After what seemed like an eternal stoppage (to respect FIFA international break), the Major League Soccer playoffs finally resume on Sunday night with the culmination of the process -- the "granddaddy of em all", to steal a term from Vince McMahon -- MLS Cup 2011.
The Cup final will feature a Houston team peaking at the right time but also looking likely to be missing their most creative player. They'll meet a Galaxy side that have all three of their Designated Players hitting their stride simultaneously, while also getting clutch performances out of lesser names like Mike Magee.
In other words, there are tons of little sub-stories being told below the unprecedented hype-fest leading into this year's championship match.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
The obvious x-factors in the Cup final will be the status of Houston's Brad Davis along with the relative fitness of Robbie Keane, who flew to Europe and back for two huge, successful matches with Ireland in Euro 2012 qualifying.
Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear, no stranger to the pomp and circumstance that surrounds MLS' marquee event, has taken to a bit of mind game playing ahead of Sunday's clash. Houston's star player Davis went down with a nasty quadriceps injury in the Eastern Conference Final, and after the match he immediately ruled himself out of the Cup finale. Kinnear initially reasserted that position, stating that Davis would have to watch from the sidelines as the Texas side tried for a third Cup victory.
About a week later, Kinnear played a bit more coy with the press, implying that Davis may be able to make at least a cameo appearance in Sunday's game. It remains to be seen how serious Kinnear's newest statements are, but it's likely that the original prognosis stands and Adam Moffat takes over from Davis as Houston's primary set-piece taker.
It's a step down, for sure, but if Moffat can replicate his play from the Eastern Conference championship match, the Dynamo shouldn't suffer too much in that department.
As for Keane, only time will tell if he'll be able to shake off the post-qualifying hangover after leading Ireland to their first berth in the Euro since 1988. The striker was key in the Irish accomplishment, and now he'll have to shake off two transatlantic flights in time to be the same kind of catalyst for the Galaxy.
When he suits up for LA, Keane won't see regular strike partner Chad Barrett alongside him, as the former TFC man suffered a dislocated ankle in training and has been ruled out. Many Toronto fans reading this are probably thinking "so what?", but Barrett's balls-to-the-wall style tends to disrupt opposing defences and open a ton of space for the Irishman, something that probable replacement Adam Cristman just doesn't do.
Fortunately for LA, the rest of the Galaxy's lineup is pretty much intact. Both David Beckham and Landon Donovan have had two weeks of no distractions to focus exclusively on the match, which is bad news if you're cheering for the Dynamo. Donovan actually turned down a call up to the US National side to remain with his club side ahead of Sunday's tilt, so LA have no excuses where their two original DP's are concerned.
Aside from the more notable impact players, the Cup final will also come down to the support staff. As noted, LA have gotten big production out of Magee, and the Dynamo -- through Canadian André Hainault and his two playoff goals -- have also seen offence come from unlikely sources.
For Houston, playing in the Galaxy's home stadium means they'll need a near-perfect performance from everyone on the pitch, as LA have yet to be defeated at home in 2011. The odds are stacked against the men in orange, but with the run of impressive road results they've made simply to get this far, one shouldn't be too surprised if they were to make the Galaxy's night a living hell.
Still, it's hard to see Los Angeles dropping this one in front of an over-sold Home Depot Centre crowd. Look for the Galaxy to take this one as they usually do: with timely goals and a ridiculously stingy defence that stifles anything Houston throws at them.
Prediction: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 Houston Dynamo
Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC, MLS, and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams, and he has spent time as soccer editor for Reuters' online publications. He has also contributed to Goal.com and other soccer media. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.