The Day in Previews

As we get closer to the kick-off, I know I won't be the only one churning out previews for the 2007 season. On a personal level, I get such a geeky little thrill out of reading previews; I view this as the wholesome side of my gambling impulses - e.g. being "hep" to what will happen before it does, which is the essence of gambling, right? (And I'm lousy at it). So...I'll be passing on previews of the season as they roll in and, assuming not too many get made per week, I'll try to do the same thing with the week's action during the season.

And, don't worry, I won't bore you with preambles in future installments.

Because we're still a ways off, there's not a whole hell of a lot out there. But the presence of Jeff Carlisle's preview for the Los Angeles Galaxy hints that ESPN appears ready to start churning them out. For the record, he sees good things happening in LA this year - and, damn my eyes, I do too. Carlisle dubs a return to the playoffs as "certain" and he expects the club expects a championship; I'm on board with the former for sure, though not the latter.

Elsewhere - and, to be honest - yesterday, a site called Vasco USA previewed the Eastern Conference. I'll give you the author's rankings, but you'll have to visit his place to see his reasoning. Assuming, he's listing them in order (and I think he is), here's what he's seeing:

1. DC United
2. Toronto FC
3. Columbus Crew
4. New England Revolution
5. Kansas City Wizards
6. Red Bull New York
7. Chicago Fire

In case you're wondering, I'm on board with DC at #1 (though I'm not happy about it), Columbus in the playoffs, and Chicago out of them; I'm working on the rest.

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