simply because of his age -- you're seeing firsthand what a player of this caliber can do. Think about some of the elder statesmen who've handled MLS. From Peter Nowak, Lubos Kubik and Hristo Stoitchkov to Preki, Mo Johnston and Carlos Valderrama. Class is class, even when it's pushing toward 40.
8. The Earthquakes took off after Alexi Lalas was moved to the MetroStars, but give Lalas a ton of credit for the moves he and Dom Kinnear made this offseason to turn the Quakes into the hardest-working, fastest-playing team in the league. Getting Ricardo Clark from the MetroStars -- essentially making Clark their major allocation -- has paid huge dividends, as has the trade of Todd Dunivant and Steve Cronin to L.A. for Alejandro Moreno and Danny Califf. Moreno, especially, is the most underrated striker in MLS. He reminds me a lot of another hard-working Venezuelan, Giovanni Savarese.
7. Here's a prediction. Chivas USA's climb in the Western Conference standings next season is going to be swift. Let's face it, that project doesn't work without wins. And that project is going to work, somehow, some way.
6. Time to trot this one out there again before the eyes of the MLS competition committee. The best format for the MLS playoffs, by far, is mine. Let the regular season conference champions host MLS Cup semifinal games. Let No. 2 host No. 3 in play-in games. Eliminate everyone else. Think about it. The conference champs would have two weeks to sell a big match at their stadium. A match that would potentially send the home team to the MLS Cup Final. This format makes the regular season huge. This format gives the best teams in their respective conferences a major reward. I also think this format gives the league a big-time chance for three showcase matches that would be played before big, passionate crowds. I've written this now about 10 times, yet every time I mention it to a coach, he says, "You gotta write that!" Well, here you go. Again.
5. The Quakes and Revs have already reached the magic 50-point total and before all is said and done, we could have another three (possibly four) teams reach that figure. The most 50-point teams in one MLS season was five, which happened back in 2000 when the Wizards (57), Fire (57), Metros (54), Mutiny (52) and Galaxy (50) hit the total. Last year, if you recall, the Crew won the Supporters' Shield with 49 points. I love studying the points totals, honestly. Anyone remember the Revs winning the East in 2002 with a 12-14-2 record? How about the Miami Fusion qualifying in 1999 with all of 29 points, but failing to qualify with 41 the next year?
4. Is there anything more annoying than youth soccer coaches who forbid their defenders from moving across the midfield line? Reminds me of my old gym teacher's rules. Well, actually, the cries from the sidelines of "boot it!" are pretty annoying too.
3. Call me crazy, but I think Eric Wynalda's love for Taylor Twellman is justified. Has there ever been a guy as hungry to score in MLS as this guy? He somehow manages to get a head, toe, knee, shin, hip -- anything -- on a ball that's in front of the goal. Watching the Revs this weekend, I'm just amazed at their ability to get on the end of crosses. It is pretty breathtaking. And, by the way, the Revs are about to make me eat one of my predictions. Earlier this year, I threw it out there that the Revs would not win 17 games and become the first team since the 2002 L.A. Galaxy to win more than half its games. The Revolution (and Quakes) need only win two of their last five to accomplish the feat.
2. I've looked forward to all of the stadium openings in MLS history, but I look forward to the opening of Bridgeview Stadium more than any other. Why? Because of the color and passion of Section 8. Those guys know what soccer's supposed to look like and -- though the Home Depot Center rocks pretty good for Galaxy games -- I think it's going to be the best atmosphere for a game in MLS, by far.
1. Marc Connolly's column last week got me to thinking about the Shootout Years and how we are going to look back at the numbers from that era. As Connolly pointed out, the only team in MLS history to ever have an above .500 record and not qualify for the playoffs was the 1999 San Jose Clash, who had a 19-13 record, but with 10 of those wins coming via shootout. The Clash were 10-3 in shootout games. So, their W-L-T record as translated into the current format was 9-10-13. We need some asterisks.
Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Send your comments and complaints (200 words or less, please) to Jeff at jbradleyespn2003@yahoo.com and he promises to read (but not respond to) all of them. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
