10 Most Important 2012 MLS Offseason Acquisitions

Major League Soccer will kick off its 17th season on the weekend of March 10. As always, MLS teams have been busy in the offseason, shuffling rosters to make their squads more competitive and to fit within the league’s salary cap structure. Another expansion team, Impact de Montreal, have joined the league, pushing MLS to 19 teams and an unbalanced schedule. The playoffs have again been revamped by the league, and this year’s league schedule will be the longest yet. Now, with less than a month to go before the season kicks off, here are 10 players that should make their teams contenders for the MLS playoffs—or at least close enough, in a league in which over half the teams make the postseason. Begin Slideshow

Eddie Johnson Returns to MLS, Club Yet to Be Determined

Former MLS and Kansas City Wizard standout Eddie Johnson will be returning to the states to play soccer in 2012.  The only question that remains is which team he'll be suiting up for.Eddie will look to get back to his old form, as his absence from MLS hasn't gone as well as he'd hoped. His last goal in major competition was in 2010 for Greek side Aris FC.Johnson had tremendous success as a Kansas City Wizard in 2005 and 2006, which led to greener pastures for the Florida native.  But after failing to score any goals for EPL side Fulham FC, Johnson was forced out.Most recently, Johnson was technically a part of Mexican side Puebla, but never suited up one game for the club.Terms and conditions of the deal were not disclosed, but we will all know tomorrow where exactly Eddie's future will be.  If not Kansas City, Dallas may be an option, a club the former U.S. striker spent four seasons with.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Cha-Ching! Houston Dynamo Welcome Back Brian Ching

Brian Ching will be suiting up for the Houston Dynamo.  Again.The standoff between Houston and Montreal finally resulted in Ching's release Thursday and one-way ticket to Dynamo country, less than a month before the start of the MLS season.Montreal will receive as compensation a conditional first-round draft pick in the 2013 SuperDraft.Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear weighed in on the transaction, “I am very happy to have Brian back with the team.  This is a very important year for the Dynamo, and if anyone deserves to be involved with the team, it’s Brian.”Ching is one of the original Dynamo players.  His 63 Houston goals is a club record.“It’s been a long and difficult process over the last few months, but we’re happy that ultimately we got the right result and Brian will be a part of the club again,” Dynamo president Chris Canetti said.Montreal was was not as excited about the decision, but optimistic."We have made this decision based on reasons that we felt were beneficial for both the desires and needs of our club and the wishes of Brian Ching," Impact head coach Jesse Marsch said in a statement. "We wish him luck on his return to Houston and thank ...

MLS: A Look at the Montreal Impact Before Their Debut Season in 2012

In just over a month, the newest franchise in MLS will play their first home game, but what can we expect from the Montreal Impact?The club have already sold over 32,000 tickets for their first home game against the Chicago Fire. This news is promising, but will they be able to maintain the interest over the course of a season?Much of the pressure will be on the shoulders of head coach Jesse Marsch.Hiring a man with no head coaching experience is a dangerous move for the Impact in their debut season. With 18 months as assistant coach to Bob Bradley in the national setup, Marsch will need to find his feet in the MLS quickly.The Impact have had a mixed set of results in preseason. They were underwhelming against Houston in a 2-0 defeat but recorded a solid 3-0 victory over a weakened LA Galaxy.Donovan Ricketts played well in the shutout of his former team, and the Impact will need a big season from the Jamaican 'keeper this season.His shot-stopping ability is up there with the best in the league. With questions surrounding the goalscoring ability of the team, to have any chance the Impact will need to build from ...

Los Angeles Galaxy: Ins and Outs, February 14, 2011

Setbacks? Better now than later.If the latest slate of dismal performances by Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy were to happen after February, this would be a cause for concern.So for the Galaxy manager, having setbacks like a 3-0 loss to the most unexpected of teams—the Montreal Impact—in February is better than during the 2012 MLS season. “It was a good morning for us; we got a lot out of it,” Arena told Luis Bueno of MLSSoccer.com. “A real good game to evaluate things, which is good and the purpose of these practice games.”Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant agreed with Arena's sentiments."We’re not going to win any championships in these first couple of weeks in the preseason,” Dunivant said. “As it continues, we need to keep getting better and keep getting our fitness back.” It’s on schedule for us, Arena added. Other teams maybe have a greater sense of urgency to get things going right now. This is just a six-week break. We’re not putting everything we have into preseason games right now. In another week it will be better and in two weeks it will certainly be a lot better.LA will have one final preseason match at the Home Depot Center on Feb. 16 before ...

Sporting KC First-Round Draft Pick Don Dwyer Scores a Hat Trick

Sporting Kansas City wrapped up the final game of their preseason stay in Arizona with a 5-1 drubbing of PDL's FC Tuscon at the Kino Sports Complex in Tuscon.Former Arizona Sahuaros player and current Honduran international Roger Espinoza had a nice homecoming of sorts, scoring an electrifying goal from about 30 yards out to beat the FC Tuscon keeper in the corner.Sporting's field day on offense was highlighted by the play of their first-round draft pick, Don Dwyer, who didn't score until the final 20 minutes of the game, but essentially owned the game after that.Dwyer found two more goals, one in the 80th minute and one right before the dead of the game to secure his hat trick.  Although Dwyer missed the top 10 in terms of the evaluation on draft picks, he may be the first rounder that has the biggest immediate impact.Sporting KC were able to persevere through cold and rainy conditions, unusual for this time of year in southern Arizona.Sporting will be back in Kansas City on Tuesday for four days, before playing a series of preseason matches at the 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando.  Games for this event can be seen on MLSSoccer.com, as well as ESPN3.com ...

Los Angeles Galaxy: Ins and Outs, February 11, 2012

Preseason slump for LAIt seems that the 7-2 whipping laid by Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy on the Los Angeles Blues was a bit of a fluke. On Friday, LA lost 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo at the Home Depot Center.While it was just a mere preseason match, the result can be seen as a bit of poetic justice for Houston, who lost to LA by the same scoreline in the 2011 MLS Cup Final.With the defeat, Los Angeles drop to 1-2 in preseason play and will come into Tuesday's scrimmage with the Montreal Impact with a need to find cohesion, because the last thing the Galaxy want is to have these results carry over into the regular season.The scrimmage will be open to all fans who make a donation of five dollars or more to the Galaxy Foundation.  A.J. DeLaGarza...thrust into the limelightDefender A.J. DeLaGarza has seen his role in central defense increase exponentially, especially with Omar Gonzalez sidelined for the bulk of the 2012 Major League Soccer season.DeLaGarza is expected to join forces with untested rookie Tommy Meyer in the back.“I’m trying to take that leadership role and talk to everyone around me,” DeLaGarza told reporters on Friday after the scrimmage, according ...

10 Things the MLS Can Do to Get Bigger

Major League Soccer has grown a ridiculous amount in recent seasons, but that hasn't stopped its fans or critics in creating some sort of list about how to help MLS grow even larger.So of course, I have my list of things I would like the league to change as well.These aren't things that will make it grow to EPL status, because personally I don't care about hitting that level. Instead, I focused on things that I believe will resonate among the American populace and help MLS grow domestically. Which is what we need first and foremost.I'm not saying this list is the answer, just suggestions. So here are my 10 things I believe MLS can do to get bigger, and in turn, better.Begin Slideshow

Houston Dynamo Players Claim Racism After Nightclub Fight Charges

Two Houston Dynamo soccer players were arrested this past Saturday for getting into an altercation with an off-duty police officer. The players believe some members of their group weren't allowed into a night club because of the color of their skin, but the club says differently. According to the Houston Chronicle, Tyler Deric and Warren Creavalle were arrested. Deric was charged with "assaulting a public servant" and Creavalle was "accused of interfering with public duties." They were also with Alex Dixon and Will Bruin at the time, but those two did not get in any trouble. Creavalle and Dixon are black, and all the players believed they were denied entry to the club because of that reason.The club claims it was because the players were drunk, according to Fox 26 News in Houston.Deric's attorney, Allen Tanner, plans to fight the charges, stating that his client did not assault anyone. Tanner claims he has several witness statements that can back it up. FOX 26 News is reporting that the same club wouldn't allow the rap group named Drank entry as well. The group states that "the doorman said we had too many Black people." Racism is sadly still a problem in this country, and if true, the Roosevelt Lounge should be ashamed ...

David Beckham: Soccer Legend Was Right to Challenge Referee at Kids’ Game in LA

World football legend and international superstar David Beckham was ordered to leave the sidelines during a children’s game that was taking place before his son’s game. Yes, this is true. Beckham revealed the story on The Jonathan Ross Show: "I was watching the kids play the other day, it was the younger kids of Romeo's club, and there was a penalty given. And the kids are seven years old and he sent the kid off. And I was like, 'Come on, he's seven, referee, you can't send him off.' He looked at me and was like, 'Yes, I can.' And he came over and gave me a red card. He told me to get out of the park. For real. The gate was only 20 yards away and I waited and went back in when my son's game was on." If you have ever been to a children’s organized sporting event of any kind, you know how out of line these parents can get. With that considered, I still have to agree with Beckham on this case 100 percent.Given the fact that the kids were seven years old, unless there was a blatant attack on another player, there is no ...