Plenty of potential draws this weekend and a couple high scoring games too. (Getty Images)

The weekend is finally here! Like we discussed yesterday, Week 7 in Major League Soccer has already gotten off to a hot start.

We have eight more games set for this weekend, seven of them tomorrow with one lone game on Sunday.

As always feel free to leave your score predictions below.

Saturday

Chicago Fire at Toronto FC: So no Chris Rolfe for the Fire, he’s listed as out with an ankle injury. I have a feeling it won’t matter a whole lot given the issues going on with Toronto at the moment in the defensive part of the field. They may have Torsten Frings back but for the most part it will be a tight game. Chicago will sit back for most of this and attack at the right time but in the end this one is a draw in my book.

WVH Prediction: Toronto 1, Chicago 1

Houston Dynamo at Columbus Crew: An interesting game in some ways. Houston is slowly wrapping up their season opening road trip and the Crew are coming off some bad losses. Robert Warzycha continues to tinker with his lineup and this game will be no different. Until his offense comes alive, it will be tough to pick his club. But then again, the Dynamo don’t have an offense that is deadly just yet either. Hello draw.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 1, Houston 1

LA Galaxy at Colorado Rapids: David Beckham is making the trip for this one, his first Colorado visit since 2007. I don’t like this matchup at all for the Galaxy either, if it were in LA I would feel different about it but they’ve never done very well in Denver. Colorado is a dangerous team at the moment too, just waiting to get their chance to prove themselves and this one would do it.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 2, LA 1

FC Dallas at Vancouver Whitecaps: Two home games in a week for Martin Rennie’s club, the first didn’t go over very well against Sporting KC. They get another quick attack in town and that hasn’t gone over well in their last two games (both losses to SKC and San Jose). Defensively the Caps need a boost but their offense has to find some life. Dallas has all the right momentum to get three points but this one feels like a draw in the end given their defense and the midfield issues.

WVH Prediction: Vancouver 1, Dallas 1

Philadelphia Union at Chivas USA: The possible return of Juan Pablo Angel helps Chivas in this one for sure as they have looked good in recent weeks. If they can make it happen at home like they have on the road so far this year, we may be looking at a playoff contender. As for Philly, there is still a lot to learn about this club. The cross country trip doesn’t help either. I’m taking the Goats.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 2, Philadelphia 1

Real Salt Lake at San Jose Earthquakes: This one had some good potential to it before Marvin Chavez got suspended and Shea Salines got hurt. Still, both teams have strong defenses and it could turn into a slugfest. I think RSL has more pieces in place though to get the three points and they rarely lose two in a row.

WVH Prediction: RSL 2, San Jose 0

Sporting Kansas City at Portland Timbers: Could be a good one. Sporting goes for a league-tying record of eight straight wins in a row to start a season. You’d think this one could present some issues for Sporting but so far this season the Timbers haven’t exactly looked good at handling high pressure. I think Sporting leaves it late and gets yet another win.

WVH Prediction: Sporting KC 1, Portland 0

Sunday

New York Red Bulls at D.C. United: Another midfield reshuffle for Hans Backe with Rafa Marquez being suspended yet again. This one could still be a goal fest and if it turns into a high scoring game, take the visitors.

WVH Prediction: New York 4, DC 2

GBS helped lead the Crew to a second straight Supporter's Shield trophy. (Getty Images)

We all expected big things in 2009 for the Columbus Crew. Anytime you win a MLS Cup and retain the bulk of a lineup that got you that title you expect to repeat or come extremely close to do so. As we saw last week the Crew fell short of that this year as they lost to Real Salt Lake at home in the semi-finals of the eastern conference.

Still what can you say about this year’s Crew other than it was pretty much a carry-over of some sorts of the 2008 team. Robert Warzycha stepped in as Sigi Schmid headed west to be with the new Seattle Sounders club and things on the roster pretty much remained the same way with Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Robbie Rogers, Chad Marshall and Frankie Hejduk all there.

The Crew stumbled a bit out of the gate though with questions of if this bunch was really good enough to repeat. Columbus didn’t earn their first win until May, eight games into the season. But even with the lack of winning early on there was only a couple losses on the fixture table.

In the summer the Crew really turned things on. Schelotto looked like the MVP that we all knew he was and instead of assisting on goals like he did in his MVP season of 2008, he was scoring goals to help the Crew win games. Between June and August the Crew only lost a couple matches in league play while their CONCACAF Champions League play started off well.

