10 Bright Spots of Week Eleven

1. Yura Movsisyan – the Azerbaijani young’un came from Pasadena Community College and it’s probably true that no one has said a word about him until now; the kid however has been slated as having the most potential on the team based on pure work ethic and quality decision-making despite such a young age; Movsisyan was glad to hit for a brace after coming as a sub for Scott Sealy right after half-time, his goals didn’t have a hint of inexperience on them and helped spearhead a "I hate goalkeepers" statement for Week 11

2. Juan Pablo Angel – the machine keeps scoring and these aren’t “right time, right place” goals (although positioning is a part of it), Angel is creating many of these chances with soft touches, wicked shots, dominance in the air (see goal #1 against KCW), and decent service from his fellow teammates. RBNY’s defense as a whole team, not just the back four, was disgusting though – most notably, Claudio Reyna’s missed 50/50 tackle with Carlos Marinelli led to Kerry Zavagnin’s curler that switched momentum KC’s way

3. Carl Robinson – a hand in three goals and a keen eye for hitting Danny Dichio square on the head with the ball is exactly what Toronto needs right now; the Reds are heading on a long-haul six game road-trip and more inspired play is going to need to come from the Welsh international for them to come out of it still in the playoff hunt; Robinson also bagged his first MLS goal – here’s what Carl had to say about TFC's progress.

4. Guillermo Barros Schelloto – Sigi Schmid is predicting a turnaround and you know what? I believe him. Not because he’s Sigi (because let’s be honest, Sigi is wrong…a lot), but because he has this guy. Schelloto might be getting increasingly pissed at the inconsistencies that transpire on this tie-crazy Columbus squad, but he recognizes the undeveloped talent here and ultimately leads by example – providing a goal and an assist in a 3-3 tie with New England

5. Adam Cristman and Pat Noonan – the two were expected to make up for Taylor Twellman’s absence and they did; problem was, clearly Michael Parkhurst’s absence is a lot more important than Twellman’s because the Revolution defense looked in utter disarray at times – Cristman and Noonan helped the Revs have a good night sleep at least

6. Luciano Emilio – he’s regaining steam and although his goals WERE “right place, right time” goals, we’ve seen him strike for prettier so we now know he has a decent sense of positioning and knack (although not shown lately) for scoring attractive goals; regardless, an Emilio brace (damn, there were a lot this weekend – 4 to be exact) keeps D.C. moving up in the standings

7. Brad Guzan – a fantastic showing from Guzan ensured the clean sheet against the Rapids; it certainly helps that he is getting consistent scoring from the Chivas front, but Guzan has time and time again shown us why he is the American goalkeeper for the future; although if he keeps this progress up, he could potentially challenge for that starting spot by 2010…

8. Abel Xavier – have to give the debutant a nod for his formidable efforts in his first game with Los Angeles; his long through pass found a streaking Edson Buddle (who also had a good first game post-trade) for the game-winning goal against Real Salt Lake; his fundamentals you could tell were on point, but it was his awareness that was a tad shifty…he looked like an oaf on that first goal by Chris Brown

9. Maurice Edu – the first pick of the 2007 Superdraft is starting to settle in the Toronto midfield as he provided sound distribution, some quality touches, and a natural fitness that makes everything he does seem somewhat effortless; if that isn’t singing his praises, then I don’t know what is; he’s like Marvell Wynne, raw talent and rough edges that need to eventually be smoothed out; though I don’t think it will be anytime soon, at what point does Bradley take a look at Edu on the international stage?

10. Chris Brown – two goals in the 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy is enough to make anybody’s day bittersweet, but Brown kept RSL in this until the bitter end; what is the answer for Real Salt Lake though? Will they play better (and was the 60 Adu-less minutes indicative of how they’ll play?) without Adu?

Because I Think…’s Worst of the Week (WoW) – RSL’s Danny Torres provided that errant backpass that led to last week’s "WoW" Nate Jaqua’s goal in the 4^th minute of their HDC 3-2 clash. Instead of singling him out, how annoying must it be for the RSL defense to swing and miss a clearance in the really late stages of Thursday night’s game losing 1-0 on the ensuing goal by Oduro? And then, to have Torres give that goal up right away at the beginning of your next match? If I was Alecko, I’d hitchhike back to Toronto.

HONORABLE MENTION: A special award to David Beckham, thought not officially part of the MLS yet, he did deserve every little bit of fun he had in Madrid Sunday night. The man helped spark an uninspired Real Madrid squad to a 3-1 win over Mallorca on Sunday. They were down 1-0 when he left, but it seemed not a player on the team was worried that they would lose. Barcelona thrashed Gimnastic 5-1, but Madrid had the head-to-head advantage and with a win, took the crown for the first time in Beckham's career in Spain. Tom Cruise was there looking a like an idiot as usual, think he'll come to a Galaxy game? Vacation for Becks will also be recuparation as it was the ankle that forced the Galactico out of the Mallorca tie in the 66th minute.