Frustration Boils Over For RSL

In Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the Chicago Fire at Rio Tinto stadium, frustration over the team's performance in recent mathes clearly boiled over in a lone violent act by their captain Kyle Beckerman. Real Salt Lake had literally just conceded a goal almost directly off of a throw-in (the first of what proved to be a hat trick for Marco Pappa), and Beckerman had some sort of beef with Fire midfielder Daniel Palladini dishing out a full on head-butt into the shoulder of Paladini. Without hesitation, the referee Baldomero Toledo pulled the red card out of his back pocket and gave Beckerman his marching orders.

There are several implications and consequences in Beckerman's head-butt. First of all, he will be out for Saturday's match against the league-leading LA Galaxy which is in of itself major. Second of all, seeing the nature of RSL's captain's actions, he may be facing much more than just the standard one match suspension. With only four matches left in the season, a potential lengthy suspension for Beckerman could seriously hurt RSL's chances in the Supporter's Shield race that have already been hurt enough as it is with their twi recent losses to DC United and Chicago. Not only that, the suspension may spill over into the play-offs and seriously hurt RSL's chances at the Cup as well.

Beckerman's lashing out seriously could not have come at a worse time for RSL.

MLS Week 29 Predictions

Thursday, September 29th
Philadelphia Union - DC United: This will be an eastern conference showdown, the Union looking to extend their unbeaten streak and further press for higher placement in the table and DC will be looking to gain more ground in the fight for the last wild card spot. DC's confidence will definitely will be on a high, after last week's 4-1 drubbing of Real Salt Lake and De Rosario's record breaking performance. I expect this to be a closely contested match, so a draw wouldn't be all that surprising.

Saturday, October 1st
New England Revolution - Seattle Sounders FC: The stats say it all: 54 points to 27, fifteen wins to a paltry five, 49 goals scored to 32, and a +17 goal difference to -15. The Sounders have a clear statistical advantage over the New England Revolution. Another stat to throw in is the Sounders recent road record across all competitions, a remarkable 5-0-1. Not only that, the Sounders are tied with the LA Galaxy for the best overall road-record in the league at 7-3-5. Speaking of records, if their home record (4-4-5) is any indicator, the Revolution do stand a decent chance in this match. However, if the Sounders can avoid too much line-up shuffling (RSL went too far and they paid for it), they honestly should have very little trouble winning this one.

Colorado Rapids - FC Dallas: This is a rematch of sorts of last year's MLS Cup final, but that isn't the only factor that makes this match interesting. Both teams have taken a bit of a nose-dive as of late, FC Dallas taking only three out of fifteen points available in their last five matches and Colorado only claiming just two. Despite their recent slump, I believe that FC Dallas still have the capacity to win. The fact that they struck woodwork three separate times last weekend says that their offense is still their, but fortune simply has not been on their side. If a key player like Brek Shea can step up and the ball can finally bounce in their favor, this is a match that FC Dallas should win.

LA Galaxy - Real Salt Lake: Up until recently, this was looking to be one of the best match-ups of the weekend. Two contenders for the Supporter's Shield squaring off, but RSL's recent fortunes have just about eliminated them from contention for the best regular season record. They've drop two matches in a row now, conceding seven goals (two players even netting hat tricks) and to make matters worse they're captain, Kyle Beckerman, was red carded in their mid-week match against Chicago. Without Beckerman, RSL's chances at leaving the Home Depot Center with any sort of result is shrouded in doubt. RSL have proven themselves to be one of the league's best, but I don't think they have what it takes to break the Galaxy's home unbeaten run.

Columbus Crew - DC United: This is a must win match for both teams, who are both desperate to remain contenders in the play-off race. The Crew have been struggling lately, picking up only a single pint in their last five matches. They were able to hold the Galaxy off last weekend, until their distinct lack of the ability to finish came back to haunt them in the last minute of stoppage time when Chad Barret fed on a rebound from a saved Landon Donovan shot and scored the game-winner. On the other hand, DC has been a little inconsistent in the results that they've been getting but they have been winning games and picking up points. One can look no further than DC's 4-1 drubbing of Real Salt Lake last weekend to know what they are capable of doing. If DC can keep up the offense and Columbus continues their struggles in front of goal, DC will come away with all three points.

Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers: Last week the Sounders claimed the Cascadia Cup in their 3-1 victory in the final match at Empire Field, so there will be nothing to play for in this final Cascadia Derby but pride and points. Vancouver may be officially out of the play-off race after last weekend's loss, but the Timbers are very much in the middle of it, which gives the home side even more reason and conviction to win. Not only that, the Timbers poor road form (only one victory in fourteen matches) is encouraging for Vancouver's chances in this matches. If the Timbers' poor road form continues and Vancouver continues to play as good as they did last weekend against the Sounders, the Whitecaps easily have the victory in this one.

Sounders Squeeze Their Way Into Quarter Finals

Despite fielding essentially a starting line-up, throughout most of the match the Sounders had to fight their way back. Communicaciones struck early once again, forward Montepeque evading the attempted offsides trap by the Sounders back line and easily chipping the ball over Keller, who happened to be caught way off of his line, and into the goal. The match was evenly fought until the waning minutes of the  first half, when Osvaldo Alonso struck for the Sounders. After chaos in the box Alonso was directly in the path of an attempted clearance that he first time volleyed, and the ball found it's way into the net thanks to a fortunate deflection.

Communicaciones struck once again early into the second half, sixty fourth minute. Kasey Keller mishandled a cross from a corner kick and Morales was there to feed on the mistake and snap the shot in. After finding themselves chasing the game again, the Sounders made pushed incredibly hard in an attempt to find another equalizer. After several great opportunities including a Fredy Montero shot the clattered off of the crossbar, the Sounders found another equalizing goal, again through Alonso. Again Alonso was in the right place at the right time, picking up another poorly cleared ball and hammering it home.

While still not one hundred percent certain, with tonight's tie it's looking like the Sounders are advancing to the quarter-finals. Next up they play their final group stage match at home against Monterrey, who won their match against Herediano tonight.

CCL Group Stage Round 5

The fifth round of the CONCACAF Champions League group stages kick off tomorrow night. As always, you can watch all of the matches via live stream through CONCACAF TV and be sure to check back with this post regularly for scores, summaries, and links to highlights for every match.

Tuesday, September 26th

Toronto FC [1-1] Pumas UNAM (Highlights)
[Goals: 35' P. Marosevic, 51' M. Palacios]
While they managed a tie, Toronto looked nowhere even close to pulling out a victory. This result does not help their cause in moving on.


Communicaciones [1-1] Sounders FC (Highlights)
[Goals: 7' T. Montepeque, 44' O. Alonso, 64' R. Morales, 89' O. Alonso]
Thanks to two equalizing goals by Ozzie Alonso, the Sounders have essentially guaranteed their advancement to the quarter-finals.


Monterrey [1-0] Herediano (Highlights)
[Goals: 30' A. De Nigris]
With tonight's loss Herediano has lost any possible chance of advancing to the quarter-finals.

