I always say the best cure for it is to do what Seattle is doing, a single broadcaster calling the game. It takes away the American style of showing a game with injury reports from the sideline and things like that but it add more to the broadcast than anything else. In other words less is more.

Then again I’ve always hated having a sideline reporter for soccer games anyways. Aside from the injury updates they hardly provide a single insight into the game.

Editor’s Note: Geoff Reid appears here on WVHooligan.com each week. This week he returns to tackle the fun issue of who is and who isn’t the best commentators in the game right now. Feel free to leave him a comment below.

We often discuss amongst friends and read on fan message boards our thoughts and feelings towards certain remarks that the color or play-by-play announcer said on air. Sometimes we agree, most of the time we do not. The beauty of our game is that nobody ever has the same opinion. Sure some folks have no idea what they are talking about, but for the most part our differing opinions on the beautiful game comes from the different types of football we’ve grown to love. So all in all, you can’t please everyone, and I’m going to go through a list of commentators I like and dislike. In my personal opinion, Martin Tyler and Andy Gray from Sky Sports in the UK are the two best anywhere and this is because I grew up watching and listening to their telecasts so it’s tough to please me!

JP Dellacamera and John Harkes: I really like these two, I’ve read information about folks who don’t however. John Harkes has played at the highest level and knows the game better then most. Sure, he’s very bland, and doesn’t get you all that excited, he just keeps it plain and simple when explaining what has just happened. JP doesn’t overstep his boundary like some play-by-play announcers do when giving their two cents. Watching some Premiership matches of FSC, some of the English commentators say too much when their job is to call the match the way it is. The opinion is for the color commentator only.

Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth: I’ve never been a fan of these two. Derek Rae has grown on me over the years and I can see why people really like him. Certainly he is one of the best in this part of the world. He was certainly good with Andy Gray during Euro 2008 on ESPN last summer. Tommy Smyth on the other hand, not a fan to put it kindly. His term “back of the auld onion bag” that he says time and time again is enough to turn you away from the game. Put all of Tommy’s annoying lines and phrases aside, I wonder why he is actually still commentating on Champions League matches. He has never played the game at an organized level or even coached before. I think it’s fair to say all of us know more about the game then Tommy does.

Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan: This is an interesting pair because I’ve read very mixed reviews of these guys. I like Max Bretos. I can understand why a lot of folks don’t like him at all with his “YES!” Trademark every time a goal is scored. I like Max because not only does he love the game, he is his own man. Simply put, he has his own style compared to other commentators who try too hard to copy Derek Rae. Bretos seems to have a wide knowledge of the game and is a real football man unlike Dave O’Brien who ESPN chose randomly for the World Cup in 2006. Sullivan on the other hand I can’t stand. I respect what he’s achieved in the game, his knowledge of the sport is immense and that’s fine. What I don’t like is him trying to speak with a foreign accent. If he’s going to do that then why doesn’t he pronounce Terry Cooke’s name in an English accent, or Shalrie Joseph with a Caribbean accent? Just speak normally, please! Also, I’ve noticed Sullivan hardly criticizes anyone and I’m not sure if he can because the head honcho’s of the league are watching, but John Harkes doesn’t say everybody’s good. I would be happy to see Sullivan gone and replaced by Brian Dunseth.

Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson: Probably my favorite pair in North America. Phil has been doing it so many years and his wealth of knowledge and experience is such a joy to listen to. As the play by play man, he doesn’t give his “expert analysis.” He just leaves that up to Ray Hudson. Ray on the other hand, love him or hate him, he gives you your money’s worth. I don’t always agree with him, especially his views on Chelsea’s performance at Camp Nou (and I’ll defend that performance until the day I die), I respect his opinion and he gives his honest opinion. On top of that, how can you not like his metaphors? Classic stuff! He’s better then a lot of English so called “experts” and he is definitely a steal for Gol TV.

After these pairing it basically goes to regional broadcast teams and I can’t speak for every market, however, there are some guys I like a lot and some I don’t. Folks I do like are Glenn Davis (who can be both color and play-by-play) because he has a terrific background in the sport, Brian Dunseth as I mentioned before because he goes into detail and often sees something I missed, Thomas Rongen with his wealth of knowledge, Christian Miles who does get a lot of stick, but like Bretos, he is his own man and I’ll give a shout out to Kevin Calabro up in Seattle who was a basketball man that seems to be learning the ways of the beautiful game well and that’s good to see.

Now for others I don’t like are Greg Lalas who I listened to on local telecasts when I was in college in the Boston area. He just seems to point out the obvious. The San Jose Earthquakes broadcast team of John Shrader and Troy Dayak get on my nerves, especially when Shrader makes it sound as if were watching the match in Spanish language instead of English when an Earthquakes goal is scored. Dayak on the other hand, like most color commentators just points out the obvious that I see all the time. I understand that I missed a lot of regional commentators and apologies for that, I just haven’t heard enough to form an opinion on all of them. I understand we all have our favorites and ones we don’t care for. When I look at a color commentator I want him or her to point out things that I can’t see and that’s why Andy Gray is my favorite. Martin Tyler compliments him perfectly and as I last remember he was always the man with statistics. I just hope Gray comes back to ESPN for the World Cup next summer as it was refreshing hearing his voice again during the Euros last year.

I’m going to be real honest about some broadcasters on this list. If you don’t like a broadcaster of your club or a national one, that’s fine. You can always voice your opinion below. Also, I just got to a point over the last few weeks of watching/listening to games that I felt I had to say something about some of these guys in one, long post and not in some short mention in a weekend recap or something like that.

Why am I doing this? Mainly because of my history in the broacast world and because I’ve done enough soccer broadcasting to understand what it takes to have a good duo on a call.

I will say this too, I didn’t find information on all clubs here. Some were real easy to find while one or two clubs I had real trouble. So if you know who does those games and have a clue about how good they are I want to hear it as well. And saying that, it also means I haven’t seen or heard everyone on this list. I’ve made an effort to but I know for the life of me I haven’t heard everyone. A good reason may be because there probably are more national broadcasts these days and on MLSnet.tv you tend to get the same clubs’ feeds over and over again.

For time purposes and my own sake since I don’t speak the language, no Spanish broadcasters are included on here. I hardly ever listen to those guys anyways if they are the only option for a MLS game. Usually my telly is on mute in those cases. One day I swear I will learn Spanish and actually listen though.

Let’s start with the big boys first. The national broadcasters.

ABC/ESPN/ESPN2- JP Dellacamera and John Harkes: Back before the season ESPN and ABC finally realized something. They knew Dave O’Brien, Rob Stone, Eric Wynalda and Tommy Smyth just weren’t cutting it and fans were tired of the trio calling the games. What do they do? They moved O’Brien off soccer for good, put Stone in a studio role, booted Wynalda off their list and kept the Ol’ Onion Bag. They then brought back a duo from their 2006 World Cup broadcasts that most people really liked, JP and Harkes.

Some dislike this pairing but I would be willing to say that most rather listen to these two call a game than any other group or duo in ESPN/ABC history with MLS. I know I was happy to hear the World Wide Leader got it right with JP and Harkes. So far this season I have been able to enjoy all the Thursday night games plus the US national team games.

