Below the weekly power rankings, as voted by ASN’s staff of beat reporters.

1. Chicago Fire (2-0-1, 7 points)
W 1-0 @ SJ

Despite an underwhelming performance in San Jose, Chicago managed to take three points on the road, a sign of a gritty team that should be around the top of the league standings all year.

2. Kansas City Wizards (2-1-1, 7 points)
L 1-3 vs. NE; T 0-0 vs. HOU

Facing a long road trip, the Wizards should be kicking themselves for only taking one point in their two games last week. Still a good team, but maybe not as good as originally advertised.

3. New England Revolution (2-2-0, 6 points)
W 3-1 @ KC; L 0-1 vs. COL

Will the real New England squad please stand up? Looked impressive on the road against Kansas City in mid-week, and then squandered all those good feelings by getting dropped at home by Colorado.

4. Colorado Rapids (2-1-0, 6 points)
W 1-0 @ NE

Going on the road and beating New England has converted some of the club’s non-believers. You can’t argue with their early successes… maybe Christian Gomez can turn any team into a contender?

5. FC Dallas (1-0-2, 5 points)
W 2-0 vs. NYRB

Quietly still unbeaten, this team has tons of weapons – but can they delivery consistently? This team appears to be a quintessential middle-of-the road club. At least they’ve proven they don’t need a flopping fish.

6. Chivas USA (1-1-1, 4 points)
L 3-4 @ CLB

Definitely a warm weather team, perhaps the frigid, wet conditions in Ohio had more to do with their loss to Columbus than anything else. Brad Guzan won’t look that bad again for a long, long time. Still, the mounting number of injuries this early in the campaign has to concern Preki.

7. Columbus Crew (2-1-0, 6 points)
W 4-3 vs. CHV

Why was Robbie Rogers dropped from the U.S. Olympic Qualifying squad? The kid looked amazing en route to a two-goal performance against the Goats. This team is still figuring itself out, which could be a scary prospect for the rest of the league.

8. D.C. United (1-2-0, 3 points)
L 0-4 @ RSL

Despite all the new additions, D.C. has started their season just as they did a year ago, which has to be disappointing to all those who predicted glory for United in ’08. However, the schedule has been very cruel to last year’s Supporters Shield winners, and there is plenty of time for them to turn it around after some rest.

9. Real Salt Lake (1-1-1, 4 points)
W 4-0 vs. DCU

Making real improvements with each passing game, last weekend’s thrashing of D.C. United served as a big warning shot to the rest of the league. The fact that this franchise is disappointed with only four points through three games says a lot about their talent.

10. Houston Dynamo (0-1-2, 2 points)
T 0-0 @ KC

Where are the goals? Without adding at least another striker, this team looks less and less likely to repeat with each week that passes. At least their defense has come around.

11. New York Red Bulls (1-1-0, 3 points)
L 0-2 @ FCD

New York looked lifeless and uninspired in their loss to Dallas AND their win against Columbus. The offense was simply anemic without Juan Pablo Angel…

12. Toronto FC (1-2-0, 3 points)
W 3-2 @ LAG

Recent signings Ricketts, Guevara and Robert have made this team competitive instantly and could be interesting to watch this year. They were very fortunate to get a win in Los Angeles after the Galaxy blew several scoring chances, but showed improvement over last year by capitalizing on their own chances.

13. Los Angeles Galaxy (1-2-0, 3 points)
L 2-3 vs. TFC

For a half, the Galaxy looked quite capable of playing “sexy football”, but a pair of defensive lapses by Greg Vanney and a multitude of blown scoring chances from Landon Donovan did this team in on Sunday.

14. San Jose Earthquakes (0-2-0, 0 points)
L 0-1 vs. CHI

Their defense looks solid, but the offense was always going to be a liability without a proven goalscorer. That could all change with the acquisition of Jean-Philippe Peguero, announced this week. JPP has scored his share of goals in MLS and could be just what the doctor ordered for Frank Yallop’s struggling side.