Yes, we realize that we slacked in getting a Survivor column posted last week. You probably won't believe it but we actually picked Kansas City to beat Columbus at Arrowhead Stadium (thank you very much, Eddie Johnson and Scott Sealy for allowing us to survive for another week with two strikes in extra time of their 3-2 win).
It's more than likely that you've chosen different teams in the first two weeks of survivor, so we'll outline our top picks for the week and then point out who we're going to go with based on the fact that Houston and Kansas City are no longer available to us after using those two teams in the first two weeks of Survivor.
Now, there are a grand total of eight MLS games this week. There is not an easy one in the bunch that one could say, "That team's a lock to win." So, let's give it our best guess on three matches.
The first is the Chicago Fire at FC Dallas on ESPN Thursday night. The Brimstone Cup opponents met in Chicago earlier this season with the Hoops taking a 2-1 victory. But this Fire team is different from the one that last faced FCD, having added internationals Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Paulo Wanchope since that match. Blanco has proven to be a force for the Fire, but the Hoops are looking to close in on a postseason berth with a victory and a combination of a Colorado Rapids loss and a Columbus loss or tie this weekend. Pick: FC Dallas
With the Wizards hitting the road to take on Chivas USA on Saturday night, this match-up of potential playoff teams would appear to be one that you'd want to avoid. But Chivas' home dominance is too much to avoid and the offense has been on a roll of late, scoring 11 goals over their last five matches at the Home Depot Center. Pick: Chivas USA
The final team worth opting for this weekend is D.C. United, who are playing the Fire in Bridgeview, Ill. D.C. United is the best team in the league and the Fire will be playing their second game within three days. While there might be a cause for concern that D.C. won't play hard after having already secured a postseason berth, it's not enough to scare us away from picking a rested D.C. team vs. a potentially tired Fire team. Pick: D.C. United
As for our pick this week, we've got to go with FC Dallas over Chicago. The Fire are a much improved team with Blanco, but the Hoops are going to take advantage of some home cooking and defeat Chicago.