MLS Dogpile | Back to Basics

Now that's the MLS we all know and love, right? Questionable officiating, the playoff race somehow getting even tighter, the Galaxy shipping six goals while scoring three...the Red Bulls losing. What's a poor blogger to do when the Parity Police dictates that only one of last week's top six on the Pile (the Alpha Dogs in Columbus) can manage a win and most of the Bum-Sniffing Omega Mutts (save the inactive Quakes and hapless Red Bulls) can? To the Pile, my friends...

The Crew's perch at the top hasn't been in dispute for weeks (months?) now. Remember that torrid start to the season? Not so much, eh? Not only are they atop the Pile, but they're atop the league and have taken three more points than anybody else over the past five games. And they've done it largely without the help of the reigning league MVP.

The aforementioned failings at the top end of the Playoff Pack guarantee movement, but not always in predictable ways. Sure, the Fire only managed a draw, but that was better than the rest of the losers in the top six. And Houston? Well, they're only averaging a point a game over the last five matches (worst in the league, if you can believe that!), but narrowly lost to the Alpha Dogs and still lead the West.

Seattle make a big climb as they drop a second consecutive 2-1 on sputtering United, while the Galaxy plummet after getting hammered at home by the lowly Hoops. Colorado drops a spot, but I'm not quite ready to believe in Preki's Chivas Revival Show. RSL grab a draw to stay in the hunt, but as of now, they're on the outside looking in at a playoff spot.

United hang steady after grabbing an undeserved win over KC and dropping a close affair to Seattle, while the Revs come crashing back to earth after their recent rise into the Playoff Pack. That said, I'm not ready to drop them below TFC yet, given their games in hand and TFC's inconsistency.

FC Dallas would have been moving up after they thrashed the high-flying Galaxy were it not for their league position, and KC's win plus undeserved loss pushes them above the Quakes. At this point, we've even got something like a relegation battle at the bottom, as bets are placed on whether the Quakes will tank hard enough to spare the Red Bulls the indignity of finishing at the foot of the table.