ΒΕΤΤΙΝG NEWSLETTERS: Kick Off: Commissioner's State of the League | MLS Cup storylines

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Kick Off: Commissioner's State of the League | MLS Cup storylines | more MLS awards

1. STATE OF THE LEAGUE: LIVE

Today marks MLS Commissioner Don Garber's annual State of the League event. MLSsoccer.com will stream the event live, starting at 2 pm ET. This year the format is slightly different, with Garber taking questions from a roundtable of reporters and broadcasters.

2. NO REST FOR THE CUP FINALISTS

The New England Revolution and LA Galaxy are throwing themselves into preparations for Sunday's MLS Cup final (3 pm ET, ESPN, UniMas, UDN in US, TSN1, RDS2 in Canada). Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena and Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth spoke withExtraTime Radio. For LA, defender A.J. DeLaGarza expects to be ready after missing last Sunday's Conference Championship second leg due to injury. His possible return is one of many storylines to keep track of this week.

3. THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE

Having refereed with distinction during the summer's World Cup in Brazil and recently beenvoted MLS Referee of the Year, Mark Geiger will cap a fine 2014 by officiating the MLS Cup final on Sunday.

4. MORE MLS AWARDS

Speaking of MLS year-end awards, two more were announced on Tuesday morning. D.C. United's Ben Olsen was named Coach of the Year, and the Portland Timbers' Rodney Wallace was named Comeback Player of the Year.

5. THANK YOU, TITI

Thierry Henry has officially departed the New York Red Bulls, and the outpouring of thanks from players, fans and media has been impressive. Typically, Henry said goodbye in his own, uniquely Henry way and, while he may not have won an MLS Cup, he's certainly left his mark on MLS. His next destination remains unknown, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expects that Henry will come back to the club some day.

6. MORE TO COME FROM MONTREAL

Having announced the signing of Italian midfielder Marco Donadel on Monday, Montreal Impact head coach Frank Klopas has promised that the signing is just the first of many this offseason.

7. OPTIONS DECLINED AT RSL

Real Salt Lake have declined the options on five of their players, including Robbie Findley. Abdoulie Mansally was also on that list, although general manager Garth Lagerwey has stated the club is in talks with the defender about a new deal.

8. EXPANSION CLUBS WAITING ON ARRIVALS

While New York City FC fans are left to continually wonder exactly when one of their DPs will arrive, with Manchester City head coach Manuel Pellegrini saying a decision will be made "in December," Orlando City do not have any of these problems, as Kaka has officially said his goodbyes to Sao Paulo.

9. KREIS GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

New York City FC made another new addition on Monday, acquiring assistant coach C.J. Brown from the Chicago Fire. Brown spoke about the difficulty of leaving the Fire, but the allure of being reunited with NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis, whom he worked under at Real Salt Lake, proved too much.

10. SOUNDERS REACTIONS

With their season over one week earlier than they would have liked, next year will once again see the Seattle Sounders attempt to, as Sigi Schmid puts it, climb to the top of that mountain. However, the Sounders know they gave it their all, as exemplified by Osvaldo Alonso.

11. TIMBERS TALK

Things have been quiet with the Portland Timbers recently, with both Caleb Porter and Gavin Wilkinson currently out of the country, but the club appears set to announce several moves next Monday. Could one of them be Ghanaian goalkeeper Adam Larsen Kwarasey?

12. PHILLY GOING BACK TO THE ISLAND?

While several MLS clubs have started their own USL PRO sides, it seems the Philadelphia Union are planning to continue their partnership with current affiliate Harrisburg City Islanders, albeit under a much different arrangement.

13. THE CRITERIA

With Atlanta's MLS club not due to begin play until 2017, the club's new president, Darren Eales, does not expect to put a head coach in place until 2016. However, he has spoken aboutwhat exactly they'll be looking for when they do make that hire

14. CAN THE US UNDER-17s MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW?

The US U-17 side, featuring five MLS Academy players, continued their fine form in the International Friendlies tournament with a 2-1 win over Australia on Sunday. However, they face arguably their toughest test when they play Brazil today in the tournament finale.

15. MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR SOCA WARRIOR PRINCESSES

The final spot in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup is on the line today when underdog story Trinidad & Tobago host Ecuador in Port-of-Spain. Houston Dash coach Randy Waldrum, who has been coaching Trinidad & Tobago since this summer, knows his team need to win to reach the World Cup after a 0-0 tie in the first leg in Quito. Trinidad will be without one UConn player due to her exam schedule, while Ecuador are also looking for their first trip to soccer's biggest stage.

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