On a whim, I decided to calculate what the strength of schedule for home, away, and overall for MLS teams in 2012 will be, based on performance in 2011.  For 2011 performance, I used Home PPG and Away PPG, and for the new team, Montreal, I took the average of Portland and Vancouver's numbers from last year.

For home games, the algorithm was SUM[for each home game] (APPG(opponent))
For away games, the algorithm was SUM[for each away game] (HPPG(opponent))

This is an attempt to produce the number of expected points against for an average team in that situation.  This undoubtedly produces numbers with a very large error bar, but this was all just a "let's see what happens" exercise.  All of the tables below are in expected points against.

My basic summary: For home games, the West has the hardest time, by far*.  For away games, the difficulty is fairly evenly spread out (its really hard to travel no matter where you are).  Overall, this makes for a bias for harder schedules in the West (is this really a surprise to anyone?).  Relevant to me is that Portland does indeed seem to have a rather difficult schedule (which is what prompted this exercise), but not the hardest.  
*For some definition of far which is basically meaningless due to the error margins of the data.

Attendance this year in MLS has blown by many records, including some long standing ones.
Average attendance for the year is 17869, surpassing the inaugural season (1996) for the first time ever.  1996 had multiple things which caused their high average attendance, including double headers with the national team, the overall newness of the league, and the fact that all teams played in large stadiums meaning a couple high attended games could greatly influence the average.  This year, most of the teams played their games in soccer specific stadiums, where the maximum attendance was much more limited.
The median attendance of 17639 shattered the previous record of 15353 set in 2007.  This much more indicative of a broader, more consistent attendance base than average since the median isn't affected by how much over the middle any one game is.

There are also quite a few other impressive records, all of which can be found at the data source for this post here:http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1840161
Many thanks to edwardgr for his in depth analysis of MLS attendance throughout the season.

The Richmond Kickers advanced to the semi-finals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after defeating Sporting KC 2-0.  This marks the furthest that Richmond has advanced in the US Open Cup since MLS teams joined the tournament in 1996.  Richmond won the US Open Cup in 1995, while at the time being in the equivalent of D-4.

The last time a non-MLS club made it to the semifinals was in 2009 when the Rochester Rhinos advanced over the Columbus Crew and Wilmington Hammerheads in the 3rd round and quarterfinals respectively.  The Rhinos were in the USL First Division that year (2nd division overall in the US/Canada).

The Richmond Kickers have been in the 3rd division overall in the US/Canada since they voluntarily relegated in 2006.  The last time a 3rd division team made it to the semi-finals of the US Open Cup was in 1997, when the SF Bay Seals advanced over the Kansas City Wizards and the San Jose Clash in the 3rd round and quarterfinals respectively.

It is important to note that they may not have made it this far in the tournament if NASL teams would have been allowed to enter.

After a spectacular win, in what is surely one of the most exciting soccer games ever played by an American team, the US Women's National Team advanced to the semifinals over Brazil after AET and penalty kicks.  In the semifinals, they defeated France 3-1 to advance to the final, for the first time since they won in 1999, where they will face Japan.

On a statistical note, this year will mark the first year that a team with a loss in the tournament will win the Women's World Cup.  It is important to note that, since this is only the sixth time the competition has been held, it is not a very longstanding record.

The US leads the way in semifinal appearances, with 5 before this year.  Germany leads final appearances, with 3 before this year.  The US and Germany are tied for the lead with 2 WWC final wins each.

MLS is finally doing something with all those Opta Stats they has been paying so much for!

http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2011-04-14-portland-timbers-vs-chicago-fire/chalkboard