For now, at least, the Sounders have decided to stick with their rave green jerseys Wednesday night in Portland.

That's the only jersey they Sounders have ever worn, but because the Timbers were green at home, the Sounders initially announced that they were going to pull out their blue alternate jerseys for the first time. However, after further review, the Sounders seem to have decided that Portland's green is so deep that there's won't be any confusion with the Sounders' rave green, and therefore Seattle now intends to wear its usual home kits: green tops, blue pants, green socks.

However, the referee gets the final say. So we won't know for sure until they take the pitch.

And speaking of kits -- which I know about half of you enjoy and about half of you can't stand -- my editor, Dale Phelps, found this story that leaks some of the English Premier League uniform changes for the coming season.

Wednesday's Seattle-Portland game is just one of eight U.S. Open Cup third-round games -- six of which will be played tonight.

Here's a good look at this round of games.

However, the Wednesday games both look exceptional, because both pair rivals from different leagues: Houston (MLS) vs. Austin (USL-1), and of course Sounders-Timbers.

Here's a closer look at that one:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (MLS)
AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (USL-Division I)
7 p.m. Wednesday, PGE Park, Portland.
TV: FSN.
Notes: This is a third-round match of the U.S. Open Cup, the nation’s oldest soccer tournament, which is open to clubs from all levels of the sport. … Portland advanced with wins over the Kitsap Pumas (3-0) and the Sonoma County (Calif.) Sol (3-0). Seattle advanced with wins over Real Salt Lake (4-1) and Colorado (1-0). … The Sounders will be without midfielder Brad Evans (USA) and defender Tyrone Marshall (Jamaica) due to national team duty. Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso (groin) is out, and midfielder Steve Zakuani (ankle) is doubtful. Forward Jarrod Smith remains on the MLS injured reserve list, but he is eligible for cup play. … Portland is 7-1-5 in USL play, and led by goalkeeper Steve Cronin (0.6 gaa), forward Mandjou Keita (4 g) and midfielder Brian Farber (3 a). … As of Tuesday, fewer than 2,000 tickets remained available. … If the game is tied at the end of regulation, it will go to a 30-minute overtime and then, if necessary, penalty kicks.
Next: If the Sounders advance to the Open Cup semifinal on July 7, they will either host Kansas City at Starfire Sports Stadium or visit the Minnesota Thunder. If eliminated, their next game will be a regular-season MLS match against Houston on July 11 at Qwest Field.

The Portland Timbers report that as of this morning, about 2,000 tickets remain available for their U.S. Open Cup match against the Sounders at 7 p.m. Wednesday at PGE Park.

That reflects about 300 additional ticket sales since this this blog report that I found recently.

The game will be shown live on FSN.

The Sounders are coming up to an interesting month of their schedule where they leave league play a little and begin meeting teams of different levels: Wednesday against the Timbers, mid-month against Chelsea, early next month against Barcelona.

I asked Kasey Keller about the stretch a little bit on Sunday, and while he admitted pressure when Seattle visits Portland, he also pointed out that there would be no pressure when the Sounders meet Chelsea

“Actually it’s kind of cool, to be honest,” he said. “I mean let’s not kid ourselves, this Open Cup game on Wednesday is a big deal. But after that you’re looking at the Chelsea game, which is fun. There’s no pressure there, we’re supposed to (lose), and it doesn’t mean anything. So for us, it’s an opportunity to get some guys a chance to play against some world-class opposition, and test themselves. So that’s kind of a fun week just to kind of switch off mentally and just be ready physically.”

And really he's right, even forgetting the perceived level of any of the teams, simply because Portland is cup play, while Chelsea is a pure friendly.

But then this afternoon, I was interviewing Portland coach Gavin Wilkinson, and he also weighed in pretty heavily with the expectations game, saying all the pressure will be on Seattle on Wednesday.

“Seattle cannot lose to Portland,” he said. “Seattle is an MLS team. For us it’s a matter of going in, enjoying the experience and playing the game. For Seattle, they’re taking a huge step in going to MLS, and this is a game they must win. The urgency of the game, while I think they’re looking forward to it, they also understand the seriousness of the event.”

Anyway, I think it's a fascinating part of the schedule coming up, and that's what I wrote about in the Tuesday paper.

Sounders forward Nate Jaqua was selected as MLS Player of the Week after scoring two goals and assisting the other in Seattle's 3-0 win over Colorado on Sunday.

Here's part of the MLS announcement:

This is his first Player of the Week honor since Week 10 of 2005 when he recorded his first career hat trick, as a member of the Chicago Fire, in a 5-2 victory over Chivas USA. Jaqua, a standout at the University of Portland, was drafted third overall by the Chicago Fire in 2003. The eight-year veteran has played for the Chicago Fire, Los Angeles Galaxy and won MLS Cup 2007 with the Houston Dynamo. He has three career appearances with the U.S. Men’s National Team. For more on Jaqua’s award click here.

The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR).

I'm a member of the NASR, and Jaqua was my top vote this week. We're allowed two, and my second went to LA keeper Donovan Ricketts who was in goal last night as the Galaxy shutout league-leading Houston.

The Sounders went through a shorter-than-normal practice today at Starfire, turning their attention to their US Open Cup match Wednesday at Portland.

Osvaldo Alonso is certainly out of the game with the abductor strain he suffered yesterday. Brad Evans will be off with the U.S. national team. Tyrone Marshall will be off with the Jamaican national team. Steve Zakuani hasn't been ruled out, but the vibe I got is that they'll rest him again, hoping to have his ankle fully recovered in time for Houston's visit July 11. And coach Sigi Schmid said he probably won't decide on his goalkeeper until tomorrow, when the team practices at PGE Park.

Final: Sounders win, 3-0, before a franchise-record crowd of 32,526. (Here's my game story.)

Jaqua two goals and an assist, Montero one goal and two assists. Jaqua also has a yellow-card removed from his season total after going his third straight game without a caution.

The Sounders go to 6-3-7 and move four points ahead of Colorado, which falls to 5-3-6. (And now with Houston losing to LA tonight, the Sounders move to within three points of the top of the league.)

Sounders next return to US Open Cup play Wednesday at Portland. They don't return to league play until July 11, when Houston visits for what shapes up as a very big game.

Schmid said Alonso's injury is an abductor strain, and while there's no real prognosis yet, he'll certainly miss the Timbers game.

A few postgame quotes:

Sigi Schmid's overview: “It was good to get three goals. That always makes the game easier. Artistically, probably not our best game, but you have to find a way to win games like that. We did good with the opportunities we had. I’m thankful they missed the PK. Not sure that was a PK because he had his hands into his body when it hit him, but that’s the way it was. This was a good win for us. We talked all week about how we want to win season series with teams and this wins our season series with Colorado, which is important for a tiebreaker at the end of the year. We have eight points in our last four games. We want to keep going.”

KASEY KELLER on the Sounders handling their 2-0 lead better than they had against DC United: “You saw pretty much as they pushed forward, we hit them on the counter for the third, and then Fredy (Montero) and Nate (Jaqua) had two good chances. (Matt) Pickens made a couple good saves first to extend it even further. I think what it was is that we were a little more patient, we dropped into good spots to defend and then when they pushed guys forward and we won the ball, we hit them on the counter and I think that was a very good professional. I was a little disappointed with (Omar) Cummings breaking free at the end and putting it over the top, that was nice, but at the same time there’s a minute left and you’re three – nil up it’s understandable.”

FREDY MONTERO (through translator) on his four goals in four games: “Well thank God, four goals in a row, that’s a demonstration of me preparing, practicing, putting the effort in practice and reflecting well in the games as well.”

FREDDIE LJUNGBERG on recent offensive productivity: “It’s like I said, the small things, I think that’s where we had problems maybe and D.C we let them back in the game and same in New York, some mistakes we do in certain areas of the pitch and like I said something that I highlighted earlier today but if you want to win something you can’t while making mistakes because all the big teams they don’t make mistakes, that’s why they win. Today I felt like no mistakes and it’s a fair win. Like I said, maybe the chemistry is getting better but I think we played well the last couple of games is more of the small details.”

Colorado Rapids forward OMAR CUMMINGS on the game: “Very frustrating. When you don’t take care of the opportunities you have then you get punished for it. Unfortunately we didn’t score on ours and they scored on theirs. That is the way the game goes.”


Colorad coach GARY SMITH overview: “I thought we deserved to get beat three to nil. In the first half we played as good as football as we have had in some time. The big differences in the game were the big plays, the goals. The moments that we don’t convert and Seattle does. The one vs. one with Colin [Clark] in the first minute of the game and the penalty kick. Those were the clearest opportunities that I can remember. Full credit to Seattle and what they are is workmen like and solid team. In [Freddie] Ljungberg, [Fredy] Montero, and [Nate] Jaqua, you have individuals who can change the game and today they did just that.”

Scoring Summary:
SEA -- Fredy Montero 8 (Nate Jaqua 5, Freddie Ljungberg 4) 23
SEA -- Nate Jaqua 5 (Fredy Montero 5) 48
SEA -- Nate Jaqua 6 (Fredy Montero 6, Sebastien Le Toux 3) 68

Colorado Rapids -- Matt Pickens, Ugo Ihemelu (Kosuke Kimura 83), Cory Gibbs, Scott Palguta, Jordan Harvey, Nick LaBrocca (Jacob Peterson 65), Mehdi Ballouchy, Pablo Mastroeni (Greg Dalby 72), Colin Clark, Pat Noonan, Omar Cummings.

Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, Terry Cooke, Ross Schunk, Rob Valentino.

TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Omar Cummings 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Colin Clark 1, Nick LaBrocca 1); FOULS: 16 (Ugo Ihemelu 3, Nick LaBrocca 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Omar Cummings 1); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Colin Clark 3); SAVES: 1 (Matt Pickens 1)

Seattle Sounders FC -- Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall, Tyson Wahl, Sanna Nyassi (Sebastien Le Toux 67), Osvaldo Alonso (Patrick Ianni 39), Brad Evans, Freddie Ljungberg (Peter Vagenas 87), Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero.

Substitutes Not Used: Terry Boss, Stephen King, Roger Levesque, Nathan Sturgis.

TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Nate Jaqua 2, Fredy Montero 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Nate Jaqua 2); FOULS: 13 (Osvaldo Alonso 3, Nate Jaqua 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Fredy Montero 1); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Freddie Ljungberg 5); SAVES: 2 (Kasey Keller 2)

Misconduct Summary:
COL -- Ugo Ihemelu (caution; Reckless Tackle) 17
SEA -- Freddie Ljungberg (caution; Delaying a Restart) 19
COL -- Pablo Mastroeni (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 29
COL -- Scott Palguta (caution; Reckless Tackle) 41
SEA -- Brad Evans (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 71

Referee: Alex Prus
Referee's Assistants: -Emiliano Monje; Jeff Hosking
4th Official: Mike Rottersman
Attendance: 32,526
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Sunny-and-67-degrees

=> Read more!

And extremely interesting pair of games are in the books.

What do you make of them? And, for those of you who watched at Qwest, what did you think of the Sounders' arrangement? And did you manage to make it to the end without learning the result?

=> Read more!

Well, OK, not really. However, he is in an interesting situation heading into Sunday's game ... when something has to give.

Jaqua has accumulated four yellow cards this season, which means that if he picks up another against Colorado on Sunday he will have to sit out the Sounders’ next league match.

However, because Jaqua hasn’t picked up any yellow cards over his last two games, one card will be deducted from his record if he makes it three straight on Sunday.

As an added drama, that next game is probably especially meaningful to Jaqua because the opponent will be Hounton -- not only the current Western Division leader but also the team that made him available to Seattle in the expansion draft.

That presents Jaqua with a balancing act Sunday: Play smart but not soft.

“I’ll try to stay off the ground as much as possible,” he said. “Sometimes when I go down I get in a little late just because it takes me a while to get down. As a forward, there are certain situations where I need to, but for the most part I don’t need to be tackling. I’m not like a center back where I have to go in on those. It’s almost better if I stay in front of him and hold him in on those. I’ll try not to commit to the ones I’m unsure about; but for stuff in the air, you can’t let it get in your head. I’ve got to try to win those 50-50s.”

