igal's Site

An important stat proved to be the story of the first stop

Reigning Street League Champion Nyjah Huston won the first stop of Street League DC Pro Tour 2011 in Seattle at the KeyArena in dominating fashion. Huston's score of 104.6 was more than enough to take home the $150,000, as well as an automatic spot in the SLS Championship in Newark, NJ on August 28th.

If winning the $150,000 wasn't enough, Nyjah won $15,000 for best trick on the last run of the contest after he had the win all wrapped up, Huston pulled a backside 270 to..

An important stat proved to be the story of the first stop

Reigning Street League Champion Nyjah Huston won the first stop of Street League DC Pro Tour 2011 in Seattle at the KeyArena in dominating fashion. Huston's score of 104.6 was more than enough to take home the $150,000, as well as an automatic spot in the SLS Championship in Newark, NJ on August 28th.

If winning the $150,000 wasn't enough, Nyjah won $15,000 for best trick on the last run of the contest after he had the win all wrapped up, Huston pulled a backside 270 to..

Supporters are encouraged to follow each of the five food trucks on Twitter. Ticket plans and game packages, as well as individual game tickets, are available for purchase at dcunited.com/tickets

BBQ Bandidos

twitter.com/bbqbandidos

Menu:

American BBQ sandwiches - all served on Kaiser roll with country slaw on the side

• Carolina pulled pork - vinegar based Carolina ?Q'
• Memphis brisket - dry rubbed and long smoked
• Texas grilled chicken - sweet & tangy red sauce

Mexican cemitas - all served on Kaiser roll with avocado, lettuce, queso fresco & pico del gallo

• Carne asada - grilled marinated steak with cilantro & lime
• Carnitas enchilada - slow roasted spiced pork with enchilada sauce
• Pollo con salsa verde - fire grilled chicken breast with salsa verde

DC Slices

twitter.com/dcslices

Menu: available both by the slice and as a pie

• Cheese
• Pepperoni
• Veggie
• Sausage & onion
• Buffalo Chicken
• Bacon & Cheddar
• Also available: Tasty tater tots, Mozzarella sticks

Doug the Food Dude

http://twitter.com/Dougthefooddude

Menu:

• Traditional Main Lobster Roll (except in a Wrap) with Lettuce, Cucumber and Red Onion
• Cajun Shrimp Wrap with Lettuce, Cucumber and Red Onion
• Parmesan Crusted Salmon Fillet over the Dude's Cabana Rice
• Garden Wrap with Mozzarella, Tomato, Leaf Spinach, Black olives in the Dude's special sauce
• Caribbean Pork - Slow roasted pork over Cabana Rice drizzled with the Dude's Mango sauce
• Chaisson's Salmon Wrap - Parmesan Crusted Salmon Fillet Lettuce, Cucumber, Onion and Chipotle sauce
• Chipotle Chicken wrap - Sliced Chicken Breast with Lettuce, Tomato, Onion and the Dude's Chipotle sauce
• Italian Sausage Albanese - Italian Sausage grilled onions, red & green pepper in a red sauce over the Dude's Cabana Rice
• Veggie wrap - Cucumber - Lettuce - Onion - Tomato Black Olives - Cheese and the Dude's Chipotle sauce
• Courtney's Pork Wrap - Slow roasted pork - Cucumbers Lettuce - Onion and the Dude's Chipotle sauce

Food trucks interested in partnering with D.C. United should contact Kyle Sheldon directly at ksheldon@dcunited.com.

• Michael David Smith
• Lead Blogger

For this week's media round-up we begin with Liz Clarke's feature in today's Washington Post. Clarke takes a look at the continued progress of forward Charlie Davies and his long road to recovery. Staying with the Post, Steve Goff caught up with United President and CEO Kevin Payne earlier this week regarding the club's stadium situation. 

