The Sounders are flying to D.C. today, so I'm not expecting any news out of them today.

So I thought it might be an appropriate time to take a look at three leftover quotes from Saturday's postgame comments that haven't gotten much attention so far.

Here's one from Sigi Schmid, explaining why Fredy Montero was pulled early in the second half: "We felt we needed to get a little more energy in there, a little more play. We didn’t think our balance was very good at the time."

Here's another from Schmid, when asked if the first-half/second-half difference vs. Tornonto and at other times during the season indicate a lack of self-starting players: "You’re an expansion team, you’re still going through growing pains; you’re still trying to find your identity when crisis hits. (Against Toronto) we didn’t get off to a good start, so it become who grabs the reigns of the team of horses right now and says this is the direction we have to go into. For sure that didn’t happen today. … It’s important that we sort it out. It’s important that guys understand that we need to sort it out within the team to play better. It’s not about talking to you guys and telling you guys that players’ jobs are on the line. That’s not the players’ job the players job is to go into the locker room and say that if he needs to. I think San Jose was one of those games, and we’ve had a few. Chicago in the first half was like that a little bit, I think Colorado in Colorado. But that’s part of growing pains, that’s part of learning, that’s part of now being able to develop that capability of where you’ve got one foot in the hole and another on the banana peel, who’s the guy that’s going to being the rope and make sure you don’t fall in."

And a final quote from Kasey Keller, sort of reacting to that second Schmid quote: "I heard part of the press conference when Sigi said it’s something we need to truly find what’s going to work and if it is going to hurt some people’s feelings, it’s tough."

All sort of interesting quotes. But all sort of seem to stop short of saying all that could be said.

Which brings us to the bottom line questions: Do you expect notable lineup changes soon? If so, what do you expect? And regardless of what you expect Sigi to do, what would you do?

Colorado beat the Dynamo, 1-0, this afternoon.

While the result keeps Houston from pulling further away from Seattle, it also creates a logjam of three Western teams all just one point behind the Sounders (Chivas, Salt Lake and Colorado), two of them with games in hand (Chivas and Colorado).

Here's my game story. (And here's the game story from the Toronto Star.)

Here's a look ahead to the U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday. (And some on Ljungberg's card.)

And a look at yesterday's MLS action, and today's.

Sounders postgame: No one called it a good draw. Everyone admitted they were lucky not to be three goals down in the first half, and that if they would have actually finished one of their late opportunities that this would have been a stolen three points.

Schmid kept the team behind closed doors for more than a half hour after the game, but he seemed to imply that his yelling needs to be complemented by more locker room leadership.

Ljungberg seemed not to make of the team following what he considered maybe its best games of the season last week in Houston with this clunker today.

Montero said he was disappointed to have been pulled so early. Schmid said he was looking for someone to provide more energy.

Tyrone Marshall said he has a hamstring injury and is probably no better than 50-50 for the Open Cup final on Wednesday.

Here's Kasey Keller's take, which touches on a whole lot of the postgame themes at once:

"It’s been a little bit of a theme in the last few home games, which we’re obviously disappointed about. But I think if we look at some of the positives, we very comfortably could have been down two or three at halftime. The second half we definitely changed some things and looked more dangerous and somehow got a point out of it. We definitely had chances to steal it at the end, so there are some positives out of this game. But we want to be obviously an attacking team that makes things exciting for our home fans, and it just hasn’t happened the last few games. I heard part of the press conference where Sigi said it’s something we truly have to find what’s going to work and if it hurts some people’s feelings, it’s tough. It’s a time of the year when you have to get your form right to go into the playoffs and right now we’re not even a playoff team. We don’t have that form to even make the playoffs. It’s something we have to change quickly. But now it’s a great opportunity to win a cup game and get into a very cool competition for next season for our fans, so we need to focus on that right now and when this gets out of the way we have a little break and then we have to be truly focused on getting back into the form we need. We only have two home games left, now we’re putting a little more emphasis on what we have to do on the road as well. But we’re very disappointed over our last three or four homes games, that’s for sure."

=> Read more!

It's game day, and the third-to-last home game of the regular season kicks off at 1 p.m. at Qwest. It's also on Channel 5, and on CBC.

Three home games remaining means that the Sounders can reasonably get from their current 33 points to a probable playoff safe zone of 40 points just by taking care of business at home: seven points out of these home games (Toronto, Chivas, Dallas) and they reach a point total that's usually high enough to qualify. (More on that in a day or two.)

But with a loss today -- even a draw -- then they'll probably need to pick up some points on the road (DC, NE, Columbus, KC). They're certanly capable of that, but they make things a lot easier on themselves with three points today.

Plus, today could be a two-fer, because a Sounders win today not only gets Seattle three points, but it denies any to Toronto, also a contender for one of the eight playoff spots. If the Reds win, they pull even with the Sounders in the MLS standings.

Here's my story from today's paper, looking mostly at Toronto and Seattle as the off-field successes they are.

Here's the Toronto Star's soccer coverage.

You can also keep track of other MLS action today here. The highlight should be Chivas USA-LA Galaxy at 8 (ESPN2). And then there should be another good one at noon Sunday: Houston-Colorado.

And a couple of other notes:

Before the game I'll be part of a soccer roundtable hosted by Matt Gaschk on KJR, originating from Jimmy's on First. That segment runs from 11:30-noon. If you're in the area, it'd be great to put a face to a screen name. If not, you can listen in on 950-AM or online at the KJR Website.

The Washington State Department of Transportation reminds Sounders fans about extra possible congestion around Qwest Field due to ongoing construction and also because of an evening Mariners game against the Kansas City Royals.

Their suggestions:

=> Read more!

Not much real news out of Sounders practice today. Although we did finally get around to asking coach Sigi Schmid about midfielder Terry Cooke, the former English professional who has been working with the Sounders this week after being released in his fifth season with the Colorado Rapids.

“He has been here since we started training on Wednesday," Schmid said. "He was let go by Colorado earlier. He is still around and we wanted to take a look at Terry. Chris Henderson has played with him in the past. ... We wanted to see where he is at and talk to him. You are always trying to look. The trade deadline is September 15 so we have until September 15. If you can improve your roster in some manner, you try and do it. In Columbus, this was the time of year that I picked up Adam Moffat back in 2007 and he got off to a great start in 2008. When I was with the (L.A.) Galaxy, this was the time of year that I picked up Hurculez Gomez from the team he was playing on. He stuck around for a little bit. So, you can find guys at this time of the year.”

The Sounders will wrap up training for Toronto around midday.

Until then, a little morning reading material:

Here's my story from today's paper on the Sounders efforts to keep a pure pitch, even now that Seahawks season has started. (I think you'll be pleased when you see it tomorrow.) And also the high-tech Buck Rogers solution of the future.

Here's a story from the Toronto Star looking at the Reds' altered travel plans to ease the affects of that three-time-zone travel.

And here's a quick look ahead to D.C. United, Seattle's slumping opponent in the U.S. Open Cup final next week.

As you may have noticed, it's a near-perfect day out there, and that made for a nice time watching Sounders training today.

After we got a brief session with coach Sigi Schmid, where he talked a bit about the practice and looked ahead to his lineups not only for Toronto on Saturday but for the U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday at D.C.

Here was his take on today's practice and the ongoing efforts to become a better-finishing club:

"I think it’s getting better," Schmid said. "Obviously, in Houston I think we had more shots and we went after them a little more. In practice, the goal Vagenas scored earlier today was a good one. Nate Jaqua’s goal in Houston was a good one, because it wasn’t the perfect setup but he still put the shot where he wanted to. He got the shot off, and I think that’s something that you’ve got to continue to work on. It’s important to get Montero and Nate and Zakuani and Freddie on the field at the same time. And I thought today Montero scored some great goals at practice, hitting the one goal the first time off the layback from Ljungberg. When he does stuff like that, I think it’s great for us. … We’re happy about the goals we scored, but we also think that we could have scored at this stage of the season probably five to 10 more if we had been a little bit better at times."

Schmid also was asked about juggling competitive lineups for league play and cup play while also getting time for his reserves.

"Sometimes injuries play a role in that," he said. "Sometimes cards play a role in that at this part of the season. Tyrone (Marshall) is one card away again, Freddie (Ljungberg) is one card away from missing. So those play a role in it as well and the rotation takes a natural progression in that way. For us, these next two games we want to put out the best lineup that we feel we can put out there. Obviously in the Open Cup game Jhon Kennedy Hurtado can’t play because he’s out because he got red-carded in the last game against Houston. So that means (Patrick) Ianni plays in that game for sure. For the weekend, we’ll play Kennedy. … For the rest of the team, at this stage it’s about trying to put out what you think is the best team in that particular week."

I'll be talking Sounders on KJR at 5:07 p.m. today with Dave "The Groz" Grosby, always a good friend of this blog.

You can also listen in online on the KJR Website.

Just as Portland seems to get its stadium-renovation house in order, we get this report of potential problems with Vancouver's plan to use BC Place as a temporary home for its 2011 MLS expansion team.

(And for those of you who have done just about enough reading for one morning, here's a local TV report.)

Here's hoping things word out for the Highway 99 part of the I-5 rivalries.

By this time next week, Seattle Sounders FC could have its first trophy. Or it will have added an on-field element to the unfolding off-field rivalry with DC United. Or both.

As we count down to the Wednesday final at RFK, here's a Q&A with Sebastien Le Toux, from the U.S. Soccer site.

