KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Italian club AS Roma will try to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United when it takes on the best players in Major League Soccer this summer. Man U dominated MLS players in two of the leagues annual all-star games, winning by a combined score of 9-2. But the top domestic league in the U.S. has never lost to another international club since it adopted its current all-star game format a decade ago. Among the MLS victims over the years: Celtic, West Ham, Fulham and Chelsea, which was beaten 3-2 last season when the game was played at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. "Were thrilled to be able to bring a club as historic as Roma outside of Europe and play in the U.S.," AS Roma board member Mark Pannes said Thursday in announcing the matchup. The game will be played July 31 at Sporting Park, the home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City. "We think this format is tremendous, when you can take the best players in MLS and play one of the best clubs from Europe," Pannes said. "Its highly challenging." AS Roma, founded in 1927, became the first club from Serie A to be owned by foreigners when a four-man group of Americans -- including James Pallotta, a minority owner of the Celtics, and Thomas DiBenedetto, a limited partner in the Red Sox -- purchased a majority interest in August 2011. They view the all-star game as an opportunity to build AS Romas global brand. "Playing in the MLS All-Star game fits in perfectly with our initiatives in the United States," said Pallotta, who serves as the clubs president. "Major League Soccer has done a great job building its all-star game into a top-tier event and were proud to participate." AS Romas ownership group isnt the only connection to the U.S., either. Along with star players such as Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi, Roma is the club of midfielder Michael Bradley, who got his start in MLS and is a stalwart on the U.S. national team. "I cant think of a better club to join us here. Theyre one of the most successful and popular clubs in Italy, they have tremendous players and some household names," said MLS president Mark Abbott said. "We think the format makes this game very compelling and very entertaining, and to have clubs from different leagues around the world is perfect for us." MLS teams have mostly had their way with international clubs. They defeated Mexican club Guadalajara in the first example of the format in 2003. After the league reverted to an East-West matchup the following year, MLS clubs knocked off Fulham, Celtic, West Ham and earned a draw with Everton in the ensuing years. Then came the back-to-back humiliations at the hands of Manchester United. Its that example that Roma intends to follow. "Were bringing our entire first squad," Pannes said. "If theyre healthy, theyre eligible to play, were going to put them on the field. We want to win, bottom line. We view this as a competitive match and we know the MLS views it that way as well." Sporting KC officials also view it as a crowning achievement. The club has gone through a rebranding and renaissance since it was purchased by its current ownership in 2006, evolving into a model MLS franchise that routinely sells out Sporting Park -- the $200 million, soccer-specific stadium that the organization opened two years ago. Along with hosting the MLS All-Star game, the stadium will host what could be a critical World Cup qualifier between the U.S. and Jamaica in October. "For us, its going to be another one of those things -- were going to try to raise the bar if we can," Sporting KC chief executive Robb Heineman said. "Thats one of the things weve tried to do here as a fan base, as an ownership group and as a team is take things to the next level." Heineman joked that hed try to load up AS Romas players on some of Kansas Citys famous barbecue just before the game, and then expressed his admiration for the three-time Serie A champs. "This is actually really cool for me," Heineman said. "The first international match I ever saw in Europe was a Roma-Fiorentino game that was incredible, and it kind of captivated me to think about what a future could look like in soccer. So this is kind of coming full circle for me." Steve Larmer Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Lanny McDonald Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. http://www.officialhockeyproshop.com/Chicago-Blackhawks-Pierre-Pilote-Jersey/ . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Glenn Hall Jersey . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Andrew Shaw Jersey . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round.CLEVELAND -- When the game finally ended, Friday night had become Saturday morning, May had turned to June and Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was tired of trying to predict the weather. James Loney homered twice, four Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a one-hitter and the Rays endured nearly five hours of rain delays before beating the Cleveland Indians 9-2 for their sixth straight win in a game that ended at 2:53 a.m. Scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m., the game was delayed three times before finally resuming at 12:13 a.m. -- 2 hours, 39 minutes after the third and lengthiest delay. Before that there was uncertainty, confusion and, of course, rain. "Its a very awkward way to do this, "said Maddon, who spent the weather stoppages monitoring the storms on an iPad in his office. "But if youre going to stick around that long you might as well