Who do you pick now to make the playoffs? With a handful of games remaining there are now three teams who have assured themselves of a playoff berth - New England, Houston, and Columbus, one team that hasn't been there in awhile, two that have been there time and time again. Who's next? That's a [... Click to continue reading...

Needing a win to maintain position for a playoff berth, FC Dallas instead managed only a 1-1 draw at home against the expansion San Jose Earthquakes. The Hoops came back from a goal deficit to salvage a point on a Kenny Cooper penalty kick in the 89th minute. The result means that FC Dallas need to win their remaining games and hope for help to get into the post-season tournament. Click to continue reading...

Sorry to fans of both these clubs, but up until the late penalty kick to tie up, the match reminded me a lot of high school soccer. A lot of flat play, long balls, and very little creativity from either side.

That is until Kenny Copper and FC Dallas were given an absolute Christmas present from the referee in the 89th minute. Click to continue reading...

OK, so I was walking, not running, but still. And the tree was way bigger. Karma for saying we won't make the playoffs? Maybe. But enough administrative make-fun-of-the-blogger stuff... Before my near-fatal accident (kidding), I remember something about us playing a game tonight. Luckily, the DVR is armed and ready. Click to continue reading...

I can't help but use an old sports cliche today: it all comes down to this.  For all intents and purposes, we are already in the playoffs.  This is an absolute must-win game.  One way or another, we will know by the end of tonight whether our playoff dreams are over or whether we will [...] Click to continue reading...

You gotta love the final stretch of the MLS season.  For the most part, teams are being pushed to play for wins, resulting in stretched defenses and lots of goals. Now is no time to sit back with nine behind the ball and wait for the counter-attack. This past week saw 24 goals from 7 matches. Not bad, boys, not bad. Click to continue reading...

If the measure of success in a league is guaged by the search for stadiums, the infusion of new owners, and a race for expansion, MLS is well and truly successful. The last couple of weeks has seen stadiums open... Click to continue reading...

There's plenty to talk about after another busy weekend of MLS action. A few teams look dead and buried (DC, LA, and Toronto), while others storm to life at the right time - RSL and Colorado - to give themselves the inner track in the race to the playoffs. But if this season of the [...] Click to continue reading...

Normally we try to stay away from anything related to the southern half of this state, but Busdriver is too raw to pass up, L.A. be damned. As my previous post alluded to, I thought this song would be a perfect fit. Have a bite. Busdriver - Reality Sandwich Click to continue reading...

Let me apologize for the other fans that choose to support the same team as I do, the San Jose Earthquakes. They seem to think that you are at fault for our team's loss yesterday. You, sir, were not 1-9-2 on the road. You, sir, did not let Yuri Movsisyan look like [...] Click to continue reading...

Here are the results that mattered Saturday for Chivas USA:
Chivas USA 2 Kansas City Wizards 1
Houston Dynamo 1 Toronto FC 1
Colorado Rapids 5 Red Bull New York 4
Real Salt Lake 3 San Jose Earthquakes 2
Dallas plays D.C. United at noon Sunday
(Just for the sake of completeness, Sigi Schmid's Columbus Crew beat the New England Revolution, 1-0, and lead the league.

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The amazing thing about the Galaxy's awful record in the past two months (winless in 13 of 14) is the fact they aren't dead in the water. Even in the woeful West, their 29 points still gives them an outside chance at the MLS playoffs. When you're a league that accepts 8 of 14 teams, [...] Click to continue reading...

Pretty much all the results went against us last week, placing us at the bottom of the western conference.  Never fear Quakes fans, we do have a game in hand, and, even more exciting, the Scum have resumed their losing ways.  With a mere two points separating the bottom five teams in the West, this [. Click to continue reading...

This is one of those weekends that make you happy to be a soccer fan.

One of those weekends when the stars align and the European soccer schedules come together to give you a full menu of intense match-ups and can't-miss rivalries. It is Derby Weekend this weekend, with Milan, Liverpool and Barcelona treating us to the best their cities have to offer.

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I know, I know, they are the enemy this week, but this is awesome. Click to continue reading...

... he's a silent guardian ... a watchful protector... El Dandy Nandy has been nothing short of ill for the club this year. With Captain Garcia always looking for an ear to listen to his daily musings, Riley busy getting thrown out, and Eric Denton ... I dunno, Denton kinda feels like Delaware to me. Click to continue reading...

With just about 5 weeks remaining in the regular season schedule the race to the playoffs is heating up. Here is a quick look at the current situation of each team

Columbus Crew 14-6-5 47pts

The Crew missed the playoffs last year and are on the top this year.

