Colombia: MLS’ Most Valuable Country 2010

At the end of the MLS 2010 season we find ourselves awash in end-of-season awards.   After some thought, I’ve decided to create one of my own…"Most Valuable Country 2010” (MVC). Okay, I’ll admit that I entered into this thinking with a certain bias.  I have two nations that are close to my heart—both in soccer-wise and otherwise—the USA and Colombia.  Since this is an American league, dominated by American players, I excluded the USA.  So I’ll admit it, I entered into this with the belief that my adopted second country had the inside track.  But, I did my best to be objective by sifting through the official roster lists and comparing country contributions. (Note that the MLS official player roster “NATL” (nationality) breakdown was almost frustrating enough for me to forgo this whole idea…many players were listed according to where they were born…which is fine, but means very little in the international soccer world.  U.S. International Pablo Mastroeni as Argentine?  "Reggae Boy" Andy Williams as Canadian?  Ugh.  So, when I talk about how many numbers of players come from these countries, please understand your mileage will vary.) Here are a few thoughts… Argentina makes a very strong case for being MVC as it brings 10 players ...

10 Football Stadiums That Could Host a Future MLS Cup Game

On November 21st, the MLS cup final will be played, for the first time in Canada, at BMO Field in Toronto. Last year, Real Salt Lake and the L.A. Galaxy slugged it out for Major League Soccer's top prize at Qwest Field in Seattle. Normally a football stadium, Qwest Field drew a respectable attendance of 46,011, the largest crowd for the MLS cup since 2002. The 2009 season marked only the second time the MLS cup has been played at football-specific stadium since 2003, thanks to the rise of soccer-specific buildings across North America. While I like the idea of more smaller soccer stadiums housing MLS teams, I believe the championship game should be played at a more bigger facility. So with the 2010 edition dawning, I got thinking: Which football stadium could host the MLS cup final in the near future?  Note: The following stadiums have never hosted the MLS cup or hosted it only once.Begin Slideshow

MLS Cup 2010: The Other Benefit For Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas

Here's an open secret: MLS is flustered. The illustrious sides of the Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls were eliminated. Two clubs that have fewer, yet still dedicated, fans made it to the final of MLS Cup 2010.  Meet the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas, your two finalists contending for the league cup. The Rapids, a team that's been ignored for consistently finishing around the playoff bubble range and FCD, the club that's been the laughingstock of the league due to their meager attendances. They've been rather unpopular within their local media, but have been gaining some media credibility only recently, thanks to their success in the playoff chase.  The fact that they've even made it to the Cup finals has already generated numerous Denver Post stories. The Dallas Morning News, on the other hand, found it to be too much of a chore to send a reporter out to Los Angeles to cover the story. Thankfully, they found a freelance writer.  The sole fact Colorado made it to the finals has generated incredible interest from the Rapids' media, while FCD might get some mild interest if they win.  An appearance has given Colorado's media time to catch up with the rest ...

MLS Cup 2010: Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas

Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a wonderful city in late autumn. If you will forgive the forecast for a few showers, the air is cool, crisp and refreshing, and peacefulness abounds amidst the hustle and bustle of the country's economic, financial and cultural center. But for one day, at a stadium called BMO Field located in the heart Exhibition Place, there will be chaos, there will be emotion, and there will be football.As in association football.The 2010 Major League Soccer Cup will be staged for the very first time in this stadium, erected in late April 2007. The home of the MLS Eastern Conference's Toronto FC, one of soon-to-be three teams from Canada competing in MLS (the Vancouver Whitecaps will be playing next season, and the Montreal Impact will follow suit in 2012), BMO Field will showcase two sides from the Western Conference, whose teams have shown their superior pedigree against their Eastern counterparts.In one corner: the Colorado Rapids of Commerce City, Colorado. A club owned by the great Stan Kroenke of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, the Rapids will look to avenge their 1997 setback to DC United and hoist the trophy on a Rocky Mountain High.In the other corner: Football Club ...