Charlie Davies stopped by the studios of Comcast SportsNet this week to chat with Ivan Carter, while Russ Thaler and Sebastian Salazar give us the most recent Black-and-Red Report. Thaler also caught up with Ben Olsen at Wednesday's training session. CSN will broadcast tonight's match with Colorado at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner recently spoke with Academy product Conor Shanosky ahead of his departure to France for United States U-20 duty. Thomas Floyd from the Washington Times sat down with Josh Wolff ahead of United's match with Colorado, and found that the forward is enjoying his role as elder statesman of the Black-and-Red. 

Lastly, Travis Clark caught up with Charlie Davies late in the week, while Ben Olsen gave a progress report on his team and chatted with the Spots Junkies. For a look at the Black-and-Red's next opponent following the Rapids match, check out what's at stake for Ajax this weekend in Holland. 

An important stat proved to be the story of the first stop

Reigning Street League Champion Nyjah Huston won the first stop of Street League DC Pro Tour 2011 in Seattle at the KeyArena in dominating fashion. Huston's score of 104.6 was more than enough to take home the $150,000, as well as an automatic spot in the SLS Championship in Newark, NJ on August 28th.

If winning the $150,000 wasn't enough, Nyjah won $15,000 for best trick on the last run of the contest after he had the win all wrapped up, Huston pulled a backside 270 to..

An important stat proved to be the story of the first stop

Reigning Street League Champion Nyjah Huston won the first stop of Street League DC Pro Tour 2011 in Seattle at the KeyArena in dominating fashion. Huston's score of 104.6 was more than enough to take home the $150,000, as well as an automatic spot in the SLS Championship in Newark, NJ on August 28th.

If winning the $150,000 wasn't enough, Nyjah won $15,000 for best trick on the last run of the contest after he had the win all wrapped up, Huston pulled a backside 270 to..

WASHINGTON ? A second-half penalty kick from D.C. United?s Chris Pontius canceled out Drew Moor?s first-half goal, as United battled back for a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.

The result means the Rapids finish a three-game road swing with a win and two draws. United, meanwhile, also stretched a recent unbeaten run to three games.

» Vote for the Lenkersdorfer Fine Jewelers Man of the Match

The Rapids entered the match missing several injured forwards, including Omar Cummings and Caleb Folan.  The return to fitness of Conor Casey, though, gave them optimism. The big striker started on the bench after missing several matches, and came on late in the second half.

The regular D.C. frontline of Josh Wolff and Charlie Davies looked active early. The former nearly sent the latter in on goal in the 10th minute. But Davies? touch let him down, as the Colorado defense bent without breaking.

Their sternness set the scene for the opening goal from Moor in the 23rd minute. Jamie Smith?s in swinging delivery from the left side wasn?t cleared by D.C.?s defense, and Moor pounced on the loose ball, sliding a shot past United goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

As D.C. struggled to get back into the game, coach Ben Olsen was forced to sub out his starting forward line before the half was out. Davies and Wolff both picked up injuries, and Santino Quaranta and Joseph Ngwenya came on in their place.

Ngwenya?s speed proved to be mettlesome for the Rapids defense. Early in the second half, he carried the ball into Colorado?s box and as he lined up his shot, he was dragged down by Rapids midfielder Jeff Larentowicz. Referee Terry Vaughn, however, waved play on.

D.C. continued the pressure, and their efforts were rewarded in the 62nd minute.

Working on the far left side of the Colorado area, Pontius collided with Rapids defender Kosuke Kimura. Both players went down, and this time Vaughn pointed to the spot.

With normal United penalty taker Davies off the field, Pontius stepped up and beat Pickens to level the score at 1-1.

A gritty and physical encounter unraveled over the game?s final 30 minutes, and both sides had chances to win it.

In the 87th minute, Rapids? substitute Sanna Nyassi?s cross was tipped by D.C. defender Dejan Jakovic, but it fell right to Wells Thompson, who blasted his shot way over at the top of the box.

In stoppage time, United nearly earned all three points but Ngwenya fired wide after Pickens made a good save from a Pontius effort.

