First Impressions

One can never, should never, make any assumptions about how things might go in Major League Soccer's regular season by what occurred in the preseason. Two months of training sessions and games, against opponents as disparate as college sides and international powers, often utilizing trial players looking for (and many times unworthy of) a contract says only so much.

Most MLS clubs remain a work in progress. There are more signings to come, chemistry to be built, lineups to be sorted. And many pivotal players, from Landon Donovan to Pablo Mastroeni to Ben Olsen, have seen little or no action, slowed by or recovering from injuries.

MLS might not be the best league on the planet, far from it, but it is easily the most competitive. Single-entity and salary cap has bred tremendous parity, and the worst team in the league -- still Toronto FC, it appears -- can beat the best on any given day.

Who is the best? The usual suspects are in the running: champion Houston Dynamo, Supporters' Shield winner D.C. United, Western Conference titlist Chivas USA and perennial runner-up New England Revolution. The Kansas City Wizards sure look as if they'll compete for a title, and several others could be there, too, if things come together.

And at the end, much will be determined by who is hot. Remember the 2005 Los Angeles Galaxy. In no way was L.A. the best team, but it won the MLS Cup-U.S. Open Cup double. Nearly every team in the league is capable of that, depending, of course.

Here's a quick look at MLS clubs' preseason performances, ranked in order of who has best impressed:

1. D.C. United

Preseason: 5-3-5. Vs. MLS: 3-1-4. Top scorer: Newcomer Franco Niell has four, three of them in a preseason-opening rout of the U.S. U-17s.

Worth noting: Welcome to MLS's South American team, with all the Argentine/Colombian/Peruvian newcomers -- including Niell, playmaker Marcelo Gallardo and defender Gonzalo Martinez -- joining mainstays Jaime Moreno, Fred and reigning MLS MVP Luciano Emilio, and might Brazilian trialist Cezar be next? It's a work in progress, but what a work it could be. D.C. is unbeaten since mid-February, it impressed in San Antonio (losing the title on total goals to Houston), and can't complain about the CONCACAF Champions Cup rout of Harbour View (although the first leg wasn't so good, was it?).

2. Houston Dynamo

Preseason: 6-2-3. Vs. MLS: 3-1-2. Top scorer: Dwayne De Rosario has four, two in Wednesday's 3-1 triumph over Municipal to win a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series.

Worth noting: Much hand-wringing over Joseph Ngwenya's and Nate Jaqua's moves to Austria, but neither was on the Dynamo roster at season's start last year and nearly everyone else is back from the two-time defending champions. Throw out that 6-1 debacle against Gamba Osaka in Honolulu -- and the 4-0 loss to L.A. in a scrimmage the day before -- and Houston is 6-0-3 with six shutouts, the Texas Pro Soccer Festival title and a semifinal berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

3. New England Revolution

Preseason: 4-1-1. Vs. MLS: 0-0-0. Top scorer: New signing Abdoulie "Kenny" Mansally has five.

Worth noting: Mansally stepped up as Taylor Twellman's likely strike partner. Khano Smith enjoyed a homecoming in his native Bermuda (where the Revs twice beat Bermuda's national team) then scored twice in a win over Mexico's Pioneros de Cancun and Honduras' Marathon. And the annual trip to New Orleans, where there were two showdowns with Marathon, almost sparked a player revolt over the quality of the field (small and poor), the quality of the food (poor) and the quality of the water (no bottles, so drink from the tap).

4. Kansas City Wizards

Preseason: 5-3-4. Vs. MLS: 0-2-2. Top scorer: Carlos Marinelli has three

Worth noting: What a trip to Argentina! The Wizards went 5-1-2, with wins over top sides Velez Sarsfield's, River Plate's and San Lorenzo's reserves, plus signed striker Claudio Lopez, a two-time World Cup selection who becomes MLS's sixth Designated Player. Only countryman Marcelo Gallardo, D.C.'s new DP, rivals Lopez as the league's top newcomer.

5. FC Dallas

Preseason: 6-2-3. Vs. MLS: 0-0-1. Top scorer: Top draft pick Brek Shea and newcomer Doudou Toure have scored three.

Worth noting: Ref-bashing is part and parcel of the sport, and every match, it seems, generates its share. But FCD coach Steve Morrow nearly pulled his team off the field during a loss to Avai FC on its Brazilian swing. Every call, or nearly so, went against the Hoops, and when Pablo Ricchetti was shown a red card late in a tight clash, Morrow nearly called the clash off. It was the low point of an otherwise fine trek, on which FCD beat partner Atletico Paranaense in the first leg of their annual home-and-home series, which wraps up Saturday in Frisco.

6. Real Salt Lake

Preseason: 6-1-4. Vs. MLS: 0-0-1. Top scorer: Yura Movsisyan has netted seven, four in the preseason-opening romp over the PDL's Ventura County Fusion.

