The new erratic schedule is messing with my MLS viewing

posted by kidpurple April 30, 2009

I didn’t like it when it was first announced, and I’m not enjoying the crazy new schedule that Major League Soccer is going with this year.  I’m used to Thursday night games – now I don’t always get a Thursday night game.  I was really looking forward to a game tonight…

So Toronto FC is on top of the east and the defending champions Columbus Crew are on the bottom only one point below MLS Cup runners up New York Red Bulls.  Something doesn’t seem right in this world right now.

I guess we have to wait for FC Dallas vs DC United on Saturday if you have FSC.  This game is going to be a re-match of a US Open Cup play-in game these 2 teams played in just over a week ago.  DC United won that game 2-0 to move in to the US Open Cup.  FC Dallas won’t have those pesky extra games messing up thier nice MLS schedule.  I imagine DC will win this one again.  FC Dallas could be in competition with the LA Galaxy for bottom of the league this year.

Can’t wait for that game!

Posted in Columbus Crew, DC United, FC Dallas, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC, US Open Cup | Comments (0)

Playoff race is on

posted by kidpurple September 24, 2008

With just about 5 weeks remaining in the regular season schedule the race to the playoffs is heating up. Here is a quick look at the current situation of each team

Columbus Crew

Columbus Crew 14-6-5 47pts

The Crew missed the playoffs last year and are on the top this year.  They have at least a spot in the playoffs clinched and are the only team to do so yet.

Last 5: W T W W W (13pts)

Remaining Schedule:

@ New England Revolution
LA GALAXY
@ Chicago Fire
@ New York Red Bulls
DC UNITED

New England Revolution 12-7-6 42pts

The Revolution are always near the top, usually going far into the playoffs and collecing some trophies (just not the MLS Cup).  This could be the year they get that MLS Cup.  They got SuperLiga and aren’t doing so bad at 2nd place in the league.

Last 5: T W L L T

Remaining Schedule:

COLUMBUS CREW
REAL SALT LAKE
@ Kansas City Wizards
@ DC United
Kansas City Wizards 

Houston Dynamo

Houston Dynamo 10-5-9 39pts

Defending MLS Cup champions have a habit of starting the season slow and peaking at the right time and they could do it again this year.

Last 5: T W W L W

Remaining Schedule:

@ Toronto FC
@ Colorado Rapids
DC UNITED
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
LA GALAXY

Chicago Fire

Chicago Fire 11-9-5 38pts

The Fire started out with a bang this season – for a while they held the top spot in the league.  Now they are in a slump but if they come out of it at the right time they can bean anyone and could add to their collection of silverware.

Last 5: L L W L L

Remaining Schedule:

LA GALAXY
@ Kansas City Wizards
COLUMBUS CREW
@ Toronto FC
NEW YORK RED BULLS

New York Red Bulls

New York Red Bulls 9-8-8 35pts

The Red Bulls have been all over the place, near the top and near the bottom.  You never know what the Red Bulls are gonna do.   They are currently 5th overall but currently 4th in the East with DC and KC within striking distance.  They could go either way in the playoff hunt but I’d expect to see them get in.

Last 5: L W L T W

Remaining Schedule:

COLORADO RAPIDS
TORONTO FC
@ Real Salt Lake
COLUMBUS CREW
@ Chicago Fire

DC United

DC United 10-12-3 33pts

One of the most successful clubs in MLS History, defenders of the Supporters’ Shield, DC United is going to make it close to the playoffs this year.  If they playoffs were to start today, they’d be the last team in.  There are a couple teams right on their heels.

Last 5: L T L T W

Remaining Schedule:

@ FC Dallas
CHIVAS USA
@ Houston Dynamo
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
@ Columbus Crew

Chivas USA

Chivas USA 9-10-6 33pts

Chivas USA were winners of the Western Conference last year and then took a first round exit from the playoffs.  Right now they have 2nd position in the West although they are 7th overall.

Last 5: W L W W T

Remaining Schedule:

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
@ DC United
@ San Jose Earthquakes
COLORADO RAPIDS
HOUSTON DYNAMO

Kansas City Wizards

Kansas City Wizards 8-9-8 32pts

The Wizards must like to cut it close.  They’ve gone down to the very last day of the regular season to determine their playoff fate a couple times in the past few years.  Right now they’ve got some ground to make up to get in this year.

