JEagle87

1. [LW1] SJ Earthquakes (7W-2L-1D, 22 pts, 1st West / W 5-3 vs. DC, L 1-2 @ VAN) - Yes, they dropped their second game of the weekend at Vancouver, thanks to a stoppage time winner by the Caps, but they’re still the hottest team in MLS thanks to a 5-3 pasting against DC. 

2. [5] SEA Sounders (6-1-1, 19 pts, 3W / W 1-0 vs. PHI, W 2-0 vs. LA) – If San Jose is the hottest team, Seattle is right behind them. Four straight wins for the Sounders and they play two more games this week but will be without defender Leo Gonzalez who got a one-match ban for stomping on an opponent’s leg last week. 

3. [4] Real Salt Lake (7-3-1, 22 pts, 2W / W 2-1 vs. NE) – RSL hung on for three points, but that wasn’t their best game. Will Johnson wasn’t happy about his red card and made sure to let the linesman (who consulted with the ref before the red) know about it.

4. [6] VAN Whitecaps (5-2-2, 17 pts, 4W / W 2-1 vs. SJ) – Four straight West teams to start the rankings, seems like 2011 all over again. Striker Eric Hassli came on as a substitute and scored the winner in the 94th minute, his first MLS goal in 17 appearances.

5. [2] Sporting KC (7-2-0, 21 pts, 1E / L vs. MON 0-2) – Two straight losses after a 7-0 start isn’t that concerning…but when you lose and get shut out by Portland and Montreal, that’s not good.

6. [3] DC United (5-3-3, 18 pts, 2E / L 3-5 @ SJ, W 2-0 @ TFC) – It’s tough to drop this team after a solid effort against San Jose, but it won’t be for long, especially when the defense gets healthy.

7. [7] NY Red Bulls (5-3-1, 16 pts, 3E / W 1-0 @ LA) – No Thierry Henry, no problem for the Energy Drinks. Kenny Cooper’s still scoring (shocking) and Ryan Meara and the NY defense actually has a shutout streak (okay, no sarcasm this time, this is shocking).

8. [13] MON Impact (3-5-2, 11 pts, 5E / W 2-0 @ KC) – If the playoffs started right now, the Impact’s record would give them the last spot in the East. Of their eleven points on the season, ten have come in their last five games. 

9. [11] Chicago FIRE (3-2-2, 11 pts, 4E / W 2-1 @ CHV) – While it seems that KC, NY and DC are running away with the East, the Fire are lurking in fourth. They might be six points behind DC United, but they have three games in hand. Marco Pappa stealing three points on the road against Chivas with a stoppage time winner doesn’t hurt either. 

10. [8] COL Rapids (5-5-0, 15 pts, 5W / L 1-2 @ NE, W @ DAL 2-0) – Conor Casey played all 45 second half minutes against a 9-man FC Dallas squad and while he’s still not 100 percent, it makes the already dangerous Rapids attack that much stronger. 

11. [10] HOU Dynamo (2-2-2, 8 pts, 7E / Idle) – One more road game before they finally open BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday May 12. KC was at the bottom of the East after a 10-game road trip to open 2011 and made the Eastern Conf. Finals. Houston is still in the thick of it in the East and I suspect they'll do something similar to KC last year and be right near the top of the East. 

12. [9] LA Galaxy (3-5-1, 10 pts, 7W / L 0-2 @ SEA, L 0-1 vs. NY) – Yikes. That is about as bad a week as this team has played in a while. you can’t say this is 2011 MLS Cup Champions hangover anymore, something is seriously wrong in LA right now.

13. [12] FC Dallas (3-4-3, 12 pts, 6W / L 0-2 @ COL) – Two red cards in the span of about three minutes late in the first half is tough to come back from. Two points in their last four games is not how you keep pace in the stacked Western Conf.

14. [16] NE Revolution (3-6-0, 9 pts, 6E / W 2-1 vs. COL, L 1-2 @ RSL) – A solid game midweek in a win against the Rapids before losing at Rio Tinto to RSL in a game where both players finished with ten men, but Revs’ midfielder Fernando Cardenas is the first MLS player to successfully appeal a red card and will be available for the next game.

