The scoreboard changes to reflect the current week's games every Wednesday. All times ET.

Week ending 04/02/06
Saturday, April 01, 2006
FC Dallas vs. Chicago Fire 3 - 2
Kansas City Wizards vs. Columbus Crew 3 - 1
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. New England Revolution 0 - 1

Sunday, April 02, 2006
D.C. United vs. New York Red Bulls 2 - 2
Chivas USA vs. Real Salt Lake 3 - 0
Houston Dynamo vs. Colorado Rapids 5 - 2

Saturday, April 8
D.C. United vs. Chivas USA 4:00 p.m. ESPN2
New York Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution 7:30 p.m.
Houston Dynamo vs. Kansas City Wizards 8:30 p.m.
FC Dallas vs. Real Salt Lake 8:30 p.m.
Colorado Rapids vs. Columbus Crew 9:00 p.m.
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire 10:30 p.m.

Simontexas, did you go to the Dynamo's game? Brian Ching's performance gives him an early lead in the Scoring Charts and was surely noted by Bruce Arena.

My own Red Bulls were up 2-0 at the half, only to concede two goals. One could see the first goal they gave up coming, as Chris Henderson was slow to cover the winger on the right side. But, Youri Djorkaeff had a STUNNING free kick in the first half. It was a rocket into the upper 90, a beautiful goal to savor.

And how about Chivas USA? They looked a little disorganized still against RSL, and maybe against another team would've been penalized. But three goals against veteran Scott Garlick is good, and strong, attacking soccer is great. C-USA actually looked dangerous, especially Francisco Mendoza, Ante Razov, and Juan Pablo Garcia.

This weekend's biggest match has to be RBNY's home opener. Red Bull has gone all out promoting this match and trying to stir up some new fans. Shakira and Wyclef Jean will perform at halftime, Rihanna will perform before the game and sing the National Anthem. There will be various BMX riders performing before the game, as well as "Red Bull Energy Stations" featuring terminals to play "FIFA Street 2". And somewhere amidst all that, the Metros will play NE. One can only hope for an exciting match like all of their meetings last year were.

[ April 03, 2006, 06:13 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

MM13,
I did go to the match. I had so much fun. I've been waiting a long time for this and Ching/Moreno made it a match to remember. The only other match I saw over the weekend was Galaxy/Revolution but I actually missed Dempsey's header. I'm always impressed by New England but they will definitely have their hands full with NY. I think you're right about NY/NE being the match of the week. It sounds it's going to be a huge event. I can't believe it's not gonna be on ESPN.
Do you ever go to Columbus when they play NY? BTW, when did we get the avatar?

The avatar came over the weekend. Here's the thread if you want one for yourself...

I have been to Columbus Crew Stadium three times, twice for NY-Columbus games. The first one was back in 2003, and it was beautiful weather. The second one was Columbus's home opener in 2004. It was snowing and the temperature was below 30 degrees for most of the game, with strong winds blowing across the field too. It was quite interesting...I almost got attacked by a drunk Crew fan in the row behind me...

But anyway! I wanted to go last year, but the timing was off (the Metros played in Columbus on two weekends when I had soccer), but this summer, I will probably be going down there again.

Edited to add:
Glad you had fun! It looked like an exciting match. Moreno's goal is a candidate for Goal of the Year already... I watched Dempsey's header while I was half-asleep at 12:30-something on Saturday night. It wasn't anything too special, but I certainly hope he can score off a play like that in the World Cup!

[ April 04, 2006, 06:18 PM: Message edited by: metromathis13 ]

Yea, Moreno won goal of the week & Ching player of the week.
Did you see the photos of week 1 on mlsnet? I can't find them now but there was a great picture of Clint Mathis with his closely cut, shaved head. He looked really good all stretched out going for the ball. I wish I could find it to post. Maybe you will have better luck. I'm going to the Dynamo/Wizards match this Saturday.
A friend of mine told me that they were looking for a locker room attendant and would get paid $50 a match. But I think he was pulling my leg. Can you image? I couldn't sleep that night.
eek!

