2011 MLS Cup Bracket: Round by Round Breakdown

We're down to eight teams in the MLS Cup and with the Conference Semifinals kicking off tomorrow, this week is going to be packed with thrilling and intense matchups.

The 2011 MLS Cup is wide open and the Conference Semifinals will separate the pretenders from the contenders. The Colorado Rapids and New York Red Bulls look to work their way up from wild-card hopeful to an MLS Cup victory, but they face an uphill battle with MLS giants lying in their paths.

Will top seeds Sporting KC and the LA Galaxy clash in the final or will we see a promising underdog battle their way to the top?

Sporting KC virtually came out of nowhere to rise to the top of the East. While they've made a habit of making critics look foolish, there is still the off chance that they are vulnerable to an early upset.

The LA Galaxy won the West by a margin of four points. While they earned the top spot–and deservedly so–the Seattle Sounders are a force to be reckoned with.

The Sounders don't have a gimme game lying in front of them by any means though, as the third seed in the West, Real Salt Lake managed to take down the Sounders and even Sporting KC the last time they squared off.

The East is so tight knit, five points separate top-seed Sporting KC from wild-card long shot New York Red Bulls.

There is no telling what will happen on either side of the bracket and you don't want to miss a second of the action.

Here is a round by round breakdown of the schedule that lies ahead.

Time	Matchup	TV Station	Venue
	Conference Semifinals
Sat, Oct. 29, 10 p.m. EDT	First Leg: Seattle Sounders at Real Salt Lake	Fox Soccer, TSN 2	Rio Tinto Stadium
Sun, Oct. 30, 3 p.m. EDT	First Leg: Los Angeles Galaxy at New York Red Bulls	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes	TBD
Sun, Oct. 30, 5 p.m. EDT	First Leg: Houston Dynamos at Philadelphia Union	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes	PPL Park
Sun, Oct. 30, 7:30 EDT	First Leg: Sporting Kansas City at Colorado Rapids	Fox Soccer, TSN 2	Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Wed, Nov. 2, 8 p.m. EDT	Second Leg: Colorado Rapids at Sporting Kansas City	Fox Soccer, TSN 2	Livestrong Sporting Park
Wed, Nov. 2, 10 p.m. EDT	Second Leg: Real Salt Lake at Seattle Sounders	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, TSN 2	CenturyLink Field
Thurs, Nov. 3, 8:30 p.m. EDT	Philadelphia Union at Houston Dynamos	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, TSN 2	Robertson Stadium
Thurs, Nov. 3, 11 p.m. EDT	New York Red Bulls at Los Angeles Galaxy	ESPN2, TSN 2	The Home Depot Center
Sun, Nov. 6, 6:30 p.m. EDT	Eastern Conference Championship	Fox Soccer	TBD
Sun, Nov. 6, 9 p.m. EDT	Western Conference Championship	ESPN or ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, TSN 2	TBD
TBD	MLS Cup Finals	TBD	TBD