Real Salt Lake notebook: Galaxy's Donovan named league MVP

SEATTLE — The L.A. Galaxy will have an MVP on their side when they take the field for this Sunday's MLS Cup against Real Salt Lake.

Landon Donovan was named the league MVP on Thursday afternoon, his first such honor in his storied MLS career.

The Galaxy forward scored 12 goals and added six assists this year in 25 games, missing about a month because of international duty with the U.S. National Team. Earlier this week Donovan was also named to the MLS Best XI and his curling volley against New England was voted by fans as the MLS goal of the year.

The MVP is voted on by players, coaches, general managers and members of the media. The other two finalists this year were Jeff Cunningham and Shalrie Joseph.

Donovan's production led L.A. to the Western Conference regular season title and its first playoff berth since winning the Cup in 2005. He's the all-time leading score in MLS Playoff history with 17, and he's slowly moving up the league's all-time scoring list with 96 career goals.

Donovan only played in one of two matches against Real Salt Lake this year, a 2-2 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium on May 6. He was in South Africa at the Confederation's Cup on June 13 when RSL prevailed 2-0 at the Home Depot Center, one of only two road victories all year.

CINDERELLA STORIES: Real Salt Lake is the second straight No. 8 seed to make the MLS Cup and the third in five years. If RSL wins, it would join the 2005 L.A. Galaxy team as No. 8 seeds who hoisted the Cup.

While underdogs advancing to the championship in MLS has become common, that's not always the case in other sports.

In the current playoff format of the NBA, the 1999 New York Knicks are the only No. 8 seed to ever reach the NBA Finals. The sixth-seeded Houston Rockets back in 1995 are the lowest-seeded team to win the NBA Championship.

In the NHL, the 2005 Edmonton Oilers are the only No. 8 seed to ever advance to Stanley Cup finals, ultimately losing to Carolina.

Five wildcard teams have reached the Super Bowl in the NFL, including Pittsburgh in 2005 and the New York Giants in 2007.

In Major League Baseball only 26 percent of teams make the playoffs, so there really are no bad teams in the postseason. Since 1995 four wildcard teams have won the World Series, including the Florida Marlins in 1997 and 2003, along with Anaheim in 2002 and Boston in 2004.

A GOOD OMEN: Nearly nine months ago, Real Salt Lake won a much smaller cup than the one it's seeking this Sunday by claiming the Carolina Challenge Cup back in March.