Hip-hop has managed to incorporate itself into different facets of our daily lives. Now, it's Major League Soccer's turn.

This article will feature 19 hip-hop classics that have been specifically matched with an MLS team. Current form, recent history and individual talents have been considered for each selection.

The list will allow those currently without a favorite MLS franchise to quickly identify their newest craze. For those already bleeding their team’s colors, you will officially have your anthem for matchday. 

So, grab your Lasonic TRC-931 ghetto blaster as we compile the greatest mixtape in MLS history.

Note: Due to the explicit nature of some of the selected songs, not all videos have been featured. Hyperlinks have been added in order to identify the selection. All teams have been listed in alphabetical order.

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Major League Soccer was turned on its head this weekend with plenty of stars missing because of international duty. 

Not only were some stars missing from certain matches, a few results turned the heads of plenty of fans and were easily labeled as surprises.

The biggest surprise of them all came in Foxborough as the Revolution obliterated the Galaxy while Montreal's win at Sporting Park also raised a few eyebrows. 

Find out where those four clubs, as well as the other 15 in the league, landed in this week's edition of the MLS Power Rankings. 

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Unstoppable forces took control in MLS Week 14. Some played well enough to break through a wall. Others tried to headbutt their way.

Jack McInerney delivered a bit of déjà vu in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Toronto FC. The young forward scored an equalizer against the Reds in stoppage time...again. An unstoppable penalty from Federico Higuain ensured the Columbus Crew earned the same result against the Houston Dynamo.

Mike Magee continued his storybook return to his hometown. His goal in the 85th minute was enough to seal a 2-0 victory over DC United on Sunday.

But all three stars didn’t make the list of best and worst from MLS Week 14. 

Read on to find out who did.

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As I mentioned on Twitter last weekend, I am the second alternate pool reporter for Sporting KC when it comes to asking officials questions after games at Sporting Park. These reporters have to be designated before the season starts.

When reporters want to ask the referee questions after the game, Major League Soccer, like every other league, has a system by which those reporters can ask those questions.

In the case of MLS, the pool reporters decide what questions they want answered. They can submit up to three questions (with one follow-up), in writing and signed by the primary pool reporter. The host team then has to post the questions inside the officials' dressing room within five minutes of the final whistle. The referee then has 15 minutes to review them before the pool reporter gets to ask the questions and record the interview.

In what seems to be a growing pattern, Sporting KC's match at Sporting Park on Saturday night once again featured at least one controversial call. This marked the third straight Sporting KC match with a questionable decision being made.

First, on May 19 against D.C. United at RFK Stadium, a goal from Ike Opara was ruled out for offside. Replays clearly showed that Opara was not offside. After the match, the linesman who made the call said he had misjudged the play.

Next, on May 26 against the Houston Dynamo at Sporting Park, referee Drew Fischer awarded a penalty to the Houston Dynamo after a Oriol Rosell tackle on Brad Davis. Replays clearly showed Rosell had gotten the ball and hadn't touched Davis. After conferring with his linesman, Fischer overturned his penalty call and awarded the ball to Sporting KC.

According to pool reporter Steve Brisendine of MLSSoccer.com, Fischer was great about answering questions after the match about what he saw and what his linesman had said to him to convince him to reverse the call.

Finally, on Saturday night against the Montreal Impact at Sporting Park, referee Armando Villarreal awarded a penalty to Sporting KC for Alessandro Nesta dragging down Claudio Bieler from behind at the edge of the penalty area. It appeared from replays that the call was a bit harsh, as it seemed that Bieler was just outside the penalty area when he went down.

In the end, the call was a moot point with Montreal winning the match, but Steve, Tod Palmer of the Kansas City Star and I still wanted to know what he saw. We also wanted to ask him about why Montreal coach Marco Schallibaum was ejected from the match at halftime, his second ejection in as many matches at Sporting Park.

Apparently, Steve told us that Villareal said the questions were not posted in the dressing room as required, so he wasn't going to answer them. We asked the team what happened and were told Chris Wyche, the executive VP of stadium operations, said the questions had in fact been posted, but an overzealous member of the cleaning crew may have taken them down.

