Tonight starts the conference finals in the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs. We all know the pairings going into the conference finals and for the most part we know who the league and ESPN are hoping to see in the MLS Cup.

We have our favorites and we certainly have our underdog. These next two games will put either a really high profile match in MLS Cup 2009 or one that sees a couple of western conference clubs battling it out like last year's two eastern conference teams did in LA.

Stuart Holden and Sean Franklin set to battle things out this weekend. (Getty Images)

It seems like every year we get a big upset in the playoffs, and 2009 was no different. Thursday night in Columbus we saw Real Salt Lake go into Crew Stadium and shock the league with their 3-2 upset of the Crew, sending them through to the conference finals.

Landon Donovan leads the Galaxy against rivals Chivas. (Getty Images)

One more weekend of action and we will be in the conference finals here. One club is already in and three others will move on this weekend. After last weekend's play the pressure is on a couple home teams to rebound while one just has to keep on doing what they do best in front of their fans.

Eric Brunner and Columbus try to slow down Yura Movsisyan and RSL tonight. (Getty Images)

Tonight the second leg of the first round playoff matches kickoff in Columbus as the Crew host Real Salt Lake. RSL holds a slight 1-0 lead in the goals department in this two-legged series thanks to the late goal from Robbie Rogers last weekend.

The playoff version of the SuperClasico got off to a bang with a 2-2 draw. (Getty Images)

Some could say the results we saw in the first week of the playoffs were fairly expected. The SuperClasico ended in a draw that I think most folks expected to get; Real Salt Lake found a way to get a win over the Crew at home; Seattle and Houston battled it out to a scoreless draw; and maybe the only real shocker of the weekend was the Revs beating Chicago 2-1.

Columbus needs a big game from Robbie Rogers at Rio Tinto Stadium. (Getty Images)

While last night's game in Seattle got the playoffs started with a 0-0 bang, the rest of the playoff clubs get ready to join the Dynamo and Sounders in the fun. One series kicks off tomorrow night while the other two wait it out for Sunday.

Fredy Montero leads the charge for the expansion Sounders. (Getty Images)

The playoffs are finally here and tonight they kickoff with a bang up in the Pacific Northwest as the Houston Dynamo travel to Qwest Field to face the Seattle Sounders FC in a big first leg western conference semi-final series.

Don't you just love it when you begin something and think you are close to finishing when you realize you are better off starting all over again? I've had that happen here with what I thought was going to be a new look for this place. I had spent a couple weeks on a new design when I just basically hit a wall with it and couldn't get myself to go any further with it.

VS

Columbus Crew (#1 East) vs Real Salt Lake (#5 West)
Game 1: Saturday October 31st 5:30 PM @ Salt Lake
Game 2: Thursday November 5th 7:00 PM @ Columbus (ESPN2)
Regular Season Series tied 1-1

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Chicago Fire (#2 East) vs New England Revolution (#3 East)
Game 1: Saturday October 31st 3:00 PM @ New England (Fox Soccer Channel)
Game 2: Saturday November 7th 7:30 PM @ Chicago (Fox Soccer Channel)
Regular Season Seried tied 0-0-2

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LA Galaxy (#1 West) vs Chivas USA (#4 West)
Game 1: Sunday November 1st 4:00 PM @ Chivas (ESPN2)
Game 2: Sunday November 8th 6:30 PM @ Galaxy (ESPN2)
Regular Season Series: Galaxy lead 2-0-1

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Houston Dynamo (#2 West) vs Seattle Sounders FC (#3 West)
Game 1: Thursday October 29th 9:00 PM (ESPN2) @ Seattle
Game 2: Sunday November 8th 2:00 PM
Regular Season Series: Seattle lead 1-0-1

This post is from the Major League Soccer Fan Blog
MLS Cup Playoff Schedue is set

Related posts:

1. MLS 2008 Playoff Schedule and Predictions
2. 2008 TV Schedule
3. Updated playoff race

Three teams have booked their spots in the 2009 Major League Soccer playoffs. The defending champions Columbus Crew are in and currently leading the whole league with 46 points and even a game in hand over several of the teams chasing them. At 44 points the champions of 2006 and 2007 Houston Dynamo are in.