SHAPES OF MLS Toronto FC had week one of the new MLS season off, but their first opponents, the Seattle Sounders, kicked the campaign off with a home match against current MLS Cup champions, Sporting Kansas City. Custom Houston Texans Jerseys . Rain and a slippery surface made passing difficult for both sides, but Ryan Nelsen and his coaching staff were given more than a few glimpses at the way a new Seattle side will want to play. The Sounders would win the game 1-0 in the fourth and final minute of added time through substitute and former TFC striker Chad Barrett. Front Two With Clint Dempsey only named on the bench, the attention was already on the front two of Seattle before the game began. Once it started, it was interesting to see Kenny Cooper, acquired from FC Dallas last December, as the striker who dropped deep. Lamar Neagle and former Chicago Fire star Marco Pappa were named by Sigi Schmid to play out wide, but neither of these players hugged the touchlines, instead choosing to play narrower to help their midfield duo. Full backs, Dylan Remick and DeAndre Yedlin in particular, were asked to provide width. It is worth noting that Yedlin had a very good game and whoever plays on the left for Toronto FC next week will have to work very hard defensively on that flank. The choice of Cooper to drop in, while surprising, turned out to be effective. First of all, Cooper recognized his defensive responsibilities. He knows Sporting Kansas City like to play the ball out to the centre backs, so he sat well on their first outlet, Lawrence Olum, as this image shows, while also highlighting the narrowness of the three behind Obafemi Martins. Coopers ability to drop into space also confused the centre backs who were unsure how deep to defend once he was able to get into the channels between the lines. Aurelien Collin, on this occasion, found himself guessing whether to stay deep and track the run of Martins or go to win the aerial battle against Cooper. If Cooper starts against Toronto, his positioning will need to be tracked more by the defensive midfielder, likely Michael Bradley, to stop Steven Caldwell from stepping up and leaving space in behind him, which is what happened for Martins here. Finding space behind Alonso and Evans There are very few midfield pairings in MLS better than Osvaldo Alonso and Brad Evans. The two have an excellent understanding, but one thing Toronto FC will look to exploit next week is the space they leave behind them. Seattles centre backs are not the quickest, so they like to sit deep and usually the midfield is diligent in its positioning, but when the team loses second balls, there is space behind them to exploit quickly on the counter. Toronto FC will need someone with the intelligence of Graham Zusi, who did it for KC, to recognize those times. Here you see Alonso lose concentration and Evans press, leaving space for Zusi to run into… Seconds later, Zusi is away to orchestrate a scoring opportunity for the visitors against an unprotected defence…. It helped that Sporting Kansas Citys 4-3-3 had someone with Zusis intelligence but Torontos likely 4-4-1-1 will have three candidates to get into that space with the wide men and whoever plays off the striker, likely Dwayne De Rosario, who, perhaps, wouldnt be best suited on the left against Yedlins attacks. Midfield structure essential to the end This game looked destined to end 0-0 when Benny Feilhaber was withdrawn in the 92nd minute, but a minute later his replacement, Ike Opara, was easily beaten by Alonso deep in his own half and suddenly Seattles DP had acres of space to sprint into. Suddenly, Alonso had their opponents where he wanted them, as he transitioned into their half and connected with Dempsey, who would lay it out wide for the cross that would win the match. It was a fairytale finish for Seattle who now head into next weeks game against Toronto FC with a perfect three points. We have seen that they do allow space in behind their full backs and the central midfield, but you have to be intelligent enough to exploit that when the opportunities arise. It will be interesting to see what they do with Dempsey. When he came on in the second half, he played just off Martins with Cooper moving out wide before he was later taken off. For that moment, there was room for all three on the pitch, but it will be rare to see that from the start. The key for Toronto will be tracking whichever player joins Martins in attack. The former Newcastle striker was quiet in this game, but this season will feast on slow defensive lines by running in behind when Cooper or Dempsey plays him in. Martinas Rankin Jersey .The surgery was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia.Letestu had three goals and two assists in nine games before being injured in late October.The 29-year-old has 54 goals and 65 assists in 273 career NHL games, including 39 goals and 51 assists in 188 games with the Blue Jackets. Tyrann Mathieu Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Brandon Lyon that includes an invitation to their big league camp for spring training. http://www.officialauthentictexansstore.com/authentic-sammie-coates-jersey.html .Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and New England beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 for its eighth win in nine games.