Portland and Vancouver have done well in preparing for their sophomore seasons. (Getty Images)

Yesterday I took a look at the 10 clubs from the Eastern Conference in how they’ve done so far this winter. Naturally right after the post was put up one of those clubs went out and signed a DP.

Today, we’ll look at the nine clubs from the Western Conference to see how they’ve been doing so far this winter.

Obviously all MLS sides will continue to make moves between now and the end of the MLS transfer window in April but this is merely a discussion and grade for what they’ve done so far. I’ll go back before the end of that window to re-grade these clubs. The transaction page at MLSSoccer.com was where the majority of the info seen on this post came from.

(Side note: I’m not including any Supplemental Draft picks in with any of the teams. Some players have already been let go by their clubs while some are still trying to make the teams. Once they have definitely signed we’ll discuss it more)

Chivas USA

Players In:

M Ryan Smith (11/21: trade from Sporting KC); D James Riley (11/23: from Seattle, via trade from Montreal); M Oswaldo Minda (12/21: SD Quito); M Miller Bolaños (1/11: LDU Quito); F Casey Townsend (1/12: SuperDraft); G Tim Melia (1/17: free); D John Valencia (1/24: Atlético Junior); M Marvin Iraheta (1/24: Cosmos Academy)

Players Out: F Justin Braun (11/23: trade to Montreal); M Gerson Mayen (11/23: trade to Montreal); D Zarek Valentin (11/23: expansion draft); MPaulo Nagamura (11/29: trade to Sporting KC); D Andrew Boyens (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); F Chukwudi Chujindu (12/12: option declined); M Simon Elliott (12/12: out of contract); G Zach Thornton (12/12: option declined); D Mariano Trujillo (12/12: option declined); D Michael Umaña (1/2: free/Comunicaciones); F Marcos Mondaini (1/4: loan option declined); G Sergio Arias (1/4: loan option declined); F Víctor Estupiñán (1/4: option declined)

What is still needed: A big time goal scorer.

Thoughts: This continues to be one of the toughest clubs to figure out. They’ve lost a good deal of talent in guys like Justin Braun and Zarek Valentin. Yet they have brought in some intriguing additions in the form of Ryan Smith, Miller Bolanos and John Valencia. If Smith can return to the level of play we saw out of him in Kansas City, then this club has the potential to be a lot more interesting in 2012.

Grade: C

Colorado Rapids

Players In: D Hunter Freeman (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Houston); M Tony Cascio (1/12: SuperDraft); M Jaime Castrillón (1/25: free/Independiente Medellín)

Players Out: M Sanna Nyassi (11/23: expansion draft); D Mike Holody (11/30: option declined); DDanny Earls (11/30: option declined); D Miguel Comminges (11/30: option declined)

What is still needed: Depth in the midfield and up top.

Thoughts: Losing Nyassi is a bigger deal than some still make it out to be. He was a solid player for them and Montreal will love having a player that can do what he does. On the flip side I do like their additions, even if it is really only a couple of them. Freeman will add some quality to the defense while Castrillon will be called to do a lot in the midfield. I think if Oscar Pareja can make a couple more moves to fit his system, then this club will be fine.

Grade: C

FC Dallas

Players In: F Blas Pérez (1/3: free/Indios de Ciudad Juárez); D Hernán Pertúz (1/3: free/Independiente Medellín); D Matt Hedges(1/12: SuperDraft); D Carlos Rodríguez (1/20: Tauro FC)

Players Out: D Edson Edward (11/23: waived); DJeremy Hall (11/29: trade to Toronto); F Maykel Galindo (12/12: option declined); F Maicon Santos (12/12: option declined); M Marvin Chávez (12/16: trade to San Jose); M Jackson(1/18: loan to Cruzeiro)

What is still needed: A starting right-winger, depth up top

Thoughts: Some folks aren’t too high on what Dallas has done this winter but really they’ve put together a solid winter so far. Perez, Pertuz and Rodriguez will all contribute big minutes this season, as will rookie Hedges. Schellas Hyndman trimmed the fat from the poor moves made last year in the form of Hall, Galindo and Santos but also made some risky moves by trading Chavez and loaning Jackson. Fans were too happy about those last two but they should be happy with the fact that the salary cap space is there for them to make a couple solid moves this season.

