Soccer By Ives

MLS Notes: McBride has shoulder surgery, Harris traded to Dallas and more (UPDATED)

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The Chicago Fire is considered one of the deepest teams in Major League Soccer and will now have that depth tested as the Easter Conference power is forced to deal with the loss of star striker Brian McBride.

McBride is set to miss four to six weeks three to four months after undergoing shoulder surgery. Second-year forward Patrick Nyarko is expected to pick up the slack in McBride's absence. (UPDATE- McBride's initial prognosis was four to six weeks but the Fire announced on Friday evening that the damage to McBride's shoulder was worse than first thought.)

McBride leads the Fire in goals scored with six. He may now be out of action until September.

Here are some other MLS news items heading into the weekend:

Report: Morales and Beckerman selected as All-Star reserves

 

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Real Salt Lake fans worried that their team wouldn't be represented in the MLS All-Star Game at Rio Tinto Stadium on July 29th can rest easy. RSL will have its players there.

The Deseret News is reporting that Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales will be selected as all-star reserves. The report did not identify whether the players were chosen by MLS commissioner Don Garber, who makes two all-star selections, or Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear, who is coaching the MLS All-Stars vs. Everton and will make five all-star reserve selections on Monday.

The selections come a year after Real Salt Lake had no players in the All-Star Game.

What's the SBI take? Beckerman is certainly deserving of the nod, and while Morales is definitely talented and one of the better playmakers in the league, does an MLS All-Star team that already had Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Freddie Ljungberg and Guillermo Barros Schelotto really need a player like him Morales on it? If the pick was made to appease the home team, Clint Mathis would have been a better and more meaningful choice.

What do you think of this news? Glad to see the home team represented? Think Morales got the nod a year later than he deserved it? Think Mathis was more deserving?

Share your thoughts below.

Five players Dom Kinnear should add to the MLS All-Star roster

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Dominic Kinnear is used to having loaded rosters to choose from when making out his starting lineups for the Houston Dynamo, but the task he'll have as MLS All-Star head coach will be a little bit tougher.

Kinnear has five selections to make of players he can add to the MLS All-Star Team. He has to start with the MLS First XI and then pick players to help him make an actual starting lineup that works effectively. This means that he will need to figure out who among Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Freddy Ljungberg stays on the bench in place of a defensive midfield option, while also figuring out what fullback to bring in to fashion a four-man back-line out of his crop of defenders.

So who will Kinnear pick for the team? Will he go the Steve Nicol route and avoid taking his own players while also going with the best talents as opposed to with players having the best seasons?

Here is the group of five players Kinnear should add to the team:

Mid-Day Musings: On Beckham, Copa Libertadores and the 2009 MLS Draft

 

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In case you didn't know, the Beckham Circus has arrived in the New York area, and while there isn't exactly the type of buzz that existed during his first visit to the area with the Galaxy, there's still some excitement in the air.

Okay, so maybe not THAT much excitement.

Perhaps it would be different if the New York Red Bulls, Beckham and the Galaxy's opponent on Thursday night, weren't a dead team walking, and if Beckham hadn't already come through three times in the past few years (once with England, twice with LA). There'll be some media hysteria, but in terms of local soccer people really getting worked up about his visit to the area? Not so much.

Does that mean there won't be thousands and thousands of non-soccer types and casual soccer fans making the trek to Giants Stadium on Thursday night? No, there'll still be a horde of fans who don't normally go to MLS games, but palpable energy felt around previous Beckham visits is lacking these days.

A Mid-season Look: Sizing up the MLS Rookie Class

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If you followed SBI's pre-draft coverage as well as the 2009 MLS Draft, you knew that this year's rookie class had the chance to be a special one. As we sit half-way through the season, it isn't a stretch to say that this year's rookie crop is off to a flying start.

A total of eleven rookies have started ten or more matches this year, with several players establishing key roles on top teams. This isn't just a case of rookies coming in and playing on bad teams (well, for a few it does). In fact, seven of the eleven rookies with ten or more starts play on winning teams.

Whether it is the D.C. tandem of Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace, or the Toronto FC dynamic duo of Stefan Frei and Sam Cronin, MLS has received a major infusion of young talent at a time when the league sorely needed it.

