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MLS Power Rankings: Week 28

Drew Epperley — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:00:03 +0000

We are getting towards the end of the season here in Major League Soccer. The power rankings are getting towards the end of the year as well as we’ll probably only do one or two more weeks of these.

Not too many big changes in the rankings here. FC Dallas continues to fall while Houston moves up a bit.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	17-3-10 61 pts.	LA nears in on their second straight Supporter’s Shield here this week.
	2 (2)	15-6-9 54 pts.	The lovely Cascadia Cup is all their’s now. First trophy down, USOC could be next.
	3 (3)	15-8-6 51 pts.	The New York win looked great but did they even care about playing DC over the weekend? Could the loss be a momentum killer?
	4 (5)	10-9-11 41 pts.	You do have to wonder, can this club actually close out games? Right now, it doesn’t seem like it.
	5 (4)	13-10-7 46 pts.	Nothing going right for FC Dallas but their remaining schedule could set them up nicely if they can find their offense again.
	6 (6)	9-7-13 40 pts.	Quality draw in KC in the midweek. The big positive thing is seeing Sebastien Le Toux get hot here as of late. As he goes, so will this club.
	7 (9)	10-7-11 42 pts.	A first place club in the Eastern Conference? They will tell you they don’t feel that way but getting their first road win was huge in Dallas. Oh yeah, Brad Davis now has 14 assists on the season. Can he get some MVP love?
	8 (8)	10-9-12 42 pts.	Another draw and lackluster performance by the Rapids. A big game with FC Dallas this week though could help lift them up in the standings here.
	9 (11)	9-8-11 38 pts.	With games-in-hand, United is coming on strong. Dwayne De Rosario continues to add to his MVP campaign.
	10 (7)	11-10-8 41 pts.	Big match with SKC this week will determine whether or not the Crew stay in the auto-bid area in the East or if they’ll slip into the wild card zone.
	11 (12)	8-7-15 39 pts.	Still holding on to that 10th and final playoff spot. You have to wonder, will Hans Backe just say screw it and not play Rafa Marquez in the back anymore. The club is clearly better without him in the defense.
	12 (10)	10-13-7 37 pts.	With three of their final four on the road, the playoff chances for the Timbers has gone dramatically down here.
	13 (13)	8-12-11 35 pts.	A late push here? Probably too little too late to get their first win since late July.
	14 (15)	6-8-15 33 pts.	Weird to not be able to move this club up more than one spot even though they’ve won four of their last five.
	15 (14)	6-13-12 30 pts.	It is CCL knockout round or bust now for this club.
	16 (16)	5-13-12 27 pts.	This club is toast.
	17 (17)	6-11-13 31 pts.	No quite eliminated but they’re pretty much on the brink.
	18 (18)	4-15-10 22 pts.	Officially elimiinated here, time to open up BC Place and be a spoiler.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 27

Drew Epperley — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:09:49 +0000

Another week down, another week with the top clubs remaining on top. The playoff race in Major League Soccer is certainly hotter than it has ever been.

