Soccer insider: Status quo reigns as MLS fires up

Unlike last season, Major League Soccer kicks off a new year Saturday without much hoopla. Last year, New York City and Orlando were new to the league and brought in a pair of star-studded squads, while such well-known veterans as Didier Drogba and Steven Gerrard made the move to MLS during the season.

In comparison, this winter has been quiet, and the favorites have stayed with plans rather than making flashy moves.

The Western Conference is shaping up to again be the better of the two conferences. The trendy pick to win the West is Dallas, which has built a solid squad around a young core that includes Colombian winger Fabian Castillo, perhaps the league's most exciting talent. The key for Dallas to repeat as Western Conference champion will be replacing departed striker Blas Perez; Castillo and playmaker Mauro Diaz will need a third player to spearhead the offense.

Behind Dallas is Vancouver, which might have had the most complete back-to-front lineup in the league last year. The addition of Japanese goal-scorer Masato Kudo should add fuel to what is already a high-octane Whitecaps offense.

Portland, the defending MLS Cup champion, will be strong again, building off a midfield foundation that includes Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe. Los Angeles added a handful of European veterans to complement what was already a veteran squad; injuries, and old age, might be the only thing that can derail the Galaxy's season.

In the Eastern Conference, Columbus is coming off a championship-game loss but remains the consensus favorite to be the best team in the league's weaker conference. Striker Kei Kamara gets the press, but the Crew boasts a solid midfield, a good defense and a wealth of choices on the wing, led by MLS Best XI selection Ethan Finlay.

The two Canadian sides in the East, Toronto and Montreal, endured years of struggles, but both finally made the playoffs last season — and both are positioned to return there this season. Montreal returns most of the squad that reached the final of the CONCACAF Champions League, along with Drogba, whose incredible scoring form pushed the club into the playoffs.

And this ignores any number of teams that could make a splash, such as perennial favorites Seattle and Sporting KC in the West, or retooling expansion sides NYC FC and Orlando City in the East.

For my picks, I'll take Vancouver and Columbus, with Vancouver winning the race to the Supporters' Shield..

SHORT TAKES

• Minnesota United leaves this weekend for a training trip to Mexico, on which the team will play matches against Cruz Azul, Pachuca's reserve side, and the Mexican U-20 national team. United fans can hope this trip goes better than the team's jaunt to play MLS teams in Portland, when Minnesota lost all three games by a combined score of 11-1.

• The dream of an undefeated season is over for Paris Saint-Germain, after the club lost 2-1 to Lyon last weekend. PSG will still win the French title but now turns its full attention to the Champions League. The club has not made the semifinals since 1995 and has never reached the final — disappointing for a wildly rich team with big ambitions.

He tweeted: "The problem is an easy one to fix: Change schedule but, more importantly, let teams spend $10M+ on 10-15 players, not just 2-3."

WEEKEND WATCH GUIDE

• Premier League: Arsenal at Tottenham, 6:45 a.m. Saturday, NBC Sports. The contentious North London derby has rarely had such title implications. Arsenal renewed its reputation as a collection of choke artists with a pair of losses to lesser teams in the past week; Tottenham, in second place, can boost its own fortunes and effectively end its rival's already-wobbly title chances.

• Bundesliga: Bayern Munich at Borussia Dortmund, 11:30 a.m. Saturday, FX. Dortmund has, somehow, pulled back within five points of Bayern's lead in the Bundesliga. For most of the season, it appeared that Bayern would cruise to the title, but if BVB can get a home win in this game, it will make the final weeks of the German season very interesting.

• MLS: Columbus at Portland, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, ESPN. The first nationally televised game of the 2016 MLS season is a rematch of the 2015 title game. Portland begins its title defense with perhaps its most optimistic outlook in years, as its attacking core has stayed intact. Columbus just signed all-star striker Kei Kamara to a new contract, to go with last year's 22 goals, and is out for revenge.