Major League Soccer's playoffs begin tonight -- in less than ten minutes, as a matter of fact -- with the Sounders hosting Houston Dynamo, or Dynamo Houston. Here are the other matchups:
East: Columbus vs. Real Salt Lake
Chicago vs. New England
West: LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA
When I look at the playoff matchups, any of the eight teams can appear at MLS Cup next month, and it's possible to see a path to a league championship for all eight sides. Perhaps the longest shot is Real Salt Lake, but with their home record I'm not prepared to write them off just yet. I guess what I'm saying is that while the playoffs are highly competitive this season, there has not appeared a truly excellent team (or teams) that is a clear favorite. Columbus did repeat as Supporters' Shield winners, but they did so by default when Houston and Chivas USA kept on dropping points.
It's because of the lack of much difference in quality between #1 and #8 that the lower-seeded teams have had such an advantage in the two-leg series. I really need to run through the numbers to test that belief, but I think that holds in comparison to Europe and South America. In that case it would make sense for MLS to offer the higher-seeded teams the choice of playing that first leg at home or away. (This was Eric Wynalda's suggestion, I believe; at least, I heard him suggest this on television.) At this point of MLS' development, the higher seeds approach the two-leg series differently than higher seeds in other countries.
If I had to guess a MLS Cup matchup, I would have to be a weenie and say that the top two seeds -- LA Galaxy and Columbus -- will emerge in Seattle. Which probably means that they won't.
Let the matches begin, and may those playoff beards grow.
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