Here's our game story from the Sunday paper.

Here's a story from Vancouver writer Jim Jamieson in the Provence, who was clearly impressed with Seattle's soccer potential.

And here's our running blog from last night:

The crowd was announced at 47,052. Most of them have to be going away satisfied. Brazil got the win. Canada had to have been encouraged. And this was an open game with lots of individual flair. The beautiful game, indeed.

I will say this: from what I saw of Mexico here in April, from what I saw from Canada here tonight, and from what I've seen of the USA on television, the U.S. looks to me like North America's third-best side.

A few postgame quotes:

de Guzman on his horrible pass that set up Brazil's winning goal:
Last minute, I changed and decided to pass to (keeper Pat Onstad) and it didn't have enough pace on it and that's why it ended up on Robinho's foot.

Yeah, I felt really down. we had the momentum and everything going for us. i was pretty down after that.

On his goal:
It was a loose ball in front of the 18-yard area and i was able to get to it first. i'm not a goal scorer, but i don't know what happens for canada.

Brazil coach Dunga
“No surprises. We knew Canada is a very disciplined team. They have two or three plays that they repeat to perfection. … It was a difficult game and a good test; good (World Cup qualifying) preparation for Brazil.”

((Running comments))
63rd minute: De Guzman went from hero to goat in the blink of an eye. He just sent a back pass way past his defense and onto the foot of Brazil's Robinho, who finished a one-on-one past Onstad.

56th minute: Julian de Guzman just ran onto a loose ball just outside the penalty area and fired a sizzling shot into the back of the net. Really wonderful game playing out here.

Halftime: Very entertaining game. Lots of individual skill on display, and both teams pushing forward fearlessly.

45th minute: Luis Fabiano headed a shot into Canadian keeper Pat Onstad. Onstad got plenty of contact with the ball, but he fell backward at the goal and the ball fell beyond his reach just across the goal line.

10th minute: Canada draws even, 1-1, as Rob Friend gets past the Brazil defense and outjumps keeper Julio Cesar for a header into the open goal.

5th minute: Brazil 1-0, on Diego goal to the right corner after a brilliant run into the box and pass from Robinho.

Lineups released:
Brazil: GK Cesar; defenders Gilberto, Maicon, Juan, Lucio; midfield, Josue, Diego, Baptista, Mineiro; forwards Fabiano, Robinho.
Canada: GK Onstad; defenders Klukowski, Hastings, Stalteri, Serious; midfield, Nakajima-Farran, Hutchinson, De Rosario, de Guzman; forwards Friend, Radzinski.

6:25 -- Let's just say that downtown Seattle has not been turned into Rio at carnival. Lots of yellow jerseys, but no where near the party atmosphere -- so far -- the led up to the Mexico-China match.

5:15 -- I'll just keep updating this as a running blog from the game.

I'm here pretty early, neatly threading it between the end of the Mariners traffic and the start of the soccer traffic.

I just passed a little time stopping by the fan shop, and they do have all the items linked to down below. I will say that the blue jersey-like T-shirt looks much better in person than on the web site.

Also, not surprisingly, there is a ton of Brazil (Brasil) merchandise on sale, and only a sprinkling of Canada-wear.

Most unfortunately, there is no fan fest in the north parking lot -- as there such a great atmosphere out there for the Mexico game. However, I'm going to take a shot that there might be some revalry over at Pioneer Square.

The first wave of Sounders FC merchandise is now available online.

I've also been told that some or all of these items will be available at the Qwest Field fan shop in time for tonight's Brazil-Canada match.

As of now, it does not appear that the recently unveiled green jersey is available. And the only jersey-styled T-shirt is blue, which may or may not say something about the next kit to be revealed. But I hope not. While the Sounders' green is a very distinct green, their blue is a pretty basic right-out-of-the-crayon-box bland blue. I hope it's used only as an accent color.

Brazil and Canada each got some training time Friday on the real grass field brought into Qwest Field for their friendly at 7:30 tonight.

Advance ticket sales are reported up to around 43,000, meaning there should be good tickets available for anyone wanting to walk up.

Here's my story from the Saturday paper, and here are some good notes on the match from the Sounders FC Web site.

And here's a bit of what we heard in some of the interviews leading up to the match.

Canada midfielder Dwayne De Rosario on playing Brazil:
"I think if you're in awe, you'll be in a little bit of trouble. You have to go out there of course respecting Brazil, respecting their talent, respecting their creativity. But in the same sense, you have to go out there and play and prove what you can bring to the table. At the end of the day, they're professionals and you're professionals."

Brazil keeper Julio Cesar on the world's No. 2 team being ready to face the No. 62 team:
"The Brazil national team, every time we play, we have the expectation to win. The expectations are always high."

Though technically a friendly, both sides say the match holds serious meaning as preparation for 2010 World Cup qualifying and the Summer Olympics.

"It's a friendly to put it nicely, but the players know it's going to be a battle," De Rosario said. "It's a game that both teams want to win. I think Brazil is looking to just go and spank a team, which will build their confidence to prepare for their World Cup qualifier. (For us) it would be nice to get a win, say you beat Brazil, and build our confidence for our World Cup qualifier coming up in June."

The Brazil coach, Dunga, confirmed that he would try to balance the goals of preparing his team for the 2010 World Cup qualifying schedule, while also hoping to work in some younger players for the Olympics in August.

"The matter at hand is the (World Cup) qualifying," he said (through translator Bob Sutton). "But at the same time, if the opportunity if given, we can put in some players to prepare for the Olympic Games as well and decide who will go to the Olympics. … The main goal is to prepare the main team. The side goal is to prepare for the Olympics."

