Most big names are left off in this case. No Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu or Michael Bradley. A few MLS guys on this roster, most of whom aren’t seeing a lot of time on the field right now, though there are one or two that have seen starting PT this season.

Here is the full roster:

GOALKEEPERS - Dominic Cervi (out of contract), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake), Quentin Westburg (Troyes)

DEFENDERS - Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Eric Brunner (out of contract), Kyle Davies (Southampton), Michael Gavin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Kamani Hill (Vfl Wolfsburg), Jonathan Leathers (Kansas City Wizards), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Julian Valentin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Rob Valentino (New England Revolution), Blake Wagner (FC Dallas)

MIDFIELDERS - Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin), Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Greg Dalby (SC Charleroi), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Lee Nguyen (Randers FC)

FORWARDS - Gabe Ferrari (Sampdoria), Bryan Jordan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Ellis McLoughlin (Hertha Berlin), Sammy Ochoa (Tecos)

The U.S. team will face Turkey (May 21), Ivory Coast (May 23) and Italy (May 25) in the Toulon Tournament, taking place in France. All the matches will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel.

A very defensive looking group here but seeing names like Ferrari, Feilhaber and Nguyen sure helps I think. Again, most of the MLS guys won’t affect their clubs all that much with their absences.

You even have a couple guys like Brunner and Cervi who are probably going to be playing for a contract more than anything with this tournament. I kind of think both won’t see a lot of action, unless it is as a sub or something here. Cervi will most likely be backing up Seitz and Brunner has a lot of competition in the back and in the defensive midfield to see action.

Any names jump out at you? I’m not really all that surprised by most of these call-ups.

Thanks to those two goals, Rogers is my vote for MLS Player of the Week.

Other guys with solid weeks included: Steve Ralston, Blanco, Kyle Beckerman, and Juan Pablo Angel.

Rogers also has a goal of the week nominee from the league. However his goal wasn’t my pick for goal of the week. That nod goes to Kenny Cooper of FC Dallas. His goal just edged out Blanco’s blast in my books because of the slight degree of difficulty of striking the ball at that weird angle on the turf against RSL. Unlike last weekend, the goals were much better looking this weekend.

Judge for yourself!

This time of the year is also a big time for clubs to start trading parts away to rework their lineups in hopes of getting back on track this season.

We’ve seen it in recent years and last year was a great example of it. On this day a year ago, the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo were a part of a four-player swap. The key parts were Joseph Ngwenya being dealt from Columbus in exchange for Alejandro Moreno. The trade proved to be a big one for the Dynamo, and now the Crew are seeing the benefits of that trade.

I bring this all up because of a post Ives wrote today. He is calling for Chivas USA (who made a trade over the weekend) to trade for Chicago defender Wilman Conde and in the process send former Fire striker Ante Razov back to the Windy City.

A young defender who wants out of one place in exchange for a striker who will probably want out of LA since the going has gotten tough in recent weeks.

Honestly, its a trade that works for both sides and I’m glad someone brought it up today.

But what about some other clubs that are looking to deal.

Obviously DC United is close to shaking things up here.

I think we are about a month or so away (if things remain the same) from this club getting another makeover. Of course money has to make sense in these deals but I wouldn’t be shocked to see this club unload some talent that they brought in this year.

One move that I wouldn’t be shocked over is to see DC trade for another keeper here. Both Zach Wells and Jose Carvallo were the answer in goal this season. Wells continues to show he is nothing more than a backup here and we really haven’t seen enough out of Carvallo.

As far as trades go with DC, don’t look for any eastern conference club to link up with United in a deal. As tight as things are in the east it wouldn’t make sense for anyone to help DC out here. So look for a western side to play part as a deal maker with DC. Don’t be shocked to see DC try to swing deals with Chivas, Colorado or Real Salt Lake here.

Another eastern side that will more than likely be looking to deal, based on who is running their program, is Toronto FC.

The Reds are reportedly looking to land a top-flight scorer this summer for their designated player and in the process they will more than likely have to dump some contracts to make things work out in terms of meeting the salary cap.

