We hate to break this to you, but it's time that someone said something: You're not as smart as you think you are. Come to think of it, neither are we.
What are we talking about? Picking winners from MLS games, of course!
In case you have not heard, the stakes have been raised for all of you playing Survivor Pro. Just try not to go all Gordon Gecko and overstep on some of your picks in an effort
to reach one of the prize levels.
Here's the skinny on the prize levels:
Streaks: Prizes
5-game: Survivor Pro T-shirt
10-game: FIFA 08 game
15-game: PSP System
20-game: XBox 360
In order to succeed at this game you should consider being selective with your picks. Remember the '80s game show "Press Your Luck"? Well, in this case, the Whammy is a loss or a tie and so far there have been quite a few Whammies out there.
Of course, we're not immune to this feeling of "just one more right selection and I'm that much further ahead of the pack." Just last week we went a bit out on a limb and picked Columbus over D.C. United at RFK Stadium and Toronto FC over Real Salt Lake in TFC's home opener. Both picks won ... but what did we do? We pressed our luck by taking Colorado at home against a winless expansion team -- only to see the expansion team walk away with a victory.
You've got to pick your spots. There's going to be some weeks when you can make 3 or 4 selections with confidence. And then there are other weeks where you're going to have a difficult time in just picking one team to win.
This upcoming week is filled with a number of even match-ups (at least on paper):
- On Sunday, two teams with no offense, but solid defense play at Giants Stadium (San Jose vs. New York).
- On Saturday, the two-time defending champions, playing without one of their stallwart defenders, heads to Columbus in search of their first win on the season against a team that has rushed out to a 3-1-0 mark (Houston vs. Columbus).
- RSL may not have much in the way of scorers, but D.C. United's revamped lineup hasn't exactly been potent in the season's early going.
- L.A. Galaxy vs. Chivas USA meet in the first Honda Super Clasico of the year.
Tough week, right? Well, that's why we're going to limit our selections this week to one Best Bet and one Top Choice.
New England Revolution at FC Dallas (8:30 p.m. ET, Thursday): The Revs, playing with 10 men for a good portion of the match, are coming off a hard-fought draw against the New York Red Bulls. The team has traded veteran Joe Franchino (though he appeared to be phased out of coach Steve Nicol's rotation) to L.A. and starting forward Mauricio Castro will not play due to his red card the previous week. Meanwhile, FC Dallas has strung together two consecutive wins over Chivas USA and New York, and remains the only unbeaten team in MLS (2-0-2). Teamwork is guiding the Hoops thus far and look for it to continue against a disjointed Revolution squad. Best Bet: FC Dallas
Kansas City Wizards at Toronto FC (3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday): Coaches in any sport always try to prepare their team to avoid "the let-down" following a big win. There's a tendancy for players to dwell on their accomplishments from the previous game vs. respecting their current opponents. Laurent Robert gave TFC a big win in their home opener last week against RSL. Don't expect the same result this week against a Wizards club that has played like one of the best in the league. Top Choice: Kansas City
Best of luck building up those win streaks.