So it has been a while since I have been able to post my power rankings but  with most teams having just 2-3 matches left in their season I thought it would be interesting to take a look.  So this weekend a lot of teams could have sent a strong message about wanting to secure their spot in the post season, but only one really did and that was more of a wimper than a statement.

Here is what we know 3 teams are in and 3 teams are out, so that means that 12 teams are fighting for 7 spots and the most contested spots are still those in the Eastern Conference, where teams 1-7 are separated by just 8 points. The 3 teams locked into a playoff spot are all in the West as the LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, and Real Salt Lake all have punched their ticket for the post season, now the only question is where they all will land. Likely they will occupy the top 3 spots in the West, while others fight for the wildcard spots.  So I am going to give them the top 3 spots:

1. Los Angeles Galaxy

Listen while they were gifted a pair of goals in their 2-1 win over RSL, the reality is that they have done what it takes to prove they are the top team in MLS for the second year running.  With more travel and a busy schedule Bruce Arena will need to continue to rotate players if he wants to make it out of Champions League group play and have success in the MLS Playoffs.

2. Seattle Sounders

While I don't think they can catch LA in the regular season standings, they surpassed them by being the first MLS team to secure a place in the Champions League knockout rounds, and they will play for their 3rd straight US Open Cup title this week. I have to expect that Sigi might try to rest some players after this week to get ready for the playoffs.

3. Real Salt Lake

You hate going into the playoffs with so many questions, what will Kyle Beckerman's status be, can Javier Morales find match fitness and his touch before the playoffs?  Can the once dominant defense keep anyone from scoring? Yeah not exactly what I had hoped for, but you have to wonder which team will show up for the post season? One that posted 5 straight wins - enough to claim MLS Cup, or the one with 3 straight losses - more than enough to end the post season.

the rest of my rankings after the jump:

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Well it was an interesting week in MLS with 8 matches on the schedule and only 3 draws and 23 goals scored, yes only 4 teams failed to score a goal (Seattle, Chivas, RSL and Vancouver).  Eastern Conference teams won 4 matches, and only 1 Western Conference team won a match.  So here his how they rank with 12 weeks left in the season:

18. Vancouver Whitecaps - down 1

The Whitecaps are still looking for their first road win after they got beat 4-0 at RFK Stadium on Saturday as DC United were simply too much for them to handle, no team has more losses than the 12 of Vancouver and only Toronto FC have a worse goal differential than the Whitecaps -15.  This weekend the Whitecaps will head to Portland for their away leg of the Cascadia Cup with the Timbers.

17. Chicago Fire - up 1

Hey if you can go into New York and get a draw it is worth moving out of the bottom spot and with a 2-2 draw the Fire did just that.  This will be a busy week for the Fire who will get two chances to keep themselves out of the bottom spot, first up is a Thursday night showdown with DC United and then on Sunday they will face Toronto, both matches are at home.

the rest of the rankings after the jump:

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Well one thing is clear as the MLS season enters the home stretch, the Western Conference is simply dominant at this point of the season, but with 4 the top 4 teams in the table all getting ready to start CONCACAF Champions League group stage action will it have an impact as the season progresses?  Well let's get to the rankings:

18. Chicago Fire - down 3

Well a 4-2 loss at Vancouver is enough to move the Fire to the very bottom of the rankings, they now have a 2-7-13 record and just 19 points from 22 matches played.  While there are teams with more losses than the Fire but I just think right now this is the team in the worst shape in the league.  Their next test will be visiting a struggling New York Red Bulls team and I don't see it ending well for the Fire.

17. Vancouver Whitecaps - up 1

Well the Whitecaps were able to get out of the cellar but their match against struggling Chicago was far from convincing and they are still likely to end the year at the very bottom or very close to it.  It was good to see Eric Hassli both scoring and getting assists, and he didn't get any type of card to go along with his player of the week performance.  Next up will be at trip to RFK stadium and a match with DC United, can they get their first road win?

the rest of the rankings after the jump:

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If you had told me that only two of my top 5 teams would be winners in week 20, I would have thought you were nuts but that is exactly what has happened. We do get some changes all over the rankings as over half the teams find themselves in a new place on the rankings.

18. Vancouver Whitecaps - down 1

If you watched the first 60 minutes of the Whitecaps match against the LA Galaxy you probably wouldn't believe the final score but what was a 0-0 match after 60 would end in a 4-0 loss for the Whitecaps as they simply were unable to stop LA or get anything going of their own.  Up next will be the Chicago Fire who will head to Empire Field for their first action in a couple weeks, whoever loses this one becomes the bottom team in my rankings.

