MLS Week 30 - 2018

[LionNYC]

WEDNESDAY
Toronto FC vs. Tigres UNAL 8:15 PM (Campeones Cup, ESPN2, Univision)
Portland vs. Columbus 10:30 PM
Seattle vs. Philadelphia 11 PM
San Jose vs. Atlanta 11 PM (Unimas, Univision Deportes, Twitter)

SATURDAY
LAFC vs. San Jose 3:30 PM (Univison, Twitter)
New Jersey vs. Toronto 5 PM
Atlanta vs. Salt Lake 7 PM
Columbus vs. Colorado 7:30 PM
Montreal vs. New York City 7:30 PM
New England vs. Chicago 7:30 PM
Orlando vs. Houston 7:30 PM
Minnesota vs. Portland 8 PM

SUNDAY
Philadelphia vs. Kansas City 1 PM (ESPN)
Vancouver vs. Dallas 7 PM
LA Galaxy vs. Seattle 7 PM (FS1)

 

[Shwafta]

If we beat Montreal and then next week (31) DC tie or lose vs Montreal, we secure a playoff spot. (If we win just one more game, even if NE would win all their remaining games, they'd still be one win behind us so they couldn't overtake us, anyway.)
Would be nice to put some room between us and columbus as well, but let's see if that happens.

 

[SoupInNYC]

If we beat Montreal and then next week (31) DC tie or lose vs Montreal, we secure a playoff spot. (If we win just one more game, even if NE would win all their remaining games, they'd still be one win behind us so they couldn't overtake us, anyway.)
Would be nice to put some room between us and columbus as well, but let's see if that happens.

We actually don't need anything from DC. Beat Montreal and we are in, as the max points they would be able to get would go down to 51.

Current Max Points:
Atlanta - 75
NJ - 71
NYC - 64
Columbus - 62
Philly - 58
Montreal - 54
DU - 53
NER - 52
Orlando - 42
TFC - 48
Chicago - 45

 

[Shwafta]

We actually don't need anything from DC. Beat Montreal and we are in, as the max points they would be able to get would go down to 51.

Current Max Points:
Atlanta - 75
NJ - 71
NYC - 64
Columbus - 62
Philly - 58
Montreal - 54
DU - 53
NER - 52
Orlando - 42
TFC - 48
Chicago - 45

Oooh I completely forgot to check Montreal's points! I looked through every team except Montreal.

 

[SoupInNYC]

Furthermore, playoff scenarios this week:

• East: (Playoffs Clinched: Atlanta and NJ. Eliminated: None)
  • Atlanta clinches a playoff home game with a win in either of their two matches this week, or a Philly loss or draw in either of their two matches this week
  • Atlanta clinches a first round bye with two wins this week and a NYC loss or draw at Montreal
  • NJ clinches a playoff home game with a win over TFC or a Philly loss in either of their two matches this week
  • NYC clinches a playoff berth with a win at Montreal
  • Orlando is eliminated with a loss to Houston and a Montreal draw/win or a draw to Houston and a Montreal win and Philly gets 1 point this week
  • Chicago is eliminated with a loss to NE and a Montreal win and one Philly win this week
• West: (Playoffs Clinched: None. Eliminated: San Jose and Colorado)
  • FC Dallas clinches a playoff berth with a win at Vancouver and a LA Galaxy loss/draw to Seattle
  • SKC clinches a playoff berth with a win at Philly and a Vancouver loss/draw to FCD
  • Minnesota is eliminated with a loss to Portland and Seattle takes at least 2 points this week and a RSL win/draw at Atlanta or a draw to Portland and Portland also beats Columbus and Seattle picks up one win out of their 2 games and a RSL win at Atlanta
  • Houston is eliminated with a loss at Orlando and a RSL win at Atlanta, and both Seattle and Portland wins one of their two this week or a draw at Orlando and a RSL win at Atlanta, Seattle wins one of their two this week and Portland takes 4 points this week

 

[Shwafta]

Furthermore, playoff scenarios this week:

• East: (Playoffs Clinched: Atlanta and NJ. Eliminated: None)
  • Atlanta clinches a playoff home game with a win in either of their two matches this week, or a Philly loss or draw in either of their two matches this week
  • Atlanta clinches a first round bye with two wins this week and a NYC loss or draw at Montreal
  • NJ clinches a playoff home game with a win over TFC or a Philly loss in either of their two matches this week
  • NYC clinches a playoff berth with a win at Montreal
  • Orlando is eliminated with a loss to Houston and a Montreal draw/win or a draw to Houston and a Montreal win and Philly gets 1 point this week
  • Chicago is eliminated with a loss to NE and a Montreal win and one Philly win this week
• West: (Playoffs Clinched: None. Eliminated: San Jose and Colorado)
  • FC Dallas clinches a playoff berth with a win at Vancouver and a LA Galaxy loss/draw to Seattle
  • SKC clinches a playoff berth with a win at Philly and a Vancouver loss/draw to FCD
  • Minnesota is eliminated with a loss to Portland and Seattle takes at least 2 points this week and a RSL win/draw at Atlanta or a draw to Portland and Portland also beats Columbus and Seattle picks up one win out of their 2 games and a RSL win at Atlanta
  • Houston is eliminated with a loss at Orlando and a RSL win at Atlanta, and both Seattle and Portland wins one of their two this week or a draw at Orlando and a RSL win at Atlanta, Seattle wins one of their two this week and Portland takes 4 points this week

