Week 24
In our weekly peek around the league: Toronto FC could have company at the BMO, St. Louis is aiming to bring a second United to MLS and penalty kick saves have become scarce.

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When the Designated Player rule was enacted last offseason, it led to an influx of established names from around the world. In an effort to recognize the contributions of these players, Major League Soccer has created the Newcomer of the Year award, which will be presented for the first time in 2007.

Several of these players have made significant impacts on their respective teams this year since joining from other leagues around the world - prime examples include Juan Pablo Angel, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Luciano Emilio, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Maykel Galindo and Juan Toja.

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The Kansas City Wizards may well be on their way to landing a soccer-specific stadium to call home. A proposal to build an 18,500-seat, city-owned stadium at the site of the recently-closed Bannister Mall in southeast Kansas City, Missouri, has been formally filed with city officials.

In addition to the stadium, the plan - dubbed Three Trails Redevelopment - would call for a 12-field soccer complex, a 250-room hotel attached to the stadium and over 1.2 million square feet of office/retail space at a cost of $943 million over 10 years.

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In hopes of boosting sparse crowds at home games, Chivas USA has announced the signing of Shawn Hunter as the club's new president and CEO. Taking over for the recently-departed Javier Leon, Hunter has been given an undisclosed stake in the team. Having served time with city rivals Los Angeles and the Houston Dynamo, Hunter's main task will be to rapidly increase the attendance figures for a club that ranks second-to-last in the league in average attendance, despite superb play that finds them near the top of the Western Conference standings.

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Luciano Emilio has been named the MLS Player of the Week for his pair of two-goal games in the span of four days last week. The Brazilian sensation scored twice in the first half of DC United's 2-2 draw with Chivas USA on Thursday and added two more on Sunday in a 4-2 victory over Eastern rival New England. It was his third time receiving the honor, having also received the distinction in Weeks 11 and 18.

With 19 goals so far in 2007 (including a strike on Wednesday), Emilio is a good bet to win the Golden Boot award, given to the player who scores the most goals in a season. His name could also come up in MVP voting if United continues their fine run of play over the season's last six weeks.

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The plan to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to the St. Louis area continues to gather steam, with a proposed development project that includes a soccer-specific stadium getting the green-light from the Collinsville City Council on Monday night by a vote of 4-1.

Competing with Seattle and Philadelphia for future expansion slots, St. Louis' proposal certainly gives them an edge in the race to be granted the league's 15th franchise. Jeff Cooper, leader of the effort, said he expects a final decision on the St. Louis market could come from MLS in the next 60-90 days, with an announcement in conjunction with the 2007 MLS Cup a high probability.

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Does the thought of American football lines on BMO Field make you shudder? Then don't read on. The Toronto Argonauts, a franchise in the Canadian Football League, are beginning to look into the logistics of a possible move to the home pitch of Toronto FC, arguably the site of the best atmosphere in MLS.

According to Globe & Mail, Argos co-owner Howard Sokolowski has opened up dialogue with the city about the potential switch to BMO, a move that would trigger heavy reconstruction of one end of the soccer-specific stadium. The Argonauts have until early next year to exercise an option that would keep the club at Rogers Centre, also home of baseball's Toronto Blue Jays, for the next five years.

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Former Chelsea washout Jody Morris has trained with TFC this week. Still only 28, the diminutive midfielder spent the last three season with third flight Millwall. His playing career was wracked by injuries and frequent run-ins with the law, including several alcohol-related citations. Perhaps most infamously, a soused Morris was seen harassing American tourists at Heathrow Airport mere hours after the World Trade Center was attacker on September 11th, 2001.

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Of the 43 penalty kicks awarded through league games of September 12th, only 10 have been unsuccessful. DC United's Troy Perkins is the only keeper to have stopped at least two separate attempts from the spot after stoning former teammate Alecko Eskandarian in United's 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday. Perkins also turned away a PK from Houston's Dwayne De Rosario in another 2-1 win for D.C. on May 26th.