Major League Soccer is not the Premier League. It's not just the talent level, but that big word we like to call "parity," that defines the MLS. Wednesday night's 3-2 win for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy over Jason Kreis's Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah was the epitome of parity in the top flight of American soccer.

The Galaxy are off to a surprising climb up the MLS Western Conference standings. The Vancouver Whitecaps are officially on notice. Here are six things we learned from Wednesday night's tilt.

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It was a goal for the ages, and a mid-season front-runner for MLS Goal of the Year.

In minute number 15, Mauro Rosales served the ball to the far post from a set piece, and Seattle defender Patrick Ianni connected with a sideways volley kick, which will make its way onto MLS promos and soccer highlight videos for at least the foreseeable future.

Sporting Kansas City was riding high after Jacob Peterson capitalized on a ball that landed at his feet in the box in the eighth minute. Seattle fans' hurt lasted just seven minutes.

The hosts were left a little surprised at Sporting's move to sit some of their star players.

Kei Kamara, C.J. Sapong, Julio César and Graham Zusi were all on the bench for the start of the game, marking the first time this season that Sporting coach Peter Vermes had chosen to really mix up their starting lineup.

There weren't any changes for Kansas City by halftime, but they only waited five minutes into the second half to substitute midfielder Graham Zusi into the mix.

Fifteen minutes later, MLS All-Star candidate Kei Kamara entered the game to give Sporting a more familiar feel.

Kansas City never committed men forward in extra time despite a red card to Seattle's Alvaro Fernandez.

There were notable amounts of physical confrontations near the end of the game, the most animated coming after Fernandez's ejection.

The game was most certainly one of the best of the season despite the draw, and also may be a preview for the MLS Cup Final.

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Brek Shea been called "one of the biggest young talents" in American soccer by Jurgen Klinsmann. He's trained with Arsenal and at age 22, he's already a regular in the United States national team.

After a breakthrough campaign in 2011, the current season has proven to be more of a struggle for Shea, who has missed playing time through injury and suspension. And Shea was not selected for the United States' recent friendly matches and World Cup qualifiers, a first under Klinsmann.

Shea spoke about all those topics and more when I caught up with him on the phone last week. Here's what he had to say.

MICHAEL CUMMINGS: Hi Brek, thanks for speaking with me today. Let's talk about growing up in Texas. First, how did you get into soccer, and what was it like being a soccer guy deep in the heart of Texas?

BREK SHEA: (Laughs) Yeah, I mean football is everything (in Texas). It’s actually grown a lot here. Dallas is a pretty big hotbed for soccer. But growing up in Bryan, Texas, soccer wasn’t anything at all. I had to drive all the way to Houston to play on a team.

I remember I was in high school and I quit football and the coaches were telling me I would never get anywhere with soccer, but I could play football or run track or something, but that soccer wouldn’t take me anywhere.

MC: So was it harder for you to quit football or to turn pro right after high school?

BS: I liked playing football, but I knew what I wanted to do. So it wasn’t that hard. I look back and I miss football, I love watching football, but I’m happy with my decision.

And with going pro, I thought about college for a while and I went on visits, but then I decided, ‘This is what I want to do and this is the route I have to take.’ So I’m happy with my decision in both.

MC: What position did you play in football?

BS: I played a lot. I kicked everything and I played safety and I was a receiver.

MC: Do you think more Americans will take the route you did—going pro right after high school instead of going to college?

BS: I do. I think especially with these development academies that they’re kind of paving the way for people to go pro, especially where they grow up. You look at my team, Dallas, and it has four, five, six guys that they signed from the development academy.

MC: You spent some time training with Arsenal last winter in London. What was that like?

BS: It was a lot of fun. It was a great experience and I learned a lot training with guys like, obviously, Van Persie, who was probably their best player last year. Just seeing what they do on and off the field was great for me, to watch and learn and see. To learn what it takes to play at that level, I think was the best part for me.

