Friday, September 12, 2008

Time to Go

I don’t think anyone can remember the last time I wrote. It’s been a strange couple months…

Anyway, I’m back, at least for today. I thought I’d again share my MLS predictions. Not like I have a lot of knowledge in this area. Let’s see what happens.

Columbus Crew at Toronto FC
I think when the season started, 24 short weeks ago; no one expected from the Columbus Crew what they have delivered. They are top of the Eastern Conference and show no signs of lagging. Not so for Toronto. They showed some definite promise earlier in the season, but all signs of that have disappeared. Columbus is simply the best squad. And Toronto at home is not as scary as once they were.

Houston Dynamo at San Jose Earthquakes
Both these teams had a rather rough start to the season. San Jose did the usual “we’re a first year expansion team” thing. Houston…well, I don’t know what was going on there. But with their current run of form, you wouldn’t guess they were ever struggling. Houston is #1 in the west and San Jose came from being last place just a few weeks ago, to being fourth place. I’d rather see San Jose win this contest, and chances are they could, but my money is on Houston.

FC Dallas at DC United
Dallas, bless their hearts, have not won in four games. They conceded a victory to Colorado last week, which in my opinion was one of the most boring games I have ever seen. Kenny Cooper is flat and Jeff Cunningham is showing again he’s not worth his salt. DC, while proud winners of the US Open Cup trophy, have not won a league match since August 23rd. Even so, I expect this game to go to them.

RSL at Red Bull New York
I love the boys in red, but for some reason they cannot win road games. Last weekend they were clearly the better team, but only managed to keep one point against LA. The fact is; if they want into the playoffs, they must win road games. And they will have to do it without Fabian Espindola. He is out for at least 4 weeks. New York has not being playing awful soccer, so I expect a Real loss.

LA Galaxy at Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City can’t win. LA can’t win. LA, while able to score a lot of goals, cannot manage to stop their opponents from doing the same. I expect a high scoring tie.

Chicago Fire at Colorado Rapids
Both of these teams managed to win last week. Colorado’s victory was flat. Chicago’s victory was lucky. I don’t expect a repeat performance from either, but if I have to pick one of these teams, I would go with Chicago.