Here is a look at SBI's mid-season All-Rookie XI

Szetela returning to MLS, D.C. United the front-runner for his services

 

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Former U.S. Olympic team midfielder Danny Szetela is on his way back to Major League Soccer, but he won't be coming back to Columbus or heading home to New Jersey.

According to multiple sources, Szetela has agreed to a new contract with MLS after having his deal with Spanish club Racing Santander finish. Szetela spent the past season and a half on loan to Italian club Brescia, but is now a free agent set to return to MLS two years after leaving the Columbus Crew for Europe.

As a former youth international with three appearances for the U.S. senior national team, Szetela would have to go through the MLS allocation process. FC Dallas is currently holding the top spot in the allocation order, but already has a roster full of young players and is expected to pass on him. That would leave Szetela to fall to D.C. United. Sources tell SBI that Szetela was in Washington D.C. on Tuesday and met with D.C. United officials, who are very interested in the 22-year-old midfielder.

D.C. already boasts Clyde Simms, Andrew Jacobson and Ben Olsen as defensive midfield options, but the club did just lose rookie midfielder Brandon Barklage for the season with a torn ACL.

Blanco replaces DeRosario on the MLS All-Star First XI

 

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Chicago Fire star Cuauhtemoc Blanco has been selected to replace Toronto FC standout Dwayne DeRosario on the MLS All-Star Game First XI, MLS announced on Tuesday. DeRosario was voted to the First XI, but he will be unable to play in the All-Star game because Toronto FC has a CONCACAF Champions League game on July 29th, the same day The MLS All-Stars face Everton at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

Blanco was selected based on being the next highest vote-getter among midfielders, edging out Houston's Ricardo Clark on the strength of a disproportionate media vote in favor of Blanco (let's just say MLS wasn't exactly stingy with giving out media votes). Blanco drew more fan votes than Clark (which is to be expected), but Clark had twice the votes Blanco did from players and coaches/general managers. It was the media vote where Blanco crushed Clark, as well as Seattle's Osvaldo Alonso.

A closer look at the MLS All-Star First XI

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While there were no real shocking selections in the 2009 MLS All-Star First XI, there were still plenty of question marks surrounding some of the picks, as well as how some of the voting broke down.

The ballot-box stuffing by Seattle Sounders fans didn't load up the First XI with Sounders, but it did help one Sounder get on who is probably the least deserving of all the First XI selections. That player is Freddie Ljungberg.

Now, Ljungberg is a world star and having him at the All-Star Game doesn't exactly hurt ratings and such, but how he wound up on the team makes you wonder about the thought processes of some of those who voted.

Morning Ticker: City closes in on Adebayor, Beckham open to EPL return and more

 

Manchester City keeps on spending.

The best team oil money can buy is set to land yet another key weapon ahead of the upcoming EPL season by acquiring striker Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal in a 25 million pound transfer.

The move for Adebayor comes in the same week Manchester City completed the move for Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, who now means City boasts a strike force of Adebayor, Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz.

City may not be finished yet as it continues to pursue Chelsea captain John Terry

Here are some other news and notes from Europe and MLS to get your day started:

Keller, Donovan lead MLS All-Star First XI

 

The MLS All-Star First XI was announced on Monday, and as expected, Seattle led the way with selections, only not as many might have thought.

Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg were named to the MLS All-Star First XI in their first seasons in the league. Voted on by fans, players and media, the MLS All-Star First XI is the group of players who received the most votes, but isn't necessarily the group that will start against Everton at the All-Star Game at Rio Tinto Stadium on July 29th.

Here is the MLS All-Star First XI:

Kasey Keller, Chad Marshall, Wilman Conde, Geoff Cameron, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Freddie Ljungberg, Shalrie Joseph, Stuart Holden, Dwayne DeRosario, Conor Casey, Landon Donovan

Dwayne DeRosario won't be available for the match as he leads Toronto FC in CONCACAF Champions League play that week.

So how would this group look in a formation? Here's a lineup:

MLS Matchday 16 (Your Running Commentary)

While the U.S. national team is attracting much of the attention from U.S. fans tonight, some MLS fans are passing on watching the national team in order to see their club teams play in key league fixtures.

The afternoon included a Seattle 2-1 win against Houston, as well as a scoreless draw between New England and Kansas City.

