I’m kind of like Daniel at Big D Soccer, it will likely happen after the Olympics next year – not this winter. The only way a FCD and MLS sell Shea this winter is if they get a monster deal for him. What I mean by that is if the transfer figure is in the $10-20 million range. There is a reason why FCD signed him up with a deal through 2015 earlier this year, they wanted to make sure they’d get a hefty transfer fee for him in return when they did sell him.

Brek Shea sits atop the MVP race, can he hold on to it? (Getty Images)

With only a few weeks left in the season the awards race in Major League Soccer is pretty dang hot. The MVP race alone is very interesting this season. In my book if I had to vote today for the top three in the MVP race would be fairly simple but there are a few dark horse candidates to keep a watch on.

The Top Contenders

Brek Shea, M, FC Dallas: This one is fairly simple. If Shea isn’t at the top of most folks list right now it means they either hate Dallas or don’t watch the league at all. The second one probably speaks more truth than anything if someone doesn’t have Shea in their top three once it is time to vote. Shea has done everything right for Dallas since the injury of last year’s MVP, David Ferreira. He’s scored plenty of big goals and has come up with a few quality assists. Simply put, Dallas is nothing without his service from the wings.

Mauro Rosales, M, Seattle Sounders FC: In a way Rosales has really just come on strong in the last two months but overall he is a huge reason why the Sounders are in the thick of things in the Supporter’s Shield race. His five goals and ten assists are something to marvel over but for me it comes down to his distribution and setting up the Sounders’ attack. I don’t see Lamar Neagle or Mike Fucito getting the goals that they have gotten this year without Rosales. Bold statement to make, sure, but it is one I feel pretty good about.

Landon Donovan, M, LA Galaxy: Of course, another season with Donovan in the MVP mix. His 11 goals and three assists will keep him in the discussion even though he hasn’t played as many minutes as Shea or some of the others here.

Still In The Mix:

Thierry Henry, F, New York Red Bulls: The New York Red Bulls’ season goes with Henry. As he goes, the club goes. He may lead the league in goals scored with 12 and have four assists on the year  but the way his club has played these last couple of months are hurting his MVP chances. He needs to continue to score goals and help get his club in the playoffs to get this award.

Brad Davis, M, Houston Dynamo: Another player who’s team goes as they do. Davis is always overlooked but there is no reason why he should be. His league-leading 13 assists are the main reason why the Dynamo are even in the playoff hunt to begin with. You want a valuable player to a club, look no further than to Davis.

David Beckham, M, LA Galaxy: Donovan and Beckham will likely cancel one another out in this race but consider Beckham’s stats at the moment, 12 assists and two goals isn’t bad at all. To be fair, this has been his best season to date as a member of the Galaxy.

Jack Jewsbury, M, Portland Timbers: You want some good stats? Seven goals and eight assists. That’s quality folks. Portland would be a really bad expansion team without Captain Jack.

Dwayne De Rosario, M, DC United: Another player with monster stats on the season, nine goals and eight assists. What will hurt him is he’s played on three teams this season. That really shouldn’t be the case as he’s really helped improve United’s offense.

Some Potential Dark horses:

Dominic Oduro, F, Chicago Fire: Hard to ignore Oduro right now. He’s scoring loads of goals (and missing loads too). He’s a long shot at best but he’s worth mentioning.

Sebastien Le Toux, M, Philadelphia Union: I think if he can continue his scoring (six goals on the year) to go with his assist numbers (eight assists), he’ll easily move up this order here. Last night’s great come back performance against New England was a sign that Le Toux will be in the mix.

Kyle Beckerman, M, Real Salt Lake: With Javier Morales going down earlier in the season, it was Beckerman who had to step up and be the midfield general. Looking at things today, RSL isn’t far away from an automatic bid into the playoffs.

Jeff Cunningham is now the all-time goal scoring king in MLS. His PK against Seattle was number 134. Just a crazy number considering how young the league is. Congrats Jeff.

