DC United Podcast

Black & Red United, a blog some of us know not just as DC United followers, but also because our friend Adam (last name redacted so he doesn't get fired because he spends almost every waking moment thinking about DC United), now has a podcast. They were cool enough to use some of my music for the intro, too. But the best part of the podcast is that the guys start out with what they're drinking before getting into substance. Enjoy.

Black & Red: MLS Power Rankings

- DC United Coach Ben Olsen is not happy that his biggest fan ranks his side at #9

If you like MLS, you are probably reading a proper football blog instead of this tripe. So, you'll already know that you should be reading the SB Nation blog Black and Red United, who has come up with awesome MLS Power Rankings. They are, of course, most awesome because they confirm that LA Galaxy are the best in show, at the moment, and on a clear path to defending their Supporters' Shield (best regular season performance). Now if only they could win another MLS Cup. See the full article here.

Black and Red United's Week 20 Power Rankings:

1. LA Galaxy
2. Seattle Sounders FC
3. Real Salt Lake
4. FC Dallas
5. Colorado Rapids
6. Columbus Crew
7. Philadelphia Union
8. Sporting Kansas City
9. DC United
10. Chivas USA
11. Houston Dynamo
12. Portland Timbers
13. Red Bull NY
14. San Jose Earthquakes
15. New England Revolution
16. Vancouver Whitecaps
17. Chicago Fire
18. Toronto FC

MLS: Halfway There

Adam Taylor at Black, Red & United has a great post breaking down DC United's performance so far this year. He comments that United is just on the wrong side of tie-breakers if the playoffs were to be decided today, which inspired me to look back at who makes the list right now.

With 2011 expansion teams, the league is now at 18 teams (including three in California and two in Texas). It's a very (true) West-heavy team, leading to the bizarre current split where the Texas teams are split (FC Dallas (96deg 48'W is West; Houston Dynamo (95deg 21'W is East), with Sporting Kansas City called East right up the longitude (94deg 37'W). The Western Conference also continues to be the better Conference this season. 2011 marks the first year of Wildcard playoffs, and an increase from top 2 per Conference to top 3. The seedings today would look like this (with Overall Ranking and Points in parentheses):

WEST
1. LA Galaxy (1)(39)
2. Seattle Sounders (2)(35)
3. FC Dallas (3)(34)

EAST
1. NY Red Bulls (5)(28)
2. Philadelphia Union (6)(28)
3. Columbus Crew (7)(27)

WILDCARD
7. Real Salt Lake (4)(30)(West)
8. Colorado Rapids (8)(27)(West)
9. Houston Dynamo (9)(23)(East)
10. Chivas USA (10)(22-wins hth tiebreaker w/Sporting KC, DCU, and SJ)(West)

Supporter's Shield winner, being the team with the most points at the end of the season, the overall #1 seed (right now, defending Supporter's Shield winner Galaxy) plays the lowest ranking team out of the two Wildcard matchups (7 v 10, 8 v 9). The higher ranking team out of the Wildcard would play the other Conference's #1.

Last year, if you remember, Colorado was the Eastern Conference Champions, due to the fact that the bottom four are picked for regular season performance regardless of conference. If the second half of the season looks like the first (and last season, for that matter), expect another Western-dominated playoffs, with Real Salt Lake and the Rapids forcing the East to defend their existence, yet again.