Pre-Christmas Roundup

A few items as we head into the Christmas holiday...and all those Boxing Day matches!

Don't know what to give your loved one? How about a massage?

Will Manchester United put a little Pep in their step?

With the new NASL breakaway league making all the noise, we've all forgotten about what's left of the USL. The PDL announced their alignment today and there are a lot of teams in that league.

According to Ives, Jermaine Jones' rehab at Schalke isn't going so well. Sucks for all the USMNT supporters.

Do you ever wonder what MLS coaches do during the offseason? Sounders FC goalkeeper coach, Tom Dutra has been in Hoffenheim, Germany learning from 1899 Hoffenheim. Check it out, it's an interesting read. He also got to see Jens Lehmann's bathroom break that ODB told you about.

Finally, here are the 30 players that Bob Bradley called into the January training camp.

Make The Difference - USMNT

Nike is dropping commercials like their dropping leagues.

Summoning the OG's... Original Gangsta's

First it was the Sebastien Le Toux's 2 goal, 2 assist performance against Real Salt Lake, which made me think back to a not so distant USL past, then tonight it was more of the same... The old school Sounders delivered another classic US Open Cup victory. A long throw from Sanna Nyassi (USL-1 OG) found the head of Roger Levesque (USL-1 OG) who back flicked it across the goal, to find Kevin Forrest (USL-1 OG) connecting on a diving header. Forrest's goal in the 62nd minute was all they needed to hold off a last gasp effort by Colorado defender Michael Holody. Finding space at the top of the box, Holody blasted a shot that forced Kasey Keller to make 1 of 4 saves on the night, thus ending any comeback. This makes 2yrs in a row where Colorado has failed to make the tournament and the last time they met the Sounders in the USOC, they lost 5-0. Seattle has only missed the tournament twice (1998, 2004) and last year they became the first USL First Division team to advance to the semifinals in two consecutive seasons. Sounders FC and D.C. United, join automatic qualifiers Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Chicago Fire and Chivas USA in the third round of the Open Cup, with those matches set to be played June 30. How about Kevin Forrest scoring on his debut? Should the Sounders play more of their USL-1 guys? How far will they get? Do you think Gary Smith had a strong starting 11 for Colorado?