Sunday morning and the coffee's flowing, but while my brain is busy trying to absorb enough caffeine to help me make it until noon, I'll bat out some keyboard-assisted footy drivel amid phone solictations, random dog barking, and the steady stream of a ten-year-old's exhortations to come see "...the best Youtube clip ever!"

It's all fractured moments of clarity punctuated by the usual comings and goings of daily life -- as long as the "goings" aren't left on the kitchen floor by the dog, I figure I'm ahead of the game.

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Last year's inaugural version of the Whitecaps reminded me of that decidedly homely girl we all knew back in grade 11. You remember her too, I'm sure. Kinda heavy in the eyebrow, vanilla face, flannel frocks, maybe a candidate for maxillofacial surgery somewhere down the line.

But what a difference a year makes. It's grad year, and the blue and white have moved up in the world. They've shed the ugly duckling image for a completely different look. This year's Caps are a different breed altogether. Trouble is, I'm not so sure the change is for the good.

If the 2011 Caps were that girl that couldn't get a date, the current edition is that emerald-eyed willowy high school tease whose taut v-neck cashmere sweaters carried the faint scent of Tigress -- promising the world, while giving away nothing.

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The numbers speak for themselves. And they instill fear -- the kind of anxiety you can smell, like a damp dog with a bad case of gas. Forty-seven red cards and 48 penalties in 129 games. No, that's not a summation of Brad Marchand's brief history in Massachusetts State Beer League Footy. Though some have surmised that those figures must be from Brock Lesnar's days at Webster High in South Dakota, they're wrong.

They're the proud accomplishments of a man in black -- a cross between Herve "Tattoo" Villechaize, Ernest Borgnine, and Pennywise the clown.

I speak, of course, of the MLS' travelling gong show that is Baldomero Toledo. And guess who's coming to town Wednesday evening to ref the Whitecaps - KC match?

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Having been a more than casual observer of youth soccer (boys) for a number of years now, I never cease to be amazed by the complex matrix of elements required to become a good soccer player, let alone one who excels at the sport.

Along the way, I've also come to gain a glimmer of appreciation for how truly rare it is to identify a youth player who gets top marks across the full range of key attributes, relative to their peers in their respective age group.

While accomplished scientists around the globe toil away on the Human Genome Project, which aims to map out the entire human gentic code, youth soccer coaches the world over are faced with the no less daunting job of identifying and developing young players. While their soccer DNA may show promise, more often than not it's still not much clearer than the fuzzy dark bar-code-like sequences we've come to know and love on CSI.

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"Time and tide wait for no man."

-- Chaucer, ca. 1390

While the Vancouver Whitecaps managed to hold off father time long enough to secure a new MLS record for minutes played from the start of the season without conceding a goal, there was no holding back the shifting tide that led to one of the greatest swings in momentum in team history this evening.

The fall was sudden. It was swift. It was a collapse that would have done the Lehman brothers proud.

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Dionne Warwick might have had to ask the question, but since 1974, back in the halcyon days of the NASL, the Vancouver Whitecaps have certainly known the way to San Jose.

Just as the 2012 version of the blue and white are preparing for Saturday's tilt against the Earthquakes, soccer scribes too are busy combing stats, scouring data off the web, and talking to sources. Amid all this diligence, dedication and intrepid late-night wordsmithing, the one word that lingers in my ears throughout is "nonchalance".

I'd like to head off the hate mail at this point by stating categorically here and now that I'm not calling out Eric Hassli, Sebastien Le Toux, Davide Chiumiento, or [insert favourite WCFC roster member here] for their recent run of sub-optimal play.

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Why are everyone's shorts in such a knot? We have played four games and we have 8 points, 4 of which came on the road. That puts us 1 point back from the division lead. Yes, we played some of the weaker teams, but we have actually looked organized and played like a team. Both of which never happened last year.

Although he hasn't said anything it is obvious (to me at least) that Rennie is focusing on getting the defense working cohesively and effectively (our DM's took a step back in Phily which IS concerning) before trying to put the offense into high gear. I, for one, think this is the right approach. If we are going to succeed as a club, the back four is the right place to start. Since our back line has come together and even remained unphased by a key injury I think we will see Rennie experiment with our Mid and Forwards to try to find a better combination or formation there.

Lets all take a deep breath, applaud our defensive success, and trust that our forwards will start clicking soon.

Much of the talk surrounding the 2012 incarnation of the Vancouver Whitecaps has centered on the spectacular goalkeeping of Joe "Save of the Week" Cannon and the kevlar quartet playing in front of him. Yes, four matches are in the books, and the once-porous Whitecaps defense has yet to concede -- the only MLS squad that can boast such success.

The combination of superior coaching, astute player moves, and a generous hand dealt by the MLS scheduler have eased the Caps' start to the current season. However, not all's well at the end of the pitch where just about everyone thought WCFC would be a force to be reckoned with.

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Hello Fellow Eighty Six Forever Readers,

This post is not about the Whitecaps per say, but rather about appreciating MLS soccer in general. If you are much like me you only started paying attention to the MLS last year when our beloved 'Caps entered the league. Since then I really only watched 'Caps games and to be honest payed progressively less attention as the extent of our team's ineptitude became more and more obvious (Don't talk to me about Gambian forwards). This year I will obviously be cheering once again for the Blue and White, but I think it is time to learn a little more about the rest of the league. Knowing a little about the league will make the Whitecaps victories all the sweeter and the defeats all the more painful.

Now in my experience the best way to learn about a league is to play some form of fantasy league. I've signed up for ESPN fantasy FC Manager and signed up for Fans of Vancouver Whitecaps and the Cascadia Cup. I invite you to do the same and, if there is enough interest, we could get a Eighty Six Forever group going and liven up our discussions with a little competition and trash talking among friends.

Here is a link to ESPN's FC Manager. Everything is free.

ESPN FC Manager http://games.espn.go.com/fc-manager-mls/en/frontpage

Buzzkill alert.

It's been a very productive off-season for the Whitecaps. The deadwood is gone, some quality new acquisitions have signed, and the team appears to be in high spirit going into the last three weeks of pre-season.

But if you believe what many supporters are saying, Martin Rennie is a tactical genius, is the world's first omniscient judge of talent and farts Skittles for giggles. Much time has been spent making bold predictions of season success, while pointing and laughing at Montreal, predicting a long season of misfortunes as an expansion team in the MLS.

The irony should not escape us.

Let me be clear about a few things.

I think Martin Rennie is a quality manager, a good judge of talent, and an class act. I think he'll have success in the MLS and beyond. I also think that his acquisitions have been very good, filling nearly every hole that needed filling. And of course, I think Montreal are a bunch of buffoons and will likely fall flat on their poutine eating, supporter spitting, championship surrendering faces.

But before we anoint the Whitecaps of the new MLS dynasty, there are a few question marks surrounding the club going in to this season.

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