BC Place will be rocking for the season opener. (Getty Images)

We are finally back to the normal weekly posts here. It is Thursday which means it is time to take a dip into the stories I’ll be focusing in on this weekend as Major League Soccer kicks off their 17th season.

We got things off to a bit of a bang last night in the CONCACAF Champions League, with Seattle downing Santos 2-1 and Toronto and LA playing to a 2-2 draw in front of a rocking crowd at the Rogers Centre.

The First Kick schedule this weekend last three days, spanning Saturday through Monday. The unbalanced schedule however means that there will be a team or two off each week. Both Seattle and Toronto will be off this weekend, thanks to their involvement in the CCL.

Let’s get started shall we?

1. Great White North. The first game being mentioned to start the season off is in fact a game pitting two Canadian teams against one another. Last year it was the Vancouver Whitecaps hosting Toronto FC, but this year the Caps will host the newest club to MLS, the Montreal Impact. Vancouver went out and snagged nearly every available striker that they could get their hands on in the offseason including a trade with Philadelphia for Sebastien Le Toux. The Caps looks strong in the preseason, winning the annual Disney Pro Soccer Class in Orlando. They scored a ton of goals and their defense proved to be up for the challenge. If Vancouver’s defense can be as tough as some think they can be, then I’d expect them to steam roll over the expansion Impact here.

I like what Jesse Marsch has done with his expansion club though. The big thing will be getting the chemistry right early. Once guys get on the same page with one another they could do well but it will take some time.

2. DeRo and Salihi. The two big names lead D.C. United into what could be a big make or break season for Ben Olsen. His team is young but talented. The big thing however is getting Dwayne De Rosario, the 2011 MLS MVP, on the same page as newly acquired Designated Player Hamdi Salihi. The two didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time in the preseason together. But one thing is clear, both know how to put the ball in the back of the net. Salihi showed in Charleston, SC last week that it won’t take much for him to find the back of the net.

3. New boss in Denver. I’ve always been a big backer and fan of Oscar Pareja and I knew it was only a matter of time before some MLS team took him from FC Dallas (truth be told most FCD fans were hoping he’d stick around long enough to take over for Schellas Hyndman when he retired). Pareja now has a team to call his own in Colorado and will be employing a new formation for the Rapids, a 4-3-3 set up. I like the idea of this club in that kind of formation but they do have some issues on the flanks and in the defense that could make this a challenging transition. Anthony Wallace is out for several months now, which means the full back spot is going to be up for grabs. Also, the midfield isn’t getting any young with Pablo Mastroeni and Brian Mullan.

The bigger question will be who scores for this team until Conor Casey returns. To answer that you have to look no further than to Omar Cummings and newcomer Jamie Castrillon. Pareja went south and picked up a few Colombians and Castrillon could be one of the better ones to come to MLS in some time.

4. CCL fatigue for LA? Its certainly possible to expect some sort of let down for LA as they travel back across the country to host a very talent and dangerous Real Salt Lake team this Saturday. LA showed last night that they can be beaten pretty easily in defense without Omar Gonzalez on set pieces. Look for Javier Morales and company to exploit that issue in LA’s defense.

But saying all of that also means that LA does have the ability to come back from any score. We saw last night that a two goals lead against LA means nothing with the likes of David Beckham, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane in the line up. I really feel that once those four are on the same page that no one, and I mean no one will be able to contend with them. Salt Lake is pretty close to LA’s level so this one should be a fantastic season opener.

5. Quakes and Revs bring intrigue into new season. One thing is certain, not too many people outside of Boston or San Jose really know what to make of the San Jose Earthquakes or the New England Revolution going into this new season. The Revs have a new manager in Jay Heaps and he has some talent on his roster. The big question boils down to who will score for this bunch. That won’t be the question for Quake fans as we know Chris Wondolowski is already looking good going into the new season. As long as someone steps up with him the Quakes could be a dark horse contender out West this season.

While this game doesn’t have the big story lines to it, I wouldn’t be shocked if it is one of the more interesting games this weekend.

