Sporting KC and RSL square off in the biggest match of 2012 - so far. (Getty Images)

What else can you say about the upcoming weekend in Major League Soccer? It’s damn full. Nine matches, eight of them on Saturday. Tons of interesting matchups across the board that should have everyone’s attention.

This could be the start of where we begin to see how teams will go for the rest of the season. Six weeks in and we know a good amount about each club but it always seem that once those first few games are out of the way that teams begin to separate themselves from one another at this stage. This season should be no different really.

I have a few items I will be looking at heavily this weekend, and here they are:

1. Getting off the mark. For both the Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC, this is a big weekend. Both have win-able home games against clubs that they should beat. Toronto gets Chivas USA, a club making the cross country trip while Philadelphia welcomes in the Columbus Crew, a team fresh off a 4-1 drubbing last week from the hands of the New York Red Bulls.

Even though it is still early, this could easily be a make-or-break kind of weekend for Aron Winter and Peter Nowak. Both of their clubs have been dreadful thus far this season and neither have found their way.

Toronto has to find a way to get their offense going with Danny Koevermans, while making sure that this gritty Chivas team doesn’t make it three straight on the road. Saying that Chivas is a pushover can’t be true anymore after wins in Portland and Salt Lake this season but a long trip to Toronto could be tough for Robin Fraser’s club. Toronto has to find their game and take it to Chivas early or else they could be staring at yet another loss.

For Philadelphia – the plan is simple – find the attack and make it happen against the Crew. Whether it be Danny Mwanga, Gabe Farfan, or someone even like Freddy Adu stepping up…someone has to take over for the Union attack.

2. Reaction to Mullan. It has been nearly a year since the dreaded tackle from Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan on Seattle’s Steve Zakuani. With Mullan’s return to Seattle set for this weekend, the reception of the veteran wing could be some must-see TV. To me, I hope the Sounder fans keep it classy when dealing with Mullan. I’m not saying they should shower him with praises and roses or anything like that but I do hope that the faithful there realizes that holding a grudge against a player that has already been forgiven for too long could come back to haunt them.

My guess it will end up being mostly boos from the crowd each time Mullan touches the ball. Thankfully most fans do get bored with booing the same guy over and over for 90 minutes.

3. Can the Quakes quiet the Red Bulls? Who would have thought six weeks ago that this could be an interesting match? I certainly did not with the way the Red Bulls started the first two games of the year. Now as we enter Week 6 you have one of the top offenses squaring off against one of the best defenses.

San Jose has done well so far this season at quieting quality offenses like Seattle and Vancouver while finding ways to get Chris Wondolowski the ball. Their style and pace on the wings has come alive with Marvin Chavez and Shea Salines but for me what is so impressive is their defense. Victor Bernardez and Justin Morrow have quietly become a force in the middle of the defense. They’ll certainly have their hands full with Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper, two of the hottest strikers in MLS.

The Red Bulls come into this match scoring 13 goals in the last three games, with Cooper and Henry doing most of the damage. So far this year the Red Bulls have been quieted by good defenses in Dallas and Salt Lake, while running all over Colorado, Montreal and Columbus. How they handle another quality defense like in San Jose will answer a lot about this team. If they can run up the score yet again this weekend, New York will certainly be a force to deal with for the rest of the season. If not, then we’ll know their kryptonite.

4. What formation does Schellas Hyndman put out this weekend? For most of the season FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman has used the 4-1-4-1, a trusty formation that really works best with a healthy David Ferreira. But last week against the New England Revolution, he switched it all up going to a 4-4-2. The speed of the wings with guys like Brek Shea and Carlos Rodriguez doubled with the speed of Fabian Castillo up top made it tough for the Revs to deal with at times. This move was made to counter suspensions to Jair Benitez and Daniel Hernandez but with their returns you have to wonder what Hyndman will go to next.

Typically Hyndman doesn’t like to make too many changes from game to game if he doesn’t have to but with the injury to Ricardo Villar, he may have to make a switch again when they host the Montreal Impact on Saturday. Replacing Villar in a 4-4-2 setup isn’t that difficult, seeing how he wasn’t that involved in last weeks game. But in the 4-1-4-1 setup, it proves to be a tougher challenge.