Tonight's slate of games promises to provide some intrigue as well. Here are today's remaining matches:

Columbus Crew at Chicago Fire, 8pm (ESPN2)

FC Dallas at Colorado Rapids, 9:30pm (Direct Kick)

Toronto FC at San Jose Earthquakes, 10:30pm (Direct Kick)

Los Angeles Galaxy at Chivas USA, 10:30pm (FSC)

If you will be watching tonight's MLS matches, you are welcome to share your own thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

MLS Matchday 17: A look ahead

 

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is front and center in the minds of many American soccer fans this week, but while the U.S. national team is playing on Saturday there will also be a handful of great MLS match-ups.

Like rivalries? Want to see the league's best face off? Then this is your weekend. Here is the rundown of games this Saturday:

• Houston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders, 4pm (Direct Kick)

• Kansas City Wizards at New England Revolution, 4pm (Direct Kick)

• Columbus Crew at Chicago Fire, 8pm (ESPN2)

• FC Dallas at Colorado Rapids, 9:30pm (Direct Kick)

• Toronto FC at San Jose Earthquakes, 10:30pm (Direct Kick)

• Los Angeles Galaxy at Chivas USA, 10:30pm (FSC)

So what are the best match-ups in this week loaded with plenty of great ones? Here is the Best XI:

Who was on your final MLS All-Star Ballot?

 

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This past Monday marked the deadline for media ballots for the MLS All-Star Team, meaning I could no longer keep putting off my selections as I tried to choose in some of the toughest all-star selection races in recent memory.

It wasn't easy to pick a starting XI without leaving off some very deserving players, with this year's choices being much tougher than last year's (and not just because there was one more team in the mix).

No, the final SBI All-Star ballot didn't have eight Seattle Sounders, but the expansion club did wind up with a couple of selections after a strong late push and some national team absences. Among the players who didn't make it who were very deserving: Conor Casey, Santino Quaranta, Kasey Keller, Stuart Holden and Dwayne DeRosario just to name a few.

So who did make it? Here is SBI's MLS All-Star ballot:

SBI MLS Power Rankings (Week 16)

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Alecko Eskandarian wasted no time making an impact with his new club and the result is another Galaxy win and another LA move up the SBI MLS Power Rankings.

The Galaxy won its second straight match, a week after upsetting Houston, with a 1-0 win against injury-ravaged New England. The win moved LA into a tie for the final Western Conference playoff spot just as David Beckham prepares to make his return from Europe (and Landon Donovan gets set to return from Confederations Cup). That move, and the looming reinforcements, has the Galaxy making a big jump in this week's rankings. 

The Western Conference is running the show in this week's rankings, holding the top three spots in the pool. Eastern Conference powers D.C. United, Chicago and Columbus are hot on their trails.

Here are this week's SBI MLS Power Rankings:

U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals kick off tonight

By SEAN RUBIO

Four MLS and four USL teams will combine for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, with two USL-2 sides looking to go glory hunting into the semifinals.

In the only all-MLS tie, Kansas City Wizards are travelling to the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, WA to take on Seattle Sounders FC. It will be the Wizards' 5th game in two weeks, including a 4-3 penalty shootout win against Minnesota Thunder in the Third Round of the Open Cup last week. Meanwhile, the Sounders have had a week to prepare, with their last match being the 2-1 win over Portland Timbers in the previous round of the cup.

After surviving a late scare with Ocean City Barons, DC United will play host to Harrisburg City Islanders, a USL-2 side that up-ended New England Revolution 2-1 in extra time in the previous round.

MLS Week 16 Rewind

 

It didn't take Alecko Eskandarian long to make an impact with his new club.

The well-traveled striker scored a goal in his first match with the LA Galaxy and it proved to be the game winner in a 1-0 LA victory against New England. The victory moved the Galaxy into a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference at the halfway point.

The LA win was just one of three posted by the Western Conference in four inter-conference match-ups. Here is a rundown of the MLS action on Saturday:

• D.C. United 1, Columbus Crew 1

• Chicago Fire 2, Colorado Rapids 1

• Houston Dynamo 1, Kansas City Wizards 0

• New York Red Bulls 1, FC Dallas 2

• New England Revolution 0, Los Angeles Galaxy 1

What did you think of Saturday's action? Impressed by Chicago's win in Colorado? Surprises by the Galaxy's success this season? Starting to believe that FC Dallas can make a run?

Share your thoughts below.