[ April 05, 2006, 02:56 PM: Message edited by: simontexas ]

Mmmmm Brian Ching without a shirt....that would be amazing...and to think someone gets PAID to see that! I would work for free to see him!

Unfortunately, I didn't see the pics. I was too busy watching and re-watching and re-watching Youri Djorkaeff's beautiful goal lol. Hot guy...beautiful goal...it's a toss up...

I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait to see the games this weekend! I'm so freaking excited....I can't wait for the World Cup!

Here's a question...how much support for the MLS is there in the U-S?

Well, I wouldn't know how to quantify that. I'd say it's growing every year. The latest foreign investment is promising (Red Bull New York). Foreign club play is increasing and a good showing at World Cup 2006 wouldn't hurt considering some of the probable starters are top MLS footballers. I think having a Canadian team in the MLS would help too. Technically, it's not unheard of in football - Monaco is in the French Ligue 1. I think some of the rule changes help too, such as the Supporter's Shield Cup winner playing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup is a good idea. Although, to go back to your question, I'm unsure if the rule changes will bring more fans in as opposed to making current fans happy. Enigma, is this along the lines of what you are asking?
Also in regard to the World Cup, all the matches this summer will be on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. A greater interest in football in general will have a positive effect on support for the MLS. For example, growing up I wasn't really a fan until 1994 when the World Cup Final was in the US; after that I started paying attention to the European leagues and then eventually the MLS started. Now that the Houston Dynamo is here (approx. 25,400 at the first match) I can really start appreciating the MLS even more. I read that one of the reasons Houston acquired a team was that we had the highest television viewership for a non-MLS city (sorry, I cannot supply the source). There are so many factors involved and it helps that it is the most popular sport in the world. Americans like popular foreign players in the NBA and MLB so it isn’t too far a stretch to think Americans could grow to love a sport popular everywhere else. The US also has a rich history in soccer. When soccer was added to the olympics, the US won the first gold medal. We went to the semi-finals at the first World Cup (although many Europeans didn't come because it was held in Uruguay instead of Europe) and the big match in 1950 when we beat England 1-0. Lastly, the US Open Cup is one of the oldest football championships in the world dating back to 1914.
Anyway, I totally got off the subject. Sorry. So what are some of the reasons you are asking this question? It sounds loaded.

Don't forget, Enigma and simontexas...Toronto has been promised an MLS team in 2007. The question remains what other city will get one. But Canada will definitely be having a MLS team next year.

As for the support of MLS, it's been good. Unlike the NASL, which was popular but drew support because of foreign stars like Franz Beckenbauer and Pele, MLS seems to be drawing support because of American stars like Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu, and Eddie Johnson.

The US has a pretty good soccer history too. Besides the points that simontexas made, there is the huge success of the US Women's national team. They've won 2 of the 4 World Cups and 2 out of 3 Olympic Gold Medals. The youth national teams are also doing fairly well on both sides. Popularity with all the teams is on the rise.

Yes I'm very excited about Toronto getting an MLS franchise. The A-League or USL or whatever it's called just isn't cutting it. Nobody cares about it...at least the MLS has some respectability.

I figure this will be a tremendous step in helping Canada build towards World Cup 2010...of course hosting the 2007 World Youth Championships is a big help as well!

I asked about support because I noticed during the Chicago game this weekend there were a lot of empty seats which had me wondering what the support is like for the MLS in the United States.

At the start of the game, there definitely will. I think towards the middle of the first half, the seats started to fill. When Chad Barrett scored in the 11th minute, there weren't a ton of people there, but by the 25-30th minute, it looked like a lot more came.

Also, on the same weekend, other teams drew large crowds. LA sold out the Home Depot Center for their opener. DC's RFK Stadium was packed for their game against RBNY. And of course, Houston packed Robertson Stadium against the Rapids. The Home Depot Center even looked fairly crowded for the Chivas USA-RSL game.

BTW Enigma, I don't know if you know this or not, but mlsnet.com offers online videos of the matches for free. If you have some free time this Saturday night, you might wanna check it out.

Sounds like fun! The only thing I'm not a fan of, is Red Bull naming a team after itself.

Uh oh. That's a sore subject with metromathis13.

[ April 07, 2006, 09:27 AM: Message edited by: simontexas ]

Join the club.

