After finally recovering from this weekend's trip to New York, we're back and somewhat rested to bring this week's MLS Power Rankings. The middle of the table is still anyone's guess as the the league still continues to resemble some kind of Double Stuff Oreo. The top and bottom of the table are firm, resolute, and in our opinion, absolutely delicious in their quality of play (or lack thereof). The creamy middle is still equally intriguing, however. Twist it apart and you just don't know which team will stick where. Dallas, New York, Colorado, and LA seem to be bounding between the ends of the table.
Find out where they land in the rankings after the jump. Milk optional.
Week 8 managed to do some shuffling in the power rankings, but like most of 2008, the top and bottom of the table seem to be locked in pretty well. However, New England and TFC aren't going anywhere, and look to make a move out East. Meanwhile, in the West, LA is really starting to fire up the offense, and the top spot is within their grasps. Colorado and Houston (thanks for showing up), are sure to have something to say to that.
An early dose of the power rankings this week heading into the lengthy Memorial Day road tripping. Kevin Hartman wins this week's "Best Non-Beckham Picture" award for his courageous display of non-Beckhamness. Follow him after the jump for the full table.
We've been waiting a while to dig up the headline entendre that Dallas forgot. FC Dallas (F.K.A. the Dallas Burn) was the victim of a rather dishonorable defeat at the hands of the LA Galaxy, so it's only fitting that they take the lion's share of the writeup. Other highlights of the weekend include the Dynamo building an honest-to-goodness winning streak as well as DC United trying to get out of the Eastern basement.
Legal mumbo jumbo prevents us from providing this week's Obligatory Beckham Shot, so instead we provide this clip of Marcelo Gallardo's top-shelf strike of equal quality. Game Capsules after the jump.
It was not the flashiest week in the Eastern Conference. By current league standards, a couple of ties and an expansion team losing on the road pales in comparison to the fireworks on display out West in Week 8. Regardless, we're here to root out the highlights wherever they are hiding and take a look at what this weekend's results mean for the conference going forward.
The results of Juan Pablo Angel's free-kick and much more after the jump.
Colorado Rapids 2 - Real Salt Lake 0 It was a match between to equally talented sides, but last night's battle for Western supremacy ended with the Colorado Rapids protecting their home field against a challenging Real Salt Lake. The first half was relatively uneventful, with both teams failing to manufacture many quality scoring chances. Many times lethal crosses were left wanting with supporting runs failing to get into position for the finish. However, Colorado managed to finally put things together in the second half when Omar Cummings scored in the 65h minute with help from Colin Clark and Herculez Gomez. Cristian Gomez sealed the result in the 83rd minute with a penalty kick, his second goal of the season.
Colorado hosts Chivas USA next week while Real Salt Lake heads to FC Dallas.
Our predecessor here at Fanhouse used to incorporate some kind of "Cavernous Gaping Hole" (tm) into each week's "Powah" rankings, and we're finally starting to understand what was going through their minds. This year in MLS, said hole is located somewhere out West, possibly the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, or some similar actual natural wonder. The metaphorical chasm between East and West grows by the day, and while we've said it a few times before, please note once more that the top teams in the WC would be tied for 7th (!) in the East. Both Kansas City and Toronto had a Bye this week, and they still remained ahead of the pace. By our unofficial count, the West can only claim 2 victories over the East, Dallas over New York and Colorado over New England. We can't figure the disparity out ourselves, its not like the East is using a DH rule or something, so we'll just have to see how the rest of the season sorts out. However, it's already looking like a number of Eastern teams could get frozen out of the playoffs by mere geography.
Full table after the jump. Please add in your own trademarked gaping metaphors.
The West hosted all of this weekend's MLS action, but the home field advantage wasn't enough to give them the edge over the East. Going 3 for 5 on the weekend, the East asserted its authority over MLS, and if the standings were combined, the top teams in the West would be tied for 7th at best. Not exactly parity, if you ask us, but its still early enough in the season for things to pan out.
Meanwhile, some familiar faces return to New England, Houston's familiar face finally show up, and we see if LA's popular pair have enough to get past Red Bull New York. Results of all 5 matches after the jump.
