BY ADAM SERRANO

CARSON, Calif. -- Cameroonian midfielder Franck Songo'o stole the show for the Portland Timbers as the trialist set up a pair of goals to help lead the Timbers to a 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Tuesday in the first MLS pre-season match for both teams.

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIPhotos.net

BY ADAM SERRANO

CARSON, Calif. -- Marcelo Sarvas has some big cleats to fill.

Brought in from Costa Rican side Alajuelense, the 30-year-old Brazilian midfielder was signed by the Los Angeles Galaxy during the offseason as a replacement for fellow Brazilian Juninho.

After signing on to remain an LA Galaxy player, David Beckham is aiming for more silverware with the reigning MLS Cup Champions.

It was announced Wednesday that Beckham agreed to a two-year contract with the Galaxy after playing a pivotal role during last season's championship run, the club's first triumph since 2005.

photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

Hammarby IF head coach Gregg Berhalter won't be the only one at the club with MLS experience next season.

Hammarby signed midfielder Baggio Husidic on Friday morning, the club announced on its website. Husidic, who has spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Fire, agreed to a two-year deal with the Swedish club.

By ADAM SERRANO

Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena was busy adding to the defending MLS Cup champions Monday, making four picks in the MLS Re-Entry Draft and hitting the international market as well. Following the Re-Entry Draft, Arena announced the signing of former Alajuelense midfielder Marcelo Sarvas on a conference call with reporters.

Marc Burch (left) was the first player selected in stage two of the Re-Entry Draft. (Getty Images)

The second stage of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft came and went with a flurry of picks from the defending MLS Cup champions, LA Galaxy.

LA needed depth for the possibly 50ish games that they will play next year with the Champions League knock-out stage in the spring, followed by the 2012/13 group stage in the fall.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

PHOENIX -- Four MLS teams have agreed to take part in the Desert Diamond Cup, a round-robin tournament to be held at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 22-March 3.

The defending MLS Cup champions Los Angeles Galaxy, the New York Red Bulls, the New England Revolution and Real Salt Lake are the scheduled participants in a series of matches that span a week and a half.

The Los Angeles Galaxy made it 3-for-3 on their Asia Pacific tour, defeating the Melbourne Victory in a penalty shootout, 4-3, after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in regulation.

The Galaxy trailed, 2-0, but Robbie Keane twice converted penalty kicks to pull the MLS Cup champions level.

2008 MLS Cup champions and three-time Supporters' Shield winners (2004, 2008, 2009) Columbus Crew have officially launched their adidas 2012 home and away kits. According to the Crew website: The Columbus Crew today unveiled brand new jersey designs for the 2012 Major League Soccer season. In its 17th MLS campaign, the club will wear a [.

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 23, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Apologies if you haven't quite processed the Los Angeles Galaxy's coronation as MLS Cup champions yet, but MLS needs your attention. Sorry if you're still pondering what the future of a League where teams with Designated Players can actually win championships might look like, but it's already time to move on.

Ives Galarcep writes of the coaches that will lead the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo into the MLS Cup, and their ability to make adjustments and put their team in position to win games and titles.
The halftime break can mean different things to different teams. It can be the welcome respite for a group coming under fire, or the poorly-timed break that a surging side hates to see.

After a stellar 2010 campaign, Omar Cummings has had a season to forget. On Thursday night, however, he reminded everyone just how deadly he can be.

Cummings was alone in the penalty area when his roommate, Kosuke Kimura, passed to him in the waning moments of the first half. Kimura, who made regular forays into the attack, saw Cummings just after receiving a pass from Brian Mullan.

Happy Friday to you. The week of MLS action saw two wild card matches which dictated the terms of the playoffs. We have now determined two new match ups with worthwhile storylines.
The Two Big Clubs: Thanks to a mid-week victory over FC Dallas, the New York Red Bulls have booked their ticket to a showdown with the regular season champs.

