New England. Again.

The Fire played 30 Major League Soccer games this season just to find out it will play New England in the first-round of the playoffs.

Again.

That's eight times these teams have met in the playoffs, including five straight postseasons. Remember, the Fire has only played 12 seasons, making it to the playoffs in an un-Chicago-like 11 of 12.

"We were guessing New England," forward/midfielder Chris Rolfe said.

"No surprise, you've got it," coach Denis Hamlett added. "It wouldn't be the MLS Cup playoffs if we didn't have Chicago-New England."

They played twice in the regular season, tying both, the most recent game two weeks ago at Foxboro, plus the Fire's win in the SuperLiga semifinals. The two-game playoff series will open at 1 p.m. Sunday (Fox Soccer Channel) at New England. The second game will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at Toyota Park, with the winner determined by aggregate goals. (If 180 minutes of soccer aren't enough, they'll play 30 more in Chicago, followed by penalty kicks if it's still tied.)

These teams know each other better than David Beckham knows controversy. The Fire knows a Steve Nicol-coached team is going to be long on physical play and short on finesse.

"We know it's going to be two games that are two battles," Hamlett said. "That's it in a nutshell. No secrets here."

Wouldn't it have been nice to play somebody a little different? Just a little change of pace?

"We don't care," forward Brian McBride said. "It's the playoffs. You've got two games, and it doesn't matter who you play, it's going to be important and difficult. The league's now at the point where there are enough teams (15) that to make the playoffs is a big deal."

So what's the key to beating the Revolution?

"It's nice to come off a win," McBride said of last week's 1-0 victory that ended a six-game winless streak. "Defensively, we've been solid. We've got to continue with that and take a few of our chances."

"Pretty much the same thing we've done the last two games against them except score," Rolfe added. "We've created chances against them, we just have to put it in the back of the net."

The best Revolution player in this series is Shalrie Joseph, the big defensive midfielder so versatile he's also played some forward this year. He's a league MVP candidate.

"Everything the coaches have asked of him this year, he's come up big for them," Hamlett said. "Given everything they've been through as far as injuries, he's still been a guy that - be it forward, defender, midfielder - has answered the call. ...

"They're not just a one-man show. They've got some good young guys who have stepped up well this year, and they've got a good goalkeeper in Matt Reis. And the most important thing is they have a group of guys that never give up, they keep fighting."

The Fire's visit with the familiar might not be over soon, either. Should it dispatch New England, there's a good chance a trip to Columbus for the Eastern Conference final will await the Fire.

Again.

Get your act together: It's confusing enough for those of us who follow MLS daily to try to figure out what's going on with the league and its complex workings, but this week it appeared even league officials couldn't figure out their own playoff system.

Instead of having playoff brackets ready as soon as Sunday's last game was played, maybe even before the last game ended, as most major leagues would have, it took MLS until almost 10 p.m. Sunday to alert the media about the Fire's playoff opponent and schedule.

And then Tuesday the schedule changed, with the Fire's first game being moved to Sunday from Saturday.

How are fans supposed to follow the league if league officials don't even know what's going on?