Good morning folks. I'm off to Los Angeles this morning to cover tonight's Sounders FC-Chivas USA game at The Home Depot Center.

As is sometimes customary, I like to ask to tips on cool eateries when I go on the road. Down in L.A. I've already hit places like In-N-Out Burger, Pink's Hot Dogs and Roscoe Chicken and Waffles. Any other places I have to go to?

I was thinking about Philippe the Original, the supposed home of the first French dip sandwich. Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Any and all advice is appreciated. Let's get to the links:

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--- The Sounders FC U-23s played to a 0-0 tie against Victoria in their home opener Friday night at Franklin Pierce High School. Academy product Sean Okoli played his first game with the team. He and guys like DeAndre Yedlin have trained a bit with the first team that past few days.

--- The other day I linked to the Silverbacks' perspective on selling hosting rights of Wednesday's Open Cup third-round game to the Sounders. For some of the fan perspective, go here and here.

--- The U.S. men's national team plays Scotland is a 5 p.m. friendly tonight. Here's a little preview.

--- Here's a story from the Chivas USA perspective, where you can read what ex-Sounder James Riley had to say about playing his former team.

--- Around the league, here's a broader-picture look at the player salary information (I had focused mainly on the Sounders) and here's a good story on Real Salt Lake Yordanny Alvarez, who defected from Cuba.

--- Longtime Los Angeles Times soccer writer Grahame L. Jones, who retired last year, was named the recipient of the 2012 Colin Jose Media Award on Friday by the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He'll be honored on May 30 at the 2012 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction ceremony prior to the USMNT vs. Brazil friendly.

--- Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao, 3-0, in the Copa del Rey final. It was coach Pep Guardiola's sendoff and the club's 14th trophy in four years.

--- Lastly, there's some WPSL action going on this weekend. GoalWA.net has the details.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC -- OUT: GK Josh Ford (R knee stress fracture); MF Steve Zakuani (R leg fracture); FW Babayele Sodade (R knee ACL tear); DF Adam Johansson (R hamstring strain); DOUBTFUL: GK Michael Gspurning (R hip strain); DF Patrick Ianni (lower back pain); DF Leo Gonzalez (L quad strain); QUESTIONABLE: DF Michael Tetteh (L hamstring strain)

CHIVAS USA -- OUT: MF Marvin Iraheta (L knee ACL); MF Nick Labrocca (L hamstring strain); PROBABLE: MF Ben Zemanski (R knee MCL sprain)

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A couple notes: Don't expect any Sounders listed in this report to be available Saturday at Chivas USA, as per updates from coach Sigi Schmid this week.

It is worth noting that Tetteh has been upgraded. He's been active in training the past few days and looks to be doing much better. I forgot to ask for another Johansson update today, but the generally hamstring strains are 3-4 weekers.

UPDATE 3:16 p.m. -- Sorry I wasn't able to get to this when it broke, but Osvaldo Alonso has been suspended for two games and fined an undisclosed amount by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for the tackle posted above. The committee deemed he "left his feet, showed his studs and used excessive force" in the 82nd minute Wednesday against Columbus Crew midfielder Cole Grossman.

Alonso will be eligible to play in the U.S. Open Cup during the suspension. He is the fifth Sounder that's faced retroactive discipline this season (Alvaro Fernandez for embellishment, Eddie Johnson for a gesture, Zach Scott/Leo Gonzalez for dangerous tackles).

I have a 2 p.m. meeting this afternoon in the office, so I'll have to make this quick. Here are some notes from Friday's practice at Starfire; the team takes off for Los Angeles later today for Saturday's road game at Chivas USA.

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--- One player that won't make the trip is Osvaldo Alonso. Coach Sigi Schmid informed us that the midfielder has been suspended for Saturday's game. A league release is expected later this afternoon that will offer the full extent of Alonso's punishment, likely with a video clip of the play.

--- Also not available for the Sounders will be Adam Johansson (suffered a hamstring injury Wednesday vs. Columbus, Leo Gonzalez (who's not quite ready to return from the quad injury) and Patrick Ianni (who won't be back from the back problem until June 16, at the very earliest).