I’ll keep the intro nice and sweet too. Here’s how I see things after this week.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	16-3-10 58 pts.	Goals coming from everywhere with this club. Only a few more points and that second straight Supporter’s Shield is their’s.
	2 (2)	14-6-9 51 pts.	A big win but a big loss against DC. Mauro Rosales hurt his MCL and the club is still waiting to say how long he’ll be out.
	3 (4)	14-7-6 48 pts.	Four straight wins after a time when they looked almost dead in the water. With games in hand, RSL is making good use out of them. They can pass Seattle but can they catch LA?
	4 (3)	13-9-7 46 pts.	The club has hit a wall in a big way. I still believe they are a contender here but they need a spark to get them back on track. Maybe having Brek Shea out for a week will be that spark.
	5 (5)	10-9-10 40 pts.	Not everyone can win in Salt Lake. With dates against Philadelphia and Columbus coming up, the Eastern Conference will literally go through them here before the playoffs.
	6 (8)	9-7-12 39 pts.	A big win for the Union here as their winless run ends and their playoff dreams seem back on course.
	7 (7)	11-10-8 41 pts.	They got the wild draw in the midweek, which is oddly enough the only thing keeping them here. Without Chad Marshall this club suffers so much in the back.
	8 (6)	10-9-11 41 pts.	I guess I can go back on saying this club won’t repeat as MLS Cup champions again. Just no gas left in the tank and the injuries are piling up left and right.
	9 (10)	9-7-11 39 pts.	Four point week looks good on the Dynamo, but a big test in Dallas looms. Can they finally score a road win?
	10 (11)	10-12-6 36 pts.	Still in the hunt but they’ll need to continue to finish off things at home and have a bit of luck elsewhere.
	11 (9)	8-8-10 34 pts.	United has games-in-hand on everyone at the moment. Two huge ones this week as they play Chivas USA. A loss there could end their hopes.
	12 (13)	7-6-15 36 pts.	Gritty win by the Red Bulls. I don’t think they are out of the water just yet but they are definitely back in the thick of things.
	13 (12)	7-12-10 31 pts.	Without Health Pearce this club has no playoff hope.
	14 (14)	6-12-12 30 pts.	Ten points out of a possible 15 in their last five games. Not bad. Just too little too late.
	15 (16)	5-8-15 30 pts.	Never thought I would see the day that Dominic Oduro would be a 10-goal scorer in one season.
	16 (15)	5-12-12 27 pts.	Elimination is on the horizon for the Revs. I think after this season it is time to move on from Steve Nicol.
	17 (17)	6-11-11 29 pts.	Same as New England, just incert Frank Yallop’s name at the end.
	18 (18)	4-14-10 22 pts.	Just a typical expansion team. Not other way to put it.

MLS Week 26 Power Rankings

Drew Epperley — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:13:26 +0000

After having a week off from doing the rankings, we’re back and with plenty of changes.

Still no new teams in the top three but don’t be surprised to see Real Salt Lake inch their way into that mix. They’re one point behind Dallas right now in the league standings and another win (and slip-up by Dallas) will certainly help push them forward.

The middle of the pack continues to move around good deal but overall we’re seeing exactly who will be in and who will be out.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	15-3-10 55 pts.	They are the first to punch their ticket to the post season. Next step, reach 60 points and claim the Supporter’s Shield.
	2 (2)	13-6-9 48 pts.	A setback for sure against RSL on Satruday but that game would have been different had the center official not called it the way he did.
	3 (3)	13-8-7 46 pts.	I think it was safe to say that we knew Brek Shea would eventually hit a wall like he did against New England. Time for Dallas to regroup with some big home games coming up.
	4 (6)	13-7-6 45 pts.	Against all the odds this RSL squad showed up and got three big points in Seattle. That game in hand they have is majority important now for RSL. Winners of their last three and they are finally making them count.
	5 (7)	10-8-10 40 pts.	Now tied atop the Eastern Conference with Columbus, it looks like this could be the only club out of the East that could make any real noise this fall.
	6 (5)	10-8-11 41 pts.	Pretty sure the LA match could have gone a little differently had Drew Moor been in the back. His absense was certainly missed.
	7 (4)	11-9-7 40 pts.	Something be broke with this defense. Ten goals in the last two games show that we can’t call the Crew the top dogs in the East just yet.
	8 (8)	8-6-12 36 pts.	Two straight draws and no wins since July 17. Yet somehow they are still in the playoff discussion.
	9 (11)	8-7-10 34 pts.	Charlie Davies, remember him? Good to see him score a hat trick just when DC needed him to.
	10 (9)	8-9-11 35 pts.	Looked rather dreadful agianst KC. Nothing else to really say about them than that. Still no wins on the road too.
	11 (13)	9-12-6 33 pts.	I think John Spencer will take the roat point in Philadelphia. With two home games coming up, they have to get six points and nothing else to reach the playoffs.
	12 (10)	7-11-10 31 pts.	I think I am close to writting off this club for the playoffs this season.
	13 (12)	6-6-15 33 pts.	No wins still in two and a half months. What a mess.
	14 (16)	5-12-12 27 pts.	First win in Columbus against their rivals. They still appear to be a club more focused on the CCL than the regular season to me but saying that they have loads of potential for next year already here.
	15 (15)	5-11-11 27 pts.	The 4-4 draw in Philadelphia probably quickly left their train of thought when they beat Dallas 2-0.
	16 (14)	4-7-15 27 pts.	The loss at San Jose killed their momentum. All that playoff talk last week quickly died.
	17 (18)	6-10-11 29 pts.	Finally got a win to end a 13-game winless run. I just wonder if it was too little too late for them.
	18 (17)	4-13-10 22 pts.	I knew it wouldn’t be long before Vancouver came back down here. Still, their defense has improved a lot in recent games with Jay DeMerit and Alain Rochat finally healthy at the same time.