Wednesday, September 27th

Real Espana [1-1] Santos Laguna (Highlights)
[Goals: 51' C. Ochoa (San), 61' M. Martinez (Rea)]
Santos Laguna strengthens their gold on first place in the group with last night's tie with Real Espana.


Tauro [5-3] FC Dallas (Highlights)
[Goals: 12' L. Moreno (Tau), 23' J. Benitez (FCD), 33' A, Gallardo (Tau), 77' T. Perez (Tau), 81' M. Sanchez (Tau), 84' R. Luna (FCD), 86' T. Perez (Tau), 90' R. Luna (FCD)]
FC Dallas gave some playing time to a handful of their reserves in this wild match that not only saw eight goals, but three red cards. It's do or die in the last round for FC Dallas, as they face Toronto FC who also sits on seven points after Round 5.

LA Galaxy [2-1] Morelia (Highlights)
[Goals: 21' M. Magee (LA), R. Marquez Lugo (Mor), 90' Juninho (LA)]
After losing their last two matchs, the Galaxy were dangerously close to being out of contention for a quarter-finals berth. With this victory their back in the hunt.


Isidro Metapan [1-3] Colorado Rapids (Highlights)
[Goals: 31' E. Ababio (Col), 36' A. Pacheco (Met), 49' Q. Amerikwa (Col), 77' O. Cummings (Col)]
Despite having admitted to throwing in the towel in the CCL to focus on league play, the Rapids managed a surprising away victory over Isidro Metapan. With the victory they leap-frog into second place behind Santos.

Thursday, September 28th

Alajuelense [1-0] Montagua (Highlights)
[Goals: 27' J. McDonald (Ala)]
Alajuelense now top Group A with tonight's victory. If other results don't go their way next round, the Galaxy will find themselves eliminated from the competition.

Around the Rest of the League, Week 28

Wednesday, September 21st

DC United [2-2] Chivas USA

DC looked fantastic in the first half, netting two goals, but simply stopped playing for the duration of the second half, allowing Chivas to rally back and tie up the game on a brace by Juan Pablo Angel.

Prediction: Wrong

New York Red Bulls [1-3] Real Salt Lake

Defensive errors doomed New York, as they gifted RSL three goals before the half hour mark. They were able to reduce RSL's lead late through a spectacular goal by Joel Lindpere but their early defensive errors proved simply too much to overcome.

Prediction: Wrong

Portland Timbers [1-1] San Jose Earthquakes

The Timbers got an early lead through a Kenny Cooper goal, but allowed San Jose to dictate much of the play throughout the rest of the match equalizing on a Kairi Stephenson goal.

Prediction: Wrong

Friday, September 23rd

Sporting Kansas City [1-1] Philadelphia Union

Fittingly after holding the majority of the possession throughout the match SKC were the first to strike, Omar Bravo cleanly knocking in a Kei Kamara cross, but allowed the Union to draw level only seven minutes later through a Sebastian Le Toux goal.

Prediction: Wrong

Saturday, September 24th

FC Dallas [0-1] Houston Dynamo

FC Dallas continued to struggle offensively, despite creating several great chances and finding woodwork three separate times. The Dynamo took advantage of Dallas' struggles with only a few minutes remaining in the match, Davis sending in a cross from a corner kick and Jeff Cameron easily heading the ball past Kevin Hartman.

Prediction: Correct

New York Red Bulls [2-0] Portland Timbers

The suspension of Rafa Marquez seemed to have done the Red Bulls some good, keeping a clean sheet against the Timbers. A great individual effort goal by Dane Richards and a Luke Rodgers penalty kick consisted of the scoring.

Prediction: Wrong

Columbus Crew [0-1] LA Galaxy

The Crew had several great chances to strike first and possibly win the match, but every chance was knocked away by Saunders or stricken off target. Landon Donovan proved to be a catalyst in the Galaxy's attack, a shot of his on goal getting saved by Hesmer but Chad Barret eating up the rebound late in stoppage.

Prediction: Wrong

DC United [4-1] Real Salt Lake

DC absolutely tore through a significantly weakened RSL, Najar striking first in the thirteenth minute followed by a spectacular Dwayne De Rosario hat trick that was capped off with a tremendous free kick goal in the thirty second minute. RSL was able to put one back late thanks to Saborio, but ultimately just couldn't get any more from the match.

Prediction: Correct

Colorado Rapids [1-1] San Jose Earthquakes

Wondolowski and the Earthquakes struck first on a rebound from a Pickens save, but couldn't hold of the Rapids, Drew Moor striking the equalizing goal late in the second half.

Prediction: N/A

Chivas USA [3-0] Toronto FC

Toronto never had much of a chance, coming out completely flat. Juan Pablo struck first early in the first half, and added another in the second after Justin Braun goal.

Prediction: N/A

Vancouver Whitecaps [1-3] Seattle Sounders FC

Read recap here

Prediction: Correct

Sunday, September 25th

Chicago Fire [0-0] New England Revolution (Today)

Prediction: N/A

A Glorious Night In Vancouver

After conceding the match's first goal early in the first half, the Sounders stormed back to ultimately claim a 3-1 victory over their Cascadia rival the Vancouver Whitecaps, reclaiming the Cascadia Cup in the process.

The Whitecaps got the scoring started first, as they did earlier in the season when they visited Century Link Field. Eric Hassli played an excellent ball through to Chumiento, who played the ball across the mouth of the goal to a wide open Camilo Sanvenzo who easily hammered the ball into the back of the net. That goal wouldn't stand for too long, however. The Sounders got their opprtunity to even things up only eleven minutes later on a penalty awarded thanks to a hand ball Alvaro Fernandez forced on Jay Demerit after some brilliant build-up by Montero. Brad Evans stepped up to the spot and easily sent Joe Cannon the wrong direction and hammered the ball home.

The Sounders burst out of the gate at the start of the second half, Lamar Neagle firing a curling shot up over Cannon in the forty seventh minute but was denied by woodwork. The Sounders finally and permanently grabbed the lead in the sixty third minute, Demerit sending a clearance straight into the feet of Montero, who fired a curling effort past Cannon and into the far corner of the goal. Montero extended the Sounders' lead just four minutes later, receiving a pass from Brad Evans and blasting a shot that deflected off of Demerit's foot and over Cannon into the goal. Afterwards, Neagle and second half sub Sammy Ochoa came incredibly close to further increasing the lead, both striking the post. The Whitecaps continued to press forward and look dangerous but ultimately found no way to reduce the Sounders' lead.

Lately Mauro Rosales has been the one pulling all of the strings in the Sounders' offense, but watching tonight's match it's clear that his absence isn't a crippling blow for the Sounders (much the same as with Zakuani and White). The Sounders are a truly deep team, to manage to lose three major goal-scorers and playmakers and feel very little ill-effects of their absence.

Notes

• Demerit was involved in every single goal, conceding the penalty, clearing the ball to Montero on the second, and deflecting the ball in on the third. Rough night.
• To cap off the fantastic victory, a handful of the Timbers Army had travelled all the way up to Vancouver to hand the Cascadia Cup over to the eagerly awaiting Sounders Supporters.

