MLS Week 10 taught us that there is more to life than the final score. It’s a lesson by which Toronto FC will need to start living.

The New York Red Bulls continued streaking in Week 10. Saturday's 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew was the team's third consecutive victory. Tim Cahill's signature header in the 80th minute lifted New York to a four-way tie for first in the Eastern Conference.

Real Salt Lake also found the win column on Saturday. Joao Plata's assists propelled the Claret and Cobalt to a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

But Cahill and Plata did not make the list of best and worst from MLS Week 10. Read on to find out who did.

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Sporting Kansas City threw its own Cinco de Mayo party at Sporting Park on Sunday afternoon. Led by a brace from forward Claudio Bieler, Sporting KC defeated Chivas USA 4-0 in front of a capacity crowd of 18,811. It was the club's 21st consecutive sellout.

It was evident early on that Chivas had come to play a physical match. In the first minute, Sporting KC defender Mechack Jerome played a long ball forward for Bieler. Chivas defender Joaquin Velazquez brought Bieler down from behind just outside the 18-yard box and was shown a yellow card.

Chivas got a little lucky in the 12th minute. Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy made a bad clearance that fell to Bieler. However, Bieler's first touch failed him and he was unable to take advantage of an empty net.

That, however, was one of the few times Chivas got a break to go their way.

Sporting KC's first really good chance of the match came in the 18th minute. Graham Zusi made a nice run up the left wing and put the ball across the face of goal, but just out of reach of an onrushing Jacob Peterson, who would have only needed to make contact with the ball to score.

Sporting KC opened the scoring in the 41st minute. Pressure from Peterson forced a turnover from Chivas defender Bobby Burling. Zusi pounced on the loose ball and made a short pass to Bieler near the top of the 18-yard box. Bieler cut it back to his left, putting Kennedy on the turf, and placed his shot between two defenders and in the back of the net.

Bieler almost added another before the break. In the 44th minute, Jerome played in a cross from the right wing, but Kennedy was able to punch the ball away just before Bieler was able to put his head on it.

Nine minutes after the restart, things went from bad to worse for Chivas USA. Zusi played a ball from midfield and was able to find Paulo Nagamura. Nagamura continued his run and made contact with Kennedy. Referee Baldomero Toledo immediately pointed to the penalty spot and also produced a red card for Kennedy as the last man back and denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Bieler buried the penalty in the bottom left corner as backup keeper Patrick McClain went to his left.

Sporting KC was not done yet. In the 65th minute, Nagamura sent the ball out wide on the left for second-half substitute Josh Gardner. Gardner drove toward the penalty area and put a cross in for Zusi, who only had to put his foot out for it to hit the roof of the net.

When you're up by three goals and your opponent is down a man, the tendency is to back off the gas pedal a bit. In the postgame press conference, manager Peter Vermes told us:"I actually was trying to tell some of the guys, 'Listen, just let them come to you.' ... But obviously, they had a little difference of opinion, and I'm not going to fight against it. They wanted to keep going, and I'm glad that they had the mentality to do that."

In the 87th minute, Sporting KC struck again. Spanish midfielder Oriol Rosell played the ball out wide right to Jerome, who had no one within six yards of him. Jerome then played the ball into C.J. Sapong, who played it one time off of the inside of his right foot and into the net. It was Sapong's first of the season, and Rosell and Jerome each picked up his first assist of the campaign.

With the clean sheet, goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen took over the franchise record for shutouts with 38. Nielsen is the 13th goalkeeper to notch that many shutouts, but required the fewest games to do it. When asked in the locker room afterward if the record meant anything to him, Nielsen told us: "Not now. Maybe later when I retire or something but that's not in my mind at all. I came here to win today and we won. I'm a happy man."

Bieler's two goals put him into a tie atop the MLS chart with Mike Magee of the Galaxy and Jack McInerney of Philadelphia. Zusi's assist puts him into a tie with RSL's Joao Plata for the league lead.

