TUKWILA, Wash. -- Sigi Schmid won an MLS Supporters Shield, four U.S. Open Cups, and never missed the playoffs as head coach of the Seattle Sounders. But the team and Schmid are parting ways.The Sounders announced Tuesday that Schmids run as the only coach in the franchises MLS era has come to an end. Longtime Seattle assistant Brian Schmetzer is taking over immediately as interim head coach.We agreed it was a reasonable time to part ways, Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer said during a news conference. That takes absolutely nothing away from what he has done for this club. He won a bunch of trophies for us, he won a lot of games, he had a lot of success. But the results just werent there this year.Schmid joined the Sounders in 2008 after winning an MLS Cup title with the Columbus Crew. He also won an MLS title with the LA Galaxy in 2002.I want to thank Seattle Sounders FC for the opportunity to lead this club over the past eight years, with particular gratitude to Adrian Hanauer, Joe Roth, and the rest of the clubs ownership group, Schmid said in a statement released by the team. My only disappointment is that we were unable to bring home an MLS Cup to our tremendous fans, who have always been supportive through good times and bad.Schmid was 115-79-56 with the Sounders and led them to seven consecutive MLS Cup playoff appearances, and his 228 regular-season wins rank first in league history. But Seattle has struggled this season, currently sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference with a 6-12-2 record. On Sunday, the Sounders lost 3-0 at Sporting Kansas City, and managed just one shot in the game.The results obviously have not been great, and the performance in Kansas City was maybe a low point, Hanauer said. Theres no magic stopwatch on this that tells us when the right time is.Schmetzer has been affiliated with the Sounders at various times as either a player or a coach since signing out of high school with the then-North American Soccer League franchise in 1980. Prior to their joining MLS in 2009, he was head coach of the USL Sounders from 2002-08, winning league championships in 2005 and 2007.Its kind of bittersweet, said Schmetzer, who was named Schmids top assistant in December 2008, just six days after Schmid was hired. You lose a guy you have a lot of respect for. But at the end of the day, its an opportunity to try to impart some pride back in the club and try to make sure we win games.Schmetzers first game in charge will be on Sunday when Seattle hosts the Galaxy. The Sounders will start that game 10 points out of the last Western Conference playoff spot.Weve not given up on making the playoffs, and help is on the way, general manager and president of soccer Garth Lagerway said. Were optimistic that we can change this thing positively and move forward this year.The help that Lagerway, Hanauer, and Schmetzer all mentioned was Nicolas Lodeiro. The native of Uruguay, an attacking midfielder, played most recently for Argentinas Boca Juniors club, and has 42 caps for the Uruguay national team.Its no secret, though its not necessarily the worst-kept secret weve had, but Nicolas landed at the airport today, Hanauer said. We have some is to dot and some ts to cross, but we fully anticipate him joining our squad.Patrick Willis Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. George Kittle Jersey .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Youth-Dante-Pettis-49ers-Jersey/ . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Y.A. Tittle Jersey . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. San Francisco 49ers Jerseys . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. NEW YORK -- Floyd Mayweather and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez stared each other down for nearly a minute and the cheers from the fans packed into Times Square grew louder by the second. This is the matchup theyve been waiting to see: Four belts, two undefeated fan favourites -- and a title fight simply billed as "The One." "Canelo, I appreciate you for taking the fight," Mayweather said on a steamy Monday in the heart of Manhattan in front of a few thousand fans standing behind metal barriers or sitting in temporary bleachers with Broadway marquees serving as a colorful backdrop. "Now," Mayweather said, "lets give the fans what they want to see." The fighters kicked off an 11-city tour to officially announce and promote their title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. The promotional tour includes stops in cities such as Washington D.C., Chicago, Miami and Mexico City, and is jumpstarting the hype ahead of one of boxings most anticipated bouts in recent memory. Mayweather, 36, is unbeaten in 44 fights with the last a unanimous 12-round decision over Robert Guerrero on May 4 in defence of his 147-pound title. "The Earth is my turf," Mayweather said. "You can put me in any ring and I will always come out victorious." Alvarez, a 22-year-old star from