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Nature's Herbs for Pets Herbal Biotic is an herbal formula known to have anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. It will not upset digestive balance or build up resistance like antibiotics sometimes can. Recommended treatment is for 10-14 days.
About Nature's Herbs for Pets
Dr. Victor Tse is a 6th generation Traditional Chinese Medical Doctor. His grandfather, recognizing his grandson's interest in animals, passed down to him a number of his personal formulas. After emigrating to Canada in 1988, Dr. Tse spent 6 years adjusting the formulas so that Pets could be treated generically, without the need for a personal examination. The result was his production of a range of effective Chinese herbal remedies which can be used without any knowledge of Chinese Medicine.
Nature's Herbs for Pets has been dedicated to the holistic healing of cats and dogs now for many many years.
Each envelope contains 40 pills.
Pills too big for your pet? Try the All-in-One Pill Crusher & Splitter.
Review Rating: 4.5
Country of Origin: Canada
Manufacturer: Nature's Herbs for Pets
Ingredients - Isatis Root, Oldenlandia, Green Chiretta, Selangin
Suggested Use
The reviews below are presented for informational purposes only and are not intended as an endorsement of any product. The information is not intended to be a substitute for visits to your local veterinarian. Instead, these testimonials offer the reader information and opinions written by pet owners and/or veterinarians concerning animal health and products that they have used.
(based on 10 reviews)
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Great Product
By Buddys mom
from Baltimore, MD
About Me Long-time Pet Owner
Comments about Nature's Herbs for Pets Herbal Biotic:
After paying out a fortune to the vet for antibiotics and cortisone treatments over a 3 month period I decided to try this product. I started using it on 4/25/2015 and Buddy's extremely bad sores are almost all healed up. Although the product say use 10-14 days I will keep using this until I feel he is okay as he has had no side effects. I just roll the tablets in a slice of cheese and Buddy loves it. I think this is a great product.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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(3 of 4 customers found this review helpful)
By Trisha
from Mo
I feel I should write a review in hope that it may help others. Our new home was making my pets ill and myself. One died before I figured it out. Experts say that at least 45 percent of homes have mold. Some strains are dangerous! This product was extremely helpful in saving my other pets . My natural doctor said it is important to clear it out of the sinuses too because it can grow and become chronic for people and pets. If your pet has chronic lung, sinus, lethargic and kidney problems and your vet doesn't know what is causing it....... It very well could be mold.
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
Love this product!
By Doxie mom
from Mims, FL
My dachshund was scratching and itching her chest constantly....I tried every cream available and nothing helped...with this after 4 or 5 days she was completely healed up.
(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)
beyond awesome
By marilynn mo
from saint louis mo
I have a 6 year old english bull dog who is allergic to everything- carpet, food, soaps. She was started at an early age on bunch of med. from her vet. Steroids, antibiotics, benadryl, kentosomething, for fungi. She Had Immune issues after the heavy medication. She then developed a systematic yeast infection, a infection from the itching, Demo mange from the immune issues ontop of her allergies. each treatment made one or the other worse.They told me to consider putting her to sleep. So I went with this pill- within 3 days her redness was gone, the itching stopped! The sores healed, she smelled better than she ever has. Her hair grew back and now she seems to have no allergies!! The red belly is gone! It is a miracle she has not looked or acted this good in 5 years! I am so glad I found this product. I also put her on Nupro powder supplement and raw diet.
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
Very effective
By Sister
from Meeker, CO
After many rounds of expensive antibiotics for recurrent UTI I wanted to try something natural. My 4yo Shih Tzu wouldn't eat her food when I crushed the tablet into it. So, I made small raw hamburger balls and put the pill inside. She scarfed it up without even chewing!! I gave her 1 tab twice a day since she is 15lbs. I then made enough hmbg balls for the week and froze them. Just took a few minutes to thaw. After a 14-day regimen her UA from the vet showed nothing significant!! :) I am going to use this on a regular basis. It's wonderful not to have to deal with the post-antibiotic issues as well.
(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)
Worked for my cat with mouth ulcer
By Venicemagic
from Los Angeles
I used the pills for my 10 year old cat, who had developed an ulcer in his mouth due to an old wound (puncture from another cat through his upper lip).He was drooling and sensitive in this area, and was eating very carefully, after four days of usage, the drooling stopped, the sensitivity was less, the ulcer looks like it is diminishing very fast..and the cat is eating normally, including chewing dry food, will continue the use for another two weeks, until the ulcer is gone.One not so great aspect is the size of the pill and the feeding, it need to be broken down in pieces and putinto the cat's mouth (not their favorite, of course), the same formula in liquid form would be much, much easier to feed.
By Goya
from Chicago,IL
3rd day of usage I notice a difference in my 7m Rott puppy Her eyes are not red anymore and she has more energy than ever.Cross your fingers!!!!
It worked!
By Fozia
from Georgetown, TX
My dog had a bacterial infection that we tried to get rid of thru antibiotics. Well, the antibiotics did not work. So the Vet recommended another round. So instead, I used this product along with Optagest and introduced a raw food diet for my dog's evening meal. My dog just got back from the Vet with a clean bill of health!
Pets Herbal Biotic - Wonderful Product !
By redoctbr16
from Vermont
Has been a great help to my senior cockers with minor/reoccuring health issues.
(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)
Great alternative to antibiotics
By Mumma
from Anytown, USA
My 7 year old cat has had IBD since a kitten and he has been diagnosed by his vet with having chronic bacterial bladder infections. He was on prednisone for 2 years, and on and off antibiotics for the past 5 years. The frequency of the bladder infections was increasing to every month. I decided to try alternative treatments, because I could see he was getting worse not better. I tried several products with no luck, before this one. This product was actually recommended to me by the manufacturer for the bladder infections, and finally, I found one that really works, one treatment course cleared up the infection, just like antibiotics. Also I believe it has helped with the IBD. He has not been on antibiotics since last July, I'm so thankful and happy, I keep this product on hand, because his condition is chronic. I am also using several other products to help control the IBD and boost his immune system.
© 2015 Only Natural Pet LLC - All Rights Reserved


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Length ranks your synonyms based on character count.
Common words appear frequently in written and spoken language across many genres from radio to academic journals.
Informal words should be reserved for casual, colloquial communication.
verb confuse, mix up
Synonyms for perplex
verb confuse, mix up
- mystify star
- confound star
- complicate star
- dumbfound star
- bewilder star
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- puzzle star
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- baffle star
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Antonyms for perplex
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.Cite This Source
verb. plague; hem in
- fall on
- fall upon
- girdle
- give a bad time
- give a hard time
- give one the business
- give the needle
- harass
- harry
verb. harass, annoy; give trouble
- disconcert
- disgust
- dismay
- displease
- disquiet
- distress
- disturb
- eat
- embarrass
- exacerbate
- exasperate
- goad
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.Cite This Source

subset: commoncrawl


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Dell Updates Toad DB Tool Lineup for Collaboration 06/23/2015
Toad lineup now offers support for SAP's HANA in-memory database, as well as improved capabilities for IBM DB2 and Hadoop.
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Public Preview Boosts Database Security 05/28/2015
On-premises or in a cloud-hosted virtual machine, organizations can now take an early version of the company's next database for a spin.
Google Launches Managed Cloud Database Service 05/06/2015
The technology behind Cloud Bigtable is the same one powering Gmail and other Google apps.
IBM Opens Watson Analytics to Public Beta 12/04/2014
After an early beta of IBM's Watson Analytics pulled in 22,000 early testers, Big Blue is now opening the service to everybody.
Splice Machine Ships Version 1.0 of Hadoop RDBMS 11/19/2014
Splice Machine takes its Hadoop relational database management system (RDBMS) to general availability.
Amazon Claims New Aurora DB Engine Screams With Speed 11/12/2014
NEWS ANALYSIS: Aurora may become a formidable competitor for comparable database engines by MySQL, SAP, Oracle, Teradata and EMC.
OpenStack Juno Cloud Features Trove Database-as-a-Service Updates 10/12/2014
The upcoming open-source OpenStack Juno cloud platform will now support more databases and database features.
Couchbase Launches v3.0 of Its NoSQL Database 10/10/2014
Couchbase 3.0 introduces more than 200 new features and enhancements, including major extensions to its core architecture.


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Best of News
French policemen search index a house where five people were found... News PhotoDamaged,Dead,Death,Family,Firefighter,France,French Culture,Gard,Horizontal,House,Law,Nimes,People,Police Force,Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur,SearchingPhotographer PASCAL GUYOTCollection: AFP 2013 AFPFrench policemen search index a house where five people were found dead on January 22, 2013 in Garons, near Nimes, southern France. The bodies of two adults and three children were found by firemen after a neigbour called for a fire in the afternoon. AFP PHOTO / PASCAL GUYOT (Photo credit should read PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/Getty Images)


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|Print Page
I am a former native of Carbon County and presently reside in Waxhaw, N.C.. I was recently home to pay my last respects to my Father Taro Aoyagi who passed away last Thanksgiving day.
The Spring Glen canal was just 100 yards from the place where I grew up. In my short stay I observed that the canal had been covered over and those who had shares of the water rights had water piped to their property. I can see the logic of lessening loss of this valuable resource through evaporation, seepage, and illegal use not to mention the long term costs of maintenance.
I became very troubled to see that no provisions were made for the wildlife that depended on the water for their existence. Several people expressed their concern and had even gone so far to place water out for the deer. The canal is the very heart of a fragile ecosystem and without it hundreds of living animals will surely perish. There could be a lot of serious automobile accidents caused by animals passing across roadways.
Has the fish & game department made any plans to salvage the wildlife? Or is the money collected through licenses funneled elsewhere?
I am deeply concerned and would like to know if there are any plans to balance the environment.
|Print Page


text:
If you bought the Silent Hill HD Collection for Xbox 360, and you did so before Aug. 8, and you have a receipt to prove it, they will offer you your choice of a free game—and we mean an old-school physical media game, not some download.
Eligible titles include the Professor Layton ripoff Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights on the 3DS; the atrocious NeverDead for Xbox 360 or PS3 and Pro Evolution Soccer's two most recent North/Latin American releases.
Update: Not only that, one of the titles is — wait for it — Silent Hill HD on the PS3.
What makes this the lamest giveback of all time is the fact that there are also 22 titles for the original Xbox on the list, at least 13 of which are not backward compatible with the Xbox 360. Message: Did you buy a defective product from us? Here, have some trash.
Konami offering free games to Xbox 360 owners of Silent Hill HD Collection [Examiner]


text:
As part of AmeriGlide's commitment to offering a wide variety of products to fit a range of customers' needs, we carry a line of heavy duty stair lifts that come with increased weight capacities and spacious seats. All of our electric and battery powered, as well as, curved stair lifts are available in heavy duty options so that you can find a stair lift will meet all your physical and design needs. Call us today to learn more and place your order.
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Comes with the best warranty in the business!


text:
Contact: Paul Archipley
806 5th St
Mukilteo, WA 98275
Phone: 425-347-5634
Dear Advertiser,
On behalf of Beacon Publishing, we would like to invite you to become a part of our annual Visitor Guides.
The Guide to Mukilteo and the Guide to Edmonds are inserted into more than 9,000 Mukilteo Beacons and 9,000 Edmonds Beacons. They stay in homes all year around to be used as a quick reference for local businesses, services and municipal information.
Several thousand more are printed for distribution throughout the year by visitor centers, chambers of commerce, real estate offices and other venues. For example, local employers, such as Rane Corporation, Boeing and the Mukilteo School District include a copy of the Guide in their orientation packets for new employees. The local hotels replenish their supplies regularly. In addition, well over 1,000 copies are distributed by the Snohomish County Visitor's Center each year.
Your involvement in the Guides is twofold in that it makes the publications possible and, of equal importance, your presence in these well-received and widely read publications is an effective marketing tool as an addition to your ad campaign.
We look forward to working with you on our 2013 Guides.