5. Battle at 15 points. Real Salt Lake head to the midwest to battle Sporting Kansas City, in the battle of the top two sides in the league. Each team has 15 points so far and SKC is undefeated after five games. Two extremely strong teams here, really no edge either way in my book as to which way this one leans.

Sporting will want to assert their speed and skill up front early in this one but so far this season they haven’t seen a defense quite like RSL. Jason Kreis’ club always plays tough against quality offenses like Sporting’s and this one will certainly come down to who blinks first.

I’m sure somewhere some executives at MLS are wishing this has been a national TV game for the league. IT would have been a great one to showcase.

6. Dreadful Timbers and Galaxy square off. John Spencer said recently that this last month has been hell, well I am paraphrasing him with that. I’m sure Bruce Arena is thinking the same thing about his club’s performances over the last six weeks as well. Both sides only have a win to bank on up to this point and neither look like the clubs most expected them to be at the start of the season.

Both teams need points but more importantly each need a big performance out of their defense in this one. Neither has shown up well this season and while you could make the point about their offenses not stepping up to the plate as well, it is the defenses that really win in this league.

7. Oh yeah, Houston and Chicago. Man I hate the unbalanced schedule for reasons like this one. Both the Houston Dynamo and the Chicago Fire have been on and off all year not because of poor play on the field but because of the schedule. Both teams have played just three games so far. Yes just three. How insane is that?

Hopefully this match will shed a little more light on just how good the Fire will be this season. I think what we’ve seen so far is they have some quality around the pitch but someone else has to step up offensive other than Dominic Oduro. The same can be said in a way for the Dynamo as their offense has to have some form of life here too.

Red Bull Arena should be lively on Sunday. (Getty Images)

Looking at this weekend’s schedule a couple things jump out to you. For one it is a lot of East v. West with the Eastern clubs hosting the majority of the games (4 of 6). Second of all, it is a lot of good team against bad team. Oh boy.

There are a couple really intriguing games on the menu but for the most this weekend could be a “miss” for the league. Hey it happens.

Only the LA Galaxy are off this weekend and I’m sure they are going to enjoy the time off.

Friday

Houston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders FC – Probably one of the better matches if not the best match of the weekend on paper. Houston has started strong with two straight road games, though against weaker clubs. Seattle got off to a nice start to the season last weekend against Toronto. Houston can say they are the only Eastern Conference club to beat anyone from the West at this point and a win in Seattle will certainly quiet folks like myself that are doubting this team. I just think however that Seattle is too much to handle at home. Alvaro Fernandez, Fredy Montero, and now David Estrada are all too much even for a stingy Houston defense. 

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, Houston 0

Saturday

San Jose Earthquakes at Toronto FC – I wrote yesterday that San Jose can really prove a point or two with a win in Toronto. I still believe that to be true. Toronto has been a popular pick to do well this season (from people like me) but they lost in their season opener last week in Seattle and more importantly lost Torsten Frings for a few weeks. Ouch. Still, a home opener with a team that isn’t that great yet traveling across the country doesn’t add up well for the Quakes. Go with the Reds here.

WVH Prediction: Toronto 2, San Jose 1

Portland Timbers at New England Revolution – Just how bad is this New England squad? No offense or any signs of real life in the first two weeks, but a home game could change that for Jay Heaps. Could. At best this one is a draw but the Timbers have looked strong in their two games and got a point in Dallas last weekend. Kris Boyd and Darlington Nagbe will be too much to handle for New England.