6. NBC and MLS. We get our first real look at what NBC will bring to the table for MLS broadcasts. We know of the booth set up with Arlo White and his color commentator on the field (yes on the field, not in the booth) Kyle Martino. I’m pumped for this one merely because it is here in Dallas and I’ll be attending this one. Dallas is expecting a sellout or at least something very close to one for this game against Thierry Henry and New York. FC Dallas CEO Doug Quinn stated yesterday to the press that less than 2000 tickets are left for this season opener and more than likely they’ll get to the sellout.

Having NBC do this game is obviously huge for both teams and the league though. I do believe the league and NBC picked a good opener with New York and Dallas. Plenty of stars to showcase between Brek Shea and Henry. Too bad Rafa Marquez is suspended for this one though.

7. Year of the Timbers? Monday’s lone game should be a fun one. Portland hosting Philadelphia in prime-time on ESPN2 is exactly how the league needed to close out it’s first week of the season. Two up and coming teams, in front of a rocking JELD-WEN Field crowd. That makes for good soccer and good TV in my book. (Note for Dallas folks, I’ll be hanging out at the Big D Soccer Pub Night, come join if you are in town)

Both the Union and the Timbers made plenty of interesting moves in the offseason. Portland added Kris Boyd to their attack and he will certainly be tasked with being the difference maker in this one. But keep an eye out for second year stud Darlington Nagbe. I think we’ll see him infused into the offense a little more this season.

Philly will certainly be interesting to watch this season as they move on from having Le Toux and will rely more on Danny Mwanga and Freddy Adu. Both are young but I have a good feeling about Mwanga being a dark horse Golden Boot contender this season.

Javier Morales is back to lead RSL into a big 2012 campaign. (Getty Images)

Everyone loves a good dark horse story in sports. MLS is no different really as in each season there always seems to be a player that comes from no where to win the MLS MVP race. We saw that in the past with guys like David Ferreira in 2010 and nearly saw it last year with Brek Shea before he lost out to Dwayne De Rosario.

Attacking players tend to do well in the MVP race, but we can’t sleep on those in the back here either. Here are a few guys I see that could be big in this year’s MVP race outside of the traditional names like Landon Donovan, Thierry Henry and Dwayne De Rosario.

Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake) – A big, big year once again for RSL. Morales has been in the MVP mix before but I think there probably won’t be nearly as much chatter about him going into this season as last year, partly due to his injury last season. I still firmly believe that as Morales goes, so will RSL.

Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo) – One of the few defenders that I think can make a real difference in this league (Omar Gonzalez and Jamison Olave being the others). Cameron should be slotted into the defense for the entire season this year, unlike previous years where he has played in the midfield. Should Houston make another run at the MLS Cup this season, it won’t be entirely on Brad Davis but more on Cameron in my eyes to get them there.

David Chiumiento (Vancouver Whitecaps) – Vancouver looks to be an offensive power this season with the likes of Camilo, Sebastien Le Toux, Eric Hassli and Chiumiento. But for me, out of all of those names Chiumiento is posed to have the biggest year. He is expected to be back in the center of the pitch (his natural position I might add) for new boss Martin Rennie. I’m not the only one thinking this either.

Marco Pappa (Chicago Fire) – I’ve always been a big fan of Pappa and something about this group in Chicago has me believing a little more this season. As long as he, Patrick Nyarko, Pavel Pardo and Dominic Oduro can continue their form that we saw late last season, this could be a dangerous team out of the Eastern Conference in 2012.

Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City) – He just got a new contract with Sporting KC today and even before that happened I already had him pegged for this spot. Zusi finally seemed to come alive last year (as did SKC), and I think 2012 is the start of even bigger things for him too.

Danny Koevermans (Toronto FC) – MVP voters like goals and Koevermans showed that he can put plenty of them in the back of the net since his arrival last summer. Toronto is such an intriguing side going into this season and for me it comes down to their defense and this man. If he can bag 15 goals or more this season, you can bet on him being in the MVP discussion.

Javier Morales will be out until Octobor, Marcos Mondaini will return after four games. (Getty Images)

It should come to no surprise that Chivas USA striker Marcos Mondaini would be suspended for his reckless tackle on Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales. The question was always going to be how long.

While many folks were hoping or expecting Mondaini to get the same punishment as Colorado’s Brian Mullan, the league’s disciplinary committee thought otherwise. Today they handed out an extra three games to his red card that he received to bring his suspension up to four games, plus a fine of $1,500.

