One thing Sounders fans can look forward to on Saturday is their first look at Chicago Fire star Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

Blanco is the Fire's designated player, brought in at a cost of almost $3 million -- more than twice what the Sounders are paying Freddie Ljungberg.

And Sounders coach Sigi Schmid makes Blanco sound worth every penny, offering this brilliant description after Thursday training at Starfire.

“He’s a butterfly," Schmid said. "He floats around the field. He finds different spaces, different places. He doesn’t go anywhere real fast. But he gets to all parts of the field, touches all blades of grass on the field, and the moment you take your eye off of him for a second, he packs up, he’s 15-20 yards away from you. The thing that’s impressed me since he’s been here is I never knew his left foot was as good as it was. Watching him on TV, his left foot is very good. He’s very competent that way. If you get tight to him he knows how to use his body. If you’re after him he’s a good passer of the ball. So he’s a player that makes them more dangerous because he see’s those things. He’s insightful.”

Chicago forward Brian McBride today was named MLS player of the month for April.

McBride scored four goals in four games in helping the Fire to a 1-0-3 record.(And yes, he got my vote. No. 2 on my ballot was Casey Conner of Colorado, who had four goals in April, including a hat trick in the Rapids' 3-2 win at LA.)

McBride's selection means that the players of the month for the first two months of this MLS season will share the Toyota Field pitch Saturday as Seattle meets Chicago, because Sounders forward Fredy Montero won the award for March.

Here's the full release from the MLS website.

The Sounders have concluded their Thursday training ... all except for midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.

Ljungberg missed training again today, but is expected back this afternoon after taking a few days off to attend to his grandmother's funeral in Sweden. Coach Sigi Schmid said that Ljungberg will train when he reports in today, then will train with the team Friday morning and fly out with them Friday afternoon when they leave for Chicago.

Otherwise, Schmid also said all the other expected players should be ready to go too, even those who played extensively in Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup win over Real Salt Lake.

Chicago also had a mid-week game -- a 2-1 loss last night to Club America. And Schmid said that game -- obviously one day closer to the weekend -- could be a bit more of a factor. But any real significance could depend on how many regulars played for how long, or even how seriously they treated the game.

“With (the players) who played on Tuesday I think they’re fine," Schmid said. "Riley is pretty fit, so that probably looks good from his standpoint. And Zakuani, we’re trying to build his fitness, and I don’t think the 60 minutes that he played is going to affect him negatively in Chicago this weekend.”

“If (Chicago) wouldn’t have played last night, they would’ve practiced. It’s sort of the same thing for us; if we wouldn’t have played we would’ve trained. A game takes a little more out of you then training for sure, but it’s sort of the same thing, the situation. And different guys react to it better. Younger guys generally respond to that better than older guys.”

The Chicago Fire lost an international friendly to Club America tonight, 2-1.

Next up for the Fire will be Seattle Sounders FC, which visits at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Sounders had today off, but will return to practice Thursday.

I'll have updates and their first look ahead to the Fire once practice ends.

That's the take from this week's MSL power rankings, which put the Chicago Fire as the No. 2 team in the league, and the Sounders at No. 3.

Here's what they have to say about the Fire:

Over the final 12 minutes of their 2-2 draw with Kansas City two weeks ago and the first 85 minutes of their draw with Columbus on Saturday, the Fire could not have looked more out of sync on both ends of the pitch. Then, in a five-minute period, they erased all their troubles. Still, the Fire defense is not playing at the high level it did a season ago.

And the Sounders:

Sigi Schmid's move to swap Freddie Ljungberg's and Brad Evans' positions midway through Saturday's win over San Jose was just what Sounders FC needed to get their attack back in order. Ljungberg has always excelled as a wing player, and Seattle's offense is at its best attacking from the outside, then funneling the ball in the box.

And here are the full rankings.

The teams will meet at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. And depth could be an issue for both. Because while the Sounders won a U.S. Open Cup match Tuesday against Salt Lake, the Fire meets Club America in an international friendly tonight.

MLS announced this morning that the league all-stars will be Everton FC in the annual all-star game at 6:30 p.m. July 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, home of Real Salt Lake.

Everton is a historic side from the English Premier League and a current FA Cup finalist.

The game will be shown on ESPN2.

Obviously, there are several Sounders who could be in contention for all-star honors.

The MLS stars are 5-0 since the game's format was switched to feature a international club team as the featured opponent.

Here's the info from the MLS website.

Sounders win 4-1. (Here's my game story.) They will advance to meet the Colorado Rapids sometime (and somewhere) next month, with the winner advancing to the U.S. Open Cup round of 16.

After the game, coach Sigi Schmid was very happy with his depth. Naturally Sebastien Le Toux (two goals, two assists) got much of the attention. But Roger Levesque had three assists. And Schmid also said good things about Stephen King and Patrick Ianni and Sanna Nyassi.

He also said that the few guys who played Saturday against San Jose and a lot again tonight (mostly meaning James Riley and Steve Zakuani)will get some light days of training and will be available on Saturday at Chicago.

And speaking of training, of all the things that Schmid said about depth tonight -- and that's a key issue in the story I wrote for tomorrow -- here's what I found to be maybe the most interesting thing he said on the topic:

"The reason you want to have depth more than any other reason is you want to have good practices. The deeper you are, the more competitive practices are, and the more competitive practices are the better you’re going to be in games. If you just had 11 really good players and the other guys weren’t very much then you wouldn’t be a very good team. So it shows that we have that depth and that’s something I’ve very pleased with. It’s a long season and you need everybody."

Meanwhile, here's the take from a none-too-happy RSL coach Jason Kreis:

“Obviously, we are extremely disappointed with the result and the match. Tonight’s performance is a big letdown after Saturday’s win (a 6-0 victory over New England) back home.

“It’s important for everyone to remember that it is still a young season, we have several games left to accomplish our goals. Tonight we played a lot of guys that hadn’t had extensive minutes in their previous opportunities, and to be honest, tonight they didn’t make the most of this opportunity.

“So now we have to wipe this one from our mind as soon as possible – it’s over, and it is what it is … We have another game Saturday in Colorado, its a big rivalry, and it’ll be a fantastic opportunity to get back on track.”

The stats:

Scoring Summary:
SEA -- Sebastien Le Toux (penalty kick) 24
SEA -- Sanna Nyassi (Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque) 26
RSL -- Will Johnson (unassisted) 32
SEA -- Stephen King (Sebastien Le Toux, Roger Levesque) 53
SEA -- Sebastien Le Toux (Roger Levesque) 55

Real Salt Lake -- Chris Seitz, Tony Beltran, David Horst, Jamison Olave (Nat Borchers 46), Robbie Russell, Ned Grabavoy, Kyle Beckerman (Jean Alexandre 66), Andy Williams, Will Johnson (Raphael Cox 71), Robbie Findley, Luis Miguel Escalada (Yura Movsisyan 57).

Substitutes Not Used: Tino Nunez, Kyle Reynish, Chris Wingert.

TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Andy Williams 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Will Johnson 2); FOULS: 14 (Kyle Beckerman 3, Tony Beltran 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 4 (Andy Williams 2); SAVES: 4 (Chris Seitz 4)

Seattle Sounders -- Chris Eylander, James Riley, Taylor Graham, Tyson Wahl, Zach Scott, Sanna Nyassi (Evan Brown 72), Stephen King, Patrick Ianni, Steve Zakuani (Jarrod Smith 65), Roger Levesque, Sebastien Le Toux.

Substitutes Not Used: Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Nate Jaqua, Kasey Keller, Fredy Montero.

TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Sebastien Le Toux 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (3 tied with 2); FOULS: 12 (Patrick Ianni 3, James Riley 3); OFFSIDES: 2 (Sebastien Le Toux 1, Roger Levesque 1); CORNER KICKS: 4 (Sebastien Le Toux 4); SAVES: 2 (Chris Eylander 2)

Misconduct Summary:
SEA -- Patrick Ianni (caution; Reckless Tackle) 19
RSL -- Jamison Olave (caution; Handball) 41
SEA -- Sanna Nyassi (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 71

Referee: Landis Wiley
Referee's Assistants: -Mike Rottersman; Josh Wilkens
4th Official: Soo Hui Um
Attendance: 3,890
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Cloudy-and-53-degrees

=> Read more!

With no local TV or radio carrying tonight's Sounders-Real Salt Lake game, and with no more tickets available, I'm going to try fill a little bit of the void by increasing my normal in-game blogging.

I'm going to try to keep more of a running blog going with highlights as they happen. I hope that will help some of you to keep up with the game on a pretty-much real-time basis. And, as always, I also hope you'll hop in with your own comments.

Meanwhile, since you're going to be online anyway, you could also click over to Salt Lake station www.kall700sports.com/, which will be broadcasting game from the RSL point of view.

Kickoff -- and the blogging -- begins at 7 p.m. from Starfire Sports Stadium.

The Sounders and Real Salt Lake meet tonight in a play-in game for the U.S. Open Cup (7 p.m., Starfire, sold out, no local broadcast). Or is it just that a bunch of reserves in Sounders and RSL kits?

I love US Open Cup -- the whole idea of opening the tournament to all levels of the sport is just one of the great things about soccer. However, the US Open Cup is no FA Cup. Especially for MLS teams, who have little to gain lots to lose.

So -- as longtime fans of the USL Sounders know -- not all MLS teams play like they care much about winning.

During the preseason, I had heard that Sounders FC might be an exception. As an expansion team, thoughts of winning the Supporters Shield or MLS Cup or Champions League all seemed overly ambitious. But US Open Cup might in within reach of an MLS team that really wanted to win something for the trophy case.

Then came that 3-0 start and the current 4-2 record, and suddenly Supporters Shield and MLS Cup began seeming within reach. And that's the backdrop against which Sigi Schmid will fill out his lineup card tonight. And that's a little of what I tried to capture in my News Tribune story this morning.

Of course, Real Salt Lake faces the same decision. A story this morning inthe Salt Lake Tribune, seems to indicate that RSL really wants to advance. However, the morning coverage in the Deseret News seems a little more skeptical.

I'll leave the last word to three guys I interviewed this week from three levels of the Sounders organization:

ADRIAN HANAUER: (who is seeing the USOC from the MLS side for the first time after years with the USL point of view): "Organizationally, we want to win every game we play. We want to win every time we step out on the field. If we happen to play some guys who aren’t necessarily starters, it doesn’t mean that we don’t want to win the game and we’re not trying to win equally hard to win the game. At the same time, we’ve got multiple competitions that we have to balance and sometimes if you don’t play the starters, it doesn’t mean that you’re trying less to win. It means that you’re trying to keep their bodies healthy for future games, maybe even future Open Cup games."

On whether the fast start changes anything: "I think organizationally I couldn’t say that there’s been a shift, and personally my opinion hasn’t changed. From Day One, I thought our team could be competitive in MLS. I didn’t know what that meant, whether that meant playoffs, a playoffs championship, other trophies, and Open Cup. But being 3-2 doesn’t change the fact that I still think it would be fantastic to go out and win the Open Cup."

SIGI SCHMID: "I think U.S. Open Cup is good. It doesn’t have the respect of the intrigue that, say, the F.A. Cup does in England. But it’s certainly on old competition. Even an old guy like me has played in the Open Cup way back when. It’s something that I wish would get some more value over a period of time. I wish that it would find its niche in the schedule – and I know we’ve talked about that often as a league, as to what’s the best way to find a niche in the schedule. It is what it is right now, and like I said, it’s going to be a mixed team. It’s going to be an opportunity for some guys who are coming back off injury. It’s going to be an opportunity for some guys who haven’t played as much and some other guys to play also."

GK CHRIS EYLANDER (an Open Cup star last season as a USL Sounder and the likely starter tonight as an MLS Sounder:)"It’s definitely exciting. We aren’t looking at it (as a distraction). These games are an opportunity for some player to play where they wouldn’t notmally have inside the normal MLS regular season games. Our goal is to be champions."

I'm due to submit some suggestions to the North American Soccer Reporters tomorrow for MLS player of the month for April.

