebla because he was out of shape.

According to Medio Tiempo, Johnson showed up for Puebla training camp before the New Year, but he failed to meet the team's expectations of fitness and sharpness and was let go.

Since it'd been a few days without a post I figured I'd give you a second post today as well on stats. This time it's all competition goal scorers for Sporting KC in their history. First here are some previous years for you.
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
On the list this year we add two new players to the list this season, other than that we see no movement on the list this year.

More stats to update for you. This time it's the leading scorers in MLS play now through the 2011 season. First here are links back to the previous years.
1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010
One new player joins the list this year, and another continues to shoot up the list.

MLSSoccer.com has a chat with former Reading United star Andrew Wenger, who has signed with Generation Adidas and will go into the MLS amateur draft.

Arsene Wenger really is trying to get Thierry Henry for a two-month loan. Anything Landon can do ... ?

U.S. forward Eddie Johnson has signed with Puebla in Mexico, where DaMarcus Beasley is having such a good season.

MLSSoccer.com has a chat with former Reading United star Andrew Wenger, who has signed with Generation Adidas and will go into the MLS amateur draft.

Arsene Wenger really is trying to get Thierry Henry for a two-month loan. Anything Landon can do ... ?

U.S. forward Eddie Johnson has signed with Puebla in Mexico, where DaMarcus Beasley is having such a good season.

STARTERS
Jamie Trecker of Fox Soccer traveled to London and sat down for a video interview with Clint Dempsey.
-There really isn't anything new here for us diehards, but its great to see the words come out of Clint's mouth. What a talent!
-More great stuff with Clint and members of his family.

Apparently, Eddie Johnson knows this line well. After suddenly bursting onto the scene with the USMNT and and scoring 23 in 25 appearances with the U17 US team (later scoring 7 in his first 6 matches with the full USMNT) and the subsequent signing with Fulham, EJ has, how should we put it? Dropped off a cliff.

Apparently, Eddie Johnson knows this line well. After suddenly bursting onto the scene with the USMNT and and scoring 23 in 25 appearances with the U17 US team (later scoring 7 in his first 6 matches with the full USMNT) and the subsequent signing with Fulham, EJ has, how should we put it? Dropped off a cliff.

photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

BRADENTON, Fla. -- As the U.S. Under-23 men's national team played an intra-squad scrimmage on Thursday afternoon, Eddie Johnson sat in the stands at IMG Soccer Academy making observations, smiling and cracking jokes with U.

A day late on the former SKC Wizards update, but being a day late has given me a little extra news to post. Word on the Twitter account for Mexican club, Puebla FC is that they are signing former Wizards player, Eddie Johnson. Johnson would join the brother of another Wizard, as DaMarcus Beasley also plays for Puebla FC.

A day late on the former SKC Wizards update, but being a day late has given me a little extra news to post. Word on the Twitter account for Mexican club, Puebla FC is that they are signing former Wizards player, Eddie Johnson. Johnson would join the brother of another Wizard, as DaMarcus Beasley also plays for Puebla FC.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

Eddie Johnson's long wait to find a new club has come to an end.

The American forward has signed with Mexican club Puebla, where he will team with DaMarcus Beasley and play under former Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

One more new stat before I start doing some updating on some of the stats I already had been tracking. Today it's a look at landmark goals for KC. I'm tracking league goals, competitive goals, both home and away. I'm also tracking US Open Cup, playoff, and international goals, but those 3 won't be listed here simply due to lack of many landmark goal numbers.

The post from yesterday regarding the youngest and oldest players to ever appear for Sporting KC was spawned by the fact that earlier this year, Soony Saad, on his debut became the youngest goal scorer in the Wizards history when he scored against the Portland Timbers on his 19th birthday. With that in mind, here are the youngest and oldest goal scorers in KC's history.