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|Watauga B Team Comes Up Short
|Written by Mike Kelly
|Tuesday, 14 June 2011 21:18
The Watuaga American Junior Legion B Team was victimized by Valdese Tuesday night at Draughn High School in Burke County.Valdese swept the double-header, winning game one 4-2 and winning game two, 4-0. Carson Isaacs paced Watauga (0-4) in the double-header loss. He had three hits, a walk and he drove in a run.
Trevor Eggers was 1-3 with an RBI in game-one; Andy Gilliam had two hits in five trips in the two games combined. Steadman Sauls had a base hit and scored a run; Brandon Warren was hit by a pitch and came around to score.
Watauga also received two decent pitching performances on the mound. Matt Lambert suffered the loss in game two. He went four innings and gave up two earned runs with three strikeouts; Hunter Isaacs got the loss in game one. He went four innings and gave up four earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
"Hunter is going to be something special," said Watauga coach Dustin Kerley. "He's just an example of the young talent we have. This is a learning experience for a lot of these players. Playing these games is giving them a chance to develop their skills in game situations."
The Watauga B Team travels to West Caldwell Friday night for a 5:30 pm double-header.
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I was recently in Boulder, Colorado for work. I love visiting Boulder – it's really beautiful, and I have many friends from work and from the Zen scene, so I always have a nice time when I'm in town. When I was in Boulder last, I visited the newly expanded Whole Foods. If you know Boulder, and if you know Whole Foods, then you know that the two demographics are a perfect match. The old Whole Foods was pretty nice, but the new one just really knocked my socks off. Aisles and aisles of gorgeous organic food. All sorts of delicious and healthy prepared foods. A food court with anything you might want. A bakery with hearty fresh-baked, whole-grain breads and tempting cookies and cakes. Fresh chocolates. Perfect organic produce. It was really impressive. And the people! Everyone there seemed to be young, healthy, athletic, and good-looking. Even the music was fantastic (they were playing the new Paul Simon album). Pretty much, wherever you looked, there was something pleasing to look at. Everything smelled wonderful. You were surrounded by pleasing sounds. Every sense organ was being pleasured simultaneously! It seemed like a place designed to ensure that no one – at least in the rather limited demographic of Boulder – could possibly be unhappy. How could you be? Everything you might want is arrayed before you! This is the realm of the gods or the devas, where everything is bliss. It's very nice!
Of course this reminded me of the story of the Buddha who, as a child, was sheltered from anything that could cause him unhappiness. He was surrounded by wonderful foods, beautiful people, and pretty sounds. We know how this turned out. Shakyamuni's parents couldn't keep old age, sickness, and death at bay forever, and the young Shakyamuni eventually saw that life isn't just about surrounding yourself with pleasing sensations. When he realized that everyone will grow old, get sick, and die, he dedicated himself to understanding the nature of suffering, and we still practice in the way that he taught 2500 years ago.
But I picked up another feeling at the Whole Foods in Boulder, an underlying tension, a sense of grasping, almost a sense of desperation in the midst of all the beauty. Many of the people in Boulder are extremely accomplished. It's home to some of the world's top athletes and scientists (many of the top athletes in Boulder are the top scientists, too), people who have worked very very hard to get where they are. So some of this feeling seemed to be an intense level of competitiveness to get ahead and powerful grasping to keep what had been achieved. This is the realm of the Asuras, or Jealous Gods.
Do you know about the Six Realms of Existence in Buddhist cosmology? These are traditionally presented in terms of things like gods and demigods and ghosts, but they really are about different states of mind that we experience. I have found them to be a remarkably useful framework for thinking about my own life and the different ways we all experience our lives and our practice. I have described the first two realms. In the realm of the gods, life is so good and blissful, we may not feel much need to practice Buddhism. Why bother when life is so good? Unfortunately, everything is impermanent, even the realm of the gods, so eventually we will fall from this blissful state into one of the lower states. In the realm of the Asuras, life is pretty fantastic, but we're always a little paranoid, a little freaked out, that we are going to lose what we have. I'll come back to this one in a bit, but I want to at least summarize the other realms. Each one is well worth studying.
We can be in any of the six realms, but the human realm, the next on the list, is where most of us are most of the time. Here, life is quite variable and it is considered the ideal place to practice the Dharma. In the human realm we are suffering and grasping, no doubt, but we are not so wracked with misery that we can't practice. In the human realm, practicing the Dharma is considered to be especially efficacious. We have just enough difficulty so that our practice can gain some traction. Then there's the animal realm. Here we are driven primarily by instinct, or even by addiction. There's very little opportunity to practice here because there is simply no space between impulse and response.
Just below the animal realm is a very important state called the realm of the Pretas or Hungry Ghosts. This is a very important realm in our modern society. The hungry ghosts are beings who suffer from intense hunger and thirst that can never be satisfied. Traditionally they are drawn as beings with enormous bellies and very narrow necks. They are tormented by desire and are unable to do anything to soothe themselves. This idea of the Hungry Ghosts does not just apply to physical hunger or thirst, of course. It also refers to the whole variety of ways in which we are unsatisfied and simply can't get our desires met. In a world filled with advertising, we're all always in touch with this realm, at least in the West. We crave wealth, we crave love, we crave attention, but no matter what happens externally, we can never fill our bellies, we're never satisfied. It's a very sad state, and it's one that is all too familiar to many of us.
Finally, there is the hell realm. It's not quite the same as the idea of hell in the western tradition. This is a state based on longstanding, deep-rooted hatred. Hatred of another, of oneself, the world, society. Practice is probably not really possible as an option here, but the good news is that, like all of the other states, it too is impermanent, so there is at least the possibility of some space or gap in the hatred into which the thought of enlightenment may arise.
Now that we have laid out the six realms, I wanted to go back a bit to the realm of the Asuras because it's one that I think is important in our society and it doesn't get a lot of attention. America is a nation of immigrants: someone in our family, a grandparent, a great-grandparent, or maybe even ourselves, left their home in another country to seek a better life. So many of our ancestors came to America, worked hard, and managed to get ahead. They were able to make a life for their children that was better than what they had experienced in their native homes. This was the American dream. But the downside to the American dream was the problem of 'keeping up with the Joneses'. Sure, we have plenty, but our neighbors maybe have just a bit more. So instead of feeling satisfied with our efforts and with the nice life we have created, we get anxious that we're not keeping up. This is the anxiety of the Asuras. It's the anxiety that we're going to lose what we have worked so hard for, and it's endemic in American life.
Henry David Thoreau describes this anxiety beautifully in his classic book, Walden:
The incessant anxiety and strain of some is a well-nigh incurable form of disease. We are made to exaggerate the importance of what work we do; and yet how much is not done by us! or, what if we had been taken sick? How vigilant we are! determined not to live by faith if we can avoid it; all the day long on the alert, at night we unwillingly say our prayers and commit ourselves to uncertainties. So thoroughly and sincerely are we compelled to live, reverencing our life, and denying the possibility of change.
We Asuras are committed to taking care of things through our own power. We have been so successful in getting what we want through our own efforts that we have very little capacity to let go and allow events to develop.
But there's always been a strain of American thought that has suggested a better way, a way in which, rather than giving in to habitual, continued striving, to simply let go. Thoreau talked about this in the 19th century and after the Second World War, the Beatniks and then the hippies talked about something similar. And this was the context into which Zen was introduced in the late 50s and early 60s. In the realm of the Asuras, our suffering is caused by the very striving that helped us to get where we are. To a point, such striving can be effective, but beyond that point, it can create a lot of suffering. Many people, from the time of the Buddha through Thoreau and into the present time have decided to step away from their privilege and seek a different kind of success, a different kind of freedom, the freedom that comes from letting go of striving.
I will conclude again with Thoreau, beautifully describing this in a way that sounds a lot like zazen:
Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry — determined to make a day of it. Why should we knock under and go with the stream? Let us not be upset and overwhelmed in that terrible rapid and whirlpool called a dinner, situated in the meridian shallows. Weather this danger and you are safe, for the rest of the way is down hill. With unrelaxed nerves, with morning vigor, sail by it, looking another way, tied to the mast like Ulysses. If the engine whistles, let it whistle till it is hoarse for its pains. If the bell rings, why should we run? We will consider what kind of music they are like. Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe, through Paris and London, through New York and Boston and Concord, through Church and State, through poetry and philosophy and religion, till we come to a hard bottom and rocks in place, which we can call reality, and say, This is, and no mistake; and then begin, having a point d'appui (point of support) below freshet and frost and fire, a place where you might found a wall or a state, or set a lamp-post safely, or perhaps a gauge, not a Nilometer, but a Realometer, that future ages might know how deep a freshet of shams and appearances had gathered from time to time. If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a scimitar, and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow, and so you will happily conclude your mortal career. Be it life or death, we crave only reality. If we are really dying, let us hear the rattle in our throats and feel cold in the extremities; if we are alive, let us go about our business.
So as we go forth this week, let's try to spend at least a little time every day taking up Thoreau's invitation to let company come and let it go, to let the bells ring and to let the children cry. If we can open up a little space for this in our lives, then maybe we can begin to let go of the anxiety of the Asuras.


