Major League Soccer Match Picks, Week 7

Horrible week last week. I was only 1 for 7. 33% on the year.

Here's my picks this week:

Winners:

Montreal Impact
Philadelphia Union
Vancouver Whitecaps
DC United
FC Dallas
Chivas USA
Houston Dynamo

Draws:

Seattle Sounders vs New England Revolution
Portland Timbers vs San Jose Earthquakes

Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Matchweek 18, 7/10/12

Welcome to the top D.C. United!

D.C. United grabs the top spot this week by the slightest of margins over the San Jose Earthquakes.

Biggest move up in this week's rankings? The Philadelphia Union 7 spots to #11 and the New England Revolution up 6 spots to #7.

Biggest drops? The Colorado Rapids drop 7 spots to #18 and the Columbus Crew drop 6 spots to #10.

My Matchweek 18 Power Rankings:

1) D.C. United (East)

2) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

3) Chicago Fire (East)

4) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

5) LA Galaxy (West)

6) Sporting Kansas City (East)

7) New England Revolution (East)

8) New York Red Bulls (East)

9) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

10) Columbus Crew (East)

11) Philadelphia Union (East)

12) Houston Dynamo (East)

13) Real Salt Lake (West)

14) Portland Timbers (West)

15) Chivas USA (West)

16) Montreal Impact (East)

17) Toronto FC (East)

18) Colorado Rapids (West)

19) FC Dallas (West)

Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Match Week 17, July 1, 2012

I haven't posted these since week 12 (May 30th). I have still been tracking, but got a little lazy in posting them.

The San Jose Earthquakes are #1!

My Match Week 17 rankings:

1) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

2) D.C. United (East)

3) Chicago Fire (East)

4) Columbus Crew (East)

5) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

6) New York Red Bulls (East)

7) Sporting Kansas City (East)

8) LA Galaxy (West)

9) Real Salt Lake (West)

10) Houston Dynamo (East)

11) Colorado Rapids (West)

12) Portland Timbers (West)

13) New England Revolution (East)

14) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

15) Chivas USA (West)

16) Montreal Impact (East)

17) Toronto FC (East)

18) Philadelphia Union (East)

19) FC Dallas (West)

Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 12, 5/30/12

Since Major League Soccer is on an International break, this will be the last Power Ranking for a couple of weeks.

The New York Red Bulls maintain the top spot this week and the Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders make some big moves, although in opposite directions.

Biggest risers? The Columbus Crew rise 10 spots, the Houston Dynamo rise 5.

Biggest drops? The Seattle Sounders drop 8 spots, the Portland Timbers drop 3.

My week 12 rankings:

1) New York Red Bulls (East)

2) Real Salt Lake (West)

3) D.C. United (East)

4) Columbus Crew (East)

5) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

6) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

7) Colorado Rapids (West)

8) Houston Dynamo (East)

9) Sporting Kansas City (East)

10) Chicago Fire (East)

11) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

12) New England Revolution (East)

13) Portland Timbers (West)

14) Montreal Impact (East)

15) Chivas USA (West)

16) FC Dallas (West)

17) LA Galaxy (West)

18) Philadelphia Union (East)

19) Toronto FC (East)

Major League Soccer Match Predictions, Matchweek 11, Saturday and Sunday Matches

With Portland and Houston playing to a scoreless draw and DC United beating Colorado I am 1 for 2 so far this matchweek.

Here are my predictions for the Saturday and Sunday matches:

Saturday 5/19/12 Matches:

Vancouver will draw Seattle at home
Montreal will draw the New York Red Bulls at home
DC United will beat Toronto FC at home
New England will beat Houston at home
FC Dallas will draw Philadelphia at home
Colorado will draw Sporting Kansas City at home
San Jose will beat Columbus at home
Chivas USA will draw the LA Galaxy at home

Sunday 5/20/12 Match:

Portland will draw Chicago at home

By the way, MLSSoccer.com has a new fantasy pick 'em game-check it out!

http://games.mlssoccer.com/

Major League Soccer Match Predictions, Matchweek 11, Tuesday, Wednesday Matches

So far this year I am 14 for 30 in my match predictions, a success rate of 46.6%.

My predictions for the MLS midweek matches:

Tonight, 5/15/12:

Houston beats Portland at home

Wednesday 5/16/12:

DC United beats Colorado at home

Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Matchweek 9

The Seattle Sounders Take over the Top Spot This Week!

The top 5 remain the same in this week's rankings, but with a reordering. The Seattle Sounders take over the top spot, with last week's #1, Sporting Kansas City dropping down to #3. The New York Red Bulls swapped positions with DC United, taking over the 4th spot.

Biggest move up? The Montreal Impact moves up six spots to #9.

