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1 1 It was pretty clear even before a ball was kicked in anger that RSL were in New York's head. Once one was kicked in anger, they stayed there, putting in a dominant 90 minutes. And they're only going to improve in the coming weeks with Javier Morales, Álvaro Saborío and Nat Borchers getting fit. Last Week: Beat New York, 2-0

Beat New York, 2-0 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday vs. Chivas USA (9 pm, MLS LIVE)

2 4 Sporting did exactly what you should expect of a good team that's up a man for 90 minutes. They're totally willing and able to step on the throat of lesser foes, and with C.J. Sapong in the lineup, they add several more dimensions to the attack. Last Week: Beat New England, 3-0

Beat New England, 3-0 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Sunday vs. FC Dallas (7 pm ET, Galavision)

3 2 They'd probably trade Robbie Keane's incorrectly ruled onside goal against D.C. for Mike Magee's incorrectly ruled offside goal against Toronto. But that's not how the game works, and LA know it. The defense is still a work in progress, but they're good for a few 4-2 wins in the coming months. Last Week: Beat D.C. United, 3-1

Beat D.C. United, 3-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Bye

4 3 The similarities between the 3-0 loss to RSL in the MLS Cup Playoffs and the 6-1 loss to Santos last week were eerie. Both times the Sounders looked tentative and unable to play the ball with confidence. They bounced back against TFC, but need to keep that confidence up all year. Last Week: Beat Toronto FC, 3-1

Beat Toronto FC, 3-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Friday vs. Houston (10 pm, NBC Sports Network)

5 6 Many pundits – including several on the Power Rankings Politburo – felt the Dynamo had the league's best defense heading into the season. They haven't disabused us yet, and there's no reason to think they'll do so any time soon. 1-0 on the road wins silverware, by the way. Last Week: Beat San Jose, 1-0

Beat San Jose, 1-0 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Friday at Seattle (10 pm, NBC Sports Network)

6 5 Any MLS fan who's watched CONCACAF play over the past decade has hoped, at some point, that Blas Pérez would land in the league. It took a little longer than most wanted, but he's lived up to every expectation in his first two appearances with Dallas. Last Week: Tied Portland, 1-1

Tied Portland, 1-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Sunday at Sporting KC (7 pm, Galavision)

7 7 We're pretty high on this Vancouver team because they're able to string some brilliant sequences together, have more than their fair share of goal scorers and – suddenly – a lock-down defense. It looks like it's enough to compete in a loaded West. Last Week: Beat Chivas USA, 1-0

Beat Chivas USA, 1-0 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday vs. D.C. United (10 pm, MLS LIVE)

8 10 The move to the 4-3-3 has been smoother and more natural than most suspected, and Jaime Castrillón has been simply brilliant. Managing to snatch a road win despite playing with 10 men is pretty impressive no matter who the opponent. Last Week: Beat Philadelphia, 2-1

Beat Philadelphia, 2-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Sunday at New York (4 pm, ESPN)

9 8 Is it fair that Portland drop a spot after a very good road draw at Dallas? Not really, but these are the things that happen early in the season when clubs like the Rapids put in touchstone performances. The Timbers have a chance to notch one of their own at New England. Last Week: Tied FC Dallas, 1-1

Tied FC Dallas, 1-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday at New England (4 pm, MLS LIVE)

10 11 Chicago looked very much like a team that were playing their first competitive match of the season. The fluidity isn't quite there like it was from August onwards last year, but the good news is that Oduro's finishing still is – and that was a major concern. Last Week: Tied Montreal, 1-1

Tied Montreal, 1-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday vs. Philadelphia (8:30 pm, MLS LIVE)

11 9 San Jose have looked much, much better than last season, but they've still got a long way to go – as they showed in the 1-0 loss to Houston in San Francisco. And since they're in the West, they don't have all that much time to figure things out. Last Week: Lost to Houston, 1-0

Lost to Houston, 1-0 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday at Toronto (1 pm, TSN)

12 13 Aron Winter put together the right game plan in the 2-1 win at LA midweek, but no tactics can make up for the loss of Torsten Frings. They've got to find a way to cope with his absence for the next four to six weeks, or a lot of the early season's good work is DOA. There's probably no more irreplaceable player in MLS. Last Week: Lost at Seattle, 3-1

Lost at Seattle, 3-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday vs. San Jose (1 pm, TSN)

13 12 Well, they didn't fall all over themselves as in last year's losses to RSL, so it's a step forward in that regard. But they don't seem any closer to finding a workable starting XI, and their lack of speed in the center of the pitch is very, very worrisome. Last Week: Lost at Real Salt Lake, 2-0

Lost at Real Salt Lake, 2-0 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Sunday vs. Colorado (4 pm, ESPN)

14 16 The Crew were probably grateful for the bye week, giving them a chance to work on central midfield cohesion a little more. Figuring out who's going to carry the water and who's going to make the plays needs to be No. 1 on Robert Warzycha's priority list. Last Week: Bye

Bye This Week: Saturday vs. Montreal (4 pm, MLS LIVE)

15 14 Ben Olsen is huffing and puffing a bit after the second straight uninspired performance to start D.C.'s season. And he's right to – his team was disorganized in the back and even worse up front. Plenty of talent out there, but no cohesion to speak of. Last Week: Lost at LA, 3-1

Lost at LA, 3-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday at Vancouver (10 pm, MLS LIVE)

16 15 Adding the Danny Califf saga – if it is, indeed, to become a saga – to everything else that happened in Philadelphia this offseason just seems like piling on. Especially after dropping a 2-1 result at home while playing up a man for 40 minutes. Last Week: Lost to Colorado, 2-1

Lost to Colorado, 2-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday at Chicago (8:30 pm, MLS LIVE)

17 19 Well, that wasn't too bad, was it? They got their first goal, they got their first point and had a monster crowd show up to sing for them for the full 90 minutes. Still plenty of work to come, but a lot of good work's clearly been done already. Last Week: Tied Chicago, 1-1

Tied Chicago, 1-1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday at Columbus (4 pm, MLS LIVE)

18 17 The Revs never had a shot after going down a man to that Kansas City team. But they fought on and didn't collapse defensively, which are both pretty positive signs for a team that was hopeless in 2011. They need to find some goals from somewhere, though. Last Week: Lost at Sporting KC, 3-0

Lost at Sporting KC, 3-0 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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This Week: Saturday vs. Portland (4 pm, MLS LIVE)