To recap:

The 2012 New York Red Bulls have the best record of any MetroBulls team ever. They currently sit in third in the Eastern Conference, one point behind second place Sporting Kansas City and two points with a game in hand on first place D.C. United. The team is in fifth place overall, in the thick of things where the top five teams are all within five points of each other. From here on out, the Red Bulls play 15 of their remaining 17 matches against in-conference opponents, with 10 of them in the friendly confines of Red Bull Arena, where the team is undefeated. Eight of those games are against teams outside of the playoff picture.

They are where they are, in part, thanks to the efforts of players many thought Erik Soler picked up off the scrap heap simply to fill roster spaces. Connor Lade was too short to play in MLS, even when he converted back to his natural fullback position. Brandon Barklage was an injury waiting to happen, coming off of two torn ACLs. Dax McCarty was the short end of a bad trade. Tyler Ruthven and Stephen Keel were depth, and nothing more. Ryan Meara played college soccer at some no-name bullet-ridden crap hole in the bad part of the Bronx (ok, fine, Fordham's a nice enough school. I guess. Go Jaspers).

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As we've explored here before, there are a whole slew of issues that affect a municipality when they bank on an MLS stadium as their savior.

Harrison, desperate for development, banked on Red Bull Arena and now blame the stadium for the city's financial woes, conveniently ignoring all the evidence that a stadium wouldn't bring about the desired effects. And there was that whole recession thing, too.

As it turns out, Harrison isn't the only city in rough shape. Chester, Pa., home of PPL Park and the Philadelphia Union, and Bridgeview, Ill., where the Chicago Fire play in Toyota Park, are both hurting. The culprit, according to the cities in question, is the MLS team the city hosts.

The stories differ in some important ways, but overall, people are looking to the local MLS stadium as the reason why the city's finances are in the crapper.

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For those of you forced to stay home and spend time with your mothers Sunday instead of making the trip to Chester for the Red Bulls' 3-2 win over the Union, you probably watched it on TV. And if you watched it on TV there's a good chance you caught Taylor Twellman making light of Wilman Conde's Saturday morning arrest.

Twellman said something to the effect that maybe Conde got arrested for the questionable barber skills he took to Ryan Meara's head last week during some rookie hazing instead of shoving a Fort Lee police officer.

Here's the thing, though. ESPN set Twellman up for that one.

A lot of the announcers' conversation during a game that is not calling plays is scripted. It's not the producer and cameramen following what the announcers say - the announcers know what the anecdote is and when it's coming.

Here's an example. When Healey and Twellman talked in the 14th minute about Red Bulls defender Wilman Conde's arrest, Alexopoulos had set them up for it a minute earlier.

He and Frattaroli had arranged for the cameras to be trained on New York manager Hans Backe at just that moment. Alexopoulos offered a few reminders of the facts, and seconds later you heard the conversation on air. Cue the camera switch to Backe - albeit blocked by an assistant coach - and it all looked so smooth.

Thierry Henry doesn't make excuses.

Whether you look at not-talking-to-the-mediagate after the season opener against FC Dallas or his statements after the team's dismal 4-1 loss against D.C. United, Henry doesn't point to injuries or lack of fitness or the team trying to gel as reasons for losses. Where Hans Backe coddles players, protecting them for the all-too-easily-attainable ire of fans and the scrutiny of the media, Henry, holds them accountable.

That's why Henry is unquestionably the leader of this team. It's why he wears the captain's armband.

But now that he's out, and could be out nearly a month, it's time to see whether or not the Red Bulls have taken his leadership to heart.

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But do we want him?

Stephen Ireland, the man Michael Ballack's agent called a "no-name player who no one knows, who hasn't started in months" while blasting Erik Soler for being "clueless" last week for not valuing his 35-year-old client is closer to being a Red Bull than we think, according to Ireland's (the country, not the guy) Independent.

The article touches on a lot of important points. For example, the Red Bulls are pushing hard to bring Ireland (the guy, not the country), aiming for mid-April, when Major League Soccer's early season transfer window closes. The article also explores Ireland's eccentricity. While the lifestyle a player like Ireland could have in New York is unparalleled, does he want to live in New York or does he want to play soccer in New York, assuming he actually wants to come to MLS?

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Seemingly every time a Red Bulls front office member goes on the radio they have something important to say. Remember last time, when Erik Soler shed some light on the Luke Rodgers visa situation?

Anyway, one of the guests this week was Hans Backe, and the important parts are transcribed, rather roughly, below, though the entire interview is worth a listen (it's about 13 minutes and starts at 4:18).

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This is possibly the most adorable thing in the world.

Connor Lade, who scored the Red Bulls' only goal late in the second half this weekend's preseason match against Mexican side Merida FC, hasn't quite been able to shake the embarrassing relative (relatives?) now that he's gone pro.

In the rather sparse comments section on the Red Bulls' game story, we find this message from Annmarie Lade Gibbs:

Congratulations Connor! We saw your tying goal against Merida. We are very proud of you! LOL , xoxoxo Mom Mom, Aunt Annmarie and Brian.

Earlier today, the Red Bulls released the list of players at "Day One" of training camp at Montclair State University and the list is unimpressive to say the least. Case in point, the starting line-up, should the season start right-freaking-now:

Ryan Meara; Roy Miller, Sacir Hot, Stephen Keel, Jan Gunnar Solli; Dane Richards, Teemu Taino, Rafael Marquez, Dax McCarty, Joel Lindpere; Corey Hertzog

You can take issue with my tactics (yep, I went with a 4-5-1 with Hertzog alone up top) but you'll be hard-pressed to put together a better line-up.

Obviously, not everyone is here. Theirry Henry is with Arsenal (with a calf injury, by the way), Juan Agudelo is with the USMNT, Frank Rost is still contemplating his future and there are a whole lot of rumors that new players are coming into the fold.

Take from this what you will.