The Colorado Rapids will take their first step toward trying to repeat as MLS Cup champions when they face the Columbus Crew in the second of two MLS Wild Card games this week (10pm, Direct Kick).

The Rapids will look to take advantage of the home-field edge provided at Dick's Sporting Goods Park against a Columbus side that will be looking for some revenge after being eliminated from the 2010 playoffs by the Rapids.

The Colorado Rapids will take their first step toward trying to repeat as MLS Cup champions when they face the Columbus Crew in the second of two MLS Wild Card games this week (10pm, Direct Kick).

The Rapids will look to take advantage of the home-field edge provided at Dick's Sporting Goods Park against a Columbus side that will be looking for some revenge after being eliminated from the 2010 playoffs by the Rapids.

If you need any evidence of the uneven season the Rapids have endured so far in 2011, look no further than this season's golden boot winner.

On a team with Conor Casey, Omar Cummings and Caleb Folan, it should have been that one of them would win the title as the team's top scorer.

Surprises: However, it was not to be.

The Colorado Rapids looked like a team raising the white flag and giving up on the CONCACAF Champions League when they fielded a reserve team in a must-win game against Salvadoran side Isidro Metapan.

At least that was the initial impression. The Rapids reserves had other plans.

Teams earn a share of the points in a tie, but rarely do they toil for it like the Colorado Rapids did on Saturday night.

The record book will show that Chris Wondolowski scored an unassisted goal for San Jose in the 18th minute, and Drew Moor delivered an unassisted equalizer in the 71st. What the stats line will fail to show is the frenzy and oddity on display at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Of all the topics upon which MLS fans love to bicker, nothing can touch the Playoffs. Some of us hate the dependence on conferences, some of us hate the amount of clubs that are admitted in, and some of us hate them all together. Me? I like the idea of a playoff, and I think the current model is okay, but just okay.

Photo by ISIPHOTOS.COM

BY ADAM SERRANO

Pablo Mastroeni is considering hanging up his boots.

With one of the finest resumes of an American player, the Colorado Rapids captain is considering retirement after the 2011 season. Mastroeni has been a member of two World Cup squads (2002, 2006) for the U.

And down the stretch they come! As the playoffs get closer, games matter more. The LA Galaxy, leaders in the Supporters' Shield race, take on the reigning MLS Cup Champions - the Colorado Rapids.
1 - Cardozo sizzles a shot wide - opportunistic, but off-target.
3 - Kyle's Keys for the game don't include any inside dirt from his days as a Galaxy player.

And down the stretch they come! As the playoffs get closer, games matter more. The LA Galaxy, leaders in the Supporters' Shield race, take on the reigning MLS Cup Champions - the Colorado Rapids.
1 - Cardozo sizzles a shot wide - opportunistic, but off-target.
3 - Kyle's Keys for the game don't include any inside dirt from his days as a Galaxy player.

The Colorado Rapids couldn't have gotten off to a worse start in their CONCACAF Champions League match on Wednesday night, surrendering an early penalty to go down 1-0 to visiting Salvadoran side Metapan.

The defending MLS Cup champions didn't buckle though, not even after a Matt Pickens blunder gave Metapan a 2-1 lead.

The Colorado Rapids learned the final dates and hosting opportunities for the team's inaugural run in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.

Colorado, which hosts its opening match in CCL play on Aug. 17 against Metapan, will also host matches against Santos Laguna on Sept. 13 and Real Espana on Sept.

By ADAM SERRANO

Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser has been eager to add some new blood to a team on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs.

On Thursday, Chivas USA added veteran French midfielder Laurent Courtois, a veteran of top leagues in France and England.

MLS returned to action after the All-Star break with mixed results. Houston continued their domination at home against Seattle while Vancouver was schellacked by LA. Portland jumped out to an impressive lead before surrendering it to Toronto. Colorado made a statement to the league in a photo finish against the Union.

