We all knew going into this one that Saprissa would be a tough nut to crack--our record there is nothing short of disastrous. The coach had to know. The players had to know. They needed to be mentally ready for a cauldron and prepared to keep...

Now this is excellent. Whichever Cauldron member held up the "Be Champions" sign at our last match needs to get ahold of the people at Special1TV. Jose has a present for you. Take a look at this clip, 22 seconds in. Email Mr. Mourinho at jose@special1tv.me.

It's World Cup qualifying day, and U.S.-Mexico has finally arrived. I don't even know where to begin to round-up all the articles out there on this game, and I'm not sure I could read another one, but I am counting down the hours to the game, despite the fact I'm hardly a wild partisan for either team.

Beating the drum for the Orange.
Seattle, consider the "Celebrity minority owner who hangs out with supporters" gauntlet thrown down squarely at your feet.
Diggin the band...
While Drew Carey may drink and smooze at the ESC cauldron which is actually a pub called Fuel, prior to games, Houston's celebrity minority owner, boxer Oscar De La Hoya gets down right in the middle of the hardcore.

Last year, MLS teams made an embarrassing splat in the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League. This year, their performance is hit and miss.
Sure, Houston didn't show much against Pachuca, using some second-stringers out of necessity and then falling to 10 men. (Note the presence of U.S. midfielder Jose Francisco Torres in that game.

by Matt Besler - Kansas City Wizards
Welcome back to the 6th week of "Across the Midwest Pitch." It's been a crazy last couple of weeks, with seven games in 20 days (five on the road). As a team, we have traveled over 10,000 miles. Many players, including myself, have logged over 500 minutes in these days.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Good evening folks. I have made it back to the United States and am ready to get back on the grind on Friday, but first I wanted to go over a few things (including a big thank you to SBI correspondent Travis Clark for holding things down on SBI while I traveled back from Mexico City).

All the hype & all the bantering between Kevin Payne of DC United & Adrian Hanauer of the Sounders was definitely worth the price of admission for this ticket as the up & comers in the Seattle Sounders took on the plentiful DC United at RFK Stadium. Many of you are well aware of the on going squabble thru the press and on the internet of who should've really hosted the cup final, a loud and boisterous Qwest Field or the cauldron of RFK.

A war of words that led to a return to form.

Anderson came in for some short shrift from Sir Alex a week or two ago when the young Brazilian expressed his dissatisfaction at not starting enough games and it was an act that may in the long run have helped the talented midfielder to make a name for himself at Old Trafford.

That's right everyone, the team formerly known as the Wiz is having retro night. The folks of Hillcrest Syndicate and the other supporters' section that make up the Cauldron are putting on an official retro/throw-back night on Saturday, October 24 as D.C. United comes to town. Wear your old-school Wiz/Wizards gear for the match if you will sit in the section or if you just want to support the old rainbow logos.

Thursday night, in addition to all the other funness, is our Passback Night for the 2009 season. Bring in your new or gently used soccer gear for this drive sponsored by the Wizards, the Cauldron, US Soccer Foundation and All-American Indoor Sports. Once again, here are the details from yesterday's weekly release:
The Kansas City Wizards and their supporters' section, The Cauldron, are excited to take part in the US Soccer Foundation's Passback Program.

Okay, well, now Christine Rampone can pack her bags for Los Angeles.
It's going to be tempting, if and when New Jersey wins the WPS title, to roll one's eyes at a fourth place team wearing the crown. Well, it was good enough for the New York Giants a couple of years ago...and the parallels are getting a little frightening.

Tomorrow night's match is sponsored by Best Buy. What does that mean for you? Well, Best Buy will be set up with a BBMobile unit on the concourse right behind the Cauldron (next to the bleachers) with several neat items for fans:

• An XBOX 360 enter-to-win giveaway
• Prepaid phone upgrades
• A limited number of Best Buy Gift Cards.

After the outstanding performance in last Saturday's media game, Nate Bukaty of Sports Radio 810 WHB spoke with Hillcrest Road about the goal and his soccer career. Watch the goal and ensuing madness again, then check out the QnA below.
1. What was more gratifying, scoring a goal against Jake or clearing the field boards before "Crashing" the Cauldron?

"Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of 80 million pounds for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid," the club said.
"At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

Since the outlaw of standing areas English stadia have undergone huge changes. From the crumbling relics of the 1980s the Premier League now boasts some of the finest stadiums in the world.

The names Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge all roll off the tongue but within these fine stadiums there is that one stand that best captures the fervour with which English fans follow their teams.

The Galaxy flew into Kansas City Friday afternoon. They stopped by Community America Ballpark for a quick practice so they could take a look at the most interesting soccer venue in MLS.Beckham bravely faces The Cauldron where Wizards supporters groups stand. Think he is contemplating another handshake fine?

So here we are, a mere few hours from kick off in our crunch match number 2 for the season. I don't know if you remember but last season I had a number of 'Crunch-time' blogs. I haven't went with Part 1, 2, 3 etc for this season cause, quite frankly, I believe there will be too many.

Tonight it's Celtic in the cauldron that is Celtic Park.

The Kansas City Wizards acquired Kei Kamara from the Houston Dynamo for Abe Thompson and allocation money.Abe hanging out in the Cauldron at a recent game...I was talking to Technical Director and acting Head Coach Peter Vermes and he revealed the trade. He mentions the trade at the end of this short interview.

