CJ Sapong was named the 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year. (Getty Images)

When voting came out for the end-of-year awards in Major League Soccer – one award was simple to vote on – the Rookie of the Year. MLS announced that Sporting Kansas City forward C.J. Sapong has been named 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year. Sapong appeared in all 34 of Sporting’s regular season games and helped the club to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

“Receiving this honor is very humbling, but it would never have been a possibility without the help of so many people. Our goal at Sporting KansasCity is to do everything as a team, and I am so thankful for my teammates and the coaching staff,” Sapong said. “My parents have been a huge influence in my life and have kept me level-headed, and all of my friends and family back in Virginia and at James Madison, plus all the great Sporting Kansas City fans in make winning the 2011 MLS Rookie of the Year even more special.”

All first-year players in MLS without previous professional experience were eligible for the Rookie of the Year award, voted by media, MLS players, and MLS club management. The other two finalists were D.C. United defender Perry Kitchen and Philadelphia Union midfielder Michael Farfan.

Sapong dominated the voting in all three categories. He took a whopping 34% of the club vote, 41% of the media vote and 30% of the player vote – with a weighted total of 106. Kitchen, the runner-up came in at a weighted total of 34. That is just running away with it folks.

A lot of us media folks weren’t totally high on Sapong at the SuperDraft when Kansas City picked him in the first round, a bit higher than most figured he would actually go. But KC knew what they were doing all along. Kudos to them.

Will Bruin is leading the way for rookies right now. (Getty Images)

It may be early in the season but the class of rookies are already showing their worth. Between the SuperDraft picks and the academy kids that will likely be considered rookies this season, the race for Rookie of the Year will be a hot one.

For me right now, one kid is standing firm as the leader in the clubhouse after seven weeks. Houston forward Will Bruin not only scored a hat trick last week against D.C. United, he also jumped to the top of my list for good as the top rookie so far this season.

Yeah I know it is early and nearly the same time last year we had a rookie (New England’s Zach Schilawski) do the same thing. But Bruin looks to be a kid that will stay on top. He’s holding down a starting spot and is helping the Dynamo on their six-game unbeaten run. Impressive stuff from the rookie. Oddly enough he’s also tied for second in the league right now in scoring (doing a hat trick usually helps you move up the Golden Boot standings quickly).

After Bruin I have a short list of guys that are currently in the rookie race (no particular order here).

Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps) – The top pick is slowly inching his way up my rookie board here. He scored a goal against the Columbus Crew this past weekend as he found his way into the starting lineup thanks to Eric Hassli and Atiba Harris being out of commission. Look for Salgado to continue to make his mark on games. Right now he’s looking like a good #1 overall draft pick here.

C.J. Sapong (Sporting Kansas City) – I’ll admit, I didn’t get this pick at all back in January but so far this season he’s been quite good for Sporting. He adds solid pace to the attack and has contributed on a couple goals this season. Definitely a guy to keep an eye on here.

Jahil Anibaba (Chicago Fire) – The kid is good, let’s just say that right out front. While his club is struggling, he is providing a bright spot in their defense.

Rich Balchan (Columbus Crew) – Oddly enough, another pick I wasn’t a fan of that is turning into a good one. Balchan isn’t going to wow anyone with stats or anything big like Bruin and Salgado will. He has become a nice addition to a Crew defense that has been solid this season.

Ethan White (D.C. United) – The defense is struggling at times but White has been a nice help off the bench for this club.

Perry Kitchen (D.C. United) – Same as White but for Kitchen, he’s started plenty of games this season. I think in a year’s time between him and White and a couple others for DC, their defense will be very good. Right now they’re just young, like Kitchen is.

Danny Mwanga continues to lead the pack. (Getty Images)

We know this year’s rookie class has been solid but now the time has come that things get a little tricky. For most of the rookies a 30-game season is a longer one than their really used to. Throw in clubs with extra games along the way and this is about the time of year the rookies hit a bit of a wall.

The Rookie of the Year race has heated up lately though. Several players are still in the mix for the running and others are starting to come on strong late, which of course is the best time to do so for the minds of the voters.