One guy that is more than likely on his way out is Jeff Cunningham. Look for him to get moved around and who knows maybe even Toronto would deal with DC when it comes to Cunningham. However, I still see Cunningham back in the west before the season’s end. My bet is either Chivas, Colorado, or Houston will make a play for Cunningham. Sure he has aged some but he still has some goals left in him if the playing time and situation is right for him.

I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Toronto trade a defender away like Todd Dunivant this summer. The pieces they have put together on defense, along with some of the young rookies that they brought in this year spell trouble for a guy like Dunivant. I think the Reds would have no problem trading him away to about any club in the league right now. He’s a quality defender that many teams could use.

Out west there are a couple clubs already mentioned. Chivas, Colorado, Houston.

Though it could be fair game for any western side to made a deal right now with the way things are going in comparison to how they are stacking up against the east right now. But I see teams like San Jose going out and signing players this summer rather than trading for them. Same may be said for Dallas or LA.

The wheels are in motion here for plenty of deals to be worked out this season. But don’t be shocked if we see a big name player or two move in the next month or so.

Any deals out there that you want to see? Its a busy time for GMs and coaches in MLS, not only with games on the field but the action in the office is really heating up.

A couple guys got their first goal of the year, others got their first ever MLS goal of their careers. One club got it’s first win of the year while we saw one club do something that no one else has done so far this year.

In all seriousness, it truly was a weekend of first in Major League Soccer.

• First goals of the season for some heavyweight scorers: Bring Ching, Dwayne de Rosario, Taylor Twellman, and Juan Pablo Angel.
• First career goals for: Rookies Danleigh Boreman (NY) and Justin Braun (Chivas) and for second year player Brad Evans (Columbus)
• First goal of the season for RSL’s Javier Morales
• First goal since 2006 for Chicago’s Justin Mapp
• First time that Kenny Cooper scores for Dallas and they lose
• First Houston win of the year

But the biggest may be for the club that remains on top of the MLS standings. The Columbus Crew became the first club this season to come from behind and win a game. Seriously, it took seven weeks to produce a come from behind winner in MLS.

As short as the weekend was in the schedule (only five games instead of the usual six), it produced just as much excitement and almost as many goals as we are getting use to here this season.

Attendance was average, LA and Houston had good numbers; RSL drew their usual non-Beckham game number; San Jose nearly sold out its cozy little venue; and Chivas didn’t fill half of the HDC.

Houston Dynamo 2 - 1 Colorado Rapids:

• Houston finally wins one, but more importantly De Rosario and Ching get on the boards this season. You could tell this was going to be the game that the Dynamo would break free.
• Dicey call on the PK late for the handball on Ugo Ihemelu. It had to be called though, clearly it was a mental error.
• The mental error kind of tells me more about Fernando Clavijo’s group. They still aren’t ready to be placed near the top with the likes of some of the clubs in MLS. The go-to striker is still missing and the defensive mistakes are killer.
• Boy, Bouna Coundoul is either really good or really bad. There isn’t much in-between with him. He either makes great saves or costs his team dearly. The Ching goal is a prime example of how he costs them dearly.
• So does this win spell the start for the Dynamo here this season? I think we will see but clearly it was much needed.

Real Salt Lake 2 - 1 FC Dallas:

• Mark the first RSL goal up to be a blooper on the FCD 2008 season DVD. A total whiff at the ball by Dario Sala and Javier Morales made it count.
• I think Kyle Beckerman should get some serious consideration for MLS MVP this season. He has carried this club on his back thus far this season.
• Cooper scored but no love in the win department. That is a first. But seriously, the goal was something else. It may be my goal of the week too.
• Dallas had plenty of chances, so don’t let the scoreline fool you here either. They just struggled to find the back of the net, while RSL got two goals on two defensive mistakes from Dallas. Sometimes the ball bounces funny like that, and on that turf it really bounces.

