Dear Seattle, it's been quite a year for you all up there. After all, an expansion team is not supposed to do what you all did. I have to give you "props' big-time! Seriously, out of the box the Seattle fans came out and supported a well-designed and well-staffed team, hammering all MLS attendance records.

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There were some around the Sounders message boards and blogs that thought I underrated the USL players. At the end of the year though, none were starters. But one fell from being a starter (though likely just due to the health of other players) and another worked his way up from token nod to the past to becoming a key player on the club during the last third of the season.

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With the Don's latest state of the league comments about the importance of the Concacaf Champions League (CCL) and the extra load that it puts on teams that do well in the MLS standings, I've been thinking about what the league could do. Let's start out with the commissioner's problem description:

We need to prove that we can be among the best teams in the region, and that means beating Mexico.

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As in the guys that aren't Mr Kasey Keller. Due to injuries Keller played essentially all competitive matches. Next year with the potential for a dozen more matches in the season and Kasey passing 40 in just a few days the back-up keeper will be much more important. While he does feel healthier at the end of this season than in the past, he made many statements that it was due to the nature of MLS playing basically once a week.

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A busy show as Brian Zygo brings us a locker room report from Robertson Stadium after Houston's 1-0 win over Seattle in the MLS Playoffs.

Aaron Davidson, the President of Miami FC joins us to answer questions about today's press release from the TOA declaring the intent to form a new professional league in the US and Canada.

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Former DC United Coach Tom Soehn

Earlier this morning came the news that DC United coach Tom Soehn would not seek to extend his current contract with the team. Set to expire at the end of this year, Soehn will instead leave the club he has been a part of for the past six seasons – three years as an assistant and three as the head coach.

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Houston visits Seattle in MLS Cup playoffs

Our reward for enduring through 32 weeks of regular season matches is a fascinating final four in the Western Conference playoffs. While the Chivas USA versus Galaxy doubleheader in Los Angeles stacks up to be a tough defensive struggle for both squads, expect fireworks from the Houston Dynamo and the Seattle Sounders FC.

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Robbie Findley - MLS Player of the Week

Conference Semifinals Begin

Finally, after seven months of play the real contest for Major League Soccer bragging rights begins on Thursday night in Seattle. Who would have thought that Seattle, the newest team in the league, would be playing post-season?

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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...

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 from where they were in previous meetings.

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As always, Mr. Unprecedented Access, Steve Goff, has a sit down with Kevin Payne and Tom Soehn over on his blog. Some big quotes...

"We don't want to play like Colorado or New England, which most of the season sat with eight or nine guys behind the ball. How many people go to watch Colorado or New England play?

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With Chicago's defeat of Chivas USA on Thursday, the Columbus Crew wrapped up the 2009 Supporter's Shield. This feat automatically qualified them for next year's CONCACAF Champions League. Earlier this year, the Seattle Sounders grabbed a slot when they defeated DC United for the US Open Cup Title. Click to continue reading...

Eric Brunner trade turned into a solid deal for Columbus. (Getty Images)

Since we are nearly done with the 2009 regular season I figured it was high time we started looking back at the best deals that were made that shaped this season into what it has become. I say going into every year that there will pretty much be a trade that shakes up things a bit when it happens and really helps push a club towards the playoffs instead of an early start to winter.

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Richard Dunne made his old club pay, but in the end neither Dunne's Aston Villa or opponent Manchester City could take all three points on Monday.

Craig Bellamy's second-half equalizer made the final score 1-1 in an entertaining Monday fixture at Villa Park. Dunne gave Aston Villa a first-half lead on a header scored over former Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, but Bellamy continued his recent run of hot form by netting an equalizer off an Emmanuel Adebayor pass.

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Richard Dunne made his old club pay, but in the end neither Dunne's Aston Villa or opponent Manchester City could take all three points on Monday.

Craig Bellamy's second-half equalizer made the final score 1-1 in an entertaining Monday fixture at Villa Park. Dunne gave Aston Villa a first-half lead on a header scored over former Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, but Bellamy continued his recent run of hot form by netting an equalizer off an Emmanuel Adebayor pass.

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The suspension of Josh Wicks came down as fairly hefty (5 Open Cup games, play in don't count). Considering what the USSF determined were his total offenses it seems fair. He was violent when he stomped on Fredy Montero, berated an official and honestly I won't miss him in next year's tourney. I will [. Click to continue reading...

That's what I heard at the end of the DC United vs Chivas USA match. I made the trip up to RFK Stadium and took in the 2-0 loss in person. It is time to give up on this season and start to look at changes for next season. The first 2 changes are find a new goalkeeper and a new head coach. Josh Wicks is looking at a suspension by the US Soccer Federation from his actions during the US Open Cup final.

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Here it is. Like The Riddle Of The Great Pyramids, the Red Bulls have been staring at this mathematical equation for the better part of two seasons now, and that number continues to escalate. 25 game winless streak on the road. Another Osorio record. But can Richie turn it around against San Jose?

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Having had the great honor to serve as a color commentator for Miami FC's local broadcasts this season (both on USL Live and local cable), I have seen every USL-1 team in person and broken them down. Here is my analysis of the first round of the playoffs.

#2 Carolina RailHawks (16-7-7, 55 pts) vs #7 Vancouver Whitecaps (11-10-9, 42 pts)

Carolina is just too deep for Vancouver, the defending champions who struggled much of this season.