Red Bulls In Shambles

There was some hope for the New York Red Bulls last week, with their impressive and rather surprising victory over FC Dallas (who seem to be slipping, lately with four points from their last six matches). Unfortunately, the defensive shape that they found last week hasn't seemed to persist past that single match last week. Defensive errors plagued New York in the first half of their home match against the currently hot Real Salt Lake, seeing RSL net three goals by the half hour mark. Centerback Rafa Marquez was so discontent with the performance, he had some choice words for his teammates:

"I’m focusing on really performance at my highest level. That doesn’t mean that the whole backline can perform at that same level, so that’s a problem, I think this is a team game and unfortunately there isn't an equal level between my teammates and I."

Marquez certainly makes himself sound a little full of himself with that statement. With that in mind, Marquez's statement clearly demonstrates just how fractured that the Red Bulls are. There clearly is a lack of team unity, surely meaning the ultimate demise of the Red Bulls. If Hans Backe remains the head coach past this season, I will be incredibly shocked. Not only has he lost his locker room, he has made some terrible decisions in putting all his eggs in the MLS Cup basket by completely disregarding the US Open Cup earlier in the season. From the way things are looking, they have absolutely no chance of making the play-offs, let alone advancing if they did.

Facebook Hysteria

As everyone may have already noticed, last night Facebook rolled out some pretty drastic changes to the way that home pages both looks and operates. Whether this was prompted by the recent nes that Google+ is now open to the general public or not, you've gotta wonder what is going through the heads of those making the decisions over at Facebook.

The two main changes are in how the News Feed acts, and the new friends activity ticker that can be found on the upper righthand side of the page. In terms of the News Feed, now instead of being able to view items through tabs labeled "Top News" and "Most Recent" it's all jumbled together in an overall messy and confusing manner. Then there is the friends activity ticker, which while it is a pretty interesting idea, overall strikes me as pointless and superfluous. I honestly don't care about and don't want to see these updates, and the fact that it scrolls with the page to constantly keep itself within your view increases the aggravation as well.

Facebook honestly seems to be shooting itself in the foot. They're frustrating many of it's users with these updates, me included, and creating further temptation to make the jump over to G+. Facebook seems to be headed towards a decline much like MySpace in the face of this new competition by G+, scrambling to come up with and release half-baked and poorly thought out new features in an attempt to say "Hey! Stick with me!".

What are your thoughts?

MLS Week 28 Predictions

Wednesday, September 21st
DC United - Chivas USA: These two recently met in the Home Depot Center, and DC United left the victors riding on a Charlie Davies hat trick and perhaps Chris Pontius' best performance of his career. This time around, however, DC will be without Pontius after losing him to a broken leg in the late stages of that very match. DC's recent performance without Pontius up in Seattle (ultimately losing 3-0) didn't exactly inspire confidence, but it must be kept in mind that important players like Quaranta and Hamid had to be benched with injuries for that match. If DC can get those two back, and Chivas continue's their run of mediocrity, they have a strong chance of getting a favorable result. Though far from guaranteed, DC should be able to win this one.


New York Red Bulls - Real Salt Lake: New York recently was able to break out of their nine match winless slump against an admittedly struggling FC Dallas, the main stories of that match being the glorious return of Luke Rodgers and the fact that the Red Bulls found some semblance of defensive form to hold of the pressure by Dallas to equalize. If New York can keep this going they certainly have a chance against the recently incredibly successful RSL, especially if RSL remains as offensively reserved as they were in last weekends match against Sporting KC. Seeing the current trend cursing teams playing against RSL, there is hope for New York if they can finish their chances. I think I'll side with New York for this one.

Portland Timbers - San Jose Earthquakes: Last weekend saw quite the shuffle for the last wildcard spot in the play-offs, new York stealing it from Portland who had stolen it from DC United. A win today is a must for the Timbers is they want to remain competitive in the play-off race, and they honestly should have little trouble getting one. First of all, San Jose poses very little of a threat. They're recent thirteen game winless streak says it all, sure they may have finally broken it, but that honestly means nothing to me. They're still incredibly mediocre and lacking, which brings me to my second point: Portland's tremendous home advantage. The Timbers can stay with the best of them in that stadium, and have no problem in steaming right past lesser teams (as demonstrated in the recent 3-0 victory over the Revolution). I'd be crazy not to side with the Timbers on this one.

Friday, September 23rd
Sporting Kansas City - Philadelphia Union: With the Columbus Crew, the current eastern conference leaders, take on the league-leading LA Galaxy with little hope of a victory, this match could very well ultimately decide who claims the top spot in the East once the weekend is over. SKC has been on a tear as of late, only falling to top teams in the West (Sounders, FC Dallas, RSL), continually making progress up the standings. The Union, on the other hand, have had some struggles having recently broken out of a nine game winless streak. SKC will be looking to continue winning, and the Union will be looking to reimpose their presence in the top of the East. This will definitely be one of the weekend's top matches to watch. SKC being the ones with the home advantage, I've got to side with them for the victory.

Saturday, September 24th
FC Dallas - Houston Dynamo: Lately FC Dallas hasn't seemed like the same team, struggling offensively thanks to multiple players absences and seeming absolutely exhausted due to schedule congestion. The Dynamo, on the other hand, have been on the rise. Sitting on thirty nine points, if they can win this match and if Columbus loses theirs, they can claim the top position in the East. The problem is Houston's absolutely horrid road form, being the only team besides the Whitecaps that are completely winless on the road. Despite that, I do believe that Houston do have a strong chance at winning this one.

DC United - Real Salt Lake: DC United were looking to be on their way to a second win over Chivas last Wednesday, but for some reason they just stopped playing and let Chivas draw level on a Juan Pablo Angel brace. Strangely, DC has performed better this season on the road than at home (5-5-4 to 3-3-7) going to show that they just don't have any sort of home field advantage. That is just going to make things a whole lot worse against RSL, who happens to be one of the league's hottest teams at the moment with five straight wins. While they may be getting one win after another, at least two of those wins (Sounders and New York)  RSL was gifted each of their goals on mistakes and slip-ups on the other teams part and were truly either equals or otherwise dominated by the other team. That means if DC can refrain from making any errors that RSL can feed on and properly fend the western giant off, that they have a definite chance of getting something out of the match.

Columbus Crew - LA Galaxy: The top of the East hosting the top of the West should usually be the makings for an entertaining match, but seeing Columbus' current form I doubt they have much of a chance at holding off the Galaxy, let alone getting a win. Out of the last five matches the Crew have accumulated just four points to the Galaxy's thirteen, which gives overwhelming favor to the visitors. The Crew do have one potential advantage over the Galaxy, however. Road-wariness. The Galaxy are just coming off of a mid-week CONCACAF Champions League match down in Costa Rica that saw them get their second straight loss in the competition, having played every one of their star players and several of their other starters. If the Crew can take advantage of this potential wariness they have a chance at getting something out of this match, otherwise I see them continuing their slide.

