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Does anyone have a lawnmower I can borrow?

On Sunday I will be in Chicago for the Fire-Revolution playoff match. Here are a few questions that I have heading into the playoffs:

2. Can D.C. survive Facundo Erpen? The defender is talented and can uncork a mean shot, but he's also prone to making horrendous errors. Last week against Chicago he was simply terrible. No team playing a three-man backline can afford mistakes.

3. Why is Colorado in the playoffs? How can a team field Thiago Martins and Jacob Peterson as their forwards and expect to score goals? This is why MLS should switch to a six-team playoff format, a la the 1st Division. There are only a half dozen contenders in the mix.

4. Has New England finally got its shit together? All season long I've been expecting them to be the best team in the league and they've sputtered and flailed. But they finished the season unbeaten in their final seven games. Have they simply been lying in wait, knowing that the playoffs is the time to peak?

5. Will Clint Dempsey finish his MLS career with a title? I'd bet on it. Since returning from the World Cup Dempsey has been dominating games in a manner that only Landon Donovan has proven capable of in recent memory. The ferocity and ingenuity of his play has been exhilarating to watch. Where will he end up in January?

6. Why is Jeff Cunningham a finalist for MVP? Personally I don't think a player on a team that fails to make the playoffs and finishes with the worst record in the Western Conference deserves consideration. I know he's got the stats (16 goals, 11 assists), but soccer is not a game that can be deconstructed by numbers. My finalists: Christian Gomez, DeWayne DeRosario, and Chris Armas. The latter was the glue that enabled a Chicago team that doesn't look like much on paper to be tops in the league during the second half of the year.

7. What the fuck is up with Matt Pickens hair? Somebody buy that guy a bottle of shampoo.

8. Does Bob Bradley deserve all the kudos he's getting? The guy's got more financial resources at his disposal than any other team in the league. I'd like to see an actual comparison between the payrolls of Columbus and Chivas. The notion that MLS teams are on a level financial playing field is a joke. I'm more impressed with the job fat Sigi did cobbling together a not-completely-embarrassing Crew team from a roster thin on talent and decimated by injuries. My choice for coach of the year? Dave Sarachan.

9. Who will play New England in the final? Houston. DeRosario is playing the best football of his career. He thrives on big games. And (like Dempsey) is looking to head off to Europe.

Posted by Paul Demko at October 18, 2006 4:39 PM

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