Columbus Crew 3 - 2 San Jose Earthquakes:

• Don’t turn your back on this Crew team at all here this season. I was watching this game up until about the 65th minute; I then left to take a shower or something and come back to a 3-1 scoreline. Just like that, the Crew were well on their way to another win.
• I can’t begin to describe how big of a come from behind win is for any club. This seriously gives the Crew an edge over anyone right now in MLS.This club just has more fight in them than anyone else in the league, maybe with the exception of Chicago.
• Robbie Rogers is really starting to bud into the star that we had hoped for here last year when he came to MLS. Five goals on the year puts him just behind Landon Donovan’s eight for the league lead (he’s also tied with Cooper in that department).
• All three goals were pretty much the same. Long balls played through space, with a quick player running on to it to hammer it past a Joe Cannon who didn’t have his 10 minutes between the 73rd and 83rd minutes.
• Both San Jose goals were nice though. Both headers off corners. That is positive stuff to see if you are a Quakes fan.

New York 2 - 1 LA:

• Nice defensive game for the Red Bulls, the limited the Galaxy chances and found ways to frustrate David Beckham and Landon Donovan.
• Two games in a row now for Donovan to not score a goal. Maybe he’s cooled off.
• Jon Conway had a nice night in goal for New York, though I can’t say I am still not sold on him here.
• Big time goal for Angel on Saturday night. For his confidence and his club’s, that goal was bigger than some will think.
• I know we were hard on Alan Gordan at the beginning of this season but maybe he is settling in here. Third goal of the season, and it was a pretty nice one at that. That’s good because someone will need to carry the load when Donovan and Beckham are gone on National team duties.
• Galaxy defense is still troublesome but I really think the issue is more so in goal with Steve Cronin. While he made a couple nice saves, he still finds ways to prove to me that he isn’t a solid number one in MLS.

New England Revolution 2 - 1 Chivas USA:

• Another loss for the Goats, but another win for the Revs. Who out of these two do you think will end up better off this season? Obviously it has to be New England because Chivas has come undone in recent weeks.
• It was great to see Taylor Twellman out there yesterday for the Revs. Not only his first game of the year but he netted his first goal. That will help ease some worries for Revs fans.
• But what’s more important is Steve Ralston being healthy. Both goals were set up by him and I think with him back on the pitch we will now see a more consistent offense from New England.
• Chivas was really never in this game, only a couple of chances in the entire game on goal. Its almost like this club has come unglued from what we saw out of them last year. Its not health reasons or really any damage from suspensions, but they just don’t look comfortable out there right now together.
• I think Preki may need to change the formation or something to shake this club up here. Five game losing streak is never good to put yourself in, even at the early stages of the season. Its defensive and offense that needs work. Well they need confidence more than anything, especially on offense.

This marks the third trade with the two 2005 expansion sides this year. Earlier in the year RSL traded Atiba Harris and Alecko Eskandarian to the Red-and-White.

Probably a fair trade for both sides. Talley goes to a side that needs some defensive help and RSL gets a future draft pick.

I will start out in the Windy City. It looks as though things are as rosy as we though between the Chicago Fire and defender Wilmam Conde. Last night during MLS PrimeTime Thursday, ESPN2 reporter Pedro Gomez (I love that he is doing soccer these days, so much better than Alan Hopkins) talked about how Conde is still unhappy in Chicago.

Apparently he still isn’t happy with the Fire and after seeing how he didn’t even dress last night, things are probably going back to the way they were before the season. Right now the Fire are playing some of the best soccer that MLS has seen in some time in terms of defense and Conde hasn’t been apart of it. He’s one of the highest paid players on the Fire roster and so far he hasn’t played a full game this season.

Gomez stated that the Fire are still trying to patch things up with him in an effort to keep him in the Windy City. Also he said there was no way that the Fire would even consider trading him to an eastern conference club.

So a trade to New York still remains out of the question.

So what should the Fire do with him? Keep him on the bench until he comes to his senses? Or trade him away to a western conference club that could use his defense and that has some space to do something with him? You have to figure one of the western club has to take a serious look at him (hello LA!!) even with his personal distractions.

Or maybe they wait until the summer transfer window and try to ship him off elsewhere.

Who knows. Either way its still a sticky mess.

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Switching to the club that Conde would like to be with right now, New York. Apparently when they signed defender Andrew Boyen’s last week to a contract things weren’t as good as they had hoped. They moved one player (who’s name is escaping me) to the IR and bumped rookie Eric Brunner to the developmental roster. A move that Brunner didn’t like in the least bit.

There had been reports that Brunner threw a fit over the move and now as Ives is reporting, Brunner may no longer be with the club.

