By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Oct 20, 2011) US Soccer Players -- In this set of questions, Tony asks about what really ended FC Dallas's Champs League run, a surprise contender in the East, and a different take on the MLS schedule.
Was it the loss to Toronto at home that eliminated FC Dallas from the knock-out rounds of the CONCACAF Champions League?
No, it was the loss to Tauro earlier in the competition. An expected three points became 0 and Schellas Hyndmann’s team never recovered from the late September loss. To be fair, Tauro also took a point off Pumas in the competition, but Pumas took care of business elsewhere. Regardless of what the press releases would have us believe, that's the story of Dallas in the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League, not their win in Mexico.
Houston Dynamo, your Eastern Conference Champions?
Still possible, if unlikely. They play in the last regular season game, Sunday evening at home against the Galaxy, so before game time they will know what they need to do. Right now, they are ‘Wildcard Team #3’ which means a trip to Colorado a week from today, then if they win that game, the first leg of the conference semifinals the next weekend. Columbus, Philadelphia, and Kansas City are also trying to avoid an extra midweek game.
Why don’t all league games this weekend kick off at (almost) the same time?
A Thursday-through-Sunday schedule may provide programming, but it saps the drama from the final weekend. With the playoffs starting next Wednesday, why not kick off at 1 pm and 4 pm Eastern on Saturday or 4 pm and 7 pm. Yes, youth soccer, college football, the World Series, etc, but at some point you have to value the integrity of the League competition. This also leads to the discussion of why MLS is playing regular season games in late October against all that competition.
What former National Team regular is the active leader (among field players) in all time minutes played in MLS?
Pablo Mastroeni, with 316 games and almost 27,000 minutes played in MLS. This year he’s played in 30 games and he’s been the Rapids MVP three times over his career. When you consider that Mastroeni missed a lot of time while playing in two World Cups, it’s even more impressive. Kevin Hartman is the all time leader in minutes played in MLS, followed by Steve Ralston, Joe Cannon, and Jay Heaps, then Mastroeni.
What teams need to get younger next season?
Chivas and San Jose, according to the ‘average team ages’ chart on that page, have older squads and don‘t have the results to show for it. Its another testament to Bruce Arena that his team is only the 7th highest in average age, meaning he’s getting a lot out of younger professionals also.
