Battery in final

Charleston Battery! In the US Open Cup final!

It's true. A USL-1 side will play in the USOC final, just the second time since 1996 that a non-MLS team has reached the final.

Charleston will play DC United, who beat New England 3-1, in the USOC final.

The Battery beat Seattle Sounders, who for the second consecutive year got bounced in the semifinals. Charleston won 4-3 in PKs after the two USL-1 sides

Blanco ruling - Way weak

I don't mean weak in the aspect of the discipline handed down. Two years is a pretty solid sentence. But U.S. Soccer wimped out.
I'll highlight the part that is especially crucial: "The suspension is due to his actions during the U.S. Open Cup match between the Chicago Fire and D.C. United on July 8, 2008."
It's pretty much impossible to tell if the punishment fit the crime when the description of what Blanco did to merit the censure is never given.
Why not name exactly what Blanco's trangressions were?
One of the things I believe MLS does right is when releasing discipline information, like adding game suspensions to red cards and so forth, is to include video of the incidents so everyone is absolutely clear what it is that was cited.
Even if the powers that be decided not to release video that DC United reportedly provided to the federation featuring Blanco, the USSF should have at least cleared up the competing stories out in the public. The Fire organization clearly said one thing, while DC United had their own version.
I suspected the truth was somewhere in the middle, but now U.S. Soccer has basically said, "You can't handle the truth" and "We're not even going to tell what really happened."
Weak.
Spineless.
Also, a bad precedent has been set. Frankly, one reason MLS goes into so much detail in its discipline procedures is to have them act as a deterrent. No one can say, "I didn't know that kicking my hated rival would have such drastic consequences," after Rico Clark's massive suspension. People know exactly what will lead to what.
I mean, did Blanco do anything significantly worse than some of Atlante's players last night? If so, U.S. Soccer should be up front and honest about it. No more pussyfooting around and hiding the facts, giving us a sentence without all the reasons for the conviction.

Outsider's angle

Of course I didn't see the Blanco/DC Open Cup incident. I was here in California, and the match wasn't televised. I also wasn't enterprising enough to look for an Internet stream, if there was one. So when Brad Feldman brought the topic up, I had only contextual points to make.

1. Blanco arrived in the league with a reputation of not only skill, but a tempestuous personality.
2. Blanco has been well-behaved when Chicago is winning.
3. Chicago isn't winning, and there have been reports of Blanco losing his temper with his own teammates.

Points 1,2, and 3 added up to me being less than surprised that Blanco might have blown up on the field. Still, I pointed out, players on both sides had been red-carded, so the ref at least had cast equal blame. Basically, I didn't think a bigger deal should be made out of something just because a star player was involved. I mean, is anyone going on about Chris Wingert's red card? Besides Jason Kreis, that is.

When Brad mentioned that Blanco had reportedly headbutted a DC United employee, I had to laugh.
In my mind, I was picturing an Alex Zotinca-quality head butt.
Or the gold standard, of course, Zidane's. (though Zotinca's might have been more painful, since it was to the face, Zidane's had more force).
Obviously, if Blanco had done a headbutt anything like that, there wouldn't be any question as to whether or not such a thing had taken place. It would be very clear, so I figured it was somewhat less than a genuine headbutt.
I also pointed out to Brad that it wasn't unheard of for team employees to get passionate about matches and trigger incidents. For example, in an earlier Super Clasico, Chivas USA's massage therapist, Humberto Macias, lost it over an offsides call, arguing so vigorously that the fourth official conferred with the ref and had him removed from the sideline.
Now I'm not saying any employee deserves to be treated badly by any player, but it's possible that the DC staffer was less than completely professional in his actions before the alleged headbutt.
At that point, both Brad and I laughed at ourselves a little, because we were both speculating over stuff rather randomly. We agreed that more info would probably be revealed before long.
DC reportedly has a video that they've sent to MLS and the USSF, which is the actual entity in charge of the Open Cup. So the official version will come out soon. In the past, MLS has released little video clips to illustrate incidents where the league has added on to suspensions or taken other disciplinary action.

Open Cup quarters

With our attention out here in our corner of the soccer world on Thursday's Galaxy-Chivas USA match, the United States' oldest annual competition continued on Tuesday with a full slate of games.

New England and DC United pulled out late results while Charleston knocked out FC Dallas. Seattle also pulled off the upset as the Sounders beat KC in penalties.

