MONTREAL - Without suspended scoring star Marco Di Vaio, the Montreal Impacts disappointing start to the MLS season may have been predictable. Dallas Stars Pro Shop . Montreal (0-3-0) directed 25 shots toward the Seattle goal on Sunday, but couldnt find the net. And then the Impact fell victim to defensive lapses as the Sounders spoiled its home opener at Olympic Stadium with a 2-0 victory on Sunday. An own goal off a Lamar Neagles header only eight minutes in and a goal from Obafemi Martins early in the second half was all Seattle (2-1-0) needed against a punchless Montreal attack. "When you look at the game in terms of possession and our ability to get in good spots and get quality crosses in, to come away with nothing — it just seems were not getting any little breaks," said the Impacts still-winless new coach Frank Klopas. "The guys worked hard and nothings going for us right now. Thats the frustrating part." Di Vaio, a 20-goal scorer last season, and midfielder Andres Romero finished serving the three-game suspensions they incurred in a skirmish at the end of a playoff game in October. Both will be back for Montreals game Saturday in Philadelphia. Without their 38-year-old Italian striker, they have managed only two goals in three games. But the hard part for Klopas, whose mandate was to tighten the defence, was that they have conceded six. Defender Matteo Ferrari said it would be unfair to expect Di Vaio to step in and solve all the teams problems right away as he hasnt played a real game in five months. He hopes to see better all-around play from the team. "We have to work hard on the defensive part — not just the four on the defence but the attitude of the team," said Ferrari. "We took six goals. Its too much. "But I want to stay positive. Its the beginning of the season and the coach knows what to do, so forget about the standings right now and just keep working." Still, it should help to have an experienced finisher. The Impact had a 25-9 edge in attempts on goal and 6-4 lead in shots on target. What was missing was someone to bury the chances as forward Andrew Wenger and midfielder Felipe Martins fired blanks for a second game in a row. Down 2-0 in the second half, the Impact went on full attack. Substitute Blake Smith nearly had one in the 84th minute, but his shot was swept off the line by Djimi Traore. "Two factors (Di Vaio) brings — fear to the other team because maybe theyre more on their heels, and maybe more confidence to our team knowing that we have a guy that can change a game on the spur of the moment," said Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier, who played his first home game since he was named team captain. "Thats a benefit, but still, as a team, we have to be a unit. We create chances, but maybe give a little to much to the other team. Maybe his fresh legs that can give us a spark in Philly so we come out with some points." The Sounders, coming off a 2-1 defeat last week to Toronto FC, could easily have been up by three goals in the first half. Neagle, who spent the 2012 season with Montreal before being traded back to the Sounders, headed a Gonzalo Pineda free kick out of a crowd and saw it hit the crossbar and deflect off goalkeeper Troy Perkins and into the net in the eighth minute. "It comes off the bottom of the crossbar, hits me in the arm and goes in," said Perkins. "You can sit there and say hed have been better off just watching it, but I tried to make a play and was a little unlucky." Seattle nearly had another in the 17th minute, but Perkins reached back to get a hand on Martins header. And in the 32nd minute, Neagles long low shot went off a goalpost. The Sounders struck again in the 58th minute, when Neagle passed across the front of the goal and Kenny Copper chipped it back for Martins to head into an open side with the Impact defence standing still in front of Perkins. "I knew wed absorb some pressure," said Seattle coach Sigi Schmid. "We wanted to get forward on the counter and I figured we could create some chances off that. "Its been a long road trip with the extra day, but I thought we did a good job. Perkins makes an unbelievable save on Obafemis header and Lamars unlucky when he hits the inside of the post and it goes across in the first half. But I thought we did what we needed to do." The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but was postponed a day due to fears of an accumulation of snow on the domed stadiums roof, which is slated for replacement. Montreal is 4-2-3 in games played at the Big O. "When we trained on Saturday we had a little more of a fun training session,"said Schmid. "The guys had a bit of fun with it. We just told them it was Groundhog Day and well repeat everything again." Notes: It was Montreals first loss to Seattle in three MLS meetings. . . The Sounders were without their big off-season signing Clint Dempsey due to a two-game suspension for hitting Toronto FC defender Mike Bloom in the groin last week. ... Montreal has two more games at Olympic Stadium, April 5 against New York and April 12 against Chicago before moving outdoors to Saputo Stadium. Stars Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Stars Jerseys 2020 . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference.CHICAGO -- Dennis Rodman is preparing to thrill North Korean fans during an exhibition basketball tour there late next month. Though he ducked questions in an interview with The Associated Press about whether his Christmas-time visit would be used for propaganda purposes by Kim Jong Un, the 29-year-old leader of one of the worlds most repressive regimes, Rodman said hell be accompanied on the trip by a dozen or so former NBA players. But he refused to name names. "I have seven people right now," Rodman said. "I talked to a couple of guys last week. Lot of guys are saying, OK, great. Ill go. Well go. But Im not saying this to get people to go over there to prove a point -- OK, great, lets go over there and make a difference. "No-o-o-o-o-o," he continued. "Lets go over there because this is a great opportunity for everyone to see a different culture. ... This country is so bad. This city is so bad. OK, great, come see it and tell the world when you come back, Hey, its not as bad as you think. And thats why Im taking NBA players over there, to show them, so they can come back and talk about it." Back in the news as a self-appointed ambassador and friend of Kim, Rodman returned Thursday to where he won the last three of his five NBA championships playing alongside Michael Jordan. On a promotional tour to pitch a vodka brand, Rodman, 52, held court downtown amid camera flashes. Rodman said he wouldnt talk about his relationship with Kim or North Korean politics, including its widely condemned human-rights record and secretive nuclear weapons program. Though he eventually touched on those subjects, Rodman glossed over several related questions and largely ignored a challenge to his answer about whether North Korea was holding U.S. citizens as hostages, including 85-year-old Korean War veteran Merrill Newman. The Swedish Embassy is negotiating on behalf of Newmman because the U. Dallas Stars Gear. S. has no diplomatic ties to North Korea. Rodmans friendship with Kim has afforded him the kind of access denied statesmen from the West and even U.S. President Barack Obama. Rodman came under criticism for being "naive" during a previous visit to North Korea, where he was photographed often with Kim, and some members of the diplomatic community fear his antics could further aggravate already-sensitive negotiations. Rodman said his reasons for returning were much more personal and beyond that, Kims motives were not his concern. "Like I told you, this is not all about trying to create this major buzz," Rodman said. "Because I dont want my friend to sit there and say I been doing this all along to slip in some information on him. I dont want that. Thats why Im not doing that. Were friends and thats it. "This aint about me trying to be a politician and try to get some scoop on him and stuff like that. ... Hes my friend first. Other than that, I dont give a damn what ... he does." Rodman began his NBA career with the Detroit Pistons in 1986. It ended in 2000, after failed attempts to catch on with both the Lakers and Mavericks. Whether or not he misses the game, its clear he enjoys being back in the limelight, detractors and all. "People say, what do you do for a living? I dont know. I just float around the world. Basically, I dont do anything. I do a lot of major things around the world. I do things that is very significant right now, and people are actually paying attention to Dennis Rodman now. "Back when I was doing my finagling in sports, they thought I was a joke. They thought I was a cartoon character or something like that. All of a sudden now, people are taking me seriously. You know, an ambassador all around the world," he added. "Its like ... I think things have come full circle." ' ' '