Frisco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will open the 2014 MLS Cup playoffs on Wednesday when the two sides square off at Toyota Stadium. The winner of the Western Conference play-in game will march on to face Supporters Shield-winner Seattle Sounders FC, but the road to the conference semifinals will not be easy for either club. Toyota Stadium has not see many visitors leave with points this season. Though Dallas suffered a 2-0 defeat to the Portland Timbers in its regular season finale, the club went on a run of eight straight league wins on home soil. Dallas could have avoided Wednesdays play-in game with a victory over the Timbers, but head coach Oscar Pareja chalked up the defeat to Portlands urgency in a must-win situation, rather than potential complacency setting in for a Dallas side that already had a playoff berth secured. No, this team did not relax, Pareja said after the match. This team played against a rival today that made things difficult for us. We werent able to respond, but thats part of the game. Today I have to give credit to a team that did things right even though we could not find solutions on the field that resulted in points on the scoreboard. The day I see it, I will say it, but no, this team was not relaxed tonight. I see them work and run and today they walked into the locker room after having given it all. They didnt get the result, which sometimes you dont get the result youre looking for, but they did not relax. While FCDs home form in the second-half of the season has been impressive, the club may rue its loss to Portland given that it will now face a surging Vancouver side. The Caps concluded the regular season with 13 points put of a possible 15, a run that included three successive wins over Real Salt Lake, Dallas and Seattle. The rich vein of form meant that the club controlled its own destiny heading into Saturdays regular season finale, and with Portland topping Dallas earlier in the day, Vancouver needed a victory over the Colorado Rapids to secure fifth place in the West. The Whitecaps faithful at BC Place on Saturday were made to sweat it out as the winner only came in the 70th minute when Kendall Waston headed home a corner kick for the lone goal of the affair. Weve not been bad over the last few games, Vancouver boss Carl Robinson told reporters after the game. I think today was probably the story of our season in 90 minutes because we played very well at times, we had a few half chances we didnt take, then we started to get edgy a little bit, and then the big man scoring the goal. Robinson also singled out the play of goalkeeper David Ousted, who was called upon to make several key saves in order for the club to hold off the Rapids and collect the win. I think it was fitting that David Ousted kept us in it with two fantastic saves in the last three or four minutes because God knows what I would have done if one of them had gone in, said Robinson. Wednesdays clash figures to be a closely-contested affair as Vancouver and Dallas split the three-game regular season series. After the two sides played to a 2-2 draw at BC Place on July 27, Dallas claimed a 2-1 home win on Sept. 13 while Vancouver ran out to a 2-0 win over FCD on Oct. 18. . Acclaimed by world football leaders but held in contempt by many football fans. Blatter should arrive at the Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo to watch host Brazil play Croatia confident that this tournament -- his fifth as president -- wont be his last leading the worlds favourite sport. . Milan was held to 1-1 at home by Torino. Cagliari scored six minutes from halftime when Mauricio Pinilla blasted home from the penalty spot after Facundo Roncaglia tripped Marco Sau. The home side could have doubled its tally in stoppage time as first Fiorentina defender Stefan Savic almost scored an own goal then Albin Ekdals shot clipped the top of the upright.
https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/648z-ray-w ... s.html.Two San Francisco radio stations say they wont play the song during the duration of the World Series. A Kansas City, Missouri, station responded with plans to play the Grammy-winning track every hour from 7 a. . That was OK with him. He was just happy his team came away with two points. Letestu redirected Jack Johnsons shot from the point with 2:38 left, lifting the Blue Jackets past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday night. . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest.PARIS - Andy Murray hired former tennis player Amelie Mauresmo as his coach on Sunday, and will work with her at least through the grass-court season. Murray, who won the Wimbledon title last year, has been without a coach since he parted ways with Ivan Lendl in March. He reached the French Open semifinals this week, losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets, and said after the match that he hoped to have a new coach in place for Wimbledon. The tournament at the All England Club starts on June 23. "Im excited by the possibilities of the new partnership and Amelie is someone I have always looked up to and admired," Murray said in a statement. "Shes faced adversity plenty of times in her career, but was an amazing player and won major titles, including Wimbledon." Mauresmo, a former top-ranked player from France, won two Grand Slam titles. She won her first at the Australian Open in 2006, and followed that up with the Wimbledon title a few months later. She retired at the end of the 2009 season, and haas been French Fed Cup captain since 2012.dddddddddddd "Im really excited to be able to work with Andy," Mauresmo said. "Hes an amazingly talented tennis player and I feel I have plenty to offer both him and the team around him. Im looking forward to getting down to work and helping him win more Grand Slams." With Lendl by his side, Murray finally won a major title at the 2012 U.S. Open. Then he won the Wimbledon title a year later, becoming the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the championship at the All England Club. Murray grew up being coached by his mother, Judy Murray. She is now the British Fed Cup captain. "I have a very strong coaching team already in place, but I think Amelie brings with her experience and tactical expertise and will push us all to improve," Murray said. "Everyone I know talks very highly of Amelie, as a person and coach, and Im convinced that her joining the team will help us push on - I want to win more Grand Slams." ' ' '
