Houston Falls To Pachuca

The Houston Dynamo have been eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup after a tough 5-2 loss to Pachuca. Pachuca was far too aggressive for the men in orange throughout much of the game. Two of Pachuca's five goals were via Christian Gimenez penalty kicks, including a controversial call on Brad Davis after taking down Gimenez on the corner of the box.

But still, the Dynamo clawed their way back and even re-took the aggregate lead after Brian Ching's header in the 79th minute. But shortly before the end of regulation, Gabriel Caballero struck for a second time, sending the game to two fifteen-minute overtime periods.

Gimenez struck for his third goal just before the end of the first overtime period. Replays showed the official was about to blow the whistle to end the period, but at the last second, he let the play continue. Dynamo 'keeper Zach Wells couldn't even manage an attempt at stopping the perfectly-placed shot into the top-left corner.

Despite being completely outplayed in front of a rabid Mexican crowd, the Dynamo still nearly pulled it out. Instead, Pachuca advances to meet Chivas de Guadalajara in the final. Houston will be back in Texas for their MLS season opener against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday afternoon.

Fire GM Guppy Traveled To Mexico

John Guppy, the Chicago Fire general manager, reportedly took a trip to Mexico over the weekend. According to a source, he visited Pachuca, where Cuauhtemoc Blanco's Club America side took on Pachuca on Sunday. Blanco has been rumored to be the target of the Fire's designated player slot and it appears more likely than not that he will be in a Fire uniform at some point this year.

He is currently the second-leading scorer for Club America with four goals. According to The Red Card's Luis Arroyave, Blanco is still one of the Mexican league's most popular as well as one of its most dangerous forwards, despite his advanced age of 34.

Earlier reports have placed his salary demands in the $1.5 million - $2.0 million range.