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.

Thierry Henry looks happy in NYC. (Andy Mead / MLSsoccer.com)

Thierry Henry is really enjoying life in the Big Apple. As the league gets ready for the All-Star game this week, Henry and others are out doing the whole PR thing in the city. This photo came from a small set over on the league’s Facebook page.

I may do more on the ASG tomorrow and I may not. Most of you know my feelings towards this mid-summer game.

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).

Its being dubbed as a “Major Announcement”, whatever that means. Only thing that comes to my mind is a new TV deal that will be a blockbuster deal for the league. That or something out of left field like a new tournament (yuck), or even crazier the league’s own TV network (highly unlikely). It could also be news of the league schedule but I doubt that will come out until next week. The last thing that comes to mind is a new playoff structure.

We’ll find out more tomorrow at 3:30pm ET. Once the details come out I’ll be sure to let you all know here.

What do you think it will be?

Alvaro Saborio is leading RSL is goals this season. (Getty Images)

The end of season awards can always be tricky to gage, especially going into the final two weeks of the season. But I’d like to think the Newcomer of the Year award is really down to just a couple of guys for once. The league brought in a slew of quality players this year and a larger number of Designated Players but before all those high profile guys came in this summer there were a couple guys that were brought in to start the year that have made the real difference.

It may be an advantage over those mid-season additions but either way you spin it to me the one’s that have made the biggest difference this season are the ones worth voting on in this award.

Now there have been some disappointments this season for sure in the new talent department but we have to expect that each season. Thankfully we did have a few guys that showed up for real when they came to MLS and showed they can make a big impact on their teams and the playoff race.

1. Alvaro Saborio (Real Salt Lake) – If I had to vote today it would be for this guy. His production is is tops on his club with 10 goals and he’a also brought in four assists. His toughness and speed are hard to handle and opposing teams still have trouble figuring him out. Lucky for RSL he wants to stay with the club once the season ends and not return to Switzerland where he came in on loan.

2. Joel Lindpere (New York Red Bulls) – Before there was Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry there was Lindpere. The real difference maker in my eyes for the Red Bull’s remarkable turnaround this season. His six assists this season have help guide the Red Bulls from dead last in the east a season ago to the top of the food chain in their conference.

3. Jimmy Nielsen (Kansas City Wizards) – I think its safe to say that without the White Puma the Wizards would not even be close to the playoff chase that they are currently in. Nielsen comes up with monster stops each week and has kept the Wizards in the hunt much longer than most folks around the league expected. He’s also made KC fans forget some guy named Kevin Hartman.

4. Ryan Smith (Kansas City Wizards) – Yes another Wizard player. Smith has been huge in getting the offense going for the Wizards this season. His speed and ball skills on the wings have been very tough to handle for other clubs and his play with Kei Kamara as of late shows real potential for the future in KC.

5. Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) – Even though he’s only played in a few games he’s presence on the field has greatly improved the Red Bulls mentality and approach to the game. Had he come over to start the year he’d likely be ending the season with this award.

6. Blaise Nkufo (Seattle Sounders FC) – Same as with Henry, Nkufo has helped change the locker room in Seattle from their mid-season issues to a team that is looking for the USOC-MLS Cup double this season.

7. Marko Perovic (New England Revolution) – One of the lone bright spots this season for the Revs is Perovic. His six goals lead the club and he’s been one of Steve Nicol’s go-to guys over the last two months.

8. Geovanni/Khari Stephenson (San Jose Earthquakes) – I lump these two together for a couple reasons. Both have only played a small number of games but each have been big in their own way of getting the Quakes into the playoffs since joining the team.

LA and New York battle in a high profile game tonight. (Getty Images)

Call me one of the skeptics on this but really this dubbed “Game of the season” doesn’t quite do it for me. Sure having the LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls face off in a late season battle on national TV is good for the league, there’s no debating that even though the time-slot for the game isn’t very good (11pm on the east coast is a stinker).

For me this game doesn’t do a whole lot. Both teams are playoff squads and we could very well be getting a preview of this year’s MLS Cup if all things go right for these two the rest of the way out.

But I look at this game with the glass half empty. Its late in the year, neither have any extra games on the slate like Real Salt Lake or Columbus do, and both aren’t fighting for the final playoff spot. One could argue that its a battle for the Supporter’s Shield but with a nine point advantage over New York it seems like the Galaxy have little to worry about New York getting in their way of winning that award, RSL is the more likely challenger at this point in the year.

I love the effort by the league to hype this game, but its getting a bit old hearing “game of the year” or things like that when teams with one or two designated players square off against one another. First it was the Chicago-New York clash, then the Chicago-LA game, then the Seattle-Chicago game, then New York-Toronto and now LA-New York. I get it, DPs are high profile and the league has to hype them but dubbing games as the best game of the year is a bit much.

Normally I’m an optimist at things but even this is a bit much for me. Plus the loss of Thierry Henry to this game really hurt its chances of being what the league hoped it could be. David Beckham and Henry against one another on a MLS field would be great to see but looks like we’ll have to wait for a possible MLS Cup meeting to see it happen this year.

I could be wrong about this game but I feel it won’t be the 5-4 blockbuster from a couple years ago when Beckham first joined league. It seems like the league is throwing all it’s eggs in the basket for this game because of that game a couple seasons ago when really it will likely be a defensive battle this time around. A 1-1 draw or a 1-0 win by one of the two seems more likely.

Now this could be the best game of the year by the end of the night but I honestly won’t be counting on it. But then again I’ve been proven wrong before.

