Chivas top the inaugural Examiner.com MLS Power Rankings

April 29, 5:47 PMMLS ExaminerDavid Agrell

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Chukwudi Chijindu's Chivas have the power (AP/The Canadian Press,Nathan Denette)

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Examiner.com's Major League Soccer Power Rankings!

Each MLS Examiner has created his or her own Power Rankings list. We've taken those lists and compiled the following overall ranking, and added comments and opinions from each Examiner.

To check out each individual Examiner's list, click on any name below.

1 - Chivas USA, 133 points

"Despite losing to Toronto midweek, this is still clearly the class of MLS, [Manfredi]" and they've "shown they have the deepest bench in the league, which is just about the most important thing [Agrell]." However, "only the victory against Seattle stands out as impressive [Kashuba]" and they may only be "the default number one until someone can figure out the magic potion Preki is brewing down there [Falk]."

2 - Seattle Sounders FC, 117 points

Though "Seattle plays some of the loveliest soccer in the league [Kassouf]" and are "play-off bound for sure [Eisenmenger]," they'll face a "true test on Saturday when they take on the Fire in Chicago [Villarreal]." Plus, "a healthy dose of away games should fade the Rave Green like a whirl in a hot washing machine [Kashuba]."

3 - Chicago Fire, 114 points

Boasting "the number one offense in MLS [White]," the Fire have "everything they need and are raising the level of league play [Eisenmenger]." But "tying a lousy Columbus side [Manfredi]," hardly inspires confidence. Besides, getting "four draws in six matches is like trying to get wet kindling to ignite [Falk]."

4 - Toronto FC, 109 points

"An improving back line has Toronto looking down at the rest of the East [Villarreal]," and beating Chivas showed "some character, especially among the John Carver controversy [Kassouf]." That said, "Carver's resignation won't help [White]," and don't forget "they played Dallas twice and got one point [Morgans]."

5 - Real Salt Lake, 107 points

"Heaping a six on anyone is proof enough that RSL should be feared [Agrell]," and "they seem to be able to find results however you want to play [Morgans]." But the question remains, "can they win on the road? [White]" Because they'll "need to show they can perform on the road before they crack the top three [Villarreal]."

6 - Kansas City Wizards, 85 points

They may be the perennial "dark horse [Agrell]," and they don't yet "carry that Red Bull/Galaxy stench [Morgans]," but playing up a man for the majority of the game against New York and just squeaking by speaks volumes about this team [Kashuba]," so this "might be as high as they go [Eisenmenger]."

7 - DC United, 80 points

This year's DC United are "better than expected [Eisenmenger]," and "if they can solidify their defense they can be a very dangerous team. [Villarreal]." Though they "showed some grit in rallying to beat New York on the road [Manfredi]," DC look to have more life in them "without their aged leaders, Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno [White]."

8 - Colorado Rapids, 66 points

They may have shown "rapid improvement [Falk]" this year, but their success has been "by way of shabby tackles and uncalled fouls [Eisenmenger]." So what will they do to "break the funk and emerge toward the top of the Western Conference? [Kassouf]" Well, they could be "MLS Cup champs if they could only play LA every week [Morgans]."

9 - New England Revolution, 62 points

The 6-0 drubbing "was just a freak result, right? [Agrell]" The Revs have their ups and downs, "but a 6-0 loss is terrible no matter which way you look at it [Kassouf]." Though they seem to "play the anti-football to perfection, and will continue to churn out ugly wins and hard-fought draws [Kashuba]," perhaps "everything will be fine. Or not. [Falk]"

10 - Houston Dynamo, 55 points

Finding goals "without Dwayne De Rosario has proved much harder than expected [Kashuba]," though at the other end "the defense has settled in [White]." So don't panic yet—"they are ahead of the pace they were on last year when they won the West [Villarreal]," but this could always be "the year they can't come all the way back [Falk]."

11 - San Jose Earthquakes, 45 points

Here's a team that "can beat almost everyone, but nearly everyone in the league can beat them, too [Morgans]." Last week they were guilty of a "flat effort against Seattle, which lead to another predictable result [Manfredi]." They're "still looking to find their form [Kassouf]," but a big part of their problem is that "they can't score on the road, which is bad. [White]

12 - Columbus Crew, 35 points

They may be winless, but "they will win given their level of play [Eisenmenger]," and they did show "some bite this past week [Agrell]." So if "bad teams find a way to lose points at the last minute [Manfredi]," how bad is this year's Crew right now? "The defending MLS Cup champions are the worst in the league right now. Baffling [Kassouf]."

13 - Los Angeles Galaxy, 30 points

"The addition of Greg Berhalter and steady goalkeeping by Donovan Rickets has turned this team's fortunes around [White]," and "back-to-back draws on the road have to count for something, right? [Manfredi]" So is there any "natural reason this team should be this low on the list? [Eisenmenger]" Perhaps it wasn't all Alexi Lala's fault after all [Falk]."

14 - New York Red Bulls, 23 points

"Someone with a pulse ought to be able to coach them to 45 points [Morgans]" this year, but it looks as though the West champs "will struggle to make the playoffs, [Kashuba]," especially given Saturday was "a disaster—an absolute mess [Agrell]."  They'll need to build confidence before "going cross country to take on the struggling Galaxy [Villarreal]."

15 - FC Dallas, 19 points

For much of the season, "it's been Kenny Cooper or nothing [Morgans]," so if Cooper's European aspiration come to fruition, Dallas will have a hard time finding the back of the net, let alone the win column [Kashuba]." Though Cooper and Dave van den Bergh deserve better [Eisenmenger]," this could really "get ugly [Manfredi]."

Do you agree with these rankings? Would you have put your team higher up, or your rival's lower? What about the comments? Were they fair? Let us know!

Complete list of Major League Soccer Examiners:

• Roman Kashuba (Chicago Fire)
• Thomas Del Signore (Columbus Crew)
• Ed Morgans (DC United)
• L.E. Eisenmenger (NE Revolution)
• Jeff Kassouf (NY Red Bulls)
• Deron White (Colorado Rapids)
• Joshua Villarreal (Houston Dynamo)
• Richard Manfredi (LA Galaxy)
• Sonja Smith (San Jose Earthquakes)
• David Falk (Seattle Sounders)