When those two are off or there is a double-header ESPN calls up Glenn Davis and Smyth. To me that is a solid back-up team.

HDNet- Glenn Davis and Marcelo Balboa: Most recall Balboa being with O’Brien back at the World Cup. Some reason ESPN/ABC loved that duo, I hated it and still do. But some reason I have liked the pairing with Davis for Balboa. I think its part that Davis knows how to call the game just as well as anyone else and he sounds fairly easy to work with. If you don’t get this channel don’t worry, not many people do yet.

Fox Soccer Channel – Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan: FSC has a couple other reporters/hosts in their group as you can see with the photo to the right. But Bretos and Sullivan are the main duo that they use. From time to time they will bring on some other guys like Dave Johnson (who sound so much better) in place of Bretos.

For a channel dedicated to soccer I find they fail at getting a solid duo to call MLS games. Neither one really works well with one another and most fans will agree that Bretos is down right terrible to listen to. Some like him because he is terrible (yes, I have gotten emails from folks that listen to him because they know they will laugh at him) but the vast majority just down right hate listening to him. My biggest problem with Bretos is his over pronouncing of player names and his constant yelling the word “YES” when someone scores. Sullivan has an issue on sounding too foreign, which puts some people off. Nothing better to hear then mispronounce something and then yell at each other for it during a broadcast.

Are these guys the worst that cover the league? No. Thankfully they do actually know the game, which counts for something. But if you are like me or most people who have watched this league since it started you will get annoyed very easily by them.

——————————————————————————————–

Now club-by-club. Mostly local broadcasts that I could find information on is presented here. If anything is incorrect please feel free to let me in on it as I do not see every local broadcast from each team here. I just want to present what I know and think.

——————————————————————————————–

Chicago Fire:
WPWR Channel 50: Fred Huebner(left) and Chris Doran -This is one of those groups that I know very little about. Mainly because I don’t live in the Windy City or see their local games. But what I do know from some folks that live in the area, these two are a solid duo.

I’ve heard Huebner a couple times to know that he won’t get on your nerves too much in a game and Doran knows his stuff. They seem to work well together from what people in Chicago have told me. In that case, if they work well together it will come across in their broadcast. Believe me, it goes a long way.

Columbus Crew:
ONN: Dwight Burgess and Dante Washington/Bill McDermott – A lot of people dislike the Crew broadcast group. I was in that boat for a while, mainly because I couldn’t stand their color commentators (Washington/McDermott). Burgess isn’t bad though, I think if he were alone he would probably present a pretty good call. Thing is when he is sitting next two Washington or McDermott it brings his quality down a bid.

Washington is a little bland for me and McDermott can get on your nevers after a while. Thing is the Crew do have a solid broadcast of their games. It use to be CSN but is now back on ONN.

Some will be quick to say that they have the worst out there but I can tell you that isn’t the case. They tend to grow on you over time and before long you start to enjoy them a bit more. I know I have and do.

DC United:
Comcast SportsNet: Dave Johnson with Thomas Rongen (sometimes Tony Limarzi stans in for Johnson) – Probably one of my favorite broadcast groups in MLS. No coincidence here that it’s DC United’s broadcast either. Johnson may be one of my favorite broadcasters in sports, especially in soccer. You can’t deny he has the best goal call of anyone out there (“IT’S IN THE NET!”). Thomas Rongen is a pretty good partner to Johnson too.

What I’ve always enjoyed about Johnson is the fact that he knows the game very well. He also knows how to call a game very well too. There aren’t too many moments that he rambles on with Rongen or gets off track like a lot of broadcasters do. You almost never hear him have problems calling a goal or the play leading up to a goal. In other words he presents the game in a very likeable way for the listener.

Kansas City Wizards:
Metro Sports: Sean Wheelock with Bruce Arena – I know recently they brought on someone else with Wheelock to split time with Arena but I couldn’t for the life of me remember his name. Wizard fan you can help me out on that one.

Anyways, Wheelock is one of the better broadcasters in MLS. Sad part is he is sometimes paired with Arena. You go from excitement in Wheelock to monotone in Arena. Look I love Bruce Arena as much as the next guy but he is not a top rate color commentator. I’d much rather see him in a studio setting if he is going to do TV.

One thing I do like about Wheelock, he usually seems a bit more balanced in his calls. Meaning he doesn’t just play favorites to the Wizards. I’m a bit surprised FSC hasn’t called him up by now but I guess he likes it in KC.

Edit: Thanks to Mike in the comments below for sending this in about the other color commentators for the Wizards games.

So it appears that when Arena isn’t doing a game (which is when the Wizards are at home), former head coach Bob Gansler will sit in the booth with Wheelock. And apparently, one game this season the ever colorful Eric Wynalda will fill the booth with Wheelock. Man that is a lot to keep up with for Wizard fans!

New England Revolution:
CSN New England: Brad Feldman and Greg Lalas – Okay, you either love this broadcast duo or you hate them. There rarely is a middle ground with these two. I don’t know if its the combination of the two or if one is sometimes a bigger douche bag than the other.

In all seriousness they are a good broadcast team that knows the game and knows the Revs very well. Their biggest problem is they are total homers to the Revs. Almost to the point where you can’t take it. Its more Feldman than Lalas but sometimes Lalas actually agrees with Feldman on things.

Lalas is an unique guy if you ask me. I hate his Extratime show on MLSnet but listening to him during a game totally fits him. I would even argue that he would be better off being a color commentator with someone else like a Dave Johnson or a Glenn Davis. I think sometimes his quality comes down sometimes because of Feldman.

New York Red Bulls:
MSG: Steve Cangialosi and Shep Messing – Another group that you either like or love, mostly due to Messing. Once Dellacamera left MSG to go full-time with ESPN, it gave Cangialosi a chance to show his stuff. While sometimes his goal calls are a bit much he does a very good job presenting the game and even works well with Messing.

A lot of people have a problem with Messing because of how he speaks his mind. You know what, there isn’t a real problem with that. Thing is from time to time he says something that is just down right stupid and people lose all respect for him again. Believe me, I’ve been there. But for the most part I like him and can stand listening to him and Cangialosi. Like I said, they work well together and it shows in their broadcast.

Toronto FC:
CBC: Nigel Reed and Jason DeVos
Roges Sportsnet: Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest

Now Toronto is a bit different and I could be wrong on it too. I know most of their games are on CBC but I did read that Rogers Sportsnet either has or had some broadcast rights. I’ve never listened to Rogers but I have with the CBC so I can at leat provide something.

A lot of people from what I’ve read and heard don’t like the CBC broadcast with Reed and DeVos. I’m not sure if its because they may sound too European or what. I didn’t have any real problems listening to them and actually enjoyed the first broadcast that I heard of them last year when BMO Field opened against KC. They didn’t seem to annoy me as much as some broadcasters and that is a good thing.

Chivas USA:
FSN West: Christian Miles(right) and Bernardo Osuna – Oh, another FSC reporter/broadcaster that people either can stand or really dislike. Christian Miles. I’ve met the guy and he seems nice and all but I still have trouble getting through a game that he calls. I honestly don’t know if I even recall what Osuna sounds like enough to give him any reviews here and that is probably because of Miles. He is one of those guys, like Bretos that can just get down right annoying after time.

