the same EJ who scored like 20 goals in his first five U.S. national team games, got a call from Benfica, then fell so far that fans were wondering if he needed to play a few games for the Mid-Michigan Bucks -- is back? Is it because of Curt Onalfo's coaching, or is it simply because goal-scorers are like home run hitters and sometimes they go into prolonged slumps only to break out in a big way? Not sure, but for this week, Johnson is The Man, and Taylor Twellman may have himself a big-time competitor in the Golden Boot race.
10. Toronto FC can contend. This was my reaction after watching Toronto FC in their season opener vs. Chivas USA: I thought they were unlucky in that game and, were it not for some great saves by Brad Guzan, could've been 1-0 for TFC. Well, after that, Toronto looked so bad for a four-game stretch that I had to laugh even at myself (not that hard a thing to do) for thinking they'd be competitive. Well, two home games, two wins, some nice crowd support, a pretty good draw at Columbus last week, and I don't know what to think. Nor do I know what to think about the Jeff Cunningham for Alecko Eskandarian trade. A couple weeks ago I called Cunningham the most underrated player in MLS (I heard he agrees) and what happens next? A team that needs goals deals him. No clue here.
9. Maykel Galindo is a bust. Nah, I didn't really think the speedy Cuban was a bust when he failed to hit the net in his first three games for Chivas USA. I don't recall him scoring in preseason either, but I was wondering if this striker I'd heard so many good things about was a goal scorer. Well, after seeing him pull the trigger from 30 last week, cleanly beating Dario Sala, I'm now believing in Galindo, big time.
8. The Red Bulls will win it all. It wasn't the first time they rolled over an opponent at home, and it wasn't the second time, either. No, for me, it was last week, when the Red Bulls jumped all over a Chicago team that came to the Meadowlands desperate for a result, that I started to think this was a team that could win it all this year. The planets seem to be lining up well for a team that seems to have the right mix of veterans (Juan Pablo Angel, Claudio Reyna, Ronald Waterreus, Dave van den Bergh), youth (Jozy Altidore, Dane Richards) and "useful MLS guys" (Jeff Parke, Carlos Mendes) to pull away from the rest of the Eastern Conference. The big test will be the hot weather days on the FieldTurf at Giants Stadium.
7. The Galaxy need Beckham now. They certainly need something in L.A., where the response to missing the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in their history has not been very strong. The Galaxy need to get in gear soon or Beckham's arrival may be too late. Of course, an L.A. win this weekend and my opinion changes back to what I was thinking when they beat Chivas USA a few weeks back, which was, the Galaxy are back!
6. The Revolution are overrated. All season, I've been singing the praises of the Revs -- Team Continuity -- home to the guy who was going to challenge Roy Lassiter's single-season goals record (Twellman) and to a goalkeeper who often looks unbeatable (Matt Reis). I believed it was their time to finally climb the last rung of the ladder and win a championship. Yeah, yeah, I know they've still got the league's best record, but they lost at home to K.C., blowing a lead no less. Stock down this week. That's just the way it goes in this column. Show me something, New England.
5. The Wizards will win it all. On the other hand, how 'bout those Wizards! I'm a big fan of Onalfo's men. In fact (inside joke alert) I think the addition of Kevin Hartman alone is enough to get the Wizards back into the playoffs for the first time since '04. Seriously, though, the Wizards looked up until last week to be a team that had benefited from a soft early-season schedule, but the win at Gillette validates them as a team on the rise. For this week, anyway.
4. Freddy Adu is ready for primetime. Like many, I enjoyed watching Freddy play on the left flank in Jason Kreis' second game as coach a couple weeks back (a 1-1 tie with the Rapids). It was fun to see him taking on defenders, cool to see him take that first-minute touch to set up a left-footed hammer on net, exciting to see him making plays. Of course, as Freddy has learned in his time in MLS, it's a long season and there's always more to prove.
3. Eddie Gaven needs to go back to Jersey. Seeing Eddie Gaven on the bench a couple of weeks ago as the Crew were hammered by the Red Bulls made me think it's time for Gaven to return to his old team. To think he was traded for Edson Buddle, who was then left for Toronto to snatch in the expansion draft, it almost seems like Bruce Arena should just get him back for some kind of justice. It's way to early to give up on Gaven, who won't be 21 years old until October.
2. Juan Pablo Angel won't cut it. Seriously, after his first game with the Red Bulls, I got some e-mails and text messages from people who said, "He was invisible!" And, "He looks like the second coming of Sergio Galvan Rey!" Now, those same people are texting: "MVP." Wait another week.
1. Real Salt Lake is ready to explode. I was actually enthused (as I wrote in the Adu note) when Jason Kreis coached RSL to back-to-back ties in his first two games, but now I'm worried about just when this team is going to collect its first victory (next up, at New England). They seem to start this way every season and it's just impossible to dig a hole every year and try to climb out. Of course, as you've seen this column, all it takes is one good week in MLS and you can turn your morale around ... and change a lot of people's minds.
Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Send your comments and complaints (200 words or less, please) to Jeff at jbradleyespn2003@yahoo.com and he promises to read (but not respond to) all of them. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