MC: 2011 was a breakthrough season for you. This year you had the suspension and now you’re dealing with an injury. How would you rate your season so far, both personally and with FC Dallas?

BS: Not very good, to be honest. Whether it’s the suspension, injuries or going with the national team or Olympic team…I just haven’t had a group of games to get a rhythm, to get going.

MC: What can you tell us about your future? You were a hot name in the rumor mill not too long ago. Anything to report?

BS: I want to play in Europe at some point. I just have to do it when it’s the right time for me, and the right club. It depends on a lot of things.

But I can’t complain. I like playing in Dallas. My contract is here for a couple more years, but if the time comes when I feel like it’s right and the right team comes and it all feels right, then I want to make a move. I just don’t know when it would be.

MC: Let’s turn to the national team. What did you make of the Guatemala game?

BS: I’ve played [Guatemala] before, and it’s not fun. I mean, I’ve done it all at the youth level, but I don’t think it’s much different, except for the stakes.

I think they could have played better versus Guatemala, obviously, but I know how hard it is, and I know they tried. It’s just a hard environment to play in.

MC: For the first time since Jurgen Klinsmann has been in charge, you weren’t selected for the national team. When do you expect to get back into the team?

BS: I think just once I get healthy and start playing a lot. I have no doubt in myself and my ability that I’ll be back as soon as I get healthy and get a couple games in with my team.

MC: I read that you have six tattoos. Is that number still accurate, and if so, which one is your favorite?

BS: I don’t think that’s accurate. I think I have more, but I’m not sure to be honest. My favorite is probably my “Believe” one (on his right leg). It’s on my Deuce watch on the bottom. It’s my thing: Just believe in yourself, believe in what you do.

MC: You and Deuce Brand teamed up to design a watch. What can you tell me about the watch and Deuce?

BS: I think they’re a cool brand. They built me a watch and they did a pretty sweet job, and it captures my personality in it. I like what they stand for.

MC: I’ve got to ask about the hair. Where do you find inspiration for all your different looks? Do you have anything special planned?

BS: I’m not sure where I get it from. I’ve just always had a different kind of haircut when I was growing up, whether it was long, short, just something stupid. I just kind of experiment, and I listen to what people say, and I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s go try it.’

People think there’s a lot of thought in it, but there’s not. It kind of just happens.

MC: Do you have a prediction for the rest of this season?

BS: I think once I get healthy, I’m going to get back to the form I was in last year and help my team get back on track, because we obviously haven’t been playing the best and we’ve been struggling, too.

And I think when a lot of our players that are injured get back, we’ll get in the playoffs and I think we’ll do pretty well.

14. Thanks, Brek, I know our readers at Bleacher Report will be really interested to hear what you had to say. Good luck with the rest of the season.

Hey, I appreciate it. No problem.

Brek Shea was speaking at the launch of his "Signature Series" watch with Deuce Brand. For more about Shea's signature watch, visit Deuce Brand's website.

Follow @MikeCummings37

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Going into the game against the New York Red Bulls, the Chicago Fire were looking for a good start. Within only four minutes into the first half, a goal by forward Patrick Nyarko gave the energetic crowd of 18,526 something to celebrate. The end result: a 3-1 scorching of the Red Bulls that helped the Fire jump ahead of both the Houston Dynamo and their rivals, the Columbus Crew.

The Fire went into halftime up 1-nil against the Red Bulls, who were without Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez. During the first 45 minutes, the Fire showed great passing and solid defense.

In the second half of the match, the tide began to turn, leading to a game-tying goal by Dax McCarty of the Red Bulls in the 55th minute. Shortly after, controversy ensued in the 64th minute of play when an apparent goal by Dominic Oduro was disallowed. The ball appeared to have made its way into the net after deflecting off of Red Bull goalkeeper Ryan Meara’s finger tips.

