Keep the faith: MLS' conference finalists a worthy, intriguing bunch

Dema Kovalenko (right) helped send Real Salt Lake to the conference finals for the first time. AP Greg Lalas's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Greg. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

Faith in oneself is a constant battle.

For example, at the beginning of the MLS season, I predicted Real Salt Lake would finish second in the Western Conference and that the New York Red Bulls would win the East. Neither came true, so I flagellated myself over my previously bold, but now moronic, prognostications.

I came close with RSL, which finished third in the West, but the team gave me a heart attack along the way. Yura Movsisyan's playoff berth-securing, 90th-minute goal in the final game of the regular season against Colorado was like a defibrillator.

As for New York, I spent weeks in the middle of the season wondering what brain failure made me ever think the Red Bulls were worthy of being in MLS, let alone in the playoffs.

Even last week, after the first legs of their playoff series, I was convinced that neither of these teams had the necessary gumption, steel, tactical awareness and, let's be honest, luck to ensure their passage into the conference finals. (At what point will MLS drop all this conference final bunk during the playoffs? Please, Mr. Garber, can you send an edict down from on high that pits 1-8 seeds, 2-7, etc., and calls the rounds simply MLS Cup quarterfinals, semifinals and final?)

But today, I must apologize to both of these teams for my lack of faith. I failed them. I doubted them. Last weekend they earned impressive results and proved beyond any doubt that they are worthy. RSL's gutsy, attack-minded 2-2 draw at Chivas USA earned it a 3-2 series win on aggregate. New York's 3-0 thumping of two-time defending MLS champion Houston -- in H-Town, by the way -- showed the threat of flank speed and the blessings of a hot goalkeeper.

These two simply belong in the conference finals. Neither has ever reached an MLS Cup final, so when they face off Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium (Does this venue have a nickname yet? "The Mine?"), both will be fighting for history.

Houston's bid to make history by winning a third straight MLS Cup, meanwhile, was ended decisively. The mighty juggernaut looked as tame as a pack of orange tabby cats during the second-leg loss to New York. I, for one, am glad the Dynamo lost.

Nothing personal against Houston, its players or its brilliant coach, Dominic Kinnear. The Dynamo have been nothing short of fantastic the past few years, and they are still MLS' only hope in the CONCACAF Champions League. Houston has been classy, consistent and inspiring in its unrelenting pursuit of excellence and trophies the past two seasons.

So why am I tickled that the Dynamo have been eliminated? Because the league needed someone new to take the crown.

MLS needed someone nasty to reach the final. Someone who sparks the international imagination. Someone who ticks off opposing fans, while thrilling them at the same time. Unfortunately, Houston's steadiness, intricate mix of talents and downright niceness fails to stir the emotional pot. If sports is a story, then every league needs its antagonist, someone you despise and root again.