The Seattle Sounders FC fan club will reportedly receive actual powers over key team decisions, according to techflash.com. The Web site, which covers the technology industry in the Pacific Northwest reports that the fan group will be able to vote on whether to retain the general manager, among other items. For now the group will name the team’s new marching band.

The group’s Web site will include Facebook-like “social networking” features to allow soccer fans to follow team updates in real time, as well as blog, chat and upload their own fan photos. It will also allow like-minded fans to arrange their seats together.

Membership comes with buying a season ticket or paying a $125 annual fee. The techflash.com story also quotes Drew Carey.

What do you think Sounders fans? A gimmick? Or truly a revolution in American sports management? Or somewhere in between?

The Seattle Sounders FC fan club will reportedly receive actual powers over key team decisions, according to techflash.com. The Web site, which covers the technology industry in the Pacific Northwest reports that the fan group will be able to vote on whether to retain the general manager, among other items.

Read on.

It wasn’t pretty. In fact, at times, it was downright ugly. However, the Houston Dynamo did what it needed to do, secure a win and advance to the elimination stages of the CONCACAF Champions League as it defeated Salvadoran team Luis Angel Firpo 1-0 Wednesday night at Robertson stadium.

The Dynamo jumped on Firpo early with four corner kicks in the first twelve minutes. On the fourth corner, a perfectly placed ball by Dwayne DeRosario found the head of Brian Ching from short distance and Ching headed the ball into the net to give Houston the early lead.

With the early goal, one would think it would be easier for Houston. However, after the first thirty minutes, Firpo started to get their feet underneath them. In the 37th minute, a Christian Sanchez cross found the head of Patricio Gomez, but Houston keeper Pat Onstad saved the effort. Onstad again came up big right before the end of the half to preserve Houston’s first half lead.

The first half was also marred by hard, physical tackles and gamesmanship. Craig Waibel, Brian Mullan, Leonardo Pekarnic, and Dwayne DeRosario were each hit with yellow cards in the first half and both teams were whistled for a combined twenty fouls. Dwayne DeRosario, who was lucky to not get sent off for his two handed push on a Firpo player, admitted to losing focus, “our focus was to go in and set the pace and tempo and score early. After that we got caught up in their antics and lost our head and the focus on our job.”

The second half was no prettier. Another 19 fouls, two ejections, including one for a straight red, and five additional yellow cards drained any quality there might have been out of the match.

Houston had an early chance to extend its lead as a Mike Chabala cross found the head of Dynamo forward Nate Jaqua in front of goal, but Jaqua’s header went wide of goal. Firpo continued to press forcing Onstad into two solid saves in the 54th and 56th minute, one off a header, the other off a Fernando Leguizamon shot.

With the pressure mounting, Houston made some changes bringing on Kei Kamara for Nate Jaqua. Since Jaqua was selected by Seattle earlier in the day in the MLS Expansion Draft, the 14,142 in attendance gave him a standing ovation for his service to the team on his last game in a Dynamo uniform. Jaqua appreciated the show of support, “the fans have been tremendous. It’s sad to be leaving. A little bittersweet, I get to go back home which is important for me with my family, but leaving here, it is almost like a second home and it has been a great couple of years.”

Firpo wasn’t ready to concede just yet and it continued to pressure. In the 82nd minute, Eddie Robinson stepped up to clear a ball and his follow through hit a Firpo player. The referee believed the play was malicious and Robinson received a straight red card. Houston though wasn’t a man down for long as Firpo 2nd half substitute Carlos Calderon entered the game in the 83rd minute, received his first yellow in the 87th minute, and his second yellow in stoppage time and once again the numbers were even for the final three of four minutes of stoppage time.

Houston continued to hold off the Firpo attacks with solid defensive clearances and when they did get the ball, Houston played it to Kei Kamara who did well holding the ball deep in Firpo territory. The referee blew the final whistle and Houston had done enough to secure a 1-0 win.

Despite the victory, Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear was absolutely livid after the game about his opponent, “I thought the opponent was embarrassing. The way they carried on, the way the referee sat by and bought into the game. It makes you question whether you should enter this tournament again. It’s really frustrating…I am happy we won. I don’t have a lot of good things to say about their team. I am just glad we beat them and I wish we beat them 10-0 because playing a team like that is frustrating and brings out all the ugly things in soccer…To see people punch people between the legs and spit on people and then hug you after the game is embarrassing and I am glad they loss.”

