Crew Fall to Houston, Drift to Bottom Half of True Table

With a loss to Houston and no wins in their last six the hot start Columbus Crew now find themselves 12th on the combined true table (table that is based on PPG, GD).

1ST HALF (0-0)
This one started off like a midweek matchup would. Both teams wanting to make sure they played but not really wanting to be there. This showed more on the Dynamo side, I thought. Lazy defending, errant passing. Crew actually played pretty well by their new standards and probably should have had a goal.

As it went, both sides got away with not needing a goal (whew!). Telling sign of low intensity level was when the ref just called it on the strike of 45'.

2ND HALF (1-0)
Houston got things going after Tony Tchani fouled Corey Ashe just outside the box. Brad Davis stepped up and supplied Will Bruin all the cross he needed to put one away off what looked like his back. Regardless, goal scorers find ways.

Not long after head coach Gregg Berhalter started inserting subs to help try and improve his team's goal scoring chances. On came Paladini for the first time this year for Viana (who had a good game, also in his first appearance). From there Justin Meram came on for a tired Oduro. Finally, big Adam Bedell replaced right back Josh Williams.

Things got a little sloppy and Houston probably could have had another if they needed it because the Crew looked very leaky with only three in the back.

GAME OVER (1-0)
Crew looked plain tired and frustrated towards the end of the game. I'd say that this was because it was a midweek match up but they've looked pretty tired last 15-20 minutes of past few matches during this winless run of now six games.

Postgame quotes from Gregg Berhalter seem to indicate that he is ready for course-correction. Sounds like it is going to come by way of being more assertive and critical of individual play but I wouldn't be surprised to see some lineup changes and tweaks to tactics.

Either way, results have to improve for the team to progress. This isn't a youth team, they are professionals with careers on the line.

Handbags in the Goalmouth and Trapp, Jimenez Save Point for Crew

The Columbus Crew were able to avoid defeat with a goal in added time off good individual play from Wil Trapp and Hector Jimenez.

1ST HALF (0-1)
As things got going the general feel of this one played out as expected before kickoff; Columbus holding most of the possession and DC being opportunistic. However, if you dig a little deeper and look at territorial possession you'll see that it was DC dictating the play while the Crew struggled to unlock the DC defense.

What the chart on the left shows is how much each team was spending in each other's half. The Crew have dominated regular possession, passing and passing accuracy (which is where possession % is calculated) statistics all year but there is a good percentage of that done in their own half, working back into buildup play.

The Crew were not pressing as hard this game and DC found space enough to work the ball around in attack. Eventually it burned them about 30 minutes in (marked with an "X" on the chart).

You can see from the chart that DC, almost immediately, took the pedal off the gas and looked to keep Columbus in front of them.

2ND HALF (1-0)
The Crew didn't exactly roar back but things did start to get testy on the pitch. There was a questionable call on Giancarlo Gonzalez that should have probably been a Red but he got yellow after he was beat by Eddie Johnson going to goal. After which there was a scrum in the penalty area that involved a number of players from both teams, nothing seemed too serious.

Not long after Bernardo Anor was sent off for a two footed sliding tackle.

Overall, it was actually a pretty drab half outside of that and both sets of players seemed to tire quickly as it continued on. The difference ended up being the little bit of extra fitness Wil Trapp had in dispossessing a gassed Espindola at the top of his own box, advancing to midfield unchallenged and firing off a perfect 40 yard pass to Hector Jimenez for a goal in the final moments.

IT'S GAME OVER (1-1)

PHOTO: Sam Fahmi, Massive Report

The Crew haven't looked the same with Dominic Oduro up top in this Berhalter system. It's now 1 win, 2 drawn and a loss (5 points from 4 games). On top of that, Oduro continues to be the only starter with a negative on pitch goal difference (it's now up to 2 GF, 4 GA). It's nothing that Dominic is doing wrong. The system just doesn't play to his strengths.

This match was not one to remember for either team really. The ref certainly doesn't escape blame for that. His indecisiveness after the Gonzales tackle of Johnson was to blame for the handbags in the goalmouth. He should have given the red or the yellow and got the game going again.

On that, not sure what has gotten into MLS play this year. Obscene amount of red cards issued, as well as penalties. There has been a definite change in policy this year in refereeing approach and it needs to get better. How? Going to be difficult as the precedent has been set.

There is a lingering question for the Crew now; Is the change in attacking approach the Crew reverting back to bad habits from last year or have teams just sort of figured out what they are doing. Tough to say right now, but I do know that 1.25 PPG from last four is last year's team which means it looks like the Crew are in for a real grind next week vs. a desperate New York Red Bulls.

Columbus Earns Point in San Jose, Still Top of East Five Games In

1ST HALF (1-0)
Only MLS game on Sunday this week. Both teams felt each other out, Crew scored late (Higuain Goal, Francis Assist).

2ND HALF (0-1)
San Jose came out determined to get a goal and got it. Many subs later, game ended.

FINAL THOUGHTS (1-1)
Sunday afternoon MLS game in San Jose in mid-April ends in a Draw.

USL Pro: Dayton, Rochester Draw 1-1 in Lions Home Opener

Dayton equalizes five minutes into added time to save a point at home last night against the Rochester Rhinos in USL Pro regular season play.

Rochester coaches, players, refs after controversial ending

This was an early season match so both teams were still trying to find their way but Dayton, in particular, seemed to go off script the most, especially in the second half.

From the USL Pro Game Report: "But there was too much long ball. The work ethic was fantastic but the soccer we showed today is not the soccer we want to show.” - Dayton coach Sid van Druenen

Too much long ball is an understatement. It was virtually all long ball in the 2nd half for the Lions.