(SportsNetwork.com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils clash at the famous ballpark in the continuation of the NHLs "Stadium Series" looking to continue pushes for playoff positioning. These Metropolitan Division rivals are set to engage in the third outdoor game on the NHLs 2013-14 schedule. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings got things started with the Winter Classic on New Years Day at Michigan Stadium, won in a shootout 3-2 by the Leafs, and the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings met on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. The Ducks blanked the Kings 3-0 in a game that featured a temperature of 62 degrees at opening faceoff. Things are expected to be much cooler in New York, where the Rangers will also serve as the road team on Wednesday against the New York Islanders at Yankee Stadium. "I guess the conditions (Sunday) are supposed to be ideal except its going to be a little cool. Lets go, lets bundle up and lets go play some hockey," said Blueshirts coach Alain Vigneault. The Rangers hope the shift in venues can help them solve the Devils for the first time this season. They are 0-2-1 versus New Jersey after winning three of the four meetings last season. The Devils have won five of their last seven as the home team against the Blueshirts and will be making their outdoor debut. The Rangers, meanwhile, visited the Philadelphia Flyers and Citizens Bank Park in the 2012 Winter Classic, winning 3-2. Brad Richards had the game winner and he is the only current Ranger who has scored a goal in a regular-season outdoor game. Devils forward Michael Ryder is set to tie a record by playing in his third regular-season outdoor game, having played for Montreal in the 2003 Heritage Classic and for Boston in the 2010 Winter Classic. He had an assist on Richard Zedniks goal in the Canadiens 4-3 win over Edmonton in 2003, the first ever goal scored in a regular-season outdoor game. The Rangers are looking to avoid a third straight setback, having dropped back-to-back contests following a 7-1-1 stretch. Still, New York has vaulted into second place in the division thanks to the run, while New Jersey is just one point back of the eight spot in the Eastern Conference after going 5-1-3 in its past nine games. The Rangers were last in action on Thursday, dropping a 2-1 decision to the St. Louis Blues despite Rick Nashs 10th goal in 10 games. He scored with 1:43 to go in the second period, but also took a slashing call to give the Blues a power play, and St. Louis cashed in with Kevin Shattenkirks game-winner. "The difference was the power play," Vigneault remarked. "We had an advantage at the beginnning of the third. Justin Reid Jersey. We didnt get anything off it. Their power play did what theyve done very effectively this year. Right off the draw they established a shot. Within a few seconds they take the shot, they score." Henrik Lundqvist, who missed Tuesdays loss to the New York Islanders because of illness, finished with 23 saves in the setback, which featured the Ranger debut of defenseman Kevin Klein. He was acquired a day earlier from Nashville in exchange for blueliner Michael Del Zotto. Nash will try to stay hot in the cold weather, having scored six times during a four-game goal streak. He had netted just seven goals in his previous 26 games before his current 10-goals-in-10-games run. Lundqvist, who made 34 saves to beat the Flyers in the 2012 Winter Classic, will start for the Rangers and is 28-14-6 with a 1.89 goals against average and seven shutouts in 48 career games with the Devils. He has started all three setbacks this season. The Devils will be trying to win a third straight game and are coming off a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Friday. Cory Schneider made 30 saves and the Devils got goals from Adam Henrique and Stephen Gionta. Jaromir Jagr had two assists to give him 1,033 in his career, tied with former teammate Mario Lemieux for 10th on the all-time list. Schneider moved to 5-1-2 in his last eight starts dating back to Dec. 28 with a 0.96 GAA and .961 save percentage. "Cory has given us great goaltending," Devils head coach Peter DeBoer said. "He was the difference." Despite that run of success, DeBoer will start Devils icon Martin Brodeur in this outdoor event, a decision that Schneider said following the win over the Caps that he would be okay with. "Its a pretty special game and Martys been a big part of this (franchise) and gotten a lot of wins for us this year," Schneider said. "Whether (DeBoer) picks him or me, I dont think it changes the way we feel about it or how we play it. We both trust each other and respect the way were playing." Brodeur is set to make his 100th career regular-season start versus the Rangers and is 49-30-5 against them lifetime with 15 ties, nine shutouts and a 2.13 GAA. He has beaten them twice in two starts this season. "It really is an easy decision from a right thing to do perspective. I mean, you know, his career, 20 years with the Devils, what hes done, and also hes played some excellent hockey for us this year," said DeBoer of starting Brodeur. Added Brodeur, "I would have accepted it one way or the other. They decided to go with me. So were in a situation that sometimes we get these games that mean a lot to different people for different reasons. And I guess they felt it meant a lot to me and they put me in." Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '