The thought of writing this post after the opening day game against DC United never entered my head. That was a slightly improved version of the meltdown season of 2008 defensive breakdowns, not much stability in the middle and an attack that put two in the back of the net, but looked frustrating doing it.

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Liverpool v Manchester City? Tish tosh! The biggest match of the weekend is actually taking place in Seattle and involves a certain Mr. Posh – as our MLS correspondent Andy Taylor reports:

Sunday night's MLS Cup Final is set with an unheralded Real Salt Lake squad squaring off against the LA Galaxy, David Beckham and his ever-growing collection of tattoos.

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Will David Beckham and Landon Donovan be celebrating on Sunday? (Getty Images)

This is a game I've gone back and forth with all week. Two western conference squads meeting in the league final is going to be interesting. Not many had picked both the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake to make it this far back at the start of the season.

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Guest Post by Matt - US Soccer Daily After the France-Ireland game on Wednesday, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. The swirling amalgam of anger, frustration, and disappointment made me...

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A long and exhausting season comes down to one game. On one side, you have the upstart Real Salt Lake, the club that "shouldn't be here." On the other, the star-studded Galaxy, complete with the world's most recognized footballer in David Beckham.

While MLS may have missed out on a marketing maven's dream match-up of Beckham vs.

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There's only one game left in the 2009 MLS Schedule and it's the big one; the MLS Cup Final. This year's final, which will be played at Seattle's Qwest Field, pits Western Conference regular season champs the L.A. Galaxy against the streaking Real Salt Lake.

The matchup offers some good star power with the obvious L.

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Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake
Sunday, November 22nd at 7:30 CT on ESPN

How many high pressure wins does it take to erase the title of underdog? After entering the tournament as the lowest seed, Real Salt Lake might need one more as they try to complete their Cinderella Story toward Sunday's David vs.

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RSL made it to MLS Cup this year, but who will they protect for another run in 2010? (Getty Images)

Our second club for the day as we get closer to finishing out our look at each 15 MLS clubs before next week's expansion draft. Earlier in the day we took a look at the lowly New York Red Bulls, now we turn our attention to one of this year's MLS Cup participants, Real Salt Lake.

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After that cesspool of a result in Paris on Wednesday, it is nice to turn our attention to a league where the sportsmen are pure, the referees are beyond reproach and the game is always played with a spirit of manly honor – the MLS. Or something like that.

Sunday's game will feature the best team in the west this season against the best team in the west right now.

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It is not just that Real Salt Lake's captain, Kyle Beckerman, has been working on his dreadlocks longer than the LA Galaxy's David Beckham has been coifed with an under-cut resembling a mullet with a racing-strip, that leads me to predict RSL as the 2009 MLS Cup winner. Rather, it is that RSL is peaking at the right time and relishes the underdog role.

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Before the playoffs began, the consensus was that the teams in the Western Conference were more prepared to the lift the MLS Cup in Seattle on November 22nd. Little did we know then how prophetic that sentiment was, as we now have both entries in the Final representing the West. The Los Angeles Galaxy — the top seed out of the West entering the post-season — and Real Salt Lake — vanquishers of the best the East had to offer — face off at Qwest Field with the Philip F.

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With a soggy forecast in Seattle for MLS Cup Sunday the Galaxy's thoughts have turned to the one drawback to Qwest Field - the artificial turf.

Meanwhile, former Galaxy striker Robbie Findley is looking forward to a championship clash against his former club.

Notable: This is David Beckham's first game in Seattle since joining MLS (although he played there in 2006 with Real Madrid).

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As you might expect, we have plenty of things going on today. Two or three plenties worth, actually...#1 - Let's begin with my double interview with Real Salt Lake strikers Robbie Findley and Yura Movsisyan.Other RSL tidbits:- Rogue Cavaliers Brigade blog Denz's Sopabox has interview videos- Have a ticket but no flight yet? Click to continue reading...

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

Major League Soccer will be announcing its 2009 MLS Best XI later this afternoon and while some of the picks are easy to make, some others will be very difficult.

Picking this year's forwards was especially tough, with a half dozen worth candidates for the Best XI nod.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

Major League Soccer will be announcing its 2009 MLS Best XI later this afternoon and while some of the picks are easy to make, some others will be very difficult.

Picking this year's forwards was especially tough, with a half dozen worth candidates for the Best XI nod.

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Former Galaxy player and goal hero Ned Grabavoy, left, and Real Salt Lake, which beat the Chicago Fire on penalty kicks to become Eastern Conference champions (let's get rid of these silly conferences based on irrelevant geography, MLS) will face the Galaxy Sunday in Seattle.

Grabavoy scored the winning goal just before the picture was taken above, although former Galaxy striker Robbie Findley almost scored in the dying moments of regulation time only to be denied by Palos Verdes Peninsula product John Thorrington.

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Positives:

A) The USA with their below full strength team played patient ball control. They took their time to build up their attack. Having no Donovan and Davies meant that the US had to give up their fast counterattacking edge. But the tactical switch was achieved quite effectively showing that the US is capable of this approach.

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The Major League Soccer 2009 Eastern Conference Final was on Saturday with Real Salt Lake traveling to face the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park. The winner would move onto the MLS Cup Final next Sunday against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Real Salt Lake beats Chicago Fire 0-0 (5-4 on penalty kicks) Video Highlights

It was a close match on Saturday but Real Salt Lake found a way to advance and continue their improbable run to the MLS Cup Final.

