Can’t get enough of the drama of sports playoffs? Do you think regular seasons are to regular? The October chill still lingering from the MLB postseason? Well on wednesday the first match of the 2014 MLS Cup Playoff will began. This season was one of the most watched due to the hype from this past World Cup. Following the MLS playoff structure, 10 teams made the playoffs with five teams from each division. There is an initial knockout round followed by the conference semi-finals, then conference championship, and then the the Cup Finals. The knockout round consists of one game, of which the winner advances to play the first place team in the conference. The next two rounds are decided by the controversial two game aggregate goal format. This basically means that the teams play two games, and whichever team scores the most goals advances.

Western Conference Knockout Round: Vancouver Whitecaps FC @ FC Dallas

On Wednesday October 29, the fifth seeded Vancouver Whitecaps Travel to Dallas to take on the fourth seed to kick off this years playoffs. The Whitecaps are coming in with some momentum as they are 4-0-1 in their last five regular season matches. Vancouver also has one of the best in the league at his position, Costa Rican center-back Kendall Watson. On the other hand Dallas will be playing in front of an electric home crowd in Frisco, Texas. Also they have one of the best one-two punches in the league with Blas Perez and Fabian Castillo. The matchup between the explosive FCD attack and the Whitecaps defense will be interesting to watch.

Edge: FC Dallas

Eastern Conference Knockout Round: Sporting Kansas City @ New York Red Bulls

This match will be played on Thursday October 30 at Red Bulls Arena in New York City. The Red Bulls looks to be a major obstacle in the way of the defending champions. This match comes just four days after their last meeting on the 26th in which New York won two goals to nil. That was even at Sporting Park, which is affectionately called the “Blue Hell” by Sporting Fans. KC does have a small glimmer of hope with Red Bulls captain and former Arsenal star Thierry Henry nursing an Achilles injury. But New York has plenty of offense with midfielder Tim Cahill, who was a bright spot on Team Australia in this years world cup. One can not forget forward Bradley Wright-Phillips, who tied the MLS single season goals record with 27. They will be going up against USMNT players and Sporting stars Matt Besler and Graham Zusi. They may not be at usual star level due to the fatigue of playing three games in the last eight days.

Edge: New York Red Bulls

Western Conference Semifinals Match 1: Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy

The first game of this two game series will be played on Saturday November 1 in Utah before going to LA Sunday November 9. Both teams are riding regular season momentum with the Galaxy going 8-0-2 before dropping their last three games, and Real winning the last three games of their season. LA finished with the second best record in the regular season, almost clinching the Supporters Shield, if not for the loss to Seattle on Sunday. Landon Donovan looks to win his fourth title in his MLS finale. He will look to the stellar support of Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes to help him go out a champion.

Eastern Conference Semifinals Match 1: New England Revolution vs Columbus Crew

The opening game will be on Saturday November 1 in Columbus. The Crew are coming off a very close win against Philadelphia, which saved them from being in the Knockout round. Now they face the hottest teams in the league in the New England Revolution. The Revs only lost one game in their last 11 matches, but that one loss came against the Crew. Can Columbus slow down the deadly midfield threesome of Jermaine Jones, Kelyn Rowe, and Lee Nguyen? How will New England handle the Columbus and their seemingly constant state of rowdiness.

Edge: New England Revolution

Right now I will not speculate on the rest of the games as they are not determined. I can however predict on who will win. These playoffs look to be one of the best ones yet. The talent in this league only looks to get better over the years. But in  2014 the MLS Cup champion will be: New England Revolution.