As the preseason rages on you can enjoy every goal from the first season of Seattle Sounders FC right here!
The 2010 schedule for Major League Soccer was recently announced. The season will open with the expansion Philadelphia Union visiting last season’s newcomers Seattle Sounders FC. Last year the Sounders started off the season on a high note – giving a good beating to MLS Cup runners up New York Red Bulls. The season gets underway on Thursday, March 25th and can be seen on ESPN2 & Deportes at 8:30pm CST.
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Thursday, March 25th
8:30pm CST
ESPN2 / ESPN Deportes
You can see the full 2010 Major League Soccer schedule right here.
About a week ago I receive a new pair of indoor shoes – the Adidas Samba Nua II Germany edition. I was told these were very nice shoes but I was a little bit skeptical at first. If you look at the collection of Adidas Samba shoes they have, you’ll notice several different countries are represented in the Samba Nua II shoes. I choose these because the yellow matches both of the indoor teams I’m currently playing with, but mostly because I am half German.
I wore the shoes around the house for a little bit right away to get a feel for them. Initially I felt like my heel was going to slip out of them but that wasn’t an issue when I got them out on the turf. I had been wearing a pair of Adidas Samba Milleniums for the past 3 years before picking up the Nua II. Those shoes served me well but they were really starting to show their wear and tear, so it was time for something new.
The Nua II was a nice treat when I finally was able to wear them in their first game. Even without having time to break them in they felt very good. They were like glue when I wanted to keep the ball close, and when it was time to blast a shot they knew exactly where to send the ball. That night they were good for a hat trick and they haven’t slowed down yet!
I’ve worn a lot of different soccer shoes over many years and I do think these are the nicest indoor shoes I’ve ever had. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a new indoor shoe. My only complaint is the lack of a wider variety of country editions. Most notably there is no US version of the shoe. I guess black and yellow probably works better than red, white, and blue anyway.
As I was going to dig to see what I could find out about Landon Donovan’s loan to Everton I read something interesting. What would you say Landon Donovan’s weakness is?
Donovan has been a beast for the United States throughout his career. He’s set records and won numerous awards. His MLS career isn’t too shabby either. He had spent some time playing in Germany on multiple occasions. According to ESPNsoccernet’s profile of Donovan:
Weaknesses: Perhaps playing on German soil.
So how do you think Donovan will do for Everton? I hope that every EPL team wants him before his short loan is over. I know it is only a loan – but a team with Donovan and Tim Howard is a team I will always be cheering for.
How does this look for a best XI lineup. This is the group that was named to the MLS best XI for this 2009 season. Only a single player from the best XI will be represented in the MLS Cup this Sunday. That is of course Landon Donovan – US player of the decade.
Conor Casey – Jeff Cunningham
Dwayne De Rosario – Landon Donovan – Stuart Holden – Shalrie Joseph – Freddie Ljungberg
Geoff Cameron – Wilman Conde – Chad Marshall
Zach Thornton
So what do you think, is this a good lineup? Is there anyone more deserving of a spot here?
MLS Cup 2009
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Real Salt Lake (#4 East) vs LA Galaxy (#1 West)
The semi-final tonight between Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire was a wild one. Some people might say 120 minutes with no scoring is a boring game – but this was far from boring. The game eventually went to a shootout and went to 7 shooters before Nick Rimando took over saving the last couple of Fire PKs.
Real Salt Lake had the better of the Galaxy during this past regular season with a single win and a single draw. Will they be able to continue in their first ever MLS Cup Final? Any predictions? I’ll have mine later this coming week.