Below is how I see the order of the race going right now:

1. Danny Mwanga (Philadelphia Union) – So much production on the field (7 goals, 3 assists) in such limited time (15 games, 914 minutes). This kid is no bust like some thought he would be earlier this year. I think Peter Nowak has done an excellent job bringing him along on the right pace. Right now I see this award as his to lose.

2. Michael Stephens (LA Galaxy) – His production has dipped since the World Cup ended and Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle returned but he’s still clearly been one of the best rookies this season. You can’t deny that his seven assists on the season isn’t a big deal either. A late surge from the UCLA product could help seal the deal for him.

3. Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls) – As the Red Bulls improve so will his status in this award. Some will likely give him votes just for playing in New York but look at his steady play of late and you’ll see why he deserves a look. He’s been shaky at times this season but then again so has his team.

4. Andy Najar (D.C. United) – Still the lone bright spot on the D.C. roster. Najar (along with fellow academy star Bill Hamid) give the club some glimmer of hope for the future.

5. Blair Gavin (Chivas USA) – There hasn’t been too many good things in Chivas-land this season but Gavin certainly has been good. I still can’t get over clubs passing over this guy and him landing with Chivas.

Just off the path

1. Ike Opara (San Jose Earthquakes) – Just like in races in the past, an injury has hurt his chances big time for this award. Still the future looks really bright for this kid once he returns to action. San Jose is a much better defensive team with him on the pitch too.

2. Tony Tchani (New York Red Bulls) – He has a lot of competition in the midfield right now but he’s slowly finding his way into the lineup and is making a difference like we all thought he would back in January.

3. Teal Bunbury (Kansas City Wizards) – Just like Tchani, it took him a little while to break into the starting lineup but now that he has the Wizards are much better for it offensively.

4. Eric Alexander/Zach Loyd (FC Dallas) – Maybe its me seeing both of these kids more times than the other rookies in the league but maybe its also that both are very good. With more playing time for each we’re seeing exactly why FC Dallas took these two kids back in January.

5. Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire) – He had a couple really good starts and then one pretty bad start. That should be expected out of a rookie keeper but he still has all the makings of being a big time starter in this league for years to come.

6. Zach Schilawski (New England Revolution) – Aside from the hat-trick earlier this year he hasn’t done a whole lot for the Revs. Then again what New England striker has this year?

We speculated going into this season that the rookie class would possibly be as good as last year’s version. Three weeks into the season and I think it is safe to say these rookies so far are doing very well for themselves.

So far some of the rookies are producing very well and are getting quality minutes on the field. Some are going through some growing pains but more than likely we’ll see them show up before long here this season.

A couple rookies are already doing very well like we mentioned, New England’s Zach Schilawski light up Toronto FC with a hat trick last Saturday, while the 3rd overall pick Ike Opara netted a game winner on the road for San Jose in Chicago.

Doing Well and Producing

Zack Schilawski (New England) – As mentioned the Rev’s rookie strike light up Toronto with three goals. The second goal was as classy as anything I’ve seen out of a rookie in some time. Revs manager Steve Nicol has needed a goal scorer for a couple seasons now and it looks like Schilawski may be just the guy he was looking for.

Tim Ream (New York) – Ream has been a lot of folks favorite rookie thus far this year. He’s played in all three games so far for the Red Bulls and has brought a lot of stability to the defense that looked so shaky a season ago.

Ike Opara (San Jose) – This guy is something else, I’ll just say that. His goal against the Fire proved to be the difference but his presence on the field is starting to make the Quakes look a lot better defensively – just like we knew it would.

Blair Gaven (Chivas USA) – Not many folks are talking about Gaven but I noticed him more in the 2-0 win over New York than I had in previous games. He was steady and very good in the midfield for Chivas. Definitely a rookie to keep an eye on here.

Needs More Time But Will Be Solid

Teal Bunbury (Kansas City) – Having trouble breaking the starting lineup so far in KC but when the team is winning it doesn’t hurt too much. He’ll get his time under Peter Vermes too. With some US Open Cup games coming up he’ll get more PT to show his stuff.

Zach Loyd (FC Dallas) – Looked very steady in his first start for Dallas against Columbus. He held his own very nicely against one of the league’s best teams.

Toni Tchani (New York) – Haven’t seen a whole lot out of him just yet but once he works his way into the starting lineup we’ll see exactly why New York took him at number two.

