U.S. camp: Picks and litter

Still U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley has named his first training camp of the New Year in preparation for the January 24 friendly against Sweden at the HDC. Who will remain on the squad when World Cup qualifying begins again is anyone's guess. It's a line-up dominated by MLS players, many of them second-tier substitutes.

GOALKEEPERS: Jon Busch (Chicago), Will Hesmer (Columbus), Troy Perkins (Valerenga), Matt Pickens (out of contract).
Busch and Hesmer are solid keepers, but not world class. Tim Howard has this spot sewn up barring injury. So this is really a competition for No.2.

DEFENDERS: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles), Cory Gibbs (Colorado), Clarence Goodson (Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Chris Wingert (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto).
Marshall's a poor man's Carlos Bocanegra, but still a decent reserve. Bornstein will likely make the 2010 squad. Gibbs is still trying to regain form from a few years ago. Wynne could potentially be the next great American right back if given the chance.

MIDFIELDERS: Geoff Cameron (Houston), Brian Carroll (Columbus), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Eddie Gaven (Columbus), Stuart Holden (Houston), Jack Jewsbury (Kansas City), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), John Thorrington (Chicago).
With so many choices in the midfield, it's amazing the players that Sadley decides upon. Save Clark, Holden, Kljestan and Rogers, this lineup reads like an MLS waiver draft.

FORWARDS: Brian Ching (Houston), Kenny Cooper (Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Chris Rolfe (Chicago).
Let the Ching vs. Cooper war begin. My money's on Coop. Rolfe and Davies are streaky players and will probably not make the final 2010 roster.

MLS Hot Stove

Heading the list of recent trades and acquisition is Dwayne DeRosario who will leave the Houston Dynamo and return to his hometown Toronto. With both Nate Jaqua and DeRo gone, the Dynamo will be looking to acquire some offense this offseason. Here's a complete transaction/movment list by team as of Dec. 13:

Chicago Fire
OUT: Stephen King acquired by Seattle in expansion draft; Tomasz Frankowski and Andy Herron waived; Will Johnson traded to Real Salt Lake for conditional draft picks in 2009 and 2011.

Chivas USA
OUT: Alex Zotinca waived.

Colorado

OUT: Mike Petke and Tim Ward waived.

Columbus

OUT: Coach Sigi Schmid resigns; Brad Evans acquired by Seattle in expansion draft. IN: Stanley Nyazamba signed to developmental roster.

DC United

IN: Clyde Simms re-signed. OUT: Jeff Carroll waived.

FC Dallas

IN: Drew Moor and Dario Sala re-signed. OUT: Duilio Davino waived

Houston

OUT: Dwayne DeRosario traded to Toronto for Julius James and Allocation money; Nate Jaqua acquired by Seattle in expansion draft.

Kansas City

OUT: Tyson Wahl acquired by Seattle in expansion draft; Adam Cristman acquired from New England for allocation money and 3rd-round draft pick.

Los Angeles

OUT: Peter Vagenas acquired by Seattle in expansion draft. IN: Jovan Kirovski re-acquired from San Jose for 2010 supplemental draft pick; Tristan Bowen signed to developmental roster.

New England

OUT: Michael Parkhurst signed by Danish club FC Nordsjælland; Khano Smith acquired by Seattle in expansion draft; Doug Warren and Jose Angulo waived; Adam Cristman traded to Kansas City for allocation money and 3rd-round draft pick.

New York

OUT: Jeff Parke acquired by Seattle in expansion draft. IN: Mike Petke re-acquired in waiver draft.

Salt Lake

OUT: Nathan Sturgis acquired by Seattle in expansion draft. IN: Jamison Olave re-signed.

San Jose

OUT: James Riley acquired by Seattle in expansion draft; Jovan Kirovski traded to Los Angeles for 2010 supplemental draft pick.

Seattle

IN: Click here for updated roster for expansion Sounders.

Toronto

IN: Dwayne DeRosario acquired from Houston for player and allocation money. OUT: Julius James traded to Houston; Jarrod Smith acquired by Seattle in expansion draft.

CCL: Dynamo claim final spot

The Houston Dynamo's season isn't over just yet. Having been ousted in the first round of the MLS Cup by finalist New York, Houston turned its attention to the CONCACAF Champions League match against CD Luis Angel Firpo of El Salvador and won 1-0 at Robertson Stadium to secure the final berth in the CCL's quarterfinal round.

Brian Ching scored for Houston in the 13th minute off a Dwayne DeRosario corner kick and Houston held on to their slim lead, even when they went down a man due to Eddie Robinson's ejection in the 82nd minute after a foul on Firpo's Carlos Monteagudo.

Houston will be the lone Major League Soccer representative in the quarterfinals after DC United finished a miserable CCL campaign winless in six matches. USL Division 1 club Montreal, however, nearly won their group, advancing in the second spot in Group C.

The draw for the CCL quarterfinals will be held on December 10.

Sounders pick through the litter

The Seattle Sounders, MLS's 15th team, selected from the list of unprotected players and began to assemble the squad that will begin play next summer. Apparently they spent more on Ljunberg and Keller than I thought or they are planning another spending splurge soon because they went bargain hunting, selecting some head scratchers in Wednesday's expansion draft.

