Morning. Today's date is 11.11.11. Unless you live in the US in which case it's 11.11.11. Weirdos, putting the month and day in the wrong order.

And today is also kind of special because if you take the year you were born, add the number of the day you were born, then add 30, divide by 2, multiply it by your shoe size and then take away how long it's been since Sp*rs won the league then you get .

It is the time of year when votes are cast in Major League Soccer. These include the VW Most Valuable Player, Allstate Goalkeeper of the year Defender of the Year, Coach of the Year, referee awards and more (there are less with sponsors this year as compared to last year). We cast our votes earlier this week and will certainly report on the winners when they are announced.

Last year around this time, when the Union lined up Celtic FC and Manchester United a week apart, the break from the MLS regular season seemed a welcome one. Philadelphia was sputtering in the middle of its inaugural campaign, the baby steps they had been making beginning to take their physical and emotional toll.

Not even an opponent scoring three goals can stop the red-hot Seattle Sounders these days.

Behind goals from Alvaro Fernandez, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales, the Sounders knocked off the defending champion Colorado Rapids 4-3 at home on Saturday in a thrilling match. Seattle had to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, just as they had against Portland last Sunday.

Owen and Macheda Did Most of the Damage for United

Foxboro, MA Federico Macheda once again stole the show against MLS opposition on Wednesday night, scoring twice to lead Premier League champions Manchester United past MLS side New England Revolution 4-1 in front of a spirited crowd of 51,523 at Gillette Stadium.

Foxboro, MA Tonight marks the beginning of the 2011 HerbaLife World Football Challenge, when the New England Revolution take on the 19-time English Champions and 2010/11 UEFA Champions League Runner-Up, Manchester United. For fans new to the World Football Challenge (which are quite a few, seeing as this is only the second time the competition has been held) have seemed a little unsure of the "format" or whether it was an actual tournament at all.

Before we get started today, just want to remind everyone I'll be making the trek down to Houston on Wednesday to cover the US's Gold Cup semifinal against Panama (and peep some of the Mexico match as well), so keep it locked to NSC this week for some exclusive content. Now. "Gotcha!" Our lead story could easily go in Worst of the Worst, but I've decided to forgo a game of the week tonight b.

Last week on Twitter, Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury tweeted at Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver, Chad Ochocinco, saying he should come train with Sporting KC now that the NFL has locked the players out. I'd avoided comment on the topic at the time because I figured it was just going to go away with out anything so I really did not want to get on it.

- Jason Davis
Houston is getting a stadium, for real and for true. This is big news, since we still don't have a league where everyone plays in their own building (those left standing on the wall without SSS dance partners are DC, New England, and San Jose). A tax zone vote of some type, the last hurdle before the Dynamo could break ground on the project, passed this week.

ASN Philly has an interview with potential top five pick in this year's SuperDraft Zarek Valentin.

Zarek Valentin leaves the Akron Zips as a 19-year old NCAA Champion with boundless potential and a near future, at least, that lies in Major League Soccer. The Lancaster, PA native has left quite the footprint in only two seasons, one that has been duplicated on the international level with Thomas Rongen's U-20s as well.

ASN Philly has an interview with potential top five pick in this year's SuperDraft Zarek Valentin.

Zarek Valentin leaves the Akron Zips as a 19-year old NCAA Champion with boundless potential and a near future, at least, that lies in Major League Soccer. The Lancaster, PA native has left quite the footprint in only two seasons, one that has been duplicated on the international level with Thomas Rongen's U-20s as well.