MLS

The anticipation is building in Atlanta for their club’s inaugural season in MLS as they’ve now sold more than 40,000 tickets for their home opener against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, March 5. The match will be televised nationally on FS1 at 7:00 PM ET, and club president Darren Eales says they are on pace for a sell out.

Atlanta United will begin play at Georgia Tech’s 55,000-seat Bobby Dodd Stadium while construction on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium is completed. United are slated to begin play there on July 30 against Orlando City, a match that will be broadcast on FOX.

I’m Minnesotan so you must forgive me; when the Vikings started 5-0, I thought we were going to win the Super Bowl. We didn’t make the playoffs. When the Timberwolves drafted Kris Dunn and hired Tom Thibodeau, I thought we would win the Finals. We have one of the worst records in the Western Conference. However, I truly believe the Wild will win the Stanley Cup this year and that Minnesota United, in their inaugural MLS season, will probably win the Cup.

I know, I know. It's way too early to say anyone has a better chance to win the 2017 MLS Cup. The season is only in its preseason stages. But predicting is fun, so why not?

Every new season for MLS is a possibility for previously bad teams to rise to top and snag the coveted MLS Cup.

Could it be the defending champion Seattle Sounders? Maybe we could possibly see a brand-new team surprise the world of MLS and nab the title.

Here are the top five teams we think could win the 2017 MLS Cup.

Football kits bridge performance and lifestyle like no other sporting attire. Without even knowing what they’re wearing, only knowing that it looks fly as hell, you see people walking around in the famed blaugrana stripes of Barcelona, the white sleeves of Arsenal or the historic bianconeri shirt of Juventus. They're really the only sports garments you can wear outside the stadium without looking like a child trapped inside the body of a demented adult. 

The Colorado Rapids began their preseason schedule this past week with a pair of matches against the Ventura County Fusion of the Premier Development League.

The Rapids and Fusion ended the first match in a 1-1 draw. The game didn't hurt for scoring chances, but no goals would be scored until the last 10 minutes. The Fusion found the back of the net first in the 83rd minute with a goal from Diego Castillas. However, it only took three minutes for the Rapids to equalize, as Dominique Badji converted on a lethal cross from Mekeil Williams.

When we read about things like allocation lists, sums of targeted and general allocation money and the processes of discovery and re-entry in MLS, we usually just smile, nod our heads in feigned understanding, and murmur things like “But of course.” In truth, it’s all terribly confusing and best left to the poor sporting directors and player personnel managers who need to assemble an entire roster for $3.845 million.

Last season, the Colorado Rapids shocked the world of the MLS by exploding into the playoffs, where they lost in a shootout in the Western Conference semifinals to the eventual MLS Champions, the Seattle Sounders.

The reason no one expected the Rapids to do well last season is since they won the MLS Cup in 2010, the Rapids have a combined record of 54-72-44. However, a few additions for the Rapids helped them in rising back to the top of the league: Dillon Powers, Tim Howard, Shkelzen Gashi, Marlon Hairston, Marco Pappa and Dominique Badji. 

The holier-than-thou footballing mentality of the English came to the fore when Frank Lampard announced his retirement Thursday. Lampard, who was slated by all of England during the 2006 World Cup and booed at Wembley during their disastrous Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, is a living legend, but he didn’t die on Tuesday, he just won’t be playing for NYCFC anymore.

Oguchi Onyewu signed for the Philadelphia Union on Monday, bringing back a smorgasbord of painful nostalgia. I loved Onyewu, he proudly flew the flag for American soccer players abroad for a number of years, but he was also at the center of a couple unpleasant memories during a very formative time in my life.