Four games is still a hefty punishment in this league, one of the bigger suspension in the league’s short history too. In all honesty, the punishment is pretty fair but I know some RSL fans that will disagree.

What did you make of the punishment?

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).

David Ferreira takes home my MVP vote. (Getty Images)

For a couple weeks now I’ve held off on reveling my end of the year awards. I mainly wanted to see the season end and the playoffs begin before I wrote this all out. Plus I honestly had no idea how I wanted to present this. But on Election Day it just feels right to tell you all how I voted in this year’s MLS Awards.

First of all I’m going to leave out the pointless awards like Ref of the Year. I still don’t get why we vote on that in the first place since we know about all the officiating issues in MLS. I also won’t list things like Humanitarian of the Year or things like that. Most of you probably could care less about awards like that anyways.

Anyways, I’ll start with some awards that will be announced by the league here in the coming days and end with the big ones. I’ll also count them down by my vote as well, remember the media (and probably players/GMs/coaches) gets three slots for voting.

Defender of the Year

3. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy)

2. Nat Borchers (RSL)

1. Jamison Olave (RSL)

Why Olave: To be real honest between Olave and Borchers it wasn’t easy. It was a 1a and 1b type of vote for me but more times than not I felt Olave was the better of the two this season. Had we done this vote back in June I believe Gonzalez would have taken it home but just like the rest of the year for the Galaxy, Gonzalez too had some issues in the latter part of the summer. Olave was more consistent this year than he’s been in the past as well which was refreshing to see.

Keeper of the Year

3. Donovan Ricketts (LA)

2. Nick Rimando (RSL)

1. Kevin Hartman (FC Dallas)

Why Hartman: Between the time he took over and his injury Hartman was the biggest reason why FCD went on that amazing run that they did. In 20 games this season he had 9 shutouts, and only 12 goals against. I know Rimando had a stellar year and I get why folks will vote for him. RSL fans can blame me on being too close to the action here with Hartman but I really had no hesitation in voting this way.

Rookie of the Year

3. Michael Stephens (LA)

2. Danny Mwanga (Philadelphia)

1. Andy Najar (D.C. United)

Why Najar: Why not really? He was easily the best player on their team this year and should become the first academy product in the league history to win this award. He was consistent when others were not this season and provided a true spark for D.C. when they really had nothing else going for them this season.

Comeback Player of the Year

3. Jason Hernandez (San Jose)

2. Chris Albright (New York)

1. Bobby Convey (San Jose)

Why Convey: I’m still curious what Brek Shea came back from (he’s one of the three nominees with Albright and Convey). Anyways, to me it was down to Albright and Convey. Yes Albright missed 2009 while Convey just stunk up the place last year. For me it was about getting back to where he should be as a player and that’s what Convey did this year. Not to say Albright doesn’t deserve this award because he does, I just felt Convey made a bigger comeback from being so bad last year to so much better this year.

Newcomer of the Year

3. Ryan Smith (Kansas City)

2. Joel Lindpere (New York)

1. Alvaro Saborio (RSL)

Why Saborio: He lead his club in goals and really gave me no reason not to vote for him in this award. Lindpere was amazing for New York’s turnaround though so we can’t ignore what he did. I was just more impressed with the fact that a lot of clubs couldn’t figure out how to deal with Saborio this year.

Coach of the Year

3. Peter Nowak (Philadelphia)

2. Jason Kreis (RSL)

1. Schellas Hyndman (FC Dallas)

Why Hyndman: This may have been the hardest award to vote on outside of MVP. I put Nowak over Hans Backe because I was very impressed with how Nowak guided Philly through their expansion season. I believe he’s set them up perfectly for 2011. Then it came down to Kreis and Hyndman. Both had equally impressive campaigns in 2010 and we can’t ignore that enough. I went the direction that I did not because I was closer to the team here in Dallas than RSL but it came down to that 19-game unbeaten run. Sure there were a ton of draws with this Dallas team but due to the way Hyndman constructed this team for this season it was impressive to see their “never say die” attitude.

