Power Rankings: Week 17

1. Houston Dynamo
Still the best team in the league, hands down. Houston is finding a way to get things done, even while some of their best players are away on national team duty.

2. DC United
United appears to be following the '08 Galaxy plan for success, using a high-powered offense to offset defensive woes. Only New York and San Jose have allowed more goals than DC at this point, but United would enter the playoffs as the East's #1 seed if the season ended today.

3. Seattle Sounders FC
When this team is clicking, few others can compare. Their 3-0 victory over a previously red-hot Colorado team reminded me of their comprehensive win against New York back on the opening day of the season. Could Seattle pull off the double in their first season? I wouldn't bet against it at this point.

4. Chicago Fire
How much longer can MLS keep a talent like Marco Pappa in the league? The Fire has to have a 'win now' menality this year, as they could end up losing Blanco, McBride and Pappa, Conde, etc... before next season.

5. Chivas USA
Earlier this season, Chivas was the toast of the league. But the club has won just once in their last 10 matches in all competitions, getting bounced from both SuperLiga and the US Open Cup in that span. It's been nearly a month since Chivas USA played a league match, and their opponent this weekend is a suddenly-resurrected Galaxy team that will no doubt be a tough challenge.

6. Columbus Crew
Despite a terribly slow start, the Crew is again climbing up the standings in the Eastern Conference. Good teams find ways to pick up points even when they aren't playing their best football, and that's exactly what Columbus did last weekend against DC United.

7. Toronto FC
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment seems desperate to prove that they are willing to spend large amounts of cash on the right player, something TFC supporters have gotten on them about over the past few seasons. But is Julian de Guzman the right player? For $7 million per season (reportedly)? Regardless, the addition of Ali Gerba will undoubtedly help this club in their push for a first-ever appearance in the MLS playoffs.

8. Los Angeles Galaxy
Two straight wins, two straight shutouts for the resurgent Galaxy. They've done remarkably well to stay in the playoff picture through the first-half of the season, and appear well-positioned to be one of the better teams in the league after adding Eskandarian and Birchall to their roster. It will be interesting to see if this club gets derailed by the Beckham Circus again in '09. My hunch is that Bruce Arena won't let that happen.

9. Colorado Rapids
It wouldn't really be fair to judge this team's performance when Omar Cummings and Colin Clark aren't available for selection. My gut feeling is that they are still over-rated.

10. Kansas City Wizards
A lack of consistency is really hurting Kansas City at the moment, having not put together back-to-back wins since early April. Again, I'll say that all the pieces are there for this team to make a late push in the standings; after all, they trail East leaders DC United by just five points. But the results need to start coming soon.

11. Real Salt Lake
The impending departure of striker Yura Movsisyan creates a big hole for the team to fill at a position where RSL was already perceived to be thin. Fabian Espindola is not the answer to this problem... his performance in last week's 1-1 draw with San Jose was among the worst individual outings I've witnessed all year. An additional suspension should accompany his automatic one-game ban for picking a red card after he violently swiped at Brandon McDonald late in the game.

12. FC Dallas
The current crop of young players assembled by FC Dallas bodes well for this team's future. Players like Eric Avila, Brek Shea, Peri Marosevic, Kyle Davies, Dax McCarty, George John and Anthony Wallace, for instance, could make up the core of this team for many years to come. It's no coincidence that the team's results are improving as Schellas Hyndman gives the young guns more time on the field.

13. San Jose Earthquakes
The Earthquakes were terribly unlucky to suffer a last-minute own-goal in their 1-1 draw against RSL; the team did everything right to position themselves for three points on the road for the first time all season. There's reason for optimism with this club, but the hole they have dug for themselves is likely just too large to climb out of at this point.

14. New England Revolution
With an injury list that reads like an All-Star roster, it's no wonder New England is having a hard time getting results these days. The following players were all unavailable in the team's 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy: Shalrie Joseph, Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston, Mauricio Castro, Chris Albright. Several other players have been carrying knocks but playing through the pain. A team that has been involved in four of the last seven league finals is lookling less and less likely to make the postseason with each week that goes by.

15. New York Red Bulls
In a league where parity is the norm, it's rather amazing that the Red Bulls have managed to get this bad. The most unbelievable facet of the entire situation is that Juan Carlos Osorio still has his job. Could this be the week when he finally gets the boot?