San Jose and Vancouver have the potential to be the matchup of the weekend. (Getty Images)

Whew. Last night was quite a night in Major League Soccer. One game had eight goals, while the other two combined for five. Crazy night really when you throw in the two Amway Canadian Championship to the mix.

Now it is time to focus on the weekend ahead, all clubs that were involved in games last night have second games this weekend. So lots of double-dips here in Week 9.

Nine games are on tap this weekend starting tomorrow night in LA with Chivas taking on the Chicago Fire all the way until Sunday evening in Frisco when FC Dallas hosts the Colorado Rapids. Busy, busy weekend ahead.

Here are a few stories I will be following this weekend as MLS gets rolling further into a new month.

1. What do we know about the Fire? Honestly, the Chicago Fire may be the one club that I know the least about at this point. Blame the unbalanced schedule if you want but it is the truth. We’ve seen them the least (same can be said about Houston but that is for other reasons since their stadium is being built), and really there is so much to be asked of this club. Their young players, the speedy attack, their midfield. Each time I see them I like them a little more but I do feel that one big element is missing out of them. Someone that centralizes the attack or that main striker (no offense to Dominic Oduro or anything here).

They head to LA tomorrow to face a struggling Chivas USA club that can’t seem to get anything right at the moment, especially at home. Chicago has to come out early with their attack and dictate the pace from the start. Their open style of attack has to get an early start or the Chivas defense will get comfortable and possibly get a draw out of this one.

2. Any breakthrough for Toronto? Worst start in club history, tied for the worst in league history. The Reds have to have some bit of luck before long. Aron Winter probably doesn’t have a ton of time left either as his club didn’t exactly do well yesterday in Montreal in the opening semifinal leg of the ACC.

The attack is slowly coming together for this side, as we saw last week in Salt Lake but at some point a full 90 minute effort has to happen. So far this season they haven’t been able to put together more than 20 minutes of quality soccer at a time together. That has to change or else we could be staring at some very ugly history.

Toronto hosts D.C. United, a fiery offense lead by former Red Dwayne De Rosario. You know DeRo’s track record against his old clubs, so you have to expect a goal from him in this one. It is just a matter of can Toronto match him? I don’t know if they really can at this point.

3. Defensive battle in British Columbia. Vancouver and San Jose battle once again for the second time this season. Earlier San Jose dominated the Caps 3-1, showing that Vancouver’s defense was not as great as they had previously shown in the first four games (four shutouts in their first four games). Still the Caps have earned two more shutouts since that loss and are looking better and better. Offensively things are slowly working their way into form as Omar Salgado showed well last night in the ACC match with Edmonton. He, Sebastien Le Toux, Camilio, Eric Hassli, and the rest of that crew have to get going against the Quakes and their tough defense.

You have to love what the Quakes are doing at the moment, shredding everyone’s defense with their attack and coming up strong with their midfield and defensive group. Last night was a bit different though as D.C. United got three by this group, a first of this season. Still this one could become more of an offensive showing than a defensive one if things go the way they did last night. I’d love to see it really.

4. Stars lacking in MLS showcase game. No Thierry Henry or Rafa Marquez make the LA-NY game a little less interesting. The Galaxy held David Beckham and Robbie Keane out of last night’s loss in Seattle and given the form of these two clubs, I don’t think this is really a game the league can hang their hat on here this season. But hey, they’re going to try to. LA has to bounce back here after the loss in Seattle. They’ve not shown their offense as much as I would have liked to this season but going against a banged up Red Bulls squad, the time is now. I think an attack right down the heart of this Red Bull team is exactly what LA needs to do. Teams that have run at New York have seen great success this season and LA has just the attack that can do that.

5. The something has to give game in Portland. Between the Portland Timbers and the Columbus Crew, their meeting on Saturday night is in my mind the Something Has To Give Game. Neither team has shown well this season and for the Timbers, this game is an absolute must. While I don’t see John Spencer getting fired any time soon here, one has to believe another home loss would firmly place him on the hot seat.

Columbus on the other hand is still going through some growing pains in my mind. Talent is there but not enough of it to do anything of note this season.

This one really has to give something to one of these clubs in for form of points. Each need them badly as they are both tied with seven and are at the bottom of the league pile (just in front of Toronto of course). Kris Boyd has been good for Portland but at some point he has to show his worth with Kenny Cooper lighting things up over in New York.

6. 2010 MLS Cup rematch in Frisco. Yeah, I hate calling it that but for now on when Colorado and Dallas met, its a talking point. But really this one is about the return of Oscar Pareja to Frisco. Pareja was a major link for Dallas in the reserve game and into South America. So far he’s been able to use his connections in South America for the Rapids and slowly but surely they are paying off for him.

