It's that time of year again. July heat is upon us and most MLS teams have played half (or slightly more than half) of their schedule. International friendlies and the all-star games versus Manchester United are looming, so now is the ideal time to look back on the first half of the season and pick some of the highlights and low-lights.

Happy New Year to all our readers and best wishes in 2011!

The past year was a big one for American soccer. A good but not great World Cup run, a highlight goal from Landon Donovan, and the controversial rehiring of Bob Bradley after the World Cup. A first MLS Cup win by Colorado, the signings of Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry by New York, but maybe more importantly the rise of young players like Tim Ream, Teal Bunbury, Juan Agudelo, and Andy Najar.