I’ll say this though, at least we’re talking about this game. And by we I mean most of the soccer blogging world is talking about this one well before the game has kicked off. So in that regards the hype is good and has done its job.

Kevin Hartman wasn't too happy with Thierry Henry last night. (Getty Images)

After watching this over a few times I see why plenty are upset. Part of me thinks MLS will come down on Thierry Henry for this dumb play and the other part of me thinks they won’t because he is who he is.

The ref was right there for it and saw it as nothing more than a fluke play. But with no card issued at the time from the ref I highly doubt we’ll see the league take this any further since the ref was literally right there when it happened. Its not like a play that the ref didn’t see that the league typically goes back and reviews when needed. I know FC Dallas will protest this but I just get the sense that nothing will come of it.

I don’t like the play from Henry but you know it is what it is. It was just one of those weird things were you could say there was bad intent on the part of Henry and then you could say he was just kicking the ball out to go on with the goal celebration that was taking place.

You be the judge.

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

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

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

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

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

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

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, New York 1

LA continues their slump with a recent loss to Kansas City. (Getty Images)

A few clubs took a step forward this past weekend while others were taking two steps back. For the first time nearly all season the standings appear pretty tight in various spots. Up top is becoming increasingly closer as LA drops points yet again while RSL, Dallas, Columbus, and New York all sneak up on the Galaxy.

The final three spots for the playoffs still remain pretty open too. Seattle did their part getting three points this weekend, as did Colorado. The gap between 6, 7, and 8 is there but that last playoff spot is slowly starting to be anyone’s game between San Jose, Chicago, Toronto, and Kansas City.

Week 22 is in the books folks but its weird to think that we can actually say a handfull of clubs are nearly out of the running this year. Yes done. Before September. That’s how things go as the league expands.

Below are some other nuggets of thoughts I had on this past week in MLS.

1. LA continues to sink.

Speed kills and LA has little of it to show for. With Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan now producing on the same level as earlier in the season the Galaxy have gone from unbeatable to very beatable in a matter of two months. Since the World Cup ended the Galaxy have lost their way. In all competitions since July they are 3-6-1. See that middle number? Yeah its growing against teams they should beat, like Kansas City at home. No way on earth the Wizards are better than the Galaxy right now (no disrespect Wizards fans your club is getting much better) but the fight and hunger isn’t there from Bruce Arena’s team.

But back to my main point on the Galaxy. Their lack of speed continues to be an issue as it was a year ago and a couple years before that. Yes they’ll get David Beckham back in the lineup soon enough and I do believe that will be a nice spark to their lineup but speed wise they have none to burn while other clubs are burning all over them. You want to beat LA, just pull a quick counter on them and see what happens.

Its the age in the back and in the midfield that is hurting this side. Its the weakness that has been there all season long that we just ignored because they couldn’t stop winning early on in the season. It also doesn’t help that the quality young players like rookie Michael Stephens that they have are hitting that late summer wall.

2. Montero is the talk of the town.

Right now the MVP race is a two horse thing between Seattle’s Fredy Montero and Dallas’ David Ferriera. Why those two Colombians? Simple really, they both just get results for their clubs. Montero definitely had the upper hand this weekend as Ferriera and Dallas just looked a bit lost in Columbus in the 0-0 draw to the Crew. Montero and the Sounders hosted their old mate Freddie Ljungberg and the Fire this weekend and came away with a big time win, mostly due to Montero.

Seattle should get into the playoffs with the way Montero is playing right now. He, like his club, are peaking (in league play, not CCL play for the moment) at the right time here. Yes they had a bad slump in the early-to-middle part of the year but that appears to be over for now. Montero’s ten goals and nine assists are simply staggering to see.

Another name to consider in the MVP race is still Philadelphia’s Sebastien Le Toux. I just worry that folks won’t give him votes considering how he plays for one of the worst sides in the league right now.

3. New York and Dallas closing the gap?

Both clubs stand a good chance still at winning either their conferences or even the Supporter’s Shield this season. At 37 points they both sit six points back of LA and their overall league lead. Dallas has a game in hand against the Galaxy too.

New York has really started to grow on me lately, something that some of you thought would never happen. Basically it comes down to their recent additions paying off in a big way. Are they a title contender this year? You have to think so. No one wants to play them at Red Bull Arena right now and they have enough talent to get results on the road for a change.

But let’s look at Dallas for a moment too. They now have the league record for unbeaten games on the road at 10 and a club record for unbeaten games overall at 12. Its hard to think that their only losses this year are at home to LA back in May (their most recent loss) and all the way back in the beginning of the year in New York (a game that really should have been a draw).

Could Dallas and New York be headed for a trip to Toronto this November? Right now I wouldn’t bet against it.

4. End of an era

Lets go ahead and put New England and Houston with the bottom tier clubs for this season. As I see Philadelphia, D.C., Chivas all not making the playoffs I see the same out of New England and Houston now too.

Hard to believe the staple of consistency over the last six or eight years is coming to an end with these two. This year just wasn’t in the cards for either of them really as they continue to stumble in games that they probably could get results in.

I know both had red card issues in their games this weekend that definitely changed the outcomes a bit but looking at how the two played in those games they were never going to win them anyways.

New England needs around 20 points in their last nine games to have a shot at the post season while Houston needs about 17 in their final eight games. Doesn’t sound likely now does it folks?

Gotta love Jimmy Fallon. I kind of wish he’d leave NBC to join Conan and Lopez on TBS for a super-duper late night block. But that’s a story for another day/blog/outlet/etc.