If any of you would like to offer any suggestions over the next 24 hours I'll be happy to add your input to the mix.

My story in the Tuesday paper concentrates on how the U.S. Open Cup looks from an MLS point of view after all these years of seeing it mostly from a USL point of view.

Meanwhile a quick preview of some of the basics:

REAL SALT LAKE
VS. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
7 p.m. Tuesday, Starfire Sports Stadium, Tukwila.
What: U.S. Open Cup play-in game.
TV: None. Radio: None.
Head-to-head: The Sounders beat RSL, 2-0, in the second game of the MLS regular season. The Sounders will visit Salt Lake on Aug. 8.
Notes: The top six teams in last season’s MLS standings automatically qualify for the U.S. Open Cup; while the Sounders, RSL and six other teams must try to play their way in. The winner of this game will play the Colorado Rapids, with that winner advancing to the round of 16. … This tournament uses some different rules from normal MLS games. Most notably, there must be a result. If tied at the end of regulation, the game will go into overtime. If that doesn’t settle it, the result will be decided on penalty kicks. Also, both teams are allowed four substitutions, rather than three. … The game is sold out.
Next: 5:30 p.m. Saturday, at Chicago Fire, Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Ill.; KONG 6/16.

Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales has been selected MLS player of the week for his role in RSL's 6-0 weekend mauling of New England. Morales assisted the first two goals that started the rout.

(The reason I say I didn't win is because this was my first week as a MLS Player of the Week voter. The honor comes through a media organization called the North American Soccer Reporters, of which I am now a member.

(We are allowed to cast two votes. My first went to Chris Pontius who assisted the tying goal and scored the winner in DC United's amazing late come-from-behind win over New York. My other vote went to Kasey Keller set MLS record for shutout minutes to start a season/career, and his return coincided with the end of Seattle's two-game skid.)

The practiced at Starfire Sports Stadium this morning for their U.S. Open Cup play-in game there at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Real Salt Lake.

The game is sold out.

However, what the 4,000 or so fans will watch is anybody's guess. Coach Sigi Schmid has said that he's going to mix regulars with reserves, and he didn't add much to that this morning.

"Obviously, we’re looking at some guys took some knocks," he said. "We want to make sure that guys are ready who are playing tomorrow. So it’ll be a mix of some guys who played on Saturday and some guys who didn’t start. But I can’t tell you.”

My hunch is he could, but then, of course, he'd have to kill us. However, he did give some indication of his thought process:

“You want to win the game," he said. "You got 24 players on your roster. You got 24 professionals, and they all should be able to play. So I’m confident that they can step out on play. And the thing that you always want from a team is you want a team to be able to, or an individual player, let me say it that way, an individual player to be able to say ‘I deserve to play because of what I’m doing.’ Not ‘I deserve to play because the other guy is not playing well’, or ‘I deserve to play because he had a bad game.’ It’s got to be ‘I deserve to play because I’m playing well.’ And that’s where it’s at. So guys have a chance to make that statement, ‘hey, look at me, I’m playing well. I deserve another go.’ And for some it’ll be that first opportunity, and for others it will be a repeated opportunity.”

“The Open Cup is important. Obviously in the history of the Sounders it’s been an important tournament as well, and when you look at the franchise when it was in USL and so forth. It’s such a old tournament that I played in it, so it’s been around for a while. It’s important. Any time you’re in a competition you want to win that competition. But it doesn’t have its own portion of the schedule, so it fits in midweek games. Just if this was a midweek league game, we’d have to look at shifting our lineup a little bit, seeing who’s healthy who’s not healthy. And that’s what we got to look at early on here.”

Meanwhile, RSL seems to be matching Schmid silence for silence.

“There’s probably as much mystery with theirs," Schmid said. "I’m sure there are some guys who didn’t travel for them, who normally play for them. And they’re probably doing the same. They’re evaluating to see who is banged up, who isn’t banged up, who’s fitness wise is good and could go another game. So it really becomes the same.”

Because this is Cup play, there are some rules changes.

The teams are restricted to only five foreign players.

Teams are allowed four substitutions instead of three.

And because a result is demanded, a tied game will go into overtime and then to penalty kicks.

The Sounders haven't yet had a penalty kick in their history, but they were practicing them at the end of practice today.

I asked Schmid about his philosophy on them.

“PKs is like rolling the dice when you go to penalty kicks," he said. "So it’s not something that you want to go to. But you have an idea. It’s more than just the ability to hit a penalty kick. It’s who is going to do well in practice. A lot of guys can score at practice, and some guys can’t score when it comes time for a game. So it’s who’s on the field. It’s who does well under pressure. Generally, I don’t let it effect my substitutions until very late. Maybe if you’re into second overtime, you haven’t used all of your subs, then maybe you’re saying ‘let’s put this guy in, he might be a little better in penalty kicks than the other guy.’ But in general, you got to play the game, and you got to coach to the game.”

The Sounders returned to practice this morning at Starfire Sports Complex. However, star midfielder Freddie Ljungber was not there, returning to Sweden instead after the death of his grandmother.

Ljungberg is expected to rejoin the team on Thursday. That means he will miss the U.S. Open Cup game Tuesday at Starfire, but should be back with his teammates before they leave Friday for their Saturday date in Chicago against the unbeaten Fire.

It seems unlikely that Ljungberg would have played in the Open Cup game anyway. Coach Sigi Schmid says he likes the Cup competition and wants his team to do well in it. However, he is promising to start a lineup mixing regulars with reserves. That probably means that Chris Eylander will start in goal for Kasey Keller, for example. And it probably would have meant something similar for Ljungberg.

One other bit of news: After further review, John Kennedy Hurtado's secondary assist from last night now has been removed.

after reviewing the first Seattle goal vs. San Jose, MLS officials ruled that Hurtado’s flick was not intended for Tyrone Marshall. The deflection by the defender provided a loose ball for Marshall to pick up and his pass created the scoring play. Therefore Hurtado will not be credited for a secondary assist on the goal by Steve Zakuani.

Sounders win, 2-0. (Here's my game story.) Seattle moves to 4-2 on the season, and those 12 points keep them four points behind West-leading Chivas USA, who also won tonight.

Naturally, the Sounders were happy to end the two-game losing streak, and coach Sigi Schmid seemed pleased with the new-look lineup -- especially

“It’s nice to get back on the wining track,” he said. “I thought our team played very well at times. We moved the ball around, and I thought we created a number of opportunities in the first half. Steve Zakuani gave us a good boost starting on the left side. He was running at people and he was creating problems for people early on. … I though defensively we came up with plays when we had to. … And obviously, what can you say about Keller?”

Keller is 389 minutes into his MLS career and he hasn’t given up a goal yet. As the closing minutes played out Saturday, he passed Ronald Waterreus’ previous record of 375 scoreless minutes to start a season.

I asked him after if the record means anything to him.

“No. I just like the fact that we’re winning home games, and I stayed on the pitch this time, which was nice,” he said, referring to his return from a red-card suspension. “(The record is) nice for the team, it’s nice for the club. I think we’ve been solid defensively, so it’s nice to have those little credits. But it’s not something for me, it’s something for the whole team.”

Keller ended the night with five saves, four of those coming in the second half.

Looking ahead, Schmid said he would probably field a team mixed of regulars and reserves Tuesday for the US Open Cup play-in game against Real Salt Lake at Starfire. The Sounders return to league play next Saturday at Chicago, where the Fire is the only unbeaten team left in MLS.

Scoring Summary:
SEA -- Steve Zakuani 2 (Tyrone Marshall 1, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado 1) 42
SEA -- Brad Evans 2 (Nate Jaqua 2, Steve Zakuani 2) 50

San Jose Earthquakes - Joe Cannon, Chris Leitch, Nick Garcia, Kelly Gray, Eric Denton,
Arturo Alvarez, Ramiro Corrales (Simon Elliott 46), Shea Salinas (Quincy Amarikwa 65), Bobby
Convey, Pablo Campos (Cam Weaver 77), Ryan Johnson.

Substitutes Not Used: Brandon McDonald, Jamil Roberts, Davide Somma, Andrew Weber.

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Ryan Johnson 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Ryan Johnson 4); FOULS: 13
(Quincy Amarikwa 4, Pablo Campos 4); OFFSIDES: 2 (Pablo Campos 1, Ryan Johnson 1);
CORNER KICKS: 4 (Arturo Alvarez 4); SAVES: 1 (Joe Cannon 1)

Seattle Sounders FC -Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall,
Nathan Sturgis, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Freddie Ljungberg (Roger Levesque 87), Steve
Zakuani (Sebastien Le Toux 67), Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero (Sanna Nyassi 80).

Substitutes Not Used: Chris Eylander, Patrick Ianni, Zach Scott, Tyson Wahl.
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (4 tied with 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (3 tied with 1); FOULS: 8 (Osvaldo
Alonso 2); OFFSIDES: 2 (Nate Jaqua 1, Steve Zakuani 1); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Fredy Montero 4); SAVES: 5 (Kasey Keller 5)

Misconduct Summary:
SJ -- Bobby Convey (caution; Reckless Foul) 4
SEA -- Osvaldo Alonso (caution; Reckless Tackle) 30
SJ -- Nick Garcia (caution; Reckless Tackle) 41

Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee's Assistants: -Rob Fereday; Hector Vergara
4th Official: Yader Reyes
Attendance: 28,838
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-52-degrees

=> Read more!

The San Jose Earthquakes meet Sounders FC at 7:30 p.m. at Qwest Field. The game also will be shown live on KING 5.

Here's my game preview from today's paper, dealing mostly with the renewal of this historic rivalry. Here's Quakes coverage from the Mercury News of Silicon Valley. (And here's a link the the MLS site for scores and info on other games around the league.)

Here's the injury list:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC - OUT: FW Jarrod Smith (quadriceps strain); QUESTIONABLE: DF Taylor Graham (left sesamoid fracture); MF Stephen King (L groin strain); MF Peter Vagenas (knee surgery); PROBABLE: DF Tyrone Marshall (R calf strain); MF Osvaldo Alonso (L quadriceps contusion) … SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - OUT: DF Jason Hernandez (L calf strain); QUESTIONABLE: DF Kelly Gray (L calf strain); MF Shea Salinas (R hip strain); DF Ryan Cochrane (L ankle sprain); MF Darren Huckerby (R quadriceps strain)

And below are some itmes for those actually attending the game in person:

=> Read more!

No big news out of today's final Sounders practice before the match tomorrow against San Jose.

However, I think there are three major issues that have been running through our coverage this week, and Sounders coach Sigi Schmid spoke a bit on each.

The angle that has interested me the most this week has been this history-brought-to-live pairing of Earthquakes and Sounders from the NASL days. I'll write more about that for the Saturday paper. And today I asked Schmid -- who was living in the LA area during the NASL -- if he was an NASL fan.

His answer: “At the time the Aztecs were around. I had some friends that played with them with the old L.A. Aztecs. As a youth coach, I used to take my team to watch their games and so forth. I never played in that level because it ended up becoming a personal decision in some things what I was doing in terms of school, and coaching, and marriage, and all kinds of complicated things like that. The pay wasn’t really good and only two Americans played. So when you went into a locker room and a coach said ‘I got to put a dang American on the field’, that didn’t fill you with a lot of confidence. And I thought I don’t know if I want to do that, maybe I want to move onto other aspects of my life. But having seen the Sounders play, Dean Wurzberger is a good friend of mine who is at the University of Washington, he played with the Sounders up here during that time, we knew each other. I had a lot of friends who played with the Aztecs. I was one of the first coaches at that time, in my youth team, I actually had two of my youth players go straight from high school into the pros, which was sort of unheard of at that times. But I had two players, Paul Jones and Todd Saldana, who went straight from high school into the pros, one with the Aztecs, one with the Earthquakes in fact. So yeah, I definitely know what was going on in those days. And I knew a few of the Earthquakes players as well.”

