The immediate protection surprise, based on this past season's performance, was Justin Mapp. Mapp had a poor 2009 season (one goal and three assists in 21 regular-season games). If Mapp were available, though, he likely would have been Philadelphia Union head coach Peter Nowak's top Fire choice.

The positive about this process for the Fire is that most of this list was pretty easy to figure out. The team knew full well that Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Veracruz), Brandon Prideaux (retirement) and Chris Rolfe (Aalborg) would not be available.

Based on sources familiar with the Fire's offseason player talks, the Fire are confident that everyone on their protected list is returning for 2010, despite the unknown futures of Brian McBride or Marco Pappa. That is a bit of a reassurance, as Chicago has a grocery-length list of contractual decisions to make this offseason.

Philadelphia has some respectable choices within this Fire group. The intriguing pick would be defender Gonzalo Segares. Obviously, things depend on Segares' ability to find a location in Europe to play. But on the off-chance that nothing works out and he reconsiders MLS, Segares would be an absolute steal at left defensive back.

Midfielders Mike Banner and Peter Lowry could be toward the top of Nowak's list. Banner showcased his versatility this season as he was thrown at left defensive back to fill in for Segares. Lowry did not see a whole lot of playing time. But with nine games and three goals in his rookie season, this 24-year-old showed that he has quite a bit of upside.

Around the league:

Former Fire midfielder Andy Williams just won an MLS Cup title with Real Salt Lake. But he finds himself unprotected once again. Williams was the second overall choice of the 2004 expansion draft by RSL. Along with Williams, former Fire Reserves player and Joliet native Ned Grabavoy also is available.

Ex-Fire staples Jim Curtin and Jesse Marsch of Chivas USA are available to Philadelphia. Curtin only played in three regular-season games this past season, but Marsch played in 23 games. If Philly wants to make a sentimental choice, Curtin is a Villanova product.

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From a Chicago Fire viewer's perspective, the MLS Cup had a remarkably similar feel to the previous week in the Eastern Conference final.

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Real Salt Lake's Robbie Findley had the equalizer in the 64th minute Sunday during the MLS Cup in Seattle.

Real Salt Lake came through in a shootout once again, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 5-4 in penalty kicks to win their first championship Sunday night at Qwest Field in Seattle. RSL topped the Fire 5-4 in PKs the previous week after a scoreless match through regulation and overtime.

On Sunday, the surprising element of the PKs was L.A.'s Landon Donovan kicking the ball over the crossbar and opening the door for RSL. Former Chicago Fire Reserves player and Joliet native Ned Grabavoy then gave RSL a 3-2 lead. The Galaxy's Mike Magee, a South Barrington native, tied it up at 3-3. Former Fire midfielder Andy Williams of RSL had an opportunity to come through with the winner. But Williams' attempt was saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders.

Williams' teammate, goalkeeper Nick Rimando, picked up the slack once again like he did against Chicago. He made two saves and earned MLS Cup MVP. Robbie Russell had the game-winning PK.

"I think me and all the guys knew that if it came to penalty kicks, we were confident," Rimando said in the postgame press conference. "We handled our business in Chicago, but tonight I really think we could have won this in regulation."

In regulation, L.A.'s Magee had the game's first goal in the 41st minute. David Beckham played the ball to the right flank to Donovan, who then found Magee on the far left post. Magee tapped the ball in with his left foot past Rimando for a 1-0 Galaxy lead.

Robbie Findley had RSL's equalizer in the 64th minute.

In stoppage time of the second 15-minute overtime, Williams was just out of reach of a potential game-winner.

Clint Mathis had the short pass from the right side. But an exhausted Williams could not extend his foot out far enough for the ball. He collapsed to the ground with complete exhaustion as stoppage time ran out and the match went to penalty kicks.

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire had the league's worst offense at home (1.07 goals per game), but the second best on the road (1.53).

They started the season undefeated through 11 games (5-0-6, 20 goals), and forward Brian McBride held the MLS scoring lead with six goals in mid-May. But they had only 19 goals in their 19 games from May 31 through Oct. 22.

This team and this offense could not close out the regular season, scoring one goal in three October games. And when it counted in the Eastern Conference final, the Fire had a scoreless run of play and fell in a shootout to Real Salt Lake.

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Brian McBride started the season red hot, but cooled off in the second half.