For more than 40,000 fans, the goal is just to enjoy the beautiful game played by the nation that has come as close as possible to perfecting it.

This is Brazil's second-ever appearance in Seattle, and first since 1976, when the national side met a team of all stars from the North American Soccer League.

One last reminder that the Tacoma Tide has moved its game against Spokane to 2:05 p.m. Saturday at Curtis High School.

The previously scheduled evening kickoff was scrapped to allow fans to avoid a conflict with the Brazil-Canada friendly at Qwest Field, which starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

FC Barcelona's MLS-organized tours of the U.S. will begin this summer with games in Chicago and New York.

Sounders FC has informed MLS that it would like Barcelona brought to Seattle at some point during the five-year partnership, but if that happens, it will be further down the line.

Here's is the announced schedule for the Spanish club that has 18 La Liga trophies, a record-setting 24 Copa del Rey championships and two UEFA Champions League titles:

Sunday, Aug. 3 vs. Chivas de Guadalajara of Mexico at Chicago’s Soldier Field (4 p.m. PT).

Wednesday, Aug. 6 vs. New York Red Bulls of MLS at Giants Stadium (4 p.m. PT).

Tickets to the general public will be available starting Sunday, June 8, for the Chicago game. Packages for the New York match will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, June 3rd at 2 pm PT. Further details of ticket offerings will be announced by the respective MLS club and the club Web sites.

More info is available at the MLSnet.com Web site.

The Brazilian National Team arrived today in Seattle to begin preparations for their Saturday night match against Canada at Qwest Field. The Canadian team arrived at the start of the week.

About 37,000 seats have been sold, maning there are lots of good ones left. (Ticket information is available at www.soundersfc.com. Perhaps there will be a big walk-up Saturday with fans driving down from Canada.

There will be some media events Friday, and I'll post here again after those.

After the game, Brazil moves on to Foxboro, Mass., where they will meet Venezuela on Friday, June 6.

With all of our talk about the Sounders FC jersey and jersey sponsor, I don't think we've discussed this, an artists conception of the home pitch, with 40,000 seats covered, in effect, with a billboard. However, in fairness, a pretty cool-looking billboard.

I've been to a few of the soccer-specific stadiums -- Columbus, Dallas and L.A. -- and I love them. However, I also think that Qwest can be a very good MLS home, and I think the idea of covering the seats is a good one.

And probably better than the New England Revolution's NFL-styled home, which I carefully studied on TV today. Unlike the Qwest configuration, Gillette Stadium blocked off some of the lower end zone, and that created a very notable and ugly sea of blue. And there's a large gap in the other end zone, also working against an intimate atmosphere. And finally -- and also unlike the Qwest configuration -- Gillette sells some seats in a middle section that is above the lower bowl, but below the upper deck. Once again, the effect was to spread out the fans and diluting the shoulder-to-shoulder in-stadium intensity.

(And speaking of Qwest, I noticed at the FC-Xbox event Wendesday that a real grass field has been brought in for the Brazil-Canada game on Saturday. And while real grass is nice, there were some notable brown spots dotting this one.)

Washington Youth Soccer stages its men's and women's under-19 State Cup tournament all in one shot this weekend at Washington Premier Football Club's fields on River Road between Tacoma and Puyallup.

Matches kick off at 6 and 8 p.m. Friday and at 10 a.m., noon, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday. The semifinals are at noon and 2 p.m. Sunday, with the finals set for 6:30 p.m. Monday.

These are best teams in the state at the highest age group in youth soccer. Winners will represent Washington at the Region IV tournament next month in Hawaii, with the winners there moving on to nationals.

Seattle Sounders FC promised an announcement of global impact. And while that might have been a bit of an oversell, FC's announcement of a marketing partnership with Microsoft -- most notably a jersey sponsorship with Xbox 360 Live -- has turned out to be an annoucement of at least global note.

Here's my story in The News Tribune (with a couple of very good photos).

Here's columnist Dave Boling's take.

Here's a story from USA Today. A version from The Canadian Press. A mention from Reuters UK. And an AP story carried by the International Herald-Tribune in France.

Some very distinct takes were offered by The Game Guy from St. Louis Today, and the news also drew note from Next Generation, a site dedicated to interactive entertainment.

OK, now we've seen one Sounders FC jersey. What do you think?

And -- while cooling our heels until November when we get to see the rest -- what are you still hoping for?

Should that green jersey be complemented with green shorts? Or white? Or blue?

The Sounders wouldn't even tell me today if that was the home jersey or the road jersey. (They apparently haven't even decided if there will be an alternate third kit.) But regardless, what would you like the other kit to look like? All white? All blue? White top with blue or green shorts?

Here's some of what some of the folks were saying at Qwest Field as Sounders FC revealed their jersey and their jersey sponsor: Xbox 360 Live.

MAJORITY OWNER JOE ROTH
One of the things that is so helpful to me is that I came to this operation with no knowledge. And when you come to something with no knowledge you can make impossibly high standards. So the search for the city ended up in Seattle because it felt like the best place … and so when it came time to decide who to get as our naming partner, once again my standards are impossibly high – and I'm proud of it, and I think that's the basis on which this organization will succeed. Because we'll succeed not only by having a good team, but by our connection to this community.

The strength of this organization will be our connection to the community. So, in searching for that partner I heard people talking about who the best possible group would be for this community. So I of course said – just like everything else – let's go get them.

MICROSOFT'S ROBBIE BACH
We could have done this with some other club someplace else in the U.S. But we really wanted to do it here. We have 30,000-plus employees in the Puget Sound area. They are going to be passionate Sounders fans, and that's very exciting.

