When it comes to playing Survivor, everyone is going to have his or her own personal strategy. Some people will say that you only pick home teams. Others will say that you never a team in a rivalry game no matter how well/poorly the two teams are playing at that moment.
As for SoccerFantasyPro.com Experts, we're all about picking the best team available. Don't mess around by avoiding Conference leaders, thinking that you can save them for next week. What happens when you don't make it to next week? What do you then, huh? Game over. You're done and lamenting the fact that you should have taken our advice and gone with a sure winner in the first week.
In Week 23 of the MLS season, there are three matches that say "Keep OUT!" The first is Thursday's ESPN2 match with D.C. United traveling to The Home Depot Center to take on Chivas USA. Granted, the Goats have lost four of their last five matches, but all four losses came at home. Also, it has been 10 days since Chivas last played and they should be plenty healthy to take on the Eastern Conference co-leaders.
The other two matches to avoid in terms of Survivor are New England at D.C. on Sunday and Chicago at Columbus on Saturday. New England is tied with D.C. for the Eastern Conference lead going into Thursday's match and there's not point in wasting your pick when two top teams go head to head -- unless you really like a challenge ... in which case we'd say you're crazy. As far the Fire and Crew are concerned, both teams are scratching and clawing for that final playoff spot in the East. Chicago's chances look dim, but does anyone actually think that Blanco -- especially the way that he has played since joining MLS -- is going to let his team roll over? No chance.
So, now that we've covered the matches to avoid, let's take a look at the matches that are most appealing:
Toronto at FC Dallas (Saturday) -- TFC has not seen a "W" since Fourth of July and only garnered one point in its last six league matches. FC Dallas, while getting spanked 4-0 by D.C. United at Pizza Hut Park last week, is coming off a U.S. Open Cup semifinal win on Tuesday and should be looking to gain a measure of revenge against Toronto for the 4-0 loss that they absorbed earlier in the season in Canada. Pick: FC Dallas
Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo (Saturday) -- Hmmm ... Is this match-up really that hard to explain? RSL, which is barely out of the Western cellar, vs. the Western Conference-leading Dynamo in Houston. Not that hard a choice here. Pick: Houston Dynamo
Colorado Rapids at L.A. Galaxy (Saturday) -- While this match may not jump out as a sure-fire game to pick, the Galaxy are certainly realing. From Alexi Lalas's comments about the league stacking the schedule against L.A. (c'mon Lex, it's a fair trade. Your team gets an uber-star in David Beckham and the rest of the league gets to share a bit in the glory by getting a home match against your Galaxy. Stop whining.) to Becks apparently being done for the year and requesting to be loaned back to the U.K., this team is just about ready to play out the string and call it a season. The Galaxy backline is pourous and while Colorado may not strike with the authority of D.C. United, they will be able to put the ball into the back of the net at some point on Saturday. Pick: Colorado.
New York Red Bulls at Chivas USA (Sunday) -- Two teams standing at 36 points collide in L.A. to close out the week. While Chivas will be hosting their second tough Eastern Conference opponent in a week, the team should be ready to face Juan Pablo Angel and the Red Bulls, who have not won a match on the road since July 8 (a span of matches). Plus, who ever feels great -- much less playing 90 minutes in the SoCal heat -- when making a cross-country flight? Pick: Chivas USA
Our pick: We've gotta go with Houston Dynamo. The only way you avoid this match-up is if you either think this is a proverbial "trap game" (one in which the dominant opponent overlooks the weaker one and ends up losing) or you want to "save" Houston.
Good luck!