It's easy to forget about FC Dallas. Since the first incarnation of the MLS Earthquakes landed in Houston and became the Dynamo (and continued their winning ways), the Dallas club has been Texas' "other team." Add in the small issue of FC Dallas' poor attendance and the lack of real star power, and the club formerly known as "the Hoops" is the afterthoughts of afterthoughts. More than anything, there's just not much there to draw the eye, unless you know what you're looking for.


Which means I'll give you pass if you haven't noticed that the 2010 version of FC Dallas is a pretty damn good team. Schellas Hyndman, the former college coach that surprised most by sticking around this long, has his team up to third in the Western Conference and fourth in league overall with a game in hand on everyone above them. FC Dallas, believe it or not, will be a real threat when the playoffs roll around, because despite of their lack of home support, they play well at Pizza Hut Park. They're stingy enough (third best in the league with just 17 goals conceded) and dangerous enough that no one will want to face them.


David Ferreira is a legitimate MVP candidate. Brek Shea is getting USMNT fans excited as he continues to improve as a young attacking player.


Let's focus on Shea for a moment: the Texan midfielder's growth is obvious, and perhaps the one aspect of FCD's season that hasn't slipped under the radar. Shea is tall and mobile, good with both his head and feet, and at just 20, still has plenty of room for improvement. More important than the glimpses of quality he's displaying is the consistency with which he's showing them; Shea is regularly one of the best players on the field for FC Dallas, a sign that he's quickly maturing as a professional.


Dallas' inability to draw a decent crowd, unless the reigning European champions come to visit, is well-documented. FCD is at least on the case, having hired former SUM executive Douglas Quinn to revamp the club's image and put more people in the seats; but it's simply shameful that a team this good, arguably among the sleeper candidates to lift the MLS Cup, attracts such paltry numbers. When FC Dallas was poor or mediocre, the attendance issues were a problem but a more understandable one; now that they're playing well and headed for the playoffs, it simply reinforces the fact that the club's issues have little to do with the on-field product and everything to do with marketing, stadium experience, and distant location.


It's tough to enjoy a televised match from Pizza Hut Park because of the empty seats and library-like atmosphere.  But make no mistake, the soccer can be good, and FC Dallas themselves are fun to watch play.  It's just too bad more people in Texas don't realize it.

by Jason Davis

Brian Ching is a very good MLS forward, slowing down just a bit now as he traverses his early 30s. He's still capable of some impressive play, remains an asset to the Dynamo, and will even pop up to score a few goals on occasion.


Which is exactly what he did last night. Three of them, in fact.


And since hindsight is crystal clear, Ching's big night against Chicago looks like strong evidence that Bob Bradley's decision to leave the striker off of the World Cup roster was a terrible one. Because surely Ching would have played better than the selections Bradley did make. He couldn't possibly have been worse than Robbie Findley, and it's not as though Edson Buddle burned up the fields of South Africa.


That's the other side of the equation, where hindsight is also at play. It's not just that Ching's hat trick shows he's still got it and should have been on the plane, it's that the forward(s) that went instead of him didn't make a mark. Two plus two is four.


Never mind that Ching was coming off of a hamstring injury in May, or that Bradley was wedded to as system that needed someone with speed up top (hence Findley). Ching was hard done by when the decision was made, and performances like last night will only serve to strengthen the believe of Ching-backers that he should have been in the World Cup team. Even a few who weren't in Ching's camp in June will use the opportunity to bash Bradley with vigor.


Don't get me wrong; I don't blame anyone for suggesting Ching should have been on the team in South Africa after how he played last night. Even if I don't agree with using happenings in August as reason for Ching to make the team in June, it's human nature to look at this thing (Ching's hat trick) and that thing (ineffectual forwards) and draw a conclusion. In this case though, human nature is unfair.


The argument that Ching should have gone to South Africa has merit; it had merit before, and it has merit now. But last night's hat trick doesn't prove Bradley wrong. If anything, the lack of goals from forwards in the World Cup did that. If Ching was still struggling with his injury back in May, I find it difficult to come down on Bob for leaving Ching at home.


Here's the best of the lot from Ching last night, an acrobatic bicycle effort for his second:

From the "Who Knew?" file comes some interesting statements from Columbus Crew president Mark McCullers on that club's stadium situation; as the soccer-specific stadium trailblazers the Crew find themselves with an increasingly outdated facility just over ten years after it opened.  When Lamar Hunt put down $28.5 million of his own money, he started a wave of soccer stadium building that is still going strong to this day; that wave had the dual effect of strengthening MLS and pushing Crew Stadium farther and farther down the rankings of best league venues with each new stadium opening.