Grade: B

LA Galaxy

Players In: D Andrew Boyens (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Chivas USA); D Chris Leitch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/San Jose); F Pat Noonan (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/Seattle); M Marcelo Sarvas(12/13: free/Alajuelense); M Jose Villarreal(12/22: Home Grown); G Nick Noble (12/22: free/Ljungskile SK); D Tommy Meyer (1/12: SuperDraft); M Kenney Walker (1/12: SuperDraft); F Edson Buddle (2/1: free); M Kyle Nakazawa (2/1: trade from Philadelphia)

Players Out: D Gregg Berhalter (12/9: retired);G Donovan Ricketts (11/28: trade to Montreal); M Juninho (1/4: loan expired); G Jon Conway(1/10: retired); M/F Miguel López (1/10: loan expired); M Jovan Kirovski (1/23: retired); DDasan Robinson (1/27: retired); D Chris Leitch(1/31: retired); F Yuri Gorentzvaig (2/1: waived)

What is still needed: Center back depth and defensive midfield help

Thoughts: Losing Juninho is huge, losing Omar Gonzalez to injury is just as big. Both are the two biggest losses to this club but on the flip side they have done very well at addressing depth and shredding some fat. Having Buddle come back is huge but don’t sleep on that Nakazawa trade either, that was a nice quiet move by Bruce Arena that could end up being a big deal down the road.

Grade: B-

Portland Timbers

Players In: F José Adolfo Valencia (12/14: Independiente Santa Fe/Colombia); F Brent Richards (1/4: Home Grown); D Andrew Jean-Baptiste (1/12: SuperDraft); M Brendan King(1/12: SuperDraft); D Hanyer Mosquera (1/17: free); F Kris Boyd (1/30: free); M Charles Renken (1/31: waiver wire)

Players Out: D Kevin Goldthwaite (11/29: retired); F/M Ryan Pore (12/1; option declined); G Adin Brown (12/12: option declined); M Rodrigo López (12/12: option declined); M Peter Lowry (12/12: option declined); F Brian Umony(12/12: option declined); F Kenny Cooper (1/12: trade to New York)

What is still needed: Depth in the defense, additional help on the wings

Thoughts: The last two moves by the Timbers (Boyd, Renken) could end up being the best moves this winter by any club. Boyd is a natural goal scorer and if he can get to 10-15 goals this season, it will be a great addition by the Timbers. As for Renken, if he can get healthy it is a very good pickup for a player that had so much promise early on in his young career. The other DP signed this winter by the Timbers is still a toss up but if Valencia can get healthy and work out, then the Timbers have all the makings of being special in year two.

Grade: B+

Real Salt Lake

Players In: M Enzo Martinez (1/12: SuperDraft); D Diogo de Almeida (1/12: SuperDraft); M Sebastián Velásquez (1/12: SuperDraft);  D Leone Cruz (1/17: trade rights from Seattle)

Players Out: G Tim Melia (11/23: waived); M Collen Warner (11/23: expansion draft); D Robbie Russell (11/29: trade to D.C.); M Jean Alexandre (12/1: trade to San Jose); M Arturo Alvarez (12/5: Re-Entry Stage 1/Chivas USA); MAndy Williams (12/5: retired); D Nelson González (12/12: option declined); D Rauwshan McKenzie (12/12: option declined); M Blake Wagner (12/12: option declined); M Andy Rose(1/17: trade to Seattle)

What is still needed: Depth all over, particularly in the midfield and up top

Thoughts: It seems like they have lose more than they have gained but that is the price you pay when you are one of the deepest teams in MLS. Russell and Warner will end up being the toughest losses on the field. Williams will be the toughest loss in the locker room though. But they did get some youth in the draft and Martinez should be a steal for them, as he’ll get plenty of playing time in his rookie season.

Grade: C

San Jose Earthquakes

Players In: M Shea Salinas (11/30: trade from Vancouver); M Jean Alexandre (12/1: trade from RSL); M Marvin Chávez (12/16: trade from FC Dallas); D Víctor Bernárdez (12/21: free/Anderlecht); F Sam Garza (1/12: SuperDraft); M Jacob Hustedt (1/12: SuperDraft); G Chris Blais (1/12: SuperDraft);  F Sercan Güvenisik (1/26: Preußen Münster); M Tressor Moreno (2/2: free)

Players Out: D Bobby Burling (11/23: expansion draft); M Matt Luzunaris (12/1: waived); M/D Bobby Convey (12/2: trade to Sporting KC); D Chris Leitch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); MAndré Luiz (12/12: option declined); M Jacob Peterson (12/12: option declined); F Scott Sealy (12/12: option declined); G Andrew Weber (12/12: option declined)

What is still needed: Defensive help

Thoughts: A busy offseason for Frank Yallop but not a terrible one. A lot of iffy moves in the draft and in trades that could pan out and be better than I am thinking. If Moreno ends up being the #10 that the Quakes have been looking for then we could be looking at a sleeper team this season. Still a lot of ifs with that defense that worries me. I do think their additions on the wings will help Chris Wondolowski out in a big way. I think the grade will end up being higher, especially if they can work out a deal with Simon Dawkins to return.