1. Nate Jaqua (Houston Dynamo) - 174K
2. Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake) - 108K
3. Jeff Parke (New York Red Bulls) - 59K
4. Jarrod Smith (Toronto FC) - 36K
5. Khano Smith (New England Revolution) - 46K
6. Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles Galaxy) - 144K
7. Tyson Wahl (Kansas City Wizards) - 33K
8. James Riley (San Jose Earthquakes) - 33K
9. Stephen King (Chicago Fire) - 18K
10. Brad Evans (Columbus Crew) - 33K

The last two picks are probably the smartest. King and Evans will certainly pay back an investment of $51,000. And Pacific Northwest homeboy Jacqua is a good selection. Khano Smith is underrated, as is Jeff Parke, but Seattle is going to pay too much for Sturgis. And why would you want to spend that much on old Vagenas. I mean Vagenas is stinky. He doesn't get much play. Why would you pay that much for Vagenas? Even Amish teens on rumspringer would stay away from Vagenas at that price.

Sound choices for Seattle's draft

Since Freddie Ljungberg certainly counts as Seattle’s designated player and goalkeeper Kasey Keller was probably signed for around the 200K mark, the Sounders have about 1,800,000 to spend on an opening day roster.

The following is an assembled starting 11 that would be both economical and competitive. I'm not thrilled with Eddie Gaven (despite his recent resurgence with the MLS champions), but beggars can't be choosers. So I splurged on Rohan Ricketts. Don't you want 50 Cent sportin' a Sounders kit at his next concert? I’d like to put the rest on a gift certificate, Mr. Sajak.

GOALKEEPER

K. Keller (?)

DEFENDERS

C. Waibel (70K), I. Joy (120K), P. Ianni (108K), W. Barrett (149K)

MIDFIELDERS

R. Ricketts (213K), N. Grabavoy (90K), T. Cooke (173K), C. Ashe (33K)

FORWARDS

F. Ljungberg (?), E. Gaven (165K)

Note: 2008 salary in parenthesis

MLS draft? Already?!?

Well, sort of. Major League's newest franchise will be selecting among the league's unprotected players in a special draft on Wednesday. Having already signed a netminder and a goal-scorer, who will they go after to complete the team? And with Freddie Ljungberg up top and Kasey Keller between the posts, does it matter? Here's a list of decent players from each club with the fat excised (for a complete list click here):

Chivas USA
Razov, Ante
Suarez, Claudio
Talley, Carey
Victorine, Sasha

Chicago Fire
Brown, C.J.
Carr, Calen
Herron, Andy
King, Stephen
Prideaux, Brandon

Colorado Rapids
Burciaga, Jose
Cooke, Terry
Erpen, Facundo

Columbus Crew
Evans, Brad
Gaven, Eddie
Noonan, Pat
Oughton, Duncan

FC Dallas
Davino, Duilio

D.C. United
Doe, Francis
Dyachenko, Rod
Gallardo, Marcelo

Houston Dynamo
Ashe, Corey
Barrett, Wade
Ianni, Patrick
Mulrooney, Richard
Onstad, Pat
Waibel, Craig

Los Angeles Galaxy
Franchino, Joe
Kirovski, Jovan
Klein, Chris
Vagenas, Peter

New England Revolution
Smith, Khano
Thompson, Wells

New York Red Bulls
Magee, Mike
Wolyniec, John

Real Salt Lake
Deuchar, Kenneth
Joy, Ian
Kovalenko, Dema
Mathis, Clint
Williams, Andy

San Jose Earthquakes
Grabavoy, Ned
O'Brien, Ronnie

Toronto FC
Ricketts, Rohan
Ruiz, Carlos
Velez, Marco

In other news:

Wizards acquire forward Adam Cristman from New England for allocation money and Kansas City's natural 3rd round selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Bargain for KC.

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (2008 Season)

GOALKEEPER

J. Busch (CHI)

DEFENDERS

J. Conrad (KC), M. Wynne (TFC), C. Marshall (CLB)

MIDFIELDERS

S. Kljestan (CHV), G.B. Schelotto (CLB), J. Morales (RSL), C. Blanco (CHI)

FORWARDS

L. Donovan (LA), J.P. Angel (NY), K. Cooper (DAL)

MLS Cup: Crew win, complete double

The Columbus Crew defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-1 in the 2008 MLS Cup at the Home Depot Center on Sunday, completing the MLS double (Supporters Shield and MLS Cup) and winning their first-ever Cup.

In a match that had TYH wishing he had put money on the match, Columbus played midnight to New York's Cinderella story, getting goals from Alejandro Moreno, Chad Marshall and Frankie Hejduk -- all assisted by MLS Cup MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

Moreno opened the scoring in the 31st minute, taking a GBS thru pass and scoring with a low diagonal shot inside the far post. But Red Bull fans held out hope after their side equalized in the 51st minute, as John Wolyniec scored his second of the playoffs off a Dane Richards pass. But the hope was shortlived -- two minutes to be exact -- as the Crew regained the lead in the 53rd minute, with yet another Chad Marshall header off a GBS corner. With New York pressing in attack, GBS had one more bit of magic, chipping over the New York backline to Heydude, who headed over the onrushing Danny Cepero (Johnny swept the leg), and that's all she wrote.

Pretty


Prettier


Prettiest

Garber denies LanDo loan

MLS Commissioner Don Garber in his MLS State of the Union claimed that Landon Donovan has not been loaned to Bayern Munich, contrary to reports in the press to the contrary.

