Carson, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - It all comes down to one final game. The New England Revolution and Los Angeles Galaxy will clash in the MLS Cup final on Sunday at StubHub Center. The Galaxy are one the premier franchises in the league and will be aiming to become the first team in league history to win five MLS Cup titles, while New England will be shooting for its first title after losing in three straight MLS Cup finals from 2005-2007. The Galaxy reached their third MLS Cup final in the past four seasons after advancing past rivals Seattle Sounders FC via the newly-instituted away goals rule in the Western Conference Championship. Bruce Arenas team earned a 1-0 first-leg win against Seattle on Nov. 23 courtesy of a lone strike from Marcelo Sarvas, who did well to corral a pass from defender A.J. DeLaGarza at the top of the penalty area and have a strike on target. The ball took a deflection off Seattles Chad Marshall and wound up past Stefan Frei in the back of the net to give the hosts the lead. In the second leg of the tie, the Galaxy struggled in the first half as goals from Brad Evans and Clint Dempsey gave the Sounders a 2-1 aggregate lead. Despite suddenly being down, the Galaxy were still in the game, needing just an away goal to take control of the series. That road goal came in the 54th minute as Juninho made the most of his look at goal from 20 yards as he pounced on a loose ball and lashed a first-time shot off the left post and into the net. Galaxy star Landon Donovan announced his retirement from the game during the summer and he has a chance to end his career on top with another MLS Cup win, while fellow star forward Robbie Keane, the reigning 2014 MLS MVP, will be looking for his third Cup title since joining the Galaxy in 2011. Keane, 34, scored an impressive 19 goals and added 14 assists to win the individual honor, but would much rather claim a championship. To be in the running the last few years, it just goes to show how consistent I have been, you know?, said Keane. To win it, its actually great to be recognized by your fellow professionals and the media. Im delighted with the award, but Id certainly trade it in for a championship on Sunday. The Galaxy will go into Sundays finale riding an undeniable sense of togetherness forged by a baby boom and an unfortunate tragedy. Ive played on some pretty good teams with great locker rooms. This is one of the best, if not the best, said right back Dan Gargan. Weve gone through a lot together. Obviously, weve had some pretty substantive success here, and theres also been a lot of things off the field that has brought us together as well. Eleven Galaxy players have had children or are expecting, which has made for a positive locker room environment. I dont know what the actual number is, but between the staff and the players, I think theres 24 kids under the age of five. Which is a lot of kids, said Gargan. Apparently, the family suite is basically a daycare during games. The team was also brought together following a terrible tragedy when defender A.J. DeLaGarzas son was born with a congenital heart defect and lived for just one week. What I went through, I think we bonded together, DeLaGarza said. Everyone supported me. I think it made us into a family, and that was fairly early in the season when we all found out [in May that Luca had a heart condition], so they were all invested in this as much as I was. We all went through it, the pain, and the support has been tremendous. The team would also love to send Donovan off into the sunset with another MLS Cup title. New England advanced to its fifth MLS Cup appearance after outlasting the New York Red Bulls, 4-3, on aggregate in the Eastern Conference championship. Among their four MLS Cup final defeats are setbacks against the Galaxy in 2002 and 2005. The Revs claimed a 2-1 first leg win at Red Bull Area, but New York battled back to make it 3-3 on aggregate through goals from Tim Cahill and Peguy Luyindula. But Charlie Davies came to New Englands rescue in the 70th minute as the decisive goal came to cap a spell of relentless offensive pressure from New England as Chris Tierney got free on the left wing and served a great ball into the box where Davies was there to nod it home and give the hosts a 4-3 aggregate lead. New England is poised to spoil Donovans potential fairytale ending. All these other storylines around the game, were not really focused on, said Tierney. Personally, I have full respect for Landon, what an amazing career hes had and done so much for this league. Thats all stuff that we can talk about after the game. Were focusing on what we have to do and preparing ourselves to play the best game we can possibly play here in the finals. I have respect for these guys, said New England Designated Player Jermaine Jones. Donovan, he does a lot for US soccer and MLS. He wins already a lot of cups, he got four or five. Me and my team, we want one, and we will do everything to get it. For New England defender Kevin Alston, playing in Sundays final is a happy challenge. Alston, 26, was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in April of 2013. It forced him to miss three months of last season, but he continues to handle the situation with class and bravery. Im still doing checkups, Im still taking medication, said Alston of his continued treatment of the leukemia. Im not technically in remission, but things are, for the most part, stable now. Im just trying to take it one day at a time. Its awesome, Alston said of playing for a title. Its my sixth season. This is the ultimate goal. Its special alone, but being able to have the opportunity to participate in MLS Cup is even more special considering everything that happened last year. The sides met once during the regular season with the Galaxy claiming a comfortable 5-1 win over the Revs. Keane and Gyasi Zardes scored twice, while Stefan Ishizaki added a fifth goal. Jose de Jesus Corona Jersey . -- Omar Infante walked past the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, where he dressed so many times as a member of the Detroit Tigers, and slipped on a crisp, new Kansas City Royals jersey. Hugo Ayala Mexico Jersey . