10 Bright Spots of Week Nine

1. Eddie Johnson – 6 goals in two weeks and three against a tough Red Bulls defense (granted they were man down because of Clint, again), Note to EJ: mind continuing this run of form against Guatemala, T & T, and El Salvador??? EJ now has 9 goals in 9 appearances for the Wizards and a second consecutive Player of the Week honor to boot.

2. Toronto FC – they are trying to prove something to the rest of the league and at this pace will easy surpass Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake’s expansion efforts combined; has Mo Johnston found place where he can be as effective as he wanted to be in New York? Dichio has adapted nicely, Welsh is settling in, and the New Mexico product Boyens has been stellar as of late; fans are also still coming out in droves

3. Houston Dynamo – watching that first half, the Dynamo looked somewhat dead in the water as the chances favored a reeling Dallas team; Ricardo Clark sparked a Dynamo squad to life as it fought back to grab three points from their in-state rivals; Pat Onstad sacrificed himself for the team, but couldn’t he have hidden that blatant tackle a tad better? Again, how are Houston going to react without Clark, Ching, and De Rosario?

4. Juan Pablo Angel – a little less spectacular this week but he still bagged a quality goal early against the Wizards when the teams were still even; once Mathis left the field, however, it became RBNY vs. Colorado all over again - nobody could find JPA and it became the Eddie Johnson show. Look for Angel to continue his form in Toronto.

5. Marvell Wynne – his performance was raw and a little bit technically backward but his talent shown through regardless; Wynne raced through a normally strong Colorado backline to thread a perfect pass to Dichio who used his power to muscle Wynne’s effort in.

6. Corey Ashe – the former U-17 star is finally starting to gain a following in the MLS with his speed and agility on the wings (looking a bit like fellow rookie Dane Richards). Houston fans really like the kid and he was instrumental as a substitute in Houston’s 2-1 win over FC Dallas.

7. Nick Rimando – everyone was for lack of a better term, crapping, on this guy’s playing ability at the beginning of the year; I even got yelled at for saying the trades really messed with his head but that he was still quality and would settle down eventually – he was the sole reason against the Revolution that there was still a game to be played; New England had 23 shots (13 on goal) and Rimando dealt with all of them. Does this warrant a USMNT call-up? Hell no! But it is a snap back in the right direction for Nick.

8. Willian Oliveira – the 23-year old Brazilian magically appeared on the Fire’s radar as of May 24^th and his impact has been rather significant; against the Red Bulls he showed a little bit of flare but against the Crew he sparked a Chicago offense that was once somewhat prolific – the Fire’s win however was still less than promising. Oliveira joins from W-Connection in Trinidad and Tobago where he played for the past 4 years.

9. Fred – the Brazilian’s performance for D.C. United was better than usual and his services helped secure a point out at the Home Depot Center; Ben Olsen even stated they were happy to leave there with a point, regardless of the fact the Galaxy had to ask some rabid fan to play center back for them before the game lineup as their backline was that depleted (…that rabid fan was actually a rostered player, Kyle Veris who did well)

10. Bouna Coundoul – the Rapids looked unconvincing and Toronto clearly wanted it more, but the only person that really kept the Rapids close was the Senegalese-born goalkeeper; he might be a little bit erratic but he has personality and has kept a decent veteran in Zach Thornton on the bench

MLS’ Worst of the Week: Nate Jaqua, there was far worse I am sure this week but his consistently terrible play is making me feel for Frank Yallop and the Los Angeles Galaxy; he looks lazy, he plays lazy, and he has lost his scoring touch (am I wrong?); I guess I could have keyed in on (instead of Jaqua) the eighty thousand people who were ejected this weekend – Kotschau (nice RSL debut…hah), Mathis, O’Rourke, Curtin, K. Goldthwaite