SHORT TAKES

• Montreal traded Woodbury native Eric Miller to the Colorado Rapids this week, for a draft pick and some cash. Miller is going from a playoff team to perhaps the league's worst franchise, but he's also moving to a Rapids side that desperately needs defensive help – and may slot him in immediately at right back.

• The first legs of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals are this week, with four American teams matched against four Mexican sides. Given that Liga MX is in full swing, while MLS has yet to kick off for the season, it's not out of the question that all four American teams could lose simply based on fitness.

• The United States' and Canada's women's teams cruised through the group stage of CONCACAF Olympic qualifying, combining to win six games, score 37 goals, and give up zero. The lack of women's soccer development in the rest of North America and the Caribbean, especially in Mexico, is distressing. Europe is improving, but can't carry the burden of future women's soccer development alone.