SEATTLE -- Brian Schmetzer hopped off the trolley carrying the MLS champions along their celebration route, and joined fans carrying banners and following the procession.Schmetzer grew up a fan of the original Seattle Sounders, played for the earlier incarnation of the Sounders and now as coach has led them to their first MLS Cup championship.It felt only right to be with the fans.Its just the way I am, Schmetzer said. I like being with the fans. Im a fan, I was a fan for a long time. So it was just natural.Seattle feted the new MLS champions on Tuesday with a jubilant march through downtown Seattle, concluding with a rally at Seattle Center, just steps from where the first incarnation of the Sounders debuted in 1974 at Memorial Stadium as part of the NASL.After eight years of regularly being regarded as the most successful expansion franchise in MLS history, the Sounders finally reached the pinnacle of the league by defeating Toronto 5-4 on penalty kicks last Saturday night in Canada.Three days later, the scope of what the Sounders accomplished was driven home by the thousands of blue- and rave green-clad fans that lined the streets. Fans chanted, clapped and showed appreciation for the club that brought the city just its fifth championship in a major professional sport in the past half century, joining the Seahawks, two titles by the WNBA Seattle Storm and the SuperSonics.It was way more than I imagined. Our fans continue to surprise me, Seattles Jordan Morris said. We couldnt have done this without them this whole season. There were a lot of downs in a tough season and they stuck by us through it all and that ended with a championship.It was the second straight year the MLS champions were paraded through the streets of a Northwest city, with Seattle following up on the title won a year ago by Cascadia rival Portland. While Seattle has won four U.S. Open Cup titles and a Supporters Shield in its history, the Timbers took great joy in claiming an MLS Cup before their rivals to the north.Seattles championship completed the most remarkable midseason turnaround in league history. The Sounders were in ninth place in the Western Conference standings in July when Schmetzer stepped in as the interim coach after Sigi Schmid, the winningest coach in MLS history, was let go.Schmetzers promotion -- he ultimately got the job permanently -- combined with the arrival of Nicolas Lodeiro and return from injury of Roman Torres to ignite the Sounders. They closed the season on a tear to finish fourth in the West, then nearly swept through the playoffs. Seattle won five of six postseason matches, its only setback a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas in the second leg of the conference semifinals when the Sounders already held a 3-0 lead.The capper was the title match in Toronto, holding the top scoring team in the MLS playoffs scoreless for 120 minutes thanks to an amazing performance from goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Torres then capped the victory with the deciding penalty in the sixth round of penalty kicks.There is no game until March so I will be able to relax and soak this in, Schmetzer said.Texas Rangers Store . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Rangers Jerseys China . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/ . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Stitched Rangers Jerseys . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Rangers Jerseys 2019 . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net.The Florida Panthers on Thursday cleared up salary-cap space by sending injured center Dave Bolland and prospect Lawson Crouse to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a conditional second-round pick and a third-round pick.Bolland has three years remaining on a contract that pays him $5.5 million per season and likely will be placed on long-term injured reserve by the Coyotes.Crouse, one of the Panthers top prospects, was the 11th overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft.We are very pleased to acquire Lawson, Arizona general manager John Chayka said in a statement. Hes a big, physical, power forward who is a strong skater with good hands. Players of his caliber and profile are extremely hard to find.The second-round pick in this trade becomes a tthird-rounder if the Crouse doesnt play for the Coyotes this season.dddddddddddd If Arizona trades Crouse this season, it locks in as a second-round pick.Todays transaction creates significant cap space for us in each of the next three NHL seasons, while simultaneously giving us the ability to add more good, young players to a farm system we know we need to improve, Panthers general Manager Tom Rowe said in a statement. We plan to use this cap space to continue to aggressively build on the steps we took this summer to construct a championship-caliber roster here in South Florida today and well into the future. ' ' '
