'Almost' All-Stars shine

The MLS All-Stars shined last week in Toronto -- which is exactly how the world is supposed to work.

All-Stars, by the very definition of the term, should star in the show.

But there's only so much light in the bulb, so to speak, especially given the tight schedule for most of Major League Soccer's luminaries. Many had to fly back to join their clubs on Friday, then maybe work out some All-Star match soreness with a brief practice on Saturday.

In the case of fellows such as David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Frankie Hejduk and a couple of others, they had to hop right back on a plane Saturday afternoon, traveling to the next destination for a Sunday match.

So the production of the All-Star starters was a bit muted in Round 18 of MLS play. There were some exceptions, of course. And it's not like any of this celebrity talent embarrassed themselves out there.

They just didn't always have a full tank.

But what if you look at the next tier, the "almost All-Stars," and closely examine what they did? You might find that for Week 18, the "coach class All-Stars" were every bit as valuable to their teams as the first-class types.

What if we picked a quick version of the All-Stars who almost were? It might look like this:

Jon Busch in goal.

Right to left in the back: Bryan Namoff, Jamison Olave, Bakary Soumare, Gonzalo Segares.

Right to left in the midfield: John Thorrington, Javier Morales, Kyle Beckerman, Dave van den Bergh.

Strikers: Luciano Emilio and Chris Rolfe.

Chicago's Busch was one of perhaps five goalkeepers who had outstanding weekends. He and Kevin Hartman exchanged a series of top-notch saves as the Fire and Wizards finished in a 0-0 stalemate. Busch was the bigger presence if only because his visiting side had to withstand increasing pressure as the evening went on. In addition to the nifty saves, Busch was quick and sure off his line to catch or punch on several occasions.

(If you believe Columbus' Will Hesmer should be the "Almost All-Star," well, he had a doozy of a game, too, delivering the weekend's most spectacular save early in the match against Colorado.)

Olave had a monster match in Real Salt Lake's huge win against Toronto, although that should come with a bit of an asterisk for the big Colombian center back.

Olave had barely put a foot wrong at Rice-Eccles against John Carver's team. He won balls all over the place and then quickly started the attack with classy passing. To be fair, he was working against Abdus Ibrahim and Jarrod Smith, who began the evening with five MLS starts between them.

Still, Olave did exactly what he should against such youngsters -- absolutely dominating the night. And then got forward to supply Jason Kreis' team with a desperately needed goal, tearing open the deadlock. It would have been a perfect evening (i.e., no asterisk) but for a slip on the FieldTurf, whereupon Olave grabbed Amado Guevara by the ankle. Olave got a yellow card and Guevara got a free kick from the perfect spot, briefly equalizing the match.

Soumare had one of his best matches in a breakthrough season, always appearing calm and in command against Kansas City. He looked pretty good earlier this year partnering with Diego Gutierrez, but seemed even more assured standing alongside Wilman Conde along Denis Hamlett's back four.

Speaking of that back four: Segares did exactly what he's done all year in locking down the Fire's left side, generally quieting K.C. livewire Davy Arnaud. On the other side, Thorrington was showing his versatility, standing in more than adequately for the suspended Brandon Prideaux.

Morales and Kyle Beckerman were both busy in RSL's 2-1 win against Toronto, an essential W for Jason Kreis' team before it plows into a difficult part of the schedule. Four of Real Salt Lake's next five are on the road, including stops at the Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo.

Morales was always around the action, helping to keep the ball moving. That's a big part of Kreis' plan at Rice-Eccles, where the Utah outfit possesses the ball as well as any team this side of New England. And Beckerman came close with a couple of shots from long distance, simultaneously doing his part in the big edge in RSL possession.

Emilio didn't play over the weekend. Rolfe came close on a couple of opportunities for Chicago, which will need some time in adjusting to the loss to Chad Barrett and Brian McBride's impending arrival.

The All-Stars? Not all of them were at their best on during four MLS matches on Sunday. Beckham and Donovan looked a bit beaten by the heat in Dallas, which is understandable considering their hectic week. The Galaxy fell 4-0 at Pizza Hut Park.

Hejduk, seemingly indefatigable as he is, wasn't at his best, although Columbus did prevail against the run of play in Colorado.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco followed his All-Star MVP evening with a subdued night in Kansas City. Blanco is more effective when he drifts about and gets the ball in different spots on the field. The more static he is, the less effective he is, and he wasn't particularly mobile at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

At 35, just appearing in that match is asking a lot of Blanco, especially in the summer heat. Conditions in Kansas City at game time Sunday: sunny and 92 degrees.

TACTICAL CORNER

• Ruud Gullit has shown he's not afraid to re-arrange the chess pieces, hoping to get is Galaxy comfortable attacking teams with different looks. When things went haywire against FCD on Sunday, Gullit shifted out of the more typical 4-4-2, cooking up an improvised 3-4-3. Chris Klein and Greg Vanney manned wide midfield roles. Landon Donovan, who started wide on the left, moved into the middle alongside Peter Vagenas, while David Beckham pushed forward from his wide midfield role into a more advanced spot on the right said.

• FCD manager Schellas Hyndman began making good on his promise to play the youngsters at Pizza Hut Park. Michael Dello-Russo made his season debut and second all-time appearance for FCD. Hyndman gave promising young midfielder Eric Avila his first start, partnering the 20-year-old with Pablo Ricchetti in the center of the park. And Chase Wileman made his MLS debut.

Hyndman also went back to a 4-4-2, which he prefers. Owing to the personnel he inherited, Hyndman had deployed his team in a 3-5-2 for most of July.

• One element missing from the Fire's current form: given the higher temperatures, a fellow like Rolfe or Thorrington simply can't do the running for Cuauhtemoc Blanco. April and May are one thing, but June and July are something else.

The result is a less prolific Blanco. The Mexican playmaker hasn't scored or assisted in an MLS match since June 2, a span of seven contests. Kansas City was rarely bothered by Blanco's passing or dribbling, as Curt Onalfo's team made a point to get around him with numbers quickly in the teams' 0-0 draw.

• Real Salt Lake clearly believed it could exploit Marvell Wynne's absence (for Olympic duty). In his place was young Trinidadian Julius James, who struggled all night in dealing with Robbie Findley and Beckerman. Almost every RSL first-half attack was channeled to the left to maintain the pressure on James.

• San Jose Earthquakes midfield addition Francisco Lima partnered with Ramiro Corrales in the middle on Sunday at Buck Shaw. That gave Ronnie O'Brien a chance to stay out wide, where he's generally at his best. He supplied about four good crosses just within the first 30 minutes of his team's match with the New York Red Bulls, which is about two games worth for some of the league's flank midfielders.

With Darren Huckerby, another addition to Frank Yallop's roster, stationed opposite O'Brien on the left, the Earthquakes' attack suddenly looks significantly more potent.