Will we see more of Conor Casey with the US National Team? (Getty Images)

Good evening folks, I hope everyone is having a good day. Now that we are in the evening it is time once again for some links and thoughts. I only have two items tonight and really only one link.

My first thought of the night centers around the US Men's National team and their upcoming friendlies this month in Europe.

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There are a few things we learned from the frustrating result Thursday. In ways they will influence how we watch and appreciate the Sounders performance on the road next Sunday. In other ways, they may be the same learnings that Sigi had in watching the film twice before an 11:30AM practice Friday. Click to continue reading...

Major League Soccer's playoffs begin tonight -- in less than ten minutes, as a matter of fact -- with the Sounders hosting Houston Dynamo, or Dynamo Houston. Here are the other matchups: East: Columbus vs. Real Salt Lake Chicago vs. New England West: LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA When I look at the playoff matchups, any of the eight teams can appear at MLS Cup next month, and it's possible to see a path to a league championship for all eight sides. Click to continue reading...

Thursday night the Sounders launch the league's second season as the Playoffs in many sports are called, but in this case it might be particularly important. Though Houston and Seattle faced off twice in League play and once in the late rounds of the US Open Cup, the teams have changed quite a bit [. Click to continue reading...

Don't you just love it when you begin something and think you are close to finishing when you realize you are better off starting all over again? I've had that happen here with what I thought was going to be a new look for this place. I had spent a couple weeks on a new design when I just basically hit a wall with it and couldn't get myself to go any further with it.

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Several clubs are getting in the marketing mood for the playoffs. New England, Columbus and Houston all released promotional videos today. Once other clubs release their videos I will post them here.

Enjoy.

Columbus Crew:

Houston Dynamo:

New England Revolution:

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In an effort to get even further hyped up, to meet more of the people who voted me onto the Council and just enjoy good beer I will be hanging out at Elysian Fields on Thursday. Probably from about 3:30PM until prior to kickoff, or so. I'm inviting coworkers, people from the 214 and readers [...] Click to continue reading...

Can the Crew repeat yet again in 2009? (Getty Images)

The four first round series are set for the 2009 edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs. All four series should be really good ones. For the second straight season the wild card positions have benefited one of the conferences over the other as Real Salt Lake got into the playoffs as an eastern conference club.

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I haven't done interviews for a while. My full time job had been at its peak, but now with a slight tailing off and the Sounders in the Playoffs I hope to get you a few interviews. First up is Steve Zakuani. Rookie of the Year candidate, fan favorite and a threat along that [...] Click to continue reading...

Here is a full rundown of the playoff schedule. Only one game not on national TV (Crew-RSL game this weekend).

2009 MLS Cup Playoffs Schedule
All times Eastern; schedule subject to change

Conference Semifinals Game #1

Eastern Conference
(1) Columbus Crew at (4) Real Salt Lake, Saturday, Oct.

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We knew going into the weekend we could end up with some craziness but after the dust settled it ended up not being nearly as crazy as it could have been. Real Salt Lake and New England came away with key wins and got a little help from some other clubs to sneak their way into the playoffs.

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That line is from Sigi Schmid, but I think it relates to so many of us after this first season. I know it personally feels that way. Last night, with all of the pomp, with the win, it was one of my favorite days of my young life that didn't involve family (yes, [...] Click to continue reading...

Despite tonight's heartbreaking, gut-wrenching 2-2 draw in Kansas City, there is still a chance for United to advance to the post-season. The only way the Black-and-Red book a ticket to the MLS Cup playoffs is if Seattle and Dallas play to a draw tonight and New England loses to Columbus tomorrow.

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If form matters, then Dallas is the one team that the Sounders don't want to face. Since September 1st they earned 16 points, best in the league. Sounders though are tied for 3rd with 10 points over that same stretch. Much of their success has been credited to one Jeff Cunningham, who [...] Click to continue reading...

It all comes down to this weekend. Six teams have already qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs, while another six are competing for the final two spots in the final games of the 2009 season. D.C. United is among the team's hoping to extend its season with a win at Kansas City tomorrow almost a necessity.

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The evening went about as poorly as it could have for fans of D.C. United, as the Chicago Fire topped visiting Chivas USA 1-0 to clinch the second spot in the Eastern Conference and Marathon beat Jabloteh 4-2 to knock DCU out of CONCACAF Champions League play.

United must now win at Kansas City and hope for a few key results from other teams in order to advance to the MLS Cup playoffs.

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Its a pretty full night here at WVHooligan as far as the links and thoughts go. I have a couple stories that kind of make my head spin, a couple surrounding the US national team and a brief discussion on a rule that could really help some young players out with the NCAA.

First up is a post I saw earlier today that I felt needed to be held off until today.

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Though United isn't playing, it's a big night for supporters of DC. The team's attention will certainly be on the scoreboard this evening as two key games are taking place that will have a huge impact on the Black-and-Red's season.

