Notice: Get your picks in by 4pm Pacific today when the first Cup game kicks off. Just leave a comment with your teams.
Due to high demand (1 person asked) we are going to run a 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup contest. The unique nature of this tournament makes an NCAA style bracket is impossible; hosts aren't known throughout the tournament and we still don't know match-ups for the eight MLS teams that will enter the contest in the Third Round. But we have a work around, and hopefully this will create a little more interest in the First and Second rounds, as well as non-Seattle Sounders matches from the Third Round to the Final.
You will have 50 points to pick teams. Each level on the US soccer pyramid has a different point valuation based on past performances. Each time any of your teams win, your entry will get rewarded with a point (1 in the First and Second Rounds, 2 from the Third Round to Final). Check the early round pairings while you make your picks so you don't pick too many from the same region of the country and lose out on chances. As the bracket develops with MLS entries, it is likely that these will be regional as well. In the case of a tie on total points the entry wit the highest finish by a non-MLS team will be the winner (or highest finish by most non-MLS in the case of same pick).
Here's an example; you "purchase" the Kitsap Pumas for 3 points and they win in the First and Second rounds before losing to the Seattle Sounders. That would get your entry 2 points toward your total. If you also had the Seattle Sounders with 20 points, they would get 2 points for their Third Round win.
Read on for the rest of the rules:
Every team and their point valuation
| MLS Teams | 20 Point Cost |
| Chicago Fire | New York Red Bulls |
| Columbus Crew | Real Salt Lake |
| FC Dallas | Seattle Sounders |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Sporting KC |
| USL Pro Teams | 12 Point Cost |
| Charleston Battery | Orlando City |
| Charlotte Eagles | Pittsburgh Riverhounds |
| Dayton Dutch Lions | Richmond Kickers |
| Harrisburg City Islanders | Rochester Rhinos |
| LA Blues | Wilmington Hammerheads |
| FC New York | |
| PDL | 3 Point Cost |
| Carolina Dynamo | Reading United |
| Central Florida Kraze | Real Colorado Foxes |
| Chicago Fire Premier | Ventura County Fusion |
| Chivas El Paso Patriots | Western Mass Pioneers |
| Kitsap Pumas | |
| NPSL | 2 Point Cost |
| Brooklyn Italians | Hollywood Hitmen |
| Chattanooga FC | Madison 56ers |
| USASA | 1 Point Cost |
| AAC Eagles | ASC New Stars |
| Doxa Italia | NY Pancyprian-Freedoms |
| DV8 Defenders | Phoenix SC |
| Iowa Menace | Regals FC |
Use the comments on this post to reveal your selections. These entries must be in prior to 4PM Pacific on Tuesday as the first games are that night.
My own will be the Seattle Sounders (20), Charleston Battery (12), Rochester Rhinos (12), Kitsap Pumas (3), Chattanooga FC (2), Doxa Italia (1) for 50 total spent.