MLS Interlude

[08:29] JSpitzberg: i have NO interest in MLS anymore

That's how I started my converstation with Neal this morning.  And I really don't.  With the Premier League gearing up it's hard to keep the enthusiasm for what I call my methadone, which I use to bridge the gap between English seasons.  But that being said, and I'm sure to jinx it here, I'm well placed in the overall standings and I have a reputation to uphold.  And a trophy to win back from Neal.  So here we go again.

This week the clear pick is Colorado hosting the Red Bulls who are just DIRE on the road.  I had Connor Casey on my team but he is suspended due to accumulation so I had to make some other moves to afford Omar Cummings.  Here's hoping he can come good.  I've also added Kimura to the backline as I have more fingers on one hand than the Red Bulls have road goals.  Matt Pickens would be a great, um, pick in net too.

DCUnited travel to the West Coast to play San Jose, who are struggling.  The Earthquakes are reshaping their team in the middle of the season which isn't a good sign.  Even though I don't like picking road teams in MLS - especially not those travelling from one coast to the other - I had to pick up Christian Gomez to join Chris Pontius in the midfield.  Gomez is playing really well right now and without Santino he should hold down his spot and set piece duties.

The LA Galaxy travel too, but face a Kansas City team missing their best attacker in Arnaud and starting defenders Conrad and Watson, who was red carded last week.  So Landon Donovan not only stays in the team, but keeps the captain's armband.  And as much as I want to sell Beckham, I can't.  He's cheaper than Blanco and 1) I needed the money for Gomez and Cummings, and 2) Chicago are at Seattle and Blanco is going to have Alonso on him like a cheap suit all day.  So here's hoping Beckham feels that he has something to prove after this week's incidents.

Football. Futbol. Soccer.

Time for another look at the rapidly (oops, MLS pun alert!) approaching week in MLS fantasy. The game week begins tonight at the Galaxy travel to NY to take on the Red Bulls. Of course this game is David Beckham's return to MLS after his very successful stint with AC Milan and the recent contrversy around Grant Wahl's Beckham book and Landon Donovan's statements therein.  Last time Becks had prime time in NYC he lived up to the hype in the Galaxy's 5-4 win over the Red Bulls, and I'm thinking that both he and Landon Donovan are sure things this week. And that's even though they're the road team in a league where things are always stacked in favor of the home team. To get them I've had to sell Mike Magee, whom I would still recommend as a fantasy option. Especially as he's cheaper than the two big stars and I think he'll keep his place. Kirovski, not so much. However, you can only have three players from a team on your fantasy team and I've got Omar "OG" Gonzalez as an ever present in the back line. OG is also interesting as his height makes him a target on set pieces. Look for the Galaxy to go to him or Buddle if they can.

Saturday we have the meat of the schedule, including Toronto FC hosting Houston (who are still struggling against injuries and call-ups); Chicago hosting San Jose (who just traded away another striker - Pablo Campos this time. What can they be working on?!?!?); the Crew without the hamstrung Guillermo Barros Schelotto (that's a good injury tip right there!) host RSL; and DCUnited host the Rapids. Finally Sunday sees struggling Chivas make the cross-country trip to play the struggling Revolution. I think that last one is a stay away match unless you're in for either team's defenders.

For me, other than the LA three discussed above, I'm brining in Casey to replace Montero whose Sounders have a friendly against Chelsea rather than a league match this weekend. (Will Montero remain in the MLS much longer if he can put on a good show against one of Europe's biggest clubs? I would guess not.)  Casey is on the road, but I'm going to gamble that DCUnited misses Jankovic, who is still at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with the Canadian national team.  GBS stays on the bench and Ryan Johnson (who else can San Jose run out at forward?) keeps that spot in the line-up.

In midfield, I fianlly sold Brad Davis who made me look silly in wanting to sell him last week - albeit happy I didn't - with an early goal. I also sold Marco Pappa (although I don't necessarily recommend that you do), but kept his Fire teammate, Chuatehamoc Blanco. In comes Dwayne DeRosario on the "scoring against his old team" corollary and Chris Pontius who was benched last week as DC United didn't have a league game.

In goal I'm again going with Stefan Frei over Pat Onstad. They are head to head this weekend and I just have to give the nod to Frei as he's on the home side.

Salas trains with Fire, meets media

Chilean international Marcelo Salas trained with the Chicago Fire Thursday during a practice session at the Toyota Park practice facility in Bridgeview, Ill. The left-footed striker joined the team for a midweek training session followed by a question and answer opportunity with media members.

That's a tease! MLS is bringing in a lot of big names at the wrong end of their careers - Beckham, Xavier, Blanco.  But Salas is an old favorite of mine, if not the blogs, since his 98 World Cup partnership with the more flamboyant Zamorano. And lord knows, the Fire - who scored 3 goals total in the month of May - need some offensive help. But as much as I would love to see Salas playing, he's been injured so many times over the years and hasn't played regularly since at least 2004, that I wouldn't expect the move to materialize, much less help the Fire.



Maybe it's a PR stunt for both sides. The Fire get linked to a (formerly) world-class player, which helps their reputation. And Salas reminds clubs back in Chile that he's available and is attracting interest.