“We haven’t heard anything from Bayern Munich about Landon going on loan to that team,” the commissioner said in response to a question. “Let me remind everybody: contrary to what you might have read in the press, Landon Donovan is not on loan to Bayern Munich.”

LanDo recently completed a trial at the German giants, and according to reports in on ESPNsoccernet, a loan deal was completed.

FIFA blows!

Check out the draw for the Confederations Cup:

GROUP A: South Africa, Iraq, New Zealand and Spain.

GROUP B: Italy, Brazil, USA, Egypt.

Yeah, that's fair. I know they wanted to make it easy for the host country, but jeez, Italy and Brazil? Why not swap Egypt for Spain and really make it a challenging for the Yanks?

The Confederations Cup starts on June 14, 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa (and likely ends for the Yanks two weeks later). I guess it will be a good blooding for whoever Bradley decides to take.

U.S. squash Guats, 2-0

They are the future of the national team. That is, they should be and perhaps their performance against a desperate Guatemala in the CONCACAF qualifier on Wednesday served as a wake-up call to 'Nats coach Bob Bradley. But more than likely we'll see Eddie Lewis' fat head again for the first qualifier of the final round.

The U.S.'s 2-0 defeat of Guatemala proved two things: 1) The U.S. is super deep in the midfield and 2) Kenny Cooper is a better target than Brian Ching. Chingy has served the U.S. well in the past, but Cooper is clearly better at holding off the defender with his back to goal and getting to the ball off set pieces and crosses.

Many will say that because the U.S. had already qualified that this match was not a true test of talent, but I disagree, considering that Guatemala, a typical quick and aggressive Central American team, were fighting for their World Cup lives, needing a win to have even a shot at advancing to the final round. They threw everything they had at the U.S. -- or at least they tried, but the match was dominated by Freddy Adu and Sacha Kljestan (11 SOG for the U.S.), a midfield duo who should be inked into the 2010 roster now.

TYH's Patriot of the Pitch©: Kenny Cooper

MATCH REPORT

TEAM	1st half	2nd half	Final
USA	0	2	3
GUA	0	0	0

Scoring:
Cooper (Altidore) 54.
Adu 69.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brad Guzan; 5-John Thorrington, 3-Clarence Goodson, 15-Michael Parkhurst, 2-Jonathan Bornstein; 10-Freddy Adu (7-Davy Arnaud, 83), 4-Pablo Mastroeni (capt.), 13-Ricardo Clark, 16-Sacha Kljestan; 9-Kenny Cooper (8-Conor Casey, 76), 14-Jozy Altidore (11-Brian Ching, 76)

GUA: 18-Ricardo Jerez, 2- Carlos Castrillo, 3-Cristian Noriega , 4-Yony Flores, 7-Claudio Albizuris, 9-Mario
Acevedo (17-Minor Lopez, 74), 10-Guillermo Ramirez, 12-Carlos Figueroa (8-Marco Pappa, 57), 13-Carlos Castillo, 16-Jean Marquez, 11-Marvin Avila

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Ricardo Clark (caution) 55.
GUA – Yony Flores (caution) 68.
USA – Pablo Mastroeni (caution) 78.

STATS	USA	GUA
Shots	16	6
Shots OG	11	3
Saves	3	9
Corners	6	4
Fouls	13	17
Offside	3	4

U.S. roster vs. Guats

U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley named his squad of 20 players for USA's meaningless World Cup qualifier against Guatemala on Nov. 19 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado, and once again Sadley misses a chance to be creative with his squad selection. Here it is:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Matt Pickens (out of contract)
Slim Pickens? or is it Perkins? I think we're deeper than this at keep.

DEFENDERS (6): Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (Colorado Rapids), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution)
I like that he added the MLS rookie of the year. I'm just not so sure that the ROY should have been Sean Franklin. How can you give a guy an award for defense when his squad gave up more goals than any club this season and the most since 2005?

MIDFIELDERS (5): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire)
Sigh.

FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire)
Will Coop show or will he tell Bradley that he "has a thing that night"? Even money.

MLS Look-a-likes (Cup edition)

NY GOALKEEPER DANNY CEPERO

AND

KARATE KID RALPH MACCHIO

MLS Cup: #8 tackles #1 in Cup final

New York Red Bulls vs. Columbus Crew

MLS Cup 2008 (@ the HDC)

Sunday, November 23

3:30pmET on ABC, TeleFutura

After sneaking into the Cup playoffs through the backdoor, left open by DC United on the final regular season matchday, it looked like the New York Red Bulls would have yet another brief appearance in the postseason. But they managed the impossible and knocked out the defending Cup champion Houston Dynamo with a 3-0 thrashing. Then, with Alexi Lalas promising to shotgun a large can of Red Bull if New York upset Real Salt Lake, the soccer gods saw fit to turn a myriad of Salt Lake shots toward the woodwork and New York told Lalas, "Bottoms up, buttercup!" with a 1-0 win. 

Now they're in the final, but in order to put a cherry on top of this improbable Cup sundae, they must beat the Supporters Shield Champion Columbus Crew, the #1 seed in the MLS Cup playoff and a club that scored 11 more goals than New York had points during the regular season. It's not only improbable; it would be the biggest upset in MLS history.

Can Cinderella pull it off? Or will the Crew play matador to these winged Red Bulls?

TYH's Prediction: NY 1-3 CLB

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Conf. Champ.)