Schmid also spoke on the other two big issues of the week:

The return of Kasey Keller: “Having Kasey return to the team is certainly important for us. On the field, off the field, he’s an experienced player. He provides a lot of leadership for us. You just look back there and you see a very calming presence in goal. I’ve always felt that presence is the most important things goalkeepers give a team. And when you have that strong presence in the back it just makes everybody feel better that’s playing in front of you.”

And on what it is the team needs to correct end end this two-game losing (and scoreless) streak before things get serious: “For our team right now, it’s a situation of obviously we haven’t produced in the offensive end in the last couple of games in terms of getting results and getting goals, and that’s something certainly that we want to correct. I think our final pass has been off a little bit, so if we can improve that aspect of our game that’s something that we have to look at and we got to look at who can maybe make some of the plays, and who can do that. Sometimes when people get hung up with a team not scoring, it’s sometimes not so much the final pass as well as it’s that first pass. Sometimes the first pass out of the back, if it’s a good one, leads to another good one, leads to another good one. If the first one is a safe one, or just not so good, then the next one’s not so good, and you never really get yourself on track. So for us it’s a matter of we want to get goals. I think defensively we’ve been pretty solid. Even though we’ve given up two in the last game, it’s not like they really broke us down in a lot of different ways. So we feel confident we can stay solid defensively, and we need to look to basically spice up our offense a little bit.”

Then you're apparently the fan that MLS commissioner Don Garber wants to convert.

Here's an item on the subject from the New York Times soccer blog (originally passed along by JoePublic in a blog comment below). However, I thought the blog was off base in interpreting Garber's remarks as blaming fans. It seems to me that Garber was simply taking a stand in a very basic question the league faces: Should it try to convert America's baseball, football, basketball and hockey fans into soccer fans, or can the league survive and flourish by turning soccer fans into MLS fans.

In any case, it's an interesting topic for discussion. Certainly among the Sounders fans who read this blog. But it also would be especially interesting to hear from the folk who maybe enjoy playing soccer, or who enjoy youth games, or who follow the national team or who wake up early to watch EPL games ... but don't follow MLS.

Why? And what would it take to bring you in? Etc.?

The Sounders face their first collision of league and cup play over the next several days as they face San Jose on Saturday in a regular season game at Qwest (sold out) and then meet Real Salt Lake Tuesday in a play-in game for the U.S. Open Cup at Starfire (tickets remain).

Asked today how one game might affect the other, Sigi Schmid kept to the time-tested coaches philosophy of taking them one game at a time.

"We’re thinking about Saturday, and after Saturday we’ll worry about Tuesday," he said. "The Open Cup competition is important to us as well, but right now our focus is on league. I know it’s a cliché – one game at a time – but you need to focus on what is at hand. We have some thoughts in the back of our minds, but nothing that affects Saturday and what we’re going to do."

The vibe I'm getting from the club seems to be that a familiar starting lineup will take the field Saturday, with Kasey Keller back in goal. And then the lineup will turover a bit to the reserves on Tuesday, perhaps with Chris Eylander in goal. However, general manager Adrian Hanauer said if it plays out that way, it shouldn't be taken as the Sounders' blowing off the Open Cup, in a way that some MLS sides seemed to in past years when they played the USL Sounders.

"Organizationally, we want to win every game we play -- we want to win every time we step out on the field," Hanauer said. "If we happen to play some guys who aren’t necessarily starters, it doesn’t mean that we don’t want to win the game and we’re not trying to win equally hard to win the game. At the same time, we’ve got multiple competitions that we have to balance and sometimes if you don’t play the starters, it doesn’t mean that you’re trying less to win. It means that you’re trying to keep their bodies healthy for future games, maybe even future Open Cup games."

Toronto FC handed Western-Conference-leading Chivas USA it's first loss of the season Wednesday, 1-0, at BMO Field.

The result leaves Chivas 4-1-1 and they remain at 13 points. That means Seattle (3-2) can't catch them, but would pull to within one point in the standings, with a win over San Jose on Saturday.

Being an expansion team, the Sounders have connections with every other team in the league. But perhaps none more than with San Jose, their opponent at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Qwest Field.

The most obvious connection is defender James Riley, who the Sounders' picked up from San Jose in the expansion draft.

Riley seems to be one of the nicest guys on earth, and therefore one of the least likely to say anything bad about his former team. However, he even his polite response contrasting the two expansion seasons indicates that he's happy to have ended up in Seattle.

"If you look around the league (Sounders FC is) definitely the top organization in the league, hands-down," Riley told me this week. "I don’t think anyone would argue with that. Coming here there’s a lot of differences from how the organization is run to how the players are treated. With that said, I definitely enjoyed my time in San Jose, I enjoyed the guys and the people that I met and the fans there. But this is definitely a step up. It’s a new experience, a new situation and I’m enjoying it."

In an even bigger way, however, the Sounders and Quakes are linked as expansion, well, not twins, but at least cousins. Last season, was San Jose's expansion season; and this, of course, is Seattle's.

This morning I asked coach Sigi Schmid if the Sounders learned from studying the good and bad of San Jose's expansion season.

“By the time I came into the picture obviously some decisions had already been made in terms of the expansion draft and so forth," he said. "It’s like I said early on, it’s still a matter of taking all the resources available to you. As an expansion team your resources are the expansion draft. Your resources are the regular college draft. It’s allocation and discovery players that you can pick up. And then it’s what you bring in from the international market. And I think San Jose last year did most of those things, checked off most of those things, but they really didn’t go into the international market until midseason when they brought in (Darren) Huckerby and (Francisco) Lima. So that was one of our goals was let’s make sure we get into the international market early, which we obviously did with (Freddie) Ljungberg before I got here, and then obviously the addition of (Fredy) Montero and (Jhon Kennedy) Hurtado has certainly solidified that.”

And finally, the franchises are linked in many smaller ways even beyond that -- frankly in a lot of ways that I had never heard of until I got the following list from the Earthquakes:

Sounders forward Nate Jaqua played under Quakes head coach Frank Yallop with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 and was traded from Houston for current Quake Kelly Gray, whom he played with on the Chicago Fire and in college at the University of Portland ... Jaqua also played in Chicago for part of the 2006 season with current Quakes forward Ryan Johnson ... Roger Levesque played with the Earthquakes from 2003 to 2005, appearing in six matches for San Jose ... Defender Taylor Graham played with current Quakes defender Nick Garcia in Kansas City from 2003-2004 as did Sounders defender Tyson Wahl from 2006-2007 ... Defender Patrick Ianni played in Houston from 2006-2008 and played with current Quakes Ryan Cochrane and Kelly Gray ... Quakes midfielder Simon Elliott played with Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller at Fulham F.C. in the 2007-2008 season in England (Keller, like Jaqua and Gray, also played at the University of Portland, although it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s) ... Tyrone Marshall played for the Galaxy under Quakes head coach Frank Yallop from 2006-2007 and with Simon Elliott from 2002-2003 ... Marshall also played on the Jamaican national team with Quakes forward Ryan Johnson ... Quakes forward Cam Weaver played for the Seattle Sounders of USL-1 in 2006 with current Sounders Roger Levesque, Zach Scott and backup goalkeeper Chris Eylander ... Sounders assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson played with the Los Angeles Galaxy with Simon Elliott from 1999-2002 ... Sounders assistant coach Brian Schmetzer was the head coach of the USL-1 Sounders when Cam Weaver played there in 2006 ... Sounders technical director Chris Henderson won the MLS Cup in 2000 with the Kansas City Wizards where he played with Nick Garcia from 1999-2000 ... Henderson also played in Colorado with Quakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon from 2003-2005, played with Simon Elliott with the Columbus Crew in 2005 and with Quakes general manager of soccer operations John Doyle in the early 1990s with the United States National Team.

The Sounders are off the practice pitch for another day.

No big news today, except for the sight of more and more once-injured Sounders suddenly looking more and more healthy.

"Jarrod Smith, Peter Vagenas and Taylor Graham are all getting closer," coach Sigi Schmid said. "I think fitness-wise, Peter’s the one who’s probably furthest behind at this stage. Jarrod can do everything, except sometimes when he does repetitive shooting then sometimes he still feels tightness in his quad now. Outside of that, I think he’s pretty much back. And Taylor Graham, it’s just a matter of getting his timing. I think we’re pretty close to getting healthy."

Those are players who can contribute, so there's little doubt that their return is a good thing. But considering one of the Sounders top issues over the past couple of week -- the past couple of winless, scoreless weeks -- has been working Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg into the same lineup, I asked Schmid if a similar adjustment period will follow as each of these injured players returns to the pitch.

"Certain positions are easier to put players into," he said. "If you take out a goalkeeper and put in a goalkeeper it’s a little bit different. … There’s cohesion you need, but it’s a different thing. If there’s an outside back and you put in another outside back again it’s a different thing. Even sometimes a central defender. If when you monkey with the offensive aspect of it, that’s where it’s a little more fine-tuning. It’s a little easier to destroy than to create. And when you’re talking about the creative functions within your team now, it takes a little bit of time, it takes a little bit of fine-tuning, it takes a little bit of understanding that becomes an innate understanding, and I think people will find that quality as they play more and more together."

Seattle Sounders' FC dropped another spot in this week's MLS power rankings after their 2-0 loss at Chivas on Saturday.

Here's what the rankings say about the Sounders:

Sigi Schmid admitted after Saturday's loss to Chivas that the Sounders FC attack has not been as potent since Freddie Ljungberg became entrenched in the lineup as it was in the first two weeks, when Steve Zakuani, Sebastien Le Toux and Sanna Nyassi provided a spark from the wings. Defining Ljungberg's role will be crucial.

These rankings, of course, are simply conversation starters. The meaningful stuff is the league standings, and there the Sounders are still No. 2 in the West, and safely among the top eight for the playoffs ... if the playoffs started today ... instead of six months from now.

Seattle's opponent this week -- the San Jose Earthquakes -- is power-rated 12th. Here's what the ranking says about them:

Gut check time is coming for the Earthquakes, who face two difficult league matchups in the next two weeks, first going on the road to Seattle, then welcoming Chivas USA to Buck Shaw Stadium. Their performance in those two matches could go a long way toward determining how competitive San Jose can be in 2009.

As you may have heard, CosmoGirl.com is running an "Eye Candy" section featuring 15 of the best-looking young players in MLS -- one from each team.

The Sounders FC selection is midfielder Brad Evans.

I talked to Evans about it a bit today, and he admitted a little embarrassment about the whole thing, but he was being a good sport.

When I first asked him about it, he said, "They just chose random guys from every team."

Except it wasn't really a random selection. The Sounders media relations office picked Evans because of his looks, then had him pose for a picture at Fort Dent Park, and that shot is now online at CosmoGirl.

"(He) just said, "We need to take a picture of you,'" Evans said. "I said, "OK." He said, 'It’s going online.' I said, "For what?" "Cosmogirl." "What is Cosmogirl?" He said, "You’ll see."

I asked Evans if his teammates have heard about it, and he responded, "Let's say they have."

However, Evans -- who turned 24 on Monday -- is putting up with it all because MLS players understand that their young league benefits from being in the public eye.

"Any publicity for the league is good publicity," Evans said. "If it starts there on the Web the more publicity the better, you grow the attention, you grow whatever you can really. It’s all in good fun."

I also talked a little soccer with Evans ... mostly about his move from center-mid to outside mid to accommodate Freddy Ljungberg. Once again. Evans was willing to do what needs to be done to help his team.

We also talked to Sigi Schmid a little about moving Evans out to the wing.

“I thought our spacing and positioning was OK on Saturday," Schmid said. "Brad tucked in a little bit more, which is what we wanted from the week before. So if you compare the 90 against Chivas to the 30 that we played 11 against 11 against Kansas City, I thought our defensive shape was much better and I think our shape overall was much better. And again I thought we created a lot of things going forward that were right on the edge of the final third that didn’t come off or result in anything. It’s more of an emphasis of that then I think the shaping in midfield."

I have a short story on all this in the Wednesday paper.

The Sounders reserves played to a 1-1 draw with the Washington Huskies this afternoon at Starfire Sports Complex.