Dayton was comfortable most of the first half, but it was Rochester went up in the first half hour. The final 15 minutes of the half saw Dayton getting lots of pressure and earning corner kicks. Early in the 2nd half Dayton completely abandoned the any attempts at possession in the midfield and resorted to long balls into the box.

With a couple of big players (on loan from Columbus Aaron Schoenfeld among them) aided by a lively surface Dayton was bound to get a lucky bounce at some point. Which happened, in the 95th (?!) minute. A listed 6' 7" 235 lbs. Joe Broekhuizen was credited with the goal.

Rhinos have some reason to feel hard done last night. There was contact with the keeper on the goal (the ref did discuss with linesman) and five minutes of added time was quite a lot (very few fouls and only one real stoppage due to injury).

Dayton has started the year 1-1-1 and travel out to Harrisonburg next Saturday to take on the Islanders. Here's a quick and early look at the USL Pro table (PPG, GD).

PPG : TEAM : GD
2.33 LA Galaxy II (+1.33)
2.00 Sacramento Republic FC (+1.00)
2.00 Richmond Kickers (+1.00)
1.67 Orlando City SC (+0.67)
1.50 OKC Energy FC (0.00)

1.33 Dayton Dutch Lions (-0.67)
1.00 Charleston Battery (0.00)
1.00 Wilmington Hammerheads FC (0.00)
1.00 Harrisburg City Islanders (0.00)

0.50 Rochester Rhinos (-1.00)
0.50 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (-1.00)
0.00 Charlotte Eagles (-1.00)
0.00 Orange County Blues FC (-2.00)

For more on this game stay tuned to Chad Hollingswoth and Reckless Challenge for excellent coverage.

Bradley, Toronto Drop Stale Crew 0-2

After going up early, Toronto dropped back and fought off relatively lifeless and predictable Crew side.

1ST HALF (0-1)
Columbus players didn't match the intensity of Toronto to start the match and paid for it in the 11th minute when US international Michael Bradley ripped through the middle of the Crew defense and drove a hard shot low and beat Steve Clark for a goal. Content with the lead, Toronto dropped back and kept the Crew in front of them all half.

It worked. Even with a Toronto side fielding a makeshift back four the Crew had no solution. The only shot on goal the Crew managed was a Josh Williams header on a set piece.

2ND HALF (0-1)
Presumably someone addressed the flat nature of the team in locker room because the Crew came out with energy. Didn't appear to change what coach Ryan Nelsen and Toronto were doing though. They kept Columbus from finding space atop the 18 yard box and in it, forcing the Crew outside to the flanks.

Isolating crosses into the box from outside the 18 yard box from the flanks the Crew just connected on 6 of 32. Waylon Francis, who appears more to be blindly crossing it in, was 0 for 7 from the wing area. A lot of this isn't on the cross generators, however. When playing with a lone forward in Oduro, you aren't going to connect on many.

Outside of that, the Crew had their chances. Gregg Berhalter was aggressive with his subs late on by taking off defensive players in hopes to crack the Toronto stronghold. Ultimately it didn't work and late on Toronto got an opening and put away the Crew via a goal by Issey Nakajima-Farran (Justin Morrow, assist).

GAME OVER, FUN'S OVER (0-2)

• Gregg Berhalter and staff should be frustrated with this because it was a home match. More than half the league makes the postseason cup tournament and taking care of home matches is usually enough to get you there.

• I don't think Toronto did anything out of the norm to prepare for the Crew's updated possession style of play. What they did actually looked a lot like the Seattle match a few weeks ago. They got up - and dropped back.

• Crew made it easy for a Toronto back four (Justin Morrow and Mark Bloom played well at fullback with Nick Hagglund and Bradley Orr at CB) because there was no one to cross it to in the box. Oduro is more known for ducking under a player for a header than going up for one and he was really the only player the Crew had in the box. The size of the TFC defenders also made defending Crew set pieces a breeze.

• Oduro was't involved much at all but his presence did turn this 2014 Crew team into more of the 2013 version. The crowd loves to roar when the ball is played into space with him chasing it but, just like last year, more off than not it just gives possession back to the opposing side. We saw this a little bit last week as well. Old habits not going away.

• The way Toronto played exposed Crew scoring problems form open play (again, like last year). Just not a lot of options there.

• Michael Parkhurst had a busy week and likely contributed to his subpar performance.

• Emotional game last week in Seattle + a week full of pundits saying the Crew are the real deal probably didn't do this young team any favors.

• When the Crew got close to scoring, longtime Crew play by play man Dwight Burgess nearly broke my speakers a couple times with the type of guttural yell that comes from being personally invested in a team for two decades. I'm not a local Columbus born person, I understand the broadcast is for locals, but it will never be anything but locals with that type of thing.

• I know fans go back and forth on how they want announcers to be, however. It could be that I, myself, have been watching too much crew over the past four years and am too sensitive to it. That said, watching other broadcasts of MLS games (which I do quite a lot of, mind you) I don't get the same feeling.

• Announced attendance was only around 12k for this one which was a little surprising considering Michael Bradley was in town. Turns out the press were a lot more interested then fans. It looked about as full as the Philly game a couple weeks ago and that one was announced at 16k. My guess is actual turnstile for each was around 12-14k.

• Crew travel to San Jose next Sunday to take on the Earthquakes.

Red+PK Undo Seattle, Crew Wins

This match was flipped upside down in the 58th minute when frenzied play in Seattle's 18 yard box lead to a Djimi Traore red card dismissal and penalty conversion for the Crew.

