Editor's Notes: We're almost dead, Tyler Deric, Donovan assist record, Chivas dead or alive?

We're almost dead

Technically, the Houston Dynamo could still make the playoffs. Do I think it is going to happen? No. We would have to win out all of our games and have some teams lose to make it easier. What it's time to start doing is looking at next year. Now I'm not saying to just throw away the rest of the season. I'm saying use the rest of the season to really find out who we have sitting on the bench and waiting in the wings. Run out the younger players and see what they can do. Toronto, DC and New England are our next three opponents and all good teams to run out younger players against. Challenging but not so much so that they should end up crushed. I want to see what these players can do. Ten minutes at the end of a game isn't enough time for them to settle, for us to really see what they can do. The defense, midfield and strikers all look disjointed from each other. It's time to see if we have what we need on the bench to get them linked back up while keeping in mind the injured players we will be getting back next season. Namely Mark Sherrod who looked like he was going to be a shining star for the team this season only to spend the season out with an ACL tear.

Or we could keep on keeping on with the 'We're not dead' manta at least until we lose a game (or hey never lose a game).

Tyler Deric

I would just like to point out how kick ass Tyler Deric was this week for the Dynamo. He is a huge part of why the final result was only 1-0 against the Red Bulls. He made a number of tough saves through out the game and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it three weeks running with a Save of the Week nomination.

To say he has made a case to become the permanent starter next season is an understatement. Tally Hall and the backline have struggled for much of season. Things have improved since the team added DaMarcus Beasley and Luis Garrido but the dynamic has gotten stronger as Deric has come in for the injured Hall. Dynamo fans have always known what we had on the bench in Deric so it really hasn't come as a surprise to them to see him shine in the back.

Landon Donovan sets assist record

Saturday, Landon Donovan set the assist record taking the title away from Steve Ralston. Donovan is now at 136 assist and still has the rest of this season to rack up a few more before riding off into the sunset when the season ends. He set in record in 330-games played while it took Ralston 378. A few weeks ago Darrell Lovell interviewed Ralston about the impending record breaking.

"People keep asking me, ‘What do you think?' I think he's at least going to tie it and probably break it. Do I want him to break it? No, not really. The only person I'd want to break my record would be my son. People that say they want their records broken, they're liars. Who doesn't want to keep it? At the same time, if he breaks it, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. He's Landon Donovan. He's arguably the greatest player in US soccer history. If someone's going to break it, and it's Landon Donovan, that's fine with me."-Steve Ralston

Dead or alive?

With each report that comes out about LA2/Chivas USA the story seems to get murkier rather than clearer. It sounds more and more like Chivas USA will be going on a hiatus possibly for two years. It has been reported that a hiatus is needed for the new owners to secure a new stadium and to relaunch the team. But with reports out about the new ownership group for LA2 which includes Peter Gruber and Vincent Tan it sounds like Chivas may cease to exist entirely. It isn't clear if the team will just go on hiatus, rebrand and come back better than ever or fold and a new expansion team will pop up in its place.

Which is better for the league? Tough to say. The Chivas brand has been a growing eye sore for the league and lord knows the fans deserve better. The idea of either happening to my team instantly puts a knot in my stomach and I can't imagine how all this feels for Goat fans. Not matter what the team has to have a rebrand. At this point the Chivas name has been so run to into the ground that I don't think you can keep it. There are just too many negative associations with it. What they do need to do is announce what is going to happen even in if it is only the hiatus announcement. The longer they stretch this out the worse it is for fans and they will end up losing fans because of it.