Real Salt Lake mauled the oddly up-and-down Chivas USA tonight, 4-0.

The result keeps Sounders and Chivas tied in the MLS point totals, although CUSA still has two games in hand. And the result also pulls pesky RSL to within three points of the Sounders and Chivas.

Well, we had our nice little debate about whether Freddie Ljungberg should remain at forward at the expense of either Fredy Montero or Nate Jaqua.

However, coach Sigi Schmid seemed to imply today that nothing is further from his mind.

“Freddie did what we needed done in that game (at Houston),” Schmid said. “What we asked him to do was play higher and to play more as a traditional striker. But, I think anytime you can put a guy back on the field who has scored 10 goals for you, that definitely helps the team.”

That guy is Montero, whose goal total leads the Sounders and ranks one goal behind Colorado’s Conor Casey for the MLS lead. Montero’s 10 goals and six assists also combine to rank second in MLS, behind Colorado’s Omar Cummings (eight goals, 10 assists).

Meanwhile, Ljungberg said it hardly matters whether he is penciled in at forward or midfield, because he usually plays a role that combines the positions anyway.

“Sometimes I play between midfield and the strikers, and that was what I played (in Houston) as well,” Ljungberg said Wednesday. “But I like that. That’s where most people play me and where Arsenal played me: as a winger, but if we’re one-goal down or one-goal up they put me between midfield and striker. I see that as an attacking midfielder or a withdrawn forward – it depends how you see it.”

The lineup possibilities became a particular issue this week because this seems like the first week in ages when no Sounder is out due to suspension or national-team duty, and only midfielder Stephen King is out due to injury (hamstring, which will probably keep him out through next week).

Things were different at Sounders practice this morning as several hundred youth soccer summer campers watched from the the Qwest Field stands.

After training -- which included a short reserve game against the PDL Seattle Wolves -- the players addressed the crowd, saying a little something about themselves. Then the players handed out postcard-sized autographed pictures of themselves.

Here are some of the things the Sounders' told the crowd:

Taylor Graham: His favorite annimals are giraffes and sasquach.

Sanna Nyassi: "I love to sleep, man."

Fredy Montero (in English): "Hi everybody. I like Seattle. I like Sounders. I like dance."

Freddie Ljungberg: From Sweden and likes snowboarding.

Tyson Wahl: Favorite TV show is "The Bachelorette."

Stephen King: Plays guitar and belonged to a high school band.

Steve Zakuani: Likes playing Guitar Hero.

Sigi Schmid: Kasey Keller's favorite show is "Dancing with the Stars."

Afterward Schmid said everyone had a good time and that the organization probably made some new fans today.

“The players took their time signing autographs and giving out their autograph cards and stuff," he said. "It’s a connection that you will always remember. Sometimes you don’t know what that moment is. But, for a lot of kids, maybe that moment was today or at camp when they met a player. It’s a moment that just gets them and they fall in love with soccer. That doesn’t mean they are going to become a pro player but might mean they become a soccer fan or they work in the sport in some capacity. It definitely gives them the passion for the sport. The more people we can give that passion to the better it is.”

He also said it was valuable to get some playing time for his reserves.

“It was good," Schmid said. "Having some people watching training always gets the guys a little more motivated. We wish we could’ve made it a little bit shorter but we had a certain workload we had in mind. We wanted to get the reserve guys who have not been playing in a lot of games at least 45 minutes of something that seemed a lot more game-like than they have faced and play somebody different. It was great having all of the campers out here. I think the success of the Sounders camps this year and the kids are just another aspect of what the Sounders are trying to do in this community.”

I'm staring down at the Sounders pitch at Qwest Field, and there is absolutely no evidence that the Seahawks played an NFL game here on Saturday. No lines. No numbers. No Hawks or NFL logos. Maybe a trace of a back end-zone line behind the goals, but the pitch is pristine.

That, of course, is the promise that the Sounders have made with their fans from the beginning. No football lines on the soccer pitch.

The little wiggle room them left for themselves involves what they call "ghosting," markings that remain faintly visible even after the best efforts to scrub the field. However, as of now that doesn't appear to be a problem. I guess it's possible that it could still become an issue with repeated markings and erasings now that the MLS and NFL seasons are overlapping.

But so far so good.

I got this interesting note from the MLS office, spelling out the playoff procedure with the example of if the season ended today. ... And if it did, Seattle would be a wild card paired once again with the Houston Dynamo who they are 2-0-1 against in league and Open Cup play.

Here's the MLS note:

If the MLS regular season ended today, defending MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew (10-3-9, 39 points) and two-time MLS Cup Champions Houston Dynamo (11-6-7, 40 points) would secure the top seeds in their respective conferences. The Chicago Fire (10-5-8, 38 points) and the Los Angeles Galaxy (8-4-11, 35 points) would claim the number two seeds in their respective conferences.

The four MLS teams with the next most points, regardless of conference, would be awarded “wildcard” berths. Chivas USA (10-7-3, 33 points) would receive the first wildcard berth over Seattle Sounders FC (8-6-9, 33 points), because Chivas USA own a 2-0-0 record in head-to-head matches with Sounders FC this season. Sounders FC would claim the second wildcard berth and be seeded fourth in the Western Conference. Sounders FC’s 33 points would be good enough for them to claim the second wildcard berth and would seed them fourth in the Western Conference.

The final two seeds would come down to a three way tie-breaker between the Colorado Rapids (8-7-6, 30 points), Toronto FC (8-8-6, 30 points) and the New England Revolution (8-6-6, 30 points), all tied with 30 points. Based on points per game records versus each other Toronto FC and the Colorado Rapids would qualify for the remaining two playoff spots ahead of the New England Revolution. Thus, Toronto FC would be seeded third in the East and the Rapids would crossover for the fourth and final spot in the East. Some crucial upcoming matches for this trio fighting for a playoff spot down the stretch would be Sept. 5 when TFC visits Colorado, Sept. 12 when the Rapids head to Toronto and Oct. 3 when New England go head-to-head with the Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

If the MLS Cup Playoffs began today, Seattle Sounders FC would become only the second team in MLS history (1998 Chicago Fire) to qualify for the playoffs in their inaugural season. Toronto FC, who joined the League in 2007, would qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time. The Galaxy would return to the playoffs after a four-year hiatus for the two-time MLS Cup Champions. D.C. United, the second-winningest club in MLS Cup Playoff history behind the Galaxy, would be on the outside looking in for the second consecutive season.

...

And so the playoff matchups would be as follows:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
CLB (1) v COL (crossover)
CHI (2) v TOR (3)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
HOU (1) v SEA (4)
LA (2) v CHV (3*)
* CHV wins tiebreaker (2-0-0 v SEA)

...

But the season does not end today.

Each club has 6-10 games left to secure one of eight spots before the MLS Cup Playoffs are scheduled to begin Oct. 29.

Toronto FC not only lost it game to Chivas USA over the weekend, but the club also lost midfielder Carl Robinson and defender Adrian Serioux due to yellow card accumulation. And that means they will both miss the Reds visit to Qwest Field on Saturday.

Here's a report from the CBC.

The Sounders are off today and Tuesday. So, let's get a start on passing the two off days with two questions:

1.) Was that a good draw or a bad draw?

It's easy enough to say it was good draw for Sounders, bad draw for Houston. After all, Seattle managed to get a point after falling down a goal on the road to the best team in the league in weather fit only for scorpions.

(Here's what Sigi Schmid had to say: “This is a good draw. Sometimes you have games that become defining moments, and this game was something that was really important to our character. Being able to come down here and get a tie with the team that is tied for the league lead in points and do it against obstacles - not only obstacles with weather, but obstacles of missing those chances - it was a big character-building moment for us.”)

(And here's the Houston point of view from veteran keeper Pat Onstad: ”We’re always disappointed (not winning) at home. No matter who we play in this league, we feel that we can win. You want to get three points at home, and tonight with only one was a bit disappointing. We could have created a big gap there at the top, but it wasn’t to be tonight. Seattle created more than enough opportunities to get their goal in the second half, and sure enough they got theirs.”)

However, the point could be made that the Sounders created enough opportunities to not only get their tying goal, but enough opportunities to get a winning one as well. Seattle had more shots, more shots on goals and more real chances ... but didn't depart with more points.

So.

2.) Who should start at forward this week against Toronto?

Freddie Ljungberg moved from midfield to forward and produced one of his best games of the season ... perhaps his best. However, Fredy Montero returns this week. So should he be benched as a wakeup call for some pretty off-putting play lately? Or should Schmid pair Fredy & Freddy while letting Nate Jaqua sit? Or should Fredy and Jaqua retain their positions while Ljungberg moves back to midfield?

You be the coach.

Final: Sounders come from behind to get a point and a 1-1 draw at Houston.

James Riley started the scoring play with a nice run and cross to Steve Zakuani, who headed back across the box to Nate Jaqua, who finished with a right-footed volley.

Both Jaqua and Zakuani had amends to make. An earlier goal had been waved off due to Jaqua being offside. And Zakuani missed the widest openest goal imaginable, somehow sending the ball over the crossbar from about 4 yards.

Freddie Ljungberg went 88 minutes and for my money was the best player on the pitch and perhaps his best game as a Sounder. (Will/should he stay up front next week with Montero available?)

And neither Ljungberg nor Tyrone Marshall picked up yellows, so everyone should be eligible for Toronto on Saturday.

