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SEATTLE -- Clint Dempsey was a spectator last time the Seattle Sounders played archrival Portland, kept off the field by a red-card suspension during a 3-1 loss.This time, he took charge.Dempsey scored twice and Cristian Roldan added a goal -- all in the second half -- in Seattles 3-1 victory over the Timbers on Sunday night.In front of 53,302 fans at CenturyLink Field, the Sounders (9-12-3, 30 points) won their third straight game and extended their unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1). They climbed within two points of Portland (8-10-8, 32 points) for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.Once we got the (first) goal, that kind of opened things up, Dempsey said. They had to press forward to try to get the equalizer, and we were able to pick them apart. We pretty much put in a perfect performance except for conceding that (late) one.Portland, which got a goal from Fanendo Adi in second-half stoppage time, has lost four of its last five games and remains winless on the road (0-7-6).Dempsey put Seattle on the board in the 61st minute when he converted a penalty kick past goalkeeper Jake Gleeson. The chance was set up when Roldan was taken down by defender Vytas Andriuskevicius just outside the box on the right-wing side. Dempsey, who missed a PK in last Sundays 2-1 victory against Real Salt Lake, drilled this try high into the left side with Gleeson going the opposite way.In the 80th minute, Roldan sent a through ball toward the Portland penalty area. Demspey caught up with it, took two dribbles, and fired it into the back-right corner from just inside the restraining arc.Before he scored either of those goals, Dempsey, who now has eight goals for the season, had a near miss on a wide-open shot from 17 yards straight in front.Early in the season, that would have been the only chance I got all game, Dempsey said. Now, when I miss a good chance, Im going to have two or three more. When you fight hard and keep yourself in the game, you have people who can create opportunities, and that puts you in situations to get good looks.Roldan headed in a shot from inside the 6-yard box to make it 3-0 in the 83rd. It was his third of the year.The Sounders current four-game unbeaten run has come since Brian Schmetzer was named interim coach after the team parted ways with longtime coach Sigi Schmid on July 26. Seattle has gone from well out of the playoff picture to right back into it.When you have a committed group of players, they can do the math, and they read some of the highlights in the stories that are out there that maybe the Sounders arent going to make the playoffs this year, Schmetzer said. But thats a proud team, and their response has been tremendous. I think their confidence is high, and with each win, they believe more and more that they can win the next one.The Timbers nearly had the equalizer twice in a span of 4 minutes. In the 63rd minute, Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei leaped to slap away a shot by Jack McInerney, and defender Joevin Jones then cleared it away from an open right side of the net.Four minutes later, Frey went down at the top of his 6-yard box and denied McInerney in a one-on-one chance, stopping the shot with his right hand.We have a chance to redeem ourselves next weekend, Timbers coach Caleb Porter said, and we will. Custom Gilbert Arenas Jersey . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Custom Wizards Jerseys .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. http://www.customwizardsjersey.com/ . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Cheap Custom Wizards Jersey . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Custom Wizards Jersey China . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. LONDON -- Novak Djokovic was embroiled in a tetchy exchange with reporters after defeating Dominic Thiem in his Tour Finals opener.The Serb -- who was overtaken as world No. 1 by Andy Murray this week -- had earlier appeared to vent his frustrations after losing a first-set tiebreaker in his 6-7 (10), 6-0, 6-2 victory.He nearly tagged his coach Boris Becker with a ball seemingly struck in the direction of his players box, and was given a code violation by chair umpire Carlos Bernardes.It was suggested to Djokovic in his postmatch news conference that he had been close to potentially hitting a spectator in the crowd, which could have resulted in him automatically defaulting the match.It didnt go down well with him. You guys are unbelievable, he said. Youre always picking these kind of things.Im close? Im still not suspended, so if Im not close, Im not close. It could have been [serious], yes. It could have snowed in the O2 arena, as well, but it didnt.Im the only player that shows his frustration on the court? Thats what you are saying?It is not an issue for me. Its not the first time I did it.Indeed, Djokovic also flirted with more serious punishment when he vented his frustrations in the Roland Garros quarterfinals earlier this year.After missing a break point in the second game of the third set of that 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 win againnst Tomas Berdych, Djokovic went to smash his racket into the dirt, only to see it slip out of his hand and fly into the back wall on Philippe Chatrier Court.ddddddddddddDjokovic admitted at the time he was lucky -- had he hit the nearby line judge, who was forced to take evasive action, he could possibly have been disqualified.Instead, he escaped with a warning for racket abuse after quickly apologizing to chair umpire Eva Asderaki Moore in Paris.[It was a] high intensity, high level of tennis in the first set, Djokovic continued in his news conference. We didnt really give each other too many chances. I think we each only had one break point. We both went for shots. A lot of long rallies. It was over an hour, the first set.When I had the great comeback of saving six set points, then I didnt manage to win that first set, of course youre frustrated. On the other hand, you know, I think I managed to kind of compose myself and really gather all my attention and concentration to what was coming up after that.The great start of the second set helped me to regroup.Djokovic is chasing a record-equaling sixth Tour Finals title in London, which would see him immediately regain the No. 1 ranking form Murray. ' ' '