ESPN

FC Dallas is close to the top of the table this year in MLS and it's been a great season so far for the Red Stripes. But it's in another area that the team is clearly at the top of MLS, and that's their youth system. With four youth players already signed into the professional side, FCD is leading the league in that regard and they are starting to receive praise for their work.

Tobias Lopez has an extended column on your progress in MLS which talks a lot about FCD. Setting the tone in this youth leadership is none other than Dan Hunt, here's a quote from Lopez's article.

"I love the Chivas-Guadalajara model of having players all from Mexico," FC Dallas owner Dan Hunt said. "Will FC Dallas ever be 100 percent players from the (Dallas-Fort Worth) Metroplex? I don't think so, but we can have a large number of home-grown players here."

When the top of your organization places such a emphasis on youth it's no wonder the club is at the fore front. While a lot of the inspiration for their system come from FCD's partnership with sister club Atlético Paranaense, many of the ideas for the club's youth setup come from Oscar Pareja. It's Pareja's coaching and leadership that is paying huge dividends. From FCD Juniors to FCD Youth the system has a high level of integration for a domestic US setup.

Up next? A resident academy. Lopez says Hunt has been talking to Frisco about setting up classes with the Frisco Independent School District.

This kind of youth set up is important in MLS and could be vital to FCD in the future. Why? Several reasons.

First, MLS is a long way from being a buying league. MLS teams will need to find and develop their own talent. The college draft will soon be all but obsolete.

Second, FC Dallas isn't New York or LA. Foreign players aren't going to be knocking on the Dallas door to play here. The Hunts aren't going to splash millions on multiple designated players. FCD will need to go another route than free agency for many of their players.

And third, Dallas is a hot bed of soccer talent with a Deep well of players that could make an impact on the pro level.

Youth development in soccer is always important, and FC Dallas has a head start on most of MLS.

You might see some the pay off this weekend as newest signing Ruben Luna is in the 18 man squad FCD for the Toronto game. I for one hope to see him sooner rather than later.

We'll start with a couple notes from the team post game notes against Columbus.

FC Dallas (9-2-10, 37 pts) set the MLS record for longest road unbeaten streak with the draw, going 10 road games without a loss. The Dallas side has not lost on the road since falling 2-1 at New York on April 17. FC Dallas is 3-0-7 in its past 10 road games.

FC Dallas also stretched its current unbeaten streak to 12 games with the draw. The boys in stripes last lost on May 20 when they dropped a 1-0 decision to Los Angeles at Pizza Hut Park. FC Dallas has seven wins and five ties in the past 12 games.

Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman recorded his seventh shutout of the season. He is MLS’s all-time leader in shutouts (90). He currently leads MLS with a 0.65 goals against average.

The insanely prolific Steve Hunt has a Dax McCarty update. It's unfortunate that McCarty develops some kind of core problem (groin, hernia, etc etc) every season. Who knows where he'd be if he didn't.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been frustrated like this my entire life," McCarty said. "To see the guys winning and do so well, it’s fantastic—I couldn’t be happier for this team and this organization because that’s certainly what we’ve worked hard for. But to not be able to say I was a part of it these last few games is frustrating, to say the least.”

Barry Gorman, FCD Technical Director has his 2nd travel log post. You can see form the pic how FCD travels, in sweats or whatever, I've tweeted about it before. I'd like to see the team in matching outfits, kakis and golf shirts at least. Come on FCD, stay classy.

FCD president Doug Quinn celebrated the FCD record breaking road unbeaten streak by... making a charitable donation. He donated four season tickets to Lift Up America. Ok, not how I celebrate, but good stuff. If it gets some media exposure then great.

Daniel Robertson has another training report, this one from a remote practice at Railroad Soccer Complex in Lewisville. He's got some quotes from Hyndman, Loyd, and Avila.

Grahame Jones of the LA Times has a bit about player getting national team call ups. In the middle he talks about Donovan Ricketts and Kevin Hartman both chasing the single season goals against record.

Daniel Girard of The Star has a story about Toronto FC defender Ty Harden. In that article we get this little golden nugget for this weekend's game.

[Nana] Attakora and TFC teammates Dwayne De Rosario and Julian de Guzman are with Canada for Saturday’s game and another against Honduras in Montreal on Tuesday.

Kevin McCauley of the World Soccer Reader has an article on MLS player development in which he talks some FC Dallas and their youth players.