The Sounders are now 8-6-9 on the season with seven games left. (And 1-1-0 in their blue kits.)

(Here's The News Tribune's report. And here's an MLSnet.com report on the game, with video of both goals.)

And here are some postgame quotes, provided by the Dynamo media relations department:

=> Read more!

The long coundown has begun to the kickoff of a very big game for the Sounders and Dynamo: 5:30 our time on KONG.

To prepare:

Here' my game preview from today, largely on the stadium situation in Houston. Unfortunately, I didn't travel for this game, but I've been to Robertson before and while the stadium isn't much, I remember them having a pretty active fan base. And Sig Schmid pointed out this week that it's a thin pitch ... maybe something like San Jose, and I don't have to remind you how that turned out. And finally, as a former Southerner and even Texan, I can tell you it's hot and humid down there.

Here's the Dynamo coverage from the Houston Chronicle.

And here are the MLS standings, which are getting scarier by the moment for the Sounders. Remember: top two in each conference make the playoffs, then the next four regardless of conference. Seattle is sixth right now, but there are three teams right behind setting up a cluster of nine teams competing for eight spots. Getting even a point today could end up being crucial.

The Los Angeles Galaxy added a point in the MLS Western standings Saturday with a scoreless draw at D.C. United.

Then Chivas USA moved past the Sounders in the West with a 2-0 win over Toronto.

Sounders designated player Freddie Ljungberg trained with the team today, showing enough where coach Sigi Schmid said he will fly to Houston today and play against the Dynamo tomorrow.

"He felt fine, so he's going along with us to Houston," Schmid said, just before heading for SeaTac. "If everything goes well, we expect him to play."

Here's my story from this morning's paper, and the two designated players who will be on the Robertson Stadium pitch tomorrow.

New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio resigned Friday.

Here's a report from the MLS website.

"I want to apologize to the fans for the results this season," Osorio says in the report. "I want to thank the players for their hard work. I'd also like to thank the club for the opportunity to coach the team for the past two seasons."

The Red Bulls are 2-16-4 this season, last in MLS. They have a goal differential of minus-23.

And, of course, you may remember that New York's troubles began on March 19 with a 3-0 loss in the expansion Sounders' first game ever.

Assistant coach Richie Williams will take over as interim head coach for the rest of the season.

After last night's loss, coach Sigi Schmid implied he would have a few well-chosen words for his team at training today, and he apparently delivered.

After practice, Schmid gathered his team in a circle as usual. But then the team got up and headed to one touchline. They lined up along the line and then walked together across the pitch. Once at the far touchline, they remained in a straight line, which Schmid addressed them for 20-minutes or so, often gesturing for emphasis.

"That was just a little sports psych excercise that we did," Schmid said. "It's just for us. As I've said before to you guys a lot of times, the difference between winning and losing a lot of times is small, it's not big. It's not big things that changge games, it's little things that change games. Just putting the re-emphasis on that, on why we're getting so close and not finishing our chances, what's going amiss there. There were some good points brought up by the players, so I feel very good about that."

The media hadn't seen anything quite like it before, but Nate Jaqua said the overall message wasn't that different from other times when Schmid has attempted to get his team to be all it can be.

"We've had a few of those," Nate Jaqua said. "Some talk. This is the end of the season now, we're coming up to it. We've got to play this last part and kind of hit our stride if we're going to be the team we want to be. Sometimes we're the team we want to be and sometimes we're not. Part of it is consistency and the fact that we're a young group."

Freddie Ljungberg admits he feared the worst when he was having his memory and vision issues last week.

However, he said today that all tests came back negative, and that doctors now think the issue was some hyperglycemic reaction that can be controlled with the proper intake of food.

"My body went into starving mode and started to shut down," Ljungberg said. "It was a severe hyperglycemic state. At least now we know what was going on. If I can just get proper food hopefully nothing will happen because that’s what triggers migraines. Normally I’ve had one migraine in 18 months and now I’ve had three in two months. SO we had to find what was different and that’s what the doctor’s think. Now hopefully we’re on the right track and we can fix it."

Assuming that's correct, Ljungberg believes he should be able to travel to Texas tomorrow and play 45-60 minutes -- maybe more -- Sunday in Houston.

"He trained today. He did what everybody else did today," coach Sigi Schmid said. "But we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. This is seven days. The doctors had suggested a protocol of seven to 10 days, depending on how he feels. So we’ll see how he comes back tomorrow. That will make the determination about him traveling with us to Houston. Obviously if he travels with us we would expect him to play. We’ve got to be a little bit cautious because of the heat and the humidity down there, which can dehydrate you and with his eating and so forth and his body being in more of a sensitive state right now with what he just came off of, we’ve just got to be a little more cautious right now."

Here's everything Ljungberg told us today:

=> Read more!

Here's my game story.

Two main postgame issues:

First: Montero wasn't supposed to take the PK.

Second: Gulp.

First things first: Coach Sigi Schmid said Fredy Montero wasn’t supposed to take the penalty shot, but that the man he had assigned to take it deferred. Schmid wouldn’t name the player -- although he'll clearly hear about it at training Friday.

“There was a player designated to hit the PK,” Schmid said. “He needs to stand up and take responsibility for that. I haven’t blown up about it yet, but I’ll blow up tomorrow.”

Montero said that an interpreter that he was offered the chance to take the kick and that he wanted to because he is the team’s leading goal-scorer.

(Montero also picked up a yellow card tonight, pushing him to five on the season and therefore meaning he'll have to sit out the Sounders' next game.)

However, the bigger issue is that this sunny season with the Sounders as the darlings of American soccer is taking on a few clouds. Kasey Keller came the closest to pointing out that this team is in a race for the playoffs and that it can't afford to come up empty at home against .500 teams.

“It’s time to truly to see if we are a playoff (team) and a contender in this league,” Keller said. “This is the time when you need to start getting your form to get into playoffs. Nothing would be worse for me to have as good a season as we’ve had and then let it fizzle out at the end.”

The Sounders have come away with three points only once in their last five games, and they've been shutout in all four of the non-victories. Tonight's result kept Seattle (8-6-8, 32 pts.) in fifth place in a league where the top eight teams make the playoffs. (They are certain to drop one more spot Saturday, if either club can get three points out the Chivas USA-Toronto FC game.) Five of Seattle's remaining eight games are on the road, starting Sunday at Western-leader Houston.

“Every time we play at home we want to win,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “For the most part I thought we carried the game, but at the end of the day you’ve got to score goals.”

The Sounders ended a club-record 335-minute scoreless streak last week in Los Angeles. However, it proved to be a brief reprieve as Seattle fired 11 shots against the Revs -- none on goal.

“It looked like we could have played maybe three or four games tonight and not scored,” Keller said. “It’s difficult. I thought maybe after the win at L.A. we wanted to maybe get a good run going. We have so few home games left we truly wanted to take advantage of it. I think sometimes when you have a pretty good home record, you’ve got great fans, sometimes you take things for granted a little bit like you’re going to show up and it’s just going to go your way.”
Both teams started with aimless offenses featuring lots of high 50-50 balls being volleyed about.

Fittingly for this lost night, the most upbeat pregame storylines didn’t pan out either: Sainey Nyassi started for New England, but was subbed out in the 68th minute. Sanna Nyassi came on for Seattle in the 69th minute.

Oh yes, and one more thing. As I sit here in the press box, a crew is on the pitch wiping off the soccer lines, which are soon to be replaced by the American football lines and numbers for the Seahawks first home game of the new season on Saturday.

The Sounders have always said they're serious about keeping a pristine pitch for MLS games. But there are concerns about what they call "ghosting" -- faint lines, numbers and logos remaining faintly visible despite best efforts to erase them.

I guess we'll have to wait for Toronto's visit on Aug. 29 to find out.

=> Read more!

Seattle has survived as the USA bid committee has cut its field to 27 cities still in the running to host games if FIFA awards the 2018 or 2022 World Cup to this country.

Both Qwest Field and Husky Stadium remain among the contending venues.

More information here.

It's gameday, and with it comes a look at the only MLS opponent the Sounders haven't yet faced: the New England Revolutions.

It's a big game for both teams in what is a very clusterned MLS playoff race: the Revs trying to climb in, the Sounders trying to build a little breating room and get back into that No. 2 spot in the West.

While passing time until kickoff (7 p.m., ESPN2), here's my preview story from today's paper.

Here's a nice package from Monique Walker of the Boston Globe, the rare visiting writer who made the cross-country trip.

Here's her main story, an overview on what has made the Sounders the expansion success story that they are. In her secondary story, she looks at the similarities and differences of the Sounders and Revs, who each play in NFL stadiums.

Meanwhile, here's a look at the staggering San Jose Earthquakes, who are the anti-Sounders expansion model in a lot of ways. Their most recent bad news is that their plans for even a small no-frills stadium of their own seem to have ground to a halt.

The L.A. Galaxy pulled ahead of the Sounders FC in the MLS standing tonight with a very impressive 2-0 win at Chicago. (And that, of course, without David Beckham.)

However, the ESPN2 crew had a lot of love for the Sounders during a halftime look at the league, saying this: "The Seattle Sounders are a great story on the field and in the seats, packing the joint every night out. ...

