The Clean Sheet: A time to reflect

Alexi Lalas on Frank Yallop in the New York Times: "He's making some money, but I challenge him to get off his butt and get back into the thick of things. He's too good a coach to be working only a few days a week."

But speaking of Alexi, I am thankful he can put the lack of pressure of playing for or running an MLS team in proper perspective. "I'm so sick of this perception that the pressure to be a MetroStars player and coach is so immense," he said. "If this is pressure, my God. This is an easy gig. Go talk to the Yankees about real pressure. We'd love to be in that position of exposure and critical analysis."GRAB A COLD BUD (OR AQUAFINA) AND PUT YER FEET UP:
WHAT I'LL BE WATCHING:

Saturday - FC DALLAS vs. KANSAS CITY (8:30 p.m. ET): OK, there's no TV for this one so I wont actually be watching, but we'll all be monitoring closely as Kansas City's postseason hopes and Dallas' playoff positioning are on the line. Translation: Let's not play San Jose until we have to.

Saturday - LOS ANGELES GALAXY vs. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (10 p.m. ET on Fox Soccer Channel): For Landon's 2005 season to not be considered something of a bust, he needs to step it up big time in the playoffs. Here's hoping he phones it in Saturday, can't have the Galaxy winning this game, just in case.

Sunday - CHIVAS USA vs. METROSTARS (4 p.m. ET on The Deuce): Mo's Army will know what it needs to do after Kansas City's result Saturday night. If Metro can't beat The Goats in a must-win game, they deserve that nickname more than Chivas does.

The Clean Sheet runs each Thursday on MLSnet. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com