MLS Week 24: Power Rankings

Drew Epperley — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:14:34 +0000

Hurricane Irene wrecked the east coast and did a little number in these MLS Power Rankings. Between the top clubs winning and most of the teams in the middle not playing due to the hurricane, there wasn’t a lot of movement. Still, Seattle and Dallas made a statement this past week that they are still in the Supporter’s Shield race. Here’s where things stand.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	14-3-9 51 pts.	Hurricane Irene postponed their big match in NY with the Red Bulls but it did allow Bruce Arena to use some of his main guys in the CCL.
	2 (2)	13-5-9 48 pts.	Things couldn’t be going that much better for the Rave Green. A big win in league play and an even bigger win in Mexico last week. Safe to say these Sounders are still in the Supporter’s Shield race.
	3 (4)	13-7-7 46 pts.	Brek Shea is magic, simple as that. His two assists helped turn a rather bad match into a very memorable one for Dallas in Kansas City.
	4 (3)	11-8-7 40 pts.	That was just ugly. No getting around it, this defense looks nothing like it should when Julis James is out of the lineup.
	5 (5)	10-7-11 41 pts.	Fatigue could have been an issue in Chicago for the Rapids. Not the best time to drop points considering Dallas and Seattle had big wins.
	6 (6)	11-7-6 39 pts.	Gutsy win for RSL after losing four of five games.
	7 (7)	9-8-9 30 pts.	Things looked great for 70 minutes but SKC’s lack of discipline in the back showed this club still has a long, long way to go.
	8 (8)	8-6-10 34 pts.	No game due to the hurricane. Probably a good thing considering the club still needs time to get used to Freddy Adu.
	9 (9)	8-8-11 35 pts.	And still no road wins. I should bump them down but considering most of the clubs around them didn’t play this past week, I’m giving them a pass on it.
	10 (10)	7-9-10 31 pts.	The loss at home to a 10-man RSL squad was bad but the injury to Health Pearce could have wrecked any hopes of a playoff trip this year.
	11 (11)	7-7-10 31 pts.	Fun week in D.C., an earthquake followed by a hurricane. Believe it or not but the Black-and-Red won’t see the field again until September 10 against Chivas.
	12 (12)	6-6-14 32 pts.	Probably the one club that needed the week off was New York. Hurricane Irene may very well save their season in a way since the time that they will face the Galaxy rolls around, the club should have Luke Rodgers and Frank Rost back.
	13 (13)	9-11-5 32 pts.	No game and no where else to go in these rankings right now for the Timbers.
	14 (16)	4-7-15 27 pts.	Don’t look now, but the Fire are still very much finding a way to be in the playoff hunt. A couple more wins like they’ve been getting and we could see them sneak into the post season here.
	15 (14)	4-11-11 23 pts.	Probably a good time to have an off week, the club has some new faces that still need to get used to their new club.
	16 (15)	4-12-12 24 pts.	The Reds looked well on their way to a tough 1-0 win at home when their defense came up lame once again.
	17 (18)	4-13-9 21 pts.	Late goals like ones from Shea Salines could really help build some momentum going into the off season for this club.
	18 (17)	5-10-11 26 pts.	The Quakes need a reboot. A 13-game winless streak has this club going in the wrong direction.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 22

Drew Epperley — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:00:48 +0000

For the first time in a couple months it seems as though the Power Rankings have seen a good deal of movement. No new number one team, or even a change in the top three but one Eastern Conference club is sneaking up the standings while the rest of that conference continues to be a jumbled mess.

