MLS Playoffs Weekend: Four teams for two slots

By: Bob | October 19th, 2007

If you have been hibernating through the 2007 MLS season now is the time to come out of the cave, shake the sleep from your eyes and start paying attention. Even if you think the playoff system is silly and even if you think it is absurd that eight out of the league’s 13 teams make the postseason and even if you shudder at the thought of teams with more losses than victories playing for the league title, you must begrudgingly admit that it is fun to watch games when teams’ seasons are on the line.

We will see that in three different MLS venues this weekend with four teams fighting for the final two playoff spots. On Saturday, the Kansas City Wizards travel to FC Dallas merely needing a point to guarantee a space in the postseason. Even with a loss they could squeak in, but they’d need help. This is a familiar enough scenario for the Wizards. For the third straight season their playoff lives come down to the final game. The past two times didn’t work out so great. You’d think they would have figured out by now that there isn’t much room for error during the regular season and that losing twice to a crap side like Real Salt Lake would come back to haunt them.

Speaking of Real Salt Lake, they are hoping to play the role of spoiler when they host the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. The Rapids need a win against a RSL side that has just five wins from 29 games. This is part of the Rocky Mountain Cup between the two clubs that don’t particularly like one another. They have each won a game and played to a draw against one another this season. Even with a victory, Colorado would need either Chicago or Kansas City to stumble.

On Sunday, the spotlight will be on Chicago where both the Fire and the LA Galaxy are in the playoff hunt. These are two of the hottest teams in the league with both sides undefeated in seven matches. The Fire merely need a draw to book their playoff spot. The Galaxy need a win and some help to introduce David Beckham to the tradition of American playoffs.

Quite a week of soccer ahead, indeed. For shits and giggles and to prove that my predictions never come true, I see the following happening:

Dallas 2-1 Kansas City
Colorado 1-0 Real Salt Lake
Chicago 1-1 Los Angeles

The Fire and the Rapids make the playoffs. Your predictions and thoughts on the final weekend of the MLS regular season?