Speaking with Oduro after the match about his scoring opportunities, he took a moment to reflect on the disallowed goal. “As you can see there was one ball in that clearly I thought it was in, but the ref didn’t call it.” About another scoring chance, Oduro praised Meara’s effort, "The goalie made a great save. He cut an angle really good on me. He just had a great save.”

Instead of sulking, the Fire quickly regrouped and scored the eventual game-winning goal from an unassisted goal by Gonzalo Segares. It was the second goal of the season from the Costa Rican defender.

An insurance goal in the 81st minute was scored by Chris Rolfe. Rolfe, injured for much of the season, had played for the first time against the New England Revolution.

Chicago Fire coach Frank Klopas on the win:

Obviously a great win. It’s good to be back home. And obviously it was important after this two-week break to start off on the right track. We talked about coming out from the beginning and having a good start to the game. And pressure right off the bat so we can make this really a home-field advantage with the great fans that we had.

We had a great start. The first 15 or 20 minutes I thought were very good. We lost our momentum but a little bit in the rhythm. After that cause, I think we needed to be a little bit more simple with our decision making with the ball. Needed to be better and then we just turned the ball over a little bit.

But then after that we gave up a goal off a set piece but then the team responded very well. I give credit to the players and thank the great fans for coming out and watching the game. It was a great win for us.

The win, which was perhaps the Fire’s best game of the year, sets up an important Wednesday night date versus the Crew.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for Bleacher Report. All quotes and observations were acquired first-hand.

Follow me on Twitter @ernestshepard  

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Fresh off a 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy continue their gauntlet of matches on Wednesday, June 20 against Jason Kries's Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. The Los Angeles Galaxy are currently 4-8-2 (14 points) and will need every point they can get to get back in the MLS Western Conference race.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 PM PST/9 PM EST and will be televised locally by KDOC and KWHY. Here are 10 bold predictions for Wednesday night's tilt.

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Let me get this straight: the Galaxy actually won a game? Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy actually won a game!? Has the world ended or something? I blame the Kings. And I just had to say that.

Regardless of whatever conspiracy you theorize, the Galaxy started the second half of the season on the right track with a 1-0 victory over John Spencer's Portland Timbers at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

With the win, Los Angeles improved to 4-8-2 (14 points) and will look to stay out of the Western Conference cellar this Wednesday against Real Salt Lake.

Let's take a look at six things we learned from this match.

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Sporting Kansas City used two first-half goals—including a world-class strike from Julio Cesar—and a stingy defense to defeat Toronto FC in front of a season-high crowd of 20,488 fans at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.

The match was the first in 11 days and is also the first of five in 14 days.

Sporting KC started attacking from the starting whistle. In the third minute, Seth Sinovic broke loose on the counterattack and fed the ball ahead for Teal Bunbury. Bunbury put a good move on defender Doneil Henry and fed the ball back to Sinovic in the box, but Sinovic's first touch was lacking and he turned the ball over.

Sporting KC opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Defender Chance Myers fed the ball up the right wing to Jacob Peterson. Peterson crossed the ball in, and Henry went for the clearance and missed. The ball reached C.J. Sapong, who one-timed the ball into the back of the net.

The goal was Sapong's fifth of the season, tying him with Kei Kamara for the team lead. Sporting KC is now 11-0-0 when Sapong scores.

Toronto missed a golden opportunity in the 30th minute. Torsten Frings played the ball over the top and found Eric Avila near the top of the penalty area. Avila put a shot on target and it hit the left post, rebounded to the right post and off of defender Aurelien Collin before going over the endline.

After the game, Avila said:

"I've had one post, but never two. Torsten (Frings) played me a great ball, I brought it down, saw a gap and put it in there. Seeing it hit the first post, I thought it was in. It was just one of those heart-breaking things. If it goes in, it's 1-1 and who knows what happens."