The Sounders took an early lead on a Sebastien Le Toux penalty kick and held that lead until about the 75th minute, when the Huskies scored on a direct kick following and handball just outside the box.

After the game, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said certain reserve players made impressions for good or bad, but he didn't disclose any names.

Schmid also wouldn't say if he plans to make any lineup changes for the Saturday game against San Jose -- other than restoring Kasey Keller to goal after serving his red card suspension.

"Obviously, Kasey’s a quality goalkeeper," Schmid said. "Anytime you put a quality player back on the field it’s going to make your team better.”

It was a glorious day out at Starfire, which Freddy Ljungberg concluded by walking his black Newfoundland pup Amadeus.

I'm stealing the topic from LA Daily News soccer columnist Nick Green, who wrote this highly readable story on MLS after five weeks.

First up on his love/loathe list was this:

Love: That it's crowded in Seattle. When the Sounders announced they would not play in a soccer-specific stadium, I had my doubts. First, playing in a cavernous NFL stadium is almost never a good recipe for a great atmosphere (see the Kansas City Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium). Second, artificial turf can not only ruin a game with its unforgiving bounces, it can ruin careers, too (see the Chivas USA defender who injured himself in the pregame warm-up at Giants Stadium a few years ago and never played a game for the club).

Well, Seattle rained on my negative parade. The Sounders not only lead the league in attendance with an average of 29,939 for their first three games, but the atmosphere rocks. And I haven't heard any complaints about the fake grass surface.

(And while I certainly agree with him about the great atmosphere at Sounders games, I'm glad to hear him mitigate his complaint about FieldTurf. The Sounders played on natural grass for the first time on Saturday at Home Depot Center, and I thought that was also the first time this year that the playing surface negatively impacted the game.

When artificial turf was new, former baseball great Dick Allen once famously said that if horses horse couldn't eat it, he didn't want to play on it. Judging from Saturday, my suggestion would be that they invite a few horses into Home Depot Center, let them eat the pitch and then replace the stuff with FieldTurf.)

But that's my rant. What about you? Any of you want to pick up on Green's theme and share your loves and loathes from this first one-sixth of the MLS season?

A good catch here taken from a blog comment by Brettghorn:

I'm watching the Price is Right (home sick from work) and one of the prizes just given away was a collection of MLS apparel and balls, including jerseys/shorts from the Galaxy and (surprise, surprise) the Sounders.

Drew Carey (the host and of course Sounders owner) made a joke about Sounders jerseys usually being priceless but that they had to come up with a price for the show. He got in another Sounders plug a minute later too.

Naturally, the Sounders' attempt to get back on the winning track against San Jose on Saturday will get the most attention in the Northwest.

Here's a link to the Quakes coverage from the San Jose Mercury News.

Here's a link to the Earthquakes' Web site.

And here's a quick MLS preview of the game:

San Jose Earthquakes at Seattle Sounders FC
7:30 p.m. Saturday
Coming off back-to-back losses, Seattle Sounders FC will once again play in front of a sellout crowd when they host the San Jose Earthquakes. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller should return to action for Sounders FC after sitting out Saturday’s loss to Chivas USA through suspension. So far in his MLS career, Keller has played 299 minutes without allowing a goal. The game will be the fourth consecutive sellout of Qwest Field.

Meanwhile, here's an MLS preview of the rest of the league's schedule for this week:

Wednesday
Chivas USA at Toronto FC
4:30 p.m.
Chivas USA have the league’s best overall record, undefeated in five games after last weekend’s top-of-the-table victory over Seattle Sounders FC. Chivas USA travel to face a Toronto FC team that is winless in their last four games after a season-opening victory. Toronto FC have not defeated Chivas USA in four all-time meetings between the teams.

Thursday, April 23
New York Red Bulls at Kansas City Wizards
5 p.m. (ESPN2, Deportes)
This week’s ESPN Primetime matchup features two teams coming off buoying results last weekend. The Wizards ran their unbeaten streak to three games as Josh Wolff scored two late goals for a 2-2 tie with Chicago. The Red Bulls won for the first time on the year as Juan Pablo Angel and Macoumba Kandji scored against Real Salt Lake, the first goals scored this season by a New York player.

Saturday
Chicago Fire at Columbus Crew
4 p.m. (FSC)
Meeting for the first time since last year’s Eastern Conference Championship, a 2-0 win for Columbus, the teams find themselves in different places to start 2009. The Crew are coming off a bye week and are still looking for their first victory on the season (0-2-3). The Fire are unbeaten this season, led by Brian McBride’s four goals.

New England Revolution at Real Salt Lake
6 p.m.
Despite being hit by injuries, the New England Revolution are undefeated on the season as they head to Real Salt Lake, who have won both of their games this season at Rio Tinto Stadium. Since returning to action after missing the first two games, Steve Ralston has sparked the Revolution, scoring a goal and adding an assist. At home, RSL is 2-0 with six goals scored; on the road, Real is 0-2 with no goals scored.

Los Angeles Galaxy at Colorado Rapids
6:30 p.m.
The teams meet for the second time this season in league play and third overall. Conor Casey scored a hat trick in a 3-2 Rapids win at The Home Depot Center on April 4, then three days later, Colorado prevented the Galaxy from advancing to the U.S. Open Cup in a penalty shootout. The Rapids are returning back home after a three-game road swing where they went 1-1-1, while the Galaxy are looking for their first victory on the season.

FC Dallas at Chivas USA
7:30 p.m.
The weekend meeting at The Home Depot Center will finish off a busy week for both clubs. Chivas USA take their unbeaten record to Toronto FC for a midweek clash, while FC Dallas faces a midweek trip to D.C. United for a U.S. Open Cup play-in match. Kenny Cooper pulled into a tie for the lead in the MLS Golden Boot standings with his third and fourth goals of the season to give FCD their first win on the year, 3-2 vs. Toronto FC on Sunday.

Sunday
D.C. United at New York Red Bulls
noon (Telefutura)
The long-time rivals meet in the first contest of this year’s Atlantic Cup, which D.C. has won in six of the trophy’s seven years. MLS Original Jaime Moreno – who also had a brief stint with the New York club – became the first player in MLS history to record 100 goals and 100 assists when he set up the equalizer in Friday’s 1-1 tie with New England. The Red Bulls won for the first time on Saturday and got goals from their players for the first time as well, defeating Real Salt Lake 2-0.

Kansas City Wizards at Toronto FC
2 p.m.
Both teams come off midweek matches. Toronto FC has defeated the Wizards just once in six all-time meetings – that came in their BMO Field encounter on April 26, 2008. Amado Guevara scored both Toronto goals in the second half of a 2-0 win for the home side. Wizards midfielder Claudio Lopez has factored in half his team’s goals this season – scoring one and assisting on three.

Here's the release from MLS:

Kansas City Wizards forward Josh Wolff was voted Major League Soccer’s Player of the Week for Week 5 of the 2009 season. Wolff scored two goals in the final 12 minutes to give the Kansas City Wizards a 2-2 draw and a vital road point in their match against the Chicago Fire.

Wolff, a Stone Mountain, Ga. native, is a 10-year MLS veteran, splitting time between the Chicago Fire and the Kansas City Wizards. This is Wolff’s sixth career Player of the Week award and his first award since Week 27 of the 2006 season. After playing for 1860 Munich in the German Bundesliga from 2006-2008, Wolff returned to MLS and rejoined the Wizards on June 30, 2008. Wolff has appeard 52 times and tallied nine goals for the U.S. men’s national team.

One of the odd things about the Sounders' current two-game losing streak is that it comes in the only two games Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg have started together. (Here's a column I wrote for the Monday paper taking a larger look at this issue and the state of the Sounders.)

The Sounders beat New York when Ljungberg was out with injury. They beat RSL with Ljungberg coming off the bench in the second half. They won at Toronto with Montero home sick. But since the Freds have shared the starting lineup, which sent Steve Zakuani to the bench, the Sounders are winless and scoreless.

And while there can be no question that Ljungberg and Montero belong in the starting 11, accommodating them – especially at the cost of Zakuani – seems to have unbalanced a chemistry that had been working so magically.

And interestingly, coach Sigi Schmid admitted as much after the 2-0 loss to Chivas on Saturday.

“The cohesion ever since we put Montero and Ljungberg on the field together has suffered,” Schmid said. “Early in the season, we played with two holding midfielders and our wide guys attacked. Now, we’re more of a diamond I the middle of the midfield, and we haven’t sorted out all our roles and responsibilities.”

It also doesn't help that the Freds were each involved in what were probably the two most costly plays in the loss to Chivas.

The first came when Montero faced a one-on-one with Chivas keeper Zach Thornton, who was caught in no-man’s land midway between the ball and the goal. Montero lofted the shot just right, but he sent it wide of the goal.

That was followed by Chivas' first goal, which actually was an own-goal by James Riley. However, Riley's desperation flick came only after a defensive collapse that started with Ljungberg releasing his man on a give-and-go through the penalty area.

I don't know Ljungberg's responsibilities on that play, but he mentioned the importance of the play later.

“Maybe on the first goal, we could have done a little better on the through ball that came in, and stuff like that," he said. "But that’s how it is.”

The Sounders are off Monday, with no availability to the media, so we'll have to wait a while for any follow-up to any of this. But it will be interesting to learn a bit more about how the defense was supposed to handle that give-and-go.

And it will be especially interesting to see if Schmid tweaks his starting lineup again, this time to accommodate not only Fredy & Freddie but also Zakuani, who I thought was one of the two most effective Sounders on the field Saturday (along with Osvaldo Alonso).

The Sounders retun to practice on Tuesday. Their next game is against 1-2-2 San Jose at 7:30 Saturday at Qwest Field.

The Sounders remained in second place in the MLS West as the weekend's action concluded today with Colorado falling to Houston, 1-0.

A win by the Rapids (seven points) would have sent them past the Sounders (who have been stuck on nine points for the last two weeks).

The Dynamo moved up to five points with their first win of the season.

Here's our game story.

And here's some reaction from the Sounders:

COACH SIGI SCHMID
On Chivas:
Chivas is a good team, they’re a solid team. I thought it was a very physical game, and I thought the referee allowed it to be played physically… but they’re a good passing team, they don’t make many positional errors, and they were pretty solid defensively.

On how the game could’ve gone differently:
I thought we had a chance right at the end of the first half where Zach Thornton came up with a save on the near post off the cross from Nate Jaqua; we could’ve made it 1-1 there. I thought in the second half we had a couple of opportunities. Steve Zakuani provided us a couple of opportunities on the left, and got in behind their defense, so I think we’re getting there, we’re just missing the final pass, and as I said, we’re missing our ability to sustain our attack when we attack them. It seemed like once our attack ended, and once they got the ball, then we had to go all the way back into our defensive third before we could attack again.

On Montero’s chip in the first half:
Obviously, he saw Zach [Thornton] come off the line, he thought he could chip him and he did chip him, but he put the ball wide. I know as a forward, you think, ‘maybe I could’ve hit the ball hard and low and slipped it past him,’ but the main thing is, at that moment in the game, where if we have a chance to go up 1-0, it changes the entire complexion of the game.

FREDDIE LJUNGBERG
On the match:
I’m upset we didn’t win. We started well and had a great chance with Freddy in the first half. Maybe on the first goal we could’ve done a little better on the through ball that came in, and stuff like that, but that’s how it is. We probably kept the ball well. They defended well, especially the second half. They broke on us and got the second goal when we tried to push for an equalizer.

On returning home to face San Jose:
We have some small mistakes. When you play on the road, away from home, you don’t get a lot of chances. When you get a clear-cut chance, you’ve got to put it away. It’s as simple as that, and then you can relax the game and it’s easier to play possession. That’s how it is. You won’t get as many chances away from home as you get at home. So you have to put them away.

CHRIS EYLANDER:
On his MLS debut performance:
They didn’t have a lot of shots on goal, but I had a lot to do with my feet, and… I got used to talking to my defenders in a louder environment. Unfortunately the two good chances they did have on us… resulted in goals.

