Now, name me one category in which the Rapids topped New England. Well, obviously, they topped them in the one category that counts: they scored the game’s lone goal, that dreadfully soft thing that Nick LaBrocca powered over a mysteriously rooted Adam Cristman (good lord, man, I play the air like that). So, they game ended 1-0 to Colorado..and, as the match report tattooed on The Official Organ tells me, that propelled the Rapids to the top of the West.

Getting back to my theme, though, New England was, and I believe is, the better team. The polish, the movement, the openings they found again and again – none of them more often that Khano Smith plowing down the Rapids’ left against Kosuke Kimura: all these should have combined for a Revolution win. As Greg Lalas noted just minutes before the Rapids goal, New England had begun the erosion-esque process of breaking down the Rapids…so, what happened?

Got me. But here’s a guess. Colorado succeeded in limiting the Revs to chances from range. Kenny Mansally, the Revs most dangerous player by a good distance, launched a few stingers, Kheli Dube, the Revs’ Zimbabwean forward (and forgive me if I butchered the spelling), broke through once late, but, again, there stood Bouna (Time!) look a wall…that dropped the ball…thereby allowing him to be whacked by New England’s players.

But what does it matter in the end? How much does it matter that New England looked the sharper team, that Colorado looked more aimless than a 29-year-old man with a philosophy degree trying to talk his way through a job interview? In the end, the man who found the opening and exploited it wore white…ish…grey-ish…that color Colorado wears.

And like The Official Organ says, they’re top of the West tonight, so who cares how they got there?

Right. I’ll be back tomorrow with some perspectives from other Rapids-related sites. tonight’s wasn’t the prettiest win in Rapids history. Well, maybe it was. This isn’t a team famous for winning pretty. But they did win. And things are looking pretty good. At least, that is, in goal and defense…no time to rest yet, you guys.

- Remember that somewhat recent loss to the Bermudan National Team (no? Here ya go!)? If that loss didn’t leave you feeling a little dubious heading into the season, enjoy this little observation from Bermuda Hogges coach Shaun Goater:

“Having said that, I didn’t think Rapids were the best MLS team to have visited Bermuda. The Revs may have come out earlier on in their pre-season preparations but they looked a lot further on than Rapids.”

So…if I’m reading this correctly…Goater is saying that the unfit (read: fat) edition of the New England Revolution is better than a Rapids side with a months worth of fitness on them. Oh, yes, he did.

- So Greg Lalas, given a big, impressive feature for Sports Illustrated, profiles 14 likely impact players for the 2008 season – e.g. roughly one per team. Naturally, he flags Christian Gomez for the Rapids, but seems unable to resist – yes – another little dig:

“Problem is, Colorado doesn’t have the type of marksmen who made Gómez look so good in D.C.”

Wow. OK, maybe it’s deserved for a club that approaches personnel issues like a psychotic girlfriend/stalker boyfriend (see Chase Hilgenbrinck…who, by the way, seems to have already moved on to fresh company…gasp! Not the very same New England Revolution! Will these chance parallels never end?!).