Which says a lot about how far soccer and the league have come since 1999.  For Columbus to have their own stadium at all was an anomaly for so long that the bare bones nature of Crew Stadium hardly mattered; it certainly didn't stop US Soccer from using the stadium for crucial World Cup qualifiers.  As the first top-flight team to have a dedicated venue, Columbus holds a special place in the modern history of professional soccer in America.  A move away from Crew Stadium would not remove that honor.


McCullers comments are clearly rooting in the business of running a professional sports franchise.  Leaving such a young facility is almost unprecedented, but with other MLS teams playing in a higher standard of venue, the Crew will increasingly be left behind.  If the club has aspirations to become a larger brand, or to simply have a chance to compete with the New Yorks and Philadelphias of the world, then it will need a a facility capable of providing additional revenue in a location that gives it greater visibility in the community.


It's noteworthy that he mentioned, but minimized, upgrade possibility for Crew Stadium. That sounds like a strong indication that perhaps it's less about the current venue than it is about location and the club's place in Columbus as the city strives to become/stay "major league."


Frankly, I'm surprised to see McCullers discussing Crew stadium options, simply because it never occurred to me that they would be even speculatively looking.  The league still has several teams in poor stadium situations, so the focus naturally fell to them; even speculation that the Crew might look to build an updated arena in the area hadn't come up on my radar.


Throwing aside notions of nostalgia for Crew Stadium, or the idea that clubs should work to build history in their venues rather than move on so quickly, I applaud McCullers and the Crew for being proactive, even in an extremely preliminary sense, on their stadium future.


Red Bull Arena cost $200 million or thereabouts. PPL Park cost $120 million. Eleven years ago, no one could imagine that someone would spend that much on a stadium specifically built for soccer. It's thanks to Lamar Hunt and Crew Stadium that those buildings exists, but the their existence has the unintended effect of relegating Crew Stadium to second class status.

As the only MLS side to go on the road for their first CCL group stage match, the Sounders certainly had the most difficult task. It was one that tripped them up, a they lost to Marathon 2-1 last night in San Pedro Sula.


The most obvious discussion point is the first half penalty on Seattle's Tyron Marshall; while attempting to clear the ball from the Sounders' box, Marshall caught a Marathon player with his follow-through. The contact likely merited the call, but Marshall had no intention of kicking the attacker. It seemed unfair at the moment of the incident, but it's difficult to label the call "blown."


Perhaps most frustrating is that Seattle actually played much better in the second half than in the first; chances came more often, Seattle's midfield was finally able to gain some measure of control, but they simply couldn't score. Marathon's runs up the flanks killed the Sounders in the first half, and on balance, probably deserved the lead they took into halftime.


Fredy Montero played well, though I wondered why he found it so difficult to pass the ball on a few occasions. He looked like he intended to take on Marthon by himself, and wasted a few good runs from teammates in the process. Alvaro Fernandez was strong, and his quality is evident. Blaise N'Kufo looked downright old, and I'm wondering if a busy summer has left him without the energy reserves needed for a season-ending push.


Seattle's defense struggled with the speed and quick passing of Marathon, and resorted to some physical play as a result. Tyrone Marshall particularly looked unable to cope, and while the penalty wasn't necessarily poor play on his part, he had several other moments of shakiness. Keller was called on to make important saves and did so; neither the first Marathon goal or the penalty were anything he could have kept out of his net.


Road points would have been bonus points for Seattle. Bonus lost, but Seattle now can't afford to drop points at home.


MLS teams come out of the first round of group games with three wins and a loss, with every home side holding serve. That's a strong enough showing to be positive about the chances of multiple MLS clubs making it to the knockout round next spring; there's a long way to go before anyone can be sure it will happen, but at least things have gotten off on the right track.

Bobby Thomson died this past weekend. I expect many of you have little interest in a baseball player who retired four decades ago, but his passing does give me a chance to present a general pondering.


Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in 1951, a home run that won the New York Giants the National League pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers in a three game playoff. Even if you care nothing of baseball or baseball history, you've likely heard the famous radio call of the game by Russ Hodges ("The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!") and seen grainy footage of the swing. The home run is an iconic moment in American sports history, the type of event that gathers up lore like a magnet with the passage of time. The title bestowed upon the home run, accurate or not (not sure the world heard anything), helps it to retain that aura of magic, giving future generations reason take interest in a singular moment from a baseball game that took place in the far-distant past.