Other winners this week were of course the Seattle Sounders, who won large at home against Columbus. Dallas made a remarkable come back in KC and don’t look now but the Chicago Fire may not be dead just yet.

Jurgen Klinsmann's debut tonight overshadows the Mexican rivalry. (Photo from MLSSoccer.com)

It is a dawn of a new day for the US Men’s National Team. Jurgen Klinsmann’s first game as the US coach is a big one, against arch-rival Mexico. There is no way of getting around it, this one will be anything but friendly.

Throw away the result a few weeks ago in the Gold Cup to this Mexican side because both will be fairly different in this contest. With Klinsmann involved now with the US, things will change and we saw that already with the roster announcement last week. There is a new spark or intrigue to this match that wasn’t there when it was announced after the Gold Cup.

We know what Mexico brings to the table, minus Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, who is out still with a head injury. Pablo Barrera will be called to carry the offensive load as he found the back of the net twice against this US squad at the Gold Cup final. I also look for Giovani dos Santos to carry a load of the offensive weight in this one as well for El Tri.

The US will likely see a different lineup, formation, the works tonight. I’d look for some of the usual faces to start for Klinsmann tonight like Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, and Steve Cherundolo. With no Clint Dempsey or Jozy Alitdore up top, expect some guys like Freddy Adu, Brek Shea and Juan Agudelo to get a shot.

We know defensively things will go a little differently with Klinsmann than it did with Bob Bradley. We should see Bocanegra and Cherundolo in the back but I think someone like Health Pearce will get a start. Or possibly Michael Orozco.

Klinsmann is noted as saying he wants to bring a nice attacking style of play to the US team. You should expect just that tonight too though I’d imagine it will take a few games for his style of play to really kick in with this bunch.

Expectations are going to be high for Klinsmann but let’s just remember one thing about tonight’s game, the result really does not matter. Yes it is Mexico, I get that, but really we shouldn’t worry so much of the result of this game. Good or bad we just need to know where this team is headed under Klinsmann. Tonight, we should definitely see that.

A lot of changes will be made by new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. (Photo via MLSSoccer.com)

Yeah go ahead and throw this one on the massive pile of other stories similar to this one. I’ve stayed away from the Klinsmann talk for a few reasons, mainly lack of time on my part to devote to discussing it is the biggest. As you’ll see in the coming weeks, I have some changes that I’ll be making to the site and I’ve been busy working on them.

Now back to the story at hand. As we’re all aware there are plenty of players out there that will benefit form the Jurgen Klinsmann hiring for the US National Team. Plenty of those guys are young and come from Major League Soccer while a good bit of them will be from other league spread out throughout the world.

With some friendlies on the horizon, I’d expect to see plenty of new faces in with the US.

Jose Torres – I know JFT got the call to the World Cup last year from Bradley but it seems like ever since then we haven’t heard a peep from this kid. There’s little doubt in my mind that Klinsmann will get the most out of him with his creative skills.

Brek Shea – Don’t be shocked if Shea gets a look this time around. He’s having too good of a year for FC Dallas in MLS not to get a call up. I know Dallas fans will be excited for him even though it will come at a critical point in their season with potential CCL games and all. As we’ve seen in MLS this season he is magic on the wings for Dallas. Klinsmann could use a spark like that in the midfield too.

George John – Another FCD player that will likely get a look-at from Klinsmann. John is dominant in the defense and has been a key factor in Dallas’ success this season. He’s big, tall, and physical too. All items you want in a center back. Put him in there with guys like Clarence Goodson or Omar Gonzalez and you could easily have a back duo for years to come.

Tim Chandler – We know the German-born connection here. He definitely appears to be the next best thing at right-back for the US and with Klinsmann in charge that time may come sooner than it would have with Bob Bradley in charge.