He does know the game but his problem with trying to sound too-Latino can get right too you. I know he is doing Chivas games but there is no reason to sound over-Latino when there aren’t that many Latino players on the team.

To me, they are near the bottom of the list of groups I want to listen call a game.

Colorado Rapids:
Altitude TV: Jason Kosmicki (left) with  ? – Could anyone let me in on who calls the games with Kosmicki? Well, it doesn’t matter because whoever that is doesn’t know the game very well to begin with. A lot of people, and I mean a lot of people have problems with the Altitude broadcast. Mostly because of Kosmicki. If you listened to the last game against Toronto you will know why. Calling Toronto FC, Dallas a couple times; to calling Rohan Ricketts Jeff Cunningham a couple times (even on a goal call); to talking too much in the run of play before a goal (twice); to screaming about a foul that wasn’t a big deal. The list could go on and on here. I won’t get too nit-picky about it because I know a lot of Rapid fans won’t disagree with it.

Their broadcast really haven’t improved from last year or the year before. It use to be because they did studio broadcasts when the club was on the road, that is no longer the case. Even in the stadium the broadcasters can’t get the players right or even the teams right. I know there is a level of enthusiam that someone should have in calling sports and Kosmicki has it but his lack of knowledge on MLS really brings down the show.

FC Dallas:
FSN Southwest: Brad Sham and Dave Dir- Some people really love this duo and for some reason there are folks that dislike it. I’m honestly a fan of Sham and Dir, not because I’ve met the two a few times and think they are stand-up guys that know the game, teams, and players really well. I mainly think that because I believe they do a solid job at calling the games. Much like Comcast in DC, FSN Southwest does a good job because of the comination of Sham and Dir.

Houston Dynamo:
KTBU: Charlie Palillo and Glenn Davis – To be real honest, I don’t know enough about Palillo to give a fair review. I do know that I like Glenn Davis so I am willing to bet that this broadcast works and sounds fine. Any Houston locals can let me in on that a bit more. I mainly get national broadcasts of their games anyways or the road team feed.

LA Galaxy:
FSN West: Jim Watson and Mark Rogondino – I had to really think about this one. I know I’ve heard Watson and Rogondino before but due to the Galaxy having so many national-TV games these days I just had trouble with this one. Maybe that is a good thing and maybe it isn’t.

Real Salt Lake:
KSL-TV: ?? – Yeah, I did all I could to find who calls their games but came up short each time. It wouldn’t have really mattered anyways. I don’t think I’ve ever heard their home broadcast of any game that their club was in. RSL fan, please help us out on this one. Good or bad?

San Jose Earthquakes:
CSN Bay Area: John Shrader (right) and Troy Dayak – Another solid duo that knows the game, team, and players very well. I’ve liked Shrader since back in the Quake 1.0 days. Dayak seems to work well with Shrader as well, which as you can tell by this list it probably means their broadcast is going to be good. Some by the Bay may disagree but the few games I’ve heard about of these two I enjoyed enough to want more.

What have we learned in that span? At first the east was jumping out too far ahead of the west. Now the west is catching up with the likes of the two Home Depot Center clubs, Colorado and the two Texan clubs. Except for one rainy game north of the border in Toronto, the west actually put up a decent front against eastern sides. Sure those clubs were at home but it should be noted that they are giving the western conference something to talk about here other than how dreadful the conference has been so far this season.

Before the weekend we had two straight ties of 2-2 between Houston and Dallas and then New England and DC. Thankfully the weekend left us with either winners or losers.

Attendance figures were so-so for another week. We had some good (Toronto, Houston), some expected (Real Salt Lake), some expected but still disappointing (Chivas), largely disappointing (Colorado), and two dreadful weeknight figures (New England and Dallas).

A couple clubs were randomly off this weekend. Chicago and Kansas City. I must say its an odd schedule for the Wizards this year, and yet they aren’t moving into a stadium. Usually the odd schedule follows a stadium opening in August. Real Salt Lake has a fall opening stadium and they aren’t docked with the weird schedule. I suppose its more so the sharing a baseball stadium.

A couple main points to shoot out before we get started:

• Chivas is closely resembling a club that can be labeled as “back from the dead”…after a few straight games of no wins, the Red-and-White have reeled off three straight (two at home against the east).
• LA without Beckham and Donovan were largely what we expected…boring.
• The streamers are slowly getting annoying but I’m not buying into this pathetic nonsense about some things thrown on the field in Toronto. For one, the evidence shown looked like a plastic bag more than anything that didn’t even slow or stop the game. If it stops the play and disrupts the game that is one thing, but if its just something that floats out on to the field because the wind picked it up that’s really out of all of our hands.
• Thanks to Jorge Flores for Chivas, teams across the league are figuring out what they need to do to start their own Sueno competition.
• Even though the west is starting to catch up with the east in the standings, they still don’t have a club with an above .500 mark here. Yikes.
• For the first time (I think) all season we have a “if the playoffs started today” kind of standings with four eastern sides and four western sides. Honestly, it will more than likely end up like that when the times comes around. Teams aren’t separated by that much this season and I just am starting to believe that we will have a normal looking playoffs this season with four from each conference.

Toronto FC 2 – 0 LA Galaxy:

• Without David Beckham and Landon Donovan LA looked like a rather pathetic club for the most part. Pretty much the average club we expect them to be this summer when one or both of the stars are gone. Without them the midfield has no service and the offense looks rather pedestrian (even with a healthy Carlos Ruiz).
• Toronto looked good with a few changes in the line-up. Nice to finally see Julius James get some playing time and score nonetheless. I’m tell you this kid will be a beast in defense once he fully gets his chance for this club.
• Jeff Cunningham upped his stock options with his performance on Saturday. I found it interesting to see him start for once and play a full 90. The club needs a goal scorer to lead the team and Cunningham can be that guy when he is at the right frame of mind. I think though they played him in a way to get clubs to remember he still existed so a trade option could still float out there for this summer.
• I think more clubs are starting to wish they hadn’t passed on Jarred Smith either here. Toronto got him in the Supplemental Draft the year before last. After a season in New Zealand he came back to the league and has really looked good coming off the bench.
• Toronto looks so damn comfortable at home, their record dating back to last fall at BMO Field is 5-0-3. Yeah, not bad, that’s what a home field should be.
• Was it me or was the announcing from FSN terrible in this one. It was like they didn’t even care to be there for the game. I know their home club (LA) wasn’t exciting to watch but at least make it interesting.

