Toronto FC vs. Kansas City

What an atmosphere at BMO Field! This time it really seemed like there was a sell-out crowd (unlike Colorado). There was a lot of optimism in the Toronto support, although the pin drop silence when Eddie Johnson scored was a bit amusing.

Don Garber must be pleased with his decision to bring MLS to Canada. Toronto's new signing Danny Dichio was impressive, as was Greg Sutton (who was awarded Man of the Match). Eddie Johnson was a bit fortunate with the deflection of his shot for the winning goal, although Toronto proved that they can play at MLS level.

Either way, there were promising signs coming from Toronto. Even a 1-0 scoreline seems harsh, although I am disappointed that they have no points of even a goal, considering I put them third in my predictions for the Eastern Conference.

On KC's side of the game it looked good to see Eddie Johnson on the scoresheet again. Carlos Marinelli did come off in the 10th minute, although KC coped well without him. Kevin Hartman didn't make any new friends in Toronto. All in all, it seems that Curt Onalfo has a good team coming together. Now if they can only cope with the Gold Cup and Copa America, we may see KC's play-off drought come to an end.

Finally, it seemed that MLS couldn't make ut its mid when to start the match. First it said 12:00 PM (EST), then it said 3:30 PM on ESPN. I checked MLSnet.com, it said 3:30 PM as well, but then the game started at 1:00 PM. Huh?

MLS Predictions

Here are my predictions for this week's games:

Toronto FC @ Kansas City - 2-0 KC; Toronto continues its search for its first MLS goal, whilst Eddie Johnson and KC bounce back after losing to Chicago

New York @ FC Dallas - 1-0 NY; Dallas' defence isn't good enough to cope with New York, and with Claudio Reyna pulling the strings from midfield, anything is possible

Kansas City @ Toronto - 1-1; Toronto gets a goal in front of its home crowd. They hold on for the draw as KC pushes everthing they've got

D.C. United @ Columbus - 1-1; Emilio is showing everyone he can get it done, however, Erpen shows us why D.C. hasn't won yet. On the other hand, Columbus remain undefeated

Chivas @ L.A. - 3-2 Chivas; Kljestan's presence is missed in the Chivas midfield (I believe that he is suspended), although the Razov-Galindo partnership carries Chivas to victory

NE @ Dallas - 2-0 Dallas; New England struggle and are swept aside by Dallas

Chicago @ Houston - 1-0 Houston; Chicago struggle away from home as Houston bounces back from defeat at New York

UPDATE:

Monday's Game
Colorado @ RSL - 1-0 RSL; RSL needs a win here, and that's what they get. Also, a shoutout for the rookie keeper Seitz.

MLS Power Rankings: Week 3

1. New York - This team has got it all, from a good and experienced goalkeeper to a 17-year old scoring goals
2. Houston - Can anyone tell De Rosario to get back to playing soccer again?
3. Chicago Fire - Solid outing from the Fire
4. Chivas USA - Razov has finally got his goal, but they'll need Amado Guevara to play his best to have any chance of winning MLS Cup
5. New England - Let their lead slip for a point at Columbus
6. Colorado - Probably trying to convince Kasey Keller to join them
7. Kansas City - 1 win, 1 loss, it can only mean being dead center of the rankings for now
8. FC Dallas - Get sweet revenge on the Rapids
9. Columbus Crew - Strangley they're undefeated and going better than DC and LA
10. D.C. United - Want to prove that they are still the real deal
11. Los Angeles - This team needs to get their head straight. First Beckham, now rumors of trading Donovan?
12. Real Salt Lake - John Ellinger is feeling the heat, although that is someting that's not uncommon
13. Toronto FC - Mo Johnston never seems to be happy with his team

Today's News and Rumors

Frank Simek has been rumored for a move to a premiership team. It says it could possibly be either Charlton, Aston Villa or Portsmouth.

Also, BBC says that Scottish Club Rangers wants a link with the LA Galaxy.

Also in LA, Chivas USA won't deny rumors that they want to sign Zinedine Zidane. Although they will have competition from the LA Galaxy. I can't see this happening for Chivas as they don't have a DP slot. Also, they just got Amado Guevara, who plays the same position.

Alexi Lalas speaks out again.

Richard Mulrooney has been sent back to Texas. In exchange, Toronto gets Kevin Goldthwaite and a draft pick.

A behind the scenes look at BMO Field. [Via Toronto MLS FC]

US Open Cup & MLS Predictions (I missed last week)
USOC:

Real Salt Lake 2-1 Kansas City Wizards - Chris Seitz impresses for his RSL debut. Freddy Adu shows us why RSL gave away everything for him.