New York Red Bulls - Portland Timbers: This is a battle for the final wildcard spot,  the Red Bulls looking to reclaim it after getting it stolen from them earlier in the week after they lost and the Timber tied San Jose. The question is, who will be more mediocre? The Timber road form is among the worst in the league, and the Red Bulls have been falling apart at the seams lately thanks to very poor defensive shape and lack of team unity. I really think that the Red Bulls will continue their run of mediocrity, and despite poor road form this is a game that Portland has a high likelihood of winning.

Vancouver Whitecaps - Seattle Sounders FC: After last night's draw between SKC and the Union and the Sounders' and RSL's subsequent clinching of play-off berths, this match no longer has any major play-off implications for the Sounders. There is a major prize still left to play for, however, in the Cascadia Cup. With a win, the Sounders will be leaving Vancouver with some silverware. Despite the fact that the Whitecaps have the worst record in the league (having only 22 points from 28 games), they still harness some potent offensive threats in Hassli, Camilo, and Chumiento. If the Sounders can suppress the impact of those three, the match is as good as theirs.

The Perfect CCL Run Ends

A completely flat and uninspired first half doomed the Sounders, as they went on to fall 1-0 to the Costa Rican side CS Herediano. The Sounders started the match absolutely lifeless, letting Herediano play right through them, ultimately leading to the match's one and only goal. In the twenty fifth minute, after a foul just outside the box, Herediano's Arias expertly blasted home the free kick opportunity. The second half additions of Fredy Montero and Osvaldo Alonso clearly reinvigorated the Sounders, as well as the addition of the club's recent aquisition Sammy Ochoa who near scored an equalizer, but thanks to valient goalkeeping by Cambronero the Sounders just could not erase Herediano's one goal advantage. This loss isn't the end of the world, but the Sounders have certainly made advancing to the quarter-finals lot harder for themselves with tonight's loss. Next up in CCL play, the Sounders face Communicaciones down in Guatemala.

CCL Group Stages Round 4

CONCACAF's preview video is currently unavailable through Youtube

The fourth round of the group stages kicks off tonight. As always the Toronto FC/Tauro and Sounders FC/Herediano matches taking place tonight can be viewed via the CONCACAF TV website, as well as tomorrow's FC Dallas/Pumas and Alajuelense/Galaxy matches. As with the previous post, expect me to continually update this post with scores and match summaries.

September 20th

Toronto FC [1-0] Tauro FC (Highlights)
[Goal 40': D. Koevermans (TFC)]
Koevermans continues his excellent run of form for Toronto, having scored all goals for Toronto in the club's last two matches.


CF Monterrey [3-1] CSD Communicaciones (Highlights)
[Goals: 32' S. Santana (Mon), 68' L. Perez (Mon), 83' C. Mejia (Com), 86' H. Suazo (Mon)]
After struggling the last two matches, it seems that Monterrey have found their legs in the competition once again.

Sounders FC [0-1] CS Herediano (Highlights)
[Goals: 25' Y. Arias (Her)]
The Sounders came out completely flat, and Herediano made them pay for it. Despite some late pressure, the Sounders just could not find an answer to Herediano's early goal.

September 21st

FC Dallas [0-2] Pumas UNAM (Highlights)
[Goals: 84' E. Herrera, 90'+1 D. Izazola]
After both sides remaining incredibly close for over eighty minutes, Pumas UNAM struck twice to leave Pizza Hut Park with all three points.


Colorado Rapids [1-2] Real Espana (Highlights)
[Goals: 12' C. Pavon, 18' A. Akpan, 33' C. Pavon]
Colorado continues to slide in Champions League play. They don't have much of a chance of advancing after tonight's result.


Alajuelense [1-0] LA Galaxy (Highlights)
[Goals: 28' P. Antonio Gabas]
Much like the Sounders match yesterday, one lone free kick goal was the difference. The Galaxy didn't look particularly threatening, Alajuelense having most of the scoring opportunities.

September 22nd

Santos Laguna [6-0] Isidro Metapan (Highlights)

[Goals: 21' J. Cardenas (San), 28' C. Quintero (San), 38' O. Peralta (San), 55' C. Quintero, 79' C. Ochoa, 86' O. Peralta]
Santos absolutely steamrolled Metapan, two players scoring a brace each (one near a hat trick on several occasions), claiming the top spot in the group.

Montagua [0-2] Morelia (Highlights)
[Goals: 55' Y. Corona, 58' D. Manso]
With tonight's loss, Montagua is officially eliminated from moving on into the quarter-finals.

Rosales Out For 2-4 Weeks

(Image Sourced from Getty Images)

In the late stages of the Sounders 3-0 victory over DC United, Mauro Rosales had to leave the pitch with a knee injury that came asa result of a needless tackle by Daniel Woolard. This afternoon he had an MRI to find a small tear of his MCL, meaning that he'll be out for two to four weeks. This honestly could not have come at a worse time for the Sounders, right in the midst of the final push for the playoffs when the Sounders could use his offensive spark the most to keep on pace behind the Galaxy, to take advantage in case of a rare slip up by the league leaders. Rosales is just the latest of many offensive players this season to be sidelined with a major injury, though thankfully unlike many of those injuries that have been, Rosales' shouldn't be season ending. He should be able to make a return for the play-offs.

Notes

• Leading up to the injury, Rosales had just set a club record for total assists in a season at twelve (Montero holding the previous record of ten). Now it seems unlikely that he'll be able to add to that tally any further.

Rewards On The Horizon For The Sounders

This coming week has the potential to be particularly rewarding for the Sounders, with the possibility of grabbing the Casacadia Cup and clinching both a spot in the CCL quarter finals and an automatic berth in the MLS play-offs. If the Sounders get a win up in Vancouver, they both claim the Cascadia Cup and a play-off berth (a tie can get them a berth as well). To book their spot in CCL quarter finals, the Sounders need to get another victory over Herediano and hope that Communicaciones at least earns a draw at Monterrey.

Album Review in Brief - Children of Fire

[5/5]

Oh, Sleeper certainly seems to have an affinity for concept albums. Their previous release, Son of the Morning, told of the battle between god and satan. Children of Fire picks up where that album left off. With a subject like this, intensity and aggression is to be expected. That could be observed in select tracks on Son of the Morning (World Without A Sun, The Finisher) and can be observed to a greater extent in Children of Fire, that increase in aggression making Children of Fire stand out amongst Oh, Sleeper's other albums in terms of overall energy and heaviness. This can be seen in tracks like Endseekers and The Marriage of Steel and Skin. To balance out the aggression, melody is infused throughout the album. Not only does melody excellently co-exist with heaviness in tracks like Hush Yael, Oh ,Sleeper goes so far as to calm things down with a couple purely acoustic tracks. Overall, Oh Sleeper continues to step up their game with their best effort yet, Children of Fire.

Top Picks: Endseekers, The Marriage of Steel and Skin, Hush Yael

Around the Rest of the League, Week 27

Columbus Crew [2-2] Houston Dynamo

After claiming the lead through a Je Vaughn Watson goal in the the thirty fourth minute, the Dynamo managed to concede two penalties, which were both converted by Andres Mendoza, to lose the lead to the home side. They managed to equalize through Cal Carr late, but couldn't manage much more than that.