The Colorado Rapids will host its first match of the 2011-2012 CONCACAF Champions League on Aug. 17 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, taking on either Isidro Metapan of El Salvador or the Puerto Rico Islanders in the competitions Group Stage.

CONCACAF announced on Thursday the first two matches of the Group Stage, with the Rapids traveling to face Real España of Honduras on Aug.

Benny Feilhaber gave the New England Revolution a 1-0 first half lead at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., but the visitors would end up having to overcome a penalty kick, an ejection, a blunder from goalkeeper Matt Reis and a late 2-1 deficit to escape with a 2-2 draw.

Shalrie Joseph and Benny Feilhaber led the Revs on Saturday in Colorado.

The New England Revolution are taking on the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park this evening in hopes of stringing together two straight league wins for the first time this season. New England is coming off a surprise win against DC United on Wednesday, halting a nine-game slide, and are hoping another good result against the defending MLS Cup champions could turn their season around.

On the tail end of their busiest stretch of the season, the New England Revolution will need to find the energy to do something they haven't done in over nine years if they are to build on Wednesday's win over D.C. United, their first victory since mid-May.

A.J. Soares and the Revolution defense will have a tough task Saturday against Colorado's speedy offensive line.

The Colorado Rapids, the defending MLS Cup champions, avoided a shutout in the league's selection of all stars on Monday as forward Omar Cummings was named to the team by coach Hans Backe.

Cummings, who struggled with injury earlier this season, will be on the side that faces Manchester United on July 27 at the New York Red Bull's arena in Harrison, N.

Dave recently discussed where we can expect the Sounders to end up at the end of the regular season. I'd like to take the next step and look at what the playoff match-ups would be and how that would affect Kasey's chances of lifting the Cup in LA.

The table in Dave's post contained three different ways of looking at where a team will end up: points per match (PPM), Graham's formula applied to a whole season's slate of games (x34), and Graham's formula applied to each team's remaining games (xFinish).

An offensive explosion the likes of which the Colorado Rapids haven't produced in three months proved to be not quite enough on the road against the Seattle Sounders.

Wells Thompson and Jeff Larentowicz scored in the first half to put the Rapids up 2-1 at the break. Seattle came back with three second-half goals and held on after a late Caleb Folan strike to win 4-3 on Saturday.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

With the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Club America now touring the country, one might forget there is another packed slate of MLS action lined up this weekend.

By ADAM SERRANO

The season is moving into its most grinding month, and there is some concern at Chivas USA that the Goats might be slipping due to a lack of concentration

The Rojiblancos have conceded the lead six times this season, and Saturday the club lost for the third match in a row.

In a way we are at the midway point of the season. Most of the teams are at 17 games while a few others have played more or there are some that have played a few less. Still, it feels like halfway to me.

There weren't a lot of changes in the top half of the rankings this week. Only a slight flip-flop between a couple clubs.

After losing to Monterrey at home in the final leg of the CONCACAF Champion's League Final on April 27 Real Salt Lake has not looked like the same team that was considered to be the class of MLS by many observers at the beginning of the season, myself included. A bit of a let down could be expected after the loss to Monterrey and it did come in the form of a 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers on the road.

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

The Gold Cup quarterfinals may grab most of the North American soccer world's attention this weekend, but Major League Soccer will do its best to keep up with a full slate of matches, including a clash between the reigning MLS Cup champions and Supporters' Shield winners.

BY ADAM SERRANO

David Beckham is once again earning a great deal of frequent flyer miles and it may finally be catching up to the LA Galaxy midfielder.

Beckham was back in his native England on Sunday and Monday on official duty with the London Olympic Committee.

Last night I was told the the rivalry with the "other" Cascadia team can feel a bit forced at times. This ignores that it was the Supporter Groups who took it from I-5 rivalry to Cascadia Cup, but still despite better on field competition there is no hate for the Vancouver Whitecaps like there is for Portland Timbers FC.