Match Week 4: Columbus Crew shines as NBC shuns the best game of the week in MLS

The Columbus Crew beat the Seattle Sounders on a thrilling goal with seconds left in the game -- but the national television audience got to see D.C. United take on the Chicago Fire in an empty stadium instead.

MLS, for the good of the league and American soccer, NBC and ESPN cannot be allowed to broadcast another game from an empty RFK. It is gives a terrible image of not just MLS but also of American soccer.

Standings adjusted for all competitions and weighted by talent level at all three leagues.

MLS 1

First Division West

10   FC Dallas

10   Sporting Kansas City

8   Real Salt Lake

8   Vancouver Whitecaps

6   Houston Dynamo

6   Seattle Sounders

5   Chivas USA

4   Colorado Rapids

4   LA Galaxy

3   Chicago Fire

2   Portland Timbers  

2   San Jose Earthquakes

0   San Antonio Scorpions

First Division East

9   Columbus Crew

6   Toronto FC

5   Philadelphia Union

4   New England Revolution

3   New York Red Bulls

1   Montreal Impact

1   D.C. United

1   Orlando City

0   New York Cosmos

0   Carolina RailHawks

0   Rochester Rhinos

-    New York City FC (2015)

-    Miami (2016)

MLS 2

Second Division West

2   LA Galaxy II

0   Sacramento Republic

0   Atlanta Silverbacks

0   FC Edmonton

0   Minnesota United

0   Indy Eleven

0   Arizona United

0   Oklahoma City Energy

0   Orange County Blues

0   Dayton Dutch Lions

-    Colorado Springs Switchbacks (2015)

-    Tulsa Roughnecks (2015)

-    Oklahoma City (2015)

Second Division East

1   Charleston Battery

0   Richmond Kickers

0   Pittsburgh Riverhounds

0   Tampa Bay Rowdies

0   Fort Lauderdale Strikers

0   Ottawa Fury

0   Charlotte Eagles

0   Wilmington Hammerheads

0   Harrisburg City Islanders

-    Puerto Rico Islanders (2014 fall)

-    Virginia Cavalry (2015)

-    Jacksonville Armada (2015)

If the Playoffs Started Today...

MLS Cup

(1W) FC Dallas vs. (4E) New England Revolution

(2W) Sporting Kansas City vs. (3E) Philadelphia Union

(3W) Real Salt Lake vs. (2E) Toronto FC

(4W) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (1E) Columbus Crew

Relegation Playoff

(LW) San Antonio Scorpions vs. (LE) Rochester Rhinos

Promotion Bowl

(1W) LA Galaxy II vs. (4E) Tampa Bay Rowdies

(2W) Sacramento Republic vs. (3E) Pittsburgh Riverhounds

(3W) Atlanta Silverbacks vs. (2E) Richmond Kickers

(4W) FC Edmonton vs. (1E) Charleston Battery

Chicharito at Los Angeles FC would explode his career and MLS in Southern California

Chicharito, it is time to leave Manchester United and get on with your promising career before it is too late.

Manchester United is languishing in seventh place in the English Premier League -- not only out of Champions League qualification but also outside Europa League qualification -- and in a season this bad Chicharito still rarely gets off the bench behind an arsenal of strikers in Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, and Danny Welbeck.

This is his fourth season at Manchester United, the experiment has failed, and he is stuck with a contract extension that doesn't end until 2016. Chicharito, what were you and your handlers thinking?

It's overdue for Chicharito to start talking about wanting out of there, not staying longer with contract extensions.

So if he starts expressing that he wants out, and Mancheter United is willing to sell him, which you have to think they will be willing to do after this miserable season, where should he go?

There is one choice that would restart his career on a big stage and offer unlimited possibilities to market him to his core fan base in two countries.

That choice is the rebranded Chivas USA in MLS next season -- Los Angeles FC.

The Los Angeles metro area is home to 6 million people of Mexican ancestry, by far the largest population in the United States.

Those 6 million Chicharito fans are the reason it is a home game for the Mexican national team any time it plays in the Rose Bowl and fill up with 93,000 fans for a soccer game in the United States.

Beyond the Mexican-Americans living in the LA area, the Mexican border is only 135 miles away to reach thousands more soccer fans who would follow Chicharito at LAFC.

Chicharito's salary at Manchester United is only $6.5 million per year. This isn't Ronaldo money we are talking about. Odds are that MLS would at the least match that salary if not increase it. Let's be honest, Chicharito would be worth a lot more to the league than the $8 million they are paying Clint Dempsey.