Michael Bradley – Yup, I’m putting the old coaches son on the list. I think he gets a lot of the bad wrap that his dad would get when he was the coach. Now with his dad gone from leading the team, the son can re-focus on being a leader in the midfield like he has shown to be on occasion. (I also get how you could make the argument that his hire hurts him as well too)

Chad Marshall – Another top-notch defender that always got overlooked by Bradley. I never got why Marshall was not called into the Gold Cup camp either. Considering how dominant he’s been in MLS over the last five-to-six years and has only had a few call ups is surprising. I’d easily take him right now over Tim Ream (just saying).

Any names that I’m missing here? Let’s hear it.

Hopefully goals like this and his current form in the league will catch the eye of Bob Bradley with some of those upcoming US friendlies this fall. Though I’m sure most Dallas fans would love to see him just get looked over yet again so he doesn’t miss any time with the club.

So without any more time wasting, here are my midseason awards.

2011 MidSeason MVP: Brek Shea (FC Dallas)

Shea and Dallas have really come alive in the 13 games without David Ferreira. It’s amazing to think that the moment he was put back on the wings, his offensive stats rose and his team started producing more scoring chances. While I still believe he’s a natural defender, he adds so much more to the wings. He’s currently tied with a couple others for the league lead in scoring and without him contributing on the offensive side of the ball (and defensive too) I’d feel that Dallas wouldn’t nearly be as good as they are now. I’ve said for weeks over at Big D Soccer that it’s been a real team performance so far and that guys like Daniel Hernandez and George John are the reason for it but take away Shea and you’d see a completely different team.

Others in line: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Jack Jewsbury (Portland Timbers), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Andres Mendoza (Columbus) and Thierry Henry (New York).

2011 MLS MidSeason Rookie of the Year: CJ Sapong (Sporting KC)

Possibly a surprising pick right now but he’s contributing well right now with Sporting and as his team continues to get better so does he. I’m fairly sure this season’s rookie race will be one of the most open we’ve seen in years. Sapong doesn’t have amazing stats right now, but then again neither do any other rookies.

Others in line: Jalil Anibaba (Chicago Fire), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Rich Balchan (Columbus Crew), and Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps).

2011 MLS MidSeason Coach of the Year: Schellas Hyndman (FC Dallas)

Hard to believe that just a couple months ago he lost his best player to a freak ankle injury and at that point it looked like his season was lost. Instead Hyndman found a way to inject new life into his lineup by making a few key switches. Going to a 4-4-2 helped until Fabian Castillo had to go to Colombia for some national team duty. Then going back to a 4-1-4-1 seemed to open things up even more. Hyndman’s team has only lost once in their last 13 games and is only two points out of the Supporter’s Shield lead. Impressive stuff considering all the injuries he had to deal with early on in the season. The big test awaits though as FCD has USOC games and CCL matches ahead. If he gets his club through this month without any more injuries and doesn’t pick up any bad losses along the way he could easily wrap up this award.

Others in line: Peter Vermes (Sporting KC), Bruce Arena (LA Galaxy), Peter Nowak (Philadelphia Union), and Sigi Schmid (Seattle Sounders).

2011 MLS MidSeason Best Newcomer: Eric Hassli (Vancouver Whitecaps)

While his red card numbers match his goal numbers, I believe Hassli has added a good bit of excitement to the league. That is the sort of thing that you want out of a newcomer too. He may not be the best player in this category but when you add the entertainment factor of his red cards and his goals, it’s tough to pass him up.

Others in line: Omar Bravo (Sporting KC), Faryd Mondragon (Philadelphia Union), Fabian Castillo (FC Dallas), Mauro Rosales (Seattle Sounders FC), and Charlie Davies (DC United).

Biggest Surprised so far of 2011: Number of Draws

With 18 teams comes more parity, but the amount of draws is increasing by the week. It’s not just level playing fields between teams either. Poor officiating, bad scheduling, international callups and injuries all play a factor in this alarming rate of draws.

