Snow's on the Ground, and MLS is back -- It's February. Valentine's Day, actually. I guess I'm still searching for that certain someone, but I offer wishes for a special day for everyone who is in that kind of a relationship. Now, on to the good stuff. DC United played it's first preseason game, and came up losers against the Red Bulls. According to Steven Goff's report in the Washington Post's Soccer Insider blog, United took the early lead on a Moreno to Gomez combination (nice to hear they are still in the groove), but the Red Bulls pulled even on a goal by Josy Altidore (I keep writing about this young superstar in the making), and won on a strike by Toure.

Of course, it's just preseason, so the result doesn't matter. Next week, though, United plays a game that does count. It's the first leg of the opening round of the CONCACAF Champion's Cup, as United travels to Tegucigalpa to take on Olimipia of Honduras. Live coverage is next Wednesday on FSC.

Other news items from Goff's blog involve a pair of goalies. One involves Jay Nolly -- who has abandoned his European dreams, and is headed to Florida to join United's camp. I'm sure Nolly doesn't care to be a back-up to young Troy Perkins, but his return is good news for United. The other bit of news comes across the pond, as the USA national team's top goaltender, Tim Howard, will be staying with EPL team Everton. Currently on loan from Manchester United, Howard will become a permanent fixture on the Everton squad. Sure beats sitting on Man Utd's bench behind Edwin van der Sar.

Speaking of Goff's Soccer Insider blog: A friend in New York asked me what I thought of the New York Times now having a regular soccer column. He didn't get the reaction he anticipated. I teed off on the Times' minimal soccer reporting. They are well behind the Post, at least when it comes to reportage on the MLS. The Times does do a good job on covering the international scene, but seems to forget that there is a local team, and a national league, to cover. Perhaps the Times will do a better job of covering the Red Bulls' games and MLS this year. Too often, in year's past, there was no story on the previous day's game.

On that score, the Washington Post is way ahead of the New York Times. Part of that may be just a reflection of the market. Certainly, D.C. United is far more popular in its home market than are the Red Bulls. In any case, the Post does a good job with Goff's coverage of D.C. United, and MLS. Even better than that, especially for the true soccer junkie (having read the blog comments posted by Goff's other readers, I'm not really sure that I qualify as a true soccer junkie) is the Soccer Insider blog. It combines Goff's inside information with the opinions of highly opinionated and knowledgeable United fans that add their comments. It's a must-see stop on the information superhighway for MLS fans. Here's a link: Soccer Insider