Kinnear continued on to the officiating, “It’s frustrating when you step on the field and you have referees who are second rate. It’s frustrating for people who pay to watch this…It’s pretty pathetic.” The stats seemed to back up Kinnear’s frustrations with the home team Dynamo whistled for 27 fouls to only 12 fouls for Firpo.

With the win, Houston advances to the Elimination Stages of the CONCACAF Champions League. The draw will be December 10 and in late February Houston will face CD Marathon of Honduras, or one of two teams from Mexico; Atlante, or Santos.

For the Dynamo, a win is a win as Craig Waibel noted, “as a team we did what we had to do, but it wasn’t our best game.” Dwayne DeRosario was happy to end the season on a positive note after the disappointing first round playoff exit, “It makes us [feel] good to end the season on a winning note. This game was a huge game for us and we wanted to send ourselves and our fans off with a winning result.”

Match Facts

CD Luis Angel Firpo vs. Houston Dynamo
CONCACAF Champions League, Group stage
November 26, 2008 — Robertson Stadium

Scoring Summary:
HOU — Brian Ching 1 (Dwayne De Rosario ) 13

Lineups:
CD Luis Angel Firpo — Juan Jose Gomez, Emerson Veliz (Carlos Calderon 83), Salvador Morales, Manuel Salazar, Carlos Monteagudo, Jorge Sanchez, Dennis Alas, Leonardo Pekarnik, Christian Sanchez (Francisco Medrano 46), Patricio Gomez, Fernando Leguizamon.

Substitutes Not Used: Henry Hernandez, Ricardo Orellana, Mauricio Quintanilla

Houston Dynamo — Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel, Bobby Boswell, Eddie Robinson, Mike Chabala, Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De Rosario (Richard Mulrooney 81), Corey Ashe, Brian Ching (Patrick Ianni 85), Nate Jaqua (Kei Kamara 68).

Substitutes Not Used: Wade Barrett, Chris Wondolowski, Tony Caig, John Michael Hayden

Misconduct Summary:
HOU — Craig Waibel (caution; Reckless Tackle) 33
LAF — Leonardo Pekarnik (caution; Dissent) 34
HOU — Dwayne De Rosario (caution; Reckless Foul) 44
HOU — Brian Mullan (caution; Reckless Tackle) 47+
LAF — Carlos Monteagudo (caution; Tactical Foul) 76
HOU — Kei Kamara (caution; Goalkeeper Interference) 78
HOU — Eddie Robinson (ejection; Serious Foul Play) 82
LAF — Carlos Calderon (caution; Reckless Tackle) 87
LAF — Carlos Calderon (ejection; Second Caution) 91+
LAF — Salvador Morales (caution; Reckless Foul) 93+
Referee: Roberto Garcia (MEX)
Referee’s Assistants: Juan Rangel (MEX); Alfonso Delgado (MEX)
4th Official: Baldomero Toledo
Time Of Game: 1:52
Attendance: 14,142
Weather: Clear -and- 68 degrees

The Houston Dynamo secured a win and advanced to the elimination stages of the CONCACAF Champions League as it defeated Salvadoran team Luis Angel Firpo 1-0 Wednesday night at Robertson stadium. Despite the victory, Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear was absolutely livid after the game about the team’s opponent, “The way they carried on, the way the referee sat by and bought into the game, it makes you question whether you should enter this tournament again,” he said. “It’s really frustrating.”

Read the match report here.

The New York Red Bulls selected longtime Metro Mike Petke in today’s MLS Waiver Draft after the Bohemia, N.Y. native was dropped by the Colorado Rapids. The team also announced it had waived defender Gabriel Cichero, midfielder Gordon Kljestan and forward Sainey Touray.

Petke, 32, played in 134 games for the MetroStars, starting in 129 – a club all-time high – and logging 11,520 minutes from 1998 to 2002. He was initially selected by New York in the first round (eight overall) of the 1998 College Draft and helped New York win the 2000 Eastern Division Title. He was traded on Dec. 23, 2002 to D.C. United, along with the fifth overall pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft and an allocation for defender Eddie Pope, forward Jaime Moreno and midfielder and current Red Bulls assistant coach Richie Williams.

