It's that time of the year.

Real Salt Lake forward Will Johnson's game-winner in a crucial Oct. 18 game against Dallas was voted the MLs Goal of the Year in balloting revealed today. Nicely-controlled and well-executed, but Goal of the Year material? I think not.

MLS detractors will seize upon this as more evidence of the stolidly unspectacular level of play in the league.

I had never written a fairytale before.

But the literary device seemed apt for today's column.

Of course, Red Bull New York is a bit of a Cinderella story, too, so come Sunday we'll see who lives happily ever after.

Columbus management gave Sigi the time and perhaps most importantly, didn't interfere in the playing side of things, and are now reaping the reward.

MLS today named Cal State Northridge product and Galaxy defender Sean Franklin as its Rookie of the Year. Franklin is scheduled to talk to reporters later today from the U.S. Men's National Team training camp in Colorado.

How big of an accomplishment is this?

Franklin played all year in the center of a bad Galaxy defense, yet according to Coach Bruce Arena he's not a central defender.

The Galaxy's Landon Donovan was named the Honda Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and the fifth time in the last seven years at a ceremony today in downtown L.A.

Donovan accumulated 297 points in the balloting by 213 journalists, ahead of goalkeeper Tim Howard, (249 points) and Clint Dempsey (176 points).

Mexico's Burden
With the head of the Mexican Football Federation in L.A. Monday, it seemed like a good time to look at the continuing struggles of that nation ahead of its final first round World Cup qualifying game for today's column.

As always, it's hard to fit everything into a column.

Great story in The Salt Lake City Tribune today about the life and death struggles Real Salt Lake striker Yura Movsisyan endured as a child growing up in war-torn Azerbaijan before his family emigrated to Pasadena. His proud parents will be watching their son from the Home Depot Center stands at Saturday's playoff decider against Chivas USA.

I cast my vote against the current MLS playoff system.

Pasadena City College product Yura Movsisyan was voted MLS Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation in Real Salt Lake's Western Conference semifinal against Chivas USA.

Chicago's Jon Busch was voted MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

Chivas USA Coach Preki and players look ahead to Saturday's conference semi-final match against Real Salt Lake in this video preview:

Here's a profile of Chivas USA's apparently ageless defender Claudio Suarez who now sounds like he will not retire at season's end after all.

Not a single Chivas USA player was named as one of the three finalists in the various categories for the MLS 2008 season awards announced today.

His legs and a once blistering shot clearly gone as Galaxy fans have seen this season, defender Greg Vanney called time on a 13-year professional career today, announcing his retirement before the game.

Vanney spent 10 years in MLS, including seven in two stints for the Galaxy, and played another three seasons in France.

Two to talk about.

The three finalists for Honda Player of the Year (given to the best player for the U.S. MNT) are last year's winner Landon Donovan, (who this year became the U.S. all-time leading goalscorer with 36 goals); 2006 winner Clint Dempsey (who has four World Cup qualifying goals so far); and goalkeeper Tim Howard (with five shutouts so far in qualifying).

It will be an all MLS SuperLiga final with the New England Revolution, 2-0 winners over bad losers Atlante tonight, playing the Houston Dynamo Tuesday in Boston.

I only watched the last 10 minutes of the game (work intervened), but that was enough to see some ugly scenes at game's end for the second consecutive SuperLiga semifinal.