So interesting how on the East two teams have clinched and none eliminated, while west non clinched and two eliminated. Does that mean the East is more competitive towards the bottom and the west is more competitive towards the top?

 

[Schwallacus]

So interesting how on the East two teams have clinched and none eliminated, while west non clinched and two eliminated. Does that mean the East is more competitive towards the bottom and the west is more competitive towards the top?

or the East is a beast up top and so terrible on the bottom that even teams that lost 20 straight (Orlando) aren't even eliminated yet. Even Toronto and their fall from grace have a chance of reaching the playoffs. After the top 3/4, the East is meh.
West is definitely a more interesting conference from an outsider perspective in that there are a bunch of teams at a similar level, so seeding is ever changing. Rankings and table spots for the Western Conference bounce around each week, whereas the eastern conference has looked pretty consistent for the most part.

 

[Ulrich]

or the East is a beast up top and so terrible on the bottom that even teams that lost 20 straight (Orlando) aren't even eliminated yet. Even Toronto and their fall from grace have a chance of reaching the playoffs. After the top 3/4, the East is meh.
West is definitely a more interesting conference from an outsider perspective in that there are a bunch of teams at a similar level, so seeding is ever changing. Rankings and table spots for the Western Conference bounce around each week, whereas the eastern conference has looked pretty consistent for the most part.

DC is a sheep in wolfs clothing, not meh. Their record places them low in the playoff contention only because they started so poorly without Rooney, but he’s changed everything about that club, and as long as they’re healthy and available for selection, their players form a lineup much better and more capable than their record indicates. If DC had Rooney all season, I’d wager they’d be fighting us & Columbus for #3/4 spots.

 

[Shwafta]

or the East is a beast up top and so terrible on the bottom that even teams that lost 20 straight (Orlando) aren't even eliminated yet. Even Toronto and their fall from grace have a chance of reaching the playoffs. After the top 3/4, the East is meh.
West is definitely a more interesting conference from an outsider perspective in that there are a bunch of teams at a similar level, so seeding is ever changing. Rankings and table spots for the Western Conference bounce around each week, whereas the eastern conference has looked pretty consistent for the most part.

uhhhh that's basically what I said, too lol.
To me it just looks like San Jose, Colorado, Houston, Minnesota are just crap right now and the rest are all fighting for it at the top, while in the East ATL, RB, NYC, COL are fighting for the top 4 (Columbus just 3 and 4 though to be fair) and the rest are just crap fighting for the remaining spots.

Shame Columbus is gonna move to Austin. Will SKC come back to the east, or will we just get Nashville & Cincinnati & Miami to replace Columbus and SKC won't have to move?

 

[mgarbowski]

Shame Columbus is gonna move to Austin. Will SKC come back to the east, or will we just get Nashville & Cincinnati & Miami to replace Columbus and SKC won't have to move?

MLS is East-heavy (as is the country's population). Other considerations aside, Columbus moving to Austin is beneficial in this regard. It is highly unlikely a team in the West would ever move to the East conference unless they relocate. Chicago is the only Central time city in the East conference. SKC, both Texas teams, and Minnesota, are all in the West. When Cincy and Miami join, and if Columbus moves, the league will have 11 teams in the East time zone out of 26. Nashville (central time) will probably start in the East but could end up moving depending on where later expansion happens (eg Detroit could force a move West).

 

[SoupInNYC]

DC is a sheep in wolfs clothing, not meh.

Did you mean wolf in sheep's clothing?

 

[Ulrich]

Did you mean wolf in sheep's clothing?

Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant, oy....

I think NYCFC may be more of the sheep in wolves’ clothing if the last spell of matches is any indication.

 

[Schwallacus]

uhhhh that's basically what I said, too lol.
To me it just looks like San Jose, Colorado, Houston, Minnesota are just crap right now and the rest are all fighting for it at the top, while in the East ATL, RB, NYC, COL are fighting for the top 4 (Columbus just 3 and 4 though to be fair) and the rest are just crap fighting for the remaining spots.

Shame Columbus is gonna move to Austin. Will SKC come back to the east, or will we just get Nashville & Cincinnati & Miami to replace Columbus and SKC won't have to move?

Yeah, I misinterpreted your original post. Using "lack of morning coffee" at that time as my excuse.