This is going to be a fabulous franchise. You have people who know what they're doing creating something. And so from the start we said great sport, growth opportunity, local connection and an ownership that I think will be the best. The Seahawks are the best – bar none – and the Sounders are going to be the best in the MLS.

You think of Xbox as our entertainment brand. And we think of it as a brand that connects with people who are gaming. Soccer is one of the largest franchises on Xbox, as well, so there's a logical connection with the product, so all of those things combined make it the right brand at Microsoft.

Random observations:

• Dull dull dull. No Landon = no threat.

• ESPN = England Soccer Propaganda Network. (Not sure where that comes from; my kid said it to me.) Somebody needs to remind John Harkes where he's really from.

• The Euro-based players clearly have no recent time together and did not click at all. This one is no huge deal or anything, but it is unfortunate that at least a few of them couldn't show a little spark against a middle-of-the-road collection of huffers and puffers like Ing-er-land.

Thoughts?

As indicated in the post below, Seattle Sounders FC today announced Microsoft's Xbox 360 Live as its jersey sponsor. The agreement runs for five years. Neither the Sounders nor Microsoft would discuss financial terms.

The inaugural FC kits were not revealed, and won't be until November. All we saw today was their lime green jersey, with the FC crest on the upper left chest and the words Xbox 360 LIVE in white lettering across the chest below. There are the familiar three thin addidas white stripes across both shoulders, an MLS patch on one sleeve and a U.S. flag patch on the other. There is thick wavy blue striping down the sides. (A look is available at www.soundersfc.com.

The Sounders wouldn't comment on the color of the pants that will go with the jersey, or on whether these are the home or road jerseys.

No FC merchandise is yet available at the Qwest Field fan shop. However, it will be on shelves Saturday in time for the Canada-Brazil game at Qwest Field.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft is paying $4 million per season over five seasons to promote its Xbox 360 LIVE game system on the Seattle Sounders FC soccer jersey.

The Major League Soccer franchise has called a media event at 11:30 this morning to "announce a partnership that will have global impact."

Majority owner Joe Roth, general manager Adrian Hanauer and Tod Leiweke of Paul Allen's Vulcan Sports & Entertainment will be there.

So will The News Tribune, and we'll report in after the press conference.

The Tacoma Tide is moving the kickoff of its Saturday match against the Spokane Spiders to 2:05 p.m. at Curtis High School.

The game was moved from the evening to avoid a conflict with the Brazil vs Canada match at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Qwest Field.

... apparently will be officially unveiled Wednesday.

However, a shot apparently showing part of the jersey was briefly displayed, and has since been removed from the www.goalseattle.com Web site.

If what the photo showed was correct, then I am pleased in at least one of my preferences: that the Sounders use green -- not blue -- as their primary color. Major League Soccer is full of teams using various shades of blue as their primary color. Rather than being just one more, I like the idea of FC joining the go-it-aloners of MLS, who are instantly recognizable by the uniqueness of their primary color: Columbus (yellow), Houston (orange), and to a degree D.C. (black). (Here is a look at existing MLS uniforms -- although I'm not sure I've seen that yellow-and-black Crew jersey in action.)

Otherwise, I'm a sucker for Newcastle-like vertical stripes, but those are notably absent from the leaked sneak peak Sounders uni ... which seems distinguished by color and badge, but with no indication of distinctive striping.

What remains fully unknown for now is the jersey sponsor -- which also is important to the overall look -- or any hint of road or alternate kits.

I'd be interested to hear from some of you about your favorite kits and what you're hoping for in the Sounders FC unis.

And finally, I spotted my first Sounders FC merchandize today at Soccer West in Federal Way: a plain white T-shirt with the new Sounders' green and blue Space Needle crest in the center.

You may have seen this one from Saturday night on your highlight show, but just in case, Goff's got it on his WaPost blog.

Of course, this is not the first time Becks has struck from inside his own half. There's this one v Wimbledon from some years back.

By giving its Members Association the power to fire the general manager, Seattle Sounders FC has changed forever the way that Northwest fans look at sports.

An unfortunate example is playing out right now, as the Seattle Mariners sink rapidly in the American League West ... and I find it impossible not to wonder what a Mariners' members association might do with general manager Bill Bavasi. (It also doesn't take much imagination to wonder what a Sonics fans' group with firing power might have done in years past with the general manager Wally Walker or even what Huskies fans might have done with UW athletic director Todd Turner.)

FC minority owner Drew Carey is best known as a comedian, and some of his ideas for the Major League Soccer franchise -- say, the Sounders FC Marching Band -- are just kind of goofy fun. But, his creation of a members association with real clout is groundbreaking idea -- at least for major league sports in this country. (Here are the basics from the Sounders FC Web site, and there is more in a blog post below.)

So imagine, once again, what fans of the Seattle Mariners might do if they were empowered to turn thumbs up or down on Bavasi.

As a practical matter, they would be unable to do anything right now. Members association rules give members the right to vote between every fourth season, or to force a vote annually when deemed necessary. But it's my understanding that in-season votes are never allowed.

But if the association had voted Bavasi out before this season, well, Adam Jones and George Sherrill might still be Mariners. And if they would have kept him on, this season might be playing out just as it has. Or perhaps Bavasi would feel more compelled to make a move, knowing that at the end of the season he would be answerable to the fans as well as to Mariners' ownership. At the very least, fans might find it easier to endure even the toughest season, knowing that some tangible action would be in their hands at the end of the season.

I made that general point to a Seattle FC executive at the Sounders FC Members Association announcement last week, and the official defended Bavasi. But that was sort of beside the point -- I am neither praising nor attacking Bavasi, I'm simply praising FC's courage in giving such power to their fans.

