Games to Watch: MLS Cup Playoffs knockout round
All four knockout round games will be televised on UniMás in Spanish and English (via the SAP function on your remote control), and streamed live on UnivisionSports.com. Some teams will also offer English-language broadcasts in their local markets. For more details, as well as the schedule of broadcasts on TSN and RDS networks in Canada, click here.
E5. New England Revolution at E4. D.C. United
7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Two of Major League Soccer's original teams kick off the postseason with their 63rd all-time meeting - and their first playoff clash since 2006. In each of their three previous postseason series, the winner has gone on to the final. Will history repeat itself? The odds are slim, but the Revs might have a chance.
New England's Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen are gamebreakers in midfield, and striker Charlie Davies can finish the chances they create. Standing in their way will be D.C.'s Bill Hamid, a top candidate for Goalkeeper of the Year.
W5. Los Angeles Galaxy vs. W4. Seattle Sounders
10:00 p.m. Wednesday
The Western Conference's perennial biggest spenders meet in the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons. On both previous occasions, they clashed in the conference final. This time, it's a one-game first round showdown: L.A.'s Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and Giovani dos Santos vs. Seattle's Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins.
Why are the teams meeting now, instead of later? Because for as much as people rightly complain that too many teams make the playoffs, the regular season does actually matter. This game - and the games before it that both teams could have won - should be proof.
E6. Toronto FC at E3. Montréal Impact
7:00 p.m. Thursday
One of MLS' fiercest rivalries finally gets a big American spotlight. It's well-deserved, as each team boasts star power that transcends the U.S.-Canada border. Toronto features Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and near-certain MVP Sebastian Giovinco; Montreal counters with Didier Drogba, who scored twice in two minutes when these same teams met on Sunday.
Drogba's goals proved the difference in that meeting, as the Impact came from behind for a 2-1 win. This time, the stakes are even bigger. Will history repeat itself in the first ever MLS playoff game on Canadian soil? Or will TFC give their long-suffering fans a win for the ages?
W6. Sporting Kansas City at W3. Portland Timbers
10:00 p.m. Thursday
A three-game winning streak to close the regular season sent Portland soaring from seventh place to third, and set up a home playoff game at arguably MLS' most electrifying venue. The catalyst was playmaker Darlington Nagbe, whose surge in form has U.S. national team fans dreaming of seeing him on an even bigger stage.
In this game, Nagbe will meet his match in Kansas City's Benny Feilhaber. Whichever player does a better job of conducting his team's attack will likely be the one whose season remains alive.