15. [14] PHI Union (2-5-1, 7 pts, 9E / L 0-1 @ SEA) – Zach MacMath is another rookie keeper having a fine debut season but the main problem in Philly is still the inconsistency of the offense.

16. [15] Chivas USA (3-6-0, 9 pts, 8W / L 1-2 @ FIRE) - I wonder if the Goats would want to play the rest of their schedule on the road…they’re 0-5 at home but three away wins ties them with San Jose and Kansas City for most in MLS.

17. [18] Columbus CREW (2-4-2, 8 pts, 8E / D 0-0 @ POR) – The Crew might be satisfied with a point at Portland, but with only two points in their last five games they have to start getting wins before they fall too far behind in the East.

18. [17] POR Timbers (2-5-2, 8 pts, 9W / D 0-0 vs. CREW) – Portland has a respectable home record, 2-2-1, 7 pts, but it’s their results away from home, 0-3-1, 1 pt, that has them at the bottom of the West.

19. [19] Toronto FC (0-8-0, 0 pts, 10E / L 0-2 vs. DC) – Head coach Aron Winter should tell his players that they’re in a CONCACAF CL match or a Canadian Cup match, they seem to get good results in those competitions. MLS…not so much.

1. [LW1] SJ Earthquakes (6W-1L-1D, 19 pts, 1W / W 2-1 @ PHI)

2. [2] Sporting KC (7-1-0, 21 pts, 1E / Idle)

3. [3] United DC (4-2-3, 15 pts, 2E / W 3-2 vs. HOU)

4. [4] Real Salt Lake (6-3-1, 19 pts, 2W / D 1-1 @ DAL, W 3-2 vs. TFC)

5. [5] SEA Sounders (4-1-1, 13 pts, 4W / W 2-1 @ FIRE)

6. [9] VAN Whitecaps (4-2-2, 14 pts, 3W / W 1-0 @ CREW)

7. [7] NY Red Bulls (4-3-1, 13 pts, 3E / W 1-0 vs. NE)

8. [11] COL Rapids (4-4-0, 12 pts, 5W / W 4-0 vs. CHV)

9. [10] LA Galaxy (3-3-1, 10 pts, 7W / D 1-1 vs. DAL)

10. [6] HOU Dynamo (2-2-2, 8 pts, 5E / L 2-3 @ DC)

11. [8] Chicago FIRE (2-2-2, 8 pts, 4E / L 1-2 vs. SEA)

12. [12] FC Dallas (3-3-3, 12 pts, 6W / D 1-1 vs. RSL, D 1-1 @ LA)

13. [18] MON Impact (2-5-2, 8 pts, 6E / W 2-0 vs. POR)

14. [13] PHI Union (2-4-1, 7 pts, 7E / L 1-2 vs. SJ)

15. [14] Chivas USA (3-5-0, 9 pts, 8W / L 0-4 @ COL)

16. [15] NE Revolution (2-5-0, 6 pts, 9E / L 0-1 @ NY)

17. [16] POR Timbers (2-5-1, 7 pts, 9W / L 0-2 @ MON)

18. [17] Columbus CREW (2-4-1, 7 pts, 8E / L 0-1 vs. VAN)

19. [19] Toronto FC (0-7-0, 0 pts, 10E / L 2-3 @ RSL)

Sorry guys, got about a third of the way through a full entry on Wednesday and never found time to finish. Few notes before the rankings: Union D Gabriel Farfan will serve a three game suspension for his challenge on Chivas USA's James Riley during last weeks game, he was given a red card and an additional two games for failing to leave the field and player endangerment. Union coach Peter Nowak will also serve a suspension for two games for being sent off against Chivas for leaving the technical area and failing to the leave the field. Chivas USA coach Robin Fraser was also fined for leaving the technical area but will not serve a suspension. I have to DVR the Red Bulls-Revolution game on NBCSN so don't tell me what happens while I'm at work. These rankings do not reflect the RSL-DAL draw from midweek.