WVH Prediction: Portland 1, New England 0

Montreal Impact at Columbus Crew – After being off for a week the Crew return home to face the expansion Impact. This game sounds interesting, most due to the fact that we still want to see what this Montreal side is really made of here. The big question for both clubs is who will be scoring the goals. Someone has to step up here and you’d think it will be someone from the home side. I feel like this one could end level though.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 1, Montreal 1

Philadelphia Union at Chicago Fire – Whatever is going on in the locker room in Philly will certainly take effect on this game in Chicago. I like the Union but those kinds of issues are always tough to deal with, especially when you have key players missing (Sheanon Williams and Freddy Adu). Chicago has the talent and the likely momentum from being at home to ride out a win in this one.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 2, Philadelphia 1

Chivas USA at Real Salt Lake – Remember when these expansion mates had fun games? Seems ages ago when they were more evenly matched. Should be an easy three points for Jason Kreis’ club.

WVH Prediction: RSL 3, Chivas 0

D.C. United at Vancouver Whitecaps – Let’s see, no Bill Hamid, Perry Kitchen or Andy Najar for United right? Right. They still have Dwayne De Rosario but he hasn’t shown up yet this season. I’m taking the Whitecaps and their vastly stronger offense to take the points in this one.

WVH Prediction: Vancouver 2, DC 0

Sunday

Colorado Rapids at New York Red Bulls – This one has intrigue written on it for a couple reasons. The obvious one is surrounding Hans Backe the other is just how good is this Rapids club here this season. Both should be answered in this one as the Red Bulls face a weird must-win home game this early in the season. The Rapids are at least watchable these days under Oscar Pareja. Go with a draw on this one as New York gets Rafa Marquez back, which should help their midfield and defense out in a large way.

WVH Prediction: New York 1, Colorado 1

FC Dallas at Sporting KC – Another one of the top games of the weekend, it’s just too bad Dallas will be lacking Brek Shea, Fabian Castillo, Carlos Rodriguez and likely David Ferreira. Time for those depth questions to really be answered here for Schellas Hyndman. Defensively Dallas has looked strong and I’d expect George John to play more in this one as well. They’ll need him as Sporting can be a hand full up top with CJ Sapong and Kei Kamara. Just too bad Dallas isn’t at full strength for this one because it would have easily been a good one to watch.

WVH Prediction: SKC 2, Dallas 1

Houston and Seattle battle it out tomorrow night. (Getty Images)

We are chugging along here in the first month of the 2012 season. The third week of the season brings another full slate of games and talking points. There are a few decent games this weekend with a couple more that could end up being decent as well when it is all said and done.

Nine games on the menu this weekend across three days – only the LA Galaxy are off this weekend.

Below are some points I’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend.

1. West meets East. Six of the nine games this weekend feature a East v. West battle. Big games between Seattle and Houston and then Sporting KC and FC Dallas headline the weekend. Big thing to keep in mind is of those six games, four of them are in Eastern Conference venues. It will be interesting to see if the Eastern clubs can turn the tide at home after going the first two weekends without much to show for against the West. 

2. How good is Houston? Two road games in a row and two wins in a row have the Dynamo off to a rocking start. But how good is Dominic Kinnear’s club really at this point? The two 1-0 wins have come against one of the worst clubs in the league (Chivas) and a team that is decent (San Jose). Also, the Orange haven’t exactly lit up the boards with their offense as they’ve only chipped in two goals on the season, one being from the penalty spot last week.

Houston heads to Seattle for a big primetime battle with the Sounders tomorrow night. Seattle looked good in their home opener last week against Toronto as David Estrada ran all over the Reds with a hat trick. Toronto is a different defensive club than Houston is here. The Dynamo use the defense to their strength and will need to push around the Sounders early and often to get them off their game.

3. About those Quakes. San Jose takes their 1-1-0 record to the road to battle Toronto FC in their home opener. So far we’ve seen the Quakes play decent in a win over New England but then stumble against Houston last week. We know Chris Wondolowski can score but so far no one is really feeding him the ball. But they may be in luck as Toronto sweeper Torsten Frings is on the mend for a few weeks. Without him in the midfield, expect Toronto to be a little different and likely a bit weaker. If San Jose is indeed better this year, this will be a  game that they can prove it to us. On the road, in a tough environment, against a pretty decent team.

