Lenhart got a yellow on the play as well but let’s be honest, it probably should have been the other way around just on the fact that Lenhart as a total ass clown for doing what he did.

Oh MLS. Maybe since the league fined Charlie Davies for diving, they’ll do something to Lenhart for being stupid.

Conor Casey and Pablo Mastroeni lead Colorado against Chivas USA tonight. (Getty Images)

So far the season is off to a bang, the Seattle Sounders FC downed Philadelphia Union 2-0 last night thanks to goals from Brad Evans and Fredy Montero. I’d be lying to you if I said that I wasn’t happy to see my score prediction come true last night. I highly doubt that trend will continue this weekend.

Speaking of which the weekend slate is here. Everyone else in the league will get their season opener tonight or Saturday. Lots of good games all across the board. I know I am ready to get out to Pizza Hut Park tomorrow for the first game of the year.

Friday

Colorado Rapids – at – Chivas USA:

Both clubs saw a lot of changes this winter either in the coaching side of things (Chivas) or in the player side (Colorado). I love the Colorado midfield with Jeff Larentowicz. But the real interesting deal was done yesterday that sent trusty midfielder Nick Labrocca to Toronto for speedy outside back Marvell Wynne. If Wynne gets the starting nod it could pose some pressure to left side for Chivas. I see Colorado holding their own in the midfield in this one though. They’ll have to find a way to get Conor Casey and Omar Cumming involved early and often here. Getting those two going early will go a long way here this season. But I like Chivas to keep it close and end on a draw.

Player to keep an eye out for: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA) – If he can get a handle on controlling what Casey does on and off the ball in this one it could go a long way in keeping Chivas in the game.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 1, Colorado 1

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Saturday:

Toronto FC – at – Columbus Crew:

At this point you have to wonder what kind of club Toronto FC has with all the moves Preki has made this winter. I think that will definitely play a factor in how this club plays early on this season. Its obvious they’ll rely on the one strength on their club to carry them, their midfield with Sam Cronin, Julian du Guzman, and Dwayne De Rosario. If those three can carry the banner both offensively and defensive until Preki sorts out his roster the club stay fine. Thing is they’ll start the year off in the worst place for them, at Columbus. The Crew are just too deep and too good not to take in this pick right now. They need to sort out their issues up top still but I think if Steven Lenhart can get the goals for them this year they’ll be just fine. Look for the Crew to control the pace in this one and come away with three points.

Player to keep an eye out for: Lenhart – Again, he’ll be asked to be the man up top for the Black-and-Gold this year. Could be ugly at times but I think he’s a quality striker waiting to bust out.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, Toronto 0

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Houston Dynamo – at- FC Dallas:

I love a good rivalry game to kickoff a new season and this one should be as competitive as ever between the Dynamo and Red Stripes. Houston lost a lot of key parts to their midfield over the winter but with recent additions and some shifting of the roster, Dominic Kinnear should once again have a tough club to face in 2010. Schellas Hyndman and FC Dallas won’t be an easy out this year either. Their hot finish to the season last year should put a lot of clubs on alert. I see Dallas getting on the board early but Houston will find a way to level things off before the game ends.

Player to keep an eye out for: Geoff Cameron – If his move into the middle of the park pays off for the Dynamo it will keep the offense going and allow Brad Davis to stay on the wing where he is more dangerous.

WVH Prediction: FC Dallas 1, Houston 1

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Chicago Fire – at – New York Red Bulls:

Red Bull Arena really opens for league play this weekend. Expectations are definitely high after the big win over Santos last week. I still don’t like either keeper situation for both clubs. This game will definitely come down to the midfield and right now I actually like New York’s over the Fire with Joel Lindpere leading the charge. Chicago has had some big wins over the Red Bulls in recent years but this one will be closer. Part of me leans Red Bulls but I know the Fire will put up a good fight, draw seems likely here.

Player to keep an eye out for: Juan Pablo Angel – If he can go at least half or more of the game he should be able to find a way to help lift this club to a victory.

WVH Prediction: New York 1, Chicago 1

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D.C. United – at – Kansas City Wizards:

Both teams are in transition here, and both have loads of question marks going into the new year. Part of me sees Curt Onalfo getting some revenge on his old side right away here in this one. Kansas City will be better this year because of all the moves Peter Vermes has made this winter but I don’t see them paying off just yet here in this one. D.C. should be able to still control things in the midfield and even in the tighter field in KC I think Chris Pointus and Jamie Moreno are able to find space to score here.