Anyways, here is where we stand after an exciting week 22.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	13-3-9 48 pts.	So Robbie Keane everyone. It is MLS Cup or bust.
	2 (2)	11-5-9 42 pts.	Missed a PK and then had one not go their way late in the game, still, this was a game the Sounders should have won.
	3 (3)	12-6-7 43 pts.	Blew yet another chance at three points on the road. However, the addition of Maicon Santos has been a nice addition to this offense.
	4 (5)	10-7-7 37 pts.	Gonna say it right now, if the Crew win the Eastern Conference, Robert Warzycha deserves the coach of the year nod.
	5 (7)	10-6-10 40 pts.	Hard to believe how well this club has played without Conor Casey. Also, how about Drew Moor’s iron man streak, 67 consective regular season games going the full 90.
	6 (4)	10-6-6 36 pts.	I normally don’t worry so much about a loss on the road but losing in Toronto suggests some issues with this side. No road wins since the beginning of the year and with three of the next four away from Rio Tinto, things could get very interesting here with this team.
	7 (6)	8-5-10 34 pts.	The Union were possibly gifted two PKs against Dallas but in the end they just couldn’t get by Kevin Hartman. Though if they land Juan Pablo Angel this week, I think their fortunes will be reversed a bit.
	8 (11)	7-6-9 30 pts.	D.C.’s offense is alive and well right now. Dwayne De Rosario is the key reason for it too. If he isn’t a MVP candidate right now then something is wrong with this world.
	9 (10)	7-8-9 30 pts.	A respectible result in Seattle. Thing is now, this club cannot afford to drop easy points. With KC, DC and Houston all lerking around them, the Goats have to get the job done if they want to see playoff soccer.
	10 (8)	7-7-9 30 pts.	Off for this week since their LA game was rescheduled for Labor Day.
	11 (9)	6-6-13 31 pts.	Hard to believe the way this season is going for New York. Then again with no depth and a weak spot in the defense getting exposed each week it isn’t surprisng to see this club heading towards the brink of no playoffs.
	12 (12)	7-7-10 31 pts.	Carlo Costly didn’t much but the Dynamo got plenty out of Adam Moffat and Brian Ching. Gotta think the Dynamo love being in the Eastern Conference right now.
	13 (13)	7-11-5 26 pts.	Kenny Cooper just doesn’t fit with this club, does he? His big misses late in front of the Dynamo goal have me thinking he’d be better off on another club in this league.
	14 (16)	4-11-11 23 pts.	Lineup shifts help give the Reds three big points over a good RSL club. Still feel like this club is playing for next year though.
	15 (15)	4-11-9 21 pts.	Just a club going in the wrong direction here.
	16 (17)	5-9-10 25 pts.	No big reinforcements on the way this year for the Quakes (yeah they have one South American coming) have me believing this club is playing for a mid-level first round pick in next January’s draft now.
	17 (18)	2-7-14 20 pts.	Didn’t believe 14 draws in 23 games would be possible but this Chicago team has proven that it is.
	18 (17)	3-12-9 18 pts.	Just an ugly game in D.C. for this bunch.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 21

Drew Epperley — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:16:40 +0000

Another week down and things haven’t change all that much in the Power Rankings. LA, Seattle, Dallas and RSL continue to lead the pack while teams from the Eastern Conference continue to battle over who will try and crack that top four.

But don’t look now, Colorado is making some noise again here. It seems every time Sanna Nyassi and Omar Cummings are pared together that magic happens for them.