1. [LW2] SJ Earthquakes (5W-1L-1D, 16 pts, 1st West / W vs. RSL 3-1

2. [1] Sporting KC (7-1-0, 21 pts, 1E / W @ VAN 3-1, L @ POR 0-1)

3. [12] DC United (3-2-3, 12 pts, 2E / D vs. MON 1-1, W vs. NY 4-1)

4. [4] Real Salt Lake (5-3-0, 15 pts, 2W / L @ SJ 1-3)

5. [5] SEA Sounders (3-1-1, 10 pts, 4W / Idle)

6. [6] HOU Dynamo (2-1-2, 8 pts, 5E / D @ CREW 2-2)

7. [3] NY Red Bulls (3-3-1, 10 pts, 3E / L @ DC 1-4)

8. [9] CHI Fire (2-1-2, 8 pts, 4E / W @ TOR 3-2)

9. [8] VAN Whitecaps (3-2-2, 11 pts, 3W / L vs. KC 1-3, W vs. DAL 1-0)

10. [14] LA Galaxy (3-3-0, 9 pts, 6W / W @ COL 2-1)

11. [7] COL Rapids (3-4-0, 9 pts, 8W / L vs. LA 1-2)

12. [10] FC Dallas (3-3-1, 10 pts, 5W / L @ VAN 0-1)

13. [15] PHI Union (2-3-1, 7 pts, 6E / W @ CHV 1-0)

14. [11] Chivas USA (3-4-0, 9 pts, 7W / L vs. PHI 0-1)

15. [13] NE Revolution (2-4-0, 6 pts, 8E / Idle)

16. [17] POR Timbers (2-4-1, 7 pts, 9W / W vs. KC 1-0)

17. [16] Columbus CREW (2-3-1, 7 pts, 7E / D vs. HOU 2-2)

18. [18] MON Impact (1-5-2, 5 pts, 9E / D @ DC 1-1)

19. [19] Toronto FC (0-6-0, 0 pts, 10E / L vs. CHI 2-3)

I know that I promised everyone the rankings for Wednesday, but I wanted to wait until the MLS Disciplinary Committee had reviewed the SJ-NY game. They announced today that Red Bulls defender Rafa Marquez will be suspended three games for his tackle (literally) on San Jose’s Shea Salinas (who is out about two months with a broken collarbone) and that Quakes midfielder Marvin Chavez will sit one game for his challenge on New York’s LB Roy Miller (which could have been a straight red anyway, in my opinion). There are some that want Marquez to sit longer, but even with Marquez’s past history (he was red carded/suspended for his actions during the playoffs last year against the Galaxy), I was figuring somewhere in the 3-5 game range because he wasn’t disciplined during the match (the referee didn’t even call a foul).

Also, MLS has announced that they are looking into implementing goal-line technology for the 2012 season if it is approved by FIFA. I have always been a huge fan of this concept, as it works well with other American sports and their various replays/review systems and it will probably give us more quotes from Sepp Blatter…which means more ammo for me in my writing. Plus, it is rumored that former Real Madrid star striker Raul, who is leaving German side Schalke at the end of the Bundesliga campaign, could be in line for a move to MLS.

But on to more important news…the USSF has announced a new home kit to go with that mediocre away kit they debuted against Italy last month. It’s a throwback to the 1983 team…and it’s ugly has hell. Anytime you hear USA Soccer and throwback, I only want to hear about 1950. What was wrong with the three “sash” jerseys? I liked those and it gave the USA some semblance of an identity on the international stage, which we don’t have. And changing the jersey to increase sales isn’t going to change that…especially if you change the jersey’s to a 1983 THROWBACK!!! By the way, do you remember USA Soccer in 1983? Wikipedia says that the USMNT played two matches from 1981-83…really good throwback jersey there Phil Knight, stick to Football…the American version…gits.

Whatever, now that I’m all bitter and miserable, onto the rankings, which don’t include the two Wednesday games (DC 1-1 MON and VAN 1-3 KC)…

1. [LW1] Sporting KC (6W-0L-0D, 18 pts, 1st East / W 1-0 vs. RSL) – They’ve won three games in a row by a score on 1-0, they’ve only conceded one goal against all season and they just beat three of the top teams in the West (Dallas, LA, RSL) in about three weeks, all at Livestrong Sporting Park, where they are 13W-2L-6D since the park opened last year.