Forwards have hot spells and dry spells, and teams as a whole have hot streaks and cold streaks. But Chicago's front line never seemed to be on that hot side of the scale. McBride did score in three straight games in April. But between his shoulder injury and a scoring slump, the Fire's goals leader could not find that early season magic.

"You've got to sit back and reflect on a few things," McBride said. "My diving header in the first half against New England in the playoffs -- that is something that I should have put on goal, at least. There are certain instances that you look back on and would do something different.

"Part of being a forward is plugging away, making sure that you're not dwelling on it too much," he said. "And now I get to look back on it. Of course you want to score goals. For the main reason, you want to score goals to help win games. I would have loved to have done that [in the Eastern Conference final]. For one reason or another, it didn't happen for us, and for me."

Among the rest of the forward group, second-year player Patrick Nyarko showed some great promise, and his speed is a benefit. But on the finishing side, in 30 regular-season games he only produced 33 shots -- 20 shots and four goals. Chris Rolfe took more shots than anyone (62) with a modest six-goal total. Calen Carr and Stefan Dimitrov rarely were used, combining for 17 games and only 214 minutes.

It should be interesting to see how things progress in trying to bring back McBride. Having a target player has its benefits when things are going right, and when McBride was in his prime he was as good as they come. McBride still has the toughness and finishing power, even though he was just off the mark quite a few times in the second half of the season. His speed isn't the same, but a world-class player such as McBride always will find a way to compensate. And combining him with a speedster such as Nyarko can frustrate a defensive group.

The Fire fell short of their offensive expectations late in the year. But without Rolfe (bound for Aalborg) and with McBride's future in question, where will this team turn to for its scoring power?

FINAL GRADE: C

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Controlling the run of play typically is the majority of the battle. The Fire can vouch for that fact, as there have been quite a few games where they had the upper hand around the middle of the pitch in 2009.

The fact that this team possessed the ball in decent stretches, but didn't cash in as often as they should have, also made this a frustrating squad to watch -- particularly at Toyota Park. But the opportunities were there. The setups were on the table.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco provided everything that was stamped to his resume: great field vision, a solid foot for set pieces and a physical presence that always frustrated opposing teams. He had a team-high eight assists and made all three penalty kicks he took during the regular season.

Marco Pappa had a good run early on, then was a mix of hot and cold as the season wore on. Pappa is talented -- nobody will dispute that. But he greatly favored that left foot of his when some openings were there to shoot with the right. His play clicked when he was paired with Blanco. But for the moments when Blanco was unavailable because of national team duty for Mexico, or because Blanco was coming off the bench, Pappa's play sometimes looked out of sync.

The Blanco-Pappa combination was a dynamic that had a lot of potential.

Among the rest of the team, Logan Pause maintained some strong marking as a holding midfielder. Chris Rolfe, who played a mix of midfield and forward, mustered a few memorable goals. John Thorrington had a tough season of injuries, red cards and a dry spell at the net, but his energy did lift Chicago in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Justin Mapp's play came to a standstill this season, as his playing time was cut in half. Peter Lowry and Baggio Husidic filled in relatively well as first-year players.

But the harsh reality is this will be an incredibly different group next year. Blanco is headed to Veracruz and Rolfe to Aalborg. Pappa's loan from CSD Municipal is up.

Pretty much every line will see some offseason adjustment in 2010, but this one will be the biggest obstacle for the Fire to overcome.

FINAL GRADE: B-MINUS

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RSL midfielder Andy Williams has endured a lot to get to the MLS Cup finals in Seattle.

On this date in Chicago Fire history, Nov. 19, 2004, the Fire surrendered three players during the 2004 MLS Expansion Draft for Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake. One player who was left unprotected by Chicago was current RSL midfielder Andy Williams, who is playing in this Sunday's MLS Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy (7:30 p.m. CT, ESPN).

Williams was the second overall pick in the expansion draft, and he has been with Real ever since he was left unprotected by the Fire. In the expansion draft process, each team potentially can lose three players. For the Fire, that happened within the first four overall choices of the draft -- defender Orlando Perez (Chivas USA, third pick), goalkeeper D.J. Countess (RSL, fourth pick).

Before RSL, Williams was the definition of an MLS journeyman, playing for six teams within his first seven years. But Williams finally found a home in Salt Lake, and now he gets to play for a championship at Seattle's Qwest Field.

For the Williams family, the past year and a half has been a difficult one away from the pitch. Williams' wife, Marcia, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in July of 2008. The family kept the situation under wraps last year, but word got out, and Major League Soccer rallied around the family with donor drives across the country.