The votes are in and this is what we came up with:

1. Kalif Alhassan
2. Eric Alexander
3. Eric Brunner
4. Futty Danso
5. Diego Chara
6. Sal Zizzo
7. Jake Gleeson
8. Jorge Perlaza
9. Kenny Cooper
10. Jack Jewsbury
11. Troy Perkins

More after the jump

Here are the actual numbers:

Player Yes No Rank On the list Eric Alexander 13 3 2 Yes Kalif Alhassan 22 4 1 Yes Freddie Braun 0 10 20 No Adin Brown 0 11 20 No Chris Taylor 2 8 14 No Kevin Goldthwaite 0 10 20 No Spencer Thomspon 0 10 20 No Brian Umony 0 7 20 No Rodrigo Lopez 0 7 20 No Peter Lowry 0 7 20 No Ryan Pore 0 9 20 No Eddie Johnson 1 8 18 No Steve Purdy 1 8 18 No Eric Brunner 7 0 6 Yes Futty Danso 7 0 6 Yes David Horst 2 5 14 No Mike Chabala 3 4 13 No Rodney Wallace 2 5 14 No Lovel Palmer 2 5 14 No Diego Chara 8 0 3 Yes Jack Jewsbury 5 3 10 Yes Sal Zizzo 5 3 10 Yes Jorge Perlaza 8 0 3 Yes Kenny Cooper 6 2 9 Yes Bright Dike 5 3 10 No Troy Perkins 8 0 3 Yes Jake Gleeson 7 1 6 Yes Editors Picks

Here are the rest of the editors picks

Player Will's List To Protect Ryan's List To Protect Andy's List To Protect William's List To Protect Troy Perkins Yes Yes Yes Yes Kevin Goldthwaite No No No No Mike Chabala No Yes No No Eric Brunner Yes Yes Yes Yes Darlington Nagbe Auto Auto auto Auto Sal Zizzo No Yes No No Peter Lowry No No No no Bright Dike No No No no Eddie Johnson No No No no Kalif Alhassan Yes No Yes Yes David Horst Yes Yes Yes Yes Jack Jewsbury Yes Yes Yes Yes James Marcelin Yes No Yes no Jorge Perlaza No Yes Yes Yes Eric Alexander Yes No No no Rodrigo Lopez No No No no Jake Gleeson Yes Yes Yes Yes Diego Chara Yes Yes Yes Yes Rodney Wallace No No No no Ryan Pore No No No no Adin Brown No No No no Steve Purdy No No No no Brian Umony No No No no Chris Taylor No No No no Freddie Braun No No No no Lovel Palmer no No No no Spencer Thompson No No No no Kenny Cooper Yes Yes Yes Yes Futty Danso Yes Yes Yes Yes

Ryan Pore, Steve Purdy, and Eddie Johnson come on down! You are the next contestants on the Protected List! Check out previous entries here.

How it works:

• For each player we will post a front page article highlighting a specific players pros/cons and any stats (if available)
• Vote by posting a Yes (to Protect) or No (don't Protect) in the subject of a comment, then explain why in the message
• We (the editors) will keep track of all the yes/no votes for each player
• At the end of the whole roster we will total up the results and post the community's Protected list
• Your list will be compared to the list of each contributing editor
• The only player we will not be voting on is Darlington Nagbe as he is automatically protected based on his Generations Adidas Status.

Lots of good stats from the game last night, including a landmark goal by Teal Bunbury.
In 6 games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, this is KC's first win there. It was KC's first win in Colorado since 6/9/2004 when Josh Wolff scored a 90th minute penalty kick.
Teal Bunbury's two goals were only the 3rd time in team history a KC player has scored multiple goals in the playoffs, the other two times, Miklos Molnar in 2000 and Davy Arnaud in 2004.

The Timbers continued their post season training today, playing an 8v8 scrimmage which occasionally featured an extra attacking player going either way.

Bright Dike, James Marcelin and Steve Purdy worked off to the side with the Timbers strength and conditioning coach Karim Derqaoui early on before leaving the field early.