Next up for Sporting KC are the Seattle Sounders, nine months to the day since the two teams last met in the U.S. Open Cup final at Sporting Park, a victory on penalty kicks for the home side. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, May 8.

All quotes were obtained firsthand.

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Only 14 Major League Soccer teams took to the pitch this weekend, but they more than made up for the lack of fixtures on the schedule with seven exciting matches. 

The weekend kicked off in San Jose and Philadelphia simultaneously, with the two matches on opposite coasts finishing with the same result. In Columbus, the eyes of the nation were on the Eastern Conference showdown between the Crew and the New York Red Bulls, which was a match that saw plenty of late fireworks. 

In the two nightcaps out west, the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake had to wait until the second half to send their respective home crowds into an uproar.

The two Sunday matches saw the Houston Dynamo finally defeat the L.A. Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City unleash four goals at home. 

Here is a comprehensive wrap of each of the seven matches played in MLS this weekend.

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There is no easy way to determine who the best 20 players are in Major League Soccer right now. 

The gravity of the task, though, should not stop the pursuit. 

Therefore, the following list looks at 20 outfield players currently plying their trade in MLS and ranks them from 20 down to the best player in the league.  It does not include goalkeepers. 

No quantitative method employed here, just hours upon hours of watching, studying and analyzing the league led to this ranking.

There are lots of strikers and midfielders in the mix.  A few backs, although not as many as the other positions.  The outside fullback spot might well be the weakest of all in Major League Soccer.

Enjoy!  As always, thoughtful commentary is always helpful in ironing out the finer points of this debate. 

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Revenge. Redemption. Red hot. The three Rs will be on display in MLS Week 10. Just not the kind you grew up with.

A full slate of MLS matches are scheduled this weekend. Sixteen of the 19 teams will be in action.

DC United and the Chicago Fire will be forced to wait another week before attempting to turn their seasons around. FC Dallas will be able to sit back and watch of the rest of the league attempt to catch up.

But with so much action this weekend, where should your focus lie? What warrants your attention in Week 10?

Read on to find out. 

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Amid a raucous crowd chanting his name, eight-year-old cancer patient Atticus Lane-Dupre became his team's hero, scoring the winning goal against the formidable Portland Timbers.

Deadspin spotted the wonderful moment brought to fans by the MLS side and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which gave one little boy his dream of winning the big game in front of thousands of cheering fans.

From the 3,000 people who showed up to watch a friendly between a professional team and a group of kids, to the Timbers, who made the game exciting and competitive, so much wonderful is packed into this short video.

Oregon Live has more details on the game, which was as lively as any MLS Cup match. It all went down Wednesday, May 1, at Jeld-Wen Field.

The game took place at 11:30 a.m., which, as the report hints, was the perfect excuse for locals to take an extended lunch break.

It seems like thousands of Portland faithful got the memo, because they not only showed up for a free game but delivered an epic atmosphere. I dare you not to crack a smile once the crowd chants "Atticus" at the 1:23 mark.

Speaking of atmosphere, take in every second of this Vine post from the team.

The North End is cheering for #GreenMachine #TimbersWish vine.co/v/bQZEiHa9Hvm

Oregon Live reports Lane-Dupre is a local boy who was diagnosed with cancer last fall and had one wish: for his pals to take on his favorite team.

The Timbers could have easily delivered with a friendly before a scheduled match but decided to make this far more special. They gave their eight-year-old fan a day all to himself, when he was as prolific a scorer as any on the pitch and a true hero to every fan in the stadium.

Hit me up on Twitter for more amazing updates from the sports world: Follow @gabezal

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Major League Soccer should be doing cartwheels over Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan’s interest in securing an expansion franchise.

Sheikh Mansour, who already owns Premier League side Manchester City, was said to be seeking an MLS license last November, and on Sunday the New York Times revealed the 42-year-old was the “odds-on favorite” to win expansion rights for a franchise in New York City.