Marcia underwent a revolutionary blood transplant procedure at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, and she finally returned home to Salt Lake in September.

This season has come full circle for both Andy and Marcia. Marcia is traveling with the team to MLS Cup in Seattle, where she spent countless hours in her battle with leukemia. Andy and his RSL teammates opened the 2009 season on the road against Seattle Sounders FC. That match ended in a 2-0 RSL loss.

But Real Salt Lake and Williams are clicking on all cylinders in this postseason. They defeated the Chicago Fire, 1-0 (5-4 in PKs), on Saturday in the Eastern Conference final. They topped the defending champion Columbus Crew in the East semis, with Williams netting the final goal of that series.

This is not a Cinderella story.

Cinderella could not live up to the arduous journey that the Williams family has endured.

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chicago Fire midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco pointed out at the start of the season that the organization had quite a few defenders and not enough midfielders on this year's team.

Who knows whether he was implying that some structural changes needed to be made within the roster, but it turned out that this squad needed every single available defender -- and then some.

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Mike Banner made the switch from midfield to left defensive back for the Fire during the 2009 season.

Bakary Soumare took off for French squad Boulogne in August. Wilman Conde had hamstring problems and other issues. Outside backs Tim Ward and Gonzalo Segares missed much of the second half of the season. That was your starting defensive back line at the opening of the season.

As the injury report grew, the Fire had a rotation of players picking up the pieces. Captain C.J. Brown would be the first to tell you it was not pretty soccer at times. But veteran players such as Brown, goalkeeper Jon Busch and right defensive back Brandon Prideaux did everything they could to maintain some cohesiveness in the back.

Inexperienced guys such as Mike Banner, Dasan Robinson, Austin Washington and Daniel Woolard -- all 25 years old or younger -- were thrust into a critical role of maintaining a spot in the Eastern Conference standings that was good enough to advance to the postseason.

From a numbers perspective, the Fire defense nearly matched its 2008 effort. The one fault with this group was that it did not have the type of defense-to-offense switch the starting four had at the start of the year.

Take the Fire's 3-3 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on April 11. In the 57th minute, the Fire advanced across more than half of the field within a split second to create a top-notch goal. Soumare had the send from the back; Blanco had a quick header from the right flank to target forward Brian McBride; and McBride trapped the ball to his right and fired a perfect strike to the far left post.

You wouldn't see this perfect advancement from front to back often as the season went on. This is not to put all the blame on the defensive unit. Every line should share in the responsibility for the lack of this type of execution. But the ability to move forward from the back just was not the same. The absences of a Conde or a Segares was noticeable because the original starters would have the right read on when to push up or hold back and could provide a send from the back or a cross that would put the front line in a strong position to put something on net.

This back line wasn't the prettiest, but it did get the job done this season.

FINAL GRADE: B

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire pieced together a strong core of players for the 2009 season, and the team went on a playoff run that ended prematurely once again in the Eastern Conference Final.

That group's cohesiveness was a huge reason why the Fire even managed to make it to the postseason amid some heavy personnel changes to offset injuries. But looking into this offseason, there is the potential that more than half of their 2009 starters could have a future outside of the Fire in 2010. That could change if ownership decides to stick with some of the same personnel and fill a few other voids.

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Chicago Fire defender C.J. Brown says he hopes to be back with the team next season.

Defender Brandon Prideaux is retired and he starts up his assistant coaching duties with the University of Washington at the start of the new year. Midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco rejoins Mexican second-division Veracruz. Midfielder/forward Chris Rolfe starts his new role with Danish club Aalborg. Earlier in the season defender Bakary Soumare took off for Boulogne in France. It's possible defender Wilman Conde's future could also be abroad.

Then you have midfielder Marco Pappa, whose loan from CSD Municipal is up. Gonzalo Segares is out of contract. Decisions need to be made for the return of Brown and forward Brian McBride. And head coach Denis Hamlett's contract is up.

Here is what some of the Fire's veteran players have to say about this hectic offseason:

Defender C.J. Brown:

• On his future with the Fire, or retirement: "I don't know what I'm going to do, to be honest with you. I'm not going to say I'm retiring right now. I'm not going to say I'm playing next year either. So I don't know. It all depends on what the organization's decisions are and what they make for the future. I just want to be in the best place that would be a good environment for me to play. Obviously, I'm not a young guy coming up in this league anymore. It's more about just trying to win. I want to be in an environment like that. Hopefully this team can provide that for next year. And if they can, that's a very good chance of me being here -- if they want me. It's all up to them to be honest with you. They get to make that decision."