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Courtesy of the Trinidad and Tobago Express....

"United States Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs Columbus Crew, New England Revolution and San Jose Earthquakes all wanted to sign the fleet-footed Guyanese, following his terrific showing over two legs in the CONCACAF Champions League against the Revolution, including scoring a hat trick in Public's 4-0 victory, in the away leg in Boston earlier this month.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

Just when thought the playoff race was easy enough to track, now 13 of 14 teams have put themselves in position to try and qualify with just a month to go in the season.

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Congratulations to Real Salt Lake, who enjoyed their first ever practice at their brand new stadium. Hopefully that distracts them from their upcoming road trip to face the Earthquakes at Buck Shaw. At least they'll have something nice to go... Click to continue reading...

Yes Jeff Cunningham, I'm as surprised as you about your win in Chicago. What's even funnier is that this picture is not from the match, yet I stole it from the recap page. Almost every team facing a "must win" over the weekend came away with three points. That's a remarkable feat, considering a couple [. Click to continue reading...

By request from one of my readers, here are the teams ranked from 11-30 on the CONCACAF club coefficient list. Like I said, the cut-and-paste job was a pain, and the font sizes are out of whack. But there it is. Houston Dynamo USA 24.000 Puntarenas FC Costa Rica 23.771 Pérez Zeledón Costa Rica 21.771 Herediano Costa Rica 21. Click to continue reading...

Following an 8 hour bus ride to Pullman, WA and back, this is not what I wanted to come home to. Landon Donovan is my least favorite player in the history of The Major League Soccer. And its not even close. Growing up idolizing Barry Bonds probably did a lot to skew my view of "villains". [...] Click to continue reading...

Not really much more to say. Click to continue reading...

Many thanks to Ian for his recent Playoff Pulse update as well as his suggestions for things to do this weekend because the away game against Houston got canceled. I'd like to toss out one more to-do suggestion as well. Straight from the fine folks over at FuncheapSF, the Final SF Cardboard Tube [. Click to continue reading...

Still trying to recover from the effects of Hurricane Ike, the city of Houston has asked the Dynamo to postpone this weekend's home game against the San Jose Earthquakes and the team has complied, moving the fixture to Wednesday, October 15th. All tickets for this weekend's game will be honored at the later date, or they can be exchanged for tickets to an upcoming Dynamo game by e-mailing info@houstondynamo. Click to continue reading...

As promised, here's the update on the playoff situation and who you should be pulling for in the upcoming games.  I hope to make this a weekly thing, so look for it every Wednesday.  First things first, Saturday's game against the Dynamo in Houston has been postponed until October 15 due to Ike.  This should give [. Click to continue reading...

The Dynamo will not host the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday after all. One day after saying the match would go on as scheduled and releasing plans and ticket information for the match at Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo announced today... Click to continue reading...

It is perhaps bold of the Dynamo to announce plans to go on with Saturday's home match against the San Jose Earthquakes without first getting the final clearance from the University of Houston regarding the availability of Robertson Stadium. But... Click to continue reading...

Bob Dylan - Hurricane (Live at Austin City Limits) Austin, Houston, whatever. The irony was too good to pass up. I'm going to hell, I know. Click to continue reading...

Being busy here at Tech I haven't had an opportunity to recap on the MLS matches I caught. However, here is what I have seen since the last time i posted.

DC United 1-2 San Jose Earthquakes
The only match I got to see two weeks ago was DC United travel to the west coast to take on the Quakes of San Jose. Click to continue reading...

The playoff race is tightening with just six weeks to go. That's still a lot of time for those in need of some points, and it's safe to say, at this point, everyone is still alive. A few teams are fading fast (Galaxy) and others try to stay close (Wizards, Dallas) to the remaining spot. [...] Click to continue reading...

NEWS: The Dynamo will know today whether Saturday's home match against the San Jose Earthquakes can be played as scheduled. The aftermath of Hurricane Ike already has caused the postponement of the team's CONCACAF Champions League match against Luis Angel... Click to continue reading...

"Aw man.. is there gonna be some LOVIN' goin' on tonight, in the bedrooms of San Jose." - Ray Hudson "Nine months from now, maybe a few "Darren"s popping out..." - Phil Schoen That's about what it feels like as a Quakes fan. I figured I better come home to the Offside, as much as my job wishes [...] Click to continue reading...

Let's get one thing out of the way first: L.A. will always be our most hated enemies and number one rivals.  That all being said, we have a new rivalry on our hands, ladies and gentleman, and Saturday night confirmed it.  The Houston Dynamo have found a place of revulsion and loathing in the hearts 0f Quakes fans [. Click to continue reading...