The draft is over, training camps are opening up and the season is less than two months away. It has been a while since we looked at promotional efforts around the league, so we thought the early preseason presented a good opportunity to look at ticket sales efforts as teams gear up for the start of the 2012 campaign.

Today Major League Soccer released its 2012 regular season schedule. Per MLS's new conference-focused schedule format, this season the Revolution will play each of its Eastern Conference opponents at least twice (Houston and Toronto), and the rest they will meet three times. The Revs will play two away games against Sporting Kansas City, DC United, the Montreal Impact, and the Philadelphia Union and two home games against the Chicago Fire, the Columbus Crew, and the New York Red Bulls.

Start Marking Your Calendar: The MLS Schedule is Out!Major League Soccer seems to finally be getting the hang of this scheduling thing. The 2012 schedule was released today, more than a month earlier than last year's version. For Red Bulls fans, there are some big changes to keep in mind. First, the schedule is once again unbalanced, with Red Bulls playing each Western Conference team only once, while they will face Eastern Conference foes either two or three times, depending on the opponent.

@OrtizKicks @ChrisCanetti told Sports Authority the Dynamo is close to announcing 10-year naming rights deal for new stadium.

Is it just me or is anyone else a tiny bit trepidacious about the impending naming rights deal? I know this is reality and that it was always going to happen.

Storm the beach!

Remember the span of time in 2009 and towards the end of 2010 World Cup qualifying when the United States had a home match at Rio Tinto against El Salavador before going on the road against a Trinidad & Tobago side whose quality in that game was going to be a crapshoot?

If you recall that match like I do a missed clearance by Jonathan Bornstein that led to an El Salvadorian goal, a few moments of attacking pressure at the end of the first half which scantily provided the winning difference than you are quite comfy with at least the notion of new US manager Jurgen Klinsmann attempting to implement a style of play here for the United States in the friendlies leading up to World Cup qualifying.

A little wrong...and very wrong. (Remember, we're all about accountability to predictions here.)

Becks playoff performance in Game 2 against Red Bulls the key to LA's Cup march...

The Los Angeles Galaxy (4 to 1) was one of TSG's odds-on favorites to win the MLS Cup. They trailed however the Sounders.

Today the second leg matches of the Major League Soccer playoff quarterfinals begin. An ailing Colorado Rapids side visit Sporting Kansas City while everyone's favorite neighbors to the north, the Seattle Sounders, will try to dig themselves out of a three goal hole at home against Real Salt Lake.

"They score a lot of late goals, they never say die, especially with this Sounders team, they're a strong team and until that final whistle blows they will be in the game for sure" Frank Yallop 11-1-2011

If there is anyone who knows that it's not really over until it's over it would be coach Frank Yallop of the San Jose Earthquakes, who talks with us about his experience when his 2003 team were down 4-0 on aggregate going into the final second half of the 2 game playoff series and went on to win the series by a goal.

"They score a lot of late goals, they never say die, especially with this Sounders team, they're a strong team and until that final whistle blows they will be in the game for sure" - Frank Yallop 11-1-2011
If there is anyone who knows that it's not really over until it's over it would be coach Frank Yallop of the San Jose Earthquakes, who talks with us about his experience when his 2003 team were down 4-0 on aggregate going into the final second half of the 2 game playoff series and went on to win the series by a goal.

STARTERS
GOLDEN GOOSE EGGS! My Minnesota Stars won the NASL Championship on Saturday night down in Fort Lauderdale by tying the Strikers 0-0 after winning the 1st Leg at home 3-1! Oh what a glorious rainy night in South Florida for the Dark Clouds and all Minnesota players, staff, fans, families and friends!

Fantastic weekend of footie:

• MLS Playoff Odds

Big changes in the little schematic we put together last week:

• Seattle Sounders (now: 12 to 1) vs. Real Salt Lake (remains 6 to 1)

Beckerman wants you to believe...

Mauro Rosales are no Mauro Rosales, Seattle now looks dusted.

Happy Halloween MLS fans. The past weekend saw the first round of the playoffs provide a number of story lines. After the Wild Card match-ups we were left with an impressive slate of matches and drama delivered. Goals were scored in each match and a few surprises came through in the form of shoving, ball throwing antics.