1ST HALF (0-1)
Seattle came out looking much more dangerous than the Crew. The turf was wet, slick and fast and it lead to a lot of breaks for the Sounders. One of which Kenny Cooper ripped across Crew 'keeper Steve Clark for a goal.

The Crew, however, continued to stick to their possession based game even though they didn't get a whole lot of chances (only one shot on target) in the first half. By the time 45 minutes rolled around, Seattle looked to be in the driver's seat.

2ND HALF (2-0)
The Sounders came out strong and even wrestled possession away from the Crew in the early going. Columbus looked out of shape, with a few players misjudging ball bounces and pass distances.

This all changed when a ball bounced into Seattle's box in near the 60th minute and Traore found himself behind Dominic Oduro in the box. Oduro stopped to try and trap the ball and Traore tried to kick around the side of him, bumping him and sending him to the turf. The referee called the foul in the box and issued a red card. Federico Higuain stepped up and evened the score.

From there the Crew showed why knowing how to possess the ball is valuable, especially a man up and on the road. They did just that and forced Seattle to have to be very choosy about when and how to attack.

In the end it lead to a lot of tired legs and a somewhat frantic / bizarre ending where the Crew caught everybody by surprise (including the ref?) by taking a fast corner kick. Federico Higuain found a wide open Justin Meram a top the box and he quickly looped a great shot into the upper corner for the game winner.

Ref ended the match right upon the kickoff that followed.

FINAL, MY THOUGHTS (2-1)
• CenturyLink matches play different (fast, bouncy turf) and feel different (huge NFL stadium half filled with soccer fans). The combination of those two things often lead to wild and frantic moments at the end of matches. Last night was the same.

• Crew win third straight. Last time they did it wasn't that long ago, interestingly. It was shortly after Brian Bliss took over the team last year.

• Another huge passing day for the Crew, helped by the red card this time.

• Seattle should feel hard done. Don't feel the red card was necessary and felt the ref let the game go too long. Issuing a red and a penalty dooms your team to failure, the punishment last night far outweighed the crime.

• Crew face Toronto next weekend.

Parkhurst, Williams, Higuain Shine in Impressive Season Opening Win

A prepared Columbus Crew took down a disorganized and out of shape DC United team yesterday.

 1ST HALF (0:2)     
The first 30 minutes of this game were enjoyable to watch as both teams were willing to let the other maintain possession. DC, however, was giving way too much space to Hector Jimenez and Josh Williams on the right side of the attacking half and it cost them dearly.

Some good one touch passing (on the ground) set up Jairo Arrieta on the first goal in the 18th and further attacking play on the right side earned the corner that led to Perry Kitchen pulling down Micheal Parkhurst in the box for a penalty in the 27th.

 2ND HALF (0:1)     
The Crew came out playing much as they did in the first half and never really dropped back into a shell even with a two goal lead. They had no reason too as DC had zero ideas going forward. Eddie Johnson and Fabian Espindola were just hung out to dry most of the game.

Much less enjoyable game in the second half. Late in the game Ben Olsen pulled a defender to put in one of his favorite players in Porter. DC seemed to perk up a bit in the attack but most of the players looked gassed.

DC's fatigue showed in the finishing. The created a decent amount of chances (11 Shots, 1 on frame) but just didn't have the legs to get them on target.

Justin Meram found Higuain late on in extra time to finish the game off.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
 FINAL, GAME THOUGHTS (0:3)     
The opening month to a MLS season is often more of a final exam for a team's offseason than it is as a full season predictor. With that, the Crew get and A for the second year in a row and DC gets another F. Bill Hamid was terrible and for some reason looked like he had no confidence (in a season opener?) and Perry Kitchen is proving that he is not an MLS starter.

DC also have another problem in Ben Olsen. I'm hesitantly chalking this one up to early season chemistry problems but this DC version 2014, with upgrades all over the field, looked identical to DC 2013. That's on Olsen and he needs to improve. I know that team wanted to come out with a big win to wash last year out of their mouths and instead they looked a mess again.

This shouldn't discount what the Crew did, however. They played organized, coached and very well. One game far from something to draw conclusions from. We'll know a lot more about this team by the end of April.

To put the Crew performance in some perspective, here are how each MLS team did according to WhoScored.com...

SCORE : TEAM
7.67 : Houston Dynamo
7.27 : Real Salt Lake
7.16 : Vancouver Whitecaps
7.15 : FC Dallas
7.11 : Columbus Crew
7.03 : Seattle Sounders
6.90 : Montreal Impact
6.84 : LA Galaxy
6.84 : Portland Timbers
6.82 : Philadelphia Union
6.62 : Sporting KC
6.34 : NY Red Bulls
6.26 : New England Revs
6.24 : DC United

The Crew have an extra week before Philly comes to town on March 22nd.

Crew Rd 33, Nothing to Lose (or Gain)

In somewhat symbolically mix-matched uniforms the Columbus Crew go for broke away in New England and lose 3:2.

GAME NOTE
I was out of town visiting family in Virginia this week. Both to see them and to take in the beautiful scenery my home state has to offer. My perspective is a little different for this one.

----------
1ST HALF

The first time I watched this game I was in Harrisonburg, VA with my brother and his family. While spending the afternoon there my niece made me what's in the picture on the left (my favorite thing of the 2013 Crew season).

Going through it the second time was about the same as the first. Right off the bat the Crew played exactly the same as they have so many times this year. Overly active and looking for a lucky bounce or through ball to get the up in the opening 10-20 minutes.

High pressure, chasing the ball, looking for through ball opportunities. It was all very familiar. What's also familiar is when they don't get one early they struggle later on in the match.