2. [4] SJ Earthquakes (4-1-1, 13pts, 2W / D 2-2 @ NY) – A chippy affair at Red Bull Arena saw the Quakes equalize twice in the first half,
including Chris Wondolowski’s seventh of the year…

3. [3] NY Red Bulls (3-2-1, 10 pts, 2E / D 2-2 vs. SJ) – …to go along with Kenny Cooper’s seventh of the year for the Engery Drinks. Combine
that with Henry’s seven goals (in a ridiculous three game stretch) and you have the three leading MLS scorers on the same field. Too bad all we’re going to remember is two bad challenges and two deserved suspensions.

4. [2] Real Salt Lake (5-2-0, 15 pts, 1W / L 0-1 @ KC) – Probably unfair to drop them at all this week after losing on the road to the top team
in MLS, but this is probably the lowest you’ll see Real Salt Lake in the rankings this season barring a sizeable losing/winless streak.

5. [5] SEA Sounders (3-1-1, 10 pts, 3W / W 1-0 vs. COL) – Seattle got back to their winning ways at home with defender Zach Scott’s header and first MLS goal the winner, which ended a 300-plus minute scoreless streak for the Sounders and was Scott’s first goal in over 2000
minutes played.

6. [6] HOU Dynamo (2-1-1, 7pts, 4E / D 1-1 @ CHI) – A 1-1 draw in monsoon conditions in Chicago should be worth more than a point, and if you’re wondering how bad the East is, Houtson’s in fourth place and has only played four games…

7. [7] COL Rapids (3-3-0, 9 pts, 6W / L 0-1 @ SEA) – The pregame storyline was Brian Mullan’s return to Seattle for the first time since his
tackle on Steve Zakuani last season. Mullan had a goal called back for offsides in the first half, probably their best chance since the Rapids were dominated in the second.

8. [8] VAN Whitecaps (2-1-2, 8pts, 7W / Idle) – A bye week for the Caps just before they head on the road to KC and Dallas is a welcome bonus, but they’re 0-2-2 in their last four games and have lost two straight.

9. [9] CHI Fire (1-1-2, 5pts, 7E / D 1-1 vs. HOU) – A rain/lighting shortened draw gave the Fire a point against Houston, but it was an odd
deflection off a Pavel Pardo free kick that equalized for the Fire.

10. [12] FC Dallas (3-2-1, 10 pts, 4W / W 2-1 vs. MON) – Brek Shea’s 88th minute winner bailed out FCD for their second straight late win. Panama’s Blas Perez (who I’ve been raving about since the Gold Cup last year) had the equalizer and assisted on the winner giving him three each on the year.

11. [13] Chivas USA (3-3-0, 9 pts, 5W / W 1-0 @ TOR) – It’s rumored that the Goats want out of the Home Depot Center, it’s easy to see why…0-3 record in LA, 3-0 record on the road. JP Angel might be coming back from injury as well.

12. [14] DC United (2-2-2, 8 pts, 3E / W 2-1 @ NE) – Chris Pontius’ late winner stunned the Revs for the second straight week as DC continue to climb the rankings and are unbeaten in their last four since starting the season 0-2.

13. [10] NE Revolution (2-4-0, 6 pts, 5E / L 1-2 vs. DC) – Another heartbreaking loss for Jay Heaps’ side as they head into the bye week. RB
Florian Lechner’s foot fracture leaves the Revs thin at defense and I’ve seen more than one article suggesting Shalrie Joseph’s return to centerback.

14. [17] LA Galaxy (2-3-0, 6 pts, 8W / W 3-1 vs. POR) – It’s going to take more than referee, home cooked win over Portland to get the Galaxy out of the ground floor/basement area of the rankings. Note to MLS players, don’t give David Beckham twenty yards of space in front of goal.

15. [18] PHI Union (1-3-1, 4 pts, 8E / W 1-0 vs. CREW) – Gabriel Gomez’s penalty kick was the difference for the Union, who still are having trouble scoring on the run of play. But four points in their last two games and two straight shutouts from young GK Zach MacMath is a lot better than what the Union were doing to start the season.

16. [11] Columbus CREW (2-3-0, 6pts, 6E / L 0-1 @ PHI) – Two straight losses for the Crew who suddenly look anemic on offense again. Happy Trails to Frankie Hejduk, the longtime USA and Crew defender retired this week and has taken up residence in the Columbus front office.

