Sounders Transfer Rumors

Lately there have been many rumors of new players to join the Sounders (one of them just recently officially announced), and players potentially heading their way out. Below they are summarized.

Incoming

Cordell Cato
A Trinidad and Tobago midfielder who was rumored to have signed a one year contract with the Sounders, while team officials still claim that nothing is official yet. He apparently a Sanna Nyassi like midfielder who will provide pace in the midfield.

Adam Johansson (Officially Announced)
Rumored to have been signed to a multi-year deal and just recently officially announced by the club, Johansson will become the new starter at right back for the 2012 season. He is seen as a much needed upgrade over James Riley with his tactical ability and willingness to join the attack.

Christian Sivebaek
A Danish midfielder who can also play as a right back, has reportedly told the Danish press that he is making the move over to the Sounders for 2012.

Outgoing

Alvaro Fernandez

The Uruguayan has recently been linked with Serie A club Palermo, his agent reportedly confirming interest in making the move.

20 Player USMNT January Camp Roster Announced

The roster for the US Men's National Team January camp has been announced, and notably only two of the twenty players listed play outside of the United States. Expected returning players include Bill Hamid of DC United, New York's Juan Agudelo, and FC Dallas' Brek Shea. Newcomers that really stand out are the Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez (who had been voicing frustration over a lack of a call up), Graham Zusi (who had performed spectacularly for Sporting Kansas City last season), FC Dallas standout George John, and SKC rookie forward CJ Sapong.

Goalkeepers (3): Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders (7): Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), A.J. DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), George John (FC Dallas), Zach Loyd (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA)

Midfielders (6): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Benny Feilhaber (New England Revolution), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards (4): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), C.J. Sapong (Sporting Kansas City), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Saab Finally Calls It Quits

After several months of floundering in debt and desperately trying to scrounge together investors in China, Saab is finally calling it quits and filing for bankruptcy. While certainly expected, this is definitely sad news. After suffering at the hands of General Motors, Saab was finally establishing an identity of it's own with the new 9-5 and the 9-4X. Unfortunately, the Swedish automaker just couldn't make it on it's own. One main issue was the fact that though they were independent of the giant, they still relied upon GM for the production of the 9-4X crossover and GM just did not want to hand over the blueprints for one of it's products (the 9-4X is derived off of the Cadillac SRX) and completed products that cost billions to develop to a Chinese company.

According to the Car and Driver blog:

"Saab’s remaining assets will be liquidated by a court-appointed administrator. This includes any production facilities (we expect that the Swedish government or local investors will buy these), tooling, patents, and of course, the rights to the brand itself. In all likelihood, Youngman, Pang Da, or another Chinese company will score the rights to the Saab brand name, and produce new vehicles in China with the Griffin logo. This is similar to what happened with MG and Rover, which live on as Chinese brands."


Source: Car and Driver Blog

One Year Anniversary Reflections: Then and Now

Just over one year ago, after taking a couple classes in the autumn quarter of my freshman year at UWT that required me to maintain a blog, I finally found the motivation to start a blog of my own. Now that a full year has passed, it's time to take a look back and review how my blog has changed and evolved.

Title
At the time all I had in mind in regards to what I would post was primarily music-based content (reviews for the most part) as could be reflected in the initial and quite lengthy title of my blog "My Thoughts On Music Or Anything Really". Not only did I get complaints about the length of my blog's url, my focus became much much broader, as I will further discuss, and thus I stripped it down to a much simpler "My Thoughts On Anything Really".

Content & Focus
As stated in the previous section, I initially started out with the intention of primarily posting music reviews and other music related posts. As it turns out, music isn't enough of a topic for me to properly maintain the blog. Only occasionally do I feel motivated enough to review an album, and even rarer do I come up with a topic or idea regarding music to write up and post. Oddly enough, when titling my blog I happened to have that issue in mind, which led to a rather long title that allowed me the freedom to discuss and explore other subjects. As you'll find by sifting through my posts, rather than music my primary topic of interest shifted to the coverage of Major League Soccer, specifically the Seattle Sounders. I don't just post about the MLS, though. Though my primary topic shifted to a much more active one, I also regularly post about other topics to fill the occasional void such as music, Apple, tech, and gaming topics.

Views and Demographics
In the year that my blog has been up my blog has received two thousand plus views, of course many from the US, but also many of them coming from some quite unexpected sources, most notably Malaysia and Russia.

Many of these views have been sourced through rather suspect sites, sites that I am completely lost as to how they're referring viewers to my blog. The one that takes the cake is a site that apparently tracks torrents. WTF?

Next: Looking Forward: What The new Year May Hold

Steve Jobs Not Named Time's Person of the Year

That's right. After repeated mentions as a strong competitor for the honor, time instead handed it to a collective symbol representing those who protested for a better life against their respective government "The Protester". Certainly Jobs didn't leave as big a mark on 2011 as he has on past years, but to me it seems it was a way of honoring the visionary for everything that he contributed to the world of technology over his lifetime, which I'm sure that you're awarecame to an end only just recently. Instead, Time idiotically opted to recognize a symbol collctively representing each and every protestor. To me this is a very questionable move. The award is titled Person of the Year, not persons as the protestors should be collectively referred to. I understand their motives, but that doesn't change the fact that that just doesn't work. They pathetically attempt to make it work by using the collective symbol "The Protestor", but that just doesn't change the fact that it isn't just one person tht is being recognized.

Friberg Dealt to Malmo FF

Not only was there movement in today's Re-Entry draft, it was also announced by the Sounders today that swedish midfielder Erik Friberg was dealt to Malmo FF. According to Adrian Hanauer in the press release Friberg is looking to start a family and this move makes the most sense, so he and his wife can be in close proximity with family.

Friberg offered the following statement in the release: "I am very proud to have played for Sounders FC and our tremendous fans," said Friberg in the release. "It's been a fantastic year for me, one that I will never forget. I want to thank my teammates, the coaches, the club officials and our supporters for all their help and encouragement. Perhaps in the future, there will be an opportunity for me to come back and play again for the Sounders."

Sounders Lose Noonan, Jaqua and Acquire Burch In Re-Entry Draft

As expected, as opposed to a fairly lifeless first round, the second round of the Re-Entry was quite active. Several clubs picked up one or more players, and the Sounders were among those to make acquisitions. While initially ranking in at the fourteenth spot, the Sounders traded up to the number one spot by dealing out their third round pick in 2014's draft to the Vancouver Whitecaps. With their first spot selection, clearly in a move to fill the void left by the loss of Tyson Wahl, the Sounders picked up DC United left back Marc Burch. Notably, Burch has previously played under Sigi Schmid at Columbus.

Not only did the today's draft see the Sounders make an acquisition, but two losses as well. Immediately after the Sounders made their selection the New England Revolution selected Nate Jaqua, and then in the following selection the LA Galaxy picked up Pat Noonan. Both players have certainly made their contributions to the club, but both have been plagued with injuries during most of the duration of their stay with the Sounders that saw that impact lessened as time wore on. Hopefully the moves work out and they get their share of playing time and serve their new clubs well.

MLS Unveils Jabulani Replacement

It's no secret that the Jabulani drew a lot of criticism, namely for it's tendency to float around and cause goalkeepers more trouble when handling shots. In a statement made by the Adidas MLS Manager Ernesto Bruce, it's clear Adidas sought to correct these issues, "We worked directly with both field players and goalies to rigorously develop a ball with the truest and most stable flight path". While certainly the uproar surrounding the Jabulani died down as the season wore on, it's great to see the issues initially observed with the ball's performance finally addressed. The ball is pictured below.

Sounders Sign Michael Gspurning

The months of speculation can finally end, today the Sounders officially announced the signing of Austrian Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning. Prior to being signed, Gspurning played for Greek side Skoda Xanthi.

Of Gspurning, Sigi Schmid said:

“First off, you don’t replace Kasey Keller. What you’re looking for is a new goalkeeper. We like Michael’s background and pedigree. We like his size. He’s got good feet so we can play through him and he’s very good on crosses, takes good angles and has good hands.”


To read the full article, head here.

Apple Could Very Well Eliminate HTC From The US

Apparently Apple stands on the verge of forcing the world's largest Android-based phone manufacturers out of the United States market. According to Cult of Mac:

"The Washington, DC-based U.S. Trade Commission Tuesday rules on HTC’s appeal of a July decision that the company’s Android phones violated two Apple patents. The two patents allow smartphones to display and transmit basic data, such as phone numbers, contact information and applications."