Around the 30th minute, when the game was being controlled by NE, Ethan Finlay had a bad touch and subsequently made bad challenge after a string of bad challenges by a desperate Crew side.

This opened up a good opportunity on the corner of the Crew's 18 yard box. New England took advantage and scored.

2ND HALF
Brian Bliss pulled Ethan Finlay for the Crew's only big attacking target in Aaron Schoenfeld.

After wrestling control of the match from the Revs in the first 10 minutes of the second half the Crew got a few good bounces. One off Wil Trapp that fell to Schoenfeld who pushed it over to Dominic Oduro who put it away to tie it up 1:1.

This really started off some craziness. Shortly after the Revs started pressing again and earned a penalty off some chippy play in the box. Tony Tchani was sloppy and hacked a Revs player down. Chris Tierney finished off the penalty.

The Crew responded as Aaron Schoenfeld gathered nicely just inside the box and finished on the turn with his left foot in the upper corner on of the net.

Seemingly surprised, the Revs responded quickly and Diego Fagundez found another goal for the Revs off a cross from Andy Dorman.

NE coach Jay Heaps would go ahead and make a couple of defensive subs in Kevin Alston and Stephen McCarthy to put away the game. It could be argued he should have done this earlier but, regardless. This ended the match in his favor.

-----------
GAME OVER, FINAL THOUGHTS
• I've seen Aaron Schoenfeld play a lot of the past couple years. Mostly in reserve matches. I've seen him play pretty well but never have I seen him hold up and turn for a goal like he did in this game. Really great and happy for him and his family.

• The turf at Gillette will forever bother me. My theory is that the the Football God's, both types of the game, have forsaken their tenents. Did you know the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl since switching? All the money that team pulls in and they can't play on a natural surface? THE FOOTBALL GODS DOTH SMITE YOU.

• The Crew were 'mathematically eliminated' from playoff contention after this game. It didn't matter if they won or lost, it turned out.

• The Crew have been statistically eliminated for some time. They should have approached the last couple months of the season with this in mind. Hanging on to hope left this team with Tyson Wahl at CB and Chad Barson at RB. It also kept Tony Tchani in the starting lineup and Dominic Oduro playing in a right mid spot where opposing teams seemed to find goals. Challenges for the Crew await over the next few months.

• Despite being subbed off, Agustin Viana was awarded the Man of the Match star from WhoScored.com. This is something I follow, so should you. It's objective and that is very, very rare in MLS.

• Did I mention I was in God's country this weekend? Here's what that looks like from my folks front porch:

• Recharged and happy to be back in Columbus. Ready to take on the last game of the year and a fun off season!

Crew Rd 32, KC Shut Crew Down

Sporting KC abruptly end the Crew hot streak in Columbus (photo: Sam Fahmi, Massive Report).

1ST HALF
Both sides started off in a test type mode trying to figure out the other side. Sporting proved to be the more evolved team and figured it out first.

After a quarter hour of KC went up of a Graham Zusi cross to Ike Opera right in the six yard box. Agustin Viana was laying on the ground with an apparent injury but camera angles would later show him peaking up to check the play.

The quality of Zusi's cross ultimately made Viana's decision to stay down look bad. Bad play by Viana (he popped up after the goal) but a goal was deserved as KC found plenty of space behind Trapp and Tchani all half.

2ND HALF
Coming out of the locker room Sporting dropped eight back and stayed disciplined. It was very similar to how Seattle beat the Crew with 10 men about a month ago.

Because of their style, Columbus has no answer for team with a defensive posture. Dominic Oduro had no space to break free and Federico Higuain was jammed in the middle.

The Crew ended up only getting two total shots off from open play all game. The other 10 shots came from set pieces.

The game ended with an exhausted and frustrated Crew side.

----------------
GAME OVER, THOUGHTS

• Sporting played the Crew smartly as Columbus basically has only two cards to play in attack:

1. Through balls that get behind the defense (Oduro's speed)
2. Set Pieces

• KC took care of both of those things. They shut the Crew down almost in total.

• Tchani and Trapp were playing on top of each other all night. This comes after three games were they kept good spacing in holding roles. This was more do to the way KC played and them not knowing how to work around it.

• Nobody on the Crew played terrible, KC just are better at more things.

• Federico Higuain seemed to pick up an injury early on but stayed in the game and slowed him.

• To many it might appear simple what KC did to the Crew but it always amazes me how many teams do not prepare for each opponent. KC prepared and executed. It should be appreciated.

• Columbus only has a week off than two matches against NE to finish up the schedule.

The offseason has basically started for this team.

Crew Rd 31, 90s Style MLS Win at Dallas

Columbus put together another away win Sunday as they see off Dallas at Toyota Stadium.

1ST HALF
The Crew took advantage of a eager FC Dallas in the first half by using their speed to get past a attacking minded back four.

Columbus scored in the 9th and 17th minute before Dallas could tuck one away in the 21st. Just before half the Crew put another away on a disorganized, happy-go-lucky home side.

The whirlwind half ended 3-1 in favor of the Crew.

2ND HALF
Much like the first. Dallas was disorganized and pushing forward and playing with very little to lose. The chaos paid of for them in the 54th when a lot of the Crew players thought the ball had gone out and stopped before the whistle. Mauro Alberto Díaz would end up walking the ball into the net (somewhat embarrassingly).

With the game 3-2 both sides decided the buckle down, grinding the free wheeling flow to a mess of subs, fouls and yellow cards.

In fact in the span of 17 minutes between the 66th and 83rd minute this game saw 10 fouls, 5 yellows and 4 substitutions.

by the final few moments of this game you sensed this this one was over. Bernardo Anor would put one last one past a (very poor) Raúl Fernández to end it 4-2.

