| Kick Off: Seattle Sounders look to Osvaldo Alonso | MLS awards season cranks up | Roster moves afoot Untitled Document Here are the top 15 stories everyone's talking about this morning: Untitled Document 1. WILL ALONSO BE BACK IN TIME? Having missed the first leg, will Seattle Sounders linchpin Osvaldo Alonso be ready in time for Sunday's return leg of the Western Conference Championship (9 pm ET on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and RDS2)? According to Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid, he’ll be ready to go. But while Alonso is recognized as being just as important to the Seattle defense as DeAndre Yedlin and Chad Marshall, does center back Zach Scott get the credit he deserves? 2. MARSHALL LAW Speaking of the Sounders' defense, Marshall has been voted MLS Defender of the Year for a record third time. D.C. United's Bobby Boswell won the club and media vote, but Marshall’s role in helping the Seattle Sounders to both a Supporters' Shield and US Open Cup, as demonstrated in this highlight reel, left him the overwhelming choice among his fellow players. 3. AND THE WINNERS ARE… In the other awards categories announced on Tuesday, LA's AJ DeLaGarza was voted Humanitarian of the Year for his charity efforts in the face of great adversity, while Mark Geiger and Paul Scott were voted Referee of the Year and Assistant Referee of the Year, respectively. 4. STADIUM NEWS D.C. United marked another small victory in their long-running quest for a new stadium, as the city's reworked plan for a soccer-specific arena in the Buzzard Point neighborhood passed through two City Council committees on Tuesday. In the meantime, you're also going to want to see what Orlando City, Toronto FC and the 2017 Atlanta expansion team are cooking on the stadium front. 5. LATEST SOCCER BOOK Tuesday saw the release of Galaxy left back Robbie Rogers' autobiography, entitled “Coming out to Play.” As Rogers starts to promote the book, he spoke about his experiences coming out as a soccer star on NBC’s Today Show, and gave a revealing interview with the Hollywood Reporter. 6. CUTS IN KANSAS CITY Last year's MLS Cup champions Sporting Kansas City have begun making moves for 2015. On Tuesday, SKC announced that six of the club’s players have had their options for next season declined. Sporting has also officially parted ways with Lawrence Olum, but retain his rights if/when he decides to return to MLS. 7. RELEASE THE RAPIDS The Colorado Rapids have also been making changes ahead of the new campaign. Following a disappointing 2014, the club has revealed that it declined the options on 11 players for 2015. However, as technical director Paul Bravo noted, “some of these players may be back with us by the time we begin training in January.” 8. FIVE DROPPED BY THE DYNAMO The Houston Dynamo passed on options for five of their players, including veterans Omar Cummings and Andrew Driver. Whether any of these players return or not remains to be seen, as the club is still in search of a new head coach, but you can cross at least one name off the list of candidates for that job. 9. SEBASTIAN SUSPENDED The Vancouver Whitecaps may have a new problem ahead of the Expansion Draft as both Kekuta Manneh and Omar Salgado have just graduated from the Generation adidas program. If the club wishes to retain them for next year, it will have to protect them. Both Manneh and Salgado know that if they stick around in Vancouver, they could have an early chance at playing time after Sebastian Fernandez found out he’ll be serving a four-game suspension for his antics following the playoff defeat to FC Dallas. 10. ORLANDO AIMING FOR THE PLAYOFFS Orlando City SC are already building a reputation as a fun and inclusive club, thanks in large part to the team’s president, Phil Rawlins. But can the fans expect the team to make the playoffs in their first MLS season? The club certainly have lofty ambitions leading up to their expansion debut, but as Rawlins contends, “people don’t expect a lot from Orlando. It’s all about New York City FC right now.” 11. EJ UNPROTECTED? Could Eddie Johnson find himself on the move again this winter? According to an article in the Washington Post, Johnson doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, meaning D.C. United have the option to leave him unprotected in the upcoming Expansion Draft after the Designated Player's spotty first season with United. 12. COLUMBUS SWITCH PARTNERS A new era for Columbus Crew SC also means a new USL PRO affiliate, as it was revealed on Tuesday that the Eastern Conference side will be switching their affiliate partnership from the Dayton Dutch Lions to the Austin Aztex. Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter cited "the philosophy of the technical staff and the aspirations of the ownership" in Austin as leading factors in the change. 13. UNION TAKING POSITIVE STEPS Want more evidence of the Philadelphia Union’s positive investments in their team? Look no further than the club's recently-installed training fields. The Union will also be taking part in a historic preseason game next year, providing the opposition for NASL expansion side Jacksonville Armada’s inaugural match. 14. CARIBBEAN COMBINE MLS has announced it will be holding its second Caribbean Combine, this time in Puerto Rico, as the league once again partners with the Caribbean Football Union in an attempt to discover and develop the best young talent in the region. Those that impress will earn an invitation to the regular MLS Combine in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 15. THINGS TO LOOK FOR Following Jurgen Klinsmann’s lengthy Q&A with U.S. Soccer's website, what exactly can we expect for the US national team in 2015? Here are four things to look out for. MLSsoccer.com Musts MLS Insider: How Oscar Pareja became “El Profe” MLS on Campus: Top college players who may be available in the SuperDraft. Which MLS operated teams will be competing in USL PRO next season? | 
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