The Money Shot: top o’ the heap in MLS Weekly rankings

We’ve already dropped the knowledge and science on Parts II and III; here are your top money-makers and heart-breakers right now in MLS:

6. Chicago Fire – Glass half-full: Four points of a possible six has the Fire on the very same bullet train track that Frank Klopas’ crew finished on late last year. Glass half empty: This fearsome foursome of points came against expansion Montreal and a reeling Philadelphia Union. This week’s road test at Colorado will  tell us more.

5. Houston Dynamo – Odd match, last Friday in a 2-0 loss at Seattle. The Dynamo was in control in the hostile CenturyLink Field, and yet found themselves down by a pair inside the first half. Manager Dominic Kinnear said he was happy for things other than 10 minutes that went sideways. Still, all things considered, the Orange can be quite pleased with two wins from three matches on the road to start 2012.

4. Los Angeles Galaxy – The big news out of AEG Valley last week was an announced friendly for this July against touring Tottenham Hotspur. The team had a week off; New England visits the Home Depot Center this week.

3. Real Salt Lake – A disallowed goal for the home side in a 1-0 surprise setback has been a talker around MLS this week. A top MLS executive says referee Mark Kadlecik got it right. Still, questions linger about removing an attacking team’s advantage in such situations.

2. Seattle Sounders – Whether you think David Estrada’s deflected strike should be marked down as “own goal” or “another one for the kid,” Seattle’s young man is clearly brimming with confidence. Same with the team, tied with Vancouver atop the Western Conference table with San Jose making the northern hop this weekend. The keen eye of Seattle Times’ writer Joshua Mayers was particularly high last week on Marc Burch, who seems to be establishing himself as Sigi Schmid’s top choice left back.

1. Sporting Kansas City – The Kansas City Star’s Charles Gooch has some deliciously revealing numbers on the stacked-and-packed attack at Livestrong. For example, Sporting KC has outshot each opponent this season by a double-digit margin: plus-16 vs. D.C. United, plus-10 vs. New England and plus-10 in Sunday’s win over FC Dallas. So it’s not just that Peter Vermes’ men are a perfect 9 of 9 from possible points this year; the Midwest side is seriously pressing the opposition. Chivas USA is up this week in Southern California.