Danny Mwanga (Philadelphia) – I think the experiment at center-mid is over for Mwanga and Peter Nowak. Let’s see how he does at his natural position, striker.

Some That No One Is Talking About

Seth Sinovic (New England) – Another gem for Steve Nicol. He’s played loads of minutes this season already and has really done wonders for the Revs in the back.

Michael Stephens (LA Galaxy) – Maybe a few have mentioned his name but off the bench this kid will eventually be a headache for other coaches.

Jack McInerney (Philadelphia) – We’ve seen bits and pieces out of Jack so far, but believe me this kid is something special. Its only going to be a matter of time before the rest of the league finds out.

Steven Beitashour (San Jose) – Playing a lot of solid minutes, very quietly under the radar out there by the Bay.

Still Waiting

Amobi Okugo (Philadelphia) – Hasn’t seen much or if any of the field yet. Thankfully for him its only been two games. I got a feeling he’ll break into the lineup soon enough.

Dilly Duka (Columbus) – Same as Okugo, not much to see here yet.

Darrius Barnes is currently leading the way for the rookies. (Getty Images)

Its finally Friday, though I will admit this week has flown by for me due to it being a four-day work week and things being fairly steady on both the regular job front and this place. I had planned to do more than what had been posted today but I blame the weird rainy weather here in Dallas for me not getting around to some of it. Rainy days seem to do that to me.

Anyways I wanted to get back into some award talk for the first part of tonight’s post. Tonight I wanted to kick up my Rookie of the Year discussion and give you a sense of where I rate the current crop of rookies, which by the way have been nothing short of great this season. I know not every single rookie drafted has played this year but there are at least 10 or possibly 12 good rookies from this year’s draft. That usually doesn’t happen very often.

This is my current rankings on the rookies, whether or not this stays the same when I vote in a couple weeks for this award remains to be seen.

1. Darrius Barnes (New England): Yes a third round pick has a great shot right now at Rookie of the Year. Not like last year because the draft class was so weak but because he has truly shown to be the steal of the draft. Barnes has played in every minute of every game this season for the Revs and has truly become a guy that I think will be defending in this league for years to come.

2. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy): A lot of people have him as the top rookie right now and I am starting to actually buy into his hype after last weeks’ game against LA. He’ll probably snatch up more votes than Barnes because of his pick number and because of where he plays but that should be the reasons why you vote for this kid. He’s good…and I mean damn good. That Sean Franklin and Gonzalez duo in the back for LA is going to be a tough one to get by for years to come.

3. Stefan Frei (Toronto FC): I nearly had him over Gonzalez but for some reason Gonzalez just came out slightly ahead of this kid. I think if TFC gets into the playoffs you will see this guy get plenty of first place votes for this award. If they fail to reach it he may not even get any third place votes.

4. Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders FC): Zakuani lived up to the top pick hype this year I believe unlike last year’s top pick (Chance Myers). He’s gonna need a monster last couple of weeks to the season to catch up to the guys ahead of him but he’ll surely get his share of votes for this.

5. Chris Pontius/Rodney Wallace (DC United): These two really split votes for me. One day I see Wallace as the better rookie then the next it is Pontius. Both have proven to be very valuable picks but as things get worse for DC here late in the year the less votes these two will see.

Others in consideration: Kevin Alston (New England), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Michael Lahoud (Chivas USA), Matt Besler (KC), and George John (Dallas).

Stefan Frei has proven to be one of the better picks in the 2009 draft. (Getty Images)

We are nearly halfway through the 2009 campaign and it is a good time to review how the rookies are doing thus far. As stated before I think this year’s rookie class has been one of the better ones that we have seen in recent years. Plenty of rookies are getting a chance on the field and some are making very good impacts with their clubs.

For me right now the rookie of the year race is really starting to heat up. A few guys have really shown they are worthy of the honor already and continue to do so each week. While I won’t go into any particular order with this list I will say the few that are mentioned are definitely above and beyond the rest of the class here.

Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders FC): The number one pick continues to impress me. I knew a while back that this kid had some special talent and I believe we are seeing just that here this season. Currently he has two goals and three assists on the year. His number may not jump out to some but his skill on the field definitely do to me. Right now he has to be considered a front-runner for ROY honros. Good to see a number one pick live up to the expectations of the pick.