• On latching onto another MLS team: "I would never say 'no' to it. I don't want to cut that option out, but you never know. I was born here [with the Fire organization]. It would be tough to go somewhere else. Nowadays, this league has been about changes. They always shift guys here and there. I've just been one of the very lucky guys who has been in one place the whole time. I don't foresee myself going anywhere, but I would never say that's not an option. With this league, every year it's an option. There's nothing guaranteed about contracts. So it makes you keep your bags packed for whatever option that comes up."

Goalkeeper Jon Busch: • On bringing back C.J. Brown: "If you look at C.J. and what he did this year, and the minutes he played, and the quality he played during those minutes, he's got a lot more left in the tank. He's not ready to go, and I don't want him to go. He's our captain of this organization. He's the right guy to be the captain. He's been there; he's done it all. He has a lot left. I'm praying that they sign him back. If anybody who matters upstairs has asked me, that's the first person that I want signed back, for sure."

• On bringing back head coach Denis Hamlett and his staff: "My personal opinion is they should give him a new contract and they should give his staff a new contract because they've done a tremendous job. I've always talked very highly of [goalkeeper coach] Daryl [Shore] because I've worked hand-in-hand with him. For three years I think we've had an awesome relationship. I want him back next year and I want the whole staff back. I think they've done a great job, but I also think they're hungry like the players are to make that next step [in the playoffs], and I think it's only right that we do it together."

Forward and Arlington Heights native Brian McBride:

• On his future with the Fire: "I'm not going to be going anywhere [else] in MLS, I can say that for sure. But we'll see what happens with the whole aspect ... You never know until something's done. I'm sure people could tell you plenty of stories about different things. The one thing I've learned in the past is to never think anything's done or not done until it's on paper -- or not. Or even if it's on paper."

• On a move back to Europe: "For me and my family that would be a pretty difficult move. We'd have to think about our livelihood of course. I would say that would be pretty hard to do."

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The image currently in the Chicago Fire's minds is that of goalkeeper Jon Busch diving to his right and getting a couple of gloves on Real Salt Lake's final penalty kick, but the ball maintaining enough pace to find the back of the net and push RSL into the 2009 MLS Cup.

The Eastern Conference final was all on Busch's shoulders -- an unfair situation, perhaps. And with one final kick, Chicago's season ended. RSL's season pressed forward to Seattle's Qwest Field this weekend after Ned Grabavoy -- a Lincoln-Way Central grad and Chicago Fire Reserves product -- played the role of the hero.

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Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch kicks the ball after making a save against the Columbus Crew at Toyota Park in September.

But that shootout situation would not have existed if Busch hadn't come up with some clutch saves in regulation. Most importantly from the Fire's standpoint, Busch did not miss a single second of the MLS season for a second straight campaign, and he was forced to hold down the fort with a defensive back line that was entirely different from the one that started the year.

The 2008 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year did what he could to repeat last year's performance. There was a minor drop-off in his save percentage, but the number of clean sheets was the same (10) and the Fire repeated their position in a conference final game.

This year, Busch's name never was muttered in the same sentence as those of Zach Thornton, Kasey Keller, Pat Onstad -- three playoff goalkeepers who also fell short of the MLS Cup. But Busch came up with more saves than each goalkeeper in this trio. His shutout total matched Keller's and Onstad's and was two short of Thornton's. Busch's save percentage was better than all of theirs, ranked No. 3 in the league at 75.7 percent.

Busch had a successful run throughout a crazy, down-to-the-wire season that was not decided until the final week.

When Busch collided with New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals and stayed down on the ground, there was a moment of pause. Fighting on without Busch in the net would have spelled doom; the mere thought was painful enough.

Perhaps backup Andrew Dykstra would have been up to the task. Dykstra did have that memorable second half against Club America that included a penalty kick save. But that's all Dykstra's résumé holds at this point.

In the end, the Fire should be grateful they had Busch for every minute, through thick and thin.

FINAL GRADE: A

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Chicago Fire defender Wilman Conde was named to the 2009 Major League Soccer Best XI, the league announced Monday afternoon. This is Conde's first Best XI honor.

Conde played in 19 regular-season games this season and rattled in a penalty kick in Saturday's shootout loss against Real Salt Lake in the Eastern Conference final at Toyota Park. Although injuries plagued much of Conde's 2009 campaign, he had an impact on both ends of the field when he was available.

