Our guest columnist this week is Peter King of Sports Illustrated, whose weekly MMQB column is a must read for any NFL fan. Now he brings his unique take on sports to the AAXI

HOUSTON — I was at Robertson Stadium last Saturday night and witnessed a great home crowd for the Houston Dynamo. I know San Jose fans are still hurting from the abrupt move of the Earthquakes to the Lone Star State. But the relationship between the fans and the players here is remarkable, considering how briefly this team has called Houston their home. Brian Ching received a hero’s welcome when his name was announced before kick off. Of course, the engine that makes this team run is Dwayne DeRosario, and fans here recognize that. But they love Ching here — he’s nearing Brett Favre status in Houston, and after just a handful of home games.

Here’s what transpired Saturday night. FC Dallas and Houston traded slim chances for the first 30 minutes or so. Then, Ricardo Clark blasted a goal from well outside the penalty box that caught the goalkeeper off guard and put Houston up 1-0. Then, as FC Dallas was probing for an equalizer, Ching headed home his league leading seventh goal of the season to put the home team on top 2-0. Then, just as regular time expired, Ching lobbed a perfectly weighted ball to DeRosario, who sped into the penalty box and seemingly iced the game at 3-0.

Of course, Dallas roared back in the second half, only to fall short after a remarkable goal by DeRosario raised the Houston tally to four. But throughout the game, Ching was battling for high balls on offense and tracking back on defense. And the crowd fell silent near the end of the game when Ching went down after a rough challenge. But he brushed himself off and finished the game. What a player. What a credit to MLS and to US soccer.

THE ELITE EIGHT

1. Houston (4-2-0): If they figure out how to hold onto a lead, they’ll be unbeatable.

2. DC United (3-1-2): Mulligan for their lackluster performance at Mile High.

3. Kansas City (4-1-1): Will struggle without Conrad, Johnson and Wolff. But Arnaud will rise to the occasion.

4. FC Dallas (3-1-2): Showed a lot of guts to almost come back from 3-0 at half time. Why isn’t Kenny Cooper starting for this team?

5. New England (2-2-1): Do you think Steve Nicol thanked Bruce Arena for leaving Taylor Twellman off the US roster? How many defenders are looking forward to facing Twellman with a Tony Meola-sized chip on his shoulder for the rest of the season?

6. Chicago (1-1-3): Road warriors keep earning points as they await the opening of Bridgeview.

7. Colorado (2-2-1): Jovan Kirovski is the second leading scorer in MLS right now. Who predicted that at the start of the season?

8. Chivas USA (1-2-1): They can’t wait for the next re-match with the Galaxy (who they are better than, despite losing to Landon Donovan a few weeks back). In the meantime they’ll have to tangle with the Revs.

THE AWARDS SECTION

Offensive Player of the Week: Houston Dynamo’s Dwayne DeRosario. With the exception of Landon Donovan, no player brings as much to the table as DeRo. He shoots. He scores. He plays defense. Wins games.

Defensive Player of the Week: Zach Thornton of the Chicago Fire stood on his head this week as he earned yet another point his team.

Coach of the Week: The Rapids’ Fernando Clavijo somehow managed to steal a win from DC United. Let’s face it: Clavijo is one of the best talent evaluators in the league. What if he’s actually learning how to manage a game?

AGGRAVATING/ENJOYABLE TRAVEL NOTE OF THE WEEK

Why, oh why, is there no Starbucks at Robertson Stadium? Unforgivable.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Houston’s Brian Ching and Dwayne DeRosario each have two game-winning goals so far this season.

TEN THINGS I THINK I THINK

1. I think some of the Revs had something to prove last week and did so at the expense of the LA Galaxy.

2. I think Chris Albright better not let any Italians or Czechs sucker him into a dumb foul like Twellman did on Saturday.

3. I think if Sharlie Joseph had become an American citizen, he’d have a ticket to Germany with his name on it right now.

4. I think Chris Rolfe is going to be very hard to keep off the US World Cup roster … in 2010.

5. I think this is what I liked about Week 6:

a. Dallas battling back on the road to make for a very entertaining first game between the Texas rivals.
b. Nicolas Hernandez slamming home the game-winning goal against DC United.
c. Justin Mapp.

6. I think this is what I didn’t like about Week 6:

a. Carlos Ruiz’s antics. I know he’s been doing this for years, but seeing it in person is just disgusting. I can’t believe he ever gets any fouls called his way.
b. The Real Salt Lake - Columbus Crew game. Just unwatchable, but I watched anyway.

7. I think the team that’s going the struggle the most during the World Cup is the LA Galaxy. Without Landon Donovan (and now without Albright) they are essentially a USL team dressed up in MLS uniforms. Last year this wouldn’t have mattered because Chivas and RSL were so terrible. But Chivas is entirely capable of competing with their Home Depot neighbors and keeping the Galaxy out of the playoffs.

8. I think I’m worried about the health of John O’Brien. He’s played scant minutes for Chivas so far this year, and that doesn’t make me feel confident about his ability to contribute to the US team in Germany.

9. I think Eddie Pope has never been more happy to have his MLS season interrupted by a call-up to the national team. Think he’ll be playing extra hard to try to keep the US there as long as possible?

10. I think these are my non-MLS thoughts of the week:

a. Coffeenerdness: I have one tip for the coffee merchants of Houston, TX: make it stronger.
b. Paul Simon: Vastly underrated in music history.
c. What a great playoffs series between the Lakers and the Suns. Wish I’d been watching more of it this weekend.

WHO I LIKE TONIGHT, AND I DON’T MEAN ERIC WYNALDA

The LA Galaxy are a mess right now, and I expect FC Dallas to take out their frustrations from their loss to Houston on LA. Hoops 2-1.
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It’s D-mid Day here at the AAXI … It was clearly a good week for midfielders, but not so much for defenders. Hence, we have a 2-6-2. (Just don’t tell Steve Sampson – he might steal our formation for Saturday’s Coach-Off with John Ellinger.)

Zach Thornton – (1)

It isn’t often that saving a penalty kick is the second best save a goalie makes in a given sequence, but the stop Thornton made on Arnaud was much better. Hopefully, Big Zach got to spend some extra time in the whirlpool after the game to loosen out his back since he had to carry his whole team. When the Chicago midfield and defense decided to stand around and ask each other “Do I look fat in this jersey?” Thornton kept coming up with big save after big save. It was the best effort this young MLS season. Now, if only the MLS All-Star “Skills Competition” would make a comeback, we could see The Beast could retain his title as the man with the hardest shot in MLS.

Jay Heaps – (1)

High time that one of the Revolution’s defenders gets some credit. Seeing Heaps storming out of the back for New England had to be one more depressing sight for the Galaxy. How many weapons can one team toss out on a given day?

Michael Parkhurst – (1)

Another Revs defender makes the cut. This kid doesn’t get much recognition (yeah, yeah, we know, ROTY last year), but quietly plays the game as it ought to be played. He doesn’t make many mistakes. He’s just solid.

Pablo Mastroeni – (2)

Finally showed why he’s USA’s #1 destroyer – this is the first time this season that DC didn’t dominate in the midfield, and Mastro was the reason for that. If he plays for the USMNT the way he did in this game, the Nats are in good shape.

Brian Carroll – (2)

Carroll is making a name for himself as the model Major League Soccer professional. Against Colorado, he seemed to be the only steady and unshakable player for DC. He was a machine, covering miles in the midfield and playing smart passes forward. He’s DC United’s rock in the midfield.

Ricardo Clark – (1)

Clark had his best game of the season so far, and not only because of the goal (although goals certainly count for something, especially out of the middle). He seemed to re-discover how to connect with DeRosario, something that Houston desperately needed. If he continues to play this way for the next six to seven weeks, then Houston might actually find some attacking ideas that don’t involve long distance calls to Ching – which would, of course, be a very good thing while Ching’s in Germany.

Brian Mullan – (2)

If we were left backs on an MLS team, the last guy we would want lined up on the opponent’s right side is Brian Mullan. He’s not as skilled as some midfielders, but he will make your life hell for 90 minutes. He bolts down the flank with and without the ball, takes guys on with the ball at his feet, serves in effective crosses, and plays defense for the entire game.

Clint Dempsey – (3)

Dempsey must have listened to some samba before this game instead of his Texas raps. He certainly entertained, but he also destabilized the Galaxy defense and showed that he can terrorize from the flank. Deuce didn’t play a direct role in any goal, but humiliating Ugo Ihmelu was a good start to the World Cup season.

Josh Gros – (1)

This is almost a vote for consistency’s sake – Gros showed hustle, heart, and good passing skills all night in trying to jump start an anemic United attack. In every match he does good things on the dribble, tracks back, and even supplies some good balls into the box. He’s one of the hardest working players in MLS.

Taylor Twellman – (1)

Hey Bruce, we got your Brian Ching riiiiiiight HERE! After the week Twellman had, what with missing out on the World Cup squad and then having his grandfather pass away, he still managed to come out and do what he does best: strike when the opportunity presents itself. He made the great pass that led to the broken play that ended with his goal and his evocative pose in front of the “WHY NOT TAYLOR?” sign.

Brian Ching – (4)

Huh … we wonder if Ching saw Twellman’s performance in the afternoon game and said to himself, “If Taylor’s going to try to make people doubt my selection, I’ll give them something to think about.” Ching battled all night, scored a goal, assisted on one Dwayne DeRosario’s goal, and hustled back to help on defense. Ching continues to show that he can win and hold the ball for his teammates, even though everyone in the stadium knows that he’s the target of almost every long ball and cross. If Ching ran for Mayor of Houston he’d easily get 20,000 votes, because that’s how many people screamed like crazy when his name was announced before the game.

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• Header by Peter King Chris.
• List compiled and edited by kali with input from all the AAXI contributors.
• All typos and errors should be blamed on Darren Anderton.