Forgot to Post This Tuesday. Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Matchweek 11

I forgot to post this before last night's Major League Soccer Matches-so pretend they didn't happen...

The New York Red Bulls take over the top spot this week!

1) New York Red Bulls (East)

2) Real Salt Lake (West)

3) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

4) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

5) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

6) D.C. United (East)

7) Sporting Kansas City (East)

8) Chicago Fire (East)

9) Colorado Rapids (West)

10) Portland Timbers (West)

11) New England Revolution (East)

12) Montreal Impact (East)

13) Houston Dynamo (East)

14) Columbus Crew (East)

15) Chivas USA (West)

16) Philadelphia Union (East)

17) LA Galaxy (West)

18) FC Dallas (West)

19) Toronto FC (East)

Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Matchweek 10

The Sounders Maintain the Top Spot!

The Sounders maintain the top spot this week, but there was a significant shuffle in the top 5, with Sporting Kansas City and DC United dropping out, and Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire moving in.

Who climbed this week? The New England Revolution climbs 5 spots, while Real Salt Lake and the Columbus Crew each climb 4.

Who dropped? Sporting Kansas City drops 4 spots. DC United and FC Dallas each drop 3.

Matchweek 10 Rankings:

1) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

2) New York Red Bulls (East)

3) Real Salt Lake (West)

4) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

5) Chicago Fire (East)

6) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

7) Sporting Kansas City (East)

8) D.C. United (East)

9) Colorado Rapids (West)

10) Montreal Impact (East)

11) Houston Dynamo (East)

12) New England Revolution (East)

13) LA Galaxy (West)

14) Columbus Crew (East)

15) Philadelphia Union (East)

16) Chivas USA (West)

17) Portland Timbers (West)

18) FC Dallas (West)

19) Toronto FC (East)

Major League Soccer Match Predictions, Matchweek 10, Saturday and Sunday Matches

I was 2 for 3 on my Wednesday match predictions. Here are my match predictions for the balance of the week:

Saturday, May 12 Matches:

The Montreal Impact will beat the LA Galaxy at home
The Houston Dynamo will draw DC United at home
The Columbus Crew will beat FC Dallas at home
New England will draw Vancouver at home
Chicago will draw Sporting Kansas City at home
The Seattle Sounders will beat Real Salt Lake at home

Sunday, May 13 Matches:

Philadelphia will draw New York at home
The San Jose Earthquakes will beat Chivas USA at home

Major League Soccer Match Predictions, Matchweek 10, Wednesday 5/9/12 Matches

Three mid-week matches this week.

Wednesday 5/9/12:

The New York Red Bulls will beat the Houston Dynamo at home.
The Chicago Fire will beat Real Salt Lake at home.
The Seattle Sounders will win at FC Dallas.

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 Match Predictions, Matchweek 9, 5/1/12

Last week I only picked winners. I was 5 for 7, not a bad start for my prediction season.

I'm going to pick all the results for this week, putting my rankings to the test (Note, I will pick the weekend matches that involve teams playing midweek after those matches are completed.):

Wednesday 5/2 Matches:
Colorado will draw at New England
Seattle will beat the Galaxy at home
San Jose will beat DC United at home

Friday 5/4 Match:
Chicago will draw at Chivas USA

Saturday 5/5 Matches:
Sporting KC will beat Montreal at home
Columbus will draw at Portland
DC United at Toronto
Philadelphia at Seattle
San Jose at Vancouver
New York at the Galaxy
New England at Real Salt Lake

Sunday 5/6 Match:
Colorado at FC Dallas

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 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've Got Some Explaining To Do...Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 27, 9/19/11

I've spent some time on past Major League Soccer Power Rankings posts documenting my philosophy when compiling them each week.


I still like to tweak my formula, but since there are a few surprises (at first glance) in the top ten this week I thought I would post a little more detail/philosophy.


My overriding philosophy in my rankings is to rank the teams from top to bottom in Major League Soccer on who is playing best at that point in time based on a formula. I am not trying to predict how the season will end with these rankings. Theoretically, the top team in my rankings on any given week should be able to beat the other seventeen on a neutral field that given week, the second team should beat the sixteen below them, etc.


I don't purely go by this when I make my MLS match predictions, as I look at each teams' ranking score in my formula and their differential to determine whether the match can be predicted. So if the #1 team's score in my rankings has a very small differential with #2, I wouldn't necessarily pick the #1 team to win. I also take into account the predominant home field advantage that historically exists in the MLS to make my pick.

So what is my formula? I take season to date points per game (not goals, but points earned) as I feel teams should be rewarded for their long term performance in my rankings.  I combine that with points per game in a team's last five matches (a reflection of who is currently hot) to come up with a team's score. I weight season-long performance 60% in my formula and the last five matches' performance 40%. In the last five matches' average I give a higher weighting for away wins, and will punish a team for a home loss.