Biggest drops? FC Dallas drops 7 spots to #15 and the LA Galaxy drops 3 spots to #12.

This week's rankings:

1) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

2) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

3) Sporting Kansas City (East)

4) New York Red Bulls (East)

5) D.C. United (East)

6) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

7) Real Salt Lake (West)

8) Chicago Fire (East)

9) Montreal Impact (East)

10) Colorado Rapids (West)

11) Houston Dynamo (East)

12) LA Galaxy (West)

13) Philadelphia Union (East)

14) Chivas USA (West)

15) FC Dallas (West)

16) Portland Timbers (West)

17) New England Revolution (East)

18) Columbus Crew (East)

19) Toronto FC (East)

Major League Soccer Match Predictions, Matchweek 9, Saturday and Sunday Matches, 5/5/12

I picked Seattle's victory over the Galaxy and San Jose's victory over DC United correctly, but got the other two matches played this week wrong.

Here are the balance of my picks for this week:

Saturday 5/5 Matches:

Sporting KC will beat Montreal at home

Columbus will draw at Portland

DC United will win at Toronto

Seattle will beat Philadelphia at home

San Jose will draw at Vancouver

New York will draw at the Galaxy

Real Salt Lake will beat New England at home

Sunday 5/6 Match:

FC Dallas will beat Colorado at home

Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Matchweek 8

They Were Idle. Why Should They Lose the Top Spot?

Biggest climbers? Vancouver Whitecaps, Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas Biggest drops? Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA 1) Sporting Kansas City (East)

2) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

3) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

4) D.C. United (East)

5) New York Red Bulls (East)

6) Real Salt Lake (West)

7) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

8) FC Dallas (West)

9) LA Galaxy (West)

10) Chicago Fire (East)

11) Colorado Rapids (West)

12) Houston Dynamo (East)

13) Philadelphia Union (East)

14) Chivas USA (West)

15) Montreal Impact (East)

16) New England Revolution (East)

17) Columbus Crew (East)

18) Portland Timbers (West)

19) Toronto FC (East)

Major League Soccer Match Winner Predictions, Matchweek 8, 4/28/12

Time to pick a few winners based on this week's Major League Soccer Power Rankings.

Just winners. Note I also take into account the Major League soccer historical advantage to home teams in making these picks:

Montreal wins at home against Portland
New York wins at home against New England
San Jose wins at Philadelphia
Columbus wins at home against Vancouver
D.C. United wins at home against Houston
Real Salt Lake wins at home against Toronto
The LA Galaxy wins against FC Dallas at home

Major League Soccer Power Rankings-Matchweek 7

Sporting Kansas City is #1 in My First Major League Soccer Power Ranking This Year!

With every Major League Soccer team having played 5 matches at this point in the season, I'm ready to publish my first Power Ranking of the 2012 season.

Last year I published my philosophy in producing these rankings. It might need a little tweaking this year due to the unbalanced schedule, but for now I'll stick with last year's formula.

Here are my inaugural 2012 rankings:

1) Sporting Kansas City
2) San Jose Earthquakes
3) Real Salt Lake
4) Seattle Sounders
5) D.C. United
6) Houston Dynamo
7) New York Red Bulls
8) Chicago Fire
9) LA Galaxy
10) Chivas USA
11) FC Dallas
12) Vancouver Whitecaps
13) Philadelphia Union
14) Columbus Crew
15) New England Revolution
16) Colorado Rapids
17) Montreal Impact
18) Portland Timbers
19) Toronto FC

I'm 0 for 2 So Far This Week In Major League Soccer Predictions

Earlier in the week I picked DC United to beat Chivas USA and the Portland Timbers to beat the San Jose Earthquakes.

Both matches ended in draws, so I'm 0 for 2 so far this week. 13 for 36 on the year, a 36% success result.

After running my model, none of the Saturday matches show a definitive result, so I'm not going to pick any of them

Still looking at a Chicago Fire win over the New England Revolution on Sunday 9/25.

Four for Four! Good Weekend For Me and My Major League Soccer Picks! 9/18/11

That's more like it! My strategy of only picking Major League Soccer matches that I thought were locks worked.

I picked four matches this weekend, and got them all correct. As a review I had the Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders, Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy all winning, and they did! I am now 13 for 34, or 38% for the season.

Here are three picks for the coming week. I will wait to see the results of all the Wednesday, 9/21 matches before I look at the matches played by those teams on Saturday 9/24.

Locks for the week:

Wednesday 9/21:

DC United will beat Chivas USA

The Portland Timber will beat the San Jose Earthquakes

Sunday 9/25:

The Chicago Fire will beat the New England Revolution

The Galaxy Will Not Relinquish #1! Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 26, 9/13/11

The Galaxy is #1 Again

The Los Angeles Galaxy continue to maintain the top spot in my rankings this week. It doesn't look like anyone will overtake them!