--- That's a pretty decimated back line, but Schmid said the team has options. "There are guys who can play on an as-needed basis." He specifically mentioned Brad Evans, Roger Levesque and Andy Rose.

--- Fatigue wasn't a excuse Schmid was going to use. He just said the team hasn't been playing well. "I'd rather start strong, go on a little bit of a depressing streak in the middle and then finish strong, than do it the other way around," Schmid said.

--- I'll have more from our chat with owner/general manager Adrian Hanauer on the blog later today. He chatted about the Open Cup, specifically buying the hosting rights from Atlanta. He said his loyalties are to his team and doing whatever he can to minimize travel and improve its chances of winning. I tweeted a couple highlights earlier today, as well.

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MLS player salaries for the 2012 season were released by the players' union Friday afternoon and I've embedded the Sounders portion above. Here's the 2011 salary information if you'd like to make some comparisons.

As a quick reminder, guaranteed compensation is closer to what the players count against toward the salary cap. I believe it includes things like transfer fees and certain bonuses.

Some quick takeaways:

--- Here are where some notable newcomers fall in terms of salary/guaranteed compensation): Marc Burch ($65,000/$65,000), Michael Gspurning ($200,000/$275,000), Adam Johansson ($175,000/$182,833.33), Eddie Johnson ($100,000/$106,333.33), Christian Sivebaek ($99,996/$99,996), Andrew Weber ($51,996/$58,445.93).

--- Several players got raises, including Osvaldo Alonso (from $140,000), Brad Evans (from $121,000/$134,750), Leo Gonzalez (from $110,000), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (from $160,000/$161,000), Fredy Montero (from $500,000/$656,000), Jeff Parke (from $136,500) and Mauro Rosales (from $42,000).

--- As far as I can tell, Michael Seamon is the only Sounder from last season who took a pay cut (from $42,000). Also, Burch made $95,000/$97,500 last year at D.C. United. He was acquired by Seattle during the MLS Re-Entry Process in the offseason.

--- I'm not entirely sure how Rosales is a designated player at $200,000/$225,000, but I'll try to get clarification. (UPDATE 1:06 p.m. --- A team spokesman tells me there's a lot that goes into determining whether a player is a DP, more than just salary. Certain bonuses and royalties, say from marketing work, also count toward to that $350,000 benchmark. So while Rosales' salary/guaranteed compensation doesn't make him a DP on its own, his other earnings do come into play. It's a little complicated, as is MLS.)

--- You'll notice O'Brian White is on the books for $110,000. His contract was bought out before the season started and won't count against the cap.

--- You'll also notice "apprentice" salaries are about $33,750 and minimum salaries are about $44,000.

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Anything stand out to you?

First off, I wanted to pass along this Q&A with Atlanta Silverbacks owner and chairman Boris Jerkunica. There's a lot of good stuff from his perspective on why the team sold hosting rights for Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup third-round game to the Sounders.

Here are a couple highlights:

--- The original $12,000 hosting fee set by U.S. Soccer is less than Atlanta would normally bid to host an Open Cup game under the old system.

--- The Sounders did not guarantee an appearance in the MLS exhibition the Silverbacks will host.

Now let's get to some links:

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--- Fredy Montero won MLS Goal of the Week again, this time for his late equalizer in Vancouver.

--- Portland and Vancouver kick off Game 2 in the 2012 Cascadia Cup this weekend.

--- MLSsoccer.com looks at "Life after Landon" with both the Los Angeles Galaxy and the U.S. men's national team, following his candid comments that the end of his career might not be so far way.

--- USMNT star Clint Dempsey is looking forward to his next challenge, wherever that may be.

--- Around the league, Houston defender Geoff Cameron is reportedly drawing interest abroad and here's a look at the controversial goal in the Chicago-Dallas game, where Marco Pappa was well inside the penalty box when he scored off a PK rebound.

--- FIFA boss Sepp Blatter isn't a big fan of penalty-kick shootouts deciding championships and is hopeful of figuring out an alternative.