GOALKEEPER

D. Cepero (NY)

DEFENDERS

C. Leitch (NY), K. Goldthwaite (NY), C. Marshall (CLB)

MIDFIELDERS

D. van den Bergh (NY), G.B. Schelotto (CLB), B. Carroll (CLB), J. Rojas (NY)

FORWARDS

E. Gaven (CLB), B. McBride (CHI), J. Wolyniec (NY)

MLS Cup: Fill the Cup with Red Bull

New York 1-0 Real Salt Lake (Rio Tinto Stadium)
Cinderella still has wings, as the Red Bulls stun Real Salt Lake 1-0 in a match that saw the home side hit the post several times. Now thanks to the silly format of the MLS Cup, the east coast club has won the Western Conference crown, but more importantly, New York will be making their first appearance in the MLS Cup, where they will face Columbus. Dave van den Bergh was the hero for the Red Bulls, cleaning up a rebound in the 28th minute (truly a garbage goal). RSL had the bulk of the possession and the best of the chances from that point on, but it appears that the soccer gods are Mormons, as RSL went begging on chance after chance. Overall, it was a pretty dreadful match, especially when compared to Thursday's instant classic between Chicago and Columbus. But by far the best thing about this match is that now Alexi Lalas will have to make good on his promise to shotgun a can of Red Bull. I hope he gets sick.

MLS Cup: Crew through to first Cup Final

Chicago 2-3 Columbus (Crew Stadium)
The Columbus Crew stormed back from a 1-0 first-half deficit to beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 on Thursday night in a fast-paced, up-and-down match. In a match destined to outperform the Cup Final, a header from Chad Marshall and a low volley by a resurgent Eddie Gaven, gave Columbus their first Eastern Conference Championship and put them through to their first-ever MLS Cup final appearance. The victory was particularily sweet for Crew fans, who filled Crew stadium and provided an excellent atmosphere, as former Crew star Brian McBride, now with Chicago, scored the go-ahead goal, following chants of "traitor, traitor" from the partisan crowd. It is hard to believe that Saturday's Western Conference final or the MLS Cup final will live up to the atmosphere and play of last night's contest.

MLS Cup: Conf. championships set

Eastern Conference Championship
Thursday, November 13
Chicago Fire @ Columbus Crew (7:30pmET  on ESPN2)
It's Blanco versus Schelotto. This is the real MLS Cup. It's too bad that it has to take place in the Eastern Conference championship. Both clubs rolled over their semi-final opponents, but Columbus will enjoy home field advantage. The Fire are just 6-5-4 on the road this season, whereas the Crew are 11-2-2 in the comfy confines of Crew stadium. The Crew and Fire drew both times they faced each other in the regular season, so this match has the makings of an instant classic.

Prediction: Chicago 2-3 Columbus

Western Conference Championship
Sunday, November 16
New York Red Bulls @ Real Salt Lake (TBA)

Who gets to claim underdog status in this one? The team who have been colossal underachievers since they joined the league in 2005 or the perennial choke artists New York, who barely made it into the playoffs before beating the defending Cup champs. Midfield play will figure greatly in this one and unfortunately for New York, RSL have Javier Morales who definitely should be in the conversation for MLS Cup MVP. Can Angel and company pull off another shocker?

Prediction: New York 2-3 Salt Lake (AET)

MLS Cup 2008 - (@ the HDC)

Sunday, November 23
3:30pmET on ABC, TeleFutura

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Cup Semis)

GOALKEEPER

J. Busch (CHI)

DEFENDERS

W. Conde (CHI), F. Hejduk (CLB), K. Goldthwaite (NY)

MIDFIELDERS

G.B. Schelotto (CLB), J. Morales (RSL), D. Richards (NY), B. Carroll (CLB)

FORWARDS

C. Rolfe (CHI), A. Moreno (CLB), J.P. Angel (NY)

MLS Cup: NY West stun Dynos

New York 3-0 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
After narrowly making the playoffs, thanks to a DC loss on the last day of the regular season, the Red Bulls managed one of the biggest upsets in MLS Cup history by knocking out the defending Cup champions 4-1 on aggregate, after trouncing the Dynamo in their home stadium 3-0. With the aggregate locked at 1-1 after the first leg, Dane Richards scored in the 25th minute to get things going for New York. Then, Juan Pablo Angel converted a PK 11 minutes later and the Red Bulls were well on their way. John Wolyniec sprinkled a little salt in the champs wound in the 81st minute with New York's third unanswered goal. Despite being an Eastern Conference club, New York will advance to face Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference by virtue of MLS's crazy playoff structure that awards the final four spots in the playoffs by record and not by place in the conference.

MLS Cup: Crew, RSL advance

Kansas City 0-2 Columbus (1-3 agg.) (Crew Stadium)
The Columbus Crew dispatched the Eastern Conference fourth seed with a 2-0 win in the home leg of their semi-final series on Saturday. Brad Evans scored in the 7th minute and Robbie Rogers doubled the lead in the 58th. The Crew advance to the Eastern Conference final to face the Chicago Fire, winners in their semi-final series against New England.