Prediction: Wrong

Portland Timbers [3-0] New England Revolution

This result is far from surprising, the Revolution is easily one of the worst teams in the league and the Timbers' home advantage only made things worse. The Timbers' goals came courtesy Diego Chara, Kenny Cooper, and Darlington Nagbe.

Prediction: Correct

Toronto FC [2-1] Colorado Rapids

The Rapids continued faltering, losing their third match in a row. Toronto has gotten into a bit of a groove, unbeaten in three. Danny Koevermans provided TFC's two goals, Nyassy provided the Rapids' lone goal.

Prediction: N/A

Chicago Fire [3-2] Chivas USA

Down a man for much of the match, Dominic Oduro provided the winning goal in the eighty sixth minute to clinch the win for Chicago, their third in their last five matches. Cory Gibbs and Juan Pablo Angel accounted for the Fire's first two, while Nick LaBrocca and JPA accounted for Chivas' goals.

Prediction: N/A

Philadelphia Union [1-0] Columbus Crew

One team pulled themselves out of a slump (Philly), while another continued in theirs (Crew). The Union finally broke their eight game winless streak on a lone Sebastian Le Toux goal, and handed the Crew their fourth loss in their last four games.

Prediction: Wrong

FC Dallas [0-1] New York Red Bulls

Playing without Brek Shea or Marvin Chavez due to yellow card accumulation for both, while dominating New York in terms of total shots, just didn't have any offensive punch. Luke Rodgers goal in the thirty sixth minute was the decider, giving the Red Bulls their first taste of victory since July sixth.

Prediction: Wrong

Houston Dynamo [2-1] San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose may have broken their thirteen game winless run last week, but that meant very little at Robertson Stadium. Despite striking first on a fantastic volley by Kairi Stephenson, the Earthquakes ultimately fell to a converted penalty by Brad Davis and Will Bruin's first goal since his April hat trick against DC United.

Prediction: N/A

Real Salt Lake [1-0] Sporting Kansas City

RSL continued their ascent of the western conference, their victory and FC Dallas' loss the the Red Bulls handing them third place. SKC was the offensively dominant team, but a lone goal by Nat Borchers was the deciding factor.

Prediction: Wrong

LA Galaxy [3-0] Vancouver Whitecaps

The league's worst facing the league's best, the Whitecaps never had much of a chance. The last time these two teams met the Galaxy left Empire Field with a commanding 4-0 victory, and they had little trouble recording a second victory over Vancouver. Mike Magee accounted for two of the goals, Robbie Keane claiming the third.

Prediction: N/A

The Sounders Get Back Rolling

Last week's fluky match against Real Salt Lake, much like the Sounders' last league loss that came against Houston, appears to have been nothing more than an anomaly. After an impressive midweek victory against Herediano that kept the club's group stage record absolutely flawless (their the only club to remain flawless so far in tournament, I might add), the Sounders continue their winning ways in the league with a resounding 3-0 victory against mid-table DC United.

The first half an hour or so saw the Sounders and DC with fairly even possession and yet no clean cut chances on goal. The match burst into life in the thirty fifth minute, through some brilliant play through the middle by Brad Evans and Mauro Rosales that found Mike Fucito clean through on goal, cooly finishing the ball inside the far post past an advancing Joe Willis. Into first half stoppage time, the Sounders doubled their advantage thanks to brilliant build-up play by Rosales and Fredy Montero, finished off by Alvaro Fernandez.

The Sounders quickly picked up where they left, finding a third goal only twelve minutes after the start of the second half. Once again Rosales was involved, lofting an excellent cross to Montero lurking on the far post. Montero initial attempted header was stopped by Willis, but Fernandez was there waiting to eat up and smash home the rebound. Despite United's head coach Ben Olsen clearly throwing in the towel by subbing off both Charlie Davies and Dwayne De Rosario, for the remainder of the half DC United desperately attempted erasing the clean sheet held by Kasey Keller. Despite their efforts, skillful saves by Keller and as always dependable defending left United to depart from Century Link this evening with nothing.

Sounders Continue Perfect CCL Run

With their victory over CS Herediano tonight, the Sounders continue their perfect run in the CONCACAF Champions League and become the one and only team in the tournament to receive all nine points from their first three games.

Fredy Montero was the key to the match, putting the Sounders on the board extremely early in the third minute. Nate Jaqua got a hold of the ball at the top of the box and sent an excellent pass over to Montero who easily knocked the ball in past the Herediano keeper. The Sounders nearly doubled their lead in the twenty sixth minute, Roger Levesque awkwardly knocking the ball towards Jaqua who attempted the volley only to see it ring off of the post. Herediano managed to draw level heading into the half, drawing and converting a penalty kick.

Herediano started the second half strong, looking plenty threatening, but Montero soon put a damper on their hopes. In the fifty fourth minute Jaqua knocked down a long ball in the penalty area, Levesque gathered the ball and fired, the keeper saving it but letting it fall to Montero who easily tapped it to allow the Sounders to regain the lead for good. For the rest of the match the Sounders dropped off and soaked up plenty of pressure from Herediano, but any attempts to get the ball into a dangerous situation were either promptly cleared out by the defense over saved by Kasey Keller.

Next up the Sounders face Herediano once again, up in at Century Link. Three points there could clinch their spot in the knock-out rounds.

MLS Week 27 Predictions

Wednesday, September 14th
Columbus Crew - Houston Dynamo: Starting with the 6-2 loss against the Sounders at Century Link the Crew have been in a bit of a nose-dive, losing the following match 4-2 to their rivals Toronto FC. The Dynamo have lost their last two matches as well, most recently the fell to Sporting Kansas City 3-0. This is a match with table placement implications, both teams in the top four standing to advance a position if they win. Due to the implications, this will be an interesting match. I think the Crew will continue on their nose dive, you don't concede ten goals in two matches if there isn't a clear issue with the defense. I think that the Dynamo will take advantage of that problematic defense.


Friday, September 16th
Portland Timbers - New England Revolution: Both teams got impressive results last weekend, Portland held the Union to a nil-nil draw and even more impressive, New England defeated one of the league's best (FC Dallas) by two goals to nil. Unfortunately I don't think that big win for the Revolution means very much, their still one of the worst teams in the league. Not only that, they'll be playing in the hostile environment of Jeld Wen. I say the Timbers take this one.

Saturday, September 17th
Philadelphia Union - Columbus Crew: The Union has yet to break it's winless streak, but last week's result against the Timbers can be seen as promising. The managed to play to a nil-nil draw, which seems to indicate that they've managed to patch up their of late leaky defense. The Crew are in a slump of their own, winless in three isn't all that concerning, but twelve goals conceded in three games is. If the Crew's defense doesn't get an adjustment, they'll find themselves less and less a favorite for the post season. I'm gonna go with a draw for this one.

