MLS Insider Blog

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Last week Real Salt Lake undertook an epic road trip that took them from Salt Lake City to Mexico City to Toronto and back in the span of a week and MLSsoccer.com was along for the long, 3-nation ride. The end result is the web series Real Road Trip which debuts today and will run through the week.

In the first installment we catch up with RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis and players Chris Wingert, Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando and recount how the club went from playoff no-hopers to MLS Cup champions to globe-trotting CONCACAF Chapions League contenders in less than a year. It’s all set-up for tomorrow’s show in which the team make for Mexico.

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Did you happen to catch Nick Rimando’s save against Leandre Griffit over the weekend? It was insane. A combination of hops and a swat that would make the NBA’s Dwight Howard proud, this save dares you to describe it without use of the words “athleticism” or “catlike.”

As you would expect it is up for the NAPA Save of the Week alongside fantastic efforts by Joe Cannon, Bouna Coundoul, Zack Thornton and a combined effort from Donovan Ricketts & Greg Berhalter. Pick your favorite and cast your vote at MLSsoccer.com.

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Last night Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell kicked off the MLS All Star week festivities in style with a packed party at downtown Houston’s Venue nightclub. While the DJ and the bartenders certainly got a lot of attention from the patrons, it was the athletes who were the main attraction on the night. With everyone from Houston Rockets 1st-round pick Patrick Patterson to Houston Texans wideout David Anderson filling the V.I.P. area, show was the center of the Houston sports & party scene for the evening.

There were also tons of familiar MLS faces in the room; New England’s Kevin Alston & Shalrie Joseph, Colorado’s Jeff Larentowicz, D.C.’s Jaime Moreno and seemingly every member of the Dynamo were in the house. I also found your homeboy (and mine) Nick Rimando from Real Salt Lake mingling among the athletes and the beautiful ladies that follow them. How’s he enjoying Houston? See the clip above to find out.

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Voting is now open for the NAPA Save of the Week: Week 13. This week’s candidates include Sainey Nyassi, Nick Rimando, Kasey Keller, Matt Pickens and perennial candidate Jimmy Nielsen. Check out all of the saves in the video above and log on to MLSsoccer.com now to cast your vote.

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

The nominees are in for the NAPA Save of the Week for Week 9 and to no one’s surprise Kansas City keeper Jimmy Nielsen is once again a leading candidate for the best stop of the past seven days. It seems as if this guy has made the cut every week since arriving from Denmark and he’s showing no signs of letting up.

But his fellow contenders aren’t going to go down without a fight with Donovan Ricketts, Stefan Frei, Troy Perkins and Nick Rimando all turning in award-winning performances. Watch all of this week’s best saves and vote for the NAPA Save of the Week at MLSsoccer.com.

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Week 6 saw more outlandish saves and freakish displays of athleticism by the MLS goalkeeping corps. From Joe Cannon’s diving save against Colorado to Bouna Coundoul’s point-blank denial of Clyde Simms, all of this week’s candidates for the NAPA Save of the Week are worthy of being crowned this week’s winner.

So who will it be? Check out this week’s nominees courtesy of MLSsoccer.com.

BY SHAWN FRANCIS

Although his side is breaking down opponents like sand castles, Nick Rimando is not sleeping the Galaxy. MLS Insider was lucky enough to get on the phone with the Real Salt Lake keeper after Tuesday’s practice and got him to open up on his outlandish performance in Saturday’s shootout and his thoughts on this weekend’s opposition. I lost his call somewhere in Rocky Mountain pass, but not before he had a chance to discuss the respect he has for Los Angeles and the respect that his team doesn’t get.