Five minutes later, Sporting KC doubled their lead. Graham Zusi took a corner from the left side and put the ball on the far post. Cesar was unmarked on the back post and volleyed the ball past goalkeeper Milos Kocic. It was Cesar's first goal of the season and Zusi's eighth assist, tying him for the league lead with Dwayne De Rosario.

After the game in the locker room, Cesar said:

"Zusi gave me a good pass from the corner kick. I just wanted to strike it on target, and I put it into the net. I am comfortable shooting, but at my position it is not my job. Tonight I felt I could attack more, and I am very happy to score."

Sporting KC dominated the first-half possession battle, controlling the ball almost 68 percent of the first 45 minutes. Toronto FC had to wonder if that would continue when Sporting KC nearly scored directly from the second-half kickoff.

Collin launched the ball forward from about halfway into the Sporting KC half of the field. Sapong headed the ball to Teal Bunbury, who one-timed the ball, but Kocic made the initial stop. Bunbury got the rebound, but Kocic denied him again.

Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen came up big in the 70th minute. Luis Silva put in a nice through ball that put Danny Koevermans in one-on-one with Nielsen. Nielsen came out to cut down the angle and Koevermans' shot was met with the left boot from Nielsen. If this had been a Toronto Maple Leafs game, the announcer may have called it, "a kick save and a beauty..."

Toronto FC was lucky to finish the game with 11 men on the field.

In the 76th minute, forward Ryan Johnson had Myers draped over his back. Had a foul been given, it might not have escalated a bit, but it wasn't and Johnson appeared to kick at Collin as he shoved Myers to the ground. There was some pushing and shoving after that, but order was restored fairly quickly and referee Paul Ward booked Johnson for what was clearly frustration on Johnson's part.

Toronto FC was able to win more of the possession and managed to get 10 shots off in the second half, but was simply unable to capitalize on the opportunities they created.

At the postgame press conference I attended, Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said:

"Other than the chance that was given up to (Danny) Koevermans, (Jimmy) Nielsen made a world-class save there. For him to come up with that big save that was tremendous. It kept us in the game and you hope that your keeper can do that for you over the course of multiple games and he did. Credit to the guys, great job, excellent effort tonight."

Also at the postgame press conference, new Toronto FC manager Paul Mariner said:

"Kansas City came out of the blocks really well. We tried to weather the storm, but they were coming out in waves. We changed it slightly for the first 15 (minutes) of the second half and went a little bit higher with the guys out wide. After 60 minutes, we completely changed the system. It just wasn’t meant to be tonight."

Up next for Sporting KC is a road match Wednesday at the Seattle Sounders. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PDT. After this match, Sporting KC will not face another Western Conference team in league play unless it's in MLS Cup.

Sporting KC's next home match is Tuesday, June 26th, at 7:30 p.m. It is the quarterfinals of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and their opponent is the Dayton Dutch Lions of USL Pro, the third division of soccer in the U.S.

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After a long layoff due to the FIFA International Calendar, it's back to work for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, who take on John Spencer's Portland Timbers on Jun. 17 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

With a record of 3-8-2 (11 points), the Galaxy sport the worst record in the MLS Western Conference and the third-worst record overall in all of Major League Soccer. Portland aren't faring any better, as they have a record of 3-5-4 (13 points). Both teams will aim to get out of the conference cellar this weekend.

Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. The Live Blog will begin at approximately 2:15 p.m. PT/5:15 p.m. ET. Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2012 Major League Soccer season and all things world football.

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The Return of Josh Saunders

For Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, a surprising wave of good news came when it was revealed that goalkeeper John Saunders would be available to start against the Portland Timbers on Sunday (kickoff: 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET, KDOC and KWHY).

Saunders had gone through substance abuse training and was clean and sober heading into this week. He was in action on June 2 against the Portland Timbers reserves.

"It felt natural," Saunders told MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. "It felt like what I'm supposed to be doing.