The Red Bulls dropped Brunner from its senior roster, and voided his contract, in order to make room for newly-acquired defender Andrew Boyens. Rather than accept the new developmental contract offered by the Red Bulls, Brunner has turned it down and is now weighing possibilities outside of MLS.

“Eric has decided to pass on the developmental offer, and we’re currently exploring both USL and European options,” said Leo Cullen, Brunner’s agent. “He wished something could have worked out with NY, and is hopeful that there will be an opportunity there down the road, but is now exploring alternatives.”

Tough break to get the bump down but honestly I thought the kid had some talent to do well in this league. As Ives reported, the Red Bulls basically ripped up his contract that wasn’t guaranteed and tried to hand him a cheaper contract. You can’t blame the kid for getting upset over a cheap developmental contract after having a decent contract that he got when he was drafted.

My bet he will end up in the USL but you never know he could find some play in Europe in one of the lower level leagues.

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Now out to San Jose.

The Quakes are finally going out to get some offense. Right now the Quakes have two Brazilian forwards on trial. Marcinho and Wanderson are currently on trial with the expansion club.

Some may remember Marcinho from last year’s SuperLiga game against Houston Dynamo. Other than that there really isn’t a whole lot out on this pair right now.

Frank Yallop and GM John Doyle said they were impressed with both players, but that they would not be offering them a contract immediately. Also the club would be bringing in a bunch of players until the summer transfer window opens up.

One player they hope to bring in is former Norwich City player Darren Huckerby.

Yallop recently did an interview with Ipswich Town about the 32-year-old winger.

Huckerby may well be a Toronto player by then, although long-term admirer Yallop is still hoping he can sign him for San Jose.

Yallop, who won the Player of the Year accolade from the Portman Road fans 20 years ago, said: “The league rules say that Toronto have first refusal on Darren but I am sure he will be aware of our interest via his agent.

“I must stress, however, that we will only be able to do something if Toronto decide, for whatever reason, not to pursue their interest in signing him or if Darren turns down the chance to go there.

“We are next in line and I can’t deny I would love to have Darren here. He is a player I have admired for a number of years and I have always liked the way he plays the game.

I don’t think they actually are next in line in terms of Allocation in MLS because of the recent signing of Peguero Jean Phillippe.

Honestly, San Jose could use the talents of Huckerby on the wings and at the striker position. But I think there are a number of teams in line to sign him.

The usual game format for the weekend stands with the majority of games on Saturday and one on Sunday. I still wish that when the league puts a game on a Spanish outlet like TeleFutra, that they would at least provide a Direct Kick or something of that game for us non-Spanish speaking folk. Not that I don’t mind those lovely Spanish announcers, I would just love to be able to watch the game without all the yelling.

Anyways, let’s get down to business here.

Colorado Rapids - at - Houston Dynamo: We all know by now that the Houston Dynamo are winless in the first six games of the season. But what I still think people keep forgetting is that they’ve only lost two games this year. Both on the road at New England and Columbus. The main problem as we all know by now is still the scoring issues.

Colorado comes into this game as maybe the most confused team in MLS right now. One week they look great and the next not so much. I think we could see that again this week. Last week at home they got just what the doctor had ordered for them, a visit from DC United. This week a road trip to Houston, a place they’ve never won in.

I expect some goals in this one as these two typically pile on the goals against one another. As much as I like both club’s defenses, I think it could be a week where they both get on the board. I really say that in terms of the home team here. I keep waiting around for the men in orange to flip the switch as I put it on the season. Last week wasn’t the case at home against Chivas but after watching that game I know the chances were there for the taking. I see that happening this weekend against Colorado.

It may be a close game and Houston may end up not winning again but I do see Houston scoring some for once. I’m going with the home side in this one though, I just think they will finally break free of whatever funk that they are in right now.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Colorado 1

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FC Dallas - at - Real Salt Lake: A pretty vital game in the early going here for both sides. While Dallas has played pretty well this season, they really need a road win and some goals. As for RSL, they gotta bounce back from dropping points at home to LA last week. It was a game they should have won but ended up with a draw instead.