4. The questions in Philly. We’ve heard all week about stuff going on with the Philadelphia Union. Peter Nowak is playing things very oddly and in a way that can be easily made fun of too by folks in the press and online. This Union squad has talent, make no mistake about it, but right now they seem to be lacking some heart across the field. You’d expect a guy like Danny Califf or Carlos Valdes to step up and be the true veteran leaders that they are, but that hasn’t exactly happened yet in their two losses (for a variety of reasons no less). Offensively speaking the Union haven’t got it going so far this year and not having Freddy Adu isn’t making it easier.

The Union head to Chicago for their home opener. The Fire looked decent in Montreal last week but still have some question marks of their own. We don’t know how good this club really is or will be yet but we do know one thing, Dominic Oduro is certainly trying to make us realize that he isn’t going to be a one-hit wonder.

5. Turn the heat up in New York. We’ve talked about it this week, the heat under Hans Backe’s butt has to be getting warmer and warmer here. The Red Bulls opened the season with two straight road losses and losing their home opener is definitely out of the question. The panic button hasn’t been pushed, not yet at least. They get a Colorado Rapids squad that will be missing a key midfielder in Jeff Lawrentowicz, who got red carded late in Philadelphia last weekend. That’s a huge blow for a club on the road seeking a third straight win.

New York has to play their style of game. Direct, with pace on the wings with Dane Richards and Joel Lindpere. So far neither one of them has been involved much in their two losses. Without their services on the wings, Thierry Henry has been forced to sit further back into the midfield to get the ball. That cannot happen for a player like Henry. Having Rafa Marquez back in the lineup should help though, if he can be the defensive force in the midfield, it may allow pressure off the defense and some better service. At least one would hope that will be the case. If not, Backe and this club will be forced to answer a lot of tough questions.

6. Dallas travels with a slew of missing players. We’ve talked about wondering just how good a couple clubs are, well Sporting KC fits that mold. They’ve done well in their two wins to start the season, one on the road in D.C. and the other at home against a 10-man New England. Now they’ll host a FC Dallas squad missing Brek Shea, Fabian Castillo and likely David Ferreira. That’s a ton of offense for Schellas Hyndman to be missing, not to mention newcomer Carlos Rodriguez, who has been filing in on the wings will be out with the Panama U-23 national team. Ouch.

To me this one is simple, if KC plays to their strengths up top with Kei Kamara and CJ Sapong, then this one will be their’s without a doubt. Dallas has a strong defense for sure this season with the return of George John and newcomer Hernan Pertuz looking good but without the wing play in the midfield, Dallas will struggle in this one.

LA and Salt Lake resume their rivalry to kickoff the season. (Getty Images)

The 2012 season is finally here folks. After a few months of offseason and preseason madness, the new season is ready to kickoff. Many clubs have reason to be optimistic going into the new season while expectations are already being placed on the big boys in the league to do well again once more this season.

Three clubs are without games this weekend while everyone else is in action. The first weekend of the season is spread out on three days with plenty of decent games to discuss. (For more look at my What To Watch For post to see the main talking points on the weekend)

Let’s get down to the game predictions, shall we? Feel free to leave your score predictions below as well.

Saturday

Montreal Impact at Vancouver Whitecaps – The new season gets started with an all-Canadian feature. Vancouver has a new coach and a loaded offense while Montreal is an expansion team playing in their inaugural MLS game. BC Place will be rocking in this one and while I like what Jesse Marsch has done with his squad going into their first season, the growing pains will be tough to overcome in time for this opener on the road. Vancouver has some growing pains to go through as well with a new coach and new system but I love their offensive weapons. If their defense holds up this could be a fun team to watch this season.

WVH Prediction: Vancouver 2, Montreal 1

Columbus Crew at Colorado Rapids – A playoff rematch, and one that has some interesting points to look at. Colorado has a new coach and a new formation while the Crew are once again going into the season with lots of questions. Fitness will be a key element of this game and the Crew have some injuries in the back to worry about with guys like Rich Balchan sitting this one out. Colorado always seem to have Columbus’ number at Dicks Sporting Goods Park, I see that trend continuing.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 2, Columbus 1

Sporting Kansas City at D.C. United – Both teams with plenty of offensive fire power to make this one enjoyable to watch. Dwayne De Rosario and company look to get on the board early in this one and make a statement to the rest of the Eastern Conference that they can contend with the big guns like KC. Sporting will have to keep watch in the middle of the park on DeRo and newcomer Hamdi Salihi. Both are great in space and know their way to goal. I think this one will be fairly tight and could come down to a late goal (KC fans know that all to well from last year). This one feels like a draw for that reason.

