Just call me Lazarus, man.

Yes, it may very well seem like I have risen from the dead. After quickly failing on the one most important vow of mine to post with frequent regularity, I have returned to post once more (and hopefully to continue doing so).

We now have 7 weeks of the MLS season in the history books, accounting for approximately a third of the season. My how time does fly. We also have the World Cup right around the corner in June. If you're asking yourself right now, "I wonder if he'll talk any about the US Men's National Team and the World Cup also or is he just going to talk about MLS?" Well, have no fear, this blog is about soccer and all things relating to the beautiful game (read the header, duh) so of course I'm going to talk World Cup. I've been anxiously awaiting Germany '06 for 4 years since Japan/Korea '02. I'll have plenty to say.

But first I'll do a little first third of the MLS season analysis in two parts with the bottom 6 (in my humble and always correct opinion) primero, and then the top 6 the following day (hopefully). So here we go!

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I can't say I'm all that surprised with Steve Sampson systematically screwing up the (12) LA Galaxy, but how quickly and to so severe a degree their downfall has been accomplished is very unexpected. We all knew some big time hurt was heading their way when Landon Donovan went auf deutsch with the rest of the USMNT for World Cup '06 in Germany, but they were certified for hospice before his departure. And after their 0-3 humiliation to Real Salt Lake this past weekend, the only thing left to do is make them as comfortable as possible while death over-takes them.

Speaking of (11)Real Salt Lake, the fine folks of the Wasatch Front deserve a better team then the 2nd year franchise is limping out there for them. Yes they did smack around the Gals last weekend but for better or worse, that just doesn't carry the same weight that it once did. You can't get too excited where at the end of the game all the players got a medal for participation and a ticket for a free soda.
John Ellinger to date is still the coach only because the incompetence of the RSL front office has managed to trump his own. He's a great guy but has only succeeded at drafting poorly, making questionable-at-best personnel moves (Clint Mathis anyone?), and dragging down his team into the bowels of MLS along side Sloth and that Vincent guy from the Beauty and the Beast TV series.

The (10)Colorado Rapids and (9)Columbus Crew are providing me with a great excuse for a Saturday afternoon or evening nap. And to make it worse, both teams have managed to get on HDNet somehow and scar my child-like sense of wonder and awe at soccer in high definition. Much like Terri Hatcher, not everything looks better in HD.
I do expect Sigi Schmid to get the Crew moving in an upward direction, though. He swindled Steve Sampson out of Ned Grabavoy and Joseph Ngwenya and he's too good of a coach not to find success soon. The Rapids on the other hand, as long as Fernado Clavijo is at the helm, is an aimless, drifting ship that occasionally crashes into land out of blind luck.

The (8) Red Bulls of Gotham should be better than they are right night, but per the course, they're not. They have so much talent, financial backing out the whazoo now, and a good coach that will eventually be a really good if not great one. But the just can't get the pieces to fit right and in Amado Guevarra's case, have a piece that's more than a little messed up and just won't fit anywhere. It's good to see that the organization is finally taking some steps to deal with that situation but it could all blow up in their faces just a soon and work out the way it's supposed to.

And as if to prove some more that Red Bull New York is a bizarro team, coach Bob Bradley, hero in Chicago but a zero in the Big Apple, is working his magic again and bringing (7)Chivas USA from the MLS basement to respectability. It's good that Chivas figured out that latinos like winning more than just have a team full of other latinos, and Bob has brought it some hefty talent including Ante Razov, John O'Brien, Tim Regan, and Jesse Marsch to compliment Chivas USA mainstays Brad Guzan and Paco Palencia. They're definitely going to make the playoffs this year and may even slip into the second round.