Late in the year the Crew wrapped up their second straight Supporter’s Shield title, ensuring another birth in the CCL next year. While they did fall short in the playoffs they proved once again how a stable club can do so well in the league.

What Went Right In 2009:
When all key parts were playing things looked unstoppable for this group. Schelotto was a beast when he was fully healthy, Marshall repeated as Defender of the Year even though he wasn’t totally fit and other guys like Steven Lenhart and Jason Garey filled in nicely. Its hard to complain too much about a Supporter’s Shield type season like the Crew had but I know the way things ended left a lot of folks unsatisfied.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
Injuries played a big part in things that did go wrong. Some might also point a finger at Warzycha for playing it too safe in Salt Lake for the first leg of the playoffs. Either way this club was pretty gassed by the end of the season. Their schedule in the fall months between the league slate and the CCL group stage really left them on empty. They went from being one of the most dominate home clubs in league history to a team that lost three straight home games to finish the year (including the playoffs).

What’s Next:
Next up is figuring out who is staying and who is going. We know Philly will certainly pick someone from this club in the expansion draft and then there is the likelihood that Robbie Rogers will leave. What is bigger though is whether or not Schelotto will hang it up or not. If he returns along with other veterans like Hejduk and Alejandro Moreno then this club should have no problem returning to the top of the food chain. But at the same time they definitely need to go out and find some offense this winter. It was something that lacked all year and a reason why Schelotto had to pick up the scoring slack.

Some coaches have lead their clubs from loads of draws early to the top of their conferences, one has lead an expansion club to the playoffs for the second time in league history, while others have just done what they always do.

As mentioned the final week will go a long way in determining this awards’ race as it will with a couple others. Below is the list of guys in the running in no real order. That’s where you all come in, who deserves this award? And who doesn’t?

Sigi Schmid (Seattle): Leading an expansion club to a respectable record is never easy but leading an expansion club to the playoffs rarely happens. Say what you will about Schmid and the team that was built up there in Seattle, I believe they wouldn’t be in the playoffs without him leading the way.

Bruce Arena (LA): The early part of the season the Galaxy weren’t losing but then again they weren’t winning either. But a funny thing happened, the roster that Arena tore apart last winter got a couple other additions that made the Galaxy into what they are today. Now some are saying this is his best work yet. I agree with that.

Dominic Kinnear (Houston): Another season, and another year at the top of the western conference for Kinnear and the Dynamo. While I don’t see Kinnear winning this award this year I do think he does deserve a decent amount of consideration for it.

Robert Warzycha (Columbus): Some won’t want him on this list since he basically took over where Sigi Schmid left off but you can’t deny the job that he has done by keeping things moving forward with this bunch.

Preki (Chivas): Its been an up and down season for Preki and Chivas USA but overall the Goats are a couple games away from a possibly Supporter’s Shield. Should Chivas USA win out this week and Columbus lose we could see Preki gain a bunch of votes for this award. A lot of ifs but it is possible.

Anyone else you think should be in the running? Steve Nicol for his work with New England this year? Schellas Hyndman for his late turn around in Dallas? Anyone else?

Can Seattle land Sigi as their coach? (ony Quinn/MLS/WireImage.com)

The biggest surprise (sarcasm) of the month, Sigi Schmid is talking to expansion club Seattle Sounders FC about their head coach opening. We’ve all thought he was a candidate since the start of 2008 and now it is a little more official.

Sigi Schmid is officially a candidate to be named head coach of Seattle Sounders FC, a notion made clear by his appearance Thursday at Seahawks headquarters.

Schmid and general manager Adrian Hanauer met today and are expected to continue the discussion about the job Friday. Schmid, who coached the Columbus Crew to the 2008 MLS championship, is no longer with Columbus after his contract expired Sunday. This is his first meeting with Sounders FC executives.

While this doesn’t officially mean he will be the next Sounders FC coach, most of us know it pretty much means his time in Columbus is done unless the Crew can some how match Seattle’s offer (which will probably be one of the best in the league in terms of coaching salary). Columbus could come back and shock us all with a better offer for Schmid but I am not holding out for it (and I am willing to bet most Crew fans aren’t either).

I really see this as a matter of time kind of thing for the two sides. Columbus will definitely miss Schmid once he leaves but I do believe they will be fine because long-time assistant Robert Warzycha will more than likely take over the head coaching duties. Most have seen Warzycha as a suitable replacement for Schmid for a while now, and I for one totally agree with that as I see him doing well in that position.