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Jean-Marc Ayrault
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and his wife Brigitte Ayrault... News PhotoAdult,Arrival,Attending,Brazil,Diplomacy,Elysee Palace,Evening Meal,France,French Culture,Honour,Jean-Marc Ayrault,Paris - France,Politics,President,Prime Minister,State Dinner,Vertical,Wife,WomenPhotographer PHILIPPE WOJAZERCollection: AFP 2012 AFPFrench Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (L) and his wife Brigitte Ayrault arrive at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on December 11, 2012, to attend a state dinner given in honour of Brazil's President. Brazilian President Dilma Roussef is on a two-day visit to France. AFP PHOTO / POOL / PHILIPPE WOJAZER (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE WOJAZER/AFP/Getty Images)


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Mizuno Frenzy Elite Slowpitch Softball Bat ASA 340246
Item#: 340246 | Manufacturer: Mizuno
Mizuno Frenzy Elite Slowpitch Softball Bat ASA 340246
Mizuno Frenzy Elite Slowpitch Softball Bat ASA
Slow pitch players across the globe choose Mizuno bats for desired power and distance, with maximum durability and outstanding feel. Made from Mizuno's Black Array Carbon, the Frenzy Elite is built for supreme power.The durability of the Frenzy Elite has been increased with the introduction of more resin throughout the barrel and the use of upgraded glass fiber which also gives players an unbelievable feeling on contact! A new 12.5 inch end loaded barrel increases the Frenzy Elite's explosiveness, giving hitters a busting-at-the-seams sweet spot! Finished off with a comfortable Digi-Grip Wrap, the Frenzy Elite will have opponents running to the fences like never before! Mizuno: Be Yourself. Only Better! The Mizuno Frenzy Elite is Approved for play in ASA, NSA, USSSA, ISA and is covered by a 12 Month Manufacturer's Warranty!
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text: I heard from an admissions representative at North Georgia College and State University that you cannot be a member of the National Guard while in college if you receive a four-year Army ROTC scholarship. Is this true? Because I have been looking into this for a little over a year and he is the first person to have mentioned it.


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Beckie wins Crew Bracket Challenge
Beckie wins Crew Bracket Challenge
With Louisville's appearance in the National Championship game, Drew Beckie jumped from third to first to win the 2013 Crew Bracket Challenge. It's the second year in a row that a rookie has won the challenge as the Canadian joins Ethan Finlay, who took the crown last year.
- Drew Beckie - 219 pts.
- Wil Trapp - 183
- Aaron Schoenfeld - 176
- Eric Gehrig - 159
The Scoring System:
- 3 points for each team correctly picked to advance to the Round of 32.
- 5 points for each team picked in the Sweet 16.
- 10 points for each team in the Elite 8.
- 25 points for each team in the Final 4.
- 50 points for each team in the National Championship.
- 100 points for correctly picking the National Champion.


text:
LINCOLN — Some 17 months after filing for bankruptcy protection, the Twin River gaming facility and its new owners announced Tuesday that they have successfully emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation and the Department of Revenue, Division of Lotteries have issued the final necessary approvals, and documents announcing the company's emergence from bankruptcy have been filed with the bankruptcy court, according to a press release.
According to published reports, the state Division of Lotteries this week approved the transfer of licenses needed to operate the slot parlor to the new ownership team of UTGR Inc., Twin River's holding company.
Twin River, under UTGR Inc., filed for bankruptcy in 2009 after its investors were facing $568 million in debt from the Lincoln gaming facility as well as four other slot parlors. The Department of Business Regulation approved a takeover by a new lenders group last month and the matter then had to await approval from the state Lottery.
"This is a great day for Twin River, our more than 900 employees, customers, and, really, for the entire state," said John E. Taylor Jr., chairman of Twin River/UTGR's board of directors. "The property and its new owners emerge with a debt load that has literally been halved, its credit obligations met and a strong balance sheet."
Taylor noted that the debt on the property has now been reduced to approximately $300 million from $598 million. "None of this would have been possible if not for the continued loyalty of Twin River customers and support from the General Assembly, the administration and our regulators," he stated.
"We have a beautiful facility." said Taylor, who added that Twin River has grown over the last three years by some 22 percent while other regional competitors have experienced a significant decline. He said, "We're quite well equipped going forward" with the debt at $300 million and the business doing this well.
Taylor called the series of events leading to the bankruptcy filing "a perfect storm." He said the former equity sponsors of Twin River made incremental investments of $100 million during 2007 and 2008 "to create a world-class gaming facility." At the same time, the local and national economy collapsed.
Taylor noted that despite the sluggish local economy, Twin River increased its revenues by 26 percent during 2008 to 2009. He said the Lincoln gaming facility generated approximately $250 million for the state in the last fiscal year and remains a strong revenue generator through the first quarter of this fiscal year. From this January to October, revenue is up 7 percent from the same period of 2009, he added.
Taylor cautioned, however, that the imminent changes in the complexion of the New England gaming landscape could pose a challenge in the future. "Massachusetts is poised to allow full gaming at some point in the near future, and given that nearly half of our customer base is from the Commonwealth, we must act quickly to address that very real threat," he said in a press release
However, Taylor said that Twin River is a business that must continue to move forward in providing a great gaming experience to players in order to remain competitive. Now, it can do that "without the stigma of bankruptcy," he stated.
[1] mailto:email@example.com
[2] http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/sites/default/files/tr_logo.jpg