There was a bust-up in one of the matches as Cuauhtemoc Blanco was sent off.

Blanco and Marc Burch were each sent packing in the 108th minute of their contest. DC United had gone up by a goal in the 99th minute. Blanco kicked a ball at Burch apparently.

Crystal Palace Baltimore took New England to the limit. New England went up in the sixth minute and the rout appeared on but Crystal Palace equalized in the 20th minute and held their ground for the remainder of regulation as well as the duration of extra time. Taylor Twellman played 120 minutes and was subbed out near the end. In PKs, the Revs were perfect in five kicks as they won 5-3.

DC United will play New England in one semifinal while Charleston will play the KC-Seattle survivor.

Charleston beat a full-strength FC Dallas squad 3-1. Charleston went up 2-0 at halftime, scored a goal in second-half stoppage time and held a 3-0 lead before Kenny Cooper scored a goal late that mattered little.

Meanwhile, Seattle and KC are scoreless midway through the second half. KC is pretty much defending the entire time as MLS' 15th club is taking it to KC. I wonder if you dropped this Seattle team in Kansas City's spot, if the Sounders would do better than the Wizards. Maybe. KC's not very good but this Sounders team is pretty good. Ooh, Sebastian Letoux nearly scored but Tysaon Wahl cleared his shot off the line just as the announcer was telling us that 95.7 plays the best rock and roll, including the Eagles. It's all about 95.7 FM, apparently.

UPDATE: Seattle-KC is over. Seattle won in PKs.

Rising up

Back on the street. Let's track the matches and upsets today.

Upset, though not in U.S. Open Cup - Vancouver takes down its MLS big brother.

Coach John Carver, as might be guessed, is not pleased.

Upset! Crystal Palace USA wins by TWO goals versus the Red Bull New York. The Baltimore team played a man down since the 34th minute of the first half.

Another Upset!
The Battery win in penalty kicks versus the defending MLS champs! Houston was 1-1 versus the Charleston Battery in regulation. Charleston played a man down, but with the lead until Houston leveled. The Battery lost another player to cards and played two men short in the second overtime.

Upset!

Seattle knocks Chivas USA out of the Open Cup again, this time 2-0.

No upset!
Richmond Kickers and New England Revolution - Defending champions, the Revs, win by three goals.
Chicago Fire scored 3 goals on the Cleveland City Stars in the first half. Cleveland got a consolation goal in the second half. Fire scored another, 4-1, final.

FC Dallas scores in stoppage time to down Miami FC, 2-1.

DC United wins, 2-0 versus the Rochestor Rhinos. Both goals by Marc Burch.

Wizards Score Again - again and again! In overtime, the Wizards score, having really turned it around from a 2-0 deficit to the Carolina Railhawks. Another PK to the Wizards. It's now 4-2. Carolina came close to scoring, but couldn't manage it, playing a man down too big a handicap.

Thus, Houston, New York and Chivas USA are out of the Open Cup as Charleston, Crystal Palace and Seattle pull off the upsets.

Watching these games is like MLS deja vu - oh, that's where that guy ended up! David Stokes, for example.

Open scores

The U.S. Open Cup bid farewell to seven USL clubs and one USASA side and will welcome eight MLS teams now after a full slate of games on Tuesday. The remaining games will pit MLS teams against USL sides; Cleveland, Richmond and Baltimore are all USL-2 sides while the rest hail from the USL first division.

Here are the scores from Tuesday followed by the next round's matchups.

Harrisburg (USL-2) 2-2 (aet) CP Baltimore (USL-2); CP Baltimore advance on penalties, 3-1
Western Mass (USL-2) 1 : 2 Richmond (USL-2)
Rochester (USL-1) 3 : 0 Pittsburgh (USL-2)
Charleston (USL-1) 2 : 1 Charlotte (USL-2)
Carolina (USL-1) 1 : 0 Real Maryland (USL-2)
Minnesota (USL-1) 0 : 2 (aet) Cleveland (USL-2)
Miami (USL-1) 1 : 0 Atlanta (USL-1)
Seattle (USL-1) 6 : 0 Hollywood United (USASA)

Carolina Railhawks vs Kansas City Wizards
Richmond Kickers vs New England Revolution
Cleveland City Stars vs Chicago Fire
Rochester Rhinos vs DC United
Miami FC vs FC Dallas
Charleston Battery vs Houston Dynamo
Crystal Palace Baltimore vs New York Red Bulls
Seattle Sounders vs Chivas USA

Crappy replay

Had I known that Terry Cooke was going to whip in a nice cross from the right side and that Conor Casey was going to knock it into the goal, I would have had the camera rolling. Instead, I only recorded the replay on the scoreboard. I know, it sucks. But it's the replay of the goal and you can mostly tell what's happening - cross, header, goal, celebration, stunned defenders, game, set, match.

