almost exactly one full year after his injury -- helping FC Dallas to a 1-0 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Tennessee native helped the Hoops to many more points over the season, with his four game-winning assists tying Ronnie O'Brien for the club's high in that statistical area.
Mulrooney's experience and composure on the ball helped solidify a very talented FC Dallas midfield. The Hoops won more games (16) than any other team in the league in 2006. Their total of 52 points was good enough to capture the top seed in the Western Conference, but they fell just short of D.C. United for the MLS Supporters' Shield.
Hall was named Referee of the Year for the third time in four years, having also taken home the honor in 2003 and 2005. A FIFA referee since 1992, Hall is widely regarded as one of North America's top officials. He has served as the center referee for over 100 MLS matches and his firm but fair style almost always ensures for a free-flowing, exciting match. Other finalists for Referee of the Year were Michael Kennedy and Ricardo Salazar.
Both Comeback Player of the Year and Referee of the Year awards were given based on the same voting system used in the majority of the league's year-end awards. The winners are determined by equal voting from the media (33.33 percent), MLS players (33.33 percent) and MLS coaches and general managers (33.33 percent). With each voting category representing one-third of the total votes, the formula used for determining the award winners involved assigning 33.33 total points to each category for a possible total of 99.99 points. Therefore if a player received 50 percent of the votes in any of the three voting categories, he would earn 16.67 points (half of 33.33) for that category.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
