Rose City Roundup: USOC Upset

The U.S. Open Cup final was on Tuesday and I think it's safe to say D.C. United surprised basically everyone by beating Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto and taking home the trophy. Grantland's Graham Parker talks about the final, and why the tournament is so great.

I'm disappointed that Real Salt Lake lost the U.S. Open Cup final since it might have opened up another way for the Timbers to get into the CONCACAF Champions League, depending on how the rest of the season and the post-season played out. On the other hand, I like a good underdog story, which is why I'm enjoying this video, particularly Ben Olsen's speech at the end.

Back in March, Brian Straus sat down for an extended interview with Jason Kreis which was finally published this week just before the USOC final. The two talked about building a team, evaluating players, and Real Salt Lake's young talent. Here is part one and part two.

From other MLS SB Nation sites: The Whitecaps aren't eliminated from the playoffs yet, but over at Eighty Six Forever, they're giving up hope and looking ahead to next year. Meanwhile LAG Confidential is frustrated with their team's set piece defending. I'm not sure why, but I really feel like I relate to their pain and frustration.

ExtraTime Radio talked to Caleb Porter earlier this week. His interview starts around 29:00.

The USMNT roster for the remaining World Cup qualifiers is probably coming soon, and while Michael Bradley has been ruled out, Jurgen Klinsmann is still planning on calling up a strong squad. That squad is probably going to feature a number of dual-nationals who, as Ives Galarcep writes, provide Klinsmann with some challenges beyond just those that come with things like trying to win the Gold Cup and get a team through to the World Cup.

In NWSL news (or non-news?), before the NWSL season started, Chicago traded Keelin Winters to Seattle for an allocated US player to be decided later. So far, it still hasn't been decided.

NWSL has said no to 2014 expansion, but when they are ready to add more teams, the Houston Aces will be among the first in line.

Though I still feel a little frustrated that the Thorns are the only team with no players on loan right now, at least Danielle Foxhoven's off-season is pretty cool. She's in Zimbabwe with an organization called Coaches Across Continents and she's sharing her adventures on her blog.

Lastly, the most recent episode of MLS Insider featured a segment on Bob Bradley. It's pretty cool.