2-0 is such a magical score

There are numbers in this universe that have some magical, mystical, spiritual qualities like 3, 7, and 12. Well it seems like 2-0 is a magical score for the US team. It just seems to keep popping up places, for example US 2 - 0 Mexico in World Cup '02 or US 2 - 0 Mexico in World Cup '06 qualifying. Eerie.

The USMNT came back from a lackluster match with Morocco on Tuesday to show a much more confident, offensive side tonight against Venezuela, beating the OPEC nation 2-0.

Not having your opponent try to keep 80% of their team behind the ball at all times helps to open things up and give players space to work with which the US seemed to take advantage of. Brian Ching's well-timed goal helped quiet the naysayers that quietly (or loudly) questioned Bruce Arena's decision to include him over Taylor Twellman for a WC roster spot. Convey was a monster on the left flank, terrorizing that side with his frequent dangerous treks up into the attacking third. He consistently out ran defenders, took people on 1v1, and sent in numerous quality crosses. The amount he has improved from playing with Reading in the English Coca-Cola Championship (and next season in the Premiere League) is nothing short of remarkable. Tim Howard performed admirably in net and Clint Dempsey managed to send in a diving header for a goal.

The Starting XI this evening were pretty much the 'B' team as 9 of the perceived starters against the Czech Republic June 12th started and mostly finished the game on the bench. Nice to see Michael Bradley get his first cap as a reward for all the hard work he's put into helping the USMNT train.

Up next is Latvia for the 3rd and final game in the send-off series and the super-secretive (though not really) "Don't Tread On Me" all red, limited edition US jerseys.

Week 9 Previews

nWe've already had a midweek matchup that feature FC Dallas pulling out a late win against the New York Red Bulls, 2-1, up at the Swamp. Now there are 4 games left of Week 9 this Saturday.


Colorado Rapids at Real Salt Lake

4pm ET, ESPN2

It's the early game and one that probably shouldn't have been wasted in the national broadcast spot. However RSL and the Rapids are both coming off wins so it may turn out to be an explosion of offense and sophisticated soccer. Don't hold your breath though. Don't be shocked with a boring, low scoring affair but RSL may kick in a few goals too. Look for RSL to nab their 3rd win in a row at home on the fake turf.

My Prediction: RSL 2 - 0 Colorado

Houston Dynamo at NE Revolution

7:30pm ET, HDNet, Direct Kick, MLSLive.tv

Finally a game that shouldn't be a waste of high definition. Both teams are coming off losses: Houston a narrow heartbreaker at home and New England an embarressing slaughter at Dallas. Noonan probably won't start again, but that shouldn't prevent the Revs from giving a bit more effort than they did last week. Houston missing Ching and NE missing Dempsey should wash each other out. A draw is a very really possibility unless DeRosario can pull Houston along to a win.

My prediction: Houston 1 - 1 New England

DC United at KC Wizards

8:30pm ET, Direct Kick, MLSLive.tv

Two weeks ago DCU was able to steal the win on the road at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Look for them to pick up the win again at home but in a much more convincing fashion. KC is really hurting offensively with Josh Wolff and Eddie Johnson gone for nats duty. Of course they'll score their customary goal but a strong game from Jaime Moreno, Freddy Adu, and Christian Gomez will help DCU score more than that. Look for Adu to finally get his first goal of the season.

My prediction: DCU 3 - 1 KC Wizards

Chicago Fire at Chivas USA

11pm ET, Direct Kick, MLSLive.tv

The Goats lost in a shoot out last weekend at the Swamp to RBNY which is going to leave a bad taste in their mouth. Chicago is nearing the end of it's initial 9-game road trip and are just wanting to go home by now. A surging Chivas at a wearing down Chicago spells Chivas' second win of the season and Chicago's second loss (which is still impressive). Ante Razov will probably strike for a goal and the game should be pretty open and free flowing with plenty of offense. And after watching John O'Brien playing for the USMNT Tuesday against, Morocco, Chivas USA is going to be damn good when he gets back.

My prediction: Chivas USA 3 - 0 Chicago.

Crap! We lost another one. Who's left?

In a bit of tragic USMNT news, defender Cory Gibbs has knee-injured his way out of the US World Cup team (the extent and type of which is unknown to us public as of yet). Gregg Berhalter, veteran of WC '02, takes his place after being called up from the alternates list.

This is the second of three alternate defenders (Chris Albright being the first) to be needed and the US is now finding itself a little on thin side in a position that has traditional been our strongest.

Gibbs had played admirably against Morocco on Tuesday and is one of the few defenders we had that would be truly comfortable playing in a 3-man backline should we have decided to play one. Berhalter, on the other hand, you may remember as turning in a horrible performance when the USMNT played Germany and effectively playing his way onto the alternate list from an out-right WC roster spot.

The lone remaining alternate defender now is Todd Dunivant who I'm sure would love to not only go to Germany but also get away from Steve Sampson and the woeful LA Galaxy for a month.