The Sounders are off the practice pitch for the final time before tomorrow's big game against Colorado.

It was a beautiful day for practice, and lots of kids from youth teams and their parents watched the Sounders conclude their otherwise closed practice and then seemed to have fun getting autographs after.

As for the team, the only real news is the apparent improvement of Sebastien Le Toux's ankle injury to the point where he seems probable. Coach Sigi Schmid indicated that Steve Zakuani is improving, but likely will be a gameday decision.

Here's a quick early scouting report:

COLORADO RAPIDS (5-2-6, 21 pts.)
AT SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (5-3-7, 22 pts.)
1 p.m. Sunday, Qwest Field.

TV: KONG 6/16.
Radio: 97.3 FM (in Spanish on 1210 AM).

Head to head: The Sounders and Rapids played to a 2-2 draw May 23 in Colorado. Three days later, the Sounders beat the Rapids, 1-0, in a U.S. Open Cup play-in game in Tukwila.

Team leaders: For Colorado -- G 8 Conor Casey; A 6 Omar Cummings; Sh 38 Casey; SOG 15 Casey; GAA 1.11 Matt Pickens. For Seattle – G 7 Fredy Montero; A 4 Montero/Nate Jaqua; Sh 47 Montero; SOG 17 Montero; GAA 0.90 Kasey Keller.

Schmid says: “Cummings is on a very good roll for them; he’s scoring goals, he’s playing with a lot of confidence, so he’s somebody we got to be concerned about. (Colin) Clark has played well. … They’re a team that’s very confident. They haven’t lost many games in league, and its going to be a difficult opponent.”

Notes: A Colorado victory would send the Rapids past Seattle into third place the MLS Western Conference standings. … Conor Casey will miss this game due to duty with the U.S. National Team. … Colorado leads MLS with an average of 1.62 goals per game. ... The Rapids are on a franchise-best eight-game unbeaten streak (3-0-5). … Seattle is 4-1-3 at home; Colorado is 2-2-3 on the road, including a 1-1 draw at Dallas on Wednesday. … Former USL Sounder Preston Burpo is Colorado’s reserve keeper. He’s played in four games with a 1.25 goals-against average. … The first half of the Confederations Cup final between USA and Brazil will be shown live on the Qwest Field video boards. Then second half will be shown after the MLS game. … Despite a newly expanded 32,400-seat configuration, the game is sold out.

Next: 7 p.m. Wednesday, U.S. Open Cup third-round match vs. Portland Timbers, PGE Park, Portland.

It's Saturday, but it's not gameday.

So, a few Sounders notes to pass the time.

Here's my story from today's TNT taking a look at the Sounders as the hottest ticket in U.S. soccer, which has led to their expanded seating configuration starting Sunday at Qwest.

The Sounders popularity also is reflected in a note I received from the Gorilla FC supporters group, reporting that another bus has been added to their trip down to Portland on Wednesday to see the Sounders-Timbers U.S. Open Cup match. Cost for a seat on the bus and a ticket to the match is $42. You can reserve your spot or get more information by e-mailing gorillafc@gmail.com.

Also, for those attending the Rapids-Sounders game, this note from the club:

The Seattle Sounders FC and 770 KTTH invite all fans to participate in a soccer ball drive during the match on Sunday, June 28 at Qwest Field.

Fans are encouraged to donate soccer balls, which will be collected by U.S. soldiers and distributed to the children of Iraq on behalf of the “Kick for Nick Foundation”, a non-profit organization named in honor of Private Nicolas Madaras (Ma-DARE-as), whose love for soccer and the children of Iraq lives on through this foundation.

Soccer balls and donations will be accepted at the Qwest Field gates. All donations go directly to purchase soccer balls, pumps, and packaging materials.

Finally, the Sounders have their final pregame training session this morning. So, I should have a few more pregame notes here this afternoon.

Till then...

Steve Zakuani took it easy today but was on the pitch after tweaking his ankle yesterday.

That probably passes for good news, considering the way he was carted off the practice field Thursday. However, there was no firm thumbs up or down for his status for Sunday's game. And that status may have become more important because coach Sigi Schmid revealed that Sebastien Le Toux also is trying to work through an ankle roll.

“(Zakuani's ankle is) a little bit sore so we decided with both him and Sebastien Le Toux to have them lay off today and then we’ll see how they feel tomorrow," Schmid said. "Seba’s probably a little further along than Zakuani at this stage. (Le Toux's injury) was an ankle, he got hit on a tackle by (Carlos) Mendes and then (Kevin) Goldthwaite stepped on him, which I guess isn’t a yellow card. ... He’s dealing pretty well with it.”

Obviously if both Zakuani and Le Toux are out -- or less than 100 percent -- that would force considerable creativity in Schmid's lineup against Colorado.

Meanwhile, the Sounders also have announced the signing of reserve goalkeeper Terry Boss, on Oregon native who has played in MLS, USL-DII and with the Puerto Rican national team.

Here's their news release:

The Seattle Sounders FC has signed goalkeeper Terry Boss, the team announced today.

Boss, 27, earned USL-2 Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2008 while playing for the Charlotte Eagles. He joined the New York Red Bulls on September 15, 2008, and remained with the MLS club until being waived May 27.

A native of Philomath, Ore., Boss has been training with Sounders FC since early June. He has represented the Puerto Rico National Team three times, all in 2008.

“I was aware of Boss while he was playing in USL-2 with the Charlotte Eagles,” said Coach Sigi Schmid. “He’s got good size, good range, and he works very hard. He had an injury setback last year, but he’s looked very sharp in his training with us and we’re happy to have him. ”

Boss led USL-2 in wins (11) and shutouts (9) in 2008, helping Charlotte reach the league championship game. After signing with New York he played in three reserve team games before sustaining a torn posterior cruciate ligament.

Transactions: Seattle Sounders (MLS) – Signed GK Terry Boss
Terry Boss (No. 28)
Position: Goalkeeper
Height: 6-3
Weight 205
Birthdate: 9/1/1981
Hometown: Philomath, Oregon (USA)
College: Tulsa (2000-2004)

Unfortunately, the signing was announced after I left practice today, so I had no chance to ask anyone with the Sounders about what this means to either Chris Eylander -- the No. 2 keeper who is recovering (or not) from injury -- or MLS emergency keeper Ben Dragavon, who has been with the team since Eylander went on the injured list.

Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani was helped from the Starfire practice pitch this morning with an ankle injury -- right ankle, I believe.

After sitting on the bench for 20 minutes or so, Zakuani was taken from the field on a cart.

As he was getting onto the cart, he seemed clearly unable to put weight on the ankle. However, no diagnosis or prognosis was immediately available.

Meanwhile, the club also announced that forward Kevin Forrest has been placed on waivers.

Forrest, 24, did not play in any MLS games but he scored the lone goal in Seattle's U.S. Open Cup play-in game against Colorado. He had signed a senior developmental player contract March 24.

Sounders FC general manager Adrian Hanauer said today that the 1 p.m. kickoff of Sunday's game against Colorado won't be changed, despite it's conflict with the Confederations Cup final.

However, Hanauer said the team is working on ways to mitigate the conflict for fans and that an announcement will be made soon. And meanwhile, prostamerika.com is reporting this.

Here's a story I wrote this morning on the Sounders' reaction to the USA's win over Spain yesterday.

What comes next is learning the Americans' opponent: either Brazil or South Africa, who meet this morning at 11:25 on ESPN.

Unfortunately, that conflict with my time at Sounders practice today, so I'll be DVRing the game like a lot of you and getting to it sometime after the fact.

Meanwhile, I'm creating this spot for any of you who want to discuss today's match -- before, during or after -- and, of course, the one coming up on Sunday.

This news just in from Sounders FC:

The Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the U.S. National Team has called in midfielder Brad Evans for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Evans will join the national team for training next week in Seattle. The U.S. faces Grenada in its first Gold Cup group match on July 4 at Qwest Field. Kickoff is 6 p.m. PT. That game is preceded in the doubleheader with a match featuring Honduras and Haiti at 4 p.m. PT.

This will be the first Senior National Team selection for Evans, 24. He was with the U-20 National Team at the 2005 FIFA Youth World Championships.

The U.S. will also play Honduras in Washington, D.C., on July 8 and Haiti at Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 11. Quarterfinal games are July 18 and 19 in Philadelphia and Dallas, respectively. Semifinals will be July 23 in Chicago and the Gold Cup final is July 26 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Evans has started 14 games for Seattle and ranks second in minutes (1249). He has scored two goals and added an assist. He becomes the second Sounders FC player called for Gold Cup duty. Tyrone Marshall will represent Jamaica.

The Sounders train later this morning. I'll try to get Evans reaction then.

Meanwhile, I talked a little yesterday to Jarrod Smith and Tyrone Marshall about their national team callups -- New Zealand and Jamaica respectively. Some of that here.

Colorado scored late for a 1-1 draw with Dallas last night.

That let the Rapids salvage a point in the standings, but kept them a point behind Sounders FC in the MLS Western Division standings going into their head-to-head meeting Sunday at Qwest Field.

Here's the game report from the Denver Post.

Portland still appears on the road to MLS, but it seems to be a bumpier road than anyone expected when the city and league held the expansion announcement celebration in March.

Bringing PGE Park up to MLS standards while trying to figure out what to do with the Triple-A Beavers is proving to be a puzzle whose pieces are not yet all in place.

However, the city council has agreed to separate the issues -- working on the Timbers' home as one issue and the Beavers' home as another. And that should help. Although the Sept. 1 deadline for MLS still looms.

Here's the latest from The Oregonian.

I received notes from a couple of readers pointing out that the USA's amazing win in the Confederation Cup semifinals puts them in a bind for the final.

The championship game against either Brazil or South Africa will kicks off at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, while the Sounders game at Qwest Field against Colorado kicks off at 1.

So, as one writer put it: "Club or country? I would rather not make that call."

So the suggestion has been made, why not move the Sounders game back an hour or so?

I ran that by the Sounders today, and they say they're at least exploring the possibility.

However, there are so many parties involved -- the league, the broadcasters, the visiting team, stadium workers -- that they didn't seem to think it would happen.

More likely, they'll try to get permission to show the US game on Qwest's big screens before kickoff, so fans can watch that way. However, under present timing, the Cup final wouldn't be finished by the time the Sounders are scheduled to start. And you can imagine the groans involved in switching away from, say, a even USA-Brazil match in the final minutes. (On the other end of the spectrum, the Sounders seem to think there's no point in trying to ignore the Cup final so that fans can tape it and get home to watch without knowing the result.)

So, bottom line: No decision yet. They're aware of the conflict and thinking about ways around it. But they don't seem convinced that there is any good way around it that doesn't annoy as many fans as it helps.

Obviously, we'll keep you posted.

With the Sounders exactly 15 games through a 30-game regular season, coach Sigi Schmid gave this mid-term report after practice today:

"I feel OK where we're at. We've been in every game we've played. There's only been two halves -- one half in Chicago, and one half in Colorado -- where I thought we got outplayed and a team really took it to us and had us on our heels. I thought for the majority of time we've either been the better team ore we've been as good as the team we've played against. We're averaging about a point-and-a-half a game, which is what you need to do to get into the playoffs, so we're on course there.

"We want to do better in the second half of the season. I think offensively our cohesion is getting better -- we're starting to click a little more. And defensively we have to make sure we sure up those little mistakes, those little mental errors that sometimes we've made in the last couple of games where we kept giving away a goal. We've got to get back to getting clean sheets.

But overall I feel good where our team's at, and I think our team's got to feel good because they're a lot further along than they were when we started the season in March. Their knowledge of each other is a lot deeper."

A couple of other interesting quotes from today:

Kasey Keller, relating to Tim Howard's work while under attack today in the Confederation Cup:

“You’re just hoping that the ball comes somewhere where you can do something about it. You’re hoping that guys make tackles. You’re hoping that at some stage they kind of clean it up. It was a bit lopsided, but I thought the guys defended very very well. And if you’re going to beat a team like Spain, you’re going to need your goalkeeper to make some saves.”

