The 2008 opener of the Rocky Mountain Cup series will have a little extra on the line Thursday, when Real Salt Lake (2-3-2, 8 pts.) travels east across the Rockies to take on the archrival Colorado Rapids (3-4-0, 9 pts.) with first-place in the Western Conference standings at stake. Kick-off from Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., for both teams' 2008 "ESPN2 Primetime Thursday" debut is set for 7:30 p.m. MT, with fans also able to follow the fight for the West's top spot on RSL's official radio partners - KALL 700 Sports (English) and Ke Buena 1600 AM (Spanish) - with KALL 700 Sports' coverage beginning with RSL First Kick at 6:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake will hope to achieve a franchise first, as a three-point result would not only be an ideal start in its defense of the Rocky Mountain Cup, but would also catapult the squad into first-place for the first time in the club's four-year history.
Real Salt Lake enters tonight's showdown trailing 4-6-2 in the all-time regular season series against Colorado, but last season's 2-1-1 mark allowed RSL's supporters to bring the Rocky Mountain Cup back to Utah for the first time in three tries. RSL went 1-1-1 last year in all competitions during the inaugural season at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, first dueling to a bizarre 1-1 draw in another Thursday night ESPN2 affair on May 10, before dropping a heart-breaking 2-1 result in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualifying two weeks later on a last-minute Rapids tally. With Colorado looking to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, Real Salt Lake would make sure both teams ended their campaigns following their regular season finale on Oct. 20, as Robbie Findley's 87th minute goal lifted the visitors to a 1-0 victory - and allowed the squad to lift the Rocky Mountain Cup to its supporters on hand for the first time.
Fans Can Vote at www.mlsnet.com for the 12 RSL Players Nominated to Face West Ham United
Real Salt Lake fans can select from the team's 12 nominated players - as well as others from around the League - they would like to represent MLS as it hosts English Premier League club West Ham United FC in the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game. Official online voting to select the MLS All-Star First XI is now open at the league's official Web site www.mlsnet.com, and can be linked to via www.RealSaltLake.com.
Twelve Real Salt Lake players are on the ballot for the 13th annual MLS midsummer showcase, which will bring together Major League Soccer's best for a marquee matchup on July 24, 2008, versus historic East London club West Ham United at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, the home of Toronto FC. The game will be televised in the U.S. and Canada on ESPN2, Telefutura and CBC Sports at 5 p.m. MT. RSL GK Nick Rimando (one-time All-Star selection, 2001) is one of 14 'keepers on the ballot, and is joined by RSL defenders Nat Borchers, Matias Mantilla, Ian Joy and Chris Wingert. In the midfield, RSL captain Kyle Beckerman (1 - 2007) leads five candidates, where he is joined by Fabian Espindola, Dema Kovalenko (3 - 2001, 2002, 2004), Javier Morales and Andy Williams. Up top, strikers Kenny "Dr. Goals" Deuchar and Robbie Findley are available for selection.
Fans can vote for the All-Star First XI by selecting one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards, up to 10 times per day between now and Wednesday, July 2. Fan voting will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote to combine for the remaining 75 percent.
This year's All-Star team will take on West Ham United, who boasts a roster full of international talent, highlighted by the captains of Sweden, Australia and Wales - Freddie Ljungberg, Lucas Neill and Craig Bellamy. The club also has several England internationals including Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Scott Parker and Kieron Dyer plus American defender Jonathan Spector and Portuguese forward Luis Boa Morte. West Ham United features one of soccer's most recognizable jerseys, with the claret body and sky blue sleeves. The team is affectionately known as the "Hammers," a reference to its origin as the company team for Thames Ironworks. West Ham United finished in the top half of the English Premier League table with 49 points for the 2007-2008 season.
This year marks the fifth time that MLS All-Stars have taken on a high-profile international opponent in the MLS All-Star game. In 2003 the MLS All-Stars defeated Mexican club CD Guadalajara 3-1, in 2005 claimed a victory over English opponents Fulham 4-1, in 2006 beat English power Chelsea FC 1-0 and last year they defeated Scottish Premier League front-runners Celtic FC 2-0 on goals from New York Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Angel and FC Dallas midfielder Juan Toja. The format of the Pepsi All-Star game makes it arguably the most competitive all-star game in American professional sports.
The announcement schedule for the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Team is as follows. Dates are subject to change.
• Wednesday, May 14 - Online fan voting begins
• Monday, May 19 - All-Star Game media credential registration begins
• Monday, June 30 - All-Star Coach announced (decided by team with the most points per game as of June 29th)
• Wednesday, July 2 - Online balloting ends
• Thursday, July 10 - All-Star 'First XI' announced
• Tuesday, July 15 - All-Star reserves announced
