Its been a while since our little predictions contest got underway, so lets get a quick recap. We've been predicting every match of the MLS season - win, lose, or draw - and the winner of the contest at the end of the year - either one of our three writers or the voting readers - will win a bottle of liquor from each of the other writers. Here's the latest standings.
Week 21: Readers 4, Chest 3, Martin 3, AMT 2
Overall: Chest 95, AMT 86, Martin 83, Readers 80
Saturday August 13, 4:00 PM: Seattle Sounders vs. Chivas USA
Martin: Sea. Chest: Sea. AMT: Sea.
The Sounders got their groove back in dramatic fashion last week at Kansas City, which is significantly more impressive than the Goats' similar groove-reclaiming in New England - though Chivas did have a thousand miles and an extra time zone to contend with. Seattle's at home in this one and are the only team within shouting distance of LA on our newly introduced power rankings, though, so I'll give them the edge here. (AMT)
Saturday August 13, 7:30 PM: D.C. United vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, CSN
Martin: DC. Chest: DC. AMT: DC.
Surely...SURELY...all the bizarre ways for United to hurt themselves at home have been exhausted. Even if they haven't, the Whitecaps defense and central midfield are utterly inadequate. If we can't win this game, I will take up blogging from the nearest mental institution. (Chest)
Saturday August 13, 7:00 PM: Toronto FC vs. Real Salt Lake
Martin: Tie. Chest: RSL. AMT: RSL.
Luis Gil has apparently won the several-month-long "Who can do a decent job in the shoes of Javier Morales?" sweepstakes...except that consistency is the No. 1 problem with teenage players. Even a regression from Gil won't really matter; this is RSL and TFC we're talking about. (Chest)
Saturday August 13, 7:30 PM: New York Red Bulls vs. Chicago Fire
Martin: NY. Chest: Tie. AMT: NY.
If the Metros don't take all three points out of Toyota Park, we're going to have to set up a suicide prevention hotline for the North Jersey suburbs, and Red Bull is going to have to put heavy security on Hans Backe for the foreseeable future. (AMT)
Saturday August 13, 7:30 PM: Columbus Crew vs. New England Revolution
Martin: Tie. Chest: Clb. AMT: Clb.
If ever there was an MLS game to not televise, this is it. Maybe Diego Fagundez can take another dive to win a penalty (no suspension yet? Prepare for the RSL angry fan bandwagon to turn up at MLS HQ, commish!), but the Revs have a long way to go before I pick them to beat the East's most consistent team. (Chest)
Saturday August 13, 8:00 PM: Philadelphia Union vs. FC Dallas
Martin: Tie. Chest: Tie. AMT: Dal.
The Union have been having some recent trouble getting results at home. Maybe this weekend, we'll go ahead and push that particular jinx all the way out of the DC-Baltimore metroplex and up to Philly, where such neuroses really belong. Our respective opponents should help with that endeavor. (AMT)
Saturday August 13, 10:30 PM: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids
Martin: Clr. Chest: Clr. AMT: Clr.
Whoa, what the hell. Where have these Rapids been all year? They've scored 13 goals in their last 5 games and suddenly look like, well, the defending Champions. I wouldn't expect that to stop this week in San Jose. (Martin)
Sunday August 14, 9:00 PM: Houston Dynamo vs. Portland Timbers, Galavision
Martin: Tie. Chest: Tie. AMT: Hou.
Both teams will struggle to remember which dude is their current teammate and which one is their former teammate, as well as which Scottish dude is their actual coach right now. The ensuing confusion will take 90 minutes to unravel, so the game will officially be a draw. (Chest)