The top four in our table hold firm in their places for the second consecutive week, while FC Dallas takes the big tumble.

Week 26

#1 DC United (Unchanged) - Even without Christian Gomez, Ben Olsen and Fred, United still earned a tie on the road at Chicago and are the first team in MLS this season to reach the 50-point plateau.

#2 Chivas USA (Unchanged) - The Goats took over the Western Conference lead with a 2-1 victory over Kansas City. For as good as Maykel Galindo and Ante Razov have played, it is Sacha Kljestan’s 10 assists which have made Chivas one of the elite teams in MLS.

#3 New England Revolution (Unchanged) - A late goal from Juan Pablo Angel prevented New England from earning all three points in the swamp Saturday night. Taylor Twellman's form has picked up in past weeks and is making a late case for the MVP award if New England wins the Supporters Shield.

#4 Houston Dynamo (Unchanged) - A bye week for Texas' top club as they prepare for the final stretch of the season. Perhaps the bye week will help re-ignite a Houston team that was considered the best in MLS just two months ago.

#5 New York Red Bulls (+1) - The Red Bulls faired better this time against New England, earning a 2-2 draw at home. With a favorable schedule to end the season that includes a game each against the bottom three teams in the power rankings, the Red Bulls should be able to hold this spot for the remainder of the season.

#6 Chicago Fire (+1) - A draw at Dallas and a draw at home to United is not a bad week at all for a team that has to be considered a dark horse to do damage in the playoffs. If Chris Rolfe can continue his solid play, Chicago will be a tough match-up for anybody in the league.

#7 Kansas City Wizards (+1) - A tough loss to Chivas USA, but then again nobody wins against the Goats at the Home Depot Center. I don't understand the trade by Curt Onalfo to deal Yura Movsisyan as I believe he could have been an important contributor off the bench.

#8 FC Dallas (-3) - Despite a very talented attacking squad, Dallas' defense is just not as good as their competition. A loss at Los Angeles is not acceptable for any team with aspirations to win a MLS Cup.

#9 Columbus Crew (+1) - The Crew earned a much needed victory over Toronto to stay close to Chicago and Colorado for the final playoff spot. The Crew have another chance to earn an important three points when they host Los Angeles on Sunday.

#10 Colorado Rapids (-1) - A disastrous loss to Real Salt Lake now sees Colorado three points behind Chicago for the final playoff berth. The Rapids could fall even further behind when they have to travel to Gillette Stadium to face New England on Saturday.

#11 Real Salt Lake (Unchanged) - As JoJo once sang, 'You're just a little too late'. RSL has been much better since the addition of their trio of Argentine players, but Jason Kreis' bunch are nine points out with four games to play. Another November on the golf course for Real Salt Lake.

#12 Los Angeles Galaxy (Unchanged) - A solid 2-1 victory over Dallas gave the Galaxy a much needed boost of confidence. There's a lot of blame going around in Los Angeles and it's only a matter of when, not if, a house cleaning takes place.

#13 Toronto FC (Unchanged) - The bad news is Toronto lost again, but the good news is they were able to muster a goal to end their long scoreless streak. The light at the end of the tunnel just got a little brighter for Mo Johnston.