KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes has been reluctant to give his club too much praise this season, preferring to take a tough-love approach. He finally relented Wednesday night. C.J. Sapong and Aurelien Collin scored in a cold, driving rainstorm, and Sporting KC beat the injury-depleted Colorado Rapids 2-0 to reach the Eastern Conference finals with a 4-0 aggregate total. "We know we still have work to do," Vermes said, "but I think weve achieved something." Talk about an understatement. Sporting KC opened the season 1-6-1 before going on a dramatic worst-to-first run. They havent lost in their last seven matches, and have scored in 21 of their last 22, a big reason why a sellout crowd of 18,565 showed up at Livestrong Sporting Park despite penetrating rain, winds whipping at 20 m.p.h. and temperatures that plummeted during the second half. Graham Zusi assisted on each of the goals for Sporting KC, which beat Colorado 2-0 on Sunday to open the two-game, aggregate-goal playoff. Sporting KC will host the Houston Dynamo or Philadelphia Union in the conference finals Sunday. Houston won its first leg against Philadelphia, 2-1. They play again Thursday night. "We made a point of talking about getting the first goal. We didnt want them to get that first goal and get some confidence," Zusi said. "That allowed us to settle down." Collin scored in the 28th minute when he deflected Zusis free kick, and Sapong returned from a scary collision in front of the net early in the second half to direct a perfect header past Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens in the 76th minute. Sapong took off running for the corner in glee, sliding through the wet turf before the rest of his teammate piled on in joy. It was the start of what amounted to a 15-minute victory lap for Sporting KC, which is back in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1997. "Were here now because weve done it at the end of the season. Thats big time," said Vermes, who played for the franchise back when it was the Wizards. "These guys have really stepped up. I couldnt be more proud of them." It was a disheartening end to Colorados season. The Rapids had already lost Jamie Smith to a torn right ACL and Pablo Mastroeni to a concussion before three more players went down in Sundays game. Striker Caleb Folan sprained his left ankle and knee, Kosuke Kimura fractured his left foot and Drew Moor separated his shoulder. Tyrone Marshall also earned a red card Sunday, keeping him out of Wednesdays match and putting the reigning MLS Cup champions in quite a hole against the leagues hottest team. "Yes, weve been affected by the injuries, but the scoreline in six weeks time, or two weeks time, will suggest that we lost 4-nil," Colorado coach Gary Smith said. "Nobody will know what happened, nobody will know the injuries; 4-nil over two legs and they go through." Things were chippy on the sloggy pitch from the start, but the fouls didnt cost either team until Colorados Joseph Nane earned a yellow card for taking down Sapong in the 28th minute. Zusi hammered the free kick from near midfield toward the Colorado net, and Collin backed up Pickens, almost as if he was posting up. Collin managed to somehow deflect the ball off the back of his head and into the net, giving Sporting KC a 1-0 lead. "When you put a dangerous ball in the box like that, theres no telling whats going to happen," Rapids defender Wells Thompson said. "It definitely takes the wind out of your sails." Early in the second half, Sapong tried to convert a bicycle kick in front of the Rapids goal and came down hard on his back. Colorado defender Marvell Wynnes knee inadvertently banged off the back of his head, and Sapong spent several minutes on the mushy turf before walking to the sideline. He returned a few minutes later, and found a spot just inside the area in the 76th minute when Zusi wound up on a free kick. Sapong leaped up and headed home the goal, which amounted to an exclamation mark on a dominating two-game series against the Rapids. "We have a competitive group," longtime Sporting KC midfielder Davy Arnaud said. "When you get to the playoffs, everything is magnified. We knew they were going to compete and battle, and we had to match that and more." wholesale jerseys . Rodriguez was 2 for 16 with no RBIs in the division series against Baltimore, going hitless in 12 at-bats against right-handed pitchers with nine strikeouts. Manager Joe Girardi pinch hit for him in Game 3 and 4. nfl jerseys china . But a disappointing season has left a big question mark hanging over the position of quarterback. http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnf... . Ferri, who was released by the Alouettes in June, signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Wednesday. [url=http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnfl.com/]cheap jerseys . Magloire, 34, appeared in 34 games for the Raptors last season. He averaged 1.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 11 minutes a game. wholesale jerseys from china . Hes got bigger plans for this years Indianapolis Colts. Less than 12 months after taking less money to play for a team in major rebuilding mode and then leading it back to the playoffs as he had promised, Wayne has started concocting all sorts of grand possibilities in his mind.TORONTO -- Hockey Canada has launched a new smartphone app aimed at reducing brain injuries in the sport. Available in both English and French, and with versions for adults and kids, the app includes medically approved information on everything from concussion symptoms to return-to-play protocol. "You can have your phone on the bench -- its that close," said Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson. "Its right in the (coach or trainers) hands." In development for more than a year, the app is available for BlackBerry, iPhone and Android and can be downloaded for free from Hockey Canadas website, BlackBerrys App World, iTunes or the Google Play Store. The app was a joint project with the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Sport, the Coaching Association of Canada and ThinkFirst Pensez dAbord Canada. It was funded by a $1.5-million grant from the federal government. One of the benefits of the app is that Hockey Canada has the ability to update it immediately with any new advances made in the industry. Nicholson was also touting it as a resource for not only coaches and parents, but young players as well.dddddddddddd "There are two different targets here," he said. "Were hopeful that coaches will have it on the bench and players will watch it in dressing rooms. With that, were really trying to make sure that we get to everyone involved in the game in Canada." The app was launched with an endorsement from Sidney Crosby, who missed significant chunks of the last two NHL seasons because of concussion-related symptoms. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain said he admires Hockey Canadas "commitment to educating families and players about all aspects of the game." Nicholson recently became a vice-president with the International Ice Hockey Federations executive council and believes the app has the potential to be useful around the world. Hockey Canada doesnt have specific numbers on the amount of youth hockey players that suffer concussions each year. "We just know that it is happening a lot," said Nicholson. "Hopefully, this (app) is going to spread not just in Canada, but throughout the world," he added. ' ' '