And Taylor Graham, on his appearance today on "The Price is Right."

“I was lucky that today was the first day that we’ve trained in three or four days; so a lot of guys, I think it kind of slipped their mind. But I’m sure someone will track down a copy. I think people are really happy that they have that under their belt so they can hold it against me whenever they want. I’ll be the first to admit I was terrible.”

The Sounders went through a light practice today, and then a light-hearted interview session talking about the U.S. national team's result today and Taylor Grapham's appearance on "The Price is Right."

I'll try to come back with more on that later. But the news today was mostly the increasingly healthy team.

Coach Sigi Schmid said it was a good thing that his team had a mid-season break of three days off. And he said that aside from mental health, they're getting physically healthier, as well. He said Freddy Ljungberg, who missed the draw at New York on Saturday due to a sore hamstring, should be ready for Colorado’s visit on Sunday. Schmid also cited Smith and Zack Scott are fit to play, and he cited Graham and reserve keeper Chris Eylander as making progress.

I'm not going to give the score here out of respect for those of you who worked today and taped or TiVo'd for later.

However, if you don't want to know the result yet, read no further

=> Read more!

Sounders' central defender Taylor Graham will appear on Wednesday’s airing of "The Price Is Right," which, of course, is hosted by FC minority owner Drew Carey.

The show appears on CBS (locally, Channel 7) from 10-11 a.m.

The Sounders are off today. They will return with a rare afternoon training session on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the club announced one coming and one going due to national team duty:

The Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the Jamaica National Team has called in central defender Tyrone Marshall for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Marshall will travel to Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 1, to join the national team.

Marshall, who has 65 international caps, was last called up by the Reggae Boyz for a February 11 friendly in London against Nigeria.

Jamaica faces Canada (July 3 in Los Angeles), Costa Rica (July 7 in Columbus, Ohio) and El Salvador (July 10 in Miami) in Gold Cup group play. Knockout rounds begin with the quarterfinals in Philadelphia and Dallas on July 18-19. The semifinals are July 23 in Chicago and the Gold Cup final is July 26 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Marshall has played more minutes (1,260) than any Seattle player this season, starting 14 games and scoring one goal and one assist.

Meanwhile:

Jarrod Smith will return to training this week after completing his call-up to the New Zealand National Team for much of June. Smith started and played 55 minutes of a June 6 friendly with Botswana, one of three preparation games for the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. He did not see action in any of the All Whites’ three Confederations Cup games. Smith, on the disabled list for MLS games since the start of the season, made his only Sounders FC appearance in an Open Cup Play-In on April 28.

I have already post that Doyle's Public House in Tacoma is planning a bus trip down to Portland for the U.S. Open Cup match on July 1.

And the Sounders report that hundreds of fans have made the commitment to travel to the game. The Emerald City Supporters alone have sold over 250 tickets to date.

Now we also have word that Gorilla FC is also planning a bus trip down, in tandem with NES and Immortal.

Here is some of the information provided:

For $39, you get a ticket to the match, a seat on the bus, and enjoy some adult beverages along the way (as long as you're 21 or over).

You can pay in person at any GFC, NES or Immortal event, mail a check, or pay via paypal or get more information at gorillafc@gmail.com.

The bus will start in Seattle at 2 p.m. and make two addition stops as it heads south.

All ages are welcome. The front is for families, and those wishing to drink can head to the back.

Meanwhile, it also has been announced that if Seattle advances to the Open Cup quarterfinals it would either host Kansas City or visit Minnesota (USL-1) on July 7.

Newcastle United, which for my money had the greatest soccer kit on the planet, has decided that perfection wasn't good enough.

So now they have created new kits that look like what would result from the unholy mating of the old Newcastle uniforms with the Columbus Crew.

But, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

The PDL Tacoma Tide begins a long homestand tonight with a game against the Seattle Wolves at Curtis High School's Viking Field in University Place.

The game begins a long home stretch for the Tide, in which six of their final 7 regular-season games are at home.

Here's the Tide schedule.

Good news for Northwest soccer fans. The Seattle Sounders-Portland Timbers third-round match in the U.S. Open Cup next week will be televised from Portland's PGE Park on FSN.

Here's the release from the Timbers:

The Portland Timbers announced today that the team’s match against Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, July 1, at PGE Park will be broadcast live on FSN; kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

The third-round matchup between the Timbers and Sounders FC will be the first official meeting between the Northwest rivals since Seattle joined MLS in 2009. The spirited Portland-Seattle rivalry dates back to 1975 when both were a part of the North American Soccer League. As members of the USL First Division, Portland and Seattle battled through nearly 30 regular-season matches over eight seasons as well as multiple playoff and U.S. Open Cup contests.

The July 1 matchup against Seattle on FSN will replace the Timbers’ previously scheduled FSN broadcast on Sept. 13 against the Cleveland City Stars.

A live broadcast of the Timbers’ U.S. Open Cup fixture against Seattle will also air on 95.5 The Game.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 95 consecutive years dating back to 1914.

Omar Cummings of the Colorado Rapids won MLS player of the week today.

My vote went to Sounders forward Fredy Montero, keeping in mind that the Sounders played two games last week, and Montero contributed to both of them.

However, Montero's steal and goal Saturday at New York remains in the running for MLS goal of the week.

I know I've been asking you guys to do a lot of writing recently ... but here with a seven-day break in the season and I'm wondering what you're thinking with the Sounders' inaugural season at its exact midpoint.

I'm especially interested because I have my own assessment in the Monday paper -- and once I was done writing, I had kind of surprised myself with how upbeat it was.

So, I'm wondering what you think of the 3-0 start and the 2-3-7 run that followed, which combine to leave the Sounders at 5-3-7 (fourth in the league by points, fifth by average points per result) with 15 down and 15 to go.

Overall, are they meeting expectations? Still exceeding expectations? Failing to meet the exptations that they raised with their early success? Or what?

The U.S. Men's National Team is on its way to the semifinals of the Confederation Cup after getting through on an imporbable pair of results: Brazil's 3-0 win over Italy, and team USA's 3-0 win over Egypt. (Here's the info from U.S. Soccer.)

Amazing. I knew there was a certain set of math that could get the team through, but it seemed so improbable that I mostly just rolled my eyes reading about it this morning.

Amazing. And while in the mood for miracles: Spain awaits Wednesday.

Final: Sounders 1, New York 1.

Eh.

I know the announcers were making the case that you've got to be happy with a point on the road. And maybe especially when playing your third game in eight days.

But the Sounders dominated, and its really not hard to feel that they left two points on the table for the second match in a row; hard to feel these eight days shouldn't have produced nine points instead of five.

All of that said, I thought this was the best game I've seen Fredy Montero play. He was inches from a hat trick, putting one header off the crossbar in the first half and bouncing another off the left pole in the closing minutes ... in addition to his brilliant steal and goal in the first half.

Now exactly halfway through the season, the Sounders are 5-3-7 with 22 points. They're soundly in playoff position, despite the general feeling that they've underachived a bit lately. So, I guess there's something good in that.

New York, meanwhile, falls to 2-10-4 and the absolute bottom of the MLS standings after San Jose and Dallas each won today.

Game details are available at the MLS Match Center.

And here are some quotes provided by the Red Bulls:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
On tonight’s match:“We gave away a goal that we shouldn’t have given away. But we were able to get one back, you know they made a mistake as well. So as we said at halftime, it was all even; they gave us one, we gave them one. On the second half, I thought battling is something we may be didn’t do at the end of the game against D.C. (United), but I also thought we created some good chances at the end. It was a little unfortunate when (Roger) Levesque was in there that one time, (Fredy) Montero was in a couple of times, he hit one off the post and one off the crossbar.”

On Montero’s Goal:
“I mean, that was an unbelievable goal, you know when he strikes all of the ball and he gets all of the ball. Then, there’s not much anybody can do to stop it, and he just ripped it. I think it’s got to be one of the candidates for Goal of the Week.”

On playing without some key starters:
“Well guys did well, I mean (Patrick) Ianni played well for (Jhon Hurtado) Kennedy, and obviously Nate (Jaqua). We’ve had some injuries up front, so it’s almost like we have five starters there anyway, but I thought the guys balanced off fairly well. I thought (Fredy) Montero put forth a really big effort tonight on terms of just being active, moving around the field. His fitness is getting better all the time which is a big plus for us.”

FREDY MONTERO
On tonight’s match and the goal:
“It’s a ball that I recovered on the right flank, I quickly got into the box and I managed to strike it well to the far post. It helped us breathe a little easier to go into halftime and work on the mistakes we made during the first half. On the second half, I believe we stepped out with a different attitude, we had all the chances to score. Sadly, that is the way football works, sometimes we win and some other times like today, we tie having all the chances in the world.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS GOALKEEPER KASEY KELLER
On tonight’s match:“I just don’t know how you play on that surface. I mean, it’s a shame, I’ve heard it was bad but I didn’t believe it was this bad. It’s a shame. I just don’t know how you play a good game on this surface. In the end, we gave them a goal and they gave us a goal, we battled hard and had the better chances in the second half, they held on and they kept the point. It will only get better when they get into their new stadium and you can actually play there.”

NEW YORK RED BULLS HEAD COACH JUAN CARLOS OSORIO
On the game:
“I thought we had a good first half except for the last minute. I thought we had the better chances. Unfortunately, we conceded again. It was a very soft goal and it cost us dearly today. It was very difficult to come back from that dramatic goal against but at the end, it’s a point and I think we played for our pride in the second half and I think it was worth it.”

Thanks also to those of you who kept the conversation going through the match.

=> Read more!

Gamday. And remember, of course, that with the three-time-zone difference, kickoff is 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will be shown on KONG. (And my listings show that KONG will be showing paid programming before the game. So, assuming that paid programming isn't college baseball, odds seem very good that Sounders coverage will start on time.)

As noted in my story from this morning's paper, this is likely to be the Sounders' only appearance ever at Giants Stadium, where Pele and the Cosmos once played. Next season, the team moves to Red Bull Arena, which looks to become one of the real showplaces of MLS.

Here's a preview from ESPN, which quantifies just how badly the Red Bulls are playing right now. Here's one from the Newark Star Ledger on the Bulls possibly playing for their coach's job.

Unfortunately, I'm not in New Jersey (and I hope you appreciate how rarely those words are used), however I'll open a new blog post just before gametime for in-game comments and postgame discussion. I also should be receiving some Sounders' postgame quotes, and I'll pass those along as soon as I get them.

Some interesting comments down below on the U.S. men's national team. So, with the Sounders in New York and little news expected until their 4:30 kickoff tomorrow, I thought I'd try to get your thoughts on another topic that seems a particular hot-button issue this week: Sounders/MLS/soccer broadcast coverage.

Before setting the stage, let me mention that I just received this note from the Sounders:

Beginning today at 11 a.m., the D.C. United at Seattle Sounders FC game from Wednesday night will be aired in its entirety for free on MLSnet.com. It will start out on the media wall like a highlight, then move to the video archive late today: http://web.mlsnet.com/sights/archive.jsp?aType=videoHighlights.

And that, I assume, is the league's condolence card to Sounders fans who got only the final 30 minutes (certainly not the 30 minutes any Sounders fan wanted to watch) of the game against DC United on Wednesday.

I'm sure Greg Roth from Next Season Sports speaks for many with this column ... as does this wonderful to-the-point line from a derekyoung post below:

PS ESPN, you are dead to me.

So, with with all of that going on, I thought this might be a pretty good time to offer you guys a forum to share your thoughts. However, this is a topic where I can't contribute much, because I'm usually at the games live and don't get to see or hear them much.

I'll just assume that no one was happy about getting force-fed Virginia-Arkansas baseball when Sounders-DC United was promised. (Although amid the criticism, there also was some praise. Granted, for only 80 seconds of the broadcast, but praise nonetheless. Anyone else notice this?)

But asside from the ESPN2 SNAFU, any thoughts on the MLS national package? Or the local radio/TV game broadcasts and pre- and post-game shows? How's Kevin Calabro doing with the shift from Sonics to soccer? Etc.?