text:
Philadelphia Union
The Fourth Round draw for the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup occurred Friday morning at Soccer House in downtown Chicago and with MLS teams entering at this stage, the process was much more elaborate than the straight forward flips from last week's Third Round draw.
Before I lay out how it unfolded, a few bullets to keep in mind…
- I was incorrect in my earlier tweets and statements that a USL PRO affiliate could not be matched with its partner MLS club. I'm a busy guy and sometimes you just have to admit you're not perfect, sorry!
- The only affiliate relationship that needed to be separated for this draw was that of the LA Galaxy and LA Galaxy II who are both owned by the same party.
- USL PRO side Orlando City and their PDL side Orlando City U-23s, are both in the tournament but could not be matched up at this stage as MLS teams must be matched with a lower league pairing.
- Chivas USA was the only MLS club to not apply to host a Fourth Round Open Cup match.
With those done, I will underscore that the most important principle to keep in mind for how pairings are determined comes from Page 7 of the 2014 U.S. Open Cup Handbook. It states:
"After each Third Round pairing has been determined, each Division I (MLS) team entering in the Fourth Round will be matched geographically to play the winner of a specific Third Round pairing. Instances where a logical geographic fit doesn't exist will be resolved by random selection."
As all business as a selfie can be prior to walking into Soccer House...
Upon arrival to Soccer House, Competition Secretary Paul Marstaller handed me a sheet of paper with four geographic groupings, plus a wild card pool. The most straightforward grouping was the top table which featured eight Third Round matchups across from eight MLS teams that made "a logical geographic fit" with those lower league pairings.
The pairings with the result of the coin flip are below. Teams that are not bolded either did not have a suitable home venue or didn't apply to host (U.S. Soccer did not distinguish the reason on this sheet).
|Brooklyn Italians SC (NPSL)/New York Cosmos (NASL)
|New York Red Bulls (MLS)
|Dayton Dutch Lions (USLP)/Indy Eleven (NASL)
|Columbus Crew (MLS)
|RWB Adria (USASA)/Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USLP)
|Chicago Fire (MLS)
|Minnesota United FC (NASL)/Des Moines Menace (USASA
|Sporting Kansas City (MLS)
|Laredo Heat (PDL)/Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (NASL)
|Houston Dynamo (MLS)
|NTX Rayados (USASA)/San Antonio Scorpions (NASL)
|FC Dallas (MLS)
|Arizona United SC (USLP)/Oklahoma City Energy FC (USLP)
|LA Galaxy (MLS)
|Fresno Fuego (PDL)/Sacramento Republic (USLP)
|San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
For the local Fire fans, I was able to take OFFICIAL VIDEO documenting the Fire's winning coin flip:
The second grouping of matchups pooled three Northeast MLS sides with three lower league pairings. Of note here, Marstaller said that because the Harrisburg City Islanders and Baltimore Bohemians are about equidistant to D.C. United and Philadelphia Union, a flip off between the two sides would be done to determine which club would host the winner of that Third Round Matchup.
Based on alphabet, D.C. United was assigned heads and Philadelphia tails, with the Union winning. Because neither Harrisburg or Baltimore applied to host, no flip was necessary as hosting rights defaulted to the Union.
|Harrisburg City Islanders (USLP)/Baltimore Bohemians (PDL)
D.C. United
Philadelphia Union
United's loss on their first flip resulted in them moving down to the next pairing of two lower league matchups where a similar flip had to occur between New York Greek American Atlas/Richmond Kickers and Reading United AC/Rochester Rhinos to determind who would be D.C.'s opponent.
New York Greek American Atlas (USASA)/Richmond Kickers (USLP)
Reading United AC (PDL)/Rochester Rhinos (USLP)
|D.C. United
Again, determined by alphabet, the New York/Richmond matchup was assigned heads while the other was assigned tails and the coin again flipped to tails matching D.C. United with Reading/Rochester.
This moved New York/Richmond down to a matchup with the New England Revolution and then flips were done to determine the hosting rights for those two matchups with both lower league matchups winning with heads. For the purpose of clarity, here is how that final grouping looked:
|Harrisburg City Islanders (USLP)/Baltimore Bohemians (PDL)
|Philadelphia Union
|Reading United AC (PDL)/Rochester Rhinos (USLP)
|D.C. United
|New York Greek American Atlas (USASA)/Richmond Kickers (USLP)
|New England Revolution
The third grouping was a product of Chivas USA being the only MLS club not to apply for hosting rights. Because of this, Marstaller needed to pair them with lower league matchups in which both clubs applied to host, of which there were two: Atlanta Silverbacks/Chattanooga FC (heads) and Charlotte Eagles/Carolina Railhawks (tails).
A coin flip was done to see who would host Chivas and landed tails giving Charlotte/Carolina the hosting rights. This pushed Atlanta/Chattanooga down to the very ending "Wild Card Pool".
Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL)/Chattanooga FC (NPSL)
Charlotte Eagles (USLP)/Carolina RailHawks (NASL)
|Chivas USA
The fourth pool featured the PSA Elite/LA Galaxy II matchup paired against four MLS teams that were within geographical proximity. While both lower-league teams are based in Southern California, because PSA Elite also did not apply to host, Chivas USA could not be thrown into this group.
The most interesting part of the process Friday was the flip-off between four MLS clubs to determine who would play Galaxy II/PSA Elite.
Again determined by alphabet, Colorado/Portland and Real Salt Lake/Seattle Sounders did a preliminary flip. Both losers in that round (Portland & Real Salt Lake) were moved into the final Wild Card pairing, then Colorado and Seattle did a final flip, with Seattle winning again (which should keep Sigi Schmid somewhat happy) and Colorado also falling to the Wild Card group.
|PSA Elite (USASA)/LA Galaxy II (USLP)
Colorado Rapids
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
Seattle Sounders
One final flip was done to determine the hosting rights for that match with Galaxy II/PSA Elite winning and presumably, since PSA Elite did not apply to host, Sigi will be their biggest fan.
|PSA Elite (USASA)/LA Galaxy II (USLP)
|Seattle Sounders
After all the flips above were done, the Wild Card pool looked like the below table, with MLS clubs placed on the right according to alphabetical order. Because of the odd number of matchups, coin flips could not be used to determine who would play each other so Marstaller placed three slips of paper marked "A", "B" and "C" into plain envelopes. As the matchup moved down from the initial Chivas USA grouping, Atlanta/Chattanooga was assigned "C" while the other two lower-league pairings were assigned "A" and "B" based on alphabetic order.
Orlando City U23s (PDL)/Charleston Battery (USLP)
Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL)/Orlando City (USLP)
Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL)/Chattanooga FC (NPSL)
Colorado Rapids
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
Marstaller then went down the alphabetic list of MLS sides and drew the slips of paper from the envelopes. When all three matchups had been finalized, final flips for hosting rights occurred, concluding the fourth round Open Cup draw. You can see how the envelopes were drawn and the winner of the flips below:
|Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL)/Orlando City (USLP)
|Colorado Rapids
|Orlando City U23s (PDL)/Charleston Battery (USLP)
|Portland Timbers
|Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL)/Chattanooga FC (NPSL)
|Real Salt Lake
Following the draw, Marstaller said the published fourth round scenarios would not be accompanied Friday by match dates yet. This is because the Fourth Round has three possible match dates over an eight-day span. With USL PRO and the PDL, along with amateur sides having league games between the June 10-18 Fourth Round window, all clubs that have the potential to host a Fourth Round match will have the weekend to give their preferred hosting date before U.S. Soccer balances the already scheduled league games. Because of the logistical process, hosting dates are expected to be announced sometime next week.
A comprehensive list of who won hosting coin flips can be found below.
|Brooklyn Italians SC (NPSL)/New York Cosmos (NASL)
|New York Red Bulls (MLS)
|Dayton Dutch Lions (USLP)/Indy Eleven (NASL)
|Columbus Crew (MLS)
|RWB Adria (USASA)/Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USLP)
|Chicago Fire (MLS)
|Minnesota United FC (NASL)/Des Moines Menace (USASA
|Sporting Kansas City (MLS)
|Laredo Heat (PDL)/Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (NASL)
|Houston Dynamo (MLS)
|NTX Rayados (USASA)/San Antonio Scorpions (NASL)
|FC Dallas (MLS)
|Arizona United SC (USLP)/Oklahoma City Energy FC (USLP)
|LA Galaxy (MLS)
|Fresno Fuego (PDL)/Sacramento Republic (USLP)
|San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
|Harrisburg City Islanders (USLP)/Baltimore Bohemians (PDL)
|Philadelphia Union
|Reading United AC (PDL)/Rochester Rhinos (USLP)
|D.C. United
|New York Greek American Atlas (USASA)/Richmond Kickers (USLP)
|New England Revolution
|Charlotte Eagles (USLP)/Carolina RailHawks (NASL)
|Chivas USA
|PSA Elite (USASA)/LA Galaxy II (USLP)
|Seattle Sounders
|Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL)/Orlando City (USLP)
|Colorado Rapids
|Orlando City U23s (PDL)/Charleston Battery (USLP)
|Portland Timbers
|Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL)/Chattanooga FC (NPSL)
|Real Salt Lake
Thanks again to the U.S. Soccer staff for being great hosts once again!
What is it going to take for Frank Yallop to get his first regular season victory as head coach of the Chicago Fire?
Following Saturday's dramatic 1-1 tie at home to the New England Revolution, the Fire are now without a win in seven MLS games after an opening day defeat at Chivas USA and six subsequent ties as their season has yet to fully take off.
However, four of those seven games were on the road, so if the Fire can pick up all three points at home to Real Salt Lake on Saturday, May 3 after a bye week, the complexion of the season, and more importantly the table, will suddenly look a whole lot better.
Thankfully for Yallop and his coaching staff, the Chicago fan-base have shown remarkable patience and understanding as he tries to impart his philosophies and footballing ideals on to this new group of players.
Yallop came to the Fire with a proven track record in the MLS following a lengthy professional career in England and on the international stage with Canada.
His vast experience in England and early MLS successes as a coach with San Jose Earthquakes has given Yallop, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday, the confidence to remain calm despite the relatively disappointing start to the campaign.
When speaking about the team, their attitude, their effort in training and their prospects for the season, Yallop hasn't changed in his thinking since his arrival at Toyota Park last October. If anything, he is more optimistic now than before the season began.
He sees a group of players that have shown significant signs of progress in the short time he has been with them and he believes that their first win is about to come. Yes, he believed it would come at home to the Red Bulls. Away to DC.
His confidence in himself and his team still intact, he insisted the win would come with the visit of the Union to Toyota Park. And again, a week later, there was an assured statement that the win would arrive on the road in Montreal.
Looking back, it is possible to see where and how three points may have been won in any of these games, with a little luck or a hint of good fortune. Mike Magee's late penalty miss against Philadelphia. Late saves by the Impact's Troy Perkins from Patrick Nyarko and Magee that would have earned the Fire their first win.
Juan Luis Anangono's penalty miss against New England last time out was another glaring example of a missed opportunity and another occasion where the Fire should have sealed the three points their efforts over the previous 90 minutes deserved.
The reason no one has pushed the panic button just yet, is largely down to the quality of play produced each week, the vast amount of chances being created and the overall level of entertainment served up by Yallop and his attack-minded tactics.
No other team has had more shots this campaign at 101, while only the Montreal Impact have hit the target more often, 38 times to the Fire's 35 (which they tie with the Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps and Sporting Kansas City).
They are the fourth highest scorers after seven games with 10 goals, while Quincy Amarikwa is tied for second on the goalscoring list with four.
There are significant signs of improvement since the side's defeat at Chivas, with Yallop's influence gaining momentum with each and every game.
Having struggled to assert themselves in the possession stakes in the opening three games, the Fire have enjoyed more of the ball than their opponents in their last three games.
This has translated itself into more goalscoring opportunities, with the Fire amassing an impressive 54 shots to their opponents' 17 over the last three games.
Which suggests to me that they are doing well defensively, restricting other teams to an average of six shots per game, while also creating enough themselves to comfortably win games.
That has not happened thus far, but surely it is only a matter of time.
There have been several other positive features to Yallop's tenure, most notably his willingness to give youth a chance. Earlier in the year, he insisted that he would select players on merit rather than reputation, and he has stood by that assertion with the likes of Harry Shipp, Benji Joya, Greg Cochrane and Victor Pineda all getting a chance to impress.
Add to that the blossoming central defensive partnership of Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Bakary Soumare, which has impressed in recent games despite the concession of 11 goals, and it is clear to see that the Fire have a solid base upon which to build.
His faith in the wing play of Nyarko and Shipp has also reaped reward with both players contributing to the fluent, incisive build-up play down both flanks that has been a feature of the Fire's games thus far.
And with reigning MLS MVP Magee improving with every game following his early season injury problems, and his effective link up play with Amarikwa showing real signs of promise, surely that first win will come sooner rather than later.
Stats at a glance (the Fire read first):
|Possession %
|Pass Accuracy
|Chivas USA
|44.7% / 55.3%
|Portland Timbers
|38.5% / 61.5%
|New York Red Bulls
|42.6% / 57.4%
|D.C. United
|49% / 51%
|372 / 383
|Philadelphia Union
|53.2% / 46.8%