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. http://www.nationalsoccermexico.com/hector-herrera-mexico-jersey/ . - Whether its because of her improved play or the reason for it, Michelle Wie appears as comfortable on and off the golf course as at any time in her career. Jose de Jesus Corona Mexico Jersey .com) - Mikko Korhonen carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to claim medalist honors at the European Tours Final Qualifying Stage tournament. Hector Moreno Jersey . The Tinkoff-Saxo rider was still dealing with the right shin he broke in a crash which ended his Tour de France on Stage 10. He hoped to defy his doctors and race in the home Grand Tour he won in 2008 and 2012, but he says there have been complications in his recovery.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Depleted by injuries, and maybe just due for a drop-off, the Detroit Red Wings have found their remarkable 22-season streak of reaching the playoffs in jeopardy. Well, with 12 games to go, they are still in line for a spot. Gustav Nyquists third-period goal gave the Red Wings a 3-2 victory Saturday over the Minnesota Wild, their fourth win in five games. "The young guys are playing more and more and starting to believe in themselves more and more," said Jimmy Howard, who made 28 saves. "Its a fun time of year because youre seeing what we have, and the future looks bright." Brendan Smith and David Legwand each scored on a power play for the Red Wings, who were in a 2-for-25 slump with the man advantage until getting goals on both of their opportunities in this rare afternoon start. The Red Wings also quieted the Wilds top line of Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, held without a point for the first time in eight games. "For both teams it was a muddy track. There was no room for either team. It was just check, check, check, check, check. We found a way to get it done," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. The Red Wings, missing stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg among others, moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 79 points. Columbus has 78. Mikko Koivu gave the Wild an early lead with a power-play goal, and Charlie Coyle tied it on a third-period penalty shot. But the Wild, clinging to a wild card spot in the Western Conference, fell to 2-3-4 in nine games since the trade deadline. "We cant keep letting these points go to waste. Weve got to come into every game and play a solid 60 minutes," Coyle said, "Its coming down to the wire here, and weve got to make the most of it." The Wild, who have 83 points with 11 games remaining, are in seventh place, slightly ahead of Phoenix. The first team below the cut, Dallas, has 77 points but one more game left than the Wild. Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, prepared for questions from reporters about the recent slide, tried to stress optimism.dddddddddddd "Were a confident team, and we feel good about where were going. We just have to jump start things a little bit right now," Yeo said. Just 15 seconds into the final frame, Johan Franzen, trailing Coyle on a breakaway, stuck his stick out to trip the struggling young centre. The penalty shot was awarded, the first of Coyles career. He used a slick right-left move to fake out Howard and tie the game at 2. That was Coyles second goal in 24 games. The momentum didnt last for the Wild, though. Nyquist, who has an NHL-leading 16 goals in 22 games since Jan. 20, sent a snap shot between Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter that Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper didnt appear to see right away and let get past his glove. The Red Wings thought they had another one barely a minute later when Franzen was called for making contact with Kuemper before the puck went in. Nyquist, who leads the Red Wings with 21 goals in just 45 of the teams 70 games since being called up from Grand Rapids of the AHL, credited centre Tomas Tatar for creating space. "He did a great job of driving the middle, and its his goal really. All I did was shoot," Nyquist said. Quipped Howard: "Us Maine guys know how to do it right." NOTES: The matinee was scheduled to accommodate the first Big Ten hockey championship game. ... The teams were due in Detroit for a Sunday night rematch, cramming their only two matchups this season into a 32-hour window. ... With Wisconsin taking on Ohio State, Suter and Wild teammate Dany Heatley had strong interest in the Big Ten title game. Heatley played two years for the Badgers from 1999-2001. Suter, a Madison area native, spent the 2003-04 season there before turning pro. ... Legwand was fined $5,000 Friday by the NHL for butting Pittsburghs Evgeni Malkin with the end of his stick when they played the Penguins on Thursday. ... Legwand has two goals and five assists in nine games since he was acquired from Nashville. ... Koivu ended a 13-game streak without a goal. He and Suter share the team lead with 32 assists. ' ' '
