stadium. On the field, they havent. They have a s

All that the Seattle has accomplished in the past six weeks has propelled it into hunt for a Western Conference playoff spot. But with just five matches left in the regular season, the Sounders FC can ill-afford a letdown Wednesday when the Chicago Fire travel to Seattle for a crucial match at CenturyLink Field.Seattle rolls into the game with a full head of steam based on back-to-back wins over Los Angeles and Vancouver and a 5-1-2 record in the past six weeks. That surge has pushed the Sounders FC (11-13-5, 38 points in 29 matches) into seventh place in the Western Conference table.Seattle is three points behind Portland for the final postseason spot in the West, but has played two fewer matches than the Timbers, putting the Sounders FC in a solid position to reach the playoffs. Seattle is 4-0-1 in its past five matches at home.Any movement up the table over the final four weeks for Seattle will have to be accomplished without the services of star forward Clint Dempsey. Garth Lagerwey, the Sounders FC general manager and president of soccer, announced on Tuesday that Dempsey will not return this season as he continues to deal with an irregular heartbeat that was first discovered last month.If we prioritize this now, hopefully we can get Dempsey back in 2017, Lagerwey said via Twitter.Dempsey is the U.S. Mens National Teams second all-time leading goal-scorer and joined the Sounders FC as a designated player in August 2013. He has 34 career goals for Seattle in 72 matches across three-plus seasons, including finding the net eight times this year.In his stead, rookie forward Jordan Morris has carried the offense for Seattle. Morris netted a pair of goals as the Sounders FC won a second consecutive match in a 4-2 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday afternoon at StubHub Center and has 12 goals for the season, the second-most in a single campaign by a rookie in MLS history.The Fire (6-14-9, with an MLS-low 27 points), will look to play the role of spoiler against Seattle and build toward the 2017 campaign.Chicago, mired in last place in the Eastern Conference, had its winless run extended to three games with a 4-1 loss at New York City FC on Friday evening at Yankee Stadium, a harsh start to a three-game road swing that heads to Seattle and then Columbus on Saturday.Seattle has won six of the teams nine meetings all-time in league play, with three draws, including three victories in a row in the series before a 1-0 Fire win last year at Toyota Park.Playing at home, Seattle has very good support and they feel even more confident, Chicago coach Veljko Paunovic said. Its not necessarily that they are not beatable. They also had earlier in the season their issues, and some weaknesses that we detected. We are going to try to take advantage of it.Air Max 95 Outlet Italia . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. Air Max 270 Economiche . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/scarpe-air-max-outlet-scontate-c2366.html . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Air Max 270 Saldi . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Air Max 90 Offerta . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2.This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Dallas CowboysOverall: 89 Title track: 40 Ownership: 60 Coaching: 96 Players: 81 Fan relations: 108 Affordability: 103 Stadium experience: 46 Bang for the buck: 106 Change from last year:?-22The Cowboys are the most valued franchise in the world, according to Forbes -- but imagine how high the value would get if they would win. They have not won a Super Bowl since 1995, and after coming within a whisker of the conference championship game in 2014, they plummeted to a 4-12 mark in 2015. The Cowboys success seems to be tied to Tony Romos health. If Romo is healthy, they win. When he isnt, they lose. The arrival of Dak Prescott seems to have changed the narrative a little, but the rookie quarterback is still learning as he goes and it is impossible to know yet if he is truly the real deal.Whats goodThe Cowboys title track checks in at No. 40, thanks to their storied history and the fans belief that even when things are bad, a title cant be too far away (despite the drought, only 10 NFL teams ranked better than the Cowboys in the team has won or will win at least one championship in my lifetime). Its true that the Cowboys have an offense that can carry them if all of the pieces are healthy. They have the best offensive line in football. Rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott should be one of the best in the NFL. Dez Bryant is healthy once again. And even with Dak Prescott performing well in Romos absence, the Cowboys are still Tony Romos team. If Romo can stay healthy, the Cowboys can score a lot of points, protect their defense and be the best team in the NFC East.dddddddddddd Is that enough to get them to Super Bowl LI? That seems a little much.Whats badA 106th-ranked bang for the buck proves it: Paying high ticket, concession and parking prices is a lot easier when a team wins. The Cowboys didnt win in 2015, so it becomes a little more painful. AT&T Stadium is the best of the NFL, but it comes with a price (the fourth-highest average ticket cost in the NFL, and the leagues most expensive parking). Off the field, the Cowboys have managed to cash in with their $1.2 billion stadium. On the field, they havent. They have a sub-.500 record at home since they moved to Arlington in 2009.Whats newComing off a 12-4 finish to the 2014 season, things were looking up for the Cowboys in the coaching department. Head coach Jason Garrett was rewarded with a five-year, $30 million contract after the Cowboys made the playoffs, but then they slipped to a 4-12 finish. The fans noticed, dropping the Cowboys coaching rank 37 spots (to No. 96) and their player rank 28 (to No. 81). Both of those drops come down to Romos injuries: With a healthy Romo and Bryant, Garrett went 12-4. Without them, he went 4-12 -- and the team won just one of 12 without Romo. While blaming a lack of depth is reasonable, the Cowboys were competitive in enough games that coaching could have made a difference. Garrett might find himself at least on a moderately warm -- if not hot -- seat in 2016.Next: New York Jets?| Full rankings ' ' '