Grade: C+

Seattle Sounders FC

Players In: G Michael Gspurning (12/7: free/Skoda Xanthi); D Marc Burch (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/D.C. United); D Adam Johansson (12/29: free/Göteborg); M Christian Sivebaek (1/11: free/Midtjylland); D Andrew Duran (1/12: SuperDraft); F Babayele Sodade (1/12: SuperDraft); M Andy Rose (1/17: trade from Real Salt Lake); FCordell Cato (1/18: free/Defence Force FC);

Players Out: G Kasey Keller (11/2: retired); D James Riley (11/23: to Chivas USA, via expansion draft); D Tyson Wahl (11/23: trade to Montreal); GK Terry Boss (12/2: retired); D Taylor Graham(12/2, retired); F Nate Jaqua (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/New England); F Pat Noonan (12/12: Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); M Erik Friberg(12/12: transfer/Malmö)

What is still needed: Defensive depth, a healthy Steve Zakuani

Thoughts: It looked like this club was going to take a serious hit back at the end of 2011 but they have quietly and diligently made some good moves to help their cause out for what will be a busy 2012. I like the additions of Johansson, Siveback and Cato. And re-signing Mauro Rosales was absolutely huge. Still the biggest loss will certainly be Kasey Keller and his leadership. If Gspurning can be half of what Keller was to this club they will be fine.

Grade: B

Vancouver Whitecaps

Players In: M Bryce Alderson (11/17: Home Grown), D Lee Young-Pyo (12/7: free); M/F Lee Nguyen(12/15: weighted lottery); M Matt Watson(12/16: free/Carolina); D Martín Bonjour (1/6: free: Rampla Juniors); F Darren Mattocks(1/12: SuperDraft); D Chris Estridge (1/12: SuperDraft); G Brad Knighton (1/17: Carolina);  M Jun Marques Davidson (1/19: free); F Sébastien Le Toux (1/30: trade from Philadelphia)

Players Out: D Jeb Brovsky (11/23: expansion draft); D Bilal Duckett (11/23: waived); M Nizar Khalfan (11/23: waived); M Alexandre Morfaw(11/23: waived); M Shea Salinas (11/30: trade to San Jose); D Greg Janicki (11/30: option declined); M Pete Vagenas (11/30: option declined); D Jonathan Leathers (11/30: option declined); G Jay Nolly (12/5: trade to Chicago); D Geinier García (1/17: trade to Montreal); FMustapha Jarju (1/21: contract terminated); MPhilippe Davies (1/21: option declined)

What is still needed: Defensive depth

Thoughts: Martin Rennie has brought in a fair amount of talent from his Carolina roster and will likely continue to do so. But you have to really like where this club is going offensively with Le Toux and the re-signing of Camilio. If Young-Pyo can turn into the game-changer in the back for the Caps, this could easily be a playoff team in 2012. There will certainly be some growing pains with this club, giving all the changes but you have to really like where they are going here.

Grade A-

When the Chicago Fire announced Quaker Oats as their new jersey sponsor earlier this week (I swear that one is growing on me by the day), the news left four clubs without a sponsor.

The Colorado Rapids, the Columbus Crew, FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City all have holes in their jerseys – well metaphorically speaking.

Right now there are no real updates on any of these four clubs in where they stand at getting a kit sponsor. That isn’t the type of post I am writing up for you all today. Locally for me in Dallas, I know the Hoops have been working for a couple seasons at finding the right brand to be on their jersey. They came super close last year only to have the company that they were working with back out at the last minute thanks to a CEO change.

Kit sponsors are big deals for MLS clubs. They help with paying salaries for one. I’ve had a couple teams tell me in the past that the jersey sponsor deals go a long way in keeping costs down for a season. It doesn’t put teams in the green on the financial books but it does help.

We know those four have struggled at finding a sponsor. The brand has to match what the club feels as the right feel for the team. It’s possible that Chicago has hit a home run with Quaker. It’s a local brand that is well known. That’s what clubs like to go for – well known brands – that have strong local ties. Chicago is doing it with Quaker, Philadelphia did it with Bimbo.