Last 5: W W L L T

Remaining Schedule:

@ Chivas USA
CHICAGO FIRE
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
@ New England Revolution 

Colorado Rapids

Colorado Rapids 9-12-4 31pts

The Rapids have been up and down this year.  They missed the playoffs last year and hope to change that this year.  They are current tied on points with RSL for the 3rd position in the West – which will likely be the last position to get into the playoffs from the West.

Last 5: T W W L L

Remaining Schedule:

@ New York Red Bulls
HOUSTON DYNAMO
@ LA Galaxy
@ Chivas USA
REAL SALT LAKE

Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake 8-10-7 31pts

RSL have had a bit of a slide lately.  They had been on top of the West and looking forward to making the playoffs for the first time in their history.  Now they’ve got a battle to get there.  This could come down to the last game of the saeson when they play Colorado.

Last 5: L L T W L

Remaining Schedule:

@ San Jose Earthquakes
@ New England Revolution
NEW YORK RED BULLS
FC DALLAS
@ Colorado Rapids

FC Dallas

FC Dallas 7-9-9 30pts

FC Dallas could likely be one of the team that made the cut last year to drop out.  They have had their moments but not enough of them.  They are only 1 point away, but I think it is unlikely they move up.

Last 5: W T L L T

Remaining Schedule:

DC UNITED
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
TORONTO FC
@ Real Salt Lake
@ LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy 7-10-8 29pts

The Galaxy have had ups and downs as much as anyone in the leage.  For a while they got hot and led the west, they’ve also been on the bottom on the single table.  Chances of the Galaxy getting into the playoffs are not looking very good.

Last 5: W L T T L

Remaining Schedule:

@ Chicago Fire
@ Columbus Crew
COLORADO RAPIDS
@ Houston Dynamo
FC DALLAS

 San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose Earthquakes 7-9-8 29pts

The Earthquakes have been close to or at the very bottom for most of the year.  A first year team isn’t expected much more, but they have had a hot run in the 2nd half of the season.  They came up and threatened to take a playoff position, but now they’ve fallen back a little bit.

Last 5: T W W T W

Remaining Schedule:

REAL SALT LAKE
@ FC Dallas
CHIVAS USA
@ Houston Dynamo
@ Kansas City Wizards
TORONTO FC

Toronto FC

Toronto FC 7-12-6 27pts

TFC spent some impressive time in the playoff hunt, but now they sit at the bottom of the league.  It would take an amazing run to get them in now.

Last 5: L T L L T

Remaining Schedule:

HOUSTON DYNAMO
@ New York Red Bulls
@ FC Dallas
CHICAGO FIRE
@ San Jose Earthquakes

Posted in Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, DC United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto FC, Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Bad day for MLS at SuperLiga

posted by kidpurple July 16, 2008

Group A played the 2nd round of games yesterday and neither of our MLS teams fared very well. Chivas scored the only goal of the game to beat Houston 1-0. This put Chivas into the semifinals. Atlante secured a 3-2 victory over DC United which ensures that DC United has no chance at the semi-finals. So this is what the table looks like now.

Group A
pts – w – l – t – (gf – ga) team
6 – 2 – 0 – 0 – (3-1) CD Guadalajara
3 – 1 – 1 – 0 – (4-1) Houston Dynamo
3 – 1 – 1 – 0 – (3-6) Atlante
0 – 0 – 2 – 0 – (3-5) D.C. United

The remaining games are Houston Dynamo vs DC United and Chivas vs Atlante.

What if Houston and Atlante both win?

Chivas, Houston and Atlante all end with 6 points. Only the top 2 teams advance to the semi-finals.

In that case goal difference would be the first tie-breaker. Houston is already +3 and would improve that with a victory. Chivas is +2 but would go lower with a loss. This would make sure Houston is ranked higher than Chivas. Atlante is -3 currently meaning they would need to beat Chivas by at least 7 goals to match Houston’s total – and that is if Houston only gets a victory by 1 goal difference. In this situation Houston would likely win the group.

What if Chivas and DC United win?

In this case Chivas win the group with a perfect 9 points. Houston, Atlante and DC United all have 3 points. Houston is +3, DC United is -2 and Atlante is -3 on goal difference. Houston and Atlante’s GD goes down and DC’s goes up. If DC were able to beat Houston by 3 goals they would have the best GD of these three teams, sending them onto the semi-finals.