--- Lastly, here's a five year old scoring against grown men (obviously set up in advance):

Here's the 23-man group U.S. men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann settled on for five games: a friendly vs. Scotland (Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.), a friendly vs. Brazil (Wednesday in Landover, Md.), a friendly at Canada (June 3 in Toronto), a World Cup qualifier vs. Antigua & Barbuda (June 8 in Tampa, Fla.) and a World Cup qualifier at Guatemala (June 12).

Klinsmann had initially called in 27 players, but announced the final squad Friday morning:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

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What do you think of the squad? Anyone missing or included catch your eye?

Photo credit: Rich Lam, Getty Images

Apologies for getting to this one so late. The rapid-fire schedule makes it harder to go back and break down tape in a timely manner.

The second half was marketed different, however, and the Sounders being able to eke out a tie through Fredy Montero's 90th-minute equalizer. A lot of the performances were split, but let's get to it (10 -- world class, 5.5 -- average, 1 -- dreadful):

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STARTERS

GK Bryan Meredith -- Had a pretty strong first half, even as the team didn't. There was nothing he could do on Rochat's goal (12'), and had a nice play on Omar Salgado's breakaway (8') and Lee Young-Pyo's cross (20'). Trouble came in the 82nd-minute with a nightmare scenario for any goalkeeper -- an in-swinging cross on a free kick with a crowd of bodies in front of the goal. Was looking for a deflection and the go-ahead goal bounced past him. It's a tough task for even the most experienced goalkeeper, but some blame still falls on him. Wasn't credited with a save and the case could be made that he allowed two goals on just one Vancouver shot on goal. 5

Here are a few notes from Sounders FC training Thursday:

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--- Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning is recovering well from the hip injury and could be ready for a potential U.S. Open Cup game on June 5, but coach Sigi Schmid said the team is pointing more to a June 16 MLS game in Montreal for Gspurning's return.

--- As of this afternoon, Schmid hadn't seen the results of an MRI taken of Adam Johansson's right hamstring, which he injured Wednesday night. Regardless, the coach all but ruled out the defender for Saturday's game at Chivas USA, calling his playing chances "remote." Johansson missed four games earlier this season with a left hamstring injury.

--- You might recall the goalkeeper battle between Bryan Meredith and Andrew Weber was pretty close earlier this season. As such, Schmid was asked if Weber is working his way into the conversation to start a game. "Unfortunately he had a little bit of a setback with the ankle injury right about the same time (Gspurning went out), so Meredith got his nose in front there at that moment," Schmid said. "But he's training hard. He had a good training session today. That's something we always discuss when we discuss the lineup."

--- Schmid also reaffirmed his confidence in Meredith after a couple games with questionable goals allowed. The coach said some struggles are a part of the learning process and the experience will serve him well.

--- As of this afternoon, the team hadn't heard about any possible discipline in store for midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, who came in late with a two-footed tackle on Crew midfielder Cole Grossman in the 82nd minute Wednesday. Schmid said they'll adjust if/when they hear from MLS, which he said has been good about notifying teams early in the disciplinary process, particularly since Seattle plays again Saturday.

--- Of the weekend's opponent, Schmid said Chivas USA is a confident club that got a boost from recent trades for Danny Califf and Juan Agudelo. It'll will also mark another contest against Peter Vagenas and the first game against another ex-Sounder, James Riley. "Riley's been playing consistently for them," Schmid said. "He's a solid right back, so we look forward to seeing James again. He had a great run here and we really appreciate everything he did for us. We hope he does well, but not too well. With Pete, he's been in and out of the lineup, so we'll see. I'm sure we'll see him there. I'm sure he'll have something to say."

--- We got a chance to catch up with midfielder Brad Evans, who said he felt fine Wednesday coming back from the calf strain and felt fine against Thursday. The loss, however, was disappointing. "I think it's kind of a little bit of a gut-check time," Evans said. "If we want to be that team that wins championships ... then these are of the types of games we have to be winning."