Although, very slowly, I am growing to not hate Red Bull. Sure, they did away with the Metros' name, but they re-did the locker rooms, they chartered 16 buses for the opener at DC for fans, and they've poured TONS of money into the home opener. Plus, there's a rumor going around that RBNY is on the verge of signing Brazil national team forward Ronaldo, and it's not a joke. Youri Djorkaeff, who played against Ronaldo in the 1998 World Cup final and is also friends with him, said that Ronaldo was approached and is seriously considering it...

But yeah, till he comes over and wins us an MLS Cup, I'll be a little speculative about Red Bull...

Scoreboard - Saturday, April 08, 2006
D.C. United vs. Chivas USA 2 - 0
New York Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution 0 - 0
Houston Dynamo vs. Kansas City Wizards 1 - 2
FC Dallas vs. Real Salt Lake 2 - 1
Colorado Rapids vs. Columbus Crew 3 - 1
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire 1 - 1

My Red Bulls need some shooting lessons. Edson Buddle hit a beautiful shot off the post from 25 yards out...Chris Henderson missed the net twice when he should've scored...Amado Guevara's free-kicks were terrible...

But how about Chivas? Flying high one week, they face a real team...and then fall apart. They played an ok first half, and the first goal was unlucky...but they looked disorganized and were unable to keep possession...

Whatever...looks like this is another one of those seasons where I'll be waiting for the Metros'/RBNY's first win...last year, it wasn't until April 30th. I'm hoping for a HUGE performance against RSL.

Yeah, Chivas was really unlucky that goal wasn't counted. The replay clearly showed it crossed the line. Who knows, scoring the equalizer could have shifted the momentum & they could of gotten a point off United.
Well, I haven't seen the highlights of the RBNY match but it sounds like a frustrating night.
I'm hoping the same thing about RSL for the Dynamo, but first we have to take on United next weekend.

I feel your pain MM13. Dynamo let a late stoppage time goal beat them against KC after De-Ro got ejected. Now RSL is coming to Houston this weekend and they have some momentum on their side.
Has anyone been named to replaced Alexei Lalas? Do you think they will bring in someone from Austria? I think that's where the other Red Bull team is located.
I haven't read the news yet.

There are many names being tossed around, from former New York Cosmos forward Giorgio Chinaglia to 2006 World Cup organizer Franz Beckenbaeur. Both played for the NY Cosmos in the NASL, so it looks like Red Bull might be trying to bring back some of that team's glory...even going as far as to approach another Brazilian superstar- the Cosmos had Pele, so why can't RBNY have Ronaldo?

There are two problems there though. First, MLS has a VERY restrictive salary cap. Ronaldo currently makes more money per year than the combined payrolls of all 12 MLS teams. Bringing in a former Cosmos player might be a nice connection to the past, but unlike Lalas and former GM Nick Sackiewicz, they would be inexperienced with the cap.

Secondly, whoever is brought in is likely to give coach Mo Johnston the boot. That's very rough, because he's 2-0-4 in the regular season. Sure, 3 draws is not an ideal way to start the year, but 3 ties are better the 3 losses. Names are already being tossed around for Mo's job too, with likely candidates including former Metrostar player (and Italian national team player) Roberto Donadoni.

Mo Johnston was on the bench for another game, but after today's miserable 4-1 loss to DC, he is likely to be shown the door. RBNY's attack looked inconsistent at best and disappeared for stretches. Team leaders Guevara and Djorkaeff were seemingly absent, and Chris Henderson was poor as well. Defensively, aside from an unlucky clearance by Marvell Wynne that led to the first goal, the team looked good in the first half. In the second half, they looked overwhelmed.

It's goodbye to the Mo Johnston era of RBNY history...

MLS All-Star polls now open:
Cast your ballot
MLS All-Stars face Chelsea FC at Bridgeview Stadium on Aug. 5 (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in the 2006 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game and you can vote for the MLS starting 11.
About the Online Ballot:
Fans can select up to one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards. To vote for a player, click to the left of his name.
A maximum of 10 ballots may be submitted per person per day.
The online fan balloting program will comprise 25 percent of the total vote, with coaches and general managers (25%), players (25%), and media (25%) combining for the remaining 75% percent of the vote.
Voting ends on Friday, July 7, 2006.
:cool:

Toronto's MLS franchise will reveal its team name and logo at a news conference tomorrow afternoon.

