With the MLS season moved up to its earliest start ever, forgive us if we don’t feel 100 per cent totally prepared for First Kick. Judging by the way many MLS teams finished preseason, with tentative matches and still looking at trialists with a week to go before the games count in the standings, a lot of coaches aren’t quite ready for the early start, either.

Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey knows that Wednesday’s second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final could be a watershed moment for U.S. Soccer and MLS. “We weren’t able to finish. We haven’t had the Lake Placid moment,” Lagerwey said in a conference call Monday ahead of the second leg.

Canadian international Will Johnson penned a new contract with Real Salt Lake on Tuesday. But, still, Canada-fuelled rumours of a trade to Toronto FC or another Canadian club won’t go away. Give it up, people.

e Dec. 5 MLS Re-Entry Draft is a straightforward process, but there will be a couple of considerations for Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey and Columbus Crew GM Mark McCullers. The Crew and Real Salt Lake will meet in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals; the first leg of their aggregate two-game series will go Feb. 22, while most teams are in the midst of their training camps.