The 2013 MLS playoffs officially kick off on Wednesday, and it's time to start looking ahead at the entire schedule for this exciting tournament.

The New York Red Bulls were able to take the top spot in the Eastern Conference over Sporting Kansas City by a single point, going 17-9-8 this season.  Meanwhile, the Portland Timbers also edged out Real Salt Lake by one point, going 14-5-15 on the year.

Wednesday and Thursday will feature the two knockout round games.  Other than the MLS Cup finals, this is the only round where it's one game with the winner advancing.  In the other two rounds, the team to advance is the one that scores the most goals in the two games played.

Let's take a look at the complete schedule for the MLS playoffs, followed by a quick preview of the two knockout games.

No. 4 Seattle Sounders FC vs. No. 5 Colorado Rapids

Date: Wednesday, Oct. 30

Time: 10:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN

The MLS playoffs will officially begin with this exciting Western Conference knockout match, with the winner advancing to play the Portland Timbers in the conference semifinals.

The Seattle Sounders have a number of solid players with a balanced offensive attack.  The top three goal scorers are Eddie Johnson with nine along with Lamar Neagle and Obafemi Martins who each have eight.  While they do have a balanced offensive attack, their defense wasn't able to do too much, giving the team a goal differential of zero.

For the Colorado Rapids, their go-to scorer has to be Deshorn Brown.  He leads the team with 97 shots, 30 of them on goal and 10 goals scored for the year.  Dillon Powers, Edson Buddle and Atiba Harris each have five goals as well.

The Rapids scored three more goals than the Sounders and allowing four fewer, giving them a plus-seven goal differential.  

In their three games against each other, each team took a win and the other game ended in a tie.  With how close those three matches were, this is likely going to be another close one.

No. 4 Houston Dynamo vs. No. 5 Montreal Impact 

Date: Thursday, Oct. 31

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN

It seems fitting that a team that dresses in orange will be playing on Halloween.  With this knockout round, the winner from Thursday will advance to play the Red Bulls starting on November 3.

The Houston Dynamo have only scored 41 goals this season, the fewest of any team in the playoffs.  Giles Barnes and Will Bruin lead the team with nine and eight goals, respectively.  The team will be led by head coach Dominic Kinnear, who is 13-7-3 all-time in the postseason with Houston.

Meanwhile, the Montreal Impact went 14-13-7 with 50 goals scored this year.  Marco Di Vaio was one of the best scorers in the league with 20 goals, the third-most in MLS.

Despite scoring so many goals, the Impact aren't exactly hot heading into the playoffs.  In their last eight matches, they went 1-6-1.

There will be plenty of costumes in the stands as the fans will be cheering on Houston.  The pressure is high in this single-elimination game, and it will be the Impact that will be scared on Halloween coming into the game on a cold streak.

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David Beckham will reportedly bring some football talent down to Miami.

According to Rob Harris of the Associated Press, the retired international footballer has finally reached a decision about the location of a proposed MLS franchise:

From ESPN's Darren Rovell:

MLS executive vice president Dan Courtemanche confirmed that Beckham and the league have discussed a new expansion franchise and spoke of Miami with regard to its soccer enthusiasts, via Harris:

We know that Miami is one of the most passionate soccer markets in North America. We have met with David Beckham regarding ownership of an expansion team, and we look forward to David one day owning an MLS club.

Back in June, Beckham told the South Florida CBS affiliate about the Miami fanbase's enthusiasm for soccer:

I think bringing an MLS team here to South Florida would be exciting,” said Beckham. “I think Miami fans are very passionate about the sport and about winning and of course, it would have to be success but it’s definitely exciting.”

Late last month, Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald reported Beckham and Miami-based cellphone tycoon Marcelo Claure were in serious negotiations that would land Miami its newest sports team:

Beckham has an option to buy a franchise for a sharply discounted price believed to be $25 million. He has said he plans to exercise that option, and Miami is his top choice. The option expires in December...