FC Dallas - New York Red Bulls: Last weekend saw a pretty big upset, FC Dallas falling by two goals to one of the league's lesser teams in the Revolution. Their lack of any offensive punch in their midweek CCL match against Tauro doesn't inspire much confidence either. Notably, neither Brek Shea nor Marvin Chavez were in the eighteen on Wednesday, and there lies the problem. Those two account for a vast majority of Dallas' offensive output, and without both of them Dallas will no doubt continue to struggle. To their benefit, they're playing the Red Bulls this weekend, who haven't looked remotely dangerous for a couple months now. Despite being crippled without Shea or Chavez, I firmly believe that FC Dallas wins.

Seattle Sounders FC - DC United: This match has major play-off implications. The Sounders can't afford another loss, otherwise they may quite easily lose their grasp on second place. On the other hand, DC desperately needs another win to maintain their grasp on the last wildcard spot. History says that DC has the advantage, with a 3-3 tie in the Sounders inaugural season which saw them erase a three goal deficit and a 3-1 win last season that Chris Pontius played a major part in. Which brings up DC's main disadvantage, the loss of Pontius to a broken leg in the late stages of last week's match against Chivas. With seven goals and five assists Pontius has accounted for a major percentage of DC's offense throughout the season, and I have a feeling that DC are going to struggle without him despite having other big guns like De Rosario and Charlie Davies on the field. With the midweek 2-1 victory over Herediano I have a strong feeling that the Sounders are quickly bouncing back from last week's fluky loss to Real Salt Lake. I favor the Sounders in this one.

Real Salt Lake - Sporting Kansas City: RSL has been on a bit of a roll lately, recording three straight wins and climbing their way up the Western Conference, now literally breathing down the neck of FC Dallas with only a point's difference between the two. SKC has been on a roll as well, absolutely dominating with their new home advantage of Livestrong Sporting Park. Having just come off of a nine match home stand, I believe this is the first away match they've played in about two months. Seeing how well they've been playing lately I think they're up for it. RSL has the advantage of Rio Tinto, but I think SKC has what it takes.

Iwata Stands Strong

After the announcements that Nintendo made for the 3DS Monday night, their stocks perplexingly fell five percent, investors citing lack of faith that the new announcements will further re-invigorate sales of the system. It's been no secret that investors have been pushing for Nintendo to begin development for mobile phones, and I discussed that in an earlier post (which you can find here). Well, after the conference  Japanese newspaper Nikkei asked Iwata about that very possibility, to which his response was "Absolutely not". His response in full is below:

"This is absolutely not under consideration. If we did this, Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo. Having a hardware development team in-house is a major strength. It's the duty of management to make use of those strengths. It's probably the correct decision in the sense that the moment we started to release games on smartphones we'd make profits. However, I believe my responsibility is not to short term profits, but to Nintendo's mid and long term competitive strength."


Iwata is certainly a breath of fresh air, and a reason to stand by the company even if you aren't a fan of Nintendo and their products. His complete and unwavering conviction in the 3DS and what Nintendo stands for shows he knows what he is doing, and that he is without a doubt the right man to be Nintendo's CEO in these trying times. In fact, he even took a fifty percent pay cut in support of the system. With all the greedy CEOs these days, if that doesn't give you his support I honestly don't know what will.

Of course, the system's success is still in doubt. The two main issues that really held back sales after launch were lacks of games and too high of a price, and with one (price) of those already fixed and the other (lack of games) soon to be fixed, we'll soon find out if the 3DS can be as successful as Nintendo has been hoping that it would be.

CCL Group Stages Round 3

The third round of the group stages of the CONCACAF Champions League begin today. You can view the matches between the Galaxy and Morelia and the Rapids and Santos toccurring tonight, here. Likewise for the matches tomorrow for the Sounders, FC Dallas, and Toronto FC. Expect me to post the occasional update on Twitter about the matches, and I'll post scores and match summaries here later.

Morelia [2-1] LA Galaxy (Highlights)
After a fairly even first half that saw Morelia with the majority of the possession and the Galaxy with the best of the chances, the match broke wide open in the second half. The Galaxy struck first in the fifty second minute, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane linking up, Keane smashing the ball past the Morelia goalkeeper. Morelia maintained massive pressure, and finally broke through the Galaxy's defense in the eighty third minute, Saunders mishandling a shot and the ball just trickling over the goal line. Morelia sealed the victory in stoppage time, on a header direct from a corner.

Colorado Rapids [1-4] Santos Laguna (Highlights)
From the start the Rapids didn't have much of a chance. Santos struck early in the fourteenth minute, and then doubled their advantage thirteen minutes later. Heading into the second half it had seemed that the Rapids had begun to get a grip on the game, but what grip they had quickly slipped away as Santos re-asserted their dominance on the match, scoring their third goal at the hands of some sloppy defending on a long ball over the top in the sixty fourth minute. Just seven minutes after that Santos added their fourth. The Rapids managed to get a foothold in the match through a goal by second half substitute Mullen, but ultimately they just couldn't claw their way back.

FC Dallas [1-1] Tauro (Highlights)
After getting an early lead on a Danny Cruz goal (the earliest in tournament history at twenty three seconds), the two sides played a fairly even match. A penalty in the forty first minute for the visitors proved to be the deciding moment of them game, Luis Moreno stepping up and converting the penalty. Into the second half, each side continued to pursue a second goal but ultimately couldn't find one.

Pumas UNAM [4-0] Toronto FC (Highlights)
Toronto came out incredibly flat against the Mexican side, conceding four goals in the first half. They managed to hold of any other attempt on goal in the second half, but unfortunately could not make up any ground.


CS Herediano [1-2] Seattle Sounders FC (Highlights)
Read recap here

Other Matches

• Real Espana [1-2] Isidro Metapan (Highlights) (Notably, Metapan get their first ever road win in the tournament, their record now 1-0-7)
• Communicaciones [1-0] Monterrey (Highlights) (The defending champs drop their second in a row)
• Montagua [2-4] Alajuelense (Highlights) (Alajuelense now move into a three way tie with the LA Galaxy and Morelia for first on points)

The MLS MVP Race

The 2011 season of Major League Soccer is just weeks away from concluding, and much like the Supporter's Shield, the race for league MVP is a close and highly contested one. The two primary candidates at this point are Mauro Rosales of the Sounders and Brek Shea of FC Dallas. There are certainly numerous other contenders, Landon Donovan and Brad Davis included, but the sheer impact and importance that both Shea and Rosales have held for their teams in the face of devastating losses of key players to injury is what really makes them shine. Way back in April in just the second minute of the Sounders' match against the Rapids at Dicks Sporting Goods Park Zakuani had his leg broken in two different places by a ill-timed and malicious tackle by Brian Mullen. Only a week later FC Dallas found themselves in the exact same situation, losing Ferreira to a broken ankle as a result of a reckless challenge by Vancouver's Jonathan Leathers. At the time it looked like the loss of such key players for the Sounders and FC Dallas would surely have a negative impact on each team's season. Thanks to Shea and Rosales, that wasn't to be.

