Week 1's Worth Mentioning

The first week of MLS 2009 Season has come to a close, and there are a couple points worthy of noting:

• Seattle Sounders FC are here to play. The MLS debutant means business. They've got the roster, the coach, and the FANS to be a force to be reckoned with in their virgin season. I'm looking forward to seeing what they make of it, and you should be too. A 3-0 victory over Red Bull New York is definitely an auspicious start for the boys from the Emerald City, and lord only knows Seattlites are hurting for a sports team that they can be proud of right now.

• Landon Donovan's back from Germany, and he's none the worse for the wear. Instead of taking time to relax in the MLS offseason, the Golden Boy of American Soccer went on temporary loan to Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga, where he performed well and even tallied a few goals in one of Europe's top leagues before returning in time for the start of the MLS season--unlike his illustrious teammate, David Beckham, who dipped into his own monstrous bank account to ensure the extension of his loan to AC Milan through the end of the Italian Serie A season, after which he will take a month's vacation before returning to join the Galaxy in mid-July...hm, sound familiar? Wonder if this scheme will work out any better the second time around... But I digress...after winning last season's Golden Boot, Donovan started off the 2009 MLS season by personally resurrecting the Galaxy from a 2-goal deficit to draw against DC United. He appears to be in better form than ever, and that's going to mean trouble for the league's defenders and goalkeepers, but it won't do LA any good unless they can fix their own defensive problems. Dismissing last season's 'keeper, the worthless Steve Cronin, was a good start, but LA still gave up 2 goals to a weak DC side at the weekend...

• Chicago Fire @ FC Dallas demonstrated a couple of important facts...First, Kenny Cooper is now not only one of the most lethal strikers in the league (at least, until he gets snatched up by a European team this summer), but he's been practicing his range, and he is now positively surgical from 65 YARDS OUT. With his strength, size, speed, and range, Coach Bob Bradley will be an IDIOT not to make Cooper a regular face on the US National Team. Second, if Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Brian McBride's goals on Saturday are any indication, the Fire are going to be downright scary on set pieces and freekicks this season. Blanco didn't play a full 90 minutes, but he did score a textbook goal on a freekick just outside the box, curling the ball into the upper-90. McBride's penalty kick was at least as good as Donovan's, and showed that McBride's still got it.

Tune in for Week 2 of MLS 2009! Schedule available at www.mlsnet.com.