Preview: FC Dallas @ RBNY - Wed. May, 24th

It's a midweek clash of MLS' best and one of their worst. Fresh off a 5-4 win against Chivas USA, the Red Bulls are hoping to nab their 2nd win of the season tonight in the cozy confines of Giants Stadium (and yes, the cozy part was sarcastic).

If you want to watch you should probably know:

New York Red Bull vs. FC Dallas - 6:30pm ET
TV: Direct Kick, MLStv, MSG, FSN-SW

Will Jean-Phillipe Peguero continue with his red-hot scoring ways? Or will FCD simply run over them the way they did against the NE Revolution?

I don't think FCD will run away with it but I do think they'll come out with some points. A win more likely than a draw, but they're not losing. It's looking like we'll see the same starting XI for FCD that we did last week. The biggest obstacle they'll have to over come is playing on the fake turf which the Red Bulls would hope to exploit. But I'm thinking they won't. And unfortunately for the Red Bulls offense, FCD's backline isn't nearly as porous as Chivas USA's was.

NY had a great game last week but they'll have a let down tonight. But hey, at least it's on TV.

My prediction: FCD 3 - 1 RBNY

Nashville Star... or not

There are a variety of ways that one could take the USMNT's 0-1 loss to Morocco last night. Many may view it as a horrible omen of disaster to come. That last night was just another in what has been several games in a row where the offense has struggled to score. Others may look on it as a tactical and personnel experiment that can now be put to rest. That last night was not necessarily a precursor to our future performance but that the Nats need to stop messing around and get down to the business of preparing their starting XI. And there are still the rest of us that are very glad we had such a game as the one we did and think that what we will have learned from this game will pay huge dividends at the World Cup. Here's why:

Unlike what many believed, playing a North African team isn't going to help us against Ghana rather the Atlas Lions were the perfect scout team for Italy. The Moroccans consistently played 8 behind the ball, congested the midfield and attacking third, relying on occasional counter-attacks for their offense. They forced us to move the ball quicker and acclimate to a higher speed of play. Hello Italy.

At the World Cup, one little mistake can cost you the game, even in the 90th minute like what happened last night. I don't think anyone realized how good Morocco was (after all, they just missed the WC by 1 point in qualifying). They were technically sound and quick. And most importantly they weren't a walk-over.

Again, I'm very happy for the game, even with the loss. The USMNT can take nothing for granted and this game will help them remember that. This team also needs to gel a bit more and I'm far from convinced that the line up and formation we saw out there will be what goes on the field June, 12th. Look for Eddie Lewis and Eddie Johnson instead of Gibbs and Wolff. We'll also have to see what's going on with Claudio Reyna's hamstring. Hopefully, and probably, it's just a little tweak that may keep him out of the match with Venezuela in a couple of days, but John O'Brien, even being only 80% match fit (according to him), proved he's more than capable to do the job.

MLS Power Rankings - Week 8

Shall I go worst to first, or first to worst? This week let's start with the bottom and work our way up.

12 - LA Galaxy (2-6-1)

Suffered their second straight home loss to a perennial MLS underachiever. At least this one wasn't the smack down they got from Real Salt Lake. I'm not sure this team could look anymore disinterested in winning. Veris is the lone bright spot right now but unfortunately it takes more than just one player, especially a defender, to win. Their scoreless drought is now at a club record 390 minutes and counting.

11 - Real Salt Lake (2-5-1)

Picked up their second win of the season and in a row by knocking off the KC Wizards 2-1. Five goals in the last two games is a heady improvement. If they string it to 3 wins in a row, or even a tie with a couple of more goals, they may very see some positive movement in the rankings.

10 - New York Red Bulls (1-1-5)

Congrats to Mo Johnston of finally finding his first win of the season and also for picking up Jean Philippe Peguero from the Colorado Rapids several weeks earlier. The Haitian international picked up the hat trick and the Red Bulls the 3 points. The good news with Red Bulls having a win under their belt is that they're probably the most consistent team in MLS. The bad news is that they’re consistently bad. RBNY now gets to try and keep this winning train rolling when they host league leading FC Dallas at the Swamp. Chances are, though, they'll run out of steam.

9 - Chivas USA (1-4-1)

On this side of reality, 4 goals should be more than enough to secure a win, especially against an historically moribund Red Bulls team. Unfortunately the planets aligned, there was a rip in the time-space continuum, or something else only Isaac Asminov could imagine happened this past weekend and the Goats were on the losing end of a 4-5 shootout. It also needs to be said that at this point in the season Chivas has played an average of 2 games less than everyone else also. So if you're wondering about their somewhat high ranking in relation to their record, then consider that. The wins will start coming.

8 - Colorado Rapids (3-3-1)

At least there are the majestic Rockies and other beautiful things to see and do in Denver because right now if you're expecting to find something similar at a Rapids game you're going to be very, very disappointed. They've managed to squeeze out 3 wins this season, two against similarly inept teams. It's nice that they're going to build a very nice and cozy stadium in the coming years, but I just can't see a time in the near future, especially with Clavijo as manager, that they are going to be something resembling a contender to go deep in the playoffs.

