Always hit save kids. When you've written one of the best previews ever of the MLS Conference Finals remember to save it before you click through to Twitter in search of what trainers Juan Agudelo is rocking today. Otherwise you'll come back to an empty content box on the blog interface and no memory of what used to be there. And the task won't get any easier as you're trying to pick up the thread of a playoff series that started off with the pace and numbers of a WWE mass cage fight, before slowing to the kind of crawl bikes do in that funny race where everyone goes really, really slow.  Yes, you have two week gaps between knock out games in European competition, but there's usually something in between them (and don't mention Scotland vs USA, because frankly that made time go backwards).  Anyway, I can dimly recall that we have two games this weekend. On Saturday night Sporting Kansas City try to make it third time lucky getting past Houston Dynamo in the playoffs. With both sides having ground to a halt in front of each other in the first leg, the 0-0 draw in Houston means Sporting know even the narrowest of wins would see them hosting MLS Cup on December 7th, as the highest remaining seed. Houston have of course played their last home game of the season whatever happens, having followed their usual strategy of death-marching their way towards the final via the wild card game.  In the other semi on Sunday night, expect a wild atmosphere at JELD-WEN Field as Portland Timbers attempt to overturn a 4-2 first leg deficit against Real Salt Lake. RSL cut Portland to pieces on the counter in the first leg, and had a lot momentum from having overcome their home elimination game jinx a few days earlier against LA Galaxy. They've also had Portland's number all year. But that late Frederic Piquionne goal and the memory of the noise their fans generated in the first half against Seattle will give Portland hope that Sunday will be a different story. If they score first that one could be very interesting.  Always interesting and rarely punctual, our cast of magnificent fan reps, beat writers and assorted ne'er do wells for each of this weekend's competing teams. See what they have to say about the weekend's games below, have your say in the comments, and join us for live minute-by-minute coverage of both games, as well as to find out what we learned on Monday morning.  All game times listed as ET  Away goals do NOT count double  Sat 7.30pm, Sporting Park (NBCSN/TSN2/Univision Dep./RDS2)  Malena Barajas, Women United FC, Sporting KC:  A win on Saturday for Sporting Kansas City against the Houston Dynamo represents much more than an Eastern Conference Championship and a shot at MLS Cup at home; it represents redemption. For the third time in as many years, SKC play the Dynamo in the playoffs. SKC is 90 minutes (in freezing weather) from freeing itself of a Dynamo curse. A nil-nil draw in the first leg made it so that SKC need only win to move forward.  After a two week break, the teams will face each other for the fifth time this season. Though the break between the two legs was awkward, it allowed for some much needed recovery time, perhaps benefiting Houston the most. The two played 120 minutes in their respective semifinal matches just three days prior to the first leg of this series. SKC was playing its fifth match in 17 days, and Houston its sixth. To say the two were fatigued seems like an understatement. The first leg dragged, even though the two played a fairly physical match. Houston had a goal called off in the 18th minute. More detrimental to the Dynamo than having a goal disallowed for being offside were the injuries suffered by Ricardo Clark and Will Bruin. As of this writing, it was yet unclear whether the two will start. Two weeks may have been just enough time to see those two back and threatening SKC's shot at the Cup.  That being said, SKC too is rested and focused. This must-win match at home will make for intense and entertaining football; the sold-out, loud as hell crowd, the healthy team, the attacking options, and even the freezing weather give SKC the edge.  Mike Kuhn, Down the byline, Sporting KC:  This game this weekend for Kansas City is all about whether Sporting can finally get past the Houston Dynamo. In KC's past four trips to the playoffs, they've been eliminated by the Dynamo in three of those trips. The past two years that elimination has come at Sporting Park. Unlike last year, Sporting KC return to KC without a deficit that they have to make up. Instead, the match up looks more likely to resemble their 2011 match up at Sporting Park when the Eastern Conference final was a single leg. That time saw KC fall 2-0 to the Dynamo. In fact in three of the previous four playoff games before this year the Dynamo had beaten KC 2-0.  