17. Toronto FC - up 1

To go to Portland and be down 2-0, but battle your way back for a 2-2 draw, well that is enough to get you out of the bottom spot for me.  While FC Dallas fans laughed at TFC for picking up Peri Marosevic he paid dividends in his first match with TFC and Danny Koevermans picked up his second MLS goal.  I still don't believe TFC are a good team but if they can get solid individual efforts from their players they can pull off results like this one. They will have another chance at their first road win on Saturday as they take on DC United at RFK Stadium.

more after the jump:

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Well some of the teams in MLS played two matches this week, some even in league play, while others were busy playing host for friendly matches but in the end there were 11 matches played either on  Wednesday or Saturday, and some very interesting results as a team that once was projected for the top of the league continues to fall, while some show new signs of life.

18. Toronto FC - down 1

Well two matches end in two more losses for Toronto FC, at least against Sporting KC they showed signs of life as Ryan Johnson was able to get a goal and assist for them in the 4-2 loss.  At home on Wednesday they held a Dallas FC side to just one goal but were unable to find the back of the net themselves in the 1-0 loss.  This week they will head to Portland on Saturday to try to find their first road win of the 2011 season.

17. Vancouver Whitecaps - up 1

As much of a move for their 2-2 draw against San Jose on Wednesday as it is a move that TFC had an awful two loss week.  I thought both Eric Hassli goals were good ones but the Whitecaps weren't the better team, they just did what a team needs to do and took advantage of their opponents mistakes.  A good road result. Next up for the Whitecaps is playing host to the LA Galaxy, that is if it doesn't rain.

the rest of the rankings after the jump:

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Well over half of the teams in MLS were in league action on Wednesday night and I was able to catch all or most of each of the matches, in part due to my boycott of watching any of the summer friendlies.  So I thought I would offer up a quick look at how the 10 teams impressed or depressed me last night.

10. New York Red Bulls

You simply sucked from start to finish, you gave up 3 goals in 31 minutes and most of your players looked disinterested in the match.  I am not sure who you guys think your leader on the pitch is but last night it didn't look like you had one.  With the individual talent on your team you will get wins, but until the Red Bulls learn to play as a team they will be a very hit and miss team.  Last night was a huge miss.

9. DC United

Losing at home should never be acceptable, losing at home to the worst team in the Eastern conference despite being the better team, well only New York was more of a disappointment to me.  I believe that the Dwayne De Rosario and Charlie Davies have the potential to be one of the top duos in the league, as soon as Charlie decides to stop diving.  The soccer gods got even with him on the missed PK, so maybe he will learn his lesson.  It was a tough loss as you were the better team in the match.

the rest of the rankings after the jump:

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Well it was an interesting weekend in Major League Soccer as the top team in the league played (and lost badly) in a friendly, the second place team had their match cancelled (due to rain, which hurt a grass pitch laid on top of a turf pitch) a first for Major League Soccer.  This means a little movement in the top 5 and some minor shuffling in various parts of the rankings:

18. Vancouver Whitecaps - down 1

While they didn't play the team with 4 straight losses failed as the host team to provide a playable pitch (a first in MLS) and rightfully should have forfeited the match.  They will play their friendly on Monday and then head to San Jose for an actual league match on Wednesday night.

17. Toronto FC - up 1

The Red's didn't play this weekend and moved up only because I now hate all things Whitecraps.  TFC will return to MLS action with two matches this week, they will host FC Dallas on Wednesday and then travel to KC to face Sporting on Saturday.  They made a number of moves to improve their roster so it will be interesting to see who actually ends up on the pitch for them.

the rest of the rankings after the jump:

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Well it was an exciting week in MLS with 4 matches on Wednesday and 8 more on the weekend.  Perhaps the biggest news was that only 3 matches ended in draws and only one of them was a 0-0 draw.  So how did all of this impact my power rankings?

18. Toronto FC - down 1

Well you can't lose two matches by a total of 7-0 and not drop in my rankings and there is no spot lower than 18th. I thought TFC quit after the 2nd goal against New York on Wednesday and it appears they didn't even bother to really show up in Houston.  Perhaps it was all waiting for their 2 new DP's that should be eligible shortly, but I think this team is further away from the playoffs than ever and I don't know if any two players could change that.  The upside for Toronto is they don't play this week.

17. Vancouver Whitecaps - up 1

The only reason the Whitecaps moved up is that their 1-0 loss to Columbus at home and 2-1 loss at Colorado were far less disappointing than was the performance of Toronto.  This is still a team with a lot of issues, and from the rumors running around the interweb there is chaos in their locker room and it has been spilling over to the pitch. They better get their act together quickly because RSL is coming to Empire Field on Saturday and will be looking to get 3 points.

the rest of the rankings after the jump:

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