WVH Prediction: DC 2, KC 2

Real Salt Lake at LA Galaxy – Health and fitness will be a key for both squads in this one. LA will be getting back into things after their CCL clash in Toronto on Wednesday, while RSL has a number of key guys that are questionable for this game (Borchers, Morales, Wingert, Saborio all iffy for this one). LA hasn’t had a ton of time together this offseason with Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane both in England. They showed flashes late in Toronto on Wednesday of how dangerous they can all be when they are on the same page. RSL will put up a fight but I think LA gets three points in this one, just too much talent up top from LA.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, RSL 1

New England Revolution at San Jose Earthquakes – Still a big question about who will score for the Revs this season. Their midfield looks good and I’m sure they can handle anything the Quakes bring to this game in the middle of the pitch. The thing is I like where San Jose is going here, and they’ll want to get off to a good start with all of those additions that were made this winter. Chris Wondolowski always does well against New England too, so expect more of the same from him in this one.

WVH Prediction: San Jose 2, New England 0

Sunday

New York Red Bulls at FC Dallas – Plenty of interesting questions going into this one. No Rafa Marquez or Luke Rodgers for New York. While FC Dallas could go with a 4-4-2 with Brek Shea up top with newcomer Blas Perez to make up for having no David Ferreira. These two should trade blows a couple times in this game as I think it will end on level terms.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, New York 1

Houston Dynamo at Chivas USA – While I do have concerns about who will score for the Dynamo this year, I do really like their defense and midfield. Chivas has a ton of issues and questions going into this season and they did not look good at all last week in the Portland tournament. The big thing to look out for Houston is the return of Brad Davis, if he can get off to a good start and put his injury from last season behind him then I’d expect a fairly easy go of things for the men in orange.

WVH Prediction: Houston 1, Chivas 0

Monday

Philadelphia Union at Portland Timbers – I love this matchup to start out the season on ESPN2. Newcomer Kris Boyd going up against two of the toughest defenders in the league in Danny Califf and Carlos Valdes. Expect some double teams on Boyd leaving guys like Darlington Nagbe and Jorge Perlaza open. Philly looks healthy going into this season and I like Danny Mwanga to have a big season. This one really could go either way but that Portland crowd makes me lean towards to boys from the Rose City.

WVH Prediction: Portland 2, Philadelphia 1

David Ferreira should be back on the field very soon. (Getty Images)

If you are a MLS fan (and I’m sure you are if you read this blog), there are a couple things that should make you happy. One is the pending return of Seattle Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani, the other is of the 2010 MLS MVP from FC Dallas, David Ferreira.

To do a little recap, last season when FC Dallas visited the Vancouver Whitecaps for the first time, the club saw their big season get hit with a major injury when Ferreira went to the ground after a tackle from Jonathan Leathers. The fall to the turd broke the former MVP’s ankle and caused him to miss the rest of the 2011 regular season.

Ferreira has been working hard to get back to full strength and finally has the green light from the doctors.

The Colombian visited team doctors on Wednesday to evaluate the progress of his fractured ankle.  Though Ferreira has yet to appear in any FC Dallas’ scrimmages or exhibitions this preseason, the prognosis is good for the Colombian midfielder.

“He went to one of our doctors today and was assured that everything is fine with his ankle and that there’s gonna be some pain,” said manager Schellas Hyndman following the team’s 4-0 exhibition victory over SMU on Wednesday evening.  “It may never get back to the way it was, and he may just have to understand that the pain is gonna be there.”