American soccer has its own "Shot Heard 'Round the World": Paul Caligiuri's looping goal against Trinidad and Tobago back in 1989 that sent the United States to the World Cup for the first time in forty years. Again, regardless of the accuracy of the appellation, it is meant to convey the event's importance, at least for those of us on the American side.  While "Shot Heard..." works in a somewhat literal sense, it unfortunately leans on the history of that previously same-name event, at least in a sports context; the origin of the phrase itself is in the first shot fired in Revolutionary War, a much more significant event in terms of world history.


The title is more accurately applied to Caligiuri's goal than Thomson's home run, as Jamie Clary argues over at Yanks Are Coming, but that's beside the point for me; by tossing onto the goal that put the US back on the soccer map a title already used, the event is minimized by association. There was already a "Shot...", undeserving as it might have been of being called such, and doubling up just causes soccer to suffer by comparison.  Baseball's place in American history is sacrosanct; soccer comes off like the weak brother latching onto the glorious history of a "more important" sport.


For now, anyway. As soccer chugs along, I expect that goal will take on added significance from year to year; but it will never approach the legend of Thomson's home run, in part because it mattered to such a small portion of the population at the time it took place, and happened abroad in a country many Americans would struggle to locate on a map. Thomson's shot benefited from taking place in New York; in 1951, with three teams in the city, baseball the king of sports in America, and the New York the undisputed center of everything, a game-winning home run in a playoff between two hated rivals was naturally going to be the stuff of legend. Hence that hit's grip on the "Shot..." title.


My point, I suppose, is that it would just be nice if Caligiuri's goal was called something else, so it would have some resonance outside of a narrow soccer context.  






The goal in Port of Spain isn't the only major American soccer event to be subject to the "borrowing" of a name already applied elsewhere; note the retroactive application of "Miracle on Grass" to the 1950 US upset of England. Annoying and forced, the title does the massive win no justice, and only serves to establish that it is secondary to the "Miracle on Ice" of 1980. Whether it is or not is a matter of opinion, but the fact that the soccer upset trades on the well-established name of the hockey upset tilts perception from the outset.


These references don't have to be clever. American sports are filled with moments simply known as "The ____" -  "The Catch*", "The Call", "The Drive", "The Fumble" (those last two are personal favorites).  American soccer has yet to have "The Goal", and I have to wonder what it might take for a score to gain the honor.  Perhaps the winner at Azteca, if, or when, that finally happens?

Time will only tell if Donovan's goal to beat Algeria in the dying minutes, a nominal candidate for some kind of iconic name, will ultimately reach a pantheon status down the years.  I suspect it might not, if only because the run for the US at the World Cup ended so ignominiously just a game later; had the Americans matched or bettered their 2002 run and gone farther than ever before in the modern era, perhaps something may have stuck.  As it is, its a unifying moment that is more famous for the reaction it elicited than for what it ultimately brought the team.


As soccer's popularity grows, the game will have its iconic moments uniquely titled. For now, I suppose there are worse things than American soccer sharing one the name of its greatest moments  with Bobby Thomson's historic home run.


*Okay, so "The Catch" has been used more than once. But I think most people think of Clark's touchdown rather than Mays' over-the-shoulder effort, or perhaps that's generational bias.

I've been wondering for some time just how Portland plans to have PGE Park upgraded and ready for MLS play come next spring. The Division II Timbers are still playing there, the city's minor league baseball team is still playing there, and my admittedly under-educated-when-it-comes-to-construction brain has troubling reconciling the timeline with all that needs to be done.


Luckily, there are newspapers who publish stories about this sort of thing. From The Oregonian comes a story on everything going into PGE Park and the projected timing of the refurbishment process. I'm incredibly excited about Portland entering MLS, and much of that is down to Timbers fans and the stadium they'll inhabit; PGE may look much different next year, but that's a place with history that's perfect for soccer and in a downtown location. There isn't another place like it in the league, and may never be again.


Character is hard earned. RFK has character even if it is a terrible place for United to be. A few other stadiums across the league have a chance to build it through years of soccer not yet played. NFL stadiums, even the ones like Qwest that are filled with loud, passionate fans in large numbers, bring nothing to the table in that vein. PGE Park will be a different animal; half old, half new, part face lift, part call back, it's a building that has existed in one place long enough that there likely aren't too many Portland residents who remember a time when it wasn't there. Keith Hickey waxed poetic about stadium soul just a few weeks ago.