Shea picked up the slack once Ferriera got sidelined, and much the same Rosales became the catalyst in the Sounders attack in the absence of Steve Zakuani. Prior to the Ferreira injury, Shea was primarily utilized as a defender, but once the injury happened Shea was placed in the midfield and encouraged to get forward and attack by Schellas Hyndman and that move has certainly paid dividends for FC Dallas. Shea is currently sitting on ten goals (double his output from last season), and three assists (just one below his total number from last season). Seeing his offensive capabilities, I doubt that Shea will see any more play time in the defense after this breakthrough season. Much in the same manner as Ferreira, leading up to his injury Zakuani was leading the Sounders along with O'Brian White (who is also currently out with a leg injury) with two goals and two assists. Alvaro Fernandez has filled in on the left wing providing a goal scoring threat in Zakuani's place (currently second in goals scored for the Sounders at 6), but the real story is Mauro Rosales. The amount of heart and effort that he provides out on the pitch seemingly makes the entire team look better. And with that heart and effort, he has proven to be the offensive spark that the Sounders sorely needed early on in the season. So far Rosales has totaled five goals and a whopping ten assists (which has him tied with De Rosario for third overall in the league).

Both players stepped up and provided an offensive spark when their clubs needed it most, which is exactly why they're the front runners for the MVP award. While I have my bias for the Sounders, this will definitely be an agonizing decision to make.

Nintendo 3DS Conference Details

Yesterday Nintendo held a pre-Tokyo Game Show conference centered around the 3DS, and several major announcements were made, including a November 3DS system update (more details below), new games coming to the system, and concrete release dates for some of their upcoming titles. Following is a list and details of each announcement:

• New 3DS color: pink
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords DSiWare update: Will be released September 28th, will include two new levels with unlockable powers, a single player mode, and wireless multiplayer
• November system update: the 3DS will be enhanced with the ability to record 3D video, and the Mii Plaza 
• New games: Monster Hunter 3G, Monster Hunter 4, Fire Emblem, Mario Tennis, Dynasty Warriors
• Nintendo Release Date: Super Mario 3D Land (November 13th), Mario Kart 7 (December 4th)
• Slide Pad Expansion: After the conference, the slide pad expansion was officially announced. It will cost between $15-20, be powered by a single AAA battery, and be compatible with the following titles: Monster Hunter 3G, RE: Revelations, Kingdom Hearts 3D, MGS Snake Eater 3D, Dynasty Warriors, and Ace Combat 3D

Sounders Sign Bryan Meredith

Due to a recent recurring issue with concussions, the Sounders primary back-up goalkeeper Terry Boss has been declared done for the rest of the season. To fill that void, the Sounders have now signed Bryan Meredith.

Initially the Sounders chose Meredith with their fourth pick (picked 29th overall) in the SuperDraft, but couldn't ultimately sign the young keeper. Despite that, throughout the season Meredith and the club have remained connected, Meredith training with them on a regular basis. During that time, he was the starting keeper for Pete Fewing's Kitsap Pumas (and in fact started the USOC third round match between the two teams).

Headphones, Apple's One Lone Vulnerability

By now it is no secret that Apple's earbuds are atrocious. And this is puzzling considering how the tech giant has excelled in just about every other market that they have entered (personal computer, smart phone, digital media player, etc.). When it comes down to it, every single aspect about Apple's earbuds is absolutely awful. The fact that they come packaged with each iPod and iPhone means that they have to be cheap to a certain extent, but Apple goes way too far is ensuring how cheap they are. First of all, they are just plain uncomfortable to use for an extended period of time. The way the hard plastic earbuds sit in my ear starts to generate pain in about half and hour of use. Second of all is the sound quality. It's tinny and lacks any sort of overall warmth and any real bass.

Past how awful they are, the real crime with these earbuds are how expensive they are when purchased by themselves. Apple's earbuds clock in at an unbelievable thirty dollars. My current pair of JVC Marshmallow's cost me half that, and their quality is easily double or even triple that of Apple's earbuds. Certainly you pay a premium over the competition on Apple's products for the superior quality, but when it comes to earbuds you pay a premium only for the brand image. I love Apple to death, but that is just wrong.

What are your thoughts?

Another Attacking Player Lost

Yet another key attacking player in Major League Soccer has been lost due to a reckless and late challenge. First it was Steve Zakuani with his leg broken in two places, then it was David Ferreira with a broken ankle, and after that it was Javier Morales with another broken ankle. Chris Pontius now joins the club, having had his right tibia fractured as a result of a challenge by Chivas USA defender David Junior Lopez. This certainly put a damper on an otherwise fantastic night for DC United, Charlie Davies exploding back into action with a hat trick, the now injured Pontius assisting on each goal. The loss of Pontius seriously hurts United's play off hopes, but the good news is that it was late in the season rather than early like the three other injuries.

This was seen a major problem that needed to be dealt with earlier in the season, and after having quieted down, it's now back in the spotlight. I don't think any other season has seen as many possible season-ending injuries on such key attacking players, and it's pretty baffling as to the sudden surge in these injuries. One thing is certain, though. Players really need consider the challenge that they are about to make, how late or possibly reckless it could be, and as a result the possibility that they could injure the other player.

Around the Rest of the League - Week 26

Sporting Kansas City [3 - 0] Houston Dynamo

After faltering against the Sounders and FC Dallas, Sporting Kansas are continuing their push for the play-offs and advancement up the eastern conference. Teal Bunbury netted a brace and CJ Sapong contributed a goal of his own in the routing of the Dynamo.

Prediction: Correct

Columbus Crew [2-4] Toronto FC:

The 6-2 loss at Seattle was clearly a warning sign to Columbus. Now they've conceded ten goals in the last two games thanks to poor communication and structure in the back line. Nick Soolsma started off the scoring for Toronto, followed by Ryan Johnson towards the end of the first half. Columbus cut the lead in half through Tommy Heinemann in the 67th, Julian De Guzman nullified that goal in the 83rd, Andres Mendoza made the game close again in the 87th, but Danny Koevremans finally put the game to rest with TFC's fourth goal in the 92nd.

Prediction: N/A

New York Red Bulls [1-1] Vancouver Whitecaps:

Vancouver looked the stronger team in the first half, getting a goal through the brilliant play of Camilo and Chumiento. Jan Gunnar Solli was given a straight red in stoppage time at the end of the first half, leaving New York down a man for the entire second half. Despite that disadvantage, substitute Juan Agudelo managed to find an equalizing goal.

Prediction: Wrong

New England Revolution [2-0] FC Dallas:

FC Dallas were by far the favorites in this match, but the Revolution clearly weren't to be counted out. An early goal by Shalrie Joseph and a late insurance goal by Raiko Lekic gave them the victory over one of the league's top teams.

Prediction: Wrong

Chivas USA [0-3] DC United

Lately Charlie Davies has been in a bit of a slump, plagued by injury and the inability to have any sort of major impact in a match. Davies redeemed himself tonight at the Home Depot Center, netting a hat trick. Chris Pontius more than doubled his assists for the season in the process, assisting each and every one of Davies' goals.

Prediction: N/A

San Jose Earthquakes [2-0] Chicago Fire

The Earthquakes finally managed to end their thirteen game winless run, getting their first win since June eleventh. Chris Wondolowski provided the match's first goal, and nearly provided a second from the penalty spot, but his attempt was saved by Sean Johnson. Ramiro Corales provided the match's second and last goal.