 

[Gotham Gator]

MLS is East-heavy (as is the country's population). Other considerations aside, Columbus moving to Austin is beneficial in this regard. It is highly unlikely a team in the West would ever move to the East conference unless they relocate. Chicago is the only Central time city in the East conference. SKC, both Texas teams, and Minnesota, are all in the West. When Cincy and Miami join, and if Columbus moves, the league will have 11 teams in the East time zone out of 26. Nashville (central time) will probably start in the East but could end up moving depending on where later expansion happens (eg Detroit could force a move West).

This is a really interesting point and it made me wonder about other sports.

In the NBA, for example, 2 of the 15 Eastern Conference teams are in the central time zone (Milwaukee and Chicago). The rest are in the Western Conference, including all the teams in Texas and even New Orleans.

 

[mgarbowski]

This is a really interesting point and it made me wonder about other sports.

In the NBA, for example, 2 of the 15 Eastern Conference teams are in the central time zone (Milwaukee and Chicago). The rest are in the Western Conference, including all the teams in Texas and even New Orleans.

The country's population is completely imbalanced and the leagues reflect that. Going L->R The Pacific Zone has a dense strip on the ocean and is otherwise mostly empty. The Mountain Time Zone is almost empty throughout with just Denver, Phoenix and small cities. The Western third of Central Time is mostly empty except for KC and a few cities in Texas (which itself is otherwise mostly empty). Most of the cities in the Central Zone are closer to the Atlantic than the Pacific but most of the teams in those cities end up in the Western conference if there is such a split in that league. Hell, baseball has a central division in both leagues and the Texas Rangers are stuck in the West Division. The Detroit Red Wings, in the Eastern Time Zone, were stuck in the West conference until a few years ago.

ETA: Forgot the worst. When baseball first went to 2 divisions, Cincinnati and Atlanta both spent more than 2 decades in the West.
And since someone usually brings it up, the Cowboys are in the NFC East not due to geographic imbalance but for historic rivalries formed long before the current division lineup was created that nobody wants to eliminate.

 

[LeeNYCFC]

The country's population is completely imbalanced and the leagues reflect that. Going L->R The Pacific Zone has a dense strip on the ocean and is otherwise mostly empty. The Mountain Time Zone is almost empty throughout with just Denver, Phoenix and small cities. The Western third of Central Time is mostly empty except for KC and a few cities in Texas (which itself is otherwise mostly empty). Most of the cities in the Central Zone are closer to the Atlantic than the Pacific but most of the teams in those cities end up in the Western conference if there is such a split in that league. Hell, baseball has a central division in both leagues and the Texas Rangers are stuck in the West Division. The Detroit Red Wings, in the Eastern Time Zone, were stuck in the West conference until a few years ago.

ETA: Forgot the worst. When baseball first went to 2 divisions, Cincinnati and Atlanta both spent more than 2 decades in the West.
And since someone usually brings it up, the Cowboys are in the NFC East not due to geographic imbalance but for historic rivalries formed long before the current division lineup was created that nobody wants to eliminate.

For a few years pre-merger, the NFL had a Coastal division in the Western Conference: Baltimore, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

 

[Shwafta]

MLS is East-heavy (as is the country's population). Other considerations aside, Columbus moving to Austin is beneficial in this regard. It is highly unlikely a team in the West would ever move to the East conference unless they relocate. Chicago is the only Central time city in the East conference. SKC, both Texas teams, and Minnesota, are all in the West. When Cincy and Miami join, and if Columbus moves, the league will have 11 teams in the East time zone out of 26. Nashville (central time) will probably start in the East but could end up moving depending on where later expansion happens (eg Detroit could force a move West).

Well, currently we have 11 and west has 12 right? So if Columbus moves to Austin next season, that's 10-13. Then next season Cincinnati joins, which puts it at 11-13. That means that one team has to move east for one season. In 2020 the team moves back, and then Nashville and Miami come into east to make it 13-13. If you look historically in MLS, SKC or Dynamo would be the team to move over to the East, as they used to be in the East until 2015. However now Minnesota is closer to Chicago so we might even see Minnesota move over. I don't see them moving any of the texas teams over because they're gonna have some "Texas triangle" rivalry crap they're inevitably going to push.

I doubt they'd keep it as 11-13, as well.

 

[Gotham Gator]

I assume Austin would be the swing in that scenario.

 

[mgarbowski]

I assume Austin would be the swing in that scenario.

I think that's right. I thought some of the new teams were starting in 2019.

 

[Shwafta]

I assume Austin would be the swing in that scenario.

Why would Austin be the swing? They would surely be in the west, Houston, KC, and Minnesota are all more eastern than Austin though.

I think that's right. I thought some of the new teams were starting in 2019.

A quick google search before found me that Cincinnati joins 2019, nashville and miami join 2020.
So next season, if columbus move to Austin, then COL(east) will become Austin(west)