Perk up, Jurgen. Don't mean to be that guy, but I'd like to quickly revisit two of my outlandish postseason predictions and provide a brief update. - SKC's Teal Bunbury will be the leading scorer in the playoffs. So far so good. Bunbury buried a pair Sunday, including a penalty kick to ice it, in a 2-0 win over defending champs Colorado.

Salt Lake 3 - Seattle 0 Real Salt Lake came up with a huge home result, beating the higher seeded Sounders by three goals at Rio Tinto Stadium in the opening leg of their Western Conference semifinal two-game series. Alvaro Saborio was the hero for RSL, scoring in the 41st and 53rd minutes. Javier Morales assisted on both goals, with Ned Grabavoy scoring the third in the 88th minute.

By JOSÉ M. ROMERO

Much was made of Real Salt Lake's regular season-ending six-match winless streak and how it might be a sign that RSL is in trouble heading into the playoffs.

On Saturday night, Real Salt Lake put that notion to rest in emphatic fashion.

Two of the top three teams in Major League Soccer during the regular season square off in the opening match of the MLS conference semifinals (10pm, Fox Soccer Channel).

The No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, Real Salt Lake will look to win at Rio Tinto Stadium in game one of the two-game series to put pressure on the No.

Two leg aggregate series in the MLS Playoffs favor the team with fewer games played. This has become known around MLS media circles as the "Curse of the CCL." But Real Salt Lake shouldn't take any solace in the fact that they've played fewer games. Their First XI has played in 313 more minutes than the likely lineup put forward by the Seattle Sounders.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

And then there were eight.

With the new, much-discussed wild-card round now a thing of the past, MLS fans are back to the traditional eight-team bracket they've seen in the postseason since the league's inception.

The much awaited results of Mauro Rosales' MRI were reported on Tuesday and they aren't so great. Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid called Rosales' availability for Saturday's MLS Cup playoff game at Real Salt Lake "iffy" and didn't exactly sound optimistic that Rosales would even be ready for the return leg next Wednesday.

There are few things more fun than going on a roadtrip to watch your team play. As you may remember, I documented my experience going with ECS to Vancouver. Well, if you're looking for something to do this weekend, ECS wants to make sure you are more than welcome to join them.

From the look of it, there is no organized bus trip, but they are organizing carpools and helping people finding lodging.

Sometime this afternoon, the Seattle Sounders should find out whether or not Mauro Rosales will be available for some or part of their Western Conference semifinal against Real Salt Lake. Their right midfielder was, of course, hurt early in Saturday's match against Chivas USA. It was his first start since spraining his MCL on Sept.

First week of the off season... well for Timbers fans anyway. Many of you might be dreading the weeks that come as they're considerably less packed with soccer and, as a result less news from yours truly. But fear not! We here at Stumptown Footy HQ have plenty of stuff to cover over the off season.

The Seattle Sounders had two main goals when they paid Chivas USA a visit on Saturday with nothing to play for standings-wise: work Mauro Rosales back into the lineup and get out healthy. Somewhere else in the list of priorities was finally beating Chivas USA at Home Depot Center and heading into the playoffs on a roll.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

Playoff spot clinched, Real Salt Lake had victory in its grasp in its regular-season finale Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium, plus the chance to lock up the No. 3 seed from the MLS Western Conference with no help from other results.

RSL's reward for No.

Outside of KC's game today, only 2 games could have an effect on Sporting KC, and that's only if KC fails to get the win against DC. If KC wins the results aren't going to matter at all to KC.
Toronto - New England
What we want to happen: Doesn't matter
Both are eliminated from the playoffs, the only thing that is really being fought for is for New England to avoid the "Wooden Spoon" for the worst record in the league.

Road To The Playoffs: Two Games To Go

The Portland Timbers have two games left and, despite a brutal loss to Houston on Friday, are still within striking distance of the playoffs.

The New York Red Bulls, Portland Timbers, Chicago Fire, and DC United are all in competition for the final wild card playoff spot.