A ruling against HTC stands the string possibility of outright banning sales, and such a ruling couldn't come at a worse time as holiday season is upon us. This potential ban could mean a great diminishment of Android's market share in the US from where it stands at twenty five percent.

The original article can be read here.

What are your thoughts?

The Brian Ching Controversy

Heading into the Expansion Draft a couple weeks ago, Houston had left their star striker and arguably the face of the franchise Brian Ching unprotected in a rather arrogant and hopeful move thinking that his salary would turn away interest from Montreal. In an attempt to further dampen interest from Montreal, Ching then publicly announced that if the Impact picked him up in the draft that he would rather retire than play his last year or two with a team other than Houston. Well, the Impact weren't fazed by any of it. Come Draft morning, Ching was their first announced selection. As you can imagine, this has sparked outrage throughout Houston.

This is definitely an interesting and somewhat unexpected move by Montreal. Clearly they're looking to build a team with plenty of veteran experience, and Ching certainly brings that experience. The question is, though, whether or not he will play for them. So far it isn't clear whether or not Ching will make good on his promise of retiring.

It's Official: Arlo White Is Headed to NBC

According to this tweet from widely known Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl, former Sounders FC play-by-play man Arlo White has been hired by NBC:

The question now is, will White continue with Sounders FC broadcasts much like JP Delacamera and Taylor Twellman calling local Philadelphia Union games when they aren't calling natiionally broadcasted games on Fox Soccer and ESPN respectively, or will he solely devote his time to NBC?

You can read further here.

Re-Entry Draft Next Week

This morning MLS announced the players available for the upcoming Re-Entry Draft, players who are either out of contract or whose club declined to pick up their option. It's notable that there are several goalkeepers on the list, most notably Vancouver's two primary keepers from last season Jay Nolly and Joe Cannon. Other highlights on the list include San Jose leftback Bobby Convey (who's leaving due to issues with the technical staff), DC United midfielder Santino Quaranta who should prove quite attractive to other clubs, as well as two strikers from FC Dallas (Maicon Santos and Maykel Galindo) who are already quite light on strikers.

The Sounders declined the options for Pat Noonan, Nate Jaqua, and Taylor Graham., which seems to be a bit of a no brainer seeing that for the past season they proved to be nothing more than dead weight. Jaqua has certainly made significant contributions to the club, carrying them through the Open Cup in the 2010 season, scoring nine goals in 2009, and scoring the series winner against Panama FC in the play-in round for the 2011-2012 CCL back in August, but he has been plagued with injury issues since the close of the 2009 season and hasn't proven to have much of an impact or place on the team since. Not much can be said of Noonan or Graham, they both saw very limited playing time with the first team during their duration with the team.

To view the entire list of available players, head here.

Game Review - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance

Each year Activision releases a new installment in the Call of Duty series, and this year we're graced with the latest Modern Warfare. And as has come to be expected over the past couple of years, a handheld version of the game with an alternate storyline accompanies the console offering. Some are puzzled and outraged that Activision opted to contract n-Space to develop for the DS rather than the 3DS, other reviewers seemingly blaming n-Space for something entirely out of their control. n-space simply do not deserve to take the blame for a decision that was completely out of their hands. With that said, I'll first delve into the single player experience.

The campaign is quite short, but what little there is offers a decent amount of variety and overall is is quite fun. The player goes from defending a pipeline in Alaska, battling through a suburban neighborhood in Nevada and subsequently fighting to reclaim the Hoover Dam, assaulting an airport both in the air and on foot, to battling through battle-scared city streets in a Russian tank. Along with the tank mission, on multiple occasions the player assumes the role of a gunship providing cover fire for a team making it's way through the landscape down below. These levels go a long way towards fostering variety, and preventing the action from getting too stale or repetitive. There are some issues with these levels, however. Most notably the tank level. When there is a lull in the action, the level can feel really dead and lifeless, as you're driving through portions of the city with absolutely nothing going on. Not only that, the level of challenge in that level is a little suspect. At no point did I feel particularly threatened or near death.

That then brings up the issues of the AI's utter lack of any real intelligence, which can tend to be very frustrating at times. The enemy AI makes itself a sitting duck, simply crouching in the wide open and firing at you, allowing you to easily mow them down one by one. While you can get away with that on the lower difficulties, it isn't that simple on Hardened. While the AI remains astoundingly stupid, the increased amount of damage that you take with each shot requires a little bit of patience and strategy to take down the enemy/s standing between you and the next area.

Technically speaking, past the AI issues, the game is absolutely impressive. Animations look nicer for some returning guns (M40), the scenery is fantastic, and the amount of activity that goes on during battle such as jets or helicopters flying by overhead is a nice touch. To further emulate the console experience and add further production value and quality, n-Space made the addition of of bullet time events that can be found interspersed throughout the campaign. These events are where, after a door gets blasted open with a charge, you and your team enter the following room or area in slow motion. As has become an expectation, the game is impressive aurally as well. Oodles of voice work accentuate and add to the action, and the music is suitably dramatic when in tense and close-call situations.

With Black Ops last year, n-Space made great strides towards improving the multiplayer experience with the addition of features such as perks, join in progress, and the ability to freely select your secondary weapon (confined just to a pistol in previous installments). Defiance continues improving the multiplayer experience, adding a couple key new features and refining a couple others. The two primary new features introduced by Defiance are macros and load outs, allowing you to preset your preferred match set-ups and weapon and perk configurations. Another notable change is the ability to customize availability of certain weapons and perks, rather than simply having to choose general match parameters like "Pistols-Only" or "No Explosives" the host now has complete control over what weapons the players in the match use. This proves to be a significant change, as if there is a specific weapon that particularly bothers the host (shotguns immediately comes to mind), they can disallow that weapon. Further refinements can be found in a new tier system for both weapons and perks. Previously in Black Ops, a player could assign any weapon and any perk to either slot, which would often lead to incredibly overpowered set-ups (such as dual assault rifle and the perks Stopping Power and Body Armor). The tier system lends much needed balance, limiting the player to carrying around only one powerful primary weapon and preventing the exploitation of multiple high-powered perks. Not only does this give much needed balance, it forces the player to really strategize and put more consideration into their set-up.

Along with those general improvements some newly introduced modes (Gun Game, One in the Chamber, Sharpshooter) provide a fun twist on the typical run-of-the-mill deathmatch. The real highlight proves to be Gun Game, a race through twenty levels, each level represented by a weapon and a kill with each weapon progressing you on to the next level. The inclusion of the ability to decrease your opponents level by knifing them adds a layer of strategy on top the mayhem.

Overall, Defiance can be seen as a step forward in one regard (multiplayer) and as a step back in another (single player). Clearly to make way for the multiplayer improvements, n-Space really cut down on the variety of single player modes. Where Defiance has only campaign, Quick Play, and Challenge Mode, Black Ops on the other hand had Arcade Mode, the Killhouse, and Zombie Mode in addition to those three. It is understandable why those modes/features don't make a return in Defiance, but that doesn't mean that it isn't frustrating. When it's all said and done, though, the multiplayer and the replay value that it grants the game is what truly matters.

Sounders Lose Two in Draft Dealings

The Sounders stood to lose a starting quality player to this afternoon's Expansion Draft, and as it turns out, they lost not one but two. Announced as the ninth pick, James Riley will not actually be headed to Montreal. Montreal traded him with Chivas USA for Justin Braun and G. Mayan in return. After the Impact finished announcing each of their ten picks, they made the announcement that they had acquired Tyson Wahl from the Sounders for allocation money in return.

It's definitely quite a blow for the Sounders to lose both starting fullbacks from last season, but the Sounders still have a very capable left back in Leo Gonzalez and worthy replacement on the right in Zach Scott. In a recent interview Adrain Hanauer expressed that one of the areas that he and the front office were looking to bolster in the off-season is defense, so it wouldn't be entirely surprising if they find a replacement for Riley and perhaps Wahl as well.

The remaining list of draftees is below:

1. Seth Sinovic (SKC)
2. Sanna Nyassi (Colorado)
3. Josh Gardner (Columbus Crew)
4. Jeb Brovsky (Vancouver)
5. Brian Ching (Houston)
6. Zarek Valentin (ChivasUSA)
7. Justin Mapp (Philadelphia Union)
8. Bobby Burling (San Jose)
9. Collen Warner (RSL)

Expansion Draft Protected Lists Revealed

It's that time of the year again, the Expansion Draft held to help supplement and build the roster of an incoming expansion team. It was done in 2008 for the Sounders, in 2009 for the Philadelphia Union, last year for the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers, and now this year for the Montreal Impact. There are several notable players that were quite surprisingly left unprotected, such as Brian Ching from the Houston Dynamo (who in fact threatened to retire if Montreal selected him), one of the Columbus Crew's top goal-scorers last season Andres Mendoza, Sporting Kansas City's captain and Designated Player Omar Bravo, and Freddy Adu who was recently acquired by the Philadelphia Union, among others. Seeing how big name players that clubs are taking a gamble with, it will certainly be interesting to see if Montreal resists the temptation of a more expensive player or not when they submit their list later on today.

To view the complete protected and unprotected lists for each team, head here.

Sounders Claim 2012-13 CCL Group Stage Berth

Thanks to the LA Galaxy claiming the MLS Cup Sunday night, the Sounders have claimed a berth in the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions league group stages. Because the Galaxy claimed both the MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield, they can only hold onto one of the awarded CCL group stage berths and thus their second one falls to the team with the second best regular season record. Because they were Cup runner-ups, the Houston Dynamo get the opportunity to play in to the competition, and because the Sounders claim the Supporter's Shield berth, the play-in opportunity that they were awarded because they won the US Open Cup fall to the team with the third best regular season record, Real Salt Lake.

LA Auto Show Picks

2012 Hyundai Azera

Seemingly cast aside and forgotten in Hyundai's recent line-up overhaul, the Azera finally get's what it's due: a complete refresh. Everything is completely new and the styling has made the jump forward from rather plain and conservative and now matches that of Hyundai's current fluid design language.

2012 Cadillac XTS

The replacement for both the STS and DTS, and Cadillac's answer to the Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7-Series and the Audi A8. Of note, the XTS marks the unveiling of Cadillac's new infotainment system dubbed CUE.

Subaru BRZ Concept

For awhile now, while Toyota has been displaying concept after concept of their upcoming FT86 (which the BRZ is directly related to through a collaboration between the two companies), Subaru has only been showing off a clear body shell of their sports coupe that simply showed off the powertrain. That has, thankfully, finally changed with the BRZ concept displayed at the LA Auto Show.

2013 Ford Escape

The Vertek concept revealed at the Detroit Auto Show back in January was clearly a preview of the upcoming overhaul of the rather tired Escape, and while there are some differences, the new Escape revealed at the LA Auto Show remains quite true to the concept's styling. It's certainly looking to be a strong competitor for the Honda CR-V and other crossovers in the segment.

Nintendo Unveils Life-Size Mario Karts

It was known that Nintendo would be in attendance at the LA Auto Show this week, but the exact reason wasn't known which let to speculation that due to the setting they may be doing something in celebration of the latest installment in the Mario Kart series due out early next month. The announced collaboration with West Coast Customs supported that assumption and as it turns out, that assumption was correct.

During it's presentation today, Nintendo revealed life-size replicas of a couple of the Mario Karts featured in the new game. The first is based off of the Standard Kart, and the second is based off of the kart of series new-comer Honey Queen.

Want some pictures? Just head over to the article on IGN.

PETA Pulls Back On Mario

Recently PETA launched a campaign against the latest Mario game Super Mario 3D Land, citing the fact that Mario wearing a Tanooki suit encourages the wearing of fur and the skinning alive of the real-life animal that the suit was inspired by. They even went so far as creating disturbing images showing Mario wearing an actual Tanooki skin covered and surrounded in blood. It didn't stop there, though. They took their insanity further still by creating a minigame in which you play a skinned Tanooki chasing Mario to reclaim it's removed skin.

This campaign sparked outrage throughout the gaming community and had fans up in arms over the disgraceful depiction of one of gaming's most beloved icons. Well, just yesterday PETA confessed that the campaign wasn't serious. In a statement to Eurogamer they told fans to relax and confessed that the campaign was simply a ploy to call attention to a serious issue. PETA even expressed surprise at the reaction and how literally the campaign was regarded.

It's plenty clear how disgraceful and how completely insane the organization PETA is. They've been known for being outrageous in their protests in the past, but this has to take the cake. This time they took the dissemination of their views and opinions too far. What are your thoughts on the matter?

Sounders Reveal New Third Kits

This morning the Sounders new third kits were officially revealed. The light blue is referred to as "super cyan" and the accents are the electricity color of the Sounders previous third kits. A few weeks ago a photographer let a picture of a photo shoot with Zakuani wearing the kit slip through Twitter (which quickly got taken down, but not before fans snagged the photo), and now it's official. The jersey is depicted below modelled by Steve Zakuani.

Thoughts?

CCL Quarter-Finals Set

After the draw took place earlier this month, a few days ago the dates were officially set for the quarter finals of the CONCACAF Champions League next March.

First Leg

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 

Morelia (MEX) vs. Monterrey (MEX), 10 p.m. (9 p.m.)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 

Toronto FC (CAN) vs. LA Galaxy (USA), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)

Seattle Sounders (USA) vs. Santos (MEX), 10 p.m. (7 p.m.) 

Thursday, March 8, 2012 

Isidro Metapan (SLV) vs. Pumas (MEX), 8 p.m. (7 p.m.) 

Second Leg 

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 

Monterrey (MEX) vs. Morelia (MEX), 10 p.m. (8 p.m.) 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 

Santos (MEX) vs. Seattle Sounders (USA), 8 p.m. (6 p.m.) 

LA Galaxy (USA) vs. Toronto FC  (CAN), 10 p.m. (7 p.m.) 

Thursday, March 15, 2012 

Pumas (MEX) vs. Isidro Metapan (SLV), 10 p.m. (8 p.m.)

The Sandboxing Issue

To increase security for an already incredibly secure Lion, Apple is requiring application developers who have their applications on sale in the Mac App Store to comply with a new rule requiring the usage of Lion's new sandboxing feature inspired by iOS. Sandboxing means that an application is partitioned off from the operating system and other applications running on the system, which means that an application is completely prevented from having any unauthorized interaction with other applications and the operating system itself. The problem is, however, this isolation from the system itself and everything else running on the system means that functionality for many applications will be crippled.

Initially the deadline for the enforcement of this new rule was the first of November, but Apple opted to give developers a little more breathing room by extending the deadline until March first next year. While many developers have complied with this new rule and have re-submitted their applications, it's clear by the deadline extension that many others are resistent to this new requirement.

While the desire for increased security is understandable, Apple's push for sandboxing on OS X makes very little sense. Sure some applications make the transition completely unaltered, but others require access to other applications meaning that several key features and functions could get the axe. Of course there is no stopping a user from leaving the safe confines of the App Store and combing through the vast wilderness of the interent to find an application that suits their needs, but again, the point of the App Store is to be the primary place that users rely on to locate applications.

What are your thoughts?

MLS Play-Offs: Conference Semi-Finals Review

Rea Salt Lake - Seattle Sounders FC

In the first round, an incredibly poor and lifeless performance saw the Sounders concede three goals and dig themselves into an incredibly deep hole. Heading into the match Wednesday night, they were hoping they had set the stage for a miraculous comeback much the same as San Jose's against the LA Galaxy back in 2003. Despite the fact that the return leg was almost an exact mirror image of the first one, the Sounders completely dominating the game and calling all of the shots and getting two goals because of that dominance, they just could not find that third and tying goal.

Houston Dynamo - Philadelphia Union

The first leg at PPL park saw an incredibly action-packed first half, Houston taking advantage of the Union's attempt at a new and unfamiliar formation. Two goals one minute apart in the first ten minutes saw the game still deadlocked, but half an hour in Calen Carr took the permanent lead for Houston. The Union were the aggressors in the second half, but through some great goalkeeping by Tally Hall just couldn't find an answer to Houston's second goal. Heading into the second leg, Philadelphia knew what they needed to do. Houston, playing their last match ever in Robertson Stadium, had other plans. Late in stoppage time at the end of the first half Houston had an excellent set piece opportunity that they took advantage of. Brad Davis swung the ball into the box and Brian Ching was there to head the ball in for the match's lone goal.

Sporting Kansas City - Colorado Rapids

An incredibly physical first leg not only saw three players leave the pitch with injuries for the defending champions, but two goals in favor of SKC. Teal Bunbury was the scorer of both, the first easily slipping the ball past Pickens off of a long ball from Julio Cesar and the second a penalty that was Bunbury himself drew from Tyrone Marshal who got his marching orders as well. Missing yet more key players, being down two goals and the second leg being in intimidating confines of Livestrong Sporting Park, Colorado had a mountain the size of Everest to climb, and as a result they were completely helpless at the hands of SKC. They added two more to the aggregate total, both through set pieces, both served into the box by Graham Zusi. Aurelian Colin and CJ Sapong were there to guide both opportunities into the back of the net.

LA Galaxy - New York Red Bulls

The marquee match-up of the play-offs certainly lived up to all the hype, seeing plenty of drama and action across both legs. The first leg saw the Galaxy take an early lead through a fantastic strike by former Red Bull Mike Magee assisted by none other than David Beckham. The Red Bulls did everything in their power to nullify the goal, but fantastic goalkeeping from Josh Saunders and overall defending from the Galaxy made sure that none of their efforts counted. Then only seconda after the final whistle frustrations boiled over, Rafa Marquez throwing the ball at Landon Donovan and inciting a brawl that saw both the Galaxy's Ju ninho and Marquez red carded. Marquez found himself with much more than a red card, however. He ended up being fined over two thousand dollars and suspended an additional two matches for his role and the matter after additional review. The Red Bulls were looking to make an upset in the second leg, but despite cultivating hope through an early goal by Luke Rodgers, they just couldn't do it. Magee added another goal just before the end of halftime, and then a penalty drawn by Beckham late in the second half sealed the deal.

Apple Among The Few Who Pays Their Fair Share

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the Occupy Wall Street protests that have been going on around the country, demanding that corporations and executives and the rich in general pay their fair share in taxes which most don't). According to Cult of Mac, Apple is among the few giant tech companies that do indeed pay their fair share in taxes. Quoted from Cult of Mac's post:

"The report by advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice and nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, checked the financial statements of 280 corporations on the Fortune 500 list. Of those, 30 paid no federal taxes over the previous three years, the groups charge. Among Silicon Valley, both Apple and Intel paid a 31 percent corporate tax, while Internet retail giant Amazon.com paid only a 7.9 percent tax rate on $1.8 billion in profits between 2008 to 2010."

I've gotta say, it's pretty shocking how few and far between tech companies that pay their fair share in taxes are. If other industries follow this trend, it's really no wonder why the country is mired by these financial issues. 

Nintendo's Fight Against Piracy

With the DSi Nintendo has been known to occasionally release firmware updates to block and prevent the usage of flash carts and other sorts of piracy-related devices. Sadly these attempts to fight back against piracy were only viable for a short amount of time because of either two reason: makers of the devices worked their way around the update or people never even updated their system to begin with.

With the 3DS Nintendo expressed plenty of intent to change that in coming up with some new methods to make sure players' systems were updated whether they wanted it or not, and with the upcoming release of Super Mario 3D Land we're starting to see those methods put into action. As soon as you place the card into your 3DS and turn it on, it automatically updates the system's firmware. This automatic update  could mean one of two things: a ROM will not work without that update and that a ROM will not work after the update as well. This means that if you want to play the latest and greatest Nintendo title without paying for it and the with the aid of an eye patch, you will be out of luck. Not only are they employing automatic updates associated with game cards, but those who refuse to update the system firmware manually could find some of the game that they love non-functional, a method that honestly should have been utilized with the DSi.

I absolutely love seeing Nintendo taking the initiative to fight back against piracy, which has been a thorn in the side of any producer of media within the last several years. What's even more satisfying than that is to read the whining and complaints of those who supposedly use the piracy devices in legal ways. I'm sure there those out there who do use those devices legally, but at the same time almost 99% of those who do use the devices use them for piracy.

A Hole Too Deep

Tonight the Sounders mustered everything the could against Real Salt Lake, but ultimately just could not dig themselves out of the hole that they dug themselves into with their poor performance in the first leg of the Western Conference Semi-Final.

The series was certainly a tale of two halves, RSL dominating in the first one and Sounders calling all of the shots in the second. Almost every advantageous stat favored the Sounders, most notably 26 total shots compared to RSL's paltry 4, 9 shots on goal to RSL's 1, and 61% possession. As already obvious, the Sounders absolutely dominated. RSL's defense, however, while notably missing both Jamison Olave and Nat Borchers were able to withstand the pressure and fend off any attempts on goal until mid-way into the second half.

The Sounders finally broke through in the fifty fourth minute thanks to a penalty kick drawn by Mike Fucito as he was fending off three RSL defenders and fighting for the ball in the box. Osvaldo Alonso stepped up to the spot and hammered the ball down the center of the goal, right underneath Nick Rimando. Then, just five minutes later in the sixty first minute the Sounders cut the defect down to just one goal, Fredy Montero slipping a cross over to a wide open Lamar Neagle who slid the shot in across the face of goal past Rimando.

The Sounders continued to press RSL for a third and series-tying goal, but just couldn't finish any more of their opportunities. As anyone could have predicted, the Sounders just could not make up for their lackluster performance in the first leg.

The Sounders Don't Show Up

The Sounders put on an absolutely disgraceful performance tonight, falling to Real Salt Lake by three goals in the the first leg of the Western Conference semi-finals. Until the dying minutes of the match, the Sounders simply couldn't hold possession and build and develop on the attack to save their lives. To put it simply, RSL called all the shots.

After claiming a dominant hold on the match early on, it took until the final five minutes of the first half for RSL to start off the scoring. Chris Wingert whipped in a cross coming off of an overlapping run that was destined for the far corner of Kasey Keller's net on it's own, but Alvaro Saborio put a foot in to tap it over the line. RSL then struck again just minutes into the second half, Saborio neatly flicking the ball served up by star playmaker Javier Morales past Keller. Towards the final fifteen minutes, after both of RSL's key center backs had been removed from the game due to injury, the Sounders were finally able to get a foothold in the match. Unfortunately they couldn't staunch the bleeding, RSL added one more goal before the night was done. Substitute Ned Grabavoy knocking the ball in past Keller after a frantic scramble in the box to clear the ball saw it land at his feet.

Next up, the return leg is this coming Wednesday. If the Sounders can't get Rosales back out on the field, I don't think that they stand a chance.

MLS Play-Offs: Wildcard Round Review

FC Dallas [0-2] New York Red Bulls

New York scored two first half goals to dispatch FC Dallas and gain passage into the Western Conference semi-finals and a marquee match against the LA Galaxy. The first half was scoreless, but the home side was largely the aggressor, creating opportunity after opportunity but unfortunately lacking the ability to convert any of them. The Red Bulls made them pay for their lack of finishing in the sixty first minute, Medhi Ballouchy sliding a pass to Joel Lindpere in the box and Lindpere knocking the ball home past Hartman. FC Dallas desperately tried to fight back, but again their lack of a finishing touch haunted them and New York put the game to bed deep into stoppage time at the end of the game. Thierry Henry collected a long pass, had his initial shot save, and finished off the rebound.

Colorado Rapids [1-0] Columbus Crew

For the second year in a row row, Colorado has been the one to eliminate the Crew from play-off contention. While the scoreline may give the impression of a close match, it was from it. Columbus had some purchase early one, managing to hold the ball and create opportunities, but after about fifteen minutes or so it became all Colorado. Following the swing of momentum, Colorado struck the night's only goal in the final minute of the first half. Kosuke Kimura received the ball from Brian Mullen, took it to the touch-line and pass it back to Omar Cummings in the box, who fire it past Will Hesmer. Throughout the remainder of the match Colorado continued to dominate, but just couldn't kill the nerve and put away any of their other opportunities. They move on to face Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Feedback Survey

This month has seen a pretty big dip in views, at a certain falling to a trickle. In light of that and some responses to my inquiries, I have put together a little survey. If you would please take the time to fill it out and provide me the feedback so that I can make my blog that much better.

Around the Rest of the League, Week 33

Wednesday, October 19th

DC United [1-1] Portland Timbers

The Timbers were the first to get on the board, Kenny Cooper easily nodding home a cross. DC were not able to find an answer until late, De Rosario turning and losing his defender and firing a shot over Troy Perkins. The remaining minuted of the match were perhaps some of the most exciting of the season, seeing incredible back-and-forth action as each team strove to find a game-winner.

