Ever wonder what it is Juan Carlos Osorio is writing down in his small pad during games? You're not the only one.

"I think that's the million-dollar question the whole team is asking," Gordon Kljestan said. "I think we'll all pay a lot of money to see what is in there. But whatever it is, it works and got us where we are.

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Call it coincidence, or true twist of fate, but it is at least pretty interesting that in the same week that the New York Red Bulls are heading to the West Coast to play in their first MLS Cup final, one of their former young stars was also be shining in the Western part of the United States.

Good evening everybody, or late afternoon to those of us on the West Coast. It's time for the final matchday of the penultimate stage of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. While the United States, Costa Rica and El Salvador have already booked safe passage, thee others nations will find a way into the final hexagonal stage tonight.

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Real Salt Lake's Will Johnson was the winner of the 2008 Sierra Mist Goal of the Year for his flick and volley in a must-win game against FC Dallas on Oct. 18, the league announced today. Johnson's goal received the most votes in online fan voting.

It isn't quite like Super Bowl hype, but the long week of MLS Cup talk started on Monday with a pair of media conference calls featuring the coaches and a select player from both the New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew.

On the Red Bulls side was Juan Carlos Osorio and wunderkind Danny Cepero, while the Crew was represented by Sigi the Scarf and the ageless wonder, Frankie Hejduk.

Heurelho Gomes is a very good goalkeeper.

No, really, he is.

Okay, so maybe anybody will have a hard time believing that given some of the Brazilian goalkeeper's mistakes since joining Tottenham from PSV Eindhoven last summer. It was easier to ignore those mistakes when he was just one of many players underachieving.

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On the roller coaster that has been the New York Red Bulls most memorable season ever, there has been one constant – Dave van den Bergh. The Dutch midfielder is second on the team with eight goals, including the game-winning strike in the 28th minute to lift the Red Bulls to a 1-0 win against Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Final Saturday night.

Arsenal's 2-1 victory against Manchester United last weekend was easily one of the most entertaining matches of the week, combining intensity and skill to a perfect degree as the European champions were beaten by a young but hungry Arsenal side in desperate need of a win.

Arsenal's stellar performance was just one of many this past weekend in the English Premier League.

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Speed kills, as Wade Barrett and the Houston Dynamo found out Sunday at Robertson Stadium. The Jamaican winger first fired a verbal salvo before the start of the Western Conference Semifinal Series, warning that he was going to "run that left back into the ground," referring to Houston's Wade Barrett.

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If history is any indication -- both in terms of the regular season and the club's playoff history -- the New York Red Bulls are likely toast in tomorrow's winner-take-all Western Conference playoff decider against the Houston Dynamo.

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While the presidential election remains a hot topic today, there is another upcoming election that should have American soccer fans extremely interested. 25 former players are on the ballot for induction into the 2009 National Soccer Hall of Fame class and the list is loaded with MLS and U.

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The Houston Dynamo were fine. A 1-0 loss at Giants Stadium wouldn't have been the end of the world because the Dynamo lost the opening leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series in each of the last two years only to go on and lift the MLS Cup trophy.

The New York Red Bulls have advanced out of the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs just once in their 13-year history and few observers gave them a chance to do that this year against the two-time defending MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo.

And yet, the Red Bulls, missing several starters because of suspension, injury and ineffectiveness, led 1-0 three minutes into the second half of the Western Conference Semifinal Series and carried that lead into the final five minutes of the game.

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It has been two months since the New York Red Bulls trounced the Houston Dynamo, 3-0, at Giants Stadium, but the memories are still fresh in the mind of Dane Richards.

The Jamaican winger enjoyed arguably his best game of the season that day, torching Dynamo left back Wade Barrett repeatedly, recording an assist while also blowing past Barrett for a 26th minute goal en route to the stunning 3-0 victory at Giants Stadium on Aug.

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Hey John Spencer, your Houston Dynamo reserves just won the MLS Reserve Division. Where are you going next?

To San Salvador!

That's right, fresh off clinching the most least coveted title in Major League Soccer, the Dynamo reserves won an all-expenses paid trip to San Salvador to play in the CONCACAF Champions League Tuesday night against Luis Angel Firpo.

The English Premier League title race was supposed to be a two-horse race, with Chelsea and Manchester United battling all the way to the end. Well, one team has stepped up and beaten both on the way to first place.

Liverpool, that loveable team that hasn't been taken seriously as a title contender for a decade, must now be taken very seriously.

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The Chicago Fire stepped onto the field at Toyota Park Thursday night and did to the rival Red Bulls what Ari Gold did to Adam Davies a few weeks ago.