Houston Dynamo 1 – 0 New York Red Bulls:

• Houston is back at .500 after a road draw in Dallas and a home win against New York this week.
• New York drops to 3-3-3 on the year and is starting to slide more than people will admit. I’ve said it for weeks and I will continue to say it, their defense is weak and their offense lacks the punch without a healthy Juan Pablo Angel and Jozy Altidore. Hard to make much go when a third or more of your payrolls sits a home while the rest of the club plays the game.
• Textbook goal from Brian Ching. Beautifully placed ball by Geoff Cameron to set up the goal. New York’s defense left Ching far too open on the play, showing again how easily they can be beaten.
• Without the key parts New York played more defensive on the road. Starting out a game on the road with the mindset of playing defensive never works.
• No creative parts in the midfield for New York in this game. Let’s look at the laundry list of needs for this club: another striker, a left winger, an attacking midfielder, a central defender, and probably now a wingback or a keeper to back up and push Jon Conway.
• Nice crowd in Houston makes me hope more for their own stadium…they have good fans that need a good stadium.

Real Salt Lake 3 – 1 San Jose:

• Back to basics here with this game. RSL proved again how solid they are at home and San Jose proved how much of an expansion club they really are on the road.
• Nice to see Robbie Findley wake up in this one, the goal and assist were more than needed for his confidence.
• Joe Cannon had a nice first half. But the Findley goal he was clearly out of position. You should never get beat near post like that and Cannon should know better. I will say the PK stop was very nice, but stopping two in one game can be a lot to ask for even for someone like Cannon.
• For the most part RSL really took it to San Jose, loads of good chances, most were blocked or brushed away from Cannon. But the two goals in the run of play were exactly what this club should be doing all the time. Good ball movement leads to scoring, its simple soccer that works and RSL was doing it very nicely on Saturday.
• I really wonder if this home winning will translate well once this club moves into the new stadium later this year. There won’t be the nasty turf, which I think is a big reason to their success at home right now. I guess its a wait and see thing.
• Okay, I really hate watching games on FSC though. When an announcer over pronounces a simple name like Findley, I think I must say I’ve had enough and am throwing in the town on the channel.

Chivas USA 2 – 0 Columbus Crew:

• A role reversal here between these two sides. Columbus now hasn’t won in three games and Chivas hasn’t lost in three games.
• Honestly though aside from five minutes in the first half, Columbus was the better team with less luck.
• Brad Guzan was a reason for the lack of luck for the Crew. He made a few big saves to keep them off the board.
• Columbus again proved how much they need another scorer in this one and someone to help take the pressure off Schelotto. When he is off, usually the club is as well. All their losses this season he hasn’t been his normal self.
• Somehow Chivas is finding some solid identity here this season. They are scrappy and have learned to win all over again this season. Very dangerous.
• I wouldn’t be too worried if I were a Crew fan based on the last three results. They looked good in all but couldn’t get lucky in each. Sometimes a dry spell in the luck department happens. Thing is its just their offense that’s dry, their defense has only given up three goals in the last three games. That really isn’t too bad when you really think about it.
• Stupid red card on Danny O’Rourke. He was kinda fouled on the Flores goal but he had no right to go in studs up on Atiba Harris like that. It cost more than the game for Columbus, playing a man down for the majority of the game can take a toll on a club.

Colorado Rapids 2 – 1 FC Dallas:

• Can we seriously get an English broadcast on Direct Kick on Sundays here? Its not that I don’t mind having the Spanish broadcast on to listen to but its dreadful to watch. The Telefutra camera crew couldn’t figure out how to operate more than one camera at this game for the first 20 minutes or so. I know there are local TV coverage of the games but the league shouldn’t block out the non-Spanish population on Sundays like they do.
• Anyways, Colorado jumped to the early lead and had a game that resembled their entire season thus far, a back and forth affair.
• 5-5-0 are the Rapids, and not once have they gone on a winning streak or a losing streak. I honestly doubt that has happened too often in this league. Consistent play works well in this league, and the Rapids aren’t an example of it. It will come back to haunt them down the road.
• Dallas is still going through the growing pains in this season. Their defense looked a bit slow and weak yesterday but wasn’t entirely surprising.
• Both Colorado goals were products of slow defense and a slightly out of place Ray Burse in goal for Dallas.
• Nice goal by Dominic Oduro, his forth in the last four games. Not bad, enough to make the game interesting at least.
• No real offense aside from the Oduro goal from Dallas. Only six shots on goal.
• Where was the crowd for this one? Was something awesome/cool/amazing going on in the area that beat out this game? It looked like a beautiful day too in the area.

A few things to get into this morning.

Chivas USA keeper Brad Guzan, hot off a stellar performance against my beloved Sweden has left California and is in Scottland right now on a trail with Celtic. All signs are now pointing to a bid for his services from the Scottish champions and Champions League participants.

Celtic has kept an eye on Guzan even after re-signing Polish veteran goalkeeper Artur Boruc. At this point, Guzan’s trial is more of a formality as the Glasgow club and MLS settle on a transfer fee. Guzan must still apply for a work permit since he doesn’t qualify through normal means, but sources tell me they don’t believe the work permit issue will keep Guzan from joining Celtic.

The money will of cource be the factor in this as it is with every player going abroad. You almost have to expect the league to want no less than $2 or even $3 million for Guzan. And in all seriousness they should ask for more than that if they can.

If I am not mistaken, I believe when the league sold Tim Howard to Manchester United they got around $2 million for him so Guzan should get near if not a little more than that right now with the way he has played recently for the National team.

As for what his current club Chivas is going to do remains to be seen. They did get Jim Curtin yesterday but that really only adds depth to their backline and not their keeper situation. My guess is they are probably looking to trade for a keeper in the league who can fill in if Guzan does leave for Glasgow.

If that is the case the Goats will probably look no further to a team like FC Dallas for a trade. I figured when the Hoops drafted a keeper in the first round it meant they were getting some trade bait for the future. Plus they have a solid situation in goal between Dario Sala and Ray Burse Jr. Would the Hoops be a trading partner for the Goat if Guzan leaves? I don’t know but we will certainly see.

———————————————————————————————————————–

Speaking of the Hoops, it appears they are trying to find a suitor for defender Chris Gbandi. The 26-year-old defender is set for a training stint with Norwegian club FK Haugesund and a team source says the Hoops are open to selling him if the Norwegian club makes an offer.

The potential deal makes total sense for a guy the Hoops have been trying to dump to a foreign club for a couple years. The 2002 number one pick never really lived up to what the Hoops hoped he’d be in my eyes. He did score a couple great goals from his defender position but he was more than a headache off the field.

I’d be surprised if the Hoops turned down a bid from the club if one is offered.

———————————————————————————————————————–

I doubt we will see Benny Feilhaber anytime soon in the MLS. Derby and Feilhaber’s reps continue to shop him around Europe in hopes of getting a transfer fee of between $1.1 million and $2.1 million.

Those chances at a transfer to the MLS are quickly going out the window. But how come they won’t loan him out to a club here?

————————————————————————————————————————

I missed this last week, Chicago keeper Matt Pickens turned down an offer from the club. Pickens is not under contract with the Fire for next season and is currently on trial with Norwich City in England.

The Fire used one of their first round picks to select Tulsa goalkeeper Dominic Cervi at No. 12. That should tell you right there that Pickens will not be back in the MLS and will more than likely be gone.

No word yet on if Norwich has given him an offer yet or not.
—————————————————————————————————————————

And finally what may be the best news of the day, week, month and season (yes I know I am a week late on this news), ESPN/ABC have done away with the Eric Wynalda and John O’Brien experiment. According to Soccer America and other media outlets, the media juggernaut will go with the duo of JP Dellacamera and John Harkes. Oh thank the lord some of my prayers have been answered!

