In case you're not aware, Ryan and I are pretty big fans of the United States Men's National Team in addition to the Fire. Well, SB Nation launched Stars and Stripes FC today and we're positive that the site will feature some of the best coverage of the Red, White and Blue available on the interwebz. It's definitely worth looking at.

If you have been wanting to see the Gold Medal winning US Women's National Team, now is your chance. The US women will be coming to Toyota Park on October 20th for an international friendly with Germany. It's a great game for Toyota Park to host, and your chance to see some of the US stars that everyone is familiar with. Make sure you get your tickets sooner rather than later.

Hot Cast In Old Town makes its triumphant return after a week off to review the Fire's night off in a 4-2 loss at D.C. United, preview Sunday night's huge game against Houston, looks at the ever tightening Eastern Conference playoff race, reviews the Klopas era thus far, discuss the Carlos Bocanegra rumors in this week's Player Insanity, and previews the CONCACAF Champions League games that have almost certainly already happened. Also, Gregg goes on another mini-rant, Tweed displays his diplomacy skills, Nick finally wins the battle for peace and quiet against the dog by moving in to a new apartment, and Stephen gets a visit from a surprise guest that was cut from the episode. Host: Gregg Mixdorf Panelists: Tweed Thornton, Rudy Gomez, Stephen Piggott Producer: Nick Fedora

Figured people here would enjoy this read on Peter Wilt

Credit to Guillermo Rivera over at Fire Confidential for this nugget that he just dropped. Twitter has exploded tonight with rumors of a possible return by Carlos Bocanegra to the Fire. Whether this move is a precursor to that, I always liked Orr. He unfortunately never got a true chance to shine. If this report is true than all of us here at Hot Time In Old Town wish him the best in his future endeavors.

In case you missed it, per the official Fire site, Logan is getting some light training work in. Although he is likely still 2-3 weeks from returning (which matches the original timeline given), it's still welcome news for Fire fans. I think a lot of fans take him for granted sometimes. His absence the past couple of weeks should prove to everyone his value to the team. It will be a welcome sight getting Logan back for the final few games heading into the playoffs.

This site has the Fire ranked 17th in CONCACAF and the 4th best club in MLS.

This week the Hot Time In Old Town crew talks about the Fire's 3-1 win in Philadelphia including a goal from our favorite German centerback, how the team may cope with the loss of captain Logan Pause, looks at the standings in the East, previews the game against New England (Nick makes a delightful prediction), thanks Sporting Kansas City for beating Seattle to keep the Fire as Kings of the Cup, talks about Marco Pappa's transfer to Heerenveen, and quickly preview the friendly between Mexico and the United States National Team. Host: Gregg Mixdorf Panelists: Tweed Thornton, Rudy Gomez, Stephen Piggott Producer: Nick Fedora

Austin Berry's hard work is not going unnoticed.

There is a great raffle going on that closes tomorrow. All the proceeds will go towards the very important Fire 15th Anniversary celebration. There are a lot of little things going on behind the scenes that need the help. The grand prize is two tickets to the Second Star Club for the August 18th game vs New England. I can't recommend the Second Star Club enough. It's a great addition to Toyota Park. The grand prize includes VIP parking, food and beverage, exclusive entrance and elevator, pre-game talk by Fire technical staff and the chance to see the game from a new perspective. The other prizes include a game worn jersey by Dominic Oduro, a Chicago Fire prize package which includes a scarf, flag, bag and hat, and a limited edition 15th year anniversary scarf. Tickets are only 2 for $5, 5 for $10 or 12 for $20. This is a great cause a great raffle for the money.