In MLS play, the Chicago Fire (42 points, second in the East) hosts Chivas USA (45 points, tied for second in the West) in a game that has monster implications for D.

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Three spots remain for the MLS playoffs and seven clubs are going for those spots. I think the most interesting part is that after this final week of the season we could actually see six clubs end up with 40 points. Yes six clubs.

See for yourself.

EASTERN CONFERENCE AUTOMATIC BERTHS
Columbus (29) 13-6-10, 49 points (vs.

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Duane and I made a bet way back when the season started and I was just a novice blogger that people thought lacked sanity. While I still lack sanity, just maybe I was right. Duane picked an organization called Right to Play, and I agreed. So because the two of us are both passionate [...] Click to continue reading...

With the standings as they are heading into the last week, there is a possibility after next week's results of several teams being tied on points - and thus we must delve into the world of tie-breakers.

If there are multiple teams tied on points (and as many as six could be after the season's final games), the important thing to remember is that the first tie-breaker is head-to-head competition.

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After tonight's results, the playoff picture is... slightly clearer. After 29 League games (save for Chivas USA, who has played 28), five teams have locked up playoff spots. Three post-season spots remain heading into the final week of the season, and seven different teams will be fighting to fill those last slots. Click to continue reading...

Thank you Jim Mora. He was right. No team wants to talk about the Playoffs. They just want to win more games. Now, for the Sounders that includes a Playoff game, preferably at least three. This match was another where the Sounders played well enough to double their goal scoring total, and also played maybe the [. Click to continue reading...

One might think with only two games remaining (for all teams except Chivas USA, who has played 27, and New York, who've played 29) in the 2009 season, the playoff picture would be fairly straight forward. If you happened to think this, however, you'd be wrong - things are not very clear at all and the standings are tight. Click to continue reading...

The weekend of November 20th 22nd, Major League Soccer fans and specifically, Supporters Groups of MLS clubs from across the U.S. and Canada will converge in the city of Seattle for the MLS Cup Finals. This is Our Passion, these are Our Clubs and this is Our League. We will all be celebrating [... Click to continue reading...

Maybe you've missed it, but Jeff Cunningham and FC Dallas are on fire right now. How ever you want to define "recent form" they have it. Tonight, they even had fans in the stands. Yes, the game was part of a Mexican National Team double-header at the Cotton Bowl, but they had [...] Click to continue reading...

We all know yesterday's loss was a big blow to United's playoff hopes. The difference now from Saturday is that the team no longer controls its own destiny. D.C. has to win and hope a few key results go its way the last weeks of the regular season. The amazing thing about this year's campaign is how close the standings are, top to bottom (well, almost the bottom - sorry NYRB). Click to continue reading...

Freshly back from the land of the Timbers where they get Sounders games on FSN live (obviously dependent on conflicts). That's great if Seattle gets access to Clark County for Academy players. Plus it helps to establish which team is "major" first. Remember these "advanced" pacing standings are based on season long form for [. Click to continue reading...

San Jose's draw against Colorado could be seen as a loss for the Sounders, but honestly, the Rapids are amazing at home. That San Jose stole a few points from them is huge for Seattle. The expanded pacing formula (including H/A Strength of Schedule) now show Seattle at 7th with Colorado heading East [. Click to continue reading...

Following this past weekend's results, here are the current standings for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Colorado wins the tie-breaker over Chivas USA (due to goal differential) to become #4 seed in the Western Conference, so here is what the first round match-ups would look like:

EASTERN: (1) Columbus Crew vs. Click to continue reading...

Many will like to look at this match and say the Sounders played better than Chivas and so deserved to win. I'm a results focused guy though, they tend to actually wind up in the standings and the trophies. Teams either earn results or they don't. In this case Zach Thorton earned the results. He [. Click to continue reading...

With the conclusion of the Crew at Fire and their two-two draw there is another round down. The playoff race is much less clear than Sounders fans would hope. Crew fans though likely are enjoying their shot at getting a second Shield in a row. First the hunt for the next domestic trophy, the [...] Click to continue reading...

Because things are wonky with the site, I had to repost this. Through the twitter (click to follow me)thing I managed to win a damn amazing prize. A trip for two to West Hollywood for the Sunset Strip Music Festival. This was courtesy of Virgin America and Chris Cornell. I saw the following [...] Click to continue reading...

With only seven weeks of regular season play left in the 2009 season, teams are vying for the right to move on to the MLS Cup playoffs. D.C. United is in the thick of the race, currently tied for the 7th and 8th playoff spots with three other teams.

Below is the current standings, broken down as best as possible, given that some teams have played more game than others.

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With the talk of Julian de Guzman signing to Toronto FC with the closed transfer window some may wonder how. It is quite simple, the window only applies to those transferring to US/Can clubs while under contract outside of those two nations. So yes, an MLS club could add out-of-contract Henri Camara as an aging [. Click to continue reading...