Will Saturday's MLS Cup be the last time we see the USA's greatest soccer player on the field?

Right-sided attacking players are common in MLS, and it's also common for them to be scattered around spots up top as well as be stationed on the flank.

In the world player market, left-sided players are second in demand only to goalscorers, and whether they deploy them as wingers or floaters, teams with strong players on this flank tend to do well in MLS.

Since it joined MLS in 2009, the Seattle midfield has been anchored by a Cuban defector who is one of the league's savviest players and toughest tacklers: Osvaldo Alonso.

In his third MLS season, Juninho, one of the league's few Brazilians played a key role as the defending champion Galaxy shook off a poor start to reach its second straight MLS Cup.

Varied roles brought Graham Zusi a lot of responsibility in 2012, and the Sporting Kansas City veteran used his talents to win an Eastern Conference regular-season title.

For Daniel Hernandez, the body just couldn't keep up with the spirit.

Today, Tuesday, the day after David Beckham announced he's ending his Galaxy playing career on Dec. 1, the world is different, just as it was nearly six years ago when MLS announced the England international was forsaking one of the world's great clubs to take up with a decidedly lesser party.

The campaign to re-elect President Barack Obama succeeded in part because its workers were able to get out the vote, and the much-maligned MLS playoffs have also succeeded in one critical area of the same ilk.

The part of his job that Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer utterly dreads is fast approaching, and he's powerless to avoid it.

Although just a friendly, that was an impressive result by Coach Jurgen Klinsmann's USA, coming back twice to earn a 2-2 tie at Russia. Achieved without the USA's two best players, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan.

With Adam Moffat unavailable and Ricardo Clark not at full fitness, the Houston Dynamo midfield may have trouble containing D.C. United despite holding a two-goal lead heading into the second leg of their Eastern Conference final series.

"Play the whistle!" might be the exhortation of soccer coaches but it did not apply in two MLS games this year. That's because the referee mistakenly blew the whistle before a goal was scored and then allowed the goal to stand.

MLS has announced its end-of-the year finalists, with the winners to be gradually rolled out starting early next week. Here is how I rank the three finalists in the major categories along with those individuals who also deserved serious consideration but didn't make the cut in voting conducted among players, coaches, MLS executives, and members of the media.

Goals by Michael Bradley and Mix Diskerud wiped out one-goal deficits to earn the United States a 2-2 tie with Russia in a friendly played Wednesday as the Americans closed out their 2012 schedule with a 9-2-3 record in 2012.