ΒΕΤΤΙΝG NEWSLETTERS: Kick Off: Columbus Crew set to unveil new look; Portland, Toronto continue playoff chase tonight

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Kick Off: Columbus Crew set to unveil new look; Portland, Toronto continue playoff chase tonight

Here are the top 15 stories everyone's talking about this morning:

1. PLAYOFF PUSH

Toronto FC host the Houston Dynamo tonight (7:30 pm ET, TSN in Canada, MLS LIVE in the US) as the two teams play their game in hand and catch up with the rest of the Eastern Conference on 31 games played. A win for Toronto will move them back into the playoff places and, while the fans may have liked things to be more secure by this point, for many it’s just nice to play a meaningful game in October . Meanwhile, the Dynamo’s own slim playoff hopes have taken a hit due to international call-ups.

2. CLUB OVER COUNTRY

Depending how tonight’s game against Houston goes, TFC’s remaining three fixtures could be more important than ever. Kyle Bekker certainly understands that and so the TFC midfielder has dropped out of the Canadian national team squad to try and help his club.

3. YOUR MOVE, PORTLAND

If the Portland Timbers can win tonight’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes (10:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE), their second encounter in five days, then they’ll climb back into the playoff places and really put the pressure on the Vancouver Whitecaps, their rivals for the West's final playoff spot, ahead of VWFC's Friday night meeting with the Seattle Sounders.

4. KAMARA’S CREW

Get practicing those heart-shaped hands, Columbus: Kei Kamara is on his way back to MLS. Although the Sierra Leone international isn’t eligible to play for the remainder of this season, the Crew used their top spot in the allocation order to grab the forward, whom head coach Gregg Berhalter sees as the club's new No. 9.

5. READY FOR A REBRAND

While he can’t play, Kamara has arrived just in time for the official launch of the Columbus Crew’s new logo, set to be unveiled tonight at 6:30 pm ET. Want to see some of the work that went into the redesign ahead of the grand reveal? Check it out right here.

6. WONDO'S REDEMPTION

Having initially failed to make the latest US roster, Chris Wondolowski had spoken about how he would have to fight to earn his place. Well, the fight is over, as Wondo has been officially added to the US squad for Friday's match against Ecuador. It does mean the Quakes will be missing their star striker tonight, though.

7. O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

As the US national team trains at Harvard, Jurgen Klinsmann has named Landon Donovan as captain for the Galaxy star’s final international game. Donovan will join the team on Thursday and, while he’s only expected to see roughly 30 minutes of game time, he doesn’t believe this appearance would have happened at all if not for U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati.

8. CHOICES, CHOICES

New York Red Bulls center back Matt Miazga is a man in demand right now, receiving call-ups from both the Polish U21 team and the US Under-23 side. However, as far as international soccer is concerned, Miazga is believed to favor the US over Poland.

9. REAL RESPONSE

With Real Salt Lake still looking to guarantee their place in the MLS playoffs, while also trying to avoid dropping into the Knockout Round, their squad suddenly finds itself plagued by injuries and international call-ups. Will it affect their game against San Jose this weekend? According to Kyle Beckerman, “No matter who plays, we’ve just got to respond.”

10. A DEEP DEFENSE

The LA Galaxy back line has put together a league-leading performance this season, a fact that’s made all the more impressive considering just how often Bruce Arena has had to rotate his defenders.

11. REMEMBERING DI VAIO

There are a number of MLS and US veterans retiring this season, with Donovan chief among them. Not to be overlooked is the fact that Marco Di Vaio is also calling it a career, and the Italian could quite rightly lay claim to being, even at 38, one of the best forwards to ever grace the league.

12. CASCADIA CUP CONCLUSION

The Sounders host the Whitecaps on Friday in a game that will decide the winner of this season’s Cascadia Cup, just as all the relevant parties have come to an agreement over the competition's trademark.

13. SOUNDERS GETTING HEALTHY

While the Seattle Sounders were able to keep hold of Clint Dempsey for this weekend’s Cascadia clash, they have lost DeAndre Yedlin to the USMNT, a fact that head coach Sigi Schmid seems OK with now that his other defensive options are suddenly starting to look a bit healthier.

14. THE WAITING GAME

The New York Times says that New York City FC’s signing of Frank Lampard brings the league “authenticity." Now the only question is whether he'll be there from day one, or extend his loan stay with Manchester City. His manager, Jason Kreis, says he'll be back for training camp and many are in agreement.

15. WRITER’S BLOCK

With Rais M’Bolhi away with Algeria, Zac MacMath will be back in goal for the Philadelphia Union this weekend and the goalkeeper spoke astutely about his time on the bench. What’s MacMath been doing in the meantime? Well, it seems he’s started a blog.

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