Worth noting: Jason Kreis, until last year MLS's all-time leading goal-scorer, continues to build RSL in his own hard-nosed, solid-work-ethic self, and the additions of Matias Cordoba, Kenny Deuchar, Ian Joy, returning MLSer Nat Borchers and especially Dema Kovalenko bode well for the fourth-year club. RSL went unbeaten in Argentina, and its lone preseason loss was to Florida's Lynn University.

7. San Jose Earthquakes

Preseason: 5-1-2. Vs. MLS: 2-1-2. Top scorer: Kei Kamara has a trio.

Worth noting: The Quakes could use some scoring power, as their preseason log attests, but you can't fault their defense. San Jose, readying for its first (in reality) or its return (according to the league) season, has gone goalless in three of five games against MLS opposition. But it also has lodged three shutouts -- five, including two wins over local colleges -- holding Houston to just one goal in 180 minutes and D.C. to none in 90.

8. Los Angeles Galaxy

Preseason: 4-1-3. Vs. MLS: 1-0-1. Top scorer: Carlos Ruiz has scored four, including a hat trick vs. the Hong Kong-Shanghai select squad.

Worth noting: Nigerian defender Celestine Babayaro signs a contract, heads to Asia on L.A.'s Beckham Tour and is waived before the team officially acknowledges he has signed said contract. Half-filled stadiums greet the Galaxy in Asia, and injuries prevent Landon Donovan and strike partner Carlos Ruiz from generating any chemistry. The circus endures.

9. Columbus Crew

Preseason: 5-4-0. Vs. MLS: 2-2-0. Top scorer: Rookie George Josten has three.

Worth noting: Almost a week before opening day, and coach Sigi Schmid and technical director Brian Bliss still haven't brought in anyone worth discussing. Left back Gina Padula is said to be all but signed, and we'll see if that's worth getting excited about, and defensive midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo ought to be putting pen to paper soon, too. Meanwhile, 34-year-old Argentine forward Facundo Sava apparently heads Bliss' wish list, but two other MLS teams also are said to have interest.

10. Toronto FC

Preseason: 3-4-4. Vs. MLS: 2-3-3. Top scorer: Jeff Cunningham has netted three.

Worth noting: Mo Johnston said as TFC's horrid first season closed that the club needed another six or seven players. Added since: Kevin Harmse. Oh, and draft picks Julius James and Pat Phelan, who might make some noise. Also, there's head coach John Carver, who is quite an upgrade on Johnston, who was kicked upstairs, A few players remain on trial, including Musampa, and negotiations are ongoing with 2004 MLS MVP Amado Guevara.

11. Chivas USA

Preseason: 8-6-0. Vs. MLS: 2-5-0. Top scorer: Ante Razov, Jorge Flores and Arnaldo Salazar have three.

Worth noting: The Goats stiffed it in the inaugural Texas Pro Soccer Festival, going 0-3 (with one-goal losses to D.C. United, Houston and Toronto) plus another loss to D.C. Injuries have kept Maykel Galindo from seeing much action, and rumors that Mexican star Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista, he of the No. 100 jersey, is headed north appear to be little more than fantasy.

12. Chicago Fire

Preseason: 3-0-4. Vs. MLS: 1-0-2. Top scorer: Newcomer Tomasz Frankowski, rookie Patrick Nyarko and since-waived Floyd Franks with two apiece.

Worth noting: Lider Marmol has spent most of preseason with the New York Red Bulls, whose coach, former Fire boss Juan Carlos Osorio, placed a discovery hold on the Paraguayan midfielder. Trouble is, the Fire beat them to the punch, making their discovery plea first. Marmol says he wants to play with New York, but Chicago appears to have the advantage in the tug-of-war.

13. Colorado Rapids

Preseason: 4-2-3. Vs. MLS: 0-0-1. Top scorer: Colin Clark has four.

Worth noting: The Rapids' roster isn't bad, especially with the addition of 2006 MLS MVP Christian Gomez from D.C. United. That bodes well for an attack that netted just 29 goals in 30 games, except that one starting forward -- Conor Casey -- is still recuperating from an ACL tear and another -- Herculez Gomez -- has just returned from an ACL tear. And team leader Pablo Mastroeni, slowed by a sports hernia, went through his first training session Tuesday.

14. New York Red Bulls

Preseason: 3-2-2. Vs. MLS: 0-1-1. Top scorer: Star striker Juan Pablo Angel and rookie defender Eric Brunner have a pair.

Worth noting: The testy first match vs. parent club Red Bull Salzburg's reserves cost the Bulls winger Dane Richards, last year's MLS Rookie of the Year runner-up. Richards suffered a torn knee ligament when hacked down early in the ill-tempered clash, which spurred this from goalkeeper Jon Conway: "I really think their intention was to hurt our guys from the get-go."