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Columbus Crew (#1 East) vs Real Salt Lake (#5 West)
Game 1: Saturday October 31st – 5:30 PM @ Salt Lake
Game 2: Thursday November 5th – 7:00 PM @ Columbus (ESPN2)
Regular Season Series tied 1-1
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Chicago Fire (#2 East) vs New England Revolution (#3 East)
Game 1: Sunday November 1st- 1:00 PM @ New England (Fox Soccer Channel)
Game 2: Saturday November 7th – 7:30 PM @ Chicago (Fox Soccer Channel)
Regular Season Seried tied 0-0-2
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LA Galaxy (#1 West) vs Chivas USA (#4 West)
Game 1: Sunday November 1st – 4:00 PM @ Chivas (ESPN2)
Game 2: Sunday November 8th – 6:30 PM @ Galaxy (ESPN2)
Regular Season Series: Galaxy lead 2-0-1
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Houston Dynamo (#2 West) vs Seattle Sounders FC (#3 West)
Game 1: Thursday October 29th – 9:00 PM (ESPN2) @ Seattle
Game 2: Sunday November 8th – 2:00 PM @ Houston
Regular Season Series: Seattle lead 1-0-1
The Fire joined the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs tonight with a victory over Chivas USA. A single point would have put them in, but they ended up with a 1-0 victory on an own goal scored by Eduardo Lillingston in the 67th minute.
Here is the updated standings:
49 Columbus
45 Los Angeles
45 Houston
45 Chivas USA
45 Chicago
44 Seattle
40 Colorado
39 Toronto FC
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39 FC Dallas
39 New England
39 D.C. United
37 Real Salt Lake
32 Kansas City
30 San Jose
18 New York
Who is next?
Chivas USA and Seattle Sounders FC both have guaranteed themselves a spot in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs. They are joining defending champions Columbus Crew along with Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy.
That leaves 3 positions up for grabs on the last weekend of the year. Those 3 spots that are up for grabs will have 7 teams possibly still alive to grab one of them. Right now the 3 teams that control their own fate are Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, and Toronto FC. If they win, they are in. Chicago Fire only need a single point to ensure their spot.
The other teams that need to win and get some help are FC Dallas, New England Revolution, DC United, and Real Salt Lake. Real Salt Lake would almost need a miracle to sneak their way in, but it is still possible.
This is what the single table looks like going into the last week:
49 Columbus
45 Los Angeles
45 Houston
45 Chivas USA
44 Seattle
42 Chicago
40 Colorado
39 Toronto FC
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39 FC Dallas
39 New England
39 D.C. United
37 Real Salt Lake
32 Kansas City
30 San Jose
18 New York
I think DC United might be able to sneak in there at the expense of the Rapids. Colorado has to play at Real Salt Lake while DC United has the Kansas City Wizards. Chicago Fire and Toronto FC will keep their positions.
What do you think? Who will grab those final 3 spots?
Three teams have booked their spots in the 2009 Major League Soccer playoffs. The defending champions Columbus Crew are in and currently leading the whole league with 46 points and even a game in hand over several of the teams chasing them. At 44 points the champions of 2006 and 2007 Houston Dynamo are in. The LA Galaxy are also in the playoffs with 44 points as well. The Galaxy also happen to be 2005 MLS Cup champions. Although they haven’t done much since then Bruce Arena has them moving in the right direction now.
If we keep going like this the 2004 champions should be the next team to qualify. That would have to take quite an amazing run from DC United as they are currently 5 points behind 4th place Seattle Sounders FC.
Here is the current situation:
46 Columbus
44 Los Angeles
44 Houston
41 Seattle [@KC, FC Dallas]
41 Chivas USA [KC, San Jose, @Chicago, Houston]
41 Chicago [@New England, Chivas USA]
40 Colorado [@FC Dallas, @RSL]
38 New England [Columbus, Chicago, @Columbus]
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36 D.C. United [Columbus, @KC]
35 Toronto FC [San Jose, RSL, @NY]
34 Real Salt Lake [NY, @Toronto FC, Colorado]
33 FC Dallas [@San Jose, Colorado, @Seattle]
32 Kansas City [@Chivas USA, Seattle, DC United]
28 San Jose
18 New York
Seattle Sounders FC, Chivas USA, and Chicago Fire should all be okay to get into the playoffs. Colorado has 2 games against slightly weaker opponents than others, but they are both on the road. New England has 3 games left, but they have to face league leading Crew twice and Chicago once. I think Toronto FC has a good chance of jumping over DC United and New England to get that last playoff stop. That is my prediction today at least.
Who do you think will be in the playoffs?