17. [16] POR Timbers (1-4-1, 4 pts, 9W / L 1-3 @ LA) – Yes, they got jobbed by the referees pretty much the entire game that could have ended 2-2 but they’ve still lost four straight and sit in the Western basement.

18. [15] MON Impact (1-5-1, 4 pts, 9E / L 1-2 @ DAL) – Much improved from the Impact in recent weeks that sadly doesn’t show up in the standings or the rankings.

After last week’s technical difficulties, I am pleased to return with a full entry for this week’s power rankings. It’s been a long and tiring past few days of research, highlight watching and of course, staying up late Sunday night to watch the Revs dominate the Galaxy on whatever Versus is called now. Combine that with New York’s second half evisceration of Montreal and a solid weekend of other MLS/EPL action and you’ve got a pretty good weekend for a soccer fan.

Seattle’s loss to San Jose means the top team in my rankings has lost for the second straight week and dropped from the top spot. FC Dallas and LA are in freefall mode while New England and Columbus are climbing up the ladder in both the East standings and the rankings. These rankings do not reflect RSL’s 1-0 win against Montreal from Wednesday night:

1. [LW2] Sporting KC (4W-0L-0D, 12 pts, 1E / W 1-0 @ CHV) – It’s not always pretty (three one-goal wins) and they tend to steal three points in the final minutes of the game (DC and Dallas), but they’re undefeated and have only conceded one goal all season.

2. [3] Real Salt Lake (3-1-0, 9 pts, 1W / W 3-2 @ POR) - I don’t know how many teams have ever been down a goal in the final minute (plus stoppage) at Jeld-Wen Field and won, but I imagine it was, is and will be a very short list.

3. [1] SEA Sounders (2-1-0, 6pts, 5W / L 0-1 vs. SJ) – A soft first half penalty might have been the difference on the scoreboard, but Seattle didn’t generate much offense in a rare mediocre effort at home.

4. [5] NY Red Bulls (2-2-0, 6 pts, 2E / W 5-2 vs. MON) – The good news is that I’m not crazy for jumping the Red Bulls up 8 spots last week. The better news is that Thierry Henry and Co. are firing in goals left and right and they got prettier as the game went on. The bad news is rookie keeper Ryan Meara let in two near post goals and his defense wasn’t helping much in the first half.

5. [8] SJ Earthquakes (3-1-0, 9 pts, 2W / W 1-0 @ SEA) – When is MLS going to learn not to get involved in these scrappy games against the Quakes. New England fell into that trap earlier and so did the Sounders with a Wondolowski penalty the difference.

6. [12] COL Rapids (3-1-0, 9 pts, 3W / W 2-0 vs. CHI) – The Rapids are 3-0 when M Jeff Larentowicz starts the game, with their only loss was that 4-1 pasting in New York when Larentowicz was out with a red card suspension. Omar Cummings’ second goal of the year the winner against the Fire.

7.[4] HOU Dynamo (2-1-0, 6 pts, 4E / Idle) – Somehow the schedule makers at MLS gave the Dynamo a three week vacation (they do play their first seven on the road however) and with Colin Clark suspended for three games, that means he won’t be playing until May 9 at New York.

8. [10] VAN Whitecaps (2-0-2, 8 pts, 4W / D 0-0 @ PHI) – Sebastian Le Toux’s return to Philadelphia was largely an uneventful affair, especially the first half. For the second week in a row the Caps fail to score, but they have yet to concede a goal in 2012.

9. [15] NE Revolution (2-2-0, 6pts, 5E / W 3-1 @ LA) – It took a couple of games but it looks like Jay Heaps and the Revs have found their offense. Rookie Kelyn Rowe scored his first career goal and winger Chris Tierney added the Revs second inside 15 minutes. Forward Saer Sene still has a rotating group of players partnering with him up front but two header goals in as many weeks gives the Revs a target man they’ve been lacking in past seasons.

10. Columbus CREW (2-1-0, 6 pts, 3E / W 1-0 @ TOR) – Back to back wins for the Crew against Montreal and Toronto move the Crew up to third in the East. Not a stellar effort by the Crew at BMO, as they were out played at times, but they had the bulk of the scoring chances and a penalty that was saved.