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As we are all awaiting the future of our top professional leagues in MLS & the USL when the 2010 calendar starts this coming January there will be some questions before their respective seasons start. At the same time we are going to also await the future structure of the next edition of the US Open Cup.

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Abe Thompson was with the Wizards for a little less than a year before he was traded this past week for Kei Kamara. Thompson was brought in last year by the Wizards to help with their scoring issues down the stretch. He didn't find net, but his bigger presence in the forward position did allow the Wizards to show something different on the field than they had been previously. Click to continue reading...

Seattle Sounders burst in through the saloon doors in March, chewing lazily on tobacco as they stood proud in front of the regulars and declared their intention to take Major League Soccer by storm.

The old boys weren't pleased, but had to respect the Sounders' testicular fortitude. Columbus Crew scowled from a bar stool with MLS Cup perched on the counter.

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I know this isn't a soccer video but I couldn't help but post this! I played a lot of soccer tennis over the years and now I am getting into regular tennis and this is just a phenomenal shot! I had to post it! It is the stuff legends are made of and Roger Federer is a legend!

JM

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The Week 26 Major League Socer Power Rankings have had some significant changes from last week. The Columbus Crew have the top spot with a win over Houston while the Los Angeles Galaxy dropped after a disappointing 3-6 lost to Dallas. Other teams moving up are FC Dallas and the Kansas City Wizards who both got much needed wins.

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DC United is Major League Soccer's most storied and most successful club. Since becoming a founder member of MLS in 1996, United have piled no fewer than twelve pieces of silverware into the RFK Stadium trophy cabinet, including four MLS Cups.

Many of United's finest players are still in the team, from habitual record breaker Jaime Moreno and creative ace Christian Gomez to legendary midfielder Ben Olsen.

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Fox Sports Jamie Trecker and World Soccer Reader's Richard Farley joins us to discuss the following topics.

• US Player Development in the wake of two lackluster qualifying wins
• The state of the US program
• Where the US stacks up against other international sides
• Mexico's re-emergence as a power under Javier Aguirre
• Bob Bradley's team management
• The attitude of Americans fans and press
• Does the US have an issue integrating minority players into its national setup
• Will the US look at a non-American coach anytime in the near future

This and much more on an action packed MLS Talk Podcast brought to you by Audible.

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On this episode, we discuss the USA's win over El Salvador and what it will take for the US to qualify for South Africa 2010. We also review all the action across the World as Ghana and Brazil clinched their spots in the World Cup. We wrap up the show with a quick discussion of DC United's loss in the US Open Cup Final and DC's "route" to the playoffs. Click to continue reading...

It was a light schedule in Major League Soccer with World Cup Qualifying so the Power Rankings for this week have not changed much. A few teams who did play, the Colorado Rapids and Kansas City Wizards, did move up as they both had wins. The Rapids improved their playoff chances with a 1-0 win at home against Toronto FC while the Wizards won at New England with a 4-2 victory.

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Next year the Sounders will compete for four major trophies Supporters Shield (30 regular season games), MLS Cup (30 + 4 Playoffs), US Open Cup (up to 6) and the CONCACAF Champions League (up to 14). There will be significant issues with balancing the roster and lineups for this run. The depth of MLS [. Click to continue reading...

Were there regulation in MLS, this would be called a relegation 6 pointer. DC United stinks on the road, but FC Dallas stinks everywhere. Dallas sits second to last in the Western Conference with 23 points, and DCU has 32 points which puts them in 4th in the East. Rapidly losing ground in the playoff race, with teams above them with games in hand, DC United needs to take care of business on the road and come back with all three points.

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It's been an eventful year for the Seattle Sounders who are the newest team added to the MLS this season. They came on strong early on and made a name for themselves. Being sponsored by XBOX help increase their popularity as well. But now they can add U.S. Open Cup winners to their rap sheet.

Seattle Sounders captain (18) Kasey Keller raises the trophy after the Lamar Hunt U.

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Get an all-access, all-Seattle look at the U.S. Open Cup Final; basically it's your typical, high-quality video offering from SoundersFC.com.
I love how they give team owners Drew Carey and Adrian Hanauer the champagne shower, but why do I doubt that players would ever be comfortable giving Uncle Phil Anschutz the wet dress shirt? Click to continue reading...

Now through the magic of the internet you can relive my wonderful journey to Open Cup Glory!
Portland - Whee, a US Open Cup Win (Followed by a small bit about how I really don't care).
Kansas City - So, yay, another Open Cup Win
Houston - Oh my god, I've won another US Open Cup Game
Final Pregame:
I wish Adrian Hanauer would shut up
DC fans, your tears will taste so sweet
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Fred
Originally uploaded by dcunited
Los Seattle Sounders han ganado la copa US, pero la nota de este juego fue la expulsion del portero Josh Wicks quien con lujo de violencia despues de recibir el gol en su puerta le propina tremendo pisoton al delantero Fredy Montero .
Otro de esos seudo futbolistas que no se pueden controlar de ninguna manera y que para acabarla de amolar no reconocen su error y reclaman su expulsión. Click to continue reading...

DC United proudly display the word "tradition" on their back collars. There isn't another MLS club that could do so. They have earned it. There was an idea that they carry 12 trophies means that they deserve the 13th and that expansion franchises will never deserve respect propagated on the net, somewhat [. Click to continue reading...