The Little Five; supplementing SI.com's larger MLS review

As usual, by Monday mid-day SI.com’s teeming soccer site will include my comprehensive MLS review (posted here now). There you’ll get the scoop and skinny on Week 19, complete with updated Power Rankings.

Here’s a supplemental attachment, if you will, with a couple of important points you won’t find in the SI.com piece. The big piece always includes “Five Things You Should Know” about the just-completed round of matches. So, we’ll call this one the “Little Five.”

David Beckham wants to play another two years, possibly in MLS. Hmph.  Put me down as “underwhelmed.” Here’s the story. I’ve been pretty clear in my admonition for this guy, who has shown a complete disdain and disrespect for MLS at pretty much every turn. Now, perhaps in the absence of better offers, I suppose that MLS would serve his self-serving purpose. Well, until the next wedding, testimonial match or tea party sends him scurrying abroad once again, never mind his teammates or piddly ol’ MLS. Don’t forget, by the way, that Becks desperately wants to participate in the 2012 Olympics. I say, let him! Just don’t sign him to another MLS contract – he doesn’t need that standing in his way, now does he?

Finally, I touched on (but didn’t write extensively about) Alvaro Saborio’s dive against San Jose. RSL manager Jason Kreis, another coach I respect greatly (and have a long history with), now has a tricky locker room issue at hand. Kreis is consistently outspoken about respect for the game, about doing things the right way – and good on him for that. But what should he do about Saborio, who helped break open a 0-0 match with his stunt Saturday against San Jose? Kreis said afterward that he wouldn’t be a hypocrite, that he will look at the video and speak to his DP striker if there was, indeed, a big ol’ swan dive. But what might he do from there? Because in my mind, this might deserve more than a “talking to.”  As I said, it’s a tricky one for Kreis, who must balance the “right thing” against locker room accord and his own reputation as someone who sticks up for his players.

I’ve never met Luke Rodgers – but I darn sure like Luke Rodgers. Earlier this year the Red Bulls striker called out the Galaxy and, specifically, Landon Donovan for whining too much. In fairness, there’s too much on-field whining and politicking in the league. Donovan is guilty, but so are plenty of players across the 18-team operation. But it was Rodgers who called out Donovan in a funny little bit earlier this year. Now this. “I feel like Tom Cruise in Cocktail!” Rodgers is a guy who gets it. He’s making very good money (although not ridiculous money) for playing a boys’ game and seems to appreciate his place in it all. Oh, and I expect the Red Bulls to get a lot better when he gets back on the field.   

I wrote in this space back in February that I didn’t think much of Columbus chances this year, and that Robert Warzycha’s team would finish near the bottom of the table. My pal Jonah Freedman disagreed at the time, but he wears funny shirts, so what does he know? Well, I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong. On the one hand, watching the Crew play is like watching NASCAR under the yellow flag.  It gets a bit tedious. But they make it awfully tough on opponents, and the results now speak for themselves. Monday morning finds the Crew sharing first place in the East. Imagine that.  And here’s something else: Warzycha gets beat like a rug by most Crew supporters, who would love to see someone else in charge. But you might be shocked to see the bottom line on the manager’s overall body of work in Ohio.

Finally, we are two days from this year’s All-Star game, a rematch of last year’s contest featuring majestic Manchester United against the MLS selections. I have to say, I really like Red Bulls manager Hans Backe, who is overseeing the MLS squad. I hope he does well, if only so the game is more exciting than last year’s 5-2 clocking. I like the way the Red Bulls play, I like that he favors technical proficiency over brute force in personnel matters. And I like that he and I can talk about good books and Stieg Larsson, a fellow Swede who introduced the world to vengeful vixen Lisbeth Salander (a woman you definitely do not want to cross).  All that said, Backe made a fateful choice two weeks ago. He ran up the white flag in U.S. Open Cup play, much to the displeasure of Red Bulls supporters. Read the SI.com piece to see how that worked out for him.