"It's huge (for the league.) For the Seattle Sounders not only to be an expansion team, to not just go out there but to do it with class. Everthing about that organization is brilliant: the marketing, the fans are excellent, they're always involved, the environment that's there. And now Sigi Schmid -- they get the No. 1 guy that just won the league with the Columbus Crew, they put him in charge and he's done a very good job with this team. It's excellent to watch them play. Great to be in those stadiums with that environment."

Of course, it's not surprising that the Sounders would get a little love on ESPN2, and they'll be on the Deuce at 7 p.m. Thursday, meeting the New England Revolution ... and needing a full three points to get back ahead of the Galaxy.

Here's a look ahead to that one:

NEW ENGLAND (6-6-6; 24 pts.)
AT SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (8-5-8; 32)
7 p.m., Qwest Field.
TV: ESPN2.
Radio: 97.3 FM (in Spanish on 1210 AM).

Head-to-head: First meeting. Sounders visit New England on Sept. 26.

Team leaders: For New England – G 6 Steve Ralston; A 6 Shalrie Joseph; S 27 Kheli Dube; SOG 10 Ralston. For Seattle – G 10 Fredy Montero; A 7 Nate Jaqua; S 64 Montero; SOG 23 Montero.

Schmid scouting report: “Their season has been up and down because they have had a number of injuries. They are a good team. They have a lot of fight. They know how to win. And, they are a team that is going to be tough.”

Notes: New England is the only MLS team that the Sounders haven’t faced. … The Revs are 7-7-3 all-time against first-year MLS clubs, and 6-2-3 since 2005. … Seattle is 6-1-4 at home, while New England is 2-4-3 on the road. However, the Revs are 2-2-0 on the road against Western Conference opponents, including a 1-0 win at league-leading Houston. … The Revolution will be without Taylor Twellman (concussion) and Chris Albright (meniscus tear). Jay Heaps (hamstring) is listed as probable. New England coach Steve Nicol also will miss the game due to league suspension for midconduct during the Aug. 1 game against Toronto. … For Seattle, Freddie Ljungberg (disorientation), Tyrone Marshall (red-card suspension), Stephen King (hamstring) and Terry Boss (concussion) are out. Ben Dragavon has been selected from the MLS goalkeeper pool for this game. … Seattle’s Sanna Nyassi and New England’s Sainey Nyassi are twin brothers. … Montero is tied for second in MLS goals scored. … The game is sold out. … Volunteers will collect schools supplies and cash donations at the stadium gates for donation to children in need.

Next: At Houston, 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Robertson Stadium; KONG 6/16.

Los Angeles will move even with the Sounders with a draw and pass them with a win tonight in Chicago.

The Galaxy game at Chicago will be shown live at 6 p.m. today on ESPN2.

Here's a preview from the MLS website.

Freddie Ljungberg worked out lightly and apart from the team again today, and coach Sigi Schmid said he won't play in tomorrow's game against the Revolution. There was also some implication he probably won't play Sunday in Houston either.

However, if there was good news it was word that tests trying to find the cause of Ljungberg's recent head/memory/vision problems came back negative.

And while that seems to eliminate certain grim possibilities, no one yet seems sure what is causing the problems. (Or at least no one is saying.) Everyone seems certain it's not migraines this time. And Schmid implied it might simply be diet or some other random factor that might have changed since Ljungberg's move to the Northwest.

To be continued, I suppose.

Meanwhile, Schmid also mentioned that Stephen King probably won't play due to hamstring. Meanwhile, reserve keeper Terry Boss has suffered a concussion and is unavailable. With Chris Eylander not yet ready to come off the injured list, the Sounders have again acquired Ben Dragavon from the MLS keeper pool, and he'll be in reserve for the Revs.

Freddie Ljungberg jogged lightly during some of Sounders training today, but left the Qwest Field pitch before the media-access time.

Coach Sigi Schmid said Ljungberg is still undergoing tests, so they don't yet know exactly what is going on. But he said this seems to be separate from his migraines. And while vision problems and memory loss are pretty scary symptoms, Schmid said he doesn't yet consider this scary in a sense beyond football availability.

“He’s going under some tests this afternoon just to evaluate so that we can figure out what exactly happened over the weekend," Schmid said. "We just want to make sure. It’s more a case of eliminating things than a case of determining is this happening or that. ... It is not migraine related. Right now, it is just a matter of a couple of things have happened over a short period of time and we just want to make sure there’s nothing else going on. ... He feels fine today. All we want to do is we want to error on the side of caution than come out and say, ‘Let’s go ahead and play,’ and have something else happen. Because of it happening as close to the (similar symptoms at the All-Star Game), we just want to make sure.”

Schmid said no decision will be made about Ljungberg's availability for Thursday until those test results come in.

The Sounders press guide calls Olympia Kasey Keller's hometown. The News Tribune has always said Lacey.

I belatedly asked Keller his preference today and he said ... Olympia. Keller said he grew up there and didn't move to Lacey until he was 15.

Therefore, it'll be Olympia from now on.

For those wondering about the condition of Freddie Ljungberg: no news today. A Sounders spokesman said something more might be known perhaps announced when the team returns to training on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, with little other Sounders news coming out today, I thought I'd ask those who care -- and I know many of you do not -- what y'all thought about those blue kits the Sounders wore Saturday.

I thought that as a stand-alone issue, they looked good. Maybe even "better" than the rave greens. However, there are just so many MLS teams wearing blue these days that I like the distinctiveness of the rave greens. That green has become the way I think of the Sounders, the way I instantly recognize them on highlights shows, and I think they should stick with that look as much as possible.

You?

Finally, a few other notes from the Sounders:

=> Read more!

Sounders fans got to see less than 17 minutes of David Beckham this season.

And when the next Major League Soccer schedule is released, Puget Sound soccer fans eager for an in-person look at the world’s most famous player should hope that the Galaxy’s visit comes late.

Beckham has said he will play the fourth and fifth seasons of his five-year MLS contract. But Grant Wahl, author of “The Beckham Experiment,” expects him to return once again as a part-time player in 2010.

“Beckham wants to be in the league next year, but he wants to be in the league on his terms,” Wahl said. “He wants to come back after the World Cup and rejoin the Galaxy more than halfway into the season, so he would be a part-time player again, just as he is this season. So, we’ll see how that works out. They would have to redo his contract for that to happen. But it sounds like the Galaxy would probably agree to that, and then Beckham could come back in the last part of 2010 and supposedly be around for all of 2011.”

This season, Beckham missed the Galaxy game in Seattle because he was still on extended loan to AC Milan. And then Saturday brought a 16-plus-minute appearance in the Sounders 2-0 road win. Then he was tossed through a straight red card for his spikes-up tackle on Peter Vagenas.

That leaves Sounders fans looking to next year ... or perhaps a Seattle-LA crossing on the playoff road.

Received these quotes from the two Galaxy stars, provided by the club:

LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER DAVID BECKHAM
On his red card:
“Pete (Vagenas) is one of my best friends. I think it was a hard tackle but by no means is it a red card. I’ve never gone into a tackle wanting to hurt someone, but the referee saw it different. It was a hard tackle, but not malicious.”

On the game:“I think the guys battled. It’s always hard when you go down to 10 men and lose a man. It was a tough night for us. We went into the game in such a good position and in such good form, but you can’t win every game.”

LA GALAXY FORWARD LANDON DONOVAN
On his availability for the game:“I actually felt really good. In hindsight, I wish I could’ve started the game because I had a lot of energy, but it’s frustrating that I couldn’t play more. He [Bruce Arena] asked me how I was feeling, and I said I thought I could play 45 minutes. Maybe in hindsight, I would’ve tried to start the game and see how I felt at halftime, but in an ideal world, maybe we are winning and I don’t have to come in until even later, but that is how it went tonight.”

On him getting swine flu:
“Having experience it, it just like any other flu like I ever had, there is obviously a lot of serious cases, but I did a lot of research, and learned a lot about it and the majority of the cases are just like any other flu. The realities and the perceptions are very different, that being said, from what I understand, there is not a lot they know about it. From my experience, it was just a normal flu.”

On David Beckham’s red card:
“In games like that, you rely on the ref to do a good job of keeping things under control, and when the first bad tackle is given a red card then the rest of the game follows. And that is the unfortunate part; it is too bad it has to go that way.”

If coach Sigi Schmid is superstitious, those new kits might sick around a while as the Seattle broke a three-game league winless streak with a 2-0 victory before a crowd of 20,162 at the Home Depot Center.

The result moves the Sounders (8-5-8; 32 points) past L.A. (7-4-10, 31) into second place in the MLS Western Division. Seattle also ended a club-record streak of 335 regular-season minutes without a goal.

“Obviously, we’re happy with the win,” Schmid said. “The card to Beckham obviously changed the game early on. But I thought even before that we were starting to look like we could break through.”

And that was largely the theme of the folks I was able to speak with after the game. Yes, the red card to David Beckham was important. Yes, the limited time for Landon Donovan was important. But the Sounders were without Freddie Ljungberg too (Schmid said he expects a better diagnosis and prognosis once the team returns home.)

But the Sounders also seemed to think they had the better run of play even before Beckham was booted. And really, nothing much matters beyond the cold numbers of the scoreboard and the standings.

"The red card probably hurt them a little bit more, but it’s still a win," Steve Zakuani said. "... I think we were good even from the beginning. If we only had 11-on-11 I think we were passing the ball well. With the 10 it just made a bit more space, and we took advantage. It feels good to get a win.”