Rapids post-game stuff

As promised, here is post-game audio. Unfortunately, since my only post-game assignment was to cover the Rapids I only have quotes from Rapids players. It was actually a tag-team effort as MLSnet.com colleague Greg Daurio and I were the only two media members down in the presser. Fans aren't the only ones who stay away from these games, apparently.

Here's Fernando Clavijo's post-game comments as well as Conor Casey, who scored the goal eight minutes from time, and Preston Burpo, who just one week ago was still with San Jose, and still with not shot of playing regularly. Burpo's an odd cat, but I say that in a good way... mostly.

Post game reactions

Clavijo: We don't have a lot of stars, we have a real team.
Bouna Coundoul is in Senegal right now, so we were very fortunate to get someone with experience (Preston Burpo) and to get him a match and to show that he belongs there. It's a wonderful opportunity.

Ruud Gullit: I think today gave some people the chance to show themselves. Of course, it was a pity. The problem was in midfield. We couldn't control it. The players there are often on the bench. The post was against us in the first half. In the second half, we didn't play well at all.
What was good was to see the players who don't always get to play. The big miss for us was Alvaro - he's very important for us. He had a knee problem, so we had to rest him, knowing that we play Toronto on turf.
We had so many chances - we just didn't make it. But everyone is going to write that we can't play without those two (LD and Becks).
I'm disappointed by the fact that we're out.
The most important thing was the midfield. We were very weak in that department. In attacking we were ok.
The first half- Ruiz was ok - but he's not really fit yet. He did some good things, but real match fitness is something different.

By the way, 9,189 was the final crowd count.

Galaxy/Rapids Open Cup rb

The running blog is stretching right now, kicking a few balls back and forth for warm-up.

Rapids: Preston Burpo, Kosuke Kimura, Stephen Keel, Rafael Gomes, Jordan Harvey, Terry Cooke, Mehdi Ballouchy, Nick LaBrocca, Colin Clark, Conor Casey, Tom McManus

Galaxy: Steve Cronin, Chris Klein, Abel Xavier, Sean Franklin, Ante Jazic, Brandon McDonald, Peter Vagenas, Ely Allen, Carlos Ruiz, Edson Buddle, Alan Gordon.

