The talking point since First Kick has been the same: the Western Conference is vastly superior to the Eastern Conference.  For the past six months or so, we've heard about the top teams in the West and their chances of winning the MLS Cup.  Recently, with the playoffs looming, the talk has focused on how […]

If you listened to the most recent episode of Feuerstein's Fire, you will know that I was a bad U.S. soccer fan and watched the Costa Rica friendly via DVR the morning after the match.  Watching the game after the fact made me realize how my sports viewing has changed just over the past year […]

Those who know my writing know that I have an affinity for DC United and have followed the team, with varying levels of intensity, since its inception. So it should surprise no one that I have been closely following the Black-and-Red this season, not just because of rooting interest but because this has shaped up […]

The U.S. v. Mexico rematch friendly is less than a week away, and today Jurgen Klinsmann unveiled his first list of call-ups as the head coach for the national team.  The Mexico friendly comes at a tricky time for the U.S., as the bigger European leagues are kicking off this month and Klinsmann might have […]

Everton finished its U.S. preseason tour tonight with a definitive 3-1 win over DC United on a very hot night in front of almost 13,000 fans.  Those in attendance (about half of whom were Everton faithfuls) got to see some of the EPL team's biggest names on the pitch, including Phil Neville, Leighton Baines, and […]

Earlier this month DC United let midfielder Fred leave for Australia as a free transfer, signaling to the league that they would be in the market for a creative, play-making midfielder.  Today they got their man.  In a shocking move, DC sent midfielder and former captain Dax McCarty to New York for five-time All Star […]

The summer friendly season kicked off today when DC United hosted Eredivisie champs Ajax at RFK stadium. Ajax, a week after their impressive 3-1 win over FC Twente, trotted out five starters from last week's match and played a total of ten starters from a week ago.  DC was without the services of Charlies Davies […]

After a midweek tease, the MLS slate is full this weekend with all but two teams playing on Saturday.  For those looking forward to a little Friday night soccer, there will be none so you'll just have to wait for Saturday night's glamorous TV lineup, which includes the renewal of the U.S. leg of the […]

One would be tempted to overlook the two matches going on tonight in MLS and focus on an incredible slate of games this weekend, with LA/NY as the headliner.  To do so would be to miss some important storylines as the four teams taking the pitch tonight are all in a critical stretch of games […]

Quite possibly this has been one of the darkest weeks in MLS in a long time.  David Ferreira is gone for a while, Steve Zakuani's situation is even worse, the league handed out the longest suspension in its history, Seattle is suffering even more with O'Brian White's surgery, and RSL suffered a gut-punch defeat.  All […]

This weekend, Tony Tchani became the latest victim of one of the dumbest soccer rules on the books.  After scoring his goal for a Toronto franchise that is probably at its lowest point, he ran off the pitch and jumped up to the stands to celebrate with the fans.  Already sitting on a yellow card, […]

Yesterday's LA Galaxy/DC United match had everything that MLS could want from a match.  A full house of passionate fans yelling and chanting the entire match as two possible playoff teams, one with one of the world's most famous players and the other with a potential U.S. star, played an almost even and intense match.  This […]

The United States lost a promising national team player today when Andy Najar officially announced he would represent Honduras in the 2011 Gold Cup and thus be eligible to play for their national team.  Najar, the 2010 Rookie of the Year in MLS, comes from the Central American country but has lived the past few […]

I will be the first to admit that my proximity to RFK Stadium may color my biases a little bit.  But after seeing DC United's press release on their latest friendly, I have to be impressed with this club.  Despite playing in less than stellar facilities and finishing last in MLS last season, the club […]

DC United and the Columbus Crew are two of the MLS's original franchises and two that are going through the reboot phase.  For DC United, the rock bottom came last year with a last place finish, a porous defense, and an offense that at times wouldn't scare a high school team.  Management decided the team […]