Out Swedish soccer player Anton Hysén takes to the stage again tonight on Let’s Dance (really, right about now since it’s in Sweden), so let’s take a look at his James Bond-inspired tango that earned him top scores last week:

#g4s writer gay4soccer and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

Yesterday a hat trick of DC United players joined the Allies list, bringing the number of new list members just from our day-by-day efforts this month to 40.

Today we backtrack a bit, because through yesterday’s trades, Chivas USA dropped from three allies on the list to only one. As one of the most out front players as part of the team’s Equality Night last year, we’ve considered goalkeeper Dan Kennedy an ally since the list started:

So with Pearce off to New York and Lahoud off to Philadelphia, who will join Kennedy? Help us recruit the players below and ask each to become a #soccerally

• Juan Agudelo, forward
• Juan Pablo Angel, forward
• Paolo Cardozo, midfielder
• Laurent Courtois, midfielder
• Blair Gavin, midfielder
• Scott Gordon, defender
• Rauwshan McKenzie, defender - joined the list…thank you Rauwshan!
• Oswaldo Minda, midfielder
• James Riley, defender
• Jorge Villafaña, midfielder
• Ben Zemanski, midfielder

#g4s writer gay4soccer and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

So, you know that post from yesterday I posted…yeah, that was the calm before the storm…

Yesterday no Major League Soccer club other than the New York Red Bulls decided to start the summer silly season off right with a trade that [insert any phase here]. Seriously, I have gone through every thought from this “is happening” to “this is amazing” and from what I’ve read everyone has done the same but with the dust settling this a good trade.

Oh yeah the trade was Juan Agudelo for Heath Pearce (salary partially paid) + allocation money + 1/3 of the transfer fee when Agudelo goes to Europe.

So let’s look at the positives and negatives of the trade.

Pros:

New York just got a whole lot hotter (really Health Pearce is so the hottest American defender in the MLS)

He’s versatile playing all over the backline and I guess he played in midfield at one point. Which is great because he can fill holes of injuries and suspensions with high quality.

He’s one of the best defenders in the league.

He’s American so this whole NY is Anti-American players takes a hit.

Agudelo was always going to go we were just saving him til post the olympics but with him not playing that wasn’t going to happen. Now NY has some more cash to play with this summer to fill some holes and we get part of that transfer fee when it does happen in the next year.

Con:

Another academic player gone – must hurt the prospects of current ones

I’m not a big fan of the NY flawed win-now mentality because for that to umm work it requires the winning of a trophy.

So overall I think the trade was a good one as long as NY buys a striker or two over the summer (or the Rodger’s visa situation is fixed). Plus hopefully the CAM DP Is still coming. Oh the next couple months are going to be ‘special.’

#g4s writer kdfooty and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

Tally Hall before the Inaugural Game at BBVA Compass Stadium on May 12th. Photo by Ivannah Bandalan.

On May 15th under the bright lights of BBVA Compass Stadium there was a battle of epic proportions. The Houston Dynamo took on the Portland Timbers in the first night time match at the new stadium. While the other twenty men on the pitch put in amazing performances, there were two who really shone that night. Those two men were Tally Hall and Troy Perkins. I have always had a soft spot for keepers. Scoring goals is great, but to me stopping those chances is even more impressive. Ultimately that man in the net is the deciding factor. It doesn’t matter how well (or how poorly) the rest of the team is playing, in the end it all comes down to the keeper. That is his box and what he does in it can make or break a game.

That said, I do not want to downplay the impact of the other players. There was some particularly beautiful (in every sense of the word) work by Michael Chabala in the second half, and Nathan Sturgis was on fire for the Dynamo. Despite that, this game was all about the keepers. Tally Hall and Troy Perkins, in my opinion, are a couple of the most hardworking keepers in the league and their performances on Tuesday proved that.

Tally Hall is relatively new to the Dynamo’s starting line up, and had an amazing year in his first season as starter in 2011. In the 2012 season Tally Hall has posted four shut outs, including a shut out on May 12th against D.C. United, and has made 22 spectacular saves allowing only 9 goals to get past him. In Houston he is known as Tally ‘the Wall’ Hall, and has quickly become fan favorite.

