WESTERN CONFERENCE
COLORADO RAPIDS
* Coach -- Tim Hankinson (fifth year).
* Titles -- none.
* Stadium -- Invesco Field.
* 2003 record -- 11-12-7 (Home: 8-2-5, Away: 3-10-2).
* Goals -- 40 (tied for 6th).
* Goals against -- 45 (8th).
* Top scorer -- John Spencer (14).
* Left town -- Scott Garlick (to Dallas); Robin Fraser (to Columbus); Chris Carrieri (to Rochester Rhinos).
* Just arrived -- Antonio de la Torre (Cobras de Cd. Juarez); Jean Philippe Peguero (from Don Bosco); David Castellanos (from Motagua); Adolfo Gregorio (top draft pick).
* Outlook -- In eight seasons, the Rapids have won only 36 of 122 regular-season games on the road. Unless Hankinson can reverse that trend, they will remain no better than an average team. To help his defense, Hankinson has moved U.S. World Cup midfielder Pablo Mastroeni into the back line and also acquired Antonio de la Torre, from Mexico. To help his attack, Hankinson on Wednesday signed Haitian national team forward Jean Philippe Peguero, 22.
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DALLAS BURN
* Coach -- Colin Clark (first year).
* Titles -- U.S. Open Cup winner 1997.
* Stadium -- Cotton Bowl.
* 2003 record -- 6-19-5 (Home: 5-8-2, Away: 1-11-3).
* Goals -- 35 (tied for 9th).
* Goals against -- 64 (10th).
* Top scorer -- Jason Kreis (7).
* Left town -- Joselito Vaca (to New York/New Jersey); Ezra Hendrickson (waived).
* Just arrived -- Cory Gibbs (from St. Pauli); Simo Valakari (from Derby County); Scott Garlick (from Colorado); Ramon Nunez (top draft pick).
* Outlook -- Returning to the Cotton Bowl after a disastrous season at a high school stadium will help, as will the knowledge that next year they will move into their soccer-specific stadium now under construction in Frisco, Texas. Gibbs stiffens a league-worst defense, but the loss of Vaca and attacking outside back Hendrickson hurts an offense where Kreis is the only reliable goal scorer. Finland’s Valakari, 30, is a midfield gamble. Clark, a former Northern Ireland international, was 2-3-1 as interim coach at the end of last season.
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GALAXY
* Coach -- Sigi Schmid (sixth year).
* Titles -- MLS champion 2002; U.S. Open Cup winner 2001; CONCACAF Champions Cup winner 2001.
* Stadium -- Home Depot Center.
* 2003 record -- 9-12-9 (Home: 9-3-3, Away: 0-9-6).
* Goals -- 35 (tied for 9th).
* Goals against -- 35 (tied for 1st).
* Top scorer -- Carlos Ruiz (15).
* Left town -- Mauricio Cienfuegos (retired); Alexi Lalas (retired); Simon Elliott (to Columbus).
* Just arrived -- Andreas Herzog (free agent); Jovan Kirovksi (from Birmingham City); Marcelo Saragosa (from Sao Paulo); Joseph Ngwenya (top draft pick).
* Outlook -- The Galaxy is expected to bounce back from its first losing season, but which of the club’s four major off-season acquisitions will provide the impetus is open to speculation. Veteran Austrian international Herzog is expected to pull the strings in midfield, but young Brazilian Saragosa could upstage him. Similarly, U.S. international Kirovski is supposed to help striker Carlos Ruiz, but Zimbabwe’s Ngwenya could do so as well. Depth throughout is Schmid’s key in 2004.
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KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
* Coach -- Bob Gansler (sixth year).
* Titles -- MLS champion 2000.
* Stadium -- Arrowhead Stadium.
* 2003 record -- 11-10-9 (Home, 8-4-3; Away: 3-6-6).
* Goals -- 48 (3rd).
* Goals against -- 44 (tied for 6th).
* Top scorer -- Preki (12).
* Left town -- Wolde Harris (released).
* Just arrived --Diego Walsh (from Columbus); Matt Taylor (top draft pick).
* Outlook -- The Wizards’ season might have unraveled before it began when Preki, the league’s most valuable player and scoring champion last season at age 40, broke his left leg and dislocated his ankle in February. He will miss the first three or four months. Then, too, Igor Simutenkov recently underwent Achilles’ tendon surgery that will sideline him for the first half of the season. Much will depend on U.S. internationals Josh Wolff and Chris Klein and, of course, goalkeeper Tony Meola. Taylor, from UCLA, was the No. 4 overall pick in the draft and could get significant playing time.
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SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
* Coach -- Dominic Kinnear (first year).
* Titles -- MLS champion 2001, 2003.
* Stadium -- Spartan Stadium.
* 2003 record -- 14-7-9 (Home: 7-4-4; Away: 7-3-5).
* Goals --45 (4th).
* Goals against -- 35 (tied for 1st).
* Top scorer -- Landon Donovan (12).
* Left town -- Manny Lagos (to Columbus).
* Just arrived -- Ryan Cochrane (top draft pick).
* Outlook -- Frank Yallop, who led the Earthquakes to two titles in three years, left to become Canada’s coach, handing the reins to former assistant and former U.S. international Kinnear. Opting not to fix what isn’t broken, Kinnear has kept the defending champion’s roster virtually intact and will employ the same style as Yallop. Donovan’s loan deal from Bayer Leverkusen runs out at the end of the season, which could affect his play if MLS delays in resolving his future. Jeff Agoos again anchors the league’s top defense, while Donovan, Dwayne DeRosario, Jamil Walker and Brian Mullan provide the offensive spark. Deep all over, the Earthquakes will contend.