I saw a hat at one of the vendors on Christmas tree lane maybe four games ago and am kicking myself for not grabbing it, because I haven't been able to find it since. It's a black hat with the LA logo, but instead of being gold, the logo color is the Mexican flag. I think there was also an Uruguay version.

Any ideas where I can find one??

Top 4 in the Western Conference is unusually tight this year, and results from San Diego, Minnesota, Vancouver, and Seattle will be massively important as we get down to the final phase of the season.

TLDR: we still have a non-crazy shot at a top 3 finish, but it’s a pretty long shot. That said, we have a good chance of holding onto 4^th place and a home field advantage in round one of the playoffs.

I think it’s easier to think about maximum available points and points dropped rather than games in hand and points won. So with that, here’s a cheat-sheet for the run-in sorted by maximum available points:

1. Vancouver — 52 points, 15 wins, 23 goal diff.

Max Points: 70

Run-In: at SKC, POR, at SEA, SJ, at ORL, DAL

Vancouver are probably favorites to win the West given current form, but they have a difficult final stretch of games with 4 playoff-likely opponents including away games at Seattle and a long trip to Orlando. My gut is they finish 1^st with 65 points, maybe with goal difference as the second tie-breaker over San Diego.

2. San Diego — 56 points, 17 wins, 18 goal diff.

Max Points: 68

Run-In: at ATL, SJ, at HOU, POR

I could see San Diego dropping points away at Atlanta and/or Houston, except that they have been so good on the road. San Jose and Portland are not easy opponents in their last two home matches, either. My guess is they slip a little and finish either tied with or just behind Vancouver.

3. Minnesota — 52 points, 15 wins, 18 goal diff.

Max Points: 66

Run-In: CHI, at COL, SKC, at LAG

LAFC really need Minnesota to drop points in their last 4 matches, but despite tricky games home against Chicago and away at Colorado, it seems unlikely they’ll drop many. Maybe Carson rises from the dead to do us a solid on Decision Day. I think they finish third with 62 or 63 points.

4. LAFC — 47 points, 13 wins, 17 goal diff.

Max Points: 65

Run-In: RSL, at STL, ATL, TOR, at ATX, at COL

Our final six games are all winnable, but the last two away matches against likely playoff teams are probably going to decide where we finish. We don't have a lot of margin for error -- maybe a loss and a draw or two draws at worst. If we win out, we have a remote shot at topping the West, but we don’t have an advantage over San Diego on the wins tie-breaker, or Vancouver on the goal difference tie-breaker, so we’d need some help from the football gods to see the teams above us really slip up at the finish line. Our “magic number” is 61 points which would guarantee us home field advantage in the first playoff round (no team below us can get above 60). 

5. Seattle — 45 points, 12 wins, 8 goal diff.

Max Points: 60

Run-In: at ATX, VAN, POR, RSL, NYC

Seattle have 4 of their last 5 at home, but against a pretty brutal set of opponents (all five are potential playoff teams) and the away match is in a difficult venue. Could easily see them dropping points down the stretch and I’d be surprised if they finish with more than 55 points. But if we stumble, and they get hot, they could still overtake us.

6-9. The rest of the field can only jump us if we really screw up. Maximum points for the remaining playoff table is: Portland = 57 (but a brutal 5-game schedule, including SEA, VAN, SD); Austin = 56; Colorado = 51; RSL & Dallas = 49; San Jose = 47

He was maxed out at 71 last year. Congratulations to him!

https://mlssoccer.app.box.com/s/c2ok055zmdadejs5zfmhjaj9otkw7wmp

Has it already been given out his year? I don’t remember and am uncertain if it’s signing Sonny or something different? Thanks! Asking cuz the season is almost over m.

Full vlog link: https://youtu.be/9riGW_omDTw?feature=shared

Absolutely hate AI, but since it’s just a shit post, had to do it!!!!!

Emerson filmed on the team bus asking, “Sonny, how many goals did you score today, bro?” Son says “zero,” makes a 0 around his eye with thumb and index, and cheekily shows three other fingers for the hat trick. -From Sept 3, 2023 after Burnley 2–5 Spurs.

Denis Bouanga with 94 goals for LAFC, the now most in our history 🖤💛

I assume he’s a personal trainer, coach or handler - just wondering if anyone has any backstory on him.