And in other news we have a new club at the bottom. Yes, the Canadian duo have finally worked their way out of the bottom. Don’t worry I’m sure one of them will return to it soon enough.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	13-3-9 48 pts.	Take out the stinker in Portland (that was bound to happen eventually), the 3-1 win over Dallas was impressive. Now they have a little space between them and everyone else for the Supporter’s Shield.
	2 (3)	11-5-8 41 pts.	Mauro Rosales continues to prove he’s one of the league’s best new additions this year. His goal and assist to give the Sounders the big road win in Seattle has to help give this club the confidence it looked to be losing over the last couple weeks.
	3 (2)	12-6-6 42 pts.	Blew a chance at catching the Galaxy in the standings. Just too bad really.
	4 (4)	10-4-6 36 pts.	Everyone was really nervous going into the New York game but I’m fairly sure those worries are now put to rest. Great to see young star Luis Gil getting his first career goal too.
	5 (5)	9-7-7 34 pts.	Losing Eddie Gavin could be a huge blow to this club. They’ve been impressive when we least expect them to this season so it will be interesting to see what Robert Warzycha has cooked up now.
	6 (5)	8-5-7 31 pts.	The Carlos Ruiz era is over and done with and it’s all the fans fault according to Peter Nowak. Too bad he can’t blame his defense on the fans too, they were terrible against Colorado.
	7 (9)	9-6-10 37 pts.	The injuries are piled up a mile long but these Rapids continue to show a lot of heart. Good thing they’re racking up the points now as the CCL is set to begin here soon will surely take a toll on this club.
	8 (7)	7-7-9 30 pts.	I know Peter Vermes is fuming over Omar Bravo’s red card but come on, what does he expect? No one gets away with that kind of tackle. Plus, he should be more worried about his club giving up two late goals to the Sounders in the way they did.
	9 (8)	6-6-12 30 pts.	The vote of confidence is in for Hans Backe now. So, if nothing changes here soon do we really expect him to last here?
	10 (12)	7-8-8 29 pts.	These Goats are inching their way towards a playoff spot here. You can definitely say they’re happy to have Alejandro Moreno back too, his two goals were huge in New England.
	11 (11)	6-6-9 27 pts.	Nice to see D.C.’s offense come alive but at the same time their defense decided to take the night off in a wild 3-3 draw with Toronto.
	12 (10)	6-7-10 28 pts.	I still wonder how Carlo Costly improves this club.
	13 (14)	7-10-5 26 pts.	A four point week is tough to come by for anyone, especially expansion teams. Their drubbing of LA was nice to see but so was Kenny Cooper scoring in San Jose.
	14 (13)	5-8-10 25 pts.	Winless in their last 10 games now. Not a lot to say about this side either.
	15 (16)	4-10-9 21 pts.	Diego Fagundez became the second youngest to score in MLS history this weekend. The kid has potential but I wish we could say the same about his club.
	16 (17)	3-11-11 20 pts.	Well we can say this, their offense has drastically improved in recent weeks. If only Aron Winter cared about his defense in the same way.
	17 (18)	3-11-9 18 pts.	Almost out of the bottom of the standings thanks in large part to DP Eric Hassli. I have to say it, Hassli may be one of the best DPs the league has ever seen.
	18 (16)	2-7-13 19 pts.	Just got embarassed in Vancouver.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 20

Drew Epperley — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:00:42 +0000

July is in the books for 2011 and now MLS shifts towards a busy August. Week 20 in Major League Soccer was an interesting one that had plenty to talk about outside of the league slate of games.

We had some movement this week near the top and in the middle. It seems like every couple weeks I continue to have to flip Toronto and Vancouver around at the bottom but I have a feeling Vancouver is going to probably be at the bottom of the table for a good portion of the remaining part of this season.

