For the seventh consecutive year, I'm one of the voters for the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and it's a responsibility I take very seriously. I've made each of my previous six ballots and the rationales behind them public, so there's no need to change now.

There are 12 newcomers on the 31-player ballot for 2012.

The Miami Ultras organized a Major League Soccer watch party at Mickey Byrnes Pub in Hollywood this past Sunday which also had the gracious presence of former Los Angeles Galaxy playmaker and ex Salvadoran national team player Mauricio Cienfuegos.
It was a great experience to be next to the MLS Cup and to be able to pose with it in pictures before it headed West to L.

Hot stuff: Former Galaxy midfield general Mauricio Cienfuegos has returned to the club as a coach (Daily Breeze file photo).

Mauricio Cienfuegos, the diminutive Salvadoran who made more than 200 hugely influential appearances for the Galaxy in an eight-year career with the club that ended in 2003, is returning as technical coach for the LA Galaxy Academy.

I noticed a couple of errors yesterday relating to the LA Galaxy's games in the 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup (played in January 2001, but still called the 2000 edition). They've been fixed, and the corrected version can be downloaded here (stats through 2010).
Brian Kelly & Zak Ibsen were each listed with two sub appearances.

Yesterday the official ballot for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011 was announced, and United States soccer fans will surely be pleased with the candidates. The pool of possible Hall of Famers is full of talented players who plied their trade both domestically in Major League Soccer as well as those pioneers that paved the way for fellow Americans overseas.

SEATTLE, WA Finalists for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011 were announced Thursday by U.S. Soccer. Voting has already begun and continues through March 11. The results will be announced in a few months. Here are the voting rules for the player category as detailed in the USSF press release: The [.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope and Jason Kreis highlight a strong group of first-timers among the nominees on the 2011 U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame ballot, which was released Thursday afternoon.

Jones, the United States' all-time leader in caps with 164, played in three World Cups and was one of the most recognizable and distinguished players of his era.