Biggest Disappointment so far of 2011: Key players going down to injuries

Thankfully it seems as though the bad injuries to key players bug has stopped for now. That three week stretch or so of seeing guys like Steve Zakuani, David Ferreira, Javier Morales and others go down to bad injuries was the big story for the most part of the first half of this season. No doubt those injuries will continue to play a factor in this season too. Hopefully the officiating will get better to keep other key players from going down too.

Best Goal so far of 2011: Eric Hassli

As good as Darlington Nagbe’s goal against Kansas City this past weekend was, Eric Hassli’s goal against Seattle may have been one of the best goals I’ve seen in this league since Carlos Ruiz’s bicycle kick against D.C. United a few years back

Best XI so far in 2011 (using a 3-5-2 model)

Keeper: Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders)

Defense: George John (FC Dallas), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Carlos Valdes (Philadelphia Union)

Midfield: Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Daniel Hernandez (FC Dallas), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), and Jack Jewsbury (Portland Timbers)

Forwards: Thierry Henry (New York), Charlie Davies (DC United)

Juan Pablo Angel will battle rookie Zac Loyd tonight in Dallas. (Getty Images)

Could a streak come to an end this evening in Frisco? FC Dallas hosts the star-studded New York Red Bulls tonight at Pizza Hut Park. FCD is hoping to keep their 14-game unbeaten run going here.

FC Dallas is hoping to get revenge tonight on one of the two clubs that have beaten them this season. The Red Bulls were able to get a 2-1 win on FCD back in April at Red Bull Arena.

Tonight’s match should be slightly different as both clubs look fairly different than the ones back in April. New York has a couple high profile guys now with Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry. Also the Red Bulls should have newcomer Medhi Ballouchy who was just traded there from Colorado.

The guy New York will have to key in on tonight is Jeff Cunningham who has 13 goals and seven assists all-time against them. New York will hope to score against a Dallas defense that has not given up much at home, shutting out five of their last six opponents at Pizza Hut Park.

The battle in the midfield should be interesting to watch as well with Marquez and Joel Lindpere going against Brek Shea and David Ferriera. Who wins the battle on the wings in and in the middle will get the points tonight. I think this one will end on level terms as New York is really starting to gel nicely and FCD just looks tough to break down these days.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, New York 1

Normally I tackle one of these kinds of posts each year it seems as there are always a group of guys that just look prime to go from MLS to Europe at the next chance. A year or so ago (okay December 08) I wrote that guys like Sacha Kljestan and Michael Parkhurst were on their way out of MLS.

After Geoff Reid’s talk yesterday about players heading to leagues in Sweden or Norway I felt like piggy-backing that post a bit to get back into this discussion today. The fact that I skipped an entire year on something like this was a bit shocking as I thought I’d keep up with it longer when I first started doing it. Silly me I suppose.

The summer transfer window just closed a couple weeks ago and now clubs have to wait before they can get their hands on some up and coming MLS talent. It seems like right now there are plenty of guys that could very well be gone from MLS next year if the league doesn’t step up and protect it’s own, which we know probably won’t happen.

A lot of talk has surrounded Landon Donovan in recent months but really anymore I don’t see him going back to Europe full-time. I think in January we’ll see him head back to England or where ever for a three-month deal only to return to LA for the start of the 2011 season. Plus I feel as though he went to England this past year and did what he’s been wanting to do for a long time, prove himself on a big stage. He’s done that and so I think he’s fine in LA for the time being. Some folks won’t agree with that but let’s face it MLS isn’t getting rid of it’s biggest star just yet.

Now some of my list below is built on a gut feeling and the others could be based on rumors flying around. All of these guys are young too as I didn’t go for any veterans that think they’ll just up and leave MLS. Which means I still believe guys like Shalrie Joseph won’t go even though you know they’d like to. Also I know a few of these guys are a couple years away from a move but I thought they were worth discussing. If you feel like I missed someone or think I’m totally crazy just share your thoughts below.

1. Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo) – His injury this year probably dampened his chances in a big way to score a huge contract or even a transfer this summer but one thing is certain about Cameron he’s vastly underpaid in MLS. He knows it and so does the rest of the soccer world. He hasn’t signed a contract extension with the Dynamo just yet either so don’t be shocked if his situation turns out to be similar to Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark. I’d love to see Geoff stay here in MLS, believe me I would but we’ve seen this time and time again with clubs like Houston. They make good, young, and cheap players into very talented stars. Its always tough to hold on to something like that.

2. Danny Mwanga (Philadelphia Union) – I know he got talked into coming to MLS instead of going to Europe but believe me he won’t be in MLS very long with the way he plays. I give him one more year here tops. Maybe even less than that.

3. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) – Here’s a gut feeling kind of thing. Once his contract runs out with the club I see him as a goner. Defenders like Gonzalez are tough to come by and he’ll also continue to get more US National team play in the coming year as well I believe. The more folks abroad see him the more likely he won’t be in MLS with LA.

4. Brek Shea (FC Dallas) – Here is another talented yet cheap player that is continuing to get better. He had rumors a couple years ago about going to Europe but after the way he’s emerged this season it will be tough for Dallas to keep him long-term. He’s still very young and has room to grow in the right system.

5. Andy Najar (D.C. United) – You can’t be shocked to see this kid’s name listed here. Thankfully for D.C. fans they have him for at least another year as he can’t go anywhere else until he’s 18. But unfortunately for D.C. and anyone who enjoys watching him play in MLS he’s a star on the rise that will only continue to garner interest from abroad.

6. Toni Tchani (New York Red Bulls) – Some will say Tim Ream is more likely to leave MLS than Tchani but I disagree. Tchani may be a couple years off from a move out but believe me once this kid gets the proper playing time you’ll understand why I put him here. His size and skill are there and its only a matter of time before this guy gets attention abroad.

7. Stefan Frei (Toronto FC) – I could be wrong here about Frei but the talented Swiss player could make a move easily based on his passport. Then again if anyone watches him in goal they’d be silly to think he wouldn’t be a good fit abroad. He’s got the size and skill you want in a keeper too.

8. George John (FC Dallas) – This one may shock some folks but I’m a big George John fan, not because I see him all the time here in Dallas but because he’s really started to grow as a player here. His size is perfect and he’s only getting better, just like his club at defense. Part of me feel he could be the next Clarence Goodson from MLS.

9. Steve Zakunai (Seattle Sounders FC) – The speedy winger from Seattle is a guy that can be a game changer with his pace and scoring ability. Having some chances in Europe before (he was with the Arsenal youth system) before coming to the US to play college soccer at Akron. Now that he is making a name for himself here its only a matter of time before he hops back across the pond.

10. Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew) - Part of me thinks he’ll be in MLS for his entire career but the other part me thinks he’ll eventually try his hand at going to Europe. He’s only 26-years old but had enough experience to land in a decent league if he wanted to.

Peter Nowak and Philadelphia make their home debut this weekend. (MLSSoccer.com)

Are you ready for tomorrow? Seriously, are you ready? Eight games in one day, a new league record. We knew this day would come eventually with all the expansion in the league and kudos to the league for putting one so early in the season too.

If you’re like me, you’ll find tomorrow to be a tough one because of the amount of games on at once. Thankfully with my Mac I can at least throw up a few different game windows in multiple spaces.

So get your DVRs ready (if you can hold this many games), sign up for the league video package online (if you haven’t done so already), or be like most folks and just go to a game if you can. Its going to be a fun weekend for sure.

Feel free as always to leave your predictions below in the comments section.

