When is a playoff victory not really a playoff victory?
When it’s the Major League Soccer playoffs.
The Rapids (13-13-6) kick off the first leg of their aggregate-scoring series against FC Dallas (13-10-9) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Invesco Field at Mile High.
The score of Saturday’s game will carry over to the second game Oct. 29 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
There goes the sports cliche that a loss – no matter the score – is still a loss.
If the aggregate score is tied after both games, the teams will settle the whole mess with a shootout, which is a lot like settling an overtime basketball game with a free-throw contest.
Last year, the Rapids defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 at Invesco Field, only to lose 2-0 a week later in Carson, Calif., for a 2-1 series defeat.
Somewhere in Europe, this all makes perfect sense. Of course. But so do lederhosen.
You won’t have to dress your kids in lederhosen to get them into the game. All kids 16 and under get in free Saturday with the purchase of an adult ticket and score a free activity pass to Fat City in Littleton.
Space for Saturday’s game won’t be an issue inside the enormous confines of Invesco Field. Those hooligans who would rather watch the action at home or in the local pub can tune in to Fox Soccer Channel.
The Rapids have not defeated FC Dallas (FC stands for football club, which is not to be confused with anything the Broncos do) this season. In two games at Invesco Field, the Rapids tied 0-0 and lost 3-1.
Since that defeat, the Rapids have become one of the better teams in MLS, while FC Dallas has won just three times in its past 17 games.
Of course, win or lose Saturday, each team lives to fight another week.
– Brian Forbes
WEAK IN REVIEW
1. Sports Weekend was trying to determine the bad guy in the Danica Patrick-Jaques Lazier poking fight after Sunday’s season-ending race at California Speedway, but we couldn’t find anyone who actually watched the race to tell us what happened.
2. Upset at the NBA’s new forced conformity of a dress code, Allen Iverson suggested the league buy the players new suits. Mr. Blackwell he’s not, but if AI can afford to buy chains from Jacob the Jeweler, we think he can probably hop on down to Men’s Warehouse and buy something off the rack.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
More NBA on TNT commercials featuring Ali G interviewing players. We especially like the spot when Ali G asks Steve Nash what it was like to win the MP3 award last year. They might be the funniest basketball-on-TV commercials since Chris Farley screamed “Get in there!” after shooting a free throw to hawk college hoops on ESPN.
THE COUCH
ON: Has Philo Farnsworth been given sainthood yet? The inventor of the television tube clearly made possible a boob tube paradise this weekend, with a full slate of top-notch action to waste away while watching. Start with these five listings:
1. The World Series kicks off between the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox, seen Saturday and Sunday at 6 o’clock on KDVR-31; 2. The Avalanche plays twice this weekend on Altitude, tonight at 7 p.m. against the Edmonton Oilers and Saturday at 8 p.m. against Todd Bertuzzi and the Vancouver Canucks; 3. Oregon State and UCLA butt heads in a Pac-10 game, Saturday at 5 p.m. on TBS; 4. The Nextel Cup resumes Sunday for the Subway 500 in Martinsville, Va., at 11 a.m. on KUSA-9; 5. Mullen and Cherry Creek, two of the state’s best high school football programs, go at it on Comcast channel CET today at 7 p.m.
OFF: There are only about 650 mountain gorillas left in the world, making them a highly endangered species. But that number might double at Elitch Gardens on Saturday for the second annual Denver Gorilla Run, a 5.6K run/walk starting at 11 a.m. For a small fee to benefit the Dian Fossey Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund, runners get a gorilla suit to run in and keep. So instead of runners in too-short shorts and awkward Spandex pants, a bunch of gorillas will race around the amusement park. Go ape and find more information at www.denvergorillarun.com.
AROUND THE STATE
Wondering which is the oldest interstate college football rivalry west of the Mississippi? Find out Saturday in Fort Collins when Colorado State and Wyoming further the “Border War” game, a matchup that has been played in three different centuries. The Rams and Cowboys will meet for the 97th time since the series began in 1899. In 1968 the schools started playing for the coveted Bronze Boot, a bronzed trophy of an actual boot worn by a CSU graduate in Vietnam. Since the trophy came into play, the teams have been nearly even, with Wyoming leading the series 19-18. Overall, the Rams lead 52-39-5. More important, CSU leads Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference standings by half a game. CSU, in second place at 2-1, 3-3, could give itself a comfortable lead over the Cowboys, tied for third at 2-2, 4-3. Tickets are available at Hughes Stadium, or check out the game on ESPN Classic at 1 p.m.
