Ten things to note from MLS Week 11

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

1. A few big nights in goal carried the MLS weekend.

Kansas City goalie Kevin Hartman had a couple of huge moments to help his team hold on for a scoreless draw in Salt Lake. His work included an outstanding save on a late Robbie Findley blast from inside the penalty area.

Matt Reis had the best night by a goalkeeper in May, with eight saves in a stand-on-your head performance to partially rescue the night for New England in a 2-2 draw with D.C. United. Now, Reis has a June giant posted as well, making 10 saves against FC Dallas last week, including some doozies as the Texans pressed New England late in a 2-1 Revs win.

Chicago's Jon Busch was having a fine night, too, before he allowed a late game-winner against United.

2. Less than a year ago, Eddie Gaven was livin' large, striped out in the national team shirt in the esteemed Copa America.

Over the weekend, he couldn't start for the suddenly struggling Columbus Crew. Word to ya, Eddie: It's time to make a stand. Guys with potential fade away all the time.

Gaven has no goals and one assist this year. He has just five shots on goal. On the one hand, he's being asked to play a little more defense in 2008. On the other hand, Robbie Rogers is playing the same position across the field, and the exciting young American (read: what Gaven used to be) has five goals.

3. Houston manager Dominic Kinnear gets the Big Manager Brain Award for the weekend. Finally fed up, apparently, with watching ineffective play from a rotating band of striker wannabes behind Brian Ching, Kinnear finally deployed Dwayne De Rosario as a withdrawn forward. "De Ro" had a goal and an assist and looked dangerous all night as Houston, with Stuart Holden in the attacking midfield role, shredded TFC's sluggish defense.

4. Sven-Goran Eriksson, presumptive el jefe for El Tri, attended Saturday's Fire-United match at Toyota Park.

Thank goodness he saw a decent contest in front of a nice crowd at a respectable venue. I would have been personally embarrassed for MLS had he been force-fed a match on that unspeakably hideous pitch at Rice-Eccles.

As for me: Required to watch yet another one play out in Utah over the weekend, where the menace of bad shadows added to the ugliness, I had just one thought: "When, for the love of all that's good, will it be over?"

(The answer of course, is this October, when RSL moves into its new grounds.)

5. Yes, it's true that David Beckham can shape a cross better than anybody in MLS.

Who could argue the point? But here's something a bit less discussed regarding Project Beckham: He's absolutely peerless in MLS in the ability to change the point of attack. In fact, no one in MLS has done it so well since Jeff Agoos. (Somewhere, the Red Bulls sporting director is smiling. Yes, Jeff, someone just talked about you and Beckham in the same sentence. Cheers to ya!)

6. United midfielder Fred is probably the best in the league at being dirty in discreet, little ways.

Ask John Thorrington, the Chicago midfielder who took a sly little elbow from Fred in the first half Saturday. Fred certainly isn't the worst hack in the league. Plenty of others have that covered. It's just that Fred is so sneaky about it. And because he's such a skillful player, he really should take the more cynical stuff out of his bag of tricks.

7. From the "I've said it before" file:

I just really don't understand what some of these MLS referees are seeing, or why they are so deathly afraid of the whistle. Players who are clearly held or obstructed are being fouled. It's really simple. Actions that obviously make no attempt to win the ball, but that are instead clear efforts of physical obfuscation, should be policed.

Referees who want to "let them play" and "keep the flow" in MLS must realize this: Hesitating to call obvious fouls is the shortsighted way to do so. The better way, in the long run, is to demonstrate immediately in matches that these things will not be tolerated. Then, we'll all see better matches with plenty of "flow."

8. Unsung fellows who had big nights along the back line in Round 11.

Chicago's Bakary Soumare, L.A.'s Sean Franklin and San Jose's Jason Hernandez all performed above and beyond at the center back spot. Regarding Franklin: While the older fellows partnered centrally alongside him continue to stumble and struggle, he's been a solid presence this season.

9. I wonder when it's all said and done if Joe Cannon will play out his entire MLS career with a sad lack of decoration?

Cannon is 33. Chances of a title at San Jose aren't great, not in the next couple of years, anyway. And his national team window is probably closed, considering how well fortified Bob Bradley is at that spot. Cannon has been outstanding in this league for a long time. Still is. At least he's got that one MLS title (San Jose, 2001) to hang his hat on.

10. Has anybody's stock plummeted more dependably, consistently than Mehdi Ballouchy's?

He has languished on Colorado's bench this season while newer central midfielders like Nick LaBrocca and John DiRaimondo get minutes and starts ahead of him.

In all honesty, I had almost forgotten that he plays for Colorado until he came in late Saturday night against Los Angeles. The second overall pick of the 2006 draft has played all of 12 minutes this season.

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