I will say this, I do like Lisa Gangel's "Sounders FC Weekly" wrap-up show Sunday evenings on KONG, which is a very good combination of Sounders highlights, league highlights, and Sounders news and features.

And I have noticed that KJR hosts Groz & Gas and Ian Furness and Softy seem to be increasing their Sounders/soccer talk.

Take it away.

Actually, that's a question for you and the comments section below.

JoePublic got it started with this:

The subject that really has me frosted just now, Bradley's gotta go. The national team has put it in reverse, despite the fact we have more talented players now than ever. (Can we get a thread, DR?)

I remember in the early '90s US Soccer people talked publicly about developing players and teams good enough to challenge for the 2010 World Cup.

Um, dit-da-dit-da-dit, this just in: It ain't gonna happen.

The Costa Rica performance was the worst by a US team in many years. And now we've been held up against the gold standard in Italy and Brazil and found very, very wanting. You can see in the players that whatever confidence they had left is now gone.

I respect Bob Bradley but the time has come for him to go. The team has reasonably talented players, but there is no focus, no style, no concerted effort to play to strengths and conceal weaknesses, no sense at all that we have a plan. It's more like we're out there making up the numbers, like running, jumping practice cones.

I don't know who we ought to bring it, but it should be a manager with a proven record of success on the international stage. I suspect the USSF has money coming out its ears, so pay shouldn't be an issue. In the last negotiations with Klinsmann it sounded like the deal broke down because USSF didn't want to give him the control he was seeking for issues beyond the immediate team -- my recollection of that could be off. But it appears the federation does not know best in that regard.

That said, I am not convinced that Klinsmann is the answer. He has not done well since the last World Cup. On the other hand, he is available, and he can bring a plan and some international knowledge to the team. We could do worse, I guess.

I would like for this to happen quickly. Get a new guy in there to get acquainted with the team in the Gold Cup, which is not that important a tournament this year, and then get things moving in the right direction in the qualification matches. We will lose to Mexico in August, no matter what, but after that we have to get a team playing with purpose to finish off the hexagonal and book our place in the finals next summer.

But we cannot afford to come out of another World Cup finals without getting out of our group. We can't settle for minnow status, but that's where we are heading just now.

Thank you for letting me vent.

It's actually a very good time for this discussion, with the Confederations Cup disaster playing out, with the US team coming to Seattle for the Gold Cup, and of course, with World Cup qualifying.

Plus, the Sounders are in New Jersey today, so I don't know if any particular news will be coming from there until Saturday.

So: Thoughts?

Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub in downtown Seattle will host a viewing party Saturday while Seattle Sounders FC visits the New York Red Bulld. The event is a fund-raiser to benefit 'Kicks 4 Kids."

The event will be held 4-8 p.m. Saturday at Kells,
1916 Post Alley in Seattle near the Pike Place Market. Autographed Sounders FC items, match tickets, restaurant gift certificates and much more will be raffled.

Then on July 1, Doyles Public House in Tacoma is sending a supporter bus down to Portland for the U.S. Open Cup game between the Sounders and the Timbers.

The $60 charge include game ticket - section 218 first 3 rows - and round-trip transportation. The bus will leave at 3 p.m. and is expected back round midnight. Beer and bathroom will be available on board, and therefore no minors. Fifty-six seats are available, and as the Doyle's release points out:
"There is safety in numbers when traveling to far off lands."

If it's any consolation, you're not the only one frustrated by the Sounders 3-3 draw, with victory slipping away on an own-goal by Tyrone Marshall in the closing minutes.

Coach Sigi Schmid made his frustrations known -- politely. Kasey Keller did too -- but didn't bother with the diplomacy.

"Our lack of discipline is killing us, and from multiple things," Keller said. "You don’t pick and choose when you mark a guy, you don’t pick and choose when you run with your runner, you don’t pick and choose when you decide to make a run and put pressure on the ball. You do all the hard work, 3-1 at home, you close up shop. And instead we just don’t have the discipline to do it, we don’t have the discipline to say, ‘Ok, I’m not going to go forward this time, I’m not going to try to flick a ball over somebody’s head and do something special, I’m going to do my job and make sure this stays 3-1 at the very least.’ Until that comes into our game, we’re going to throw games away.

"The game’s pretty simple, and unfortunately we want to make it extremely complicated. If I was neutral, I’d have thought, yeah, that’s a great game. But unfortunately there’s 28,000 non-neutrals in the stands today and we played like, ‘Hey, you attack, we’ll attack.’ No, it doesn’t work that way. You’re winning, so win the game. Mistakes are going to happen, that’s all part of the game, but it’s the little things that you have to just keep doing every time, every time. You don’t get to take a vacation halfway through a play, ‘No, I’m a little tired, I’m not going to run this time.’ Every time you do your job and unfortunately we’re switching off at times and it’s killing us right now. We’re paying the price for it."

Since journalists are keen observers of human nature, one of us suggested that Keller sounded frustated.

"Extremely frustrated," he said. "We score three goals at home, we could have scored 10, and we throw a game away in the 87th minute when we should have quite comfortably won this 4-1, because they should have been pushing and we should have been disciplined enough to hit them on a counter and get the fourth one instead of throwing two goals away. Simple as that, there’s no excuse. We rightfully got booed off the field at the end of the game. It’s inexcusable."

He was asked if it was the toughest result of the season.

"No, we’ve had a couple of others, but still, this is up there, because like I said, you’re 3-1 up at home, you’re creating lots of chances," Keller said. "I wouldn’t have cared if we would have not created one more chance the rest of the game, that’s the mentality. Fine if they give us something, great, if they don’t, we close up shop and it’s over. We clear the ball when it has to be cleared, we tackle when we have to tackle, I run with my guy, I bite, I scratch to get a result. No, I’m not going to run with him because if it breaks down, then I’m going to have a better chance to go forward and maybe score the fourth goal. It doesn’t work that way. You’re going to get found out, and we’ve been found out tonight.

Then Keller got to his bottom line: "Hopefully people will learn from it, and if they don’t then hopefully they’ll be gone and we’ll find somebody else who will do a disciplined job."

Schmid was little happier.

"Hats off to them, they played with a lot of energy and they kept pushing the issue," he said. "But once Montero scored to make it 3-1 I think we had three good chances … to make it 4-1. If you make it 4-1 we all close up shop and we go home happy. But we didn’t do that.

"It doesn’t feel good. This was a game that we should have won tonight, and we should have won it going away. We should have never given up the goal in the first half because they really had nothing in the first half. And then we battled back – Alonso scored an unbelievable goal – but again we had enough chances to do it. It’s very deflating when a team comes back and ties you like that."

=> Read more!

As the minutes click down to tonight's D.C. United-Sounders FC match at Qwest Field, the Sounders remind that kickoff is 7:30. Apparently the game had originally been scheduled for 8 p.m., but forget that: It's 7:30, 7:30, 7:30.

The game is sold out, but will be shown live on ESPN2.

Meanwhile, here's a game preview from the Washington Times. (The Washington Post also had a preview, but you must register to read it.)

And here's my game preview from this morning's paper.

My story is primarily a look at D.C. United -- which won the first MLS title and stands as the closest thing the league has to the Yankess or Lakers) -- with the primary source of president Kevin Payne. Payne said far more interesting things than I could fit into that single story. So I will dole out more of his thoughts in future stories. But meanwhile, here is a bit more of what he had to say:

On the club philosophy and style:
Right from the beginning we tried to establish a United way of doing things, both on and off the field. The hallmark of that was really authenticity. We never apologized for what we were, which was a Division I professional soccer team – in fact, we celebrated it. We emphasized that in everything we did. So we’ve always been true to the game. We also decided very early on that part of the identity of our team would be the manner in which we played, in that we would always play a skillful aggressive game, an attacking game, we try to play in the other team’s side of the field, we want to press the other team when they have the ball, we want to put numbers into the attack when we have the ball. We’ve been pretty true to that, whether it’s a championship year or even the year’s where when we’ve struggled on the field we’ve still tried to play the same way. And I think that’s paid off for us. We try to play that way on the road or at home, we try to play that way whether we’re playing an international opponent or a team from the league.

On similarities with the Sounders:
In terms of the way the Sounders have introduced their brand to the marketplace, I see similarities. It will take time to see exactly how that will develop. But we’ve been very true to our brand and the integrity of who we are. We don’t take any shortcuts. We always think about this business in the very very long term. I exhort our employees on a regular basis to think about what this organization is going to look like once they’re no longer here – maybe even after they’re dead, literally. We’re trying to think about what it’s like 20 years from now, 25-30 years from now. But certainly the Sounders are off to a great start. I know a lot of the people there and have a great deal of respect for them and admiration for the things they’ve done in the past and what they’re doing now. The Sounders have been just a wonderful addition to our league.

On the club's standing in the D.C. area:
I think that we are absolutely accepted as equal partners. In this market, the Redskins are a little bit in a place of their own – or at least they have been. So the other clubs – the Capitals, the Wizards, the Mystics, now the Freedom and the Nationals and us – are all trying to get to the kind of level that the Redskins are at, which is difficult. But we are very very well accepted. Our television ratings are very strong. Our attendance is down a little bit this year relative to last year – I think it’s mostly economy-related. But really over the last 10 years or so we have averaged a higher attendance than either the Capitals or Wizards and have compared pretty favorably even with the baseball team. We’re very much a part of the sports landscape here and have been since early in our existence.

On efforts to leave RFK Stadium for a soccer-specific stadium:
As far as the stadium is concerned, we’re having very fruitful talks behind the scenes with three different jurisdictions. I think there is a real commitment to try to get something done, and I am every confident that we will end up with the right stadium solution long-term for DC United. ... We’ll be fine whether we end up in DC, Virginia or Maryland. We just need to have the right setting for the stadium and the ability to create the right kind of stadium for the long term.

So, it turns out that Northwest soccer fans won't have to wait until Portland's 2011 entry into MLS for a renewal of the historic Sounders-Timbers rivalry.

The current MLS and USL sides will meet in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup at 7 p.m. July 1 at PGE Park in Portland.

For any of you planning to attend, here's ticket information from the Timbers. (And therefore, keep in mind that when this news release refers to "ticket package holders" it means Timbers ticket package holders):

With a 3-0 win over the Sonoma County Sol Tuesday, the Portland Timbers advance to the third round of the 2009 U.S. Open Cup and will play host to Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, July 1 at PGE Park at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the Timbers’ third-round match against Sounders FC start at $12 and will go on sale to the public Thursday at 10 a.m. through the PGE Park box office, area Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000. An exclusive pre-sale for ticket-package holders begins Wednesday.

The third-round matchup between the Timbers and Sounders FC will be the first official meeting between the Northwest rivals since Seattle joined MLS in 2009. The deep and spirited Portland-Seattle rivalry dates back to 1975 as members of the North American Soccer League. As opponents in the USL First Division, the Timbers were 11-16-5 against Seattle and squared off multiple times in postseason and U.S. Open Cup battles.

=> Read more!

After visiting Seattle Sounders FC on Aug. 5, FC Barcelona will go down to San Francisco to meet Chivas of Guadalajara at Candlestick Park.

Here's the information:

FC Barcelona will take on Mexican powerhouse Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A. de C.V. (more popularly known as Chivas) as part of a doubleheader spectacular on Saturday, Aug. 8 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Calif. (8 p.m., local time). In the first game, Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes take on the Columbus Crew in regular season action (5:30 p.m. local time) followed by UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona squaring off against Guadalajara. The match will mark Barça’s first visit to the Bay Area. The two teams have played twice before in the United States with Barça posting a win and a tie.

=> Read more!

The Portland Timbers defeated the Sonoma County Sol tonight in Santa Rosa, Calif., 3-0, in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.

That sets up a dream pairing in the third round, as Portland of the USL first division will host Seattle Sounders FC of MLS.

The game will be played at 7 p.m. July 1 at PGE Park in Portland.

As an addition to the blog post below, it now seems certain that if Portland defeats the Sonoma County Sol tonight, that the Timbers will host the Sounders on July 1.