MLS MVP

3. Chris Wondolowski (San Jose)

2. Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia)

1. David Ferreira (FC Dallas)

Why Ferreira: Again the toughest award to vote on, probably ever. So many worthy choices but I stuck with Ferreira like I stuck with my pick of Hyndman. It wasn’t just that unbeaten run that was impressive from him and this bunch but Ferreira was the leader and the guy that just got stuff done for Dallas. We saw that in the opener in the playoffs against RSL, he just finds ways to get the team on the board. I was shocked to not see Le Toux as a finalist because let’s be honest he deserved it, then again so does Wondolowski.

WVH Best XI For 2010

(Voting format was a 3-5-2)

Keeper: Kevin Hartman

Defense: Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Omar Gonzalez

Midfield: David Ferreira, Sebastien Le Toux, Dwayne De Rosario, Javier Morales, Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Forwards: Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle

Reasons behind Best XI: First of all the way the league handles this is crazy. A 3-5-2 is always tough to vote on especially when they place guys out of position. I’d rather have Donovan placed in the midfield and Ferreira in the forwards but this is out it goes. I know some are thinking no Wondo in the forwards? Well Buddle was the leader going into the day I voted and Donovan was the top assist getter in the league too. If I had to vote on this again today I may replace Buddle with Wondo.

Javier Morales is one of a few players in the running for MLS MVP. (Getty Images)

I said earlier in the week I wanted to touch on this year’s MVP race. Well today looked like a good one to do it seeing as how I don’t care about Liverpool’s sale to John Henry and company and I feel a bit lazy to talk about the USOC Final from last night. What can I say its also a busy day around these parts for me.

This year’s MVP race is a hot one. I don’t think that can be said enough really as there are easily six to eight players in the running for the award. I’ll go ahead and say this list below is no ranking because right now today I honestly have no clue who I’d vote for. I know who I am leaning towards but if I had a ballot in my hand today I know it would take me hours to complete it. The race is just that damn close this year.

We have a two groups of players though in the running this time around, your playoff bound guys and your non-playoff bound guys. I’ll go with the playoff group first since it is a bit larger.

Playoff Bound

Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) – Based on stats you have to include Donovan who clearly makes his team better. He leads the league in assists with 15 and also has offered up a cool seven goals on the year. Not shabby but I do wonder if it will be enough to win the award for the second straight year. Probably to get there he’ll have to help lead the Galaxy to an unbeaten run to finish the season by notching a few more assists and dropping in a goal or two.

Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy) – Some folks will disagree to include the potential Golden Boot winner on the MVP list but why not? MVPs typically score lots of goals and Buddle is no exception. He cooled off a bit in the summer which was expected after he was blazing hot to begin the year. Its no secret he’ll need to get his goal numbers up to at least 20 to really catch people’s eye for this award though.

Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake) - I’ve seen plenty of rants and moans from the RSL folks about how Morales isn’t being discussed as a MVP candidate this year on other sites. Well RSL folks those sites are crazy to dismiss Morales in this award because as you know RSL is a lot different without him on the field. His stats are solid but his play and leadership are what makes this guy a MVP in my eyes. I have a feeling however he’ll be the Shalrie Joseph of this year, you know the guy who deserves it the most but will come up short in the running.

David Ferriera (FC Dallas) – He’s probably the guy I’m leaning towards if I had to vote right now for this award. Still the competition is stiff this year and Ferriera will likely need to help keep this amazing unbeaten run in tact if he has a shot at winning this award this season. Tough to say that but its likely true that some voters will overlook him if Dallas stumbles once down the stretch.

Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC) – You saw last night exactly how good Seattle can be when they want to. Montero is a big reason because of that. He cooled off a bit in September so he’ll need a big October to get some votes here but believe me there is good reason to count Montero in on the voting this year. Not only has he put in his share of goals again this season but his assist numbers are up and he’s helping make guys like Steve Zakuani and Sanny Nyassi better.

Omar Cummings (Colorado Rapids) – Based on stats alone you have to include him in the race. Boy lately he and the Rapids have been on fire (except for that D.C. game). Cummings’ 12 goals has helped push the Rapids back into the playoff picture for the first time since 2006.

Non-Playoff Players

Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC) – Hard to deny what DeRo means to Toronto. Take him off the team and you can imagine exactly how bad of a year this club would have had. It was already pretty bad towards the end but I’m sure it would be worse without him. His 13 goals have lead the team but he’s clearly the heart and sole of the club. Something you can’t replace which kind of sounds like “most valuable” to me.

Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union) – If I’m the Union faithful and the Union front office I would be doing a full on media blitz to get Le Toux up for the MVP. Nothing like trying to get some extra media votes by hyping up your best player. Le Toux has carried this expansion club like no other. There’s no getting around the fact that his 13 goals and 10 assists are impressive. No other player can say that right now this season that they have at least 10 goals and 10 assists.

Others of note: Chris Wondolowski (San Jose); Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus); and Juan Pablo Angel (New York).

Houston travels to Rio Tinto Stadium to face Real Salt Lake tonight. (Getty Images)

Revenge is the thought in the minds of Real Salt Lake players tonight as they host the Houston Dynamo in the league’s showcase game on ESPN2. It was a month or so ago when the Dynamo hosted RSL on a Thursday night and scored a 2-1 win over the defending champs thanks to not one but two penalty kicks.

Jamison Olave was a big reason why RSL gave up those two penalties that night as he committed both fouls. Both times Brad Davis went to the spot and put it home for the Dynamo. One thing we can bet on is Olave being a little more disciplined tonight for his club. RSL has put themselves in a position to move up the western conference latter with a win tonight and giving up more penalties is not a way to do that.

I’ve always been a big backer of RSL at home and for good reason, they hardly lose in Salt Lake and at Rio Tinto Stadium. If anyone could knock them off their horse at home its a club like Houston who plays physical through the back and midfield and gets a lot of free kicks in dangerous spots. RSL gives up enough fouls around their box so they will have to limit those mental mistakes.

I think tonight is RSL’s game to lose. They need the three points and will want to continue their dominance at Rio Tinto. A couple guys need to step up offensively in this one like Robbie Findley who just got called into the US national team’s camp for the World Cup. Also RSL will need another strong performance out of Javier Morales. If he can regain the form he had to start the season there is no doubt that RSL will walk out of this one with three points.

Houston will have to play a little more tight in the midfield but also need to spread out RSL through the midfield. Teams that have seen some success against RSL did a good job spreading them out to create chances on goal.

I like RSL in this one for the revenge factor and because Houston hasn’t shown enough consistency recently (though injuries play a part of that). Expect a real physical match too and probably a couple cards as well.

Player to watch out for: Kyle Beckerman – He has to be the rock in the midfield for RSL. His play will dicate how RSL fares in this one.

WVH Prediction: RSL 2, Houston 1

Kyle Beckerman will lead RSL into battle with the Dynamo tonight. (Getty Images)

Tonight we get not just one but two solid primetime games on ESPN2. Which kind of begs the question, why didn’t the league have two games go on last week on opening night to kick off the year? Too late to wonder about that now but from the looks of things these two games won’t go head-t0-head with a lot of normal Thursday night TV.

We got two big western conference clashes tonight on ESPN2. First up in Houston its the defending champions Real Salt Lake taking on the Dynamo. Then its off to LA to see the first game in the 2010 Honda SuperClasico between the Galaxy and Chivas USA.

As always feel free to leave your thoughts and predictions below.

Real Salt Lake – at – Houston Dynamo

Probably the best game so far to date this season. Typically the meetings between these two clubs are heated. Six of the last seven Houston-RSL matches have seen red cards, including five ejections in three games last year. Its not a bitter rivalry, just a physical one. Don’t expect anything different this year.

RSL took a huge step forward in week one from their 2009 road campaign by downing San Jose 3-0. Javier Morales looks to be back and better than ever for Claret-and-Cobalt. Look for Houston to have newcomer Lovel Palmer zone in on him in this one. If Palmer can be as effect as Ricardo Clark used to be in the midfield for the Orange, we shouldn’t see too big of a change from a year ago in the defense for Houston. The big thing in this one though is if Houston can slow down the likes of Robbie Findley. Last week in Dallas, the Dynamo had trouble with the speed that FC Dallas presented them. Look for an even bigger challenge with a speedy Findley.

I think the Dynamo will have to find a way to slow down Findley, if they do that they should be fine in this one. But even more so they have to find a way to get their attack going in this one, which means Geoff Cameron will have to get going more in this one.