Prediction: N/A

Insanity And Bad Fortune At Century Link

A wild first half that saw an own goal by Kasey Keller, a missed penalty kick by the Sounders, and a red card to both teams (one justified and one not) was a sign of how the match would ultimately turn out for the Sounders.

Real Salt Lake got on the board early, through the aforementioned Keller own goal. Fabian Espindola sent in a cross to the far post where Alvaro Saborio was waiting. Keller attempted to deal with the ball and scoop into the side netting, but instead scooped it right into the goal. Then came the missed penalty kick in the sixteenth minute, Mike Fucito getting taken down by Robbie Russel as he was making his way onto the ball into the penalty area. Mauro Rosales stepped up to the spot, and made Nick Rimando go the wrong way, but had the extreme misfortune to slide the ball just wide of the post.

The pair of red cards came within just five minutes of each other, in the thirty ninth and thirty fifth minutes. First, RSL's Tony Beltran committed a hard and late challenge on Rosales which gave him a second yellow and the ejection. The second came at the other end of the field, as Alvaro Saborio was going one on one with Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Hurtado got the ball, but as he was advancing up the field Saborio kept at it causing Hurtado to hold up his arm to hold the striker off. Saborio capitalized on this motion, acting as if he had been stricken in the face. The ref took the bait hook line and sinker and sent Hurtado off.

Despite everything in the first half just not going their way, the Sounders were able to equalize in stoppage time heading into half time. Rosales played a brilliant one-two with Montero, got the end line and lobbed the ball into the center of the box where Montero gathered it up and fired it straight into the roof of the net over Rimando.

Into the second half the Sounders were able to keep pressuring RSL, ultimately getting sixty six percent of the possession and nineteen total shots to RSL's ten, but they just couldn't break through. To add to the frustration, RSL was able to tally another goal through Saborio completely against the run of play. The Sounders best opportunity to equalize the match once again came in the sixty nineth minute. Tyson Wahl received the ball off of one of the Sounders' many corner kicks and fired the ball towards the goal, but Rimando was there, miraculously keeping the ball out with his face.

Next up the Sounders head down to Costa Rica, to face Leo Gonzalez's former club Herediano in CONCACAF Champions League play.

MLS Week 26 Predictions

Friday, September 9th
LA Galaxy - Colorado Rapids: This is one of the weekend's matches to watch. If the Galaxy fails to win and the Sounders manage to win their own match against RSL, their grip on the number one position on the western conference and the league overall will slip even further. And a win for the Galaxy will definitely be well deserved, as the Rapids have proven themselves as true contenders for the MLS Cup. I have a difficult time picking sides in this one, so I'll settle with a tie.

Saturday, September 10th
Seattle Sounders FC - Real Salt Lake: Along with the match-up between LA and Colorado, this is one of the weekend's most important games to watch. The Sounders are looking to continue to make up ground on LA in the race for the Supporter's Shield, and so is RSL. This is a match that the Sounders must win, and seeing their white hot August they're definitely the favorites to win this one. Especially with RSL's recent road woes, with the exception of the win at the Home Depot Center against a struggling and inconsistent Chivas. My vote is with the Sounders.

Sporting Kansas City - Houston Dynamo: Recently Sporting Kansas has had issues when it came to closing out matches, allowing both the Sounders and FC Dallas to make late stoppage time comebacks to win the match. While they have issues closing out matches late, they've also developed a habit of making their own late comebacks as well, the latest and perhaps greatest coming against the league-leading LA Galaxy last Monday. SKC has certainly proven that they have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the league's best, and past those two losses against the Sounders and FC Dallas they are unbeaten at home. I honestly don't believe that Houston will be any real threat, especially with the return of Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury.

New York Red Bulls - Vancouver Whitecaps: While New York has fallen out of favor in the playoff race lately, they look primed to make or at least attempt one final push with the possible return of Luke Rodgers this weekend. Past that, the Whitecaps are honestly no real threat on the road. Up until this point, the Whitecaps have a 0-10-4 record on the road. That isn't about to change this weekend.

Philadelphia Union - Portland Timbers: The Union has become stuck in somewhat of a rut, having gone winless in the last seven matches. They have certainly shown signs of life, however, in their midweek match against the New England Revolution. Entering the second half the Union was shockingly down 4-1 to the Revolution, but they managed to claw their way back thanks to Freddy Adu's first MLS goal since 2007 and a two goal effort by Sebastian Le Toux. The Timbers have been the third worst this season on the road, and the Union remains at large at home. The Union should be able to get the victory.

New England Revolution - FC Dallas: New England's mediocrity was really put on display on their midweek match against the Union. They were up 4-1 heading into the second half, and due to a mentality of simply defending and holding on for dear life their unsurprisingly choked up the three goal lead. This is an easy prediction in all honesty, FC Dallas has the win without any shred of a doubt.

3DS Analogue Stick Peripheral Revealed

This morning through Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu it was revealed that Nintendo will indeed be releasing a peripheral to add a second circle pad onto the 3DS. This was later strengthened and verified as true by a Nintendo UK official in the following statement: 

We can confirm that Nintendo does plan to release the attachment but that any further announcements on the attachment will be made at some later time by Nintendo. 

Looks incredibly ugly doesn't it? Adding a couple centimeters in overall thickness to the system, this thing certainly seems like it's stripping the 3DS of being a portable. Apparently the device is supposed to tie in with a release of the popular Monster Hunter series on the 3DS. With that knowledge it certainly seems that Nintendo is desperately catering to third party developers, I certainly couldn't imagine any other games utilizing this abomination. What are your thoughts?

Album Review in Brief - In The Mountain In The Cloud

[5/5]

Portugal The Man is one of those bands to consistently release excellent music, and In The Mountain In The Coud is yet another excellent album. Some were concerned that the jump to a major label (Atlantic) would have a negative effect on their music, that the label would push them to make more conventional and mainstream music, and it's abundantly clear that they provided plenty of freedom in the creative process to preserve their sound and musical identity. With that in mind, ITMITC is fundamentally a further evolution of Portugal The Man's sound. If you've listened to Portugal. The Man you'll know that they never like to maintain a certain sound from album to album, they always like to change it up. ITMITC is the same in that regard, this time around seeing a noticeable slight increase in the use of electronics. Highlights of the album include Got It All (This Can't Living Now) which feels quite reminiscent of Satanic Satanist, Share With Me The Sun with it's incredibly catchy chorus and sublim guitar work, and the album's closing track Sleep Forever which is perhaps one of the best tracks that Portugal. The Man has ever recorded, as such the song's only conceivable flaw is the fact that it has to come to an end. While there was little doubt before, with ITMITC Portugal. The Man have absolutely proven themselves to be one of the best indie bands that I have had the pleasure of listening to. As a testament to that fact, I swear every time I listen to In The Mountain In The Cloud I get hooked into listening to it over and over again, it's undeniably addictive.

Top Picks: So American, Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now), Share With Me The Sun, Sleep Forever