|Montreal Impact
|56.2% / 43.8%
|New England Revolution
|51.9% / 48.1%
Mike Magee (a great dancer) can redirect a cross like it's nobody's business.
In this edition of slow it down, Quincy Amarikwa (also a great dancer), picks Amobi Okugo's pocket with flying colors, runs the ball down the field and crosses to Magee... you know the rest.
Voice of the Fire Dan Kelly put it best by describing Magee's play on the goal as being like, "A shifty little feline after a seven hour nap." You may be confused after reading this, but I promise after you watch the video below, it should all make sense. (unlike the duo's dance moves)
Let's slow it down!
Frank Yallop, Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer
On the response by the team to a tough draw
"Obviously very disappointed to not come away with 3 points today, especially going 2-1 down in the game, fighting back to 2-2, and having a penalty kick with no time left; I think it was almost storybook, but it would've been great for us to win the game in that manner. Having said that, for a neutral, great game to watch; you guys are watching it, it's a difficult pitch, we need to sort that out. Other than that, I had a talk with the guys at halftime. I questioned them a little bit about 'Did we really want to win? Did we really fancy our chances to come back into this game?' I thought we responded well, I thought we showed heart, and that's all I'm asking for, and we had a chance to win the game. So, disappointed we didn't win it, but all in all, maybe our luck could turn in the next game."
On Philadelphia's second goal and set pieces
"Well, I think the set-up, to be honest, a very good service, it's set up to do that: you're aiming for the back post, you're getting runners across the goal and goalkeeper. It either bounces and goes in the far post, or someone gets a touch, so it was a great service. We've been really, really poor; and I wouldn't say it's just individual stuff, but really poor on set plays generally, conceding goals. We have to clean that up, and it's something that we've been working on, we've looked a little bit better at it, but it's still something that's hurting us, so we need to address it and keep going. Again, I go back to the last 10 minutes of the game, and we're pushing to try and get something out of it, and I'd like to say I'm proud of the guys, the way they kept going in a difficult match, and didn't lie down and die, didn't accept the tie. We tried to win the match, and you'll be talking to Mike [Magee] later on, he'd love to have that back. Listen, penalty kicks are difficult, it's a precious situation, and sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't. I just saw it, and the kid [Philadelphia goalkeeper Zac MacMath] made a great save on it, so, tough."
On the issues behind set pieces
"Second balls. We talked about it, we've shown them, we've worked on it in training. You can't force us to be like that, but you can make habits out of it, so we'll just keep working on it. We'll address it again on Monday, we'll go over video, we'll go over it in training, we'll talk about being alert when the ball is bouncing about, getting to errors. It's dangerous, it's not always about staying with your guy, it's about heading the ball out, and I think we kind of get a little bit caught with 'I've got my fellow, but in the end, you could've helped out and cleared the ball.' So, good service, I thought it was a good service by the fellow [Philadelphia midfielder Leonardo Fernandes], and I think that in the end, we couldn't deal with it; but it was a pretty good goal on their behalf."
On the performance by the Fire midfield
"I really think, and I'm not blaming the pitch, but we couldn't really get into rhythm, especially in the first half, to play any stuff we wanted to. I went with Matt [Watson] and Jeff [Larentowicz] because I felt the center of that park is strong with Maurice Edu and [Brian] Carroll, so I wanted to match up with them, and I thought Patrick [Nyarko] would be a good matchup for anybody wide…I thought he had a good first half, he's not played for a little bit, and I thought he did well. I thought the matchups were good. Young Harry [Shipp] plays a little bit inside, so I wanted to maybe have a little bit of balance. I thought we played great for 20 minutes, to be honest…we scored a goal early, we could've gotten the second one. All in all, formations are formations. What I will say, is that subs made a difference again, and that's why they're there; like I always say, it's about guys that don't play, or substitutes in the match, to be ready to go, because you are the difference in the match. I thought Dilly [Duka], Juan [Luis Anangono], and Alex made a difference, I think that in the end, it's not just the 11 starters, it's everybody that contributes."
On learning more about the team and looking for the right team to field
"I think so. We've played preseason games, but in the end, it doesn't really matter, there's nothing on those games. These are the games, four points, that matter. I'm still learning about a lot of players, I'm still learning about the squad. We're unbeaten in four, by the way, so that for me is always a good thing for a coach. We haven't won in five, which is not a good thing, so I try to look positive; we have to look for the next game. I thought we did enough to win this match today; I'm not saying that Philly weren't very good or anything, which they were, but I felt in the end we pushed, we had two really good chances to score late, Mike having both of them, the penalty kick and the left footed shot. I think it would've been a deserved win. We're not far off, we have to keep going and not worry about not winning, because if you start worrying about it, you won't play well; so, it's my job to make sure that they don't worry about it, take the pressure off them and just get them to play, and the wins will come once we get that."
Mike Magee, Chicago Fire Forward
On what he saw on the penalty kick:
"I saw the goalie save it, which was unfortunate, and then I tried to tap it in and it was saved again. Obviously it was more his moment than mine."
On his goal:
"It's hard to talk about that to be honest. It's good to get the monkey off my back, but the only thing on my mind is not winning. I had a pretty sweet opportunity to be the hero, but it wasn't meant to be I guess."
On another draw:
"We want to win, and we need to win at home to be a successful team. I hate to lose more than I love to win, which is pretty cliché, but as long as we're not dropping games at home I feel like we're heading in the right direction. Sometimes when you squeak out games you don't deserve to win it's unjust, but tonight we deserved to win and we deserved three points. We're not getting it but I feel like it's going to translate."
On the importance of getting the first win:
"The first one is the hardest. I feel like the longer you go without winning, your confidence goes down, plays become harder and you over-think everything. Sometimes when you're winning, plays become easy because you don't care if you lose. The first win would have been perfect for us tonight. The stars were aligned for it and it didn't happen."
Jeff Larentowicz, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On midfield's performance:
"It's another example of how we're not getting beat in open play. I think we had a very solid scouting report coming in and I think we did well to shut it down. We gave up some fouls in dangerous places and they scored on restarts."
On playing his partnership with Watson:
"It's good. Matt's an honest guy, he's going to run all day long and he's been fantastic since he's gotten here. He's playing right back where he's never played before. We put him in the midfield, where he's more natural, and he'll run and cover ground and do all those things. Whatever the coaches decide going forward, it's good, if it's Matt, then great."
On what the team needs to do to get a win:
"Once we get a lead, we need to hold onto it. I think every game we've tied, we've been ahead and we haven't held on. It's all about having a consistent performance the whole game. In the first half we played well, then we had a lull and gave up goals."
On the emotions on how the game ended:
"There's no catharsis. We continue to seem like we're there, but we're not. You try and pick a bright side and say we're not losing, we're coming back, we're fighting, the substitutes are making a difference, new guys are coming – there are a lot of positives but in the end there's a hole, there's not a win, there's not three points in the standings.
After picking up a point on the road in D.C. last week, the Fire are back at Toyota Park on Saturday afternoon to face the Philadelphia Union (3:30pm CT My50/TWCSC) looking for the club's first win of the season and to extend their unbeaten streak to four games.
Here are a few things to look out for from a tactical perspective…
A change on the wing? Going with a veteran over youth
In last week's match in D.C., youngster Benji Joya again started on the wing for the Fire but again failed to last the full 90 minutes in his third start in a row. Defensively, Joya left his outside back Greg Cochrane exposed on more than one occasion in the first half before Frank Yallop switched Joya to the right wing.
In the attack, Joya also found it difficult to get into the game before he was substituted in place of Patrick Nyarko. The Ghanaian had an immediate impact; setting up Qunicy Amarikwa for the equalizer after a brilliant nutmeg.
Saturday seems like a perfect game for Nyarko to get his second start in 2014 for a number of reasons. First, his speed in the attack will cause Union left back Fabinho trouble. In the Union's last two matches, the Brazilian's lack of pace has been a weak spot.
Nyarko also provides ample cover defensively, something the Fire will need against a Philly team who's tactics emphasize getting as many players forward as possible when they attack.
Bringing the strikers closer together - pushing Magee closer to the goal
In D.C., Mike Magee cut a frustrated figure, trying his best to get into the game but with not a lot of chances to influence it. Magee started in a deeper role behind Quincy Amarikwa and both players were unable to link up on many occasions throughout the match, but not for lack of trying.
Against Philly, I expect Magee to be a lot closer to his striker partner with the Fire playing more of a 4-1-3-2 role instead of a 4-1-4-1. Moving Magee further forward allows Alex to further influence the game from midfield, something he wasn't able to do in D.C.
At this point in the season, coach Yallop favors the Magee/Amarikwa partnership in the attack and in a home game, I expect a formation that fosters as much interplay between the pair as possible.
Stifling the Union attack - limiting opportunities for
Jack Mac
In last week's match away to Montreal, striker
Jack McInerney caused major problems when he was able to get on the end of through balls from the Philly midfield.
In the attack, players like Le Toux and creative mid Vincent Nogueira are always looking to play
McInerney in behind while U.S. international Maurice Edu can also do the same from his deeper midfield role.
While much of the focus will be on
McInerney, Brazilian Leonardo Fernandez has impressed coming off the bench in Philly's last two matches, scoring in one, and it would be no surprise to see him on the pitch from the start on Saturday.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jack McInerney was traded to the Montreal Impact in exchange for Andrew Wenger Friday morning, hence his name being struck through. It is not known at time of edit if Wenger will join the Union in Chicago for Saturday's match.
Prediction: The Fire will finally get a first win of the season - 2-1 with goals from Quincy Amarikwa and Harry Shipp.
Stephen Piggott is a contributor to Chicago-Fire.com. Follow him on Twitter @irish_steve.
I'm not going to bog you down with a bunch of math, it is Sunday afterall.
Following New York's 3-0 win today at Houston, the Eastern Conference playoff picture has become very clear heading into the final week of the season.
First I give you the updated table via MLSsoccer.com:
Now, the remaining Eastern Conference fixture list...
Saturday, October 26
Philadephia Union vs. Sporting KC - 2pm CT (NBC Sports Network)
Toronto FC vs. Montreal Impact - 3pm CT (MLS Live)
Sunday, October 27
D.C. United vs. Houston Dynamo - 12:30pm CT (NBC)
Columbus Crew vs. New England Revolution - 3:00pm CT (MLS Live)
New York Red Bulls vs. Chicago Fire - 4:00pm CT (My50/Time Warner Sports WI)
The Chicago Fire can qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs the following ways...
- Draw at New York AND Montreal lose at Toronto
- Win at New York AND Toronto FC win/draw vs. Montreal
- Draw at New York AND Montreal loses at Toronto FC AND New England draws/loses at Columbus AND Houston draws/loses at D.C.
Bet you didn't see that title coming two weeks ago did you?
While much of MLS sat idle this weekend, teams in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race nearly played a full slate with perhaps the Fire coming away as the biggest winners from the weekend's results.
A look at where the race stands heading into the final two weeks of the season...
x - 1) New York Red Bulls
Current Points: 53 (15-9-8)
Games Remaining: 2 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: DDWWW (11pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 10-2-4 / 5-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 59
Average Opponents Pts: 47.0
Remaining Schedule: 10/20 @ HOU, 10/27 vs. CHI
Rundown: New York sat idle this weekend, letting the rest of the Eastern Conference catch up to them on games played. Already qualified for the playoffs, Red Bull will be watching the Cascadia clash between Seattle and Portland closely Sunday night as it will have significant implications on the Supporters Shield race.
Red Bull will certainly be in the mix for their first true silverware the last two weeks of the season but with so many teams still in contention for the hardware, Fire fans shouldn't expect New York to put out a weaker lineup on the last day of the season.
A win this week vs. Houston would at the very least lock up a top two finish in the East for New York while a loss would make things very interesting…
x - 2) Sporting KC
Current Points: 52 (15-10-7)
Games Remaining: 2 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5: DWLWW (10pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 8-5-3 / 7-5-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 58
Average Opponents Pts: 31
Remaining Schedule: 10/18 vs. D.C., 10/23 vs. OLI**, 10/26 @ PHI
Rundown: Sporting KC could have controlled their own destiny for the top spot in the East if they would have won out but Wednesday's draw at Houston means they've relinquished that opportunity to New York.
Still, Sporting welcomes D.C. United this weekend and will no doubt be in the equation for both that top spot and potentially the Supporters Shield race on the final day of the season.