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has also expressed interest in bringing MLS to South Florida.

Meanwhile, a London-based investment group led by Italian financier Alessandro Butini made its pitch for MLS-to-Miami official...

Butini had an exploratory meeting with MLS commissioner Don Garber in New York early this year, and Garber told him a soccer-specific stadium in the right part of the city was paramount for a successful bid. Butini said his plan would include a privately-funded stadium...

He sees Miami Beach or downtown Miami as the best places for a stadium, but has no specific location in mind yet.

New York City FC has been confirmed as the newest MLS franchise, bringing the total number of teams in the league to 20.   

Along with Miami, other cities are also pushing to become the home of a new franchise.

Orlando is also being considered a possible destination for an MLS team, after the city approved a deal for a new stadium, per MLSSoccer.com. Atlanta is looking toward expansion as well.

The Southeast is underrepresented as a region by the league. For soccer fans living in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, the Carolinas, Mississippi, etc., the closest teams to the west are FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo, while the closest teams to the north are D.C. United and the Philadelphia Union.

There's some debate as to whether Miami would be the right home for an MLS team. The Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion were once teams in the league, only to fold due in part to a lack of interest and low attendance.  The Fusion called Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium home and averaged just 11,177 fans in their final season.

With the growth of soccer in the United States and a name like Beckham attached to the team, there could be a soccer resurgence in Miami. The former Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder is one of the biggest names in football. If there's one man who can make the sport thrive in Miami, you'd have to believe Beckham is the guy.  

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Having home-field advantage at this time of the Major League Soccer season can prove to be vital for the team playing in their own stadium. 

One of the best known home-field advantages in North American soccer will be under the spotlight in Thursday night's Eastern Conference knockout round game between the host Houston Dynamo and Montreal Impact.

At one point this season, the Dynamo had a 36-game unbeaten streak in all competitions dating back to June 18, 2011. 

That streak was ended by Sporting Kansas City on May 12, and it handed a dose of confidence to other sides in the league that they could venture down to BBVA Compass Stadium and leave with a full three points. 

That is exactly what happened on three other occasions, including the week after the Dynamo's streak was snapped, in the 2013 regular season. 

Heading into their knockout round clash with Montreal, Dominic Kinnear's side have a stark advantage by playing at home, especially if you look at the season series between the two Eastern Conference foes. 

In the three meetings between the Dynamo and the Impact in 2013, the home team has come out with a victory and a clean sheet. 

With that statistical nugget in mind, Houston fans must be feeling confident in their side, who are looking to advance to the conference semifinals to take on the No. 1 seed in the East, the New York Red Bulls. 

On top of that stat, the Dynamo have plenty of reason to believe that they will be the victors of the one-game winner-take-all showdown. 

In their last seven games of the season, the Dynamo lost just one game—to the Red Bulls at home on October 20.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Impact limped into the playoffs by losing four of their final five contests, including a loss to Canadian rival Toronto FC on Saturday to close out the regular season. 

Another positive for the Dynamo heading into Thursday is that Montreal's top goalscorer, Marco Di Vaio, has scored just twice since September 21. 

Di Vaio was the leading candidate to win the Golden Boot during the summer, but just like the form of his squad, the Italian's production dropped off late in the season. 

So based on the stats presented above, the Dynamo should have no problem defeating Montreal, right? 

Well, you would think that would be the case, but this is the playoffs, where the unpredictable can happen. 

If any MLS franchise knows how unpredictable the playoffs can be, it is the Dynamo, who have made delivering postseason magic a yearly occurrence. 

Just last season it was the fifth-seeded Dynamo who charged into Toyota Park to beat the Chicago Fire, and then they advanced to the MLS Cup after defeating Sporting Kansas City and D.C. United. 

Whether or not Montreal can conjure up the same postseason magic remains to be seen, but the Dynamo must be aware that what they did last season could easily be reversed on them in their quest to make it back to the MLS Cup for the third straight season. 