Petke played three seasons with United, making 48 appearances and helping it win the 2004 MLS Cup. Petke was traded to Colorado during the 2005 season on May 23 for midfielder Chris Henderson. In 2008, Petke made 11 appearances and 10 starts while scoring two goals. One of those goals came against the Red Bulls in a 5-4 Rapids win on Sept. 27 at Giants Stadium. The 6-2, 191-pound defender has earned two caps for the U.S. National Team and was a two-time MLS All-Star (2000-2002). The former Southern Connecticut State University product has accumulated 13 goals and four assists in 272 games played in his 11-year career.

Cichero was signed from Deportivo Italia of the Venezuelan First Division. He made eight starts for New York, most recently in the 5-2 loss at Chicago that concluded the team’s regular season schedule. The Venezuelan international never really found his form for Juan Carlos Osorio and made several costly mistakes for the Red Bulls, including several in a 3-1 home loss to Toronto FC on Oct. 5.

Kljestan was signed on June 25, 2008. The former Los Angeles Galaxy player featured in eight MLS Reserve League games this season. New York signed Touray on Aug. 29, 2008. Touray, who previously played for Wallidan FC of The Gambian First Division, made six appearances for the Red Bulls, scoring two goals.

Player Fact file: Mike Petke

Height: 6-2
Weight: 191 lbs.
DOB: Jan 30, 1976 in Bohemia, NY
Previous Club: Colorado Rapids (MLS)
Hometown: Bohemia, N.Y.

Nathan Sturgis was selected by the Seattle Sounders in the expansion draft on Wednesday afternoon, ending his stint at Real Salt Lake.

Sturgis, a midfielder/defender who has played extensively with the U.S. youth national teams, joined RSL in June 2007 along with Robbie Findley in a trade with the Los Angeles Galaxy.  However, Sturgis made just eight appearances for Real, primarily because of injuries.  A hamstring injury kept him out of contention for much of the 2008 season, limiting him to just three league appearances, only one of which (a 4-0 victory over D.C. United on April 12) as a starter.

Initial reports placed Sturgis on RSL’s 11-man protected list, which would have made him ineligible for selection by Seattle.  However, Real decided to change its list at the last moment, which left Sturgis unprotected in favor of goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

Seattle Sounders FC picked 10 players in the expansion draft Wednesday, to bring their total squad count to 14. The biggest name selected in the draft was likely Nate Jaqua‘s. Jaqua, who re-signed with the Dynamo over the summer after a six-month stint in Austria, scored four goals and four assists in 14 league games this season.

Jaqua, Jarrod Smith (taken from Toronto FC) and Jason Riley (San Jose Earthquakes) join Swedish star Freddie Ljungberg on a suddenly crowded front line that could also feature Khano Smith (New England Revolution) on the wing.

Former U.S. Under-20 starter Nate Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), former U.S. Olympian Peter Vagenas (L.A. Galaxy), Stephen King (Chicago Fire) and just-crowned MLS Cup champion Brad Evans (Columbus Crew) were drafted to fill out a midfield with previously-signed Sanna Nyassi and Sebastien Le Toux.

New York Red Bulls defender Jeff Parke, who is suspended for the first four games of the season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy, will anchor a young defensive line. Tyson Wahl, a third year player taken from the Kansas City Wizards, is the only other defender on the Sounders’ roster. Kasey Keller will start in goal.

The team that takes the field for the season opener on March 21 will likely be vastly different than the one assembled today. Several players could be used as trade bait and others could sign via the waiver wire, as free agents, or in the SuperDraft.

Sounders fans, your thoughts on the team so far?
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Embattled U.S. insurance giant AIG does not plan to cancel its costly jersey sponsorship deal with English Premier League club Manchester United. AIG is currently paying £14 million (about $22 million) a-year to the club in a contract that runs through 2010. An AIG spokesman told USA Today that the club’s sponsorship won’t be abandoned but that the company is “reviewing all sponsorships to identify any relationship that might be essential, to maintain the value of the business and service customers, so we can repay the (government) loan.”

AIG, one of the federally bailed-out financial institutions, canceled sports team sponsorships valued hundreds of millions of dollars. has not renewed long-term sponsorship relationships with likes of the New York Yankees, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, Madison Square Garden, AIG Japan Open (Tennis), Irish Champion Hurdle (Horseracing), and New Orleans Jazz Fest.

If AIG does abandon the contract, Korean electrical firm LG and Saudi Telecom are said to be waiting in the wings to take over the sponsorship deal.

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