The Fire just announced that they have come to terms with forward Calen Carr -- resigning the 27-year-old former first round pick. Per league policy, terms of the deal weren't announced.

Carr, who has tallied six goals and three assists in 68 appearances spanning four years in Chicago, has missed a ton of time over the past two seasons with a reoccurring knee injury. I'm assuming the Fire don't have concerns over the injury -- otherwise they likely wouldn't be bringing Carr back.

Every now and then, I enjoy starting off a blog post with a good-old fashioned cliche. It's easy. And sloppy. Whatever. Just roll with me...

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. For the 2010 edition of the Chicago Fire, the first impressions have been made. And -- according to Technical Director Frank Klopas -- they have been positive.

"The training has been going very well," Klopas told me over the phone. "We're just four days into it but I think there's been a very positive attitude from the guys. There have been no issues on that end and they're working very hard and that's been great."

I'll be interviewing Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas and the on-trial forward Collins John later on this morning (hopefully at around 11:30...) and I plan on having a post up shortly thereafter.  If you're reading this before noon, go ahead and pose a question to either Frank or Collins (or both...).  I'll do my best to work them into the interviews.  Be back at (hopefully...) 1 or 1:30. 

Update -- Training ran a little long today so I only just got off the phone with Frank Klopas (I'll be speaking with Collins John later.  He was unavailable due to his required presence at a team lunch).  So I'll have the post up a little later than originally expected.  I'm guessing it'll go live at around 2. 

No matter what time of year, no matter what continent one is on, on any given weekend one can catch an entertaining soccer game. The key is to know where to look. Well, look no further -- here's a weekly feature that will preview (and eventually recap) my favorite match of the weekend. Consider this your open thread for all of the weekend's matches.

I'm tired of writing about "big-four only" matches, so this week, instead of penning a half-hearted article about Sunday's Chelsea-Arsenal match (which you can catch beginning at 10 a.m. on FSC), I'll be writing about a match I really care about -- Everton v. Liverpool.

And yes, I know this will be the second time I've written about Everton in the past month. And no, I'm not a closeted Everton fanatic. But something about U.S. National Team star Landon Donovan doing big things for the club -- he has one goal and one assist in four Premier League games -- has me roped in. So, with all that, let's get down to business. Here's your match of the week.

The Game: Everton at Liverpool

TV: 6:30 a.m Saturday on ESPN2

Quick Preview: Tim Howard and Landon Donovan take Everton's three-game league winning streak to Anfield this Saturday, where they will face a motivated Liverpool side who are battling for a Champions League spot. Look for the Reds to come out firing on all cylinders, as they need the home win to keep place with 4th place Tottenham, who they trail by one point.

My prediction: 1-1 tie. Steven Gerrard and Tim Cahill with the goals.

As always, I'll be back with the result and a brief recap of the match sometime after it's conclusion. Here's a full TV listing of this weekend's games. Enjoy.

Result: Liverpool 1 - Everton 0. Recap and video highlights after the jump.

Former Fire midfielder announced his retirement today, putting an end to a 14-year MLS career that saw him play with the Fire from the club's inception in 1998 through 2005. Marsch, who won four trophies while with the Fire, will now join the U.S. National Team as an Assistant Coach for Bob Bradley -- whom Marsch played for while with Princeton, D.C. United, the Fire and Chivas USA.

"I would like to sincerely thank my family, friends, teammates, coaches and supporters for the past 14 excellent years," said Marsch. "Many people have touched my life in a very positive way, and these relationships have shaped and will continue to shape me and my family. I am excited to get started with U.S. Soccer, and I hope for continued success and support within the sport of soccer."

Marsch generated some buzz this offseason when he was interviewed by the Fire for their then-vacant head coaching position. I was always against hiring Marsch -- didn't think his playing style would translate well into an attacking brand of soccer -- but it's good to see he's landed on his feet with the National Team. Bob Bradley certainly isn't a bad coach to learn under.

Some reaction to the news from former-Fire players Chris Armas and Jim Curtin is after the jump...

Here are a couple of quick notes to get your Friday started...