Neither club has done great so far this season but both are in the thick of things so there is something to be said about that. Colorado plays a little more open under Pareja while Dallas will try to play to their strengths on the wings with Brek Shea and Jackson.

This game has the makings of being fast and very open. A nice way to close the week out in my opinion.

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.

LA appears to be stacked again up front. (Getty Images)

Time for the final positional ranking group today, the forwards.

To recap, here are the keeper rankings from last week, Monday’s defender rankings, and yesterday’s midfield rankings.

For me the forwards were fairly cut and dry. The top eight or so teams were pretty simple to figure out and really you could argue any way between them and probably not be too wrong about it. After that teams 9-16 have a lot of questions to answer but all could make their way up the rankings by the season’s end. And the bottom three were fairly clear to me as well.

1. Los Angeles Galaxy – Hard not to place them at the top. With the likes of Robbie Keane and Edson Buddle, the Galaxy should have the top offense in the league again this season. The question will be, how long will it take them to get on the same page though. Keep an eye out for Jack McBean down the pine on the depth charts. The kid has the chops to be a stud in this league one day.

2. Seattle Sounders FC – Fredy Montero and Eddie Johnson. Boy that duo could either be great or a bust. I think the thing with Johnson that not many are bringing up is the fact that he won’t be expected to carry this club on his own like his days in KC or even as far back as Dallas. Montero will still get the bulk of the goals and Johnson will definitely have the best midfield distribution that he’s ever gotten. 

3. New York Red Bulls – So much talent up front it is scary. Thierry Henry will still make the headlines and lead the team in goals while Kenny Cooper will likely see his fair share. The biggest question will be about what happens with Juan Agudelo. He’s got too much talent to just sit on the bench in my book but he could jump over Luke Rodgers in the depth chart if Rodger’s visa issues never get sorted out.

4. Real Salt Lake – As long as Fabian Espindola and Alvaro Saborio continue to work at a high level and maintain the number of goals they’ve scored the last couple of seasons together, this club will be one of the better offensive side yet again. I do worry a tad about their depth behind those two as it is a bit unproven but knowing how Jason Kreis develops players, they will be fine. I’d expect we’ll see a little more of Cody Arnoux this season though, he’s got the tools and skills to be a stud.

5. Toronto FC – I’ve been super high on the Reds this winter and it mostly boils down to how Danny Koevermans is in his first full year in Toronto. I believe he has the ability to be a Golden Boot winner if all the stars align properly for him there. Joao Plata and Ryan Johnson are two underrated players in my book, they’ll definitely contribute their fair share as well. I think Toronto finally has an offense that their fans can be proud of here.

6. D.C. United – Biggest question in my mind is when will Dwayne De Rosario and newcomer Hamdi Salihi be on the same page with one another. I think once that happens this group could lead the league in goals. We know DeRo can score his fair share and Salihi proved in the preseason that he can score a bunch as well. The depth is a little aged and could be iffy though as Josh Wolff and Miacon Santos are good but not great options.

7. Vancouver Whitecaps – Boy did Martin Rennie go out and snag as many strikers as he could this offseason. I like it to be honest. I think with Eric Hassli, Camilo and Sebastien Le Toux, this group will score goals in bunches. I rated them this low simply because I think there will be some growing pains as these big names get used to one another. Still it is hard to argue with the amount of quality talent this group possesses. Big question will be the progression of Omar Salgado and rookie Darren Mattocks. Both could be major players for them this season.

8. Sporting Kansas City – The talent is there and is still young but after seeing what Peter Vermes was able to do with this bunch a year ago, I have little doubts in my mind that they will be strong again this season. Adding Bobby Convey to the mix certainly helps and if rookie Dom Dwyer can be any bit as good as CJ Sapong was a year ago they will be set.

9. Philadelphia Union – I really think this is Danny Mwanga’s breakout season. He’s looked good in this first two seasons but this should be the year he finally breaks out and carries this club offensively. This group is extremely young however, only one player over the age of 30 (Lionard Pajoy), but I like where they are going with that youth. Chandler Hoffman could be exciting to watch in his rookie season.

10. Portland Timbers – Landing Kris Boyd was a huge deal for Portland but it was also a big risk. I think he’ll provide plenty of goals however and we’ve already seen him bag one in the preseason. We know teams will mark him closely which is why Jorge Perlaza will have to step up more this season. Outside of those two are two younger strikers in Eddie Johnson and Bright Dike. I do believe Dike will have a strong season though off the bench for them.

11. San Jose Earthquakes – Chris Wondolowski has been a stud for two seasons in San Jose. That much carried this group to this high of a ranking. Look out for Steven Lenhart though to help carry the load this season. Outside of those two the depth is very thin.

