The Vancouver Whitecaps got back to winning ways last weekend, defeating the league-leading Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Saturday at BC Place. While the Sounders fielded a depleted lineup - they were missing five players who would otherwise be named in their starting lineup - Vancouver did what was needed to win the game. Defensively, the partnership of Johnny Leveron and Carlyle Mitchell comfortably dealt with everything the Sounders threw their way, while David Ousted turned in another strong performance in goal. The central midfield duo of Matias Laba and Gershon Koffie controlled the area in front of the back four, while attacking midfielder Pedro Morales returned to his customary role as the Whitecaps maestro. Had Erik Hurtado managed to convert a second-half breakaway, Vancouvers victory would have been more emphatic. With Vancouvers victory, many will believe that normal service has been restored. Led by players like Morales, Laba and Koffie, the Whitecaps have played entertaining football at BC Place this season. A 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids – where Laba was sent off for two yellow cards with the Caps leading 1-0 – is the only home defeat of the season for Vancouver. However, it can also be argued that Vancouver has perhaps punched above their weight this season. Just look at the Sounders. If the roles had been reversed and Vancouver – minus its top five players – played a full-strength Sounders lineup in Seattle, it is reasonable to expect the margin of victory for Seattle to be much more comfortable than 1-0. The Sounders have a much deeper squad than Vancouver – deeper than virtually every other team in MLS, in fact. Vancouvers reality is this: they do not yet have the depth to challenge the top sides in MLS over the course of an entire season. ‘Yet being the key word. Vancouvers head coach, Carl Robinson, knows that he needs to address this shortcoming. However, his hands are tied – or at least his salary cap space is - to three players. Injured skipper Jay Demerit, central defender Andy OBrien and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker have all played a role in Vancouvers solid start to the season. But it is difficult to see a future in Vancouver for any of the three beyond this season. In the case of Demerit and OBrien, age is simply not on their sides. 34 and 35 respectively, they are coming to the end of their outstanding careers. Reo-Coker, on the other hand, has seen his playing time decrease considerably this season, due in large part to the impressive form of both Laba and Koffie. Collectively, the salaries of Demerit, OBrien and Reo-Coker tally over $1 million – a third of Vancouvers salary cap space. The club simply cannot afford to have so much cap space tied up in three players whose roles are diminishing with time. This is the harsh reality of professional soccer; players are commodities to be bought, sold, bartered for and traded. Teams that are successful know that they have to constantly be searching for additions and upgrades to make their squad stronger. It is what Seattle did in the offseason, and they are reaping the rewards this year; the Sounders sit atop the MLS standings with 35 points from 17 games. If the Whitecaps are going to continue to move forward and build on their impressive start to their campaign, they need to add quality signings to their squad of promising young players. A central defender, a wide midfielder and a proven goal scorer are all on the shopping list, but unless Vancouver can create cap space, those signings might have to wait until the offseason. For now, Vancouver goes into Saturdays home game against Chivas USA (TSN2, 10pm ET, 7pm PT) in buoyant mood. With just one loss in their last 10 games, the Whitecaps have every right to be confident taking on the visitors. However, Erick ‘Cubo Torres is one of the hottest strikers in MLS right now – his fantastic stoppage-time goal sealed a 1-0 win for Chivas over the Montreal Impact last weekend – so Carlyle Mitchell and Johnny Leveron will need to keep a watchful eye on the Mexican front man if the Whitecaps are to keep another clean sheet. Jeff Green Jersey . The No. 23 seed at the first Grand Slam event of the tennis season has worked out all the details, from his training regime right down to where hes going to eat dinner. Derrick McKey Jersey . The visitors missed a host of good chances to win the game, and were left to rue substitute Ivo Ilicevics strike against the crossbar in the 86th minute, when he only had the goalkeeper to beat. https://www.supersonicsjerseys.com/140s-alton-lister-jersey-supersonics.html .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action. Al Tucker Jersey . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. Tom Meschery Jersey . - Buffalo Bills running back C.San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - In a game that featured 13 ties and 20 lead changes, the San Antonio Spurs came out on top, 110-106, against the rival Houston Rockets on Sunday. Danny Green led San Antonio with 24 points and added five steals to help the Spurs snap a two-game losing streak. Tim Duncan added 16 points and eight rebounds. Manu Ginobili chipped in 15 points off the bench and Cory Joseph scored 14 on 6-of-9 shooting. We didnt play well down the stretch. We made a whole bunch of mistakes, said Duncan. We got a win here, and hopefully that points us in the right direction. San Antonio hit 21-of-24 shots from the free throw line while the Rockets made just 18-of-31 as they lost their two-game winning streak. James Harden paced Houston with 28 points and Corey Brewer contributed 25 off the bench. Dwight Howard scored 24 points and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds. Too many turnovers, said Harden, who had nine of Houstons 25. That loss was on us. And myself. Neither team led by more than four in a wild third quarter with five ties and seven lead changes. San Antonio held a narrow 85-84 lead through three after scoring six of the last seven points of the period. After a slow first half, Harden netted 13 points in the third quarter. Harden and Brewer combined to hit eight of Houstons nine made shots in the period. Howard scored six straight points early in the fourth, and his alley-oop dunk from Brewer gave Houston a 91-87 lead with eight minutes remaiining.dddddddddddd Ginobili responded with a reverse layup at the other end of the floor, and that began a 15-0 Spurs run to give them breathing room for the first time in the game. The run was capped by Patty Mills hitting a layup following a Joseph steal. The Rockets had one more run left in them. Over the next four minutes, Houston outscored San Antonio 15-6 to cut its deficit to two points with 12 seconds remaining. After Trevor Arizas contested 3-pointer to make it a 108-106 game, Green made both of his free throws with 10 seconds left. Ariza missed a triple on the following possession to end the game. San Antonio jumped out to an early six-point lead when it hit its first three shots from the floor, but 3-pointers from Donatas Motiejunas and Brewer in the closing seconds of the quarter gave Houston a 33-28 lead after one. The Rockets led by as much as 10 in the second period thanks to 10 in the quarter from Howard, but they were unable to hold their lead too. The Spurs scored eight points off five turnovers in the final six minutes of the quarter and took a 56-55 lead into halftime. Game Notes Houston had won six straight against San Antonio ... The Rockets are now 16-1 when scoring 100 or more points ... Brewer had 25 points combined in his first two games with Houston ... San Antonio outscored Houston in the paint, 52-44 ... The four-game season series between these teams doesnt resume until April 8. ' ' '