D.C. now have a two-week break from league play before facing off with the Portland Timbers on Sunday, May 29. They take on Dutch side Ajax in a friendly next Saturday.

The Rapids return home to play Toronto FC on Sunday, May 22.

LINEUPS

D.C. UNITED: Hamid; Kitchen, White, Jakovic, Woolard; Najar, Simms (Fred 80'), McCarty (c), Pontius; Wolff (Ngwenya 44'), Davies (Quaranta 34')

Unused substitutes: Brettschneider, Burch, Korb, Cronin

Colorado Rapids: Pickens; Kimura, Marshall, Wynne; Moor, Thompson (LaBauex 94'), Larentowicz, Mastroeni; Smith, Akpan (Nyassi 75'), Amarikwa (Casey 67')

Unused substitutes: Ceus, Earls, Palguta, Nane

BOXSCORE

SCORING SUMMARY:
Colorado Rapids - Drew Moor 23'
D.C. United - Chris Pontius 62' (PK) | VIDEO

SHOTS:
D.C. United - 11
Colorado Rapids - 7

SHOTS ON GOAL:
D.C. United - 4
Colorado Rapids - 2

SAVES:
D.C. United - 1
Colorado Rapids - 3

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
Drew Moor - caution 45'
Matt Pickens 92'

FOULS:
D.C. United - 15
Colorado Rapids - 7

Referee: Terry Vaughn
Assistants: Steven Taylor, Jason Cullum
4th official: Daniel Fitzgerald

Attendance: 12,499

On this week's episode of The Ultimate Fighter, Junior dos Santos had some trouble in the ranks of his coaching staff, and he had to reprimand his assistant, Lew Polley, for pushing his fighters too hard in practice.

Ramsey Nijem, a member of Team Dos Santos, said in his weekly interview with MMAFighting.com that he was glad dos Santos said something, because Polley had been taking his intense coaching style to extreme lengths.

Nijem also discussed the new member of Team Dos Santos and this week's fight between Len Bentley and Ryan McGillivray, and he offered an interesting preview of his own (not quite) nude scene in next week's episode. The full interview is below.

Michael David Smith: On last week's show Keon Caldwell left, and this week Justin Edwards replaced him on Team Dos Santos. What did you think of your new teammate?
Ramsey Nijem: At first I thought he was Little Randy Couture, because he looks just like Randy. But Justin got there the first day, jumped right in and was in shape and ready to work. We were excited to have him on our team because Keon wasn't in great shape and it was good to have a teammate who could push us in practice.

We saw some tension between Junior and Lew Polley, and you were shown saying you thought Lew had crossed the line into pushing you guys too hard.
Yeah, Lew is a real emotional guy, and sometimes he acts like he has something to prove to everybody. I think he wanted to show us how much he could push us. I didn't feel like I needed to prove anything, but he was yelling at us a lot and not real positive. That was kind of frustrating, and we all talked to Junior and told him we didn't really like it.

Brock Lesnar chose Len Bentley from his team to fight Ryan McGillivray from your team. What did you think of the matchup?
I really thought Len was overrated from the beginning. I thought Ryan was going to beat him, and he did. I thought it would be a scrap because they're both scrappy guys, but Ryan I thought had great jiu jitsu, and I had trained with Len and all he does is shoot in and throw wild punches. There's nothing about Len that would make you scared to fight him, whereas Ryan has good boxing and that good counter-hook you saw him rock Len with.

Ryan had to sweat off 10 pounds before the weigh-in. Was making weight a big concern with the guys in the house?
Ryan was the biggest dude in the house, and I don't think he knew a lot about good nutrition, and he also hadn't wrestled and didn't have much experience cutting weight. That made it hard on him and he struggled getting down.

Is making weight an issue for you?
Not really. I walk around at 180, 179 when I'm training hard and I thought it was kind of an advantage that I could make weight without really trying too hard. I've usually fought at 155, which is a huge cut for me.

Do you think you'll ever move back down to lightweight?
I don't think so -- 155 is a real tough weight class. I actually think 170 is probably where I'll be.

