After a brief slate of matches on Saturday, the action in Major League Soccer heated up on Sunday.

The highlight of Sunday's matches was the breaking of Portland's 15-match unbeaten streak by the Columbus Crew.

Read on for comprehensive recaps of that match and the other seven played across MLS this weekend.

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Before I begin, I would just like to say I hope all of you had a fun, safe holiday and you still have all of your fingers and toes.

In the midweek games over the past couple of days, there have been a few shocking results.

For example, if you'd told me Chivas USA would hold FC Dallas scoreless at all, much less on the road, I would have thought you were crazy. Chivas has allowed 31 goals this season, more than any other team in the league.

If you also told me that the Colorado Rapids would hold the New York Red Bulls scoreless, I would have asked you if you were current on your medication; the Rapids defense has allowed almost as many goals as the Red Bulls.

Who needs to watch their backs over the weekend? Let's take a look.

Upset Alert No. 1: Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire

The two teams haven't played since an absolutely dreadful, mind-numbing scoreless draw on March 16. I remember it because I was there for Sporting KC's home opener. A few weeks later, I asked a friend if Frank Klopas would be the first coach fired in MLS this season.

His answer? "Frank Klopas should be executed for crimes against soccer."

However, since then, Chicago's play has vastly improved. The club has won four of its last five and they are threatening to push into a playoff spot.

Sporting KC, on the other hand, have struggled a bit this season. Last Saturday's win over Columbus was their first since May 12, and first at home since May 5. However, Sporting KC are on a three-match unbeaten streak of their own.

Historically, Sporting KC has struggled whenever they play in Chicago. They have been better lately, but that may have more to do with the quality of their opponent than anything else. If Sporting KC isn't careful, Chicago may surprise them again.

Sporting KC is on upset alert because this isn't the same team they played back in March. I know that Peter Vermes knows that, but the team can't play like they don't.

Upset Alert No. 2: FC Dallas vs. Los Angeles Galaxy

I'm putting FC Dallas on upset alert for this weekend because while they've gotten draws in each of their last three matches, they haven't won since a 1-0 victory over San Jose on May 25.

Since their nine-match unbeaten streak ended against Seattle in a 4-2 loss, Schellas Hyndman's club has gone 1-2-4 in their last seven. While they did avoid a loss a couple of weeks ago against Sporting KC, that may have had as much to do with a red card to C.J. Sapong as anything else.

The Galaxy's form has been inconsistent this season. For example, on May 27, they thumped Seattle 4-0. Six days later, the Galaxy were on the receiving end of a 5-0 loss to New England.

The Galaxy have two wins in their last three games. It might have been three had they not allowed two shorthanded goals to San Jose late in their match at Stanford Stadium.

FC Dallas is on upset alert because they might be in trouble, depending on which Galaxy team shows up.

Thoughts? Think I've gone loony? Let me know in the comment section below.

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The fireworks will extend beyond the Fourth of July in MLS Week 19. Three of the next four days will feature intense MLS action.

The league kick-started a congested Week 19 schedule with five mid-week matches.

Only the Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire were able to capture victories Wednesday night. Toronto FC allowed the Montreal Impact to equalize after holding a two-goal lead in the second half. Sporting Kansas City failed to hold onto a one-goal lead of their own, and Real Salt Lake valiantly fought back to equalize with a penalty kick in stoppage time.

Eleven matches will follow during this all-important, four-day weekend. Three will be decided Thursday night.

But with so much action on tap, what warrants your attention in Week 19?

Read on to find out.

Note: Unless otherwise mentioned, credit all statistics to the official MLS Press Box Stats and Standings.

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Landon Donovan is back to his old tricks since returning to the L.A. Galaxy after a brief hiatus from soccer. 

In fact, by many metrics, Donovan can be considered one of the top playmakers in all of MLS so far this season. 

The most prolific goalscorer in United States men’s national team history has started in 12 MLS matches and appeared in 13 for the two-time defending MLS Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy. 

He has certainly been aggressive since his voyage back to California, committing the third most fouls of anyone on Los Angeles (1.5 per match, 19 total) and receiving one yellow card.  Only Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas have committed more fouls for L.A., having been whistled 1.5 (26 total) and 2.9 (46 total) times per match respectively.  Sarvas’ figure is the highest total in all of MLS 2013. 

Donovan has always been a finisher. He has the most goals in U.S. national team history (49) and the second most caps per goal with 2.8 just a notch behind current U.S. captain, Clint Dempsey (2.9).  He also has the third most goals in MLS history, having tallied 127 times and only trails Jeff Cunningham (134) and Jaime Moreno (133).