One of the Toronto supporters...The man "beneath" the mask...I can honestly say I have never seen this before...Wizards supporters groups march in to the stadium together...The new Hillcrest Syndicate flag flying over the Cauldron greeted them...A few of the flags and banners... Hold up your scarves.

For those of you who haven't yet seen, the good people of the Cauldron have arranged a watch party for tomorrow night's match at Coach's on 103rd near Wornall in KCMO. The game starts at 9:30 p.m. CT and will be shown live locally on Metro Sports (English) and Time Warner Cable Channel 5 (Spanish). Future watch party locations are still TBD.

JC Show winner Matt Fulton.
Matt Fulton, Cauldron season ticket holder, is the winner of 2 Field Side Reserved seats to Wednesday's D.C. United match drawn from fans who attended the Jimmy Conrad Show during the month of April. He has been a Wizards fan since the inception of the team in 1996.

That's right folks, as you already saw, his "Be Champions" sign got some major props at the beginning of the latest Special1TV episode. Now Jack Bell of the New York Times is giving him shoutouts. We'll make sure to post some pictures of the t-shirt once Mike dons it for an upcoming match. I have no doubt it will look great in the Cauldron.

Olympiacos have announced Temuri Ketsbaia will take the reigns of the Piraeus-based club, nine months after his former dwelling Anorthosis Famagusta stunned Europe by becoming the first ever Cypriot representative in the Group Stages of the Champions League – at the expense of the Greek champions.

If you missed the BBMobile booth near the Cauldron and bleachers last Saturday, here's an opportunity to take advantage of the discount. Click on the picture above of the coupons Best Buy was distributing, and print it out. Take the coupon into an area Best Buy store before July 5 and get your discount.

The Wizards fell to Santos Laguna ending Kansas City's first appearance in Superliga.Santos Laguna fans filled the stadium.Oswaldo Sanchez making a save...A couple Santos Laguna fans were in the Cauldron?Herculez Gomez goes for the bicycle while Jorge Estrada goes to head the ball...With the result being Estrada is kicked in the head.

Haiti's proper name is "The Republic of Haiti", sort of like our nation is styled "The United States of America". And like our nation, it is a cultural meting pot. Haiti though is a smoldering cauldron of French-Creole-Caribbean cultures, and it is undoubtedly a nation with a heroic history.

Want to head to Dallas to see our boys in blue take on the horizontal hoops Aug. 1? Check out the flyer below and get in touch with members of the Cauldron/Hillcrest Syndicate if you're interested.

Hello from Dallas, just arrived with the rest of the traveling Cauldron for tomorrow's Wizards game against FC Dallas, and the big news of the day is the fact that Dallas forward, Kenny Cooper will not be playing. Cooper completed a transfer today to German club, 1860 Munich, the former club of Wizards forward, Josh Wolff.

We have partnered up with the Kansas City Royals for a great offer for the last week in August. Purchase the KC Blue Sports pack and you'll receive a Bleacher Ticket at CommunityAmerica Ballpark for the Wizards-Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer contest at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 29 and a View Level Infield Ticket at Kauffman Stadium for the Royals-Cleveland Indians 7:10 p.

During the Chicago game, Abe Thompson stopped by the Cauldron in the second half. So I had to ask about his experiences with the Wizards most rabid fans. I also talked with Morsink and I got a little help from a guest interviewer...

by FRANCO PANIZO

MIAMI- The U.S. men's national team has won just once on the road in the final round of World Cup qualifying, and Honduras has yet to lose at home this cycle, but those facts aren't keeping the U.S. team from believing that it can go to San Pedro Sula on Saturday and score a positive result.

Think the above retro Wiz shirt is off the hook? Click here to find out how to send this shirt to your friend (or yourself) in advance of the Cauldron's Retro Night on October 24. The shirt is great, and the Retro Night will be just as fun. The shirt can be picked up in the Wizards offices or at the merchandise stand on October 24.

By NESTOR F. SEBASTIAN

Wednesday marks the final round of South America's World Cup qualifying action and all eyes will be on the masterpiece of a match in Montevideo, where Uruguay plays host to Argentina in a "battle of life and death," as one top player put it.

In preparation for this year, I wanted to post a few shots of the Kansas City Wizards Supporters groups from last year... From the LA game... I don't see a lot of Beckham jerseys in this crowd...Getting ready before the game... At the San Jose game, the Cauldron did a Tifo for Kerry Zavagnin, one of the favorite Wizards of all time.

It was Dog's Night Out at the Wizards and there were numerous canines watching the game...The yellow team was not very popular by the end of the game...Captain Conrad leading his team onto the field...Kevin Hartman with bowed head during the National Anthem...The Cauldron was in good form that night.

Davy Arnaud scoring the first goal...Davy picking himself up and starting to celebrate...Davy running to hug his team mates...The team celebrates while the Cauldron celebrates in the background...Claudio Lopez pulls down Emmanuel Osei...Lopez letting Osei know he was not pleased with being kicked...Osei gets up and shoves Claudio as well.

I played with some photos and a short video. Let me know what you think...

3:29pm - Anthems just finished up. Crowd is predominately Atlas fans and casual spectators right now, although the traveling Cauldron is probably on their way now with the US game over.
3:33pm - We're ready to go. Cauldron just showed up.
3:35pm - and we're off, Atlas kick off.

Fans of any Mexican League team came to support Atlas...Mexican flags and Mexican league jerseys...Were on both sides of the stadium. Of course with supporters from so many teams there was no unity in chanting or support...The Cauldron traveled well and had a couple extra members from St. Louis...The Wizards fans were much more organized.