Impressions Ahead of the Playoffs

This is the 2050th post on this blog. Does that make it more than a hobby?

Anyway, I've got some things rattling around my head, most of them inspired from the final regular season weekend, as the league heads into the playoffs.

1) Now I know what ails DC United: Their defense has The Fear. It was simply glaringly obvious in today's loss to Chicago, but it's been there for the past several games I've seen. Sloppy marking, indecisive-to-poor playing out of the back, etc. It's mostly the marking that's killing them, though; they're just losing players all over the park, as if they took their foot off the gas some time in August. It's a bad omen for long-time 2006 favorites. Even Red Bull can exploit the gaps they're leaving...

2) Chicago looks genuinely good. These guys don't have the best personnel in the league; though, against that, they hardly have the worst either. No, it's a matter of playing the game well, playing the ball quickly, keeping possession, being able to pin the opposition in their defensive third - that kind of thing. At present, no team plays possession ball as well as these guys; DC United did a couple weeks back against Houston, but they got outright schooled on Sunday.

3) The West is wide-open. It's not just that FC Dallas got shredded by an LA team scheduling tee times (see? I picked Dallas again and they failed. Why, for the love of GOD, why do I pick these guys?). They've been erratic down the stretch. I'm guessing they lose somewhere on the way to the final, but stranger things have happened; I certainly think they'll beat Colorado, but that could be my low opinion of that team talking. If it's not FC Dallas, who is it? I'm not sure. I think Chivas could do it; that may or may not be a lonely position, but they look as good as anyone. Even though I think Eric Wynalda gave them too much credit by far during today's broadcast, Houston isn't a bad bet for the final either - I certainly have more confidence in them than FC Dallas, but the faith in that area has now suffered more blows than that slow white dude faced against Mike Tyson in his prime. Like I said, the West is anyone's to take. It's like they're all running away from it at this point....

4) The East is open as well, just not so much. I don't think the East is an easy call either. I'd take a bet to eat something off the sidewalk that Red Bull New York won't reach the final, but that's the only area of certainty. The rest could conceivably do it. If I had to list the teams in the order in which I'd rank them to reach the final, that list would read: Chicago Fire, New England Revolution, DC United, Red Bull New York. That's pretty loose, though. I wouldn't be surprised, or offended, to see any of them.

5) ESPN2 done good today. ESPN2's replay of Chicago's third goal today was nothing less than superb. They got the entire play in, from the throw-in, through the series of passes off the line, to Guerrero's quick pass over to Andy Herron, to Herron's bomb of a shot into goal. Brilliant stuff. We got to see what they did right to produce the goal. Would that all replays were that thorough.

6) I can't take another heartbreak. I'm almost afraid of seeing New England reaching the final. In all honesty, last year's loss hit me harder than any sporting event ever has; I still get upset when I think about it. Not seriously, mind you; I'm not insane or unbalanced. It's just, in the back of my mind, I remember the frustration of watching the game and waiting so damned long for something either good or awful to happen - and we all know how it ended. Anyway, I'd almost rather they don't make it to the final, at least unless they can somehow guarantee the win. Or, failing that, a quick, certain defeat. I think it's the drawn-out uncertainty that makes it feel like getting dumped out of a relationship you had no idea was going wrong.

OK, that's enough for tonight.