It's mid-June and the New England Revolution are in the thick of the playoff hunt in the Eastern
Conference. Let that sink in. It's been a little while since we've had the pleasure, and excitement
of a Revolution playoff hunt, and I for one cannot contain my excitement.
Each week heading into the match we're going to keep you up to date on the playoff implications
it carries, as well as the impact on the rest of the league.
One year ago the New York Red Bulls entered Qwest Field as Western Conference champions clear
favorites over the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. They were thoroughly outclassed by Sigi Schmid's
side in a match that would set the tone for the season for both franchises. This time around, the
situation is reversed.
There won't be any silverware on the line this time around, but this weekend's clash between the
Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire is sure to be a tense affair all the same.
After the Sounders claimed their third straight U.
CARSON, Calif. - Ever since the participants in Sunday's MLS Cup booked their tickets to the
season's grand finale two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Galaxy has been widely pegged as one of the
biggest favorites the final has ever seen.
Finding minutes on a team as stacked as FC Dallas can't be easy for a rookie, so when Bobby
Warshaw gets a chance to step on the field for the reigning Western Conference champions, he has to
take full advantage.
Warshaw did just that on Saturday, coming off the bench to score a dramatic stoppage-time
game-winning goal to help FC Dallas complete an inspired comeback in a 3-2 victory against Sporting
Kansas City.
Just like last season, FC Dallas has embarked on an extended unbeaten run to shoot up the league
standings.
The defending Western Conference champions haven't lost in nine games and find themselves second
in both the Supporters' Shield standings and SBI MLS Power Rankings after another clean sheet
victory and a sweet goal from Marvin Chavez.
FC Dallas has scheduled a press conference following Thursday's training session at Pizza Hut
Park to make a player announcement.
As of now there are no hints as to what the player announcement will be, but it appears it will
be a major one as club president and CEO Doug Quinn will be there along with chairman Clark Hunt,
head coach Schellas Hyndman and FC Dallas players.
Call it a glitch, call it a technicality, but it's Week 2 in MFLS circles.
Week 1 (AKA Los Angeles' 1-0 win over Seattle) was pretty fruitless from a fantasy standpoint
unless you started Juninho, who scored the only goal, or had the foresight to go with Josh Saunders
as your goalkeeper.
The oft-maligned USMNT left back comes over from Dallas in exchange for allocation money, the
club announced today.
The 26-year-old joined Dallas in 2009 after stints in Germany and Denmark. The University of
Portland product made 27 starts for the Western Conference champions last season.
Editor's Note: Just in case you didn't get the post title. The game was in Corpus Christi and,
CC being a medical term, we calculated how many CCs it would take to fill a pint because, well, we
like beer. 473.2 CCs to be exact. And there you have it. Nerd-dom at its finest.
There's been so much uproar during the past few weeks about whether the playoff system for Major
League Soccer is a joke or not. First, the Eastern Conference Final featured two teams, San Jose
Earthquakes versus Colorado Rapids, who were decidedly western teams. And second, the playoff
system resulted in a final featuring the team that ended in fifth place in the final standings
against the seventh place team.
The 2010 Major League Soccer final will be contested between Western Conference champions FC
Dallas and Eastern Conference champions Colorado Rapids. Both teams won their respective conference
finals at the weekend and both will looking to put American soccer's biggest prize into the trophy
cabinet when the final is played on Sunday, November 21st.
In 2009, the Los Angles Galaxy were a penalty kick shootout away from winning the third MLS Cup
in the club's history. With a new season looming, the Galaxy will be looking to begin the road back
to the final.
The Western Conference Champions trained on Friday morning before heading to Arizona on Friday
afternoon for a training camp that includes matches against the Columbus Crew, Kansas City Wizards
and the Colorado Rapids.
The Los Angeles Galaxy will be going for its third MLS Cup title tonight against Real Salt Lake
(8:50pm, ESPN/Galavision/Telefutura), which is appearing in its first MLS Cup Final.
The Galaxy, led by MLS MVP Landon Donovan and David Beckham, will look to build on a season that
saw LA go from one of the worst teams in MLS to Western Conference champions.
The Los Angeles Galaxy will be going for its third MLS Cup title tonight against Real Salt Lake
(8:50pm, ESPN/Galavision/Telefutura), which is appearing in its first MLS Cup Final.
The Galaxy, led by MLS MVP Landon Donovan and David Beckham, will look to build on a season that
saw LA go from one of the worst teams in MLS to Western Conference champions.
The Los Angeles Galaxy is preparing to embark on a three-city road trip but may be without its
biggest star, Landon Donovan, for the start of its first match.
The Galaxy captain has missed the last past two days of practice in order to get himself fit for
the upcoming trip.
Here are my observations about the Western Conference Final Sunday night between LA Galaxy and
FC Dallas:
LA Galaxy were awful when it came to passing, particularly in the second half.
As a result, Bruce Arena's side committed too many mistakes, lost the ball too many times and made
it an uphill battle for themselves to mount serious attacks when moving the ball across the
pitch.
Galaxy rookie Michael Stephens knows he has a lot to live up to.
The Los Angeles Galaxy are well known for developing top level rookie talent. Their past two
first-round picks, defenders Sean Franklin and Omar Gonzalez, won the MLS Rookie of the Year award
under the tutelage of Bruce Arena.
And those words are: Western Conference Champions!
In another step in the worst-to-first journey that MLS Coach of the Year Bruce
Arena has taken the team on, the Los Angeles Galaxy turned away a stiff challenge from the
Houston Dynamo in 30 minutes of extra time with a 2-0 scoreline.
Like commenter Diane, I LOVE me some AJ Delagarza! Magee was fairly worthless with a horrible
first touch for most of the match. Kirovski was brought in, why? Beckham did very well, but boy he
was soooo tanked in overtime. I really felt for him and the others.
When Omar Bravo finished off a Teal Bunbury pass to give Sporting Kansas City a 2-0 lead on FC
Dallas in the 68th minute on Saturday night, the match-up of top MLS clubs looked to be over. The
home team was leading, the visitors were feeling the grind of a busy week, and it would have been
easy for Dallas to look ahead to Tuesday's U.
In a matchup that may very well decide the Western Conference champions, the Los Angeles Lakers
take on the Dallas Mavericks. Since the San Antonio Spurs have been eliminated, these are the top
two remaining seeds in the West. Who is going to win between the Lakers and the Mavs?