“The more he plays, the less he’s gonna feel the pain,” said Hyndman.  “I think it was very reassuring for him, and his comment was ‘hey, I want to play tonight’, which we wouldn’t do.  I think now he’s at that point of saying, ‘hey, I need to get out there and play.’”

Ferreira and Dallas head to Orlando for the Disney Pro Soccer Classic tournament next week. I would expect that will be the first time Ferreira steps back on the field.

This is big news for Dallas and their hopes for this season. If Ferreira can return to full health this season and contribute the way he did in 2010, you have to expect this club to be in contention yet again out in the Western Conference. Given how deep that conference is looking for this season, having him back at full strength will be a major pick-up for Dallas going into this season.

Of course a lot of this stems from the recent injuries to Steve Zakuani and David Ferreira. I thought a quote worth point out was one from Vancouver Whitecaps defender Jay DeMerit.

“The difference between a really nasty challenge and a great tackle is timing,” said DeMerit, a veteran of eight professional seasons in England and a regular on the U.S. national team. “The only thing is that guys get the timing wrong. The ones that continuously get into tackles like that, then you go to the next level and ask is it a dirty player.”

Interesting stuff.

Steve Zakuani will now face a long recovery. (Getty Images)

Like I mentioned yesterday, week six in Major League Soccer was a pretty ugly one. While the Red Bulls and Galaxy were stomping their way through their games, most of the folks out there were yet again focused on the fouls and one non-foul that hurt two big stars in the league.

The last couple days have been a guessing game on Twitter and at various sites. Most seem to think the tackle by Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan on Steve Zakuani deserves at a minimum of five games suspension. Intent and Mullan’s background as a nice guy comes into the fold when looking at these sorts of things which could ultimately save him in the end from getting what Ricardo Clark got back in 2007 when he kicked Carlos Ruiz while he was on the ground. Clark received the highest penalty given by the league, 10 games (nine games plus the normal one game ban for the red card).

Is Mullan’s tackle worth ten games? Most Seattle Sounders fans would tell you that they think so. His comments after the game probably made it worse however as he said it was a tackle he’s done a hundred times and would likely do again. He apologized to Zakuani but the manner of the way he did seemed more like a forced thing and not a real one by Mullan. It probably didn’t help that a camera was shoved in his face after the game to do it, I’d be willing to bet that a day later his comments wouldn’t have sounded so ass-hole like.

The league is currently reviewing this challenge and the one by Vancouver defender Jonathan Leathers on FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira.

The tackle by Leathers isn’t as cut and dry as the Mullan one. Mullan’s had some intent behind it when he didn’t get a call just moments before his reckless tackle on Zakuani. Leathers was trying to play the ball and instead came in and got Ferreira instead. Interestingly enough there was no foul given, no card shown and all Dallas got was a corner kick that they actually scored from.

Leathers’ tackle was easily more clean than Mullan’s and I never felt that his tackle was meant to injury Ferreira. As a writer who covers Dallas a lot, you’d probably expect me to be all in rage over the tackle but I’m not. Leathers was playing the ball, not the man, and unfortunately for Ferreira his foot got stuck in the fake turf causing the injury.

Should Leathers’ have been carded then and there for the challenge? Probably so. At least a yellow seems fair as he didn’t get that much of the ball and he did come in from behind in a ways.

Again, the league is reviewing these two tackles. Mullan’s deserves a harsh penalty in my mind. I think the league has to come down hard on challenges like this one and give it a pretty lengthy suspension. As for Leathers, not so much. I’d be shocked if he even received a suspension here.

What did you make of each foul? Think Mullan deserves a long suspension? Does Leathers? Let’s hear it.

David Ferreira should be in the running once again for MVP. (Getty Images)

We’ve pushed through the positional rankings on here and have done a few other previews to get things going for next week. It is time once again to dip back into the other previews for the upcoming 2011 Major League Soccer season. Today I will be taking a look at the possible MVP candidates out there to start the season.

With the season being a little longer and the amount of extra games this season, we’ll see various candidates have more chances to sway the votes of the press, players, coaches and whoever else votes at the end of the season for these awards (yup, that includes yours truly).