Here's a release put out today by the Timbers:

U.S. Soccer announced today that the date for a possible third-round U.S. Open Cup pairing between the Portland Timbers and Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC has been changed to Wednesday, July 1.

The Timbers face the Sonoma County Sol of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association tonight in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup in Santa Rosa, Calif., at 7 p.m. The result of tonight’s match will determine if Portland advances to host Seattle at PGE Park in the third round of the tournament.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is recognized as U.S. Soccer’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The tournament has crowned a champion for 95 consecutive years dating back to 1914.

If the Sol wins, the third-round game would be played in Seattle, perhaps on the originally mentioned date of June 30. (The extra day is most valuable to the Sounders if they must travel, and is less of an issue if they host.) Regardless of date, a Sol-Sounders match would be played at Starfire. (The Sounders feel that they could expand the seating at Starfire a bit, if the demand, um, demanded it. They don't anticipate moving to Qwest until probably the semifinals or finals, assuming they get that far.)

Speaking of ticket demand, the Sounders expect to sell all of the extra tickets that will available through added capacity at Qwest starting with Colorado's visit on June 28. And once those tickets are gone, no more sections are going to be opened. Bottom line: If you want to see these guys in person this season, your ticket window of opportunity is about to close.

The Portland Timbers visit the Sonoma County Sol tonight in the second round of U.S. Open Cup action. It is widely assumed that the winner will advance to play Seattle Sounders FC in the third round.

Here's a report from the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat.

And here's a game preview from the Timbers:

The Portland Timbers continue their run in the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday with a second-round match against the Sonoma County Sol of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association in Santa Rosa, Calif., at 7 p.m.

The winner of the second-round match between the Timbers and Sol, taking place at Santa Rosa High School, will advance to face Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC in the third round of the tournament. Live updates from Tuesday’s match will be available through the Timbers’ Twitter account at www.twitter.com/TimbersFC.

In the first round, the Timbers defeated the Kitsap Pumas of the Premier Development League 3-0 on June 9, in Bremerton, Wash. Midfielder Brian Farber, forward Jason McLaughlin and defender David Hayes each scored in the second half and goalkeeper Steve Cronin recorded two saves in the shutout to help Portland advance to the second round.

Since 2001, the Timbers are 4-5-0 in U.S. Open Cup matches and have advanced as far as the fourth round, facing MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes in both 2004 and 2005.

Led by head coach Benjamin Ziemer, the Sonoma County Sol knocked out the Orange County Blue Star of the PDL in the first round to advance in the U.S. Open Cup. The Sol feature 12 former NCAA Division I players, including three All-Americans, on its roster along with former USL First Division players Shawn Percell (Seattle Sounders) and Lee Sandwina (Charleston Battery). Sonoma County competes in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), which is sanctioned by the USASA.

The Timbers return home and to USL First Division action Friday as they play host to the Minnesota Thunder at PGE Park at 8 p.m., live on Fox Soccer Channel.

As of 4 p.m., more than 57,000 tickets had been sold overall for the Sounders-Barcelona game Aug. 5 at Qwest Field. That leaves about 10,000 available.

Meanwhile, the club also announced that fewer than 2,000 tickets remain for the friendly against Chelsea on July 18.

Tickets also remain available for the U.S. Open Cup doubleheader on July 4, and for each of the Sounders final six regular season home games.

Tickets and information available through the Sounders website.

It's a busy week for the Sounders, with San Jose just a couple of days behind, DC United coming up Wednesday then then a cross-country trip for a game at New York on Saturday.

Fortunately for coach Sigi Schmid, the cluster of games comes at a time when his options have increased. No one is missing due to yellow- or red-card suspensions and the health of the team is improving.

“We’re getting healthier, Schmid said after practice today at Starfire. "Obviously (Osvaldo) Alonso reappeared last Saturday, so that was good news for us as well. Zach Scott is training with us, but he’s probably still not ready for this week because this is his first week of training. But we have more options. Nate (Jaqua) is back, and obviously (Jhon) Kennedy (Hurtado) is back as well. There’s options that are there. We need some guys to play on Wednesday and we need some guys to play on Saturday.

... Alonso is a guy usually stays fairly fit. He doesn’t get too unfit. Certain guys can roll out of bed and they can run all day. He’s one of those guys. I thought it was good for him to get those 15 minutes that he got in on Saturday. And Stephen King has played very well and (Brad) Evans has played very well. But knowing we’ve got two games coming up here in four days, having three midfielders to choose from for those two positions is a good option to have. I’m not sure yet if we’re going to start Alonso for Wednesday, or if we’re going to start him for Saturday, but I definitely see him starting one of those two games.”

The USA and Italy meet at 11:30 this morning in the FIFA Confederations Cup. The game will be replayed this evening on ESPN2, so I'm not going to add any final scores to this post, however, feel free to discuss the game in the comments section, and anyone not wanting to know the result should just steer clear of that section.

Here's a preview -- and eventually a game report -- from the US Soccer site.

Here's the release from the Sounders:

Tickets for the Seattle Sounders FC vs. FC Barcelona match will go on sale Monday, June 15 at 10 a.m. The match will be played on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field Wednesday, August 5. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Tickets will be available at www.soundersfc.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Seating at Qwest Field will be expanded to include the upper bowl for a total seating capacity of 67,000. Ticket prices for the August 5 match start at $40.

Fans will have the opportunity see the Sounders FC take on one of the world’s most prolific and popular clubs, led by Lionel Messi, Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry. This season Barcelona won the historic treble, the La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, and their second Champions League title in four years with a win over Manchester United.

Sounders FC season-ticket holders have received tickets to the game as part of their 18-match package, which also includes the Chelsea match and the MLS Cup.

For more information visit www.soundersfc.com.

Columbus did the Sounders a favor this afternoon, knocking off Chivas USA, 2-1.

With the result, the Sounders gain three points on Chivas this weekend and now stand seven points behind.

Here's the game story from MLSnet.com.

Here's my game story from last night's 2-1 win over San Jose. And here's the take from the San Jose Mercury News.

However, as I mention in the story, the Sounders don't have much time to celebrate. They're off today. (Although I'm sure they'll keep an interested eye on Chivas' match at Columbus.) But they return to practice on Monday, and then they return to Qwest Field on Wednesday night for a game against Eastern leader and longtime MLS power D.C. United.

I asked Sigi Schmid last night about the quick turnaround.

“Well, obviously we got some guys that didn’t play today," he said. "I mean, [Jhon] Kennedy [Hurtado] didn’t play today, [Osvaldo] Alonso played limited minutes for us today as well. Nate Jaqua didn’t play today. Sanna [Nyassi] didn’t play today. There’s certain guys that are fitter and recover a little bit better than others. So we’ll make those decisions, and we’ll make those adjustments on Monday. We’re going into the game with the same amount of rest as DC. They had a pretty active game today as well, and they’ve got to fly across the country. Hopefully that’ll behoove us. But once you’re in a rhythm, I mean, players would rather play games than practice. If you look at a regular week, Wednesday’s a hard training day, so I think they’d rather play a game than have a hard training day.”

Here's a look at D.C. United's win over Chicago yesterday, which shot them to the top of the MLS Eastern Conference.

Sounders win, 2-1, moving to 5-3-5 and 20 points on the season. San Jose drops to 2-8-3 and remains at nine points.

Freddie Ljungberg was selected man of the match with a goal and an assist. But Fredy Montero also had a goal and an assist. And the Fredy & Freddie interplay was one of the most encouraging things to come from this game.

“I thought that Montero and Ljungberg did a very good job in the first half of interchanging,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “You saw Montero a lot on the right wing and he did that job when he was inside and Ljungberg was on the right, so they did a good job of interchanging and that’s the way we want to play. As they get more and more time with each other we’ll do that better and better.”

(Schmid also said went out of his way to praise Stephen King, who he said covered a lot of ground.)

“Me and Fredy we try to work (together),” Ljungberg said. “Early in the season I played the midfield and I had to defend and lot and I had to go back deep, so we were far off on the pitch. Now we’re trying to mix a little bit and we’re higher up and then we can have more combinations, me and Fredy, and it worked well.”

However, a little shine came off of Montero's night as he butchered a clearance -- actually sending the ball back into Seattle's penalty area -- setting up San Jose's lone goal. I didn't have a chance to speak to Montero after the game, but clearly Kasey Keller wasn't happy at the time, and he hadn't mellowed much in the locker room.

“There were a whole lot of problems on that goal,” Keller said. “We got complacent and didn’t clear the goal. I don’t know why. It definitely won’t happen again.”

The Sounders' dominated most of the way, but klunked around a bit after their second goal. Schmid said as much after the game, But after going since April 25 without a win, he was more interested in three points in the standings than he was in style points.

"When you’re in a streak where we weren’t getting win, but right now you take the win,” Schmid said. “There were games where we played well – Chivas as an example – and we came away with the loss and probably played a better compete 90 minutes than we played today. But at the end of the day it’s a good solid win at home, and I’m very proud of the effort that the team put in.”

The Sounders don’t have long to celebrate. They return to action Wednesday against Eastern Division leader D.C. United at Qwest Field.

Schmid pointed out that players such as Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Nate Jaqua will be back for that one. And Osvaldo Alonso came on in the closing minutes tonight and could be ready to start again Wednesday.

Also, Tyrone Marshall, who came off the field briefly tonight after getting kicked, said he feared he was hurt worse than he was, and he said he'll be ready for United.

=> Read more!

I wrote about this earlier in the week, but here's a reminder that the soccer gets going early Saturday, with a pair of fund-raising games that you don't need Sounders tickets to watch.

Here's the official release:

Anywhere the game is played in the Puget Sound area you’re sure to spot the Rave Green jersey of the Seattle Sounders FC. On Microsoft’s Redmond campus, it’s a similar story where employees purchase their green kits directly from the Microsoft Company Store and utilize the company’s playfields as a part the Microsoft Soccer League.

On Saturday, June 13 Microsoft puts forward their league all-star team who will step onto Qwest Field’s Xbox Pitch alongside similarly-assembled, soccer teams from Boeing, Expedia and Starbucks for a day of corporate networking, philanthropy, spirited competition and fun.

The event is open to the public and a suggested $5 donation will be collected at the gates. All proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska, which provides a “home-away-from-home” for seriously ill children and their families.

WHEN: Saturday, June 13, 2009
WHERE: Qwest Field – Xbox Pitch, Seattle, WA
WHAT: 10:30 AM – Gates open for charity matches 11:00 AM – Boeing vs. Microsoft 1:00 PM – Starbucks vs. Expedia 3:30 PM – All charity match attendees and players exit Qwest 6:00 PM – Gates open for Sounders FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes (match ticket required)

History
The Boeing vs. Microsoft pre-Sounders matches started in 1997 and throughout the years have moved along with the USL Sounders to Renton, Seattle’s Memorial Stadium, Starfire Stadium and Qwest Field. In 2008 the Puget Sound Corporate Soccer Challenge formalized to expand the scope of the event to include more Northwest corporations and make it a philanthropic effort. In 2009, the event continues in coordination with the MLS Seattle Sounders FC.

Here's the website.

Here's a quick early look at the game:

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (2-7-3; 9 pts.)
AT SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-3-5; 17 pts.)
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Qwest Field.
TV: KING 5.
Radio: 97.3 FM (in Spanish on 1210 AM).

Head to head: The Sounders won the inaugural meeting, 2-0, on April 25 in Seattle. Steve Zakuani and Brad Evans scored for Seattle, while Kasey Keller got the shutout. Seattle will visit San Jose on Aug. 2.

Team leaders: For San Jose, G 5 Ryan Johnson; A 4 Chris Leitch; Sh 28 Arturo Alvarez; SOG 19 Johnson. For Seattle, G 4 Fredy Montero; A 4 Nate Jaqua; Sh 33 Montero; SOG 9 Montero.

Coach Sigi Schmid scouting report: “They’re a team that obviously hasn’t done nearly as well as they’d hoped to do. They’re a team that can play pretty loose and sort of throw everything out there and say, ‘Hey we’re just going to go for it. We’re trying to win games. We’re trying to get points.’ And the longer a team like that hangs around, the more dangerous they become.”

