Sporting KC tops Real Salt Lake in shootout
KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Aurelien Collin scored the equalizer in the second half, then drove home the deciding penalty kick to give Sporting Kansas City a dramatic victory over Real Salt Lake in the Major League Soccer Cup final on Saturday.
Alvaro Saborio put Real Salt Lake ahead in the 52nd minute, but Collin answered with a header in the 76th minute.
The score remained level through regulation and 30 minutes of overtime, leading to the longest penalty shootout in MLS championship history — one that both sides had chances to win before Collin’s shot and Jimmy Nielsen’s save gave Sporting KC the 7-6 victory.
It was the first league title for Sporting KC since 2000.
It was also the third time the MLS Cup has gone to a penalty shootout. Houston beat New England in 2006, and Real Salt Lake topped the Los Angeles Galaxy 5-4 in 2009 for its only title.
The game was the coldest MLS Cup in history, with temperatures at 22 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 Celsius) at kickoff. But even in the frigid Midwestern American weather, tempers ran hot from the start.
Real Salt Lake’s Chris Wingert picked up a yellow card midway through the first half when he plowed over C.J. Sapong, and Collin earned one for a reckless tackle. Saborio picked up his yellow card for running through Sporting KC’s Benny Feilhaber, then bumping him back to the pitch.
The physical nature of the first half resulted in precious few scoring chances.
Real Salt Lake finally broke through in the second half. Collin’s weak clear was tracked down by Kyle Beckerman, and he passed ahead to Saborio, who made a nifty move around defender Matt Besler and put a shot in the corner of the net.
Sporting KC answered in the 76th minute when Collin redirected a corner kick into the net.
FIFA switches start time for 7 World Cup games
COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil — FIFA has switched the starting times of seven World Cup matches, including the U.S.-Portugal game on June 22 in the Amazonian jungle city of Manaus.
FIFPro, the international soccer players’ union, had pressed FIFA to avoid the earliest kickoffs in the hottest and most humid weather.
After FIFA declined to change the 2-year-old schedule, FIFPro suggested that the governing body “considers the demands of TV companies of greater importance than the health and safety of the players.”
The U.S.-Portugal game initially was set for 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. Hawaii); it is now scheduled at noon HST. Two other games in Manaus — England vs. Italy on June 14 and Cameroon vs. Croatia on June 18 — also were pushed back three hours.
Court records show MLB denied A’s move to S.J.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig formally informed the Oakland A’s this summer that the team’s bid to move San Jose had been denied.
The San Jose Mercury News reported Saturday that a letter from Selig to the team surfaced in a federal court filing Friday night. The MLB disclosed the letter’s existence as part of its legal argument to dismiss what remains of an antitrust lawsuit San Jose filed against the league over the A’s future stadium plans. The letter itself wasn’t made public.
San Jose officials have been trying for years to lure the A’s south, which the San Francisco Giants oppose because of their territorial rights to the region.
The court filing says Selig sent the letter to the club on June 17. The next day, San Jose sued, accusing the MLB of antitrust violations.
Oakland A’s owner Lew Wolff declined to comment on Selig’s memo. He told the paper that the club is still fighting to relocate to San Jose.
“All I can tell you is we’re still proceeding as we’ve always done,” Wolff told the newspaper.
Tiger keeps lead at World Challenge
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Tiger Woods birdied two of his last three holes to salvage an even-par 72 in the wind and keep his two-shot lead over Zach Johnson in the World Challenge on Saturday.
The score looked routine. The third round was not.
Wind that pushed away some light rain at the start of the round created havoc in the foothills of Sherwood Country Club. Woods hit a tee shot in the water and three-putted from about 6 feet on a par 5. But he finished strong and was at 11-under 205.
Johnson also finished with two birdies, including a 20-footer on the 18th for a 72.
Bubba Watson three-putted the 18th for a 69 and was four shots behind. No one else was closer than six shots of Woods.
By wire sources