By virtue of the draw between Philadelphia and D.C. United Saturday, they also locked down a playoff berth. A win Saturday vs. D.C. and Sporting will lock in a top two finish in the East.
3) Houston Dynamo
Current Points: 48 (13-10-9)
Games Remaining: 1 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: DWWWL (10pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 9-3-4 / 4-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 56
Average Opponents Pts: 34.5
Remaining Schedule: 10/20 vs. NY, 10/24 @ AU**, 10/27 @ D.C.
Rundown: The midweek draw vs. Sporting KC cooled off the Dynamo's hot streak just a bit, leaving them exposed to a potential drop in the standings at the weekend. Fortunately for Houston, Montreal fell to New England and the Dynamo are still in with a small chance for a top of the East finish.
With three games in eight days to end the season, the Dynamo have a huge week ahead of them beginning Saturday vs. New York.
How the qualify this week: A win over New York combined with a Philadelphia loss or draw to Montreal or a win over New York combined with a Philadelphia draw/win and a Chicago loss or draw to Toronto FC.
4) Montreal Impact
Current Points: 46 (13-11-7)
Games Remaining: 3 (1 home/ 2 away)
Last 5 Games: LLDLL (1pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 9-4-3 / 4-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 56
Average Opponents Pts: 39
Remaining Schedule: 10/16 @ LA, 10/19 vs. PHI, 10/26 @ TFC
Rundown: Oh how the mighty have fallen. Long holders of the Eastern Conference top spot the first half of the season, Montreal are now winless in their last five following Saturday's 1-0 defeat to New England.
Montreal still hold a game in hand over the rest of the East but make that up with a tough midweek match Wednesday at LA. In that game the Impact will be down two starters in Matteo Ferrari and Davy Arnaud due to yellow card accumulation while Landon Donovan returns to the Galaxy from U.S. Men's National Team duty.
A loss in that match and Montreal will officially be in the dog fight for one of the knockout playoff spots and will have to recover quickly as they'll host fellow contender Philadelphia three days later.
How they qualify this week: Two wins vs. LA and Philadelphia is the simplest way but a combined four points with the win coming against Philadelphia along with either a New England loss/draw to Columbus or a Fire loss to Toronto FC.
5) Chicago Fire
Current Points: 46 (13-12-7)
Games Remaining: 2 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: WWDLW (10pts)
2013 Home / Away Record: 9-4-3 / 4-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 52
Average Opponents Pts: 39.5
Remaining Schedule: 10/19 vs. TFC, 10/27 @ NY
Rundown: Following the disappointing 2-2 draw to Montreal on September 28, naysayers said the Fire should give up on the season and "play the kids" with only home game remaining out of their final four.
Two weeks later, they've won two straight MLS games for the first time since early July and both of them came on the road. Naysayers…
Now above the red line and tied on points with Montreal (and Philadelphia), the Fire are actually in a position where they could clinch a playoff berth this weekend and still have the possibility to finish in the East's top three spots, something that would have been unthinkable back in mid-May.
With two games left, the Fire control their own playoff destiny and after two confidence boosting victories, have a very winnable game in Saturday's home finale vs. Toronto FC.
How they qualify this week: A Chicago win over Toronto FC combined with a Philadelphia loss vs. Montreal and a New England loss or draw vs. Columbus.
With the Chicago and Philadelphia even on points, how would this work you ask? If the Fire won and Union lost, couldn't they still catch the Fire on points? Yes, but they would only tie Chicago and the Fire would already have a two-game edge in the first tie breaker which is total wins.
With both Montreal/Philadelphia and New England/Columbus ending before the Fire/TFC game, Saturday could be a very special night at Toyota Park. Get your tickets!
6) Philadelphia Union
Current Points: 46 (12-10-10)
Games Remaining: 2 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: DWWLL (7pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 7-4-5 / 5-6-5
Maximum Possible Points: 52
Average Opponents Pts: 49
Remaining Schedule: 10/19 @ MTL, 10/26 vs. SKC
Rundown: For two weeks in a row, Philadelphia have needed a very late goal to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. On Saturday though Jack McInerney's strike was only good enough to equalize with lowly D.C. United, meaning the Union missed out on a huge opportunity to gain crucial points ahead of what will be two tough matches at Montreal and vs. Sporting KC to end the season.
How they qualify this week: Even if Philadelphia beats Montreal (and the Impact have lost to LA at midweek) and the Fire and Revolution both lose to Toronto and Columbus respectively, Philly would still need to get a point in the final week against Sporting KC.
7) New England Revolution
Current Points: 45 (12-11-9)
Games Remaining: 2 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: WDDWL (8pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 7-5-4 / 5-7-4
Maximum Possible Points: 51
Average Opponents Pts: 41
Remaining Schedule: 10/19 vs. CLB, 10/27 @ CLB
Rundown: New England bounced back well from a disappointing 2-2 draw last week at New York, earning a valuable 1-0 away win in Montreal but still find themselves in a difficult spot after the Fire win in Dallas and Philly's last gasp draw in D.C.
An odd home-and-home series with Columbus (who are now all but out of the playoff race) will help determine their playoff fate but even if they win both matches to close the season, they'll need help in the form of two teams above them dropping points. With Montreal, Chicago and Philadelphia all just one point ahead and the Impact and Union facing each other this week, New England still has plenty to play for.
8) Columbus Crew
Current Points: 41 (12-15-5)
Games Remaining: 2 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: LWWWL (9pts)
2013 Home / Away Record: 7-6-3 / 5-9-2
Maximum Possible Points: 47
Average Opponents Pts: 42
Remaining Schedule: 10/19 @ NE, 10/27 vs. NE
Rundown: The Revolution and Fire wins as well as the Union draw pretty much put to bed the Crew's hopes for the postseason. It's not that they're mathematically out, it's just that it's damn near improbable that all the results that would need to go Columbus' way would.
It's not even worth getting into with two weeks left but if they can play a little spoiler and win at New England this weekend and are still in the hunt on the final day, I'll explain it next week.
The Fire and a few other results went their way this weekend. Still, the Men in Red remain just below the red line, two points back of the final playoff spot in the East with three matches left to play.
A breakdown of the weekend and what it means for the current Eastern Conference playoff picture…
x - 1) New York Red Bulls
Current Points: 53 (15-9-8)
Games Remaining: 2 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: DDWWW (11pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 10-2-4 / 5-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 59
Average Opponents Pts: 45.0
Remaining Schedule: 10/20 @ HOU, 10/27 vs. CHI
Rundown: New York held a long lead, controversy ensued, New England went up 2-1 late only to see Tim Cahill bag an incredible header to see Red Bull walk away with a 2-2 draw and eventually become the first team in MLS to clinch a playoff berth.
Still, the game will feel like a missed opportunity at home for a team still hoping to win the Supporters Shield and lock down the Eastern Conference top seed. The result is disappointing from a Fire perspective for two reasons: 1) It gives New England an extra point and 2) It almost assuredly makes Red Bull's home game vs. the Fire on October 27 all the more meaningful.
New York will take a break off this week before visiting high-flying Houston on October 20.
2) Sporting KC
Current Points: 51 (15-10-6)
Games Remaining: 3 (1 home / 2 away)
Last 5: WLWWW (9pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 8-5-3 / 7-5-3
Maximum Possible Pts: 60
Average Opponents Pts: 35.6
Remaining Schedule: 10/9 at HOU, 10/18 vs. D.C., 10/23 vs. OLI**, 10/26 @ PHI
Rundown: Sporting KC did exactly what they needed to do, getting a well-earned 1-0 victory at Columbus Saturday night. The result means Sporting has earned just three points less on the road than they have at home this season – a somewhat incredible away record in MLS terms.
KC controls their own destiny for Eastern Conference top spot but faces a very tough test Wednesday vs. a Dynamo side that jumped up to third this weekend. A Sporting win in that match automatically puts them into the playoffs but they can also make it with a combination draw and Fire draw or loss would also do the trick.
3) Houston Dynamo
Current Points: 47 (13-10-8)
Games Remaining: 3 (2 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: WWWLD (10pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 9-3-3 / 4-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 58
Average Opponents Pts: 39.7
Remaining Schedule: 10/9 vs. SKC, 10/20 vs. NY, 10/24 @ AU**, 10/27 @ D.C.
Rundown: Houston continued their climb up the table with their third straight win Friday vs. Montreal. Things looked bleak for the Dynamo in early September but the side now seems destined to once again reach the playoffs and with back-to-back matches vs. Sporting KC and New York, their ascent might not stop at third place.
All we can say is, typical Houston Dynamo…
4) Montreal Impact
Current Points: 46 (13-10-7)
Games Remaining: 4 (2 home/ 2 away)
Last 5 Games: LDLLW (4pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 9-3-3 / 4-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 58
Average Opponents Pts: 39.5
Remaining Schedule: 10/12 vs. NE, 10/16 @ LA, 10/19 vs. PHI, 10/26 @ TFC
Rundown: Montreal fell again 1-0 at Houston Friday night, moving the side that spent much of the regular season at the top of the East all the way down to fourth place. The Impact still hold a game in hand on everyone and both of their remaining home matches are six-pointers against New England (this week) and Philadelphia (October 19). If they can recover from their down form and win those games, they should still be in the playoffs.
5) Philadelphia Union
Current Points: 45 (12-10-9)
Games Remaining: 3 (1 home / 2 away)
Last 5 Games: WWLLD (7pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 7-4-5 / 5-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 54
Average Opponents Pts: 37.3
Remaining Schedule: 10/12 @ D.C., 10/19 @ MTL, 10/26 vs. SKC
Rundown: There was a point Saturday night in which it looked like all three Eastern Conference games would go the Fire's way, then Kleberson's 96th minute free kick happened, giving Philadelphia a crucial 1-0 home win over Toronto FC.
With that win, the Union stayed above the red line, two points ahead of the Fire with three matches remaining. Philly will look to take advantage of Saturday's game at lowly D.C. before having to close with tough matches at Montreal and vs. Sporting KC.
6) Chicago Fire
Current Points: 43 (12-12-7)
Games Remaining: 3 (1 home / 2 away)
Last 5 Games: WDLWD (7pts)
2013 Home / Away Record: 9-4-3 / 3-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 52
Average Opponents Pts: 40
Remaining Schedule: 10/12 @ FCD, 10/19 vs. TFC, 10/27 @ NY
Rundown: The Fire did the business with a 3-0 win at D.C. on Friday night and if not for Kleberson's late free kick in Philly, would have sat in fifth place to end the weekend.
The Fire visit FC Dallas who kept their quite slim Western Conference playoff hopes alive with a 1-1 draw vs. Real Salt Lake Saturday. With the Galaxy destroying Chivas USA and even Vancouver picking up a point vs. Portland Sunday, it doesn't look good for Dallas, who are seven points out of the final playoff spot with three games to go, meaning a loss Saturday would officially be there end of the season.
On the other hand, the Fire are 3-12-2 all-time in Dallas and will go for their second straight away win on Saturday – a feat the team has achieved just once in the past four seasons. A win in Frisco will put the Fire in prime position with a home match vs. Toronto looming.
7) New England Revolution
Current Points: 42 (11-11-9)
Games Remaining: 3 (1 home / 2 away)
Last 5 Games: DDWLL (5pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 7-5-4 / 4-7-4
Maximum Possible Points: 51
Average Opponents Pts: 42.6
Remaining Schedule: 10/12 @ MTL, 10/19 vs. CLB, 10/27 @ CLB
Rundown: New England were no doubt the biggest losers from this weekend's results, scoring two goals to go up 2-1 late only to have Cahill's 96th minute header serve as a huge gut punch. A visit to Montreal, who are also coming off a loss at Houston, looms quite large and defeat in Quebec could do serious damage to the Revs' playoff hopes.
Still, the home-and-home vs. Columbus to close the season will keep things interesting for the Revolution and at the very least, likely keep them in the mix until the final weekend.
8) Columbus Crew
Current Points: 41 (12-15-5)
Games Remaining: 2 (1 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: LWWWL (9pts)
2013 Home / Away Record: 7-6-3 / 5-9-2
Maximum Possible Points: 47
Average Opponents Pts: 42
Remaining Schedule: 10/19 @ NE, 10/27 vs. NE
Rundown: As great as the Crew's run under interim head man Brian Bliss was, all it would take was another loss to deal a horrible blow to their playoff hopes. The Crew will now take their bye week but they need to win their remaining two matches and hope for major help around the East in order to make the playoffs.
There's still a chance but it's just not very good.
After Saturday's difficult to swallow 2-2 draw vs. Montreal, you may not want to read this week's Playoff Math. Though sitting eighth currently, it's important to remember the Fire are just two points out of the final playoff place, with four games left.
With that, let's continue the Playoff Math…
1) New York Red Bulls
Current Points: 52 (15-9-7)
Games Remaining: 3 (2 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: DWWWW (13pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 10-2-3 / 5-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 61
Average Opponents Pts: 41.7
Remaining Schedule: 10/5 vs. NE, 10/20 @ HOU, 10/27 vs. CHI
Rundown: New York did a great job to get a point away to Seattle Sunday night and though they may not get the Supporters Shield, are still in good position for the top spot in the East. Red Bull can clinch a playoff place with a draw Saturday vs. New England.
Fire fans should hope for New York to win that game as well as October 20 at Houston, not only because it takes max points off teams Chicago can still catch but it could make their season finale vs. the Fire less meaningful, with the Fire almost certainly needing a result in that match to make the postseason.
