Have you heard? Beckham's back

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Just like the good ol' days: David Beckham has stolen the thunder from nearly every other story in Major League Soccer this week. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.

Becks is back

The story of the week has to be the return of David Beckham. (If we're being honest, it's almost certainly the story of the year. Hell, the Red Bulls are holding a special press conference with Becks in anticipation of Thursday night's match.) The English star -- subject of Grant Wahl's new book -- continues to say all the right things about returning to his American club side, but talk is cheap. The Los Angeles Galaxy, winners of three straight, seem to be gelling.

Will Beckham's outsized presence shatter the always-fragile team chemistry, especially in light of Landon Donovan's comments about the midfielder's failings as team captain? With excellent goalkeeping and a back line capable of putting up clean sheet after clean sheet, Bruce Arena's squad could challenge for the MLS Cup, but only if the American offensive leader and the Englishman get on the same page.

Breakaway foiled

The Houston Dynamo are the latest team to fail to capitalize on a brilliant opportunity to separate themselves from the rest of the field. The Western Conference leaders -- which, in their defense, are without Brian Ching and Stuart Holden -- now have dropped two of their last three after posting an 11-match unbeaten streak. With the recent slump, Dominic Kinnear's squad has allowed Seattle and Chivas USA (which has its own problems) to claw back into the race. Those clubs sit just three and four points behind the Dynamo, respectively, and Chivas holds a game in hand. Better yet, eight teams are within seven points of Houston.

Friendly fire

The week's two marquee matchups aren't official MLS games. The Galaxy take on Oguchi Onyewu's new club, AC Milan, while the Sounders get Chelsea at home. (Beckham's return to New York is exciting, but the brutally bad Red Bulls -- who will keep manager Juan Carlos Osorio for the time being -- won't provide much competition.) The best game that means something in the standings features Houston looking for answers at Toronto FC in yet another road match. Additionally, Colorado should provide a stiff challenge for D.C. United at RFK Stadium and Chicago can help its claim to first place in the Eastern Conference with what should be a relatively easy win over San Jose in the Windy City.

Week 18 Power Rankings   New Rank Previous Rank Team 1 1 Houston Dynamo (9-4-4) A loss in Seattle -- their fifth road game in 14 days -- isn't enough to drop the depleted Dynamo from the No. 1 spot in the rankings. 2 2 Columbus Crew (5-3-9) A tie in Chicago is an acceptable result, especially while holding their opponents scoreless despite conceding 11 shots on goal. 3 3 Chicago Fire (6-3-7) The Fire -- 0-2-4 in their last six home games -- get the perfect opponent in the Earthquakes to end that unfortunate streak. 4 5 Seattle Sounders FC (7-3-7) Patrick Ianni's bicycle kick won it for the Sounders, who broke Houston's MLS-record 27 games without losing after scoring first. 5 4 D.C. United (5-3-9) United's week off gave players time to watch teammate Santino Quaranta tear it up for the U.S. national team vs. Honduras. 6 7 Colorado Rapids (6-4-6) Defender Kosuke Kimura's 79th-minute strike, his second of the season, was enough to hold off an offensively inept FC Dallas side. 7 9 Los Angeles Galaxy (5-3-9) Donovan returned after a month of international duty, but it was Edson Buddle's goal that proved the difference vs. Chivas. 8 6 Chivas USA (8-5-3) Preki needs to figure out a fix for his ailing side, which has dropped four of its last five league matches. 9 11 Toronto FC (7-6-4) Chad Barrett's brace led TFC over the Quakes and into a tie at atop the Eastern Conference. 10 8 New England Revolution (4-5-5) Steve Ralston returned to the lineup, but the Revs -- down eight players -- couldn't find the back of the net vs. K.C. 11 10 Real Salt Lake (5-6-5) RSL is in real danger of losing contact with the five teams ahead of it in the Western Conference standings. 12 12 Kansas City Wizards (5-6-5) The Wiz couldn't keep up momentum after beating Houston, as New England keeper Matt Reis stoned any and all attacks. 13 13 FC Dallas (4-8-5) The brief streak of good play seems to have come to an end in Texas, as FCD misses the scoring prowess of Kenny Cooper. 14 14 San Jose Earthquakes (3-9-4) Darren Huckerby netted his second of the season, but the defense gave up three as San Jose fell again. 15 15 New York Red Bulls (2-13-4) The powers that be in Austria said they won't alter Red Bull's management and coaching staff -- for now.