Revs/Dynamo running blog

Pregame show is still on. It's strange to see Chris Albright in a Revs jersey. He's probably relatively comfortable on the squad, though. He knows quite a few of the players from national team camps, for example.
Max Bretos and David Beckham, one on one. Max can't keep his hands still. David looks far more calm. Shots of Ruud and Cobi, standing together, coaching. If Ruud grows his dreads again, Cobi will resemble a smaller version of Ruud. No one, not even Beckham, got a bigger cheer at the FanFest than Cobi, by the way.
Max gets the skinny on David Beckham's plans - he says he sees himself in Los Angeles for a long time, even beyond the end of this contract. So much for those in England who expected their glamor couple back immediately.
Chris Sullivan makes Max's hands look lazy. He's moving them at hyperspeed.
LD gets the sit-down with Max. He talks about spacing and having new attacking options with David healthy and Ruiz on board.
Great montage of Dynamo/Revolution duels. When it mattered, though, the Dynamo kept coming out on top. On the other hand, NE would like revenge any time, so they should come out tough in front of their home crowd.
2- NE come out charging. Larentowicz just wound up from outside. Onstad took care of it. He also had a foot save on a Castro shot.
7 - This game may be called First Kick, but another MLS game has already started and is almost finished. Real Salt Lake leads the Chicago Fire by a goal.
10 - Houston is getting their legs underneath them, having more success hooking up with Wondolowski. Taylor Twellman didn't start for the Revs, by the way. Adam Cristman is in. Turns out that TT's right knee is sore. He was a late scratch.
12 - CK for Houston. Holden takes it. Robinson heads it down, but a bit wide.
13 - Abdoulie Mansally nearly links up with Cristman in front of goal. Brian Mullan lost the ball and Mansally took advantage, drawing out Onstad, then passing to Cristman, who couldn't quite get there.
16 - GOAL! Mansally shoots after Sainey Nyassi slips into the box. The new guys are fast. Onstad dives, saves, but the rebound falls to Steve Ralston, trailing the play. Ralston buries it. 1-0 Revs
17 - Mullan going the other way crosses for DeRo, but he can't quite get his header attempt down and into the goal.
I'm not sure why, but Fox isn't running a game clock or score graphic on the game. It sucks because I'm not keeping track, so I have no idea how much time has passed.
25 - Mansally goes by Kenny, by the way, in case anyone was confused by me using his proper first name at the start of this blog. He's a good pick up for NE, adds a lot of speed to the attack. That gives him an advantage of sorts over Pat Noonan, who now plays in Europe. Pat brought class play and a great touch, though.
30 - Hey, the score graphic is back. Thank God. Houston sets up for a FK. Cleared out by Nyassi, who headed the ball way out of the box. Nice.
32 - GOAL! New England gets a FK of their own. Jeff took it, hit really hard it the way he always does, and Onstad saved it by knocking it down - right to Adam, who headed it into the goal. 2-0 New England.
34 - Houston goes the other way, Holden gets a good pass but misses the ball a bit, shot goes wide. Oooh, the other way, Adam has a chance, puts it wide.
35 - Corey Ashe gets a nice pass from Holden - puts it high.
37 - A shot of Houston coach Dom Kinnear. He's yelling, but he doesn't look terribly upset. He knows the season is a marathon, not a sprint. Well, it's a marathon until the playoffs, then it's a sprint for the championship.
40 - Mullan isn't having a great game. He's usually one of my favorite players, tricky and skilled, but the pressure from NE is troubling him and he keeps giving up the ball.
42 - NE look really good. Dorman who? Twellman who? Nicol has these guys solid. Cristman sneaks a shot , but Onstad saves.
44 - I shouldn't pick on Brian, though, no one for Houston is having a great game. They might be distracted by their upcoming CONCACAF match, because they seem a bit distracted.
45+ DeRo with a driven shot just before halftime - it bends wide. He might be working his way into this match, however. I look for the entire Houston team to regroup and come out charging in the second half.
Halftime
"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Houston has come back before, specifically against the Revs, so I don't expect New England to let up, even though I think the Dynamo will challenge them
50 - Sure enough, the energy of both teams is high. NE still has the upper hand, though, and nearly added a third goal..
56 - Rev FK, cleared, but Revs recover and still pressure the goal.
60 - SAVE! Holden a classic cross, Mullan dives for the header, Mat Reis dives to make a great save. So close.
61 - Ralston is on the ground, having fallen heavily on his shoulder. He doesn't look happy.
63 - Subs come in, while Ralston walks off. Pat Ianni is in for Brian Mullan. Gary Flood is coming in for Ralston. Ashe moves to right back for Houston.
65 - The Revs look shaken at the loss of their veteran leader. Houston looks to take advantage, but Boswell skies a shot after a scramble from a Houston corner. That's not going to do it.
68 - Franco Caraccio is in for Wondolowski. NE's tactic of defending by controlling the play and pushing forward is done. They've dropped back without Ralston, and Houston has a lot more of the ball.
69 - Heaps on a counterattack, puts his shot wide.
72 - Shalrie into be box, his cross gets put out for a corner. NE looking better, though the Dynamo escape when Jeff's soft shot gets easily caught by Onstad.
76 - Cristman on the breakaway! He jukes his defender, he's in alone against Onstad! He drives the ball - right into Onstad's knee. Funny. The announcers give Onstad credit for a great save. Bogus. If you don't move, it's not a great save, it's the attacker hitting you with the ball and you just happen not to fall over.
80 - Holden puts a shot high. Thing is, it's been NE doing as much attacking as Houston, so the Dynamo are starting to look a little desperate and tired.
81 Kenny Mansally is going out, and getting a big cheer from the crowd. He has looked great. Kheli Dube comes in for him.
84 - Ching earns a corner. Mulrooney to take. Reis comes out for it - he catches it.
86 - Wade Barrett earns another corner for the Dynamo. Caraccio has a snap header to the far post, but it goes wide.
87 - Ching goes out, Geoff Cameron in for him.
88 - Caraccio with a bike in the box! Sweet, but sadly, it's high and wide. Nice try. Houston throwing themselves at the NE goal, but the Revs are hanging tough and still looking to punish the Dynamo on the counter.
90 - Props to the Rev fans. It must be very cold, but they sound loud, and they're cheering hard for their team's great start as time ticks down. Well done.
90 +Wade with a late charge in the box, tries a cross and/or shot, but it hits side netting.
GOAL! Nyassi picks off a Mulrooney pass, runs the ball all the way into the box, gets a bit of space with a stepover, then fires a hard shot that beats a diving Onstad. Kickass, that was. 3-0 - Revs dominate versus their championship nemesis.