11. [9] CHI Fire (1-1-1, 4 pts, 7E / L 0-2 @ COL) – Couldn’t sustain any offense in Colorado and actually the score line could have been worse. Still hard to figure out the Fire at this point, but two road games and only one point isn’t a good trend.

12. [11] POR Timbers (1-2-1, 4 pts, 6W / L 2-3 vs. RSL) – Darlington Nagbe’s second half double should have been enough to send the Timber’s Army home with three points against a very talented RSL squad.

13. [7] LA Galaxy (1-2-0, 3 pts, 8W / L 1-3 vs. NE) – LA is still very suspect in the back four without the injured Omar Gonzalez and the makeshift Revs offense ran rampant through the Galaxy defense at will throughout the game.

14. [16] DC United (1-2-1, 4 pts, 6E / W 4-1 vs. DAL) – Starting GK Bill Hamid might be out with injury, but Maicon Santos and Nick De Leon have been picking up the slack offensively, Santos adding two against Dallas and De Leon’s winner in the 60th minute, his second in as many games.

15. [6] FC Dallas (1-2-1, 4 pts, 7W / L 1-4 @ DC) – Back-to-back losses sees Dallas freefall in the rankings and the bad news gets worse – 2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira missed most of last season with a broken ankle, underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his foot and is out 6-8 weeks.

16. [13] Chivas USA (1-3-0, 3 pts, 9W / L 0-1 vs. KC) – Unlike last week against RSL, their defensive effort was not rewarded and instead they conceded a lone goal early in the second half and that was the difference for a Goats’ squad that did not register a shot on goal against SKC.

17. [19] PHI Union (0-3-1, 1 pt, 8E / D 0-0 vs. VAN) – A goalless draw against Sebastian Le Toux’s new team (Vancouver) can probably be considered a victory, but the truth is this was the Union’s first point of the year and the offense is still non existant.

18. [17] MON Impact (0-3-1, 1 pt, 9E / L 2-5 @ NY) – They did very well against New York in the first half, going into halftime at 2-2, but even if the Impact had a good defense, and they don’t, they weren’t stopping Henry in the second half.

19. [18] Toronto FC (0-3-0, 0 pts, 10E / L 0-1 vs. CREW) – GK Stefan Frei is going to be out 4-6 months with an ankle injury which means more of the very capable Milos Kocic. What’s not capable is everything else at TFC right now, they  can’t score, can’t stop anyone and now that
their run in the CCL is over (thanks to a 6-2 trashing by Santos Laguna yesterday…) they can channel their efforts to the MLS, where they sit in last without a point and only one goal on the year.

Having issues posting the blog this week...can't tell if it's the website or my connection. CBSSports.com has been acting funny for me all week, pages reload for no reason to white screens. My full entry won't copy and paste to post so I'm afraid it's a short version for the second week in a row. Very dissapointing, but we'll get it settled for next week. Just finished watching Man City - Sunderland on ESPN2 and looking forward to several good matches in MLS later today. These rankings to no reflect last night's 4-1 victory by DC United over FC Dallas since I wrote this on Wednesday night.

Loved Chivas' win at RSL, though Nicky Rimando doesn't spill chances like that very often. The NY Red Bulls finally showed up and completely dismantled the Rapids. And I have a message for the Philadelphia Union, in honor of Rick Pitino and the Final Four this weekend...

Sebastian Le Toux isn't walking through that door...Faryd Mondragon isn't walking through that door...and if they do...Le Toux is going to be playing against you, today at 4PM from PPL Park in Pennsylvania. 
 
Previous week's rankings in [brackets]...


1. [2] SEA Sounders
2. [3] Sporting KC
3. [1] Real Salt Lake
4. [4] HOU Dynamo
5. [13] NY Red Bulls
6. [6] FC Dallas
7. [7] LA Galaxy
8. [11] SJ Quakes
9. [10] CHI Fire
10. [9] VAN Whitecaps
11. [5] POR Timbers
12. [8] COL Rapids
13. [19] Chivas USA
14. [15] Columbus CREW
15. [18] NE Revolution
16. [17] DC United
17. [16] MON Impact
18. [12] Toronto FC
19. [14] PHI Union