The right team won.  End of story.  Seattle dominated their arch rivals, the Portland Timbers, in a dominating 3-0 victory, once again asserting their superiority in the Northwest and MLS. Seattle had much to lose and even more to gain in this match, (a loss or tie and Portland would take the Cascadia Cup; a win would put Seattle in the running for Cascadia depending on the Portland-Vancouver result and would move them into a better playoff position) and they responded with efficiency and determination to prepare them for post season success.

This week we saw an upset at the top of the Sound division, while the top of the Mountain division remained the same. Seattle Prep continued to struggle to score points, while Eastside Catholic, Blanchet and West Seattle all broke the 50 point mark. The Sound has an exciting three team race shaping up for first, while it is unclear whether Blanchet has the talent to battle for the Mountain crown, despite their undefeated record.

Look for the Power Rankings after the jump.

Editor's note (from Alex Gallant): Down here in Phoenix, I co-host a radio show, the 9th Circle, and we had Seahawks writer Eric Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune on yesterday to talk about the Seahawks/Packers game. Give it a listen, there's good stuff throughout from Mr. Williams. The link is below. Enjoy!

Seahawks Interview with Eric Williams of Tacoma News Tribune

Week three of Metro football gave us some surprises, as well as some continued disappointments. In match-ups against 4A teams, O’Dea and Seattle Prep lost, although in dramatically different fashions. Eastside Catholic and Blanchet continued to look strong, while Bainbridge remains a mystery. On the Sound side, Rainier Beach was once again too fast and athletic for their opponents, and West Seattle sent a message laying a beatdown on Franklin.

Power Rankings and Predictions after the jump.

                                                                       Photo Credit: Otto Gruele Jr./Getty Images

It was clear why San Jose sit atop the standings in the Western Conference of MLS as they came to CenturyLink Field to face the Sounders.  With high defensive pressure and an in form offense San Jose was able to take three points from the Sounders in a 2-1 victory.  Sigi Schmid knew that his team would have to play quick one and two touch soccer and be defensively alert to Chris Wondolowski and Simon Dawkins but the Sounders were unable to come through with those demands in the first half.  Not even ninety seconds in, Simon Dawkins found space on the top of the eighteen yard box and smashed a goal into Michael Gspurning’s upper left corner.  This set the tone for the rest of the match as both teams intensified their offensive movement.  The Sounders responded in the 14^th minute when Sammy Ochoa grappled to possess the ball and flicked it across the goal to an open Steve Zakuani who scored his first goal in seventeen months since returning from his broken leg.  It was a fantastic moment of jubilation for the number 11 and one that will be a great memory for the 2012 season.

Last week showed once again why Metro Mountain is one of the top divisions in the state. With every team picking up a W, the early season is shaping up to be one of the more competitive in recent memory. Seattle Prep got back on track against West Seattle after their horrific start. Blanchet continued to surprise, proving that their week one win was more than just dumb luck. Most impressively however, Eastside Catholic steamrolled Eastlake with starting quarterback Trey Reynolds watching from the sidelines.  This week is also the debut of the Metro Sound power rankings, where Rainier Beach figures to be the overwhelming favorite to play in the Metro championship.

Look for the Power Rankings after the jump.

                                                                                Photo Credit: Tiger Tailgating

The Washington Huskies are a 24 point underdog on many betting lines heading into tonight's showdown in Baton Rouge with the LSU Tigers. What do the Huskies have to do to shock the nation's 3rd ranked team. Here are a few keys to the game, plus a prediction.

After the first week of games in the Metro division, there were nail biters, upsets and surprises. With the entire rest of the season still ahead, little can be drawn from these games, but many times the first game of the year can be a precursor for what lies ahead. In the Mountain division, the top teams held rank, while another preseason title contender fell flat. On the Sound side, three teams had byes, so rankings will debut next week when the entire division has played a game.

Next, the Power Rankings:

                                                                              Photo Credit: Eastside Catholic

After an offseason of workouts and training, Metro Mountain football season is set to start this Friday. The reigning champs are, once again, the O’Dea Fighting Irish. Despite their recent years of dominance, the rest of the Metro league is close on the Irish’s heels as shown by their narrow 21-20 victory over Seattle Prep in one of the most exciting games of last season. In the upcoming year, Prep as well as Eastside Catholic, look set to give O’Dea stiff competition for the Metro crown in a division that may sport as many as three top 10 teams in the state.

And now, the main event, the Pre-Season Metro Mountain Predictions:

                                                             Photo Credit: Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Two-thirds of the Mariners starting outfielders have been either traded or injured, yet the outfield is the best it’s been in the past several years. Even with Mike Carp, who was supposed to be a huge part of this Mariners lineup out on the DL almost all year and Ichiro traded to the Yankees, this team has found success in some young former prospects.

Michael Saunders has been in the team’s farm system since 2005 and jumped between the bigs and AAA since 2009. We’ve long known that with his size he has easy 20 HR/20 SB capability, but he just hasn’t put it together. Saunders currently boasts a fairly decent .246/.300/.414 slash with a .298 BABIP to go with 14 HRs and 13 steals. With that said, he’s far from perfect. With 108 K’s to just 32 walks, Saunders has much work to be done but he’s finally taken a big step in the right direction.