Troy Perkins came to the Timbers when they joined the league for the 2011 season with vast experience internationally and in Major League Soccer. Though he was injured during the Timbers inaugural season, he posted the very first ever league shut out for the Rose City against Real Salt Lake. In April Perkins took a boot to the face in a controversial scuffle with Montreal’s Nyassi. He sustained a laceration and was forced to leave the game. Despite being fitted with a protective mask for the Columbus and Houston games, Perkins has come up huge for Portland and was named their Man of the Match in both games.

On May 15th both Hall and Perkins were stars on the pitch and despite a 0-0 score line the game was far from boring. Both the Dynamo and the Timbers had lots of shots on goal, and the keepers were always there with an answer. Hall started early with an excellent save in the 11th minute on a long range strike from former Dynamo Lovel Palmer. Perkins best save of the night came in the 66th minute when Calen Carr played an excellent ball through to Camargo inside the box. The Dynamo ultimately had a whopping 18 attempts on goal, while the Timbers had 9. Despite all of the chances the keepers were just too strong at both ends of the pitch and the game ended in a scoreless draw.

In all of the excitement surrounding goals scored, sometimes the shots that are saved get lost. You might be surprised what you notice if you keep an eye on the keepers.

#g4s writer Ayla and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

We’ve focused on a dozen Major League Soccer Teams this month, and player representation on our Allies list has more than doubled since May 1.

DC United has a pair of players on the list right now. Danny Cruz joined via Twitter early last month. His teammate Josh Wolff participated in making an It Gets Better Video last summer:

Who on the team will join Danny and Josh? Use the list below to help us reach out to them and ask them to be a #soccerally.

• Dwayne De Rosario, midfielder
• Nick DeLeon, midfielder
• Bill Hamid, goalkeeper - joined the list…thank you Bill!
• Perry Kitchen, defender
• Brandon McDonald, defender
• Chris Pontius, midfielder/forward - joined the list…thank you Chris!
• Robbie Russell, defender
• Marcelo Saragosa, midfielder
• Conor Shanosky, midfielder
• Ethan White, defender - joined the list…thank you Ethan!

#g4s writer gay4soccer and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

The Red Bulls have had a lot of doom and gloom forecasting since the beginning of the season. First the away losses to Dallas and Salt Lake. Then came the scoring onslaught. Then came the horrible game in DC and lots of injuries ending with Henry’s hamstring going in the beginning of the New England game. Everyone expected NY just to fall apart.

Oh how wrong they were. 4 wins later and guess what NY actually has real depth for the first time in god knows when. P.S. this is the first 4 win streak by NY since 2003. Dax McCarthy, Kenny Cooper, Ryan Meara, and the entire inexperienced backline stepped up. Lindpere started producing. Hell, Holgerssen who started off his MLS career being the scapegoat has turned things around and even scored a goal on Sunday in Philly. Yes I do find it odd the second Miller and Marquez are brought back into the starting XI the shutout streak ended but a win is a win.

The summer is looking bright. Almost everyone is back to training which is perfect time since the MLS teams start the open cup in 3 weeks. It will be interesting to see how Backe deals with a full healthy squad now that the bench have proven themselves. I think the summer will be bright and wins will continue. I’m also curious who our 3rd DP will be. I also wonder what is going to happen to Wilman Conde. Oh what’s NY without more drama now that Marquez is back from suspension another player decides to assault a police officer? Words can’t describe it really.

#g4s writer kdfooty and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

Well my fellow G4S readers, I am sorry I haven’t been able to post anything recently as I have been consumed by work and my family life. But now that I have a quick break from it all, let’s talk Rapids today, shall we?

Today the Rapids face DC United at 5:30 MT on Altitude TV/MLS Live. Currently the Rapids are in 5th place in the Western Conference table (last 5 matches L-L-W-L-W) and are sitting just three points behind DC in the combined table. It will be an interesting game as the Rapids will also host a home game this upcoming weekend, which lineup will Pareja and company use?

