*Chivas USA (0-1) faces the league champion Colorado Rapids (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. at Home Depot Center (live on KDOC) and will hand out ponchos to fans (the HDC must have had some leftover from last weekend’s Galaxy game) if it rains, although only a slight chance of a shower is in the forecast.

Reporter Phil Collin has the game preview.

Chivas USA midfielder Blair Gavin trained with the team Friday and said he’s ready to play 90 minutes after entering the season opener as a 62nd minute substitute; he missed the second half of the 2010 season with a hamstring injury.

Chivas USA will also miss Andrew Boyens who is on international duty with New Zealand; Colorado is similarly without Omar Cummings and Sanna Nyassi.

The HDC will turn off non-essential event lighting from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in observance of Earth Hour, including the lights in the venues’ 42 luxury suites. The fourth annual event began in Australia to show that even small gestures can help save energy and has spread around the world.

*The Galaxy (1-0-1) are at Real Salt Lake (1-0) in a game delayed until 10:30 p.m. on Prime, although the LA Riot Squad will gather to watch at Cheapshots in Long Beach and Alpine Village near Torrance is showing a full slate of games live Saturday that begins at 10 a.m. with Croatia-Georgia, followed at noon by Germany-Kazakstan, USA-Argentina at 4 p.m. and the Galaxy game at 6 p.m.

Reporter Phil Collin has the game basics.

Both teams’ usual starting goalkeepers are doubts for the game with the Galaxy’s Donovan Ricketts having missed the first two contests of the season and Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando already suffering from a chronic problem early on the season that has him planning off-season surgery.

Notable: the Galaxy haven’t won in their last five trips to Utah.

Updated 9:24 a.m. Saturday

This is the line for tickets awaiting the 10 a.m. opening of the box office at Rio Tinto as Real Salt Lake fans scoop up the last tickets available for tonight’s Galaxy game. A capacity crowd is expected.

And here’s a well-written tale of soccer and survival surrounding the Brazilian that got away from the Galaxy – and into the clutches of today’s opponents

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