Anyways, here is where things stand for me after week 20.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	12-2-9 45 pts.	A big win to push their unbeaten run to 14 games. Now a huge test awaits them this weekend when Dallas comes to town. LA should be fresher for that one too as Dallas as an important CCL game in the midweek.
	2 (2)	12-5-6 42 pts.	A grueling week on the road with travel issues and hostile environments to deal with but Dallas pulled it off and won in El Salvador and again at home against Chivas.
	3 (3)	10-5-8 38 pts.	I’m going to let the loss in Houston slide but last week was definitely a bad week for the Sounders. They should turn it around though soon enough.
	4 (4)	9-4-6 33 pts.	Just as quickly as they were getting back into the top three race in the West they stumble at home to Columbus. Just a lack of intensity (until after the whistle blew when Fabian Espindola tried to go after Julius James) all across the pitch from Jason Kreis’ side.
	5 (7)	9-5-7 34 pts.	Its no longer a non-sexy way of doing things in Columbus. Somehow the Crew just get it done and that’s okay. Plus, where has this impressive effort been from Robbie Rogers all year? Easily his best game in ages.
	6 (5)	8-5-7 31 pts.	The Carlos Ruiz era is over and done with and it’s all the fans fault according to Peter Nowak. Too bad he can’t blame his defense on the fans too, they were terrible against Colorado.
	7 (6)	6-6-9 27 pts.	The unbeaten run continues, just barely. Still something seems “off” about this club that they can’t do better than a draw against teams like New England at home. With the long home stretch on their schedule here they have to put teams away.
	8 (8)	6-5-12 30 pts.	No sense in moving them down or up right now but it was a nice win for the Red Bulls over in London. Time to put that trophy in the cabnet and move on though as Houston, KC and now DC are all on the Red Bulls tail.
	9 (9)	8-6-10 34 pts.	Colorado took a page out of Dallas’ book on how to beat the Union. Have a gritty veteran control the midfield and use tons of speed to pressure their back line.
	10 (11)	6-7-7 27 pts.	It really felt like we were watching the Dynamo of a couple years ago over the weekend. Strong defensive effort with Brian Ching picking up two goals.
	11 (12)	6-6-8 26 pts.	Don’t look now but DC is starting to resemble a playoff team in the making here. Road wins like that one in San Jose really speak volumns.
	12 (10)	6-8-8 26 pts.	Not the best way to begin a five-game road trip, losing in The Oven that is Pizza Hut Park. This stretch of games will really show us if Chivas has what it takes to be a playoff team or not here.
	13 (13)	5-7-7 23 pts.	More and more this San Jose team looks like one that has absolutely no shot at the playoffs this year.
	14 (14)	6-10-4 22 pts.	Dropping points at home to Toronto in that fashion has to have the fans worried. Hard to believe that this team hasn’t won a home game since May 21.
	15 (16)	4-9-9 21 pts.	Another strong road effort but one that they’ll definitely be upset about. Very unlucky not to get three points in KC.
	16 (15)	2-6-12 18 pts.	So new signee Pavel Pardo won’t be available for a couple weeks according to the club, too bad because they need help fast.
	17 (18)	2-10-10 19 pts.	Gritty effort by Toronto. Its starting to look like the DP signing of Danny Koevermans is paying off.
	18 (17)	3-12-9 15 pts.	Tom Soehn’s record as manager of this club is nearly identical as Teitur Thordarson was. Its coaching in some ways but in others its definitely on the players and the lack of quality ones across the board there.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 19

Drew Epperley — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:00:03 +0000

With 11 games in Major League Soccer this past week we figured we’d get a fair amount of movement in the rankings. For the most part we did. Finally, a week with no scoreless draws made things so much more enjoyable as we had plenty of goals to discuss and plenty of points to talk about.

There were no real big winners or losers in this week’s rankings. For the most part the top remained the same except for New York taking a bit of a dip due to their struggles this past week. I’m sure they’ll be back though.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	11-2-9 42 pts.	A midweek win over a solid Columbus team keeps the Galaxy on top for me. It seems like whenever anyone gets close to them, they pull away yet again.
	2 (3)	11-5-6 39 pts.	Nice four point week for Dallas on the road. Big test ahead in El Salvador as the club enters their first CCL game this Thursday before hosting Chivas USA on Sunday. Lots of travel here for Dallas.
	3 (2)	10-4-8 38 pts.	No game to keep them up except for that beating they took from Manchester United in a friendly. Friendly or not, losing 7-0 is always embarrassing.
	4 (4)	9-3-6 33 pts.	RSL is quietly sitting back, winning games that they should like against San Jose and are quietly getting closer to the top of the standings.
	5 (5)	8-4-7 31 pts.	Held their own against Real Madrid. Not bad I must say.
	6 (7)	6-6-8 26 pts.	Twelve matches without a loss, a new club record. With the offense showing up for a change and a long home stand that number should only go up.
	7 (8)	8-5-7 31 pts.	The Crew inch their way into a tie for first with Philadelphia. Hard to believe it but this club could very well be a contender here.
	8 (6)	6-5-12 30 pts.	Not sure how New York’s defense has gotten any better as of late. Two games this week and they give up six goals. I thought Frank Rost was suppose to settle this defense down.
	9 (12)	7-6-10 31 pts.	Okay, so don’t count these Rapids out just yet. They fumbled some points to New England but that win over New York is what everyone is talking about still. They’re still in the discussion here, with little depth and all.
	10 (13)	6-7-8 26 pts.	Justin Braun showed up at the right time against Houston. Hard to believe it but if the playoffs started now, these Goats would be in it.
	11 (9)	5-7-7 24 pts.	Still winless on the road. Houston made some moves last week to free up some cap space but they desperately need a playmaker now.
	12 (10)	5-6-7 23 pts.	Off in the league but hosted Everton. Yeah, not much to say about that 3-1 loss.
	13 (12)	5-6-7 23 pts.	I’m sure keeper Jon Busch will hear a little call from the league for that birdie he flashed Jason Kreis’ way on Saturday.
	14 (14)	6-10-3 21 pts.	Tough loss in Columbus but I do like the addition of Lovel Palmer to their defense on the right side.
	15 (15)	2-6-12 18 pts.	Not a bad performance against Manchester United. They can at least say that their starters took a 1-0 lead into the half against them.
	16 (16)	4-9-8 20 pts.	Nearly had a six point week but keeper mistakes by Matt Reis and poor defending didn’t help matters.
	17 (18)	2-10-9 15 pts.	I like the addition of Mustapha Jarju to this club, but their defense still has a ways to go here.
	18 (17)	3-11-9 18 pts.	With all of those moves the Reds still looked a bit lost out there. I’m sure we’re not done seeing Aron Winter wheel and deal.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 18

