Today is the day after Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, a date traditionally lamented in the United States as “the slowest day in sports.” That's because the calendar is usually empty and little to nothing happens in the country's so-called “Big Four” professional sports.
If this is where you're at today, come in and have a seat, friend.
We'll leave the time-worn debate about the usefulness of the term “Big Four” for another time, because MLS has real, live sports action happening on Wednesday night, a whopping six games from coast to coast. Add in an international friendly between the Philadelphia Union and Crystal Palace, and tonight packs plenty enough intrigue to ease your jonesing for a while.
Or at least six hours or so, with Columbus-Toronto kicking off at 7 pm ET and running until the last whistle of the three simultaneous 10:30 pm ET affairs in Cascadia sometime in Thursday's wee hours.
Here's a bit of beta to get you started.
Summer sweat: Columbus Crew SC vs. Toronto FC
7 pm ET; Watch on TSN2 in Canada, MLS LIVE in US
It's not easy being the defending champs, and that goes for conference champions as well. The 2015 MLS Cup winners in Portland already suffered through a spring swoon, yet their opponents in last year's final have dwarfed it with a long, slow slide towards the Eastern Conference basement.
Crew SC are 1-4-5 in MLS play since late April and 3-7-7 overall; that an an accompanying flood of injuries have them shopping in the transfer market this month. Wednesday's visit from Toronto FC is a Trillium Cup rivalry game, but the more immediate concern is seizing three points at home by any means necessary.
Eagles in Doop-land: Philadelphia Union vs. Crystal Palace
7 pm ET; streamed live on CPFC's website
Trans-Atlantic matchups are almost always interesting, and the Union are in good spirits as they welcome their English Premier League guests to Talen Energy Stadium, Palace's first of three North American friendlies (they'll move on to meet FC Cincinnati and the Vancouver Whitecaps later this month).
Both sides are expected to give some young players a chance, though some observers will have their eyes peeled on Alan Pardew, the manager of this year's FA Cup finalists, to see if he breaks out any of his unforgettable dance moves:
Lions in Gotham: New York Red Bulls vs. Orlando City SC
7:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE
It's been a traumatic few weeks for Orlando, and interim boss Bobby Murphy has emphasized the simple goal of “restoring some normalcy.” On Wednesday they must manage a road game at Red Bull Arena – where RBNY and their high press will try to prey on the Lions' possession-oriented buildup style – without the injured Kaká.
Chitown Throwdown: Chicago Fire vs. Sporting Kansas City
8:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE
These teams only meet once a year in the league nowadays, since Sporting's move to the West last season. There's still a surprising amount of Midwest antagonism under the surface, though, and SKC will feel confident of adding to their five-game unbeaten streak against the bottom side in the league.
Yet Peter Vermes may well be warning his troops of a trap game here. For all their struggles away from home over the past few years, the Fire have been solid at Toyota Park this season (3-2-3 to date) and haven't lost there since April 16.
Quebecois in Cascadia: Portland Timbers vs. Montreal Impact
10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE
Even without Diego Valeri (ankle) and Didier Drogba (who's expected to return from a thigh injury vs. NYCFC this weekend), this one could be tons of fun. The Providence Park faithful tend to roar their team forward on nights like this one, and the Timbers are due for some fireworks after being shut out in their last two games. The Impact have reason to go for it, too: They've drawn an incredible seven of their last 10 MLS matches. Watch out for Montreal's twinkle-toed maestro Ignacio Piatti.
Cardiac flashback: Seattle Sounders vs. FC Dallas
10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE
These teams have faced off in the playoffs for two years running, and last season's Western Conference semifinal series was about as heart-stopping as it gets. In the dying moments of the second leg in Dallas, Seattle scored a late header to take an aggregate lead, only to leak one at the other end barely a minute later. Dallas' Walker Zimmerman played the hero, scoring that fateful goal before netting the decisive penalty kick in the shootout that followed.
This week the Seattle Times suggested “it has been downhill for the Sounders ever since” that night. Now mired in last place in the West, the Rave Green badly need a win as league-leading Dallas cruise into CenturyLink Field.
Late show at BC Place: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Real Salt Lake
10:30 pm ET; TSN in Canada, MLS LIVE in US
The Whitecaps should quite frankly be an angry team at the moment. They contrived to fumble away a late lead at home vs. the rip-roaring Colorado Rapids last weekend, the latest chapter in a running narrative of dropped points at their home ground.
Plenty of hard questions are being asked about their inconsistent attack as they cast about for a replacement for the recently-sold Octavio Rivero, and RSL have all the tools and savvy needed to snatch a point or three on their visit to British Columbia. Yes, it's still only midsummer, but this is every bit the “six-pointer” – every point gained will be one taken away from a fellow playoff contender.