Do you think it'll be Inter Toronto FC?

Excerpt:
Last month, the team solicited input from soccer fans about the team's name, with Toronto Nationals, Inter Toronto FC, Toronto Reds, Toronto FC and Toronto Northmen FC put forth as suggestions.

Prior to asking for input on the new name, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment secured a trade mark on the name "Inter Toronto FC" in Canada.

TORONTO FC

That's the new name for Canada's first MLS franchise. While to some it's way too simple, it's better than the other options. I understand that INTER TORONTO FC was a big favorite and I'm glad they went away from it. You're targetting the Italian fans by doing that and this way with Toronto FC you appeal to everyone.

I don't like it. It's too European. I suppose it IS better than, say, Real Salt Lake. That's a real loser of a name...

I really like that shield logo especially with the maple leaf on top. Toronto FC is a good name.
Is there going to be a nickname? FC Dallas is now marketing The Hoops as their nickname.

I think it's ok when North American teams emulate European club names. The NFL Europe teams emulate North American names like the following:
Amsterdam Admirals; Berlin Thunder; Hamburg Sea Devils; Frankfurt Galaxy; Cologne Centurions; and Rhein Fire
Yes, I did have to google it and also these are NFL teams and not European owned. So, go figure!

Real Salt Lake is by far the stupidest sports name I've heard in a long time...though Red Bull is right up there.

I love the new logo for Toronto FC...I can't see them picking a nickname..they'll try and keep it simple

Ouch...

Though I don't think I will ever really love Red Bull, it certainly has grown on me a lot quicker than I was expecting. I would probably love it right now if the team could win...

The news of Toronto FC was a surprise to me. That the team is owned by MLSE isn't all that promising, giving their bumblings with the Leafs (missed the playoffs, fired the coach) and the Raptors (missed the playoffs, fired the GM). What do they know about soccer?

They're scheduled to play next year in a stadium (at the Exhibition grounds) that hasn't even started construction (from what I know), but having a new facility is potentially good for community leagues.

Toronto has a long history of defunct soccer teams (Lynx, Blizzard, Metros, etc.), but hopefully the city's large immigrant population will come out and support this team. Hopefully they will be leveraging the World Cup this summer to promote the team.

Will there be some kind of expansion draft? When will this happen?

------------------

Interesting the 'colour' of the team: the website and logo are predominantly red. Historically, Toronto has been a "blue" town: Toronto Maple Leafs (blue & white), Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Argonauts ("double blue"), University of Toronto Varsity Blues, Toronto Rock (blue & red). But then the Raptors came out with a purple jersey, and then added a red alternate jersey. And now Toronto FC will be predominantly red & white (with a blue "T"). Not sure what this all means.

Politically, in Canada red represents the Liberal party and blue represents the Conservative party (I guess this is the opposite of the US, where a red state is Republican and blue state is Democrat). Does this reflect the politics of the city (which votes predominantly Liberal)?

I think you're reading way too much into the logo with your political ramblings there bud haha.

As for MLSE, there's no denying that they have money to burn and are at least supporting sports in the City of Toronto. The Leafs are in better shape now than when Ballard owned the club so I wouldn't blame MLSE there. Fact is, the new NHL means parity and makes it harder to make the post season. They made a terrific move in getting Paul Maurice and they will contend with him as their bench boss.

As for the Raptors...they're a joke of a franchise that has failed to have any proper leadership. I'm not sure how much control MLSE has over the franchise other than owning it, but they need to shell out some coin to bring in respected management veterans that can turn this struggling franchise around.

And for the soccer...it's a terrific move. The MLS is as good of soccer as we're going to get in North America. As long as they get a good coach and they don't struggle out of the gate, they should be able to attract some decent crowds.

