The first-place Columbus Crew. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sure, it only lasted until Wednesday, when New England beat D.C. to move back on top of the East, but for four days the Crew enjoyed the rarified air of first place in the brutal Eastern Conference.

The fact that Columbus beat red-hot FC Dallas to move into first made the accomplishment even more impressive.

You wouldn't know that New England has spent most of the season as the class of the league and San Jose has spent most of the year as the worst team in the league based on their meeting on Saturday. The revamped Earthquakes thrashed a short-handed Revs side 4-0 to serve notice that their drive for a playoff spot isn't an exercise in futility.

Blowouts are nothing new in the Red Bulls-D.C. United rivalry. In fact, they are practically a tradition. What isn't part of that tradition is the team from New Jersey being the one doing the smacking around.

The roles were reversed on Sunday, with the Red Bulls responding to a D.

There may not be two teams going in more different directions than FC Dallas and Toronto FC. More than a month ago Toronto was playing well while FC Dallas was in turmoil after the firing of former head coach Steve Morrow.

The roles have been reversed. Now, TFC is the struggle squad, looking as bad as it did in its 2007 expansion season.

The Houston Dynamo lost to the New England Revolution in the SuperLiga final on Tuesday night, but that setback didn't overshadow the fact that the defending MLS Cup champions are rounding into form at just the right time in MLS play.

Houston's 2-0 win over a quality Columbus squad showed just how well the Dynamo is playing as it moves toward its rightful place atop the West standings.

It was easiest the biggest win in the history of the NEW San Jose Earthquakes.

When Ryan Cochrane scored the last-minute winner to give San Jose a 3-2 triumph against hated rivals Los Angeles Galaxy, the team celebrated like it was releasing weeks and months of frustration, which is what it did.

In a year when the Eastern Conference has owned its Western Conference counterparts in intra-conference player, Real Salt Lake has done its part to try and stem the imbalance.

After wins against New England and Columbus, RSL has added Toronto FC to its list of Eastern Conference conquests with its 2-1 victory on Monday.

Lost in the shadow of Matt Reis' MVP-like season, as well as Jon Busch's comeback player of the year-like season, has been the extremely solid season being put in by Columbus goalkeeper Wil Hesmer, who has done his part to make Crew fans stop counting the days until Brad Friedel returns.

Ninety minutes, Triple-digit temperatures and no goals.

A scoreless draw had to be expected when the Wizards and Fire took the field on Sunday. Aside from the sweltering heat, neither team was going to be taking many chances in this key Eastern Conference clash. The tie leaves Chicago chasing New England and Columbus atop the East and leaves KC trailing the playoff pack.

What does a match between two last place teams look like? It looks like what we saw on Sunday in San Jose. The Earthquakes dominated play but couldn't finish while the Red Bulls looked absolutely awful in a 4-5-1 that set attacking soccer back about 10 years.

The performance would have been consider promising for San Jose if not for the huge mountain still to climb in the West standings.

The game that seemed like it would never be played finally was played last Wednesday and the result left you wondering whether D.C. United got tired of waiting.

Houston man-handled D.C., 2-0, at RFK Stadium in a game that had been postponed twice and was delayed for hours on the night it was finally completed.

The San Jose Earthquakes had to figure another loss was coming when Amado Guevara stepped up to take a penalty kick on Saturday. The Toronto FC midfielder is known for being as close to a lock at converting penalties as anyone in MLS so his kick seemed like a foregone conclusion. At least before Joe Cannon saved his attempt on Saturday.

It as ugly, but you can call the scoreless tie between the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake a fair result. It figured that no goals would be scored when the league's two toughest defense squared off, but seeing so many missed chances was still a bit puzzling.

With every league game ending in a tie, the Fire-RSL result kept RSL in first place in the West and kept Chicago in playoff position.

It was supposed to be the Beckham show on Saturday night at Giants Stadium but Dave Van Den Bergh, Jorge Rojas and Juan Pablo Angel gave the Red Bulls fans in attendance a reason to smile.

At least before Landon Donovan stole the show with a late equalizer, something he's done in the past, to help the Galaxy salvage a tie and force the home team to think about its missed opportunity to close ground in the tight Eastern Conference.

Guillermo Barros Schelotto won't be in the MLS All-Star game later this week and last Thursday he provided a strong case for being the worst snub in the league. The Argentine star dazzled the crowd at Crew Stadium, helping Columbus fight back from 2-0 down to take a 3-2 lead against the Wizards.

(Apologies for this post getting up several days late. It was supposed to run in mid-week but a technical glitch caused it not to be posted.)

What happens when a team that can't win two in a row faces a team that can't win?

You get a tie.

John Thorrington has become Mr. Clutch for the Chicago Fire.

We all remember his goal in last year's regular season finale against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Well, he delivered again, scoring a stoppage time game-winner to give the Fire a crucial 2-1 home victory against East Rival (and Brian McBride allocation foe) Toronto FC.

