MLS Week 12 Predictions

Looking at the upcoming schedule and thinking to myself who may win or lose each match-up and thinking about a similar practice by Extra Time Radio, I got inspired to begin a weekly write-up of my predictions of the upcoming weekends matches. So, here goes:

Wednesday, June 1st

• Chivas USA - Vancouver Whitecaps: Chivas USA has been showing promise lately and Vancouver hasn't been able to manage getting a result since opening night. I say this one goes to Chivas.

Friday, June 3rd

• LA Galaxy - DC United: United are coming of an impressive victory at Jeld-Wen, but the Galaxy are too much of an unstoppable beast. The Galaxy has this one.

Saturday, June 4th

• Toronto FC - Kansas City: This match marks the end of Kansas City's ten game road-trip, and while both teams are currently struggling I'm gonna pull for Kansas City and say they end their long and harsh road trip on a positive note.
• Chicago Fire - Seattle Sounders: Much the same as Vancouver, Chicago has failed to produce much of a result since their first couple matches. I don't see any changes with this match up, especially with the Sounders hot off a victory at the fortress of Rio Tinto. I'm gonna say the Sounders have this one.
• Real Salt Lake - Vancouver: After having the Sounders end their over two year long home unbeaten streak last week RSL is definitely looking to get back on track, and Vancouver should be just the opponent for them to do that. 
• Colorado Rapids - Philadelphia Union: Both teams have had their offensive struggles, though the Union's 6-2 victory over Toronto FC is a definite confidence booster. Colorado is still a great team, though. I'm gonna say this one ends with a tie.
• Portland Timbers - Chivas USA: Having DC break their home unbeaten run last week should prove plenty of encouragement for the Timbers to top Chivas. They just need to avoid predictability and make an effort to score goals through open play, not just through set pieces which is one of the key reasons why DC was able to pull off a win.

Head Coaches of Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps Dismissed

While not very surprising, but somewhat un-expected, the head coaches of both the Chicago Fire (Carlos De Los Cobos) and the Vancouver Whitecaps (Teitur Thordarson) have been fired.Both teams have found themselves unsuccessful in getting a favorable result since the beginning of the season. Vancouver started the season off with a bang, topping Toronto FC 4-2 in the season opener. Unfortunately since then they have been on a winless streak, only grabbing nine points out of the first twelve games of the season. The very same could be said of the Chicago Fire, who started the season off reasonably well with a tie against FC Dallas, followed up by a win against also struggling Sporting Kansas City. Since that win on March 26th they have only found themselves winless.

What is really surprising here is the firing of Thordarson. It only serves to perpetuate the negative stereotype against teams in the MLS and lack of patience with head coaches to settle in and produce results. Case in point Toronto FC has been through about three head coaches in their fairly short five year existence, and more than likely as a result they have never been able to lift themselves out of the basement of the standings in the eastern conference. At the start of the season the Whitecaps showed a lot of promise, and I don't want to watch them fall into a similar cycle of mediocrity as Toronto. Frustration of Thordarson being dismissed only gets added with the fact of his succes with the team when they in the USL second division, bringing in a title in the 2008 season and reaching the final once again in the 2009 season. The real issue here is that aforementioned lack of patience. One key thing that needs to be remembered is that Vancouver is an expansion team. Certainly the Sounders have set the bar and fellow rivals the Portland Timbers are following in their example, but at this point in the clubs existence in the MLS (not even halfway into their first season no less) there simply should not be as big a concern as they clearly have over Thordarson and his ability to coach.

DC United Topple the Portland Timbers

The repeatedly botched penalty kick

The Portland Timbers looked to maintain their home unbeaten run this afternoon against DC United, unfortunately for them the match ended in United's favor. As Chris Pontius took a long throw in and Blake Brettschneider headed the ball, DC rookie defender Perry Kitchen started the scoring off simply tapping the ball into the back of the net. The match was relatively quiet after that until the sixty-fourth minute, when Kenny Cooper was supposedly taken down in the box. The following penalty kick had to be retaken twice,  as Cooper's trickery forced DC keeper Hamid to come off of his line early twice in a row. Cooper was finally swapped out for Jack Jewsbury who buried it. Portland's hopes wouldn't last for long though, as Diego Chara got called for handball in the box only ten minutes later and Pontius burying the following PK. Josh Wolff gave DC an even greater advantage in the eighty-fifth minute off of a goal kick that found it's way over and through the Timbers' defense, all Wolff had to do was tap it into the back of the net. The Timbers were able to net another goal courtesy of a header by Jorge Perlaza but through the remainder of the match the failed to draw level.