The Galaxy have sold seats in the upper deck of the stadium, which I think is a bad idea - just make all the tickets ten bucks and let people sit anywhere they want.
Players are walking in now. Press box is discussing how Ruud Gullit has put out a strong lineup. Anthem. So many people in the stands are wearing the Galaxy warm-up jackets that it looks like they could storm the field and play if the team isn't doing a good job. It's also chilly, hence the jackets. Though they are covered up pretty well, there are some strange lines on the field. There was a lacrosse game here Sunday.
Kickoff!
2 - Galaxy attack but the Rapids let the ball go out for a goal kick.
3 - Galaxy FK into the box, where Stephen Keel nearly heads into his own goal, Stone puts it out for a corner, which Alan Gordon knocks down a header to Buddle, who flicks a pass behind him - to the Rapids defense.
6 - Ball possession problems on both sides, but the Galaxy prevail just a bit more to get the ball into Rapids territory, but aren't able to get a shot off.
7 - Ruiz beats Burpo to a long pass in the box; as the two collide, Ruiz gets enough on the ball to sent it towards goal, where Keel chases it down to clear off the line. Close call.
10 - Pete V, long absent from the starting lineup, is making good passes to help the G's hold midfield well. It's in the link-up to the attack that the Galaxy are faltering.
11 - Shot by the rapids - Cronin has it covered, though it's a bit wide as well.
12 - Yellow for McManus, for charging in on an Abel Xavier kick.
14 - ACB and the Riot Squad are doing an across the field call and response "LA!" "Galaxy!" Pretty cool. Corner kick for the Galaxy comes to nothing.
16 - Ely in the box nearly strips Kimura of a long pass, but Kimura just barely escapes danger.
18 - Rapids slowly advancing from their end of the field more often.
20 - The Galaxy are missing the killer final pass of Becks or LD. They are working the ball upfield, but not getting service to the strikers at the right time or place.
21 - Rapids put together a run of possession and attack just noe, but like the Galaxy, lacked the shot set up. Galaxy back in Colorado ground on the counter. Pass reaches Ruiz in the box, but he has to lean backward for the header and it pops high for a clearance.
23 - Ruiz is down briefly, but seems alright.
25 - McDonny with a shot - wide. He was on a counter run, but still outside the box for that one.
26 - Pete and Mehdi clash for the ball - it looks like Pete wins it clean, but the ref, Janon Anno, blows for a foul. Crowd unhappy with that call.
28 - Klein fired three crosses in a row in to the box, thanks to the play of Pete to keep winning the ball back, but no one connects. McDonald should have on one, but Klein's crosses don't exactly have the quality of Becks.
30 - Shot by McDonald! Soo close. it just curved slightly away from the post.
32 - Ball free in the Galaxy box - oh, Croning scoops it up. The Galaxy have had the upper had, but the longer the Rapids escape, the more frustrated LA will get.
35 - It's back and forth in the midfield right now. One great play or one slight defensive bobble could decide this. Xavier heads a cross away on a Rapids counter.
36 - Buddle off the post! Burpo dives and misses, the ball hits him and he nearly gives up an own goal. On the corner, the Galaxy argue that Burpo palmed the ball out, but the ref saw it hit a Galaxy players leg, apparently.
38 - Clarke shoots, Cronin blocks but can't hang on, galaxy manage to clear the ball.
39 - CK for the Rapids, Galaxy clear for a deep throw.
40 - Galaxy on the counter, cross to Ruiz, ref blows for a handball.
41 - RUIZ! From midfield, he shoots, catching Burpo off his line, Burpo runs backward and falls - ball goes off the frigging POST! Unbecredible, as Ravelli would say. That would have been Beckham-esque.
43 - Ely slid into someone and got a yellow, though he seems the one hurt.
44 - Rapids FK hits wall, but ref blows for handball. moving the subsequent FK much closer to goal - SAVE - Cronin.
45+ Klein overhits two forwards with another cross.
Ruud subs Allen for Randolph. I think Ely might be hurt.
Halftime - The Galaxy should be leading by a couple, but now there is all to play for in the second half.
BREAKING NEWS - Ely has been diagnosed with a concussion.
46 - Jazic is in for the Galaxy.
47 - Galaxy FK - oh if only Becks. . . . Pete sends a decent ball that Abel gets a head on, Burpo catches.
49 - Yellow for Nick LaBrocca - he kept standing in front of the Galaxy FKs.
50 - Pete serves ball it, gets knocked out to Randolph, who slips in a great pass that Gordon manages to miss on the doorstep of the goal. So close again.
53 - Rapids on the attack. McManus sends outside shot wide. I think his 40-yarder, which is winning Goal of the Week, might have swelled his head a bit.
55 - Killer instinct - it is lacking among the LA players right now. Xavi with dangerous packpass to Cronin, who barely clears against an attacker. Play it forward.
57 - The longer the Rapids hang around with the game in the balance, the better it is for them, because they can send a fast forward like Herc to burn the defense.
58 - Rapids corner - cleared.
60 - Pete slips, misses the ball, Rapids attack, Cooke has the ball on the right - cross! Galaxy barely clear.
62 - Galaxy CK, Pete takes and McDonald heads just barely wide.
Izzy going in. Israel Sesay in for Ruiz.
64 - Colorado FK out for goalkick.
66 - Galaxy again controlling most of play - again not finding final pass. Mehdi on the counter tried to catch Cronin off his line - misses high by about ten feet over the goal.
67 - Gordon clips LaBrocca from behind - gets yellow. MacManus is out, Omar Cummings is in.
68 - Clarke shoots, it's deflected wide for corner, Cronin comes out and catches the cross.
70 The Galaxy are losing sharpness as the game goes on. Ciaran O'Brien is on for Clarke. Crowd boos, remembering his hit on Ruiz at the season opener.
71 - Gomes gets a yellow for pulling down a Galaxy player on the counter. The Galaxy are all around the box, but keep mistiming runs and crosses for the final shot. Pete finally winds one up from outside, but it gets deflected.
72 - Josh Tudela in for Brandon McDonald. the Galaxy lose strength in midfield with that mover, because Pete is not an enforcer.
73 - Iz called offside. Crowd hated that call. Looked on, really.
74 - Casey nearly finishes it - shooting/crossing across the face of the goal. The Rapids then reel off a corner and two shots. The Galaxy can't clear, but they do deflect one and Cronin comes up with a pretty good save on another. The Rapids have all the momentum, now, though.
76 - They're coming at the Galaxy hard, again, Casey earns another deep throw - Cooke just waiting for the chance to cross - but Randolph steals the ball, Rapids counter again, Cooke crosses, Cronin punches out!
78 - Rapids circle the Galaxy goal like vultures. The Galaxy are trying to work the ball out past midfield. Nothing doing.
79 - IZ! Randolph on the counter uses his speed to creat space and sends in a great cross, but Iz just clean misses it. Wow.
81 - Cronin poor clearance leaves Rapids near goal - then the Galaxy D gives up a FK in a prime spot.
Casey cracks a header on goal, nice and low, and Cronin atones by getting down for the grab.
82 - GOAL! Casey makes no mistake this time, while Cronin hesitated, stepping out for Cooke's cross, then backing off on it, while the Galaxy D didn't shoulder off Casey. 1-0. Rapids.
85 - A tired Buddle is stuck in the corner, unable to get a cross off. He finally knocks the ball to Randolph, who botches it completely.
87 - The Galaxy are attacking, but everything they do looks frantic right now, and they are overhitting a lot of passes.
88 - Galaxy CK - Gordon is up for it, gets good contact - it's wide. Cesar Zambrano coming in for the goalscorer, Casey.
90 - Cummings holding the ball up well every time the Rapids regain possession. He draws a FK, then a corner.
90 + Cooke gets a yellow card - for time wasting? I'm not sure. Gordon draws a FK on the other end. This could be the last chance for the Galaxy. Herc is on for Cooke. Pete serves, it's good, Gordon goes up for it - his header is wide.
Colorado holding the ball well, galaxy with one last attack - Xavid serves ball in, out for throw. Into box, Rapids clear.
Final whistle. Crowd boos the result for a bit, then pounds the drums for the Galaxy players. The Rapids will now play Kansas City on June 4th for the right to officially enter the Open Cup. The Galaxy meanwhile, are out of all competitions this year - other than league play. If this was a preview of the team without LD and Becks well, to be fair, they still created a lot of chances, more so than the Rapids. But close ain't cutting it.