Thursday, October 20th

New York Red Bulls [1-0] Philadelphia Union

One early goal by Dane Richards was all it took for the Red Bulls to book their ticket to the play-offs. Jan Gunnar Solli provided the excellent service, and Richards header found the woodwork but found it's way in with a little help from Mondragon's back. Late in the second half it had appeared that Le Toux had scored an equalizer off of a free kick, but the goal was ruled back for some sort of infraction in the box.

Saturday, October 22nd

Toronto FC [2-2] New England Revolution

Toronto took the early lead, but the Revolution fought back and drew level just before the end of the half. Then only one minute into the second period they stole the lead, Milton Caraglio easily tapping in a Feilhaber cross at the back post. Danny Koevermans made sure Toronto got something out of the match, knocking home his eighth goal of the season with only seven minutes left to play.

Vancouver Whitecaps [1-2] Colorado Rapids

After two straight wins, the Whitecaps ended the season on a sour note with two straight losses. After an uneventful first half, the home side struck first early after the break on a free kick effort by Alain Rochat. The lead couldn't stand, however, Jeff Larentowitz with the equalizer and Wells Thompson the game-winner.

DC United [0-1] Sporting Kansas City

Already out of the playoffs, DC could have played spoiler for SKC who were looking to clinch the top spot in the east. Unfortunately a lone goal by Matt Besler was the decider and SKC left  RFK Stadium with all three points and the number one spot in the east.

Chicago Fire [3-2] Columbus Crew

Diego Chaves provided was once again the hero, being at the right place at the right time once again. This time, however, it wasn't quite as dramatic. Defender Anibaba headed the ball home twice to give the Fire a two goal leading into the half. The Crew fought back in the second half, but Chaves' strike just one minute after the Crew drew level finally put the match to rest.

Real Salt Lake [1-1] Portland Timbers

Alvaro Saborio put RSL ahead late in the first half, and as the match was entering the closing stages it looked like RSL would end the night with all three points. Futty Danso played the spoiler, striking in the first minute of stoppage time to salvage a point for the Timbers.

Chivas USA [1-3] Seattle Sounders

Read recap here.

San Jose Earthquakes [4-2] FC Dallas

Having left the majority of their starters back at home, FC Dallas' intentions for this match were clear. The Earthquakes obliged, scoring four first half goals. Dallas were able to put one back just before the end of the half, and another late in the second half, but were totally and completely outclassed by San Jose.

Sunday, October 23rd

Houston Dynamo [3-1] LA Galaxy

The Galaxy brought a majority reserves to the match, and seeing their performance in the Reserves League they had very little chance at getting a result from the get go. Adam Moffat opened up the scoring with an absolute monster of a goal from forty yards out. Bobby Boswell and Carlos Costly accounted for Houston's other two goals, while rookie Jack McBean opened his MLS scoring account with the Galaxy's lone goal.

Capping Off A Fantastic Season

Heading into tonight's match, the Sounders were looking to continue building momentum and rhythm, and I think that it's safe to say that they've done just that. There is one downside to this match, however. The re-injuring of Mauro Rosales. Only eight minutes in he got taken down with a challenge eerily similar to the one by DC's Daniel Woolard that caused his initial injury. Fortunately, things don't initially look as dire, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Past the injuring of Rosales, the first half was largely uneventful. Both Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernadez had good looks on goal, but couldn't sneak anything past Dan Kennedy. The game really opened up in the second half, however. The Sounders got on the board first, but it wasn't one of their players that scored. Amidst chaos in the box largely caused by the buzzing around of Montero, Andrew Boyens accidentally heeled the ball into his own net in the fifty third minute. That then opened the door for Fernandez who struck home his ninth goal of the season fifteen minutes later, neatly side-footing the ball past Kennedy. Second-half sub Sammy Ochoa then added a third, making an excellent run and knocking a Montero cross home with a diving header. Chivas were able to put one back through substitute Victor Estupinan, but by then the damage was to great to recover from.

Chivas may have dominated in terms of stats like total shots and possession, but the Sounders quality was ultimately on showcase. Hopefully the Sounders can do much of the same as they enter the play-offs next week against Real Salt Lake.

Rosales Is The Key

As Saturday night's match wore on, things were looking pretty dire for the Sounders. Down a goal thanks to a sloppy give-away, they're so far overall flat and uninspired performance did not exactly inspire confidence. Despite having Fredy Montero on the field, their attack was largely non-existent, as evidenced by they're lowly three total shots to San Jose's eight by half-time.

Then, in the sixty fourth minute, Mauro Rosales stepped onto the field to a roaring ovation from the 64,000 plus in attendance. He has quickly become crowd favorite, and he soon demonstrated why the crowd loves him so much. In fact, almost as soon as he stepped onto the field he made his impact on the match, the teams effectiveness and creativity in attack easily doubled. He assisted on two near misses by both forwards Montero and Ochoa, demonstrating the dimension that he brings to the right wing that the Sounders were really beginning to sorely miss.

Not only is it his effectiveness in attack that boosted the Sounders, but also his leadership and incredible work-rate. With these qualities he lifts every single player around him, arguably not only making them look better but also perform at a higher capacity. While the Sounders have continued to be successful in his absence, winning two league matches and their third consecutive US Open Cup, it is by far no surprise that as time wore on his absence was beginning to be felt. Nowhere was this more obvious than their 2-0 home loss against the Philadelphia Union. Without him, while still high in quality with the likes of Osvaldo Alonso and Alvaro Fernandez, the midfield suffers when it comes to holding the ball in accordance with the attack and in turn becomes increasingly susceptible to the attacking efforts by opposing teams. Both Philadelphia and San Jose played right through them in his absence.

In fact, for these very reasons Rosales deserves not only the Newcomer of the Year award, but Most Valuable Player as well. 

Defensive Errors Hurt The Sounders

A tie would've allowed the Sounders to win the group and face preferable competition in the quarter-finals, but unfortunately defensive errors plagues the Sounders as they fell 2-1 to Monterrey. Once again the Sounders found themselves in a bad position early, as Carreno took advantage of an asleep backline in the third minute and easily fired the ball past an advancing Brian Meredith. The Sounders were able to draw level only a few minutes before halftime, Fredy Montero curling a fantastic free kick just out of reach of the Monterrey keeper into the bottom left corner of the goal. The Sounders entered the second half looking good, but yet another defensive error haunted them. A poor and lazy backpass was easily picked off by Monterrey, and the initial attempt by Humberto Suazo was successfully defended, but the ball fell to Delgado who fired it past Meredith. Try as they might, the Sounders just couldn't find another equalizer. Monterrey's shameful time-wasting certainly didn't help the Sounders' case either. Regardless the Sounders have already clinched their birth in the quarter-finals, so this loss was of little consequence in terms of advancing.

CCL Group Stage Round 6

The sixth and final round of the CONCACAF Group Stage is almost upon us, and every single Major League Soccer team in the tournament has either the guarantee (Sounders) or the likelihood of moving on to the quarter-finals. As always, you can watch the matches through CONCACAF TV.

Tuesday, October 17th

Morelia [2-1] Alajuelense (Highlights)

[Goals: 36' P. Antonio Gabas (Ala), 56' J. Rojas (Mor), 59' M. Sabah (Mor)]
With this victory Morelia draws level with Alajuelense in terms of points, but takes the top of the group on head-to-head. Now the Galaxy must win against Montagua to make it through.

FC Dallas [0-1] Toronto FC (Highlights)

[Goals: 29' D. Koevermanns (TFC), 69' J. Plata (TFC), 81' J. Plata (TFC)]
FC Dallas came out incredibly and surprisingly flat, and Toronto took advantage. They cruised past their fellow MLS side into the quarter-finals.

Seattle Sounders FC [1-2] Monterrey (Highlights)
[Goals: 3' A. Carreno (Mon), 42' F. Montero (Sea), 60' C. Delgado (Mon)]
Read recap here.

Wednesday, October 18th

Santos Laguna [2-0] Colorado Rapids (Highlights)
[Goals: 55' A. Galindo (San), 67' J. Escoboza (San)]
Colorado simply couldn't muster what it took to win, and the points that they dropped at home came back to haunt them. Santos snuffed any possibility of Colorado moving on.

Pumas UNAM [1-0] Tauro (Highlights)
[Goals: 45' J. Cacho (Pum)]
With the victory, Pumas clinch the top spot in the group and move on to the quarter-finals along with Toronto FC.

