Red Bulls' rise continues

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2012 Power Rankings: July 23
 RK (LW)TEAMRECCOMMENT
San Jose1 (1)San Jose13-5-4The Quakes were left stewing over Jair Marrufo's penalty call in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Vancouver, but after watching Dallas miss a potential game-tying pen in midweek, it was more a case of the soccer gods evening things out.
New York Red Bulls2 (5)New York Red Bulls11-5-5The only thing classier than Kenny Cooper's two goals against Philadelphia was his touching tribute to former Red Bulls midfielder Claudio Reyna, whose 13-year-old son, Jack, passed away earlier in the week after a battle with cancer.
DC United3 (2)DC United10-7-3United has been missing a spark of late, and that didn't change in its 1-0 loss to Columbus. Now DCU will have two weeks to find it until its next league encounter, also against Columbus.
Chicago4 (3)Chicago9-7-4The Fire didn't play badly in losing 1-0 in midweek to New York, as Chicago was undone by Thierry Henry's wonder goal. But a lack of offense -- Chicago ranks fourth from bottom in goals scored -- remains a concern for Frank Klopas.
Kansas City5 (4)Kansas City11-6-4All of a sudden, SKC is finding it hard to find the net at home, with its 0-0 tie against New England extending its scoreless streak at Livestrong Sporting Park to 335 minutes.
Vancouver Whitecaps6 (6)Vancouver Whitecaps9-6-7After some uneven performances, new arrival Barry Robson is beginning to make his mark, scoring twice this week to help Vancouver secure four points from two home games.
Real Salt Lake7 (7)Real Salt Lake12-7-3RSL bounced back nicely from last week's blowout loss to San Jose thanks to the tireless work of forwards Fabian Espindola and Alvaro Saborio, whose willingness to pressure Colorado's back line led to both goals in a 2-0 win.
Houston8 (8)Houston9-5-7Houston had a score to settle with the Impact after some off-field histrionics during last month's loss in Montreal, and settle it the Dynamo did with a convincing 3-0 win. The Dynamo are now unbeaten in six games.
Los Angeles9 (10)Los Angeles9-10-3Robbie Keane is on fire. So is Landon Donovan, and following a road tie in Vancouver and another SuperClasico win over Chivas, the Galaxy are closing in on the teams immediately above them in the Western Conference.
Seattle Sounders FC10 (9)Seattle Sounders FC8-5-7Seattle's exertions were limited to a 4-2 friendly loss against Chelsea, but Fredy Montero's two goals reignited talk that he could soon be headed for bigger challenges. Meanwhile, fans can breathe easier that Brad Evans' knee injury was deemed minor.
Columbus11 (11)Columbus7-7-4The Crew needed a win badly and got one against D.C. United thanks to Chris Birchall's second career MLS goal. Dilly Duka and Jairo Arrieta also looked lively in attack, while the Columbus defense survived some late scares to earn another clean sheet.
Philadelphia Union12 (12)Philadelphia Union6-10-2The Union dropped a 2-0 decision to New York, but the absence of Freddy Adu due to a 'team matter' was what made headlines. Interim manager John Hackworth indicated Adu should be available for the Union's next game, but the situation will bear watching.
Chivas USA13 (13)Chivas USA6-8-5The Goats got what they hoped was a key win over Portland, but Saturday's loss to the Galaxy means Chivas is losing ground to the teams currently occupying the playoff places. At least Ryan Smith is beginning to kick-start the team's feeble attack.
Toronto FC14 (16)Toronto FC5-11-4Toronto's revival under Paul Mariner continued with a midweek, comeback victory over Colorado. The trade that brought French forward Eric Hassli to TFC from Vancouver shows Mariner isn't giving up on the current season, either.
New England15 (15)New England6-9-5A road draw against Sporting Kansas City was definitely a point gained, but the midweek defeat at Montreal stings. The Revs' next five games are against conference opponents, giving them a prime opportunity to climb back into the playoff places.
Montreal Impact16 (17)Montreal Impact7-13-3The Impact split a pair of games, beating New England and then falling to Houston. But at this stage, running in place won't be enough to climb over the teams above them, especially with a defense that continues to leak goals.
FC Dallas17 (19)FC Dallas5-10-7FCD showed the best way to push the Brek Shea-Schellas Hyndman spat into the background was to deliver a victory. Dallas did just that with a 5-0 pasting of Portland. David Ferreira showed some flashes of his old self, as well, with two assists.
Colorado18 (14)Colorado7-13-1It's tough to win when the back line makes killer mistakes, and that was the case against RSL. Combined with the midweek loss against Toronto, Colorado has now dropped five in a row.
Portland Timbers19 (18)Portland Timbers5-11-4If the Timbers haven't hit rock bottom yet, they have to be getting close after losing at Chivas and then getting pummeled in Dallas in a game where interim manager Gavin Wilkinson, with some justification, accused his team of quitting.