Second Annual Sounder At Heart US Open Cup Pickem

Last season loyal reader bmvaughn rode the brief but memorable Cinderella run of the Richmond Kickers and some other quality lower division teams to an early points lead, but he couldn't overcome the fact that the (understandably) most picked team among contestants went on to win the Cup for the third season in a row and so the title went to site writer Dizzo.

This season the format of the real competition changes a bit and so the format of our little side competition will adapt as well. Most notably, every MLS team enters the competition proper, with an additional round in the tournament to make up for the extra teams. And NASL returns the competition after sitting out a year, though they and USL-Pro enter in the second round.

Here are the rules for this season's pickem:

• Pick a roster of teams by leaving a comment with your team list on this thread before kickoff of the first match of the first round on May 15. That's next Tuesday.
• You have a budget of 42 credits to spend on teams.
• Team cost is based on the team's league, as follows:
  • MLS: 10
  • NASL/USL Pro: 5
  • PDL: 3
  • NPSL: 2
  • USASA/USCS: 1
• You get 1 point for each win by one of your teams. Note that unlike last season, we don't shift to 2 points a win in later rounds. The extra round with MLS teams eliminates the need for this.

There will be a prize this season, which has yet to be determined. But to set your expectations, think more 'scarf' and less 'new car'. A list of teams as well as the matchups for the first two rounds are available here