Nice goal, good game

And so the Revs beat the Fire and are now heading to MLS Cup, where most folks are expecting a rematch of last year's final with the Houston Dynamo.

The Revs weren't quite as awesome this year as in year's past. Andy Dorman stepped up his game and was a capable replacement for Clint Dempsey, who's now knocking on real stardom at Fulham. But Dorman's fine play only lasted half a season. The additional contributions of Ralston and Wells Thompson don't really compensate for losing a guy like Dempsey. But the Revs still had Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan. They still have Defender of the Year Michael Parkhurst.

And the Chicago Fire know that they have Shalrie Joseph.

It was funny how many 50-50 balls ended up on Joseph's feet. The Fire had to feel frustrated-- they played well enough but seemed to come up just short in every important moment. Ironically, Fire coach Osorio, who correctly noted the lack of tactical variance in the league, found his team unable to break down a compact New England defense. And the Fire goal, announced by waves of attacks and crosses, never came to be.