------------------
FINAL THOUGHTS

This game reminded me of how MLS soccer played in the late 90s. Fast paced, fearless, and pin ball like possession (even between same team).

Dallas played like a collection of above average players with no coach. I'm not sure if they have given up on the season or just are poorly coached, really.

Columbus played with more structure, which is what won them the game. Dallas just didn't seem to want to play any defense, and their keeper... oh my.

All in all, what a crazy game. Flashbacks to my days perched in the RFK stands having flashbacks to the 1998 Tibetan Freedom Concert not to long before on the same grounds.

Crew Rd 28, Youth Proof

The Crew no match for Sporting KC on the road.

1ST HALF
New interim coach Brian Bliss decided to keep things simple and run out the same lineup that pulled off a mildly surprising midweek upset over the Houston Dynamo. Major differences between these two games were two fold:

1. It was on the road and the Crew have completely collapsed away from home. Losing last 7 straight by a total of 15 goals.

2. Playing the best team in the the Eastern Conference (not missing a beat without Zusi or Beasler).

The game didn't start well as Wil Trapp caught the foot of a KC Benny Feilhaber in the box which sent Designated Player Claudio Bieler to the spot where he ripped one past Matt Lampson.

From there KC owned possession till the final minutes of the first half when they didn't really need it as much. It was a hot and humid evening so all the possession gassed the Crew players (who had all played on Wednesday).

In the 41st minute Barson, in what seemed like a mental lapse, lazily mis-touched a Eric Gehrig pass. The ball wound up with Claudio Bieler who found Sonny Saad who had no resistance from Barson or Gehrig and easily put it past an iffy looking Matt Lampson.

2ND HALF
KC would never really relinquish their grip on this game and the Crew just slipped further and further out of it. Tony Tchani, subbed on at half for Ethan Finlay, provided some more energy in the middle but it was still miles away from what the team needed.

In the 54th minute Oriol Rossell would like an absolutely beautiful ball from 40 yards out to CJ Sapong in the 18 yard box. Tyson Wahl seemed powerless against him and Lampson wasn't able to get there on time.

The Crew were three goals to beaten at this point and were just out classed. In fact it took till nearly the 80th minute for the Crew to get an attempt that made it to frame.

GAME OVER, THOUGHTS
Abysmal. That's the only way to explain the Crew on the road since the shockingly poor June 6th 3-0 loss in Philly.

The last four, in particular, have been horror shows.

2:1 at Toronto
3:1 at Houston
4:0 at Salt Lake
3:0 at Kansas City

Playing inexperienced players is the quickest way to get run over on the road. Chad Barson, Matt Lampson, Wil Trapp, Ethan Finlay, Ryan Finley would be done better by if they were able to be worked into a more experienced lineup. As it stands though, they are basically college players still.

With that, the experience they are gaining may be the most valuable takeaway for them right now. Whether or not it is for the best is not known. Fans will have to pocket this away and revisit in the coming years.

On top of young players you have the absence of Federico Higuain, the Crew's insistence in playing Dominic Oduro in the midfield, and keeping Jairo Arrieta guessing as to his role this year.

With the situation the Crew find themselves in it's difficult to know which way is up. With six games left in what will likely be seen as a transitional season - one thing is for certain; the stong will be separated from the weak.

Crew Rd 27, A Refreshening

The Columbus Crew play out a fun and open game to victory over the Houston Dynamo.

1ST HALF
Columbus came out in a somewhat different looking lineup. New interim head coach Brian Bliss stated in the press that he wanted some new faces and he made good on it, somewhat.

Eric Gehrig and Ethan Finlay were two of the surprises getting the nod. Other notables include Ryan Finley getting a start over Jairo Arrieta and Tyson Wahl making a reappearance after not playing for a couple months.

The changes early on almost looked to backfire as Houston's Will Bruin was able to easily work past Gehrig on at least three occasions (two of which should have been a goal).

Eventually the game sort of settled into an evenly matched pinball type MLS game rhythm, but not ugly by any means.

2ND HALF
Columbus jumped all over a questionable Houston back line early when Justin Meram found Ryan Finley right in front of goal.

Tony Tchani, who was subbed on in the first half due to a Wil Trapp injury, provided the nice play (huge shoulder barge on Adam Moffat, sending him to ground) setting up that goal. Tchani would go on to play a nice half.

Minutes later Dominic Oduro would be dragged down in the box. Ryan Finley would step up and miss the penalty but it mattered little as Houston seemed to drift further away from getting anything from this game.

For the first time for as long as many can remember, the Crew felt like the Crew and were at full steam.

The Crew would go on to play probably the most balanced I've seen them for the next 20 minutes. There efforts were satisfyingly rewarded in the 74th with Ethan Finlay worked the ball over to Oduro who picked out Ryan Finley at the top of the box. He would go on to whiff but it fell to Meram who did what Meram does and did it beautifully.

2:0 Crew.

The final 15 saw Bliss and his crew settle in and keep a defeated Dynamo out of goal.

FINAL THOUGHTS
This was a refreshing game for me personally. I've been watching and writing closely about them since late 2010. There were few times in 2011 that the Crew felt like the "Crew" I knew. Or at least the Crew image I had in my minds eye.

After a long dry spell from late 2011 there were very few of these 'Crew' moments for me but, goddamn... last night felt Crew.

