August 8, 2007

MLS Power Rankings - Into the dredges of August

A few things have tempered my fever for MLS right now, those being SuperLiga, the restart of the Mexican League, coming down the wire in USL First Division play, the US Open Cup, a long break for Chivas USA and my now very infrequent trips to the Brewhouse. But never fear, as I caught the Toronto-Los Angeles game at Taco Mac last Sunday in between rounds of Golden Tee. It's a long season and we've still got a ways to go, especially if you're the Galaxy. But never fear, as the Bakery is firing back up with this week's MLS Power Rankings.

Eastern Conference

1. D.C. United - Take that Revs. And look out Eddie Johnson. Luciano Emilio put in two for a 3-0 win last weekend. A sellout crowd await the Galaxy on Thursday on ESPN2. Hopefully most of them will be cheering for DC.

2. New England Revolution - Majorly disappointed in their performance at home on Sunday. That being said, I still can't see them moving behind Kansas City or New York in these rankings.

3. Columbus Crew - They're still playing well, and now there's shouts for Barros Schelotto for MVP. My take: Wait until the season's over and see where they're at before casting your vote.

4. Chicago Fire - I for one can't wait until Wanchope takes the field with Blanco. Can one player (Blanco) turn their season around? I wouldn't doubt it.

5. Kansas City Wizards - I'm mainly basing this off their last game in July, a 3-2 win over Chivas USA. Like I said when I checked the final score on my Sidekick, "Wow. KC scored three goals and EJ didn't even have one. How often does that happen?"

6. New York Red Bulls - It's been up and down for the Toros Rojos lately. Win one, lose one, win one. Need to pick up some points to solidify a playoff spot.

7. Toronto FC - They're not this bad, but they've been decimated by injuries, and the East is just insanely strong right now, especially with the moves Chicago's made. Good to see them go out and get some goalkeeping help.

Western Conference

1. Houston Dynamo - Don't look too much into their jaw-dropping 1-0 loss to RSL. They're in the SuperLiga semis and are still the team to beat in the West.

2. FC Dallas - Now that they're unsuccessful jaunt in the SuperLiga is over, they can get back to league action where they haven't played a game in almost a month (July 14). A tricky Crew club comes into the Pizza Box on Saturday.

3. Chivas USA - What? Were they expecting to play in the US Open Cup quarterfinals to fill their schedule? In the meantime, it's off to the golf course for the guys.

4. Real Salt Lake - Robbie Findley deal is already a steal for them. I still don't think he'll get them into the playoffs.

5. Los Angeles Galaxy - I think Lalas has bitten off more than he can chew with all these Beckham games. He better come in and shine when he does get on the field or he'll be a bust compared to Angel, Barros Schelotto and Blanco.

6. Colorado Rapids - Just pathetic. At least their Round of 16 win over California showed that they're not as bad as the worst team in USL First Division.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It pains me to say so, but you've over rated DC. They caught the Rev's on short rest, snuck an early goal that some ref's would have called back, and leveraged that into a win. It's what they do best, score first, then break it open. They weren't that much better than New England, who are still the Team To Beat in the East. Until the DC defense puts in 3 or 4 games in a row that look as tight as they did this weekend, and until someone other than Emilio starts scoring regularly, they are not the best team in the East. They can be, but not yet.