Clarification on the MLS qualification for the play-off and the tie-breaker.

The regulations of MLS state that:

"The top two teams in each conference qualify and are seeded 1 & 2 in their respective four-team playoff conference brackets."
"The four MLS teams with the next most points, regardless of conference, receive "wildcard" berths."

What does this mean?

In the western conference, there are already 4 teams which qualified to the play-off:

Los Angeles, Houston, Chivas USA and Seattle.

They will eleminate each others until one of them reaches the MLS cup. Their next games will decide their positions on the standing and the western conference brackets.

In the eastern conference, only Columbus assured of a place in the play-off. The other teams which are still in the hunt for a place are:

2- Chicago (42 Points)
3- DC United (39)
4- Toronto (39)
5- New England (39)

Each team has one more game to play. If two or more are tied on points, head to head results will be the first tie breaker.
The team that ends up in second will go to the play-off.

The next 3 teams will be joined by the last three teams from the western conference that still have a chance and two of these 6 teams will qualify for the play-off and will be put in the eastern conference and they are:

5- Colorado (40)
6- Dallas (39)
7- Real Salt Lake (37)

****

To make it easier, If Chicago gets at least one point from its game agianst Chivas USA on Thursday, it will qualify as the runner up in the eastern conference.

The last two teams will come from a group of six teams:

7- Colorado (40 points)
8- Dallas (39)
9- DC United (39)
10- Toronto (39)
11- New England (39)
12- Real Salt Lake (37)

If two teams or more are tied on points, their head to head results will be used first.

Their games, to be played on the weekend, are as follow:

Real Salt Lake - Colorado
New York - Toronto
Kansas City - DC United
Seattle - Dallas
Columbus - New England

Bobby, thanks for the link to the article on the Danish Dynamite. I really enjoyed reading it and seeing some clips. I loved John Sivebæk's goal against Ireland in 1985.

BTW, I neglected to mention (as has everyone else, apparently) that Johnson was once again monstrous, and Carra suddenly looked 3 years younger Saturday. (c; Just aboot everyone else was sh!t, tho. I mean, I didn't even know Benayoun was playing until the 21st minute.

Bobby, what did you think of the Sunderland re: LFC? Did Carra look better to you? Any more doubtful aboot Yossi, given his performance with a 'carte blanche' (or was that 'crowd-blanching')?

@ AG:
"I just wonder why Rafa would go with Spearing and Lucas against Sunderland... Make the sub at halftime and Liverpool probably earns at least a point. In my mind, Mascherano needs to be in that lineup, particularly with Torres and Gerrard out."

Well, firstly, Spearing is being groomed to replace Masch - this is known. And given his indifferent play & squawking, I'm guessing Rafa figgered "If not now, then when?" Remember, he's not afraid to blood kids, whatever the press tells you.

Secondly, I'm not sure LFC was worse off after 45 than they were after 15, so I dunno if I agree with ya on the sub thing. Remember, Cattermole went down in the 2nd half, so Jim had an easier time of it regardless of fitness than Spearing did.

Lastly, I dunno what else Rafa can do there, other than mebbe start Plessis. Some of us recall how Jim finished up last season, and bagging him out in October is very sub-optimal. I'm guessing he figgered LFC would be better in attack from the back with the 3-4-3, and that would help JS & LL out. Also, I believe his tactic was to own the ball, force Sunderland to hoof it up, and have the advantage in the final 2/3rds of the pitch. Dunno if I agree, but Rafa's used 3-5-2/3-4-3 a few times before, and it's always come off IIRC. Like I said, LFC had some very bad juju in this match - just aboot anything that could go wrong, did - so I think some might be blaming the first thing out of the ordinary, rather than taking everything into account. It wouldn't be the first time the media lost the forest for the trees regarding Benitez.

Speaking of which, here's an article addressing much of what you, UA, and I have talked aboot the last coupla weeks: tinyurl.com/yk5vyl9

"Sunderland will bother other top sides and this result may not look so bad by year's end. Wigan looked full value for their draw today with City, too."

I dunno, it's 3pts dropped vs. last year. I like Sunderland as much as anyone not wearing their colours, I just expect that when ManUre or Chav$ki plays them, they'll be without Jones & Cattermole, or some such serendipitous synchronicity. U no whut eye meen.

"It was an attractive performance but the same old questions continue to persist after Mannone fumbled away a catchable ball to make Wenger sweat through the second half. And Walcott's injury sounds omnious."

Hah, now it's my turn to calm *yer* alarmist direction. (c; Mannone has looked at least as assured as Almunia, and I don't have a horse in that race. AFAIC, yer gonna get a situation like that a few times with a young keeper - look at how Reina's been hammered about the odd flap over his time here, and he's like 25. All the signs, IMhO, are that Mannone is a 'keeper'. *ba-dump bump* It seemed to me that other than that blip, l'Arse looked very Barca-esque in ball control & assurance.

As for Theo, haven't heard anything, but he does seem to be susceptible to injury, no? OTOH, the lads are used to playing w/o him so if it's gonna happen, be now, not later in March/April/May.

So, the balloon story was a hoax...

No, not the balloon boy, the Liverpool balloon... It was Reina who planted it. It was a Liverpool balloon. You might say, it was an own goal.

Case closed.

Now the two points TFC dropped last week against SJ look really, really BIG...