Once a week, the team of Major League Soccer bloggers crowding under the SB Nation umbrella huddle-up to discuss Trey Songz’ place in contemporary R&B, his relevance to Michael Grimm, and Delaware.
SBNhanced Power Rankings: Major League Soccer, Week 24
Los Angeles is back in the top group while the gap between the second and third tiers continues to grow. It’s this week’s edition of SB Nation’s Major League Soccer Power Rankings.
I admit. I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with Delaware.
When those discussions die, the latest Major League Soccer results are report and distorted before imported and sorted. Ultimately, we get some rankings, which we egregiously call powerful. I hope that doesn’t catch on.
On this week’s power list, an old friend resurfaces near the top, an eighth team gets the group’s playoff confidences, while the gap over team nine continues to grow.
It’s our weekly tea party - the SBNhanced Major League Soccer Power Rankings:
| The Cup Contenders | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Real Salt Lake |  100% (30 out of 30 points) |
 | Columbus Crew | 100% (30 out of 30 points) |
 | FC Dallas | 100% (30 out of 30 points) |
 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 96% (29 out of 30 points) |
While there is still one voter who things Los Angeles has some convincing to do (and may ultimately teach the rest of us a lesson about drawing too many lessons from what’s currently an isolated result), the league’s elite has been re-expanded to four teams. With Thursday’s match at Pizza Hut Park, Dallas, although they have support from each panelist, may be in the most precarious position, facing the biggest test of the upcoming week.
| Postseason, But Little More | ||
|---|---|---|
 | New York Red Bulls | 70% (21 out of 30 points) |
 | Seattle Sounders | 66% (20 out of 30 points) |
 | Colorado Rapids | 66% (20 out of 30 points) |
 | San Jose Earthquakes | 56% (17 out of 30 points) |
Should New York win at Dallas on Thursday, they will likely jump to the next level. Until them, they remain the kings of the second tier, a group that expands by one with San Jose’s renewed inclusion. Seattle and Colorado remain firmly ensconced in the playoff group.
| "Playoffs? Playoffs?" | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Chicago Fire | 30% (9 out of 30 points) |
 | Kansas City Wizards | 23% (7 out of 30 points) |
 | New England Revolution | 23% (7 out of 30 points) |
 | Toronto FC | 16% (5 out of 30 points) |
Chicago, New England, and Toronto all disappointed last week, with the Revolution’s SuperLiga results possibly the last think keeping Steve Nicol’s team out of the bottom group. Kansas City had a reprieve, their match with Houston postponed.
| And with the third pick in the 2011 MLS Superdraft ... | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Chivas USA | 3% (1 out of 30 points) |
 | Philadelphia Union | 3% (1 out of 30 points) |
 | Houston Dynamo | 3% (1 out of 30 points) |
 | DC United | 0% (0 out of 30 points) |
DC United became the second team this season to win at BMO, but instead of rewarding United for the achievement, we took the failure out on Toronto. DC remains is the only team on the list without a point, with three separate panel members opening their third-tier hearts to Chivas USA, Philadelphia, and Houston.
How It Works: Each of the ten participants puts Major League Soccer’s clubs into one of the four tiers. Teams in the top tier get three points. Next tier, two points, then one, then zilch. Voters can put as many teams into each tier as they would like. Though the vote total orders the teams, the clubs are intended to be grouped, not sorted.
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