Weekend thoughts

Some random thoughts from this weekend's MLS games:

- New York showed why they can be such a dangerous side. Juan Pablo Angel had a goal and an assist and Jozy Altidore had a pair of goals (the second was splendid). Toronto didn't provide much of a challenge as has been the case from them in road games this year but the Red Bulls still showed they can be a force. New York has a chance of finishing in second place in the Eastern Conference. I still think New England will maintain its grip on the east but New York and DC aren't far behind.

- The American football lines at Giants Stadium are hideous. The Red Bulls' new stadium can't arrive soon enough.

- The Galaxy's woes continue. From a possible nine points on its recent trip, the Galaxy returned home with just one. Now halfway through its slate of games, the Galaxy has just 14 points. All year long, we heard the magical "games in hand" phrase. Well, now these games will start coming fast and furious and the Galaxy needs to make them count. Last year, they also had games in hand and it didn't help a bit. It could be that players found some sort of comfort in that and didnt' feel a sense of urgency. Or it could be that a lot of games in a short period of time isn't necessarily a good thing. Whatever the case, this year's team needs to start winning games.

> Columbus: 5 fewer, 12 points back
> Chivas USA: 2 fewer, 13 points back
> Kansas City: 4 fewer, 15 points back
> DC: 3 fewer, 16 points back
> New York: 4 fewer, 16 points back

If the Galaxy are to make the playoffs, they'll have to catch one of these clubs while holding off Chicago and Toronto. Doesn't seem likely.

- Houston has gone through their share of peaks and valleys this year. A near win in Pachuca turned into a stinging loss that spilled into the regular season but the champs turned their season around in a hurry and surged to the top of the Western table. Now the club has hit another valley after losing 1-0 games to Real Salt Lake and Colorado. And yes, losing to those two clubs on consecutive weeks is a valley. Houston has the SuperLiga semis against Pachuca on Tuesday so perhaps the champs will turn it around in a hurry. I don't expect Houston to remain down in the dumps for too long. They'll likely hit their stride sometime in September or October.

- Good to see Colorado didn't completely fold up shop after their embarrassing 5-0 loss at Seattle. Even though DeRo helped out with an own goal, the Rapids' victory nonetheless is important and shows a bit of resiliency. They'll need some more luck this week though as New England visits on Thursday.