An interesting article about the Columbus Crew and their search for a new stadium. It's interesting for FCD fans because the Hunt's want a stadium down town. Crew stadium was the first Soccer Specific stadium, then Pizza Park created the new MLS model of ancillary revenue with a stage and fields. Now the MLS has migrated to downtown stadiums like BMO field in Toronto. One can't help but wonder where that will leave FCD in another fifteen (?) years when their lease runs out at PHP.

Hartman Player of the Month articles
- Miami Herald
- Pegasus News
- Sounders Insider

Kevin Hartman has been named MLS Player of the Month for August by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). In the interest of full disclosure, I'll tell you that I nominated Hartman for the award. Here's what I wrote for his nomination. Having nominated Hartman I of course voted for him.

Hartman was nothing short of spectacular in August, keeping Dallas in several games and almost single-handedly winning others. Two shutouts, Chivas USA home and Columbus road (to get the road unbeaten record); 2 goals allowed in four games; 12 saves in four games (several of them game savers). Hartman's 0.50 GAA in August drops his now league leading GAA to 0.65 for the season.

Coach Hyndman after Chivas USA match “Kevin Hartman continuously comes up with the biggest save of the year. Every time I think it’s the biggest save of the year, there’s another one that’s coming.”

And here's FCD's pr on Hartman's win...

Kevin Hartman named MLS Player of the Month
Veteran goalkeeper having career year with FC Dallas

FRISCO, Texas (Sept. 1, 2010) – After leading FC Dallas to a 3-0-1 record in August, goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was named Major League Soccer’s Player of the Month for August, the league announced today. The award is voted on by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR).

“This is a tremendous honor for Kevin and for FC Dallas,” FC Dallas Head Coach Schellas Hyndman said. “His direction out of the back is amazing and he has saved us time and time again. He has made some outstanding saves. He is playing some of the best soccer of his career right now.”

The 36-year-old made 12 saves and had two shutouts last month as FC Dallas extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games. Hartman’s 0.50 goals against average in the past four matches has lowered his season average to a league-leading 0.65. By closing out August with a 0-0 draw on the road against the Eastern Conference leading Columbus Crew, Hartman helped FC Dallas claim the all-time MLS road unbeaten streak record (10 games).

Since joining FC Dallas on March 8, 2010, Hartman has added nine wins, seven shutouts and 50 saves to his career totals. He holds the all-time MLS goalkeeping records for wins (155), shutouts (91), saves (1285) and games played (350). He ranks third in all-time MLS goals against average (1.21) behind Pat Onstad (1.10) and Jon Busch (1.19).

Hartman made two saves in his first appearance for FC Dallas in a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew on April 10. Since taking over as the FC Dallas starter on May 5, Hartman has logged 90 minutes in 16 consecutive matches. He has not allowed more than one goal per game during that period.

Kevin Hartman beat out 12 other nominees for the honor, including teammates Brek Shea and David Ferreira. Seattle's Fredy Montero finished second, with Real Salt Lake's Javier Morales, Shea and Ferreira also getting nods form NASR voters.

Bob Bradley has signed a new four year contract extension as US men's head coach. I will talk about this more in another post.

MLS has a new eight year deal with adidas to sponsor the league starting next year. The new deal replaces the current deal and run through 2018. The key addition to the deal is money for player development, a.k.a. a reserve league. It's terrific to see both the adidas faith in the league and the league's move to bring back the reserves, both factors make this a really positive step for MLS.

Former FC Dallas midfielder and current Honduran international Ramon Nunez has signed with Leeds United after a successful trial. Good for Nunez, I will always consider him the first FC Dallas developed player having watched him in FCD training since he was 15. He predates any FCD youth set up and academy system so watching him in the World Up was quite a thrill for me.

Steve Hunt on FoxSportsSouthwest has a bit on the Atiba Harris and Daniel Hernandez suspensions. It's a really nice break down of who might play where in their absence.

FCDallas.com, mostly because of Hunt, is quite prolific today.
-Hunt has a bit on Break Shea and his first touch. The coaching staff and Shea both know he has room to improve in this area and are working on it.
- Here's a training report with a McCarty quote on his injury.
- A poll: "Hottest team in MLS." FCD and RSL, the two hottest teams, are getting crushed by New York and Seattle. Typical.
- Hunt again, this time on Hartman's bobble, Jackson's stint, some more tests for Ugo Ihemelu, and a joke from Hyndman about Harris playing d-mid.
- Hunt also has a piece on the midfield delima. Hyndman says it's mostly about team structure.
- FCD is #2 in the official MLSsoccer.com Power Rankings.

Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com has FC Dallas #1 in the MLS rankings.

1. FC Dallas – It isn't all dash and flash for FCD. The most recent evidence to buttress that claim: Saturday's gritty 0-0 draw at Columbus. (1)

Ridge Mahoney says MLS playoff regulars are in trouble, Bruce Arena is getting snippy, and the Freddy's have much love.

The Offside Rules, one of the most entertaining blogs in soccer, pics up our Brek Shea photo of the Day story and turns into a Shea to Monchengladbach rumor. They also really like the FCD "Rockn the Park" ticket promo for New York Red Bull and Kiss concert double ticket pack. Here's the actual ticket promo pack page if you're into Kiss and NY Red Bull.

The Columbus Crew unveiled their Lamar Hunt statue before the FCD game. It looks just like the one at Pizza Hut Park. And perhaps not shockingly, just like the one at Arrowhead.

KC Wizards coach Peter Vermes was arrested for a DUI.

FCD vs Crew postmortem

Steven Goff of the Washington Post uses a Primetime Emmy's theme to recap the MLS action and says coach Hyndman is the man.

MLS Coach of the Year favorite Schellas Hyndman is the undisputed "Top Chef."

Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch says the Crew were not happy with the result. Schellas Hyndman was quite pleased.

"I talked to the boys after the game and there were a few players who weren't real happy with the tie," Hyndman said. "I'm walking in happy with a tie because I saw the goal that was saved off the line and I saw the pressure that was on us."

Mitchell also had more on Lamar Hunt's soccer legacy from game day.

Big Apple Soccer says Dallas was the moral victor.

Craig Merz in the Dallas Morning News has Brek Shea unhappy with the result. Nice, like to see the kid annoyed they didn't win.

"We know we are good enough to win every game we play," he said. "We are one of the best in the league now, and we are actually kind of disappointed we didn't get three points."

Same kind of story from Merz on the Columbus Crew official site, Crew weren't happy with the result.

Peace FM has a kind of unusual game story with half by half break downs of action.

The Miami Herald with a game story. Always good to see out of the way places, in MLS terms, with full game stories on their site.

MLS Daily says FCD controlled the game against the Crew. It's toward the end, just before their outdated stuff on Bradley.

FC Dallas made history Saturday afternoon in Columbus as they set the MLS record for consecutive unbeaten road matches in a 0-0 tie with the Columbus Crew. Dallas also extended their overall unbeaten streak to 12 matches.

Both sides saw scoring chances squandered. Dallas ‘keeper Kevin Hartman’s misplay of a free kick led to a Crew chance that was stopped only by the good work of Atiba Harris in the 10th minute. Just six minutes later, Dallas forward Milton Rodriguez played Brek Shea in behind the Crew defense, only to see Shea put the ball over the top of goal. Dallas rookie Zach Loyd saved a second half chance off the line after Hartman went down in the box and Crew ‘keeper William Hesmer made several nice saves to deny Dallas opportunities.

Dallas’ ten match unbeaten road streak has included seven ties and three wins. Overall, Dallas has seven ties and five wins in their last twelve.

It was an interesting match from the perspective of Dallas. It was the first match in recent memory that David Ferreira was merely mortal. The diminutive central attacker was unable to provide his usual heroics as his passes fell errant all afternoon. It was a reminder of just how special the player has been all season. Ferreira wasn’t bad; he was just ordinary. Perhaps that is credit to a very good Crew side, but worries that Ferreira may be finally beginning to tire in a season that has seen him play every single minute of every match has to be considered. The question of Dallas’ ability to maintain their form with a tiring Ferreira is not pleasant to consider.

Also, yellow card accumulations earned in the match means Dallas will have to soldier on without the services of Harris and captain Daniel Hernandez in the weekend’s home match against Toronto FC. Even though injuries to Dax McCarty and Ugo Ihemelu has left Dallas without the players’ services, Dallas had used the same lineup over the past three matches. Schellas Hyndman will have to come up with a new solution that can produce a result to continue the club’s excellent form.

