Fire move atop Power Rankings

Fredy Montero's double helped the expansion Sounders to a decisive 3-0 victory over the Red Bulls in their first-ever match. George Holland/Cal Sport Media

With the first stage of the MLS season in the books, it's time for our weekly dose of quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.

Sleeping in Seattle

In the season's opening game, the expansion Seattle Sounders blitzed the New York Red Bulls 3-0 on the strength of two tallies and an assist from Colombian Fredy Montero. It was an impressive win for the new team and an early-season reward for the dedicated fan base that transformed Qwest Field into a nightmare for the visiting team. Gotham's finest looked completely off-balance all night, as though they never awoke from the cross-country flight. It won't always be this easy for Sigi Schmid's club (and Juan Carlos Osorio is too good a coach for the Red Bulls to continue to be this bad), but with the eyes of North American soccer on the Northwest, Seattle rose to the occasion.

Home is where the heartbreak is

Of a possible 21 points available during Week 1, home teams managed to win a mere eight, finishing 2-3-2. It could have been worse, as late comebacks by Chivas USA and the Los Angeles Galaxy salvaged a win and a tie, respectively. Only Seattle managed to hold serve in any authoritative way, with San Jose, FC Dallas and Kansas City failing in convincing fashion. It's far too early to call this a trend, but it's worth watching as the season progresses.

Is Real for Real?

After receiving a Week 1 bye, Real Salt Lake opens its 2009 campaign in Seattle. In its final exhibition match, Jámison Olave, Yura Movsisyan and Javier Morales tallied as RSL defeated the USL's Austin Aztex 3-1, but the competition will increase immensely when it takes on the young season's darlings. Jason Kreis has instilled a culture of winning at Rio Tinto and the first game will go a long way to demonstrating how far the MLS All-Star Game hosts can go in their '09 season. Elsewhere, Toronto goes to Columbus in the week's marquee matchup.

Week 2 Power Rankings   New Rank Previous Rank Team 1 5 Chicago Fire (1-0-0) With an old-fashioned beatdown of FC Dallas, Brian McBride, Cuauhtémoc Blanco and the boys assume the top spot. 2 1 Columbus Crew (0-0-1) Last season's champs deserved three points, but ugly finishing (wake up, Chad Marshall) sent the squad home with just one. 3 3 Houston Dynamo (0-0-1) Couldn't hold a second-half lead against Crew, but not a horrible result considering foe and massive offseason roster changes. 4 2 Chivas USA (1-0-0) Comeback win keyed by second-half sub Maykel Galindo proved club has heart, even if players struggle to stay healthy. 5 9 Toronto FC (1-0-0) If the Canadian team can win consistently away from BMO Field, a run at the league's top spot isn't out of the question. 6 4 Real Salt Lake (0-0-0) The team's reward for an extra week off? A trip to Seattle, where it faces the red hot Sounders in an early test for both clubs. 7 15 Seattle Sounders FC (1-0-0) If they keep scoring three a game, defensive problems won't matter. Let's not hand them a playoff spot quite yet, though. 8 13 New England Revolution (1-0-0) Without Taylor Twellman, Steve Ralston and other injured stars, team needs ugly wins like Saturday's one-goal affair. 9 8 Kansas City Wizards (0-1-0) The good news: The Wiz scored two goals against a solid Toronto team. The bad: They gave up three in a bad home loss. 10 6 Colorado Rapids (0-1-0) Should have done more to beat Chivas, especially after going ahead on a gifted Omar Cummings strike. 11 12 DC United (0-0-1) Simply put, a two-goal lead with 10 minutes to play has to be held, even if you're playing Brazil. (And L.A. ain't the Samba Boys.) 12 7 FC Dallas (0-1-0) Kenny Cooper opened '09 account with a cheeky bit of vision in the early going but not much else went right for the adrift Texans. 13 11 New York Red Bulls (0-1-0) JCO eventually will figure out a lineup to get the most out of his troops' talents, but how long will it take? 14 10 San Jose Earthquakes (0-1-0) Losing to the Revs at home for the first time since '00 could mark the start of a tough go for Darren Huckerby and the Quakes. 15 14 Los Angeles Galaxy (0-0-1) Landon Donovan returned to these shores as a difference-maker. As for the rest of his team, well, that's up for debate.