(Winner plays Colorado)

MLS:
Thursday MLS Primetime on ESPN:
Columbus 1-2 New England - Columbus finally manage a goal, though New England proves to be too good and prevails. (If it happens it will be the third consecutive MLS on ABC/ESPN that has ended with the final score at 2-1)

Saturday:
MLS Saturday on FSC
New York 2-2 Houston - The New York midfield proves to be a tough battle of Houston's equally talented midfield. New York's defence makes a costly error for the tie though.

On HDNet
Chicago 0-1 Kansas City - Chicago's offence can't get throught KC, as one of KC's speedy players scores on a counter attack

Chivas USA 2-0 Real Salt Lake
Razov scores goal number 100. Galindo actually finishes a chance to seal it. RSL looks for excuses.

Sunday:
Telefutura
FC Dallas 1-1 Colorado
Colorado's good defence (note: not goalkeeper) earns them a point on the road.

Here are other soccer site's Power Rankings (for comparison)

ESPN Soccernet

Sports Illustrated

Fox Soccer

Don't forget to participate in the American Soccer Blog Poll on the left sidebar->

MLS buzzing two days after transfer deadline

Here are some recent transactions in MLS' world

Juan Pablo Angel
Joining from EPL side Aston Villa. He had a terrible game againt Tottenham Hotspur when he missed a penalty (the best I could find), and then he scored an own goal. He was fazed out at Villa Park and New York hopes he can bang in the goals at Red Bull Park (and Giant's Stadium)

New York Press Release

Soccernet Release

Also, though not official, other big news is that New York have traded ...
Marvell Wynne

Soccer By Ives Link

Finally,
Guillermo Barros Schelotto

MLS Underground has found that Boca Juniors star Guillermo Barros Schelotto has signed a contract with Columbus, though this too isn't official yet.

Have Your Vote Count

To be more interactive with users, there will be a periodic poll on American Soccer. This week's question:
Which MLS has impressed you the most?

JP Angel is a Red Bull

Soccer By Ives says that Aston Villa's Juan Pablo Angel is on his way to the New York Red Bulls. This will easoly make New York contenders for MLS Cup, should Clint Mathis and Josmer Altidore keep playing this strong, and Angel scoring goals as well.

The Midfield is equally strong, granted that Reyna doesn't consistently get injured.

There should be a press conference regarding this tommorow.

MLS Power Rankings Week 2

1. Houston Dynamo (-) Win at home keeps them the team to beat
2. Colorado (+3) Manage a draw, despite being down to 10 men
3. Chicago (-1) A draw in Denver wouldn't have been a bad result, but it still seems like 2 points lost
4. New England (+3) Teaching Toronto how to play in MLS
5. Chivas USA (-1) A loss to Houston as Razov's hunt for goal number 100 goes on
6. New York Red Bulls (+2) Mathis could be the the biggest surprise of the season
7. Kansas City (+5) Eddie Johnson is playing near his best again! Curt Onalfo should be a coach of the year candidate for just doing that, let alone beating DC at RFK convincingly
8. Los Angeles (-2) Should be doing better, considering their squad, yet their rookie is the one scoring for them
9. Columbus (-) A tie away from home, though they still can't score
10. D.C. United (-7) No excuses this time, besided Toronto, the only team without a point
11. FC Dallas (-) Dallas are 11-0-2 when Kenny Cooper scores, which isn't hard to believe
12. Real Salt Lake (-1) Freddy Adu is not ready, or am I speaking too early
13. Toronto FC (-) This is going to be a long season for Toronto

MLS Power Rankings: Week 1 completed

Well, now that week 1 of MLS is complete, here are the latest MLS Power Rankings:

1. Houston Dynamo - Defending Champs opened the season with a tie
2. Chicago Fire - Holding onto their early lead for a narrow win
3. D.C. United - Another team that looked tired from their CCC match
4. Chivas USA - Razov is closing in on goal number 100
5. Colorado Rapids - A good way to start the new season in a new stadium
6. Los Angeles - The last minute free kick could have been where Beckham could have made a difference
7. New England - Injuries are hurting their chances of a good season
8. New York - A draw with Columbus on the road, is it a good thing or a bad one?
9. Columbus - Prove that they are no pushovers
10. FC Dallas - Ruiz and Cooper providing the goals as usual
11. Real Salt Lake - Gift Dallas a point
12. Kansas City - A week off to prepare for D.C.
13. Toronto FC - Kick off on a losing note