On the first goal, an own-goal by James Riley:
I made the decision to stay and adjust myself into position… getting ready for the ball to be cut back across the goal. As I saw the ball get cut across the goal, I saw a couple guys try to kick the ball out and it looked like one of our guys hit it in the net. I made the decision to stay and not come out for that ball, it got put back in and that’s a tough ball to defend. When the ball is on the line like that, about 12-14 yards out, and its being cut back it’s difficult to defend. Everyone’s running back onto it, the forwards and defenders.

=> Read more!

That headline is sort of a nod to one of my favorite soccer magazings -- "When Saturday Comes" -- which my wife brought home to me once when she was visiting England, got talking soccer with a Chelsea supporter and he gave her the magazine to give to me. I liked it so much I subscribed for several years. (But not for a while. However, I still check them online, and today was greeted by a story titled: "US refuses to embrace football.")

In any case, that wasn't the point of this post. The point was supposed to be that Saturday is here, and with it the biggest games yet for Seattle Sounders FC, at least in terms of the standings and in helping us decide if the Sounders are an exceptional expansion team or a potentially exceptional MLS team.

A couple of issues:

The lineup: After a week of uncertainty, coach Sigi Schmid said he expects that he will have Chris Eylander as his starting keeper tonight as Kasey Keller serves out the final 90 minutes of his red-card suspension. It will be Eylanders' first MLS start -- first MLS playing time, in fact. However, I also asked Schmid if he was going with the same lineup in the field as last week -- mostly meaning with Steve Zakuani on the bench, which happened last week to accommodate Fredy and Freddie -- and Schmid said he wanted to keep that a secret until gametime. So, there could be a couple of interesting lineup issues tonight.

Grass: This will be the Sounders' first regular-season game on grass, as Home Depot Center has a natural surface. When I asked Schmid about that a couple of days ago, he just gave a quick jokey answer about it not making much difference. But someone else asked yesterday, and while that was still his bottom line, he went a little deeper into the subject: “Not really," he said. "I think the guys have trained on grass all week, and so they should be used to it. It’s a different type of feel for them physically. The turf sort of wears on your joints a little bit. And the grass sometimes, it depends with Home Depot you never know what shaped the grass is in, but grass is a little heavier, so it makes it a little heavier for your legs a little bit. We’ll see. I feel pretty good in terms of wear we are fitness wise.”

Unfortunately, I'm not in Los Angeles. (However, I know some of the readers of this blog are down there. Have fun.) But I'll pass along any pregame news I discover, will watch on KING-5 tonight and then pop on for one of those good post-game discussions we've been developing over the past few games.

In any case, here's a quick pregame scouting report:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (3-1-0, 9 pts.)
AT CHIVAS USA (3-0-1; 10 pts.)
7:30 p.m., Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
TV: KING 5.
Radio: 97.3 FM, and in Spanish on 1210 AM.
Head-to-head: This is the first meeting. The Sounders will return to Chivas on June 6, and Chivas will visit Seattle on Sept. 19. Sounders’ coach Sigi Schmid is 1-3-2 vs. Chivas.
Team leaders: For Seattle, G: 3 Fredy Moreno; A: 3, Osvaldo Alonso; S: 11 Montero; SOG: 6 Montero. For Chivas, G: 2 Eduardo Lillingston/Paulo Nagamura; A: 2 Gerson Mayen; S: 6, Atiba Harris/Sacha Kljestan; SOG: 5 Kljestan.
Schmid scouting report: “Chivas obviously is a good team: They haven’t lost any games. I know everybody’s talking about they got some guys injured; but those guys have been injured for a while, so they got a team rhythm with the guys that they’re playing right now. And they still have a good nucleus of veteran players with Carey Talley, and Jesse Marsch. … Nagamura got a red card the last game, so he won’t be playing against us, but there’s a good nucleus of players. Sacha Kljestan is a very important player for their team. He’s been healthy all season. They move the ball around fairly well.”
Notes: Chivas is coached by Preki, a former standout player with the Tacoma Stars. … Conference-leading Chivas is the only unbeaten team in the MLS West. … Seven Chivas players are out due to injury and Justin Braun (knee) and Maykel Galindo (sports hernia surgery) are doubtful. Among the missing players is Claudio Suarez, who has the most appearances in Mexican national team history. … Seattle has allowed one goal, fewest in MLS. … A win or a draw today would give the Sounders the best expansion record after five games in MLS history. Evan a loss would match the Miami Fustion’s 3-2 start in 1998. … Former USL Sounder Chris Eylander is expected to make his MLS debut, starting in place of No. 1 goalkeeper Kasey Keller who is ineligible after receiving a red card last week. … This will be Seattle’s first game on natural grass.
Next: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, vs. San Jose Earthquakes; Qwest Field.

Here's something similar from the LA Times. And here's a good game preview from The Daily Breeze in southern California.

That was the topic of my story in today's paper.

And the YouTube video above is just intended as an additional stroll down memory lane for former Tacoma Stars fans. (Including myself, since I moved to town in 1988, just when the Stars were pretty much at their peak.)

After looking over his options for a week, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid announced after practice today that Chris Eylander will be the starting goalkeeper Saturday night at Chivas. Schmid complimented Ben Dragavon's work this week, but said he decided to let Eylander in this week in place of No. 1 Kasey Keller.

Now the Sounders will hustle over to Sea-Tac for an early afternoon flight to Los Angeles.

Midfielder Stephen King is expected to stay home after suffering a left groin strain.

Tickets for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup go on sale Friday, including the Fourth of July doubleheader at Qwest Field.

Tickets can be purchased at www.goldcup.org.

The two-time defending champion U.S. National Team starts in Seattle on the second day of competition as part of that doubleheader:
Saturday, July 4 – Seattle (Qwest Field)
Honduras vs. Haiti, 4 p.m. (4 p.m.)
Grenada vs. USA, 6 p.m. (6 p.m. ... or so)

Here's a link to US coach Bob Bradley talking about the competition.

Here are the Gold Cup groupings:
GROUP A: Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica
GROUP B: Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, USA
GROUP C: Guadeloupe, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama

Coach Sigi Schmid -- who likes keeping personnel issues to himself when he can -- said today that he doesn't yet know who will be his goalkeeper Saturday at Chivas, in what is likely the MLS game of the week.

However, he said that has been reassured about the Chris Eylander knee issues that concerned him earlier this week and that he believes he has two healthy keepers to choose from: Eylander and Ben Dragavon.

“We wanted to see how the workout would go with each of them today," Schmid said. "But we feel Chris is healthy, so we can base our decision upon a healthy Eylander versus a healthy Dragavon.”

Otherwise not much news out of Sounders practice today other than the sunshine.

The Sounders have been practicing on their natural grass field at Starfire this week, since they will play their first game on natural grass Saturday at the Home Depot Center. But Schmid said he doesn't expect that to be an issue.

“It’s got dirt underneath it instead of rubber pellets," he said. "It’ll be good.”

(However, MLSnet.com reports that the four teams that played their home games on an artificial surface last season -- New England, New York, Toronto and Real Salt Lake -- went a combined 11-29-9 on natural grass. On the other hand, those obviously are all road games, so a losing record would be expected in any case. Although probably not to that degree.)

Schmid also said he isn't surprised by the success Chivas (3-0-1; 10) has been having so far this season: "Not really. I think they are a good team. I know that they are missing players. For sure you always want to have your full compliment of players at your disposal. But if guys are out for a period like I said then you build your team in a different way and things work. You look at us at the start of the season, we were missing a key player in Freddie Ljungberg, and we designed a team and prepared it and we were able to play successfully. And now with him in and we’re still going to play successfully, we’re just going to play a little differently. And they’re the same situation. I think they’re a good team with a lot of talented players. It’s a group that’s been together for a while now. The nucleus down the middle of that group: (Carey) Talley, and Shavar Thomas and (Paulo) Nagamura and (Jesse) Marsch and Sacha Kljestan and (Jonathan) Bornstein, that group has been together for a while.”

Back when the Sounders schedule first came out, the first thing that jumped out was how front-loaded the home schedule was.

The assumption was that was because the soccer team shares Qwest Field with the NFL Seahawks, and they wanted to keep most autumn weekends clear for the NFL team.

The Seahawks schedule is out now, and well, mission accomplished.

There is only one weekend when the teams share the stadium: when the Sounders meet the Revolution on Aug. 20 and the Seahawks host the Broncos in a preseason game Aug. 22.

The Sounders have only three regular-season home games after that: Aug. 29 vs. Toronto, Sept. 19 vs. Chivas, and Oct. 24 vs. FC Dallas ... and the Seahawks are off or away each of those weeks.

The Seahawks also are out of town on Nov. 22, when Qwest hosts the MLS Cup. (However, the Seahawks have one home game -- Nov. 8 -- between the end of the MLS regular season and MLS Cup ... meaning while the MLS playoffs are going on.)

Actually, the idea of an expansion team dropping to third in a 15-team league isn't all that bad.

But while I can see moving Chivas to the top this week, I don't see how Chicago's 3-3 draw with San Jose is so much better than Seattle's one-man-down, top-keeper-out 1-0 loss to Kansas City.

In any case, I guess these rankings aren't anything but conversation staters. So, here's the link, and let the conversation begin.

The Sounders are off today. But I did have a Sounders update in the paper today, which might have been lost a bit amid the Fredy Montero news.

And even with no player or coach availabilities today, I will have more Sounders coverage in the paper today: taking a look at red cards, yellow cards and just soccer fouls in general.

And in doing that story, I took at look at the Sounders statistics on fouls committed and was surprised to see who is at the top.

So -- honor system, no checking -- what Sounder do you think has committed the most fouls so far this season? I'll add this: Even he was surprised when I told him.

Meanwhile, I thought the other interesting MLS news of the day was the topping off of the new soccer-specific stadium being built by the New York Red Bulls. Like it or not, fair or unfair, it simply helps a league to have a strong presence in New York, and the Red Bulls/Metrostars haven't provided much of that so far.

This stadium can only help, although at 25,000 seats, I guess they don't think even a new stadium will allow them to draw what the Sounders are drawing.

This announcement was released this afternoon by the King County Prosecutor's office:

The King County Prosecutor's Office has completed its review of a criminal investigation referred from the Bellevue Police Department regarding Seattle Sounders soccer player Fredy Montero. Prosecutors have determined that there is insufficient evidence to file any criminal charges in this matter.

"The matter," as you may recall, was a complaint of sexual abuse made against Montero by a adult female acquaintance.

The Sounders organization put out the following statement:

We are pleased with the decision from the prosecutor's office and look forward to putting this behind us and focusing on soccer.

And also this statement from Montero:

“I am excited to return my complete attention to scoring goals for the people of Seattle and making the Sounders FC a very successful club.”

The Sounders had a brief scare with goalkeeper Chris Eylander this morning at Starfire when he got hit in a scramble for the ball in a 5-on-5 short-field game.

Eylander stayed on his back a while, as teammates and coach Sigi Schmid gathered round him. Then he returned to his feet, obviously limping, but remained on the pitch and seemed to be OK as practice continued.

“He just more got kicked then anything on that particular play," Schmid said. "So it’s when you’re playing goals in tight, sometimes there is a few things. I think Fredy Montero got kicked right above his ankle as well. And I think Sebastien (Le Toux) got a nice bruise on his thigh from somebody coming in. But invariably that happens sometimes. But it was nothing to worry about and he bounced back.”

Eylander's health has become a more important issue this week, as either he or emergency keeper Ben Dragavon will start Saturday at Chivas in place of No. 1 keeper Kasey Keller, who is out (as you may have heard) after picking up a red card last weekend for a handball outside the box.

“Obviously today was Chris’ first what I’d say really full practice where he was all in on everything besides having played in the practice match yesterday," Schmid said. "So I thought he did well. I thought Ben did well. And we’ll decide as we get towards the end of the week as to who is going to go.”

I forgot to mention yesterday -- worse, I forgot to take a picture -- but the Sounders reserves wore the blue jerseys/green shorts combination yesterday against Portland.