A red-hot Real Salt Lake rode its stingy defense to a shutout win against a strong Columbus squad to move into first place in the Western Conference.

Okay, I'll wait while everybody takes in that last sentence. And no, you aren't dreaming.

RSL is enjoying the best run of form in club history (and yes, I know that's not saying a lot) and now sits in first place in the extremely weak Western Conference.

It took a lot longer than some might have expected, but Chivas USA has made the rugged climb from near the West basement to first place in the conference. Sure, the gap between first place and sixth place is only three points, but for the Goats, the climb was a victory of sorts.

Moral victories is all the Earthquakes seem to have these days, and even those are hard to come by.

The Chicago Fire still hasn't won an MLS match in a month, so you would think a road point against the Columbus Crew would be a moral victory of sorts.

Well, it wasn't. Not when Chicago held a two-goal lead early on and looked like it might find that long-awaited victory.

When the New York Red Bulls arrived in California last week, they had to be thinking that a good week just might be in store for them. They were facing a Chivas USA team that beaten recently, they were going to face a USL-2 team in the U.S. Open Cup, and then they were going to play a struggling Colorado Rapids team on the 4th of July.

Call it a coincidence but in the same week when former Houston forward Joseph Ngwenya was revealed to hav a trial with Bayern Munich, the Dynamo were once again struggling to score goal.

A third straight draw, and third scoreless draw of the season, was all the defending champions had to show for its Western Conference showdown vs.

Call it a coincidence but in the same week when former Houston forward Joseph Ngwenya was revealed to hav a trial with Bayern Munich, the Dynamo were once again struggling to score goal.

A third straight draw, and third scoreless draw of the season, was all the defending champions had to show for its Western Conference showdown vs.

The kid deserved better.

Tony Beltran is a rookie having himself a pretty good first season in MLS but he had to endure a fate that so many defenders have to endure, the cursed game-losing own goal.

Beltran's mistake snapped Real Salt Lake's record-setting unbeaten streak at five games while also giving new life to a Wizards team desperate for a win after going more than two months without one.

The kid deserved better.

Tony Beltran is a rookie having himself a pretty good first season in MLS but he had to endure a fate that so many defenders have to endure, the cursed game-losing own goal.

Beltran's mistake snapped Real Salt Lake's record-setting unbeaten streak at five games while also giving new life to a Wizards team desperate for a win after going more than two months without one.

Last week was an interesting week to be a New York soccer fan. On one hand you had the Showdown in Chinatown, a memorable charity game in Manhattan that featured some of sport's biggest stars, while on the other you had the Red Bulls beating Chivas de Guadalajara in a friendly. Except for Claudio Reyna playing in the charity match, there was something for Red Bulls fans to be happy about.

There's no place like home. At least not for Toronto FC, which has yet to lose an MLS match at BMO Field. Their record away from home is another story as the Canadians continue struggling when they make their way south.

New England's home form has left something to be desired this season.

There's no place like home. At least not for Toronto FC, which has yet to lose an MLS match at BMO Field. Their record away from home is another story as the Canadians continue struggling when they make their way south.

New England's home form has left something to be desired this season.

That Columbus Crew team that tore up MLS the first month of the season just might be back. Okay, so it was just one win against a shaky Colorado squad, but seeing Robbie Rogers work his magic and Emmanuel Ekpo run rampant sure made the Crew look pretty dangerous.

Unfortunately for Rapids fans, the under-achiving and points-dropping squad they have grown accustomed to in Colorado also appears to be back.

No offense to the San Jose Earthquakes but when you are outplayed at home by San Jose, your team is in serious trouble.

The Fire squandered another match at Toyota Park, another chance at precious points in the stacked Eastern Conference, but instead of take the three points from the expansion strugglers, Chicago finished a terrible June with another poor effort.

Schellas Hyndman's transition to MLS reached a milestone on Thursday as the long-time SMU coach earned his first point in charge of FC Dallas. The Hoops showed far more energy and promise than they did against the Red Bulls a week earlier, and the result also helped the club walk away with the prize awarded to the winner of this Texas season series.

The Goats are back (for now).

After a two-game losing streak with two shutout losses, Chivas USA looked like it might slip back into its early-season funk. Not so fast. All the Goats did was put together a convincing 2-0 win against the suddenly slumping Chicago Fire.

The Goats are back (for now).

After a two-game losing streak with two shutout losses, Chivas USA looked like it might slip back into its early-season funk. Not so fast. All the Goats did was put together a convincing 2-0 win against the suddenly slumping Chicago Fire.

Toronto FC still hasn't lost at home, still hasn't sent the packed house at BMO Field home with heads hung low, but last weekend they didn't send their fans home happy either. A scoreless draw against struggling Kansas City felt a bit more like a loss than a win for a team battling to get to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Watching the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy do battle it last Saturday it was tough to believe that both these teams missed the playoffs last year. The Crew and Galaxy have boasted exciting attacking soccer this year and they both look to have the firepower to reach the post-season in 2008.