Drew Epperley — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:00:27 +0000

Another week down in MLS and another week that the draws keep most of the clubs where they were a week ago. Only a couple movers in this week’s rankings as Seattle leaped over Dallas, Portland moved up and Colorado began their fall further down.

Hopefully next week we start seeing some changes again as the schedule gets fairly crowded with midweek games and weekend games before the All-Star “break” next week.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	10-2-9 39 pts.	Off in the league this past week but got beaten by Real Madrid in the WFC. No need to bump them down for losing a friendly.
	2 (3)	10-4-8 38 pts.	Its hard not to be impressed by the Sounders here as of late. The defense could use some work but the offense seems to be coming together nicely with Fredy Montero producing again.
	3 (2)	10-5-5 35 pts.	Injuries are starting to take their toll on this club. I’d expect Dallas to start making some moves here as their schedule continues to get crazy. Two road games this week will say a whole lot about this club.
	4 (4)	8-3-6 30 pts.	No game due to the heavy rain and the soaked field in Vancouver. Honestly, RSL deserves some sort of compensation for not getting to play that game. Not three points but at least something.
	5 (5)	8-4-7 31 pts.	Sometimes its good to play a team that has no offense or bite in the midfield. Philly handled New England like they were an expansion team.
	6 (6)	6-4-11 29 pts.	Nice debut for keeper Frank Rost. Still, these draws could come back and haunt them before long.
	7 (7)	5-6-8 23 pts.	Only three more road games…left on the season. Yup, KC has the chance to do some real damage in the standings with all of these home games coming up. Time to take advantage of them.
	8 (8)	7-5-7 28 pts.	Love the move to get Toni Tchani in and dump two guys that weren’t getting PT anyways. Tchani will add depth, skill and both offense and defense to this club through the midfield. I gotta say I love what the Crew are doing with their roster these days.
	9 (10)	5-6-9 24 pts.	Tally Hall, Corey Ashe and Geoff Cameron are all All-Stars. Rightfully so as this club continues to improve.
	10 (11)	5-5-8 23 pts.	A draw in Dallas these days is not easy, especially a scoreless one. DC still at work at changing their roster into one of the most American ones the league has ever seen. Only three internationals on the team and two of them are Canadian. Gone are the days of the wasted South American players on this squad.
	11 (9)	6-6-9 27 pts.	I’ll say it again, this just isn’t the Rapids’ year.
	12 (10)	5-5-8 23 pts.	Yet another scoreless draw but with new additions on the roster from Toronto coming in, look for changes to be made and improvement to start.
	13 (14)	5-7-8 23 pts.	Shutting out the mighty Red Bull offense is just what Robin Fraser was hoping for. Now time to get their offense going again.
	14 (15)	6-9-3 21 pts.	Don’t count these Timbers out just yet. The first road win proves they can still get it done, even if it isn’t pretty.
	15 (14)	2-6-12 18 pts.	Tough blow for the Fire but really, what do you expect when this club has zero offense to counter people with.
	16 (16)	3-9-7 16 pts.	Another drubbing as the offense lacked any bite and the midfield looked lost without Shalrie Joseph.
	17 (17)	3-9-9 18 pts.	Time to put up for shut up with all these new additions. I wonder if everyone is wearing name tags here to get to know one another.
	18 (18)	2-10-8 14 pts.	Such a same how they favored a big friendly over league play.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 17