JP and Harkes were regarded as the best duo during the 2006 World Cup and should have been the number one duo for the MLS games. Thankfully now we get a chance to listen to two people who actually know the game.

Not to say that Wynalda didn’t know the game, but the Red Card/Yellow Card segments will be gone forever!!

The interest is there really. ESPN is paying for the rights now days (as well as other networks carrying the games) and that is a good thing for the league but it seems like the MLS and ESPN need to get on the same page. The broadcasting on ESPN seems to be a joke for the most part and the coverage is pathetic in my eyes on ESPN’s part.

So here are a few ways to help that out:

• Improve the broadcasters: In a way for me it starts here with the guys calling the games. Most of you know my dislike for the Dave O’Brien and Rob Stones of the world, but in a way both make the game unwatchable to me. More O’Brien than Stone though. At least Stone knows the game, O’Brien has no general knowledge of the game, he is just a greedy broadcaster who likes to hear his own voice as much as he can. Getting annoucers that know the game and don’t sound like they are going to die when they call a goal will go a long way. Plus, saying words like “YEEEESSSSSSS” for a goal call just eats at me. Nothing beats “Its in the net” if you ask me.
• Two-Man Booth: I hate to say it but the three-man booth never has worked for me. Its nothing against the two color commentators but what it tells me is that ESPN still has yet to find a solid number one soccer play-by-play guy and that is why they stick two in there to make the broadcasts “better”. To me it must be eliminated because we end up listening to too much random BS about whatever those guys want to talk about that day/night. In the end it takes away from the game and looks bad on ESPN
• Tommy Smyth: I love the guy, he is actually one of the best out there for soccer but I hate him in the MLS scene. Its nothing against him but I always feel that ESPN put him on there to try to please two different groups, the non-soccer fans who think that they need to hear a European talk to make it seem more soccer-ish, and the true soccer fans who may think the only way to experience a soccer game is by listening to a European. Honestly, it doesn’t work for the MLS in that sense. ESPN would be better served putting Smyth back on the scene with the European games that they do. Maybe once they get the EPL games on there he will be the lead color guy for that, and honestly he should be.
• Rosters Shown Before the Game Starts: I hate seeing the rosters go up on the bottom of the screen while the game is going on. Its like they are all in a rush at the beginning of the game to tell you little facts and the game starts and then the broadcasters almost hit a panic button to tell you the rosters and formation. Take the 30 to 45 seconds and do it before the kickoff. Believe me it would come across so much better if they did.
• Mic the Supporter’s Sections: Or at least put a microphone near them to make it sound loud on TV. Sometimes the games are too quiet and you know there are people there banging on drummers or something. Let us hear it if we can’t.
• Improve the knowledge of soccer for the anchors and reporters: Its embarassing when I hear Chivas being called something other than how it is pronounced. Also the same goes with the players names and coaches.
• More highlights on SportsCenter: They pay for the rights yet in their top-10 you see more EPL and European goals than MLS goals. That makes no sense to me really. Sure its the EPL but if I were paying for the MLS I would want their goals in my highlight reels not a league that I don’t carry. Plus, getting at least 20 seconds on SportsCenter that isn’t David Beckham will help grow the sport to non-traditional fans.
• Putting games on ESPN Radio or create an MLS Radio channel for satellite: I am a big radio guy if you all haven’t taken notice by now. I would love nothing more than to have an MLS radio channel or see ESPN do a game of the week on their radio stations. To me soccer is a great game to listen to on the radio, its very natural for some reason to me and can be very entertaining to listen to if you get the right people involved.
• More talk on ESPN Radio: This kinda goes with the last point and some others, the cross-promotion really of soccer on ESPN. I know most of the radio people at ESPN hate soccer but giving it a little time in a SportsCenter update or something is better than nothing in my eyes. It still helps grow the sport even in a little way. I’m also not calling for each radio show on there to spend two mintues talking soccer each day because I know that won’t happen but at least mentioning it in a positive manner would be enough to make some happy I think.
• Promoting the games: I loved the ads this past season for the MLS games but I wanted to see more.
• Put more games on ABC: I think this would be a wise move on the MLS and ESPN parts to put a game here and there on ABC again. Its annoying to see three games on ABC a year now (season opener, All-Star game, and MLS Cup). The more exposure on ABC the better I think.
• Remove the sideline reporter: I never understood the concept of a sideline reporter for a soccer game. Never have and never will. They are only needed for injuries and maybe even discussion of subsitutions, but I’d honestly leave that up to the color commentator. I don’t need to hear pointless panter between Stone and Allen Hopkins. It provides me nothing more than a waste of time really and just shows how worthless some of the play-by-play people are if they have to kill mintues in a game with meaningless panter about different players.
• Create a highlight show: Even if it airs at 3 in the morning, it needs to be done. That’s how Baseball Tonight and NFL Live started, they aired late nights on ESPN 2, do the same with a MLS show.
• Improve halftime show: This goes with the improving knowledge part from earlier. Put more MLS highlights and have people talking MLS during half-time of the game on ESPN. On Thursday night, preview the weekend games, recap what’s been going on, etc.
• Market to the Soccer Fan, not the non-soccer fan: This is the biggie in my opinion. Too many times the MLS tries to market to the non-soccer fan more than the casual fan and the actual soccer fan. That’s not the route both ESPN and the MLS need to take. Market to the actual fans of the game and that will get more fans over from the casual side and eventually get some of those non-fans into the mix.

So just a few things that I think could go a long way to improve the quality of the broadcasts on ESPN and other ESPN type outlets. This stuff can probably a whole hell of a lot more can be said about some other local broadcasters and FSC for the MLS. I will say this, I do enjoy some Red Bull and Revs games because of their broadcast groups. Teams like Colorado and LA, not so much.

What are some of your suggestions?

I urge you all to post your thoughts with this as well. Again, these are just things I would like the league to improve on. Some are realistic and some are just purely thoughts coming out of my head this morning.

Its kind of a long post but let me know what you all think.

1. The logo. – Okay let’s be honest, do any of us really like the MLS logo? I think the perception of the league abroad is somewhat low because of the cheesy looking logo that the league has. Maybe a good idea would be to get a league sponsor like what most major leagues have around the world. A new logo and maybe a sponsor would be a step in the right direction.

Along with a logo change I’d like to see the MLS finally buy ‘MLS.COM’ and get away from MLSnet.com. One problem I always hear from radio colleagues of mine is that when they want to do background info on the MLS that they go to the web and type in ‘mls.com’ and they get some real estate site and not the soccer site. The website itself is fine to a degree but they need to get the domain from that real estate company.

2. Broadcast Changes – One of my biggest problems with the MLS is who they have broadcasting their games. I don’t have a problem with the way they have ESPN and other media outlets paying for rights to have the games but I am more annoyed with who the MLS lets broadcast the game itself.