Notes: The Quakes rank last in the MLS Western Conference and tied for last in the league. They allow a league-high two-goal-per-game average. … San Jose shook up its roster this week, trading Kent-native Cam Weaver to Houston for forward Chris Wondolowski and sending defender Nick Garcia to Toronto for a draft pick. … The Sounders have won once over their last nine games, and that win was against San Jose. The Earthquakes have one once in their last 10, however they are 1-0-2 over their last three games. … Alvarez has scored goals in back-to-back games. … Sounders midfielder Jaqua is out due to red-card suspension and defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is out due to yellow-card accumulation. Defender Tyrone Marshall returns from red-card suspension. Midfielder Peter Vagenas (ankle) and midfielder Osvaldo Alonso (quad) aren’t expected to start. … Keller is second in MLS with a 0.68 goals-against average and third with a 77.8 saves percentage. … Defender James Riley came to the Sounders from San Jose in the expansion draft. … This will be the first of two games played for the Heritage Cup, marking these teams’ distinction as the only MLS sides playing under their historic names from the North American Soccer League. … The game is sold out.

Next: D.C. United, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Qwest Field; sold out; ESPN2.

After the Sounder concluded practie today, coach Sigi Schmid seems to be leaning toward not starting midfielder Osvaldo Alonso tomorrow when San Jose visits Qwest Field.

"We've got three games coming up," Schmid said. "We've got this game and the one on Wednesday and then the one in New York. What's important right now is when he's playing -- when I watch him play -- he's very comfortable playing short passes, etc., but he still hesitates to hit a long ball with his right foot at this stage. He hits them at the end of practice in a controlled setting. So until I think he's 100 percent comfortable hitting that ball with his right foot we're probably not going to start him, but he'll be on the bench and be available to us."

Schmid indicated that Tyrone Marshall and Patrick Ianni would likely form the defensive middle tomorrow. (Ianni was the subject of my story in today's paper.)

"I thought Patrick played all right pretty much (against Chivas)," Schmid said. "The breakdown on the goal, him and a couple of other guys were involved in that aspect of it. Tyrone and Patrick should be a good combination in the back. They both play well and deservce to be in there. We've got to make sure we play to zero again in the back -- I think that's important. But the most important thing for us is to finish the chances we create, because I think we created chances against Chivas and we created chances in the game before against Columbus, but we didn't finish them. We need to finish more of our chances."

Please note that the pairing listed below from the U.S. Open Cup site are speculative. The pairings and sites have not yet been set (see post below).

The Sounders' third-round opponent and site will be determined soon after the second round is completed.

Sorry for any misunderstanding.

If the Portland Timbers beat the Sonoma County Sol on Tuesday, they would host Seattle Sounders FC at 7 p.m. June 30 at PGE Park.

If Sonoma beats Portland, the Sounders would host the Sol at 7 p.m. June 30 at Starfire.

Here are the possible pairing from the U.S. Open Cup website.

Technical director Chris Henderson said today that Sounders FC wants to host its third-round match in the U.S. Open Cup, partly as a nod to fans, but also because the club wants to bring this cup home.

"We’d like to host," he said. "I think being able to play in front of your home crowd (is an advantage). It’s something we have a chance to do well in, and we want to give ourselves every chance to be Open Cup champions in year one."

Where the game would be held, and who it would be againt, remain uncertain, Henderson reminded. Although it has been taken almost as a given that Seattle will meet the winner of the second-round game between the Portland Timbers and the Sonoma County Sol. But as you can see from the U.S. Open Cup bracket, the MLS teams have not yet been slotted in their third-round positions. That means it is at least possible that Seattle will not be paired against the Portland-Sonoma winner. However, it seems likely. And if Portland wins, it seems very likely ... likely to the degree that someone would need to have his head examined if Seattle were slotted anywhere else.

Meanwhile, simply wanting to host won't matter if the opponent wants to host more. The home team will be determined by bid.

"You never know what the Portland Timbers would bid or another team that really wants to host it," Henderson said. "It’s really kind of a cat-and-mouse game with who’s going to bid it."

If Seattle wins the bid, Henderson said the home site -- either Starfire or Qwest -- hasn't been decided and is more a matter for the general manager than the technical director. (Adrian Hanauer wasn't at practice today, so I didn't simply walk over and ask him.) However, Henderson sort of implied that Starfire might remain the appropriate site for this stage of the tournament.

"We want to make sure that we keep the atmosphere the same as it has been for each game," he said, presumably meaning sellouts. "As someone who has played in 20 Open Cup games, maybe more, usually the atmosphere you play in Open Cup is not in the bigger stadiums. And then you work your way into the semis and the finals and now all of a sudden you’re close and it becomes bigger."

The Timbers and Sol meet Tuesday in California.

The Sounders are off the practice pitch for another day. Coach Sigi Schmid didn't address the media today, so we don't have the usual injury updates, etc.

However, I did get a chance to follow-up with the newest Sounder -- a very happy Lamar Neagle -- who I wrote about in today's paper.

The Tacoma-born resident of Federal Way, told how he got the news that the team wanted to sign him:

"I was leaving practice the other day and I got a call to come back in," he said. "They were like 'Yeah, can you come back in we want to sign you to a developmental.' I said, 'Yeah, I’ll be right there.' I turned right around."

Neagle is eligible to play immediately, but he said the organization hasn't given him any indication that he will.

"I’m just on the squad right now," he said. "Like I said before, I’m not looking to get playing time right now but to work my way into it. Right now I’m just happy to be signed finally."

Still, the Sounders schedule gets pretty busy over the next couple of weeks with San Jose coming in Saturday, then a mid-week game with DC United, then a cross-country flight to New York, and then a U.S. Open Cup game between the next two regular season games. The team is likely going to need it's full roster, and now Neagle is part of that.

An announcement from UW:

University of Washington men’s soccer coach Dean Wurzberger announced the hiring of former Husky and current Chicago Fire defender Brandon Prideaux as an assistant coach following the conclusion of the current Major League Soccer season.

Prideaux, who will begin his duties at Washington on January 1, jointly announced his plans to retire from his professional playing career at the end of the season. Ben Somoza, a former three-year letterwinner and a volunteer assistant coach for the Huskies in 2007, will serve as interim assistant coach until Prideaux’s arrival.

Playing at home before a lot of orange, Houston took a 1-0 win over Chivas USA last night, the second team in the MLS West picking up three points on the leader.

The lone goal was so beautiful they might as well give Stuart Holden the goal-of-the-week honors right now. In stoppage time just before half, keeper Pat Onstad send a kick 60 yards, newly acquired Cam Weaver flicked it on to Holden who was past the Chivas defense, juked Zack Thornton one-on-one and finished into an empty net.

Here's the report from MLSnet.com.

Lamar Neagle was born in Tacoma, grew up and played high school soccer at Thomas Jefferson High in Federal Way, and completed the local run by signing a contract today with Seattle Sounders FC.

Here's the Sounders' news release:

The Seattle Sounders FC has signed midfielder Lamar Neagle, the team announced today. He has been added to the official roster as a Senior Developmental player.

Neagle, a 2009 UNLV graduate, is a three-time first team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selection. He played in every game, but one for the Running Rebels in his four-year career, and led the team in scoring his final two seasons. He scored nine goals in each of his final two seasons. As a senior in 2008, he was named second team All-Far-West Region.

“It’s good to sign a local product to our team,” said Coach Sigi Schmid. “Lamar’s got excellent speed and he’s a player who can play in a number of positions. He’s very comfortable on the flank and has played on the left side as well as the right. He will get a look from us as an outside player, either in midfield or at the back. ”

Born in Tacoma, Neagle was a three-year starter for Federal Way’s Thomas Jefferson High School. He led them to a 16-2-4 record and the state 4A championship as a senior. Neagle broke a 31-year-old school record by scoring six goals in one game, and was named to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer High School All-Star Team his senior season. He played club soccer for the Norpoint Chivas in Northeast Tacoma.

Neagle was a pre-season trialist with the Sounders FC for two weeks in Southern California, where he played in two games and recorded two assists. After completing his studies, Neagle returned to train with the team on May 13.

Neagle becomes the fourth local product signed by Sounders FC. Chris Eylander, Kevin Forrest and Kasey Keller also played prep and club soccer in Washington.

Transactions: Seattle Sounders (MLS) – Signed MF Lamar Neagle

Lamar Neagle
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-11
Weight: 165
Birthdate: 5/7/1987
Hometown: Federal Way, Wash. (USA)
College: UNLV (2005-2009)
Pronunciation: NAY-gull

I spoke to Neagle a little during the week, and have some of his reaction in the Thursday paper.

=> Read more!

The No. 1 and 2 teams in the MLS Western Conference will play at 5:30 this evening on ESPN2.

In fact, Chivas is No. 1 overall in MLS with 27 points, and Houston is tied for No. 2 overall with Eastern leader Chicago.

The Sounders -- tied for third in the West and tied for fifth overall -- will likely be watching with interest.

Here's a preview story from MLSnet.com.

The second annual Puget Sound Corporate Soccer
Challenge will pit Boeing vs. Microsoft and Starbucks vs. Expedia at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. respecitvely Saturday at Qwest Field, before the stadium will be cleared for the Sounders-Quakes game.

A suggested $5 donation will be collected for the corporate challenge games. Proceeds benefit
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska, which provides a “home-away-from-home” for seriously ill children and their families.

There also will be a Ronald McDonald House fund-raising party on Thursday at the Highway 99 Blues Club in Seattle. That event will include a silent auction from 6-8 p.m. and music by the Sonic Funk Orchestra from 9 to midnight. The club is located at 1414 Alaskan Way. The $20 includes and appetizer buffet. Those planning to attend the party should email to pscscevent@hotmail.com.

Click here for details on each event, or simply to donate to one of the best causes imaginable.

The Portland Timbers defeated the Kitsap Pumas tonight, 3-0, in a first-round game of the U.S. Open Cup. All goals came in the second half.

Looking on interestedly on this beautiful evening at Bremerton Memorial Stadium were Sounders coach Sigi Schmid and assistant coach Brian Schmetzer.

Part of that interest may come from the fact that the USL Timbers are now one Open Cup win away from a third-round match with the MLS Sounders.

That will happen if the Timbers can get past the Sonoma (Calif.) County Sol, perhaps on June 16. The Sol -- of the United States Adult Soccer Association -- advanced with a over Orange County Blue Star.

If it happens, the Sounders-Timbers match would take place on or around June 30, probably in Portland.

(About three dozen or so members of the Timbers' Army made the trip to Bremerton and seemed to have a fine time annoying the locals. Let's just assume a few more would be in attendance for a Seattle-Portland match in the Rose City ... or anywhere.)

Here are the Open Cup brackets.

The Sounders are off the practice field for another day. And coach Sigi Schmid had his team working on natural grass today, even though they'll be on the FieldTurf of Qwest Field on Saturday when they return to action against San Jose.

However, the grass is easier on the players' bodies, and now that we're into the middle portion of the long MLS season, that's a significant concern.

The day also passed without any firm determination of the availability of Osvaldo Alonso or Peter Vagenas. Alonso seems most likely to be available Saturday. And Schmid said Vagenas come through his medical tests Monday with no particular smoking gun of an injury beyond the toll of a lifetime of soccer.

“Pete got looked up by the doctors," Schmid said. "So they want to see how it goes today. There’s nothing seriously wrong except for impingements in there. With years and years of playing if you play soccer, your knees and ankles don’t look like anybody else’s knees and ankles anymore. So he just has to work through that. Osvaldo I think could have probably done a little bit more, could have probably pushed into the final stage, but since today was the first day back we just wanted to do that much. And he came through all that okay. So we’ll see how he feels tomorrow, and we’ll go from there.”

During and after the work, Schmid seemed to demand his team's attention with some loud and clear instructions of what he wanted -- and what he wants are not only goals, but the kind of attitude that leads to goals.