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Salt Lake 2-2 Chivas USA (3-2 agg.) (HDC)
A 2-2 draw in the away leg was all that Real Salt Lake needed to advance after securing the one-goal advantage in the home leg against Chivas USA. A Sacha Kljestan PK in the 30th minute gave Chivas the lead, but Dema Kovalenko equalized for RSL and then Javier Morales put them ahead in the 77th. An 83rd minute goal by Justin Braun made the final few minutes interesting but they were unable to find the aggregate equalizer to force overtime. Salt Lake will face the winner of Sunday's Houston-New York match. New York and Houston drew 1-1 in the first match at Giants Stadium.

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MLS Cup: Fire bomb Revs

New England 0-3 Chicago (Toyota Park)
After a tight, well-played home match, the New England Revolution forgot to pack their cleats for the second-leg and were eliminated by the Chicago Fire from the MLS Cup after in a 3-0 defeat last night. Chris Rolfe began the rout with a garbage goal in first-half injury time. Second-half goals by Wilman Conde and Gonzalo Segares added insult to injury. The Revs were without injured stars Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston once again, and Chicago was fired up by their home crowd of 17,312. The Fire advance to the Eastern Conference finals to face either Columbus or Kansas City.

MLS Cup: Favorites save late draws

Chivas USA 0-1 Salt Lake (Rio Tinto Stadium)
After saving RSL from elimination, Yura Movsisyan kept RSL moving in a positive direction, scoring the only goal, a cheeky back-heel, in the opener of Salt Lake's Western Conference semifinal with Chivas USA. His 90th minute goal gives Real the advantage going into the second-leg in Los Angeles next week.

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Houston 1-1 New York (Giants Stadium)
After backing into the playoffs courtesy of a DC United loss, New York managed to lead the home leg of their series with Houston for almost 40 minutes, as Juan Pablo Angel put the Red Bulls up 1-0 in the 48th minute before the Dynamo's Kei Kamara in the 85th minute. By virtue of finishing of finishing fifth in the Easy, New York shifted over to become the fourth seed in the Western Conference semifinals.

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Columbus 1-1 Kansas City (CAB)
Davy Arnaud's 53rd minute strike looked like it would be the game-winner against Eastern COnference top-seed Columbus, when Steven Lenhart scored a crucial equalizer two minutes into injury time. Columbus will now host Kansas City at Crew Stadium, even on goals (there is no road-goal advantage in the MLS Cup).

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MLS Cup: Revs unlucky in opener

Chicago 0-0 New England (Gillette Stadium)
The 2008 MLS Cup playoffs opened up with arguably the best match-up that fans will see until the Cup final, as New England drew 0-0 with Chicago in the first leg of the #2 vs. #3 Eastern Conference semi-final. The Revolution, who were without three starters -- Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston and Adam Cristman, were unlucky to come away with only a point, as they clearly had the better run of play in the second half and would have scored if not for some timely tackles by John Thorrington and Bakary Soudmare. Chicago may count themselves unlucky as well, considering they had a Brian McBride goal disallowed for offside, but replays showed that it was the correct call. The Fire will host New England at Toyota Park on November 6 in a winner take all match.

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MLS Cup: Format tougher for East seeds

The 2008 MLS Cup tournament begins on Thursday, October 30, and while Houston get to play the worst qualifying team (ranked eighth on a single table), Columbus (who won the true championship of MLS -- the Supporters Shield) have to play the sixth team overall, a streaking Kansas City. And thanks to MLS Cup's farcical format, Chicago face New England, while Chivas USA get Salt Lake. Here's the rundown of match-ups.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

#2 (#3) Chicago vs. #3 (#4) New England

#1 (#1) Columbus vs. #4 (#6) Kansas City

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

#2 (#5) Chivas USA vs. #3 (#7 ) Salt Lake

#1 (#2)Houston vs. #4 (#8) New York

*Conference Rank (Single-Table Rank)

Click here for the complete MLS Cup schedule.

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Week 31)

GOALKEEPER

W. Hesmer (CLB)

DEFENDERS

R. Cochrane (SJ), J. Curtin (CHV), F. Hejduk (CLB), D. Moor (DAL)

MIDFIELDERS

L. Donovan (LA), J. Morales (RSL), R. O'Biren (SJ)

FORWARDS

C. Rolfe (CHI), Y. Movsisyan (RSL), C. Lopez (KC)

MLS Sunday: United, they fall (Week 31)

DC United 0-1 Columbus (Crew Stadium)

In one of those season defining moments, Luciano Emilio beat the keeper one-v-one, fired a shot past the the fractured defense and ... hit the far post. Brad Evans scored the lone goal of the game, a spectacular long-range effort, and shattered the hopes of DC United fans, knocking the once dynastic club out of the playoffs in the final game of the regular season. DC's loss clears the way for the New York Red Bulls to back into the MLS playoffs, where they will switch conferences as the last team to qualify for the Cup.
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Los Angeles 2-2 FC Dallas (HDC)
Landon Donovan's 79th minute penalty kick gave LD the regular season Golden Boot and assured that the Galaxy would not suffer the humiliation of finishing dead last in Major League Soccer this season ... by themselves at least. The point assured that they would finish level on points with re-expanded San Jose. Edson Buddle scored his 15 goal of the season, but the LA defense did what it do. You know what I'm sayin'? They surrendered two goals in five minutes to Drew Moor and Victor Sikora, a couple of guys who have a total of three goals this year between them. Each side also saw players ejected, as Alvaro Pires (LA) was sent off with a straihgt red in the 40th and Aaron Pitchkolan was sent off four minutes into the second half with a second caution.

