The Daily Links- November 3, 2011 Edition

Graham Zusi free kicks found the head of Aurelien Collin and C.J. Sapong on either side of halftime as Sporting Kansas City defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on Wednesday night at Livestrong Sporting Park to advance to the Eastern Conference finals by an aggregate score of 4-0.

Recap: Sporting handle Rapids 2-0, thru to East final | MLSsoccer.com

Clubs from seven different countries are represented in this roster. Twenty of the players called into camp play in Europe, including Josh Gatt, who recently won the Norwegian Championship with Molde. The roster also features eight players who play for MLS teams: David Bingham, Dilly Duka, Sean Johnson, Jon Kempin, Perry Kitchen, Omar Salgado, Zarek Valentin and Ethan White.

Porter Names 31 Players to Roster for Training Camp in Germany - U.S. Soccer

It was a night of mixed results for the Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake, as the Sounders won this match 2-0, but RSL advanced to the Western Conference finals by winning by a 3-2 aggregate score. By the end of the game, Seattle coach Sigi Schmid was left holding his head in despair, indicating the belief the Sounders held to the very end in this game, despite the long odds.

Seattle Sounders Vs. Real Salt Lake, 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs: RSL Sneaks Through - SBNation.com

 It's been months and the controversy has died down. But there is still pain and sadness in Alex Bunbury's voice. A father never stops caring for his children. So when people took a shot at Teal Bunbury, his dad Alex felt it too. The former Canadian international striker found his family in the spotlight when son Teal chose to play soccer for the United States, instead of Canada.

Alex Bunbury savours son's success, feels blues over unwarranted shots at Teal - Winnipeg Free Press

"We are busy looking ahead to the future of our league," MLS chief marketing officer Russ Findlay wrote in the e-mail. "As a part of this planning, we are conducting research in Baltimore to help determine the viability of the market as a potential future home of an MLS club." Fans are asked, among other things, how likely they would be to attend matches if a current or new team moved into a soccer-specific stadium in the Westport area of Baltimore.

MLS gauging interest in club playing in Baltimore - Soccer Insider - The Washington Post

"In my eyes, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones," Rodgers said. "A lot of their players were doing the same thing. One of our players [Roy Miller] has a big gash in his leg from Beckham’s tackle, but no one’s complaining about it on our side."

Rodgers fires back at Galaxy for calling Red Bulls "cheap" | MLSsoccer.com

Smith’s future with the Rapids is certain as long as Dec. 31, when his current contract runs out. But before then, he’ll likely go back to the table with the Rapids brass and see if they can hammer out a deal that will keep him in Denver and let him stay on with the team he helped build.

Rapids lose, but no offseason on Smith's contract talks | MLSsoccer.com