These two sides typically play pretty wild games, most resulting in game-winning goals in the final minutes of the game. Last year we saw late tying goals or winning goals in the final 10 minutes in all three matches. Hell, two of the matches saw goals in the final seconds of the game. So don’t expect something different out of them this time around.

RSL hasn’t beaten the Hoops in four meetings, a streak that has the potential of continuing here this weekend if they don’t get on the board early. Teams that score first this season have not lost a single game and only seven of them have ended in draws. Folks, scoring first is huge now more than ever in MLS.

I really want to see RSL get Robbie Findley involved in this one early. So far this season he hasn’t quite found the scoring touch that he saw last year. Dallas should have defenders all over the strikers of RSL in this one but if Findley can sneak out and score one it would be huge for him and his confidence.

Dallas on the other hand has to get Kenny Cooper involved as much as possible. I think they will go out with a different formation in this one to change things up on the offensive side of the ball. Putting Juan Toja and Andre Rocha on the wings may be a smart thing to do for Steve Morrow. Then sticking Ricardinho up top as a target striker with Cooper and Arturo Alvarez may work out nicely like it did against Chivas a couple weeks back.

I think this could be a wild one, especially on that nasty turf. It will be close but there will be goals. I like the road side to steal some points in this one thanks to a late goal by Abe Thompson.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 2, RSL 1

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Columbus Crew - at - San Jose Earthquakes: So we get to see Columbus take its show on the road here to San Jose. I think this could be a very important game for the Crew. Sure they’ve been on the road a couple times this season but they need to pick up some more steam on the road and San Jose would be a great place for them to do so.

The Quakes haven’t found the offensive touch just yet this season. Last week they played well at home but still couldn’t find solid chances on goal. Against a solid defense like Columbus their chances may be tougher to get.

I look at what San Jose has done in the shots on goal department so far this season. The LA game they had two; Chicago they had seven in the return to the Bay; in the win over Colorado they had six, but in the last two games against New York and Dallas they’ve only mustered five. The fact remains, just as it does for anyone really, quality chances on goal leads to goals. Its a simple fact of the game that San Jose just hasn’t figured out very well this season.

Columbus on the other hand knows how to make the most of their chances. Alejandro Moreno should be able to find the back on the net in this one. How Moreno is guarded in the back by the Quakes is a big thing to look after. San Jose has done well against quality goal scorers this season but they will again have to contend with a quality midfield that Columbus has.

I just like what the Crew have better than San Jose does right now. Guillermo Barros Schelotto is in top form and will be tough to stop. Columbus wins but only by a small margin. The Quakes will still struggle to find the back of the net.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 1, San Jose 0

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New York Red Bulls - at - LA Galaxy: A game that I’ve been getting a lot of emails about this week from various media outlets wanting the cheap plug on here. I bet I wasn’t the only one getting those emails too, but anyways, this has the making to be another stellar game. I felt it was the game of the year in some ways last year when these two met in Giants Stadium in the late part of the summer. Remember that 5-4 clash? I do, and it was awesome even though the defending was terrible.

This game has the making of being just as crazy as the ones from a year ago. David Beckham is healthy and ready to go. Landon Donovan is scoring goals like they are going out of style this season. And the LA defense is letting in goals like they are going to Vegas and betting the over on each game.

That bodes well and bad at the same time for New York I suppose. The health of their two strikers Juan Pablo Angel and Jozy Altidore still remains in question. Both aren’t 100% right now, though I think New York may be sitting Jozy for fatigue reasons rather than an injury.

New York’s defense is going to get put to the test in this one and I think we see more of what I’ve been talking about this year on their defense. LA loves to play balls over the top and in long passes, both aren’t easily defended by this New York team. Plus LA has the speed to burn a defense that I don’t see as one of the fastest in the league right now.

On the flip side, LA has to come into this game and get a shutout I think for people to really start taking them serious. New York has a good enough attack, even with injuries to put the ball in the back of the net against this LA defense.

Its going to be wild so I think the safe bet is going with a draw. But there should be plenty of goals.

WVH Prediction: LA 3, NY 3

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New England Revolution - at - Chivas USA: To say that both of these clubs need a win right now may be putting it lightly. New England is one of those bouncy ball clubs, while Chivas just isn’t the Chivas of a year ago right now.