The highlights of the plans include a plaza that overlooks the field; even when there's no event in the stadium, the plaza will be open to the public. This integrates the stadium into the community visually. Rather than just a cold edifice detached from the day to day lives of the people that pass it, PGE will be accessible on a multitude of levels.


If only they weren't putting in artificial turf.


Here's the timeline if you're interested:


Work completed: Placed deep foundations; widened south access road to field; added restrooms behind Widmer Bar area; improved concourse restrooms.

Under way: Removal of landscaping and preliminary structural work.

September-October: Complete structural and interior demolition; remove scoreboard, underground plumbing and electrical work; perform preliminary structural work for new east-side seating structure.

October-November: Erect steel structure for east-side seating and buildings; place concrete on decks; fire-proof structure; begin construction of building "skin" (the framing of east-side seating structure and new team store, club restaurant and plaza); begin remodel of locker rooms and press box.

November-December: Continue work on east-side seating structure and buildings, including roofing, glass, and façade elements; place major mechanical and electrical equipment in east-side structure and buildings, team locker rooms, press facilities; continue interior remodel work.

December-January: Interior work on existing and new buildings and structures.

January-February: Continue interior work; complete building skin on new facilities; begin elevator installations; start mechanical systems for east-side additions.

February-March: Complete elevator installation; complete interior work; place concession and kitchen equipment in new east-side facilities; continue east-side mechanical work, place seats on east side; install playing surface and video board.

March-April: Perform final inspections; move in furniture; apply finishing touches.

First, US youth international Omar Salgado couldn't stay in Vancouver because of a problem with his registration; now, their signing of Wake Forest product and Everton prospect Cody Arnoux, an apparent coup for the club, may be negated come the end of the Division II season.


That's because MLS sources say Arnoux could go into the draft next year or weighted lottery might be used to determine his ultimate destination. I'm not sure why that's necessary, needed, or right.


Duane Rollins is of the same mind, though he brings up the ideological struggle that always seems to come with these type of MLS issues. I'm not sure I sit on one side or the other; I'm fiscally conservative enough as an observer of the league to think that controls are necessary. That being said, if Vancouver signed an out-of-contract professional to a contract and would like to bring him up to MLS when they make the move next year, I can't find a reason they shouldn't be allowed to.


The league looks foolish if they hold onto these notions of parity, imposing seemingly arbitrary rules to players like Arnoux, while at the same time encouraging teams to spend more than they ever have before. If New York is able to go out and sign three expensive stars at seven figure salaries, why is Vancouver not allowed to keep a player who was already a professional and fits none of the usual criteria for either the draft or a lottery?


MLS seems to be of two minds here. I'm not advocating for the revocation of the dispersal rules, at least not yet. But forcing Vancouver to either draft Arnoux next year (as they could do) or lose him completely makes little sense. If he wants to play in Vancouver, he should be able to play in Vancouver.

An Indian businessman is lining up a bid for Premiership side Blackburn Rovers, and would love to add David Beckham to the squad should the purchase go through. To do what, I'm not entirely sure; yes, Beckham still plays, but at 35 and coming off a Achilles injury, his ability to contribute on a high level have to be subject to question. Is this just Beckham-as-trophy?


If so, that's kind of sad. I suppose it's unfair to presume Beckham couldn't contribute on some level for Blackburn, but we are talking about the Premier League; lack of speed and eroding skills that can be glossed over in MLS will stand out at the higher level of England's top-flight.


The Indian businessman in question, Ahsan Ali Syed, said this:

“I was 26 when I started following the Premier League. I used to like Blackburn back then and also used to follow Manchester United's fortunes because of David Beckham. If my finances allow and his intentions are positive then I would love to take Beckham."

That doesn't sound to me like a guy that wants to sign David Beckham because he's convinced the midfielder could help Blackburn. That sounds like a guy that wants to sign his favorite player just so he can say he signed him. Or maybe hang out with him.


Let's put aside whether this is a legitimate possibility (Beckham's name has been connected to a return to England before) and ask this question: If Syer followed through on his interest and made an offer to MLS, what would it take to pry him away from the Galaxy?


More than his value as a player, certainly. Just as with Landon Donovan, Beckham's worth to MLS is higher than it could ever be to a team like Blackburn; the Rovers might sell a few Beckham jerseys, but thats nothing compared to the heat Becks can bring to the American league. Blackburn would need to overpay to get the Englishman.


