SEATTLE - The Seattle Sounders advanced to the MLS Cup Western Conference finals for the second time in franchise history despite playing to a 0-0 draw with FC Dallas in the second leg of the conference semifinals on Monday night. St.Louis Blues Shirts . The two-leg series finished tied 1-1 on aggregate but Seattle moved on thanks to its road goal in the first game in Dallas. Road goals were implemented as a tiebreaker this year. The Sounders were able to avoid the perils of the last two Supporters Shield winners by advancing from the conference semifinals. San Jose in 2012 and New York last season both finished as regular season champions but were bounced in the conference semifinals. Seattle will face rival Los Angeles in the Western Conference finals. Seattle had plenty of chances from Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins to give itself a cushion but the match remained tense into stoppage time. Mauro Diazs free kick from 30 yards in the second minute of stoppage time was bounced around the penalty area and deflected wide for a corner kick that was cleared from danger. It capped a wild second half where Seattle had the bulk of possession and opportunities but was unable to get a shot past Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz. Dallas took a 1-0 lead in the first leg on Michels penalty kick in the first half, but Seattle got the crucial equalizer on Osvaldo Alonsos second-half header that gave the Sounders the advantage coming home. Seattle lost Alonso in the 55th minute on Monday when he pulled up grabbing at the back of his leg in near midfield. Alonso had been playing well helping control Dallas attack and retaining possession in the midfield. Dempsey nearly gave Seattle the lead in the 68th minute when his curling left-footed attempt deflected off a Dallas defender and skipped just wide of the net. Dempsey then was denied again in the 84th minute leaving him with his hands out in disbelief. Dallas defender Matt Hughes misplayed a ball in his own penalty area being pressured by Brad Evans. The ball fell perfectly for Dempsey, but his right-footed shot was kicked away as Seitz dived. Dempsey also had two shots on net blocked aside by Seitz in the first half and Chad Marshalls header off a corner kick in the 28th minute was cleared off the line by Michel. Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei got the shutout, but Dallas offensive chances were limited despite the return of Diaz after he was suspended for the first leg. Troy Brouwer Jersey . Every. Single. Game. Thats 1,230 in total to cover the regular season. The man is Corey Sznajder, a soft-spoken 23-year-old Salisbury University grad who lives in Annapolis, Maryland and has been charting zone entries and zone exits throughout the NHL. I love big projects, he said. No kidding. At the 2013 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, I met Eric Tulsky, who presented research on the value of controlled zone entries (short answer: about twice as valuable to enter with control of the puck rather than dumping it in) and Sznajder had charted a couple hundred games that were included in that study. Doug Harvey Jersey . That little deal worked out in a big way for the Mavericks. Nowitzki had 21 points Tuesday night to pass Oscar Robertson for 10th on the NBAs career scoring list, leading the Mavs to a 95-83 victory over the Utah Jazz. https://www.cheapblues.com/ .C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats said head coach Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure Friday to have two stents placed in his heart.There will be two replacements for Anthony Calvillo this season, only fitting for a player of his stature. Troy Smith has the unenviable task of trying to fill the surefire Hall of Famers shoes in Montreal, but Calvillo held another post, one for the entire CFL, and one that may now fall to the Toronto Argonauts Ricky Ray. While you could argue the face of the league is now a younger and more electric player; with Calvillo now in retirement, Ray assumes the role of patriarch, head of the league, arguably the greatest still-active player. With 11 years CFL experience, over 250 career touchdown passes, and multiple Grey Cup wins under his belt, Rays resume certainly lends to the idea he could be the next head of state in the CFL. And at 35-years-old, hell have at least a few years to hold that mantle, so long as he plays into his 40s like Calvillo or past patriarch Damon Allen. Thats a lot of time to climb up the "All-Time" lists or knock off a few records. First up, hitting 50,000 career passing yards, which he should accomplish this season. The catch however, is that Ray has to stay healthy, something that gets harder to do the older one gets. Ray was actually extremely resilient during his time with the Edmonton Eskimos, only missing a significant amount of the season in one of his nine seasons in Green and Gold. Since coming to Toronto however, the two-time All-Star has missed 11 games, including seven last season with a shoulder injury. That is of heightened concern for the Argos as well, seeing as there is no guarantee the next Zach Collaros, now the likely starter in Hamilton, is currently on the roster. Rays health is vital to the Argonauts too because outside of tremendous quarterback play, there wasnt a lot going for the teams offence last year. Had they been able to share the Most Outstanding Player award last season, Ray and Collaros surely would have given winner Jon Cornish a scare, but even with that production from the quarterback position, the Argos finished with just an 11-7 record and the fourth ranked offence. The team will need more out of the run game, where 2012 Grey Cup MVP Chad Kackert led the way for a paltry eighth-ranked attack. Kackert somewhat surprisingly retired ahead of training camp and the team now needs to rely on their backup plan. If Ray is to succeed Calvillo as elder statesman of the CFL, and hell certainly be given first crack at the job; like the Alouettes were, the Argonauts will always be in contention. What could push them over the edge is an improved running game and somehow figuring out how to deal with the losses on defence to improve the eighth-ranked unit. Notes Assistant Coaches - The Argonauts sufferred two big losses to their coaching staff over the off-season when defensive coordinator Chris Jones and special teams coordinator Mike OShea accepted head coaching gigs with the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers respectively. Marek Schwarz Jersey. While its a compliment to head coach Scott Milanovichs staff to have his assistants coveted for head coaching vacancies, the shakeup could hurt the Argos in the short-term. Toronto did replace both Jones and OShea with former head coaches in Tim Burke and Jim Daley. Expansion Draft - Torontos biggest loss in the expansion draft was Joe Eppele, the veteran offensive lineman who proved versatile in his three years with the Double Blue. The Argos also lost veteran Canadian linebacker Jason Pottinger, a solid depth player and special teams contributor, and American defensive lineman Jonathan Williams, who was with the team just one year after arriving from BC. Free Agency - The Argos lost some key pieces in free agency in lockdown defensive back Patrick Watkins, who joined his former defensive coordinator Chris Jones in Edmonton, and promising quarterback Zach Collaros, who chose Torontos biggest rival, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Those losses will be tough to overcome for sure, but they werent entirely unexpected – especially in the case of Collaros – and the team landed some big names on the market as well. Former Montreal Alouettes linebacker and solid Canadian starter Shea Emry will join the Argos as their coup of free agency. CFL Draft - Its rare a running back goes as high as third overall, but the Toronto Argonauts, who traded up to land Manitoba product Anthony Coombs, think they drafted a potential ratio buster. With Chad Kackert retiring later in the off-season, the Coombs pick looks even better. Toronto also selected UBC DL Jaskaran Dhillon in the third round, Manitoba LB Thomas Miles and Montreal FB Alexandre Dupuis in the fourth round, St. Marys DB Eric Black and Windsor WR Evan Pszczonak in the fifth round, Simon Fraser WR Tore Corrado in the sixth round, and Acadia DL Kirby Fletcher in the seventh round. BMO Field - It seemed a foregone conclusion the Argonauts would move to BMO Field on Exhibition Grounds after their time at the Rogers Centre came to an end in 2017. That may not be the case however, as MLSE, who also appeared set to buy the Argonauts from David Braley – also the owner of the BC Lions – threatened to go ahead with upgrades to BMO Field that didnt include expansion for the Argos if the federal government didnt come through with some funding help. There is still time for this issue to be resolved, but for now, the Argos future location is somewhat in the air. ' ' '