Player to keep an eye out for: Carey Talley – He was just brought in by Onalfo after being waived by Chivas USA. I wouldn’t be shocked if he is thrown in the defense right away in this one. If he adjusts quickly to the changes look for United’s defense to be solid in this one.

WVH Prediction: D.C. 2, KC 1

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Real Salt Lake – at  - San Jose Earthquakes

The reigning MLS Cup champs take their title defense to the one place that haunted them a year ago, the road. If they want to get their confidence up they’ll need these three points on the road to start out the new year. I’m really looking forward to the combo of Alvaro Saborio and Robbie Findley for RSL. I think they’ll be a handful for the Quakes who are still sorting out their defensive issues. If Jason Hernandez and Ike Opara can control things from the back they could keep those two in check. I just see RSL’s midfield taking control though in this one, thus getting a rare road win for this club.

Player to keep an eye out for: Kyle Beckerman – He’s got to be the rock in the midfield for RSL. I just see him being too much to handle for the Quakes.

WVH Prediction: RSL 2, San Jose 1

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New England Revolution – at – LA Galaxy:

Early west coast road trip for the Revs here this weekend. New England has a lot of question marks surrounding them while the Galaxy are hoping their new additions pay off in 2010. Landon Donovan will likely run all over this Rev’s midfield that is going to look a lot different than the 2009 version (plus Shalrie Joseph is out with a hip injury). I don’t see where the offense will come from yet out of the Revs which leads me to easily take the Galaxy in this one. Donovan and company will be too much to handle at home.

Player to keep an eye out for: Juninho – I’m very curious to see how this young Brazilian stacks up in MLS competition. Word out of their preseason camp was that he will fit in nicely in this league.

WVH Prediction: LA 3, New England 0

The 2010 Crew look a lot like the 2009 Crew, does that mean another Supporter's Shield is on the way? (Getty Images)

I had hoped to get this post out of the way earlier in the day but some issues on the back end of my site kept me busy all day (some PHP bug!). But I felt like it was still alright to move on with out look at each Major League Soccer club and how they are doing this offseason.

Today we go back east and look at the two time defending Supporter’s Shield champion Columbus Crew.

The offseason hasn’t been too busy for the Crew but they were able to make some big noise at the SuperDraft with a couple of their selections.

Keepers:

Who they have: William Hesmer, Andy Gruenebaum, and Kenny Schoeni

Notes: This area is still fine for the Crew. I had heard whispers that Gruenebaum was not on the roster for the training camp but I haven’t seen anything out there about it yet (Crew fans can help me out on that one). If he is in camp then he is a fine backup to Hesmer, if not then they may be in trouble.

For the most part I’d say if they are looking to add anything here it will be with one of the league’s pool keepers that travel around. Hesmer is one of the more underrated keepers in the league in my opinion. The Crew should be fine here as long as Hesmer stays healthy this season.

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Defense:

Who they have: Frankie Hejduk, Gino Padula, Andy Iro, Chad Marshall, Eric Brunner, Jed Zayner, Shaun Francis, and Kwaku Nyamekye.

Notes: When healthy this group is as good as it gets. But like we saw late in the year when they aren’t 100% things get a little dicy. Hejduk has shown his age and sometimes Padula isn’t all there. Let’s not forget that Marshall will probably be missed some point this summer if he ends up going to South Africa. I do however like the youth with this group in Iro, Zayner and Brunner.

Too bad they probably won’t get anything out of Nyamekye, one of their forth round picks. Apparently he is headed to play in Europe.

I think if Robert Warzycha can get a couple more quality center backs and maybe one more wing back in here this group will be set for the long run. With the amount of extra games again this year on the menu you gotta think depth will come into question with the Crew yet again.

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Midfield:

Who they have: Alex Grendi, Danny O’Rourke, Dilly Duka, Duncan Oughton, Eddie Gavin, Kevin Burns, Brian Carroll, Emmanuel Ekpo, Robbie Rogers, Adam Moffat, and Cory Elenio.

Notes:  Just like the defensive group if they are healthy they are one of the best in the league but if they aren’t it gets interesting. They have a good solid core of players here and I’m very curious to see Duka plays into their system here as well.