I'll throw a few random numbers out; gauge your gut reaction. First, consider if Beckham, factoring in quality and age, is worth that much. Then, consider if MLS would be smart to take the deal or if they would still be better off with David Beckham in the league.


$7 million? Is it worth it for MLS?

$8 million? Same question, but now it feels like Blackburn would be overpaying by a good amount.

$9 million? At this point, does MLS seriously consider it?

$10 million? Pull the trigger, MLS. You'd be robbing Blackburn at this point.


I don't think this is happening, but it's fun to think about. I wonder if MLS would ever consider it; after all, everyone has a price. Oh, and for a bit of reference, Beckham is valued at just about $7 million by the site transfermarket.co.uk (for what that's worth).

Until Real Salt Lake was awarded a late penalty in the dying minutes of their Group A match with Arabe Unido last night, I had that feeling. You know the one: an MLS team was going to to drop points at home in the CONCACAF Champions League despite having every opportunity to grab the game. Make no mistake; RSL was the deserved winner, even forgetting the time-wasting efforts of the Panamanians, but it didn't come as easily as it should have.


Meanwhile, Columbus made due with a single goal (and a very nice goal at that) in beating Municipal, meaning that through 3 of the 4 MLS teams in the tournament have taken 3 points at home. As they should. Anything else would be asking for trouble.


I'm happy enough to see the effort and execution (such as it was) that I'm not even going to bother grousing about attendance in Columbus and Sandy; MLS fans have proven time and time again that they're resistant to non-league games in mid-week, so pointing out the small crowds it hardly worth the effort. Perhaps when an MLS club finally wins this competition, the fans will come out in numbers to support the effort.


It doesn't get any easier for the three teams sitting on their three points; all three go on the road next week. Toronto takes the longer trip to Panama, while RSL gets the daunting task of Mexico City and Cruz Azul. Columbus goes Mexico as well, to take on Santos Laguna. A Toronto win is the most likely of the three, of course, but if the MLS sides can get anything out of those matches, they'll have done themselves and the league proud.


The last MLS team to kick off their CCL campaign is Seattle; the Sounders are in Honduras to take on Marathon. The Sounder recent form (unbeaten in 9) gives hope that they can get MLS to 4-4 and a possible 12 of 12 points by the end of today. For a league with the track record of MLS in this competition, we couldn't ask for a better start.


Let's not get ahead of ourselves, and we have to keep in mind that all four teams are juggling their league stretch runs at the same time as the Champions League, but there's reason for some quiet optimism.

Apparently, a report from Martin Rogers of Yahoo! on the possibility of Bob Bradley staying on the job for another four years slipped right by me.


I'm guessing that's because anything short of "Bradley Signs Extension" or "Bradley Let Go" is just so much noise; the lack of any real movement on the issue has numbed me to anything that isn't an actual decision. US Soccer is dragging their feet, Bradley is floating in limbo, and the rest of us sit by and grouse about it taking so long.


Oh, and dispensing our opinions on whether Bradley should stay or go; while a few have made the case for Bob to stay on (MFUSA's Jason Kuenle for example), most of the vocal fan base are ready for a change. That doesn't mean that the program will fall apart should Bradley stay on, quite the contrary; but the mistakes Bradley made in the World Cup appear glaring, and are proportionally more important to most than his confident shepherding of the team through the last cycle.


Noah Davis tried to calm us down with a half-hearted defense of "More Bob" at USA10Kit. I respect Noah, and his opinion carries significant weight; still, even as I generally agree with him, I come away from his post feeling cold and uninspired. More Bradley means more of the same, and while that was good enough at times, it's hard to imagine the status quo will lead to dramatic steps forward.


Because that's what we're all anxious for, right? We know Bradley, we know what he does, who he likes to play, and the style with which he will try to win. We assume the unknown, provided his replacement is capable, will bring something new, different, and presumably better, to the table. We don't know this to be true, but it tempts us nonetheless.  2006 got us so close to the Klinsmann era that some of us are desperate for it finally start.


I'm starting to get the feeling US Soccer doesn't have a viable alternative to Bob; remember, the scales were always tipped in Bradley's direction anyway because he didn't flame out Arena-style.  It might take truly magnificent candidate ready to step in to lead Gulati in a different direction.  The Fed's only viable foreign candidate with known interest in the job (that would be Klinsmann) probably hasn't changed his demands, and it's doubtful Gulati is ready to concede on them.  The fact that nary a word has leaked about other candidates points in the direction of Bradley remaining at least through December and possibly beyond, so when Bob and Sunil sit down this week, or next week, or whenever it finally happens, I don't think they'll be discussing Bradley leaving the job.