The Rob Stones and the morons at FSC constantly annoy the crap about of me when I watch/listen to a game. No wonder most Americans can’t take the game seriously; it is because they can’t stand to listen to whiny guys call a game. The color commentators aren’t anything great either but at least some like Wynalda aren’t too terrible unless he puts his foot into his mouth.

Lastly, if I were the Colorado Rapids I would get a new broadcast group, those two are the worst the league has. Sorry to single you out Rapids fans but those guys are terrible.

3. New Playoff Format – Most of you know I hate the current playoff format. Even having 8 teams in a 16 or 20 team league is too much in my book to make a playoff.
The league continues to try and make minor changes at the system. Next year it’s the top three from each conference and then two wild cards.

Still, I think the league is better served putting six in and giving the conference champions a real advantage for their hard work in the season, unlike what they do now.

This whole put in two-thirds of the league stuff just makes the league look pathetic sometimes to other people. The playoff games typically look lack-luster and aren’t offering good enough match-ups to make the league look legitimate to others.

4. Promoting SuperLiga – I said it last winter and I will say it again now. I like SuperLiga. And after going to a game this summer it made me like the tournament even more. The league did a pretty good job promoting it but I think we could use more. This is suppose to be a Champions League type of tournament (smaller scale of course) in the minds of SUM, USSF, and the MLS; so why not promote it like that.

5. Increase In Minimum Salary – This is something that has to happen and will happen before long. The days of $12,000 salary for development guys should be over before long. Even if these some of these kids fail to pan out, none of them should be paid what they are getting now days. The league minimum should at least be $35,000 if not a little more than that. I think the MLS is losing valuable guys out of college to the USL and other minor leagues around the globe because of this.

6. Better Player Development – This sort of goes with a salary increase for the development players but I really hope to see each club get to the point where they have youth academies, and they are all raising and fostering young talent of their own.

7. Slowly Phasing Out Drafts – I think once a good youth system is in place the MLS will have to phase out parts of their drafting process. The only time they will need a draft is for the college kids. I don’t think getting rid of the draft all together is a smart idea but slowly getting rid of Supplemental drafts should be a good start once each club has a solid youth system in place where they can sign their own kids.

8. Conference Format Improvement – For a while I was a guy that wanted single table in the MLS. I still do to a degree but more and more I believe the two-conference alignment is what the MLS needs to continue to do.

The US is too large to do a legitimate single table format just yet. Maybe once the league expands enough to have clubs in all major parts of the country (and Canada), and then this will be something that can be addressed in better detail. For now we just need to back off of it and embrace the current two-conference alignment. I just hope as the league expands that they don’t even go back to a stupid three-conference or division format.

9. Retro Days – With the originals at least and even down the road for some of the newer clubs. I would love nothing more than to have a retro day at the park between clubs like Dallas and LA or San Jose. Wouldn’t it be kind of fun to see those old ugly uniforms once and a while on the guys? Its always fun to look back on those days and I think the league is getting to be old enough to do a throw-back uniform day at the parks.

10. Expansion – Okay, here is the deal, I think the MLS will get to 18 clubs and stop expanding for at least six to eight years. I say that because they will want to see how the league grows in that time and if they can expand further in the US and Canada and not miss a beat. I really believe that before long the MLS will have at least 24 to 28 clubs in it (with no promotion/relegation format either).
I say that because I know this country is too large to have multiple divisions like England, Germany, Italy, Spain and the rest of them. Those countries have more divisions because of the size of their country, in other words they can get away with more in less space than the US can with more space.

Some of you will say that FIFA wants restrictions on how many teams are in a first division, but I doubt they will enforce that once the MLS grows in popularity. Let’s be realistic here, there will never be a promotion/regulation system in US soccer. That’s just now how professional sports are set up in the US to work. Most of us want it but it will never happen because of money.

You can’t tell me that promoting a club from USL-1 like a Richmond in-place of a last place club like New York (say they come in last place next year and Richmond wins the USL-1); you can’t tell me that people in New York would be happy that their club is playing in a league that has no media coverage (beside FSC and small market stations), while a small market club like Richmond gets promoted in their place. The money just wouldn’t make sense unless USL-1 clubs were on-par in the bank department as the MLS clubs were.

11. Give teams in the CONCACAF Champions Cup a break – Every year the MLS gets a team or two in the CCC and every year they have the same problem, they are only in their second or third week of training camp when they have to go play teams in the middle of their season. If the idea is to use this tournament to show how much the league has improved, then why tie their arms behind their backs? These two teams should be allowed by the league to start their training camps early to get in game shape. It should be an additional reward for doing so well in the previous season. This may also help the dead period those clubs have to go through at the start of the MLS season (ie see Houston and DC’s start in 2007).

12. Increased Salary Cap – We know the cap next season is going up by 4 percent or something around that number but think of the league was able to have each club spend $40 or $50 million as a cap. What made me think of this was seeing an article the other day about how the NHL was increasing their salary cap to nearly $50 million next year. Wouldn’t that be amazing to see the MLS at that level? I think there are owners with deep enough pockets to do that but it will be a while before we are at that level of spending.

13. Writing Rules in Ink not Pencil – Seriously, the MLS needs to stop dancing around certain rules and allowing some clubs like LA to get away with things from year to year. The constant change in rules needs to stop for people to take the league serious. Also, the MLS needs to stop bending over backwards for top players; you don’t see other leagues do that so why should the MLS make exceptions for players like Landon Donovan.

14. Marketing – The league has gotten better with this but some clubs still haven’t grasped the aspect of promoting their own club. More marketing and promotion only means more viewers on Thursday/Saturday and more butts in the seats.

15. Better Refs – One thing that drove me up a wall this past season was the quality of officiating in the MLS. Too many stupid yellow cards for dumb things.

I saw a few red cards for what was “abusive language” when nothing came about it in the play. Meaning, usually when there is “abusive language” there is probably a fight of some sort on the field; both times I saw this in the past season there was no fight. Just a random break in place and a red card to a player that seemingly did nothing. Sure he may have yelled out a bad word or two but was it enough to break up the play and card him? No.

The league needs to address their refs this off-season and improve them as much as possible. Lots of games too many cards as well that hurts a team more than anything else. Plus the playoffs were terribly officiated.

Maybe firing a guy like Brian Hall would be a start too.

16. Raise Awareness for the US Open Cup – Most teams packed it in for this tournament this year and that was sad. The US Open Cup should be something clubs want to do well in. New England and Dallas were the only was that showed up to play in it this past year and they were rewarded for it. Other clubs got embarrassed by USL clubs; something that shouldn’t happen at all in my book.

17. Let Clubs Travel Alone – I mean this in terms of chartering flights. If a club can afford it then let them do it. I think it is sort of dumb for a club to have to go through an airport when common Joe’s and all. Not that I don’t mind running into a guy from FC Dallas in DFW but I think it would raise the level of awareness that this is a professional league to players in the league. I think some right now feel they aren’t even in a top-flight league since they are treated like they are in college.

Hell, a lot of colleges charter flights to games. I know my school did because I flew with them to broadcast their games.

18. All-Star Game Format – I get annoyed from year to year that the MLS all-stars play some European club in pre-season form at the All-Star game. Sure it’s nice to beat a Chelsea but it doesn’t do anything for the MLS in my opinion. Either go back to an East-versus-West format or phase it out completely. I know it’s a very American thing to do but it’s not a soccer thing in my mind.

