Summary: In the wake of a very important match between the Earthquakes and Rapids midweek in concert with a number of surprising results, finding themselves ready to pounce is the 2012 Supporters Shield winner San Jose who have reclaimed some of that late-match magic to compete for one of the wildcard slots in the Western Conference with two matches left in the regular season. Helping us dissect these matters and the complex playoff picture is Kelly Gray who is a former player for the Quakes and now provides color commentary for the club on Comcast Sports Net Bay Area. We also examine the midseason move to Mark Watson after a slow start, how league-wide perceptions may have to change about San Jose given its high number of CONCACAF international players and a remarkable level of quality depth that can now compete with any team in Major League Soccer. Ahead is a huge match with Los Angeles Galaxy which will likely determine the final outcome for San Jose, while its interim manager has quietly assembled a 10-5-2 in league play, meaning that the team under his guidance is assured a winning record again in 2013. We also look at both the Eastern and Western Conferences for an early tip of two familiar post-season performers in Los Angeles and Houston Dynamo, and close on the matter of Brian Ching who is set to retire at the end of the season for some thoughts on the player who made the move from San Jose to Texas along with Kelly and what he intends to do with his testimonial in Houston.
