Time to revisit my projections for the last time. Who will be available for the Philadelphia Union to select? The rules were announced recently, and they're exactly the same as the past few drafts.
The following players should graduate from Generation Adidas status: Alston, Beltran, Frei, Gonzalez, Hall, Nyarko, Wallace, Zakuani, and Zayner. Click to continue reading...

Getting off the topic of the "Hauptman Letter Debate" for a minute, some important info came out today regarding next Wednesday's MLS expansion draft. Here's the info, per Steve Goff (and NaperSteve -- who provided the tip):

Philadelphia will select 10 players; current clubs must submit their 11-man protected list by Monday afternoon; no club will lose more than one player, which means five teams won't lose anyone; Generation Adidas and home-grown players [(for the Fire that means Baggio Husidic and Patrick Nyarko] need not be protected; developmental players claimed must be offered a senior contract; clubs must protect designated players that have no-trade clauses.

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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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Three big saves by Rimando in the penalty shootout keeps the Fire out. Ned Grabavoy nails the winning penalty kick after Fabian Espindola misses his chance. The Fire fell victim to a peculiar directional bias that made them test Rimando low on his left as Thorrington, Pause, and Prideaux became predictable.

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Real Salt Lake needed extra time and penalties to see off Chicago and win the Eastern Conference final Saturday night at Toyota Park. With both sides applying offensive pressure throughout the 120 minutes, Chicago keeper Jon Busch and his opposite number Nick Rimando held up and kept it scoreless. In penalties, RSL's Javier Morales missed in the second round and Rimando saved John Thorrington's attempt in the fourth. Click to continue reading...

The Fire couldn't have asked for much more from last Saturday's 2-0 win over New England.

Advance in the Eastern Conference playoffs? Check.

Do it against a bitter rival? Check.

And do it all in style? Oh my, yes. Check.

That's what can happen when the Fire plays some of its most inspired soccer at the best time of year before a packed house at Toyota Park.

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Salt Lake vs. Chicago: Saturday's MLS playoff teams have one thing in common -- their goalkeepers are the shortest starting netminders in the league. Chicago's Jon Busch is listed at 5-10; Salt Lake's Nick Rimando at 5-9.
"People that tell me I wasn't going to achieve anything because I was too short, I just remember that, and I like to shove it in their face whenever I can," Rimando says. Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISIphotos.com

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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Photo by ISIphotos.com

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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Who to protect and who to expose is the guessing game for the Fire. (Getty Images)

This year unlike the last couple the expansion draft caught up with me here. I almost feel like I am a little late getting these lists out for the draft which is a couple days after MLS Cup. Starting today I will release a team-by-team list of who I think will be protected and who I think will be left exposed.

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When their season on the line, the Fire needed a big-time performance from the back line in Saturday night's second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New England Revolution. And did the defense ever deliver, putting together a comprehensive performance to shut down (and shutout) the Revolution and pave the way for the Fire to get into the Eastern Conference Final.

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The Fire came into the second leg down 2-1 in aggregate goals facing an opponent that they've faced a huge number of times in the playoffs over the years, lately with good results. I could go on about the challenges that the Revs faced this year, but frankly it's not worth the time. This Fire team came into the playoffs in mediocre form, with rumors of trouble in the locker room and using a patchwork lineup. Click to continue reading...

After losing the first-leg 2-1, the Chicago Fire will be playing for the Eastern Conference title. Chicago beat New England 2-0 at Toyota Park on Saturday night, taking the series 3-2 on total goals. The Fire will now face Real Salt Lake for a spot in the 2009 MLS Cup. Chicago got a 35th-minute goal from John Thorrington to even the series. 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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The MLS playoffs have been engrossing and so far the upstarts have given the finger to the favourites.

This time it was the Revs taking it to the Fire who had all their big named players while the Revs have been without Twellman and Ralston. But the Revs African contingent stepped up admirably as Sainey Nyassi, Emmanuel Osei, and Kenny Mensally had a huge game.

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Previous Updates
#1 4/12 68 players remaining #2 5/25 34 players remaining #3 6/25 23 players remaining #4 7/19 11 players remaining #5
8/17
5 players remaining
OTFATT is short for "On the field, all the time." In these updates throughout the season, I've kept track of which MLS players have played every minute of every game (regular season only). Click to continue reading...

A late own goal by Eduardo Lillingston was enough to give the Chicago Fire a 1-0 win over Chivas USA at Toyota Park Thursday night. The defense held strong for the entire match and allowed Jon Busch to have an easy night. Chicago qualifies for the 2009 postseason with the win.
Jeff Tobin reports from Chicago, supplying a match report and Fire player ratings. Click to continue reading...

The Chicago Fire and Best Buy helped launch the anticipated release of FIFA 2010 on Monday night with hundreds of soccer, Fire, and Blanco fans in attendance.

A line of patient fans snaked out the door at 875 N. Michigan Avenue on a perfect Monday night. Fans were able to meet Cuathemoc Blanco, Baggio Husidic, Patrick Nyarko, Wilman Conde, and Jon Busch.