“Whenever your team’s not winning, you're always thinking about it. You’ve got to look at the positives. There’s a lot of guys who are healthy. We are a good group of people, and we know we can win games.”

For Arena, it was refreshing to know that Saunders was ready to do some work for once.

"He's done a good job, he's fit, he's mentally right," Arena remarked. "And obviously playing in the reserve game last weekend helped him."

More Reserve League Fun

Speaking of Reserve League, the Los Angeles Galaxy reserves blew past the Vancouver Whitecaps, 3-1. Jose Villareal, who rebounded from his injury earlier this season, scored a brace in the 47th and 86th minutes while Jack McBean added an insurance goal in the first minute of stoppage time,

Bryce Alderson scored in the 68th minute for the Whitecaps reserves.

Los Angeles' next Reserve League match will be on July 10 against Chivas USA. The Galaxy will be out for payback after the Goats gave them some bad medicine in the form of a 4-2 blowout defeat on April 2.

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Thierry Henry's glittering resume boasts 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 success with France, two Premier League titles won at Arsenal and a Champions League triumph with Barcelona.

The striker, now 34 but still going strong, can now be found playing in the MLS with New York Red Bulls—for whom he's scored nine goals in nine appearances so far this season.

Here's what Henry had to say when I caught up with him on the phone.

WILL TIDEY: Hi Thierry, thanks for taking the time to talk today. Let's start with life at New York Red Bulls. Is it everything you expected it to be? What have been the biggest surprises so far?

THIERRY HENRY: When I first arrived I had no expectations. I didn't know what the league was about or anything. I just wanted the guys to accept me. Now it's different. Now I know about the MLS and I'm ready to perform. I know my teammates better and it's going really well.

WT: How does the regime and training schedule at the Red Bulls compare to those you experienced at Arsenal and Barcelona?

TH: It's difficult to compare. I used to play at teams who had three games a week. When you play for Arsenal or Barcelona you just maintain your form. You have lots of games and you don't really have time to train like we do here. Here we play on a Saturday, then the next Saturday. It's different because we can train properly.

WT: How do you like the New York lifestyle?

TH: I live a simple life. I train; I go home; sometimes I go to the cinema. It's New York and it's great, but my life is just like yours. (WT thinks this rather unlikely.)

WT: What do you say to those who continue to undermine the standard of play in the MLS? How does it compare to the Premier League and La Liga?

TH: I don't know why people are trying to compare these leagues. Even during my time in England, people would ask me if the Italian or Spanish leagues are better. I don't see it like this. It goes without saying the MLS is not at the level of the big leagues in Europe, but we have some amazing players here and some who've gone on to prove themselves abroad.

WT: Which players have particularly impressed you in the MLS so far?

TH: Brek Shea is one. Tim Ream is another—he left to go to Bolton and it was a shame to see him relegated. (Dwayne) De Rosario is a clever player on the ball. He can score goals. There are certainly some guys here who can do more than the job. Many more I could mention too.

WT: Your return to Arsenal earlier this year must have been really special for you. Having had a few months to reflect on it, do you think you'll look back on it as one the happiest periods in your career?

TH: The thing that changed this time is I only played five or six times. I didn't do something amazing. But it was the first time I played for Arsenal as a fan.

WT: What does the future hold for Thierry Henry? How many years do you want to play on for? And, when you do retire, what comes next? Can we expect to see you back at Arsenal one day?

TH: I would love to one day go back to Arsenal, but it's not only up to me. It's only a dream to me right now. After I stop playing it would be a wish and a dream to go back to Arsenal in any capacity, but I have two more years here. I'm just trying to finish my career and win a title in the MLS.

Thierry Henry was speaking at the launch of a nationwide U.S. tour to promote PUMA's evoSPEED Collection—a new range of sports shoes designed with the attributes of "light," "fit," and "flex." Henry will be wearing PUMA king boots—in red, white and blue—this summer in the MLS.

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