Three Lists for June 11th

In addition to my lists of the top and bottom three teams (renamed to the best and worst three), I’m including the three coaches on the hot seat again. This week I’m also adding a bonus fourth list—three games I’m going to.

Best Three Teams:

1. DC United (adjusted scariness 3.11—A two point differential over New York says a lot, doing it while a man down says even more. An easy game against the Fire this week won’t help their scariness, but should be another three points.)
2. Kansas City Wizards (adjusted scariness 2.74—They were idle last week, and play the Red Bulls in New York without Eddie Johnson this week. I don’t think they’ll make next week’s list.)
3. Houston (adjusted scariness 2.73—It might not be pretty, but they’re getting the job done right now. They’ve got the week off, which is coming at a good time for them with three stars off at the Gold Cup.)

Worst Three Teams:

1. Columbus Crew (adjusted scariness – 0.25— Last week I thought they’d hit the bottom of the barrel with a negative scariness score, they proved me wrong and kept on digging.)
2. Los Angeles Galaxy (adjusted scariness 0.39—Which hurts worse, losing games or losing players? LA is doing plenty of both. Will reinforcements arrive in time?)
3. Chicago Fire (adjusted scariness 0.62—Their loss to Chivas USA hurt, but not as much as LA’s loss to Dallas. With a very scary looking DC team coming to town on Sunday, the Fire may slip yet further.)

Three Coaches on the Hot Seat

1. Columbus Crew— Sigi Schmid (The murmering is getting louder, a game against the Revolution doesn’t look like good medicine.)
2. Chicago Fire — Dave Sarachan (Losing to Chivas didn’t help Dave’s cause any, will the possible hiring of Marcelo Salas?)
3. Chivas USA — Preki (He got a win over the lackluster Fire, but that’s scant relief.)

Three Games I’m Going To

1. California Victory @ BYU Cougars on June 12th—This is a US Open Cup game. The Victory are a USL1 expansion team who recently got their first win (over the Vancouver Whitecaps). It’ll be a tough game for BYU, but it’s not hopeless. I just wish it weren’t scheduled opposite the Gold Cup.
2. Tacoma FC @ BYU Cougars on June 15th—Tacoma (along with BYU) represent the cream of the PDL Northwest. The Tide have lost once and tied once in their seven games thus far, and are the only team to have beaten BYU this season.
3. Abbotsford Rangers @ BYU Cougars on June 16th—For their third game in five days, the Cougars will face the Rangers who are currently sitting near the bottom of the standings in the PDL Northwest. It’s a tight division though, and the Cougs will be tired after a busy week.