Missing the star player and a couple defensive cornerstones... players like Eric Gehrig (perennial hard worker, reserve), Ethan Finlay (fan fav last year, went to doghouse, great preseason but no minutes), Tyson Wahl (veteran, journeyman), Tony Tchani (Gen Adidas player, yet to find stride and window closing) were in there, making soccer for me. Not the pretty magic football that people seek out in much better leagues, but the earthy MLS magic that happens so very rarely but I wish happened more.

Brian Bliss is the perfect conduit for this type of soccer. A smart, respected American coach with an intimidating amount of experience. He seemingly did everything right last night. From lineup, to subs (classy move to put Konrad Warzycha on late), to urging team to thank fans, to mentioning Chad Marshall as a USMNT player. He hit all the marks and did it like it was natural to him.

Is what happened last night a model for sustainable success? No. Of course not. Only the most delusional would think that a team as inexperienced and as young as that could win out over a long season... but, within last night's events, that is where the important parts to success breathe.

With the US Men's game against Mexico coming up, history will probably not remember too much about this game but I really hope Crew fans soaked up what happened last night. It hasn't happened often over recent years.

Crew Rd 23, Win at Home

Federico Higuain puts on a great show as the Columbus Crew take down a NY Red Bulls team who were missing a couple of their brightest stars and head coach.

1ST HALF
With only one defensive mid in Wil Trapp and Bernardo Anor playing in the central attacking mid role the Columbus Crew opened up play in a way normally only seen in team reserve matches this year.

It might have been a little wasteful and no goals were scored but the Crew kept NY on their back foot most of the first half.

2ND HALF
Started out looking much like the first. It was clear that the absence of head coach Mike Petke meant the Red Bulls were going to keep it simple and defensive minded.

That changed in the 62nd minute with Jamison Olave committed a foul in the box on a restart. Federico Higuain stepped up and converted, putting the Crew up 1:0.

The game got a little more interesting from there as NY started venturing forward more. Unfortunately for them Peguy Luyindula and Ibrahim Sekagya (new signing) are no Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill.

Later, in the 76th minute, a bit of magic from Higuain as he chipped / dropped an amazingly skillful shot over the head of the NY goalkeeper.

The game sort of died from there.

------------------------------
GAME OVER, THOUGHTS
• Higuain has been trying to hit a goal like his second one all season. He finally got it. Surprisingly, only his 2nd goal outside of penalties this year.

• NY was crippled without Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, Kosuke Kimura, Lloyd Sam or coach Mike Petke in this game. All are listed as injured but really only Kimura was legit for this game. Were Columbus in NY; Henry, Cahill and Sam would have played.

• Columbus has developed somewhat of a reputation with star players. They don't make the trip. It's a unique issue that new owner Anthony Precourt will have to work out.

• The extra midfielder freed up Higuain like most team watchers expected. Bernardo Anor had a great game in the CAM role. He was giving new Red Bull Sekagya fits. Last night was one of Higuain's best games in a Crew uniform and a lot of that had to do with Anor in the middle (and Arrieta up top).

• NY's bench was very thin last night. Their subs; Akpan, Bover, Obekop have a combined 305 league minutes after last night.

• Wil Trapp had a splendid game. Not sure how else to describe it but I think splendid covers it. It's one of those performances that are fun to watch but get even better the next day when mulling over stats. 66 total passes and only four off the mark (94%). He plays within himself and all four of his misplaced passes were going forward but that one he connected on to Higuain for his goal worked.

• Crew are not making the playoffs so watching Trapp for this rest of this year will be one of the things to look forward too. Where does this leave Sanchez? Not sure. It could very well be that just the face the Crew were playing with one DM is what freed Trapp up and that Sanchez would have done just as well.

• Last night was the first game Precourt attended as owner of the Crew. He did a halftime interview on the Fox Sports broadcast where he looked like he was having fun as the owner of a pro sports team.

Crew Rd 22, Lose and Open Space

Houston put away a Columbus team in limbo 3:1 last night.

1ST HALF
Both teams came off the first whistle pretty sharp despite the reportedly oppressive 90+ degree heat. Setting aside the unfortunate foul in the box that Chad Marshall committed the first 25 minutes of this game saw the Crew playing just about as well as they can.

In that first 25 the Crew possessed well (which was opposite of what I expected) and ripped off four shots, two on target.

From there, though, some of the Crew players slowed and Federico Higuain started to show some early frustration. Moving on past the 25th, Houston started to gain supreme control of the match and were full of confidence.

Crew players just couldn't get to the ball as if in quicksand. In fact, the 2nd Houston goal was directly because of this. Boniek Garcia who basically toyed with Agustin Viana all night, dispossessed him and started a break on a slow Danny O'Rourke and slower Chad Marshall. It finished with Will Bruin, fresh off international duty, cutting across O'Rourke and finishing it nicely.

This was the 32nd minute when it happened and it appeared that some of the Crew players shut down part of their operations.

2ND HALF
In attempt to get a shot of energy, Robert Warzycha subbed in a couple. One was Kevan George for Matias Sanchez and the other was draft pick Ryan Finley for Jairo Arrieta (unclear if Arrieta was injured).

While fresh is good, the double change predictably made the game a sloppy affair. In fact both team seemed to try and figure out what Warzycha did. This shows in general activity off the half time restart.

Both sides were ripping off about 5 passes per minute but in the restart after half the Crew dropped to 4 and the Dynamo 6. Sloppy possession for the Crew during this interval.

You could start to feel that the Dynamo would get another but before that happened Ryan Finley started to apply some real pressure to Houston defenders in the box. He got the ball in there a few times and tried to walk it in the goal. On one such time a Dynamo defender kicked it directly into his own net and the Crew pulled one back in the 75th minute.

Crew looked hungry for more but just didn't have the energy. Late in the match around the 85th minute Houston's Cam Weaver put it away from the top of the box and sealed it.