New York Red Bulls – at – Chivas USA:

Lets just say that Chivas USA needs to figure out their offensive issues here. In to town is the new look Red Bulls who’ve won two straight shutouts. Hans Backe’s club has been solid defensively so far this season but a second straight west coast game will prove to be a bigger test than some will really think, even though Chivas has yet to score this season. We could see a potential letdown by the Red Bulls after they finally got their first road win a week ago after 27-games of coming up short away from home.

For me its going to come down to who scores in this one. Even with the two wins on the year the Red Bulls haven’t lit up the scoreboard so far (only two goals). I see a slight drop off in this one while Chivas continues to struggle to score.

Player to watch out for: Tim Ream – the rookie is as good as advertised here. Look for him to be all over Chivas’ Maykel Galindo in this one.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 0, New York 0

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D.C. United – at – Philadelphia Union

Home opener for Philadelphia is a big, big deal. They’re expecting about 30k+ tomorrow at the Linc, don’t be shocked if they reach a sellout figure (they’re caping the capacity for this one at 35k). This new rivalry will be heated, especially given how bad both have started off the year. D.C. has look awful all over the field while Philadelphia struggled on the road in their debut two weeks ago. Given the fact that Peter Nowak has had a little more time to prepare for this one I like the Union’s chances in this one a little more.

Curt Onalfo’s side has to figure out where to get their offense from. So far in attack they’ve looked uncreative and in result have been unproductive. You could say it comes down to their midfield not doing enough with the possession too. I’d imagine Nowak will do a better job with his lineup now that he gets Fred back. Look for their shape to be a little better in this one as they ride the massive fan support in the home opener. Its easy to go for a draw here given the poor results by these two so far but I like Philadelphia’s chances here.

Player to watch out for: Danny Mwanga – With Fred back and likely in the midfield, we should see more out of Mwanga in this one for Philadelphia. Hopefully Nowak learned that he belongs up top.

WVH Prediction: Philadelphia 1, D.C. 0

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Toronto FC – at – New England Revolution

Steve Nicol is looking for his 100th career MLS win in this one, and he probably couldn’t ask for a better opponent. Toronto FC is still in a bit of a state of flux after all the moves that have gone on over these last few weeks including the latest with the retirement of Jim Brennan. That loss thins out the Reds defense even more here. New England could possibly see Shalrie Joseph back for the home opener but even without him I like the Revs chances in this one. The Revs could also see Darrius Barnes back for this one as well, which would only make it rougher on Toronto to score in this one.

It seems like Toronto hasn’t scored a goal in league play or in exhibition play in ages here. I don’t see that starting back up right now. The Revs played their game last week in D.C. and I’d imagine Nicol will use some of the same tactics this week to get three more points.

Player to watch out for: Dwayne De Rosario – Really Toronto’s only hope to get on the scoreboard. If he can work his magic that we’ve seen him do in the past against the Revs, Toronto could sneak out with some points.

WVH Prediction: New England 2, Toronto 0

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Colorado Rapids – at – Kansas City Wizards

Here’s one game this weekend I’m looking forward to. Two clubs that everyone is still trying to figure out here. Are both contenders or pretenders this season? We think they could be contenders but its still too early to tell. The Rapids have to get their defense in line here for this one as the Wizards showed early on this year that they can score early and often.

As we saw last week, Kansas City’s best bet to get by the Rapids defense is to go right at them with some speed. Look for Ryan Smith and Kei Kamara to do just that on the wings as things in the center of the park will be a little tight. The Rapids haven’t won in KC since 2002 and something tells me that streak isn’t going to end here this season either. However I do think a draw sounds more likely with these two trading some goals early on in this one.

Player to watch out for: Omar Cummings – For me he is by far the most dangerous player on the field in this one. If he finds open space in the final third for Colorado he can score and create chances for Conor Casey.

WVH Prediction: Kansas City 2, Colorado 2

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LA Galaxy – at – Houston Dynamo

I love the promo the Dynamo are running for this one –  a flash light campaign, in case the lights go out again with these two on the field. Beautiful stuff.

