Mls Cup

SEATTLE - A cold night, two exhausted teams, overtime inconclusive and a national championship on the line. That was the scenario at Qwest Field on Sunday night, where a wind-chilled crowd of 46,011 saw Real Salt Lake win Major League Soccer's 2009 title. When Robbie Russell's penalty kick hit the back of the net to give the Utah side its first MLS title in only its fifth season, Galaxy heads dropped. The players had given everything, only to fall in a shootout, 5-4, after a 1-1 tie. David Beckham and Landon Donovan tried to lift the spirits, shaking their teammates' hands before hugging each other.

SATURDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS W. bask. Georgetown@George Washington TCN4 NBA Brooklyn@Miami NBA7:30 Philadelphia@Chicago WGN-A8 Sacramento@Clippers NBA10:30 Boxing Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout SHOW9 H.S. foot. 1A final: New Town vs. Dunbar 54Noon 2A final: Douglass vs. Middletown 543:30 C. football Whip-around coverage ESPNU11 a.m. Oklahoma@Texas Christian ESPNNoon Conf.

D.C. United and RFK Stadium officials put on a recent media event to show off the logo for the second MLS Cup, set for RFK on Oct. 26.They touted the stadium as the country's best for soccer. Some may differ, but to be sure, a lot of first-rate soccer has been played there over the years, RFK has great view lines, and United is now its only tenant. The officials also conducted a love-in about how MLS Cup week will be great for Washington tourism.But they didn't mention what MLS Cup II will be up against that same fall Sunday afternoon -- the first Maryland pro football championship, with the Raljon Redskins playing host to the Ravens.

Former Greyhounds soccer All-American Zach Thornton (John Carroll) will join the Loyola program as the volunteer goalkeeping coach. A 1995 Loyola graduate, Thornton was a two-time Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year, a six-time All-Star (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009) and a member of the national team. Thornton won four U.S. Open Cups with the Chicago Fire (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006) and played in three MLS finals, winning the MLS Cup in 1998. He was also named Chivas USA's Team MVP, MLS Best XI, MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS Comeback Player of the Year in 2009.

More than 40,000 tickets have been sold for the second MLS Cup game at RFK Stadium in Washington at 3: 30 p.m. on Oct. 26. If you haven't seen an MLS game, this would be a great way to start.With D.C. United trying for its second consecutive Cup, league officials expect RFK to be a 56,000-plus sellout by as early as Monday.United is 25-11 overall -- league play plus playoffs. If you like attacking, one-touch soccer, put that Washington-thing aside; this team's worth the ticket. United's surprise opponent from the MLS West, the Colorado Rapids, is easily the league's most-improved team.

CARSON, Calif. - Bob Gansler has been around long enough to know that it's all just a game. Win or lose, life goes on. So it was in classic Gansler style that the longtime coach of the Kansas City Wizards gently reproved the media for doubting his team's ability to reach today's Major League Soccer championship game at the Home Depot Center. "We're here," he began. "We're pleased to be here. We're not surprised to be here. Some of you might be surprised that we're here, but we're not. "We're really not that bright, and we don't do a lot of reading.

Former Greyhounds soccer All-American Zach Thornton (John Carroll) will join the Loyola program as the volunteer goalkeeping coach. A 1995 Loyola graduate, Thornton was a two-time Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year, a six-time All-Star (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009) and a member of the national team. Thornton won four U.S. Open Cups with the Chicago Fire (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006) and played in three MLS finals, winning the MLS Cup in 1998. He was also named Chivas USA's Team MVP, MLS Best XI, MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS Comeback Player of the Year in 2009.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - ESPN has signed a contract with Major League Soccer to broadcast the league's games for five more years, MLS commissioner Don Garber said yesterday. Garber wouldn't disclose details of the contract, signed yesterday. He said a joint announcement by the league and ESPN would be made tomorrow. ESPN and its parent network ABC have broadcast MLS' games since the league's inaugural season. The league paid for time the first two years, but it has shared production costs and advertising revenue the past four years.

Tomorrow's second MLS Cup, American pro soccer's Super Bowl, could be described as Major League Soccer's 500-pound canary, D.C. United, taking on the interesting but less weighty Tweety Bird, the Colorado Rapids.The one-game final pitting playoff winners from MLS' Eastern and Western conferences will produce the league's 1997 champion.The game at sold-out RFK Stadium in Washington, where a crowd of 56,000-plus may break RFK's all-time attendance record, could be on television in 130 countries.

SUNDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS Sprint Cup Ford 400 ESPN, 3 M. bask Coppin State@Connecticut MASN, 1 Rhode Island@Nebraska BIG TEN, 2 Miss. Valley State@North Carolina CSN, 2 Puerto Rico Tip-Off: Maryland vs. Iona ESPNU, 2 Creighton@Iowa BIG TEN, 4 Puerto Rico: Temple vs. Wichita St. ESPN2, 5:30 Ark.-Little Rock@Michigan State BIGTEN, 6 Paradise Jam semifinal CSN, 6 Puerto Rico: Purdue vs. Alabama ESPN2, 8 Charleston Classic: final: ESPNU, 8 Paradise Jam: semifinal CSN, 8:30 NFL Dallas@Washington 5, 1 Cincinnati@Ravens 13, 1 Arizona@San Francisco 45, 4 San Diego@Chicago 13 and 9, 4 Philadelphia@Giants 11 and 4, 8:15 LPGA CME Group Titleholders: final rd. GOLF, 1:30 M. soccer Premier: Chelsea vs. Liverpool FSC, 11 a.m. Premier: Aston Villa FC@Tottenham TCN, 2 MLS Cup: Los Angeles vs. Houston ESPN, 9 RADIO HIGHLIGHTS M. bask.

SEATTLE - A cold night, two exhausted teams, overtime inconclusive and a national championship on the line. That was the scenario at Qwest Field on Sunday night, where a wind-chilled crowd of 46,011 saw Real Salt Lake win Major League Soccer's 2009 title. When Robbie Russell's penalty kick hit the back of the net to give the Utah side its first MLS title in only its fifth season, Galaxy heads dropped. The players had given everything, only to fall in a shootout, 5-4, after a 1-1 tie. David Beckham and Landon Donovan tried to lift the spirits, shaking their teammates' hands before hugging each other.

CARSON, Calif. - Bob Gansler has been around long enough to know that it's all just a game. Win or lose, life goes on. So it was in classic Gansler style that the longtime coach of the Kansas City Wizards gently reproved the media for doubting his team's ability to reach today's Major League Soccer championship game at the Home Depot Center. "We're here," he began. "We're pleased to be here. We're not surprised to be here. Some of you might be surprised that we're here, but we're not. "We're really not that bright, and we don't do a lot of reading.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - ESPN has signed a contract with Major League Soccer to broadcast the league's games for five more years, MLS commissioner Don Garber said yesterday. Garber wouldn't disclose details of the contract, signed yesterday. He said a joint announcement by the league and ESPN would be made tomorrow. ESPN and its parent network ABC have broadcast MLS' games since the league's inaugural season. The league paid for time the first two years, but it has shared production costs and advertising revenue the past four years.

WASHINGTON - It will be the best offense against the best defense in today's Major League Soccer championship game. The Chicago Fire, the team with the most productive offense, also has one of the premier money players in the world in Hristo Stoitchkov, and a number of coaches and general managers think his presence gives Chicago the edge over the Kansas City Wizards. Stoitchkov's leadership since he came to the United States at the beginning of the season has been more evident in the playoffs.

WASHINGTON -- Literally speaking, it rained for Major League Soccer's championship game again yesterday -- unrelenting, soaking, chilling stuff with temperatures in the mid-40s. But figuratively, it didn't rain on either D.C. United's or the MLS's "parade."Heavily favored United won its second-straight MLS Cup, defeating the cellar-to-not-quite-stellar Colorado Rapids, 2-1, before 57,431 noisy, drenched fans. The crowd was 581 shy, likely because of the poor weather, of setting a record for any event at RFK Stadium.

Tomorrow's second MLS Cup, American pro soccer's Super Bowl, could be described as Major League Soccer's 500-pound canary, D.C. United, taking on the interesting but less weighty Tweety Bird, the Colorado Rapids.The one-game final pitting playoff winners from MLS' Eastern and Western conferences will produce the league's 1997 champion.The game at sold-out RFK Stadium in Washington, where a crowd of 56,000-plus may break RFK's all-time attendance record, could be on television in 130 countries.