This was my first in-person look at the blues, since the Sounders have worn their rave green in all league games so far. (Here's a link to the Sounders site video from the December fashion show that unveiled the uniforms.)

(I realize half of you have clicked to another site by now... or perhaps tossed your computers against a wall. This post is just for the other half ... the half that cares anything about kits/sports uniforms.)

My advice to the Sounders: Rave on. There's nothing really wrong with the blue. I just think that rave green is so distinct that it is becoming their instantly recognizable look unless they gunk it up by rotating, as even many long established franchises around the world are doing.

(Plus, many fans have invested in rave green clothing, and really, what other occasion calls for rave green clothing?)

Finally, there's just too many teams wearing blue in MLS already. But there's only one wearing rave green ... or any shade of green, for that matter. That's an advantage for any team, but especially a first-year team still forging an identity.

Chris Eylander was in goal for about the first hour or so of today's reserve game against the Portland Timbers. He gave up a couple of goals in what turned out to be a 3-2 loss.

After, Eylander said he felt 100 percent. However, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid wasn't so sure. Schmid thought lingering affects of the knee injury might have shown up in a costly way on the first Portland goal when Eylander knocked down the first Timber's shot, but was beaten to the lose ball in front of the goal.

Injured Sounders Pete Vagenas and Taylor Graham also participated in the game, but Schmid didn't sound like he thought either of them were going to be ready for Chivas on Saturday.

Steve Zakuani also went down for a while today, and limped off the field briefly. But he returned to action said said later that he was OK.

Schmid on Eylander: “Obviously Kasey can’t play this week so we still need to call up a goalkeeper. We assume there is not going to be an issue with (Ben) Dragavon being our called-up goalkeeper. Chris, we wanted to play him today, and at first we were going to split time between the two of them, but Chris ended up playing more because Ben got minutes on Saturday. We have to evaluate Chris – how he did today and how he comes back and trains tomorrow – and then we’ll know whether we think he’s 100% ready to go. Even though Chris said he was ready to go, we still felt there were things that he couldn’t do. The first goal today was a shot where he makes a good save, but he didn’t get back up to his feet and that’s one of the problems he’s had with his injury. He makes that initial save, but he doesn’t have the strength back to react to the second shot.”

Schmid on Vagenas: “It was just good to get him out there and play. It was good to get him out on the field and then you can make an assessment of what he has to continue to work on and where he’s still short. He might see himself playing, but no (he won’t play).”

Schmid on Graham:
“He looked all right. It was the first minutes back, so it was good for him to get tested a little bit. The thing that he and Pete both bring to the game is that they talk. They’re confident, they’re experienced and as a result of that they talk and that makes the guys that play with them better.”

I spoke to Sounders No. 2 keeper Chris Eylander last week, when he returned to training after suffering a preseason knee injury. And I thought maybe I'd write a few words about him this week if he was restored to the active roster.

Now there's a little more urgency to the transaction as Kasey Keller is unavailable for the big No. 1 vs. No. 2 game Saturday at Chivas after picking up a red card in last night's 1-0 loss to Kansas City.

So, I'll hustle something on Eylander into the Monday paper. Meanwhile, here's some of what he said in our interview:

On how the injury happened:
"It wasn’t really a contact injury with anyone else. It was during a drill, and I just kind of landed abnormally on the turf with kind of a straight impact by me. I just did it -- kind of a weird incident."

On what he's been doing since then:
"I’ve been keeping pretty optimistic. The trainers have been great. I’ve been doing extra stuff with them and on my own to get back as quickly as possible. It’s kind of a bummer, but I’ve been able to see a lot of progress the next few weeks."

On his Sounders experience otherwise:
"It’s been terrific being part of everything so far. With the fans and everything else, I wouldn’t have chosen anything different."

On learning behind Keller:
"In my opinion he’s the best goalkeeper in the league. He’s had so much experience and the way he plays his games, he just doesn’t really make mistakes. If you’re going to get a goal on him, it’s going to be a nice goal. You can beat him every once in a while, but he really isn’t going to give you anything. So just to see how he plays the game, the decision he makes, all of that stuff has been great."

On whether he might need to move on, since Keller isn't playing like a guy who'll need to hang them up anytime soon:
"We’ll see how it goes. He doesn’t look like a guy about to retire. He’s still really fit and doesn’t have any injuries. We’ll just see how the next two years go, and if he’s going to stick around here where there’s going to be a point and time when I’m going to have to go elsewhere and find some games for myself. For now, I’m really happy to be a part of this and we’ll see how it goes."

Then Saturday happened, and now it looks like Eylander will get an earlier-than-expected game for himself.

Here's my game story.

The Sounders gave up their first goal, lost their first game, fell out of first place for the first time, and lost their star keeper to a red card which also will keep him out of next Saturday's game with the now-first-place Chivas USA.

Quite a night at Qwest for the 28,746 in attendance.

“I think the thing I’m most proud of is we played a man down for (61) minutes, and Kansas City is celebrating quite extensively at the end of the game,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “And that shows how much respect we’ve already garnered in this league. If they’re really excited about playing a man up for (61) minutes and winning a 1-0 squeaker, it shows that there’s a lot of respect for what we’ve done as a team so far.”

Kansas City certainly seemed to take it that way.

"This is a great win for us," said Davy Arnaud, who scored the lone goal. "They had a great start, they are a very good team, and we knew that coming in. It is a very good thing for the league when new teams come in and the fans support the way they do. It's all very positive. Obviously, it ended with a good result for us."

The key sequence came in the 29th minute when Wizards midfielder Herculez Gomez sped past Seattle defender Zach Scott. Facing Gomez one-on-one, Keller charged out of the penalty area and swung one elbow into the ball, deflecting it.

That may have saved the goal, but at high cost: an immediate red card for Keller, who had been in his 299th MLS minute without having allowed a goal.

“It was difficult,” Keller said. “I’ve not been sent off in 17 years, so it felt kind of strange when I saw that red card come out. Rules are rules I guess, but my arms weren’t out wide, they were kind of up against my chest. But like I said, rules are rules, it hit me in the arms, and I was sent off.”

Keller was replaced by rookie Ben Dragavon, who drew his first MLS action after playing at Monroe High School, Western Washington University and the USL Sounders. Dragavon is on the roster as what MLS called an “extreme hardship call-up,” which is allowed when a team has fewer than two available goalkeepers. He is, in effect, the Sounders’ No. 3 goalkeeper behind Keller and top reserve Chris Eylander, who returned to practice this week after suffering a preseason knee injury.

He and the Sounders held off the Wizards for 51 minutes, with Dragavon making a couple of saves along the way. But in the 80th minute, Arnaud unleashed a low sizzler from about 30 yards out, and it beat the diving Dragavon low and to his right.

“It started off coming at me then it just broke off,” Dragavon said. “… I got a hand on it. I actually thought I got enough to push it around the post, but it hit the side netting. It’s rough.”

The Sounders' loss and Chivas USA's draw with the LA Galaxy moved Chivas one point ahead of the Sounders in the MLS Western Conference standings.

Seattle returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday ... at Chivas.

According to MLS rules, Keller must sit out that game, too. However, Eylander said he should be ready.

Final: Kansas City wins, 1-0. And as I type this, Chivas and the Galaxy are tied in Los Angeles. If that result holds, Chivas will move one point ahead of the Sounders in the MLS West.

I'll be back with notes and quotes.

Meanwhile, how did it look to you.

80th minute: The Sounders' scoreless streak ended 350 minutes into their history as Kansas City's Davy Arnaud whistled a 30-yard whistler past emergency keeper Ben Dragavon to put the Wizards ahead, 1-0.

Halftime: Nil-nil. Kansas City seems to have somewhat the better run of play. No real good chances for the Sounders, with their best being off of a couple of set pieces.

29th minute: Kasey Keller was called for an intentional handball outside the box on a Kansas City breakaway. That's an automatic red card, so now Ben Dragavon is in goal for the Sounders, who are playing short-handed (Sebastien Le Toux went off).

Kickoff: The Sounders' fourth-ever game has begun. Wizards in blue jerseys and white pants, Sounders in their home green/blue.

There is a pretty stiff breeze, and it seems to be at the Sounders' backs at the start.

Golden scarf: Tonight's Golden Scarf has been awarded to Microsoft/Xbox executive Robbie Bach.

6:50: We've gotten the starting lineup, and with it, the answer to our question. Fredy and Freddie are in and Steve Zakuani goes to the bench, despite a goal and an assist over the rookie's last two games.

Here's the lineup: GK Keller, DF Riley, Hurtado, Marshall, Scott; MD Le Toux, Alonso, Ljungberg, Evans; FW Montero, Jaqua.

Here's the Wiz: GK Hartman, DF Watson, Conrad, Hohlbein, Besler; MD Gomez, Hirsig, Jewsbury, Wolff; FW Arnaud, Lopez.

6 p.m. I'm at Qwest Field on a breezy evening, but one with occasional sun breaks. Gates have just opened. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. The game will be shown live on KONG 6/16. Here's my pregame report from this morning's paper.

For those of you about to leave for the stadium, note the traffic alert from a few posts below. Things weren't bad when I entered the garage, but I was real early.

The plan is for me to keep the blog alive -- or at least on alert -- most of the evening. I'll pop in with lineups and any other pregame news, then will give in-game reports, including alerts on all goals. Then I'll return after the game with notes and quotes. And I'm sure hoping you guys will pop in with some good in-game or postgame discussion as you did last week from the Toronto game.

(Actually, that whole "Wizard of Oz" thing would work a bit better if the team was located in Kansas instead of Missouri, but I guess that's a quibble.)

(Besides, it's such an upgrade from the club's first try -- anyone remember the Kansas City Wiz? Was there really no one in the marketing department willing to raise his hand and say, "You know, maybe it's just me, but ...")

(For that matter, anyone remember KC's old rainbow-themed crests and unis?)

Anyway, my story in the TNT today talks with Sounders' technical director Chris Henderson, who was a key part of KCW's 2000 MLS-champions.

However, there are a couple of other former Wizards now wearing rave green. Here are some of their thoughts that didn't make the paper.

TAYLOR GRAHAM, who played in KC from 2003-2004.
On if he had this date circled: "It’s just another game in terms of the game. It’s special to see friends. I was doing the math the other day. I think there’s four guys still on the team from when I was there. Jack Jewsbury and I were drafted the same year and were roommates essentially for two years, so I’m excited to see him. Davy Arnaud was a year above me, but we were good friends there too. And Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff were the other two guys."

TYSON WHAL, who was taken from KC in the expansion draft
On whether he's had the date circled: "I haven’t had it circled with any bad wishes or bad hopes. I’m just excited to see the guys either before of after the game. And I’m just looking forward to another home game for our team. I think the guys are pretty excited to come back after getting a road win and come home to our home fans."

On if he was surprised that KC made him available: "I knew it was going to be close. My coaches informed me that they were going to be meeting. I was going into the expansion draft kind of open-minded, I guess. I ended on a pretty good note there, and I knew that there was maybe a chance that some team would be interested. And I knew Henderson from his years with the Wizards, so I felt that there was even more of possiblity. And it happened."

On how the move is working out for him: "We have a great team. We’re playing well. We have a great atmosphere to play in. The program is well supported by the ownership group and everything like that. Me, myself personally, I’m trying to fight my way into some playing time. But as a whole, yeah, it’s been a great experience."

As the Sounders completed training for Kansas City today, it was clear that coach Sigi Schmid is planning a lineup that includes both Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg for the first time. And what that means is some player who has contributed to the Sounders 3-0 start is going to have his starting job taken from him despite that perfect nine points in three games.

And while Schmid doesn't yet want to go announce who that is, he already has had that conversation with the player. So I asked Schmid how he handles the human side of delivering such a decision. And I thought his answer was pretty impressive:

“I learned a long time ago when I was a player and I had a coach," he said. "At the time I didn’t like it, but it helped me out as a lot as a coach, when he put me on the bench, and I had never been on the bench in my life and really didn’t give an explanation. And when I asked him, he really didn’t have a reason. So my word always to my players have been, ‘Look, I've got to be able to give you a reason. You might not agree with my reason, but if I can’t give you a reason then you can call me every name in the book, and we’ll move on. But if I have a reason, we can talk about it.'