Follow me on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

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The Vancouver Whitecaps have fired manager Martin Rennie following the 2013 Major League Soccer season, according to reports.

Marc Weber of The Province confirmed the news on Twitter: 

I can confirm that Martin Rennie is out as coach but not that Yallop will be his replacement, as obvious as it seems. @aftncanada says done

The Whitecaps' front office wasted no time making the move, as the squad's season ended on Sunday after a 3-0 win over Colorado.

This season was Rennie's second with the club after becoming head coach in late 2011. The Whitecaps job was the first MLS gig for the 38-year-old.

Rennie significantly overhauled the roster upon his arrival, and it seemed to pay dividends early on, as the Whitecaps finished fifth in the Western Conference a year ago and were eliminated in the knockout round of the playoffs. It was the first time a Canadian team qualified for the MLS playoffs.

However, the 2013 season didn't bring more improvement for Vancouver. It finished 13-12-9 on the season, finishing seventh in the West and finishing three points out of the playoffs.

Vancouver may have Frank Yallop waiting in the wings, as the tweet indicated. He has won multiple MLS Cups and just parted ways with San Jose, and his ties to Vancouver early in his life make it a potential move. 

For a manager who quickly climbed the rankings of professional coaching, Rennie should be able to bounce back following a campaign as Whitecaps manager that gave plenty to build on. The 38-year-old may very well serve as an attractive option for an MLS club looking for significant change following the 2013 season.

If that isn't the case, the NASL may be an option, as Rennie has already coached at that level for the Carolina RailHawks. 

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On Sunday, both the Houston Dynamo and Montreal Impact slid into Major League Soccer’s playoffs on the last day of the season. Now, as the fourth and fifth seeds in the Eastern Conference, they will face each other in the dreaded one-off play-in game.

The match will take place in Houston, courtesy of the Dynamo’s higher finish in the standings and will kick off on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.

Here is breakdown of the matchup.

Houston Dynamo

The Houston Dynamo, despite their lowly finish in the standings, are still a team to be feared in the playoffs. Last season, the Dynamo finished in fifth place in the Eastern Conference before dispatching the Fire in the play-in game in Chicago, top-seed Sporting Kansas City in the conference semifinals and D.C. United in the conference finals.

While the Dynamo went on to lose to the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS Cup in 2012, it was Houston’s second straight appearance in the league finals and they return a roster full of experience.

Led by Dominic Kinnear, who helped the Dynamo win back-to-back MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007, Houston has more top-to-bottom talent than any other team in the league. Their back line is anchored by goalkeeper Tally Hall and MLS veteran Bobby Boswell, and they have two of the best outside backs in the league in Corey Ashe and Kofi Sarkodie.

Their midfield is run by MLS stalwart Ricardo Clark, and Houston has two of the best wingers in the league in Brad Davis and Boniek Garcia. The Dynamo front line is led by bruising front-runner Will Bruin.

Maintaining the home-field advantage for the match, Houston is 9-4-4 at home in 2013, but tends to grind out wins at home. Of all MLS playoff teams, Houston has the least number of home goals scored and the worst home goal differential.

Entering the playoffs, the Dynamo are 4-3-3 in their last 10 games. In head-to-head matchups against the Impact, they beat Montreal 1-0 in Houston on October 4, but lost 5-0 in Montreal back in August.

Montreal Impact

The Montreal Impact literally limped into the playoffs, going 2-6-2 over their last 10 games. Having to win a one-off in Houston is going to be a difficult challenge for Montreal, who are 4-9-4 on the road in 2013 and have the worst road goal differential of any of the five Eastern Conference playoff teams.

The ace up Montreal’s sleeve, however, is 20-goal scorer and MVP candidate Marco Di Vaio.

Di Vaio is one of the most feared forwards in the league and has the ability to take a game by the throat and win it himself.

The big question for Montreal is whether or not they can reverse the form that had them in danger of not even making the playoffs. When the Impact played on Saturday, they knew they needed a win to guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs. But despite playing lowly Toronto, they couldn’t get the job done and lost 1-0, thereby relying on other results to keep them alive.

