| Kansas City!
Tony Meola AP | Fire will burn out
By Jeff Green, CNNSI.com
The MLS Cup trophy is headed west of the Mississippi this year, as the Kansas City Wizards, by most accounts the underdog in Sunday's final, will ride their league-best defense for the team's first-ever championship on Sunday.
The two evenly matched teams each completed the regular season on top of the table with 57 points, but they took far different paths. The Fire had the league's best offense, tallying 67 goals to the Wizards' 47, while K.C. had the best defense in MLS, giving up just 29 goals to the Fire's 51.
Anchored by MLS defender of the year Peter Vermes, the K.C. backline got even stingier during the playoffs, giving up just four goals in six games -- a 0.63 goals against average.
If the cliché that big-time players shine in big games holds true, look for Fire forward Hristo Stoitchkov and K.C. goalkeeper Tony Meola to decide Sunday's match.
The MLS title will cap a fairy-tale season for Meola. The veteran of the 1990 and '94 World Cups returned this year from a serious knee injury and turned in perhaps the best season ever for an MLS goalkeeper, notching a record 16 shutouts. And he deserves to be the first goalkeeper ever to win the MLS MVP trophy.
For offense, MLS has few players more suited to poaching goals than "Danish Dynamite" Miklos Molnar. The ever-dangerous Preki has also turned in a strong playoff performance and could make the difference.
The Fire got this far despite a series of injuries, but playing without Czech defender Lubos Kubik and Polish midfielder Peter Nowak, they have even less chance of overcoming the Wizards' magic.
| Chicago!
Hristo Stoitchkov AP | Magic ends for Wizards
By Michael Lewis, CNNSI.com
Let's not mince any words. The Chicago Fire will win the MLS Cup on Sunday.
The reason is simple: The Fire is the best team in the league.
It certainly goes a long way that Bob Bradley is the best coach in the league. In today's modern game, his astute tactical awareness and player management is essential.
But Bradley will be the first to tell us that it's players, and not the coach.
And man, does he have players.
Hristo Stoitchkov is past his prime as a dominant international player, but the Bulgarian forward still can be a game-breaker at this level. Peter Nowak, questionable with a left hamstring strain, is a prototype midfield general.
Chris Armas is simply the best defensive midfielder this country can offer, the transition man and glue between the backline and attack. Zach Thornton (the Fire was 2-5 without him, allowing 18 goals in those matches) is like having a middle linebacker in the net.
Ante Razov came into his own as a legitimate scoring threat, and Josh Wolff, off an impressive performance at the Olympics, is not far behind.
Add a number of promising players, including defenders Carlos Bocanegra, the MLS rookie of the year, and Evan Whitfield, and you have a unique mixture of veterans and youngsters.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The supporting cast and depth is the best in the league.
No disrespect to the Kansas City Wizards. They're a good team, a very good team. The Fire is simply better a better one.
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