Sinisa Ubiparipovic

[bmaker]

Anybody catch the Red Bulls v. RSL Western Conference final on Saturday? Former Akron standout Sinisa Ubiparipovic was selected by Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osario to start the game. Unfortunately, Sinisa had to leave early in the first half due to a hamstring injury. But Sini has been performing for his club. According to an article on MLSNet.com,"Midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic, a second-year pro and 25 years old, had last seen the starting lineup Sept. 6, when the Red Bulls lost at the Fire. Ubiparipovic played some 25 minutes of the 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake on Oct. 9. When Venezuelan international midfielder Jorge Rojas, the team's playmaker, underachieved, especially in the regular-season finale, Osorio decided to turn to Ubiparipovic to run the show at central midfielder. Like his good friend Sassano, Ubiparipovic has done a tremendous job, not only on the attack, but on defense as well."Oh, by the way, the Red Bulls eked out a 1-0 victory and will play for the MLS cup against our own Columbus Crew next Sunday afternoon at the Home Depot Center. It would be pretty cool if Sinisa got healthy and got to play in that one!

[Z.I.P.]

Anybody catch the Red Bulls v. RSL Western Conference final on Saturday? Former Akron standout Sinisa Ubiparipovic was selected by Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osario to start the game. Unfortunately, Sinisa had to leave early in the first half due to a hamstring injury. But Sini has been performing for his club. According to an article on MLSNet.com,"Midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic, a second-year pro and 25 years old, had last seen the starting lineup Sept. 6, when the Red Bulls lost at the Fire. Ubiparipovic played some 25 minutes of the 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake on Oct. 9. When Venezuelan international midfielder Jorge Rojas, the team's playmaker, underachieved, especially in the regular-season finale, Osorio decided to turn to Ubiparipovic to run the show at central midfielder. Like his good friend Sassano, Ubiparipovic has done a tremendous job, not only on the attack, but on defense as well."Oh, by the way, the Red Bulls eked out a 1-0 victory and will play for the MLS cup against our own Columbus Crew next Sunday afternoon at the Home Depot Center. It would be pretty cool if Sinisa got healthy and got to play in that one!

Mixed feelings, as RSL is 'my team', but this result is proof that parity lives in MLS. Red Bulls were last team to earn a playoff spot and now are Western Conference Champs (YES -- Western Conference!). Now they get to head further West to Home Depot Center to face the Columbus Crew in MLS Cup 08 next Sunday on ABC. Columbus is what you call a 'prohibitive favorite', with their Supporters' Shield title for the best regular season record. But New York is showing that old cliche "anything can happen" isn't just an old cliche.Ubi, BTW has been playing fairly regularly of late, and started the game vs RSL, but Osorio had to pull him at the 20-minute mark, as his hamstring, injured in the win @ Houston Dynamo a week earlier wouldn't allow him to perform at top flight in marking Salt Lake's crafty opposite Kyle Beckerman. Rojas' defense played a big part in NY shutting down RSL and extending their team record to 10-games undefeated vs the Utah bunch.Not sure who to root for -- other than Ubi. Crew is Akron's local MLS team for good it appears, and several UA players are products of their youth academy. On the other hand, their from Cow-you-know-where. Well, maybe they're the one good team from that town.