19. Odd Scheduling Days- I really think the league needs to address this soon, and it will happen more when clubs play in their own stadiums but I have never liked Monday, Tuesday, or Friday games. I can stand Wednesday games if there aren’t too many of them too. Also, in the playoffs I thought it was dumb how they scheduled things having games on a Friday night (even though Houston sold-out that game) and putting the eastern games on Thursday night. It looked stupid and came across like the MLS didn’t really care when the games were on.

20. Future Clubs – This goes with expansion but I figure I better throw out my list of future MLS cities, especially since I am calling for a league of 24 to 28 clubs in the future. Let’s see….along with Seattle in 2009 will be St. Louis. That brings the league to 16 by 2010 that they wanted. By 2012, Philadelphia and another New York will join the MLS and that is the 18 they wanted by then. By 2020, Portland, Vancouver, rebirth in Miami, Atlanta, Phoenix, and for fun Las Vegas. There is at least 24 there.

The MLS will then have two conferences with two divisions in each, still east and west. I thought about keeping it two conferences but after thinking about it, splitting them up seeings logical at that point and more than likely we will have to see it happen.

The east will have: DC, Philly, New York Red Bulls, New York (2), New England, and Toronto in one division; in the other would be with Columbus, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Miami and Atlanta.

The west would have in one division: Colorado, Salt Lake, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Las Vegas; the other LA Galaxy, Chivas USA, Seattle, Portland, San Jose, and Vancouver.

Sure this is all hypothetical and for fun but you can bet on St. Louis, Philly, another New York and maybe even Portland or Vancouver joining the leaguer sooner rather than later. I honestly don’t know about the MLS in Miami again or even in Atlanta at all but for this purpose I will include them in the future. They are large markets that will want teams down the road anyways I bet.

Again, somethings on here are realistic and some are not. Feel free to post anything that you can think of for the MLS to improve on.

I totally understand the problem with that. I was too upset with it and mad I missed out on the first goal of the game. There was nothing prime-time about last nights game either, which is even more upsetting that the league didn’t schedule this game a little earlier in the day even though it was a west coast game. I know the Chivas crowd in LA may have been upset with a 5 pm kickoff but I think it would have been a bit better for TV purposes if they had.

Instead that majority of the country didn’t see this game go live until 10 or 11 pm. Prime-time is not 10 or 11 pm in the night, that is late night territory that ESPN dipped into. Also telling fans that we “wouldn’t miss a thing” was pathetic to state, when indeed we did miss a decent amount in only ten minutes time.

Lastly, and sometimes in my mind more importantly, was the broadcasting itself. Why on earth ESPN picks guys like Dave O’Brien to do soccer games is something I will never figure out. Guys like him are a good reason to why people hate watching soccer on TV. Boring, uninteresting comments and poor interaction between play-by-play and color commentators is what ESPN has been doing to MLS broadcasts in recent years.

I like the color commentary choices, even at times when I get annoyed with them, I feel they are right for the job. But what I never have been able to enjoy in recent years is the play-by-play guys that ESPN throws at us. O’Brien is boring, Rob Stone knows the game but sounds like a total dork when he is out there, and put these two guys with any color commentator and it becomes weird and hard to listen to.

I know ESPN wanted to finish up the college football game and I am alright with that but I don’t get why the soccer game wasn’t switched over to ESPNNews or ESPN Classic or one of their 20 channels. I think the league and ESPN need to do a better job at scheduling these types of games when there is football going on now. These kind of mishaps hurt the people who actually want to watch the game and kill the interest in those who may be trying soccer for a first time.

I may be going on too much about this but sometimes it is good to vent frustrations even with if the best option that the league had to broadcast their events is the only thing that can produce results and generate more fan interest. I don’t think the league needs to break away from someone who is paying for the rights to their games. I do think some changes need to be addressed in the future though.

Anyone else have thoughts and feelings about how broadcasts go with ESPN? What can they do to improve? I’d love to hear what everyone has to say on this subject.

Columbus 2 – 3 Dallas

Dallas sneaks out three points in this thriller of a game. Many felt that without Juan Toja, the Hoops wouldn’t be able to control the midfield or anything in this game. In some cases that was the case and Columbus should have left Frisco with three points.

Say what you will about Dallas but they do have the heart of a champion right now. They never seem to be completely out of a game and now they sit atop the league table with 36 points. Not to bad after 20 games if you ask me and they have a game on hand against Houston who now sits in second with 34 points.

Dallas was a man down for a the last portion of the second half. Columbus wasn’t able to capitalize on the final minutes of having an extra man on the pitch. Carlos Ruiz scored the game tying goal, his forth of the season before Clarence Goodson netted his first of the season in extra time to put the game in the bag for the Hoops. What a turn around for Goodson who was like a goat to Dallas fans last season. Not the case at all this year as he has been one of the best defenders that Dallas has in the back.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto increased his assist tally on the season to eight. With ten games left for the Crew, I am beginning to wonder what his final tally will be on the season. I am thinking he will finish up with at least 15 assist on the season.

Columbus is still in the playoff hunt despite the loss. They currently have 26 points on the season with ten games left. Five games at home and five on the road for the Crew the rest of the way out. September should be a month that they can get plenty of points to secure their spot in the playoffs as Colorado, Toronto and LA are all on the schedule. Dallas has ten games as well but six of those are at home.

Houston 0 – 1 Colorado

Didn’t catch any of this game and it looks like I really didn’t miss much at all. Houston’s tour of the Rocky Mountains hasn’t gone as planned as they have now dropped two games to two of the worst clubs in the league (1-0 loss at RSL last week). Bad way to lose on an own-goal too.

It could possibly be the too many games in too short of time for the Dynamo here as of late. That should change in the coming weeks though as their September schedule is relatively short compared to the rest of the league with only four games. That should ease up on things. Though four out of their last five games on the season are on the road. Judging by the last two games on the road, Houston fans may be a little worried if things don’t change soon for the Orange.

I am beginning to wonder if this win will save Colorado head coach Fernando Clavijo’ job for the rest of the season. It is probably safe to say it will sadly enough. Colorado is only five points out of the last playoff spot but they still aren’t scoring goals for themselves. Though looking at their remaining games there should be chances for points as they play the Galaxy twice, Chivas at home, RSL twice and Toronto at home. You would easily see the Rapids contend for the final playoff spot with the schedule that they have.

Toronto FC 0 – 3 New York Red Bulls

This loss may very well be the final straw for the Reds at getting into the playoffs this season. Bad loss on the road to a team that they could beat. However the injuries and suspensions caught up to the expansion squad and New York made the most of it on Sunday.

Juan Pablo Angel scored his tenth of the season. Nice finish too by the way. But Jozy Altidore’s second goal was pretty special to watch I think. This kid is really something and could be just the player that lifts the Red Bulls in the playoffs and in the stretch run to finish the season.

For New York, getting their offense clicking again was something they needed. And lets tip the hat to the defense, a shut out is always something to enjoy. Things are slowly coming around for the Red Bulls I think.

