MLS

A thrill in sports not typically associated with soccer, the MLS playoff race is a unique feature when compared to European leagues like the English Premier League or Spain’s La Liga. But it sure does make the final weeks of the season exciting.

This year in the Western Conference, eight teams are competing for five remaining playoff spots with less than three weeks left in the regular season. With two three-way ties among the top eight teams, the race for the six playoff berths will go down to the wire, so let’s take a look.

FC Dallas has been in a free fall in recent months. The club has won just once since a 2-1 win over Montreal on July 22 saw FC Dallas briefly move to the top of the Western Conference, a span of 12 matches that included more than bad losses. It could get even worse after an apparent illegal substitution late in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Orlando City.

Major League Soccer released a statement Tuesday on players’ right to free speech in light of the recent trend for NFL players to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem before games. MLS made it clear they would prefer players to stand during the Star-Spangled Banner, but would respect and support a player’s right to express his personal beliefs. 

The statement in full:

The Los Angeles Galaxy’s abysmal season took another turn for the worse with Giovani dos Santos publicly turning on his teammates following a heavy defeat to Atlanta United on Wednesday. Like the rest of the Galaxy, Dos Santos has seen his numbers fall dramatically this season. After scoring 14 goals in 2016, Dos Santos has only registered six this campaign and the Mexican international knows where the blame lies.

Sporting Kansas City defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-1 in the U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday night at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The result really was never in question, not because KC was playing at home or had won two of the last five Cups, but because Kei Kamara.

True beat downs are rare in professional soccer, usually confined to mismatched tournament qualifiers and silly international friendlies. It's rare to see a beat down in a league match because in most leagues the top and bottom clubs are close enough to each other in terms of talent that the minnows can keep the outcome somewhat respectable.

Major League Soccer is a league that thrives on parity. The convoluted financial regulations keep all the teams spending roughly similar amounts and therefore with roughly similar talent levels.

EA Sports has revealed the top 25 rated players in Major League Soccer for FIFA 18 and the results are pretty goofy.

According to an ESPN FC source, 20-year-old Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown will sign a four-and-a-half year contract with Manchester City in January after the expiration of his contract in MLS.

Move aside Sydney Leroux and Dom Dwyer, Jozy Altidore and Sloane Stephens are the new hot couple in American sports.

The two childhood friends have reportedly been dating for at least a couple months and both had big wins on Saturday. Stephens won her first grand slam by taking down Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the U.S. Open. Altidore scored a brace in Toronto FC’s 4-0 victory over San Jose. 

Houston is trying to return to normal and the Dynamo are returning to Houston. After a two-and-a-half-week layoff, the Houston Dynamo are back at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday with a match against Colorado, with proceeds going to Hurricane Harvey relief. 

The Dynamo will have a number of promotions to support Houston’s rebuilding process.