As MLS enters its 20th season, there are a lot of good stories. New York City FC and Orlando City should both draw big crowds for their first MLS seasons. San Jose is opening its new stadium in March. The season-ticket bases of all three clubs will be at least 10,000. Then there is the Montreal Impact, the club that has been left behind.

Ivory Coast came back from 2-0 down in the shootout to beat Ghana, 9-8, and win the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday. It came down to the 11th round when Ivory Coast goalkeeper Boubacar Barry stopped his opposite number, Razak Brimah, and he converted his own spot kick to give the Elephants their first title since 1992.

Two of the USA's most important players scored the goals by which the Americans regained some momentum by beating Panama, 2-0.

The USA ended its five-game winless streak, beating Panama, 2-0, before a crowd of 20,271 fans at StubHub Center to end a four-week January camp. Michael Bradley scored a rare Olimpico and Clint Dempsey scored his 40th international goal to break open a scoreless match late in the first half.

The good news from the U.S. friendly in France: Attack-minded, dynamic, often quite skillful soccer provided a good teaser for next summer's Women's World Cup in Canada.

Another scintillating display from one of the brightest lights in the Premier League, Spurs forward Harry Kane, drove Tottenham past Arsenal, 2-1, Saturday in the 175th edition of the North London derby

Look who rules the Spanish capital now. On Saturday, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid met for the sixth (!) time this season. And for the sixth time Real Madrid failed to get a win against the team it last beat when they met in the 2014 Champions League final.

Jurgen Klinsmann says the MLS season needs to be longer. How much longer the pro soccer season should be is debatable, but let's accept that the nine-month season for the eight teams that don't make the playoffs -- a few days more for the four teams that will be eliminated in the play-ins in 2015 -- is too short.

A move back to the Western Conference doesn't mean as much to SKC as does atoning for last year's plummet off the championship pedestal.

Jurgen Klinsmann is at it again.

U.S. women's national team coach Jill Ellis has a warning: "If we sit where we are, we'll get run over."

By signing Sebastian Giovinco in the prime of his career and also securing his services during the MLS preseason rather than in the summer, Toronto FC has achieved two crucial elements of a major-league sports team.