MLS Player Power Rankings: Seattle Trio Dominates List of League’s Best

The Seattle Sounders are on fire at the moment, and because of that, three of their stars are high up on the list of the league's best players after Week 8. Clint Dempsey has earned the top spot for the last two weeks, and Osvaldo Alonso has consistently ranked in the top 10 all year long, but a third player rooted himself high up in the MLS Player Power Rankings this week as well.  As for players not based in Seattle, two of the top performers from Week 8 debuted on the list, while one surprising defender continued his climb up the chart.  Continue reading on to see where the Seattle trio and 17 other players ranked after eight weeks of play in Major League Soccer.Begin Slideshow

8 Things We Learned from MLS Week 8: Man-Advantage Trend Broken and More

After two full months of play in Major League Soccer, we have learned a ton about the 2014 identities of the 19 clubs in the league.  Play in Week 8 helped us define those identities even more, as a few teams continued old trends, while some showed signs of life that previously were not there.  Continue reading on for a look at the eight biggest takeaways from the latest weekend of MLS action. Begin Slideshow

Winners and Losers from MLS Week 8: 2nd-Half Subs, Oduro, Kennedy and More

In the nine games played in Week 8 of Major League Soccer, there were some big winners and some even bigger losers.  Some of the winners included a young player making his first mark on the scoresheet, a team on the rise and, of course, the haircut seen around the Internet.  Among the losers from Week 8 were a goalkeeper who is having a rough few weeks and a team that has struggled out of the gate in every match.  Continue reading for the complete list of winners and losers from the eighth week of play in MLS. Begin Slideshow

MLS Team of the Week: Dempsey Leads Group of Impressive Forwards

Week 8 in Major League Soccer belonged to a few terrific forwards that lit up the scoreboard for their respective teams.  Just like he has for the last month, Clint Dempsey was nothing short of spectacular for the Seattle Sounders, but two other forwards starred as well throughout the week.  Because of the strong play up front across the league, our MLS Team of the Week is set up in an attack-minded 4-3-3 formation. Continue reading to see who joined Dempsey in the Week 8 edition of the MLS Team of the Week. Begin Slideshow

Dominic Oduro of the Columbus Crew Gets Pizza Shaved into His Head

It's rare that you'll find someone who claims they don't like pizza, but Columbus Crew striker Dominic Oduro has taken it to the next level.  Oduro showed his love of pizza by getting his hair cut to look like pepperoni pizza in a promotional move with Papa John's. This isn't Oduro's first pizza-related stunt: he made headlines when he took a bite of pizza after scoring a goal in 2013.  [Twitter, YouTube, h/t Yahoo! Sports]Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Home Guard Metrics: 3 Weeks and Counting

With just under three weeks to go before United States Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann must submit his preliminary World Cup roster to FIFA, the key members of the MLS Home Guard are beginning to round into form. Clint Dempsey returned from his two-game suspension with fire in his belly and TNT in his boots. The USMNT front man has notched five goals and two assists in the Seattle Sounders' last three games to finally curb USMNT fans' anxieties. Michael Bradley sat out Toronto FC's 0-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids but returned to put in a full 90-minute shift in a losing effort at FC Dallas. It does not appear that Bradley's knee knock will hinder his World Cup preparations. We'll look at all of Major League Soccer's World Cup hopefuls in this edition of the Home Guard by focusing on the players' metrics from the early stages of the 2014 MLS campaign.  Each World Cup candidate is categorized by the position he plays in Klinsmann's base 4-2-3-1 system: forwards (including the "withdrawn" forward), central midfielders, center backs, wing-backs (full backs/outside backs) and wing-forwards (outside midfielders). Bear in mind that some of the Home Guard play different positions for Klinsmann than ...

MLS Youngsters Who Could Be Part of 2018 World Cup Cycle for USMNT

In less than two months, the United States men’s national team will be off and running in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Although the 2014 cycle wasn’t without its hiccups, the U.S. qualified for its seventh straight World Cup by finishing first in CONCACAF. However, when the 2014 World Cup is over, U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann will have the unenviable task of replacing many of the aging pieces of his squad and beginning the long process of preparing for 2018 World Cup qualifying. Major League Soccer has increasingly become a part of the USMNT’s backbone. Full of bright young talent, the league will surely be a big part of the 2018 cycle as well. Here are 18 MLS youngsters, ages 25 and under, who could be a part of the next round of World Cup qualification for the U.S.   Goalkeepers Tim Howard could conceivably still be around in 2018, and Brad Guzan is next in line after Howard, but two MLS goalkeepers waiting in the wings are Sean Johnson and Bill Hamid. Johnson has become the U.S.’s No. 4 over the past year, earning shutouts in both of his appearances for the U.S. in 2013. Hamid earned a shutout in his only senior appearance for the ...

Ranking Every MLS Team on Their Attacking Talent

Which team contains the best set of attackers in Major League Soccer?  That is a question that can ignite a debate that could last as long as a few days based on how much each team has improved in the attacking department over the last few years.  Thanks to the designated player rule and a strong South American pipeline, the teams are not only getting better at each position, but they are also seeing a ton of creativity flow through their respective attacks.  With so little difference between the clubs at the top, it was difficult to select just one team as the best. Continue reading on to see which team earned the honor of best attack in MLS. Begin Slideshow

MLS Player Power Rankings: Race for the Top Spot Heats Up

The race for the top spot in the MLS Player Power Rankings is heating up now that the league's elite players are performing at the best of their abilities every week. Five of the top six players from Week 6 remained in the top six after Week 7, but there was room for one superstar to find his way into the top five.  As for the new entries, three players surged into the top 10, one of whom is familiar with this list, after terrific displays for their respective clubs on Saturday.  Continue reading on to see which players landed a coveted spot in the MLS Player Power Rankings. Begin Slideshow

Winners and Losers from MLS Week 7: Keane, Manneh and Shuttleworth All Impress

The biggest winners and losers from Week 7 in Major League Soccer came from some unexpected places.  A few of the winners this week were players who made big plays for their teams in time of need, and others were able to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them.  The losers this week include two league veterans, who made crucial mistakes, a team that is sputtering at the moment, and another player that faced plenty of highs and lows in just 73 minutes on the pitch. Continue reading on for the complete list of winners and losers from the seventh week of play in MLS. Begin Slideshow