"You try to talk to players. You can’t talk to everybody every week. But you try to talk players and let them know if a guy is doing well and you’re making a lineup change, letting them know where he still fits in. Each guy, it’s an individual thing, as to what you say to the player, his age, how many years he’s been in the league, what the status is, who’s replacing him, etcetera, etcetera. Hopefully they’re able to maintain their motivation and keep going forward. It’s a long season, a lot of guys play.”

Schmid also was asked what he thinks about a lineup mixing Fredy with Freddie.

“It changes how some other guys have to play," he said. "It changes everybody’s role a little bit. It’s just a matter of how all that mixes together. I think always things like that are just a function of time. Sometimes they come together quicker. Sometimes they take a little longer. Sometimes they don’t come together. As long as everybody knows what their role are and what their responsibilities are, and I think everybody is pretty clear about that.”

Finally -- since Schmid is keeping his lineup a secret -- I asked him if such secrecy really affects a game.

“It’s usually just one or two personnel decisions, but I just think it’s always good just to guess a little bit," he said. "They’re not going to disclose their lineup to me, so it’s good to have them guess a little bit.”

The Sounders have put out a warning that fans will see significant construction activity as they arrive at Qwest Field for the 7:30 p.m. Saturday match against the Kansas City Wizard.

The problem -- and I can confirm this from my drive to practice yesterday -- is on South Royal Brougham Way (the street between Safeco Field and the Qwest Events Center. Fans should avoid that unless they are parking in the Qwest Event Center Garage. The only access for those parking in the garage is a single lane one lane available from Fourth Avenue South.

Pedestrian access on South Royal Brougham Way will be open, but might be limited to a single sidewalk. Clearly marked pedestrian detours are promised.

The suffering now should pay off later, as crews are building a bridge over the railroad tracks on Royal Brougham Way. Bridge construction will require narrowing the street to one lane in each direction between Occidental Avenue S. and Fourth Avenue S. during major events and closing the street to through traffic at all other times until early spring 2010.

The Sounders news release encourages fans to take these steps:

Allow extra time.
Carpool or use transit.
Try parking downtown and taking the bus to the stadium.

Know before you go:
Check the SR 519 Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr519/.

That's the topic of my MLS coverage in this morning's paper.

The next team to experience it, of course, will be the Kansas City Wizards -- who just happen to rank last in early MLS attendance figures. They'll face Sounders FC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. And we'll begin taking a closer look at them on the blog this afternoon and in tomorrow's paper.

I'll post back in the early afternoon once we get our final pre-match time with coach Sigi Schmid.

Sigi Schmid talked today about perhaps using Freddie Ljungberg and Fredy Montero in the same starting lineup for the first time Saturday when Kansas City visit.

"It's exciting for us because it gives us a lot of option, a lot of opportunities," Schmid said. "They're different, but they're similar in that they're both dangerous players, they're both players that help us keep possession of the ball, which is always a good thing. Right now, having them both on the field at the same time means that we have to change in little subtle ways just to cover and balance and make sure that we're in good position when we loose the ball as well. That's going to take a little bit of time, but I think we have enough intelligent players on the field that we can do that."

However, that also would mandate sending some other starter to the bench. I asked if he knows who that will be.

"I do," he replied, "but you don't."

Seattle Sounders FC announced today upcoming home matches with the San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy are now sold out, joining this Saturday's match with Kansas City, which had previously been announced as a sellout.

Combined with the sellouts of the first two home games, this means that the Sounders will go through at least their first five games in Seattle without playing before an empty seat. And likely more than that as the club also announced today that fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for the Sounders' May 30 against the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew.

(I take a look at some of what is driving Seattle's MLS-high attendance figures in the Friday paper.)

What tickets remain are available at the Sounders FC site or by calling 1-877-MLS-GOAL.

A little morning reading material:

Here's my story from this morning in which Freddie Ljungberg and Steve Zakuani discuss their first MLS goals, which came last weekend in Toronto.

Also, here's a good quote that I didn't get into that story, of Ljungberg also recalling his first goal with Arsenal:

“I scored in my debut there when I came on against Man United. Of course it was special. The whole stadium was screaming my name a little after ten minutes…It was an amazing feeling, and here I scored in my first start. It was good.”

Looking ahead, here's a story from the Kansas City Star about the Wizards' hopes to become the first to score on the Sounders, when they visit Qwest Field at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

While on the topic of the Wizards, here's the link to their official Web site.

And a quick Sigi Schmid scouting report on the Wizards from yesterday's media session:

“I think they’re a good team. They’re a team that’s made the playoffs in the last two years. And they’re a team that’s got some good offensive potential in guys like Davy Arnaud, Josh Wolff, Herculez Gomez are fast and dangerous and hard-working type guys. And you got Claudio Lopez with a lot of experience. So they’re definitely a team that you got to be sharp and you got to be attentive, too.”

Finally, speaking of media sessions, I'll be back with a new blog post in early afternoon once Sounders conclude today's training at Qwest.

The Sounders are off the practice pitch for another day.

Fredy Montero and Freddy Ljungberg both took part, and unless either has some sort of setback it appears they'll both be ready to go Saturday when the Kansas City Wizards visit.

Coach Sigi Schmid isn't yet sure -- or at least willing to say -- how both will work into the starting lineup. Ljungberg missed Game 1 while still recovering from his hip surgery. Then he came off the bench in Game 2 for Steve Zakuani at midfield. Then he started Game 3 at forward in place of Montero, who stayed home due to illness. So, Saturday might be the first time they each start, and if so, of course, some other starter needs to come out of the lineup.

Not much other news today, although the practice was fun to watch as the Sounders went though a drill using four goals: one on each touchline at midfield, and one at the top of each penalty area. That creates a small field in which everyone needs to be ready to score instantly or defend a shot instantly.

"I like it; it’s fun," Schmid said. "It’s a good game because you’re in front of goal all the time. So it’s good for the goalkeepers. It’s good for the defenders because they’re always forced to defend. You got to be alert because any time it comes in front of your goal. It’s also good for spacing, getting guys as I think they went on in the game they got better about staying away from each other, connecting passes. It’s also good for finishing because you get guys in front of goal a lot. You get crosses. You get opportunities to turn and shoot. And you also got to be able to understand when it’s shutdown at one place and you got to go to the other goal. So it’s good for a lot of things, but it’s also a fun game. The way we do it we always change touch restriction every time you score, so it makes you always have to think: Am I playing unlimited now? Am I playing one touch? What are they playing? I can pressure them now. Different things like that. And the key to the game is if you can get your one touch goal quickly, you usually win, and that’s what the blue team did.”

You may recall the blog discussion a few posts down about whether the Sounders impressive start should raise their goals all the way to Supports Shield and MLS Cup.

So, after our discussion, I ran the idea past coach Sigi Schmid on Tuesday. And while he didn't even hint that this team doesn't have the potential to accomplish those kinds of things, his bottom line is that for now he just wants his team focused on the original goal of the playoffs.

Here's that story from today's paper.

The Sounders have concluded today's training session at the Starfire Sports Complex.

All eyes were on Fredy Montero (flu-like symptoms) and Freddie Ljungberg (knee), although there was no firm resolution on their availability for Saturday, when Kansas City visits.

"Fredy Montero was feeling better today," coach Sigi Schmid said. "H'e still a little bit under the weather, but he's feeling better. In the scrimmage, you could tell he was getting a little tired, but he was good. ... If he's healthy and so forth and feels good (by Saturday), then I would expect him to start.

"Freddie Ljungberg, we wanted to see what he could do today, so he went through the beginning part of it, and he felt a little bit sore. We just want to be a little cautious today and we'll see how it is tomorrow."

Montero didn't travel with his team to Toronto last week due to illness. Ljungberg did, and recorded his first MLS goal in the Sounders' 2-0 victory. However, in about the 75th minute he sort of stepped on the ball and went down hard in front of the Reds' goal, sort of jamming his knee.

On Tuesday, he seemed no more sure of his status than his coach was.

"We have to see if the swelling goes away," Ljungberg said. "But yeah, if the swelling goes away I expect to play on Saturday."

Montero was not made available to the media for any comment on the off-field issues that arose last week. Schmid said he briefed the team on those before the Tornoto game, and that the team stands behind Montero but didn't allow it to be a distraction.

The key word is could.

But even that is something we didn't know a month ago. A month ago, a lot of folks were looking at the Sounders and saying they might contend for the playoffs. Three games in, it seems clear that Sounders fans -- and the Sounders themselves -- have every reason to reach higher.

And the key words from that paragraph are three games.

In MLS, three games represents 10 percent of the regular season. That's not much, but it's not nothing. It's like 16 games of a baseball season or eight games of an NBA season. It's not a lot, but its enough to begin forming some impressions and for statistics to start taking on meaning.

Impressions: The goal-scoring is as good as might have been hoped, but the defense is better than anyone could have dreamed. ... On the day he was hired, coach Sigi Schmid said his time at Columbus taught him the importance of building a solid midfield early; and so far the Sounders have had a solid midfield. ... Kasey Keller and Freddy Ljungberg aren't just names to sell tickets or guys playing out the ends of their careers. They are both giving every indication of being players with the skills to make the difference between winning and losing MLS games. ... The expansion draft was handled wisely. ... The trade for Tyrone Marshall was just the kind of deal that doesn't really register as genius until you see its result out there on the pitch, where Marshall is becoming just the right dab of glue that holds the backline together. ... Fredy Montero, Sanna Nyassi and Sabastien Le Toux were all sweet signings that have given this roster the kind of talent most expansion teams don't enjoy. ... Adrian Hanauer must be feeling pretty good about how he'll come through that first supporters alliance vote about his future. ... MLS awarding this season's MLS Cup to Seattle is looking a little less ceremonial and a little more significant than it did at the time. ... If Sigi Schmid wins an MLS Cup with his third franchise, the league needs to not only give him the coach of the year award, but they need to name it after him. ... Bottom line impression: Might the Sounders be the best team in MLS? Yeah, they might be.

Statistics: The Sounders have scored the most goals in MLS (7) and given up the fewest (0). They have a perfect nine points after three games, tied with Chivas USA for best in the league. Chivas, however, has scored six goals and surrendered two. ... Seattle apparently isn't doing this against such weak opposition that the statistics should be considered misleading: New York made the MLS Cup last season. Real Salt Lake made the Western finals, returned most of its roster and was a popular pre-season pick in the West this season. Remove the Sounders game from their records, and the Seattle's three opponents so far have a combined 2-1-2 record. ... The Sounders fast start is beginning to break some of the expansion records of the 1998 Chicago Fire ... which won MLS Cup.

A couple of other things: If early form holds, and Sounders and Chivas are the top contenders in the West, then the schedule has given a slight advantage to Chivas. The MLS' "balanced" schedule is unbalanced to the degree that each team plays a third game against two teams. In the Sounders' case, it's San Jose and Chivas. However, in the Sounders-Chivas pairing, it's two games in Los Angeles (April 18 and June 6) and one in Seattle (Sept. 19). (Chivas also gets its other "rival" game against Los Angeles, which for now is behind San Jose in the standings.) ... Finally, some incorrect playoff-format information was given in another Sounders blog recently. Here's the real deal: Eight teams qualify based on their point totals at the end of the regular season. However, it is not the top four teams in each conference. It's the top two finishers in each conference along with the next four teams with the highest point totals regardless of conference. The 1's and 2's are the high seeds in the first round, the others are considered the wild cards. The conference semi-finals are decided by home-and-home aggregate-goal score starting at the site of the lower seeded team. The conference finals are decided by a single game, as is MLS Cup.

Chivas USA beat the Columbus Crew tonight, 2-1. It is Chivas' third straight win and gives them nine points in the MLS standings remaining even with Seattle Sounders FC atop the Western Division standings.