I think it's ridiculous that when we've done what we're supposed to do, as reporters, the referee can refuse to answer questions that he says were not posted in the dressing room. I trust the team that they were posted more than I trust the official. Who's to say that he didn't take the questions down himself, wad them up into a ball and throw them away? I don't know that he did, but I don't know that he didn't, either.

If we, as reporters, have done what we're supposed to do, the referee should put his big boy pants on and answer the questions. The answers we get are usually vague and full of cliche, but we need both sides of the story.

The league needs to fix this. It's an embarrassment if it doesn't.

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David Beckham has started his quest for a Major League Soccer franchise with a visit to Sun Life Stadium, the home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid, L.A. Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, who retired from the game last month, is keen to develop a new club in the United States after his time in the league.

Beckham declared the prospect of building his own franchise "exciting," as BBC Sport reported.

"I think Miami fans are very passionate about their sports and very passionate about winning," he said. "It's definitely exciting."

The 38-year-old had a line inserted into his contract with the Galaxy which would allow him to buy an MLS franchise once his career came to an end, as BBC Sport noted in March of 2009 when the clause was revealed.

Beckham joined the Galaxy in January of 2007 from Real Madrid and immediately voiced his intention to help raise the profile of the game in the United States, as ESPN reported:

With me, it's about football. I'm coming there to make a difference. I'm coming there to play football.

I'm not saying me coming over to the States is going to make soccer the biggest sport in America. That would be difficult to achieve. Baseball, basketball, American football, they've been around.

But I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could make a difference.

True to his word, Beckham helped to build the MLS brand with his five-and-a-half-year stay at the Galaxy, as Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl highlighted.

Florida does not currently have an MLS franchise following the axing of the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion after a strategic review of the league's operations in 2002, as USSoccer.com reported at the time.

Beckham visited the 76,000-seat Sun Life Stadium as part of his trip to Miami and also saw a smaller ground at Florida International University. He also met representatives of the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, according to The Guardian.

The report also states that there are no firm agreements in place for Beckham to buy an expansion franchise and that the former England international has other cities to consider.

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The world of football on Twitter is as rife as ever.

For a lot of football fans, the domestic season is now over (mostly in Europe). However, Twitter shows no signs of slowing down in bringing all the latest news and insight into the world of football.

Let’s start with last weekend’s captivating Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

Lauded from all corners, the Germans put on a spectacular show—both the fans and the players. The match was a spectacle to behold and the football didn’t let anyone down, either.

It was tense, passionate, combative and sprinkled with skill, but ultimately, it would be Bayern Munich who would prevail with a last-gasp Arjen Robben winner to snatch it from their rivals.

Dortmund remained pragmatic in defeat, although it was a tough one to take. Their official English-speaking Twitter account had this to say after the clash.

From Champions League to Championship playoff final, it was Crystal Palace who took the spoils of war in the world’s most lucrative football match at Wembley.

The red and yellow of Munich and Dortmund swapped for the red and yellow of Crystal Palace and Watford, as the two London sides battled for a place in the Premier League next season.

With an increase in gate receipts, added revenue for televised matches and the parachute payment scheme, it’s reported the game is worth somewhere in the region of £120 million.

Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha took most of the spotlight, as he played possibly his last game for the Eagles before heading to Manchester United.

It was befitting that he was involved in the goal, winning the penalty for Kevin Phillips to dispatch against the club where it all began for him.

Zaha’s move to United was confirmed in January, but with the European season now virtually over, transfer news will dominate the backpages of papers.

Twitter, too, is inundated with news filtering through at a steady pace of transfer speculation.

Possibly the biggest news to be confirmed so far is the move of Jose Mourinho to Chelsea, although for most football fans or anyone who has been in earshot of a sports news channel in recent times, this hardly comes as a surprise.

He will be reunited with his former employers in a deal thought to be around £40 million over a four-year period.

One of the other big names to leave Spain is Colombian striker Radamel Falcao. The goal machine was linked with a host of top European clubs, but it was ambitious French side Monaco—who, admittedly, have incredible financial backing—who sealed the deal.

The deal to take the striker from Atletico Madrid is thought to be worth a reported £50 million.

Monaco is rising like a phoenix from the ashes having won the League 2 title last season. Falcao is one of several newcomers to the south coast side who will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

A player who looks like he is not going anywhere, though, is Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas. The diminutive playmaker had been heavily linked with a move back to England, but top Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has informed otherwise.

