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Goal.com MLS Rankings: Crew, Galaxy Reach For Top Spot

Columbus and Los Angeles rise as Houston's hold on top spot grows more tenuous in this week's Goal.com MLS Rankings.

Aug 10, 2009 4:05:01 PM

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Alejandro Moreno, Columbus Crew

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1. Houston – Watch those wobbly and tired legs, Dynamo fans. The margin between the top three shrinks with each passing week. (1)

2. Columbus – The Crew continue to stun MLS by racking up wins without Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Second-half substitutes Emmanuel Ekpo and Alejandro Moreno deserve the credit for extending the Crew's unbeaten run to seven games (5-0-2, including four straight wins) in Saturday's 3-0 win over San Jose in San Francisco. (3)

3. Los Angeles – Five wins and a draw in six games. That's some sort of form for Becks and his merry band of playoff seekers. (6)

4. Chicago – Who will play left back if Wilman Conde, Gonzalo Segares and Daniel Woolard are all hurt? That's not a question Denis Hamlett wants to answer, but he had to provide a reply on Sunday night. His pick: speedy midfielder Mike Banner. (2)

5. Seattle – Just a touch of adversity in the Pacific Northwest right now, but this squad is good enough to ride through it. (4)

6. D.C. United – Losing to Real Madrid on Sunday afternoon will have no impact on United's playoff chase. Getting Clyde Simms back will. (5)

7. Colorado – There are two Rapids teams: one with Conor Casey and Omar Cummings playing together and one without. The former showed up on Saturday night and lashed Chivas USA 4-0. (8)

8. Toronto FC – Given the fact that TFC will need to focus intently on MLS play to secure its first-ever playoff berth, the Reds' failure to advance in the CONCACAF Champions League may have provided a necessary, yet embarrassing, stroke of luck. (7)

9. Real Salt Lake – The 1-0 home win over Seattle wasn't particularly impressive, but RSL is doing just enough to stay on the periphery of the playoff chase. (10)

10. New England – A home setback against the Galaxy won't kill the playoff chances, but the games in hand are dwindling and the Revs have yet to really find their stride. (9)

11. Chivas USA – Terrible, terrible, terrible performance in Colorado. Will the embarrassment finally rejuvenate the Goats? (11)

12. FC Dallas – Ladies and gents, take a look at your spoiler. The Hoops don't have enough to make the playoffs, but they do have enough to take points here and there to make things interesting. (12)

13. Kansas City – We'll see just how intense these Wizards are under interim boss Peter Vermes when K.C. hosts Chicago on Sunday. (15)

14. San Jose – Guess that 4-0 win over Seattle last weekend was just an oasis in the desert now known as the Earthquakes' 2009 campaign. (13)

15. New York – Are heads ever going to roll in New York? Now that the CONCACAF Champions League is a thing of the past, it's well past time to do something about these miserable Red Bulls. (14)

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

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