Charlie Davies

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It was a weekend for rookies and red cards in MLS. And it was a mixed-bag weekend of "hell, yeah!" and "oh, crap!" for U.S. players abroad.

Charlie Davies followed up on his bright performance in the U.S. shirt with two goals as a second-half sub in France. His club,Sochaux, fell to Bordeaux, but it sure wasn't Davies' fault. In his second appearance for the Ligue 1 club, Davies struck for both of Sochaux's goals in a 3-2 loss.

Tim Howard didn't enjoy the same kind of swell afternoon. And how. Everton was under siege by a pulsating Arsenal side, which clobbered the Toffees in a 6-1 back alley beating. Howard's part in all that? He didn't do anything wrong, necessarily. Still, it's hard to say anything good about a goalkeeper on a day he allows six. Six!

Clint Dempsey received high marks, along with the rest of his Fulham side, for a brilliant opening to a Premiership campaign of some promise at Craven Cottage (where my London-based pal Johnjust scored season tickets; good timing, my man!)  Danny Murphy was named Man of the Match, but it was Dempsey's speculative effort that set the stage for a big three points on the road for Fulham.  Next up for the Cottagers, whom just signed Dempsey to a long-term deal:  a return to European play with a contest against Russian side Amkar Perm in the newly named Europa League. (Call it what you want, boys, it's still Champions League-lite. But good on Fulham for staking their place.)

As for Major League Soccer, ejections filled the weekend as six men saw red, including a certain, highly paid and very handsome midfielder from the L.A. Galaxy.

Houston's Andrew Hainault and Real Salt Lake's Clint Mathis were tossed from their scoreless draw in Utah.

That was child's play when compared to the goings on just west of there at the angry Home Depot Center. Three players got the boot, including David Beckham himself for an awful challenge on Peter Vagenas (who, ironically, was one of Beckham's real pals when they shared the HDC locker room.)

And I don't want to hear any crap about "card-happy" referees. Of the weekend's six ejections, only one was slightly suspect as discipline went on holiday. Tyrone Marshall's second yellow card was perhaps a little harsh on Seattle. But seeing as Marshall is one of the league's dirtier players, it's safe to say that he's escaped plenty of deserved red cards, so it's tough to fill too badly for the for the Sounders center back.

At any rate, Seattle notched a huge three points with that 2-0 red card-fueled win in Los Angeles.

Rookie Steve Zakuani hit for the early goal against Los Angeles. I'm going to surprise a few folks and say that the MLS Rookie of the Year was on the HDC field Saturday. Zakuani is steadily moving up in my book, with bright performances almost  every week. It'll take some research, but I'd be interested to see how many opposition yellow cards the league's No. 1 draft pick from last January this guy has drawn.

Of course, Omar Gonzalez continues to have a terrific season in L.A.'s central defense. The newbie from the University of Maryland has made little mistakes here and there in 2009, but he avoids the big blunders and is a big reason the Galaxy defense is so dramatically improved this year.

The big rookie story of the weekend was in Toronto, where Chris Cummins started five rookies. And howdy-doodie, look what happened: they cracked a disinterested looking D.C. United, 2-0.

Elsewhere, we witnessed a very steady, professional performance from Columbus, which is nearing displacement of Houston as my championship favorite of the moment (and won't they be excited about that?).  Once again without their two best players, Frankie Hejduk and Guillermo Barros Schelotto (who made a very late cameo), they rolled over Dallas.

The Red Bulls? They lost. Again. Yawn. What else is new? They are stampeding toward dubious marks in terms of historic league lows. (I started writing about the possibility a month ago, when some journo pals were still writing that this version wasn't as bad as the 1999 MetroStars. We'll see, but I think someone is gonna owe me a couple of cold ones.The good stuff.)

Some dude named Zoltan began his MLS career with Kansas City by assaulting Chicago Fire attacker Mike Banner; This Zoltan fellow (newly signed Hungarian striker Zoltan Hercegfalvi) could have serious injured Banner.  With the ball no where nearby and Banner pulling away from the chasing Zoltan, the KC forward  took the opportunity to stomp on the back of Banner's Achilles.  Hmmm. I guess that's the way they do it in Hungary.  MLS should take a look at that one and perhaps make an example of an action so thoughtless and reckless.

And finally, something to feel good about as you start your week: You probably don't have swine flu.

If you were part of the U.S. Soccer delegation that visited Mexico over the weekend, especially if you shared some fries or something with Landon Donovan, you might not be able to say the same thing at this point.