2) Sporting KC
Current Points: 48 (14-10-6)
Games Remaining: 4 (1 home / 3 away)
Last 5: LWWWL (9pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 8-5-3 / 6-5-3
Maximum Possible Pts: 60
Average Opponents Pts: 35.5
Remaining Schedule: 10/5 @ CLB, 10/9 at HOU, 10/18 vs. D.C., 10/23 vs. OLI**, 10/26 @ PHI
Rundown: Fortress Sporting Park? Maybe not so much, as KC dropped their fifth home match of the season vs. Philadelphia Friday night. They didn't lose their second place positioning but they took a definite hit in keeping up with Red Bull at the top of the East. With three of their remaining four matches away, KC also has the distinction of the best road record in the East at 6-5-3.
A win away to Columbus combined with a Fire and New England losses would see Sporting KC earn a playoff spot this weekend.
3) Montreal Impact
Current Points: 46 (13-9-7)
Games Remaining: 5 (2 home/ 3 away)
Last 5 Games: DLLWD (5pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 9-3-3 / 4-6-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 61
Average Opponents Pts: 40.3
Remaining Schedule: @ HOU, 10/12 vs. NE, 10/16 @ LA, 10/19 vs. PHI, 10/26 @ TFC
Rundown: After a missed penalty, a hit off the post, a goal line clearance and hopeful header, Montreal no doubt felt lucky to leave Toyota Park with a point Saturday night.
- Between the Lines: The Playoff Measurement
Now done with Champions League play, the Impact can concentrate solely on their playoff position and hold a game in hand on the rest of the field. Three of their remaining five matches come against teams directly below them so they can either solidify their place inside the top three, win out and potentially get the top spot from Red Bull or still tank with tough visits to Houston and LA in the offing.
It's Montreal in 2013… You don't really know what to expect from them but a win this week over the Dynamo combined with Crew, Fire and Revolution losses would see the Impact needing just a point next week vs. New England to earn their first-ever MLS playoff berth.
4) Houston Dynamo
Current Points: 44 (12-10-8)
Games Remaining: 4 (3 home / 1 away)
Last 5 Games: WWLDL (7pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 8-3-3 / 4-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 58
Average Opponents Pts: 39.8
Remaining Schedule: 10/4 vs. MTL, 10/9 vs. SKC, 10/20 vs. NY, 10/24 @ AU**, 10/27 @ D.C.
Rundown: Houston managed their last week quite well, winning in Champions League at midweek before getting enough out of a 1-1 draw at New England. The result keeps them four points ahead of the Revs and with their next two matches against Montreal and Sporting KC, they could legitimately be in second place by October 10.
Losses to both sides however could just as easily push them back out of the playoff bubble but no team outside the top three controls their own destiny in positioning like the Dynamo down the stretch.
5) Philadelphia Union
Current Points: 42 (11-10-9)
Games Remaining: 4 (2 home / 2 away)
Last 5 Games: WLLDL (4pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 6-4-5 / 5-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 54
Average Opponents Pts: 33.8
Remaining Schedule: 10/5 vs. TFC, 10/12 @ D.C., 10/19 @ MTL, 10/26 vs. SKC
Rundown: After two weeks below the red line, the Union were the biggest winners this past weekend, coming away with a huge win at Sporting KC. Philly now has the potential to stake a serious claim for a playoff berth if they can get wins vs. Toronto and at D.C. the next two weeks. Six points in those two matches will be a must with the Union visiting Montreal and hosting Sporting to close the season out.
6) Columbus Crew
Current Points: 41 (12-14-5)
Games Remaining: 3 (1 home / 2 away)
Last 5 Games: WWWLW (12pts)
2013 Home / Away Record: 7-5-3 / 5-9-2
Maximum Possible Points: 50
Average Opponents Pts: 42.5
Remaining Schedule: 10/5 vs. SKC, 10/19 @ NE, 10/27 vs. NE
Rundown: Wow. The Crew continued their incredible push for a postseason berth with a 4-2 road win at FC Dallas on Sunday. They've now taken four wins from five matches under interim head man Brian Bliss and jumped from eighth to sixth place over the weekend, just one point out of playoff position.
Having played one more game than the rest of the pack, the Crew still have no room for error, with any loss in their final three matches doing serious damage to their playoff hopes. Their backs have been against the wall for a month and they've responded well.
7) New England Revolution
Current Points: 41 (11-11-8)
Games Remaining: 4 (1 home / 3 away)
Last 5 Games: DWLLD (5pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 7-5-4 / 4-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 53
Average Opponents Pts: 40.3
Remaining Schedule: 10/5 @ NY, 10/12 @ MTL, 10/19 vs. CLB, 10/27 @ CLB
Rundown: New England missed a definite opportunity in Saturday's 1-1 home draw vs. Houston. A win would have seen the Revs pull level on points with the Dynamo but instead things stayed the same. New England will now have to try and gain points in difficult road matches at New York and Montreal the next two weeks, a daunting task as the two sides also hold the best home records in the Eastern Conference this year.
Taking points from those two games though will at the very least keep the Revs in the equation for their end-of-season home and home series with Columbus.
8) Chicago Fire
Current Points: 40 (11-12-7)
Games Remaining: 4 (1 home / 3 away)
Last 5 Games: DLWDL (5pts)
2013 Home / Away Record: 9-4-3 / 2-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 52
Average Opponents Pts: 33.3
Remaining Schedule: 10/4 @ D.C., 10/12 @ FCD, 10/19 vs. TFC, 10/27 @ NY
Rundown: After coming away disappointed from Saturday's game and other results pushing the Fire down to eighth, why even bother at this point right? Well because it's Playoff Math and they're only two points out of playoff position. They also have the easiest remaining schedule of any team in the East.
Perspective: Friday's game is away to a D.C. United side which will play their final meaningful match of the season in Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup final at Real Salt Lake. Along with three points, the Fire will certainly be looking for revenge for August's semifinal defeat and will be doing so against a D.C. team that will have played two time zones away, three days earlier.
A win in that match combined with New England and Columbus losses at New York and vs. Sporting KC respectively (possibilities) would see the Fire jump at the very least back to sixth place. A Philadelphia draw home vs. Toronto (maybe less likely) would also see the Fire move back into fifth place (on the wins tiebreaker). A lot that needs to happen for that this weekend but a win will keep the Fire in position regardless.
Then take into account a game at an FC Dallas side that is all but out of the Western Conference playoff picture and the home finale vs. Toronto on October 19.
Dropping five points in three matches the last month leaves the Fire with little room for error anymore but nine points are far from out of the question over the next three games.
The Fire's dip back below the red line on Saturday night was one of two moves in the Eastern Conference playoff race. With just over a month to play, certain teams are circling in on a playoff berth while others are battling for position.
The latest edition of Playoff Math awaits you below:
1) New York Red Bulls
Current Points: 51 (15-9-6)
Games Remaining: 4 (2 home / 2 away)
Last 5 Games: WWWWL (12pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 10-2-3 / 5-7-3
Maximum Possible Pts: 63
Average Opponents Pts: 43.0
Remaining Schedule: 9/29 @ SEA, 10/5 vs. NE, 10/20 @ HOU, 10/27 vs. CHI
Rundown: New York watched Montreal lose and Sporting KC win on Saturday, knowing a home game against FC Dallas awaited the following day. It wasn't a great match but New York utilized a 76th minute own goal from Erick to earn another home result and somewhat quietly move into first place in the Supporters Shield race in the process.
The Red Bulls continue to benefit from the two teams chasing them having Champions League matches but a top of the conference clash awaits them Sunday night when they visit Seattle in a match that could go a long way to decide the first silverware of the season.
A New York win or tie Sunday combined with Fire and Philadelphia Union losses would see the Red Bulls become the first team to qualify for the postseason.
2) Sporting KC
Current Points: 48 (14-9-6)
Games Remaining: 5 (2 home / 3 away)
Last 5: WWWLL (9pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 8-4-3 / 6-5-3
Maximum Possible Pts: 63
Average Opponents Pts: 34.8
Remaining Schedule: 9/27 vs. PHI, 10/5 @ CLB, 10/9 at HOU, 10/18 vs. D.C., 10/23 vs. OLI**, 10/26 @ PHI
Rundown: Despite a scare, Sporting earned a point against Real Esteli in Champions League play at midweek and will just need another draw vs. Olimpia to guarantee final passage. In MLS play, they fought hard for a 2-1 win at Toronto took benefit of Montreal's defeat to Vancouver to move into sole possession of second place in the East.
Sporting holds a game in hand over Red Bull but faces three matches against teams fighting for their playoff fate over the next two and a half weeks. Though their remaining schedule is easiest in the East, it will be a battle to stay in second and potentially push for the top spot.
3) Montreal Impact
Current Points: 45 (13-9-6)
Games Remaining: 6 (2 home/ 4 away)
Last 5 Games: LLWDW (7pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 9-3-3 / 4-6-3
Maximum Possible Pts: 63
Average Opponents Pts: 38.2
Remaining Schedule: 9/24 vs. HER** 9/28 @ CHI, 10/4 @ HOU, 10/12 vs. NE, 10/16 @ LA, 10/19 vs. PHI, 10/26 @ TFC
Rundown: So what's going on with Montreal? Their 3-0 loss to Vancouver marked their third straight across all competitions and second straight at home in MLS. Like their performances this season, the Impact have a mixed bag through the end of the year. On one hand they hold two games in hand over New York and one over Sporting but face a crucial Champions League match against Heredia on Tuesday night ahead of Saturday's game vs. the Fire.
Montreal still has a shot in the Champions League but not a great one… Will they turn their complete focus on the Fire and playoff race or try to double-dip this week?
4) Houston Dynamo
Current Points: 43 (12-10-7)
Games Remaining: 5 (3 home / 2 away)
Last 5 Games: WWLDL (7pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 8-3-3 / 4-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 58
Average Opponents Pts: 39.8
Remaining Schedule: 9/25 vs. WC**, 9/28 @ NE, 10/4 vs. MTL, 10/9 vs. SKC, 10/20 vs. NY, 10/24 @ AU**, 10/27 @ D.C.
Rundown: After going on an end of summer slump, Houston has run off two straight wins the past two weeks to move firmly into fourth place in the East. They play a crucial Champions League home match Wednesday night vs. W. Connection before opening up a four-game stretch all against teams in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Three of those four matches are at home so after weathering a pretty difficult storm, its safe to say more than anyone, the Dynamo control their own fate in terms of being able to move up into one of the top three spots.
5) New England Revolution
Current Points: 40 (11-11-7)
Games Remaining: 5 (2 home / 3 away)
Last 5 Games: WLLDW (7pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 7-5-3 / 4-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 55
Average Opponents Pts: 43.0
Remaining Schedule: 9/28 vs. HOU, 10/5 @ NY, 10/12 @ MTL, 10/19 vs. CLB, 10/27 @ CLB
Rundown: One week New England is complaining about an offside goal being called back, the next they're benefiting from it and not saying a peep. This was the case on Diego Fagundez's tying goal in their 2-1 win over D.C. United. By virtue of that victory and the Fire's defeat at Columbus, the two sides traded places in the East race this weekend.
The good news for the Fire is that New England has the toughest remaining schedule in the East, with a huge showdown vs. streaking Houston on the horizon this weekend. Back-to-back trips to New York and Montreal follow that clash and could define the Revs season if they don't manage it the right way.
6) Chicago Fire
Current Points: 39 (11-12-6)
Games Remaining: 5 (2 home / 3 away)
Last 5 Games: LWDLD (5pts)
2013 Home / Away Record: 9-4-2 / 2-7-4
Maximum Possible Pts: 54
Average Opponents Pts: 34.8
Remaining Schedule: 9/28 vs. MTL, 10/4 @ D.C., 10/12 @ FCD, 10/19 vs. TFC, 10/27 @ NY
Rundown: The Fire lost a tough 3-0 result at Columbus on Saturday. It was a game the team went in with the mindset of taking three points and even after going down 1-0, they looked able to do it. Bakary Soumare's red card made that hope near impossible and as the Fire pushed forward they got caught out twice more.
They now welcome a struggling Montreal side to Toyota Park Saturday and should remember the situation they faced the Impact in back in August -- days after a disappointing U.S. Open Cup defeat to D.C. United, the Fire rebounded with a 2-1 win, a game that stands as one of the team's biggest results of the season.
While a 3-0 loss at this point in the season can be discouraging, perspective is important as the Fire remain just one point out of the top five. It is imperative for the team to take their remaining two home matches and find a way to get two results on the road to ensure they won't have to depend on other teams for a postseason berth.
7) Philadelphia Union
Current Points: 39 (10-10-9)
Games Remaining: 5 (2 home / 3 away)
Last 5 Games: LLDLD (2pts)
2013 Home/Away Record: 6-4-5 / 4-6-4
Maximum Possible Points: 54
Average Opponents Pts: 32.8
Remaining Schedule: 9/27 @ SKC, 10/5 vs. TFC, 10/12 @ D.C., 10/19 @ MTL, 10/26 vs. SKC
Rundown: The Union were idle this past weekend and will hope to have worked out the kinks that have him on the poorest form out of any team in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Unfortunately for them, they face a huge match Friday night away to a Sporting side that can put themselves on the brink of a postseason berth with a win.
A loss in this match would be devastating to the team's chances but six points from their following two matches vs. Toronto and D.C. would certainly keep them afloat going into the final two weeks of the season.
8) Columbus Crew
Current Points: 35 (11-14-5)
Games Remaining: 4 (2 home / 2 away)
Last 5 Games: WWLWL (9pts)
2013 Home / Away Record: 7-5-3 / 4-9-2
Maximum Possible Points: 50
Average Opponents Pts: 42
Remaining Schedule: 9/29 @ FCD, 10/5 vs. SKC, 10/19 @ NE, 10/27 vs. NE
Rundown: The Crew continued their late-season run under interim head man Brian Bliss with a resounding 3-0 win over the Fire on Saturday. There's no doubt that the Crew need help from other teams but their attitude is in the right place to make a late-season run.
Every game is a must-win for the Crew from here on out and they'll shift their focus to a visit to FC Dallas where they haven't won since their MLS Cup championship season in 2008.