Now, not all clubs go for the local brand. VW sponsoring D.C. United isn’t a local company but one that works on a global scale.

But where does Colorado, Columbus, Dallas and KC go? We know they are all losing out on money as we speak. So who could step in and help them out? Below are some companies worth exploring for each club, along with other current sponsors that could step up. More than likely all are long-shots for each side but you never know.

Colorado Rapids: Finding a strong brand for the Rapids isn’t easy. Many folks have been pining over getting someone like Coors as a kit sponsor. Big time brand like Coors would be a big fish to land for the Rapids and MLS. But having Budwiser as a league sponsor has probably always hurt the chances of  Rapids landing them.

Other possible companies for the Rapids: Western Union (located in Eaglewood), DISH Network (Eaglewood), and MapQuest (large offices in Denver)

Columbus Crew: The Crew were one of the first in the league to have a sponsor with Glidden Paint. Ohio is home to many large corporations that would work perfectly for MLS and the Crew. I’d personally love to see someone like Kroger’s (grocery store), Nationwide/Progressive (insurance), or FifthThird Bank. Two of those three are current sponsors for the club as it is while Nationwide or Progressive probably would have problems seeing how Allstate is a big USSF backer.

Other possible companies for the Crew: Goodyear Tire (located in Akron), Sherwin-Williams (Cleveland), or Value City Furniture.

FC Dallas: FCD already has a bunch of sponsors but two that could step up and be huge for the club would be Dr. Pepper or Subaru. I’ve always thought though that if Southwest Airlines could step up and be a bigger partner for the club that it could transition well into a jersey sponsor. But again, its all long-shot talk here. FCD has been extremely picky over which company to put on their jersey and that has probably caused a few of these bigger companies in the DFW area to back out.

Other possible companies for FCD: AT&T (located in Dallas), Baylor Health Care System (Dallas), or Gamestop (Grapevine – a Dallas suburb)

Sporting KC: This is one club I’m still shocked to not see a brand on their kits. But I do believe they are next in line to do so. Question is who though? Two companies come to mind, Sprint and Pepsi. Both are current club sponsors and both would be big brands that would look good on those SKC unis.

Other possible companies for SKC: AMC Entertainment (located in KC), H&R Block (KC), or Dairy Farmers of America (KC).

(Naturally this post was meant to suggest some companies and is in no way saying any of these companies are great fits for the four clubs. I thought it would be a fun debate, feel free to leave your suggestions for each side below)

FC Dallas will now play in FC Dallas Stadium. (Getty Images)

Side note: sorry for the lack of updates these last couple weeks, I’ve been super busy at the day-job and with just life in general. Maybe after the New Year things can get back to normal around here. 

Say good bye to Pizza Hut Park. No the stadium isn’t going anywhere but the name of it is.

The pizza chain decided today to end it’s sponsorship of FC Dallas’ stadium today.

“Pizza Hut, as the company has recently shown with some of its other venue agreements, has shifted its sports marketing philosophy and will no longer be our naming rights partner,” FC Dallas said in a statement. “We are actively searching for a new naming rights partner for the stadium and are in discussions with several interested companies.”

I had heard some rumblings of this over the last couple months but never was able to put anything concrete about this together (plus the whole lack of time thing crept in and took me away from chasing this down further).

Now the stadium will be called FC Dallas Stadium until a new sponsor comes forward.

This is a bit troubling for the Hunt Sports Group, the owners of FCD and the Columbus Crew. Both HSG teams have no stadium sponsors and no jersey sponsors at this time. Two huge money deals that aren’t on the books.

Pizza Hut apparently has been pulling a lot of their sponsorship deals off the table to save money as a company so don’t put this all on FC Dallas. The new isn’t great but with the stadium and the massive soccer complex that is with the stadium, a sponsor shouldn’t be too far away for here. But for now the old Oven nickname is going to go away with the name. FC Dallas Stadium doesn’t have much of a ring to it now but it is something we’ll probably have to say for the 2012 season.

Fabian Castillo should be a protected player for FC Dallas. (Getty Images)

Another expansion draft list for you on this Friday afternoon.

This one centers around the team I’m most familiar with, FC Dallas. I will keep this one fairly short as I find FCD to be one of the easier teams to put a list down on paper (or type out in this case).