In fact, the FC exec's opinion that Bavasi deserves more time simply points up FC's courage. Because some day in the future, FC executives will have to face a fact that no executive of any major league sport in the U.S. has ever had to face before: It doesn't matter if he thinks his general manager deserves more time. The only opinion that will matter will be the opinion of the fans.

The Tacoma Tide and Seattle Sounders both got shutout victories Friday night: Tide, 5-0, over Ogden; and Sounders, 2-0, at Vancouver.

I dropped by for the first half of the Tide game, and it was one of those where they dominated possession and had all the chances. But they didn't break through until just before halftime, when the Outlaws defense blundered badly in one of those "You get it; no you get it" deals in front of their own goal, and Rory Agu finished nicely.

I also was impressed with the improvements the Tide has made in game presentation: the kids really seemed to like the Surf Dude mascot, there was a good selection of concessions and there were team T-shirts, jerseys and scarves for sale.

Then I hustled home and watched the Sounders on FSC from Vancouver. Seattle got both goals in the opening minutes and control the rest of the way.

The Tide continues its home stand tonight, hosting BYU at 7 p.m. at Curtis High School.

We got a few minutes with Dwayne De Rosario of the Canadian national team (and the MLS Houston Dynamo), who will be in Seattle next weekend when the Maple Leafs meet Brazil.

Like many soccer players, De Rosario grew up with Brazil as his favorite soccer team, and he said he and his teammates need to make sure they don't take the field in awe of those yellow jerseys.

He also said this game doesn't fully fit the term "friendly" because his team wants a result to climb in the world rankings, and that the team is clicking into a World Cup-qualifying mindset and is eager to see how they stack up against such a world power.

“In terms of my play, friendlies are a thing of the past," he said. "Teams go to get results. The thing about friendlies is that they still go against your world ranking. Any time you have a chance to play a country internationally, the main focus is getting the result because it helps your ranking. The better rank you are, the better off you are. It’s a friendly to put it nicely, but the players know it’s going to be a battle. It’s a game that both teams want to win. I think Brazil is looking to just go and spank a team, which will build their confidence to prepare for their World Cup qualifier. We’re going in there to get a result, to get a win. Most importantly, it would be nice to get a win, say you beat Brazil, and build our confidence for our World Cup qualifier coming up in June. As a professional athlete, it’s not going to be a friendly. There’s nothing that’s going to be friendly about that game until after it’s all said and done. On the field, it’s business. We want to represent Canada well, and they want to represent Brazil well.”

The Seattle Sounders make a rare live TV appearance at 8 p.m. from Swangard Stadium in Vancouver. It is Seattle’s second game of the season on FSC.

The game counts towards the Cascadia Cup standings. The current table has Portland three points ahead of Seattle with Vancouver yet to play a Cascadia Cup game.

Here are game notes from the Sounders:

· The Sounders announced Monday that they will host Juventus Primavera, the youth sector of Serie A giant, Juventus, June 12th at the Starfire Sports Complex.

· Josh Gardner was named USL Player of the Week for scoring two goals against Atlanta and dishing out one assist against Rochester.

· Youssouf Kante is questionable for Friday after suffering an ankle injury in Sunday’s match.

· Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar is still recovering from a sprained ankle he suffered a week ago. X-rays came back negative, but he is still questionable for Friday.

· Seattle scored four goals on Sunday night which matched their entire goal output for the season, thus far.

· The Sounders trained on grass fields, instead of turf, for the latter part of the week to prepare for the grass pitch of Swangard Stadium.

Don't forget, however, that the Tacoma Tide also are playing at home tonight.

The Canadian national team has released a list of 23 players traveling for the game against Brazil on Saturday, May 31 at Qwest Field.

The roster includes 15 players currently in Europe, including midfielder Julian de Guzman of Deportivo La Coruna, as well as six MLS players, including Houston Dynamo star midfielder Dwayne De Rosario.

Here's the roster:

GOALKEEPERS: Lars Hirschfeld (CFR Cluj/ROM), Pat Onstad (Houston Dynamo/USA), Greg Sutton (Toronto FC), Joshua Wagenaar (unattached)

DEFENDERS: Jim Brennan (Toronto FC), Adrian Cann (Vancouver Whitecaps), Marcel de Jong, (Roda JC/NED), Tam Nsaliwa (AEK Athens FC/GRE), André Hainault (Sparta Praha/CZE-on loan from FK SIAD Most), Ante Jazic (Los Angeles Galaxy/USA), Mike Klukowski (Club Brugge KV/BEL), Richard Hastings (Inverness CT/SCO)

MIDFIELDERS: Paul Stalteri (Fulham FC/ENG - on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Adrian Serioux (FC Dallas/USA), Issey Nakajima-Farran (FC Nordsjælland/DEN), Atiba Hutchinson (F.C. København/DEN), Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo/USA), Julian de Guzman (Deportivo La Coruna/SPA), Patrice Bernier, FC Kaiserslautern/GER)

FORWARDS: Rob Friend (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER), Ali Gerba (FC Ingolstadt/GER), Jaime Peters (Ipswich Town FC/ENG), Tomasz Radzinski (Skoda Xanthi/GRE)

COACH: Dale Mitchell

Brazil's roster was announced previously and can be found in a post below.

The Tacoma Tide starts a five-game homestand this weekend, meeting the Ogden Outlaws at 7 p.m. Friday ... and might even catch a break with the weather.

All home games at at Vikings Field at Curtis High School. And if you check the "Coming Events" part of this link to www.tacomafc.com, you'll see that there are special promotions for fans attending any of the five games.

On ESPN2.

