MLS Major League Soccer

The Pitch: MLS Weekly Newsletter

Published on March 31, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


MLS Week 2: April 3-6, 2008

THURSDAY, APRIL 3

New England Revolution at Chicago Fire - 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes)

- Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco makes his home debut in his first full season in MLS.

o Blanco scored in stoppage time to earn the Fire a 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

- New England has eliminated Chicago from the playoffs three consecutive times ('05, '06, '07).

- New England's Gambian teenagers, Kenny Mansally & Sainey Nyassi, had stunning success in the opener, their first MLS starts.

o The Boston Globe on Mansally: http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2008/03/03/mansallys_career_cleared_for_takeoff/

San Jose Earthquakes at LA Galaxy - 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes)

- First game for the expansion Earthquakes - but not the first in team history.

o A charter MLS club in 1996, the team moved to Houston after the 2005 season.

o Earthquakes history remained in San Jose in hopes MLS would return to the market.

- Rekindles a longstanding rivalry that connects to the geographic (NoCal-SoCal) rivalry.

o Each club has two MLS Cup titles, but LA has regular season supremacy over San Jose: 21-12-5.

- Outspoken San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon was one of the Galaxy's best players last year.

o Cannon is a two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

o His MLS career began in San Jose (1998-2002).

SATURDAY, APRIL 5

Columbus Crew at New York Red Bulls - 7:30 p.m. ET (Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Sports en Espanol)

- First game of the season for the Red Bulls.

- Columbus last won at Giants Stadium on April 12, 2003 (a season opener).

o New York club has won the last six meetings at Giants Stadium between the teams.

Toronto FC at D.C. United - 7:30 p.m. ET

- D.C. United will play their third game in eight days due to Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinal match at Pachuca of Mexico's First Division.

- In their inaugural season, Toronto FC was 0-3 against D.C. United.

Colorado Rapids at Kansas City Wizards - 8 p.m. ET

- In their season opener, the Rapids defeated LA, 4-0 - the first time since July 23, 2005 they had scored that many goals in a game.

- Kansas City's new South American attackers - Ivan Trujillo and Claudio Lopez - scored in the Wizards' 2-0 win against D.C. United.

Real Salt Lake at Chivas USA - 10:30 p.m. ET

- Each team had a recent acquisition debut as a substitute: Scottish target forward Kenny Deuchar for RSL and Swiss midfielder Raphael Wicky for Chivas USA.

- Each team registered a 1-1 tie in its season opener, but in opposite fashion:

o Real Salt Lake surrendered a late goal at home to Chicago.

o Chivas USA scored a late goal against host FC Dallas.

- This is the 12th meeting of the expansion class of 2005. Chivas USA leads the all-time series, 6-2-3.

SUNDAY, APRIL 6

FC Dallas at Houston Dynamo - 3 p.m. ET (TeleFutura)

- Including playoff games, Houston is 5-0-0 at Robertson Stadium against FC Dallas

- After conceding just 23 goals in 30 games last year -- the all-time best in MLS history -- the Houston Dynamo allowed three in their season opener. They allowed three goals on just two occasions in 2007.

All times Eastern, live broadcasts in parentheses; schedule subject to change

Colorado Rapids Midfielder Terry Cooke Wins Player of the Week for Week 1

Terry Cooke was voted as Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 1 of the 2008 season. Cooke led a dominating effort for the Rapids in which he scored a goal and tallied two assists in a 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night. Now in his fourth season in MLS, Cooke has established himself as an assist specialist with 23 in his career. He led the League in 2006 with 12 and recorded seven in 2007. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Cooke. For more on Cooke's performance click on the following link: http://www.mlsnet.com//news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080331&content_id=146561&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp

The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.

New England Revolution's Matt Reis on ESPN.com Web Chat, Tomorrow, 3 p.m. ET

New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis will talk shop on Tuesday, April 1, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.com. Reis, a native of Mission Viejo, Calif., in his 11th MLS season, will discuss the 2008 season's first Thursday Night Primetime game on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes - New England at Chicago on April 3 - a rematch of the 2007 Eastern Conference Final. Questions can be submitted to Reis via ESPN's SportsNation at: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=19886.

29 Players Make Their MLS Debuts on Opening Weekend

In the opening weekend of the 2008 season, 29 players made their MLS debuts. Helping the Wizards to a 2-0 victory were rookie defender Jonathan Leathers, Colombian forward Ivan Trujillo and Designated Player Claudio Lopez. Trujillo and Lopez each notched a goal, while Leathers helped provide a strong defense that shutout D.C. United. Another impressive debut was that of Colorado Rapids midfielder John DiRaimondo. Last year a staple for the Colorado Rapids reserves (winners of past two Reserve Division championships), DiRaimondo played 81 minutes in a 4-0 win over Los Angeles. Also making their first MLS appearances in winning efforts were: Columbus Crew defender Andy Iro, New England Revolution forward Kheli Dhube, and New England midfielder Mauricio Castro.

MLS, Toronto FC, Garber and Leiweke Up for Prestigious Sports Business Awards

The SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily have selected Major League Soccer, Toronto FC, Commissioner Don Garber and AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke as final nominees for the inaugural Sports Business Awards at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 29. A committee from the SBJ/SBD editorial team selected five candidates in the respective categories for best sports league (MLS), pro sports team (TFC), and executive (Garber and Leiweke). More than 400 nominations were submitted for the 11 categories to honor the best in our business. A complete overview can be found at: http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/58457

David Beckham to Appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" Tomorrow, April 1

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham will be a guest on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Tuesday, April 1. The show airs at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on NBC; check local listings for the channel in your area. Other guests scheduled to appear on the show include Sherri Shepherd of "The View" and musical guest The B-52's.

Fans May Again Vote for the Weekly Winners of the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week

Major League Soccer fans can vote for the most remarkable goals each week, with the winner announced each Wednesday throughout the season. The first week of the 2008 season saw some remarkable goals. Submit your vote at http://web.mlsnet.com/sierra/sierra_mist.html.

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