Signs of the End Times: Chivas Is Geting Better

Is Michael Kennedy not the absolute worst referree in MLS? After last week's debacle in San Jose, a game in which the Colorado Rapids' sole tactic for defeating the Earthquakes was to persistently foul them, Kennedy returned this week to screw over yet another MLS club, this time CD Chivas USA. Now, I don't have much love (or hate) for Chivas, but they were absolutely screwed by an abomination of a referreeing performance (highlights available here). While I honestly don't much care about the result, I do feel that the quality of referreeing in MLS is particularly poor. I've written about this before, but after this weekend's games I've really begun to lose faith in the ability of an MLS referree to call a fair and balanced soccer match. During the off-season, whoever is in charge of referree oversight really needs to take a long, hard look at the situation.

Power Rankings:

1. Kansas City: You may be wondering, "why not New England or San Jose?" My answer is simple. Kansas City did not lose to Colorado in the middle of the week (like New England), they've maintained their winning ways (unlike D.C.), and they play in the East (a vastly more difficult conference than San Jose's West). Oh yeah, and they're playing great ball.

2. San Jose: It certainly wasn't a convincing victory over Real Salt Lake, but a win's a win.

3. New England: A loss to Colorado means this club is still in a bit of a funk. Better now though than in September/October. Just ask the 2002 Earthquakes or the 2004 Metrostars and Columbus Crew.

4. D.C. United: A miserable loss to an LA team that hadn't won a road match outside of Los Angeles this season. Nowak may have shouldered the blame for the loss, and D.C. may have been the victim of some bad breaks and poor calls, they still played poor and uninspired soccer.

5. Colorado: Think I'm crazy? Of course you do. This team doesn't even have a winning record. But what they have done is played winning soccer lately, drawing San Jose in San Jose last week was tough, but on Wednesday they won a valuable three points against a (somewhat) depleted New England side. These aren't called power rankings because they're based on who has the most points.

6. Los Angeles: The Galaxy won on the road (and they actually looked like a quality side). Enough said.

7. FC Dallas: The Hoops are sinking fast, and unlike New England, there's no easy solution to right this ship. They lack wingplay, they lack a healthy Eddie Johnson, and their defense is making costly errors. Colin Clarke has been able to coast this season with smoke and mirrors. Now we get to see whether he's as good a coach as we've been led to believe up to this point.

8. Chicago: Chicago's fading fast, and their ghastly road schedule must be causing Dave Sarachan fits right now.

9. Metrostars: Very lucky not to lose to Chivas yesterday. Very lucky.

10. Columbus: They played a very gritty game to get three points against a slumping FC Dallas this weekend. It was a must-win game, but with Kansas City, D.C., and New England so far away, it'll be very tough for Columbus to make the playoffs. Now it's just about winning back some self-respect.

11. Chivas: Robbed against the Metrostars, Chivas' offense is looking absolutely explosive with Palencia and Juan Pablo Garcia. Their defense...that's another matter entirely.

12. Real Salt Lake: They played San Jose tough, but it wasn't good enough. They may have improved their defense, but their offense is still a total mess.