He has picked up where he left off in that category, having notched the second highest (three) amount of goals for current Galaxy players so far trailing only Robbie Keane.  Mike Magee’s total of six still leads L.A. even though he has been traded to the Chicago Fire. 

Donovan’s goals have come with the fourth highest shots-per-match ratio on L.A. (1.7, 22 total) giving him a 13.6 percent conversion rate. 

While Donovan’s contributions in scoring have been needed for L.A., a look at chance creation and Donovan’s playmaking statistics clearly shows where he shines brightest for head coach Bruce Arena. 

Since his first MLS match in 2013, a 2-2 draw with Toronto FC, Donovan has dished out 27 key passes, just over two per match (2.1).  That figure is second behind only Keane (28 total key passes, or 3.1 per match) on the Galaxy.  Donovan’s 2.1 key passes per match is also the seventh highest total in all of MLS.  The Columbus Crew’s Federico Higuain leads the league with 4.3 key passes per match. 

It makes perfect sense that Donovan has been able to dish out such a high rate of key passes so far considering he is tied for second in all-time MLS assists with Carlos Valderrama (114), looking up only at Steve Ralston (135). 

Once again, Donovan has not missed since his break in regards to assists and is having one of the best seasons in MLS so far in the aforementioned category.  He has notched four total, tied for the ninth highest figure so far in MLS.  He is not so far off the league leaders (David Ferreria, Sebastien Le Toux and Robbie Keane) either; who are tied with six assists each.  The California native is also tied for eighth in assist per MLS appearance with 0.3. 

Donovan is connecting three out of every four of his passes (75 percent).  This figure is almost exactly around L.A.’s team average pass success rate (75.1 percent) when including players with at least nine appearances in MLS 2013. 

The Galaxy’s captain is far more likely to look short with his pass attempts than he is with longer passes.  In fact, Donovan connects on average 2.1 long balls per match.  Midfielder Juninho connects the most long balls per match for L.A., linking up with a teammate on a long pass 5.9 times per match.     

The MLS legend has always been capable of beating defenders off the dribble, so it comes as no surprise that he is tied for the lead for L.A. with Robbie Keane and Marcelo Sarvas in successful dribbles per match with 1.3.

Not too much to report in terms of defensive statistics for Donovan who has mostly been deployed as a winger or striker by Arena.

Indeed, Donovan is certainly continuing to do what he has always done in MLS: score goals and create for teammates at a serious clip.

One team stat, though, might well nag at Landon Donovan: only 24 points so far for L.A., just one ahead of the Colorado Rapids for the last Western Conference Playoff spot.  He will undoubtedly make it his mission to dramatically increase that figure once he returns from Gold Cup duty likely in early August. 

All data based on MLS matches through July 2, 2013.  MLS Statistics gathered from WhoScored.

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EA Sports is giving FIFA 13 players the opportunity to make history.

For the first time ever, goals scored on the virtual pitch will dictate proceedings in the real world, providing football fans with the chance to send players such as Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan to the MLS All-Star Game against Roma on July 31.

How can you help your favourite player start the match at Kansas City's Sporting Park? The task couldn't simpler. All you need to do is fire up FIFA 13 and score as many goals as possible with any of the shortlisted forwards. One goal in any game mode equals one vote for the candidate you net with.

Successful strikes on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions count only. Handheld and mobile players will need to hunt down the nearest big-screen version if they are to contribute towards this original objective.

A total of 26 forwards are eligible for a spot in the starting lineup against Rudi Garcia and his Roma side, as confirmed by EA Sports:

Voting runs from July 3, 12 p.m ET until July 10, 12 p.m ET. The player who claims victory will be selected in the final forward spot for the July 31 match and will be named the inaugural MLS All-Star "In the Game" Forward.

His 10 starting teammates—who are being voted for via text, Twitter and online at MLSsoccer.com—will be named during ESPN's halftime broadcast of the Chicago Fire vs. Sporting Kansas City clash on July 7, at 3 p.m ET.

Are you going to send current MLS leading goalscorer Marco Di Vaio to an encounter with his local club? Perhaps Fabian Espindola could fire the MLS team to victory? Choose wisely and be sure to tell us which player you'll be scoring screamers with across the next week.

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The Chicago Fire might be sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but Mike Magee is trying to change that.

Since arriving in the Windy City, Magee has been the focal point of the Fire's offense. Without missing a beat, the forward has scored in four straight MLS appearances, and six straight in all competitions.