I would like to see them go after another attacking midfielder though for depth. Should Schelotto go down they will need some sort of back up in place. Adding more depth in the defensive side of the midfield wouldn’t be a bad thing as well.

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Forwards:

Who they have: Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Jason Garey, Bright Dike, Emilio Rentería, and Steven Lenhart

Notes: Schelotto makes this a very solid group but I kind of still see him as an attacking midfielder more than a forward at this point. Some folks list him as a forward others list him as a midfielder.

I like Renteria and Lenhart – and Garey isn’t too bad either. Biggest question will be around Dike and whether or not the Crew really did gamble on picking him so early. Most like me agree they could have gotten him in the forth round with one of their three picks then.

I’d still like to see them go after another striker before the season starts if they can, or definitely one during the summer transfer window. Right now they’ll have to rely too much on Schelotto to score for them and I can see that doing well early on but leading to some trouble late if no one else steps up.

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Overall:

One still has to figure the Crew will be in the discussion for the Supporter’s Shield yet again this season. They’ve barely lost anything from a year ago and I have to think that playoff loss to RSL really stung this group. I think as long as Rogers and Ekpo step up in the midfield, Schelotto and Renteria do their part up top and the defense stays healthy they’ll be another tough team to beat in 2010.

Still saying that they do have some work left to do to get the depth issues taken care of.

GBS helped lead the Crew to a second straight Supporter's Shield trophy. (Getty Images)

We all expected big things in 2009 for the Columbus Crew. Anytime you win a MLS Cup and retain the bulk of a lineup that got you that title you expect to repeat or come extremely close to do so. As we saw last week the Crew fell short of that this year as they lost to Real Salt Lake at home in the semi-finals of the eastern conference.

Still what can you say about this year’s Crew other than it was pretty much a carry-over of some sorts of the 2008 team. Robert Warzycha stepped in as Sigi Schmid headed west to be with the new Seattle Sounders club and things on the roster pretty much remained the same way with Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Robbie Rogers, Chad Marshall and Frankie Hejduk all there.

The Crew stumbled a bit out of the gate though with questions of if this bunch was really good enough to repeat. Columbus didn’t earn their first win until May, eight games into the season. But even with the lack of winning early on there was only a couple losses on the fixture table.

In the summer the Crew really turned things on. Schelotto looked like the MVP that we all knew he was and instead of assisting on goals like he did in his MVP season of 2008, he was scoring goals to help the Crew win games. Between June and August the Crew only lost a couple matches in league play while their CONCACAF Champions League play started off well.

Late in the year the Crew wrapped up their second straight Supporter’s Shield title, ensuring another birth in the CCL next year. While they did fall short in the playoffs they proved once again how a stable club can do so well in the league.

What Went Right In 2009:
When all key parts were playing things looked unstoppable for this group. Schelotto was a beast when he was fully healthy, Marshall repeated as Defender of the Year even though he wasn’t totally fit and other guys like Steven Lenhart and Jason Garey filled in nicely. Its hard to complain too much about a Supporter’s Shield type season like the Crew had but I know the way things ended left a lot of folks unsatisfied.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
Injuries played a big part in things that did go wrong. Some might also point a finger at Warzycha for playing it too safe in Salt Lake for the first leg of the playoffs. Either way this club was pretty gassed by the end of the season. Their schedule in the fall months between the league slate and the CCL group stage really left them on empty. They went from being one of the most dominate home clubs in league history to a team that lost three straight home games to finish the year (including the playoffs).

What’s Next:
Next up is figuring out who is staying and who is going. We know Philly will certainly pick someone from this club in the expansion draft and then there is the likelihood that Robbie Rogers will leave. What is bigger though is whether or not Schelotto will hang it up or not. If he returns along with other veterans like Hejduk and Alejandro Moreno then this club should have no problem returning to the top of the food chain. But at the same time they definitely need to go out and find some offense this winter. It was something that lacked all year and a reason why Schelotto had to pick up the scoring slack.

Jeff Cunningham leads Dallas into Columbus this weekend. (Getty Images)

A fun weekend ahead for MLS clubs. The playoff races are heating up like a wild fire and at this point the majority of the league is still in the running for a playoff spot. While this week may not ultimately determine who goes into the playoffs and who is hitting the links early this fall it will indeed help us all know how is getting closer to clinching said playoff spots.

No San Jose, Colorado or New England this weekend. Just love these unbalance schedules this season, cannot wait until we get to next year when things are balanced again.