That may be easier said than done. Ihemelu’s continued absence due to a concussion nearly proved disastrous in the match as his replacement, Zach Loyd, was beaten badly and challenged greatly by Crew winger Emilio Renteria, exposing the youth and inexperience of the young central defender. Loyd certainly never gave up on the day, but if Ihemelu cannot return, Loyd will surely be a marked man and severely challenged as a result.

Although not a win, this match further underscored Dallas newfound “culture of winning” instilled into the team by Hyndman. This club played to win the match from the onset. A less than stellar effort from the Crew, particularly in the first half, saw Dallas gain the upper hand early. A late-half surge from the Crew was answered by the club sending the match into the break scoreless. Dallas did not enjoy the advantage in the second half, but offensive-minded substitutions from Hyndman kept Dallas in an attacking mindset and the Crew honest. Dallas now plays a “90 Minutes of Hell” kind of match; there simply is no letting up, no settling for the tie.

Dallas continues to sit three points shy of second place Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference with a match in-hand with the do-or-die month of September looming. Traditionally, Dallas teams have wilted under the stresses of the Texas heat and playoff chases late in the year. Is this team different? Is Ferriera’s ordinary outing a sign that this team may be beginning to suffer the same fate as so many other FC Dallas sides?

The answer will be found over the next nine matches. With the playoffs in reach and the season heating up, many questions will be answered. What is not so certain is how.

If you follow FC Dallas at all, then I'm sure by now you know that FCD set the MLS record for road game unbeaten with ten. Ironically, the record was previously held by Columbus, who FCD tied 0-0 on Saturday, with nine games on the road unbeaten in 2004.

While it's not a record, FCD is also unbeaten overall in twelve games, as the Red Stripes last lost on May 20, a 1-0 decision to LA Galaxy at Pizza Hut Park. That match was FCD's only loss this season with Kevin Hartman in net.

So what's it mean, what's this record worth?

It means, obviously, that FCD is darn hard to beat. It means that Hyndman's team plays some darn stingy defense and gets some timely goals. It means this club has some serious grit and determination not to lose. Winning on the road in MLS is very difficult to do, not losing goes along with that. Getting this record takes determination, a little luck, and really good team. This record says FCD is a force to be reckoned with in 2010 and will be a factor for the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup.

Unfortunately it's not worth a whole lot more than that. That Columbus side in 2004 didn't win MLS Cup. They didn't even get there as DC United knocked off KC 3-2 that year in the final. The Crew finished the season with the most points in the league, 49, tied with KC although Columbus was awarded the Supporters Shield. But the 4th seed New England Revolution upset the Crew in the opening round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. So this mark is no divine indication of a title heading to Dallas.

So let's take this record for what it is, a sign that FC Dallas fans have a very good team to watch this season. The kind of team we haven't seen here in a long time, if ever. There have been good teams in Dallas before. 1999 under Dave Dir was a real shot at a title, 2006 under Colin Clarke was first place virtually wire to wire. But neither of those teams had the grit, steal, and defense this team seems to have. So Enjoy it while it lasts.

Now if FCD could just find some scoring from a striker.

Thanks to yellow cards received by both players in Saturday's match up against Columbus, both Daniel Hernandez and Atiba Harris are suspended for the next FC Dallas game. Specifically the September 4th match against Toronto FC.

Perhaps it's a bit early to speculate, but with Dax McCarty questionable Eric Alexander will most likely take Hernandez's spot with Bruno Guarda on in the linking roll.

Marvin Chavez might be up for Atiba Harris right mid spot, but Eric Avila, Jackson, and even Heath Pearce might figure there.

Misconduct Summary:
CLB -- Adam Moffat (caution; Reckless Tackle) 28
DAL -- Zach Loyd (caution; Reckless Foul) 40
CLB -- Guillermo Barros Schelotto (caution; Persistent Infringement) 77
DAL -- Daniel Hernandez (caution; Persistent Infringement) 77
DAL -- Atiba Harris (caution; Reckless Tackle) 85

Columbus Crew (12-5-4, 40 points, first in the Eastern Conference)
vs.
FC Dallas (9-2-9, 36 points, third in the Western Conference) at Crew Stadium.

All-time record: Tied 15-15-7.

TV: 3 p.m. CT; FSSW (Texas); TeleFutura (national).