As for the Beckham card ... unfortunately, the late start meant I couldn't wait around to chat with Becks. But LA coach Bruce Arena made no excuses.

“I can’t complain,” he said. “He came in pretty hard. I’d have to look at it on the replay, but he came in pretty hard. ... (Overall it was) not a good night tonight. We didn’t deserve any more than we got."

The Sounders return to action at 7 p.m. Thursday when New England visits Qwest Field.

=> Read more!

Important match with second-place in the West on the line ... plus the debut of the Sounders' blue kits. How can we wait?

Well, in part with some reading material counting down the hours to the annoyingly late 8 p.m. kickoff.

Here's my preview story from today's paper.

Here's a story from the LA Times on how the Galaxy is dealing with Landon Donovan's swine flu diagnosis and how to keep it from running through the rest of the team.

That story also included this brief preview box:

Update: The Galaxy's gradual rise up the MLS standings has seen it climb to second place in the Western Conference and fourth place overall in the league. Coach Bruce Arena said Friday no decision would be made before game time on the availability of Landon Donovan, who was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus. Forwards Alecko Eskandarian (broken nose) and Edson Buddle (sprained right foot) are out. The Sounders are led by former Swedish international midfielder Freddie Ljungberg. Seattle, coached by former Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid and feature former Galaxy players Peter Vagenas, Tyrone Marshall, Nate Jaqua and Nathan Sturgis. Seattle is winless in its last three games. The Galaxy is unbeaten in its last six games, winning five.

Here's the LA Daily News' Galaxy coverage.

And finally, here's the MLS Match Center, which will keep you updated on all the league's action. Sounders-Galaxy is probably the game of the day, but there are a few others that are interesting to the tight Western race: Houston at Salt Lake, Chivas at New York, and even heating FCDallas at hot Columbus. If Dallas wins that, Seattle suddenly has another Western opponent to worry about.

I have received word that the Sounders will be wearing their blue kits in public for the first time Saturday night against the Galaxy.

I don't know why. The Galaxy has a navy blue kit and a white kit, and it doesn't seem that the green jerseys would conflict with either. But that's what the Sounders say is planned.

The weather in Southern California is just about perfect today, and something similar is expected to remain through the Sounders-Galaxy game on Saturday night.

However, the pitch could be another matter. ... Which is to say, there was no completed pitch when I passed by Home Depot Center around midday.

Apparently the natural grass field was lost under a sea of dirt brought in for a motocross event there. So as of noon Friday, work crews were still laying down strips of sod and the edges of the field were nothing but dirt.

As my neighbors know only too well, I'm no lawn expert; but that seems a little rushed: dirt and strips of grass one day, important professional soccer match the next.

But we'll see. Plus, there may not be that much to lose, considering the Sounders seemed to have plenty of trouble keeping their feet on the previous pitch during their two earlier visits against Chivas USA.

Meanwhile, a quick look ahead to the game:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (7-5-8; 29 pts.)
AT LOS ANGELES GALAXY (7-3-10; 31)
8 p.m. Saturday, Home Depot Center; Carson, Calif.
TV: KONG 6/16.
Radio: 97.3 FM (in Spanish on 1210 AM).

Head-to-head: The teams played to a 1-1 draw on May 10 at Qwest Field.

Team leaders: For Seattle – G 9 Fredy Montero; A 6 Montero/Nate Jaqua; S 60 Montero; SOG 21 Montero. For L.A. – G 9 Landon Donovan; A 5 Donovan/Mike Magee; S 38 Alan Gordon; SOG 18 Donovan.

Coach Sigi Schmid scouting report: “You’re looking at Eddie Lewis, (Gregg) Berhalter, (David) Beckham, (Landon) Donovan, people like that, and (Donovan) Ricketts in goal. There is a lot of international experience. … They have got individual players who have been explosive. They are a team, right now, that is confident. And I think that more than anything else, that confidence is what is carrying them through.”

Notes: The Galaxy is in second place in the Western Conference, but Seattle would pass them with a win tonight. … Donovan is questionable due to swine flu. Seattle defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is out due to yellow-card accumulation. … This is the third straight road game in league play for the Sounders, who have lost two in a row and are winless in their last three MLS matches. Seattle hasn’t scored in four straight games. … L.A. has won five and drawn once in its last six games. This will be the first league home game for L.A.’s David Beckham since his return from AC Milan. … Sounders coach Sigi Schmid began his pro coaching career with the Galaxy, going 79-53-38 and winning the 2002 MLS Cup. Sounders players who have worn the L.A. colors are Peter Vagenas (2000-2008), Tyrone Marshall (2002-07), Nathan Sturgis (2006-07) and Nate Jaqua (2007).

Next: 7 p.m. Thursday, New England Revolution, Qwest Field; ESPN2.

Cobi Jones walks past LA Galaxy associate head coach Dave Sarachan after training today ... and coughs.

Sarachan looks at Jones and both start laughing.

There's no doubt about the top story today as the Galaxy concluded training for their Saturday game against the Sounders: Landon Donovan has swine flu.

Neither Donovan nor David Beckham were at practice today at Home Depot Center. Coach Bruce Arena gave Beckham the day off after he traveled back from Amsterdam yesterday from English national team duty. However, while Beckham is expected to play tomorrow -- although Arena didn't fully confirm it -- Donovan seems less likely -- although Arena didn't fully rule it out.

"I haven’t seen him today, but like anybody else who has the flu, depending on how quickly he can turn it around he might be an option," Arena said. "If it’s how I felt, he’s playing. It’s certainly on how Landon feels and what the doctors tell me."

Arena said the worst is over for Donovan, that he isn't a threat to spread the flu among his teammates, and that his availability will depend on how he feels at gametime.

"I haven’t gone to medical school, so I don’t know the exact how it happened, but it happened," he said. "We had the flu run through the team last week in Boston. We took the necessary precautions, had a couple of staff members who were out a couple of days on medication and everything’s fine.

"... The little understanding I have of this flu is it’s a flu that is very manageable. I think the worst part of it is the word ‘swine.’ People tend to panic. I’m told there are other flues that are much more difficult to deal with. My guess – this is my guess, I haven’t been in a lab all night working this out – is that he probably got contaminated last week when a couple of other staff members did in Boston, where a couple of people didn’t feel good on Friday and it carried through. I think that’s exactly the case with Landon as well. And it’s not infectious – it’s well passed that stage – and there’s no issues on our team or anything else."

It'll be interesting to see how it plays out, because the Galaxy with Beckham and Donovan are the glamour team of MLS. And the Galaxy without Beckham and Donovan are pretty much indistinguishable from the Charleston Battery.

Meanwhile, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid sounds like he expects to see Donovan.

“I do not know if he is going to play or not play," Schmid said after practice today in a quote provided by the club. "Obviously, he played down in Mexico and he already had the symptoms there. So, I am not anticipating him not playing. I am anticipating him playing.”

The Sounders get one last local practice today at Starfire. But if my plane is right on time and the LA freeways aren't too bad, I might be at Galaxy practice instead.

Before heading out, I asked Sounders coach Sigi Schmid what it would be like to coach a player like David Beckham, someone who is not only the face of the team, but to some degree is intended to be the face of the league. Someone, frankly, who you can't really treat like any other player because he so clearly isn't just any other player. (Which was sort of the point of my story today.)

“It’s different challenges all the time," Schmid said. "Sometimes it is the integration of a couple players. Sometimes it is an individual player like that. You just have to make decisions. I remember reading a coach of a famous English team saying: ‘No decisions are tough decisions as long as you make them for the best of the team.’ It doesn’t mean they aren’t hard. It just means they are easy decisions because you are doing them for what’s good for the team.”

Brothers, Ciaran O’Brien and Leighton O’Brien team up in Montreal.

The O’Brien family has an exceptional soccer history. Another chapter to their soccer legacy has begun Montreal.

In an exclusive TacomaFC.com interview, Ciaran commented about playing with his older brother, “It should be exciting, playing alongside him for the first time in a professional game is something I have always wanted to do”.

For the full interview and story, CLICK HERE

When the Sounders FC visit LA on Saturday, two of MLS’ six designated players will share the pitch: Freddie Ljungberg and David Beckham.

In some ways, the players are alike. Each played more than a decade in the English Premier League. Each is by far the highest-paid player on his team. Each also has worked as an underwear model.

I would even say that their games are similar, at least to the extent that each is a midfielder who can impact games without scoring goals.

However, after Sounders training today, Ljungberg made the point that they impact games in different ways:

"Playing-wise we’re not that similar," he said. "Crossing the ball, (Beckham) is probably one of the best in the world crossing the ball. That’s how he builds his game. Maybe I’m more dribbling and running maybe than what he does."

There are, of course, considerable other differences between Beckham's experience an an MLS designated player and Ljungberg's. And I plan to write a bit about those in the Friday paper.

Back from Sounders' training for another day. The team will work out again tomorrow morning before flying down to LA for the game against the Galaxy on Saturday night.

The only firm news I picked up on today was Taylor Graham coming off the injured list. He says he's healthy and ready to play, although he doesn't expect be be among the first 11 on Saturday.

Here's the Sounders release:

Seattle Sounders FC defender Taylor Graham has been removed from the club’s Disabled List, making him immediately eligible to participate in MLS games.