Conde and the Fire defense allowed only 34 goals in 30 games, which was sixth-best among MLS' 15 teams. Conde had two goals and two assists to go with an All-Star First XI selection. The 27-year-old Colombian also was the 2009 Fire Defender of the Year.

For the full MLS Best XI, click here. The list includes former Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton of Chivas USA.

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire started their offseason earlier than they would have liked, so now some of the second-guessing and analysis begins.

What could -- or should -- the Fire have done differently to change their fate during Saturday's 1-0 loss (5-4 in a shootout) to Real Salt Lake in the Eastern Conference final at Toyota Park?

The Fire were on the brink of reaching the Nov. 22 MLS Cup, but they could not pull off the victory in front of an energetic crowd of 21,723. Not taking away from Real's superb playoff run and their efforts, but Chicago had its moments to head to Seattle, where the Los Angeles Galaxy stamped their ticket in the Western Conference.

• Capitalize on run of play: The Fire picked up their game in the second half, and there were some growing gaps within Real's defense. Chicago took nine shots in the second half, with two on goal. That second number needed to be higher, and there were a few moments when Chicago was hovering around the top of the box and couldn't get a strong shot on goal. That happened to midfielder Chris Rolfe a couple of times in the match, resulting in shots wide left of the goal.

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Brian McBride's header that bounced off the crossbar in the 27th minute was one of those moments that could have changed Saturday's outcome.

There were some big moments throughout regulation that could have turned the tide for the Fire. The first was Brian McBride's header that hit the crossbar in the 27th minute. Cuauhtémoc Blanco took a corner kick from the left wing and McBride tried for the header toward the far right post. Chicago maintained its attack afterward but did not register another big scoring chance later in the sequence.

In the 64th minute, Marco Pappa had two shots that were denied by Real's defense. Pappa's left-footed strike from above the box was stopped by diving RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando. Then RSL defender Jamison Olave blocked Pappa's second attempt.

In the 86th minute, John Thorrington and McBride had the numbers in their run, which was created from a back heel pass from Blanco. Thorrington passed off to his left to McBride, and McBride only managed a rolling shot that went wide right of the goal. It was a high-percentage chance that lost quite a bit of steam at the very end.

• Shootout kicks telegraphed?: Fire head coach Denis Hamlett did not want to answer this question after the match, but RSL goalkeeper Rimando must have seen or guessed something in Chicago's PK attempts. From my view in press row, Brandon Prideaux's body language looked like he was going to shoot to Rimando's left. Rimando made that save quite easily, and he did the same against Logan Pause and John Thorrington -- both diving to his left. Thorrington's strike probably was the most deserving to go in, but Rimando did his job to lift RSL in the shootout.

"You pick a spot, you hit it, he makes a good save," Thorrington said. "What can I say? I feel horrible. I feel like I let my team down."

"Someone like [Rimando] just feels it, I think," McBride said. "I'm sure he'll tell you that something inside of him was telling him that that's where he was going. He did well."

The shootout situation felt like a worst-case scenario from the Fire's standpoint. Aside from the negative result earlier in the year in the SuperLiga final against Tigres UANL in a shootout, the Fire also were without some good options to take the kicks. Rolfe was taken out of the match for Justin Mapp in the 109th minute. And then Patrick Nyarko took a huge knock to the head in overtime, and Hamlett did not even consider Nyarko's kicking services. Hamlett said that Nyarko would have been one of the Fire's kick takers just after the first five if not for the dizziness he was feeling.

• D posts shutout, but lacks offensive prowess: It is difficult to criticize a group that has undergone so much turnover from the start of the season. On Saturday, the defense did its job once again by holding Real's speedsters scoreless. There were a couple of glitches in which goalkeeper Jon Busch came through with some big saves. So from a scoreboard standpoint, the Fire handled that aspect.

But a characteristic that was lacking in this back four was its ability to make an impact on the offensive end. This is one area of the game that Chicago has missed with the long-term absences of injured outside backs Gonzalo Segares and Tim Ward. That versatility factor took a hit in the second half of the season.

Center defender Wilman Conde made a long-awaited appearance when he came into the game in the 95th minute. And sure enough in the 96th minute Conde came close to placing a header on goal from a Blanco pass. It was this defense-to-offense impact that sorely was missed as the injuries to the back line mounted in the latter portion of the 2009 campaign.

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