This is normally the time on the calendar when thoughts turn to the best way to celebrate the opening weekend of the MLS season. For fans lucky enough to hold tickets to an opening week home match as well as those who watch the league from the comfort of home, the long-awaited return of games is an opportunity to get excited about the teams and storylines that will carry their interest from March until November.

Unlike most years, however, the prospect of a strike could delay the start of the season....

February is normally the time when teams in Major League Soccer head off to sunny destinations in Florida and Arizona to play preseason tournaments and get ready for the upcoming season. This year, Austin, Texas, was the site of a preseason tournament, a first for the city.

Yet instead another humdrum affair among four teams -- D.C. United, Columbus Crew SC, FC Dallas and the hometown Austin Aztex of the USL Pro -- there was clearly an emphasis on claiming the top prize. Was it the satisfaction...

The countdown continues, with the planned start of the MLS season, March 6, creeping closer with every minute. As team preparations kick into high gear, coaches are fleshing out their best lineups in preseason matches from Arizona to Manchester.

Although preseason doesn't have any bearing on the upcoming season, there are hints of what's to come in each match, even it isn't always obvious at first sight.

With this period still being the offseason, the focus remains split between the on-the-field...

Things have never been better for MLS. The league continues to grow both in terms of the number of teams and attendance. Frank Lampard, David Villa and Kaka are all poised to begin their first seasons in MLS. Nothing can halt that kind of momentum, right?

Actually there's something that could stop the league dead in its tracks -- a strike by the players. Jeff Carlisle answers all the pertinent questions on the matter.

Q: Why would the players strike?

A: MLS and the MLS Players Union are trying to...

The latest week in the painfully slow march to the first match of 2015 pushed the calendar past the one-month threshold in the countdown to the new season. With camps in full swing and coaches now putting their players through their paces in preparation for the resumption of competitive soccer, fans are starting to ramp up their own excitement. A low hum of anticipation emanates across the land from places like Orlando, where thousands of purple-clad supporters anxiously wait for their team's first-ever...

Europe is the dream destination for most U.S.-based soccer players looking to make their fortune. Not for Ryan Johnson, though.

After playing for five MLS teams, most recently with the Portland Timbers in 2013, plus Osters IF in Sweden, Johnson played in the Chinese Super League in 2014 with Henan Jianye and has just joined Seoul E-Land FC in South Korea.  He will be performing under former Vancouver Whitecaps coach Martin Rennie at the club. Seoul E-Land, sponsored by a franchising...