In fact, Magee has scored in every match he has played for his new club.

Some eyebrows were raised when Bruce Arena let him leave Los Angeles in exchange for the rights to Robbie Rogers.

I think it is safe to say that Chicago got the better end of the deal.

Magee led the league in goals at the time of his departure. One month later, he remains at the top, with 10 goals from from just 14 MLS games.

There is nothing too flashy about Magee's play. He is deceptive, makes good runs and is quick off the mark. What makes him special is his ability to find the ball around the penalty area.

He is not physically imposing, but his crafty ability to split the defense makes him a constant goal threat.

Often deployed out wide for the Galaxy, Magee has always been able to pop up in the right spot at the right time. His keen eye for goal has him playing up front these days, and the results speak loudly.

After just four MLS games with the Fire, Magee leads the team in scoring.Some of his teammates could learn a thing or two from the forward. His closest competition comes from Maicon Santos and Daniel Paladini, each with two goals on the year.

Mike Magee is without a doubt the hottest player in MLS right now. While other candidates can boast more impressive strikes and contribute to better sides, Magee's scoring record is enough to solidify the No. 1 spot for the time being. With half the season left to be played, Magee is on pace to knock in more than 20 goals this year.

The Chicago native feels right at home with his new squad, seamlessly transitioning into the side. Magee's reliability in front of goal has been a revelation for a struggling Fire team. But having gone undefeated since he made his debut, the Fire will attempt to ride his hot streak into a playoff spot.

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Major League Soccer gave its fans everything they could ask for this weekend with eight league matches.

There was a shootout, a late-match comeback for the ages, a controversial goal line decision and much more across North America this weekend.

Sitting out the madness this weekend was last week's No. 1 club Portland.

Do the Timbers have enough to hold on to the top spot or were they overthrown after two weeks at the top?

Find out by further reading this week's edition of the MLS Power Rankings.

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Only one word could describe the MLS Week 18 action: “Epic.”

Epic finishes. Epic fights. Epic breakdowns. Anything else was barely noteworthy in this weekend’s MLS action.

Chivas USA and the New England Revolution played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday. The Goats extended their 11-game winless streak. The New York Red Bulls had no problems in that department. A 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo ended New York’s three-game losing streak across all competitions.

But neither team was able to make the list of best and worst from MLS Week 18.

Read on to find out who did.

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If not for a red card for C.J. Sapong against FC Dallas last weekend, I might have gotten that upset right. After all, Sporting Kansas City had a 2-0 lead at the time of the ejection.

But like the saying goes, "If 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas."

Only two teams are on Upset Alert for me this week. Let's see if you agree.

Upset Alert No. 1: Philadelphia Union vs. FC Dallas

Schellas Hyndman may still have one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference, but when FC Dallas travels to PPL Park this weekend to take on John Hackworth's Philadelphia Union, Dallas needs to be careful.

FC Dallas may have started well, but it has no wins in its last three matches. Philadelphia has two straight wins and is unbeaten in its last three. Those two wins were by identical 3-0 score lines.

Dallas also needs to watch its back line. Its goal differential is a +9 at home but a -4 on the road.

Upset Alert No. 2: Sporting KC vs. Columbus

Sporting KC may have played better last week, but its run of results is still pretty bad lately. The two-time defending Eastern Conference regular-season champions have two wins in their last nine matches in league play. Across all competitions, it's only three wins in the last 11.

Most of the time when I pick a team to put on Upset Alert, its opponent has been playing well (relatively speaking). In this case, however, Columbus is struggling. I suppose that's to be expected, considering it is without Eddie Gaven and Glauber for the rest of the season after both tore their left ACLs.

This is a big game for Sporting KC. The team is six points behind Montreal in the chase for first in the East, but Montreal has two games in hand. Sporting KC can't afford to keep dropping points at home if it wants to make it three straight conference titles.

Thoughts? Think I'm loony? Say so down in the comments.

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It isn’t the Fourth of July yet, but get ready for some fireworks in MLS Week 18. Of course, we’re speaking in literal terms for the Ultras in San Jose.

The quarterfinal of the U.S. Open Cup highlighted the mid-week action in MLS. The Chicago Fire, Portland Timbers, DC United and Real Salt Lake all advanced to the semifinal with impressive victories.

The rest of the league will look to join the momentous festivities this weekend. A total of eight matches are scheduled.

But with so much action on tap, what warrants your attention in Week 18?

Read on to find out.

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