I see a close draw in this one, even though the Dynamo have absolutely owned RSL at Robertson Stadium in the past couple years. Thing is this isn’t the same RSL club from those years.

Player to watch out for: Kyle Beckerman – He’s not very liked in Houston and he’ll be going head-to-head with Cameron in this one. I think he’ll slow down Cameron enough to keep Houston from scoring a lot in this one.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, RSL 2

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Chivas USA – at – LA Galaxy

Everyone loves a good rivalry and this one is as heated as any in the league. The Home Depot Center mates don’t like one another at all. Landon Donovan went as far to say today that Chivas is a team that they should beat. Fightin’ words if you ask me.

Chivas hasn’t been able to do much to this Galaxy squad these last couple years. I see that trend continuing here tonight if the Goats fail to find a way to generate offense again. Last week against Colorado they looked slow and lacked creativity on offense against the Rapids. Going against a better defense in LA it won’t be easy to score at all in this one. The Galaxy looked strong in week one against New England and that should carry over to this one.

Look for it to be heated as usual with plenty of cards. I’d expect Donovan to have one of his big games in this one too.

Player to watch out for: Omar Gonzalez – The big defender for the Galaxy will have to find a way to slow down the speed of Maykel Galindo in this one. Lucky for him all he needs to do is be a big physical with Galindo, a few bumps on him should do it.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, Chivas 0

Every team has that one guy that will either help lead them to the MLS promise-land or be partly the reason why they are stuck at home in November instead of seeing the playoffs. These are you X-Factor players.

I have one (maybe two) guys for each MLS team that are those X-Factors for this new season. Some guys are really no brainers while others may surprise you a bit. Its safe to say that each club needs a big year out of their X-Factors.

If you think I’m way off base on someone or think I missed a sure-fire X-Factor please list it below.

1. Marco Pappa (Chicago Fire): I thought long and hard about the Fire’s biggest X-Factor for the 2010 season. Part of me leaned towards Brian McBride but the rest of me stayed with Pappa. Mainly because the midfield will be more dependent of Pappa in 2010 now that Blanco is gone to Mexico.

Pappa will help control the midfield, which will help create goals for McBride, Patrick Nyarko and newly acquired Collins John.

2. Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA): This one wasn’t really hard to figure out though I did come close to writing down Jesus Padilla down. Kljestan has to control the midfield and generate offense for this club to reach the post season again in 2010. We saw glimpses in 2009 of what he really can be once he broke out of his early season slump that he was in.

The thing about Kljestan is he needs to have a fast start to the year and build up his confidence. If he does that then expect another strong year out of the Red-and-White.

3. Omar Cummings (Colorado Rapids): We saw just how good he and Conor Casey can be together in 2009. The thing was the party ended and so did their season. I know a lot had to due to the midfield being all banged up but with the recent additions to that area they have no excuse anymore. I see Cummings as a big facilitator in that offense as he had double-digit assists last year before the wheels came off the wagon.

If Cummings doesn’t produce then don’t expect Casey to have high numbers again this year. The two went hand-in-hand last year in scoring goals.

4. Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew): I nearly went with Guillermo Barros Schelotto here but thinking about it more, the more I came to Rogers as this club’s X-Factor. As important as GBS is to the Crew, Rogers is pretty far up there. If he isn’t on the wings and producing quality passes in the midfield the team will suffer for it.

I think this is the perfect year for Rogers too. He will and should show that he’s a quality leader for the team too. If he can help bring in some goals this season the Crew will be all the better for it and will have another shot at a MLS Cup in the process.

5. Santino Quaranta (D.C. United): A lot, and I do mean a lot of pressure is going on Quaranta this winter. The word is he is coming into an attacking midfielder role of some sorts this year for Curt Onalfo. Honestly I love the idea of him facilitating things offensively for the Black-and-Red. The club is moving away from that tradition No.10 role in the midfield and guys like Quaranta and Clyde Simms will be asked of more this year.

But the question will be is he up for it? As long as he brings in some assists and helps get newcomer Christian Castillo involved in the midfield the club will be fine. If he throws in a few goals in the process I’m sure the Screaming Eagles will love him all the more for it. But if the pressure is too much he’ll get back out on the wings fairly quickly.

