My best guess of what's going to happen in the first round...just don't count on my best being very good.

(home team first)

Colorado 1 Los Angeles 0

Los Angeles 1 Colorado 0

Tied 1-1 on aggregate

LA wins AET.

Nice and symmetrical, isn't it? I just don't see many goals in this one (but I'll be pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong when I watch tonight). Not with Joe Cannon and Catenaccio Rapids at home in the first leg (a year later, that seemingly bizarre decision by Tim Hankinson to pick up Joe Cannon is looking prescient. I still think Hanki is one strange dude). Not with LA looking very average through the homestretch. I haven't seen LA play since July or so, but who drives their midfield? What happened to all those people who were saying Herzog was one of the greatest pickups in league HISTORY in May? I'm picking LA based on players like Ruiz and Kirovski, but I've got no idea which way this one is going to go.


New England 2 Columbus 1

Columbus 3 New England 0

Columbus wins 4-2 on aggregate

Don't ask me why, but I've got the feeling the Crew's unbeaten streak comes to an end Saturday at Foxboro. It's GOT to end sometime, and as much as Columbus's fans want people to believe they've got some sort of great team on their hands, the reality is they've got a solid, experienced team, a terrifically skilled young forward who's finally starting to live up to his scary potential in Edson Buddle, and they haven't let up a bit since qualifying early for the playoffs, unlike a certain team from New Jersey.
Even if they lose this Saturday, I have a hard time seeing Columbus falling to the Revs, but stranger things have happened.



Metrostars 3 DC United 1

DC United 2 Metrostars 1

Metrostars win 4-3 on aggregate


Look, this is all prayer and hopeful thinking. I can't stand the thought of losing to DC in the playoffs, so I'm going to predict the best outcome I can envision for the Metros - edging out DC on something like a Cornell Glen breakaway or a Guevara penalty. These are two young, erratic teams that haven't shown the ability to put anything together for more than a game at a time - and usually not even as long as that. It won't be pretty - Team Thug DC will make sure of that - but it should be fun to watch for everyone except me, who will be alternately screaming at the television, hiding my face with a blanket and hurling things around the apartment.


I'll do the other one tomorrow...