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Sporting Kansas City remained on top of the Eastern Conference with a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer on August 26, 2012.

It was a similar fate for Sporting KC who dominated most of the match but had to settle for a draw. The home side started out quickly with a fourth minute Kei Kamara goal.

Few would disagree that last year's New York Red Bulls were a tremendous disappointment. The acquisition of French legend Thierry Henry, joining a cast of international players including Rafa Marquez, Tim Ream, Juan Agudelo, and Joel Lindpere (and briefly Dwayne De Rosario), was supposed to make the Red Bulls the LA Galaxy of the Eastern Conference.

Both RSL and Vancouver need points this weekend. (Getty Images)

So how about that US Open Cup final last night? Tons of drama and excitement as Sporting Kansas City claim the crown for their first trophy since 2004. They knocked off the Seattle Sounders in penalty kicks ending Seattle's impressive run in the USOC since joining MLS back in 2009.

Tim Cahill (left) is set to go to MLS with New York. (Getty Images)

It certainly is MLS Cup or bust for the New York Red Bulls.

EPL side Everton has announced that midfielder Tim Cahill is going to be transferred to the Red Bulls, pending a physical and paperwork. Cahill will likely become New York's third Designated Player should somehow he is not then New York got one hell of a steal.

A bizarre mid-week day game was probably not something the Chicago Fire were too thrilled with when initially looking at the 2012 MLS Schedule. Still, with twenty minutes to go, it looked as if the Fire would be able to hang on and steal a point on the road against the New York Red Bulls.

Thierry Henry changed that.

Coming off a solid 1-0 win against Vancouver, the Men In Red travel east to battle the New York Red Bulls Wednesday afternoon (?!) in a vital Eastern Conference matchup. The Red Bulls also were in action this past weekend playing to a 2-2 draw at home against Seattle. With New York one point ahead of the Fire in the standings and even on games played, Chicago has the opportunity to move into third place in the East.

The rankings are out for Week 19.

A few moves over all including a couple teams moving up tiers and one moving down to the bottom. I still view the third tier as a total crap shoot you can move anyone around that group and be fine.

Here in the next few weeks we should definitely see how the playoff race impacts these rankings.

Players on the Move: Recapping Friday's Transactions

Unless you have been unplugged all weekend AND missed the Sounders' match against the New York Red Bulls, you know that Sebastian Le Toux was traded for Dane Richards and allocation money. In Le Toux, New York got a flexible attacker that has scored 29 goals in the last three years.

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote one of these (vacations and such), but let's just focus on two key things.

Firstly, FC Dallas has gone on a winning streak that is starting to look like a serious run at the playoffs. I know -- who would have thought? But suddenly the breaks are starting to go their way, and the quality many of us thought they had at the beginning of the season is finally starting to materialize.

Darren Mattocks was selected by the Vancouver Whitecaps with the 2nd pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. The Jamaican born forward attended the University of Akron for two seasons before jumping to MLS. He only played one minute between March 10th and May 5th but has been featuring regularly since he debuted on May 12th against the New England Revolution.

It's that time again, and I am here to serve up a hearty helping of 3 questions exchange. Not to mention a couple of bonus questions to boot. I visited again with Scott Kessler over at Brotherly Game ahead of Sunday's game. I'll keep this short, you all know the drill. First question is below, the rest is after the break.

Kenny Miller is a big risk but could be a big "get" for Vancouver. (Getty Images)

Many wondered last week why the Vancouver Whitecaps would be quick to trade away forward Sebastien Le Toux. It turns out they had an even bigger deal set in motion that required such a trade.

The Whitecaps announced the signing of� of Scottish international striker Kenny Miller as the club's newest Designated Player.

Every once in a while, the performance of one player can define an entire game, and mark an entire season. Yesterday afternoon, in Harrison, Adam Johansson showed everyone what Seattle has been missing for two months, with a pair of assists and a crucial goal-line clearance. They were his first appearances on the score sheet for the Rave Green.

Dynamo News

• New Dynamo DP is having an easier than expected transition from the Honduran League to MLS. He has already help set up a goal and has played "well on both sides of the ball" in three 90 minute shifts. (MLS Soccer)
• Jonathon and Eddie discuss the upcoming home stand, players returning from injury, and DC United.