Stefan Frei (Toronto FC): I think Frei has made a lot of clubs second guess themselves this year to why they didn’t pick him until Toronto did late in the first round. He’s already proven himself to be a quality starter in the league. Hell he’s even gotten Toronto’s old keeper out of a job because of his play. While he has let in a few more goals than other keepers out there a lot of that could be due to the defense that plays in front of him, though I think that could be changing soon.

Rodney Wallace (DC United): When DC selected Wallace at the draft I had a good feeling for them with that selection. Wallace has shown a lot of growth in his first season with the club and continues to be a headache for other clubs with his runs out of the back. Also his defending hasn’t been too shabby either.

Chris Pontius (DC United): A lot of United fans hated this pick back in January. And I mean a lot! Fast forward to today and United is in first place in the east and some of that is due to the play of Pontius who is third in scoring for DC. Just like fellow rookie Wallace, he has seen action in every game this season for DC. Not a lot of rookies can say that. I see nothing but good things for this kid’s MLS future.

Darrius Barnes (New England Revolution): One thing I am sure of is that Steve Nicol sure knows how to pick them. A late selection in the draft was Barnes but none more valuable to New England this season who have been through a lot of injuries in defense. Barnes has been one of the better defenders in the league this year and I think he could easily grow into one of the top defenders in the league in a couple years.

A few others to watch out for:

Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy): Has shown plenty of potential in the back for LA. Still gives up a few chances for other clubs but that may be partly due to the fact that he is surrounded by a fairly young defense with a couple older veterans.

Sam Cronin (Toronto FC): Nearly put him in the top group but he is just outside of it for me right now. He’s played a lot of minutes for this club already this year and I think his value will continue to show as the season moves forward.

Matt Besler (Kansas City Wizards): Another guy that has seen a lot of minutes this season for his club. Besler has shown some good promise for a young club.

Kevin Alston (New England Revolution): When healthy he is as good as though in the top group. He hit a bit of an injury bug like the rest of his club earlier this season but he has returned to help get New England out of their early funk. I do believe he is a name that you could see eventually move to Europe in a few years.

Michael Lahoud (Chivas USA): Here’s a guy that is starting to see a lot more minutes here as the season goes on. So far I think he’s shown a lot of good potential for Chivas. I think given time he will prove to be one of the better picks in this draft.

Rodney Wallace has proved to be one of the best picks in the 2009 Draft. (Getty Images)

A lot has been said about this year’s draft class. Going into the draft a lot of people thought it was a deep pool of players, more so than it had been in a few years. After eight or nine games for most clubs you could say those people figured right. Many rookies continue to get plenty of minutes and impress folks in the stands with their abilities.

I figured instead of doing the usual look at the potential rookie of the year today to do something a little different. Instead I will be looking at each club’s selections once again. I’ll do most of the first round and a few random picks here and there from that with a few other notes.

Most of all the clubs who had first round selections used them wisely as we can all see. A few others did not though. Then you have the clubs that hardly picked at all. Those are tough to grade.

As always feel free to post your comments below on the subject.

Seattle Sounders FC: This club made a big splash with Steve Zakuani at number one who has lived up in my eyes as a number one pick. Definitely more of a Maurice Edu-type pick rather than a Nikolas Besagno-type number one pick. Which is a good thing for the expansion Sounders. Zakuani has done enough to make the Sounder draft class one of the better ones this past year.

Toronto FC: Two picks in the first round usually mean the club will do fairly well. While one pick (O’Brien White) hasn’t played yet due to injury, the other pick has certainly lived up to his pick number. Sam Cronin was a worthy number two pick in the draft. Either off the bench or in the starting lineup, Cronin has shown he has what it takes to help make this TFC club a contender. But TFC’s best pick was probably in the last first round pick they had with keeper Stefan Frei. He probably has made the biggest impact of the three first round selections.

LA Galaxy:What can you say about their top two selections? Omar Gonzalez and AJ DeLaGarza have become pretty comfortable in the starting rotation. Each took sometime to get use to the style of play in the league but they are a big part of the reason why this club has only lost a single game this year.

