Our beloved D.C. United may have crashed and burned (again) in the MLS playoffs this season, but life goes on. Also, the playoffs go on -- right in our backyard, in fact. Many moons ago, Washington was picked to host the 2007 MLS Cup this Sunday at noon, at RFK.

Time to put aside your grieving and check out the game. Tickets start at $30, maybe even less on Craigslist. When else are you going to see a Championship game in any sport for that much? Probably never. Plus, that price includes a halftime performance from Jimmy Eat World. Our advice is to get up early on Sunday, take in a tailgate or two, and enjoy the final, regardless of the fact that it's the Houston Dynamo against the New England Revolution (the generally crotchety Paul Gardner previews it here). Here's our guide to the teams:

HOUSTON DYNAMO
The second best team in the Western Conference during the regular season, the Dynamo are the team most experts picked to win it all this year. They're led by attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, a Canadian goal-scorer who used to sport corn-rows and do stupid, faux-NFL goal celebration dances. Brian Ching is their other big "star" -- he's the first Hawaiian ever to play for the U.S. Men's National Team. A good finisher and strong in the air, he hurt his calf in the last game against Kansas City and looks doubtful for the final. Stay tuned. As a team, they're fast and physical and typically high scoring. The team used to be in San Jose, first as the oddly-named "Clash" then as the ominous, but fitting "Earthquakes". When they moved to Houston, they tried to call themselves Houston 1836 (as a reference to the year the city was "founded," a practice found in names of European teams like "1860 Munich"). After the initial name was announced, the Latino community in Houston got up in arms, suggesting that 1836 was merely the year White Americans decided to take over the region. They then changed the name to the more culturally-inclusive "Dynamo". They are the defending MLS Cup champions.

After the jump: the remainder of the Houston briefing, the New England briefing, and D.C. United notes.

Rounding out the rest of their lineup: Eddie Robinson (a tall, rugged defender from UNC-Chapel Hill), Joseph Ngwenya (inconsistent but exciting Zimbabwean midfielder, not inclined to do much defending, will probably start in place of Ching), Wade Barrett (a William and Mary alum, formerly associated with the Danish league, currently associated with mammoth sideburns), Nate Jaqua (marginally talented "target man" forward, son of former Redskin Jon Jaqua, used to play with Beckham on the LA Galaxy but was traded after the team discovered he was a goalscorer that had a difficult time scoring goals).
How They Got to the Final: After trailing 1-0 to Dallas in the semis, they bounced back with a 4-2 win in the second game to advance to the final. They hosted the Kansas City Wizards and won 2-0, led by a Jacqua goal from a corner kick and a fine, low shot from De Rosario.

Why You Should Cheer for Them: You are hoping for a high scoring, offensive game. You are Canadian. You like orange.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The Revolution were the second best team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, but are now playing in their third consecutive MLS Cup Final. They have yet to win it, garnering a reputation as the league's version of the Buffalo Bills. The "Revs", as they are affectionately known, were one of the original MLS teams, and have yet to undergo a name change. This despite the fact that much recent historical scholarship refutes the idea that the American Revolution was a real "revolution" at all, but rather merely a relocation of the mercantilist center of an empire. Luckily for Bob Kraft -- who owns both the NE Patriots and the Revolution -- those historians haven't yet spoken up about his own team's controversial nickname. But I digress. New England is coached by Steve Nicol, a great player with legendary English club Liverpool FC way back when. On the field, the Revs are led by Taylor Twellman, a spunky forward who spent a couple years at Maryland before turning pro and playing briefly in Europe. Twellman has scored a boat-load of goals in the past few years and has also had some degree of success for the national team -- but only when facing opponents like the Norwegian B-team and Panama. He's the kind of forward who will go long stretches without actually touching the ball at all, only to appear out of nowhere to knee the ball over the line after someone else has done all the hard work. The man who does much of that hard work is Shalrie Joseph -- the tall, braided Grenadian dude and their workhorse in the middle of the field. He's a very good passer and excels at dictating the pace of the game. Michael Parkhurst is a quality young defender who just got voted MLS Defender of the Year.

Filling out their roster: Pat Noonan (a mid-level forward from Indiana who misses more scoring chances than he makes), Jay Heaps (a defender of limited ability but a strong work rate, remembered loathsomely by some for his days as a walk-on with the Duke basketball team), Steve Ralston (classy veteran, MLS' all-time assist leader), Matt Reis (very large, bald-headed goalie, not a great shot-stopper but good on crosses, most famous for punching former D.C. forward Alecko Eskendarian in the head and nearly forcing him into retirement).
How They Got to the Final: Knocked off New York 1-0 at home after tying 0-0 on the road (Twellman scored a typically unattractive goal that barely crossed the line). They met the Chicago Fire in the conference final and won 1-0 on another goal by Twellman, this one a spectacular bicycle kick that ranks as one of the goals of the year.

Why You Should Cheer for Them: You believe in the most overt and literal forms of patriotism. You are in favor of an all-encompassing sports dynasty in New England.

United Notes: Yesterday, D.C. United forward Luciano Emilio received the MLS Honda MVP award, the second year in a row a United player has won the honor (Christian Gomez won last year). Emilio led the league with 20 goals and became the first goal leader in MLS history that did not benefit from a Penalty Kick goal... United officials are closing in on a deal with their first designated player, reports Steve Goff. This player has long been rumored to be Juan Sebastián Verón, a veteran two-way midfielder that has logged time in the English Premier League and Italian Serie A, and the Argentinian National Team... Alecko Eskandarian is not back... This year's expansion draft is this Wednesday. Each team is allowed to protect only 11 players, leaving the rest of MLS player pool for the newly re-formed San Jose Earthquakes to cherrypick. D.C. United stands to lose a key contributor. Depending on D.C. United's offseason plans for their roster, the most likely victim of the draft is Brian Carroll. Check out the Soccer Insider and the DCenters for in-depth breakdowns of the draft day carnage.

Matt Bourque contributed