Graham, 29, was placed on the Disabled List on May 29 with a fracture of the third metatarsal of his right foot. Although he has not appeared in any league matches this season, Graham started and played the full 90 minutes of a U.S. Open Cup play-in match against Real Salt Lake on April 28. He also played the second half of last week’s friendly with FC Barcelona.

Graham dressed for four MLS matches prior to his injury, which was sustained in training.

The Sounders FC plays at the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday night Carson, Calif. Kickoff is 8 p.m. PT

Meanwhile, it looks like Patrick Ianni might step in for Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, who will miss the LA game due to yellow-card accumulation. That could set up an interesting return match with LA's Landon Donavan. (See post below.)

And finally, you may have heard some reports about Fredy Montero's contract moving fully within MLS and Sounders control. GM Adrian Hanauer wouldn't comment on the report, but he did offer the interesting insight that he hasn't seen anything in any media that has correctly spelled out Montero's contract status at any point since his initial move into the league. Hmmm.

The Sounders didn't train Wednesday, so I spent much of the day -- the non-USA-Mexico part -- writing for the Thursday paper on Grant Wahl's book, "The Beckham Experiment."

I read the book while traveling last week and noticed that three current Sounders are mentioned: coach Sigi Schmid, defender Patrick Ianni, and especially veteran midfielder Peter Vagenas, who emerges as one of Wahl's go-to guys for quotes. Wahl comments more than once on Vagenas' intellectual and dry sense of humor.

I talked to all three at training on Tuesday, and none had read the book from cover to cover. However, Vagenas said Wahl sent him a copy and that he is aware of what was written. Schmid said spoke with Wahl and therefore wasn’t surprised to be included. And while Ianni didn’t know he was in the book, he sure remembers the incident mentioned.

Here are those Sounders’ highlights, and their reactions (which have been edited for space and clarity):

PETER VAGENAS
Mentioned: 40 pages.
Context: Soon after signing, Beckham presented his teammates with fancy red invitations to attend a VIP party that would also include actors Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. The next day, Vagenas distributed similar invitations jokingly inviting the team to “the castle for wizardry and sorcery” where live chickens would be served.
Reaction: “Ever since I was a 20-year-old rookie hesitant about approaching (Galaxy teammate and former UCLA-legend) Cobi Jones, I haven’t really had a problem with what the name on the back of the jersey of someone is. And you can tell right off the bat with David that he’s one of the guys, he wants to be one of the guys. And regardless of how he’s (portrayed) in the media or how the media wants to perceive him, he’s fair game just like anyone else in the locker room.”

SIGI SCHMID
Mentioned: Three pages.
Context: Schmid never coached Beckham, but Wahl portrays him as someone who knows soccer and as the guy in charge when the franchise was successful.
Reaction: “He told me he had written the book. I asked him, ‘Is it going to be interesting?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ But I haven’t read it. I figured Pete Vagenas could give me the blow-by-blow, the actual verbal description. I’m pushing for a free copy.”

PATRICK IANNI
Mentioned: Two pages.
Context: When Ianni played for Houston, Donovan celebrates a Galaxy goal by standing over his fallen opponent and barking “like Muhammad Ali looming over a beaten Sonny Liston.”
Reaction: “I definitely remember that. Yeah, definitely (took offense). I know for him it was in a competitive spirit, that’s how we are are: Sometimes our emotions get the best of us on the field. But to embarrass me like that was uncalled for, and I think he knows that. There was an incident early in the game where he feels I bumped him real hard. I think he embellished that. But I’m looking forward to this weekend.”

Naturally, while the Sounders stuff may be most interesting to Sounders fans, the part of the book that has gotten the most attention nationally is Landon Donovan's criticism of Beckham as an unworthy captain, a bad teammate and a guy who doesn't like picking up checks.

Vagenas spoke in considerable detail about that -- far more than I could get in the newspaper. But I wanted to present that entire portion of our converation here:

=> Read more!

Here is a report on the game.

I'll keep the result out of the headline and this portion of the blog for those of you who taped or DVR'd it. However, the comments portion below is fair game, and is now open.

The USA and arch-rival Mexico kick off at 1 p.m. Obviously, it's a big one for pride and as a World Cup qualifier.

Here's a preview from the Associated Press.

Here's a Fox Soccer take on why Mexico will win what it calls one of the most vicious rivalries in sports.

Here's a New York Times take on what a U.S. victory would mean, and why the early minutes will be so important.

You can find information on the limited broadcast and Internet streaming options a couple of posts below.

(Just before kickoff, I'll create a new post for in-game and post-game discussion.)

The Sounders are 0-2-1 in their last three league games -- failing to score each time and falling to fourth place in the MLS Western Conference.

Seattle has been outscored 9-0 over its last four games, including the friendly against FC Barcelona. The Sounders haven’t scored a goal since a U.S. Open Cup win over Houston on July 21 and haven’t scored in league play in more than a month: a 2-1 win over Houston on July 11.

Not surprisingly, that was the area of emphasis today as the Sounders worked out at Starfire. (And part of my story in the Wednesday paper.)

“We’ve tried to do a lot of finishing with our forwards, let them just work on that, get the confidence, see the ball hitting the net,” Schmid said Tuesday. “… Sometimes it’s something that ebbs and flows. There are times when goals are harder to come by, and there are times when they’re easier to come by; and we just have to be committed to continuing to work until the tide turns again.”

The USA visits Mexico at 1 p.m. Wednesday for one of the most anticipated World Cup qualifying matches from the CONCACAF region.

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

Seven MLS players will be on the U.S. roster.

Comcast subscribers can watch as part of a free 24-hour preview of Mun2 and Telemundo, with Phil Schoen handling the action with former U.S. national team defender Marcelo Balboa.

Telemundo will be broadcasting the same game in Spanish.

Mun2 is on Comcast Channel 603, and Telemundo is on 607

Meanwhile, a reader has passed along this link to a site where the game apparently will be streamed on the Internet.

My little flurry of vacation days ended today, but not in time for me to get over to practice. (Sorry the blog has been relatively skimpy the past week or so, and thanks for hanging in there.)

However, reading between the lines, it sounds like Sounders coach Sigi Schmid is cracking the whip a bit after a couple of poor league performances ... which should surprise no one, least of all the Sounders.

These quotes are provided by SSFC (and I'll be there to get my own quotes Tuesday):

COACH SIGI SCHMID
On Monday’s training: “It was good. We want to keep emphasizing certain things that we have maybe gotten away from in terms of moving the ball, moving off the ball a little bit quicker. That’s the reason for doing some of the things we did today at training. We try to get some very game specific situations and deal with those.”

On Sounders FC offensive slump: “Sometimes it’s being a little firmer with them at times, demanding a little more of ourselves in training. And, sometimes, you just need that break. It’s sort of like once the first one goes in then others will start to come. It’s just something that you go through. All teams go through them. That’s why when you look at every team’s history, there’s always a streak of minutes where they haven’t scored a goal.”

On physical condition of his players: “Freddie [Ljungberg] took a little bit of a knock. We just want to be careful with him. Tyrone [Marshall] and Jhon [Kennedy Hurtado] we took out. They are the guys we think are a little more sore for whatever reason. We just tailor their training sessions to what they need. Today is the kind of day where it is tailored a little more to what each guy needs. When you look at it, we probably had four different groups working today.”

On this week's schedule: “It helps a lot to have a normal work week, a normal training rhythm. It’s a big help being able to come out here today to train, tomorrow getting our weight training in, getting off on Wednesday, and coming in Thursday and Friday. To have that routine helps. It settles everybody as well.”

Here's The News Tribune's game story, which deals with how displeased coach Sigi Schmid seems to have been with the effort.

It will be very interesting to see if an how the lineup changes for yet another important and tough road game directly ahead: Saturday at LA with Landon Donovan and David Beckham.

Los Angeles and Colorado move past Seattle in the MLS Western Division standings.

The Sounders have been shut out in three straight league games and four straight games overall.

Here's a game report.

Here's the game story from the Deseret News.

Here are some quotes provided by RSL:

SIGI SCHMID
On the match:
“Not enough effort. Certain guys up front were just turning the ball over, and I don’t think we had a very good day holding the ball up front. At the end of the day we should have left 0-0, at the very worst.”

On Seattle’s first half effort defensively:
“I thought we did well. We did a good job of keeping the ball in front of us and keeping the play in front of us. There were some chances where we broke in, but our final pass wasn’t good enough.”

On what happened defensively on RSL’s goal:
“I don’t know, you’ve got to ask guys if they were awake. Guys fell asleep, the guys who were supposed to be back weren’t back. Guys were in wrong position, guys weren’t where they were supposed to be. They got caught napping and they paid the price.”

GOALKEEPER KASEY KELLER
On tonight’s match:
“You have to work extremely hard and you can’t get out-worked by the opponent, you have to be extremely disciplined. We got out-worked tonight. I thought [RSL] were really aggressive and when those things happen you have to be really good, and we weren’t today.”

On the defensive effort in front of him tonight:
“I thought we were solid, but it’s a team thing. You have to play with 11 guys on the field that have to give 100 percent effort the whole time. You can’t pull out of tackles, you can’t pull out of headers, it doesn’t work, and we need to improve on that.”

On the RSL goal:
“I think some people weren’t in the positions they were supposed to be in and Nick [Rimando] hit a great ball off the deck. Findley finished it very well, but those things just can’t happen. We’ve got too much experience on this team to let stupid things like that happen.”

=> Read more!

