Dynamo continue to thrive

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2012 Power Rankings: August 6
 RK (LW)TEAMRECCOMMENT
Houston1 (2)Houston11-5-7The Dynamo continue to roll, and the 2-0 score against New York could have been much heavier. The creative spark provided by new arrival Boniek Garcia has pushed Houston into the league's elite.
San Jose2 (1)San Jose13-5-5The Quakes had the week off from league play, although they did tie EPL side Swansea City in a midweek exhibition. Now San Jose will face a resurgent Seattle side at home.
DC United3 (5)DC United11-7-3After a hot start, rookie midfielder Nick DeLeon went off the boil a bit, but his mazy run helped set up Chris Pontius' game-winner against Columbus and helped United snap a two-game losing streak.
Real Salt Lake4 (4)Real Salt Lake13-8-3RSL ran into a perfect storm of travel-induced fatigue, injury, and a desperate Colorado side in a 1-0 loss. With defender Jamison Olave out and Chris Schuler injured too, Jason Kreis will try to keep his defense together with bubble gum and bailing wire.
New York Red Bulls5 (3)New York Red Bulls11-7-5New York spoiled Tim Cahill's debut with a wretched defensive display against Houston. Things figure to get better when holding midfielder Dax McCarty returns from suspension, but questions still abound about the Red Bulls back line.
Chicago6 (7)Chicago10-7-5Defenders don't usually garner many Rookie of the Year votes, but defender Austin Berry has quietly put together a solid season, and his third goal of the campaign helped Chicago subdue Toronto 2-1.
Kansas City7 (8)Kansas City12-7-4SKC was opportunistic in its 1-0 win over New England. They'll gladly take more of the same Wednesday when they host Seattle in the U.S. Open Cup final.
Seattle Sounders FC8 (10)Seattle Sounders FC10-5-7There were heroes aplenty in Seattle's 4-0 demolition of the Galaxy, but unheralded Alex Caskey did his bit, keeping the play alive in the buildup to Fredy Montero's goal, and then scoring one with a delightful chip over Galaxy keeper Josh Saunders.
Los Angeles9 (6)Los Angeles10-11-3While the Galaxy had a solid shout for a penalty against Seattle, there's no doubt that defensively L.A. suffered through a poor match. The champs look to this week's SuperClasico versus Chivas for the chance to put a stranglehold on a playoff spot.
Vancouver Whitecaps10 (9)Vancouver Whitecaps9-7-7The Whitecaps may have had a bye, but manager Martin Rennie was far from idle, as he continued to add pieces to his roster, with midfielder Tiago Ulisses and defender Andy O'Brien joining the squad last week.
Columbus11 (11)Columbus8-8-4Rest in peace Kirk Urso, and condolences to the Urso family and the Crew community.
Philadelphia Union12 (12)Philadelphia Union7-11-2Jack McInerney learned the hard way that it doesn't pay to retaliate, even when your teammate gets head-butted. His ejection left the Union playing 10-versus-10 against Montreal, and there was no way back for Philly in a 2-0 loss.
Chivas USA13 (13)Chivas USA7-8-5Idle Chivas now has four games in hand on L.A. and three on Vancouver. The Goats can go a long way toward making them count when they face the Galaxy this weekend.
Toronto FC14 (14)Toronto FC5-13-4TFC reverted to some bad habits against the Fire with Logan Emory getting sent off, an injury to Jeremy Hall reducing the team to nine players, and then conceding two preventable goals to lose to Chicago 2-1.
Montreal Impact15 (16)Montreal Impact9-13-3Montreal's 2-0 win over Philadelphia was overshadowed by Nelson Rivas' head-butt on Antoine Hoppenot, an infraction will no doubt draw the MLS Disciplinary Committee's special brand of attention.
New England16 (15)New England6-11-5In a week that saw New England trade away captain Shalrie Joseph, another backbreaking defensive error cost the Revs at least a point. Clyde Simms bravely took the blame for Teal Bunbury's goal, but it was a cascade of errors that led to the tally.
FC Dallas17 (17)FC Dallas5-11-8Brek Shea's bid to rebuild his rep took a positive step as his assist on Scott Sealy's goal helped FCD garner a draw on the road at Portland. With seven points in its last five games, Dallas has emerged from the trough that saw it go winless in 13 games.
Colorado18 (18)Colorado8-14-1The Rapids' nightmarish six-game losing streak is over thanks to a 1-0 home win over rivals Real Salt Lake. The damage has been done however, as Colorado now sits eight points behind L.A. for the final playoff spot.
Portland Timbers19 (19)Portland Timbers5-12-5A home draw against Dallas is nothing to crow about, but after losing five games in a row, the Timbers will take it. That said, the team is still waiting for its first win under interim head coach Gavin Wilkinson.