An unnecessary reminder, I'm sure.

Good information on the Champions League championship match here.

Here's who Bob Bradley and Fabio Capello will choose from when we clash a week from Wednesday at Wembley Stadium:

United States

Goalkeepers: Dominic Cervi (Out of Contract), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Eddie Lewis (Derby County)

Forwards: Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nate Jaqua (Out of Contract), Eddie Johnson (Fulham), Josh Wolff (Out of Contract)

England (w*nkers)

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Chris Kirkland (Wigan)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Middlesbrough)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), David Bentley (Blackburn), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

I had noticed that Juventus Primavera was scheduled to stop at Portland to play the Timbers. And today, the Sounders announced that the developmental team from the famed Italian side also will visit Tukwila.

Here's the release:

The Seattle Sounders will face Juventus Primavera on June 12 at the Starfire Sports Complex at 7 p.m., it was announced today. Seattle is one of three stops for Juventus Primavera on a preseason tour of the United States.

“The Sounders organization is excited to bring another international friendly to Seattle this summer,” said Sounders general manager Bart Wiley. “Juventus Primavera will give our fans a chance to see the up and coming superstars of Serie A.”

Tickets for the Sounders’ exhibition match against Juventus Primavera, go on sale Thursday, May 22, at 10 a.m. Tickets are $15 in advance through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 206-628-0888. Tickets are $20 at the gate.

Group tickets (15 or more) are available by calling 206 381-7908. Group tickets are $13.

A squad of up-and-coming players for Juventus, its Primavera squad features four youth international players. Goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio and midfielders Fausto Rossi and Simone Esposito are all members of Italian Youth National Teams, while defender Yobie Bassaoule is a member of Burkina Faso's (Africa) U-21 National Team.

Several members of the Primavera team have suited up for Juventus' first team, which competes in the Serie A – the top tier of Italian professional soccer. Among those called up were defender Salvatore D'Elia, midfielder Luca Castiglia and forward Donato Bottone, who scored a goal in a friendly against Biellese earlier this season.

Juventus Primavera competes in Italy’s Campionato Primavera, a 42-team league comprised of top feeder teams from each of Italy’s Serie A and B clubs. Juventus Primavera finished in first place in the league’s Group A standings, and have moved on to the Youth League Finals.

In its 46-year history, Juventus' Primavera team has captured several titles in both league and nationwide competitions. Including the inaugural Primavera league title in 1962-63, Juventus has won four Primavera league championships (1962-63; 1971-72; 1993-94; 2005-06), three Primavera Italian Cups (1994-95; 2003-04; 2006-07) and back-to-back Primavera Super Cup titles in 2006 and 2007.

The Sounders next match is against the Vancouver Whitecaps, 7 p.m. Friday, May 23 at Swangard Stadium. The match can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel.

ABOUT JUVENTUS
Juventus was founded in 1897 by several students from a local school as Sport Club Juventus. It first joined the Italian Football Championship in 1900, and at the time, was known for its pink and black uniforms. In 1905, Juventus captured its first league title and since has become one of the most successful clubs in Italian soccer history and arguably throughout Europe. Recognized now by its trademark black-and-white striped jerseys, Juventus has won a total of 40 league championships – more than any other Italian club – and 11 European championships, including two UEFA Champions League titles.

The Seattle Sounders got a 4-2 win over Atlanta in USL first-division action Sunday at Starfire. Here is the report from their Web site.

On Saturday, the Tacoma Tide lost in Yakima. The Tide begins a five-game homestand this Friday at Curtis High School. Here is the info from their Web site.

The USL Seattle Sounders (1-1-3) will face the Atlanta Silverbacks (1-1-2( at 7 tonight at Starfire. (Shame it's not an afternoon games ... the weather is just about perfect out there.)

The team met earlier in Atlanta, with Seattle winning 2-0. The teams also memorably met last season, when Seattle beat the Silverbacks 4-0 for the USL first division championship.

Tickets are available for $15 at the gate.

GAME NOTES from the Sounders:

· All-Time Versus Atlanta: 5-2-2
Versus Atlanta in 2008: 1-0-0
Versus Atlanta in 2007: 2-0-1

· Nathan Knox played with the Sounders last season where he scored three times in 15 appearances during the club's 2007 championship run.

· Zach Scott’s goal Wednesday was the first in 190 minutes of play.

· Atlanta’s David Hayes and Ansu Toure were named to the USL-1 weekly Best 11 squad following the club’s 2-2 draw versus Carolina. Hayes scored the equalizer in the final minutes, and Toure tallied an assist.

INJURY REPORT
Seattle:
Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar (ankle) - Questionable

Atlanta (as of 5/18):
Mike Ambersley (knee) - Out for season
Mac Kandji (knee) - Probable
Chris Mahaffey (knee) - Probable
Warren Ukah (knee) - Out for season

Speaking before a happy crowd at Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub on Friday, Seattle Sounders FC minority owner Drew Carey announced the details of a members association with real clout.

The group -- made up of season ticket holders and others willing to pay a $125 membership fee -- will vote every four seasons on whether the team's general manager should be retained. There also is a way for association to force annual votes on the GM's status. Additionally, team ownership reserves the right to fire the general manager or call for a lack-of-confidence vote at any time.

The first vote is scheduled for November 2012. The team's inaugural general manager is longtime USL Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer.

Here are the basics from the Sounders FC Web site.

Carey said members also will decide issues such as whether the team should have a mascot or cheerleaders. And in his capacity as the association's chairman, Carey will preside over annual meetings -- the first of which is targeted for later this year.