Even if Bob gets another four year mandate, it will be okay. Maybe not as okay with a tactically astute replacement at the helm and Ricardo Clark nailed to the bench, but it will definitely be okay. Bob is a good coach. The last four years undoubtedly taught him something, so we can only hope he puts those lessons to practical use.


There was more to this, but the post editor appears to have eaten it. And it's been a really bad day, so apologies if this seems a bit incomplete.

Group C: Seattle Sounders, Monterrey, Saprissa, Marathon

Monterrey enters the group as favorites, as is almost always the case with the Mexican clubs. In fact, in the two years of group play, every Mexican side has advanced out of their groups, and seven out of eight have won their groups. So even though this is Monterrey's first appearance in the Champions League in awhile, there is little doubt they are the favorites, even in this tough group. Monterrey has been arguably the best club in Mexico for the past year, winning the Apertura in 2009 and finishing first in points in the Bicentenario before falling in the first round of the playoffs. Monterrey is one of the better defensive sides in Mexico and is certainly a threat to win the tournament.


Saprissa is the most successful team from outside of Mexico in CCL history, having taken three titles, including in 2005, the last non-Mexican team to win. They were also runners-up in 2008, but have not made it out of the group stage the past two years. They represent a real challenge, the best team from a strong league. We have seen them take on many MLS teams in recent years. Just looking at the past five years, in the Champion's Cup format, they knocked out the Wizards in 2005, the Galaxy in 2006 and the Dynamo in 2008. In the new format, they finished ahead of DC United in 2008/2009, while Columbus is the only team to come out ahead of them when they took second in their 2009/2010 group, which included a win in Costa Rica.


Marathon is one of the strongest club from Honduras, and has had much success in the CCL in the past two years. To continue on a theme, they are the only club from outside of Mexico to win their group when they did it in 2008, finishing ahead of Cruz Azul, Saprissa and DC United. They lost in the quarterfinals to Puerto Rico Islanders. Last year they finished second in their group, this time only finishing two points ahead of DC United, before losing to UNAM in the quarterfinals.


Group C should be a lot of fun, with each team capable of advancing. Last night Monterrey beat Saprissa at home in a game they seemed to dominate (I didn't get to watch it). I still will put my faith in the Sounders, they have been playing so well recently that I can't bet against them. That being said, Marathon's recent success is hard to ignore, and I think they will push the Sounders hard for second place behind Monterrey.


Group D: Toluca, Puerto Rico Islanders, FAS, Olimpia

Toluca has been been up and down in recent years, finishing last in the 2007 Clausura, but also winning the 2008 Apertura and 2010 Bicentenario. The clear favorites to advance out of a group left weaker from the Galaxy's defeat.


Olimpia is another familiar face in the tournament, they and Marathon are the strongest two clubs in Honduras. It has been awhile since they have gone deep in the tournament, losing in the preliminary round last year to Arabe Unido and finishing third in their group the year before. Having already picked up an away point from the Islanders, however, they seem to be the team to beat for second in the group.


Puerto Rico Islanders continued their form of performing well in thetournament when they advanced past the Galaxy, but now have their work cut out for them if they are going to make the quarterfinals again,having dropped points at home to their main competition. However it would be a mistake to write them off with only one game played, they should at least make the fight for second place interesting.


FAS is one of the most successful club in Salvadoran football history, but Salvadoran teams have not done well in the CCL in quite awhile. In an interesting note, FAS did win the Champion's Cup in 1979. Given the recent form of Salvadoran teams, I think FAS will find itself at the bottom of the group.


When I look at this group, I can only see how the Galaxy would have a
very reasonable chance at advancing, and the disappointment lingers. That being said, watching the Islanders try to advance may make the group interesting, although it looks like no one will threaten Toluca for the top spot.

Chicago Fire - 2
New England Revolution - 0

Toronto FC - 1
New York Red Bulls - 1

San Jose Earthquakes - 2
LA Galaxy - 2

Columbus Crew - 2
Colorado Rapids - 1

Kansas City Wizards - 1
New England Revolution - 1

Houston Dynamo - 1
Chicago Fire - 2

FC Dallas - 2
Chivas USA - 0

DC United - 1
Philadelphia Union - 2