Talk about a jam-packed day, Day 3 of my “Championship Cup Tour” was so hectic, so full of laughter, smiles and joy that … well, enough blabbering, just take the jump to find out more of what went down “downstate” in Castle Dale and Moab yesterday!

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Greetings everyone from Philadelphia, where we’ve set up shop and are bunkering down for one of the most intriguing days of the MLS calendar every year, tomorrow’s 15th edition of the MLS SuperDraft. Once again, the annual draft is taking place in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Convention and, once again, it looks as if the event is getting bigger and bigger - at least judging by the size of the Ballroom in which the draft is being held.

Rumor has it that nearly 600 of the over 1,000 seats available to the Supporters Groups coming down will be reserved for the Philadelphia Union’s “Sons of Ben,” so we’ll finally be able to confirm or debunk our theory that they’ll rival the noise and knee-jerk reactions of NY Jets fans that are pretty much the sole reason to turn into the NFL Draft every year!

In the case of the SuperDraft, being last means you did something right (like winning MLS Cup, for instance), thus Real Salt Lake’s braintrust will be choosing last in each of its three participating rounds - the first (16th overall), second (32nd), and fourth (64th). Where’d the third-rounder go, you ask? Over to the Red Bulls two offseasons ago in the deal that brought Dema Kovalenko over to RSL for his one season on the Wasatch Front … we’ll go ahead and say it was worth it.

Don’t forget that you can watch all of Thursday’s “UberDraft” live beginning at 12:00 pm MT, with ESPN2 covering the first hour and MLSnet.com picking up the rest of the (maybe more than) four-hour extravaganza. And now that we’ve dusted off the keyboard, Behind the Shield and RealSaltLake.com will be your places to go online for your most thorough online coverage, as we’ll have a live running commentary here on BTS for the first round leading up to RSL’s selection at #16 and comprehensive wrap up on the team’s official website, including commentary from any of the draft picks present at the Philadelphia Convention Center in addition to GM Garth Lagerwey and sideline boss Jason Kreis.

There’s even more reasons to show up early for tonight’s friendly against Chivas de Guadalajara, as Carnival Real will be “super-sized” with even more activities when it opens up at 5:00 p.m. on the stadium’s east side. The plethora of things going on at Carnival Real this evening includes:

• Boost Mobile will have a huge presence on hand, including a juggling stage, mini-kick game, and a tent where fans can download ringtones to their phones.
• Bud Light will roll out the “Bud Girls” on their mobile stage and also will be offering various giveaway items.
• Fans taking advantage of the KFC Colonel’s Corner for tonight’s match can redeem their vouchers at the KFC tent in Carnival.
• The carnival area will also include the BK Whopper Hopper and the Mountain America Credit Union Speed Kick in addition to giveaways by XanGo, Western Union, X-Insurance, Rocky Mountain Chevy Dealers and Vitality Nutrition.

We’ve got an update from our source on the scene with the RSL Under-18 Team  at the Comunidad de Madrid / Club U-18 World Cup in Spain, and the early return is pretty good - game one in Group D play for RSL against Serbia’s Partizan Belgrado will go into the books as a 1-1 draw. In the match, played at the Estadio Municipal Santo Domingo in Alcorcon, the MLS side used a goal by Nick Marshall off a Danny Toia corner kick to earn the point against last year’s third-place finisher and the FIFA #2-ranked youth program in Europe. More details will come shortly, but our congratulations on a very encouraging start for the lads from the States!

The boys are in L.A. for tonight’s match against League-leading Chivas USA. It’s a quick turnaround after Wednesday’s tough home draw to the Galaxy. Take a peek below to catch up on some of the most interesting storylines this evening…

• Despite struggling to, well, do just about anything they’ve wanted on the road this year, RSL brings a good level of confidence with them to the Home Depot Center. Why would they do that you ask? Well, because they’ve actually had some recent success there. After starting the year miserably on the road in 2008 (including a near carbon-copy 2-0 Rocky Mountain Cup opening loss to last weekend’s at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park) RSL earned their first road point of the year - a 1-0 victory - on the road against Chivas. That was just the beginning though. After a huge 1-0 home victory to open the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, Real headed to L.A. needing another road result to move on. They responded with a resilient 2-2 draw (only a late tally by Justin Braun kept RSL from victory) to earn the aggregate series victory.
• Chivas will probably be looking to exact a bit of revenge as this will be the team’s first meeting since RSL ended the Goats’ 2008 season in that aforementioned Western Conference Semi-Final. Can RSL respond with another solid performance at the HDC? We’ll see.
• The Chivas roster has a distinct Salt Lake flavor to it as Preki’s roster boasts former RSL regulars Atiba Harris, Carey Talley and Alecko Eskandarian, as well as Salt Lake native Justin Braun. Interestingly, the roster familiarity ends there, as Chivas is one of only four MLS teams (along with Houston, Toronto and 2009 expansion side Seattle) that no RSL player or coach has previously played for.
• The rivalry between the 2005 expansion brethren took a decidedly Chivas turn in 2006 and 2007, but RSL fought bit back in 2008, becoming the first of the two clubs to win a playoff series, to take back some bragging rights. Can RSL continue to earn back some respect in the all-time series tonight? Here’s thinking they can…

It's Always Sunny in California!

Yes, someone is actually wearing an Atiba Harris jersey!

We’re getting set up here at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the last time ever. It’s a little crazy to think that after today we won’t be playing here anymore and we’ll have our own digs to call home. We don’t want to get too sentimental on you, but it’s the end of an era for our club.