As a bonus, this is Los Angeles we are talking about. The endorsement deals for Chicharito on both sides of the border are virtually limitless if he has any measure of success in LA.

MLS and Chicharito, let's get this transfer going. It's time for Chicharito's career to take off like it should and for MLS to make its next big move for soccer in the United States.

You're invited to, Gio. How does Chicago sound?

Match Week 3: Explaining point adjustments for the lower-level teams in USL and NASL

This is the first week any of the teams in the second division have been active, so a brief explanation of the weighted points is in order. LA Galaxy II won its inaugural game in USL, which was worth three points in the USL table. But in the Relegation US table, real-life points are weighted for a fair comparison to MLS teams, so LA Galaxy II only gets an adjusted one point in the promotion and relegation standings. Likewise adjustment this week for the Charleston Battery and OC Blues, who tied for one point each but are still stuck at zero here. Real-life points will continue to accumulate as normal before relegation adjustment in this weekly standings update.

Standings adjusted for all competitions and weighted by talent level at all three leagues.

MLS 1

First Division West

7   FC Dallas

7   Sporting Kansas City

6   Houston Dynamo

6   Seattle Sounders

5   Vancouver Whitecaps

5   Real Salt Lake

4   Colorado Rapids

4   Chivas USA

4   LA Galaxy

2   Chicago Fire

2   Portland Timbers  

2   San Jose Earthquakes

0   San Antonio Scorpions

First Division East

6   Columbus Crew

6   Toronto FC

4   Philadelphia Union

2   New York Red Bulls

1   New England Revolution

0   Montreal Impact

0   D.C. United

0   Orlando City

0   New York Cosmos

0   Carolina RailHawks

0   Rochester Rhinos

-    New York City FC (2015)

-    Miami (2016)

MLS 2

Second Division West

1   LA Galaxy II

0   Orange County Blues

0   Atlanta Silverbacks

0   FC Edmonton

0   Minnesota United

0   Dayton Dutch Lions

0   Arizona United

0   Indy Eleven

0   Sacramento Republic

0   Oklahoma City Energy

-    Colorado Springs Switchbacks (2015)

-    Tulsa Roughnecks (2015)

-    Oklahoma City (2015)

Second Division East

0   Charleston Battery

0   Tampa Bay Rowdies

0   Richmond Kickers

0   Charlotte Eagles

0   Harrisburg City Islanders

0   Fort Lauderdale Strikers

0   Pittsburgh Riverhounds

0   Wilmington Hammerheads

0   Ottawa Fury

-    Puerto Rico Islanders (2014 fall)

-    Virginia Cavalry (2015)

-    Jacksonville Armada (2015)

If the Playoffs Started Today...

MLS Cup

(1W) FC Dallas vs. (4E) New York Red Bulls

(2W) Sporting Kansas City vs. (3E) Philadelphia Union

(3W) Houston Dynamo vs. (2E) Toronto FC

(4W) Seattle Sounders vs. (1E) Columbus Crew

Relegation Playoff

(LW) San Antonio Scorpions vs. (LE) Rochester Rhinos

Promotion Bowl

(1W) LA Galaxy II vs. (4E) Charlotte Eagles

(2W) Orange County Blues vs. (3E) Richmond Kickers

(3W) Atlanta Silverbacks vs. (2E) Tampa Bay Rowdies

(4W) FC Edmonton vs. (1E) Charleston Battery

New Show on SiriusXM FC needs to respect Chinalgia and those who came before them

"Over the Ball" is a welcome addition to the already great SiriusXM FC line-up of soccer talk shows that have provided an important forum for soccer fans in the United States, and I appreciate host Kevin Flynn's perspective on the game from a comedian/player viewpoint as well as that of his co-host.

But at times I feel like this SiriusXM channel covering soccer is new to the hosts of the show, and they assume it is also new to the listeners. Nowhere is that more apparent than whenever they open their mouths about Giorgio Chinaglia.

The comments about Giorgio have been too mild for Charlie Stillitano to get mad about, but a certain amount of respect from the show is due Giorgio since Flynn and his "Over the Ball" partners would probably not even have a show if it weren't for Giorgio.

SiriusXM FC got its start in 2006 when Giorgio and Stillitano hosted a radio talk show about soccer during the World Cup in 2006.