Chelsea and Manchester City went stateside for a postseason (preseason?) tour. Playing two exhibition style friendly matches in St Louis and New York, the first encounter saw Chelsea take a 3-0 lead only to be beaten 4-3, and Man City wrapped up the mini-series with a 5-3 win at Yankees Stadium in New York.

Speaking of the New York Yankees, the Citizens had other interests in New York aside from the friendly match, announcing their deal with the baseball team to start up their own MLS franchise for 2015.

Staying with the MLS, the L.A. Galaxy made great strides in the battle to rid homophobia from football by signing gay player Robbie Rogers. Just four months after coming out, Rogers made his debut for the L.A. Galaxy in a 4-0 win over Seattle Sounders.

While they were celebrating the arrival of one new player, another former player was hanging up his boots for good, as David Beckham bowed out of professional football this week.

OK, this wasn’t in the last week, but for the benefit of humour, this tweet had to be included. English League One side Leyton Orient tweeted this comment just before what was set to be Beckham’s last ever appearance for PSG against Lorient.

Over to South America, where the big news is that Neymar is finally set to fly the coup. He will link up with Barcelona in the summer and play upfront with Lionel Messi in what promises to be a devastating attacking lineup.

Barca were humbled by Bayern Munich in the Champions League losing 7-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals, so this move looks like a clear signal of intent from the champions of Spain.

Brazil’s friendly with England will go ahead despite a court ruling judging the iconic Maracana stadium to be unsuitable for play. The decision was overturned in a matter of hours, so the match will take place (Neymar is likely to play some part in the tie).

There were several friendlies played all over the world this week.

A historic game took place at Wembley—which had one of its busiest weeks in hosting some of the world’s biggest matches—with England playing Ireland for the first time since 1995.

There was a fairly subdued atmosphere in a match that saw the rivals play out a fairly drab 1-1 draw.

There was, however, a great game being played on the same night in Cleveland, Ohio. USA took on Belgium in a thrilling encounter that saw the emerging European powerhouse come out on top 4-2.

There were some positives for the U.S., although, as CNN reported, manager Jurgen Klinsmann struggled to find any. But pitting their wits against one of the forces of European football is a decent barometer for the team and will go a long way in helping to gauge the level they are at in world football.

So even with most domestic seasons over, there has still been an exorbitant amount of football-related happenings for Twitter to curate and nourish us with.

From transfer sagas to lively friendly matches and the world’s most lucrative football game taking place, Twitter has served us well in feeding football fans’ appetites. Next week should be just as busy, so keep your eye out for the next instalment.  

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Expect the unexpected in MLS Week 14. Especially with international duty ransacking a share of the league's rosters. 

A quartet of upsets in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup set the tone for the impending action this weekend. The San Jose Earthquakes, Colorado Rapids, Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders all fell to lower division sides. 

Fortunately for them, the turnaround is quick in MLS. 

Eighteen of the 19 teams will return to action this weekend. But with nine matches on tap, what warrants your attention in Week 14?

Read on to find out.

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Portland, Oregon, known to some as “Soccer City USA,” has long been a passionate place for the beautiful game. Their beloved Portland Timbers have a storied history in American soccer since originating in the North American Soccer League in 1975.

There have been a handful of stars over the years, and after sorting through the history books, I did my best to rank the top five players in club history.

I chose exclusively from Timbers players with at least one full season under their belt and who participated in either the NASL era or the current MLS era. With all players, I attempted to weigh not only their contributions as Timbers, but also their overall quality and accomplishments throughout their careers. 

Ladies and gentlemen, here are your five best players in club history.

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Robbie Rogers, the Los Angeles Galaxy and Major League Soccer made history on Sunday night.

Rogers, who had announced his retirement from football in an eloquently-written blog post in February, was making his competitive return to the sport for Galaxy against the Seattle Sounders.

Even though he played just 13 minutes in a 4-0 win that included a Robbie Keane hat trick, it was him that the cameras, reporters and eyes of the world were focused on before, during and after his brief appearance on the pitch.

His, after all, had been no ordinary comeback.

“For the past 25 years I have been afraid, afraid to show who I really was because of fear,” he blogged from London just over three months ago. “Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay.”

