Sounders Make More MLS History
First, they were making news about attendance numbers. Then, they went on a MLS-record three-year run as the US Open Cup champions. Now, the Sounders are the first club from the league to oust a Mexican club over the course of a two-game series in the CCL knockout stages, defeating Tigres 3-2 Tuesday evening in a dramatic comeback in the final 45 minutes in which they trailed 1-0 in the game at home and 2-0 in the series.
Two of the goals were of such fantastic variety (highlight video) that the coach of the visitors says he applauded their quality, though he was disappointed by the officiating despite agreeing with the red card just before half that left them down a man.
Meanwhile, reigning champion Monterrey held onto their two-goal advantage to eliminate Xelaju 4-2 on aggregate. Each club finds out their semifinal opponent Wednesday night with LA hosting Herediano level at 0-0 and Houston traveling to Mexico with a 1-0 lead against Santos - a scenario that could see three MLS clubs reaching the final four.
Before moving onto other topics, here is an extra video of Sigi Schmid addressing his team in the locker room after the game.
Long-term History
The history of the Sounders goes well beyond what they have accomplished in MLS, and a lot of it has to do with their Cascadia rivalry with the Portland Timbers. This story takes a look at the past between the two sides that spans 40 years and three leagues.
NBC to Feature Rivalry Week
The history-making week continues with a television broadcast first on Saturday courtesy of NBC Sports, which will carry a full 10 hours of consecutive MLS match coverage during Rivalry Week. The special block of programming will feature three games and will kick off on the parent network NBC at 12:30 pm ET with New York versus DC, a rivalry which features a classic moment revisited by Jonah Freedman in which Alecko Eskandarian mocked the Red Bulls by doing a spit-take of the energy drink.
Coverage will transition to NBC Sports Network after the post-game coverage to the pre-game show for Kansas City versus Chicago at 3:00 ET.
Following the conclusion of the second match of the day, NBC Sports Network will continue their coverage with a nearly three-hour live block of The Breakaway studio show that will carry highlights of previous games and cutting in for live look-ins of four others that are still being played - a show similar to the Red Zone by the NFL Network. The Breakaway will wrap up at 8:00 with the kickoff of the nightcap, Seattle versus Portland.
Crush the Orange
Speaking of rivalries, the Dallas-Houston showdown will be featured on ESPN2 on Sunday. FC Dallas, which had a clever Crush the Orange video a year ago, expanded on the concept with an infomercial spoof for this year's edition.
Couple More Vids
Last week DC United released a cool time-lapse of the field being prepped for their home opener. The Colorado Rapids followed that up with a great time-lapse video of the stadium prior to their home opener, highlighting the Saturday's blizzard that postponed the game a day, two snow removals and the field preparation.
And although I am not sure it is a first, here is a spot created by fans. The San Antonio Scorpions fans, the Crocketteers, spoof a free kick being placed over the wall and scoring… using billiards.
'Soccer with Breakfast' is a quick recap of interesting, underreported, or top soccer news items - sometimes accompanied by some commentary - to give readers in the Inland Northwest area (or beyond) a brief look around the North American news scene.
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