The show was so well-received that SiriusXM decided to make the show a daily fixture after the World Cup ended.

So thanks to Giorgio helping to get the channel off the ground and continuing its popularity, SiriusXM FC is at the point were it can add another show.

All I'm saying is, in the words of Ali G -- respect. "Over the Ball" might not be on without him.


Cherundolo

Happy retirement to former U.S. national team member Steve Cherundolo. It's too bad most people in the United States don't have any idea who he is. If he'd played in MLS, people might at least know him better than Mike Magee.

Match Week 2: Houston Dynamo Takes Early Lead in First Division West of New MLS 1

USL Pro finally gets under way March 22, and NASL follows on April 12, but for now the MLS teams are the only ones active in the promotion and relegation standings.

Standings adjusted for all competitions and weighted by talent level at all three leagues.

MLS 1

First Division West

6   Houston Dynamo

4   Vancouver Whitecaps

4   Chivas USA

4   FC Dallas

4   Real Salt Lake

4   Sporting Kansas City

3   Seattle Sounders

3   LA Galaxy

2   Portland Timbers  

2   San Jose Earthquakes

1   Colorado Rapids

1   Chicago Fire

0   San Antonio Scorpions

First Division East

4   Philadelphia Union

3   Columbus Crew

3   Toronto FC

1   New York Red Bulls

0   Montreal Impact

0   D.C. United

0   New England Revolution

0   New York Cosmos

0   Carolina RailHawks

0   Orlando City

0   Rochester Rhinos

-    New York City FC (2015)

-    Miami (2016)

MLS 2

Second Division West

0   Atlanta Silverbacks

0   FC Edmonton

0   Minnesota United

0   Orange County Blues

0   Dayton Dutch Lions

0   Phoenix FC

0   Indy Eleven

0   Sacramento Republic

0   Oklahoma City Energy

0   LA Galaxy II

-    Colorado Springs Switchbacks (2015)

-    Tulsa Roughnecks (2015)

-    Oklahoma City (2015)

Second Division East

0   Tampa Bay Rowdies

0   Richmond Kickers

0   Charleston Battery

0   Charlotte Eagles

0   Harrisburg City Islanders

0   Fort Lauderdale Strikers

0   Pittsburgh Riverhounds

0   Wilmington Hammerheads

0   Ottawa Fury

-    Puerto Rico Islanders (2014 fall)

-    Virginia Cavalry (2015)

-    Jacksonville Armada (2015)

If the Playoffs Started Today...

MLS Cup

(1W) Houston Dynamo vs. (4E) New York Red Bulls

(2W) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (3E) Toronto FC

(3W) Chivas USA vs. (2E) Columbus Crew

(4W) FC Dallas vs. (1E) Philadelphia Union

Relegation Playoff

(LW) San Antonio Scorpions vs. (LE) Rochester Rhinos

Promotion Bowl

(1W) Atlanta Silverbacks vs. (4E) Charlotte Eagles

(2W) FC Edmonton vs. (3E) Charleston Battery

(3W) Minnesota United vs. (2E) Richmond Kickers

(4W) Orange County Blues vs. (1E) Tampa Bay Rowdies

Loss of Fox Soccer Channel Leaves Huge Void for Soccer Coverage in United States

Have you enjoyed all the CONCACAF Champions League action involving the three American teams -- San Jose Earthquakes, Sporting Kansas City, and LA Galaxy -- left in the bracket all playing clubs from Mexico?

Odds are your answer is probably no unless you are one of the very few lucky enough to have Fox Sports 2 and Fox Soccer Plus (the channels the games have been on) or stupid enough to pay the high price of Fox Soccer 2 Go.

Whose cable system gets Fox Sports 2??? And if your satellite provider has it, can you find this obscure channel?

Making matters worse, the spotty Mexican coverage has been on Galavision, a channel most cable companies such as Comcast have under the Spanish package, which is un monton de dinero.

The inability for most Americans to watch our own version of the Champions League exemplifies one more way that the shutdown of Fox Soccer Channel has been a huge loss.

It's great that ESPN now has a soccer program stuck in an afternoon slot during the week, but nothing has replaced the nightly one-hour soccer festivals that were Fox Soccer News (previously Fox Soccer Report) on the Fox Soccer Channel.

Those CONCACAF Champions League games are great to watch. Too bad the only way to watch the games now for most Americans is to watch a Twitter feed.