The 18th MLS season kicks off this weekend with 18 teams trying to dethrone two-time defending champion Los Angeles.

Now that Landon Donovan has surprised nobody by announcing he's coming back to play in late March, the two-time defending champion can concentrate on making league history.

The Fire attained its objective last year of getting back into the playoffs after falling short in in 2010 and 2011. Now comes the hard part.

A season of regular-season thrills and playoff disappointment leaves the Quakes in a strange position heading into 2013.

Is it desperation or delusion that prompted D.C. United to bring back Guatemalan Carlos Ruiz for his third stay in MLS?

Thanks to the generosity of other teams, both foreign and domestic, the Red Bulls are remade once again.

The names have changed, but RSL's tradition of Latin style and American grit has not.

The Sounders got over an important hump in 2012, but still have yet to top two major bumps in the road.

For the past two seasons, midseason moves have propelled the Houston Dynamo to a spot in the MLS Cup, only to fall both times to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

If nothing else, the Crew in 2012 proved that getting into the playoffs isn't as easy as it used to be.

Whitecaps' management admitted after the 2012 season that perhaps too many changes were made to a successful team, but the few misfires that resulted haven't staunched an aggressive approach.

Owner Joey Saputo earned a reputation for boldness while overseeing the Montreal Impact's years in the minor leagues, and that persona hasn't changed with an upgrade to MLS.

The transfer of midfielder Brek Shea to Premier League club Stoke City dominated the offseason headlines for FC Dallas yet is only one of myriad changes implemented in the wake of a sixth-place finish.

The return to MLS of former D.C. United defender Ryan Nelsen had been expected. His new job title and employer certainly weren't.<

For their final preseason match of 2013, the Rapids took 32 players to Southern California for split-squad games Friday against the Los Angeles Galaxy and UC Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara.