Week 20 (2nd half) Results*
Chicago Fire 1 - 2 Chivas USA
Houston Dynamo 1 - 0 FC Dallas
Kansas City Wizards 4 - 0 Columbus Crew
Colorado Rapids 1 - 0 LA Galaxy
* Commentary on the exhibition games against international opposition appears here.
How bad can the Columbus Crew get? For this space, that’s the biggest question to come out of this weekend’s four MLS games. While the other games provided talking points of their own, with this weekend's 4-0 loss to the Kansas City Wizards, Columbus has staked an official and indisputable claim on “League’s Worst” title.
A local paper gave a favorable impression of the first half, but even a Crew player (Ezra Hendrickson) implied that they came apart before the game ended. The problems begin with a complete inability to score, but the team’s defense also has the second worst record in the league: the combination of the two produces a goal differential twice as bad as the nearest competition (hey...the LA Galaxy).
At this point, one has to acknowledge that the Sigi Schmid Experiment, named for the coach (well, by this space) isn’t working. Setting aside the appalling fact that a team this bad sits only four points out of playoff spot - which means they’re only a modest run away from contention, not to mention a weird kind of redemption - the Crew’s season now threatens to sink below “transition” status.
Curiously - or not so curiously, seeing as they just played one another - talk of Columbus’ record brings one to an interesting detail about Kansas City’s: four of their seven wins came against, yes, the Columbus Crew. There’s an old joke about bad opposition - “wish we could play those guys every week” - but it’s a joke that could very well backfire against Kansas City; since they don’t play the Crew for the rest of the season, they’ve lost their padding.
With the other results, the Houston Dynamo’s win over FC Dallas stands as the most striking. The first half (all I saw) was entertaining enough, even if the game was pretty hard-nosed. That a defender (Craig Waibel) scored the winner can’t constitute good news for a team that has been goal-shy of late; word that Brian Ching, who carried this team offensively through 2006, will miss a few weeks constitutes worse news. I read that Dallas’ near-equalizer came off the post, but a win is a win and race in the West improved for it...though how much remains an open - and, given how far we are from the playoffs - something of a tedious question. (NOTE: Whomever determines the rules of competition: FIGURE THIS SHIT OUT. I’m getting bored, which is kinda like losing a Walter Cronkite who worked for the Johnson administration.)
As for the other two, if the Chicago Fire didn’t suck so bad at home, Chivas USA’s win would seem to have confirmed that they have arrived; truthfully, their current fifth-place, league-wide ranking arguably does support that point. Like the Sigi Schmid experiment, Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley’s efforts seem worth following - though, obviously, for different reasons. The Colorado Rapid’s win only means something by adding to the Los Angeles Galaxy's woes; for their part, Colorado’s near-total inconsistency reduces this win to another warp in the cosmically inscrutable pattern that shapes their season.
That’s Week 20 over and done (how many left? Hmm...9 weeks). No need to worry: Week 21 starts (crap!) Wednesday...
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