MLS released its 2014 regular season Monday. That's six weeks before it was released the previous two years.

Good games by several regulars and so-so displays by a few players on the bubble were the main points of a 1-0 loss to Austria in Vienna that closed out the 2013 schedule for the United States.

The Jurgen Klinsmann era began with question marks about the U.S. national team's ability to score goals, and it will head into a World Cup year with the same questions.

Here's what I'd like to see during the last USA match of 2013, a friendly against Austria Tuesday in Vienna:

Improvement after a tepid first half didn't produce a goal, and the U.S. settled for a 0-0 tie with Scotland Friday night in Glasgow.

The last time the USA played Scotland, it won 5-1 in Jacksonville. But that result was quickly forgotten as the USA went out four days later and got hammered by Brazil, 4-1.

There is something that Mexican soccer should be ashamed and embarrassed about.

Although the 2014 World Cup is being hosted by Brazil, it's clear U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann believes the path of preparation must go through Europe whenever possible, and for the third straight time in his tenure, that's where the Americans will close out the calendar year.

On a conference call with reporters Monday, Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer answered a lot of questions, with which Seattle is rife, without providing many definitive answers.

There's no question a Stanley Cup playoff game ramps up the pace and intensity of a typical regular-season NHL encounter, and judging by what transpired last weekend, the MLS Cup playoffs are clearly trending in the same direction.

Though this award seems clear-cut -- it recognizes those players making the greatest contributions in their first MLS seasons - there are different ways to evaluate the candidates.

The news out of the United Arab Emirates was good for Concacaf. Mexico and Honduras reached the quarterfinals of the Under-17 World Cup, and Mexico, a winner in a 12-round shootout over Brazil, moved into the semifinals.