Herediano [4-1] Communicaciones (Highlights)
[Goals: 8' C. Mejia (Com), 13' J. Barbosa (Her), 41' J. Barbosa (Her), 49' C. Montero (Her), 61' J. Cordero (Her)]
Though both teams were out of contention for moving out of the group stage, Herediano shocked Communicaciones by scoring four goals, three of which were ultimately uncontested. 

Thursday, October 19th

Metapan [3-2] Real Espana (Highlights)
[Goals: 50' P. Suarez (Met), 56' E. Delgado (Esp), 68' R. Sanchez (Met), 82' P. Suarez (Met), 90+2' M. Martinez (Esp)]
Colorado's hopes of moving on fell on this match, a draw being the result they needed. Unfortunately, a wild second half saw Metapan leave the match the winners and the Rapid's hopes of a quarter-final appearance die.

Montagua [0-1] LA Galaxy (Highlights)
[Goals: 29' Juninho (LAG)]
Despite being on the back-pedal for much of the match, Juninho's lone wonder goal was all the Galaxy needed to claim victory and a berth in the quarter-finals.

The Sounders See Their Captain Off In A Big Way

Tonight was all about Kasey Keller, this being his final regular season home match, and he rose to the occasion and proved his status as a legend by single-handedly keeping the Sounders in the match.

Much like last weekend's match against Philadelphia the Sounders started off the match alarmingly flat, the US Open Cup final clearly still taking it's toll on the team. Much like last week, that flatness came back to bite them. After a horrid touch by Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Rafael Baca slipped the ball straight into the path of Chris Wondolowski who slid home his fifteenth goal of the season in the twenty fourth minute. With that goal he draws level with Dwayne De Rosario in the hunt for the Golden Boot, who had scored in DC's match against the Chicago Fire earlier this evening. The Earthquakes maintained the pressure as the half drew to a close, creating several dicey situations on the Sounders, even forcing Keller into a magnificent save that is surely Goal of the Week material.

As the second half unfolded, the Sounders looked much sharper and much more urgent going forward. The addition of Mauro Rosales coming off of the bench after being sidelined for the last few weeks provided a much needed boost of energy and creativity in the attack as well. San Jose kept threatening, however, forcing Keller into making four consecutive saves in the sixty fifth minute. Finally the Sounders found an equalizer in the eighty second minute, and it was who else but Rosales with the assist. Rosales lofted a ball from mid-way up the field and found Ochoa who timed his run perfectly and finished it past Jon Busch, the ball glancing in off of the post. Unsurprisingly, the Sounders weren't done yet. In the eighty seventh minute Alvaro Fernandez found Lamar Neagle at the top of the penalty area, who slid the ball to a completely open Montero who easily slipped it past Busch to complete the come-from-behind victory.

Next up the Sounders face Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center for their final match of the regular season.

Notes

• The Sounders have scored seventeen goals past the seventy fifth minute mark now
• After conceding first, the Sounders have a league-leading seven victories

Around the Rest of the League, Week 31

Wednesday, October 12th

Vancouver Whitecaps [2-1] DC United

The Whitecaps have seemingly found the perfect line-up, winning two in a row now. Camilo Sanvenzo struck in the first minute, and Long Tan scored his first career MLS goal. McDonald nodded home DC's lone goal on fantastoc service by Santino Quaranta to put DC back into the game, but unfortunately they couldn't find an equalizer.

Prediction: Correct

Chicago Fire [1-2] FC Dallas

In a match filled with play-off implications, the Fire surprisingly came out incredibly flat. FC Dallas capitalized and finally broke out of their four match scoreless run, netting two goals. Sebastian Grazzini put one back for the Fire, but by then it was too late.

Prediction: Correct

Portland Timber [0-2] Houston Dynamo

A loss at home to the Dynamo cast Portland's post-season hopes even further in doubt. If they can manage to win their last two matches of the season and have other results go their way they have hope, otherwise they're as good as eliminated.

Prediction: N/A

Friday, October 14th

Colorado Rapids [0-0] Real Salt Lake

In an extremely physical match, the two sides couldn't break down the opposing defense nor convert their chances. After a 1-0 victory earlier in the season at Rio Tinto, RSL claims the Rocky Mountain Cup.

Prediction: Wrong

Saturday, October 15th

Sporting Kansas City [2-0] New York Red Bulls

The early ejection of Thierry Henry due to a clumsy challenge on Roger Espinoza ultimately doomed the Red Bulls, falling to SKC at the expense of goals by Teal Bunbury and CJ Sapong. With the victory SKC clinch their first play-off spot since 2008.

Prediction: Correct

Philadelphia Union [1-1] Toronto FC

Sebastian Le Toux continued his recent hot run of form, striking the Union's lone goal. Ryan Johnson evened the match for Toronto with a nice back-heel. A tie was all the Union needed to clinch their first ever play-off berth.

Prediction: N/A

New England Revolution [0-3] Columbus Crew

New England continues with their defensive struggles, losing their fifth match in a row. With their second win in a row, Columbus is steadily pulling themselves together for a strong finish of the season.

Prediction: N/A

DC United [1-2] Chicago Fire

Deadlocked until the final minute of regulation time, Dwayne De Rosario converted a penalty drawn by Santino Quaranta. That wasn't the end of the story, however. The Fire rallied back in stoppage time and found an equalizer through Sebastian Grazzini, and then a game winner through Diego Chaves.

Prediction: N/A

FC Dallas [2-0] Vancouver Whitecaps

The Whitecaps end their 2011 season with the league's worst road record, a lowly 0-12-5. FC Dallas looks to be finishing the season strong, getting their second win in a row after a miserable four game losing streak. Having their main offensive weapons back on form certainly helps.

Prediction: Correct

Seattle Sounders FC [2-1] San Jose Earthquakes

Read recap here.

Prediction: Correct

LA Galaxy [1-0] Chivas USA

Chad Barret provided the matches lone goal early on into the second half, after a first half filled with frustratingly missed opportunities. Without only one of their stars (David Beckham) on the field, it seems that the Galaxy have a hard time finding the back of the net.

Prediction: Correct

MLS Week 31 Predictions

Wednesday, October 12th
Chicago Fire - FC Dallas: These two have been going in opposite directions, FC Dallas towards the top of the league and suddenly dropping result after result and Chicago towards the cellar and suddenly climbing their way out with result after result. With that trend in mind, Chicago will certainly be the favorite in this match, especially playing at home.FC Dallas, however, will certainly be giving the Fire a fight. Though results haven't been going their way lately, Dallas has certainly been capable of holding their own. If fortune can turn in their favor, FC Dallas can win this match.

Vancouver Whitecaps - DC United: Last week, with a little help from some questionable calls, Vancouver did what no one expected that they would do: defeat Real Salt Lake. Sure Real Salt Lake has been in a nosedive lately, but their still one of the better teams in the league, there is a reason that they're in third place after all. Now Vancouver will be looking for a second consecutive victory in their new stadium, BC Place. DC has the best road record of the East, but they also have issues when it comes to consistency and lately it's been haunting them (recording only four points in they're last five matches). In the match against RSL, Tommy Soehn shuffled the line-up clearly to great success. If Vancouver continues with the new line-up and DC remains inconsistent, they should garner BC Place and their fans with another win.

Friday, October 14th
Colorado Rapids - Real Salt Lake: The second leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup will certainly be one to watch, both teams are in desperate need of a result. Real Salt Lake is in a slump only matched by that of FC Dallas, having lost four matches in a row, and as the season is coming to a close are getting more and more desperate to break free. Colorado was in a similar slump, but a recent victory over FC Dallas remedied their situation. Now, if the Rapids can get a win and other results go their way they can clinch a play-off berth this weekend and that will certainly provide a huge motivation for them. Without their captain RSL's chances are incredibly slim, as they've already proven. I say Colorado wins this one.

Saturday, October 15th
Sporting Kansas City - New York Red Bulls: The Red Bulls have seen somewhat of a resurgence lately, shuffling and bolstering up the defense. Not only were they able to defeat the LA Galaxy, they were able to keep a shutout and that speaks volumes. The key to this success is clearly the movement of Rafa Marquez from central defense to a defensive midfield role. While he still may have issues here and there, he has been thriving in his new role. Meanwhile SKC has continued to get results, consistently in that fight for the number one spot in the East. Speaking of placement, because they're sitting on forty three points, should the Red Bulls get a win they can jump ahead of SKC in the table which will certainly provide further motivation. New York has certainly improved lately, but SKC has proven their homefield advantage of Livestrong Sporting Park. SKC wins this one.

