OBETZ, Ohio — When Aaron Horton signed as the Crew’s first Homegrown player a year ago on Thursday, he knew that breaking into the first team was a long term goal. 

Having played one season at the University of Louisville, the forward from nearby Lewis Center, Ohio looked ahead to playing against professionals years older than him. Despite making his MLS debut in the 89th minute against Real Salt Lake on June 8, those were the only minutes he has received at the highest level. He did, however, appear in six Reserve League games last season.

Situated on a college campus with a capacity of 10,525, Buck Shaw Stadium is hardly the most glamorous venue in MLS. Despite the unspectacular setup, though, the bleachers at Buck Shaw come alive every home game in a sea of black and blue, powered on by the ever-creative visual displays put on by the San Jose Earthquakes' largest supporters’ group, the 1906 Ultras.

CHESTER, Pa. – Danny Califf is going home.

At his midweek press conference Wednesday, Philadelphia Union manager Peter Nowak revealed the Union have accepted a deal to send Califf to Chivas USA for “another player and something else.”

Since the deal has not yet officially been announced, Nowak stopped short of saying what the Union will get in return but he did note that Califf is the only Union player involved in the deal.

Califf, the Union's captain and a native of Southern California, was not available for comment.

HOUSTON — In a scoreless draw, it’s easy to look at the goals you didn’t score, as focus is often drawn away from the clean sheet and a positive defensive performance.

While the Houston Dynamo were upset that they didn’t grab a goal to seal the victory in their 0-0 draw with the Portland Timbers on Tuesday, they were able to snuff out many of the Timbers attacks with relative ease. Despite giving up nine shots, the Dynamo rarely allowed the visitors to get a clear view on goalkeeper Tally Hall, who made only two saves.

UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. – If Wilman Conde is to miss any more games after this weekend’s match against the Montreal Impact, it will not be because of a suspension from the New York Red Bulls.

The Red Bulls have spoken to Conde about last weekend’s incident that resulted in his arrest for allegedly assaulting a police offcer, and they have determined that the discipline will be limited to a fine.

Read More]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 14:03:29 GMT http://www.mlssoccer.com/fans/news/article/2012/05/14/my-favorite-player

We all have our favorite players. That's part of being a supporter. But sometimes we forget that the players themselves are fans. They have favorites, too.

Over the past few months, MLSsoccer.com has asked players (and a few MLSsoccer.com editors) across MLS to tell us who their favorite alltime MLS player is. This is what they told us.

My favorite player is... Marco Etcheverry

UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Just when it seemed things were starting to improve in terms of injuries for the New York Red Bulls, word comes in that Teemu Tainio will be sidelined for at least another two months.

Last week, some players came out from under the rock, so to speak (see: New England Revolution’s Lee Nguyen), exploding into the upper echelons of the Fantasy Soccer: Manager rankings.

Yet, others remained quiet such as LA Galaxy’s Edson Buddle, Columbus Crew’s Emilio Renteria, and Toronto FC’s Ryan Johnson.

So who will be this week’s Nguyen? Who will be Buddle?

AMSTERDAM – When LA Galaxy owners AEG invested heavily in Swedish side Hammarby 10 years ago, it didn’t create much of a local stir. That’s likely because the boardroom turnover didn't affect the on-field product.

That all changed last December when AEG named one of their own – former Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter – as the club’s new manager.