(Parts II and III are on deck …so check back)
19. Toronto FC – Aron Winter’s men meet Vancouver on Wednesday in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship final. We’re not out of May and yet this looks like TFC’s best chance to take something out of 2012 – a historically pitiful 0-8 start will do that for you. Torsten Fring is injured again, but it looks like DP striker Danny Koevermans will be available, and that’s a major upgrade in the Reds’ destabilizing injury situation.
18. Portland Timbers – The Timbers skipped past Round 10 but get an early start on Round 11 as manager John Spencer takes his club down to Houston for a match tonight at BBVA Compass Stadium. Spencer, of course, was longtime assistant to Dominic Kinnear in South Texas.
17. Philadelphia Union – There will or won’t be an announcement today (or yesterday) of a trade that sends captain Danny Califf to Chivas USA, depending on which report you believe. We’ll see. But as we ponder Juan Pablo Angel’s possible arrival upon Union soil, let’s ask this: Who will partner Carlos Valdes in central defense at PPL Park? Because surely using right back Sheanon Williams is just a stop-gap, right?
16. FC Dallas – Hey, guys: what do ya say you try to finish one of these with 11 men? You know, something different. Shake things up. Dallas players and coaches know they are making things hard on themselves with this inexplicable rush to ejection, just like last Saturday in a 2-1 loss at Columbus. Schellas Hyndman’s team is winless in its last six.
15. Columbus Crew – File this one under: “They’ll take it.” Things weren’t beautiful around Crew Stadium as Robert Warzycha’s men rallied to take all three points from 10-man FC Dallas. But any way you snap a five-game losing streak is the right way. Right? Speaking of “right,” right back Sebastian Miranda continues to be solid, adding a nice header goal Saturday to steady defense.
14. New England Revolution – Other opposition saw flashes of what Lee Nguyen could do along the left side at Gillette – but man, oh, man, did Vancouver feel the full force! Nguyen went ground-and-pound on the team that released him in March, beating on the Whitecaps with two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win. It was a good team performance overall, and the big take-away may be Benny Feilhaber’s embrace of the right midfield role. Or the fact that Saer Sene (pictured) is starting to look like the striking force management hoped he would be.
13. Chivas USA – Robin Fraser’s team was minutes from adding another win to a road record that already looked pretty salty; a late goal at San Jose left Chivas with a 1-1 draw. Hard to say how this week’s Clasico will play out; the Goats have been impotent at the Home Depot Center in 2012. But this week’s opposition, the Galaxy, hasn’t been much to shout about there, either.