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When: Saturday, November 26th, 2:00 PM
Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers (13-6-3)
TV: MSG, NHL Network
The Rangers and Flyers face off tomorrow afternoon at Madison Square Garden for a preview of what's to come in the Winter Classic. It will be the first game of the season between the familiar foes.
Both rivals were in action on Friday and will be looking to build on their latest victories with another two points.
The Blueshirts defeated the struggling Capitals 6-3 in convincing style at the Verizon Center. Although the Caps showed moments of hope where the momentum could have swung back in their favor after Troy Brouwer and Alex Ovechkin scored, the Rangers never backed down. After only scoring one goal in their last two losses, the Rangers' season high six goal output was just what the doctor ordered.
Derek Stepan continued to click with linemates Artem Anisimov (1 G, 1A) and Marian Gaborik (1 G) who started the Rangers offensive surge in the second period. Secondary scoring from power forwards and grinders which had been absent of late was also a positive. Ruslan Fedotenko scored two goals while Brian Boyle scored his second of the season. Ryan Callahan's chipper forecheck and opportune dishes gave him first star of the game honors with three assists.
Rookies Carl Hagelin and John Mitchell brought some new life to the grit line in their NHL debut with Erik Christensen out as a healthy scratch and Andre Deveaux being suspended. Both Hagelin and Mitchell notched assists in their first game up after being recalled from the Connecticut Whale on Thursday.
The Flyers could also be riding into New York on a wave of momentum after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 on Friday afternoon. The Flyers' and NHL's first quarter powerhouse Claude Giroux had two goals and an assist in the win. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 of 24 shots in his second straight victory.
The Broad Street Bullies will enter the Garden without some key players though. Forward James van Riemsdyk (1-2 weeks, upper-body) and defenseman Andreas Lilja (six weeks, high ankle sprain) were injured during the Canadiens game. Winger Jaromir Jagr, who's third on the team in points (17) and part of the successful Giroux and Scott Hartnell line, won't be back in action either. The former Rangers' captain aggravated a groin injury he suffered last week after returning to the lineup too soon on Wednesday. Flyers' captain and blueline protector Chris Pronger also won't make the trip to New York after missing the last three games with a virus.
If Rangers' coach John Tortorella's latest line concoctions continue to click, the Rangers' could win their sixth straight game at home. Only four points separate the Rangers from the first place Flyers.


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Canon Genuine Optics are unparalleled in the industry. The same Canon experience and expertise that goes into precision lenses for 35mm and broadcast TV cameras goes into every camcorder lens we manufacture. At Canon, we never compromise. The result is a lens with superb definition and exceptional contrast.
The powerful 10X optical zoom lets you capture your subject with razor-sharp detail even from a distance. The powerful 200X digital zoom takes you even closer, revealing details too small to see with the naked eye.
The 10X optical zoom gives you the same range of focal lengths as a 48.9-489 mm lens on a 35 mm still camera. Add an optional Wide Converter WD-H30.5 (Item Code: 9065A001) and you get the same wide view you'd get with a 34.2 mm lens on a 35 mm still camera. Add the Tele Converter TL-H30.5 (Item Code: 9064A001) and you have the same magnification power of a 929 mm telephoto lens on a 35 mm still camera.
And, that's not the end of the Optura 300's optical versatility. When capturing digital photos to the memory card, the zoom ratio remains 10X zoom, the equivalent of a 38.3 - 383 mm lens on a 35mm photo camera.


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