Biggest jumps up in the rankings this week? Sporting KC jumped up 7 spots and the New England Revolution jumped up 4 spots.

Biggest drops? Chivas USA dropped 6 spots and the Columbus Crew dropped 5.

Best current form? Real Salt Lake, the Seattle Sounders and the LA Galaxy.

Worst form? Chivas USA and the Philadelphia Union.

My week 26 Major League Soccer Power Rankings:

1) LA Galaxy (West)

2) Real Salt Lake (West)

3) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

4) Sporting Kansas City (East)

5) D.C. United (East)

6) Colorado Rapids (West)

7) Houston Dynamo (East)

8) FC Dallas (West)

9) Portland Timbers (West)

10) Columbus Crew (East)

11) Toronto FC (East)

12) Chicago Fire (East)

13) New England Revolution (East)

14) New York Red Bulls (East)

15) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

16) Philadelphia Union (East)

17) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

18) Chivas USA (West)

Breathe...Toronto FC 4, Columbus Crew 2, 9/10/11

Final score, Toronto FC 4, the Columbus Crew 2. At COLUMBUS CREW STADIUM!

Breathe, deep breaths...

Tell yourself everything is going to be OK with the Columbus Crew.

Tell yourself that giving up 10 goals in their last two matches is nothing to be concerned about.

Tell yourself that seeing William Hesmer play his worst game...ever...is nothing to be concerned about.

Tell yourself that the starting back four of Sebastian Miranda, Chad Marshall, Julius James and Josh Gardner will communicate better in their next match.

Trillium Cup Goes to Toronto FC (Getty Images)

Tell yourself that the Crew midfield will not fail to connect on their passes like they did last night.

Tell yourself that losing to Toronto FC...FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER is only a blip, the Crew will recover.

Tell yourself we will see Eddie Gaven return to the line-up.

Tell yourself that the Crew will get things together in time for their Wednesday night home match against the Houston Dynamo.

Tell yourself the Crew will still be in playoff position after their next five matches, where they play four other teams in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference who are in playoff position (the Houston Dynamo, Philadelphia Union, Sporting Kansas City and DC United) and the best team in all of Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Breath...

0 for 1 So Far, Major League Soccer Match Predictions

With the Portland Timbers beating Chivas USA last night 1-0, I'm 0 for 1 on my predictions so far this week, dropping my overall percentage to 40%.

Here are my predictions for this weekend's matches:

Seattle beats Columbus.

Vancouver and Houston draw.

Toronto beats San Jose.

DC United beats Portland.

Sporting KC beats Dallas.

Chicago and Colorado Draw.

Chivas USA beats Real Salt Lake.

My 2011 Major League Soccer Predictions

Can't get enough of the prediction game. I realize Major League Soccer had their First Kick last weekend, so I'm cheating a bit by making my predictions now.

2011 Eastern Conference Champions:

New York Red Bull

2011 Western Conference Champions:

Real Salt Lake

2011 MLS Cup Playoff Teams:



2011 Supporters Shield Winner!

New York Red Bull

DC United

Columbus Crew

Real Salt Lake

LA Galaxy

Colorado Rapids

Sporting KC

San Jose Earthquakes

Philadelphia Union

Houston Dynamo

2011 Supporters Shield Winner:

Real Salt Lake

2011 MLS Cup Champion:

New York Red Bull



2011 MLS Cup Champion!



DC United 3, Crew 1

Charlie Davies (Getty Images)

Had to watch this game on the DVR. Turned it off last night after Charlie Davies scored on a PK to make it 2-0.

Watched the rest this morning. Some quick thoughts, keeping in mind this is the first game of the year.

- DC United looks like a much improved team from last year. The additions of Dax McCarty in the midfield and Josh Wolff up top were certainly factors in the game.

- DC United and American soccer fans should feel great about Charlie Davies' return to competitive soccer. 2 goals, one on a PK and a second after he beat Chad Marshall were the feel good moments of the match, even for a Crew fan like me.

- The Crew have some work to do. The two goals scored by DC United during the run of play were off of defensive blunders by Rich Balchan and Chad Marshall. Both got beat one-on-one while losing their footing. Chad Marshall doesn't usually get beat like that. Rich Balchan is a rookie and is learning. MLS teams will continue to attack the right side so he will continue to be tested.

- The Emmanuel Ekpo experiment as a central midfielder should end now. Too many give-aways, no offensive creativity last night. He is best used wide.

- Robbie Rogers and Tom Heinemann provided offensive sparks off the bench late in the match. Admittedly the Crew were down 3-0 when they began to show life in the final third, but it is reason for optimism. Maybe Robbie Rogers got the message after not being in the staring 11 last night.

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