ΒΕΤΤΙΝG NEWSLETTERS: Kick Off: Counting the days to Sunday's Conference Championships; USA, Canada in action Tuesday

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Kick Off: Counting the days to Sunday's Conference Championships; USA, Canada in action Tuesday

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

1. ONE WEEK TILL CONFERENCE CH'SHIPS

It's nearing crunch time again in the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T, with just days remaining until Sunday's first-leg Conference Championship doubleheader on NBC (1:30 pm ET) and ESPN (5 pm ET). MLSsoccer.com will be getting you set for the big match-ups all week long, and to whet your appetite here's the Tale of the Tape breakdown of New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders vs. LA Galaxy.

2. PLAYOFF STARS HEAD HOME

The upcoming playoff showdowns have wreaked some havoc with the rosters of the US national team and the Republic of Ireland, who face off on Tuesday (2:30 pm ET on ESPN2 and UniMas). Americans DeAndre Yedlin, Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen were all sent home to prep for the Conference Championships. And Ireland also released Robbie Keane back to the LA Galaxy.

3. LINGERING LATE-GAME LETDOWNS

When the USA play on Tuesday night, they'll hope to address another second-half meltdown on Friday when they lost lost 2-1 to Colombia at Craven Cottage in London (HIGHLIGHTS). The US once again conceded a late goal, something head coach Jurgen Klinsmann attributes to a World Cup hangover.

4. FOCUS ON THE FUTURE

Kyle Beckerman was easily one of the best US players on Friday, and the Real Salt Lake midfielder has his eye on as many more international appearances as he can earn. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan was also impressive, and while he looks to be the USA's No. 1 choice in net, he was full of praise for D.C. United youngster Bill Hamid.

5. POLISHED PENEDO

Back to MLS, if the LA Galaxy hope to win their Western Conference Championship series against the Sounders, in addition to Bruce Arena's impressive tactics, they know they will need strong matches from Jaime Penedo, who has become one of the top goalkeepers in MLS thanks to a little help from Matt Reis.

6. SOUNDERS UPDATE

Meanwhile, the Seattle Sounders held their annual Sounders Alliance Business meeting on Saturday and owner Joe Roth spoke gave his take on the 2014 Sounders as well as the recent controversy involving Klinsmann. There was also news that Xbox will be staying on as the club's official jersey sponsor through at least 2016.

7. UNION LAY OUT VISION

Another MLS club owner, Philadelphia Union's Jay Sugarman, made a rare appearance at a press conference on Friday, where he discussed the team's future path. It's one that will involve Rene Meulensteen, the former Fulham boss and Manchester United assistant who wasunveiled as a team consultant, and an increased focus on developing academy talent.

8. FIRST CHOICE

Before we get to Sunday's playoff games, there will be a Dispersal Draft taking place Wednesday, and we now know which teams will get first dibs on former Chivas USA players this Wednesday. We also learned a little bit more about how teams will be compensated if they lose players during the upcoming Expansion Draft.

9. PLAYOFFS ARE NOT ENOUGH

While Steve Clark and Ethan Finlay both enjoyed breakout seasons for the Columbus Crew, neither is happy with the fact that the season is over. Clark can't get over the way in which it ended, while Finlay is looking for even more from himself next season.

10. NYCFC GETTING BUSY

New York City FC are starting to finalize plans for their first MLS preseason including a training stint in Manchester and a game against their sister club Manchester City. Meanwhile, NYCFC Chief Business Officer Tim Pernetti is sleeping out on the streets of New York this Thursday to raise money and awareness to help homeless youth.

11. LIONS GOING LIVE

Fellow 2015 expansion side Orlando City continue to make all the right moves as they build up for their first year in MLS, with the latest news suggesting the team from Florida is on the verge of securing a new local TV deal.

12. USA vs CANADA: THE FUTURES EDITION

While the USMNT get ready for a Tuesday match vs. the Republic of Ireland and the Canada senior team preps to take on Panama on Tuesday (9 pm ET on Sportsnet One and Sportsnet World), their two Under-20 sides will match up in the Marbella Tournament on the same day. in their most recent matches, the US Under-20s beat Ireland's Under-21s 1-0, while Canada's U20s earned a 2-1 win over Russia.

13. VELA WILL BE BACK

Following Carlos Vela's strong performance in Mexico's 3-2 win over the Netherlands, El Triboss Miguel Herrera has stated that he will call on the long-absent forward again. Herrera also suggested that another friendly against the US could be in the works for April.

14. CONCACAF CALLS FOR PUBLIC REPORT

While FIFA's summary of the report on alleged corruption within FIFA exonerated the world body of any wrongdoing, that seemingly does not sit right with two of CONCACAF's executives, as both President Jeffery Webb and Executive Committee member Sunil Gulati have joined the calls for the full independent report to be released.

15. SCORPIONS WIN TITLE

While David Villa's loan spell with Melbourne City could be at an end, there was another New York City FC player in action over the weekend, as Josh Saunders helped guide the San Antonio Scorpions to their first NASL title with a 2-1 win over the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.

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