From all indications, they should be fun meetings. Carey was a terrific host at Kells, signing posters and soccer balls and bantering with fans. (If he tires of the ample number of "Price is Right" jokes, he doesn't let it show.) He said that he considers himself more an FC fan than an FC owner, and that's how he came across.

He said he got the idea for the association from Barcelona -- his favorite European club, and he instantly wanted to bring the idea to the States.

The way to do that, he figured, was to get an MLS team. And there must be some pretty good bucks in comedy, because Carey said he could have handled the $30 million expansion fee, but not the investment that might have been needed for a soccer-specific stadium.

Eventually, he was put in touch with Joe Roth -- FC's majority owner. The two did lunch, ended up talking soccer for two hours, and the rest in history.

Carey said he believes the Members Association idea could catch on with other franchises. And he clearly seems to hope it does. It's a way to invest fans in the soccer team's performance in a way that, say, Mariners fans, lack.

As he jokingly told the fans at Kells: "If you don't like they way the season goes, look in the mirror dude."

A few other notes from the gathering:

*No Sounders FC merchandise is expected in stores until November.

*Carey said "Emerald City Greens" was never on the table as a serious name. He also said that if there hadn't been such passion for the name "Sounders," his own vote would have gone to a traditional name such as Seattle FC or Seattle United.

*About 25,000 tickets have been sold for the Brazil-Canada game at the end of the month. Sounders officials are expecting a bump now that the star-studded Brazil roster has been announced. (See post below.)

* FC officials also said MLS knows that Qwest Field would like to host an FCBarcelona game (see other post below). Also, they would like to see Qwest follow Toronto's lead and host the MLS All-Star game, perhaps as soon as 2010.

No Ronaldinho, but everybody else is coming, including the recalled Adriano.

The team:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (AS Roma), Diego Alves (Almeria).

Defenders: Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Maicon (Inter Milan), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Kleber (Santos), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Alex (Chelsea), Juan (AS Roma), Luisao (Benfica).

Midfielders: Elano (Manchester City), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Mineiro (Hertha Berlin), Josue (VfL Wolfsburg), Anderson (Manchester United), Diego (Werder Bremen), Kaka (AC Milan).

Forwards: Adriano (Sao Paulo), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Julio Baptista (Real Madrid), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Rafael Sobis (Real Betis), Robinho (Real Madrid).

The BC Place stadium in downtown Vancouver is getting a new roof -- a retractable one. That, along with other stadium improvements, could lure the existing Vancouver Whitecaps and could move the Canadian city even higher up the MLS expansion radar screen.

It seems that could only be good news for Sounders FC, which is on record as want one -- or two -- Northwest rivals.

There should be more details later today, but here's a good overview from The Provence newspaper.

Major League Soccer has announced a five-year agreement with FC Barcelona, which will include six international matches over the life of the agreement.

Here's the announcement from MLS.

Sounders FC part owner Drew Carey will be at Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub at 4 p.m. Friday to discuss details of the team's supporters club.

Another of Carey's ideas that is moving forward is the Sounders FC Marching Band.

Rochester ended its 450-minute scoreless streak just in time to get a 1-1 draw with the Sounders last night.

The game drew fewer than 2,000 fans to the Starfire Sports Complex.

Here's the Sounders' game report.

Peerless prognosticators: Time to pony up with your pick for next Wednesday's big cup final. What do you say: Red or Blue?

Manchester United and Chelsea have managed to dull down some of their more recent matchups, but we're guessing that won't be the case here.

Champions League finals usually provide a few thrills and chills – AC Milan v Juventus 0-0 in 2003 notwithstanding.

The 2006 final had that crazy Jens Lehmann sendoff. The 2005 final had Liverpool's miracle comeback in Istanbul. Zizzou won the 2002 final for Real Madrid with that sweet left-footed volley from the corner of the penalty area.

And of course, there was this, in 1999.

We say: Wayne Rooney, not having to worry about saving anything for that pesky European Championship tournament coming up next month, romps for a hat trick to bring the trophy home for United, 3-1.

The Seattle Sounders (1-1-2) meet the Rochester Rhinos tonight in a game that marks the Sounders move to their new home at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.

Starfire really isn't a half-bad place to watch a game, but one of the key reasons for the Sounders move is pure appearances. Sounders FC likes the symbolism of the minor league team playing in a minor league stadium, so that the appearance of the MLS team next season can be accompanied by a return to the major league stadium: Qwest Field.

I haven't been to Starfire yet this season, but 1,000 new bleacher seats have been installed on the south side of the pitch. Tickets are still available: $13 in advance and $15 at the gate. Kickoff is 7 p.m., but fans are encouraged to arrive early due to traffic and tricky parking.

Another change: The Rhinos are no longer Raging. Rochesters' highly successful USL team has traditionally gone by the "Raging Rhinos" nickname. But that's gone now: They are no longer raging ... and no longer scoring goals apparently. The team is still looking for its first goal of the season after games against Charleston, Minnesota, Portland, and Vancouver.

The Rhinos are ending a West Coast trip that has included a 0-0 draw in Portland and a 0-1 loss in Vancouver on Saturday night. The Sounders are coming off a scoreless draw against Portland.

“It’s difficult to play against a team that has yet to win their first game," coach Brian Schmetzer said through a Sounders press release. "Those teams are dangerous because they’re desperate; they work extra hard, and are more intense trying to get that win”, Schmetzer said. “I’m preparing my players for a battle.”

More notes from the Sounders:

· Saturday night’s opener drew over 10,000 people to Qwest Field. At 10,184, the game was the third largest attendance for a Sounders game at Qwest Field.

· Zach Scott was named to the USL team of the week after leading the Sounders backline to a shutout of Portland.