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The Chicago Fire stepped onto the field at Toyota Park Thursday night and did to the rival Red Bulls what Ari Gold did to Adam Davies a few weeks ago.

Looking to find a way to have your Facebook wall blow up? You could hope for some spam or you could just score an 81-yard free kick as a goalkeeper in your professional debut at Giants Stadium.

"I still don't know half the people who have been texting me," New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero said.

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Looking to find a way to have your Facebook wall blow up? You could hope for some spam or you could just score an 81-yard free kick as a goalkeeper in your professional debut at Giants Stadium.

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There are seven different permutations that will get the New York Red Bulls into the MLS Cup playoffs. But the Red Bulls players have just one concern heading into their regular-season finale at Chicago Thursday night.

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There are seven different permutations that will get the New York Red Bulls into the MLS Cup playoffs. But the Red Bulls players have just one concern heading into their regular-season finale at Chicago Thursday night.

Soccer By Ives is proud to announce that it has added veteran soccer writer Dylan Butler to the writing stable as a senior writer. Dylan will be covering all aspects of American soccer, from MLS to the U.S. national team to college soccer.

Dylan joins current SBI contributors James Tyler (European Soccer) and Casey Cannon (MLS fantasy soccer) on a staff I am hoping to see grow in the coming months as SBI prepares to take the next step heading into its second year of existence.

Soccer By Ives is proud to announce that it has added veteran soccer writer Dylan Butler to the writing stable as a senior writer. Dylan will be covering all aspects of American soccer, from MLS to the U.S. national team to college soccer.

Dylan joins current SBI contributors James Tyler (European Soccer) and Casey Cannon (MLS fantasy soccer) on a staff I am hoping to see grow in the coming months as SBI prepares to take the next step heading into its second year of existence.

The Big Four in the English Premier League was supposed to be a Big Five. With all the spending and dealing done by Tottenham last summer, the London club had the look of a potential powerhouse.

So much for the best-laid plans.

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos, a man synonymous with silverware, is feeling the walls close in as his Spurs are sitting at the bottom of the EPL standings, managing just two points from eight games.

The Big Four in the English Premier League was supposed to be a Big Five. With all the spending and dealing done by Tottenham last summer, the London club had the look of a potential powerhouse.

So much for the best-laid plans.

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos, a man synonymous with silverware, is feeling the walls close in as his Spurs are sitting at the bottom of the EPL standings, managing just two points from eight games.

Talk about a week to remember for Manchester City.

As if posting a rousing 3-0 victory wasn't enough, City fans enjoyed Christmas a few months early when a new ownership group took over for Thaksin Shinawatra and promptly delivered Brazilian star Robinho in a record-setting transfer on Monday.

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Good afternoon folks. If you are at work trying to catch up on everything you were supposed to be doing when you were watching Argentina-Brazil, don't worry. We will catch you up on some of the other news in the soccer world.

The English Premier League is back, and not a minute too soon. After months of transfers and coaches hirings and firings and rumors and speculation on how the new EPL season would eventually shake out, we are finally into the season. No more wondering, the games are on and we will find out soon enough who the real contenders and fake pretenders are.

The English Premier League season kicks off tomorrow and the general consensus is that only four teams have a serious chance of winning the league title. As much as Tottenham would like to disagree, that believe is grounded in reality.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are some of the world's best teams, boasting the game's most talented players and most expensive rosters.

It's getting down to crunch time in the fantasy MLS world and decisions are becoming more and more important.

With teams hitting their bye weeks, you can't afford to slip up or else you'll drop out of the contenders pack and join me in the pile of broken fantasy MLS dreams.

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The 2008 SuperLiga Tournament came to a close in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night as New England defeated the Houston Dynamo on penalty kicks. Matt Reis played the hero, stopping a pair of shots, including the final shot by Houston's Corey Ashe to give the Revs a second trophy to go with last year's U.

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In the ongoing power struggle over whether or not U-23 star players will be allowed to play in the Beijing Olympics, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has stated his position, sending out a letter to all member associations stating that the release of under-23s is obligatory, reports the Telegraph.

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With the number of West Coast readers growing by the month, SBI will make it a point to start providing more coverage of all things on the West side of the USA map. With that in mind, here is the first installment of the West Coast Roundup, with SBI correspondent Odeen Domingo filling us in on the happenings over on the left coast, providing his own spin on the stories people in the Pacific and Mountain time zone want to read about.

With the MLS season reaching its midway point, it is tough to argue against New England and D.C. being the best teams in the league right now, and part of the reason for that is the recent form of two MLS All-Stars who have stepped their game up considerably. SBI correspondent Carl Setterlund takes a look at the hottest players in MLS.