We can't imagine Fredy Montero will be left exposed, who will join him in the protected list? (Getty Images)

Only a couple more clubs left to preview here for the expansion draft. Now we turn our attention to a previous expansion club, one that has set the standard for all expansion clubs to come, the Seattle Sounders FC.

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The 2009 MLS Cup his hitting Seattle this weekend, and SBI will be there to cover it, as well as to cover all the MLS-related activities associated with MLS Cup weekend.

Real Salt Lake takes on the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday, but the weekend should be filled with much more as reps from all the league's teams converge on Seattle to talk deals (and in some cases, look for head coaches).

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The 2009 MLS Cup his hitting Seattle this weekend, and SBI will be there to cover it, as well as to cover all the MLS-related activities associated with MLS Cup weekend.

Real Salt Lake takes on the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday, but the weekend should be filled with much more as reps from all the league's teams converge on Seattle to talk deals (and in some cases, look for head coaches).

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Major League Soccer announced its all-star team today and a certain England midfielder was missing from the lineup.

The MLS all-stars (Best XI) are chosen by the media, MLS players, MLS coaches and general managers.

Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton earned his second career Best XI nod.

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Conor Casey holds the ball in a 2009 match against Chivas USA at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Casey was named to the MLS Best XI team (and the ColoradoSoccerNow.com team, too).
(photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey has been named to the Major League Soccer Best XI team.

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First the list, then the thought.

Goalkeeper: Zach Thornton, Chivas USA.
Defenders: Geoff Cameron, Houston; Wilman Conde, Chicago; Chad Marshall, Columbus.
Midfielders: Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto FC; Landon Donovan, Los Angeles; Stuart Holden, Houston; Shalrie Joseph, New England; Freddie Ljungberg, Seattle.

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How does this look for a best XI lineup. Â This is the group that was named to the MLS best XI for this 2009 season. Â Only a single player from the best XI will be represented in the MLS Cup this Sunday. Â That is of course Landon Donovan US player of the decade.

Conor Casey Jeff Cunningham

Dwayne De Rosario Landon Donovan Stuart Holden Shalrie Joseph Freddie Ljungberg

Geoff Cameron Wilman Conde Chad Marshall

Zach Thornton

So what do you think, is this a good lineup?

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Why is this man not in the All XI?

Its the numbers you produce and not the little things that you do on the pitch to improve your team which seems to drive the MLS All XI. Even when you factor in stats it does not seem to add up to why Cuauhtemoc Blanco was left out.

Blanco played 21 matches, started in 15 of them and in 1452 minutes of playing time he scored 5 goals and 8 assists.

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Press release from the Rapids today. Good to see further recognition of Casey's talents. Does anybody else think that having only three defenders nominated is a bit weird?
MLS Commissioner Don Garber today announced that Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey has been named to the 2009 MLS Best XI during his annual State of the League address. Click to continue reading...

Garber gave an earlier and less formal state of the league address than he has in years past in a teleconference with reporters today.

Garber announced the MLS Best XI during the call, which includes one player apiece from the Galaxy and Chivas USA:

goalkeeper - Zach Thornton
defenders - Chad Marshall, William Conde, Geoff Cameron
midfielders - Dwayne DeRosario, Landon Donovan, Stuart Holden, Shalrie Joseph, Freddie Ljungberg
forwards - Conor Casey, Jeff Cunningham

Other major talking points included:
*A reiteration MLS is looking to become a 20-team league.

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Major League Soccer announced its Best XI on Monday, with no real surprises among the selections.

MVP finalists Landon Donovan, Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Cunningham headed the group, while MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Thornton also got the nod.

Here is the MLS Best XI

GOALKEEPER- Zach Thornton

DEFENDERS- Chad Marshall, Wilman Conde, Geoff Cameron

MIDFIELDERS- Landon Donovan, Shalrie Joseph, Stuart Holden, Freddie Ljungberg, Dwayne DeRosario

FORWARDS- Jeff Cunningham, Conor Casey

What's our take?

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

Major League Soccer announced its Best XI on Monday, with no real surprises among the selections.

MVP finalists Landon Donovan, Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Cunningham headed the group, while MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Thornton also got the nod.

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MLS announced it's 2009 Best XI today and one Fire player, defender Wilman Conde, made the list. It's the first time on the Best XI for the 27-year-old Conde, who made the list despite missing 11 regular season games due to injury.

The honor caps a solid season for Conde, who was a rock in the back for the Fire and even contributed two goals and two assists on the year.

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On Tuesday, Major League Soccer announced the League's Best Eleven players for 2009. Zach Thornton (Chivas USA) Chad Marshall (Columbus) - Wilman Conde (Chicago) - Geoff Cameron (Houston) Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto) - Landon Donovan (Los Angeles) - Stuart Holden (Houston) - Shalrie Joseph (New England) - Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle) Conor Casey (Colorado) - Jeff Cunningham (Dallas) Click to continue reading...

Â

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Major League Soccer will be announcing its 2009 MLS Best XI later this afternoon and while some of the picks are easy to make, some others will be very difficult.

Picking this year's forwards was especially tough, with a half dozen worth candidates for the Best XI nod.

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Â

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Major League Soccer will be announcing its 2009 MLS Best XI later this afternoon and while some of the picks are easy to make, some others will be very difficult.

Picking this year's forwards was especially tough, with a half dozen worth candidates for the Best XI nod.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo were two of the best teams in MLS all season, and on Friday night they will play for the right to play in and be the favorite in the 2009 MLS Cup Final. The Western Conference Final (11pm, ESPN2) features some of the league's best talent, and is loaded with juicy individual match-ups both on the field and on the sideline.

