Right now it appears that clubs 1-5 are pretty much set. After that 6-11 are a real mess each week with clubs moving all around that area left and right. Lastly, the bottom four remains what it has been pretty much since May.

Let me get back to that middle though. Chivas, RSL, New England, DC, Toronto and Colorado all have a shot at the playoffs right now. Each could even pass up the lowest of the top five in Seattle if they really want to but for now it seems like all six are content at being jumbled up each week as they all push for the playoffs. Right now I see the odd-three out being RSL, DC and Toronto. Something just tells me New England will make it and Colorado will get their act together towards the end. I could be wrong but DC’s schedule is too packed, RSL just doesn’t strike me as a playoff club and Toronto has really no defense that makes me like them.

The top five mixes things up a bit with Columbus regaining the top spot after LA gets creamed at home by Dallas. I know some will call me crazy for just moving LA down to number two but I really had no one else to put there as Houston has gone cold, Seattle just isn’t there, and Chicago is too iffy still. I still see the Galaxy as a big contender for the Supporter’s Shield so maybe that is another reason too.

Anyways, here is this week’s rankings, feel free to leave your thoughts below.

Team	Rank (Last Week)	Record (W-L-T)	Comments
	1 (2)	11-4-9 42 pts.	Even with a tough remaining stretch the Crew still look like the heavy favorites to repeat as Supporter’s Shield winners once again this year.
	2 (1)	9-5-11 38 pts.	Okay, that was ugly on all counts against Dallas. Blame the ref if you will, this club shouldn’t be giving up 6 goals that easily. For once they reminded me how old they really are here in the midfield.
	3 (3)	11-8-7 40 pts.	Hard to bump them down for losing on a late PK call on the road. Still with four games left on the season I doubt we will be seeing this club win the Supporter’s Shield.
	4 (4)	10-6-9 39 pts.	Picked up a huge road draw in Salt Lake, a place not many get points in. Best of all Brian McBride is on the way back. Can he refuel this club with five games to go?
	5 (5)	9-6-10 37 pts.	Found a way to win in DC yet again. Too bad they can’t play all their road games in RFK. Still that win provided to be a big one.
	6 (8)	11-9-3 36 pts.	Big home win over New England. Chivas still has plenty of games in hand with a fairly easy schedule left too, we may see them take a run at the top of the west before it is too long.
	7 (10)	9-7-9 34 pts.	Picked up a big win at home, not the question is will Julian de Guzman really be worth the signing this late in the year?
	8 (6)	10-6-8 36 pts.	This back and forth between winning and losing really hurts their playoff chances.
	9 (9)	8-6-12 36 pts.	The past week or so has been alright for DC. A win, a loss and a draw pretty much means they stay in the same place as last time though. You just can’t drop points at home right now.
	10 (7)	9-6-8 33 pts.	Rough stretch of games for the Revs as of late. They do still have plenty of games in hand on everyone so hope is still there…for now.
	11 (11)	9-9-7 34 pts.	There was a reason why I didn’t pump them up a couple weeks ago, they just don’t look like a playoff club to me. Dropping points at home just doesn’t help their cause.
	12 (12)	7-11-6 27 pts.	A 6-3 win usually gives up a bump up but not in this case, just no one to pass anymore for Dallas. Things are getting better in Dallas but its been too little too late.
	13 (14)	7-11-6 27 pts.	Two straight wins seems nice but can we really credit them for winning in New York? I guess so. Just wonder what these two wins means for Peter Vermes.
	14 (13)	5-12-4 20 pts.	Feel like I haven’t seen this club play in over a month. Eight games to go with very little hope of anything left. Plus their roster keeps changing by the second, who can keep up with these guys?
	15 (15)	4-17-4 16 pts.	That 20 point mark still seems so far away, especially with three more road games left.

There are plenty of goals this week, especially since we had a 6-3 game and a 3-2 game.

Order of video: Frankie Hejduk, Maicon Santos, Dave van den Burgh, Jeff Cunningham, A.J. DeLaGarza, Dax McCarty, David Ferriera, Jeff Cunningham, Edson Buddle, Chris Rolfe, Jamison Olave, Josh Wolff,  Steve Zakuani, Fredy Montero, Dwayne De Rosario, Conor Casey, and Nana Attakora

It is a very loaded weekend in on the MLS slate. Five games tonight and two tomorrow.

Saturday:

Colorado Rapids – at – Toronto FC:

Not sure if new signing Julian De Guzman will be in action for TFC but if he is he will make that club a lot better defensively in the midfield. I want to go with the Rapids but TFC is usually pretty tough at home, so I am sticking with the Reds who will slowly be giving Danny Dichio a big send off for his final few games.

WVH Prediction: Toronto 2, Colorado 1

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Seattle Sounders FC – at – DC United:

DC got a huge win against KC in the midweek, which really helped their playoff chances. Seattle as we all know scored a big win the last time these two met in DC. I think United will be out for revenge of that game and will get another big three points.

WVH Prediction: DC 2, Seattle 0

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Kansas City Wizards – at – New York Red Bulls:

The quest for 20 points is still on for New York and I think this game is where they get a little closer to it. KC has been awful lately and I don’t see any improvement coming on the road here. New York scores another win for Richie Williams. But don’t expect this to be a good game or anything, neither club is any good.

WVH Prediction: New York 1, KC 0

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Chicago Fire – at – Real Salt Lake:

Normally I would give a lot of credit to Chicago and how they play on the road but lately I am worried that they are starting to crash a bit. Good news though is that Brian McBride is close to a return. I don’t know if that means this game or not but that is good news for the Fire. Still they have to go into one of the toughest places in MLS at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL helps their playoff chances here and leaps over Seattle this weekend in the standings.

WVH Prediction: RSL 3, Chicago 1

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FC Dallas – at – LA Galaxy:

Dallas continues to make changes to their roster as they add Heath Pearce and a couple others this past week. Too bad it won’t make a difference against Landon Donovan and company. I see LA controlling this game from start to finish and picking up a three big points, putting them in first overall in the league after tonight.

WVH Prediction: LA 3, Dallas 1

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Sunday:

New England Revolution – at – Chivas USA:

Can the Revs continue their momentum up the standings in the east? They need three points just as much as Chivas does here. I think this game has all the makings of being on of the only draws of the weekend. Right now I just don’t see a lot of difference between these two clubs.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 1, New England 1

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Houston Dynamo – at – Columbus Crew:

Big time game this weekend pits the two top clubs in the league against one another at Crew Stadium. This game to me just smells like a draw because of the loaded schedules these two have going on right now. Though if I did have to pick one over the other I would go with the Crew. Houston has been shaky these last couple months and I think on the road against a quality side like Columbus could be rough for them. I’m going with the Crew but I think it really could be a a draw.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 1, Houston 0