So history is definitely not on KC's side. Dominic Kinnear just seems to have KC's number in the playoffs. The past two years have seen arguably the best teams in KC's history fall short. And the main pieces of that team, Roger Espinoza, Kei Kamara, are starting to depart for other teams. So far this high point in KC's history has only produced one trophy, last year's Open Cup. After the last two years I think KC finally have the experience and the style to beat Houston and get to their third MLS Cup.  Stephen Eastepp, Dynamo Theory, Houston:  The Houston Dynamo have begun to find themselves in a similar predicament over the past three years. A nail-biting up and down season, cumulating with a late season push for the playoff berth, and some upsets along the way to an MLS Cup appearance.  Here we are again. Now, Houston sits a single game away from a third consecutive MLS Cup.  The first leg of the Eastern Conference championship with Sporting Kansas City was difficult to watch. Ultimately though, the Dynamo are in a great spot heading into the second and decisive leg this weekend. Both SKC and Houston came into the first game with tired legs and it showed on the field. Most would give SKC the edge going into a home match simply needing a win, but this Dynamo team proves year after year their road results during the regular season don't matter much come playoff time.  Now with two weeks of rest, both teams will field their best in the ideal conditions. No advantages here; just who wants it more.  This year's Houston team is better than last and I don't think SKC is as talented as they were a year ago. In fact, they don't scare me at all. The Dynamo on the other hand, have turned it on at the right time and have the talent and depth to beat Kansas City on Saturday and make it to another MLS Cup. Now they just have to live up to expectations.  Sun 9pm, Jeld-Wen Field (ESPN, Deportes)  Roger Anthony, Timbers Army, Portland:  How badly did things go for the Portland Timbers in the first leg of the Western Conference Finals? Let's look at what the Timbers need to do as the series returns to Jeld-Wen Field. 1) Tighten up the back line; keep Salt Lake's speedy attackers in front of the defenders.2) Take control in the midfield; dictate the tempo.3) Ratchet up the offensive pressure; scoring the first goal is critical. So basically, the Timbers need to roll out their 7-5-3 formation. The club has reportedly spent most of its practice time over the past 10 days focusing on play at each end of the field. Even so, if there's a comeback to be made, it's going to have to emerge from the midfield, and specifically from the CDM tandem of Will Johnson and Diego Chara. As Timbers Army blogger Chris Rifer noted before the playoffs, in games where both Chara and Johnson were in the starting lineup, the Timbers were nearly invincible, going 12-13-1. While there's a possibility of some lineup tinkering, Coach Caleb Porter's biggest decision will be determining how to deploy MF Diego Valeri, who hasn't played a full 90 minutes since 25 Aug. Do you start him as part of an opening salvo aimed at getting an early goal? Or do you save him for the second half and any possible overtime?  Michael Orr, Mao Football, host of Soccer made in PDX podcast:  Does two weeks off between the first and second legs of the Western Conference final help or hurt? All will be revealed on Sunday night at Jeld-Wen Field as the Portland Timbers will certainly hope the fortnight will be to their advantage. A fairly simple argument could be made that the break does, at the very least, prevent the immediate continuation of Real Salt Lake's momentum after the 4-2 first leg that was not as close as the score would indicate. But will that distance from the poor first leg be enough to utterly change the season's series history?  While Frederic Piquionne's last minute goal gives Portland some renewed hope for the second leg, the fact remains that Salt Lake has simply been the better team than Portland across five encounters in 2013. RSL has scored at least twice in every game against the Timbers this year, save October's 0-0 draw in Portland. None of those scores would be advantageous for the hosts, who will need to win by at least two just to get to overtime on Sunday. In short, asking for a two-goal or better victory is to throw out all existing evidence.  