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Freddie Ljungberg and Osvaldo Alonso were huge additions to Seattle and to MLS this year. (Getty Images)

Everyone knew going into the 2009 season that the new kids on the block would make a splash. Just the kind of splash the league needed in some folks eyes. The Seattle Sounders FC came into the year not as a typical expansion club.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

In one of the easier results to see coming, Seattle Sounders striker Fredy Montero was named MLS Newcomer of the Year. He beat out Sounders teammates Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg for the honor.

Montero scored 12 goals and added seven assists in helping lead the Sounders to the playoffs.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

In one of the easier results to see coming, Seattle Sounders striker Fredy Montero was named MLS Newcomer of the Year. He beat out Sounders teammates Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg for the honor.

Montero scored 12 goals and added seven assists in helping lead the Sounders to the playoffs.

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In my opinion, the two best teams in MLS already faced eachother during these playoffs. Forget the finals, the best matchup is/was Houston vs. Seattle.

What more can you say about Seattle and their fans? They are the pinnacle example of what every team strives for. Sure, there might be some exceptions, like a few over-zealous Sounders fans that chose to sing through the moment of silence for the Fort Hood tragedy.

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Pat Onstad deserves a medal. Keeping two own goals out. The second one was a sequence of goal line saves in the 42nd minute as Freddie Ljungberg's free kick was helped along by Ricardo Clark with Onstad backpedaling to parry it out before it crossed the goal line and then falling down to bat the ball away from Fredy Montero's opportunistic foot.

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The Houston Dynamo will look to take a step closer to a third MLS Cup title in four years today when it hosts the Sounders in Game Two of their Western Conference first-round series (3pm, Telefutura).

The Dynamo held off Seattle's dangerous attack in Game One, posting a scoreless draw in a sold-out Qwest field.

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Being wary of repeating oneself, I still have to think about how this team in Rave Green plays. When are they at their best, and when do they struggle? The defining moments of this season likely indicate what the needs are, and the previous four matches now against Houston can show us a few trends in how Kinnear and Schmid see the opposition.

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QUESTION ON MY MIND
So who is joining me in Chicago on Saturday for the Fire game against New England? How many times have I seen these two duke it out? Like old timey boxing? Can't wait! See you there!
STARTERS
Real Salt Lake followed New York's lead from last year and knocked the defending MLS Cup winners out of the playoffs in the first round. Click to continue reading...

Sunday's MLS playoff match-ups have potential. Not that they're locks to be the best MLS games of all time. There's plenty to pick and choose from, however, and it's certainly worth diving into ahead of time, as six teams will be reduced to three. Let's dive in.

Seattle Sounders at Houston Dynamo (0-0)

The entertaining first leg bodes well for the second.

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Goalkeeper of the year -- Nov. 4
Nominees: Kasey Keller (Seattle), Donovan Ricketts (L.A.), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)
Who will win: Thornton. Veteran might have put up his best year in the league.
Who should win: Thornton. This team overachieved and its MVP is the reason why.
Fair Play Finalists -- Nov. Click to continue reading...

Here's the full list as released today by MLS:

Goalkeeper of the Year
Kasey Keller - Seattle Sounders FC
Donovan Ricketts - Los Angeles Galaxy
Zach Thornton - Chivas USA

Fair Play Finalists - Individual
Kasey Keller - Seattle Sounders FC
Pat Onstad - Houston Dynamo
Steve Ralston - New England Revolution

Comeback Player of the Year
Brian McBride - Chicago Fire
Ben Olsen - D.

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Seattle's Kasey Keller is a finalist for numerous Major League Soccer awards, including goalkeeper of the year. (photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

Major League Soccer released the finalists for the league's 2009 awards today. The winners will be announced starting Wednesday and ending Nov.

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Hot off the presses from the league front office. Major League Soccer has announced the finalists to their season ending awards today. Only a few shockers jump out at me here with these but I'll get to that in a moment.

Keeper of the Year (to be announced Nov. 4)
Kasey Keller, Seattle
Donovan Ricketts, Los Angeles
Zach Thornton, Chivas USA

Defender of the Year (Nov.

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Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of the year again. The regular season is over, so now we can look at the official numbers for fouls committed and fouls suffered and put them in the context of "per 90 minutes" rather than just raw totals. Which players will lead in the eight categories below?
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It's like playing Where's Waldo, only you're looking for the person with infinitely more money than anyone else in the photo could ever and will ever imagine. We see you, JT!

In case you missed our tweet earlier this week: once you've seen this item, you may not be able to carry on living until you own it.

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It's like playing Where's Waldo, only you're looking for the person with infinitely more money than anyone else in the photo could ever and will ever imagine. We see you, JT!

In case you missed our tweet earlier this week: once you've seen this item, you may not be able to carry on living until you own it.

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Pulsating atmosphere. A sea of green with a few flecks of orange. Deflected passes. Lots of opportunities. Awful finishing. Pat Onstad's momentary lapse of reason. Nate Jacqua bloodied and bandaged carrying on like a gladiator. Lots of fouls and yellow cards.

These were some of the more visceral images of the Seattle vs Houston match which ended in a fascinating draw but not before they proved that the shortest distance between two points is a not a straight line.

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The Seattle Sounders will make their MLS playoff debut tonight against the two-time MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo in the opening match of their Western Conference playoff series (10pm, ESPN2).

The Sounders are new to the playoffs as a club, but have plenty of experience across the board, from two-time MLS Cup-winning coach Sigi Schmid, to European soccer veterans Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg.

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