GAME NOTES: Fire play host to Revolution

CHICAGO FIRE vs. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes ­- Radio: ESPN Deportes

LOOK AT THE FIRE

The Chicago Fire play the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals Thursday at TOYOTA PARK...last week's first leg finished in a 0-0 draw and Thursday's winner will advance to the Eastern Conference finals next week...if Thursday's game ends in a tie after 90 minutes, the teams will play a 30-minute overtime session...if the game is still tied, the match (and the series) will be decided on penalty kicks...Chicago finished the regular season In 2nd place In the Eastern Conference with a 13-10-7 (46 pts.) record...these 2 teams are quite familiar with each other in the playoffs as this matchup is the 6th time since 2002 the clubs are playing in the Playoffs...the winner of each of the previous series has advanced to the MLS Cup.

CHICAGO - NEW ENGLAND SERIES

The Fire and the Revolution are meeting for the 6th time in the last 7 years in the MLS Cup Playoffs...the teams have met 12 times in postseason action and New England leads that series 6-5-1 after last week's 0-0 draw...last Thursday's draw was the first time either team has ever earned at least one point in an away playoff game against each other...prior to last week's game, the home team had won every match in postseason series history in the series between these 2 teams...last year the Revolution defeated Chicago 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Final at Gillette Stadium...last week's draw snapped the Revs 2-game winning streak In the postseason vs. the Fire...the last Chicago playoff win over New England came on 10/22/06 in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals (1-0)...The teams have met 34 times in the regular season with the Fire leading that series 15-13-6 after winning all 3 matches in 2008...in games played in Chicago, the Fire lead that series 8-4-5 after recording a 4-0 win on April 3 at TOYOTA PARK...Chicago won both regular season matchups at Gillette Stadium - 3-0 on May 3 and 2-1 on Aug. 9...the Fire won the only game played at TOYOTA PARK in 2008 - 4-0 on April 3.

BUSCH NAMED 2008 MLS PANASONIC GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR

Major League Soccer announced Tuesday Jon Busch was named the league's 2008 Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year...the award was voted on by MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media...Busch led the Fire to the playoffs in his first full season as a starter since 2004, when he was a member of the Columbus Crew...Busch started and played every minute (2,700) of all 30 regular season games for Chicago...he ranked first in the league in shutouts (10), was tied for second in wins (13) and second in goals against average (1.10)...in 2008 Busch faced more shots than all but two MLS goalkeepers and recorded the top save percentage mark at 78.2 percent.

NO MARGIN FOR ERROR

These 2 playoff foes have been know to play close games and the first leg of this semifinal stayed true to form with a 0-0 draw...in 9 of the last 12 playoff matchups between the teams, the outcome has been decided by one goal or has ended in a tie...in fact in the last 6 playoff games between the teams there have been only 7 goals scored (NE-4, CHI-3).

FIRE HEAD COACH DENIS HAMLETT

Denis Hamlett was named the 4th head coach in Chicago history in January...he comes into Thursday's game with a career record of 13-11-9 in MLS action as he was 0-1-2 as the club's interim coach for a portion of last season...a member of the Chicago Fire coaching staff since the inaugural 1998 campaign, the 39-year-old Costa Rican native previously held the position of Fire top assistant coach since 2001...with Hamlett's guidance, the Fire has won the 1998 MLS Cup, 4 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006), 4 conference championships (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003), as well as the MLS Supporters Shield (2003)...Hamlett helped the Fire reach the 2007 Eastern Conference Championship game...these Playoffs are his first as a head coach.

PLAYOFFS A FAMILIAR PLACE FOR FIRE

The Chicago Fire are making their 10th appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs...the club has made the playoffs 10 times in their 11 seasons of play in MLS...Chicago is playing its 38th MLS Cup Playoff game which is the 2nd-highest total in league history behind Los Angeles' 45...Chicago is 19-12-6 all-time in the Playoffs which includes a 14-1-2 home record (53G/35GA) and a 5-11-4 road record (16G/22GA)...the Fire won its only MLS Cup in its first season in 1998...last year the club advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where it lost to New England 1-0 at Gillette Stadium.

THURSDAY'S TELECAST

Thursday's game is being broadcast nationally on ESPN2... JP Dellacamera (play-by-play), John Harkes (color analyst) and Allen Hopkins (sideline) call the action.

PRIME TIME PLAYERS

Thursday's leg of this Eastern Conference Semifinal will be broadcast on ESPN2 and that has been a good omen for the Fire during 2008...Thursday's national TV appearance is the Fire's 8th of the season on Thursday ESPN2 telecasts and so far Chicago has gone 5-1-1 and have outscored their opponents in these games by a 15-5 margin.