Galaxy-Rapids pre game

Welcome to HDC. We'll have lineups right here as they become available. The teams are warming up now (they came out about 10 minutes after I snapped this picture) so we should have the lineups soon enough.

On my way up to the press box, I was chatting with a colleague about the Galaxy and their Open Cup history. We couldn't quite remember Open Cup matches at the Rose Bowl, though we both attended Galaxy Open Cup matches at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, both as fans and media members.

I suppose I could just get out my Galaxy media guide and see the Galaxy's USOC history for myself, but what's the fun in that? I think I'll just ponder the history off and on all night.

Okay, now the lineups:

Galaxy: Steve Cronin, Chris Klein, Abel Xavier, Sean Franklin, Ante Jazic, Brandon McDonald, Peter Vagenas, Ely Allen, Carlos Ruiz, Edson Buddle, Alan Gordon.

Colorado: Preston Burpo, Kosuke Kimura, Stephen Keel, Rafael Gomes, Jordan Harvey, Terry Cooke, Mehdi Ballouchy, Nick LaBrocca, Colin Clark, Conor Casey, Steve McManus.

Filling out the roster

Usually, early-round (or in this case, a play-in) US Open Cup games serve as a glorified reserve game. Often, MLS clubs will trot out reserves and rest many first-choice players and if they win, they win. If not, oh well. I don't necessarily agree with that feeling but that seems to be prevalent.

Anyway, the Galaxy have won two consecutive games now and the team will have to change the lineup no matter what. David Beckham and Landon Donovan are in England and will not play, so the lineup will change.

But just how much should it change? Do you think Ruud Gullit should keep the starters on the field and only account for Becks and Landon? Or do you think it's time for Josh Wicks, Josh Tudela, Julian Valentin and/or Bryan Jordan to step in and see what they can do?

Opening up the cup

On Tuesday, the Galaxy will host Colorado in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match. The game, to my knowledge, won't be broadcast anywhere and the only radio that is available is of the Spanish-language kind. While that's fine for some Galaxy fans, others will be stuck in a precarious situation - not being able to attend the game, not being able to listen to it and wondering what's going on.