But, honestly, there’s not enough time to get all emotional, we’ve got a HUGE game to play tonight. RSL’s expansion brethren, Chivas USA, make their lone trip to the Wasatch Front tonight in a match that has major playoff implications. As we’ve discussed here before, Real sit in second place in the Western Conference, but are only one point clear of both Chivas and Colorado while San Jose lurks two points back. A home win tonight would not only ensure that RSL maintains its hold on second place for another week, but it would put a little distance between them and Chivas. A loss however, and major, major pressure would be put on the club as they hit the road for a pair of contests.

Needless to say, the guys don’t need a whole lot of motivation tonight. They know what’s on the line.

All that being said, we’ve now got the lineups for tonight in front of us. Check them out…

Real Salt Lake: GK - Nick Rimando; DF - Chris Wingert, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Ian Joy; MF - Will Johnson, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Andy Williams; FW - Robbie Findley, Yura Movsisyan

Bench: Chris Seitz, Robbie Russell, Kenny Cutler, Clint Mathis, Kenny Deuchar, David Horst, Tino Nunez

Chivas USA: GK - Dan Kennedy; DF - Carey Talley, Shavar Thomas, Claudio Suarez, Jonathan Bornstein; MF - Atiba Harris, Paulo Nagamura, Sacha Kljestan, Francisco Mendoza; FW - Ante Razov, Alecko Eskandarian

Bench: Lance Parker, Jim Curtin, Bobby Burling, Sacha Victorine, Jesse Marsch, Jorge Flores, Justin Braun

As you can see, RSL starts the same way they did last week in New York, while Chivas is sporting a few familiar faces with ex-RSL players Carey Talley, Alecko Eskandarian, and Atiba Harris all getting the start. Stay tuned, this one’s shaping up to be a thriller.

7th minute: We’re only a few minutes in, but each team has taken turns looking dangerous so far. Both Robbie and Yura have used their speed to slide behind the Chivas backline for half-chances, but have been unable to find that final touch. Chivas, meanwhile, took advantage of a quick counter-attack to get a good look for striker Alecko Eskandarian, the former RSL man’s shot went right to Nick Rimando however, and the score remains level.

17th minute: The Real offense has looked very good so far. Between Robbie, Yura, and Javi there have been a handful of good spurts and chances. They’ve been unable to convert any into the lead, but it’s been strong nonetheless. Chivas on the other hand looks content to defend and pick their spots in the counter (which has been fairly effective so far, earning them a couple good looks).

29th minute: We’ve seen a bit of a role-reversal these last few minutes. It’s been Chivas controlling possession and moving forward, while RSL defends and counters.

51st minute: We had to step out for a few minutes, but we’re back. The rest of the first half was much of the same, each team trading chances but never finding that last ball to break through. The second half is underway and the only change we’ve seen so far is Chivas replacing Jonathan Bornstein with the newly-acquired Sacha Victorine.

55th minute: And just as we say that, Jason Kreis makes his first move of the match replacing Andy Williams with Clint Mathis in the midfield.

64th minute: This one’s gotten bogged down in the midfield in the last 10 or so minutes. The only recent chances came off a pair of RSL free-kicks from about 35 and 25 yards respectively. Neither was able to test the keeper however.

66th minute: We’ve got our second move of the match by Chivas Head Coach Preki, replacing striker Ante Razov with midfielder Jesse Marsch. It’s an interesting move in that it replaces an attacking player with more defensive-minded midfielder. This could change the way Chivas looks to close this one out…

70th minute: We’ve got a stoppage in play right now as Yura and Talley just collided heads going for a cross and Carey is down. During the stoppage, Jason took the opportunity to change up his strike-line replacing Robbie with Kenny Deuchar. Look for RSL to push wide and try to find the good Dr.’s head…

72nd minute: In a shocking play, Chivas has struck first. After a long ball from the back, Nat and Nick collided as they looked to make a play on the ball. The ball dribbled free and Alecko was the only player within 20 yards. In probably the easiest goal of his career, the former RSL man took it to the line and smashed home for the 1-0 Chivas lead.

79th minute: RSL is getting a bit frustrated with some of their opponents’ tactics. Both Javi and Jamison just picked up cautions on back-to-back plays. RSL needs this result and they know it. This one’s certainly not over yet.

Javi and Kyle are back with another episode of their hit show. We don’t have much to say about this one, we’ll just let the video do the talking. Check it out below…

Alright folks, we thought we’d start this Monday morning off with a little message from Javi and Kyle. We caught up with them after last Thursday’s “Meet the Team Day” and they had something they wanted to say to our loyal fans. They also threw in a quick hint about what their next episode (that will be out later this week) is about. Check it below…

The Javi and Kyle Show just keeps on growing. This week ESPN asked the pair to throw together a little opening for their MLS Primetime broadcast tonight. We’re hoping it makes the show, no guarantees, but it’s definitely possible. Anyway, whether it makes it in or not, you’re not going to miss out, because we’ve got it here just for you. Check it out below…

Update: Apparently Javi and Kyle caught wind of the fact that the fans haven’t been showing them the love they so rightly deserve. The two star midfielders jumped in front of the camera to discuss the upcoming All-Star match in the newest episode of their cult hit, the Javi and Kyle Show. Check it out below. There’s no way you can deny these guys an All-Star birth now… is there?

Original: Is it completely ridiculous that Javier Morales leads the league in assists yet he hasn’t cracked the top ten in MLS All-Star fan voting? We sure think so! And it’s not just Javi, take a quick look at the rankings and you will not see a single RSL representative in the top ten. We sit alone in 2nd place in the West and have had a handful of solid, consistent performers, yet we get no love. It’s time for us to do something about that. Online fan voting runs through July 2 and everyone can vote up to ten times per day, so we can still make a difference! Head on over to MLSnet.com, click on the fan voting tab at the top, and get goin’!