Sounders-Rapids Preview

(AP) - Jermaine Jones kept his mind off soccer by playing baseball with his kids and taking them snowboarding.

There was little else to do as the 34-year-old midfielder waited for a team to call. Colorado finally acquired him, though he waited some more as he served a six-game ban for touching a referee during a playoff game last season while with New England.

He made his long-awaited Rapids debut last Saturday and instantly showed that, contrary to some of his critics, he hasn't lost a step by scoring a goal and setting up the game-winner in a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls.

A memorable start. The U.S. national team standout, however, has much broader ambitions: Leading the Rapids to the playoffs for the first time since 2013, and his second game toward that path is Saturday night's visit from the Seattle Sounders.

Jones has heard it all of late - washed up, past his prime. The criticism follows a season in which he had no goals and no assists in 19 games with the Revolution. But there were mitigating circumstances.

Namely, he had two surgeries to repair sports hernias.

''I was injured. We played on turf. It was tough to come back,'' Jones explained.

Then there was the incident that drew his suspension. He touched referee Mark Geiger late in a New England playoff game last October after an uncalled penalty. Jones put both of his hands on the referee, earning a red card, and then pulled Geiger's shoulder.

The punishment, in Jones' estimation, was a bit excessive and cost him a chance to possibly play in Germany or China this season. FIFA regulations require suspensions to be applied across leagues, and MLS Commissioner Don Garber already rejected Jones' appeal of the ban in December.

This didn't help, either: Jones said the Revolution offered him ''less than 20 percent'' of his salary to return, when he made around $3 million. He was frustrated by the situation.

So he focused on his family, spending quality time with his five kids while waiting for a call from someone - hoping for Colorado because it was close to his home in Los Angeles.

In early March, the Rapids (4-2-1) acquired him from New England for general allocation money and the team's first-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. They used targeted allocation money, so Jones doesn't occupy a Designated Player slot.

But he had to wait for his debut - and wait and wait some more. For six games he was around the team as only a spectator. Finally, on a snowy night in Denver last Saturday, he provided a spark for a team that scored only five goals in its half-dozen games without him.

''He really injected the group with a lot of energy, a lot of quality football, a lot of guile and experience,'' coach Pablo Mastroeni said. ''He was a real leader and just found a way to get involved and really make a difference.''

Jones will try to help the Rapids to their second consecutive win over Seattle - and only fourth in 20 all-time meetings - after dropping the previous six games in this series.

The Sounders opened the season with three losses but have since won two with a draw in-between, surrendering just a pair of goals during their point streak.

Chad Marshall and Jordan Morris each scored and Andreas Ivanschitz had two assists in last Saturday's 2-1 win over Philadelphia.