MLS Saturday: Colo cry Salty tears (Week 31)

Salt Lake 1-1 Colorado (DSG Park)
With a dramatic 90th minute goal, Yura Movsisyan saved RSL from elimination by equalizing Conor Casey's 11th goal of the season. The draw allows RSL to punch their ticket into the MLS Cup and eliminates Colorado on the final weekend of the regular season.
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Kansas City 3-1 New England (Gillette Stadium)
It was not the way New England wanted to go into the playoffs, as the Revs saw two players sent off in a 3-1 loss to KC. The Wizards Claudion Lopez scored from the spot after Gabriel Badilla was ejected for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity in the 28th minute. Just before halftime, Khano Smith was also sent off for a hard foul on Herculez Gomez (retaliation for Steve Ralston, perhaps?). In the second half, KC added a goal from Davy Arnaud and an own goal scored off the Revs Michael Parkhurst. The Revolution's Jeff Larentowicz managed a consolation goal in the 90th minute.

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Toronto 0-2 San Jose (BS Stadium)
In a game with no MLS Cup implications, San Jose managed the home win, getting goals from Ryan Cochrane and Shea Salinas (from the penalty spot). The win put San Jose a point over Los Angeles, who currently have the worst record in MLS but have a game to play.

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Houston 1-1 Chivas USA (HDC)
Also, no direct playoff implications in the other nightcap, as Houston's Dwayne DeRosario and Chivas USA's Jim Curtin exchanged second-half goals. But Chivas USA will be without their keeper for the first match of the playoffs, after Dan Kennedy, who stopped one PK, was sent off for taking down Nate Jaqua on a breakaway.

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MLS Thursday: NY Rolfed up (Week 31)

New York 2-5 Chicago (Toyota Park)
With their playoff chances on the line, a win and your in scenario, the Red Bulls did what it does best ... they choked -- hard. Chris Rolfe rolfed all over the NY defense, scoring a FIRST-HALF hattrick, en route to a rout. Juan Pablo Angel equalized after the initial Rolfe score, but after two-more by the diminutive University of Dayton product and then two more Fire goals by Brian McBride and Daniel Woolard on the other side of halftime, the Red Bulls were looking like pink ponies. Macoumba Kandji scored a meaningless goal for NY in the 88th. Now, New York must pray that both DC and Colorado lose their matches, so they can back in to the MLS Cup playoffs. New York's loss also puts KC in to the playoffs regardless of this weekend's results.

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TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Week 30)

GOALKEEPER

L. Crayton (DC)

DEFENDERS

J. Bornstein (CHV), W. Barrett (HOU), P. Mastroeni (COL)

MIDFIELDERS

S. Holden (HOU), R. Ricketts (TFC), D. DeRosario (HOU), J. Morales (RSL)

FORWARDS

F. Doe (DC), J.P. Angel (NY), C. Lopez (KC)

The MLS Cup playoff picture

What if I show them my man boobs?

With one match to play, five teams are vying for the final three spots in the MLS Cup playoffs. Taking into consideration tie-breaks (head-to-head, then goal differential), these are the current standings:

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
Kansas City	29	10	10	9	39	-4
New York	29	10	10	9	39	-3
Salt Lake	29	10	10	9	39	1
Colorado	29	11	14	4	37	-1
DC United	29	11	14	4	37	-7

As you can see, Kansas City, New York and Real Salt Lake are all in the driver's seat. The match to watch next week will be Real Salt Lake versus Colorado, with the winner most likely punching their ticket to the MLS Cup playoffs. The other four clubs will face teams that have already qualified or have been eliminated. DC face Columbus on Sunday, who will likely rest their starters, but even if the Red-and-Black manage a win, they could be eliminated if Colorado beat Real Salt Lake. This is because Colorado boast a much better goal differential, meaning DC would have to win by something like eight goals (depending on the score of Colorado v Salt Lake) to move ahead on the tie-break.

Is all that too confusing? 

MLS Sunday: Rapid ascent (Week 30)

Colorado 2-1 Chivas USA (HDC)
Conor Casey's penalty kick in the 85th minute gave Colorado the win they needed to have in order to stay in contention for the final three playoff spots. After Colin Clark gave the Rapids the lead in the 65th minute, Jonathan Bornstein, nearly played spoiler, equalizing in the 72nd, but Shavar Thomas fouled Omar Cummings in the box and Colorado was awarded the PK.

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MLS Saturday: Penultimate (Week 30)

Saturday
Chicago 2-3 Toronto (BMO Field)
A brace by 50-cent fav Rohan Ricketts gave Toronto the 3-2 win. Amado Guevara put TFC up in the 12th minute and Ricketts doubled the lead six minutes later, putting back a PK rebound. Chicago's Justin Mapp pulled one back in the 25th minute, but Ricketts scored again in first-half injury time. Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored a 59th minute conciliation goal for the Fire. It was all for naught, however, as Toronto was eliminated from playoff contention due to results around the league.

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Columbus 1-3 New York (Giants Stadium)
Danny Cepero? Wasn't he Ralph Macchio's character in The Karate Kid? Cepero -- who assumed goalkeeping duties for the Red Bulls after starting keep Jon Conway tested positive for andro this week -- became the first goalkeeper to score in Major League Soccer history with a long ball sent in from his own half. The ball took a big bounce on the artificial turf and went over Crew keeper Andy Gruenebaum's head. But this embarrassing goal was only the icing on a 3-1 win, powered by a Juan Pablo Angel brace, that kept New York in contention for one of the last three MLS Cup playoff spots with a match in hand. Steven Lenhart had the Crew's lone goal.