If you haven’t heard by now, Omar Cummings and Marvell Wynne are both out for a couple of weeks with injuries. So that allows several options off the bench to slide into the starting lineup. It will be an interesting couple of weeks as players have come in creating competition across the board. Players like Jaime Smith, Harrison Henao and the recent addition of Edu, the midfield is stacked as well at the forward position. Which creates another interesting piece to everything; who will be the odd man (men) out? It could be Wells, Nane, or even Akpan. Time will tell but this club looks like it’s trying to get the right pieces in place.

Hopefully by mid-summer we have a lineup that is consistent with what Pareja is trying to accomplish.

Also something to note: Pablo Mastroeni has begun light jogging that is monitored by a trainer. Concussion precaution has become a serious issue not just in MLS but other professional sports, which could be one major positive out of all of this. We hope to have our former Captain back to the team soon, and wish him a non-rushed recovery. I am sure the boys want him back as much as the supporters, but in the interest of the player’s health… It’s best to just allow time to heal, even if that means early retirement.

Question to my readers, does anyone else have this little crush on Martin Rivero?

He has certainly been growing on me since we signed him. He has had glimpses of great talent but he also hasn’t played well at points either. Something about his smile, the way he carries himself and his… body is what keeps me coming back. If I can get a picture or two of him next time out at the stadium I will. Anyone else have a couple of players they love? If so shoot me a tweet or comment below.

Twitter handle: teddy_montoya

#g4s writer tpmontoya and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

Yesterday Real Salt Lake really blew me away by going from one player to seven on the Soccer Ally list, making them the most well-represented Major League Soccer team.

Today we look at the Houston Dynamo, whose captain Brian Ching joined the list via Twitter last month. And this morning I added Colin Clark to the list.

Who will join them today? Will Houston meet the bar set by Real Salt Lake yesterday and Sporting Kansas City earlier in the month? Help us ask the players below to join the #soccerally list.

• Corey Ashe, defender - joined the list…thank you Corey!
• Bobby Boswell, defender
• Will Bruin, forward
• Geoff Cameron, defender/midfielder
• Calen Carr, forward - joined the list…thank you Calen!
• Warren Creavalle, defender - joined the list…thank you Warren!
• Brad Davis, midfielder
• Tyler Deric, goalkeeper
• Alex Dixon, midfielder - joined the list…thank you Alex!
• Tally Hall, goalkeeper
• Macoumba Kandji, forward
• Kofi Sarkodie, defender
• Nathan Sturgis, midfielder - joined the list, thank you Nathan!

#g4s writer gay4soccer and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

One of the sincerest pleasures I had this weekend in Houston was to meet Dynamo midfielder Colin Clark.

I’m fairly confident I don’t need to recap what happened with Colin almost two months ago in Seattle, but if you need a refresher, you can read about it here.

Soon afterward he sent us this tweet:

@gay4soccerI’m very sorry for my actions tonight and I would love for you to consider me a #soccerally moving forward

— Colin Clark (@cOlin_cLark7) March 24, 2012

I have yet to add Colin to the list. It was too soon. It seemed like a knee-jerk reaction. Like a celebrity immediately giving a donation to the Anti-Defamation League right after making an anti-Semitic comment or the NAACP after a racist one to improve their image.

Time has passed. Colin and I have had a few conversations since then. We’ve talked about what happened. We’ve talked about what he’s done since the incident. And we’ve talked about what he hopes and plans to do, going far beyond anything officially required of him by Major League Soccer. And through our conversations I can see he is sincere about all this, and sincerely sorry.

Meeting him this weekend and speaking with him more and truly getting to know him cemented this. We hope to record an interview soon so you can hear from him as I have, as well as answer any questions you might have.

Until then, I am comfortable saying this. Colin Clark is a Soccer Ally.

#g4s writer gay4soccer and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.

Because I love soccer and I love the Obamas.

#g4s writer gay4soccer and other talented contributors can be found at gay4soccer.