----------
GAME OVER, THINKINGS

• The Crew didn't actually look as horrible as they did in previous handful of weeks. They had good spells of possession and really great opportunities. Houston certainly looked a better side but the Crew played alright on the 2013 Crew scale.

• Federico Higuain's frustrations. He needs to control them, especially now with an ownership change. Of course he is pissed and mad but to show it as much as he did last night (and frankly, over the past half year) is not acceptable for a leader. This is something that the team should have addressed ten games ago. But they didn't because the are conflict averse and now they have a massive issue on their hands.

• Fan reaction to the players last night on social media or even some of the media has me frustrated, even upset. They go from pointing fingers at coaches and the front office to blaming players in an instant. An important thing for some of these people out there to remember is the passing of Kirk Urso was one year ago this weekend.

I guess the soulless race to occupy the free space under Anthony Precourt's desk is officially on. For all those participating; let me know how that turns out.

• Finley's efforts inside the 18 yard box in the second half were oddly refreshing. He was taking too many touches all over the place but, well... two things about that (while I'm on lists):

1. It eventually lead to a Dynamo own goal.
2. Players can 'dribble' big 'keepers in MLS

You really don't see players trying to dribble the GK in MLS. It takes a ton of confidence and bad college habits (perhaps) but a lot of the keepers in MLS are big and slow and are mistake prone. Banging shots from 20 yds will not work (the Crew have proved that). Anyhow. Of course Finley took too many extra dribbles but I liked the activity.

• Oduro was pretty invisible most of the night, especially in the 2nd half. Would have liked to see him come charging off the bench in this one, especially with fresh legs in this heat. Would have been stealin' candy from a baby.

• Overall, Dynamo are a better team and the Crew are operating under a lot of distractions. Tough match.

Crew Rd 21. Another 0 pts

Last night's embarrassing loss is not one Crew fans will soon forget.

1ST HALF
This game started off as most Crew games have this year. Jumpy and sloppy with very little possession by either side. One could say that the away side had the better of it but it really depends on your definition of better.

Around the 17th minute there was a long ball from Matias Sanchez to Dominic Oduro that momentary broke up the dull play. Oduro gathered and ripped one near post from a difficult angle. Toronto GK Joe Bendik was completely taken off guard and it slipped in near post.

After that, play resumed. Jumpy. Sloppy.

2ND HALF
Toronto is a bad team. Columbus is playing bad soccer. Both of these things were on full display to start the second half. Nobody in the Crew midfield seemed to want to be there.

As time went on in the second half Toronto got closer and closer till finally things broke down in the 87th when Jonathan Osorio left footed shot found goal with assist from Jeremy Brockie to tie it up.

Moments later, and somewhat fittingly, the heavens seemed to fall as rain became extremely heavy.

Toronto FC inevitably found another goal in extra time. Again, from the right side. This time Andrew Wiedeman left footed goal from a Bobby Convey cross.

GAME OVER, FINAL THOUGHTS
The Crew haven't played good soccer for a long time. Some might argue it has been years since they have. Wins have come here and there but it never seems to be dominating nor pretty.

To a general fan of soccer there is no reason to watch a Crew match. For non-fans thinking objectively, they are boring negative affairs. The Fox Sports Ohio presentation only makes these things worse. It's almost like it is by design. Play ugly "zombie" (Bryan Gattozzi's excellent use of the word) soccer and have two misguided cheerleaders calling the game on TV putting off all but the most ardent of supporters.

Anyone who has watches a few games outside of the Crew each week will tell you; the team plays miserable looking soccer. They aren't getting results and it is painful to watch.

It's even difficult to to do a write up on what the hell happened - it's that poor.

How's this; the sub in the 79th minute that took Agustin Viana out and brought Chad Barson on shouldn't have happened. All I got.

Crew Rd 20: Body Blow

Body blow. Gut punch. Liver shot. In boxing there can be punches to the gut so devastating that they short circuit everything in a fighter.

1ST HALF
Columbus liked the look of the team that beat a 10 man Portland a couple weeks ago and stuck with it, only with the slight wrinkle that allowed a few players to exchange positions freely. Calling it "free flowing" would be a bit of a stretch but not entirely off the mark.

While not pretty, the philosophy saw Bernardo Anor, Konrad Warzycha, Federico Higuain and Dominic Oduro all over the field (oftentimes, in the same area).

It was a nice change of pace to see more activity in the Crew midfield but New England's strong defense (tied in league with best GA average) didn't have much problem with it.

Opta tracked 10 shots for the Crew in the first half. 7 of them were blocked and the other three were off target (Anor would eventually be the only player to place a ball on target all night).

2ND HALF
More of the same from both sides to start the half. In some regards the game deteriorated towards the middle of the half, almost as if players were unsure of their respective coaches desires to go for the Win or to settle for the Draw.

When New England brought in Lee Nguyen with 30 minutes left then Diego Fagundez for the remaining 20 minutes that changed. The Revs were hunting a win while Robert Warzycha wasn't making it clear to his players what he wanted.

And a win the Revs got with two goals in extra time. Nguyen assisting on both.

FINAL THOUGHTS, GAME OVER

Crew looked like a team test driving a new formation/philosophy with a new group of players. It is difficult to get down on this type of change, considering table position at this point in the season. You have to change. The other philosophy was not working.

That leaves the Crew in a tough spot, though. Are they still pushing for the playoffs or implementing something new for the long term? There are signs that point to both but also signs that there is just more indecision. Throwing things against the wall to see what sticks.