Due to a fairly busy Friday I have I will get right down to business here with the weekend picks. Feel free as always to post your predictions below.

Saturday

DC United – at – Toronto FC:

Big game for DC if you ask me. They have a huge stretch of games ahead and they need to find ways to continue to pick up points on the road. Toronto is a good place for them to do so I think with how inconsistent TFC can be at times. Then agian DC’s defense isn’t the most consistent thing in the league either. I expect Toronto to get an early goal in this one from either Dwayne De Rosario (an United killer of some sorts) and even possibly a second from Chad Barrett or Ali Gerba. But I do see DC coming back even if it is two goals down to tie things up and go home with a draw from this one. DC is always dangerous late in games and I see them pushing back into this one thanks to Luciano Emilio and company.

WVH Prediction: Toronto 2, DC 2

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Chivas USA – at – New York Red Bulls:

A couple months ago this would be an easy pick for anyone. Chivas would be all over New York no matter the venue but now with the poor play that we’ve seen out of Chivas these last two months I really wonder if they are any better than New York at this moment in the season. Preki has to find a way to get his side believing in themselves again, getting Sasha Kljestan to be himself again will go a long way in that. New York is still full of injuries and this looks like a game they could actually win. However I just cannot pick them to win a game at this point. A draw actually sounds like the logical pick here for these two. Should be an ugly game.

WVH Prediction: New York 1, Chivas 1

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FC Dallas – at – Columbus Crew:

I thin this will be the test to see if Dallas is for real again with the play of Jeff Cunningham or if they are just playing with everyone’s emotions down in Dallas. The Crew have been on an absolute run as of late that gives people in Columbus confidence going into a game like this. Dallas will pick their spots in this one with Cunningham but I just see too much depth in the Crew to pick against the homeside in this one. Even without Guillermo Barros Schelotto they are tough to handle and that home winning streak will continue. Steven Lenhart and Jason Garey have been huge lately and will be tough for a weak Dallas defense to handle.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, Dallas 1

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Houston Dynamo – at – Real Salt Lake:

This one is a big one folks. Not just for the homeside but for the visitors as well. Houston needs a good road showing in this one to restore some confidence that is a little shaky right now. RSL just needs as many points as possible going forward, a win in this game could get them into the playoff discussion for good here but a loss would definitely put a black eye on the run. I see this game meaning a lot more to RSL which is why I am going with them here. I want to pick the Dynamo but with many of their key players (Stuart Holden, Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark) being a bit gassed from their trip to Mexico in the mid-week I just see RSL being a little fresher, which will prove to be a big difference.

WVH Prediction: RSL 1, Houston 0

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Seattle Sounders FC – at – LA Galaxy:

Probably game of the week material here. Seattle needs to start showing up on the road but honestly this is a tough place to start doing so with how the Galaxy are playing these days. I could really see this one going either way or even to a draw but something tells me the road struggles for Seattle will continue here and LA gets a big win that gets them closer to the top of the league tables. Even if Landon Donovan isn’t good enough to go the full 90 minutes I think LA just has too much going for them right now to not pick them.Seattle will keep it close but their defense will let them down late in the game.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, Seattle 1

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Sunday

Chicago Fire – at – Kansas City Wizards:

How will KC be under Peter Vermes? We will find out this weekend. I just don’t think a big turnaround is going to happen though. Their defense is still shaky and you have to wonder if they have really gotten over their last result (6-0 loss in Dallas). Chicago is one of the best road teams in the league and I think they will at least get a point if not three this weekend. I’m going with the Fire in this one as they will want to avenge their last road game, where they should have gotten a draw in Houston.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 2, KC 1

Some clubs will get games in the middle of a long week like DC and Toronto. While a couple sides are off all together Chivas (thanks to the X-Games) and New York (thanks to the CCL). Then there is LA who host a big time friendly against FC Barcelona on Saturday.

As always feel free to leave your score predictions below to this week’s action.

Saturday:

Toronto FC – at – New England Revolution:

Have the Revs turned a corner here on their season? The last two games would certainly suggest that. Plus now they get a Toronto side that could be a bit gassed from having to play in the CCL tournament this week. All signs could be pointing upward for Steve Nicol’s crew if they can get three points this weekend. With the games in hand they can certainly catch Toronto this weekend with a win. Another good thing for Revs fan, Toronto doesn’t score in New England. Three games at Gillett Stadium, three loss, 1 goal for and nine against. I see New England keeping up with that run this weekend. They’ll do good to control the pace of this game and find a way past a suspect Toronto defense. I do see TFC getting on the board with Ali Gerba though, he’s just the strker they’ve been looking for here. It’s just their defense isn’t good enough right now to win games on the road.