Note: Saturday is Lamar Hunt Legacy Day and a statue of the Crew founder will be dedicated prior to the game in the stadium he built. FCD unveiled a statue of Mr. Hunt a few weeks ago.

Key to the Game: Defending the Crew set piece. Columbus has scored 15 of 31 goal from set plays, and set plays have been a Dallas weakness the last few years. The Crew have the best free kick taken in MLS with Guilermo Barros Schelotto. Chad Marshall, Andy Iro, and Steven Lenhart they are plenty dangerous in the air.

With Ugo Ihemelu missing for Dallas, Zach Loyd will have to step up big time. George John, Brek Shea, and Atiba Harris are all tall which should help. FCD spent a lot of time working on set play defense this week as FCD coach Schellas Hyndman is finally comfortable to spend more time on opposition than his own team.

Record to be broken: FC Dallas can set the MLS record for longest road unbeaten streak this weekend in Columbus. The Crew hold the record along with FCD, going nine road games without a loss July 10-Oct. 16, 2004. Two weeks ago, Real Salt Lake extended their home unbeaten streak to within one game of the league mark held by the Crew – with a win against Columbus.

DISCIPLINARY SITUATION

SUSPENDED:

CLB: Frankie Hejduk (caution accumulation; through Aug. 28)

WARNINGS (suspended next yellow card):

CLB: Adam Moffat
DAL: Atiba Harris, Daniel Hernandez

INJURY REPORT

COLUMBUS CREW -
OUT: MF Robbie Rogers (L knee surgery); DF Gino Padula (L knee inflammation);
QUESTIONABLE: MF Brian Carroll (illness);
PROBABLE: DF Andy Iro (R knee inflammation) …

FC DALLAS -
OUT: DF Ugo Ihemelu (concussion); MF Dax McCarty (R quad strain)

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Dallas

Rodriguez
Shea	Alexander	Ferreira	Harris
Hernandez
Benitez	Loyd	John	Pearce
Hartman

Columbus

Garey
Schelotto
Ekpo	Moffat	Carroll	Gaven
Francis	Iro	Marshall	O'Rourke
Hesmer

REFEREE: Andrew Chapin.
SAR (bench): Kermit Quisenberry; JAR (opposite): Thomas Supple;
4th: Michael Kennedy

Steve Davis says the MLS reserve league is coming back. It's about time. It was a mistake to cancel the thing in the first place. Without the reserve league it's very hard for young players to progress. Schellas Hyndman has mentioned several times how much FCD misses the reserve league. FCD instead has tried to play college teams, amateurs from around Texas, PDL sides, and anyone else they can find.

Weekend predictions are starting to roll in, Ives says 1-0 Crew and wonders who will score for FCD.

Steve Hunt's notebook has Hyndman talking Crew, Daniel Hernandez's tough assignment, potential yellow card trouble for FCD, and Ugo Ihemelu's status.

FCD has started a podcast called Futbol Forum, you can find it here. First one is Bobby Rhine, Kevin Hartman and FCD goalkeeper coach Drew Keeshan. Sounds like an excuse to go to the Londoner for lunch!!

FCD has a Spanish preview of their game this weekend.

Steve Hunt says MVP candidate David Ferreira's contract expires in December but he wants to stay here. A Colombia national team recall may also be in the works. It's really nice to see Ferreira getting love outside Dallas. Can FCD hold onto him for less than DP money? Would you give Ferreira max salary or DP money? I'd give him max for sure.

Craig Merz has Crew coach Robert Warzycha's take on Jeff Cunningham. Some really interesting quotes in there. Here's one.

“Because of the work rate, I loved to play with Brian [McBride] and I loved to play with Edson [Buddle],” Warzycha said. “We got frustrated with Jeff sometimes because he was trying to do too many things by himself. He didn’t allow his teammates to help his game. That’s what I think happened to Jeff.”

That one might go on the bulletin board in Frisco.

Jason Saghini and Simon Borg in their match up preview break down the FCD attack and the Crew set plays.

The Columbus Crew are unveiling a Lamar Hunt statue before their game against FCD this weekend. There are already Hunt statues at Arrowhead, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, and in Frisco at Pizza Hut Park. The Crew, still owned by the Hunts, are also looking for a new stadium to replace their current home. Which was, as we all know, the first soccer specific stadium. It lacks, however, the money making stage, suites, and training fields.

