All hail The Bruce! Good Bye and Good Luck!

The Bruce Arena era in US Men's soccer will come to a close when his contract runs out this year as US Soccer has decided against renewing it.

The memory and legacy of Arena will always have the small tarnish of such a disappointing and non-Bruce like World Cup 2006. But all of the many, many things that he has accomplished throughout his tenure will outshine such disappointments 100 fold; like the sun blazing on and swallowing up the little speck of Mercury.

Arena's departure flings the door wide open for Jürgen Klinsman to step in and move the USMNT forward as so many seem to think (hope) he will. I'm a big fan of Klinsman entering in as USMNT head coach not just because of what he was able to accomplish with the German national team but that he did itimplementingg a very American line of thinking and sports philosophy. This just demonstrates that he'll be able to work with and coach American players with much more efficacy than another foreign coach might. He's also based out of SoCal and he also brings an exciting, attacking style of play that's very un-German but met with great results.

As for Bruce, rumor has it he's up for the New York Red Bulls job which would take him back to his childhood home and provide the Red Bulls organization the tipping point they need to become a great team.

In the end all I can say is, "Thank you Bruce for everything you've done. US soccer could never have ascended to the heighths they now are without you. You will always have a place in history and our hearts."

Week 16 Previews

Full slate of games including an afternoon affair and evening game on Friday.

Colorado at RBNY
Afternoon game featuring two of MLS' less exciting teams. The Red Bulls are still looking for a coach (could it be former USMNT head man Bruce Arena?) and until they find one they'll still flounder. But not against the Rapids.
My Prediction: RBNY 2 - 0 Colorado

RSL at NE Revolution
An absent Clint Dempsey (courtesy poor decisions via MLS HQ) will put a damper on the recently surging Revs but if you're going to have to play a game (or two) without Dempsey, RSL is the team to play.
My Prediction: NE 2 - 1 RSL

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FCD at Chicago
The Brimstone Cup is up at Toyota Park this Saturday as the Fire try to bounce back from defeat and FCD tries to make everyone else remember they're still a really good team.
My Prediction: FCD 1 - 1 Chicago

Columbus at DCU
DCU rolled over Celtic FC Wednesday night much like they have been the rest of the league this year. Granted, it wasn't a full strength, in-form, mid-season team and it was just an exhibition but it was impressive none the less. Columbus won't put up much of a test and DC will easily pick up their 13th win of the season.
My Prediction: DCU 3 - 1 Columbus

Houston at KC
Brian Ching and company roll into KC to take on a team still looking for it's scoring punch. Ching will net one in this game. Will either of the Wizards dynamic-duo of Wolff and Johnson do the same? The Wizards faithful sure hope so.
My Prediction: Houston 2 - 1 KC

LA "at" Chivas USA
It's Superclasico time at the HDC as LA takes on Chivas USA in the late game. The Galaxy is still slowly improving and rediscovering their winning ways (helped tremendously by the return of Landon Donovan) and the Goats are just as wiley as ever. There's a chance the Galaxy might steal the win from CUSA but don't bet a lot on it.
My Prediction: Chivas USA 3 - 2 LA

Listen up because we've got a lot to cover!

I know, I know. This is like the 4th or 5th time I've had to apologize for not having posted in a while. I'm sure the 3 readers out there that actually stop in with an every once-in-a-while, phases-of-the-moon, regularity were starting to get annoyed.

So the World Cup is finally over the next 4 years will drag by much as the previous foursome did. It was a pleasure and a joy to watch, especially when you get the game in HD. Come South Africa, expect double or triple the number of people to enjoy watching soccer in high definition like I did this go around.

The Starting XI All-Stars were announced for the up-coming All-Star game against the fantasy-soccer-team-becomes-reality Chelsea FC up at the Fire's new digs in Bridgeview, Il. What do I think of the selections? I think some were penalized for being gone for the World Cup (Brian Ching) and I think some were rewarded for getting on to the USMNT (Albright, Pope, Conrad).
Really though, I think the whole thing is a farce, waste of time and money, and MLS would be better without it, at least during the season. If they insist on staging this event, I'd prefer it to be scheduled much more akin to the Pro Bowl of the NFL at the end of the season after all is said and done. The All-Star game should be a celebration of the best players of the season that has ended rather than a desperately legitimized competition. Baseball was the only sport that had any claim to any measure of relevance when the All-Star game, at first, was the only time people could see (other than the World Series) the best players from the opposing leagues play each other. Everyone else pretty much plays each other during the regular season, including MLB now with interleague play (which I think is a cool and welcomed change).

So who want some Week 15 Power Rankings? That's what i thought.


12 - New York Red Bulls (2-6-8)

Mo's gone. Youri's off in France. Was any sort of fighting spirit ever here to start with? I'm sure this is exactly what Red Bull had in mind before dropping a pretty penny on this traditional successful club. And yes, that's sarcasm.

11 - Real Salt Lake (3-9-4)

There was once the small glimmer of hope that has now been discovered to actually be the sun reflecting off a discarded aluminum can someone tossed on the side of the road.

10 - Columbus Crew (4-7-6)

Is it just me, or does Eddie Gaven look like he just doesn't enjoy playing soccer anymore? He's just an unhappy man, much like the rest of Crew Nation.

9 - LA Galaxy (5-10-3)

Very, very, very happy to have Donovan back. Also cool the Gomez is starting to find the back of the net. It's amazing what happens when you don't have a coach sabotaging your team with incompetence.

8 - Chicago Fire (5-6-5)

Not winning near as many games at their new home as they should be.

7 - Kansas City Wizards (6-9-2)

They've been blanked two games in a row now. Paging Eddie Johnson. Paging Josh Wolff. Where are these guys? Hope the new Dutch signing can find some offense.

6 - Chivas USA (6-6-5)

Still waiting for JOB to make an appear though not like the Goats really need him. They've steadily worked their way up the rankings and Ante is having a stellar season so far.

5 - Colorado Rapids (7-5-3)

The best average team around and have been for some time. They need some new blood at the head coach spot to get to the next level (and some more talent wouldn't hurt either though until the first thing happens all the talent in the world won't do much good).

4- New England Revolution (6-5-6)

Dempsey is keeping up the intensity he came back from Germany with and is showing every game more and more how much better he is that maybe two others on his team. If more Revs could play near his level, this team would be a juggernaut.

3 - Houston Dynamo (7-3-6)

Ching's gotten back into the swing of things and the Dynamo anchor the set of of the 3 most consistent and best team in the league.

2 - FC Dallas (9-5-3)

The Super Hoops would be having an incredible season if they weren't constantly being overshadowed by a DC United team that's playing out of their minds good and out distance them by 11 points.

1 - DC United (12-1-5)

There's United and then there's everyone else. They're dominating so much right now it's a shame they've to mess with playoffs at the end of the year.