The playoff numbers look like this... 5 year comparison Conference Semifinals – 2nd Leg Avg +/- Home Teams  2006  15,938 NA  New England  Dallas  Houston  DC United  2007  19,838  24.47%  New England  Chivas USA  Houston  DC United  2008  19,444  -1.99%  Chicago  Columbus  Houston  Chivas USA  2009  21,526  10.71%  Chicago  Columbus  Houston  Los Angeles  2010  19,871 […]

The story of the MLS playoffs coming into Sunday night was the futility of being a higher seed.  None of the higher seeds had advanced and the playoffs were seemingly wide-open for a new champion.  Then LA took the pitch against Seattle, and they showed the league who should be the favorites for the MLS […]

Soccer fans in the U.S. have long debated whether playoffs should be part of the beautiful game.  Yesterday's Real Salt Lake/FC Dallas match showed exactly why the MLS playoffs can be special, as the lower-seeded Dallas knocked off the defending MLS champions with a 1-1 draw, 3-2 win on aggregate.  Real Salt Lake came into […]

With San Jose's dramatic victory last night, they will await this weekend's slate of matches to see who their next round opponent will be.  Their upset victory has set the stage for an interest weekend of matches where we could conceivably see three more lower seeds win their playoff matches and once again throw the […]

I want to begin by stating that I am a fan of the current MLS playoffs and in general I enjoy the way Major League Soccer organizes them.  Like all MLS fans, I have things I love and things I hate about the current format, style of play, and presentation.  Overall, the matches this year […]

The playoff numbers look like this... 5 year comparison Conference Semifinals – 1st Leg Avg +/- Home Teams 2006 9,533 NA Chicago NY Colorado Chivas USA 2007 14,245 49.42% Chicago NY Dallas Kansas City 2008 10,476 -26.46% New England NY Salt Lake Kansas City 2009 19,985 90.77% New England Seattle Salt Lake Chivas USA 2010 […]

The Week 29 numbers look like this...   5 year comparison   Week 29 Thru Week 29  YTD    Avg  +/-  GP  Avg  +/-  GP  2006   20,277     6   15,502     192   2007   20,575   1.47%   7   16,767   8.16%   195   2008   17,338   -15.73%   7   16,460   -1.83%   210   2009   22,165   27.84%   7   15,878   -3.53%   205   2010   20,048  […]

As promised last week, here are my highlights from 2009 in American Soccer, in no particular order: U.S. National Team Beats Spain in Confederations Cup Semi-Finals: On June 24, 2009, in the Semi-Finals of the Confederations Cup, the U.S. National Team, which barely advanced out of the group stage, managed a stunning 2-0 victory over […]

In the first part of our 2009 MLS Cup Final preview, the Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles Galaxy players were assessed and compared, with a slight advantage being measured for the Galaxy. In this continuation of our analysis, attention is paid to the coaches and intangibles for both clubs. The Coaching: The Los Angeles […]

Before the playoffs began, the consensus was that the teams in the Western Conference were more prepared to the lift the MLS Cup in Seattle on November 22nd. Little did we know then how prophetic that sentiment was, as we now have both entries in the Final representing the West. The Los Angeles Galaxy — […]

The playoff numbers look like this... 5 year comparison Conference Semifinals – 1st Leg   Avg +/- Home Teams  2005   12,147  NA  Chicago  NY  Colorado  Los Angeles  2006   9,533   -21.52%   Chicago  NY  Colorado  Chivas USA  2007   14,245   49.42%   Chicago  NY  Dallas  Kansas City  2008   10,476   -26.46%   New England  NY  Salt Lake  Kansas City  2009   19,985  […]

Soccer is a cruel game, and Chivas USA felt that cruelty tonight.  While the Galaxy may have done enough to win the game, Chivas did not deserve to lose it.  On the pitch, the differences between Chivas and the Galaxy were small and on the margins.  Off the pitch, the difference in huge – the […]

The second round of the MLS Cup Playoffs has the two higher seeds in each conference hosting their opponents from last week’s match-ups. In the four matches from last week, the home teams either tied or won leaving the seeded favorites with work to do if they hope to advance to the conference finals. The […]

What was Pat Onstad thinking? How could he lose his cool so suddenly in the most important game in the Dynamo’s season? A dangerous cross came through the penalty area, just out of his reach, and continued over the byline. Sure, replays show Fredy Montero obstructing the goalkeeper, but not in any way dangerously. Besides, […]

The next few days promise to be big ones in US professional football. Major League Soccer has proven this summer and into the fall to be the most compelling and competitive first division the English speaking world. The MLS season comes down to the next few nights of football: every match in the final weekend […]