To simplify it a little bit: Chivas will probably advance and DC United is probably done. Houston is in better position to take 2nd place in the group, but Atlante has a shot at it.

Posted in Atlante FC, CD Guadalajara, DC United, Houston Dynamo, SuperLiga | Comments (0)

Superliga in full swing

posted by kidpurple July 15, 2008

The 2008 Superliga will get on with the 2nd round of games today. This is what the groups look like right now:

Group A
pts – w – l – t – (gf – ga) team
3 – 1 – 0 – 0 – (4-0) Houston Dynamo
3 – 1 – 0 – 0 – (2-1) CD Guadalajara
0 – 0 – 1 – 0 (1-2) D.C. United
0 – 0 – 1 – 0 (0-4) Atlante

Group B
pts – w – l – t – (gf – ga) team
3 – 1 – 0 – 0 – (2-1) Pachuca CF
3 – 1 – 0 – 0 – (1-0) New England Revolution
0 – 0 – 1 – 0 (1-2) Chivas USA
0 – 0 – 1 – 0 (0-1) Santos Laguna

Today the next round of games for group A take place. Catch these games with Spanish commentary if you have Telefutura.

DC United

D.C. United (0pts) vs Atlante (0pts)
RFK Stadium – 7:00 p.m. CST
Telefutura

Houston Dynamo

Houston Dynamo (3pts) vs CD Guadalajara (3pts)
Robertson Stadium – 9:00 p.m. CST
Telefutura

Posted in Atlante FC, CD Guadalajara, DC United, Houston Dynamo, SuperLiga | Comments (0)

MLS vs USL in US Open Cup Final

posted by kidpurple July 9, 2008

We will have one MLS team and one USL team in the US Open Cup Final this year. Two MLS powerhouses will play each other in one semi-final while two USL teams will do battle in the other semi-final.

The New England Revolution beat Crystal Palace Baltimore on PKs after a 1-1 draw to move into the semis with DC United who beat fellow MLSers Chicago Fire.

On the other side of the tournament we had the Charleston Battery beat FC Dallas 3-1 and the Seattle Sounders beat the Kansas City Wizards 6-5 on PKs after a scoreless draw.

This will be only the 3rd time since the beginning of Major League Soccer that a non MLS team has advanced to the final. In 1996 DC United beat the Rochester Raging Rhinos 3-0 in the final. Three years later the Rochester Raging Rhinos made it to the final again and this time came out victorious with a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Since that game the final has seen nothing but MLS teams – until now.

Posted in Charleston Battery, DC United, New England Revolution, Seattle Sounders, US Open Cup | Comments (0)

US Open Cup round of 16 results

posted by kidpurple July 2, 2008

A couple MLS teams dropped out of the US Open Cup last night to lower league opponents. Here are all the results:

Crystal Palace Baltimore 2 -0 New York Red Bulls

Richmond Kickers 0 – 3 New England Revolution

Cleveland City Stars 1 – 4 Chicago Fire

Rochester Rhinos 0 – 2 DC United

Miami FC Blues 1 – 2 FC Dallas

Charsleston Battery (4-3 on PKs) 1 – 1 Houston Dynamo

Carolina Railhawks 2 – 4 Kansas City Wizards

Seattle Sounders 2 – 0 Chivas USA

So we are left with 5 MLS teams, a single USL-2 team and a pair of USL-1 teams. This is what the quarterfinals look like for next week. Both the Revolution and DC United will not host these games at their normal home field. Dallas will be at Pizza Hut Park for their game.

Crystal Palace Baltimore at New England Revolution

Chicago Fire at DC United

Charleston Battery at FC Dallas

Kansas City Wizards at Seattle Sounders

Posted in Charleston Battery, Chicago Fire, Crystal Palace Baltimore, DC United, FC Dallas, Kansas City Wizards, New England Revolution, Seattle Sounders, US Open Cup | Comments (0)

US Open Cup Update

posted by kidpurple June 30, 2008

The third round of the US Open Cup is upon us.  There are 8 MLS teams remaining in the tournament – each of which will face a non-MLS team.

Three teams from the USL Second Division have made it to the round of 16.  These teams all face MLS teams in this round.  Here are those matchups:

Crystal Palace Baltimore vs. New York Red Bulls

Richmond Kickers vs. New England Revolution

Cleveland City Stars vs. Chicago Fire

The remaining lower level teams all came from the USL First Division:

Rochester Rhinos vs. DC United

Miami FC Blues vs. FC Dallas

Charsleston Battery vs. Houston Dynamo

Carolina Railhawks vs. Kansas City Wizards

Seattle Sounders vs. Chivas USA

The previous round saw the exit of 8 more USL First and Second Division teams along with the only team from outside USL to make it that far – Hollywood United.  Hollywood United are a part of the United States Adult Soccer Association.