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   Photo by ISIphotos.com

With the Major League Soccer season drawing to a close, it is time to start thinking about MLS season awards.

Voting for the league's major player awards will end on Monday, just a day after the final match of the season, meaning we at SBI will take this week to give readers a chance to select their choices for the league's eight top player awards.

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Playoff berth still eludes Chicago entering final week
The Chicago Fire and New England Revolution both had opportunities on the offensive end, more so for the Revs. When everything was said and done, Chicago took some minimal satisfaction in pulling off a scoreless draw Saturday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Click to continue reading...

And those word are: Gutting it out.

The Los Angeles Galaxy took three points at home from a determined Fire team populated with a large number of replacement for injured players. As has been the case all season, the defense provided the base from which the Galaxy was able to generate just enough offense to put the game away.

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Donovan pushes L.A. into first in the West
Chicago Fire players were colliding with each other - Jon Busch and Wilman Conde (right), Mike Banner and Calen Carr. There were some open gaps within the Fire's defense, including leaving Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan wide open a couple of times above the box. Click to continue reading...

Major League Soccer had one midweek match with the Los Angeles Galaxy hosting the Chicago Fire on Friday, October 2, 2009. Both teams are in the top 2 in their conference and could move one step closer to a playoff spot with a win. David Beckham returned to the Galaxy after missing last week due to injury while Brian McBride was leading the Chicago Fire (Blanco not in the lineup).

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Galaxy 1 Fire 0

The Galaxy took a deserved lead in the 42nd minute, a long Chris Klein pass up the right wing from his own half finding a sprinting Landon Donovan who left a sprawling Logan Pause in the dust before impudently chipping first-time over a helpless Jon Busch in the Fire net from 18 yards.

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Playing without injured attackers Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Chris Rolfe, the Fire played to what they called a "disappointing" 2-2 draw with Toronto FC at Toyota Park tonight. The second place Fire, who has now tied three matches in a row, fall five points behind the league leading Columbus with the result - effectively eliminating them from the race for the Supporter's Shield.

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McBride nets game-tying goal, but potential winner evades Carr
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - The Chicago Fire are likely bound for the postseason, but the degree of their mishaps do not exactly paint the picture of a playoff team.
The Fire did fight back for a 2-all draw Saturday night when they earned 1 point against Toronto FC at Toyota Park. Click to continue reading...

The Chicago Fire are down to four regular-season games remaining, including two at home. The first of those two takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Toronto FC at Toyota Park (televised on My50).
Toronto (9-10-7, 34 points) still is working in its recent designated player signing (Julian de Guzman). Click to continue reading...

A lot of people, particularly Chicago Fire fans, are asking what exactly referee Mark Geiger saw when he awarded the penalty that lead to the Columbus Crew tying the game and leaving Chicago with a sort-of-deserved point. At full speed, the replay looks very much like Steven Lenhart kung-fu kicking Wilman Conde. Click to continue reading...

Controversial penalty call assists Columbus' fate down stretch
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Soccer's dreaded 2-0 advantage doomed the Chicago Fire against the Colubmus Crew on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Park. The Fire's dwindling lead was partly due to one poor sequence to lead to one goal. The other was a highly debatable penalty kick call from referee Mark Geiger. Click to continue reading...

The man you see down on the field turf is a hard nose player that gives his all to the club and tries his best to be a strong and needed player for this squad. No he doesn't have the greatest of abilities like Juan Pablo Angel, or Landon Donovan, not even the power shot from long distance like Dwayne DeRosario, but the one thing you can always count on from this man is the size of his heart and the willingness to perform on the field and working hard in practice to make sure he can bury those chances when his number is called upon.

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Chicago takes early lead but walks away with 1 point
Real Salt Lake's offense found some life in the second half, and the Chicago Fire escaped Rio Tinto Stadium with a 1-all draw Saturday night in Sandy, Utah.
For just a little more than 70 minutes, it looked like the Fire were en route to their seventh road victory. Click to continue reading...

Following 2-week break, Chicago a bit healthier heading into Rio Tinto
Good health is a relative term for the Chicago Fire these days. A two-week break definitely provided some necessary healing, but there still is a long way to go as Chicago visits Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium (8 p. Click to continue reading...

I'm sorry I had to do that to you. I'm sorry I had to devour your very soul in the span of just a few seconds. It's only a game, I know, but it was one I had to win. Sure, the US Open Cup means nothing to me, but to Seattle fans, we're now Champions (!) and in the Champions League (!). And honestly, that buys me as many years of commuting from Manhattan Beach as I could want. Click to continue reading...

Coming off of last Sunday's thrilling, come from behind 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rapids, the Fire put in a very disappointing performance tonight, falling to longtime rivals D.C. United 1-0 at Toyota Park. Bryan Namoff scored the lone goal of the match in the 11th minute, when he flicked home a fantastic Christian Gomez free kick from the top of the 6 yard box.

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Hey everyone, here are a few notes from today's Fire practice at Toyota Park... Bye-Bye Baky - As you all know, Bakary Soumare's transfer to French team Boulogne went through yesterday, putting a close to his Fire career. But what do his former teammates think about the end of the ordeal that was his final days with the Fire?

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