The LA Galaxy are #1

My Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week #27:

1) LA Galaxy (West)

2) Real Salt Lake (West)

3) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

4) Portland Timbers (West)

5) Toronto FC (East)

6) Chicago Fire (East)

7) D.C. United (East)

8) Houston Dynamo (East)

9) New York Red Bulls (East)

10) Sporting Kansas City (East)

11) Philadelphia Union (East)

12) Colorado Rapids (West)

13) FC Dallas (West)

14) Columbus Crew (East)

15) New England Revolution (East)

16) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

17) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

18) Chivas USA (West)

At first glance, I'm thinking that readers are going to look at this week's rankings and are going to wonder why two teams with a slim to none chance at making the MLS Playoffs, the Chicago Fire and Toronto FC are ranked so high, and virtual locks for the playoffs, FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew are ranked so low.


The reason is current form (last five matches) and it's 40% weighting in my formula. Here are the teams ranked by current form this week:

1) Real Salt Lake (West)

2) LA Galaxy (West)

3) Toronto FC (East)

4) (3-way tie) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

Portland Timbers (West)

Chicago Fire (East)

7) D.C. United (East)

8) (2-way tie) Houston Dynamo (East)

New York Red Bulls (East)

10) (2-way tie) Sporting Kansas City (East)

New England Revolution (East)

12) (2-way tie) Philadelphia Union (East)

Colorado Rapids (West)

14) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

15) (3-way tie) FC Dallas (West)

Columbus Crew (East)

San Jose Earthquakes (West)

18) Chivas USA (West)

Toronto FC (last 5, WLTWW) and the Chicago Fire (TWWLW) are playing very well right now and are ranked in the top six in MLS for their last five matches. FC Dallas (TLWLL) and the Columbus Crew (WLLTL) are currently playing very poorly and are ranked in the bottom four.

I have admittedly questioned the 40% weighting on current form, but if I'm going to use these rankings to predict match results, I feel I have to look at who's hot and take that into account.

So that's my explanation. Not perfect, but it entertains me.

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

Major League Soccer Picks For Week 27, 9/15/11

Last week was horrible for me. I only predicted two out of the ten Major League Soccer matches correctly, the home victory by the LA Galaxy over Colorado, and the draw between the Philadelphia Union and Portland Timbers. Combined with me incorrectly picking the Columbus Crew over the Houston Dynamo last night, I'm now nine for thirty, or 30%.

But I will keep trying.

I'm gonna change this week and only pick matches that I believe are locks. If it's not a definitive in my model, I'm not going to pick'em.

Here you go:

9/17 Matches:

The LA Galaxy will beat Vancouver

The Chicago Fire will beat Chivas USA

The Seattle Sounders will beat DC United

Real Salt Lake will beat Sporting KC

The Galaxy Will Be Big Winners Saturday!

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)

Predicted The Sporting KC/LA Galaxy Draw Correctly...Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 25, 9/5/11

I was a perfect 2 for 2 on my predictions for this weekend's Major League Soccer Matches, getting both the Real Salt Lake victory and the Sporting KC/LA Galaxy draw correct. I am now 7 for 19 on the year, a 37% accuracy rating.

The LA Galaxy Are #1 Again!

There were just a couple of changes to my Major League Soccer Power Rankings this week with only two matches played.

Real Salt Lake's victory over Philadelphia pushed them up two spots in this week's ranking to #4 overall, while Sporting Kansas City's home draw this evening against the LA Galaxy dropped them two spots to #11 in this week's rankings.

My week 25 Major League Soccer Power Rankings:

1) LA Galaxy (West)

2) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

3) Colorado Rapids (West)

4) Real Salt Lake (West)

5) Columbus Crew (East)

6) FC Dallas (West)

7) D.C. United (East)

8) Houston Dynamo (East)

9) Portland Timbers (West)

10) Chicago Fire (East)

11) Sporting Kansas City (East)

12) Chivas USA (West)

13) Philadelphia Union (East)

14) Toronto FC (East)

15) New York Red Bulls (East)

16) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

17) New England Revolution (East)

18) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

My Predictions For This Weekend's Major League Soccer Matches, 9/2/11

I had a horrible week last week with my predictions. Out of eight matches played I only got one prediction correct, the Seattle Sounders win over the Columbus Crew.

I am now 5 for 17 for the year, a 29% accuracy rating.

Undaunted, I will forge ahead...

There are only two Major League Soccer matches this weekend. What will the results be?

In the Saturday, September 3rd match, I predict a Real Salt Lake Victory over the Philadelphia Union.

And on Labor Day, Monday, September 5th, I predict a draw between Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy!

Real Salt Lake! A Big Winner This Weekend!