DC United - Chicago Fire: Both teams are on the outside looking in, in terms of making the playoff's. They are the only two teams remaining that don't hold a wildcard spot and still have a chance of sneaking in. Recent form for both sides, however, doesn't inspire confidence in their chances. DC is currently in the midst of a three game losing streak, while the Fire recent momentum seems to be sputtering to a halt. I think the key for DC in this one is regaining their primary cog in the offense, Dwayne De Rosario, after being absent for the last couple weeks due to World Cup qualifier duty with Canada. If DeRo can spark their offense, then DC stands a strong chance of winning. This has the makings for an entertaining match, and at the end of the day I see a team winning. Which one, though, is difficult to say.

FC Dallas - Vancouver Whitecaps: Recently FC Dallas has been in quite the slump, losing four in a row as well as being shut out four times in a row. If the result at Toyota Park earlier this week is any indicator, they've begun to turn things around. They finally managed to break the winning and scoring drought and take all three points in a 2-1 win over a fairly lifeless Chicago Fire. If the Whitecaps recent performances are any indicator, however, winning two straight may not be so easy. After shuffling the lineup, Tommy Soehn has obviously found a successful line-up as they've now managed two straight wins. Despite the Whitecaps' recent form, I think that Dallas has enough quality to get the win.

Seattle Sounders FC - San Jose Earthquakes: When it comes to the play-offs this match is all but meaningless. The Sounders have second place all but locked up and the Earthquakes have been eliminated from contention for a wildcard spot. This match does carry immense meaning in that it is Kasey Keller's last regular season home match, however. As a result, emotions will be high and a record crowd inexcess of 62,000 is expected. Seeing that they have nothing left to lose, and that Chris  Wondolowski is still very much in the race for his second consecutive Golden Boot award San Jose has made it clear that their one primary objective tonight is to feed balls to Wondo's feet and hope he scores.  Keller and the Sounders look to spoil those plans, surely aiming to maintain a clean-sheet to honor their captain and honor him, and their fans as well, even further with a victory. The imminent returns of Mauro Rosales and Alvaro Fernandez definitely bodes well for those hopes. The Sounders should easily win this one.

Sunday, October 16th
LA Galaxy - Chivas USA: The return leg of the SuperClasico doesn't bode well for Chivas USA, nor does their history in the rivalry. By and large season in and season out, the Galaxy have consistently won the two game series. Only once, in fact, do I believe Chivas has actually won the series. They do stand a chance to overturn the 1-0 result earlier in the season due to the Galaxy's weakened state (Donovan recovering from injury, Keane out for the next couple weeks), but the Galaxy's ability to consistently grind out results despite the absence of major players stands in the way of any hope that they might have. One only has to look to the Galaxy's match at Columbus a few weeks back that saw them without all three of their stars, Chad Barret getting the stoppage time game-winner after both teams had been deadlocked during regulation time. I'd be crazy not to favor the Galaxy in this match-up.

Around the Rest of the League, Week 30

New York Red Bulls [2-0] LA Galaxy
New York took advantage of a weary Galaxy lacked any sort of offensive punch. Luke Rodgers netted the first goal after Ricketts saved the initial attempt, and Thierry Henry netted the second to seal all three points for the Red Bulls

Vancouver Whitecaps [3-0] Real Salt Lake
Two questionable penalties converted by Camilo and a questionable ejection stunned Real Salt Lake as the fell to the Whitecaps.

New England Revolution [1-2] San Jose Earthquakes
Chris Wondolowski struck early and late to give the Earthquakes the victort, Benny Feilhaber adding one for the Revolution sandwiched in between. Both teams prior to this match were knocked out of contention for the play-offs, so this match only had pride on the line.

Post-Cup Slump

After the high of Tuesday's USOC final, the Sounders came crashing back down with tonight's 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union. Not only were they coming off of that emotional high, they played the match without multiple key players with Fredy Montero out on yellow card accumulation, Mauro Rosales still not one hundred percent and Alvaro Fernandez on the bench coming off of a concussion.

The first half saw Philadelphia dominate in terms of possession and the Sounders largely pinned back in their defensive third, clearing and shrugging off any sort of offensive attempts made by the Union. The second half is when things got a lot more exciting. Brad Evans just barely got the Sounders onto the board first in the early stages of the half, chipping a shot over Philadelphia GK Zac MacMath and having only the woodwork keep the ball out. Then in the sixtieth minute the Union finally struck. Michael Farfan gathered a long ball over the top and took it to the touch line, getting a foot in at the last second as James Riley was trying to shield it out of play and knocking it over to a waiting Freddy Adu who roofed it it over Kasey Keller. The Union then found a second goal ten minutes later catching the Sounders on the break, Sebastian Le Toux crossing the ball over into the path of Brian Carroll who easily finished it past Keller inside the far post.

With this loss, the race for the Supporter's Shield officially ends. To keep it alive the Sounders needed to get all three points, and sadly they left Century Link empty handed tonight. Next-up the Sounders face the San Jose Earthquakes in their final home match of the season.

The Nosedive Trend

Recently, several of the better MLS teams have taken a bit ofa nosedive. The most notable being FC Dallas, the Columbus Crew, and most recently Real Salt Lake. Up until the last month or so, FC Dallas was in a constant battle with the Sounders for second place. Now, they find themselves firmly in fourth place with only one three points out of their last five matches. Likewise, Real Salt Lake was on the rise and in a fight for second place, but now have lost a concerning four out of their last five matches. Then there is the case of the Crew, who were having a fine season (much better than anyone had expected, actually) until they completely lost their form in their 6-2 loss to the Sounders. They then went on to experience a five match winless run that saw them accumulate only a single point.

Now, one has to wonder what exactly is the cause of sudden nosedives like these. In each case the team was performing well and pushing and shoving for the top spot in their conference, and then all of a sudden they can't seem to find the back of the net (FC Dallas has been shut out four consecutive times and RSL has only managed two goals in their last four) or simply just can't muster what it takes to win. One factor may be exhaustion that is beginning to take it's toll as the season begins to come to a close (especially in FC Dallas' case as they've had to compete in three separate competitions). Another factor may be the absence of key players due to injury or suspension (very true for RSL and the Crew). Whatever the cause, it's kinda disturbing to watch one of the league's top teams go down in flames.

MLS Week 30 Predictions

Originally, this was going to be a league-wide bi-week to allow for lack of conflict with international fixtures. Therefore, all of this week's matches are those that have been re-scheduled due to issues surrounding to original date that they were supposed to be played.

Saturday, October 8th
New England Revolution - San Jose Earthquakes: The worst in the East facing one of the worst in the West, in a match with absolutely no play-off implications because both teams has been mathematically eliminated. I honestly can't pick one team over another, I can't see one having any merits over the other, so I'm calling a draw for this one.

Seattle Sounders FC - Philadelphia Union: The Sounders always find a way to win, whether at the end of an excruciatingly long road trip or if more than half of the usual starters have been rested. They proved that last week at New England, getting two big goals by Fredy Montero to get the comeback victory. Some think that this is a trap game for the Sounders after winning the US Open Cup final midweek, and that has definitely been said before, but that never proves true because of the quality of the team. Their opposition is Philadelphia, and after a lengthy winless streak seem to have regained their form lately, unbeaten in their last five matches. The two players of concern for the Union are Sebastian Le Toux, and their top GK Faryd Mondragon. After having a ho-hum first half of the season, Le Toux has found his form and has exploded from three goals scored to ten, and he will certainly be a threat tomorrow night. While Le Toux may be returning to form, Mondragon is returning to the line-up after getting his arm broken earlier in the season. Zac MacMath has been excellent for the Union, but having the experience of Mondragin back in goal again will certainly be a boost for the Union. Seeing the roll that they're on, and Fredy Montero's current form, the Sounders should have little trouble winning this one.

ECS Celebrate USOC Final With Fantastic Tifo

As you can see in the video, in celebration and commemoration of the Sounders third consecutive US Open Cup final, the ECS unveiled quite an amazing Tifo. If you're familiar with the ECS, they're proficiency with the art of the Tifo is nothing new. They come up with one for just about every major home-event for the Sounders, and while the display for the inaugural MLS Cascadia rivarly match against the Timbers is no doubt their best effort so far, this one ranks up there with the best.