“What we talked about at the end is that scoring goals is an attitude," he said. "I could sit here and we could draw up a run to make it into the box right now, and how to combine and everything, but it’s all about an attitude in the box. It’s about an attitude that I want to get to that ball ahead of you; that means I’ve got to fight, I’ve got to scratch, I’ve got to crawl. There was a play in the Chivas game towards late in the second half, there’s a ball that gets deflected and comes up in the air. I don’t know who was there first, but somebody in the box wants to challenge. Trujillo pulls back, just turns, doesn’t even look at the ball, and just goes, it was like he was boxing out for a rebound, just goes on body checks our guy. He just says ‘look, if you’re going to get to the ball, you’re going to have to beat me up to get there.’ We just have to have a little bit more of that attitude in the box. And referees don’t call that. So we have to be a little more physical in the box. That was the one thing we talked about. I think we have to have a shoot first mentality. We scored a really good goal in the exercise right before that where it was a nice little one-two combination in box. But that got set up because Osvaldo (Alonso) set the ball up to shoot, and then the defender reacted well to block the shot and then he hit a one-two. He did the second thing to get around him. And sometimes I think we look to pass first in the box rather than shoot first. Again it’s an attitudinal thing, and I want us to be a little more, I don’t know if focused is the right word, I want us to have a more aggressive attitude towards the goal and in and around the 18-yard line.”

I'm about to leave for today's Sounders practice. Meanwhile, a few links to a few to a few soccer items of local interest.

First, here's my story from from today's paper on Sounders' draft pick Michael Fucito, who started working with the team Monday after graduating from Havard on Thursday.

In one quote that didn't make the paper, I asked him what it was like juggling a Harvard work load along with D-I soccer duties:

"It was a pain," he said. "But it was worth it. I went to Harvard just because it’s Harvard. You can’t really turn that down. Hopefully I’ll see the benefits of that in a couple of years. It was doable. It was an adjustment. They were very strict academically there and they don’t give athletes any extra benefits or leniency. So you have to work hard, but if you do your work it’s doable you get through it. ... I felt it was the best of both worlds because they were competitive on a Division I level and then it’s the best school in the country. When I was going to college I had no idea that the MLS was going to be a possibility."

Meanwhile, an interesting game could be on tap tonight in Bremerton, where the Portland Timbers of the USL-DI will meet the Kitsap Pumas of the USL-PDL in the opening round of the U.S. Open Cup. The winner will advance to the Open Cup second round, where they will play for the right to meet Sounders FC in the third round. Here's the bracket.

In MLS all-star voting, 10 Sounders continue to rank among the MLS First XI. Which makes you wonder what Nate Jaqua has done to annoy Seattle voters.

New England's Taylor Twellman was selected MLS player of the week after his two-goal performance in the Revs' 4-0 rout of New York.

Finally, MLS has announced that David Beckham's 2009 debut with the LA Galaxy on July 16 at New York will be televised by FSC.

I'll be back this afternoon with whatever Sounders news come out of practice.

Coach Sigi Schmid said today that he had individual chats with stars Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg after the Sounders’ 1-0 loss at Chivas USA over the weekend.

Schmid said he met with Montero to explain why he was benched in the 65th minute of the game.

“Most players aren’t happy when they’re going to be replaced,” Schmid said. “That’s pretty standard. I know when I played I wasn’t too happy when I got subbed out. Whenever the sub card goes up you’re looking the other direction, so he’s trying to not look over there in case it’s your number. It was something we talked about after the game as a team. And I’ll be talking to them individually as well. But it is not an issue.”

Schmid also met with Ljungberg about an ongoing concern that the former English Premier League star spends too much time quarreling with referees.

“We need to concentrate, we need to focus on our game,” Schmid said. “I don’t want to talk about referees anymore. I don’t want to talk about them all this season. They’re out there and they’re doing their job. We need to do our job.”

Ljungberg clearly was steamed late in the game when a Chivas player went into his legs, and he explained today that he saw it as the kind of play that could have broken his leg and perhaps ended his career. For what it's worth, he said the Chivas player apologized after the game.

The Sounders are off the practice pitch for another day.

Joining the session today was midfielder Michael Fuchito, the Sounders No. 4 draft pick who has been back east getting his degree from Harvard. Now that he's done, he's in town and hoping to stay. And although he isn't yet under contract, coach Sigi Schmid said some nice things about him: that he begins a different look from the team's other midfielders, that he's left-footed and has a low center of gravity. I'll have some direct quotes from Fuchito and Schmid later.

Meanwhile, Schmid says he hasn't quite seen anything like the parade of red cards that the current team is going through. But, as always, he says there's nothing to do this week but have other guys step into the roles of Nate Jaqua and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.

Meanwhile, Schmid said that he doesn't yet know the status of injured Osvaldo Alonso or Peter Vagenas for Saturday's game with San Jose.

More later.

Certainly, any 3-0 start is going to be more fun for fans than any 1-3-5 swoon that follows. However, even aside from wins and losses (and, of course, draws) has anyone else been a little put off by the Sounders' recent style of play?

I have a column in the Monday paper that sort of grumbles about what I see as a couple of growing and annoying traits: First, the red cards -- some of which can be explained away ... but only to a point. And then there also seems to be the recent and increasing tendency to argue with the refs -- which is unproductive at best and sometimes even counterproductive, as on Saturday when Chivas scored at a time when the Sounders still seemed distracted by a touchline call that went against Freddie Ljungberg.

Sigi Schmid had warned his team about that after the Columbus game. And goalkeeper Kasey Keller picked up on the topic after Chivas.

"It was quick throw-in that we weren’t ready for," Keller said of the lone goal. "One guy got behind us and we stopped him, but a second guy game and we didn’t have him marked, and he got a good shot in and we didn’t follow up on their players crashing the box. It all stemmed from just not being ready on the quick throw. It’s been a little bit of a problem of ours that we kind of switch off once in a while on throw-ins and quick set pieces. And that’s something we need to clean up out of our game because we’re just giving away too many chances on opportunities that shouldn’t be opportunities."

Then, after writing my column and reading that quote, I noticed ciscokid making a similar point in the comments section of the blog post below.

So, I guess I'm wondering if there is a growing feeling out there that the Sounders are developing an attitude that is tarting up their once-beautiful game. And even more interestingly, if Schmid still thinks so, what's he going to do about it now that his first public complaints have been ignored?

The quotes from the losing locker room at Home Depot Center indicate the Sounders saw the same game in person that we did on TV: They won chances, they won flow of play, they won corner kicks; they won everything exept the game ... and perhaps self-discipline.

Some of those quotes:

SIGI SCHMID:
It’s just one of those things. I thought we did more, over the 90 minutes, than they did. I don’t know what the stats show, but I thought we created more chances, I thought we were all around the goal. In key moments maybe we need to do a little bit more so we finish some of those chances. I thought through the first 80 minutes they really had one chance, and ended up scoring a goal, and we ended up losing the game. I thought we did a lot of things well, and did enough to deserve a goal. Right now we’re not catching any breaks; we’re not getting any breaks in terms of whistles, we’re not getting any breaks in terms of the ball bouncing our way a little bit, but you also make your breaks so maybe we just have to work a little harder at key moments.

KASEY KELLER:
I thought we played extremely well today. Sometimes this game’s not fair…. Give Chivas a little credit; they had some players missing and they defended extremely well. I was proud of the way we played, I thought we deserved more, but you make your own luck and we needed that little bit of quality and it let us down. They had 2-3 chances, and they put one away, and that’s the game.

NATE JAQUA:
Upset, a little frustrated, but we created some good stuff, we just weren’t able to get on the end of it for whatever reason. We’ll put it behind us, and we’ve got a big game against San Jose next week and we’ve got to concentrate on that.

Jaqua is right that San Jose has become a very big game on Saturday. However, he won't be around to help the Sounders because he picked up two yellow cards at Chivas and will be serving a one-game suspension ... along with Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, who picked up his fifth yellow of the season.

Penalties and cautions -- and the Sounders reactions to them -- are becoming one of the Sounders' top flaws this season. And that's reflected in Kasey Keller's take on the lone Chivas goal ... which started on a throw-in that Freddie Ljungberg was busy complaining to the referee about.

"It was quick throw in that we weren’t ready for," he said. "One guy got behind us and we stopped him, but a second guy game and we didn’t have him marked, and he got a good shot in and we didn’t follow up on their players crashing the box. It all stemmed from just not being ready on the quick throw. It’s been a little bit of a problem of ours that we kind of switch off once in a while on throw ins and quick set pieces, and that’s something we need to clean up out of our game because we’re just giving away too many chances on opportunities that shouldn’t be opportunities."

Ljungberg didn't win the argument. The Sounders didn't win the game. And Schmid may have a significant coaching challenge staring him in the face.

Final: Chivas 1, Sounders 0. The second half went much like the first, with Seattle dominating play but unable to finish.

If anything, there were better chances in the second half: a brilliant Zakuani cross through the goal area that the rest of the team watched from a safe distance, a Jhon Kennedy Hurtado header over the bar from about a yard away, and a near-brilliant Brad Evans volley just over the bar.

Seattle also lost Nate Jaqua to a late red card and will also be without Hurtado next week due to his picking up his fifth yellow of the season.

It almost seemed fitting that even KONG had troubles tonight, losing video and audio for portions of the second half.

So now next week looms increasingly important -- in fact, let's say crucial -- or at least about as crucial as a first-half-of-the-season game can be. The teams above the Sounders are pulling away, and the teams behind them are coming up fast.

With San Jose coming to Qwest Field a full three points seems the only acceptable result.

Here's the full game report from MLSnet.com.

Halftime: Well, that's one of the reasons soccer is such a fascinating game: Seattle is both dominating and trailing, 1-0.

The goal came around the 38th minute, and a rebound after Kasey Keller batted away but couldn't control a solid shot on goal.

However, it is interesting to note that the Chivas possession began after a linesman ruled that Freddie Ljungberg had lost the ball over the touchline. I didn't think it had crossed the line, and Ljungberg clearly didn't.

Stephen King had a solid half after a surprise start in place of Peter Vagenas, who apparently hurt an ankle during warm-ups on what is apparently one of the league's problematic natural-grass fields.

I thought James Riley also had a very active, solid half.

And Ljungberg, Montero and Jaqua have all had enough chances where it's hard to imagine that this game will end with the current score.

=> Read more!

The US men's national team took a big step toward World Cup qualification tonight with a come-from-behind win over Honduras in Chicago.

A game story should be showing up on the US Soccer website.

One of the themes of this week was a lot of fans getting frustrated with the Sounders' five straight draws.

And while some Sounders seemed to be getting tired of them too, coach Sigi Schmid and some of his players also seemed to allow that another draw wouldn't been so bad a result today: playing at the home of the league-leader, a place where the Sounders previously lost, 2-0.

So, as we tick down to the 7:30 kickoff, I guess that's the question: If you could be guaranteed the one point right now, would you take it? Or are you willing to take your chances on what's going to play out? One point now: Deal or no deal?

This day could be capped with a nice soccer doubleheader as the U.S. men's national team plays a suddenly extra-important home game against Honduras at 5 p.m., which should be over before the Sounders game at Chivas at 7:30.

Here's a look at the national team's match.

Here's a look at the Sounders-Chivas game from MLSnet.com.

And here's mySounders preview story, which makes the point that this will be the first time they have faced the same opponent more than once in league play.

The second will come next week when San Jose visits for the second time. And, of course, it will become common as the season progresses.

Today, coach Sigi Schmid said he things the return visit will benefit his team.

“They have a better idea of what they’re going to come up against,” he said. “Zakuani knows what (Chivas midfielder Mariano) Trujillo looks like now and how he plays a little bit. Freddie Ljungberg knows how (Paulo) Nagamura plays. He also knows what Trujillo looks like, what (Carey) Talley is like, etc. Those are all pluses. … When you play a team a second time they have an idea already of what some of the tendencies are. It’s different when you just watch it on tape versus being on the field.”

Schmid said his team even benefits from familiarity with the stadium -- in this case, Home Depot Center.

“I think when you’ve played some place before you just know, ‘OK, that’s where the locker room is, that’s where the stadium is, this is how it feels, this is how the crowd feels,” he said. “It just makes it easier to prepare the second time around.”

