The Very Best in MLS

No. 1—MLS Rookie of the Year Race

It's a two-horse race for Major League Soccer rookie of the year, and this past weekend FC Dallas forward Tesho Akindele may have pulled ahead of Chicago Fire midfielder Harry Shipp.

Akindele, a 22-year-old Calgary native, scored his fifth, sixth, and seventh goals of the year in FC Dallas' ruthless 5-0 dismantling of San Jose. Take a look.

No. 2—Clint Tries to Silence E.J.

I have conflicting emotions about this whole ice bucket thing—see "Major League Soccer's Weekly Worst," below—but we are 100% behind Clint Dempsey's not-so-subtle suggestion that Eddie Johnson backs away from social media for a while.

Grown-ass man or ass-clown? Sometimes some people need a goodhearted public scolding, like this one.

No. 3—No Silly Euro Friendlies All Week!

Can you imagine Manchester City putting its best players out on the field against, say, the New England Revolution, in February, so that the MLS side could prepare for its coming season?

What about Bayern Munich scheduling a March 2015 scrimmage against Chivas USA—sandwiched between a Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund and a Champions League contest against AS Roma?

Ludicrous, right?

And yet Major League Soccer does it every summer. These disruptive cash grabs are couched as good public relations for MLS, but I for one am sick of them.

Do these Liverpool or Arsenal fans turn into MLS season ticket holders? Maybe, but I doubt it.

Let's have more weekends like this past one—MLS teams playing games that matter.

No. 4—Brian Dunseth Gets the Balance Right

Major League Soccer commentators often confuse broadcasting for cheerleading, and for the neutral soccer fan, listening to many of them work is, in a word, excruciating.

Guys! We don't care who signs your checks. Report the action in front of you, please, and remember there's no cheering in the press box.

Brian Dunseth gets it, and he proved as much during Saturday's Real Salt Lake - Seattle contest. The game, which aired on NBC Sports Network, offered Dunseth, a Salt Lake City resident who works on the team's local broadcasts, plenty of opportunities to root-root-root for the home team.

But he didn't.

Dunseth rightfully praised Sounders' striker Chad Barrett for his opportunistic second-half strike, indicated that Seattle looked fully capable of equalizing in the match's final 20 minutes, and did what every good analyst is supposed to do—he played it down the middle.

Dunseth wasn't shy about expressing his admiration for RSL midfielder Luis Gil, but it's hard to fault him for that. Gil, 21, is a stud.

No. 5—Gyasi Zardes Strikes Again

Yes, the 23-year-old striker missed an absolute sitter against Columbus, but he also volleyed home a beautiful Dan Gargan cross to breathe a bit of life into an otherwise moribund Galaxy team. That's nine goals for Zardes in his last 10 matches. He's fast, he's strong, he understands the game, and he's learning from two of the best. You've got to believe Jurgen Klinsmann is keeping an eye on this California native.

Major League Soccer's Weekly Worst

No. 5—L.A. Collapses in Columbus

Despite Zardes' strike, Los Angeles played horribly at Crew Stadium, giving up four goals to the home team and making the sub-.500 Ohioans look like Arsenal circa 2002.

And yes, the coach and players knew it.

"Bad performance all around," Robbie Keane said after the match. "I think they were the better team."

"If you don’t compete in this league," Landon Donovan added, "you don’t give yourself a chance to win."

The Galaxy's midfield play was particularly egregious, as Donovan, Juninho, and Marcelo Sarvas played far too passively, allowing Crew midfielder Tony Tchani to rule the midfield like a modern-day Patrick Vieira.

Next up for L.A.? A Wednesday road game against a very beatable Colorado Rapids team. Columbus hosts Houston on Saturday.

No. 4—Logic-Challenged Ice Buckets

Did the Ice Bucket Challenge, also known as the #IceBucketChallenge, raise awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease? Yes it did.

Did MLS players and officials jump on the bandwagon? Yes they did.

Was there a media backlash? Of course there was.

That said, donations are up, awareness is up, and the campaign is a huge success.

But unless I'm misreading things, the idea is that you either donate $100 to the ALS Association or you dump a bucket of ice water over your head. So, does that mean that all of those midfielders, coaches, broadcasters, owners, and commissioners videotaping themselves are choosing not to donate to the cause?

It's so confusing.

I lost a family member to ALS. It's a dreadful disease. If you prefer to donate to the cause quietly, in such a way that your vanity cannot be called into question, you can do so right here.

No. 2—Robert Kraft

If you're not going to invest in the team, Mr. Kraft, do yourself and New England soccer fans a favor: sell.

Could Jermaine Jones help your team? Mix Diskerud? Sacha Kljestan?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Are you pursuing any of them? For real, I mean—not in a "Hey, we tried" kind of way? Doubtful.

Jerry Bengtson, your one and only DP, was exiled to Argentina recently. Was it because he made too much money?

I don't know.

What I do know: It's time to stop making googly eyes at Tom Brady and Bill Belichik for a minute and pay attention to this franchise.

New England fans deserve better.

No. 3—Jermaine Jones in Limbo

We've been hearing about Major League Soccer's interest in Jermaine Jones for a while now, and the drumbeat keeps getting louder.

So, what's the holdup?

Jones to New England? I'll believe that when I see it. Jones to Chicago? OK, sure.

But Jones belongs in Los Angeles. He owns a home there. The Galaxy are desperate for some bite in the midfield. And judging from Jones' Instagram and Twitter scrolls, the 32-year-old Frankfurt native has a thing for celebrity culture.

Of course, MLS salary caps and Designated Player rules and stipulations and asterisks, all designed to protect the owners and keep player salaries as low as possible, prevent the Galaxy from signing Jones.

Does this sort of thing happen in England or Italy or Germany or Mexico or anywhere else?

Meanwhile, a U.S. World Cup hero sits and waits.

Ugh.

No. 1—San Jose Embarrassed at Home

Make no mistake—FC Dallas is on a good run of form right now. But the San Jose Earthquakes turtled at home against the Texan side, losing 5-0 and dropping behind Chivas USA for last place in the Western Conference.

The club needs to change things up in the coming offseason. With a new stadium on the way and two somewhat-less-than-high-profile Designated Players on its roster, ownership needs to give fans more reasons to support the team.

It should be an interesting offseason in the Bay Area.

John Godfrey is the founder and editor in chief of American Soccer Now, and he welcomes your feedback below.