It's game day. And a big game day at that. The Sounders have suffered consecutive 4-0 losses to teams as diverse as the San Jose Earthquakes and FC Barcelona ... and there is no shortage of teams in striking distance from behind in the league standings.

One of the teams not too far behind is tonight's opponent: Real Salt Lake.

I'm taking some time off this weekend, but the game is previewed by Gail Wood, focusing mostly on Raphael Cox, formerly of UW and Tacoma's Stadium High, and now with RSL. Here's that story.

And here's a pretty interesting look at RSL from the Deseret News in Utah.

This is going to be the first game that I'm not going to be able to see in person or even on TV, so I won't be able to blog. But I'll try to create a new entry later today so that you guys can gather to discuss the game as usual ... or ,for that matter, to tell me what I missed.

OK, you season ticket holders have gotten Chelsea and Barcelona, and MLS Cup is yet to come. Not bad little add-ons to your season ticket package, eh?

What can the Sounders organization do for an encore next season?

They'd like to live up to the high expectations they've set.

"Obviously we’ve got a lot of work to do in the off-season," general manager Adrian Hanauer said. "But we’re 100 percent committed to delivering on fans expectations. We’re not exactly sure how we’re going to do it, but we’re going to have to figure it out."

Hanauer said he already has some clubs on his mental wish list. He wasn't ready to share them yet, but he indicated that Sounders fans can probably come up with a wish list not too different from his own.

"When you talk about superclubs, the list is relatively short," he said. "It’s not like there are 50 clubs in the world that we’re going to be able to go after. But, yeah, we have some in mind and there are other ways to deliver exciting opportunities to the market, not necessarily the superclubs."

AC Milan? Celtic or Rangers? Hanauer didn't seem to think its essential to necessarily bring in clubs from other parts of the world after reaching into England and Spain this year. But still: Club America? Chivas?

As for opportunities that don't necessary involve superclubs: Maybe including Superliga or CONCACAF Champions League as part of the ticket package? It won't be the MLS All-Star Game, as that was recently awarded to Houston.

Anyway, all interesting. One of the real charms of soccer, this chance to see the great international clubs.

What one club in all the world would you most like the Sounders to bring in?

Sounders leading scorer Fredy Montero will join the Colombian national team for their Aug. 12 game against Venezuela at Giants Stadium.

However, he won't miss any Sounders gametime, playing this weekend at Salt Lake and then returning to the club in time for its Aug. 15 game at Los Angeles.

Here's my game story.

The bottom line Sounders reaction was that this was a learning experience. It was perhaps the best team in the world against an MLS expansion team, and it looked it.

“I think tonight was a good lesson,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. “We’re realistic. We know where we’re at, and we’re also an expansion team that’s starting to get to know each other, and I think there were certain guys who stepped up and played well.”

Schmid made the point that this was a tougher game for Seattle than their 2-0 loss to Chelsea because this one comes at midweek between league games, whereas the Chelsea game came on the Saturday of an off week.

However, Barca also looked more impressive than Chelsea did that night.

“You have probably the best attacking player in the world of the past six, seven years in Henry, and the future best attacking player in the world on the other side in Messi,” Sounders keeper Kasey Keller said. “And not to mention the rest of the cast isn’t too bad either. The movement off the ball, the first touch, it was just an absolute lesson, and hopefully a pleasure for the fans who got to see how the best team in the world.”

If the Sounders -- and the crowd -- left impressed with Barca, Barca went away impressed with the crowd of 66, 848, the largest ever to watch a soccer match in Seattle.

“Usually the crowd is cheering us on, happy to see us and they wear the Barcelona jersey,” Thierry Henry said. “The fans were happy to see us, but also they wanted their team to win and they came to support their team. That’s what you do when you support your team, so it was kind of nice to see that to be honest.”

Messi is considered among the top handful of players on the planet. And lined up against him was Leonardo Gonzalez, making his Seattle debut after concluding duty with the Costa Rican national team.

“I thought (Gonzalez) did some good things for us offensively,” Schmid said. “I thought he got forward at times. You could see his passing that he could provide for us. Obviously, he got done by Messi on that goal, but as I said to (assistant coach) Brian Schmetzer, I said, ‘Messi’s done a few other guys that make more money than Leo.’”

FCB outshot Seattle, 25-4 and put 11 shots on goal to Seattle's one.

“I knew (Seattle) was a very dynamic team with a strong attack, particularly players like (Jaqua, Ljungberg and Montero),” Barca coach Pep Guardiola said. “I knew about their 4-1-3-2 tactic structure, and my objective was always to move a lot and make the other team move a lot as well in the middle so we could take advantage of outside. Of course, I’m very happy with the result.”

Sounders return to league play Saturday at Real Salt Lake.

Final: A Pedro Rodriguez goal in the 89th minute gave Seattle it's second 4-0 loss of the week ... although Barca seemed better than San Jose.

Attendance: 66,848, the largest eve to watch a soccer game in Washington. (Topping by 18 the previous record of 66,830, which watched Real Madrid and DC United.

=> Read more!

Just got this release from MLS regarding the former Tacoma Stars star:

The Major League Soccer Disciplinary committee fined Chivas USA head coach Preki Radosavljevic $1,000 for inappropriate conduct directed toward match officials immediately following Chivas USA’s 3-1 U.S. Open Cup loss to the Charleston Battery on June 30.

As one of the League’s official Charities of Choice, the US Soccer Foundation is the recipient of all player fines at the end of each season. Those fines are added to the Foundation’s Annual Grants Pool from which the Board of Directors awards grants to soccer clubs and organizations that serve economically disadvantaged children in urban areas. To learn more about the Foundation, please visit www.ussoccerfoundation.org.

It's gameday. For those of you planning to watch from home: Barcelona-at-Sounders kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

For those of you going: The Sounders are reminding that 67,000 soccer fans will be heading into downtown Seattle just as who-knows-how-many downtown workers are heading out. So they recommend that you plan to arrive early. And they're opening the gates two hours before kickoff for those of you who do.

Here's my story from today's paper looking at whey these crowds of 60, 70, 80, and even 90,000 American soccer fans are turning out for international friendlies, while MLS is averaging 15,000 for it's regular season games.

Here's a really nice John McGrath column on what makes Barcelona special on and off the pitch.

Sounders designated player Freddie Ljungberg says his onset of migraines at the All-Star game last week was brought on by red wine used in a sauce at the team hotel.

"I asked, 'Isn’t there red wine?', and they said, 'No, no, no, no.' I check afterward, and yeah, there is red wine in that," he said after training today. "So when I get it, I can’t do much about it if I get cheese or red wine – that’s what I’m allergic to."

Ljungberg started feeling the affects in the final minutes of the game, and said he told his coaches, but that All-Star coaching staff -- led by Houston's Dominic Kinnear -- apparently didn't fully understand. So, while Ljungberg was able to skip his turn on the first PK, he was sent out to take a shot in the sixth frame. He tried what he considered a safe little lob, but Everton's Tim Howard slapped it away to win the game for the English side.

"That’s why I didn’t take the first one: I said I felt dizzy and I can’t see," Ljungberg said today. "I think unfortunately because it’s not my regular coaches they don’t know about my migraines. I tried to read my name on my boots, and I just couldn’t see anything. That why I tried a chip, I thought at least in the middle of the goal I can’t miss that. But I should have definitely not taken it; but it’s difficult when the coaching staff don’t really know how bad it is. They’re like, 'Just hit it.' And I was like, 'I can’t see.' But that’s how it is."

Even without the migraines, Ljungberg wouldn't have been available for the Sounders' return to MLS action Sunday, a 4-0 loss at San Jose, due to a red-card suspension.

And Ljungberg said he wasn't even able to watch what ended as the worst defeat in Sounders' history.

"Luckily, my TV screen said "Unavailable,'" he explained. "My bloody neighbor was running in and out saying,'Oh, they scored again; they scored again.' I heard it wasn’t the best and we didn’t play some good football, we didn’t keep the ball well enough; and that’s very very disappointing because (San Jose is) at the bottom of our division. I think the players are upset, but I wasn’t there so I don’t think it’s right for me to comment too much about it."

Stephen King's hamstring injury is the only Sounder injury serious enough to keep anyone out of tomorrow's game against FC Barcelona, coach Sigi Schmid said at practice today.

“Stephen King probably can’t go in this game. We got to see how (Freddie) Ljungberg recovers from today because today was the first day that he’s done anything," Schmid said. "He said he felt pretty good, so we think he’ll be able to go. Tyrone (Marshall) has a little bit of a hamstring so we’ll see how he came through today. It’s really only Stephen King at this stage.”

We talked a little bit with Ljungberg today, and I'll make another full post on that in a little while. But the impression I got is that he doesn't expect to start, but maybe to come on in the final 20 minutes or so.

More later.

Just minutes after the Sounders 4-0 loss at San Jose on Sunday, veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller was asked about this week's international friendly against FC Barcelona.

“I’d like to say it’s going to be a nice game Wednesday against Barcelona, but for me that game is a pain in the (butt),” Keller said. “It’s all right: We’ll go do a professional job, have a good game against Barcelona and be ready to play the next weekend.”

I've written more about this for the Tuesday paper, because Keller never said anything quite like that in the days leading up to the Chelsea game. But things were different then.

Simply as a matter of timing, the Chelsea game came during a bye week in the MLS schedule -- therefore a week before and a week after league games.

