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.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
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.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
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
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?
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.
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.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
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
Chivas USA [0-0] Philadelphia Union
Prediction: N/A
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Sounders Depth Shines
Due to the massive line-up changes (six were made in total over the one that faced the Whitecaps), the Sounders started off the first half noticeably unsteady and out of sorts. New England took advantage of the situation and applied constant pressure to the Sounders, creating one dangerous situation after another including a goal that was unjustly called back for offsides. Unsurprisingly, they were the first to strike. Benny Feilhaber swung a corner kick into the box in the thirty fifth minute, right to an un-marked Diego Fegundez who headed the ball in off of the crossbar. Sadly for New England, they only held the lead for a minute and a half. Fredy Montero fed on a defensive error by Ryan Cochrane and cooly knocking the ball in past Matt Reis.
The break clearly did the Sounders much good, as they looked much sharper and more organized as the second half began. It didn't take them long to claim the lead. In the forty seventh, a blocked shot by David Estrada fell to Nate Jaqua who chested the ball down for Montero who easily toe-poked it in past Reis. Ten minutes later the Columbian nearly had a hat trick, heading a Tyson Wahl cross, but Reis was there just barely keeping the ball out of the goal. The Revolution desperately searched for an equalizing goal, but could not find one before the final whistle.
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