Mid-week MLS action saw the race for the Eastern Conference get even tighter. It also saw a heated exchange between Daniel Paladini and Kyle Beckerman which saw Beckerman walk off with a red. Pedro Gomes has your recap.
Sporting Kansas City 2, Columbus Crew 1
Kansas City hosted the Columbus Crew with a chance to take first place in the extremely tight Eastern Conference.

It's been nearly five months since Javier Morales suffered the gruesome ankle injury that threatened to end his season, but the Real Salt Lake midfielder completed his comeback with a substitute appearance on Wednesday night.

Overshadowed by CONCACAF Champions League action, Morales made his first appearance since May 7 by coming off the bench and playing the final 30 minutes in Real Salt Lake's 3-0 defeat to Chicago.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The MLS playoff race in the Eastern Conference just became a little more intense, and we can thank the Chicago Fire for that.

Midfielder Marco Pappa snapped a personal three-month scoring drought in dramatic fashion, delivering a hat-trick to help the streaking Fire pulled off a stunning 3-0 victory over 10-man Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday night.

By Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
The Chicago Fire garnered a signature win when they absolutely needed it. And most importantly for Chicago, the team now finds itself in a realistic position to catch a playoff spot with only four regular-season matches remaining.
The Fire won for the fifth time in their past six matches and were led by midfielder Marco Pappa's hat trick en route to a 3-0 victory against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium in front of 20,762 at Sandy, Utah.

Frank Klopas is going with a heavy lineup for tonight's game:

Sean Johnson; Dan Gargan, Josip Mikulic, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares; Marco Pappa, Pavel Pardo, Logan Pause; Daniel Paladini; Patrick Nyarko, Dominic Oduro

The U.S. Open Cup Final isn't until Tuesday so there's no reason to worry about overextending these guys.

Photo by Patricia Giobetti/ISIphotos.com

Donning a substitute's bib, Javier Morales went through the motions. Medically cleared to return to action for the first time in months, Morales paced up and down the sidelines at RFK Stadium, staying warm in case he was called upon to try and light a spark under Real Salt Lake.

A new feature that I'm going to do on each MLS game day as the season begins to wind down. I'm going to look at the other MLS games that are occurring on that match day and see what the better result for Sporting KC would be in that game to assist in their chances of making the playoffs.
The only other league game tonight besides Sporting KC vs Columbus is Real Salt Lake hosting the Chicago Fire.

When the Chicago Fire take on Real Salt Lake tonight at 8:00 PM CST at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, both teams will take the field having won four of their last five games. RSL was on a 5-game winning streak before losing to D.C. United 4-1 on Saturday. The Fire have two 2-game winning streaks with an embarrassing loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in the middle.

In their first away game in about two months, Sporting KC looked strong against one of the strongest home teams in the league, but couldn't capitalize on their possession and ended up falling to RSL 1-0 at Rio Tinto. KC tried to set the tempo for the game early on wiht much of the early play taking place in RSL's half of the field.

In a match-up that could wind up being an MLS Cup Final preview, Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City played a physical match that left little doubt about two things.

There isn't that much separating two of the best teams in MLS, and those two teams really don't like each other.

Photo by Bill Barrett/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

Playoff seeding in both conferences could see a shake-up Saturday when Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City meet at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Thanks to a win over Houston last weekend, Kansas City currently sits one point behind Columbus for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Sporting KC travels to Rio Tinto to face Real Salt Lake this weekend. (Getty Images)

Let's just go ahead and say that this week has already been interesting for the 18 MLS clubs. The five involved in CONCACAF Champions League games only saw one positive result in Seattle's 2-1 win down in Costa Rica last night.

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

By ALAN LEDBETTER

A high scoring week in MLS left many fantasy points up for grabs last week. One of the more surprising fantasy performers was Charlie Davies, who notched a hat trick on the road vs.

By DAVID GUBALA

A match-up featuring two of the top teams in MLS turned into a card-filled mess that finished with each team playing with ten men and visiting Real Salt Lake walking away from CenturyLink Field with a vital three points.

RSL halted Seattle's eight-match unbeaten streak as Alvaro Saborio delivered a game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory on Saturday.