Kick Off: Red Bulls chief guarantees Eastern crown

Hey, Philadelphia Union supporters. Enjoy your stay at the top of the East because, according to New York Red Bulls sporting director Erik Solér, it won’t last that long.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Solér says that “I have no doubt in my mind” that the team will be Eastern Conference champions. In the same report, he also reveals that Marcus Hahnemann is on his way to the Seattle Sounders.

The Sounders’ response? “It amazes me how people don’t know the rules of this league.” Those were the words of Sigi Schmid, who explained how Hahnemann would need to go through the allocation process to get to Seattle.

That wasn’t the only reaction from the Seattle locker room after the 0-0 July 4 match at the Home Depot Center yesterday. Fredy Montero reacts to not scoring on the PK, Brian Perk reveals what he saw that led to his PK save, Landon Donovan calls it a “weird game,” Omar Gonzalez blames Roger Levesque for his injury and David Beckham admits that he needed an epidural because of the back pain from the fracture.

Both Seattle and LA continued their unbeaten runs with the result but in the last quote of this article, Beckham says it doesn’t feel like the Galaxy are undefeated in 11. “We need to finish teams off and start scoring more goals,” he said.

For those who watched the 3-3 tie between Real Salt Lake and the New England Revolution and were expecting seething comments after the match about the officiating, it didn’t happen. Revs manager Steve Nicol said “I have nothing to say about referees,” and RSL manager Jason Kreis also gave a “no comment.”

Perhaps the players and coaches had nothing to say about the calls that were made in the game, including a third minute red card and penalty kick called against RSL’s Nat Borchers, but the broadcasters on ESPN held nothing back.

The Vancouver Whitecaps players were holding nothing back during training yesterday, one which had more bite to it than usual, according to manager Tom Soehn. The frustrations of the season seem to have caught up with the club but the good news is that John Thorrington and Atiba Harris are working out with the team.

Veteran Terry Dunfield is positive about the club’s ability to rebound from last place in the league: “If we win on Wednesday [vs. Columbus], we can be right back in the mix.”

It’s midseason and in the case of Canadian champions Toronto FC, the players are being subject to the grading system of the Toronto Sun, which graded each player at the halfway point. There are three “A” students in this class.

In case you missed it, one of the quotes of the weekend came from San Jose Earthquakes forward Steven Lenhart, who had this to say about playing at Stanford Stadium in front of 41,000 fans compared to the intimate Buck Shaw Stadium: "It's like eating a Double-Double at In-N-Out vs. a Big Mac at McDonald's.”

Seattle Sounders defender Jeff Parke reveals that doors in Europe closed on him after news that he tested positive for a banned substance stateside: “Their idea of doping over there is thinking that I was injecting stuff and that I was just a dirty player.”

D.C. United legend and MLS all-time leading scorer Jaime Moreno is also making revelations. He says he had two other options in Europe before joining D.C. United in 1996 and he names the countries here.

While Moreno and Parke clear up the past, a writer in Los Angeles wants Chivas USA to clear up the present with regards to defender Seth Owusu. Is he no longer with the team?

It was a big day for the Mexican national team on Monday. First the Under-17 national team beat France to reach the semifinals of the World Cup on home soil (watch the highlights here). Meanwhile, a national team missing several regulars took a lead against Chile in the Copa América but fell in the end 2-1 (watch the highlights here). (VIDEO)

There’s a break in the Copa América and the U-17 World Cup but fans can watch five hours of Women’s World Cup action on ESPN and ESPN2 (noon ET, to 5 p.m. ET) as two of the groups wrap up action. The USA play on Wednesday.

There could be another American at Tottenham to join Brad Friedel after manager Harry Redknapp confirmed that Spurs are interested in acquiring Giuseppe Rossi from Villarreal.

Another American abroad, Timothy Chandler, who says he watched every minute of the Gold Cup, goes on the record to explain his reason for not participating in the CONCACAF tournament.

Honduran Gold Cup midfielder Emil Martínez reportedly has an offer from an MLS club but his club president at Marathón in Honduras doesn’t think he’ll take the deal. (SPANISH)

Lastly, Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller loves a shutout when he can get it, but nothing can beat a good soufflé.

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