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1. What the hell is going on with New England? I felt confident that they would come blazing out of the gate and be the best team in MLS. The only real questions in my mind were whether they could hold things together during the World Cup without several key players and whether the tougher competition in the Eastern Division would deny them the MLS Supporters' Shield. The Revolution's results so far: 1-1-1. But more bewildering is the fact that they've managed to score just one goal in those three contests. With a nucleus of attacking players who have been playing together for several years now (Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan, Clint Dempsey, Steve Ralston, Andy Dorman, Shalrie Joseph), this team should be lighting up the scoreboard. But they looked utterly anemic against K.C. on Saturday. If not for Matt Reis's goalkeeping heroics, it could've easily been 3-0. Taylor Twellman, in particular has shown nothing this season. Usually one of the most active forwards in the league, against K.C. I don't think he touched the ball in the first 30 minutes of the game. And when Twellman finally did manage to get the ball at his feet he proceeded to trip over it. Not what you want to see from a guy who is almost certain to be on the U.S. roster for the World Cup.

2. I pity Clarence Goodson. He's a good defender. Goofy and a bit hamfisted at times, but also young and talented. He had a comically horrible game for Dallas Saturday night against Colorado. First, he inexplicably threw a hand in the way of a not particularly dangerous ball into the box, leaving referee Michael Kennedy no choice but to award a penalty kick. Then he scored a goal for the wrong team, bungling the ball into his own net. Finally, Goodson seemed to redeem himself a few minutes later, poking a ball into the appropriate net in a gutsy effort. But the goal was then disallowed on what seemed to be an extremely dubious offsides call. The highlight of this match, though, had nothing to do with Goodson. It came in the second half when Dallas midfielder Mark Wilson, after being rebuffed in his effort to shake hands and make nice with Kyle Beckerman, responded by flipping him the bird. Right in front of the referee! (On a side note, what a pitiful crowd in Colorado. It looked, at times, like they were playing in a completely empty stadium. They might give K.C. a run for crappiest support in the league.)

3. The best job in the world has got to be playing striker for the L.A. Galaxy. You just kind of hang around in the offensive third and wait for Landon Donovan to set you up with goal-scoring opportunities that Sigi Schmid couldn't bungle. Last year Hercules Gomez was the recipient of all these gifts. This year it looks to be Cornell Glen.

Posted by Paul Demko at April 16, 2006 3:33 PM

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