The commercial for next week's show makes it look like you're a big part of it. Anything you want to give away?
Well, let's just say that when it looks on TV like I'm naked, I wasn't really naked.

(Editor's note: Ramsey Nijem will join us each week during Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter to share his thoughts on that week's episode. Follow Ramsey on Twitter @RamseyNijem.)

D.C. United continue their long homestand while the Colorado Rapids continue their long Eastern swing when the clubs meet Saturday at RFK Stadium. United have a win and a draw against Western opposition in the first two games of this home stretch, coming off a scoreless result with FC Dallas. The Rapids have a win and a draw against Eastern teams to start their three-game trip, last a scoreless draw at New England.

REFEREE: Terry Vaughn. SAR (bench): Steven Taylor; JAR (opposite): Jason Cullum; 4th: Daniel Fitzgerald MLS Career: 142 games; FC/gm: 28.6; Y/gm: 3.8; R: 46; pens: 45

INJURY REPORT:

• D.C. UNITED ? OUT: MF Branko Boskovic (L ACL tear); MF Junior Carreiro (L ankle sprain); DF Devon McTavish (concussion); DF Jed Zayner (L hamstring strain)
• COLORADO RAPIDS ? OUT: FW Omar Cummings (R ankle sprain); FW Caleb Folan (R groin strain); FW Macoumba Kandji (L knee ACL tear); QUESTIONABLE: DF Eddie Ababio (R hamstring strain); PROBABLE: GK Matt Pickens (R groin strain); FW Quincy Amarikwa (L ankle sprain); FW Conor Casey (L hamstring strain); MF Sanna Nyassi (lower back strain)

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: DC: Conor Shanosky (U.S. U-20 national team)
SUSPENDED: COL: Brian Mullan (through June 26)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: COL: Conor Casey

HEAD-TO-HEAD

• ALL-TIME (35 meetings): United 16 wins (2 shootout), 58 goals ? Rapids 13 wins (1 shootout), 47 goals ? Ties 6
• AT RFK (17 meetings): United 10 wins (2 shootout), 35 goals ? Rapids 3 wins (0 shootout), 15 goals ? Ties 4
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Two goals from Caleb Folan and a late three-goal explosion (over the final 20 minutes) gave the Rapids a 4-1 win April 3 at Dick?s Sporting Goods Park.
• United?s 1-0 win at Dick?s Sporting Goods Park last year was their first in Denver in a decade, since a 5-2 win May 6, 2000. The Rapids won eight of the 10 home matches in between, with two draws.
• The Rapids? win at RFK Stadium on May 15 of last year was their first there since 1999. The teams also met on East Capitol Street in MLS Cup 1997, a 2-1 United win.
• The teams last played to a draw on Aug. 19, 2006, a 1-1 result at RFK Stadium.
• Coaches record: Gary Smith vs. DC: P6 W3 L3 D0 ? Ben Olsen v COL: P2 W1 L1 D0

LAST MEETING (MLS)

• 4/3: COL 4, DC 1 (Folan 38, 81; Smith 71; Cummings 90 ? Quaranta 70)
• Caleb Folan put the Rapids into the lead in the 38th minute when he latched onto a perfectly weighted ball from Jeff Larentowicz and feinted past the D.C. defense before connecting well with a left foot drive past Pat Onstad.
• United evened terms in the 70th minute through a Santino Quaranta first-time volley at the far post from a cross by rookie Chris Korb.
• But barely a minute later, Rapids midfielder Jamie Smith popped up in the box to head home an Anthony Wallace long-range cross to push the Rapids back in front.
• Folan then completed his double when he outjumped the D.C. defense to expertly head a Sanna Nyassi cross into the right hand corner of the net in the 81st minute.
• Omar Cummings, who was rested for the start of the game and did not come on until an early second-half injury to Conor Casey, finished off a header in injury time off an assist from midfielder Pablo Mastroeni.
• COLORADO RAPIDS (4-4-2): Matt Pickens ? Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Drew Moor, Anthony Wallace - Brian Mullan (Sanna Nyassi 72), Pablo Mastroeni, Jeff Larentowicz, Jamie Smith - Conor Casey (Omar Cummings 52), Caleb Folan (Quincy Amarikwa 87).
• D.C. UNITED (4-1-3-2): Pat Onstad ? Chris Korb, Daniel Woolard, Rodrigo Brasesco, Marc Burch ? Kurt Morsink (Fred 83) ? Santino Quaranta, Dax McCarty, Branko Boskovic (Andy Najar 54) ? Blake Brettschneider, Chris Pontius (Josh Wolff 65).