Album Review in Brief - Scurrilous

[5/5]

Protest the Hero never cease to amaze me with their endless energy and technicality, and their latest effort Scurrilous certainly seems to take those two factors to a yet higher level over their past efforts. As to be expected fro Protest the Hero, from beginning to end the album is just packed with beautiful technicality. Certainly the album doesn't quite have the same level of stand out as Fortress with a decrease in screamed vocals, a complete lack of that custom percussion that I love oh so much and the lyrics aren't exactly anything to write home about, but those two negatives ultimately never really detract from the album because in the end its the music that really matters and impresses. As previously mentioned, the album is just packed with technicality and that is certainly Protest the Hero's calling card. The level of musicianship here, as with their past albums, is absolutely awe-inspiring. Some real highlights of that technicality can be found in Tapestry and The Reign of Unending Terror. Overall, while not exactly upstaging their previous efforts, Protest the Hero have managed to release yet another truly fantastic album.

Top Picks: Tapestry, The Reign of Unending Terror, C'est La Vie

A Fortress Penetrated

The video highlight of Lamar Neagle's fantastic goal

The Sounders have ended another team's home unbeaten streak tonight, this time Real Salt Lake in the fortress that is Rio Tinto Stadium. Things were all even heading into the second half, and after a fairly flat first half the game birst into life early into the first half. It all started with RSL defender Jamison Olave pulling down Mike Fucito as the striker was sprinting with the ball into the box, and the tables quickly turned in Seattle's favor from there. With the man advantage the Sounders saw much more of the posession, and were able to really start stringing passes together far more effectively. The game really turned in favor of the Sounders when the scoring started in the seventy-second minute. Tyson Wahl swung the ball into the box off a corner kick, where Nate Jaqua directed the ball down with his head where it ricocheted off of the toe of Fredy Montero into the feet of Patrick Ianni who easily tapped it in. The Sounders then doubled their advantage in the eighty-fourth minute when Wahl popped the ball over to a completely open and un-marked Lamar Neagle who turned and rocketed a shot into the goal past a hopelessly reaching Nick Rimando. Sadly the Sounders couldn't maintain the clean sheet, allowing RSL to get back into the game in the eighty-seventh minute through Nelson Gonzalez. Thankfully, unlike last season's visit to Rio Tinto, the Sounders were able to hold on and see the game out without much further incident.

Notes:

• Up until tonight's match, Real Salt Lake had maintained a twenty nine game unbeaten streak at Rio Tinto
• With his goal tonight Tacoma-native Lamar Neagle opens his MLS/Sounders scoring account and nets his first game-winning goal
• With their two goals tonight the Sounders have singled handedly doubled RSL's number of goals allowed which is now up to four
• With the three points they picked up tonight, the Sounders now have sole claim of third place in the western conference and match the points total of the leader in the eastern conference

Embarrassment at BMO Field

A highlight of what could be the peak of embarrassment today at BMO

The Philadelphia Union visited Toronto FC earlier this afternoon at BMO field, and absolutely embarrassed the home side with a final scoreline of 6-2. The scoring started early in the second minute, Gabriel Farfan gathering a cross in the box and finishing it past TFC keeper Stephan Frei. Philadelphia struck again in the eleventh minute, Justin Mapp breaking through the mid-field and slipping the shot past Frei. Philadelphia netted their third just before the end of the half, courtesy of a right-footed shot by Kyle Nakazawa. TFC showed signs of life in the second half, thanks to two goals by midfielder Maicon Santos in the fiftieth and sixtieth minutes. Santos' goals meant very little though, as Mapp added his second goal of the match and the Union added a fourth only two minutes after Santos' second. Danny Mwanga capped off the Union's domination with two goals, one in the seventy second minute and another in the eighty ninth. Too make things even more embarrassing for TFC, philadelphia's keeper Faryd Mondragon almost joined in on the scoring during the duration of the match, after a goal kick took a wild bounce over Frei's head that had him scrambling back to keep the ball from finding it's way into the goal.