12. FC Dallas – Blas Perez is the main man in Dallas but can he stand up and lead this team? Based on what I’ve seen in the preseason out of him I think it is certainly possible that he could be in the Golden Boot discussion. That being said this depth behind him is young, very young. I keep thinking that each season Ruben Luna will finally break out and be a solid contributor and this could finally be that season that he does so. I gotta think that Schellas Hyndman isn’t done adding depth to this position though.

13. Colorado Rapids – They’re this low simply due to the injury of Conor Casey, once he returns to full strength and gets back on the same page as Omar Cummings this ranking should be higher. The bigger question will be how newcomer Jaime Castrillón adapts to the league. From what some are saying, he’ll be a very strong contributor for them this season. But after those three the depth is very thin.

14. Houston Dynamo – I love Brian Ching and I think Will Bruin is talented but boy does this group lack a lot of bite after them. Can they find a double-digit scorer for this season? It’s been a score as you can mentality since 2008 out of this group and with Ching not getting any younger, it makes it hard to rate them any higher than this.

15. Chicago Fire – Dominic Oduro had a fantastic season last year and Patrick Nyarko provided plenty of assists. But the thing is this club lack a true target forward. Also, there are wonders around the league as to whether or not Oduro can replicate his form from last year. I think he will but someone else has to step up with him to lead this team in goals. Newcomer Federico Puppo could be the key to this group though, if he figures out how to play in MLS quickly enough, this group could be much higher by the season’s end.

16. Chivas USA – They got Juan Pablo Angel…and that is nearly it. I do like Alejandro Moreno still but the talent after the main two is such a big drop off. Rookie Casey Townsend looked good in the preseason and will likely be the wildcard of this bunch going forward this season.

17. Columbus Crew - Olman Vargas and Emilio Renteris could be good together. Keyword is could though. Renteria is a bit injury prone and after those two the depth is very young. Home grown player  Ben Speas could be the X-Factor of the bunch, the management in Columbus are very high on him and where he could help take this team.

18. Montreal Impact – I’ve always been a fan of Justin Bruan and I do believe a new location will help restart his career. Playing along side Mike Fucito will be interesting to watch and those two could easily elevate this group to be higher down the road. The depth is very thin however and they won’t get their top draft pick (Andrew Wenger) until May.

19. New England Revolution – A ton of questions surrounding this group going into the season. Newcomer Sene didn’t look great in preseason and José Moreno hasn’t joined the club yet to help provide a boost. The depth is thin and there really isn’t a proven goalscorer out of the group.

Martin Rennie looks to have built an offensive juggernaut. (Photo via Vancouver Whitecaps)

With the news of Sebastien Le Toux joining the Vancouver Whitecaps on a trade today. It has to, no, it must be pointed out exactly how stacked these Whitecaps are on offense.

Just look at these names currently on the roster (and in camp):

• Camilo
• Eric Hassli
• Atiba Harris
• Omar Salgado
• Darren Mattocks
• Davide Chiumiento
• Lee Nguyen
• Long Tan
• Sebastien Le Toux
• Etienne Barbara (not currently signed)

Holy smokes. Is Martin Rennie going to play six players up top in 2012?

A couple of those guys are more midfielders than strikers but they are worth pointing out here. And if the club signs Barbara – the NASL leading scorer from 2012 – that will put their striker force numbers close to double digits.

You have to think someone will be on the move today here. Either going to Philadelphia in the Le Toux deal or somewhere else to a team that needs a striker (hello Houston?).

Today is already shaping up to be a fun one huh folks?

Just a week or so ago it was Sebastien Le Toux on a plane to England to train with Bolton. Now he is back in North America and has been traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

No word yet on what the terms of the deal will be but the Frenchman just tweeted out that it is official.

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/sebastienletoux/status/164364921855938561"]

One thing is clear, the Caps should have a tough offense this season. They have the depth up top to make many teams scared in my mind but someone like Omar Salgado may want to back his bags up as he is looking like a lesser needed player today than he did yesterday (someone like Houston needs to get on the horn to get him).

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/SoccerByIves/statuses/159682136398495744"]

To further drive home the rumor, Le Toux tweeted the following:

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/SebastienLeToux/statuses/159442289972883456"]

Ives later goes on to report that Bolton could be the landing spot for Le Toux. The Frenchman has a European passport so getting a spot with an English side like Bolton won’t be  an issue for him. If completed, the transfer wouldsee Le Toud join fellow Major League Soccer all-star Tim Ream, who is awaiting a UK work permit to complete his own transfer to Bolton.

In two seasons with the Union, Le Toux has scored 25 goals and registered 20 assists. He has been labeled as the face of the franchise and would be a major blow to this club.

Of course this is all rumors at this point but all signs are pointing to a transfer. A big one really that could change the landscape of how the Eastern Conference will be won this year.

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.

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.