Red-hot Houston kept the pressure on the Sounders tonight, making an early goal stand up in a 1-0 win at Chicago.

The Dynamo is now 6-2-3 on the season. but 6-0-2 since April 11 and have outscored their opponents 12-2 over the streak.

They will come to Qwest Field on July 11.

Chivas leads MLS in fouls committed, and I thought their physical style jolted the Sounders offense in the earlier meeting -- a 2-0 Chivas win.

I asked coach Sigi Schmid about that today before the Sounders flew out to LA.

“They’re a team that’s very good at killing plays early,” he said. “What I mean by ‘killing plays early’ is if you look like you’re about to break, then there happens to be a little nick or a little foul or a little obstruction, and the play stops, and they get behind the ball. That’s one reason that they’ve defended well. They’re very good at taking the foul at opportune moments."

I asked him if there's any answer to that.

"There’s no real answer to that," he said. "Except the referee maybe has to be a little more aware of what they’re doing tactically.”

An early look ahead:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (4-2-5; 17 pts.)
AT CHIVAS USA (7-2-3; 24 pts.)
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
TV: KONG 6/16.
Radio: 97.3 FM (in Spanish on 1210 AM).
Head to head: Chivas won, 2-0, at home on April 18. Chivas visits Seattle on Sept. 19.
Statistical leaders: For Seattle, G 4 Fredy Montero; A 4 Nate Jaqua; Sh 30 Montero; SOG 8 Montero. For Chivas, G 4 Eduardo Lillingston/Paulo Nagamura; A 4 Gerson Mayen; Sh 22 Lillingston; SOG 10 Sacha Kljestan/Lillingston.
Coach Sigi Schmid scouting report: “(Maykel) Galindo is back up front, so that gives them some pace. … They’re very good at taking the foul at opportune moments. … They have a good understanding defensively that makes them tough to break down. And (goalkeeper) Zach Thornton is having a very good year.”
Notes: Chivas is the MLS points leader. However, the Red and White is 0-1-2 over the last three games. Seattle has drawn five straight games. … Thornton leads MLS with six shutouts; Keller has the league’s lowest goals-against average (0.64). … Chivas leads the league in penalties, while Montero is the individual leader in penalties suffered. … Chivas is without Jonathan Bomstein and Sacha Kljestan due to their duties with the U.S. National Team. Chivas’ Jesse Marsch and Seattle’s Tyrone Marshall are out due to disciplinary suspensions. Chivas’ Atiba Harris and Mariano Truillo and Seattle’s Jhon Kennedy Hurtado are one yellow card away from a one-game suspension. … Chivas is coached by former Tacoma Stars standout Preki. Galindo played two seasons with the USL Sounders after defecting from Cuba.
Next: 7:30 June 13, vs. San Jose, Qwest Field.

The Sounders are off the Starfire practice pitch and heading for SeaTac and their flight to LA.

Not much news from today's training session, except that Peter Vagenas was practicing with heaving taping over his left thumb, which has injured the day before. It's not anything that affects his game status.

Otherwise, coach Sigi Schmid gave a little scouting report on Chivas, which I'll pop on here in a little while.

Here's the post-match report.

Interesting news during the broadcast the Colorado Rapids' Conor Casey will be joining the U.S. National Team.

And now, for those who want a double-header, there's an interesting Montreal-Portland match going on in a downpour down in the the Rose City. (On FSN.)

=> Read more!

Four Seattle Sounders have received red cards through 11 games this season -- most recently the one by Tyrone Marshall that is discussed a couple of posts below. (I wrote about that in the Thursday paper.)

Anyway, here is a review of the four and what they may have cost the Sounders. (Quite a bit.)

And since Alan Hinton was at training Wednesday, and since -- as a former English player, NASL Sounders coach and MISL Tacoma Stars coach -- he knows about as much about soccer as anyone I know, I also got his opinion on the appropriateness of each card.

KASEY KELLER
For: Handball outside the box in a goal-scoring situation.
Result: Sounders lost that night to Kansas City and the next week at Chivas.
Hinton’s verdict: “I don’t blame the referee for the Kasey Keller deal. I don’t blame Kasey either, because Kasey did the right thing. Unfortunately the guy who tried to chip Kasey didn’t do a great job with the chip and it hit Kasey on the arm, so that’s an automatic red card.”

FREDY MONTERO
For: Throwing elbow while leaping for a header.
Result: Sounders tied that day at Chicago and the next week against Los Angeles.
Hinton’s verdict: “The Montero deal I thought was harsh.” (He thought a yellow would have been right.)

JAMES RILEY
For: Open-handed swing at back of opponent’s neck during melee.
Result: Sounders tied that day against Los Angeles and the following week at FC Dallas.
Hinton’s verdict: “You can’t do that. I talked to James, and you can’t do that. He slapped the guy around the back of the neck. I think James learned from that.”

TYRONE MARSHALL
For: Punch/push/mystery off-camera infraction while struggling for position against Columbus striker.
Result: Sounders tied against Columbus (though red card came in stoppage time), and will play without Marshall at Chivas USA on Saturday.
Hinton’s verdict: “I didn’t see conclusively. Tyrone apparently just threw his elbow a little bit having been very much provoked by the striker for Columbus. The assistant referee said it was a punch, and it certainly wasn’t a punch.”

Costa Rica scored goals -- beautiful goals -- in the second and 13th minutes, and as a practical matter, that was that. The insult came in the 69th minute, as Costa Rica just make the US look silly, literally running a circle through the penalty area before finishing.

The lone U.S. goal came on a Landon Donovan penalty kick in stoppage time.

The surface looked like the stuff the Sounders used to play on at Memorial Stadium, but that's no excuse. This was a whipping, and as a result, Costa Rica moves to the top of the CONCACAF qualifying table.

Details will be available at USsoccer.org.

The USA returns to World Cup qualifying against Honduras on Saturday in Chicago.

I've thrown only one punch in adulthood, and that happened on a soccer pitch.

I was in the Federal Way over-40 league (the league demanded only that we actually be over 40, not necessarily that we acted like it), and I was jawing with some forward. (And you know how forwards are.) In any case, things got a little more personal than they should have, and finally the guy spit at me. I hadn't expected that, so I paused a second while debating what to do -- ignore it? complain to the ref? punch him? I settled on the third option under the theory that some infactions transend the game and therefore call for a response that transends the game. (My wife didn't necessarily fully understand, but apparently the ref did. He listened to both of our stories and let me remain in the game despite league rules demanding a red card for throwing a punch.)

I mention this now because I was envisioning something like that reasoning from Tyrone Marshall's immediate defense of the red card that he picked up Saturday vs. Columbus: "He was coming in being very aggressive. I think he ran into me with his elbow. Being the competitor that I am, I’m not going to take that, you know? I’m going to let him know."

And while I kind of understood, that answer also could be taken as vaguely selfish. Marshall seemed to be standing up for himself while leaving his team a man short in stoppage time of an even game, and now sending them down to Chivas this weekend without him.

However, I asked Marshall a little more about that today -- sparing him my spit/punch story -- and he clarified that he saw his actions as standing up for the team as much as for himself.

"I don’t think it’s putting yourself ahead of the team," he said. "I think it’s trying to give the team an opportunity to win and not lose. They are pressing and we’re trying to make sure as defenders that the forwards don’t get the upper hand on us, so we have the proper position and all that good stuff. A lot of things come into play in that situation. Never ever will I put myself in front of the team. It’s a team effort. If you’re not thinking about the team it’s a different sport you should be playing, it should be tennis or golf of one of those things."

I also asked if this was one of those situations where he wouldn't have had to act if the referee had proactively kept things under control.

"The best referees in the world are the ones who you don’t noticed in the game and manage the game properly," he said. "At that particular point, the lineman called him over and said he saw me hit him with a closed fist. I don’t know if from 30 or 40 yards you can see if my hand is closed or not. It’s basically a judgement call. That’s why I think he’s on the line and the referee is in the middle, closer to the play. It’s just one of those situations, it happened, and I have to move on and hopefully my team will do well this weekend and my suspension will not hurt the team. It’s one of those situations where I’m a competitior and that’s what I bring to the table day in and day out. Everybody knows me, and that’s how I play and it’s not going to be any different next week. If it comes to the same situation it’s going to be the same thing. It’s one of those things that happened, it went against me and I hope it won’t happen again."

Marshall said he will try to put his free weekend to use by having a barbeque with his family, resting his 35-year-old bones, and watching on TV like the rest of us.

"It’s going to be tough," he said. "But at the same time, too, I have to utilize these minutes. The game that I’m off, I’ll try to take care of my body and keep it strong and fit for when I get back the next time around."

That should be June 13, when San Jose visits.

The Sounders are off the pitch from another warm day of training.

The highlight of the session might have been Taylor Graham pouring a Gatorade container of water over the head of current and former teammate Roger Levesque. Levesque didn't really do anything to deserve it, but Graham said it is his birthday so he felt free to have his fun.

Meanwhile, coach Sigi Schmid implied that Patrick Ianni may start Saturday at Chivas in place of Tyrone Marshall, who is serving a red-card suspension. (More on that later.)

“You don’t want to lose people down the middle of the field for sure," Schmid said. "And obviously they earned those starting spots. But on the same token it’s an opportunity for somebody else. I think Patrick Ianni has played well in the games that he has come in to play. I thought he played well the other night in the Open Cup game as a center back. He started in this league before, so it’s a chance for him to put a stamp on it and say ‘I’m here, I’m ready and I’m willing to compete’.”

And finally, Nate Jaqua missed practice today while attending his grandfather's funeral in Oregon. Jaqua is expected back tonight and will train with the team tomorrow.

The U.S. Men's National Team will play at Costa Rica at 7 o'clock tonight in a World Cup qualifier matching the No. 1 and 2 teams in the current CONCACAF standings.

Here's a preview from U.S. Soccer.

Sigi Schmid said an interesting thing today. He called his Sounders an expansion team.

That might not sound so interesting, since it's a simple fact with no real debate around it. However, it's a fact that's seldom acknowledged by the Sounders or their coaches or their front office. Far more often, I have heard players and coaches and administrators say that they don't think of Sounders FC as an expansion team.

Yet today, Schmid said it not only to the media, but he said it to his team -- apparently trying to put some perspective on a 1-2-5 run of results since their 3-0 start.

He admits it's a tricky balance he's trying to maintain.

"We don't want to ignore reality, and we don't want to think of ourselves as an expansion team, in the sense that we want to be in the hunt for the playoffs," he said. "I read somewhere that it said Chicago’s record through 11 games was 6-5, but that was also in the days of the shootout. So you’ve really got to look at what their record would have been if you take out the shootout wins or losses; then you get a truer reflection of what their actual point total would have been."

OK, let's look: After 11 games in 1998, the Fire was 6-5, which would be worth 18 points by today's allocation. However, one Fire win and one Fire loss came by shootout. So, if those would simply have gone into the record books as draws -- and awarded the one point they would be worth today -- the Fire would be 5-4-2. That would be good for 17 points, and therefore dead even with the Sounders.

However, if the Sounders want to retain that distinction they had better shift into a higher gear fast, because the 1998 Fire swept games 12 through 19 ... all victories, all in regulation. And then, of course, they went on to win the MLS Cup.

Nate Jaqua's game-tying volley into the back of the net Saturday is among the seven nominees for this week's MLS Goal of the Week honors. Here's the full list.

"It felt great," Jaqua said Saturday after the match. "I was hoping I could get another one. It didn’t turn out that way. But yeah, it felt good.”

Jaqua has contributed either a goal or an assist in Seattle’s last four games, including scoring second-half equalizer in the last two. He now has three goals and four assists and leads the team with 10 points.

And even more could be directly ahead. According to the Sounders:

If history is any indication, Jaqua could be poised for bigger things in the next month. June has been Jaqua’s most productive month during his career, with 11 goals in 23 MLS games. He has scored four goals and one assist in nine games v Chivas USA. His first career hat trick came 6/4/05 in Chicago’s 5-2 win over the expansion side. Jaqua also scored in a 4-0 home win by Houston last season.