6. David Ferreira (FC Dallas): This one was simple for me, if Ferreira sets up the goals like he did towards the end of the season in 2009 for Dallas the club will make the playoffs easily in 2010. If he struggles however look for another playoff-less year in the Big D. He means that much to the offense and to a lesser extent the defense of this club. If he isn’t controlling things in the midfield then it puts pressure on the defense, it is as simple as that.

7. Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo): Another fairly simple one for me to pick out. Cameron moves into the midfield to replace Stuart Holden. If he succeeds it will continue to make Dominic Kinnear a genius. He along with Brad Davis have to drive the offense through the midfield for this club. There may be some growing pains at first but Cameron should slide comfortably into this role.

8. Jimmy Neilsen (Kansas City Wizards): The Wizards are going to be very interesting to watch early on this year. For one we’ll all need name tags on the players for a few weeks until we know who all these new guys are. Neilsen is one of those new guys, one that definitely got plenty of talk when he signed a while back. Neilsen takes over for the departed Kevin Hartman, who’s now in Dallas.

Neilsen is being brought in to smooth out a defense that was not so smooth in 2009. He’s known as a guy that controls his box very tightly and can organize any defense. If he gets this bunch organized and collected right in 2010 the Wizard’s could have a nice turn around.

9. Clint Mathis (LA Galaxy): Bruce Arena got most of the old band back together with this addition of Mathis at the SuperDraft in January. While some may think Landon Donovan is a X-Factor for this club I see Mathis as an even bigger one for a midfield that will definitely need his abilities to control things. If Mathis steps in and plays like he has in the past couple of seasons for Real Salt Lake then it will make Arena look more like a genius here. If Donovan ends up leaving town in the summer after the World Cup like most speculate, the Galaxy will have to lean more on Mathis at that time to keep the ball moving.

10. Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution): This one is pretty simple like it was a year ago, the ball for New England will run through Joseph once again in 2010. If he continues his MVP form the Revs will likely find themselves back in the playoffs again this year. Taylor Twellman could also be listed here once he is fully healthy again, but until then Joseph is it for the Revs.

11. Joel Lindpere (New York Red Bulls): From all the reports and people I’ve spoken to this winter about the Red Bulls (that didn’t center around Red Bull Arena), all mostly said the same thing – Lindpere is the guy in the midfield that can make them into winners again. That’s good news for a club that has seen nothing but failures over the years.

Most of the reports I saw on him this winter he did a great job of controlling the midfield and created good chances for the guys up top. It will be up to him to get the ball out to the wings and create chances. But this 30-year old Estonian international shouldn’t have too much issue with that pressure.

12. Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union): I asked around in Philly who some folks thought would be their biggest X-Factor and surprisingly the couple folks I spoke to said Le Toux. Simple reason really, if will likely have the pressure of creating their attack and controlling possession. If he can do that it will be easier on other MLS veterans like Fred and Alejandro Moreno to do what they do best on the wings and up top respectively.

13. Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake):  Yes Robbie Findley has to score and the defense has to hold up but the bigger thing that has to happen for a possibility of a repeat champion is the play of Morales has to return to MVP form. When he was on top of his game this club was a handful to deal with offensively and defensively there was less pressure.

Consistency will be key for Morales and RSL in 2010, along with finding balance to win on the road like they do at Rio Tinto Stadium.

14. Jason Hernandez (San Jose Earthquakes): A lot of the defensive pressure will likely fall on the Quakes vice-captain. If he is fully fit this season the Quakes defense will be much better because of it. Last year we saw their defense go into the gutters due largely to this man missing a lot of action.

15. Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle Sounders FC): I don’t like picking DPs for this but in this case it almost has to be. Ljungberg has to be the man to generate offense on a consistent basis in Seattle this year. When he was on his game last year the Sounders were easily one of the best teams in the league because of it. He has to help make Freddy Montero look good along the way too.

16. Chad Barrett (Toronto FC): I nearly went with Dwayne De Rosario but upon further look and with the recent news of Ali Gerba being sent home from a preseason camp makes me realize exactly how important Barrett is to this club’s offense in 2010. If Gerba gets the boot (which part of me thinks will happen), a lot of the offense weight goes straight to Barrett. We know the Reds will likely sign a striker in the summer transfer window but Barrett has to keep them afloat until then.