· Roger Levesque has been cleared to play after sitting out the last two games with an ankle sprain.

· Andre Schmid received a possible broken nose in training on Monday. He will be available for Wednesday’s match.

· (Tonight marks) Rochester’s last of five away games to start the season. Their home opener is Saturday night against Charleston.

· Rochester goalkeeper Scott Vallow was named to the USL team of the week for allowing only one goal in the last two matches on the road.

The Philadelphia expansion team that will take the field in MLS in 2010 has hired its first two front office executives.

Here's a link to a story from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Tacoma Tide hasn't played a close game yet.

After being blown out 5-2 in their season opener at Spokane on Friday, they rolled over Cascade 4-0 in thier home-opener today at Curtis High School.

I had Mariners duty today, so I didn't get to see the Tide, but here's the report from their Web site: www.tacomafc.com.

Interesting and evenly played game, but not many real thrills.

Here's our story from the Sunday paper.

The best thing was the crowd: 10,184, and good enthusiasm by both team's supporters clubs.

Sounders are 1-1-2 on the season. The Timbers move to 3-0-2.

"Some of what Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer had to say:
They got what they wanted: They got their point. They didn’t even come out of their half, and it was embarrassing.

"We had our opportunity to get on top and get an early goal that would have forced them to come out. When we didn’t they were able to make little minor adjustments. We weren’t able to get the ball behind their back four with any quality. They just kept everybody back and it was hard for us to get any kind of traction."

Nice crowd here at Qwest ... early estimate of 9,000 or so. The usual good represenation of the Timbers Army is here, too.

The Sounders raised their USL Division 1 championship banner before the game.

Forward Roger Levesque is ouw with an ankle injury.

Seattle dominated possession and chances through the first half hour or so, but got nothing for it. The first 15-20 minutes were pretty aimless, with lots of unforced passing errors.

We're not going to be covering all of the USL Sounders games this season, but we're here for the home opener tonight ... and the only scheduled game this season played at Qwest Field, with the rest at Starfire in Tukwila.

There's already a fair crowd here, which has been watching some preliminary games. Now the field has been cleared and a few of the Sounders and Timbers are beginning to drift out onto the field.

We'll have a story in the Sunday paper, and I'll click in here as news breaks, with a halftime score, and then some final notes and quotes after the game.

Kickoff is 7 p.m., and plenty of good seats remain.

The Tacoma Tide opened its third season Friday with a 5-2 loss at Spokane ... actually, across the border at what sounds like a pretty odd pitch in Idaho.

The team will play its home opener Sunday at Curtis High School.

Info on both games is available at their www.tacomafc.com Web site.

We also had a short season preview in the Saturday paper.

The Tacoma Tide, of the USL Premier Development League, opens its season tonight in Spokane.

(We are currently working out the logistics of opening the blog up to a PR representative of the Tide, so that they can keep TNT readers informed on game results and other news from the local side.)

Then the Tide returns for its home opener Sunday afternoon at Curtis High School stadium.

We'll have a short preview of that game and the coming season in our Saturday newspaper. In the meanwhile, here's a link to the Tide's official Web site.

The USL Sounders and Timbers renew their rivalry at 7 p.m. Saturday at Qwest Field. But that will just tick us one game closer to its conclusion -- or at least pause from the end of this season until Portland's possible eventual entry into MLS. (Here's a link to my story about all this in the Friday paper.)

However, Sounders FC seems certain to head into its expansion season without a real rival that gets the blood boiling.

That could change in an instant. Sometimes something happens on the field that creates rivarlies that have nothing to do with geography.

But for now, here are five best guesses -- roughly in order -- for potential MLS rivals for Seattle Sounders FC:

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: The nearest MLS city to Seattle geographically. This season’s expansion team vs. next season’s expansion team. And a history dating to the days of the North American Soccer League.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY: The big media center down the coast with the high-profile David Beckham and ambitions of becoming the glamour team of North American soccer. “Beat L.A., beat L.A. …”

TORONTO FC: This assumes Canadian fans come down to Qwest Field for TFC games in the same way that they follow the Blue Jays to Mariners games at Safeco. Traveling fans are great for juicing up a rivalry.

NEW YORK RED BULLS: Their first name is “New York” and their nickname comes from an energy drink. How hard can it be to hate them?

COLORADO RAPIDS: Well, maybe. Seahawks-Broncos was a fierce rivalry. Sonics-Nuggets and Mariners-Rockies, not so much.

Seattle Sounders FC today announced its first player signing: forward Sebastien LeToux, who was last season's United Soccer League's first-division player of the year while playing for the USL Sounders.

LeToux will play with the USL Sounders again this season, on loan, before jumping to the Major League Soccer expansion team next season.

USL Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer speculated that from six to 10 members of the current Sounders could eventually sign with FC, but he said any other signings would likely come after the current USL season.

Reaction from LeToux:
I wanted to stay here. We did all the things that we could to get things settled because I really like my life here. … When I decide to stay it’s for everybody to play in the USL with me this year to keep the groove and prove to everybody that we can play in MLS together. (I’d like to bring all my teammates) with me to MLS.

Comment from Schmetzer:
"He’s a young man who came here, he wants to be here. He’s an exceptional soccer player. We’ve developed him on the USL level. Now he’s made the jump to Seattle Sounders FC. We hope to do that with six, eight, 10 of (the USL Sounders) and hopefully we can have a good nucleus of the team for ’09. ... If (other current Sounders) can be just a little bit more consistent and take care of themselves and train just a little bit differently, they’ll have the chance to play in MLS in ’09 as well. I think right now it’s a positive."

D.C. United announced Tuesday that Volkswagon will be their new shirt sponsor, and modeled their new jerseys.

