Montero, left, has the inside track for Major League Soccer's MVP award on my ballot

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Picking out the best of the best is always a tricky proposition. And to be honest, I haven’t always been great at it. In high school, staring at pricey concert tickets and faced with a delicious conundrum of escorting the cute, brainy girl or the curvy drill team vixen, I acquiesced to a friend’s advice: "When in doubt always go with the drill team."

Long story short, the brainy one is a big-time doctor in San Francisco now. And she’s freakin’ hot. The one I took? Who knows.

Anyway, against that wobbly history, I have pledged to always do better.

So, click forth for my  leading choices for MLS 2009 awards. These represent one-eighth of the vote for MLSNet's "Award Tracker," which certainly isn’t a direct harbinger of what eventually will be. But the Awards Tracker does help set the agenda and direct the conversation going forward. So, in all seriousness, I appreciate the opportunity of the assignment, and I certainly do approach it with a studious professionalism. (And as I watch every MLS match and speak often to league managers, I’m sure I can overcome a long-gone history of dubious decision making.)

(FYI: the eight voters will do this weekly through year's end. And I know from experience that the first one is ripe for being picked apart. So, please share your thoughts.)

MVP

1. Fredy Montero

2. Shalrie Joseph

3. Omar Cummings

4. Landon Donovan

5. Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Also in the conversation: Dwayne De Rosario  

Brief explainer: I know the top three on my list doesn’t exactly read like a who’s who in MLS – and I really don’t care. Seattle had the best goalkeeper the U.S. has ever produced in Kasey Keller (apologies to Brad Friedel, a very close second), an EPL veteran DP in Freddie Ljungberg and the league’s top draft pick in Steve Zakuani. But who is most responsible for having Sounders still in the playoff hunt? That would be Montero and his 12 goals and 6 assists. Regarding Joseph, he’s still a force in midfield for New England, which is well positioned for the playoffs. But he’s also had to play forward frequently this year for the injury plagued Revs, and he’s done so like a crusty old vet at the position. Regarding Cummings, no attacker can match his raw stats (8 goals and 12 assists). All that said, any big burst over the last four rounds of play could alter the order significantly.

Newcomer of the Year

1. Fredy Montero

2. Donovan Ricketts

3. Kasey Keller

4. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado

5. David Ferreira

Brief explainer: See above for Montero. Ricketts has been reliable on the little stuff and has come up huge on several occasions in goal for the Galaxy. Keller has hardly been besieged in his role as Sounders backstopper, but his steady stewardship and one or two big saves a game put him squarely in the running.

Rookie of the Year

1. Omar Gonzalez

2. Steve Zakuani

3. Rodney Wallace

4. Chris Pontius

5. Stefan Frei

Also in the conversation: Kevin Alston; Darius Barnes; Sam Cronin, A.J. DeLaGarza

Brief explainer: Can a Galaxy center back do it again? (Sean Franklin won the award in 2008.) I say, "Why the heck not?" Seattle’s Zakuani has just 4 goals and 4 assists, but he’s been a livewire most of the year along the left side Qwest Field, and he had a lot to do with Seattle prevailing in the U.S. Open Cup. (Yes, yes, I do realize that Open Cup performance shouldn’t be weighted. Then again, it does go to team confidence and to the bigger picture of everything going on around the league’s expansion darlings.) But truly, in my mind, places 2-4 are interchangeable. You can make a great case for Zakuani, Wallace or Pontius.

Defender of the Year

1. Chad Marshall

2. Jay Heaps

3. Geoff Cameron

4. Omar Gonzalez

5. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado

Brief explainer: Marshall would be a repeat winner, which I have no problem with. I voted for him last year, too. Just like last year, he’s commanding in the air, hard and smart in the tackle, steady with the ball at his feet and generally in charge along the Crew back line. He’s a big reason the club hasn’t lost since early spring. Heaps may be a surprise to some – but not to anybody watching the matches this year. He’s having a fantastic season for New England, getting forward regularly and generally turning back everything along his side. Cameron’s case is dented slightly because he’s been used occasionally in midfield for Houston – but he’s still been a fantastic center back at Robertson.

Coach of the Year

1. Bruce Arena

2. Sigi Schmid

3. Steve Nicol

Also in the conversation: Robert Warzycha.

Brief explainer: Arena’s ego is big enough as it is, but I can’t hold that against him. He’s done a masterful job this year, building his personnel from the back while maintaining the fiscal discipline required of a team hamstrung by the salary cap like no other. Having David Beckham and Landon Donovan around is great and all, but it eats up about a third of the entire salary cap. Schmid is in the race for his part in building the Sounders and steering the new team so expertly. And Nicol is on my list because New England remains in the thick of it despite losing its best defender (Michael Parkhurst) and its top striker (Taylor Twellman).

Goalkeeper of the Year

1. Zach Thornton

2. Donovan Ricketts

3. Kasey Keller

Brief explainer: In all honestly, I was clobbering Thornton in pieces for ESPN Soccernet last year, wondering how a professional athlete could let himself go so dramatically. (He was alarmingly overweight.) But all credit to the Chivas USA man, who worked himself back into shape. He’s a big reason why Chivas USA and that roster filled with no-names will collect a playoff spot this year.