MLS Clubs

The Houston Dynamo are in a heated race in the standings as we head into the final stretch of the MLS season. With just a few matches left, Houston leads rivals FC Dallas and Austin FC for the “First Place In Texas And Not Last Place In The West Cup” I just made up. But the Dynamo stumbled in their attempts to not suck as much as the other Texas clubs with a 3-0 loss to the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night, a match highlighted by a Houston Dynamo proposal fail.

Coming from the Italian word typhu, meaning fever, tifo now refers to "passionate support for a sports team," as sports fandom often consumes the body much like a sickness. 

The 2009 Confederations Cup was simultaneously the closest the USMNT has come to a major international trophy and a near abject failure. Bob Bradley’s Americans were extremely lucky to escape the group stage but then came within a Lucio header of global glory. A dozen years later, where are those USMNT players? Many of them remain fixtures on our TVs — not all as players, but as pundits. Others now fill the ranks of coaching and technical staffs at clubs around the world.

Everyone is well-versed in Alphonso Davies’ game-changing pace and ability to dice any defender on the planet off the dribble, but it’s his increasing effectiveness in the final third that makes the 20-year-old standout as one of football’s brightest talents.

That’s not to say it’s a new development in his game. At the tender age of 17 Davies was already one of Major League Soccer’s most devastating players in attack, scoring eight goals and providing 10 assists in 31 games to help facilitate his $11 million move to Bayern. (He’s now valued at $155 million.)

If you were a documentary filmmaker, you couldn’t be handed a much better subject than the life of Wayne Rooney. He achieved worldwide recognition at the age of 16, played with an unmatchable style, finished as the all-time leading scorer for both Manchester United and England and courted controversy throughout it all. 

I’m almost embarrassed to admit how much I watch the show “Survivor.” Ever since the first season, I’ve been a huge fan. All through high school, my Thursday night routine involved getting home from soccer practice and tuning in to “Survivor” with my parents. So now that I hear “Survivor” creator Mark Burnett is working on a competition-based MLS reality show for Major League Soccer, you know I’m excited. 

Ahead of Sunday’s El Tráfico between the Los Angeles Galaxy and LAFC at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy revealed a statue of Landon Donovan outside the stadium to commemorate his contributions to the club, including four MLS Cups.