About half of the teams in Major League Soccer now use shirt sponsors, and Seattle Sounders FC have made it clear that they want one too.

"That’s a big part of the business side of it," FC executive Gary Wright said. "It helps make everything else work. … It’s so prevalent all over the world, that I think the soccer purist, they understand."

Assuming so, any particular hopes for who FC eventually pairs with? Among the usual suspects, I kind of like the idea of Starbucks, since it's instantly recognizable with Seattle and the mermaid logo works with the nautical implications of the name "Sounders."

Two Sounders were honored by the United Soccer Leagues this week for their work in Seattle's nationally televised 2-0 win at Atlanta on Friday.

Here's the Sounders' release:

Seattle Sounders midfielder Leighton O’Brien and defender Taylor Graham were named to the USL team of the week following Seattle’s 2-0 win in Atlanta on Friday.

O’Brien, the 2003 league player of the year, scored in spectacular fashion in the eighth minute for the game’s first goal. The goal started with Josh Gardner creating a corner kick for the Sounders and O’Brien, stepping up for the corner, bent the ball directly in at the far post.

Taylor Graham anchored a backline that shutout the Atlanta Silverbacks for the fourth consecutive meeting. Winning challenges in the air and keeping the defense organized, Atlanta had few real chances at goal and took only three shots total.

Don’t forget, the Sounders home opener is Saturday at Qwest Field against their arch-rival and league leaders, the Portland Timbers!

The Guardian has a piece today that says the formerly high-flying Frenchman wants to remain with Barcelona.

"I still have three years left on my contract here and I will still be here next year," the London paper quoted him as saying.

Not sure if that clarifies the Henry-to-Sounders situation. For one thing, Barcelona looks likely to get a new manager -- Frank Rijkaard out, former Barca skipper Pep Guardiola in. For another, there was always the prospect that Henry's move to the States would be like Beckham's – after the close of the European season.

Another twist of the tail, at any rate.

Here's a link to our story in the Monday paper that takes a look at a timeline of major (and less major) decisions facing Sounders FC in their run-up to their first game in 2009.

However, of everything in there, it's this quote from FC general manager Adrian Hanauer that should get fans most excited: "... We expect to feel a competititve team from Day One. I will certainly feel that I have underperformed if we don't have an extremely competitive team from Day One."

That won't be easy. MLS has a history of fielding terrible expansion teams -- Salt Lake has never been any good, Toronto finished last in 2007, San Jose is off to a 1-3-1 start now. So, Sounders FC will be trying to buck the trend.

Still, Hanauer didn't seem to just be saying things. He seems to believe it. Like everyone else I've spoken to in the organization, who all seem to believe that this is going to be a first-class organization on the field and off.

I've always thought one of the small-but-significant tests regarding how seriously a community treats its soccer team is whether or not American football lines are allowed to mar the soccer pitch.

If that's a fair test, then there is good news ahead for Sounders FC fans. I recently spent some time with Gary Wright, who will be in charge of Seattle's new MLS team from the business side. And he sounds like he personally -- and the Sounders and Seahawks organizationally -- are determined to have the soccer team play on a pristine pitch.

"That is a definite thing that we are striving to make sure that does not happen," Wright said of football lines on the soccer field. "It has challenges, but that is one of the things that we’re working on. … That’s my preference, and what’s really nice is Tim Ruskell on the Seahawks football side: That was the first thing he said: 'You can’t play with our football lines on there. We have to make sure that it’s done right.'

"Well for a football guy to say you’ve got to make sure that it’s done right, that’s pretty neat and pretty cool. Our goal seriously is to never play a game with football lines on it. I would hate to see that happen. I’m as fervent about that as any longtime soccer person could be."

Wright admits that the challenge will increase from August to October, when the seasons overlap. The technology for removing the markings from FieldTurf isn't yet perfect ... especially for thicker lines or colored items like logos.

However, Wright had some very interesting things to say about future technology that could solve this problem entirely. And in the meanwhile, it's great to see that they're taking the issue as seriously as FC fans are likely to.

I got an email recently from a newcomer to the area having trouble making the right connections to hook onto a rec-league team (over 30, in his specific case) or even finding a welcoming pick-up game.

A section from his note:

It seems like there are leagues in the area but they all seem to be team-based, which is difficult to break into when you are new to the scene. Are there rec leagues open to new players in Tacoma? Good spots for pick up? Is all the action in Seattle?

Any insight would be great - thanks!

I figured there have got to be other folks also wondering the same thing, and I also figure that some of the readers of this blog have to have the answer or at least some good suggestions.

Got any?

That's the question that is being asked at the FIFA Web site.

And although there isn't much to the story itself, some of the fans' reactions are interesting.

Here's the link.

The Sounders concluded their season-opening three-game roadtrip by scoring a couple of odd goals in a 2-0 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks on Friday.

Leighton O’Brien got the first goal by sending a corner kick directly into the far corner. In the 65th minute, Sebastien LeToux apparently got a bit of foot on a long ball from Danny Jackson, which might have gone in even without the help.

The win pulls the Sounders even at 1-1-1 on the season, as they turn their attention to their home opener vs. rival Portland next Saturday (May 10) at Qwest Field.

Just a quick -- and late -- reminder that the USL match between the Seattle Sounders at Atlanta Silverbacks is on Fox Sports Channel today at 5 p.m.

Greg Howes of Tacoma has been selected most valuable player of the Major Indoor Soccer League for the third time.

Howes, 31, plays for the Milwaukee Wave.

Here's a full report from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Howes grew up in Tacoma, played collegiately at Oregon State, and has played for the USL Sounders.