FC Dallas: Had some good selections in the first round. George John has proven to be a very good pickup for this club in the back, who really needed help defensively. Peri Marosevic will get his time. Not a bad draft but then again not the best.

DC United: Two picks in a row in the first round have led to arguable the best draft class for this club in a very long time. Both Rodney Wallace and Chris Pontius are mainstays in the starting lineup for Tom Soehn and each are making big time impacts for the Black-and-Red this season. Right now I would say they are both in the thick of things for rookie of the year. Also, third round pick Milios Kocic has been a good pickup for them in goal when needed. He was a very underrated pick at the time and proves to be maybe one of the best steals of the draft.

Kansas City Wizards: A club with loads of picks this past year. Matt Besler has been a good addition to this club’s defense and Graham Zusi saw decent minutes to start the season. Overall their draft proved to be a decent one but nothing too exciting.

New England Revolution: Another club with a lot of picks, the Revs went out in typical Steve Nicol fashion and got a few good steals. Darrius Barnes and Kevin Alston have been big additions to the club’s defense and I would say Barnes could be right up there in the discussion of rookie of the year. Come on, the kid was a third rounder!

New York Red Bulls: Jermey Hall proved to be what we all pretty much expect him to be. A good pickup. Other than that the Red Bulls really didn’t end up with anyone else that has done enough to improve this club.

Real Salt Lake: Ah, most felt it was the worst draft of any club and I have to still agree with that. Jean Alexandre has really done little of note to be a first round selection. Raphel Cox has decent potential though to make up for it however. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get more playing time for this club as it is.

San Jose Earthquakes: No first rounder and really no big impact selection. Brad Ring hasn’t played but third rounder Quincy Amarikwa is showing potential. Either way its a draft class for this club that few will remember in years to come.

Chicago Fire: With this club being deep already adding a few rookies is tough. None have even had a sniff at the starting XI, much less even time off the bench so far this season. It may be a come back in a year and see if anyone does anything of note.

Chivas USA: Another club with few selections. Michael Lahoud has seen some decent time off the bench for this club. From what I’ve seen out of him in person this kid has some real potential to make the Chivas draft class for this year a good one.

Colorado Rapids: Another so-so draft. None of the players selected have even seen playing time this season. Hard to even say it was a good draft in that regards.

Columbus Crew: Kind of the same as the Rapids. Though fewer selections, one guy has seen time with the club so far this season. I do think third rounder Alex Grendi has turned into a solid selection for the Crew. He’s seen his fair share of playing time already.

Houston Dynamo: The club that took the biggest risks in the draft are seeing any sort of reward from it. Hey we kind of expected it when they took Daniel Cruz and Marcus Tracy with their only picks that it would be a high-risk/high-reward type of thing.

Once the dust was settled on the week Chivas USA was still on top of everything dispite their 1-0 loss at Toronto in the midweek. And speaking of the Reds, they now sit atop the eastern standings by one point over Kansas City and Chicago.

Yeah, who would have called Chivas and Toronto to be conference leaders at this point in the season? I doubt anyone got that one right.

As always feel free to post your comments below about this past week and weekend. There sure was a lot that happened.

Twice as Nice in Toronto

As mentioned earlier, Toronto had two games this week at home and won them both by a 1-0 scoreline. Very interesting thing to have happen there for the Reds. They lose Dwayne de Rosario and look completely better for it. They need to figure out how to get DeRo into the lineup once he returns and get him back in a way that continues this offensive production and defensive intensity.

I think the big thing though for this club wasn’t just the two straight wins but the two straight shutouts. For a defense that is shaky at times they needed this for confidence building in a big way.

The second win was espeically good since manager John Carver stepped down from his coaching position at the start of the weekend. Didn’t see that move coming but it looks like he is headed back to Newcastle to help coach there.

DC Rallies Late

What can you say about DCU? They go up early and in typical fashion they let New York back in the game with to second half goals. But a funny thing happened late when the rally was on, more pressure was put on New York’s defense, which is still very weak by the way, and that pressure turned into two quick goals including a game winner by Chris Pontius.

Speaking of Pontius and fellow rookie Rodney Wallace. Are there two better playing rookies right now in MLS than these two? Sure Toronto’s Stefan Frei and Sam Cronin have a legitimate shot at the argument there but Wallace and Pontius have been very good additions to this club and DCU is all the better for them.

