The United States Soccer Federation has confirmed that a Jan. 29 friendly between Canada and the U.S. has been booked for Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium.

So, according to the basics of Journalism 101, the fact that Chris Wondolowski was named MLS Player of the Week isn’t a news item. The San Jose Earthquakes striker scored his 23rd, 24th and 25th goals of the season in a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rapids — and was the easy winner of the vote from the members of the North American Soccer Reporters.

“I think the time for experimenting is finished,” said Hart. “We had a series of games in the first round of qualifying and due to injury or unforeseen circumstances I had a lot of different players go through that system. But now we sort of know what we need to do and any sort of changes is not necessary now.”

The warmest BMO welcome will no doubt go to Maurice Edu, who was the club’s first-ever draft pick and won MLS rookie of the year on 2007. He was eventually sold to now-bankrupt Rangers. But BMO Field was the first professional stadium that he called home, so the game should be more special for him than any of the other 22 men on the U.S. squad.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s biggest contribution to Toronto FC came to light today. German national team star Torsten Frings, long regarded as one of the top midfielders in the Bundesliga, the anchor of the Werder Bremen side, was announced as one of TFC’s two new designated players. He and Dutch striker Danny Koevermans will be eligible to play for the Reds as of July 15.

Jürgen Klinsmann blew into Toronto this week to meet the local media. It was a super photo op for a Toronto FC club desperately needing some positive press. With a season-ticket holders’ revolt on their hands — and another season of broken promises of playoff success in the books, the Reds need the German soccer legend more than he or …