WVH Prediction: New England 2, Toronto 1

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Kansas City Wizards – at – FC Dallas:

What to make of Dallas now without Kenny Cooper? Well, we’ve pretty much gotten a good idea of that over the last month or so when he was gone at the Gold Cup. KC rolls into town looking for points and a way to get back into the playoff discussion here. No doubt this is a very do-or-die match for KC. They may have games in hand but they won’t get many chances to beat a club like Dallas for a while here. KC gets Jimmy Conrad and Davy Arnuad back in this one and that will be good enough to beat a Dallas squad looking for answers to close down Claudio Lopez and company. Dallas has to generate some offense early and keep KC off the board late. If Dave van den Burgh and Jeff Cunningham can do that Dallas may earn at least a point here. I’ll go with a draw just for that even though I kind of see KC walking out of Frisco with three points.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, KC 1

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Real Salt Lake – at – Chicago Fire:

Will RSL ever turn a corner for good on the road? Will Chicago start stepping up their play at home? I think those two questions will be answered this weekend in some way or another. Chicago has been so-so at home beating only San Jose and New York at Toyota Park. RSL on the other hand as we all know is not the best road side in the league. RSL hasn’t found consistent play on the road yet this season and even though Chicago hasn’t turned on the flames at home yet I do believe it starts this weekend. They need points to stay with Columbus and the rest of the top part of the eastern conference. Don’t count a draw out of this one though, with the way RSL scores they could do it early to Chicago the way they did it late to Dallas a week ago. Thing is with Wilman Conde and Bakery Soumare in the back I just don’t see RSL getting too many by the Fire this weekend. I’m going with the homeside here, but only by a narrow margin.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 1, RSL 0

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DC United – at – Houston Dynamo:

Probably game of the week material here. Both teams really do need a pick up based on recent form and I don’t see a reason why Houston won’t be the club to come out on top in this one. Dominic Kinnear will get the bulk of his lineup back from the Gold Cup and that should be enough for me at home. I see Houston controlling the midfield since DC will be without Clyde Simms. It will be interesting to see who has more gas in them though, DC who played midweek game in the CCL or Houston’s all-stars (Brad Davis and Geoff Cameron) who played a full 90 minutes against Everton. I think in the end Houston returns to winning because I just don’t see them dropping two in a row at home here. I do expect DC to make a run late though.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, DC 1

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Columbus Crew – at – Colorado Rapids:

Columbus continues to prove to us all that they can win and win big without Gillermo Barros Schelotto. Thing is can they do it on the road in Colorado? Winning in the Mile High City is tough enough and with the way the Rapids played last week you can bet they are rested enough to do it again if Columbus let them. Jason Garey and Steven Lehart have stepped up bigger than ever and now the Crew get striker Alejandro Moreno back. I just don’t know if that will be enough to get three against the Rapids. A draw sounds good here in this one because the Rapids get Conor Casey back in the fold as well. Expect this to be the best game this weekend as these two battle to a very tough draw.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 1, Columbus 1

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Sunday:

Seattle Sounders FC – at – San Jose Earthquakes:

Seattle will be without Freddie Ljungberg in this one but I think the bigger loss in this game goes to San Jose who may be without striker Ryan Johnson. We’ve seen time and time again that this club is better with Johnson leading the attack. Without him they are pretty boring to watch up top. I expect Seattle to control this one from start to finish as they get Brad Evens back in the midfield from Gold Cup duties. He will be a difference maker for the Sounders in this one. Throw in the fact that San Jose has yet to really get much out of Darren Huckerby here so far this season makes me go with the visitors. Probably a goal from both Nate Jaqua and Fredy Montero sounds about right here.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, San Jose 0

By the way, what was with Rob Stone’s Max Bretos call on the DeRo goal? That was just plain annoying.

Order of video: Kheli Dube, Steve Ralston, Steven Lenhart, Jason Garey, Patrick Nyarko, Blanco, Bryan Namoff, Dwayne De Rosario, Alecko Eskandarian, Landon Donovan, and Eddie Lewis.