Two important notes regarding the match, this was only Philadelphia's second away win of the season and they nearly doubled their goal output having only scored eight in their last ten matches and Toronto conceded the most goals ever in this afternoons match in their relatively short five year history.

Album Review in Brief - Beast

With each album DevilDrover never ceases to amaze me with their capacity to step the energy and brutality of their music up another notch, and Beast is without a doubt no exception to that trend. In fact, the album's sheer amount of energy and brutality just about puts that of their past work to shame. Because of this it is quite fitting that the album is titled Beast. Dead to Rights kicks things off with a bang and the album just builds from there, never losing momentum, never relenting. It will grab a hold of you and refuse to let go until it's conclusion, a live recording of Fury of Our Maker's Hand track Grinfucked. While the whole album shines, a couple tracks that really stand out are the likes of Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened), Coldblooded, Blur, and Lend Myself to the Night. Each of those four tracks really showcase DevilDriver's brutality and increased technicality and musicianship.

Dramatic Victory Strikes Again

After a fairly even and uneventful match, with a fair share of chances from both sides, the Sounders got their golden opportunity via a corner kick two minutes into stoppage time and capitalized on it. Tyson Wahl swung the ball into the box, and Jeff Parke headed the ball down and in past Sporting Kansas keeper Jimmy Nielson. That marks the second season in a row now that the Sounders have scored a last minute goal at home to get three points over Kansas City. A couple other details that make this victory even more extraordinary is the fact that tonight's was Parke's first MLS goal in seven years and that tonight's victory is the first one at home in the month of May in Sounders FC history. Kansas City has now lost all of their past five games, picking up only four points out of eight matchs.

Notes

• After a first minute goal by winger Dane Richards, the New York Red Bulls go on to tie the Houston Dynamo 2-2
• In this season's first edition of the SuperClasico the LA Galaxy, without any surprise really, get a victory over Chivas USA courtesy of a goal by Chad Barret off of a David Beckham free kick
• Portland managed to keep their home streak at Jeld-Wen alive in a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew
• San Jose seem to be getting control of things with their second win a row, tonight's over New England
• Carlos Ruiz netted an insane volley from distance over Chicago keeper Conway to give the Philadelphia Union the lead and the victory

Mac App Store Picks: Games

The Mac App Store has been available for a couple months now, and the selection of games keeps increasing. Whether they're iOS ports or full-fledged console title ports there is a lot that the App Store has to offer. In this post I will give a quick overview of some of the gems that I've managed to find:

Rainbow Blocks

A simple and quite addicting little puzzle game where the objective is to match and eliminate groups of blocks of the same color, the larger the group the more points you get. Each update generally adds features and makes the app overall slicker, but beware of a few bugs in the latest update.

Minesweeper

As the app is titled, this is minesweeper plain and simple. As with Rainbow Block with each update more feature and polish are brought to the app. Now you can open up an Inspector while you play to keep track of various stats.

A Monster Ate My Homework

This is a rather charming game that is based upon an iOS game. The objective of this physics-based puzzle game is to fire ball and topple the monsters off of the platform while leaving only the homework left. Multiple difficulties, plenty of challenge and future packs of levels promise plenty of replay value.

Flight Control

This is an iOS classic brought to the desktop. The addictive aim of this game is to guide aircraft into their respective landing areas while avoiding collisions. Online and local leader boards provide plenty of drive and motivation to keep on pushing for an ever higher high score.