Your #1, The LA Galaxy! Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 24, 8/31/2011

#1 Again, The LA Galaxy!

Quick post this week...

My week 24 Major League Soccer Power Rankings:

1) LA Galaxy (West)

2) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

3) Colorado Rapids (West)

4) Columbus Crew (East)

5) FC Dallas (West)

6) Real Salt Lake (West)

7) D.C. United (East)

8) Houston Dynamo (East)

9) Sporting Kansas City (East)

10) Portland Timbers (West)

11) Chicago Fire (East)

12) Chivas USA (West)

13) Philadelphia Union (East)

14) Toronto FC (East)

15) New York Red Bulls (East)

16) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

17) New England Revolution (East)

18) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

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.

The LA Galaxy Will Not Relent! Predictions From This Weekend and My Major League Soccer Power Rankings, Week 23, 8/22/11

Another week, another week on top of the Rankings...or so says the LA Galaxy.

But first, a look at my Major League Soccer match predictions from this past weekend.

I picked the nine matches that were played this past Saturday and Sunday based on my rankings system, and taking into account the home field advantage so prevalent in Major League Soccer.

My results?

I correctly picked the result in four of the nine matches played. (The New England/New York draw, and the wins by Columbus, Portland and Los Angeles.) My prediction rate is a whopping 44%. I'm going to stick with the system next week.

The LA Galaxy Are On Top Again!

Some notes regarding this week's Rankings:

- Biggest jumps up? Chicago climbed 6 spots, Sporting KC climbed 5.

- Biggest decline? FC Dallas dropped 5 spots.

- Best current form? The LA Galaxy, Columbus and Colorado.

- Poorest current form? San Jose.

My week 23 Major League Soccer Rankings:

1) LA Galaxy (West)

2) Columbus Crew (East)

3) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

4) Colorado Rapids (West)

5) Houston Dynamo (East)

6) Sporting Kansas City (East)

7) D.C. United (East)

8) Chivas USA (West)

9) FC Dallas (West)

10) Portland Timbers (West)

11) Real Salt Lake (West)

12) Chicago Fire (East)

13) Philadelphia Union (East)

14) New York Red Bulls (East)

15) Toronto FC (East)

16) New England Revolution (East)

17) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

18) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

The The LA Galaxy Maintain the Top Spot! Major League Soccer Power Rankings Week 22, 8/15/11

The LA Galaxy Maintain the Top Spot!

My Major League Soccer Rankings are pretty much for my own entertainment. I like messing around with numbers, and am a big fan of the MLS, so why not combine the two.

I have been publishing my rankings since matchweek 5. My intent with the rankings is to judge who are the best teams top to bottom at this point in the season. My intent is not to predict how the season will end.

I have been trying to figure out a way to look at how accurate my rankings are. Haven't really figured out a way, but I think the best way would be to try to look at the rankings for the current week and how those rankings predict the results on the field. More to come on that.

I have made a minor adjustment to my formula this week. Specifically, the way I was calculating the rankings prior did not take into account the number of matches played. Theoretically a team who had played less matches could be hurt in my formula, so now I have made the proper adjustments to take number of games played out as a factor.

Some quick notes for this week:

- Biggest jump up? The Houston Dynamo jumped up 3 spots.

- Biggest decline? Real Salt Lake dropped 4 spots.

- Best current form? Colorado, The LA Galaxy and Seattle.

- Poorest current form? San Jose and Chicago.

My week 22 Major League Soccer Rankings:

1) LA Galaxy (West)

2) Colorado Rapids (West)

3) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

4) FC Dallas (West)

5) Columbus Crew (East)

6) Chivas USA (West)

7) D.C. United (East)

8) Houston Dynamo (East)

9) Real Salt Lake (West)

10) Philadelphia Union (East)

11) Sporting Kansas City (East)

12) Portland Timbers (West)

13) New York Red Bulls (East)

14) New England Revolution (East)

15) Toronto FC (East)

16) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

17) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

18) Chicago Fire (East)

The LA Galaxy Are Still #1! Major League Soccer Power Rankings Week 21, 8/8/11

The Galaxy Are Still #1!

Quick post this week. Heading out of town.

My week 21 Major League Soccer Power Rankings:

1) LA Galaxy (West)

2) Seattle Sounders FC (West)

3) FC Dallas (West)

4) Colorado Rapids (West)

5) Real Salt Lake (West)

6) Columbus Crew (East)

7) Chivas USA (West)

8) D.C. United (East)

9) Philadelphia Union (East)

10) Portland Timbers (West)

11) Houston Dynamo (East)

12) Sporting Kansas City (East)

13) New York Red Bulls (East)

14) New England Revolution (East)

15) San Jose Earthquakes (West)

16) Vancouver Whitecaps (West)

17) Toronto FC (East)

18) Chicago Fire (East)