2007 MLS Week 29 Recap or And that was the way it was

The 2007 regular season has ended on much the same note as it began, and that's not a great thing. Most of the games over the weekend didn't really have much of a punch to them. There was still some good action to watch, but overall, not the type of weekend that this season deserves as a cap off.

Anyway, here are the league numbers for the full 195 game season:

	Season	Week 29
Attendance**	3,214,566	144,027
Att per game	16,485	20,575
Beckham Att (7*)	244,221	48,374
Beckham Avg Att	34,889	24,187
Goals	517	15
Goals per game	2.651	2.143
Inter-conference	East 30-28-26	East 2-0-1
Visitors	54-91-50	3-1-3
Ties	50 (25.6%)	3 (42.9%)

* Number of MLS matches with Beckham in attendance
** I cannot locate the attendance numbers for Colorado-Columbus (2 Sept) or LA-Columbus (30 Sept) so the season average is for only 193 games.

New England Revolution 2-2 Toronto FC
I should have known that the most exciting match of the weekend would end up in Canada. Michael Parkhurst's goal shot from around the world should have been enough to own this one, but the Revs had another late game collapse that cost them full points. If Danny Dichio can cut through their line so easy coming off of injury, I just wonder what a healthy Angel and Altidore will be able to accomplish. The Revs again look like a team that is going to beat themselves.
Goals: NY: Michael Parkhurst (1) 47+', Taylor Twellman (16) 47'
TFC: Collin Samuel (3) 59', Danny Dichio (6) 92+'
Attendance: 20,374

Columbus Crew 3-2 DC United
If United fans were not nervous before this match, I'm guessing they are now as their team is again limping to the playoffs. However, this lost in meaningless, but the injuries suffered by Moreno and Emilio are not. Will United be able to get their stuff together on short rest against a Fire side that can be dangerous? We'll see. As for the Crew, great way to end the season. A little work on the off-season in 2008 could be a good one for them.
Goals: CC: Robbie Rogers (2) 21', (3) 91+', Alejandro Moreno (7) 66'
DC: Christian Gomez (9) 89', (10) pk 93+'
Attendance: 23,149

Kansas City Wizards 2-0 FC Dallas
If United fans are worried, FCD fans must be a little terrified. Did Dallas just decide to not show up at all for this one? I know they had nothing to play for, but getting embarrassed heading into the playoffs is never a good idea. KC knew they need to win and they finally played like a team that wanted one. Scott Sealy was amazing but Davy Arnaud has some good moments as did Jack Jewsbury. Eddie Johnson, on the other hand, had his chances but decided to play rugby rules and put the ball over the bar. Dallas did have a couple good shows in Alvarez and Cooper, but they still need a big turn around in order to pull off a surprise against Houston. Lets also hope the American football lines are not on the pitch for the playoffs.
Goals: KC: Scott Seally (6) 39', (7) 55'
Attendance: 20,500

Real Salt Lake 1-0 Colorado Rapids
Oh the Rapids, what a sad game that one was. At least DC and FCD have an excuse for not showing up. Colorado spent the night just blahing around on the pitch until Real went up a goal. They had some excitement late but thanks to the superb work of Nick Rimando in goal, the Rapids got nothing. All I can say is that after the way Colorado has played this season, I cannot thank Real enough for keeping them out of the playoffs. One last thing, way to go Kyle Beckerman for getting a yellow card in the first 3 seconds.
Goal: Robbie Findley (8) 87'
Attendance: 14,777

Houston Dynamo 0-0 Chivas USA
The Dynamo have nobody except themselves to blame for not taking the West as they had their chances but could not finish. Brian Ching is still off a bit while Corey Ashe just seems to be playing his own game out there. The good news is Dwayne De Rosario is showing signs of finally hitting his stride while Stuart Holden is staying strong. Chivas was unlucky to go down a man as that was the softest red issued to a non-LA opponent this season. But even before they lost a man, the goats were lacking. If Kansas City plays the way they did against FCD, they could shock Chivas, even if Brad Guzan is as fantastic as he has been all season.
Attendance: 16,853

Los Angeles Galaxy 0-1 Chicago Fire
The Rapids can take to heart the knowledge that they were not the only team that failed to deliver in their biggest game of the season as the Galaxy tanked in the windy city. Landon Donovan again did not show well under pressure but neither need anyone else on his side (with the exception of Joe Cannon in goal). At no point did LA string together a big number of passes or own possession, yet somehow the score remained tied till the closing moments. There is no reason this game should have been tied heading into stoppage time. Chicago is still suffering from an amazing case of failure to make anything out of everything. How many times do they need to get open shots before they get a goal? Dominating a game and only getting one goal is not the sign of a wonderful team. By the way, this makes the 22nd time this season the Fire have scored one goal or less. Still, the team is on a high and with DC coming to town on Thursday, which might just be enough to carry them forward.
Goal: John Thorrington (1) 93+'
Attendance: 21,374

So there are the weekend games and here is the playoff schedule:

East
DC United - Chicago Fire (25 Oct 8:30pm ET, ESPN2)
NE - NY (27 Oct 7:30pm ET, FSC, FSE)
Chicago Fire - DC United (1 Nov 7:30pm ET, ESPN2)
NY - NE (3 Nov 7:30pm ET, FSC, FSE)

West
Houston Dynamo - FC Dallas (27 Oct 8pm ET, HDNet, DK, MLStv)
Chivas USA - KC (27 Oct, 8:30pm ET, DK, MLStv)
FC Dallas - Houston Dynamo (2 Nov 8:30pm ET, DK, MLStv)
KC - Chivas USA (3 Nov 10:30pm ET, HDNet, DK, MLStv)

So the Eastern Conference gets the main TV coverage while the West requires a little searching.