d Seattle side.What are the dates and times? MLS play-offs schedule Date Knockout round Time October 27 Toront

Throughout the Tour de France, Australian professional cyclist Richie Porte will be checking in. Here is his latest entry, as told to ESPN contributor Rupert Guinness:Stage14: Montélimar to Villars les DombesA tilt of the lid to Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) who on Saturday, and in a bunch sprint, won the 14th stage of the Tour de France - 208.5km from Montélimar to Villars des Dombes.That was Cavendishs fourth stage victory in this years Tour, and also the 30th Tour stage win of his career, leaving him four wins short of Eddy Merckxs all-time record of 34.The pursuit of Merckxs record - one of so many - should provide Cavendish with some great motivation for next year, the year after the Rio Olympics in which he will race on the track for Team GB in the omnium event and also as fifth rider for the 4000m teams pursuit.Its great to see what he is doing, and back here winning. It is great for the sport - and him.He is actually a genuinely good fella. And I reckon that despite the plaudits that come his way, he is still under rated for what he has achieved.People forget very quickly when there are dips in a riders career. He is obviously happy with where he is at. His mojo is back. Its always great to see people get the rewards for hard work and drive. Cav is a case in point.That was a tough stage on Saturday too, despite the relatively slow place from the start.It was characterised with hard dead roads of which the first 100km seemed to take forever. But after those first kilometres, the rest of a niggly stage fortunately went by pretty quick.The Tour being the Tour, the last six to four kilometres of the day were also pretty stressful. So what made them so hard, you ask? In conditions like what we got where there was a stiff head wind, the bunch was so spread out. When it is a head wind like it was, everyone wants to sit on the wheel to be protected. This make the peloton a couple of hundred metres long. When it is like that there are also surges which make it better that you are at the front. Todays route was also up and down ... not anything like how the official road book read.There was no time for real chat, even though the peloton appeared to take it slow. It was all head down. There was simply no easy way to get through the stage. But these days, I expect the worst and hope for the best ... and thankful to get through without incident.I dont think television would have done today justice, to be honest; with how hard it was; especially the day after the time trial and everything. It was a good stage to tick off. As for Sundays 160km 15th stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to Culoz in the Jura mountains? That is a stage that could exert plenty of punishment on the peloton, from first to last.The stage features six solid climbs and a descent to the finish. We havent done any actual reconnaissance of this stage route, but Ive ridden the Grand Colombier, so I know it.That its a stage that will suit climbers, counts for plenty - for myself especially, and others. That includes another who is earning praise right now, Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) who is second overall to Chris Froome (Sky). Mollema has finished in the Tours top 10 before. So Ive always known he is strong. But Mollema showed how so on the stage 12 to Mont Ventoux. When Froome and I were away, he was the guy who came across. And then he did a good time trial on Friday. So I would say he is definitely a threat for Froome.As for myself, am I still aiming for the podium? For sure, provided I can stay fit, healthy and problem free. That is not as easy as first thought, as Ive experienced too many times and last did on Friday in the chaotic finale on Mont Ventoux. That crash into the motorbike with Froome and Mollema could have seriously injured me, but it still left me pretty sore.I did not hit my chin on my way down as many thought. It was more like my throat. But it still hurt and I was sore during Friday time trial. But its amazing the difference a day can make. I certainly felt a lot better on the bike on Saturday than I did in Fridays time trial.That was also probably because of the better position I was in than on a time trial bike. But saying that, all in all the Tour is starting to take its toll. It does feel like the 14th stage has passed. To think there are seven more stages to go, and most of them amongst the hardest. Which all means if you are watching, there should still be plenty of great racing to come.Yellow Gold Swell Bottle . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Cheap Swell Bottles . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. http://www.swellbottlesales.com/ . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Swell Bottles Near Me . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Swell Water Bottle Marble . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent.A quartet of dramatic MLS conference semi-finals resulted in upsets, outstanding individual performances and possibly the end for some of footballs most iconic names.Colorado Rapids have reached their second ever MLS Conference final where they will face Seattle Sounders, who will make their third appearance at this stage. In the Eastern Conference, Canada rules as Toronto FC and Montreal Impact face off against each other for the first time ever in a post-season with neither side reaching this phase of the competition before.Ahead of the season-defining games, live on Sky Sports, we dissect some of the subplots to have come out of the play-off semi-finals, with a look ahead to what seems set to be one of the most exciting climaxes to an MLS campaign in its 20-year history. Highlights as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard suffer defeats in the MLS semi-finals with their contracts up at the end of the season Is Steven Gerrards playing career over?Gerrard has hinted that he might end his playing career at LA Galaxy, with his contract at the club expiring at the end of the season. Media reports have linked the 36-year-old with a return to Liverpool to take up a coaching role under Jurgen Klopp.Should Gerrard retire or opt to leave Galaxy, he will depart America without an MLS Cup to his name.Considering the Galaxy are the most decorated club in American soccer history, the 1-1 aggregate defeat on penalties at the conference semi-final stage was as a real upset. Ashley Cole was among the players to miss a penalty as LA Galaxy crashed out of the MLS playoffs against Tim Howards Colorado Rapids side Will Didier Drogba start in MLS again?Montreals 3-1 aggregate victory over New York Red Bulls would have been an important statement to Didier Drogba. The 38-year-old is no longer the clubs star, Ignacio Piatti is.The former Chelsea striker refused to feature for the Impact last month after learning he would not be starting. He has not played since with reports of an apparent back problem, missing Impacts final regular season game and then their first two play-off matches.Drogba came off the bench for the final ten minutes on Sunday with Montreal already 2-1 up on aggregate, playing a cameo role reminiscent of his second spell at Chelsea. Piattis double in the second leg against the Red Bulls means he has three goals and an assist in the play-offs after three matches, while Drogbas striker replacement Matteo Mancosu has also scored three.If a fully fit Drogba does not start against Toronto on November 27, the end of his MLS career may be in sight.Sebastian Giovinco shiningToronto will have thought they would be up against it when they were drawn to face a New York City team consisting of Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, but Sebastian Giovinco had other plans. Sebastian Giovinco scored a hat-trick to help Toronto through Having already dispatched Philadelphia Union 3-1 in a one-game knockout round, the first leg of their Eastern Conference semi-final clash with NYC came just four days later. That did not faze coach Greg Vanneys side, though. Jozy Altidore and Tosaint Ricketts gave the Reds a two-goal cushion going into the away leg before Giovinco scored a hat-trick at Yankee Stadium in the 5-0 victory. The tie finished 7-0 to Toronto on aggregate, the largest play-off scoreline in league history.In their first MLS season, New York City were competing in their first ever play-off. An achievement in itself, but questions will now be raised over the longevity of Pirlo, 37, and Lampard, 38, in Major League Soccer. Resurgence in SeattleThe majority of Seattles season had been difficult, only winning six league matches in the first five months of the season. But the tough decision to replace long-standing coach Sigi Schmid for his assistant Brian Schmetzer looks to have paid off. How the MLS play-offs work Our guide to the MLS post-season Seattle have won their last ten home matches in a row and has been greatly spurred on by Osvaldo Alonso and forwards Jordan Morris and Nicolas Lodeiro.So despite Clint Dempsey being ruled out for the season in August with health issues relating to an irregular heartbeat, the Sounders have stayed strong.FC Dallas were on the hunt for the treble this season having already won the Supporters Shield and U.S Open Cup, but Seattle have ended any chance of further success earlier than expected with a 3-0 win in the first leg carrying them over the line in the end as they lost 2-1 in the return fixture.The Sounders have never gone past the conference championship final, but they have also never lost at home in the penultimate round before MLS Cup so plenty of reason to suggest theyre a significant threat. LA Galaxy were knocked out of the MLS Cup after a penalty shoot-out defeat to the Colorado Rapids on Sunday Underdogs Colorado out for second MLS CupThe only team out of the four to have lifted an MLS Cup, Colorado Rapids have been this seasons MLS surprise packages.ddddddddddddLast year, the Rapids finished bottom of the West on 37 points and have now gone on to reach the Conference finals after seeing off a star-studded LA Galaxy team on penalties.A 40-yard strike from former Basel forward Shkelzen Gashi to send the tie to extra-time will go down as one of the great goals in MLS play-off history while Tim Howard pulled off the necessary heroics with two saves in the shoot-out.The resilience seen in the Rapids post-season campaign so far could see the Rapids lift their first MLS Cup since 2010. Colorado have not reached the same stage of the play-offs in the last six years, and would surely make for one of the leagues great success stories should they overcome an expensively assembled Seattle side.What are the dates and times? MLS play-offs schedule Date Knockout round Time October 27 Toronto 3-1 Philadelphia LA Galaxy 3-1 Real Salt Lake October 28 DC United 2-4 Montreal Seattle 1-0 Kansas Conference semi-finals First leg October 30 East: Toronto 2-0 NYC (2) West: LA Galaxy 1-0 Colorado (2) East: Montreal 1-0 NY Red Bulls October 31 West: Seattle 3-0 Dallas (1) Second leg November 6 East: NY Red Bulls (1) 1-2 Montreal West: Colorado (2) p1-0 LA Galaxy November 7 East: NYC (2) 0-5 Toronto West: Dallas (1) 2-1 Seattle Conference finals November 21 Seattle v Colorado Midnight November 23 Montreal v Toronto Midnight November 27 Colorado v Seattle 8pm November 30 Toronto v Montreal 11pm MLS Cup Final December 10 West winner v East winner Midnight Also See:Toronto and Impact advanceWATCH: Gerrards final kick? ' ' '