Greg Seltzer checks in with former FCD defender Clarence Goodson.

This pic is absolutely priceless.

From their own site... "Model Citizen is a non-profit uniting the fashion and entertainment industries by creating innovative projects and events to raise money for the charities and organizations that we are most passionate about."

Brek Shea was part of their most recent photo shoot for a good cause called Stack the Deck for Vets. This pic is from Model Citizen's facebook group, where you can also see a couple more pics.

Edit: upon closer inspection, among pics from the shoot is a shot of brand new home grown signing Ruben Luna.

It's apparently Steve Hunt day in the news.

But first, FCD is closing down their blog. CEO Doug Quinn says everything from there is now on FCDallas.com and the blog is redundant. I could have told them that when they made the thing.

The Steve Hunt Stuff

Steve Hunt says FCD hasn't won in Columbus since 2007. Interestingly Hyndman says his team is now good enough to focus on the opposition.

“This is the first time that we’ve been able to start thinking about what our opponents are doing because we’re doing a lot of things better,”

That's something I've talked to Hyndman about a couple times. He's always spent most of his time trying to "fix" FCD and get them playing they way he wants. Now for the first time Hyndman apparently believes his team is good enough and he can focus training on the opposition. That's a really big step in this current regime.

Hunt also defends Atiba Harris' place in the lineup, despite the lack of stats.

Then in a non-MLS paid gig, Hunt speculates on FCD breaking the Crew's 19 game unbeaten streak record.

Now for the rest of the writers...

Andrew Slevison has a blurb on Brek Shea with quotes from Shea's high school coach and his pops.

Justin Henley & Greer Wilson-Chavez have a nice preview of FCD vs Cbus. Steven Lenhart is on fire for the Crew with 4 goals in 4 games.

Here's one more power rankings, this one from someone in DC and it has Dallas tied for 3rd with RSL.

Here's a story from a couple days ago that I missed about former Dallas Burn defender and bee keeper Brandon Pollard.

The Lakewood couple isn't shy about their bee-centric lifestyle. Susan wears a silver bee necklace and earrings. Brandon wears a full bee costume when they give presentations to children. Their voicemail is a verse from "The Humble Bee," a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

And another article on Pollard from D Magazine. He must have a new PR person.

The Pollards manage some 100 hives producing 7,000 pounds of honey annually. They label the jars by ZIP code to indicate the Dallas neighborhood from whence the honey came—the “eat local” movement’s version of micro-loaning. Currently they produce honey in more than 20 of Dallas County’s 43 ZIP codes, selling it in markets and restaurants such as Bolsa in Oak Cliff.

For your enjoyment, the FC Dallas Dancer photo shoot.

FCD Technical Director Barry Gorman is starting a travel blog. This could be interesting. Gorman says Bryan Leyva and Ruben Luna are just the tip of the local talent iceberg.

Wednesday's official training report.

Here's an un-official training report from our sometimes contributor Daniel Robertson. He talks to Hyndman, Hartman, Pearce, and John. He also mentions what I had heard this morning, that Kyle Davis is back in training, Dax McCarty is in rehab phase, and Ugo Ihemelu isn't doing anything.

FYI I hear it's a week or two before Ihemlu can train.

Pat Martin of the Miami Herald writes about Schellas Hyndman and the good results FCD is getting. Interesting quote...

"Going from an environment like SMU where you are very comfortable after 26 years and everybody loves you and expects a winner, and you've become a winner, to an environment where people are questioning your coaching abilities, your managing abilities, that was tough," Hyndman told The Sports Network. "It's a different level, there are different expectations. I'm hoping those were the worst of times."

Steven Sandor of ClamSports says the West is the best and FCD is one of the two hottest teams in MLS.

In his weekly notes, Joshua Mayers talks some FCD playoff spots and gives us some notes on the Crew game.

Robert Walker of the Dallas Examiner has seven things he learned from FCD vs Chivas. Although I think Jackson would go right with Pearce left IF Benitez sits.

Steve Davis says FC Dallas is "in" the playoffs.

Columbus Crew, the next FCD opponent.

J Hutcherson of USSoccerPlayers.com says the Crew have a though burden with the CONCACAF schedule.

Around the league people are beginning to notice FC Dallas. Should it be surprising they are just now noticing considering how well FCD has played all year? Only have two losses all year people. Why is it that national media ignoring Dallas? Is that FCD's fault or just poor reporting?

Steve Davis, the dean of Dallas soccer writers, talks good center backs and mentions George John, he then talks FCD as a title contender but laments the lack of a striker (haven't we been saying that all year?), he also says FCD is one of the team that had good value at backup keeper, and FCD has two of the top 5 players in best value with Benitez and John.

Jason Davis at Matchfitussa says FCD is flying under the radar.

Steve Hunt says Brek Shea is continuing his evolution, noting that FCD is unbeaten when Shea has a goal or an assist.

Shea is up for the MLS Goal of the Week. Go vote. He won't win but go vote anyway.

Hunt also gives us some quotes form Schellas Hyndman about Milton Rodriguez and the two rookies. Plus there is an update on Ugo Ihemelu and Dax McCarty. Ihemelu is still out, McCarty may return to training this week.

The prolific Steve Hunt has also surfaced at the Dallas Monring News, with a little something about veteran goalkeepers.

FCD has "borrowed" our bit and started doing training reports. I think our's are better, but admittedly the schedule has been difficult to make it out as much this season.

Former FCD striker Eddie Johnson says Americans get no respect in England.

Power Rankings

ESPN has Dallas #1

A well-taken goal from emerging star Brek Shea helped FCD stretch its unbeaten streak to 11 games. Now a tough road test in Columbus awaits.

So does Goal.com

1. FC Dallas – With Los Angeles stumbling and other teams distracted by CONCACAF Champions League duties, it's hard to overlook the claims of a side that hasn't lost in 11 matches since May 20. Columbus, however, should provide a stern test for that unbeaten run at Crew Stadium on Saturday.

And just for fun here's the first FCD video done by You+Dallas back when RSL was in town.

There is not much to add from the recent reports from Buzz and Jay concerning the state of FC Dallas' play. It is generally agreed that the team is playing some of its best soccer in the longest of time.

Even more impressive are the two last wins featuring two rookies, something almost unheard of in previous FCD/Burn seasons, and Lloyd and Alexander are holding their own with a minimum of mistakes.

The ongoing gelling of Milton Rodriguez within the club continues to fascinate. The amount of chances he finds himself with are simply not enough and it is clear that he is struggling as a lone striker. But the team is winning with the 4-1-4-1 formation and at this time it does seem that changing the formation would be to the team's detriment.

The concern is that the team isn't scoring from the forward position, and this has to be a something Schellas Hyndman is worried about with the looming playoffs. Once there, the better teams are going to be in place and it will be critical that production from the front line be present. So, is changing to a two striker setup something that should be implemented now? Give the squad time to work out that formation? Or, leave what's not wholly "broken" as is and let the season play itself out and make the formation change only when really needed? All very tough questions that Hyndman can not get wrong.

Of course the "X" factor in this would be the missing piece of Dax McCarty. It is possible that Dax's return changes the effectiveness of the single striker setup, and it certainly will improve the team's midfield connection.

Grades:

Hartman: 9 - Making believers out of doubters
Pearce: 6 - That porn stache is distracting him
John: 8 - World Class, Goal Saving Tackle
Lloyd: 7 - Strong rookie performance
Benitez: 8 - Sweet cross, in one of his "on" matches
Harris: 6 - One of his "off" matches overall, but run did help on the goal
Shea: 9 - Really living up to hype and expectations
Hernandez: 7 - Another solid, mean performance
Alexander: 6 - Better than Avila in starting, but not Dax
Ferreria: 8 - Please vote as MVP
Milton: 6 - Robbed of free kick, but still not the danger he needs to be

Subs:
Avila: 5
Cunningham: 6
Jackson: 6

There's some confusion about this topic in various public forum so for clarification's sake...

There are NO FC Dallas players suspended for the next game against the Columbus Crew.

There was some conjecture that Daniel Hernandez and Atiba Harris both had to sit a game for yellow card accumulation. That is NOT the case.

Here's the suspension warnings from the FCD game notes from BEFORE the Chivas USA game.

SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DAL: David Ferreira, Atiba Harris, Daniel Hernandez, Ugo Ihemelu,
George John, Dax McCarty, Heath Pearce … CHV: Osael Romero

I confirmed both players status today with FC Dallas and neither is suspended for the Crew.

Nor is anyone else on the team for that matter.