Earlier this season, the Impact were one of the most feared teams in the league. They will need to recapture that form if they are going to pick up a victory in this must-win playoff game in Houston on Thursday.

Follow me on Twitter @JohnDHalloran

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The date was October 5. 

The Seattle Sounders, sparked by the arrival of United States men's national team star Clint Dempsey, marched into Dick's Sporting Goods Park with a seven-game unbeaten streak.

Sigi Schmid's club had all of the momentum in the world on its side, as the Sounders were surely going to contend for the Western Conference and Supporter's Shield titles in the final month of the Major League Soccer regular season.

After October 5, the Sounders spiraled into a run of miserable form. 

The reason for their five-game winless streak to end the season? 

Well, that would be the Colorado Rapids. 

The Rapids torched the Sounders back four that night in Commerce City, Colo. and revived their own playoff hopes in the process.

The 5-1 victory by Oscar Pareja's club was started by a goal from Deshorn Brown just 14 seconds into the match, and it continued its trampling of Seattle with four more goals before the final whistle blew. 

Now, just 25 days later, the two sides are paired up against each other in the Western Conference knockout round. 

Seattle stumbled into the playoffs and, by some divine intervention, ended up earning the fourth position in the West, which in turn handed it the opportunity to host Colorado at CenturyLink Field in the winner-takes-all showdown. 

Everyone across the league is secretly (or openly in some cases) rooting for Seattle to come out of this game victorious so that it can set up a Cascadia Cup showdown for the ages with the Portland Timbers in the West semifinals. 

While you may think that the Sounders have it easy on Wednesday night in front of their raucous home crowd, think again.

In their three regular-season meetings with the Sounders, Colorado only lost once, and that was at home back on April 20, which is a result that we can basically throw out the window since it came early in the season before both teams made major transfers. 

Back on July 20 in Seattle, the Rapids took a crucial point (at that time) away from the hosts thanks to a high-caliber performance from defender Drew Moor. 

Moor will once again have to be a massive factor in the Emerald City if the Rapids want to leave there with what some would consider to be a major upset. 

If you look deeper at this Rapids squad, you will see plenty of quality, especially up front, as Panama international Gabriel Torres has added an extra element to the side that already featured Brown, Dillon Powers and Nathan Sturgis. 

For Seattle, its attack will be highlighted by the appearance of Dempsey, who scored his first MLS goal of the season in Sunday's draw with Los Angeles. 

Dempsey will most likely be paired with Eddie Johnson up front, while Osvaldo Alonso will provide a backbone to the midfield, like he has done since his debut with the club in 2009.

While the eyes of many will be on the offensive efforts of both teams, the game could come down to the defensive efforts of two young American full-backs. 

Seattle's DeAndre Yedlin has stormed onto the MLS stage this season with authority, and he was rewarded for his spectacular rookie campaign with an All-Star nod back in July. 

Colorado also has a rookie in Chris Klute, who will surely be called up to Jurgen Klinsmann's January United States camp alongside Yedlin.

Before Yedlin and Klute can focus on their international dreams in the offseason, they will have to shine once again for their respective clubs if they want to survive to play at least two more games this season.

One other key factor in Wednesday's game will be the goalkeeping, as Colorado's Clint Irwin has been a pleasant surprise by recording 10 clean sheets in 32 games. 

Irwin's counterpart in goal, Michael Gspurning was benched in favor of Marcus Hahnemann in two of the final three Seattle games, but the Austrian is expected to be between the pipes on Wednesday.

Seattle has the advantage in the midfield, but up front and on defense, the two teams are basically level. In all honesty, this knockout-round game may come down to the play of the goalkeepers, which in this case would favor Colorado. 

There is no doubt that this game will come down to the wire, and whoever the victor turns out to be will have fought tooth and nail for its reward—if you can call it that—to play Portland. 