"Please be careful of Eddie Johnson," Coach John Spencer announced just before a 7v7v7 scrimmage at Jeld-Wen Field, as Johnson laughed sheepishly and shrugged. "You touch him, he bleeds."

Indeed, Eddie Johnson did make his triumphant return to the training pitch on Tuesday, wearing protective headgear as a precaution after the concussion he suffered earlier in the year.

The Krew...

Two games, 1 win, 1 loss from September Camp.

TSG goes diving again into the USMNT...

And now the US will embark for Europe in early-mid November for friendlies against France and Slovenia. Though Slovenia was presumably only chosen because other European nations had commitments, the US finds itself challenged by two vastly different systems and talent levels.

Houston Dynamo (10-9-13, 43 pts.) vs. Portland Timbers (11-13-7, 40 pts.) Jeld-Wen Field - Portland, OR - 9:30pm
BROADCAST INFORMATION Dynamo Weekly on KHOU 11.2 from 9-9:30 p.m. KHOU 11.2 (ENG TV) FS Houston Plus (ENG TV) TV Azteca-51 (SPN TV) SportsTalk 790 (ENG Radio) La Ranchera 850 (SPN Radio)
PREVIEW A massive game in the chase for places in the MLS Cup Playoffs is ahead at Jeld-Wen Field on Friday night when the Portland Timbers play host to the Houston Dynamo.

Andy Johnson's hat-trick and ongoing contract talks got me thinking. Should we renew? Tough call, but my instinct is that if we do it should be very much on our terms. He's been a good player to have around, but the time he's spent off the pitch should be a red herring flag (herring indeed!

The Portland Timbers returned to practice this Wednesday after taking Tuesday off to rest and recuperate. After the usual passing drills the Timbers broke into a 10v10 full-field passing drill followed by a full 11v11 scrimmage.

Futty Danso participated in the full practice once again and looked like he was rapidly approaching full match fitness, particularly in the full-field drill where he was not shy about contesting a header and knocking Rodney Wallace out of his way (and right out of the air).

I've said it a about a hundred times now on this blog, on Twitter, and in person: this is a huge road game for the Portland Timbers. Looking ahead toward the remainder of the season, the Timbers only have three home games and four away games left (after today's match). The problem is that playing away against the New York Red Bulls, Vancouver Whitecaps, D.

I wrote for SI.com this morning about Jurgen Klinsmann and his biggest challenge ahead: identifying that final 10 percent, that little "something extra" from a talented young group that still clearly needs some seasoning.

Anecdotally, we can all see that something is surely missing, that extra sliver of quality that makes the difference at the highest level.

Another update on former Wizards. Nothing big player news wise, but an interesting quote from Aberdeen's coach in response to rumors of Eddie Johnson moving to the club. Basically he said that he'd heard of the player but he hadn't scored a goal in years. Makes you want to say ouch for the former Wizard.

Another update on former Wizards. Nothing big player news wise, but an interesting quote from Aberdeen's coach in response to rumors of Eddie Johnson moving to the club. Basically he said that he'd heard of the player but he hadn't scored a goal in years. Makes you want to say ouch for the former Wizard.

Amanda, Shana, and Rachna start this week's show with a look at the MNT roster for the upcoming Costa Rica and Belgium friendlies. They are relieved to find Fabian Johnson on the list instead of Eddie Johnson, and welcome the return of Jose Francisco Torres, Jozy Altidore, and the Huntington Beach Bromance that is Robbie Rogers and Sacha Kljestan.

Some observations for today and from the weekend:

• Silly season:

Sevilla bound?

» Will Deuce Fly the Coop? Sky Sports says La Liga's Sevilla is interested in US national Clint Dempsey.

» Having his cake and eating it too?

There is a reality-bending report that claims Aberdeen are set to open talks for U.S. striker Eddie Johnson. Yes, the club have paid some attention to the free agent, but a club source told me that 1) they just bought the striker they were looking for & 2) they are out of budget unless someone leaves.