Back to the rally though for a moment, I think a big reason why DC is really turning things around is due to the quality of players surrounding Luciano Emilio. You look at what he had around him last year, it just didn’t work for him. Now he has an up-and-coming rookie, plus some healthy veterans in the midfield. Its funny how Christian Gomez was expected to lead this club again, well, he hasn’t had to and DC is probably better for it.

New York Drops Two

First it was the red card two minutes in on Thursady to Carlos Johnson. Then it was Jon Conway and Alfredo Pacheco not communicating enough late for two goals to DC.

What does this say? New York still stinks in the back. Maybe it will all change once Albert Cedades gets in the lineup and controls the midfield for the club better, because that is still an area of concern for this side. But in all seriousness Johnson and Pacheco are starting to turn into just two more bad international signings by Juan Carlos Osorio.

I’d probably throw Johnson under the bus a bit quicker due the amount of red cards he is getting here this year.

But let’s also look at this on the other side of the ball. Yes the offense got two goals against DC but they still aren’t controlling the pitch for 90+ minutes a game. In other words it is coming down to sloppy midfield play that is killing this side on both sides of the ball here.

Seven games in and New York has one win to go with five points.

Seattle Regroups

Maybe it is Kasey Keller in net that gives Seattle it’s edge. It sure looked that way against San Jose who got nothing in the box by Seattle’s defense. Rookie Steve Zakuani continues on pace to be one of the top rookies here this season with a goal and assist to lead the Sounders at home.

Seattle did what they do best, control the pace of the game and reel off a late first half goal and an early second half goal to put the game away. San Jose never got enough quality chances on goal to really give the large home crowd any sort of scare. I will say the Quakes did look better in the second half. I don’t know if it was the lack of Ramiro Corrales or if it was just Seattle taking the foot off the pedal after the second goal.

The real story in this one though was the play of Zakuani. While San Jose keyed in on Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg, it was Zakuani who showed that Seattle has a little more punch to their attack than most would want to admit.

Chicago Pulls a KC

You look at Columbus who hadn’t had a single win yet, you knew something would come after the bye-week. Everything was right on track for their first win until Brian McBride snuck in behind the defense and got Chicago back into the game late in similar fashion to what the Fire defense let KC do to them a week ago.

It was after the red card to Gino Padula that things really turned in this game for the visitors. The Crew started to run out of gas in the 80th minute and from then on the Fire started packing the pressure with the man-advantage.

Patrick Nyarko had some quality attempts but it was McBride who connected with Nyark to make it 2-1. Then second half super-sub Chris Rolfe helped pack the final push for the game-tying goal.

I don’t know what it is for the Crew, whether it be injuries (5 of 10 returning starters from last year’s MLS Cup game have been sidelined so far this year), or lack of offense, or terrible defense (second worst in the league). Something has to change for sure if this club even wants to think playoffs at this point.

Crazy Second Half in Salt Lake

Six goals? Seriously? Honestly I knew New England was in trouble defensively before this game but six goals worth of trouble? Wow. They just kept coming in the second half and really every goal was something else including that turn-the-clock-back goal from Clint Mathis. Wow.

Again, RSL looked damn good at home from start to finish. There really isn’t much else to say than just writing the score line.

6-0

Rapid-Killer in Donovan

Colorado looked to dominate the LA Galaxy once again at home but it was a rescue effort on the part of none other than Landon Donovan to get the Galaxy another road point this season.

Colin Clarks nifty goal put the homeside up midway through the second half but it was Donovan and some poor defense that lead to the equalizer for the Galaxy. I think LA got a nice boost from Edson Buddle off the bench who was returning from an injury. His long-range shot set up the game-tying goal.

Not the best game for Colorado to drop late with Seattle and Chivas winning but the Rapids are still in a good spot out west with the way other clubs are playing right now.

Chivas Remains Top Dog

Chivas may want to play FC Dallas more often this season. Two games against the Red Stripes and two wins by the same 2-0 scoreline. The AmeriGoats got on the board after another boring first half between these two sides. Chivas finally woke up offensively after not producing anything of note on Wednesday in Toronto.

