FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

NBC SPORTS NETWORK AIRS MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE MATCHUP PORTLAND AT SALT LAKE CITY THIS SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. ET

All New MLS 36 featuring D.C. United’s Dwayne De Rosario tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network “Real Salt Lake is one of the premier MLS teams on paper, but they need to rediscover their form in practice over a critical five game run-in, which starts here against the Timbers.” – Arlo White on Portland Timbers

NEW YORK – Sept. 19, 2012 – NBC Sports Network will broadcast a Western Conference match this Saturday when the Portland Timbers head to Salt Lake to take on Real Salt Lake at 8 p.m. ET. Additionally, an all-new episode of MLS 36 featuring the reigning MLS MVP from D.C. United, Dwayne De Rosario airs tonight at 7 p.m. ET. on NBC Sports Network

COMMENTATORS: Arlo White (play-by-play) and Kyle Martino (“Between the Benches” analyst) will call all the action for the Real Salt Lake-Portland game. Russ Thaler (studio host) will be on-site in Salt Lake City for the pregame and halftime analysis.

WHITE ON THE MATCH: “Real Salt Lake’s recent slump has altered their ambition from eyeing the Supporters Shield, to desperately trying to avoid a one-off wild card match in the playoffs, which makes this game against Portland absolutely vital. Jason Kreis’ side has had two weeks away from MLS action to contemplate a run of one win in their last six games. In that time the resurgent LA Galaxy have leaped over them and into 3rd place spot. Real Salt Lake is one of the premier MLS teams on paper, but they need to re-discover their form in practice over a critical five game run-in, which starts here against the Timbers.”

MLS 36: NBC Sports Network’s next episode of MLS 36 will feature Dwayne De Rosario, a star midfielder for D.C. United, and follow him in the 36 hours ahead of the team’s face-off against the New England Revolution. The episode premieres tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. The Canadian native is also representing his country in recent CONCACAF World Cup qualifying games. Immediately after filming, De Rosario suffered a potential season ending injury and his playoff future is in the balance.

UPCOMING MLS GAMES: (All Times ET, Home Team Listed First)

Fri., Sept. 28, Kansas City vs. Chicago, 8:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network)

Sat., Sept. 29, Vancouver vs. Seattle, 9 p.m. (NBC Sports Network)

Sat., Oct. 6, New York vs. Chicago, 3:30 p.m. (NBC)

For the full NBC Sports Group 2012 MLS Schedule visit www.NBCSports.com. Viewers can also follow all the action on Twitter @MLSonNBCSports.

ProSoccerTalk on NBCSports.com: Steve Davis (@SteveDavis90), a respected soccer journalist for more than two decades, is the featured writer for ProSoccerTalk on NBCSports.com. Davis, who has covered Major League Soccer, since its inception in 1996 contributes regular posts and will provide video reports to NBCSports.com, and is expected to be an occasional guest on NBC SportsTalk, the daily hour-long news and information show on NBC Sports Network.

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Last August, Major League Soccer (MLS) and the NBC Sports Group announced a three-year media rights agreement that calls for 46 MLS games and four U.S. National Team contests to be televised live across both NBC and NBC Sports Network each season. This agreement was the first rights deal for the new NBC Sports Network. All telecasts on NBC and NBC Sports Network will consist of pre-game and post-game coverage.