It seems recent attentions have shifted a bit to the U.S. Open Cup, but the fact is the Sounders have two MLS games before joining the third round of that tournament.

The first comes tonight, as the Columbus Crew visits CenturyLink for a 7 p.m. game that will be broadcast on KONG 6/16.

Here’s the TNT preview of tonight’s game, and more from the Columbus Dispatch.

Below is part of the preview notes sent from Columbus:

On the heels of a 1-1 draw at San Jose on Saturday (May 19), in whichforward Justin Meram tallied his second goal in as many games and goalkeeperAndy Gruenebaum stopped a penalty kick among seven saves, the Crew opens atwo-game at CenturyLink Field in Seattle this Wednesday, May 23. The Black& Gold will then return home to face the Chicago Fire on Saturday, May 26,at Crew Stadium.

The Sounders (7-2-2, 23 pts.) are coming off a 2-2 draw at Vancouver on Saturday Read more »

The Sounders have concluded training for their 7 p.m. match tomorrow against Columbus.

Here’s some of what coach Sigi Schmid had to say after the training session at Starfire:

On the Crew: They’re a team that’s been around .500, and they’re a team that’s had some good games and also is suffering through a lot of injuries and overcoming those: So, they’ve had to shift there lineup a lot. But there are some guys playing really well right now. Justin Meram’s doing well, scoring some goals for them. Obviously (Milovan) Mirosevic is a good player. I know he got taken out early last game, so we don’t know if he’ll be out there. But Dilly Duka is about ready to come back. He’s a dangerous player. And Eddie Gaven is always a guy you’ve got to know where he is because he can pop up in some dangerous places on you.

Schmid, of course, coached Columbus before taking the Sounders job. He said that connection is fading as the seasons pass.

“It’s always over years there are less and less people that are there,” he said. “Obviously Read more »

The Sounders are holding their final training session this morning before their league meeting with Columbus at 7 p.m. Wednesday at CenturyLink Field.

I should have news from that training session around noon. Until then, here’s part of a Crew preview from the club:

Coming off a dramatic Cascadia Cup road draw Sounders FC returns home for the first of two games this week. Seattle hosts the Columbus Crew on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field, and then travels to Los Angeles to take on Chivas USA on Saturday night at The Home Depot Center.

Both matches will be televised live on KONG 6/16, and Wednesday’s match will also Read more »

With the Fredy Montero-Eddie Johnson forward pairing in good form, and with the Sounders’ midfield returning to good health, minutes have become scarcer for Estrada, the forward/midfielder who clustered his four goals in the first two games, but hasn’t scored since March 23.

The Vancouver game Saturday marked his first non-start of the season, as he played 18 minutes off the bench. But coach Sigi Schmid said plenty of minutes and opportunities remain available.

“He’s a player who can still play up top for us some,” Schmid said. “Wide right is probably his next best position. … The minutes are there for him because there are still a ton of games: We’ve got the midweek games, we’ve got the Open Cup coming up. For him to continue to perform as he did early in the season is just Read more »

It’s another short week, as the Sounders will be back on the pitch Wednesday, when the Columbus Crew visits.

Here’s some of what coach Sigi Schmid had to say today about that one:

On the new-look Crew) “When you’re playing a bunch of new guys you don’t know them as well as you know the other players, so it makes it a little more difficult for your team…Obviously they’re going to have a different lineup. I’m guessing their lineup now is going to be a little more difficult, so it makes it a little harder to prepare for.”

On Seattle never having lost to Columbus) “It was pointed out to me that we’re only 1-0-2 against them at home. I think we’ve tied them twice here. Obviously, it’s the team I coached before I got here, so I think the players have gone out a little bit and rewarded me Read more »

The Sounders are trying to shift their U.S. Open Cup match next week to Wednesday, and also are hoping to host it at Starfire Sports Complex regardless of opponent.

Previously, the third-round match had been scheduled for May 29, against the winner of the Georgia Revolution-Atlanta Silverbacks match Tuesday. If the second-division Silverbacks won, the Sounders would have traveled to Atlanta, and if the fourth-division Revs would have won, they would have visited Starfire.

However, the Silverbacks have agreed to play the game on Wednesday instead, and the Sounders are hoping to get the same commitment from the Revolution.

And after the Portland Timbers announcement that they have in-effect purchased the rights to host their Open Cup match, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid implied his club would like to work out something similar with the Silverbacks.

“Obviously we’re playing Saturday (at Chivas USA), we don’t have a game on Read more »

Here’s the news from the league. (De Ro got my vote, too.)

D.C. United midfielder Dwayne de Rosario was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 11 of the 2012 MLS season. The reigning league MVP scored on Wednesday in a 2-0 victory over Colorado and added another two goals on Saturday against Toronto FC.

De Rosario’s first goal of the week opened the scoring for United at RFK Stadium in the 25th minute. On a counter attack, Rosario received a well-placed ball and finished calmly from the middle of

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Read more »

Update: Portland wins it, 2-1. Here’s a game report from MLSsoccer.com.

Pregame: After the Sounders and Whitecaps went at it yesterday, you can watch that other Cascadia team at 4 p.m. this afternoon on Root, as the Chicago Fire visits Portland.

Here’s a preview from MLSsoccer.com, which will be updated during and after the match.