“I think they’re a much better team, but I don’t like the way they play,” Hyndman told reporters after the match. “I think they’re still very physical.”

Major League Soccer's new refereeing structure will not limit opportunities for Canadian officials.

And, Chivas USA put Canadian defender Ante Jazic on the list. Yes, Jazic is in his mid-30s, but he’d be a significant upgrade for many teams in the fullback slot. He has become a regular starter for the Canadian national side. And, while his age is an issue, it’s hard to believe that a national-team starter can’t be of some value to someone.

Vancouver coach Tom Soehn’s return to D.C. certainly didn’t go as he would have liked. Chris Pontius scored twice for D.C. United and rookie Joe Willis saved the day in goal, as the Whitecaps fell 4-0 at RFK Stadium.

Eric Hassli scored twice as the Whitecaps came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to earn a 2-2 draw at Buck Shaw in a wide open, end-to-end game that could have very easily with a ridiculous scoreline like 4-4 or 5-5.

The final 20 minutes of the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 loss Saturday in Columbus — which saw the visitors throw everything they had at Crew keeper Will Hesmer in a wild attempt to pull another game out of the fire — wasn’t enough to erase 70 minutes of indifferent play. Don’t let the Whitecaps’ frantic attempt to come back from a two-goal deficit fool you; the Caps came into this game with a very negative mentality.

Major League Soccer has issued the longest suspension in league history. Colorado Rapid Brian Mullan is the new owner of this dubious mark, after MLS lengthened his red-card suspension to a total of 10 games after last weekend’s studs-up challenge that broke the leg of Seattle’s former No. 1 overall draft pick, Steve Zakuani, in two places.

Jonathan Leathers shouldn’t become a victim of bad timing. Each and every week during the season, the league’s disciplinary committee reviews the goings-on of the previous week’s games. Of course, the red cards are looked at, but so are all of the other incidents. General managers will ask the league to review plays; those requests are always agreed to. That means that Leathers’ tackle Saturday on reigning MVP David Ferreira is being reviewed. That shouldn’t be news.

Ferreira was hurt on what looked to be a rather innocuous play; as he charged to get to a ball deep in Whitecaps territory, defender Jonathan Leathers slid and got all ball with the challenge. No foul was called. Ferreira went over and was down for several minutes, clutching his ankle in pain. He was sent to hospital for tests to his ankle.

The Whitecaps and their fans can have no complaint about the result — a 3-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo. Indeed, you could argue that things could have been a heck of a lot worse. A four- or five-goal margin would have reflected the run of play.