At present, New York Red Bulls represent the tri-state area, but the former New York/New Jersey MetroStars play their home matches in Harrison, New Jersey, and MLS has always been keen to have more of a presence in New York City proper.

Earlier this week the Telegraph reported Sheikh Mansour had already targeted a potential site in Queens for constructing a $500 million stadium—money that would be over and above the $100 million Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group would have to dole out in expansion fees.

The good news for MLS is that Mansour and his holding company are both flush with cash and adept at running sports organizations.

Mansour’s personal wealth is estimated at nearly $5 billion, and his portfolio includes holdings in Virgin Galactic, Daimler AG and the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation. Then there is the oil money (he sits on the Supreme Petroleum Council), and it has long been speculated his interest in broader investments and personal branding is intended to diversify his interests away from a reliance on oil.

As for his history with City, since buying the club in 2008 he has invested heavily in playing personnel, but, unlike other owners looking to buy trophies, he has actually delivered them. City won the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League last season, and this spring will qualify for the Champions League Group Stage for the third year in a row.

He also trimmed the club’s operating debt by nearly £100 million between the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

But the big payoff for MLS is his specific interest in starting a franchise in New York City.

With numerous baseball, hockey and gridiron football teams already competing for leisure dollars, the market is hardly an easy one to break into, but Sheik Mansour’s wealth and branding ambitions should ensure he weathers any initial storm and builds a sustainable operation for the long term.

A football club in New York City has to be a big thing, and Sheikh Mansour would run it with a “big club” mentality from the get-go.

He would also bring a history of competitive success and, more importantly, resources to the club of MLS owners.

Contracts and cost certainties such as the salary cap are still heavily centralized in the league office—something that serves as a detriment to MLS competing with the bigger European divisions.

It’s hard to see such an arrangement being compatible with Sheikh Mansour’s ambitions for long, and in that regard as well his involvement with North America’s top flight would be extremely beneficial.

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MLS offenses were on fire in Week 9, and so was the Columbus Crew’s scoreboard.

A total of 27 goals were scored across nine matches this past weekend—by far the most tallies in a single week this season. League matches were averaging an all-time low of 2.24 goals per match entering Week 9. That number is sure to go up before Week 10.

Chivas USA and the San Jose Earthquakes contributed four goals to that total with a 2-2 draw Saturday night. The Houston Dynamo and Colorado Rapids added two more after a 1-1 draw. Giles Barnes' contribution was the most emphatic of Week 9. 

The Philadelphia Union contributed none, as they were blanked in a disappointing 2-0 loss to the New England Revolution.

But neither team made the list of best and worst from MLS Week 9. Read on to find out who did.

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The most solidified home fortresses in MLS were tested this weekend with the league's longest unbeaten streak at home surviving and another strong home team taken down.

Houston survived a battle with Colorado at BBVA Compass Stadium to extend its unbeaten streak at home to 36, while Sporting Kansas City were stunned at home in a five-goal thriller with Portland. 

Elsewhere across the league, Montreal scooted into first place in the Eastern Conference, and FC Dallas extended their run at the top of the Western Conference. 

Find out where every MLS team ranks in this week's edition of the MLS Power Rankings. 

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MLS Week 9 coverage—Houston, Texas

Houston Dynamo 1-1 Colorado Rapids

—Drew Moor, 45' +2 (0-1)

—Giles Barnes, 66' (1-1)

Lineups

Houston: Hall; Sarkodie, Boswell, Brunner, Ashe; Driver (Creavalle), Clark (Camargo), Garcia, Davis (C); Bruin, Barnes (Ching).

Colorado: Irwin; Mullan, Moor, O'Neill, Klute; Smith (Mastroeni), Powers, Thomas (Sturgis), Mwanga; Hill (Rivero), Harris.

Follow Eduardo on Twitter for more insight on a variety of sports topics. Follow @Mendez_FC

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