The Sounders Make It Three

Both teams entered this match looking to make history, the Sounders looking to be the first team in over forty years to win three in a row and Chicago looking to be just the third team in the tournament's history to claim five cups (Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi Los Angeles the other two). Despite the two being deadlocked for the majority of the match, two of the Sounders key players came through in the end and brought yet another US Open Cup to the Emerald City.

Though the match was deadlocked until the seventy seventh minute, there was plenty of action to be seen. The most notable chances came for the Sounders, both involving woodwork. First, Montero hammered a shot from long range off of the left post in the dying minutes of the first half. Then, early in the second half Mike Fuctio was able to pop the ball over Chicago GK Sean Johnson but the ball only managed to strike the right post. In fact, most of the fight was in Chicago's defensive third of the field. The Sounders finished the match with a whopping twenty seven total shots to Chicago's paltry six.

The Sounders finally broke through both the deadlock and Chicago's tight defense in the seventy seventh minute. Jeff Parke made the initial attempt on goal off of a corner kick taken by Erik Friberg, Sean Johnson saving the header. Montero was waiting for the rebound, however, smashing the ball into the back of the net. The Sounders finally broke through after maintaining enormous amounts of pressure on Chicago, and as the match entered it's closing stages the Sounders kept up that pressure ultimately leading to their second. In the last minute of stoppage time Osvaldo Alonso got the ball right above the penalty area, and made a fantastic run into the box running past and shaking off all of Chicago's defense before easily and cooly slip the ball home.

Not only did the Sounders make history with their performance on the field, the fans filling Century Link Field made their own history as well. Last year the Sounders smashed the attendance record for a USOC final, setting it 31,311. They've done it once again, drawing just over four thousand more fans, setting the record at 35,615.

Notes

• Another marquee match for the league took place tonight, the LA Galaxy visiting the New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls pulled off a shocking upset topping the Galaxy 2-0 on goals by Luke Rodgers and Thierry Henry.

The Death Of A Classic

During today's Let's Talk iPhone event, Apple made it pretty clear that they have no intent on continuing with the venerable iPod Classic. While they didn't outright make any sort of statement, their lack of acknowledgement of the Classic being a part of the iPod family speaks volumes.

Speaking of the rest of the family, they receive only modest updates. The Nano only gets some modest interface changes for ease of use, an FM radio, and slight prices drops. The iPod Touch will be available in white much like the iPhone and iPad, and like the Nano will see a price cut. Then there's the Shuffle, which saw virtually no changes.

Killing off the Classic seems like a really bad move to me, because without it they no longer have a media player with a capacity of at least a hundred gigabytes and that'll leave a pretty big void in the iPod line.

What are your thoughts?

Match Prediction: US Open Cup Final

Up until recent weeks I would have said that the Sounders would have little trouble in winning their third consecutive Open Cup, but the Fire's current form and the boost from their recent victory over RSL at Rio Tinto could complicate matters for the Sounders.

The Fire is definitely not the same team that the Sounders encountered both back in April and early June, that saw the Sounders win 2-1 and both teams settling for a nil-nil draw. The mid-season acquisitions of Pavel Pardo and Sebastien Grazzini have breathed new life into Fire, having only experienced one loss since mid-August. Not only have new signings helped, but improved performance from pre-existing players (primarily Dominic Oduro) has played a major part in their recent success. Where previously Oduro had been squandering excellent chances and opportunities, now he seems to be consistently put them away.

While Chicago has added two vital pieces to their team, the Sounders have lost two of their key pieces. First came the loss of Steve Zakuani to a broken leg and then O'Brian White to blood clot issues, both of whom accounted for both goals in the Sounders first encounter with Fire. Fortunately, with the loss of those two came the advent of Mauro Rosales and Alvaro Fernandez, who combined account for thirteen of the Sounders fifty one goals and twelve assists. One problem, however, is the recent injury of Rosales. He looks to be set for a return in the Open Cup, but nothing is guaranteed. Whether or not Roslaes returns or not, the Sounders have proven time and again that they can continue to grind out victories despite the loss of key players. Also questionable for the Final is James Riley, who has missed the last few matches due to a concussion. From the way things sound, he should be ready to go for this match. Past the injuries, the real focus for the Sounders is the red-hot form of Fredy Montero. In his last five matches he has recorded either a goal or an assist, even going so far as to netting a brace in two consecutive league matches. Another important factor is the resting of key players such as Jeff Parke and Ozzie Alonso during last weekend's match against New England. Having key players like that completely rested and ready to go further increases the Sounders chances.

Considering the resting of multiple key players, Montero's current form, and the possible return of Rosales, despite Chicago's recent form the Sounders should have little trouble winning their third consecutive Open Cup.

Record-Breaking Month

Views per day last month, peaking at 35 on September 20th

As you can see from these graphs, last month was my most popular month ever. I smashed my record for most posts in a month (30 up from 22 in August) and not surprisingly, as a result I've smashed my previous record for total views in a single month (319 up from 249). To go with that total increase in views, a whopping three posts from September (all three CCL coverage posts) have made it into the ranks of Most Viewed Posts, one just two views shy of tying the record.

Already, I'm off to a running start for the month of October with 36 views in just the first two days. Here's to hoping and looking forward to another record-breaking month!

A graph of total views, the last two months have seen incredible growth in views

Around the Rest of the League, Week 29

Sporting Kansas City [2-1] Columbus Crew

SKC has completed their quest from last to first in the East, and Columbus continues their nose dive. At this rate, Columbus is going to lose their play-off berth.

Prediction: N/A

Real Salt Lake [0-3] Chicago Fire

An early goal by Marco Pappa and red card for Kyle Beckerman, gave every indication of ow this match was going to end. Pappa added two more to complete the hat trick and RSL lost their second match in a row.

Prediction: N/A

Philadelphia Union [3-2] DC United

An exciting first half saw four goals within the first half hour, two from Sebastien Le Toux and responding goals from Andy Majar and Dwayne De Rosario. Michael Farfan permanently gave the Union the lead again mid-way through the second half.

Prediction: Wrong

Houston Dynamo [1-1] Chicago Fire

Resting multiple key players (Pappa, Pardo, Nyarko) in anticipation of the Open Cup final on Tuesday, Chicago entered the match significantly weakened. Houston struck first through Colin Clark, but Dominic Oduro was able to net an equalizer before getting taken off for an injured ankle.

Prediction: N/A

New England Revolution [1-2] Seattle Sounders FC

Read recap here

Prediction: Correct

Toronto FC [1-1] New York Red Bulls

Toronto struck first through Danny Koevermans, who now has seven goals in his last nine matches, but New York answered with less than two minutes left in regulation time with a clutch goal by Thierry Henry (view here).

Prediction: N/A

Colorado Rapids [1-0] FC Dallas

With this result, one team finds hope (Rapids) and the other further despair (Dallas). FC Dallas found themselves shut-out for a fourth consecutive time as the Rapids got their single goal through a Drew Moor header. Much like Columbus, FC Dallas are sinking fast. If they continue at this pace, they will find themselves out of the play-offs.

Prediction: Wrong

San Jose Earthquakes [1-1] Sporting Kansas City

This match remained deadlocked at 0-0 until the eighty sixth minute when Chris Wondolowski struck for the Earthquakes, but their elation was short lived. Literally immediately on the re-start after the goal, SKC struck back through Teal Bunbury.

Prediction: N/A

LA Galaxy [2-1] Real Salt Lake

The absence of their captain Kyle Beckerman proved to be too much of an obstacle for RSL to overcome, striking first through Fabian Espindola off of a corner but ultimately falling to the Galaxy on a Chad Barret goal and own goal.

Prediction: Correct

Columbus Crew [2-1] DC United

Columbus finally finds themselves out of that horrific nose dive, getting their first victory since August 27th. Daniel Woolard put DC ahead in the first half, but leveled the match just minutes into the second half with an own goal. Eddie Gavin gave Columbus the lead through a fantastic diving header.

Prediction: Wrong

Vancouver Whitecaps [0-1] Portland Timbers

The closing match of Empire Field didn't at all go in Vancouver's favor, falling 3-1 to the rivals the Sounders. Unfortunately the inaugural match of the freshly renovated BC place didn't go in their favor either. Kenny Cooper's fantastic volley mid-way through the first half was the difference.

Prediction: Wrong

Chivas USA [0-0] Philadelphia Union

Prediction: N/A