Drew Epperley — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:00:15 +0000

We’re starting to get to that point in the season where the movement in the Power Rankings goes down. Not a whole lot of changes from top to bottom this week. The good teams are still good while the bad teams are still bad. I know that is a terrible and yet a general statement to make but its pretty damn true here.

Team	Rank	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (1)	10-2-9 39 pts.	Strong win for the Galaxy who saw Seattle and RSL close in a little more on their lead this weekend. Geting more out of David Beckham and Landon Donovan in the coming weeks will be huge for them too. Just wonder if/when Juan Pablo Angel will earn his pay here.
	2 (2)	10-5-4 34 pts.	I won’t lie, I wanted to bump them down for the loss but given the two goals given up, and the bad luck on the day, I’ll leave him here for another week. A loss to DC at home though will certainly be cause for worry. Losing at Rio Tinto, not so much.
	3 (3)	9-4-8 35 pts.	Fantasic win in Portland but the huge concern has to be the injury to Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. They made due without him last year when he was hurt but he has been big this season for them.
	4 (4)	8-3-6 30 pts.	Big win, even if the goals were gifts in some way. Just have to wonder what the situation is with Alvaro Saborio right now.
	5 (5)	7-4-6 27 pts.	Still wondering about that Jordan Harvey trade. Still, another 0-0 draw on the road shows Peter Nowak must know what he is doing here.
	6 (6)	6-4-10 28 pts.	Strong win on Wednesday followed by a crushing defeat on Saturday. Just wondering when the goalkeeper situation will be improved though.
	7 (7)	5-6-7 22 pts.	Two more draws at home this week leave me puzzled about this club. They’re good but are they good enough to really compete with the big boys here?
	8 (8)	7-5-6 27 pts.	Good to see Jeff Cunningham finally tie the league’s all-time scoring mark on Wednesday. Good pickup after the bad loss in Dallas for the Crew.
	9 (9)	6-5-9 27 pts.	A win and a draw in the week for the Rapids. No move but they’re starting to look better here. Now this Seattle match ahead will be a big indicator on whether or not they’ll be a contender again or just another pretender.
	10 (11)	5-6-8 23 pts.	Still quietly in the playoff hunt here. Little changes here and there like Kofi Sarkodie in the starting XI has made a difference as of late.
	11 (12)	5-5-7 22 pts.	Gotta give it to DeRo, when it mattered he made his old club pay.
	12 (10)	5-5-7 22 pts.	Can’t knock the Quakes too much, a 0-0 draw to Philly isn’t a bad thing but the lack of offense as of late isn’t a good thing either.
	13 (14)	5-7-7 22 pts.	Nice turnaround week for Chivas here. A win at home against San Jose followed by a draw in KC. Still, giving up the late goal on the road like that in KC has to be troubling for Robin Fraser. If anything it was a mojo killer.
	14 (13)	2-5-12 18 pts.	You can’t expect to draw every game now can you?
	15 (15)	5-9-3 18 pts.	Probably the most crushing defeat of the season for this young team.
	16 (16)	3-8-7 16 pts.	No game, no where to go. With a visit from Manchester United on tab for this week, you have to wonder how bad they’ll get beaten in that game.
	17 (17)	3-9-9 18 pts.	Getting dumped on yet again. I know they need offensive reinforcements here but what about defensive ones too? Stefan Frei continues to impress but gets hung out to dry by his defense each week.
	18 (18)	2-10-8 14 pts.	If you had the Whitecaps as the first to 10 losses this season then you are correct.