For another thing, the Sounders were feeling a better about themselves back then. They entered that Chelsea game on a three-game league winning streak, and a six-game non-losing streak.

Now, in the two league games since the 2-0 loss to Chelsea, the Sounders haven’t scored a goal while going 0-1-1.

So, Keller believes his team had better devote full concentration to its return to regular-season play Saturday at Salt Lake.

“I could care less about Wednesday, to be honest,” Keller said. “Yeah, it’s a great occasion for the fans, and for the guys. For me, personally, I would much rather have a good hard week of training and get ready for the league game. For the fans, for the ownership group, for some of the guys, it’s a fantastic experience and atmosphere. I think we just have to go into that game like it’s a hard training session. Hopefully, we don’t get any injuries and we come out of it ready for next weekend.”

On the other hand, Barcelona’s visit seems to have excited Northwest soccer fans even more than Chelsea’s. While there were almost 2,000 unsold seats for the Blues 2-0 win over the Sounders, the last of the Barcelona tickets disappeared last week.

Today, the Sounders put out a release advising fans to arrive early (the gates of Qwest Field will open two hours before the 7:30 p.m. kickoff) and to consider mass transit.

In the wake of a 6-0 loss to Dallas over the weekend, the Kansas City Wizards announced today that the team has dismissed Head Coach Curt Onalfo.

More information from the Wizards website.

FC Barcelona is coming off an unprecidented treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League -- and all three massive pieces of hardware were on display today as Barca held a press conference in downtown Seattle.

With Barcelona about to play a Wednesday friendly against the Sounders as part of their preparation for a new season, former Sounders and Tacoma Stars coach Alan Hinton asked FCB manager Pep Guardiola what he can do for an encore.

“I don’t know,” Guardiola said. “We’re gooing to try day by day, game by game. Try to not forget last season but remember the reason why (we did so well).”

Also during the press conference, Barca star Thierry Henry was asked about the rumors that he had been contacted last year by the Sounders about coming to MLS as their designated player. Henry responded with what was apparently a joke that, yes, the rumors must have been true because here he was in Seattle.

In a follow up question, Henry did not close to door to ever joining MLS, but he said his current attentions are with his current team.

And finally, Tacoma glass artist Dale Chihuly -- unfailing referred to in news releases as Seattle glass artist Dale Chihuly -- unveiled a commemorative piece of art in celebration of Barcelona’s visit. The glass work, which features the Barcelona crest, will be auctioned online at www.MLSnet.com through Aug. 31. Proceeds will be split evenly between UNICEF and the FC Barcelona Foundation.

As mentioned, the Sounders weren't happy about anything that happened on the pitch Sunday at San Jose.

("If you can point out who played well, feel free," coach Sigi Schmid told me at one point.)

However, the team was mighty impressed with those 200-or-so Sounders' fans, who chanted, sang and cheered for the full 90 in the northwest corner of that rickety little stadium.

"They kept it going," Schmid said. "They were great. That’s why I was a little disappointed that not more of the players went over there at the conclusion of the game. But I know myself and (Brad Evans and Patrick Ianni) went over there. We appreciate their support and being able to stay behind us."

Sebastien Le Toux went over too, hands raised, applauding the efforts of those traveling Sounders' supporters.

"It is a tribute to our supporters even if we did a very bad game today," Le Toux said. "We need to support them too, because they were really behind us."

Here's my game story.

Final: Quakes 4, Sounders 0. It was the most goals the Sounders have ever given up, and their biggest loss ever. Add the fact that it came against the last-place team in the West, and you won't be surprised to heard that the Sounders weren't happy.

“We got embarrassed today,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “… When you play 30 games, sometimes you have one of those days. So, we’re going to chalk it up to that; and if we have another one, then we’ll turn some things upside down.”

The loss leaves Seattle (7-4-8) six points behind league-leader Houston and just two points clear of a tie for ninth place in a league where eight teams make the playoffs.

“It’s a wakeup call for a few guys; I hope so,” goalkeeper Kasey Keller said. “This is the point of the season where you figure out where you’re at: Are you going to make a run in the playoffs or are you going to whither and die? Today, it looks like we’re going to wither and die.”

Both Schmid and Keller weren't happy with the red card -- and their unhappyness was directed at James Riley, not the ref.

“We’ve taken too many red cards this year,” Schmid said. “We’ve got to stop taking them. We’ve got to shut up and play. It was preceded by a little go at the referee from James, and we don’t need that.”

Schmid couldn't name anyone that he thought played a good game ... although he admitted he felt a little sorry for Keller.

Schmid seemed particularly displeased with midfielders Brad Evans and Osvaldo Alonso, who he said he didn't think combined with each other all day. Evans admitted he didn't think he played well and that many of Seattle's problems began at midfield.

Several Sounders said they were especially disappointed in their performance because it came in front of approximately 200 rave-green-wearing supporters who had traveled to watch. Schmid, Evans, Ianni, Le Toux and maybe a few others made a point of walking to that end of the pitch after the game to applaud the traveling fans. And Schmid said he was unhappy that more players didn't do the same.

The defeat also cost Seattle the inaugural Heritage Cup, which will be presented annually to the winner of competitions between MLS teams playing under their historic NASL names. For now, that’s only the Sounders and Earthquakes. And this season, only the final two games were counted, which gives the Quakes the cup even though Seattle won two of three meetings.

And that fact allowed Schmid the only light moment in the locker room.

“I don’t know how that works,” Schmid said. “Maybe next year we’ll play the Heritage Cup and whoever scores the most goals between the 54th minute and the 78th minute of the second game wins the Heritage Cup.”

The Sounders return to Qwest Field on Wednesday for a friendly against F.C. Barcelona. They return to league play Saturday at Real Salt Lake.

=> Read more!

I'm not seeing my preview story on line this morning, so here's it is, dealing mostly with personnel additions for today's game.

=> Read more!

Sounders FC needs a win Sunday against San Jose to keep up with the MLS-leading Houston Dynamo, who claimed a wild 4-3 win over D.C. United today.

Houston led 3-0 before D.C. made its charge. (And apparenly there was something odd going on in Texas today, as FC Dallas -- of all people -- mauled Kansas City, 6-0.)

Houston moved to 35 points on the season.

Here's an early look at the Sounders' game:

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (7-3-8, 29 pts.)
AT SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (3-10-5; 14)
Noon Sunday, Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
TV: KONG 6/16.
Radio: 97.3 FM (in Spanish on 1210 AM).

Head-to-head: The Sounder won 2-0 on April 25, and 2-1 on June 13; both at Qwest Field.

Team leaders: For Seattle – G 9 Fredy Montero; A 6 Montero/Nate Jaqua; S 55 Montero; SOG 21 Montero. For San Jose – G 7 Ryan Johnson; A 5, Chris Leitch; S 43 Johnson; SOG 29 Johnson.

Coach Sigi Schmid scouting report: “They are probably a lot more desperate than most teams are in the league right now. … That makes them very dangerous because they know that they have got to maximize their points at home right now or else they have got no chance.”

Notes: With a win or a draw, Seattle will be awarded the inaugural Heritage Cup, to be given annually to the winner of head-to-head games between MLS teams playing under their historic NASL names. If San Jose wins by more than one goal, it would win the cup. If the Quakes win by one goal, that would create a tie settled by road goals. (Seattle’s first home win does not figure in Heritage Cup totals.) … This is the start of three straight league games on the road for Seattle. …. Fredy Ljungberg is ineligible due to receiving a red card in his last league game against Chicago. Brad Evans and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado will be suspended for their next league game if they pick up a caution today. … San Jose lists leading-scorer Johnson as questionable with a shoulder sprain. … In its last outing, San Jose ended a two-game losing streak, coming from two goals down to draw at home against D.C. United. However, the Quakes have gone four games without a victory. The Sounders are on a six-game unbeaten streak. … Sounders players James Riley and Roger Levesque are former Quakes.

Next: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, friendly vs. FC Barcelona; Qwest Field; ESPN2. No tickets remain.

That isn't any kind of personal statement on my part. Nor did I read it on a bumper sticker or in a fortune cookie or even on New Hampshire liscence plates.

That's the result from today's Women's Professional Soccer match at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.: FC Gold Pride 3, Washington Freedom 2.

I had never seen a WPS game in person before, and only a few on TV. So when I heard there was one today, I headed over to get a sneak peek at the site of Sunday's Sounders-Quakes game. (The stadium is no Qwest Field. It's also no Memorial Stadium. But it's only temporary while the Quakes arrange for a soccer-specific home of their own.)

The game was really good ... with each team coming from behind. The Pride took a 1-0 lead, then fell behind 2-1, then came back to win it in something like the 85th minute.

And the stars were out: Brandi Chastain and Tiffany Milbrett for the Pride, Abby Wambach for the Freedom. One thing about the small stadium is that I got a close look at the players, and Wambach is as powerful as she looks on TV, but probably even bigger. Huge and dominating.

Anyway, we can only hope for as entertaining a game Sunday.

Saturday has dawned, but the Sounders don't kick off until noon Sunday.

However, there's no shortage of interesting enough games today.

The two that most affect the Sounders (29 points) are DC United (28) at Houston (a league-leading 32); and Columbus (an East-leading 30) at Colorado (27).

Tonight, you can get a preview look at Barcelona, which is at the Rose Bowl to meet LA Galaxy.

You can follow along on any of the games at the MLS Match Center.