Just tune in here. We'll have a running blog going, the usual post-game audio from both sides and possibly video as well.

A year ago, we had a similar situation when New York came to LA to play the Galaxy in an Open Cup play-in match and that was one of the most thrilling experiences I've had. Our little blog was tiny back then but that game sort of helped get our blog out there. We had a running blog and I got some timely video as well, including Juan Pablo Angel's first MLS goal, which has gotten more than 20,000 views.

If you can make the game, great. It should be a cozy atmosphere out there. If not, visit us here and we'll be your eyes and ears.

USOC already?!?

Can you believe the Open Cup is upon us already? It's not the tournament proper quite yet but Real Salt Lake and San Jose will compete in a USOC play-in match Wednesday in Utah. If nothing else, it's a good opportunity for both sides to right some early-season wrongs.

Locally, the Galaxy will host Colorado in a play-in match on May 27, the eve of US-England. So while the club's stars might be elsewhere, the USOC will nonetheless be on the line that night.

Galaxy USOC match

Didn't get around to posting this until just now.

The Galaxy will host Colorado in a US Open Cup play-in match on May 27 at HDC. The game is one of two the Galaxy must win in order to reach the tournament proper.

May 27 is the night before US-England so it is doubtful that the Galaxy would have David Beckham and Landon Donovan available. The Galaxy won both of its USOC play-in matches a year ago, including a dramatic 3-1 extra-time win over New York at HDC last year.

Differing levels of happiness

While New England fans are rejoicing their first-ever title, San Jose fans are just happy their team is taking shape.

New England held off FC Dallas on Wednesday to win their first-ever trophy. They can start polishing off the dust and cobwebs from the mantle now. New England went up 3-1 midway through the second half but FC Dallas made it interesting when Abe Thompson scored with about a quarter-hour left. Still, New England finished this game in regulation instead of tied as it had their first four cup finals.

San Jose, meanwhile, is at least a year away from competing for a cup technically, realistically they will struggle for several seasons. However, San Jose fans are likely happy that they will have the chance to struggle as opposed to having a chance for nothing, as is the case now. The 'Quakes introduced John Doyle as general manager and former Quake, former Galaxy player Ian Russell modeled the new jerseys.

The logo is almost the same and in fact looks identical until you examine it from close range.

Congrats to long-suffering Revs fans and congrats to long-suffering San Jose fans.

Here we are again

Waaaay back in 2001, I wrote a week's worth of stories for The Providence Journal about the New England Revolution. The Revs were playing in their first-ever cup final, the U.S. Open Cup, and they were playing against the L.A. Galaxy.

I talked to New England's Ted Chronopolous over the phone and wrote a story on the club's terrible years and how fulfilling it was to finally play for a cup. I believe he was the final or one of the last original Revolution players so he'd been through it all.

I met up with Fernando Clavijo the day before the match and talked to him about the final for an advance on the match and covered the final itself for the ProJo.

Six years later, the Revolution are a vastly improved side. They are bona fide championship contenders, having reached MLS Cup each of the last two seasons. And once again, they have made it to the pinnacle of another tournament as the Revs will play FC Dallas in tonight's US Open Cup final.

But the more things change, the more stagnant they become. Still, the 2007 Revolution's mantle is as barren as it was when Chronopolous and I chatted about the club's first six hapless seasons of existence.

I suppose the Revs have as good of a chance to win a title now than they have in each of their other four cup appearances. They've come close in all of them but lost to the Galaxy in '01 in golden goal extra time, fell to the Galaxy in '02 in MLS Cup in golden goal extra time, lost to the Galaxy yet again in '05 in the MLS Cup after extra time and fell to Houston in the 2006 MLS Cup via a penalty kick shootout.

Four cup finals, four games that were even after 90 minutes, four times the bounces went against the Revolution. Will the Revs finally revel in glory after tonight?

I say yes. Taylor Twellman bags a late winner and the Revs win 1-0.

What they said

Here's a transcript of the US Open Cup final conference call.

I filed my story already so look out for it tomorrow. One interesting thing that was brought up in the conference call, by Brad Feldman. Both Steve Nicol and Steve Morrow have played in a cup final; Steve Nicol won three FA Cups with Liverpool while Steve Morrow won a League Cup title with Arsenal.

As far as the call goes, it was a bit tricky sometimes to tell the difference between the two coaches. Because both coaches are named Steve and both coaches have accents. There were a couple of times I thought one was the other.