I have in mind six candidates right now and of course this could easily change over the course of the season. I’ll try to update this from time-to-time like I have over the past few years on here. (Note: the order below is in no particular order)

1. Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake) – I still believe Morales is the heart and soul of RSL. I know they have that whole we are one team kind of moto but Morales is the biggest reason behind their success over the last couple years in my opinion. In a way he was shafted a bit last season in the MVP votes as he helped guide RSL through a tough MLS season and he also helped RSL win their CONCACAF Champions League group. This could be the year he breaks through and gets the votes for the award.

2. David Ferreira (FC Dallas) – Hard to do a MVP watch list and not mention the reigning MVP. Ferreira will be called to do a tad bit more in Dallas this season as the Red Stripes have some extra CCL games to deal with, plus the chance of more USOC matches too. Ferreria makes this club move offensively and without him they’ll be in a world of hurt. As long as he doesn’t take too many knocks this season (expect him to be fouled a boat load this season), I look for him to be in the thick of things for when it comes to the MVP race.

3. Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) – Being that this is David Beckham’s last year you’d think his name would be listed here but really, that won’t happen with Donovan on the field. Donovan is still the heart and soul of this club and even with some weeks in the summer that he’ll be gone due to Gold Cup matches, I still view Donovan as a force to be reckoned with this season. LA wants to get back to the promise land that is MLS Cup and so does Donovan. He wants a title bad, just wait and see how bad he wants it too.

4. Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) – My gut tells me to watch Henry this season, not because he’ll be healthy and with the club all year, but because I have to think he’s hungry to really prove himself for real in this league. If New York is a true contender it will fall a lot on his feet (not his hands, let’s hope!).

5. Omar Cummings (Colorado Rapids) – I really hope Colorado is able to hold on to this guy for the long haul but even if it is just for this year, look out, because I believe he’s going to light up the boards in 2011. Cummings showed he can carry this club both in goals and in assists when needed. Don’t be shocked if he has another large outburst in production this season as he proves to clubs all over the world he is worth a look at.

6. Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union) – Philly fans still feel the cold burn of the snub that Le Toux got last season. While I don’t believe he’ll have the exact same numbers as he did in 2010, I do believe 2011 will be a very nice season for him. He’s got a little more help now in Philly offensively, which should free him up for setting things up more.

Others to watch for: Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo); Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC); Kenny Cooper (Portland Timbers); Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC); and Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes).

It is finally here, the game we’ve all been waiting for since March. The 2010 MLS Cup is here and honestly I couldn’t be any more excited for this one (yes having my local side being in it helps). Having two clubs in this game that have yet to win a MLS Cup is pretty cool to see as well. They out lasted everyone this season to get to this point. We know who the favorite is (Dallas) and who the underdog (Colorado) but in all honesty these two clubs are very evenly matched.

An early goal will likely help vult whomever to a win here. Colorado is likely the club that needs to score first to win this one though as Dallas has no issue with coming from behind to win a game.

Position Breakdown

Keepers: One side of the field you have Kevin Hartman, the other Matt Pickens. Both are very solid and have made their defense in front of them miles better in 2010. Hartman should have won the Keeper of the Year award from Donovan Ricketts but that doesn’t mean Pickets isn’t worthy of the discussion either. The thing that sets these two apart at least by looking at the playoffs is that Hartman practically stood on his head a few times to get Dallas where they are at while Pickens only real big win was in the PK shootout in Columbus where the only stop he made was one that sailed over the bar to win the series.

Edge: Dallas

Defense: Honestly from the start I see this as a Push. You have a couple former FC Dallas defenders mixed in with guys like Marvell Wynne and Julien Boudet and you get a defense that has really made a nice turnaround in 2010. On the flip side what FC Dallas has done defensively this year is pretty impressive considering their defense has always been their biggest weakness over the last few years.

Dallas began giving up more goals late in the year when George John and Ugo Ihemelu went down with injuries. Both with both in the lineup they’ve been able to slow down high power attacks like Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy.