2006 MLS playoffs start in a little over 2 weeks.
So far DC, Chicago, New England, Dallas, and Houston have clinched playoff spots, with DC claiming home field advantage for the Eastern Conference Championships and winning the 2006 Supporters Shield Cup guaranteeing them a spot in next year's CONCACAF's Club Championships. In the east, New York and Kansas City are fighting over the last playoff spot and it's still open in the west for the last two playoff spots. Also in the west, the conference championship home field advantage is still undecided. It's very tight in the west.
EAST
Red Bull NY play Colorado (A) & KC Wizards at home.
Kansas City play Chivas USA (H) & RBNY (A)
It can go either way but KC plays a strong Chivas and NY away; therefore NY has the upper hand on advancing. NY v. KC should definitely be the battle of the week.
WEST
Chivas USA play KC (A) & RSL (H)
Colorado play RBNY (H) & Houston (A)
Real Salt Lake play Houston (H) & Chivas USA (A)
LA Galaxy play FCD (A) & FCD (H)
Besides LA playing Dallas twice, it looks like Real Salt Lake has the toughest path to the playoffs. I'm taking into account conference play because all 4 west teams have more points than NY & KC and goal differentials, Colorado is at -13 while Houston & Chivas are at +4. The Galaxy can definitely be the spoiler with 2 wins against a FCD team coming off a disappointing loss to Columbus and losing out on the Supporters Shield Cup.

Is MLS changing the rules so that Beckham can play in NYC?

David Beckham going to the MLS would be a much needed publicity boost to the entire league. Not to mention the fact, a great way to promote ticket sales for the expansion, Toronto FC.

What concerns me is making a rule change to surpass the salary cap for "Certain Players". What one person considers a "star" player, others may not think so. For example...let's say a team wants to sign Nuno Gomes of Portugal/Benfica. Nuno Gomes plays for the Portuguese National Team and currently plays with Benfica, who are in the Champions League. Is he a star on the same scale as David Beckham...not even close! But would he put fans in the seats (albeit Portuguese ones) and attract some media attention in the MLS...absolutely. So would he be considered a "certain" player by MLS standards?

Maybe I'm over-analyzing this...but I just don't like the vague wording of their proposal. Should be interesting to see what happens.

The conference semi-finals are set. It will be an away-home aggregate score playoff in the first round with the conference finals and MLS Cup Final being single matches.
Western Conference
Colorado Rapids v. FC Dallas
Chivas USA v. Houston Dynamo
Eastern Conference
Red Bull New York v. DC United
Chicago Fire v. New England Revolution

I just have to say that this whole rule change thing would just be an OFFICIAL thing. DC, Dallas (and now KC), and LA have been using it for the last few years- it's part of the reason why Freddy Adu, Eddie Johnson, and Landon Donovan are still in MLS.

MLS playoff update:
Saturday, October 21, 2006
New York Red Bulls 0-1 D.C. United
Colorado Rapids 1-2 FC Dallas

Sunday, October 22, 2006
Chicago Fire 1-0 New England Revolution
Chivas USA 2-1 Houston Dynamo

All teams remain in the hunt but DC and Dallas look in better positions since they both got the road wins. A draw would advance the home teams.
New England and Houston need to win by at least two goals at home to advance without going into overtime. If the home teams win by only one goal, they will play two 15-minute halves. If the game is still tied after that, the winner of the game, and the series, will be defined by penalty kicks. A draw would advance the away teams.

GO ORANGE!

2006 MLS Cup Champions - Houston Dynamo

Toronto FC to play their first game on the road April 7, 2007 vs. Chivas USA. April 14 vs. New England Revolution. First home game on Saturday April 28, 2007 vs. Kansas City Wizards.

Awesome! My friends and I are trying to go to one or two away games per season starting with the teams/cities that have their own soccer stadiums and since it is the inaugural season for Toronto FC, we want that to be our first 2007 trip. This past season we went to Los Angeles Home Depot Center to see the Galaxy - Dynamo match. That's one beautiful stadium. The drawings of BMO Field look great. It's says on the website that it'll be connected to the transit system. How far is the stadium from Central Toronto?

Hopefully since the Dynamo won this season it'll help with getting money for our own soccer stadium. The Dynamo open their 2007 campaign against the Galaxy on April 8th here in Houston.