D.C. UNITED

D.C. United finished off a week unbeaten, playing to a scoreless draw with FC Dallas on Saturday evening at RFK Stadium. United have 11 points from 9 games on the year, sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

LAST MATCH

• 
  The game's best chance came in the closing stages. A low cross from Josh Wolff found Fred dangerously open in front of the net. But his header couldn't get the best of lunging FCD goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, who steered the shot aside.
• Hartman was credited with three saves in the FC Dallas goal, while Bill Hamid made two saves for United.
• United coach Ben Olsen made two changes to the team that defeated Seattle Sounders FC 2-1 at RFK Stadium. Stephen King came in for Clyde Simms in midfield and Joseph Ngwenya replaced Josh Wolff up top.
• D.C. UNITED (4-4-2): Bill Hamid - Perry Kitchen, Ethan White, Dejan Jakovic, Daniel Woolard - Andy Najar (Santino Quaranta 72), Dax McCarty, Stephen King, Chris Pontius (Fred 81) - Joseph Ngwenya (Josh Wolff 54), Charlie Davies.

TEAM NEWS

• After eight goals over a two-game stretch, D.C. United has allowed just one goal in the last two ? that coming on a penalty kick.
• ?The positive is that we had a fairly good performance after a good performance on Wednesday,? Olsen said. ?That?s what we are striving for here. We are striving to play consistent soccer, and if we do that over the course of a year, it?s usually enough to make the playoffs.?
• It was a second game with a pair of rookies in the back four for United, with Ethan White at center back and Perry Kitchen at right back.
• ?Perry is playing probably out of position, but you wouldn?t know it,? Olsen said. ?Him knowing when to get forward still has a little work to do, but that?s to be expected when you don?t know that position. But defensively, he?s very committed.? Said Kitchen: ?It?s always fun to go forward since I?ve been sitting back at center back for a while now,? he said. ?I was just trying to pick my moments [against Dallas], and when I was going forward I wasn?t trying to do anything too crazy.?
• Stephen King made his first start of the league season, coming into the central midfield in place of Clyde Simms, who had started five matches in a row.
• 
  ?It?s a little bit of a different dynamic with [Dax McCarty] and [Stephen] King there than it would be with [McCarty] and Clyde [Simms],? Olsen said. ?King had a good understanding ? when Dax [McCarty] sits [King] is more comfortable going forward. They played off each other pretty well all night long.?
• Andy Najar also made a second consecutive game after going five league games without an appearance in the first XI. ?I thought he had a great game; he was special tonight, definitely the best player on the field,? said Olsen.
• United also kept a clean sheet for a second time on the season, something it took until July 10 to achieve a year ago. ?We?ve got a good mixture of athletic guys, guys who can win balls in the air, and a good mixture of guys who are smart and composed,? goalkeeper Bill Hamid said to the Washington Times. ?It makes a very solid back line.?
• Said United captain Dax McCarty: ?That?s progress ? those are things you can build from. Now it comes down to: You?re at home, can you take the chances that you get? And we didn?t do that.?

COLORADO RAPIDS

The Colorado Rapids continued on their three-game Eastern Conference trip, playing to a scoreless draw with the New England Revolution on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. The Rapids have 14 points from 8 games, opening the week in third place in the Western Conference.

