Major Link Soccer - A Worthy Send-off Edition

The Sounders had a pretty amazing come from behind victory this weekend against the lowly San Jose Earthquakes. More important than the 2-1 scoreline was the the righteousness of the send-off of team captain and USMNT legend Kasey Keller. The C-link was rocking with over 64,000 fans and you could hear them every time Keller made a save. And there were plenty of them. Both ECS and the North End did the captain justice with some amazing tifos. At the end of the match there was some speechifying and Drew Carey behind door number 1 with some prizes for Keller. You can see the highlights and the photos on the Sounders website.

Sounders Goalkeeping News: Lots of news coming out this weekend about goalkeeper related to the Sounders. The big news is coming out of Austria where it looks like the Sounders might have their eye on Michael Gspurning. The 30 year old Austrian keeper is nearing the end of his contract in Greece and might be a replacement for Keller next season. Also, from the practice notes yesterday, it appears that Terry Boss has been doing some training with the team while Josh Ford has been dealing with a knee injury. Boss isn't likely to play on Tuesday meaning we'll probably see Bryan Meredith as Keller's back-up for the Monterrey game.

More news after the jump:

Henry Sent Off: Sporting KC clinched a playoff berth for themselves and dented the playoff hopes of the New York Red Bulls this weekend. The story of the match was the red-card send-off of Thierry Henry for violent conduct. Henry ran into and kneed Roger Espinoza after losing the ball in the midfield. The striker looked like he veered his run toward Espinoza at first glance. On the replay his eyes are firmly on the ball when he hit Espinoza. Crafty trick or inadvertent mistake? You decide. 

Union Clinch a Spot:  The Philadelphia Union also clinched a spot in the playoffs with a tie against Toronto FC and the NYRB loss. The Union can retake the top spot in the East with a win against New York next week. Meanwhile, the Red Bulls will be looking for a win to keep teams like DC United and the Portland Timbers from stealing that last wildcard spot behind the Houston Dynamo. Both the Timbers and United can still fight back into the playoffs despite disappointing home losses this weekend.

Most Boring of Matches: I was quite excited to watch another genuine rivalry game on Friday as Real Salt Lake traveled to play the Colorado Rapids. Boy, was I disappointed. It was an ugly 0-0 tie that gives a bad name to the game. Both teams played with more brute force than artistry. The tie leaves an opening for FC Dallas to slip into that 3rd spot while a point was all that the Rapids needed to clinch a playoff spot.