Follow me on Twitter, @JTansey90.

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Name an emotion and it was felt during the final weekend of the Major League Soccer season.

Disappointment was felt in Philadelphia and Chicago as those two teams missed out on the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

Relief was felt in Seattle as the Sounders ended a dreadful final two months of the regular season with a draw against Los Angeles and earned a home playoff match on Wednesday against Colorado. 

The mood was celebratory in San Jose as the Earthquakes honored the career of Ramiro Corrales, who played in the league's inaugural season, as he hangs up his boots.

Last, but not least, an overwhelming sense of joy was felt by the fans of the New York Red Bulls, who finally won a trophy after 18 long years. 

Find out where all of these teams and the rest in MLS landed in the final edition of the B/R MLS Power Rankings. 

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The best action in MLS Week 35 was highlighted by the New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution and Ramiro Corrales, but what about the worst?

Chivas USA failed to meet the criteria after a 5-0 loss at the StubHub Center on Saturday. The club's 20th loss of the season is considered old news at this point. The Philadelphia Union also failed to capture a victory this past weekend. A 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City eliminated them from postseason play.

They won't be featured, either.

Some tough competition also kept Camilo Sanvezzo—the 2013 Golden Boot winner—from making the list of best and worst from MLS Week 35.

Read on to find out why.

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Everything was on the line in the final day of the season, and the MLS teams in action didn't disappoint.

The LA Galaxy ensured that the Seattle Sounders would have to battle through the knockout round after Robbie Keane's 78th-minute goal resulted in a 1-1 draw. The Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution each clinched playoff spots with key wins on Sunday. The New York Red Bulls clinched the league's Supporters' Shield with a win over the Chicago Fire.

And the Colorado Rapids cost themselves a No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs after losing to the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0, a game that saw Camilo Sanvezzo notch a hat trick and earn the league's Golden Boot award.

So the playoff picture is set, and a memorable postseason certainly appears to be in the cards, with all 10 teams separated by just 10 points in the standings this season. Let's take a closer look at the road to the MLS Cup. 

Schedule

Bracket

Predictions

Clint Dempsey erased a 590-minute scoreless drought since his return to the MLS, but Seattle was once again unable to earn a win, extending their winless streak to end the season to seven games (they had two draws in that time). They face a Colorado side they went 1-1-1 against this season but recently lost 5-1 against. 

Still, Seattle is a dramatically better team in their home stadium, having lost just two games at home all season. They'll advance, but by the skin of their teeth. 

Montreal won two of their three matches against Houston this season, but both of those games were at home. Houston can be vulnerable at home, with four losses their on the season, but they'll use a rowdy home crowd to advance to the conference semifinals. 

Is anyone willing to bet against the LA Galaxy at this point? The team has won back-to-back MLS Cups, and that experience will shine through as they advance to the Western Conference finals. They'll face the Portland Timbers, who will vanquish rival Seattle on the form that saw them go unbeaten in the season's final eight games. 

Chalk will hold in the East, as New York and Sporting KC will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Portland beat the LA Galaxy twice and drew with them in the one match in Los Angeles, and they have given up just three goals since the beginning of September. They'll stifle a potent Galaxy attack and ensure there is a different MLS Cup champion this season. 

They'll face a New York Red Bulls side that also hit the playoffs on an eight-game unbeaten streak and desperately wants to add the MLS Cup to their trophy mantle. It won't happen—Portland has simply been too good this season and will beat New York behind a superior defense. 

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Thierry Henry's Indian summer in the MLS continues, with the New York Red Bulls captain bagging a stunning goal in his side's 5-2 victory over Chicago Fire.

The former France striker finished off a counter-attack with a quite breathtaking finish, chesting down a through ball on the edge of the area, and then drilling in the bouncing ball off the underside of the crossbar.

That levelled the score at 1-1, and from there the Red Bulls didn't look back.

The result also meant New York won their maiden Supporters' Shield, boasting the best record in the regular season. 

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