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Will Real Salt Lake and Yura Movsisyan be celebrating at Toyota Park Saturday night? Most agree that such an accomplishment is possible, yet a Chicago Fire win seems more probable. No matter what, it should be an entertaining encounter in front of a sellout crowd in Bridgeview.

A lot of the Fire's fortunes will come down to the health of two of their defensive players.

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RSL and Chicago are going to square off on Saturday in a match where the Fire of Chicago have the unenviable task of playing the one team in the entire that no one wants a piece of anymore. If you asked me this is the perfect storm for the boys from Salt Lake and the worst storm for the Windy City squad.

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The Fire couldn't have asked for much more from last Saturday's 2-0 win over New England.

Advance in the Eastern Conference playoffs? Check.

Do it against a bitter rival? Check.

And do it all in style? Oh my, yes. Check.

That's what can happen when the Fire plays some of its most inspired soccer at the best time of year before a packed house at Toyota Park.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake are probably not the teams most observers would have pegged to be playing for the Eastern Conference title and berth in MLS Cup, but these two teams earned their places in the Final Four by virtue of strong first-round performances that should lead into a memorable East Final on Saturday night (8pm, FSC).

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake are probably not the teams most observers would have pegged to be playing for the Eastern Conference title and berth in MLS Cup, but these two teams earned their places in the Final Four by virtue of strong first-round performances that should lead into a memorable East Final on Saturday night (8pm, FSC).

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The Conference Championships are now upon us, and I must say: "Could we have asked for anything more?" After all, these two games have more storylines than a Tarantino film (and they could end up being as violent). But, before I further tease this week's monumental matchups, I want to first take a look back at last week's amazing results.

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Yes, that is no typo. Thanks to a striker pool as thin as a wafer due to both injuries and MLS playoffs reaching their peak, Bob Bradley has his hands tied when it comes to available players for Saturday's friendly against Slovakia. Landon Donovan is unavailable because of the Los Angeles Galaxy's playoff triumph, while a fringe player such as Robbie Findley also misses out thanks to success.

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The second batch of Major League Soccer playoff games saw some tense football, great goals and short tempers. At the end of it, four teams progressed to the two conference finals. But did David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco make it?
On the 5th November, the King was dead. Columbus Crew were behind 1-0 on aggregate against Real Salt Lake and, despite quickly setting about overturning the deficit, the champions were ejected from the playoffs at the first hurdle. Click to continue reading...

MLS Playoff Wrap Up

Real Salt Lake (4-2) Columbus

The first game between the 1 and 4 seeds in the East went to Salt Lake thanks to a late goal by Robbie Findley. Knowing that they were playing against the defending MLS champions Salt Lake knew the importance of getting a result at home.

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MLS Playoff Wrap Up

Real Salt Lake (4-2) Columbus

The first game between the 1 and 4 seeds in the East went to Salt Lake thanks to a late goal by Robbie Findley. Knowing that they were playing against the defending MLS champions, Salt Lake knew the importance of getting a result at home.

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Chicago defeated the Revolution 2-0 to advance to the Eastern Conference Final of the MLS Cup Playoffs where they will have the privilege of hosting RSL (A.K.A. The team no one wants right now) on Saturday.

Chicago and RSL are walking two completely different paths to get to this point.

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The second participant in the MLS Eastern Conference Final will be determined tonight when the New England Revolution faces the Chicago Fire in Game Two of their First Round playoff series.

New England will try to join Real Salt Lake in the East Final by building on its 2-1 victory in Game One.

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Where to begin with this one? If you approached fans of Columbus and let them know in advance of the game, that they would take a two goal lead within the first 35 minutes at home, against the worst road team in MLS, they would have taken that in a hearbeat. And that's just what did happen, as two Guillermo Barros Schelotto goals got the Crew off to the start they needed.

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Guillermo Barros Schelotto was being counted on to help his Columbus Crew climb out of the one-goal deficit it faced after a Game One defeat to Real Salt Lake, and he did just that with two first-half goals in Thursday night's Game Two. Unfortunately for the Crew, the normally stout defense it was counting on to pitch a shutout delivered a mistake-filled performance that has helped put an end to Columbus' quest for a repeat.

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Guillermo Barros Schelotto was being counted on to help his Columbus Crew climb out of the one-goal deficit it faced after a Game One defeat to Real Salt Lake, and he did just that with two first-half goals in Thursday night's Game Two. Unfortunately for the Crew, the normally stout defense it was counting on to pitch a shutout delivered a mistake-filled performance that has helped put an end to Columbus' quest for a repeat.

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The Columbus Crew quest for a repeat MLS Cup championship will ride on tonight's First Round playoff decider against Real Salt Lake at Crew Stadium (8pm, ESPN2).

The Crew will need to erase a 1-0 deficit from its first-leg loss at Rio Tinto Stadium to do win the series, and will welcome back reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who is expected to start after being benched for the first game.

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The Columbus Crew quest for a repeat MLS Cup championship will ride on tonight's First Round playoff decider against Real Salt Lake at Crew Stadium (8pm, ESPN2).

The Crew will need to erase a 1-0 deficit from its first-leg loss at Rio Tinto Stadium to do win the series, and will welcome back reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who is expected to start after being benched for the first game.

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