Then again, Portland recorded ten clean sheets at Jeld-Wen, including five straight to close the regular season. That's the starting point for Caleb Porter's side: earn a clean sheet and things are possible. Give up a goal, especially early, and it could all be over for the Western Conference's top seed. That puts the onus on both the defense and Diego Valeri and the sometimes-potent attack. If both do their jobs it could be a stunning comeback. If either one slips, the offseason begins on Monday.  Matt Montgomery, RSL Soapbox, Salt Lake:  You'd think a 4-2 win in Salt Lake City would calm the nerves. It doesn't. And it probably shouldn't, in reality. Despite a showing that included 60 minutes of scintillating football (is that a trademarked phrase? Perhaps it should be) from Real Salt Lake and 30 minutes of less-than-desirable stuff, quaking in one's boots isn't out of the question. Confidence is a tricky thing, it seems. Even a 4-0 win would still give pause for thought. That's really the fun thing about this playoff format: Do well in the first leg and you still get to experience an inescapable feeling of dread. How privileged we are.  Really, there's not too much to be worried about. Except, well, giving up an early goal, or giving up a late goal, or giving up a goal at any point in the match. The solution surely isn't "defend well," as that's a tricky thing in the first place, and one with which we haven't paired well. "Defend desperately" may be more up our alley, as evidenced against LA Galaxy so recently, but I suspect the impetus will be more on "attack well" than anything. After all, this is one where you'd expect the opposition to remain defensively staunch.  The once-injured Alvaro Saborio looks close to a return, if not there already, while Chris Wingert is definitely out after suffering a broken rib in the first leg of this one. Real Salt Lake's squad depth being what it is, replacements are standing at the ready. Should Saborio not be ready for 90 minutes, Devon Sandoval's a reasonable option (and one that's been the subject of some debate in the last week). Lovel Palmer is likely to replace Wingert at left back.  Denzel Eslinger, RSL Perspective, Salt Lake:  Four times this season Portland has defeated an opponent by 3 or more goals. Of course just one of those wins was against a playoff caliber team (3-0 over Colorado). RSL hasn't lost a match by three goals all season, and have lost by 2 goals just 4 times this season. So while when the two sides meet on Sunday what they did in the past against other teams will matter little, there is the stark reality that the Timbers have never beaten RSL by 2 goals let alone by 3 goals. Their lone win over RSL was a 1-0 win over a team that had lost the CCL final just a few days earlier. This year, when these two sides met, the results haven't been promising for the Timbers, a 2-1 loss at RSL in the US Open Cup semi-final, followed by a 3-3 draw at home, then a 4-2 loss at Rio Tinto, and a 0-0 draw at home, then the first round playoff match which was another 4-2 loss for the Timbers. I get you have to keep your head up, I get you have to go into the match believing you can pull it off, I get all the things that Portland is saying publicly and in their locker room, but reality is a cruel mistress.  Real Salt Lake enters the match with momentum after beating the LA Galaxy in extra time (and in regulation time) to advance, and their dominating 4-2 win in the first leg against Portland. RSL enters the match with motivation: in September the team was poised to make a real run at 3 trophies this year, they failed on two of them and this is their last attempt. Real Salt Lake is likely to not have Alvaro Saborio for the match as he continues to recover from injury, and Chris Wingert is out with an injury picked up in the first leg of the series, but the team should have Ned Grabavoy available to start on Sunday (though it might be hard to pull Sebastian Velasquez who has been very good in the last couple matches). I expect Devon Sandoval to fill in for Saborio again, and Lovel Palmer seems like the likely replacement for Wingert. I think this will be an entertaining match but we have seen if the Timbers try to push too many players forward into the attack that RSL can make them pay. I think the pressure will be too much for the Timbers, this one ends up a 2-2 draw.
Graham Parker and fan reps: Real Salt Lake lead Portland Timbers 4-2 in West; Sporting KC and Dynamo 0-0 in East; Houston aiming for third successive final