7 - Columbus Crew (3-3-2)

It's pretty apparent that the Crew made out better than the Galaxy in their 4-man swap two weeks ago. Ned Grabavoy gets a goal the first game and Joseph Ngwenya nabs one in the second. They managed the tie against DCU this past weekend. The loss of Frankie Hejduk and Jacob Thomas are a little less noticeable with the new additions, but their absences are still felt.

6 - New England Revolution (3-3-1)

There's no excuse for the 0-4 whipping the Revs took from FC Dallas this past weekend. Losing Clint Dempsey as an excuse will only go so far and they still have Taylor Twellman who very well could have been on the US World Cup roster. Getting Pat Noonan back playing 90 minutes will help but giving up 4 goals in 18 minutes is nothing short of unfathomable from a Steve Nicol team. I'd hate to be in the Revs training this week.

5 - Chicago Fire (2-1-4)

The traveling road show that is the Fire are nearing the end of their 9-city opening tour. With 2 games left before they get to move in to their new home, only suffering one loss is not a small accomplishment. The team's not quite clicking yet, though, instead managing to keep it together just long enough to get out of town with something to show for their efforts.

4 - Kansas City Wizards (4-3-1)

We're now at 6 straight games with only 1 goal scored a contest. It's enough that other teams are going to realize as long as they can put two into he net, that'll be enough to beat KC. With starting forwards Eddie Johnson and Josh Wolff gone for national team duty, it is slightly forgivable that the Wizard's offensive production has dropped. But they've dropped their past two games so they better find some more goals from somewhere and quickly.

3 - Houston Dynamo (4-3-1)

Tough loss this weekend for the normally steady at home Dynamo. They're really starting to miss Brian Ching more and more. While Alejandro Moreno and Ronald Cerritos are quality players in their own right, they just don't bring the aerial presence and work rate that Ching was able to consistently give. Thankfully Houston was able to get Dwayne DeRosario back from a high ankle sprain so soon and with (at least that we could notice) minimal reduction in his ability to contribute as much as he has been.

2 - DC United (4-1-3)

Unlucky not to get the win at Columbus this weekend. They outshot the Crew 17-7 but were only able to put 1 into the back of the net. They visit Arrowhead Stadium to take on a declining KC Wizards team. Fortunately Freddy Adu is starting to make a surge, turning in his most complete game of the season against Columbus and Jaime Moreno seems to be more interested in the attack as well.

1 - FC Dallas (5-1-3)

When you post 4 goals on the New England Revolution in 18 minutes then hold them off to maintain the clean sheet and you sit at the top of the table in MLS, you get to be the Number 1 team in the Power Rankings. Getting Richard Mulrooney back from his ACL tear is already paying huge dividends. Kenny Cooper is a monster on the ball, Carlos Ruiz is clever as ever, Ramon Nunez is finding his scoring touch, and Ronnie O'Brien is a deft as ever with his crosses. Right now, the Hoops have the right formula for success. Not loosing anybody to for the World Cup sure doesn't hurt either.

At least the Red Bulls won...

So MLS Week 8 has drawn to a close. There was some good, some bad, and the Red Bulls got their first win of the season.

Diver Down

Some people like him, fewer love him, and the majority hate him. That's right, we're talking about everyone's favorite player Carlos Ruiz for FC Dallas.

I've come to think that Carlos Ruiz is the Barry Bonds of MLS. He's a person that you have to recognize as having an enormous amount of talent and respect his abilities as a player that few in MLS can match, but someone you also don't want to succeed and can never really root for (unless you're an FCD fan).

This weekend Ruiz showed again why he's consistently near the top of the list in scoring goals and always contends for the Golden Boot every season. He's quick, accurate, creative and as shown with his 45+ yard goal over Matt Reis this past weekend, has a vision that only a handful of his peers share. Which is why it's so mind boggling that he feels a need to resort to theatrics so often and so aggressively. It's a shame that such a great player in time will simply be remembered rather than celebrated.

Now that's more like it

Finally we get to taste once more the sweet nectar of high scoring games that we were first introduced to us the opening weekend of MLS. FC Dallas spanks the New England Revolutions for 4 in the first 18 minutes of action and then the New York Red Bulls out-gun Chivas USA for their first victory of the season with a 5-4 win. New Red Bulls signing and Haitian international Jean Philippe Peguero gets the hat trick while 4 different players (including Peguero) scored 2 or more goals.

Steve Sampson, please pick up the white courtesy phone...

You've gotta wonder how much longer Stevo can keep going before someone from the front office's Magic 8 Ball tells them, "The Answer is Definitely Yes" when they ask if they should fire Steve Sampson. That's the only logical reason I can come up with as to why they haven't fired him yet; they're just wanting on the Magic 8 Ball to do the dirty work.


And the order is...

I've decided to do a weekly MLS ranking, as if there aren't enough already. Top to bottom, 1 - 12, I'll post my weekly rankings every Tuesday as that will give me enough time to watch and digest all the games from the weekend. So tune in tomorrow, same bat time, same bat blog, for the list.