Here's the Chivas-Crew game report.

The Sounders visit Chivas on April 18.

The Sounders are returning home from Canada and won't hit the training pitch again until Tuesday.

So, to help pass the time, some reading material from across the league:

Here's our Sounders-Toronto game story. Here's the Toronto Star's game coverage.

Here's another story from the Star, a very interesting look at the Toronto FC fans -- called a "ticking time bomb" -- after the incident in Columbus last week and their home opener against the Sounders yesterday.

Here's a fine Dave Boling column from today's TNT, looking at the MLS' "Nothing But Nets" anti-malaria campaign, brought home though the personal experience of Sounders' midfielder Sanna Nyassi of Gambia.

Looking ahead, here's an ESPN look at today's Columbus-Chivas game. Chivas needs three points to remain even with the Sounders in the MLS Western Conference. Sounders and Chivas meet head-to-head April 18 in Los Angeles.

And finally, here's a column from TNT managing editor Karen Petersen explaining a bit about how and why we decided to cover the police investigation regarding Fredy Montero.

OK, I'm belatedly back with a game report (part me, part Associated Press, part Sounders notes):

Playing in its first road game in club history, the Sounders scored early and late in the first half Saturday, and then let their defense handle things the rest of the way for a 2-0 win over Toronto FC at BMO Field.

“We’re obviously pleased,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “It’s our first road win in the club’s history, and we’re proud that we got another shutout. I can’t say enough about our defensive effort, our willingness to throw bodies in front of shots and do whatever it takes to stop people from scoring. This is a tough place to play.”

The win pushed the Sounders to 3-0-0 on the season, the best record in the league and the best start by an MLS expansion team.

Seattle hasn’t allowed a goal over the first 270 minutes of its history, which marks the longest any MLS team has played before allowing a first goal. The previous record was 255 minutes, set in 1998 by Chicago – which went on to win the MLS Cup.

Kasey Keller has been in goal for every minute of what is now the second-longest shutout streak by a goalkeeper to start an MLS season, trailing Ronald Waterreus’ 375 minutes in 2007.

Seattle’s goals also had their own historic tints.

English Premiere League-import Freddie Ljungberg scored his first MLS goal in the 15th minute on a give-and-go with Nate Jaqua through the middle of the Toronto defense.

And rookie Steve Zakuani got his first professional goal in the 45th minute, finishing as a loose ball trickled through the penalty area.

The Sounders had opened the season with home victories over New York and Real Salt Lake. But they expected a tougher test in its first road game, especially with leading scorer Fredy Montero absent.

The Sounders will keep an interested eye on Columbus' visit to Chivas USA on Sunday, as Chivas can pull back even atop the Western Conference with another win.

The Sounders return to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday when the Kansas City Wizards visit Qwest Field.

However, I'm still kind of hoping more of you will step in with some thoughts on the game:

Not a bad team that's able to lose Fredy Montero and replace him with Freddie Ljungberg, eh?

What was the key moment of the match?

How far can these guys go this season?

Also, for those of you who watched on TV: Did you choose CBC or FSC? (I watched first half on FSC and then switched to CBC for the second.)

And I still haven't heard anyone's thoughts on those all-rave-green uniforms?

Etc.

45th minute: Steve Zakuani finishes on a ball that seemed to roll through the box for quite a while.

Big goal because Toronto had been taking control of play a bit.

The Sounders are well over 200 minutes into their season without giving up a goal.

12th minute (or so): Sounders move ahead 1-0 on the first MLS goal by Freddie Ljungberg -- and it was a thing of beauty. Ljungberg got the ball in space, ran up the middle, sent a short pass to Nate Jaqua, who returned it to Ljungberg, who finished.

It's a fair result so far, with Sounders dominating play, although Toronto has had a couple of quick-developing chances.

Pregame: The starting lineup are out for the Sounders' 1 p.m. game at Tornoto. The most interesting twist is coach Sigi Schmid swapping Freddie for Fredy -- that is Freddie Ljungberg getting his first MLS start at forward in place of Fredy Montero, who remains in Seattle for whatever reason you choose to believe.

By the way, it looks crazy windy up there today (game is on FSC and CBC). And in a story I wrote this week, Schmid said wind is the weather condition that most affects a soccer match.

OK, let's see, where were we...

Oh yes, soccer. And pretty interesting soccer, too.

The Sounders are in Toronto for their first road test, and it's about the loudest -- OK, now second-loudest -- venue in MLS.

That, in fact, is the main thrust of my Saturday preview story: Toronto's fears that Seattle has passed them as the home of the most passionate fans in the league.

However, the match on the pitch should be pretty interesting too. Toronto's Dwayne DeRosario is one of my favorite players in the league to watch. Early shares of first place in their respective divisions are on the line for both teams.

And, of course, the questions of how the Sounders will fare without Fredy Montero, and the companion question of who will start in his place, and the added question of how much playing time Freddie Ljungberg will get in his second Sounders appearance.

All of it gets answered at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Meanwhile, a quick look ahead:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (2-0-0; 6 pts.)
AT TORONTO FC (1-0-1; 4)
1 p.m. Saturday, BMO Field (20,000/FieldTurf); Toronto.
TV: FSC, FSE, CBC.
Radio: 710 AM, 97.3 FM, and in Spanish on 1210 AM.

Other meetings: This is the first meeting. Toronto will make its visit to Seattle at 1 p.m. Aug. 29.

Coach Sigi Schmid scouting report: “Toronto obviously has improved over last year with the addition of (midfielder Dwayne) DeRosario. That’s a big addition for them. Midfielder Amando Guevara joined the team last season and they have more understanding of each other now. The addition of Pablo Vitti gives them more depth up front. They acquired a lot of pieces last year – Guevara, forward Chad Barrett -- and now those pieces have had a chance to go through preseason together. They play a 4-4-2, but DeRosario doesn’t play like a regular striker – he floats around a bit more. Guevara has a lot of freedom in the offensive midfield. The four defenders are very structured in their approach.”

Notes: MLS leading scorer Fredy Montero did not travel due to illness. Schmid will name his replacement an hour before game time. Forward Sanna Nyassi (hamstring) is probable. For Toronto, forward O’Brian White (knee) is out; defender Nana Attakora-Gyan (hip) and goalkeeper Stefan Frei (hip) are questionable. … Sounders midfielders Freddie Ljungberg and Nate Sturgis returned to action last week and could see increased time today. … Seattle is the lone MLS team that has not allowed a goal. … The weather forecast calls for rain, snow showers and wind with a high temperature around 42 degrees.

Next: 7:30 p.m. April 11; Kansas City Wizards; Qwest Field; KONG 6/16.

Sounders' FC star forward Fredy Montero is the subject of a police investigation in Bellevue, but has been charged with no crime.

A spokesman for Major League Soccer said they were leaving responses to the Sounders. And the Sounders have put out a statement saying: "We fully support Fredy and expect him to play next week. We will have no further comment at this time."

By "next week" they mean the April 11 game against Kansas City at Qwest Field. Montero did not travel with the team for their game in Toronto tomorrow, however, that was explained as due to illness and unrelated to the legal investigation originally reported on the P-I website.

My own calls to law enforcement -- like the P-I's -- indicate that an adult woman has made two accusations against Montero: a March 22 sexual assault and a March 31 incident where she saw Montero in a car near her home and became fearful.

The King County Sherriff's office investigated the March 31 incident and determined that no crime took place. The Bellevue Police Department has investigated the March 22 incident and is turning its findings over to the King County Prosecutor's office.

"It is an open investigation that is in the process of being turned over to the prosecutor," Bellevue police spokesman Greg Granis said today. "Since no charges have been filed I can't comment on it or identify anybody involved."

He did confirm that the department is investigating a March 22 assault case: "If charges are filed against anyone in the case, that would come from the King County prosecutor."

The prosecutor's office confirmed that the matter has been passed along from Bellevue police, that no decision has been made on it, and that none is expected until next week.

Just two weeks into his MLS playing career, Montero has become one of the top stars of the Sounders and the league, and he was the subject of this News Tribune feature on Thursday.

Here's part of the release from UW:

Former Washington women’s soccer standouts Hope Solo and Tina Ellertson (Frimpong) have been named to the final 22-player roster for the Saint Louis Athletica of the Women’s Pro Soccer league, the league announced this week. Play in the inaugural season of the league begins this weekend.

The former teammates and All-Americans were allocated to the St. Louis franchise back in September during a ceremony at the Sports Museum of America in downtown Manhattan. After training camp, both Solo and Ellertson were named to the final roster by head coach and general manager Jorge Barcellos.

Here's the full release.

A flu-like illness caused star forward Fredy Montero to stay behind as Seattle Sounders FC flew today to Toronto for their Saturday afternoon game there.

A club spokesman said it remains possibile that Montero could join the club Friday if his condition improves.

Two-time defending champion USA will play a first-round match of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday, July 4, at Qwest Field.

The U.S. will face Grenada at 6 p.m. in the second match of the Gold Cup double header, following the 4p.m. opener between Haiti and Honduras at 4 p.m.

Tickets go on sale to the general public April 17.

Qwest is one of 13 venues to host Gold Cup games this year.

I guess that's the unspoken question in the Fredy Montero feature I wrote today for The News Tribune.

But feels a little more appropriate to speak it now, after watching Jozy Altidore's hat trick in leading the US National Team to its 3-0 World Cup-qualifying win over Trinidad & Tobago last night.

Altidore started his professional career with the New York Red Bulls of MLS -- imagine adding his presence to Sounders' opening night -- but was sold to Villareal of La Liga for $10 million, and this season his is on loan to Xerez in the Spanish second division.

MLS president Don Garber makes the case that the belief/fear that the league loses all of its best players to better leagues oerseas is incorrect. He notes that 53 of 56 of last season's MLS all-stars and postseason award winners remain in the league this season.

But Sounders can only hope against hope that Montero is one who will stick around a while. In my story liked above, he says he is happy in Seattle, that he's thinking only of this season, and that MLS is a good place for this stage of developing his game. But he also makes it clear that he sees his future in Europe.

By the way, there was one quote that I had included in today's Montero story that didn't make the print version due to space considerations, and I thought you might like to see it here.

It's from fellow-Sounders-rookie Steve Zakuani, talking about Montero:

"He's a great guy for if all, off the pitch and stuff," Zakuani said. "But as a player, he's incredible. From the first time I saw him here, I said this guy is unbelievable. He's definitely one of the main people I learn from. I watch him and see what he does in certain positions and stuff. At 21 years old, I can't wait to see what he's going to be in five, six, seven years. He's going to go places, definitely."

For Sounders fans, that last sentence is the scary one.

The honors just keep coming for Sounders forward Fredy Montero. Today, he was selected MLS player of the month for his three-goal, one-assist contributions in two games in March.

Here's the MLS news release.

However, amid all this good news for Montero ... well, see the blog post below.

Sounders forward Fredy Montero, who has three goals in two games to lead Major League Soccer, left practice this morning due to flu-like symptoms.

"We're hoping he's going to be all right," coach Sigi Schmid said. "There's been a flu that a couple of guys have had, so obviously we want to be sure that it's nothing more than the flu or flu-like symptoms. We'll keep a check on that, but our expectation is that he'll be on the plane tomorrow."

The Sounders leave Wednesday for their first road game, Saturday at Toronto FC.

Otherwise, Schmid reported his team in good health, with Freddie Ljungberg and Nate Sturgis both responding well after seeing their first action of the season last Saturday against Salt Lake.

It rained Saturday when the Sounders defeated Real Salt Lake. As you can see from the short video above, it rained Tuesday as the Sounders returned to training at Starfire. As you locals can see by looking out the window, it's rainy again today. And as you Northwest veterans know, it could still be cold and rainy on the Fourth of July.

Considering rainy playing conditions are likely to be part of the Sounders' soccer lives from training camp to July and then again from September to the end of the season, I spoke with Londoner Steve Zakuani and coach Sigi Schmid about the implications of playing in various weather conditions -- especially the combination of rain and FieldTurf.

Here's the story.