Los Angeles Galaxy’s MLS Cup Run Ends With 3-0 Defeat To FC Dallas

It's a cruel irony, in the case of Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, that the two teams that close out the 2010 regular season are not only the teams that they suffered their last defeats to, but are the same opponents that will be clashing at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the 2010 MLS Cup.The third time was the charm for Schellas Hyndman's FC Dallas to make their first-ever MLS Cup appearance with an emphatic 3-0 victory over the Galaxy before 27,000 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.What a disastrous display, Bruce Arena. I swore you were ready for this. And I sure that a certain MLSSoccer.com columnist by the name of Simon Borg (more on him in a bit)—in spite of all the hate he has received from bastions of fans on BigSoccer and maybe elsewhere—was exonerated tonight.And I mean exonerated. This is a performance that has to make the Hoops the favorite to win the Anschutz.I can't see how David Ferreira—who probably deserves league MVP after this performance—and the rest of FC Dallas can't silence the Colorado Rapids up in the frozen north next Sunday.A matter of great speed, great pace and excellent ball movement ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. FC Dallas: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

This is a play-by-play (and other miscellany) of the 2010 Major League Soccer Western Conference championship between the Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas, live from the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The winner of this match goes on to face the Colorado Rapids, winners of the Eastern Conference in MLS Cup 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Nov. 21.As always, be sure to follow your favorite MLS teams and the 2010 MLS postseason on Bleacher Report. If you have any comments or thoughts, be sure to fire away, but also be sure to keep them clean and relevant.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Brian Dunseth: Why I Don’t Watch MLS

I'm a soccer fanatic. A season-ticket holder to the Portland Timbers, I can't wait until they make their debut in MLS next year. Every Saturday—and Sunday—is spent watching the Premiership on FSC (to the consternation of my wife). I love the flow of the game, the strategy and the anticipation of the development of the play. I would like to show my allegiance to the American league by tuning in to watch MLS. There's just one problem. The likes of Brian Dunseth. Dunseth is a commentator for Fox Soccer Channel. He's an expert in the painfully obvious. His vocabulary might be 1,000 words. If Vin Scully is jazz, Brian Dunseth is elevator music. I don't watch MLS because the skill of the game is below the Premiership (though it most obviously is). I don't watch it because listening to Dunseth is more annoying than listening to a screaming 2-year-old. The executives at MLS still have't figured out their audience, or their product. The MLS just isn't a great product yet, and they need commentators who can sell the game. Tommy Smythe and Andy Gray are two examples of excellent British commentators. They can take a boring game and make it interesting simply with their analysis and banter. They provide ...

LA Galaxy Vs. FC Dallas Preview: Match for MLS Cup Berth

LA Galaxy and FC Dallas will be facing each other tonight for a spot at the MLS Cup. Both teams are part of the MLS Western Conference and have come this far. The stakes are high for both teams; both will be playing to win. It has not been an easy road for these teams, though, and both know it. The winner will be facing the victorious Colorado Rapids who have a berth in the MLS Cup after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes. Let us take a look at the two teams in order to make a prediction.Begin Slideshow

MLS East Final: Why the Colorado Rapids Will Beat the San Jose Earthquakes

The Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Earthquakes are in the MLS East Finals, one game away from the MLS Cup.  Each team has made the MLS Semi-Finals twice before in their histories, with San Jose going on to win two MLS titles and the Rapids never advancing to the MLS Cup. This year's tale of the tape has the seventh (Colorado) and eighth (San Jose) place finishers in the MLS table battling it out in a one-game, winner-takes-all shot at the Final.  Because of MLS' somewhat odd table/conference playoff scheme, both Colorado and San Jose ended up playing in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket as the #5 (Colorado) and #6 (San Jose) seeds. San Jose defeated the number one team in the East, the high-spending New York Red Bulls with Juan Pablo Angel, Thierry Henry,and Rafa Marquez 3-2 in the aggregate score, including their 3-1 pasting of the Red Bulls on the road in New York. The Rapids defeated the No. 2 team in the East, the perennial MLS powerhouse Columbus Crew, in Colorado 1-0.  In Columbus, the game ended 2-1 in favor of the Crew, or 2-2 aggregate, which forced two scoreless fifteen minute overtime periods, followed by penalty kicks.  The Rapids were a ...

2010 MLS West Final: One More Home Cooking Session for Los Angeles Galaxy

For Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, it's one final chance to home-cook their opponents as the road to MLS Cup 2010 continues. LA will look to cap it all off with a glorified home match against FC Dallas in the 2010 Major League Soccer Western Conference Finals on Nov. 14.“They’ve got to come here to play us,” LA captain Landon Donovan said. “That’s why we worked so hard all year, to have a chance to play this game to go to the cup at home.”No travel issues or hostile environment will await the G's—unless they advance and face some fans in Toronto who wished the Reds of Toronto FC were there to represent the MLS Eastern Conference instead of the San Jose Earthquakes or Colorado Rapids.“It helps next week being at home and we’ve done it in the right way so far," Beckham said. "We need to continue to do that. We’ve been on the road and have done well and won games. "Being at home obviously gives us the advantage of having our home fans on our backs with us. We’re in a good position but we need to work hard.”The Galaxy are a balanced 10-2-4 at home and ...