With those words, Rogers both revealed his sexual orientation and announced he was stepping away from the game he had loved all his life. Professional sports and the macho culture of the locker room—a sort of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” code—remained, for him, incompatible. So, he embarked on what he called “the next chapter,” a phase of his life free from both secrets and, tragically, football.

And there certainly was an element of tragedy about his retirement.

At just 25 years of age, Rogers was looking to transplant a successful four-year spell in MLS to England, and while there had been some hiccups at both Leeds and Stevenage, that was not the trajectory of a career that had already included 18 appearances for the United States sloping downward.

But, as a gay man admittedly weary of carrying his “secret,” he concluded the only way to move forward honestly and freely was to unburden himself, even if it meant moving on from football.

It’s tragic that he felt that way, although you can hardly blame him. The thought of being in the spotlight because of his sexuality—nevermind the encounters with teammates, opponents and fans he no doubt played through his mind time and again—must have been terrifying, and it's understandable if he thought the normalcy of just playing football was gone forever.

Thankfully, “normal” was precisely what he found his comeback to be, and in his post-match press conference following Sunday’s win, he appeared a man not only at peace with himself, but confident about what his future had in store.

“You could see it on my face—I had a huge smile of enjoyment,” he told reporters. “Okay, I’m back. This is normal and very supportive.” (LAGalaxy.com)

He added: “I keep saying the word: ‘normal,’ ‘normal.’ But it was. Once I got on and I saw the support, I just zoned in. It was good to be back and I’m excited to move on from here.”

Three months away from football likely did Rogers a world of good, but the break might also have served to pave a route for a return in rather more conducive circumstances.

Just last month, San Jose Earthquakes forward Alan Gordon was handed a three-match ban for uttering a homophobic slur at Portland Timbers midfielder Will Johnson. While MLS was swift in administering the punishment, Gordon’s own club was even swifter—president Dave Kaval called the incident “deplorable” and told Earthquakes fans the organization had let them down.

MLS, to its credit, actively advocates for respect, equality and dignity in football through its “Don’t Cross the Line” campaign, and the expediency with which Gordon was dealt with seemed to show its tough stance was working.

In that regard, the North American top flight is the perfect place for Rogers to be playing as the continent’s first openly gay member of a professional sports team.

And while there was good reason for the almost festive atmosphere at Home Depot Centre on Sunday night, Rogers conceded there was still so much to be done.

“Tonight I’ll just sit in my bed and reflect that God gave me the courage to do this and to come back,” he said. (LAGalaxy.com) “Obviously, to something that I love, but obviously something that will help kids my age who are dealing with the same stuff that I am.”

Follow @jerradpeters

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Sunday was Diversity Day in Major League Soccer and, coincidentally, Robbie Rogers made his debut for the L.A. Galaxy as the first openly gay player in MLS.

The league's "Don't Cross The Line" campaign, with public service announcements during games and on stadium signage featuring some of the league's best players, has been popping up everywhere.

Evidence that supporters groups are taking the campaign seriously have popped up league-wide, most notably in Kansas City on Sunday and earlier this month in Portland.

In addition to the rainbow-colored fabric used to cover the Members Stand at Sporting Park on Sunday, there were also several smaller banners. They included "Wiz on the Haters," "Rainbow Glory," "Be Excellent To Each Other" featuring Abraham Lincoln from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," and "Homophobia, Ain't Nobody Got Time For That" featuring Sweet Brown.

On May 12, the Timbers Army held up what looks to me like colored poster board, a different color for each section, to make up their rainbow. They also had a large banner that said "Pride Not Prejudice" in pink.

The players in MLS are an incredibly diverse bunch. According to statistics compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau, 213 of the league's 530 players (or just over 40 percent) are from overseas.

Including the United States and Canada, players represent a total of 61 countries. By comparison, Major League Baseball has 25.7 percent of its players from outside the U.S. and Canada, with a total of 16 countries represented.

I don't know about anyone else, but I was raised to be color-blind, at least when it came to skin color. When we bleed, it's always red, no matter what you look like on the outside.

It's a lot better than it used to be, but the fact that we need a campaign like "Don't Cross The Line" proves we've still got a long way to go.

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