An interesting week of games highlighted by some stellar performances (See Eddie Johnson and the Chicago Fire) as well as some absolute duds (DC United-Galaxy and New England-Salt Lake receive the credit there). The big match-up of the week involved the league's top two teams, the Wizards and the Red Bulls and it certainly lived up to the hype. Juan Pablo Angel was his usual incredible self but Eddie Johnson stole the show with a second straight hat trick. His performance also pushes his team to first place in the power rankings. Here's how the rankings look this week:
1. Kansas City Wizards (LW: 2 / 6-2-1)
Stepped up when they needed to and are without a doubt the top team in the league right now. It'll be interesting to see how the team performs with Eddie Johnson gone for the Gold Cup. Look for Marinelli to play a bigger role in the team's successes.
2. Red Bull New York (LW: 1 / 5-2-2)
You just can't beat top-shelf quality sometimes. The Red Bulls didn't have a bad game and a controversial red card spoiled the final result. Juan Pablo Angel continues his tear through MLS and with the Red Bulls one of only two teams not to have any players taken for the Gold Cup, I can see New York reclaiming its top position soon. Big rivalry game against DC and a difficult encounter with Toronto awaits.
3. New England Revolution (LW: 3 / 5-2-3)
A pretty poor showing against RSL but none of the teams behind them did anything significant to warrant a drop in the rankings so the Revs stay put at #3. The tie against RSL may come back to haunt them though, as they lose their best players to the Gold Cup and will struggle to get points during the next few weeks.
4. DC United (LW: 5 / 3-3-2)
There's a steep drop-off from the top three teams but DCU has earned its position by going undefeated in the last five games. Their defensive staunchness has stepped up but it has to be alarming that Emilio has been quiet for a number of games now. With Angel and the Red Bulls coming to town, United need to find a way to score goals quickly.
5. Chivas USA (LW: 7 / 3-3-2)
This ranking is more a reflection of other teams' failures than of Chivas' own merit since they had a bye week. Still, Chivas would be in the playoffs if they started today so that's certainly an improvement from past seasons.
6. Houston Dynamo (LW: 8 / 3-5-1)
After seeing them go down 1-0 against Dallas, I was ready to spit vitriol at the Dynamo but they came back in impressive fashion, snatching the win and moving up in the rankings. Are the champions back in form? I don't think so, but it certainly is a good start. We'll see how they play without Ching and De Rosario.
7. Toronto FC (LW: 9 / 3-5-1)
The rest of the league has to realize this by now: Toronto is tough to beat at home. Dichio is becoming a legend up north and the Canucks look like a serious playoff contender at the moment.
8. Colorado Rapids (LW: 4 / 4-3-3)
A win could have catapulted them into the top three, instead they fall flat in Toronto and drop four spots because of it. They still haven't been consistent enough to be convincing for me and I can't help but feel there's a bad losing streak coming in the near future for the Rapids.
9. FC Dallas (LW: 6 / 5-5-1)
Tough road result against Houston, their defense hurt them as the game progressed. They'll probably play better without Ruiz and with Cooper not being called into the roster, Dallas should fair just fine in the next few weeks.
10. Chicago Fire (LW: 12 / 4-4-1)
Now there's how you answer your critics. New signing William Oliveira had a tremendous impact, notching a goal and an assist in Chicago's win over Columbus. Now Chicago needs to string together a couple of games like this to move back up in the East.
11. Los Angeles Galaxy (LW: 10 / 1-3-3)
If they can't score any goals with Landon Donovan, how do they expect to score when he's gone? They're tied for last place in total points and things are only getting worse for this team.
12. Columbus Crew (LW: 11 / 1-3-5)
Their propensity for ties would catch up to them sooner or later. With only one win in the 2007 campaign, the Crew's season is on the verge of a total breakdown. They're significantly behind their Eastern peers in points and need wins in a hurry. Schelotto can't do it all.
13. Vancouver Whitecaps (USL / 5-1-3)
On top of the league and on an impressive streak, Vancouver is in the middle of an intense battle for USL supremacy with its Canadian brethren, the Montreal Impact.
Oh, I'm sorry, am I missing a team here? Don't think so....
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