It has played six Hexagonal matches already, yet in the next two games the USA will encounter perhaps the most treacherous of situations: opponents that are desperate for a win.

The long-term MLS deals recently signed by U.S. internationals Clint Dempsey, Omar Gonzalez, Clarence Goodson and Landon Donovan are being cited as proof of the league's true emergence on the world stage.

The idle Colorado Rapids took over the top spot in Soccer America's MLS Power Rankings previously held by the Portland Timbers, who endured a rough week, conceding an equalizer at home against Real Salt Lake in stoppage time and losing a heated battle to the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field Sunday night in front of 67,385 fans.

The Salvadoran federation (Fesfut) announced late Wednesday night it had provisionally suspended 22 players for 30 days as it probed match-fixing charges centering around four national team games.

A slew of teams are clustered together in the MLS standings, and no team looks anything like the Supporters' Shield winners of the past two seasons.

The Portland Timbers held on to the top spot in the Power Rankings with a 2-1 win over FC Dallas that ended their three-game winless streak.

Memorable wins are becoming the norm for the U.S. national team. A Jozy Altidore hat trick erased a 2-0 deficit as the Americans rallied to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina, 4-3, in Sarajevo on Wednesday. Never before had the U.S. senior team come back from a two-goal deficit in Europe to post a victory.

It's impossible to think of a better performance a U.S. forward has ever put on than what Jozy Altidore did on Wednesday night in Sarajevo. Not just the three goals and assist he had in the space of 32 minutes that silenced the capacity crowd at Asim Ferhatovic Hase Stadium. But his work for the entire 90 minutes.

Every sport should be so lucky to have young men like Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Robbie Rogers.

There was a time when the idea of ESPN launching a daily soccer show would have had us jumping up and down.

Leader Portland didn't play and there was little movement in the Power Rankings in the higher slots.

Former Scottish international and New England Revs' coach Steve Nicol took some time away from his work with ESPN to talk about Clint Dempsey's return to MLS that reportedly will pay him the largest salary, $8 million, in league history. Nicol coached Dempsey with the Revs during his first three pro seasons.

The motivation of the Seattle Sounders' owners, Joe Roth, Adrian Hanauer, Drew Carey and Paul Allen, for signing Clint Dempsey was always clear. They have the money to pay him and the desire to add an established star to help take the Sounders over the top after four failed postseasons.

More by default than anything else, Portland tops the Power Rankings this week after previous leader Sporting Kansas City was beaten at home by New York in a matchup of the Eastern Conference's top two teams, and Montreal stumbled to a dismal defeat against bottom-ranked D.C. United.

Eight points encompassing as many teams. Seven conference foes that have to face Clint Dempsey at least once.