Of Razov and Playoffs

Injured Chivas USA striker Ante Razov insists he will return for the playoffs at some stage.

Just don't expect to see him in Kansas City Saturday night for Chivas USA's opening game. The game is live at 5 p.m. on Prime.

The MLS playoffs start Thursday, by the way, when D.C. United plays the Chicago Fire live at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Details on all the playoff series are here.

FIFA Rankings Released

I'm not big on the monthly FIFA world rankings released today, but then I'm not from Argentina (the country reclaimed the top spot from Italy, which dropped to third behind Brazil).

The World Cup winners got knocked off the top, despite playing just one game - and winning it. That sort of thing just increases the irrelevance of the ranking system.

Still, for what it's worth the U.S. stayed in 18th spot, Croatia was unchanged at 10th, England dropped two places to 11th, Scotland rose one place to 13th and Mexico dropped two places to 15th, after losing to Guatemala at the Coliseum.

The entire list is here.

Soccer and Fire

Not surprisingly, the catastrophic wildfires sweeping through Southern California are beginning to take their toll on local soccer games. Doctors are advising athletes to avoid physical exertion in some spots because of the smoke and ash that's seemingly everywhere.

Loyola Marymount's men's team have been forced to move Friday's game in San Diego to Sullivan Field.

Here's the full release from LMU:

LMU's men's soccer games versus the University of San Diego have been rescheduled and moved due to the wildfires and smoke in San Diego County.

The Lions and USD will now play at LMU on Friday at noon and on Monday night at 7 p.m. in San Diego.

The women's soccer games against St. Mary's and San Francisco will go ahead as planned.

LMU will play St. Mary's at 3 p.m. on Friday following the men's match.

Sunday's game against USF that was originally part of a doubleheader will now be a single game at 11 a.m.

Pepperdine's women's team have also been dealing with the fires in Malibu.

Still, the fires didn't stop Cal State Dominguez Hills from snagging the right to host the CCAA men's and women's championship games next week.

Here's the full press release:

Cal State Dominguez Hills has been selected to host the 2007 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships, commissioner Robert J. Hiegert announced on Tuesday.

The CCAA Championships are scheduled for Nov. 2-4 at 8,000-seat Toro Stadium in Carson, Calif. The event will feature four men’s and four women’s teams competing over three days with the winners claiming the conference title.

Cal State Dominguez Hills will be hosting the championships for the fourth time and first since 2004 when its women’s team captured the conference title and them men lost in the title match.

Heading into the final weekend of the regular-season, Cal State Dominguez Hills’ men’s squad has secured a postseason berth while its women’s team remains in contention.

The CCAA consists of a North and South Division and each division winner advances to postseason play along with the next two teams with the highest point totals.

Currently on the men’s side, Sonoma State, which leads the North Division with a 13-0 conference mark, has clinched a berth along with Cal State Dominguez Hills (14-3, 10-2). Cal State L.A., Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Monterey Bay are still in contention.

On the women’s side, Chico State (11-5-1, 9-3-1) and UC San Diego (12-2-1, 9-2-1) lead their respective divisions and have clinched spots in the championships. Cal State Stanislaus (9-8-2, 7-4-2), Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-3-3, 7-3-2) and Cal State L.A. (9-5-1, 6-4-1) remain in contention.

The complete bracket for both tournaments will be announced late Sunday, following the completion of the regular season. The tournament format will have the women playing during Friday’s first session with match times scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The men will play at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday.

The women’s championship match is slated for 11:30 a.m. on Sunday and the men’s title match will kickoff at 2 p.m.