Consistency is the biggest problem facing these two clubs right now. One is just inconsistent from week to week, while the other has just been consistently bad this season for the most part. Chivas has a decent enough team as a whole to get the job done but I think what we are seeing is they didn’t do enough in the offseason to improve this roster.

New England did improve their roster but they just aren’t scoring due to injuries they’ve gone through this season. Getting Steve Ralston back in the line up on Sunday could really be what they have missed over the past month. As long as he is good to go, the Revs should have no problem walking out of the Home Depot Center with three points.

This one should be fairly open in the midfield. How Chivas handles Shalrie Joesph and how New England handles Sasha Kljestan are the big keys in this one. Who steps up for their club will be the difference maker here but I see the return of Ralston helping out Joesph more than Kljestan.

Chivas’s attack just hasn’t shown me enough to get behind them here this season. So the visitors walk out with the points in my mind.

WVH Prediction: New England 2, Chivas 0

Let’s face it, Chicago looked like the better side last night and in the end they walked away with the three points after another stellar effort. Not to mention the fact that they OWN DC in RFK Stadium like no one else in this league. The 2-0 win looked easy for the most part.

It wasn’t anything special either. The first half, Chicago created chances and in the later stages of the half they were rewarded with a Justin Mapp goal. By the way, that was Mapp’s first goal since 2006. As for DC in that first half, they failed to create any real chances against Chicago. It wasn’t a defensive stranglehold on DC by the Fire defense, it was merely a United team that didn’t look at all comfortable on the pitch with one another.

There it is, this club still hasn’t come together this season as a team.

Chicago on the other hand has. Seven games in and this club is sitting atop the entire league with 16 points, one ahead of idol Columbus.

DC remains the cellar dweller of the east with six points. Ouch. I know they had a slow start a year ago but this may take the cake.

Let’s drop some credit where it is due. Fire boss Dennis Hamlet may easily be the front-runner for this season’s Coach of the Year award. Whatever magic he throws out there seems to work. Seven games and only three goals against. That my friends takes a lot of effort. An effort that only the Fire are putting out right now.

Oh an by the way, the Fire also are tied for the lead in goals scored this season with LA. Major kudos going out right now to that Fire offense who really impressed me last night. The header by Chad Barrett to set up Mapp’s goal was simple and great to watch. As for the goal, it was just something that all you kiddies need to learn how to do out there. Stay calm, cool and collected in front of net. Mapp did just that. It wasn’t a power shot but one that saw placement with some pace. Very nice work.

We talk about how designated players work in this league, well one that continues to shine is Blanco. He scored his third goal of the season and for the most part was the reason why the Fire had the chances that they did last night.

DC on the other hand has a DP who sat out with an injury (Marcello Gallardo) and now another one that still couldn’t make anything happen (Luciano Emilio). But I will say this, there was a couple players for DC who did at least make the effort on the offensive end. Both Jamie Moreno and Fred at least tried to make things happen in both halves of play. Neither really connected on goal but at least someone was trying in a Black-and-Red kit.

I must say the more I see Chicago, the more I am impressed with them. And the more I see DC, the more I continue to question what’s going on with them. Maybe we need more time with them or something but right now things just aren’t what they should be in DC.

Tom Soehn has a lot of work to do. To say that they’ve been here before may start to get old but I think now we are seeing just how much passion this team doesn’t have out there. Sure they miss Ben Olsen a lot but even more so they miss the intensity that he always brought. Right now, they are missing it in a big way.

I’ve sat through the behind the scenes with college football before with ESPN, so soccer isn’t too different. Still, worth a look. Enjoy!

As you will see below, for a USL side this is a quality stadium. Hell, even for a few MLS teams this would be a quality stadium. Its a cozy 13,000 seat stadium with plenty of room for expansion. Obviously that will have to happen for them to get an expansion bid into MLS.

From looking at the photos, this looks like a blue version of BMO Field in Toronto. I’d like to see exactly how they will add another four to eight thousand seats for when they could join MLS in a years though. It looks like one endzone would easily have to get worked on and maybe add seats in the corners to round out the stadium a bit. Either way I like this little stadium and I bet it will be one of the better venues in the US and Canada for soccer.