Asphalt 6

Another game originally of the iOS platform, Asphalt 6 flawlessly makes the transition and takes the top spot as the best racing game currently available through the app store. The graphics are pretty top-notch, the gameplay is incredibly fun and addictive, the tracks are well-designed and offer plenty of variety, and the selection of cars is absolutely drool-worthy. The inclusion of online multiplayer and leader boards round out the impressive package.

A Taste for Competition

In the past I have dipped into competitive training and battling, but never all that seriously or successfully. I built up a team to face the Battle Frontier in Emerald Version and I trained a handful of competitive Pokemon in Diamond Version but I was really lazy about it and ultimately my heart really wasn't in it. I think when it comes down to it, the primary issue was a distinct lack of ability to easily find and face competition. To do so, you were required to head online into forums such as Neoseeker and Gamespot/Gamefaqs and actively seek an opponent which is something I never really quite took to. With the arrival of Black Version, it's cast of new and interesting Pokemon and Random Match I have new found motivation to enter the competitive arena.

While ease of locating competition is a contributing factor, I believe what really spurred me back into working on and building a competitive team was the fresh selection of Pokemon provided by Black and White. While Diamond and Pearl without a doubt brought several more competitive options to the table (some of which can be found among the candidates for my team), for some reason I have found more appeal in this latest generation. There are a couple main things that I feel contribute to that, but the one that really sticks out to me is the charm factor that most of the fifth generation brings to the table. I know that there are several people out there whining and complaining about the Pokemon designs each successive generation, saying that with each generation the designs are simply getting worse. I honestly couldn't disagree more. When it comes to that charm, there are several Pokemon that I can pick out, but the ones that really stick out to me are Stunfisk, Jellicent, Bouffalant, Alomomola, and Sigiliyph. There's just something about a muddy flat fish with a goofy smile, a jelly fish seemingly designed after the pringles man, a bull with an afro, a pink sunfish, and a just plain awesome looking thing (for lack of anything specific to reference in it's design) that just gets me excited and really interested in using them in competition even though they may not exactly be the highest of performers. Another area worthy of noting is unique typing. Previously mentioned Stunfisk and Jellicent bring two completely new type combinations to the table, electric-ground and ghost-water respectively, and I'm intrigued in exploring the possibilities that they provide (especially with Jellicent's eight resistances).

A Rivalry Reborn

This past Saturday night marked on the biggest moments this season and perhaps overall for the MLS. The storied rivalry between the Sounders and the Portland Timbers thats been burning since the mid seventies was re-kindled in a front of a record crowd of 36,500 plus. The momentous occasion brought out nothing but the best from supporters, as evidenced by what is perhaps the largest Tifo that Major League Soccer has ever seen:

The 500 Timbers fans that were in attendance had a display of their own that pathetically consisted only of colored flags. 

As for the match itself, when the final whistle was blown it concluded in a 1-1 stalemate. The Sounders struck first in the the fifty second minute when Roger Levesque lofted the ball up into air and Montero headed in over to Alvaro Fernandez who was wide open in box, who settled it and fired it past Timbers keeper Troy Perkins. The lead didn't last too long though, as the Sounders conceded a free kick within range of their goal (Portland has proven dealy on set pieces) and they paid for it. Jack Jewsbury sent the ball into the box and defender Futty Danso climbed above everyone in the box and headed the ball past a charging Kasey Keller.

Notes

• Portland striker Jorge Perlaza and Sounders defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado coincidentally are cousins
• The Sounders won Sunday's reserve match against Portland 3-2 on Goals from Lamar Neagle, Pat Noonan and Michael Tettah
• After conceding an own goal the Galaxy throttled Sporting Kansas winning the match 4-1
• Chivas USA brought the weekends largest surprise, winning over the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on a 3-2 scoreline, Justin Braun netting a hat trick
• The Columbus Crew had their seven-game unbeaten streak brought to an end at the hands of the San Jose Earthquakes in 3-0 defeat at Buckshaw Stadium

Brek Shea Nets Stunning Game-Winner

Is this goal amazing or what? Not only is it a cross turned shot on and into the goal, it was a game winner. Against the current conference leader. And also a week after losing one of their key players, David Ferriera, to a fractured ankle.

Can it get much sweeter than that?