Atiba Harris put the Goats on the board and from then on the homeside never looked back. Late in the game Alecko Eskandarian add some insurance with his first of the season.

Dallas played a man-down for the better part of the game is probably the reason for the loss. Dario Sala’s early red card put Dallas in a big time whole for the rest of the game. They still had their chances on goal as Chivas started to back off late in the game but no one for Dallas could connect.

Random Thoughts from the Week

Chivas improves to 5-1-1 on the year. Their current pace has them clinching a playoff spot in July. Scary part is they are starting to get healthy again here with guys like Justin Bruan coming back.

1-6-6: The combined record of last year’s MLS Cup clubs.

0-3-8: The combine record of Columbus and LA. I know I put Columbus back-to-back here but both of these clubs can’t win and don’t seem to lose often here this season.

-4: Currently we have four clubs with a goal differential of -4. Columbus, New England, New York and San Jose. Only Dallas has the worst with a -6.

Chicago the only undefeated side left at 2-0-4. In some ways though they really don’t feel like an undefeated side.

Josh Wolff and KC left Seattle with three points. (Getty Images)

Again, sorry for the delay in getting this recap posted today. Easter weekend, doubled with the fact I had family come in for a visit this weekend. Needless to say I didn’t have a lot of time to get to this until today.

I feel like doing things a little different too here this week. Instead of the usual game-by-game case I just want to tackle just main points that I wrote down from the weekend, due to lack of time this was just quicker and easier. After this is all posted I will probably follow things up with the goals of the week and a few other things. Also, week four power rankings will more than likley be up in the morning as usual.

As always feel free to post your thoughts from this weekend’s action below.

All the ties

Seven games and five ended in draws; two were 1-1, two scoreless and one random one out west was 3-3. I think the San Jose- Chicago game sucked all the goals out of the weekend. Six goals in that game while the other six combined for eight goals total. I suppose it was just one of those types of weekends.

Butts-in-seats look

We are getting there folks. Slowly but surely we are getting there. Bigger numbers this weekend due to 20,272 in Toronto, 23,317 in Los Angeles and 28,746 in Seattle. However still some low numbers like the Crew only averaging around 11k in their two home games this season. I don’t think you can blame the weather either, most people would have been fine with 50 degrees and little wind. I would bet the holiday weekend may have been to blame there.

No More 30-0 Talk

Well, so goes the 30-0 talk in Seattle. Another firecracker of a goal by Davy Arnuad (a very early candidate for league MVP) gave KC another win here in the early going of the year. A lot had to do with the red card early to Kasey Keller (good call) and lack of finishing. Listen folks Seattle was bound to lose a game here this season and we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought otherwise.

Still the club showed some true heart down a man and trying to win that game on Saturday night. Maybe its a sign of how good of a coach Sigi Schmid is because his Columbus teams were always heard to close out against and I think Seattle is turning into just that type of club.

I guess I need to switch the poll over to when will Chivas lose now.

Struggles Continue

Columbus is still winless.

New York is still winless.

Houston is still winless.

And Dallas is still winless.

All combine for a lovely 0-9-8 on the year so far. Ah sexy numbers there.

No Conde, no defense?

Look at the games that Chicago has been without a strong defender. Both ended in draws, this past week was possibly due to the lack of Wilman Conde. The Fire defense gave up three goals to San Jose, which may be the most confusing club in the league right now. Without Conde the Windy City giants looked a bit rattled in the back, especially in the central part of the defense.

Speaking of San Jose…

I just cannot figure this club out yet. Maybe it is way they play at home versus the road. Or maybe its their attack. I will say moving that if they can Bobby Convey around in the midfield it could pay off better for them offensively. But there was a still an element missing in the midfield after that defensively.

Then again you couldn’t do much about those last two Fire goals by Brian McBride and Chris Rolfe. Both were crazy. But some are saying the loss of Jason Hernandez in the back is starting to catch up. The defense that was so tightly compact a season ago just looks completely different now.

New York, we have an offensive problem.

Remember the line about only one club has reached the post season after going scoreless in their first three games? Well, New York is now scoreless in four. Sure they have one goal in the goals for column but that was an own-goal on Jay Heaps. Offensively this club has plenty of blame to spread around right now. I think the exucse of waiting on the newcomers to arrive is passing and the ones that have been there just aren’t producing.