LAST MATCH

• Ryan Cochrane and Benny Feilhaber each had chances find the woodwork for the Revolution, while Rapids goalkeeper Matt Pickens was called upon to make two saves, including a point-blank stop of a Shalrie Joseph header.
• Matt Reis made one save as the Revolution recorded their first shutout of the season.
• Rapids head coach Gary Smith made three changes to the team that beat the Houston Dynamo 2-1 at Robertson Stadium. Marvell Wynne came in for Jamie Smith, and Caleb Folan and Quincy Amarikwa made an all-change strike pair in place of Andre Akpan and Omar Cummings.
• COLORADO RAPIDS (4-4-2): Matt Pickens - Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Drew Moor, Scott Palguta - Kosuke Kimura, Pablo Mastroeni, Jeff Larentowicz, Wells Thompson (Jamie Smith 73) - Caleb Folan (Andre Akpan 30), Quincy Amarikwa (Ross LaBauex 85)

TEAM NEWS

• For the first time since 2008 ? and just the second time since Conor Casey arrived at the club ? the Rapids played a game without either Casey or Omar Cummings in the scoreless draw at New England. The only other previous occasion was a 3-2 loss at the LA Galaxy on Oct. 12, 2008.
• "There were moments that we might have made a little bit more of," Smith said. "But we've got so many bodies changing in and out now because of injuries it's very difficult to find serious fluency here."
• The Rapids recorded a shutout for the first time since March 26, and after three consecutive losses, now have two draws and a win in their last three games.
• ?All and all, it?s a clean sheet. It?s three unbeaten, it?s another point to the tally, and it?s the end of a very, very long week,? Smith said. ?We?ll all be very pleased to get back home.
• The club learned Cummings will be lost for 2-4 weeks with a grade II sprain of his right ankle. Caleb Folan was also forced to leave the United match after just a half-hour with a right groin strain, after suffering from a strained quadriceps leading up to the match.
• "I have to say we're going through a difficult period," Smith said. "But we have two very promising and bright individuals. Those bodies will be back, and we will be in a good position and all the better for it."
• The visit to United and a return trip to the East Coast is a third consecutive game against Eastern Conference opposition. The Rapids are in a stretch of playing four out of five games on the road.
• ?We were well organized (against New England. We had) good shape and showed discipline as a group, and that?s not easy when you?re playing your third game in seven days,? Smith said. ?These guys have gone through an awful lot. We?ve gone to two different time zones. We?ve managed to play on a level pegging with a good team, a competitive team.?

UNITED TO FACE POTENTIAL CHAMPIONS

As league championships across Europe roll to a close over the next few weeks, the Dutch First Division - or Eredivisie - will be the first major competition to crown a champion. This weekend Holland's most successful club, AFC Ajax, will play host to reigning Dutch champion FC Twente at Amsterdam Arena in a winner-take-all season finale. If Ajax claims the contest, it will mark the legendary side's 30th Eredivisie title. The match will be played on Sunday, May 15, at 8:30 a.m. ET, and fans can watch live via ESPN3.com. 

Currently Ajax sits on 70 points in the Dutch table, a solitary point behind first place Twente. Both clubs are coming off crucial victories from the previous weekend, with Ajax coming from behind against Heerenveen to earn a 2-1 win, and Twente thrashing Willem II 4-0 at home. D.C. United will face Ajax on Sunday, May 22 in an international friendly at RFK Stadium (5:00 p.m. ET). The meeting will mark the first encounter between these two historic sides.

WHAT TO WATCH

Ajax is known for producing some of the top players in world football, and this year's team is no exception. The Dutch giants are littered with young talent, including 19-year-old Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen, 23-year-old defender Gregory Van Der Wiel, and rising star Jan Vertonghen. Dutch forward Monuir El Hamdaoui leads Ajax this term with 13 goals in 26 League games. 

United fans will also recognize American defender Oguchi Onyewu in this contest, as the U.S. National Team defender has started seven matches for The Reds since coming on loan from AC Milan. 

