What did we learn from Major League Soccer's opening weekend?
First, the trio that has ruled MLS -- two-time champion D.C. United, defending champion Chicago and regular-season marvel Los Angeles -- showed only faint signs of releasing its grip on the league. United demolished Tampa Bay, and Chicago overcame some early jitters to get a road win at San Jose.
The only member of the Big Three to struggle was Los Angeles, which needed a shootout to get past the Colorado Rapids.
Second, there's trouble in Kansas City. Memo to the Wizards: When you need an emergency goalkeeper, get someone with experience in the second-tier A-League. Rookie keeper Cesar Delgado, signed from utter obscurity as a "discovery player," gave up four goals to the Dallas Burn and looked horrible on three of them. The Wizards waived Delgado on Monday.
The Wizards' goalkeeping misadventures may continue for a while; Tony Meola's knee injury appears to be more serious than the team first thought.
Following are the rankings for all 12 MLS teams. Last week's position and each team's current record are in parentheses.
1. D.C. United (3: 1-0, 3 pts.): The two-time MLS champs appeared to be toying with Tampa Bay in their opener. Can anything get through this team's back line?
2. Chicago Fire (1: 1-0, 3 pts.): The defending champs made a nice recovery after getting more of a challenge from San Jose than they expected.
3. Los Angeles Galaxy (2: 1-0, 1 pt.): A shootout win at home was not the way this team wanted to start.
4. Columbus Crew (4: 0-0, 0 pts.): Last year's MLS goal-scoring leader, Stern John, has been called up to the Trinidad & Tobago national team and will miss the Crew opener against the Metro- Stars on Sunday.
5. Dallas Burn (5: 1-0, 3 pts.): Jason Kreis showed signs of returning to form with a hat trick and an assist in the Burn's opener.
6. New York/New Jersey MetroStars (6: 1-0, 1 pt.): Eduardo Hurtado's two-goal start is great news for the Metros; "El Tanque" was a 20-goal scorer in Los Angeles.
7. Colorado Rapids (8: 0-1, 0 pts.): The Rapids needed only 14 minutes to surrender as many goals (one) as they did in 10 preseason games. But forcing a shootout in Los Angeles isn't a bad way to start the season.
8. Miami Fusion (9: 0-1, 0 pts.): An impressive rally to force a shootout after falling behind 2-0 should inspire a few fans to return for more home games.
9. Kansas City Wizards (7: 0-1, 0 pts.): With Meola still out, the Wizards plan to start David Winner, who at least has more experience under his gloves.
10. San Jose Clash (12: 0-1, 0 pts.): Another new signee, Costa Rican defender Mauricio Wright, may start against Colorado tomorrow.
11. New England Revolution (11: 0-0, 0 pts.): Goalkeeper/coach Walter Zenga should provide plenty of entertainment value for ESPN2's cameras on Sunday as the Revs begin their season in Miami.
12. Tampa Bay Mutiny (10: 0-1, 0 pts.): It's tough to evaluate the Mutiny's new strike force up front when the team is fundamentally incapable of getting the ball past midfield.
Pub Date: 3/26/99