Chicago Fire 2 - DC United 0 We're sure the whole untied/United headline business has been used before, but we're equally fed up with the various ways the Fire can burn, torch, or scorch opposing teams in the headlines. Regardless, the Chicago Fire ran circles around the United defense, putting on an offensive display that gave them several lethal chances. Justin Mapp and Cuahtemoc Blanco scored for Chicago, with Blanco's curling strike sure to set the bar for the Goal of the Week. A physical match that saw plenty of rough challenges on both side of the ball overshadowed DC's struggling offense. United only managed 2 shots on goal but drew 3 yellow cards for reckless play.
Chicago hosts Houston Dynamo at home next Saturday while DC United travels out west for a match with CD Chivas USA.
The table has certainly begun to settle coming out of Week 6. The Eastern teams continue their rise to the top while the West watches its side sink to the bottom. Meanwhile, the contenders and pretenders begin to surface. While its definitely too early for this kind of talk, teams like Columbus and Chicago are certainly helping out their cases for the playoffs considering their late season battling in 2007. Teams like DC and Houston, on the other hand, are digging themselves some mighty holes. In between, teams like KC, Colorado, and New York are still trying to find some consistency.
Better late than never with the West Coast recap. Even with the technical difficulties slowing us down here at FanHouse HQ, it was an easy weekend to forget in the Western Conference, with a number of lackluster results for a number of teams. This isn't to say however, that all was quiet out West. LA had its usual dose of fireworks and Colorado certainly had some surprises in store for DC United.
Results after the jump and unofficial "Write the Caption" contest after the jump.
After finally recovering from this weekend's trip to New York, we're back and somewhat rested to bring this week's MLS Power Rankings. The middle of the table is still anyone's guess as the the league still continues to resemble some kind of Double Stuff Oreo. The top and bottom of the table are firm, resolute, and in our opinion, absolutely delicious in their quality of play (or lack thereof). The creamy middle is still equally intriguing, however. Twist it apart and you just don't know which team will stick where. Dallas, New York, Colorado, and LA seem to be bounding between the ends of the table.
Week 8 managed to do some shuffling in the power rankings, but like most of 2008, the top and bottom of the table seem to be locked in pretty well. However, New England and TFC aren't going anywhere, and look to make a move out East. Meanwhile, in the West, LA is really starting to fire up the offense, and the top spot is within their grasps. Colorado and Houston (thanks for showing up), are sure to have something to say to that. 
It was not the flashiest week in the Eastern Conference. By current league standards, a couple of ties and an expansion team losing on the road pales in comparison to the fireworks on display out West in Week 8. Regardless, we're here to root out the highlights wherever they are hiding and take a look at what this weekend's results mean for the conference going forward. 
Colorado Rapids 2 - Real Salt Lake 0
Our predecessor here at Fanhouse used to incorporate some kind of "Cavernous Gaping Hole" (tm) into each week's "Powah" rankings, and we're finally starting to understand what was going through their minds. This year in MLS, said hole is located somewhere out West, possibly the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, or some similar actual natural wonder. The metaphorical chasm between East and West grows by the day, and while we've said it a few times before, please note once more that the top teams in the WC would be tied for 7th (!) in the East. Both Kansas City and Toronto had a Bye this week, and they still remained ahead of the pace. By our unofficial count, the West can only claim 2 victories over the East, Dallas over New York and Colorado over New England. We can't figure the disparity out ourselves, its not like the East is using a DH rule or something, so we'll just have to see how the rest of the season sorts out. However, it's already looking like a number of Eastern teams could get frozen out of the playoffs by mere geography.
The West hosted all of this weekend's MLS action, but the home field advantage wasn't enough to give them the edge over the East. Going 3 for 5 on the weekend, the East asserted its authority over MLS, and if the standings were combined, the top teams in the West would be tied for 7th at best. Not exactly parity, if you ask us, but its still early enough in the season for things to pan out. 
Chicago Fire 2 - DC United 0
The table has certainly begun to settle coming out of Week 6. The Eastern teams continue their rise to the top while the West watches its side sink to the bottom. Meanwhile, the contenders and pretenders begin to surface. While its definitely too early for this kind of talk, teams like Columbus and Chicago are certainly helping out their cases for the playoffs considering their late season battling in 2007. Teams like DC and Houston, on the other hand, are digging themselves some mighty holes. In between, teams like KC, Colorado, and New York are still trying to find some consistency. 
Better late than never with the West Coast recap. Even with the technical difficulties slowing us down here at FanHouse HQ, it was an easy weekend to forget in the Western Conference, with a number of lackluster results for a number of teams. This isn't to say however, that all was quiet out West. LA had its usual dose of fireworks and Colorado certainly had some surprises in store for DC United. 