UNRIVALED EXCELLENCE

Ajax's history of youth development is unrivaled, with top players such as Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Edwin van der Saar, Patrick Kluivert, and Clarence Seedorf all coming from the club's academy. Current goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg is a member of Holland's National Team.

Stekelenburg has recently been linked with a summer move to the English Premier League, following in the footsteps of former Ajax winger Luis Suarez, who has been a sensation at Liverpool since joining the Merseyside outfit in January. Eriksen has also been linked to a move across the North Sea to Anfield. 

Since the time of Ajax maestro Johan Cruyff, the Amsterdam club has been known for revolutionary attacking football, and this brand of soccer will be on display in Sunday's contest against the fast and direct style of FC Twente. Ajax's Total Football approach has resulted in the capture of four European Cups/UEFA Champions League trophies. 

On this week's episode of The Ultimate Fighter, Junior dos Santos had some trouble in the ranks of his coaching staff, and he had to reprimand his assistant, Lew Polley, for pushing his fighters too hard in practice.

Ramsey Nijem, a member of Team Dos Santos, said in his weekly interview with MMAFighting.com that he was glad dos Santos said something, because Polley had been taking his intense coaching style to extreme lengths.

Nijem also discussed the new member of Team Dos Santos and this week's fight between Len Bentley and Ryan McGillivray, and he offered an interesting preview of his own (not quite) nude scene in next week's episode. The full interview is below.

Michael David Smith: On last week's show Keon Caldwell left, and this week Justin Edwards replaced him on Team Dos Santos. What did you think of your new teammate?
Ramsey Nijem: At first I thought he was Little Randy Couture, because he looks just like Randy. But Justin got there the first day, jumped right in and was in shape and ready to work. We were excited to have him on our team because Keon wasn't in great shape and it was good to have a teammate who could push us in practice.

We saw some tension between Junior and Lew Polley, and you were shown saying you thought Lew had crossed the line into pushing you guys too hard.
Yeah, Lew is a real emotional guy, and sometimes he acts like he has something to prove to everybody. I think he wanted to show us how much he could push us. I didn't feel like I needed to prove anything, but he was yelling at us a lot and not real positive. That was kind of frustrating, and we all talked to Junior and told him we didn't really like it.

Brock Lesnar chose Len Bentley from his team to fight Ryan McGillivray from your team. What did you think of the matchup?
I really thought Len was overrated from the beginning. I thought Ryan was going to beat him, and he did. I thought it would be a scrap because they're both scrappy guys, but Ryan I thought had great jiu jitsu, and I had trained with Len and all he does is shoot in and throw wild punches. There's nothing about Len that would make you scared to fight him, whereas Ryan has good boxing and that good counter-hook you saw him rock Len with.

Ryan had to sweat off 10 pounds before the weigh-in. Was making weight a big concern with the guys in the house?
Ryan was the biggest dude in the house, and I don't think he knew a lot about good nutrition, and he also hadn't wrestled and didn't have much experience cutting weight. That made it hard on him and he struggled getting down.

Is making weight an issue for you?
Not really. I walk around at 180, 179 when I'm training hard and I thought it was kind of an advantage that I could make weight without really trying too hard. I've usually fought at 155, which is a huge cut for me.

Do you think you'll ever move back down to lightweight?
I don't think so -- 155 is a real tough weight class. I actually think 170 is probably where I'll be.

The commercial for next week's show makes it look like you're a big part of it. Anything you want to give away?
Well, let's just say that when it looks on TV like I'm naked, I wasn't really naked.

(Editor's note: Ramsey Nijem will join us each week during Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter to share his thoughts on that week's episode. Follow Ramsey on Twitter @RamseyNijem.)

An important stat proved to be the story of the first stop

Reigning Street League Champion Nyjah Huston won the first stop of Street League DC Pro Tour 2011 in Seattle at the KeyArena in dominating fashion. Huston's score of 104.6 was more than enough to take home the $150,000, as well as an automatic spot in the SLS Championship in Newark, NJ on August 28th.