Fire local TV update

It's not looking like the Fire will be broadcast on My50 in 2010. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, MLS wants to broadcast all of its games in high-definition this year. My50 does not broadcast in HD. You do the math...

The station -- which aired Fire matches in the Chicago market for the last two seasons -- had its contract with the team expire at the end of 2009. An alternative to My50 is Comcast SportsNet, which aired Fire matches from 2005-2007.

I might not have been at practice yesterday, but I have a few updates from Wednesday's training session thanks to the email report of a faithful reader who attended the session. Here we go...

John tearing it up --

Apparently, it hasn't taken trialist Collins John long to get acclimated to the Fire. According to our intrepid reader, the former-Fulham striker was very impressive in just his second day of training with the team. Here is the full report on John:

"Collins John looked like a beast today. You can tell he has a good touch even though his timing was bit off. But he is explosive, looks like an [American] football player compared to the rest of the guys. It is hard to see him not making the team, he could be plain dominant in MLS."

John performing well is fantastic news for the Fire. He clearly has a great deal of talent and if he works hard (which it sounds like he did yesterday) on a consistent basis then the rest of the league better watch out.

A couple of news items for you to chew on this afternoon...

MLS just released the full 2010 schedule and -- at first glance -- the Fire's looks relatively back heavy. The Fire plays 10 of their 30 regular season games in the final two months of the season, finishing up with three games at Toyota Park.

Here's the Fire's full schedule:

03/27 - Saturday at New York 6 p.m. ESPN, Deportes

04/03 - Saturday at Colorado 3 p.m. TeleFutura

04/10 - Saturday San Jose 7:30 p.m.

04/17 - Saturday at D.C. United 6:30 p.m.

04/24 - Saturday Houston 7:30 p.m.

05/01 - Saturday Chivas USA 7:30 p.m.

05/08 - Saturday at Toronto 3 p.m.

05/15 - Saturday at Kansas City 7:30 p.m. FSC, FSE

05/22 - Saturday Colorado 5 p.m. FSC, FSE

05/27 - Thursday FC Dallas 7 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes

06/05 - Saturday Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.

06/26 - Saturday at New England 6:30 p.m.

07/03 - Saturday at Columbus 7:00 p.m. FSC, FSE

07/08 - Thursday Real Salt Lake 8:30 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes

07/24 - Saturday Kansas City 7:30 p.m.

08/01 - Sunday at LA Galaxy 6:30 p.m. FSC, FSE

08/08 - Sunday New York 6:00 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes

08/18 - Wednesday New England

08/21 - Saturday at Houston 7:30 p.m.

08/28 - Saturday at Seattle 9:30 p.m.

09/04 - Saturday LA Galaxy 3:00 p.m. TeleFutura

09/08 - Wednesday Toronto FC 7:30 p.m.

09/11 - Saturday at Philadelphia 4:30 p.m. FSC, FSE

09/18 - Saturday at Real Salt Lake 3:00 p.m. TeleFutura

09/25 - Saturday Seattle 7:00 p.m.

09/29 - Wednesday at San Jose 10:00 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes

10/02 - Saturday at FC Dallas 7:30 p.m. FSC, FSE

10/08 - Friday Columbus 7:30 p.m.

10/16 - Saturday D.C. United 3:00 p.m. TeleFutura

10/23 - Saturday at Chivas USA 10:00 p.m. FSC, FSE

Unfortunately I won't be able to attend today's Fire practice today at the MAX indoor facility in McCook (class beckons...). But that doesn't mean I don't have to post. So, with that, here are three storylines that should play out throughout the Fire's 6-week long training camp.

1 -- What will the final roster look like?

Three open roster spots. Six new players coming to camp. With those numbers, this preseason figures to be a tricky one. Frank Klopas and Carlos de los Cobos should have a hell of a time sorting it all out.

Complicating the process for the Fire brass is the fact that the club's 20 senior roster spots have already been filled. Because the on-trial Collins John would count as a senior member of the roster, should the Fire choose to sign him they will have to cut someone (likely a forward) from last year's team.