Colorado is interesting on defense, and a lot deal with the fact that their midfield is so good in front of them. They have to be careful on the wings though with Anthony Wallace and Kosuke Kimura. If one gets out of position Dallas will make them pay similar to what Robbie Rogers did to them in Columbus.

Still this one is to close for me to call here.

Edge: Push

Midfield: I really believe had it not been for the trade to get Jeff Larentowicz, Colorado would not even be in this game. That’s how big of an addition he was this season to the Rapids. He made the midfield and defense collectively better. The mid-season pickup of Brian Mullan did help bring some grit and better passing through the wings.

That said the rest of the midfield for the Rapids isn’t as good as Larentowicz has made them. On the wings they can get beaten if players are out of position and Dallas does a good job of spreading their attack through their wings like we saw against LA. Dallas’s five-man attack is balanced and well thought out. Guys like Dax McCarty and Daniel Hernandez are the cog in the midfield that really keep things going and allow David Ferreira to get in space and create for himself and whomever is playing up top. The wings are speedy with Brek Shea and Martin Chavez and are able to find holes in the defense.

Edge: Dallas

Forwards: This one is fairly simple to go into. Dallas has gone with a number of strikers all season long, mostly a lone striker in the form of Martin Rodriguez or Jeff Cunningham, or in the case of last week in LA in the form of Atiba Harris. Either way you spin it Dallas doesn’t really have the best go-to scorer up top the way that Colorado does in Omar Cummings and Conor Casey.

Dallas flows their offense through and with Ferreira in hopes to spring a free Cunningham or Rodriguez. Colorado on the other hand is fairly simple as they go wide with Cummings and he sends balls into the box for Casey; or they find diagonal balls in space for Cummings to run on to with his speed; or they hope for odd plays to accure.

Still the edge goes to the Rapids on this one based on Cummings and Casey.

Edge: Colorado

Bench: Dallas is fairly deep, probably a tad bit deeper than the Rapids when you consider they can bring on a Eric Avila, or even a Cunningham at anytime. Or if they have the lead they can bring in defensive help like Eric Alexander.

Edge: Dallas

Coach: You have the MLS Coach of the Year in Schellas Hyndman and on the other side a guy that is pretty underrated in Gary Smith. I’d lean towards Dallas due to the award but really this one is even considering both did an excellent job of finding guys that fit their systems for this year. Though I doubt Smith has a cool enough jacket to spark a huge Twitter frenzy like Hyndman did.

Edge: Push

X-Factors: Shea (Dallas); Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado) – Shea is a bad match-up on the wings for the Rapids. Sure they were able to contain a smaller Bobby Convey last week but Shea works around the ball is such a frustrating way for opposing teams. Mastroeni’s leadership has to be a factor in this one, how he handles himself will set his club up for this game.

Outlook: This game will come down to who cracks first really. Dallas knows how to hold onto leads in big situations if you consider how they played in Salt Lake and LA these past two weeks. The ability of Ihemelu and John to contain Casey and Cummings is an important element in this one. The better they contain the better chance Dallas has in this one.

Considering how these clubs tied their season series I think its safe to say we can just throw those two games out of the way here for this one like we’ve done all playoff long.

The biggest factor in this game comes down to the wing play and that’s where Dallas should come up big with Shea and Chavez. Also for me the Cunningham factor against one of his old clubs is out there, not to mention playing at BMO Field for him has to be huge. Colorado may have the edge in historical meetings in the playoffs but those were different times. Dallas has yet to lose at BMO Field and I see that trend continuing in their biggest win in club history.

WVH Prediction: FC Dallas 2, Colorado 1

The Colombian international raised his production in 2010, scoring 8 goals and notching 13 assists–second most in the league.

Anyone who saw his play against the LA Galaxy last week saw just how effect of a player he can be for FC Dallas. His goal against the Galaxy in the run of play was a thing of beauty.

Player Team Percentage of total vote

1. David Ferreira FCD 20.0 percent
2. Edson Buddle LA 18.3 percent
3. Chris Wondolowski SJ 14.6 percent
4. Landon Donovan LA 11.9 percent
5. Sebastien Le Toux PHI 8.9 percent