What MLS teams may fall to their lower league opponents?

Posted in Carolina Railhawks, Charleston Battery, Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, Cleveland City Stars, Crystal Palace Baltimore, DC United, FC Dallas, Hollywood United, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Miami FC Blues, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Richmond Kickers, Rochester Rhinos, Seattle Sounders, US Open Cup | Comments (0)

Revolution will play Joe Public in Champions League

posted by kidpurple June 12, 2008

It sounds like a joke, but the New England Revolution have been drawn against Joe Public FC in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions League. Joe Public FC is actually a real team and they are two time champions of Trinidad & Tobago. They played DC United in 1998 in the Champions Cup – DC United beat them 8-0 on their way to winning that Champions Cup.

Chivas USA will also be playing in the first round of the Champions League. They have drawn Tauro FC – the most successful Panamanian club in the history of their professional league.

DC United and Houston Dynamo are also in the tournament but they will skip the first round and go directly to the group stage. Here is the full schedule for the first round of the tournament. The group stage starts September 16th.

First leg (Aug. 26-28, 2008)
CD Municipal or Deportivo Jalapa (GUA) – San Francisco FC (PAN)
Joe Public FC (TRI) – New England Revolution (USA)
LD Alajuelense (CRC) – Puerto Rico Islanders
CDSC Cruz Azul (MEX) – Hankook Verdes (BLZ)
Harbour View FC (JAM) – Pumas UNAM (MEX)
Tauro FC (PAN) – Chivas USA (USA)
Canadian champion – Nicaraguan champion
CD Isidro Metapan (SLV) – CD Olimpia or CD Marathon (HON)

Second leg (Sept. 2-4, 2008)
San Francisco FC (PAN) – CD Municipal or Deportivo Jalapa (GUA)
New England Revolution (USA) – Joe Public FC (TRI)
Puerto Rico Islanders – LD Alajuelense (CRC)
Hankook Verdes (BLZ) – CDSC Cruz Azul (MEX)
Pumas UNAM (MEX) – Harbour View FC (JAM)
Chivas USA (USA) – Tauro FC (PAN)
Nicaraguan champion – Canadian champion
CD Olimpia or CD Marathon (HON) – CD Isidro Metapan (SLV)

Posted in CONCACAF Champions League, Chivas USA, DC United, Houston Dynamo, Joe Public FC, New England Revolution, Tauro FC | Comments (0)

An odd turn of events

posted by kidpurple May 23, 2008

Like much of the current MLS season, last night was a little bit odd.

Expansion teams are supposed to suck – unless you are the Chicago Fire.

So last night the new San Jose Earthquakes, the expansion team, beat the old Earthquakes and 2 time defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo 2-1. This win for the Earthquakes puts last years Supporters’ Shield winner (DC United) into last place.

Meanwhile the Columbus Crew are still on top of the league. The Crew have been miserable since 2004.

It sure is going to be an exciting season!

Posted in Columbus Crew, DC United, Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes | Comments (0)

CONCACAF Champions League

posted by kidpurple May 15, 2008

Four MLS teams are already qualified for the very first CONCACAF Champions League, and Toronto FC have a good chance of going as well. Since the spots in the tournament are given out to countries and not leagues – Toronto FC have a qualifying tournament with the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.

Representing the MLS will be:

  • Houston Dynamo – MLS Cup Champions
  • DC United – Regular season champions
  • New England Revolution – MLS Cup Runner-up
  • Chivas USA – Regular season runner-up (this spot would go to US Open Cup Champions but that was New England who is already in)

Mexico will also be sending 4 teams while Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama will each send 2 teams. Beleize, Nicaragua and Canada each send 1 team while 3 teams will come out of the Caribbean.

The first round of the tournament starts August 26th with all but the top 6 seeded teams playing home and away matches.  Houston Dynamo and DC United are 2 of the 6 seeded teams that don’t have to play in the first round of matches.

Posted in CONCACAF Champions League, Chivas USA, DC United, Houston Dynamo, New England Revolution, Toronto FC | Tagged | Comments (0)