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San Jose 2-2 Kansas City (CAB)
Despite a valiant effort by the Quakes and a sick save by Joe Cannon in the final two minutes, a 3-2 loss saw the re-expansioners eliminated from the MLS Cup playoffs. The two clubs traded shots, with Claudio Lopez scoring first in the 18th minute and then Scott Sealy answering two minutes later. The Wizards regained the lead in the 27th minute but rookie Shea Salinas scored his first goal of his MLS career, a pin-ball putback, to finish the scoring. Then, Herculez Gomez scored the winner in the final minute of extra time off a corner.

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Los Angeles 0-3 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
Another year, another Beckham-less MLS Cup playoffs...just goes to show that you can't trade the whole farm for one prized cow. With ol' Bessy on the sideline due to yellow card accumulation, the terrible Galaxy defense surrendered three first half goals (own goal-14, Dwayne DeRosario-20 and Nate Jaqua-23) and were eliminated from playoff contention by the Dynamo, who clinched the Western Conference crown.

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FC Dallas 1-3 Salt Lake (RES)
From hero to goat, Marcelo Saragosa scored to put Dallas ahead, but then saw two yellow cards inside of 20 minutes and was shown the door. Five minutes later, Yura Movsisyan equalized for the home team. Then, Will Johnson put RSL ahead on the other side of halftime, and finally Robbie Findlay finished the scoring in the 86th minute. The Hoops lost midfielder Pablo Ricchetti on a straight red in the 90th minute. They also lost out on a playoff spot, thanks to results in other matches. SIlly, Dallas. You should have kept him.

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MLS Wednesday & Thursday (Week 30)

Wednesday, October 15
San Jose 1-2 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
San Jose's playoff hopes are on life support, after Houston's Stuart Holden put back two post-rattling rebounds. The win was made all the more impressive due to the fact that Houston's Kei Kamara (ex-Quake) was ejected in just the 11th minute. Scott Seally equalized for the visitors in minute 68, but Holden would find the back of the net with an injury-time thriller.

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Thursday, October 16
New England 1-2 DC United (RFK)
Despite the turds they've been laying since winning the US Open Cup, DC United is still in the hunt for a wild card spot in the MLS Cup playoffs, thanks to a second-half brace by Francis Doe. Doe's dos doozies came following Taylor Twellman's 58th minute goal, his eighth of the season.

Proof MLS is major: A steroid scandal!

So it turns out that wings aren't the only thing you get from Red Bull.

MLS announced on Friday that it was suspending New York Red Bull players Jeff Parke (defender) and Jon Conway (goalkeeper) for 10 matches for failing drug tests for banned performance-enhancing androstenedione and boldenone metabolites.

According to espnnet's account, MLS officials acknowledged that the players injested over-the-counter supplements, unaware that they contained the banned substances.

"We have met with both players and they informed us that they ingested an over-the-counter supplement that unknowingly contained a banned substance," Erik Stover, club director, said on the team's website.

If the unknowingly injested the substances, isn't 10 matches a bit too harsh a punishment? Ten matches is the longest suspension in league history, and they didn't even break anyone's leg. Also, are they even given a list by the team doctor of supplements to avoid? Do MLS clubs even have team physicians?

Columbus are MLS Champs! Really!

Although you won't hear it from ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel or even the league office, the Major League Soccer champion was decided this weekend when Columbus picked up a point on the road against Chicago, putting them an unreachable 10-points ahead of second-lace Houston in the single table.

By picking up the Supporters Shield for the most points in the regular season, Columbus should be named league champions, but alas, MLS execs cling tightly to the playoff system, a bastardization of all that is good in American soccer. It makes no sense to refer to the MLS Cup winner as the MLS champion. This club has been successful in a single club tournament, consisting of four matches. The league champion should be the club that managed to secure the most points in the course of the season, not simply the team that plays best in October.

After all, the Supporters Shield winner gets all the rights and privileges of a champion (see last year's league champion DC United).

Every year I rail against the injustice, the blatant stupidity of naming the MLS Cup champion the league champion and every year it's the same. I have a dream, a dream that one day the club that finishes atop the league standings after the 30-game schedule will be named the MLS champion.

But I fear I'll be forever dreaming.

Cooper to Bradley: Thanks, but no thanks

Dallas forward (and my new hero) Kenny Cooper declined an invitation to play in a meaningless qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago this Wedesday, saying:

"I feel so fortunate and honored to have been invited to join up with the U.S. Men's National team in Trinidad and Tobago. I made the difficult decision not to report because I had picked up a virus and have been playing with a sprained ankle. Considering the importance of my club's game versus Real Salt Lake this week, and that the National Team has already clinched a berth in the next round of qualifying, I felt it was the right thing to do to stay in Dallas and make sure I get well, and hopefully there will be other opportunities down the line."

Let me translate into realspeak:

Look, douchebag. You don't call me up through all the important qualifiers, even though I'm tearing up defenses in MLS, getting calls daily from European clubs and attracting all kinds of tail, even though I look like Boris Karloff. Now you invite me to the dance after we've already qualified for the next round and the best I can hope for is some Carribean crapfactory doesn't cut me down and tear up my sore ankle. Thanks, but no thanks, Sadley. Frankencoop out.