Like I said about Toronto, injuries have killed this club and it may be too late for this club to get a run to get into the playoffs. They do have six home games left on the season, all mostly win-able games if the club is healthy. The road schedule stinks a little bit with trips to Dallas, DC, Colorado and LA. Could see wins in Colorado and in LA but I doubt Dallas or DC will drop a home game to Toronto at this point in the season.

LA 0 – 1 New England

No David Beckham and yet still 30k+ were on hand for a pretty good showing by the Revs. Beckham sits on the bench for this one as he was a game-time decision. I was a little surprised to not see him on the active roster for the game and possibly be a sub.

Very back and forth game as LA actually showed some offense in this one but in the end New England gets the game’s only goal thanks to Taylor Twellman, his ninth of the season. Very typical Twellman goal by the way too. LA’s defense played like LA’s defense, by giving up on the play really.
Let’s face it, LA has no shot at the playoffs this season. This club just isn’t that good even with a player like Landon Donovan, who really isn’t playing like Landon Donovan. Still, 15 games left on the MLS season slate, but another three or four other games to be played as well, two on the road, maybe three depending on SuperLiga. Galaxy have needed points on this road trip and so far out of three games they have only gotten one point. Not good enough when there is so much ground to be made up at this point.

New England is looking good however at this point. Ten games left, six are on the road though but they are all win-able games for the Revs. New England really is one of the few teams that is controlling their own fate at this point in the season. Good teams know how to do that and New England is a prime example of how to do so.

More to come today…so keep checking back…

Houston 0 – 1 RSL
I will start with the result that may have shocked most more than any, RSL’s 1-0 win over Houston. As I said in my preview for this game, I felt RSL is a trap game anymore for these better clubs and again it worked (even though I said Houston would over come it and win). Houston lost thanks to a late Robbie Finley goal against a RSL club that got its second win of the season. Ouch, second win of the season in August…look on the bright side RSL fans, next season there will be a new expansion club in the league in your own conference that should be as bad or worse than you!

It really isn’t much surprise in my mind that Houston lost. Too many games in too many days will eventually hurt you and Houston is seeing just that right now. Plus, I think a loss is good for them at this point in the season. Sure, being hot this long is nice and good to see if you are a Dynamo fan, but you’d much rather see a loss like this one before the big time games come around later on this season. I think it will do some good and motivate this club again.

Now if you are RSL, you got your second win of the season but things still need to change as we all know. No real word on a DP signing at this point and it looks like time is running out on that as well with the transfer window closing in a matter of nine days. I wonder, do you somewhat pack it in as far as a big signing if you are RSL and wait until the winter window opens up and you can really use that Freddy Adu money to your advantage or push hard now? I think at this point they should wait, maybe get a decent discovery player from South America in the meantime and hope for the best as far as the rest of the season goes.

Columbus 0 – 0 Chicago

Didn’t see highlights or anything of this game so this will be relatively short. I will say things are looking decent for both clubs these days. Columbus looks like they should be a playoff team, and as long as they keep this pace up they will be. They also may not be the last team in the playoffs as well (like I predicted at the start of the season), they could very well sneak up in that 7 spot before long I think.

As for the Fire, they still have ground to make up. Six points back is no easy task at this point in the stage but things are looking up with recent debuts and additions to the offense. Even though this was a nil-nil draw I still worry about that defense of the Fire. I think in the end they will just fall short of the playoffs thanks to the shortfalls on defense.

By the way, nice crowd on hand in Chicago. Hate Blanco or love him, you have to admit he is a good draw for the Windy City. Smart move on the Fire’s part there, 20k+ on hand yesterday for a match with the Crew. Very nice.

Colorado 0 – 1 Dallas

Nice rebound from the 6-5 loss in  SuperLiga for the Hoops on Saturday. Drew Moor heads in a nice free kick to give the Hoops three points and keep on pace in the western conference. Weird to think that their results are really starting to stand in compared to other clubs around the league. Remember how the Hoops had played a lot more games at some point than other clubs and people thought they were just middle of the pack? Well now they aren’t, same amount of games as the eastern leading Revs and they have the same points.

As for the Rapids I have to say, I wonder when this club will fire Clavijo. Still no real positive results since May and they are starting to look as bad as their Rocky Mountain rival, RSL. Offense still isn’t clicking, though the defense isn’t too bad anymore. Danny Osorno played yesterday, you may remember the Hoops tried to sign Osorno to a deal a few weeks back but couldn’t reach an agreement. He basically did nothing out there worth mentioning for the Rapids and it is fair to say why Steve Morrow and Dallas wanted to evaluate him more before they signed him.

Ray Burse is starting to look like a solid choice at keeper for Dallas as well. Second game I’ve seen him in in recent weeks and I am getting more impressed by the minute with this kid.

As for Dallas right now, their offense is working alright, Ruiz could be playing better but for now things are alright. Another busy week for the Hoops as they have a US Open Cup date in Charleston, South Carolina with the Battery on Tuesday before hosting the Crew on Saturday. Dallas is one of the couple teams still in the US Open Cup along with Colorado and New England.

DC 3 – 0 New England

Another weird game if you ask me. I caught some of it and I was immediately blown away with how bad New England played and how well DC stepped up their game. No Christan Gomez in the lineup and no Jamie Moreno starting (he did enter and then leave thanks to an injury in the second half) and it still didn’t matter for the United. This is what most people like myself were expecting out of the Black-and-Red this season.

Luciano Emilio is a beast and will probably win the Golden Boot Award this season in the league. I am already going to throw that out there if I haven’t done so before. Tied with Eddie Johnson with 12 goals now on the season. Sure at times he is cold as ice out there but when he is on the United typically pick up points in the standings.

Big time road win for the United if you ask me. They needed it, their fans wanted it and they came through with it. I don’t know what it is about New England at home but you have to question something about their home tactics anymore. Having Michael Parkhurst out in the first half really did some damage to that backline of the Revs though. DC also did a good job shutting down Taylor Twellman.

LA 0 – 0 Toronto

Caught most of this game. Toronto dominated the first half for the most part even though they only had one guy up top in Andrea Lombardo, who I really felt was TFC’s man of the match.

Great crowd on hand as usual in Toronto, all hoping to see David Beckham on the sideline. ESPN2 picked up the game and I have to say it was a good move on their part. I think it was a solid game that people out there needed to see even though it was a 0-0 game. Toronto is a great place and it comes across very well on TV. Just wish Allen Hopkins had not decided to go with the red sweater though, that was terrible on his part really.

LA played well in the second half though, pushing forward and making some good stops on TFC. Gotta love the crowds reactions to Donovan and his antics. LA did make a push for the three points by sending in some offense in the second half but nothing came of it. They went for their typical over-the-top-dump-and-chance-to-Donovan approach and Toronto had it scouted.

Both teams needed more than a point but in the end that’s all they could get. Toronto will be alright with that point. Still six points back of a playoff spot. Got to get the wins at home and get some players healthy. No Dichio, Cunningham or O’Brien last night, I am sure Mo has a move or two left before the transfer window closes as well. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lalas and the Galaxy had a move or two left as well.