First of all, for all the speed this club has all over the roster it looks like it doesn’t matter. Dane Richards isn’t playing like his usual self. Dominic Oduro or Mac Kandji need to be on one of the wings if you ask me.

Biggest disappointment in all may be Jorge Rojas. A lot of pressure was put on him at the start of the year and so far he hasn’t lived up to any of the hype. Maybe once Albert Celades starts it will get better for Rojas and New York in the midfield but so far this year they’ve looked down right dreadful.

Also, for all the moves the club made the one that could be the biggest that they didn’t do was finding a partner for Juan Pablo Angel. The guy can only do so much with what he has. And so far this year he hasn’t been able to do a thing.

Toronto we still have a problem…

Okay, Chad Barett is proving not to be the answer. Right now the club can only get so much out of it’s midfield, which is producing all of its goals this season. What they need is two things, a central defender because that defense still lets in easy stuff and a true go-to striker. I know this club has improved this season but letting in a late goal like that to a club like Dallas is not the way a playoff contender should act like.

We can get drunk watching LA

I think we need to start a new drinking game with LA and how their midfield and defense play. But all seriousness aside, LA just does not have the talent to compete with the rest of the league in their midfield or defense. The young talent is there but they are still growing and the older talent is just well…older.

RSL still strong at home…DC still struggling in the Rocky Mountains

What else can you say about RSL at home? New year in pretty much a new stadium and its still the same old subject. But I will stick to my guns about RSL on the road. I still need proof this year that they are a contender by winning on the road. Until I see them win on the road in a consistent manner like they do at home I will have trouble rating them high.

As for DC, they still can’t get over the hump in the Rocky Mountains. Neither Denver or Salt Lake City have been friendly to the Black-and-Red. But it was a bit better out of them this weekend. They took the early lead with Luciano Emilio, who is playing great so far this year, but defenively still giving up crap late. That bothers me.

Its early so far but its worth going in to see who has the best shot after the first couple weeks.

So far this won’t be in any particular order but if you have an order to who you think is leading the rookie pack this early feel free to post below. If you think a rookie needs to be on this list, just post below.

Steve Zakuani, Seattle Sounders FC – I think we are all seeing why this kid was picked first by Seattle back in January. And to think we had some questions about Seattle not picking him and trading away that top pick. Right now I think it is safe to say that the number one pick could be the leader in the clubhouse after three games. His one goal and one assist have helped lead the Sounders to their perfect record thus far.

Stefan Frei, Toronto FC – The record may not show and now that he is back on the bench will possibly hurt his chances but Frei definitely showed he was the best keeper in this rookie class. The three goals scored on him were more defensive problems than poor positioning on his part. Not many keepers would save those two goals by Davy Arnuad in week one.

Graham Zusi, Kansas City Wizards – While Zusi hasn’t done anything real special so far for KC he did carry a starting position for the first couple of games. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up.

Kevin Alston, New England Revolution – Alston is one of two New England rookies to watch. He didn’t play this past week against Dallas but I look for him to be a mainstay (when healthy) for New England this year on their backline. I just thought in week one he did a great job of holding guys like Darren Huckerby and Arturo Alvarez to no goals.

Darrius Barnes, New England Revolution – Barnes is the other rookie for Steve Nicol. I think Barnes has been possibly the more impressive defender rookie so far this season in the entire league. Think about it, the Revs have only given up two goals in three games with rookies in their backline. It could be part poor offense on the other clubs but I would argue its a bit good defense on the parts of guys like Barnes.

Omar Gonzalez, LA Galaxy – The kid from Maryland has one impressive goal but that is about it really. He looked decent in the first game against DC but was absolutely smoked by Conor Casey and Colorado last week. I still think he will be one of the top rookies this year though.

Sam Cronin, Toronto FC – He hasn’t been a main starter just yet for TFC but he is getting plenty of minutes so far this season. I think he has the chance to be a real difference maker for this club this season. We just need to see more out of him here, that’s all.

Chris Pontius, DC United – Some hated this draft pick back in January, I think it is safe to say now that those who hated it aren’t quite as angry at it now. Pontius has been a steady addition to DC this season.