If winning the $150,000 wasn't enough, Nyjah won $15,000 for best trick on the last run of the contest after he had the win all wrapped up, Huston pulled a backside 270 to..

WASHINGTON ? A second-half penalty kick from D.C. United?s Chris Pontius canceled out Drew Moor?s first-half goal, as United battled back for a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.

The result means the Rapids finish a three-game road swing with a win and two draws. United, meanwhile, also stretched a recent unbeaten run to three games.

» Vote for the Lenkersdorfer Fine Jewelers Man of the Match

The Rapids entered the match missing several injured forwards, including Omar Cummings and Caleb Folan.  The return to fitness of Conor Casey, though, gave them optimism. The big striker started on the bench after missing several matches, and came on late in the second half.

The regular D.C. frontline of Josh Wolff and Charlie Davies looked active early. The former nearly sent the latter in on goal in the 10th minute. But Davies? touch let him down, as the Colorado defense bent without breaking.

Their sternness set the scene for the opening goal from Moor in the 23rd minute. Jamie Smith?s in swinging delivery from the left side wasn?t cleared by D.C.?s defense, and Moor pounced on the loose ball, sliding a shot past United goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

As D.C. struggled to get back into the game, coach Ben Olsen was forced to sub out his starting forward line before the half was out. Davies and Wolff both picked up injuries, and Santino Quaranta and Joseph Ngwenya came on in their place.

Ngwenya?s speed proved to be mettlesome for the Rapids defense. Early in the second half, he carried the ball into Colorado?s box and as he lined up his shot, he was dragged down by Rapids midfielder Jeff Larentowicz. Referee Terry Vaughn, however, waved play on.

D.C. continued the pressure, and their efforts were rewarded in the 62nd minute.

Working on the far left side of the Colorado area, Pontius collided with Rapids defender Kosuke Kimura. Both players went down, and this time Vaughn pointed to the spot.

With normal United penalty taker Davies off the field, Pontius stepped up and beat Pickens to level the score at 1-1.

A gritty and physical encounter unraveled over the game?s final 30 minutes, and both sides had chances to win it.

In the 87th minute, Rapids? substitute Sanna Nyassi?s cross was tipped by D.C. defender Dejan Jakovic, but it fell right to Wells Thompson, who blasted his shot way over at the top of the box.

In stoppage time, United nearly earned all three points but Ngwenya fired wide after Pickens made a good save from a Pontius effort.

D.C. now have a two-week break from league play before facing off with the Portland Timbers on Sunday, May 29. They take on Dutch side Ajax in a friendly next Saturday.

The Rapids return home to play Toronto FC on Sunday, May 22.

LINEUPS

D.C. UNITED: Hamid; Kitchen, White, Jakovic, Woolard; Najar, Simms (Fred 80'), McCarty (c), Pontius; Wolff (Ngwenya 44'), Davies (Quaranta 34')

Unused substitutes: Brettschneider, Burch, Korb, Cronin

Colorado Rapids: Pickens; Kimura, Marshall, Wynne; Moor, Thompson (LaBauex 94'), Larentowicz, Mastroeni; Smith, Akpan (Nyassi 75'), Amarikwa (Casey 67')

Unused substitutes: Ceus, Earls, Palguta, Nane

BOXSCORE

SCORING SUMMARY:
Colorado Rapids - Drew Moor 23'
D.C. United - Chris Pontius 62' (PK) | VIDEO

SHOTS:
D.C. United - 11
Colorado Rapids - 7

SHOTS ON GOAL:
D.C. United - 4
Colorado Rapids - 2

SAVES:
D.C. United - 1
Colorado Rapids - 3

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
Drew Moor - caution 45'
Matt Pickens 92'

FOULS:
D.C. United - 15
Colorado Rapids - 7

Referee: Terry Vaughn
Assistants: Steven Taylor, Jason Cullum
4th official: Daniel Fitzgerald

Attendance: 12,499