Mexico, is 42-0-1 and unified the 154-pound titles in April with a unanimous victory over Austin Trout on April 20. "In the sport of boxing, its everybodys time, and this is my time," Alvarez said through a translator as fans chanted "Mex-i-co!" "Im going to win." The 12-round fight will be contested at 152 pounds with both mens super welterweight/junior middleweight titles on the line -- Mayweathers WBA super welterweight "super" championship, and Alvarezs WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine super welterweight championships. The bout, expected to be a monstrous draw on pay-per-view for Showtime, also just might satisfy many fans who had been wishing during the last several years for Mayweather to take on Manny Pacquiao. "In every sport, there are certain rare occasions when you have the best fighting the best," said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice-president and general manager of Showtime Sports. "The Super Bowl, Final Four, the college football national championship. Sept. 14 will be one of those occasions -- the two biggest stars in the sport, the two biggest fan bases. "We have Americas No. 1 fighter versus Mexicos No. 1 fighter. We have the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport versus the No. 1 new star in the sport." There remains some dispute over who set the 152-pound catch weight, with Mayweathers camp saying Alvarezs people brought it up first. Alvarez, however, insisted it was Mayweather who decided on having both fight at 152 pounds instead of 154. "It wasnt me," Alvarez told reporters before the news conference. "I dont want to fight 2 pounds below my weight class." There was also some contention between the two because Alvarez chose to headline his own fight card against Trout rather than be included on the undercard of Mayweather-Guerrero card. But both fighters agreed that this is a matchup that needed to happen.dddddddddddd "Ive visualized this fight for years," Alvarez said, "and I feel Im going to win." The fighters each announced on Twitter last month that they would face each other, exciting boxing fans around the world. Mondays event marked perhaps the sports most ambitious promotional tour since Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya also stopped in 11 cities before their 2007 bout -- won by Mayweather. Alvarez has been picking De La Hoyas brain about fighting Mayweather, and the former champion believes the young star has a few advantages -- including youth -- he didnt have. "I used reckless pressure and hes going to use smart pressure," De La Hoya said. "Thats what going to be the difference. ... And I have three letters for (Alvarez): jab." Each fighter took a stroll down a makeshift red carpet leading to the dais with pops of confetti marking their entrances. Mayweather received a noticeable amount of boos with the crowd appearing to slightly favour Alvarez. One fan, though, got Mayweather to crack up when he held up a Chucky doll from the "Childs Play" movie franchise, taking a clear shot at Alvarezs hair colour. The two took their seats after their stare-down -- Mayweather next to Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO Mayweather Promotions, and Alvarez next to De la Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions. It was a mostly tame news conference with the banter between sides at a minimum. Before the news conference, Mayweather talked about shooting a commercial with the Spanish-speaking Alvarez and someone asked why he isnt doing his usual trash talking with his opponent. "He wouldnt understand me anyway," Mayweather said, laughing. It is the second in Mayweathers six-bout, 30-month contract with Showtime that could pay him more than $200 million. After Mayweather beat Guerrero, he said he wanted to fight again in September -- marking the first time since 2007 he will be in the ring twice in a calendar year. "I said I was going to be very active so I could stay sharp and be at the top of my game," Mayweather said. Mayweather showed little rust while dominating Guerrero by using superior defensive skills in his first ring appearance since serving a jail term for assaulting the mother of his children. Alvarez is a confident and rapidly rising fighter who should provide a huge test for Mayweather. Alvarez was dominant against the previously unbeaten Trout, showing up some fans and media who speculated that perhaps he wasnt ready to face such an experienced opponent. "To be the best," Alvarez said when asked before the news conference what his motivation is to fight Mayweather now. "(I want) to go down in history as the guy who beat the guy people consider the best." When the news conference was over, both fighters got up and stared each other down one more time. And again, the crowd went wild. "Its always been one of my ultimate goals to get to the pinnacle of the sport and push myself to the limit by facing the best," Mayweather said. "Hes a young champion. What else can I say?" ' ' '