AT HOME

Chicago finished the regular season with a 7-5-3 mark at TOYOTA PARK...the 7 wins at home was one more that last year...the club finished with a +6 goal differential at home (23-17).

FIRE TEAM AWARDS

The Fire announced its team awards following the regular season and here are the winners.

MVP - GK Jon Busch

Defender - Bakary Soumare

Golden Boot - Chris Rolfe

U.S.S.F. Humanitarian - Diego Gutierrez

FOUR FIRE PLAYERS NAMED FINALISTS FOR 2008 MLS AWARDS

Chicago Fire players Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Jon Busch, Chris Rolfe and Bakary Soumare are finalists for Major League Soccer's season-ending awards. Blanco is a finalist for the Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player, Busch for Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS Comeback Player of the Year, Rolfe for the Fair Play Award and Soumare for Visa Defender of the Year. There are three finalists in each award category. Winners for each award will be announced in the coming weeks, beginning with the Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year and Fair Play winners on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player announcement will air live on ESPNews on Thursday, Nov. 20 while on Saturday, Nov. 22 with the unveiling of Major League Soccer's Best XI and the Comeback Player of the Year at the MLS Awards Gala in Los Angeles on the eve of MLS Cup 2008.

CHICAGO FIRE "RECOVERY ROOM": Nov. 3, 2008

Probable - Diego Gutierrez - Flu-like symptoms


Questionable- None


Doubtful - None


Out - None


Season Ending Injury -Carr: L Knee Strain

RECORDS IN GOALS AGAINST

Chicago allowed 33 goals this season for a 1.10 goals against average...that mark was the 2nd-lowest goals against average in team history behind the mark of 1.08 set in 2001 (30GA/27 GP)...the Fire did set a record for fewest goals allowed in a 30-game season as the previous low was 36 set last year...the 33 goals allowed was the 2nd-lowest in MLS behind Houston' 32.

BLANCO PICKING IT UP

Cuauhtémoc Blanco finished 2nd on the team in goals with 7 but has been playing his best at the end of the season...he has 3 goals and 4 assists over the last 5 regular season games which is the first time he has done this in his MLS career...his 5-game streak of recording a goal and or assist tied for the 2nd-longest in MLS in 2008 with 3 other players (most was 6 by Luciano Emilio of D.C. United)

GLAD TO BE BACK IN RED

Chicago will wear its customary all-red kit this evening and that is a good thing...the Fire is 12-5-6 while wearing the all-red kit but just 0-5-2 in its all-white kit (last year went 2-2-4 in all-white).

CONFERENCE WATCHING

Chicago finished the regular season 8-4-4 against the Eastern Conference after going 6-6-5 against the same teams a year ago...Chicago compiled a 5-6-3 record vs. the Western Conference this year which was better than last year's 4-4-5 mark.

EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM

Scoring first has been key for the Fire; Chicago is 12-2-3 when scoring first this season. Conversely the Fire is just 1-8-1 when giving up the first tally.

THE BLANCO EFFECT

In the 42 games with Cuauhtémoc Blanco in the lineup, the Fire are 16-12-14...The 35-year-old native of Mexico City has notched 11 goals and 17 assists across that span...Blanco finished 2nd on the team with 7 goals and a team-high 11 assists in 2008...he finished 4th in the league with 11assists and is one of 2 players to mark an assist in a league-high 3 consecutive games (Christian Gomez, COL and Terry Cooke, COL)...he had an MLS career-high 3 assists @ NY on 5/25, which tied a franchise record...it was the 5th time a Fire player had notched 3 assists in a game - the last by Andy Williams on 6/14/03 (also at NY)...Blanco has missed 3 games this season due to suspension and international call-ups and the team has responded by winning all 3 contests (vs. CHV, @ LA, and vs. NYRB).

McBRIDE MAKES HIS MARK UPON RETURN TO MLS

Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride made his return to the league in August after spending 4 1/2 seasons with Fulham FC in the English Premiership...he appeared in 11 games (starting 10) and scored 5 goals which tied for 3rd on the team...he also tallied 2 assists...McBride joined the team after serving as captain of the United States Olympic team in Beijing.

ROLFE FINISHES SEASON IN STYLE

Chris Rolfe finished the season in style with this first career hat trick in the final regular season game vs. New York on 10/23...that effort vaulted him to the Fire's Golden Boot award as he finished the season with a career-high 9 goals...Rolfe also registered a career-high 7 assists in 2008.

BLANCO'S HELPING HAND

Cuauhtémoc Blanco registered a career-high 11 assists in 2008 which is the 5th-highest total in team history...it was also the most since Peter Nowak had 10 in 2001...his MLS-high 76 fouls suffered is the 6th-highest mark in Fire history.