So, here's who did agree to come out:

Goalkeepers: Troy Perkins, Brad Guzan.

Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein, Danny Califf, Frankie Hejduk, Michael Orozco, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne.

Midfielders: Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan, Pablo Mastroeni, Danny Szetela, Jose Francisco Torres.

Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, Robbie Rogers.

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Week 29)

GOALKEEPER

J. Conway (NY)

DEFENDERS

M. Wynne (TFC), J. Conrad (KC), C. Suarez (CHV), M. Velez (TFC)

MIDFIELDERS

G.B. Schelotto (CLB), E. Lewis (LA), J. Mapp (CHI)

FORWARDS

K. Cooper (DAL), B. McBride (CHI), J. Braun (CHV)

Too easy: U.S. smoke Cubans (again)

After a subpar couple of national team matches, DMB came to play versus Cuba in our nation's capital, scoring two first-half goals against the ill-matched Cubans before a whole cast of Americans got into the action. Final score U.S. 6, Cuba 1. Take that, Castro!

Landon Donovan, Brian Ching, Jozy Altidore and Oguchi Onyewu all made the scorers' sheet before it was said and done.

DMB on whether the team is more dominant against teams from the region, especially at home:
“I think so, but at the same time you want to be tough at home, whether it is qualifying or a friendly. Over the years that I have been here, we have always had strong performances at home, and our fans are great. We want to keep that streak alive."

The win clinches a berth for the U.S. in the Final Round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Here's a recap of USA v. Cuba.

TYH's Patriot of the Pitch©: DaMarcus Beasley

MATCH REPORT

TEAM	1st half	2nd half	Final
USA	2	4	6
CUB	1	0	1

Scoring:
USA – DaMarcus Beasley (Sacha Kljestan) 10th minute
USA – DaMarcus Beasley (Landon Donovan) 30.
CUB – Jenzy Muñoz (unassisted) 32.
USA – Landon Donovan (Heath Pearce) 48.
USA – Brian Ching (Sacha Kljestan) 63.
USA – Jozy Altidore (Clint Dempsey) 87.
USA – Oguchi Onyewu (Freddy Adu) 90.

Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.),15-Heath Pearce (4-José Torres, 68); 12-Michael Bradley 16-Sacha Kljestan (17- Freddy Adu, 76); 8-Clint Dempsey, 10-Landon Donovan; 11-Brian Ching (9-Jozy Altidore, 68)

CUB: 12-Odelín Molina; 6-Yoel Colomé, 16-Reysander Fernández, 3-Yeniel Márquez, 2-Silvio Miñoso; 14-Jaime Colomé (8-Alianas Urgelles, 72), 5-José Luis Clavelo (capt.), 7-Luis Villegas (13-Carlos Domingo, 46), 9-Alain Cervantes, 11-Jenzy Muñoz (10-Mario Ruiz, 80), 15-Leonel Duarte

Misconduct Summary:
CUB – Yoel Colomé (caution) 21st minute.
CUB – Yoel Colomé (caution) 41.
CUB – Yoel Colomé (sent off) 41.
CUB – Reysander Fernández (caution) 62.
USA – Michael Bradley (caution) 90+

STATS	USA	CUB
Shots	18	4
Shots OG	13	2
Saves	1	6
Corners	9	1
Fouls	11	9
Offside	3	3

MLS Saturday & Sunday (Week 29)

Saturday
New England 0-1 Kansas City (CAB)
Jimmy Conrad scored his sixth of the year for the Wizards. Flashback to preseason...Conrad tells Extratime tools that if he scores 10, KC wins the MLS Cup. Four more to go, Jimmy. With three playoff spots left, KC kept pace with RSL and New York with the win.

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Toronto 2-2 FC Dallas (PSP)
TFC's Marco Velez and Marvell Wynne scored in between a Kenny Cooper sandwich. But considering the top piece of bread was a PK given in injury time, Toronto FC fans were left with a bad taste in their mouths. The PK was awarded after rookie Julius James tugged Adrian Serioux down by the shirt. No video evidence was offered on mlsnet.

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Chivas USA 1-0 San Jose (BSS)
Justin Braun scored in the seventh minute and than the Goats Americano shut it down with good defense for 83 minutes. The win clinched a post-season berth for Chivas USA, who have won four in a row.

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Sunday
Columbus 2-2 Chicago (Toyota Park)
This just in: Brian McBride plays for the Chicago Fire. I know this because he finally reared his head (pun intended) in their match with his ol' team Columbus. Providing the first and last goal of the game in a 2-2 draw. Eddie Gaven and Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored second-half goals for the Crew. But more importantly, the Crew secured the Supporters Shield and are thus, this year's MLS league champions.

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DC United 0-0 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
A nil-nil draw moves DC closer to the offseason and further away from the playoffs. Hope that Open Cup trophy is big enough for Tom Soehn's tears. DC also loses defender Bryan Namoff for the next match, as he was shown a second caution in the 73rd minute.

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Colorado 2-3 Los Angeles (HDC)
David Beckham is away. Landon Donovan plays just 27 minutes. And the Galaxy ... win. Go figure. Edson Buddle, a Ugo Ihemelu own goal and Brandon McDonald's first of the year gave L.A. the 3-2 victory. Former U.S. national team defender Cory Gibbs and a Tom McManus PK gave Colorado its two.