Ten things to note from Week 3

Sweeping up after the MLS weekend party, here are some things I found lying around:

1. This is how it goes on matters of misbehavior: One can be written off as an accident; two is starting to look like a trend; three is definitely a problem.

Sacha Kljestan, consider yourself on warning, with two feet firmly planted in "trend" stage.

Referee Ricardo Salazar was absolutely correct Saturday in dismissing Kljestan after he charged and whacked Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The devil apparently got inside Chivas USA's typically mild-mannered man. There was no intent to tackle, only to make no-nonsense contact with the Columbus attacker, who was exposed in a vulnerable position.

Too bad, too. Kljestan has been nothing short of magnificent, the league's top player so far. His ideas, passing and work rate have all oozed confidence. Even this week, when asked to play a new role, just beneath a striker in a 4-5-1, he was fantastic. If you haven't seen his first-half wonder strike, do so.

So why does he occasionally go all Menace-to-MLS on us? It was regrettably reminiscent of an April 2007 incident. Kljestan was in form early, just like this year. Then came that awful tackle that injured Real Salt Lake's Andy Williams, a reckless and needless act well into a match that Chivas had under control.

He took a two-game suspension that time, and Chivas lost both outings. He said all the right things afterward, acknowledging the bad tackle and harm to his team. Looks as if the lesson didn't take. This time, Kljestan will serve a one-game suspension.

2. I thought poor Shea Salinas' point-blank miss in the dying moments against Chicago (a potential added-time equalizer) surely would be the weekend's highlight miss. But then Landon Donovan, following a brilliant dribbling burst, blew it after rounding TFC keeper Greg Sutton. We'll call it a toss-up.

3. It is not a good time to be an aging American defensive midfielder. Carey Talley, 31, was subtracted from Real Salt Lake's lineup in favor of young Nathan Sturgis. The move had to be made, as Talley lost possession too easily, too often in dangerous spots a week earlier. Now it's hard to see RSL manager Jason Kreis going back to Talley anytime soon after the 4-0 shellacking of D.C. United.

In Kansas City, manager Curt Onalfo tried to rest Kerry Zavagnin, 33. Zavagnin had a sore knee, but conceding five goals in two previous home matches didn't make the decision any tougher. (Zavagnin entered in the 26th for the injured Carlos Marinelli.)

At least Zavagnin started on the bench. Pablo Mastroeni can't say the same. He didn't even travel for the Colorado Rapids' well-taken win at New England. Instead, coach Fernando Clavijo stuck with his pair of young midfield buzz saws, Nick LaBrocca and John DiRaimondo.

4. Speaking of the Rapids: It's been fashionable to beat up on Clavijo's bunch over the past couple of years. Colorado generally presented a fat, slow-moving target, weighed down by dubious personnel moves and an inexplicable attachment to ineffective players.

But this early '08 dash is no fluke. That's not to say that things can't go awry. But wins over Los Angeles and New England, sandwiched around one that just got away in Kansas City, have been deserved, built on Christian Gomez's ability and the earnest effort of young legs.

5. I was about to mark down the 70th minute of the Galaxy-Toronto match as the first clear-cut case of gutless refereeing involving David Beckham. The Galaxy headliner clearly hooked and impeded Jeff Cunningham as the TFC striker was through on goal. Alex Prus, who probably would have been forced to eject Beckham, dodged that decision by ignoring the tug.

Then I thought: "Inexplicable calls happen every week in MLS." Maybe this was just another, one that happened to involve Beckham.

6. San Jose looks OK in the back for an expansion team. But it'll continue to struggle unless Ramiro Corrales can somehow channel Claude Makelele and magically transform himself into a competent holding midfielder. His passing from that spot isn't good enough, and rarely occurs with sufficient speed. I understand Frank Yallop's need to get his best players on the field.

Still, most times an above-average talent gets shoved into an unfamiliar spot, you can count on him shrinking into the realm of the ordinary.

7. I'm watching Arturo Alvarez and Robbie Rogers, and I simply cannot understand what Peter Nowak was thinking, releasing these two from his Olympic team. This is the same Olympic under-23 bunch that was fairly underwhelming in qualifying.

8. Related to Rogers: Who is more consistently disappointing, Rogers' Columbus teammate Eddie Gaven or Chicago attacker Justin Mapp?

Mapp has every opportunity to shine, with opponents so focused on denying supply to centrally stationed Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Plus, this is Mapp's "contract year," which should provide ample motivation. And yet Mapp remains uninspired, cruising as if it's Sunday pickup in the park.

And Gaven? He simply must to do more to affect matches: find the defensive soft spots and go at 'em; locate the wide areas where service is possible on that day; find ways to get a goal, get an assist, make an impact.

Meanwhile, the hungry Rogers is about to lap 'em both.

9. Random personnel notes: L.A's Alan Gordon is surely the league's worst forward. Dallas' Juan Toja, lacking fitness in Rounds 1 and 2 because of preseason injury, is becoming more of a factor. One of the Galaxy's central midfielders, Brandon McDonald or Alvaro Pires, must pose more of an offensive threat, or the Galaxy attack will be even more predictable. Tomasz Frankowski really does have very clear ideas when launching runs up front for Chicago. Danny O'Rourke was better in the middle of the Crew defense but still shaky. Who thought aging Laurent Robert could run the flank in MLS? Against Robert, Beckham had acres of room to hit crosses Sunday against TFC. Greg Vanney or Abel Xavier? Pick your poison.

10. About that long-in-the-tooth Galaxy back line: Ruud Gullit's boys have yielded two goals before the break so far, but five after halftime. Hmmm.

Steve Davis is a Dallas-based freelance writer who covers MLS for ESPNsoccernet. He can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com.