USOC conference call - running blog

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today's edition of the Sideline Views running blog. We don't come to from an actual sideline but rather my cozy (and cluttered) office in my Riverside, Calif., home. Right now, I'm awaiting a conference call to preview Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup final between the New England Revolution and FC Dallas.

I'm going to use this for my Tuesday Press-Enterprise column and figured I'd do this to keep me somewhat busy. I work best when I'm busy, which is why I tend to write best when I've got multiple stories to file when a game ends.

The conference call was supposed to start at 10 a.m. PT but it's running a little behind, which is of absolutely no surprise to me. It was like 10:01 or so when I called in but I knew I wouldn't miss anything. So I'm snacking on carrots and a plum (the snack preferred by soccer writers, at least those based in Riverside County).

10:12 a.m. - Today's participants are Steve Nicol and Jay Heaps of New England and Steve Morrow and Carlos Ruiz of FC Dallas. Right now, though, there is just some Dixie-style jazz playing.

10:15 a.m. - Call started, right on time. Some notes to start off. The Burn won the title in 1997 but the Revolution haven't won a USOC yet. Hosts have won 8 of 11 finals since MLS teams started playing. Oops. The game is on Wednesday. Why did I think it was on Tuesday? Hmm...

10:16 a.m. - Morrow: It means a lot to the team, organization, Hunt family. Important game and championship to win. Nicol: Means everything to us. The oldest cup competition in America. Something with a lot of history behind it and something we want to win.

10:17 a.m. - Morrow: Cup final is one-off game. Anything can happen. We'll put our league form behind us.

10:19 - Nicol: Shalrie would be a loss to any team on the league. Not going to make radical changes. Only difference will be a change of personnel. Heaps: As a team, i've been in a couple of finals and i've been in overtime in all of them. We've played well, haven't won.

10:24 - Okay, I'm up. I have a question about atoning for previous years' shortcomings.

10:26 - Well, that went well, sorta. I asked if the final would be some sort of atonement for the last two seasons' shortcomings for both sides. Nicol said no, that they weren't really thinking about that and he'd be surprised if Morrow thought differently. Morrow said a simple no. Crap. I was like, uh, okay. The call moderator asked me if I had any further questions and I asked Morrow about finally hosting a cup final and what that would mean and he gave a decent answer, that it's meaningful to his side.

10: 28 - Morrow: Special occasion playing in a cup final. Mentality is important going into a one-off situation like that. Nicol: Team with strong mentality definitely has an edge over the other team. What's between your ears is huge in a cup competition.

10:31 - Okay, there are a lot of match-specific questions coming on (league form, the Revs' ability to win on the road, Steve Ralston's role) so I'm out. I got some good stuff.

Clock strikes midnight

The upstart USL sides are no more.

New England beat Carolina 2-1 while FC Dallas just finished off Seattle 2-1 in the US Open Cup semifinals. The Revolution will visit FC Dallas in early October to play for the Dewar Cup while the RailHawks and Sounders are left to ponder what might have been.

Neither USL team played lightly as both matches went into extra time. But it was in extra time where both unraveled. Actually, Carolina finished regulation with 9 men but the Revolution scored early in extra time and held on.

FC Dallas, meanwhile, also scored early in extra time, added a penalty-kick goal and staved off a final charge from Seattle which included a goal from the hosts.

It's tough for both USL sides to come this far only to fall apart in extra time. From what I saw of the Seattle-Dallas match, the Sounders played strong but their final touch inside the box let them down. Adrian Serioux was a beast in the back for Dallas, though. He was seemingly around every ball and disrupted Seattle often.

Looking toward the final, FC Dallas will finally host the final that eluded them the last two years. In some ways, it's like 2005 for the Galaxy in how the Galaxy failed to reach MLS Cup when it was here in '03 and '04 but won the double in '05. Not saying FC Dallas will reach MLS Cup but now they have a chance to play for a title at home in front of their fans after having failed miserably to do so when they had the chance the last two years.

For the Revolution, it's a chance to go to Pizza Hut Park and actually win a final. While FC Dallas didn't reach either MLS Cup final in Frisco, the Revs made both, but lost both in heartbreaking fashion.

It should be an interesting final but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want one of the USL teams to upset one of the big boys. Oh well.

EDIT: Carolina actually finished regulation with nine men while New England had 10 at the end of 90 minutes.