win." The teams were delayed a total of 4:49, long enough for the calendar to change before nine innings were played. It ended just before 3 a.m., giving the teams a short turnaround before a 1:05 start on Saturday. It was the majors third marathon game in two days. On Thursday night, Kansas City and St. Louis were delayed an hour before the first pitch and another 4 hours, 32 minutes by rain before the Royals beat Cardinals 4-2 well after 3 in the morning. And about 20 minutes after the Rays got their final out, the San Diego Padres finished off a 4-3, 17-inning victory over the Toronto Blue Jays that took 4:58. Afterward, Tampa Bays Evan Longoria went on Twitter to thank the few thousand fans who hung around until the end. "A sincere thanks to each and every fan that stuck around to watch that game!" Longoria wrote. "You all made it fun. (hash)ClevelandRocks." Matt Joyce and Loney connected for two-run homers in Tampas five-run third inning off Scott Barnes (0-1), who replaced starter Corey Kluber following the weather stoppages. Loney added a solo shot to make it 6-2 in the eighth. Jamey Wright (1-1) came in for unbeaten Tampa starter Matt Moore and pitched three innings for the Rays, who went an AL-best 18-10 in May. Clevelands only hit was Ryan Raburns RBI double in the fifth off Josh Lueke. Cesar Ramos pitched three hitless innings for his first career save. The teams had little choice but wait out the long delays. With a forecast for heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday, crew chief Fieldin Culbreth and the umpires figured they had to try to get in one game with the possibility the whole weekend could get washed out. The teams arent scheduled to meet again this season. The game was delayed 1 hours, 57 minutes at the start, 13 minutes in the second inning and then for another 2:39 before it started again in front of a crowd that began as more than 30,000 and dwindled to just a few thousand, who waited it out and were rewarded for their patience. At about 11 p.m., Maddon, Indians manager Terry Francona, Cleveland general manager Chris Antonetti and two umpires did a walking tour of the saturated outfield grass to inspect the conditions. Not long after that, the overworked grounds crew was summoned again to get the field ready and at 12:13 a.m. Wright threw a pitch to Nick Swisher. At one point during the third delay, Madddon, with the hood of his blue sweatshirt pulled over his head to try and stay dry, took a stroll through the soggy outfield and thought it might be unplayable.dddddddddddd But in the end, he felt Culbreth and his crew handled things well. "It was very confusing to everybody," Maddon said. "Fieldin and the boys, umpiring wise, they were handed this. The group here felt the Indians really wanted to play the game tonight." Francona, too, praised the umpires. "I thought they handled it very well," he said. After thunderstorms blasted through the area, the 7:05 p.m. start was pushed back to 9:02 p.m. and the teams took the field under threatening skies. Kluber got two outs in the second inning when play was halted by rain at 9:18 as Culbreth ordered the grounds crew to put the tarp on the field. But within seconds of the infield being covered, the rain stopped and the game was re-started just 13 minutes later. Kluber gave up a walk and got Desmond Jennings to line out for the last out in the second when the rain resumed after three minutes of play and the game was stopped again at 9:34 p.m. Both Maddon and Francona met separately with the umpires as fans scrambled to stay dry. The Indians announced they reduced $1 dollar hot dogs to 50 cents as a way of thanking fans for enduring the rain. During the third delay, fans watched out-of-town games on the giant scoreboard and cheered when Baltimore beat the first-place Detroit Tigers on a walkoff homer, moving the Indians into a temporary tie atop the AL Central. Joyce said players wondered if they would ever take the field. "We were actually in the dark pretty much the whole night," he said. "Its tough. A lot of guys were ready to go home and play a doubleheader (Saturday)." The Rays came out swinging after the lengthy delays as Joyce and Loney homered off Barnes in the third to give Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead. Yunel Escobar singled with one out, and with two outs, Joyce drove Barnes pitch 411 feet over the wall in right-centre for his 10th homer. Kelly Johnson walked and scored on Longorias double, and Loney followed with his sixth homer, a shot that drew boos from the doused fans hanging around. Held without a hit through four innings by Moore and the journeyman Wright, the Indians cut it to 5-2 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Yan Gomes and Raburns two-out RBI double. NOTES: It was Loneys first multihomer game since Sept. 7, 2007. ... Maddon said there has been discussion about starting Moore on Sunday, built its more likely he will next in Detroit next week. ... Browns offensive linemen, including Pro Bowler Joe Thomas, visited the Indians clubhouse before the game and then crowded into the dugout to stay out of the rain. Thomas couldnt convince one of the rookies to do a belly slide across the tarp for money. ... Indians closer Chris Perez, on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder, will be reevaluated Sunday before the next step in his rehab is mapped out. ... Rays RHP Alex Colome, who made his major league debut Thursday in Miami, was optioned to Triple-A Durham. LHP Jeff Beliveau was recalled, but later optioned so Rays RHP Chris Archer can make his season debut Saturday. Cheap Jerseys ' ' '