To recap, I’ve already looked at the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, D.C. United, the New England Revolution, the Portland Timbers, the San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Keep in mind the rules of the expansion draft, to read more about them click here.

Protected List: 

1. David Ferreira – Yes he was injured all season and yes he is a DP. They could leave him off since he has such a high contract but I don’t see FCD doing that.

2. Brek Shea – No explanation needed.

3. Ugo Ihemelu – Recent re-signed with the club for a long term deal, one of the better center backs in the league.

4. George John – I feel he won’t be with the club next year but they’ll still protect him regardless.

5. Andrew Jacobson – They’d be silly not to protect a remarkably cheap player like AJ.

6. Fabian Castillo – I believe he loses his DP tag after this season (it was to do the transfer fee), he’ll be protected regardless though.

7. Jair Benitez – International that they’ll hold on to.

8. Marvin Chavez – He’s on loan right now, I’d expect they’ll buy his contract this winter.

9. Zach Loyd – One of the more underrated defenders in the league right now.

10. Jackson – This man can play everywhere on the field.

11. Kevin Hartman – I went back and forth on this one as you’ll see below but I’d keep the best keeper in the league.

Home Grown/Generation adidas

• Andrew Wiedeman
• Richard Sanchez
• Victor Ulloa
• Ruben Luna
• Moisis Hernandez
• Josh Lambo
• Jonathan Top
• Bryan Leyva

Unprotected List

• Daniel Cruz
• Daniel Hernandez
• Ricardo Villar
• Bruno Guarda
• Maicon Santos
• Maykel Galindo
• Bobby Warshaw
• Jeremy Hall
• Jack Stewart
• Chris Seitz

Notes:

You could see them not protect Hartman in place of Cruz or even Villar but to me it is smarter to hold on to a keeper like Hartman than to risk letting him go this easily. For what it is worth, he was protected last season.

Dallas probably stands to lose someone here as they have a couple young guys that could be worth taking in this draft like Warshaw or Guarda.

With so many HGP and GA players on the roster, Dallas is pretty cut and dry about who will be saved compared to most clubs in the league.

Dane Richards will have to step up tonight for New York. (Getty Images)

And so it begins, the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs kick off tonight with the league’s first wild card game between FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls.

With the new playoff format teams, players, media folks, fans, everyone really has no clue what the wild card round will really bring. One has to think it will bring an element of chaos in a way since it is a winner take all kind of thing.

These next two weeks are really going to hit hard and fast for everyone. Games today, tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, next Wednesday and then next weekend – lots of soccer in a short amount of time.

Tonight will be interesting, make no mistake about that. New York comes into this game on a little better form than FC Dallas. But there are factors that could go against Hans Backe’s club here. Luke Rodgers is out for the game and it is been widely discussed over the last day or so about how poorly the Red Bulls do this season without him. He did score the lone goal against Dallas the last time the Red Bulls visited Pizza Hut Park this season in a 1-0 New York win.

Then there is the rest factor for Dallas. While New York had to fight their way into the playoffs, Dallas clinched a bid fairly early and were able to rest key players in the final weekend of play. Brek Shea, Zach Loyd, Ugo Ihemelu, Kevin Hartman, Jackson, Marvin Chavez all got rest last weekend. Those are a few key guys for Dallas that needed a day off and they got it. We’ve seen in the past that a rested Dallas equals a really tough one to face.

New York will have Thierry Henry back for this one as he sat out the last game with a red card suspension. He and guys like Dane Richards and Juan Agudelo (off the bench) will be huge for the Red Bulls in the attack. Henry was a Dallas killer back in July when these two squared off at Red Bull Arena – scoring a game-tying goal late in the match.

For me this one is simple, if Dallas can use their rested players like Shea, Jackson and Chavez to guide the attack, they will win this game. New York will have to clog the middle of the field and force Dallas to go through guys like Daniel Cruz instead of their wingers. Defensively, the two teams are fairly even on paper though New York did give up a few more goals this year than Dallas did. Tim Ream and Stephen Keel will have to have another huge game in the middle with Rafa Marquez leading the way just above them in the midfield.

If New York can grab the lead early, I’d expect them to bunker down as quickly as possible to not allow Dallas any attacking room. And if this game comes to the benches, take Dallas. New York is incredibly thin after Agudelo.

This one will be close and physical. Expect a few cards and some silly fouls. New York has the talent to win this game but it is hard to knock the home field advantage here, especially in the playoffs. Dallas wins on a Brek Shea goal and advances to play Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, New York 0