If you haven't made it out yet to a Dynamo game ....I highly recommend you attend this Sunday's Western Conference final. The atmosphere surrounding the game itself is great and if you're a soccer fan you'll certainly enjoy the high level of play.

The MLS plays a very long schedule so many players have bumps, bruises, sprained ankles, sore knees and the like but the Dynamo are pretty healthy going into this match. Forward Brian Ching was back at practice Thursday after sitting out Tuesday's workout. He was moving well around the field ...and he said he felt fine after getting fluid drained off his troublesome knee. Midfielder Dwane De Rosario had his practice cut short Thursday when he injured his foot. He left the field early but it was not thought to be serious.

The Dynamo team has several players who have won MLS Championships before. Some of them played together when the franchise was based in San Jose, California and the team was known as the Earthquakes. They won the MLS Championships in 2001 and 2003. Like in any professional sport, this kind of playoff experience is invaluable. Dynamo defender, Craig Waibel, told me this week that he thought one of the reasons the Dynamo was able to win last week's dramatic playoff game over Chivas USA was the poise shown by all of those players who had been through the rigors of playoff soccer before. Most of the Chivas USA team had never been that type of game before and Waibel said after the game Sunday night several of them admitted as much.

One of the fun things the Dynamo players are doing during this playoff run is to put away their razors. The players decided to go unshaven as long as they continue their run through the playoffs. Some of them are developing pretty heavy beards ....but others ....like star forward Brian Ching .....are more scruffy looking. We found out at practice this week that even though Ching is one of the leading scorers on the team he is also dead last in the race to grow facial hair. He admitted to me that he has been the butt of a number of jokes the past couple of weeks ....but he says,"No one was laughing at me when I scored Sunday night!!" Touche'!!