Houston as we know is a bit banged up with Brian Ching on the shelf for a few weeks. Dominic Kinnear will have to look elsewhere for offense. Maybe we’ll finally see their Designated Player Luis Angel Landin finally step into the role. Or Kinnear can go with Cam Weaver. Either one with the speed of Dominic Oduro should be fine.

LA has been very good on defense so far this year, with no goals against. But both of those games came from the friendly confines of the Home Depot Center. Things are a little different for the Galaxy at Robertson Stadium, a place few get points at. I see this one staying close but look for the Dynamo to figure out a way to get one by Donovan Ricketts.

Player to watch out for: Brad Davis – Don’t expect another two goals from the PK spot this weekend for Davis but no matter who scores for Houston in this one it will be due to the play of this guy.

WVH Prediction: Houston 1, LA 0

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Columbus Crew – at – FC Dallas

The regular season version of the Pioneer Cup. Both teams had a week off last week to plan for this game. It will be interesting to see if Chad Marshall makes it back for this one for the Crew. If he isn’t out there their defense could be a bit exposed with him gone and Eric Brunner out. Guys like Andy Iro will likely have to step up to contain Jeff Cunningham.

Dallas isn’t too different in the back either as both Kyle Davies and Ugo Ihemelu are banged up. We could even see Brek Shea in the back for the Red Stripes in this one as a bit of a patch work job by manager Schellas Hyndman. Expect this one to come down to who can control things in the midfield. On one side we have Guillermo Barros Schelotto and the other David Ferriera. I’d be lying if I didn’t think that was the best matchup of the weekend right there. The visitors could go away with three points but a draw sounds more likely.

Player to watch out for: Atiba Harris – Dallas needs some big time play on the wings and Harris has to be that guy for them. He scored in the season opener and if he can work his way into the middle in the final third of the field we could see him score again.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, Columbus 1

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San Jose Earthquakes – at – Chicago Fire

We know the storyline in this one, Jon Busch’s return to Chicago. That should be a it awkward. The Fire looked a little better in week two but they still haven’t found that consistent play out of their midfield. Manager Carlos de los Cobos went with a 4-3-3 last week and it started to work for them as Collins John made an impact with the open space up top. Chicago has to get more out of Marco Pappa though in the midfield.

The Quakes just need to figure themselves out here though. In week one they looked more like an expansion team than a team in it’s third year. Frank Yallop made a couple changes to his roster and got former Quake Scott Sealy back. I’m not entirely sure if that move will get their club going or not here. The road hasn’t been kind to the Quakes lately either. Chicago should find a way to win this one.

Player to watch out for: Ryan Johnson – He’s the main guy for the Quakes, if he doesn’t get going in this one it will be a long night in the Windy City for Yallop’s side.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 2, San Jose 0

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Seattle Sounders FC – at – Real Salt Lake

Probably the game of the week in most folks minds. Rightfully so as both clubs are looking to rebound after dismal efforts in week two. RSL will look to resume their home dominance while Seattle will hope to get on the right track this year away from Qwest Field. Sigi Schmid has to find a way to get his club going offensively though to get any sort of points in this one. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Pat Noonan get the starting nod in this one for them to make an effort to kick start their offense.

RSL also has some decisions to make offensively. Do they start Robbie Findley over Fabian Espindola or Alvaro Saborio, or do they keep him as a second half sub for now? Either way I think we’ll get more Findley this week than what we’ve seen so far this season. I like RSL in this one though with the way their midfield plays at home. I doubt we’ll see the same defensive meltdowns that we saw out of them in Houston a week ago too.

Player to watch out for: Steve Zakuani – The one big chance the Sounders have in this one is for Zakuani to expose RSL on the wings. His pace could be a big difference maker.

WVH Predictions: RSL 2, Seattle 1