THE GIANTS HAVE FALLEN! Well, maybe they didn’t fall, but the Rochester Rhinos definitely stumbled for the first time all season in a 4-2 loss at the Charlotte Independence’s most recent home stadium. I’ve been of the opinion for most of the season that no one would catch Rochester for the Commissioner’s Cup. Now that Louisville City is within five points with a game in hand, I might be gleefully proven wrong. Gotta beat the Quebecois on Wednesday first, though.

Speaking of FC Poutine, they managed to escape Charleston with a point in a 0-0 draw over the weekend despite going down to 10 men in the first half. The result marks the continuation of a curious slide by the Battery, who have gone 0-2-1 in their last three. The Battery get a long break before their next game, a home match against St. Louis, which I’m sure will go fine for them.

Rob Vincent seemingly stopped the Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ own late-season slide on Saturday all by himself, picking up a hat-trick against the hapless Hammerheads of Wilmington at Highmark Stadium. Vincent is now tied for the lead in the golden boot award with Danni Konig at 16 goals. Take notes, Matt Fondy’s Hair.

Usually we can expect a flood of press releases following the MLS All-Star game about new USL clubs for the 2016 season, but that faucet hasn’t been turned just yet. Rumors and rampant speculation are more fun anyway, and this one actually has some legs: John Harkes, who might be more famous for cuckolding Eric Wynalda before the 1998 World Cup than anything he ever did on a field, is rumored to be the first head coach at FC Cincinnati. I’m excited, if only for the potential for controversy that doesn’t have anything to do with pizza. Are you excited?

I admittedly don’t pay a lot of attention to the Western conference, but it looks like things are heating up out that way for playoff spots. Just six points separate the top team, Seattle 2, from sixth place OC Blues, who are just two points out of danger themselves. Tulsa’s so worried about it they put up six goals against Arizona United on Sunday in their push to try and make the post-season.