On performance side, Ben Speas (in sub role) played probably his best game yet. A lot of his technical abilities were on display as well as incredible effort. In one sequence he flung himself over the ad boards, another time slamming into them on the sideline.

So, what's this get him from the coaching staff?

"Perfect chance when [Dominic] Oduro passes the ball along the goal-line, if Ben [Speas] was in front of the defender like he was supposed to be, then he probably scores a goal. So that's what we need from the guys: read it, feel it, and then be in the places they are supposed to be." - Robert Warzycha, postgame.

I get what he is trying to say but this highlights exactly why so many players speak out in frustration with this team (Cole Grossman, Will Hesmer, Rich Balchan, Aaron Horton, Dilly Duka, the preseason Grant Wahl player survey... to name a few).

Oduro didn't have a particularly good game. Nobody did (including his the Head Coach's son, who was probably the weakest link last night). Seeking out a young player (on a team of young players) as a target for frustration like that is petty, childish and inexcusable.

This team has taking a lot of punches to their core all year. Poor results, questionable management decisions early on, injuries, handing out white flags to fans with a stolen slogan modified to fit a beer sponsors name...

Of course the season marches on but last night's result was a short circuiting liver shot to the season.

Crew Rd 19, Win Over Broken Timbers

The Columbus Crew beat a shorthanded Portland Timbers 1:0 off and early headed goal from Bernardo Anor, his second in as many games.

1ST HALF
The game started with a giant wall of activity. The Crew came out in their normal high energy way looking for an early goal. This time was a little different, however. Here is the Crew lineup:

Matt Lampson
Josh Williams, Chad Marshall, Danny O'Rourke, Chad Barson
Konrad Warzycha, Will Trapp
Dominic Oduro, Federico Higuaín, Bernardo Anor
Aaron Schoenfeld

This amounts to a feel-good lineup with lots of young local stars and they were up to the task early. Mixing it up and earning an early corner. Federico Higuain, for the 2nd week in a row, linked up with an unmarked Bernardo Anor for a headed goal. This put the Crew up 1:0 in the 7th minute.

Short time later Portland defender Pa-Modou Kah received his first yellow for a bad foul. Right after that, another card for a high kick to the face of Aaron Schoenfeld in the box. It was a nightmare start for Kah who was sent off.

Higuian would step up to take the penalty but he missed wide. Shortly after Timbers head coach Caleb Porter subbed in an extra defender in Mamadou Danso ("Futty") to hold off the Crew attack on his ten men side.

The Futty sub calmed the Timbers and settled the game. In fact, Portland controlled much of the match from there.

2ND HALF
The 2nd half resembled the 1st in a lot of ways. Good amount of possession from Portland (who out possessed the Crew 56 to 44% down a man for 80 minutes) forced the Crew into an odd roll of working counters, breaks and through balls as if they were a man down.

The half wore on and a strong back line and with an impressive looking Trapp were enough to hold off the Timbers.

FINAL THOUGHTS
• Columbus ends an uncharacteristic three game losing streak.

• Portland was missing three of their best players and did well holding off the Crew a man down for virtually the whole match.

• Crew coach Robert Warzycha had an unusual quote after the match "I don't think I was disappointed... usually difficult to play a man up."

• Good first outing for 'Young' Wil Trapp.

• Columbus needs another option in attack other than just springing Dominic Oduro if they want more goals.

• Tough to pull too much from this game because of the early red card. Crew might have done better against a 10 man team, but I'm sure they will be satisfied with 3 pts.

• It was enjoyable to see Porter work in under these circumstances. His players held it together and were successful in playing decent possession, but the finishing skill was missing. Felt Michael Harrington (coming off injury) and Ben Zemanski didn't have their best games.

Crew Rd 15: A Needed 3 pts

Last night's 2:0 Crew win over league leading Montreal is the first time Federico Higuain has played in a match where the team beat a club ranked above 9th on the league table (1 Win, 5 Draw, 4 Loss. 8 points from a possible 30).

1ST HALF
With a 'new / old look' lineup of Chad Marshall and Josh Williams anchoring at the center back spots, Columbus came out of the locker room with loads of energy and seemed to catch a slumbering Montreal side by surprise. Right off the bat, in the 6th minute, a venturing forward Matias Sanchez took a shot from the top of the box that took a deflection and went in. Things could not of gotten off to a better start.

Just about 15 minutes later Dominic Oduro stripped a lazily playing Collen Warner 25 yards from goal and took it in for an easy finish.

From there, Montreal still didn't seem to be able to muster up much energy and seemingly just wanted halftime to arrive.

2ND HALF
Columbus came out looking to defend their lead. No more huffing and puffing and chasing the ball around. Just simple defense and possession. In that regard, the Crew did very well. Wave after wave of Impact attack came and the Crew were able to withstand it.

Montreal appeared to be out of ideas by about the 70th minute. Their difficulties were exacerbated by the fact that they were playing without the services of Head Coach Marco Schällibaum, who was suspended for this match.

----------

FINAL THOUGHTS
By the end of the match it became very clear that Columbus wanted this one more that Montreal. Oddly enough, this was the second time these two have met and both times the Impact were without their head coach.

It was really great to see Bernardo Anor out there in the starting lineup again. It has been nearly a year since fans last saw him. Anor was an important cog in the 2011 playoff Crew side. He is an intelligent player, one of smarter and more 'natural footballers' on the team.

Also good to see was Josh Williams playing in a Center Back roll. Chad Marshall also made his return but last year Williams was the one that stood out in that roll, above and beyond everyone else on the team.

This win for the Crew breaks a troubling streak of futility against better teams and keeps them hanging in the playoff picture.

However, when things were all said and done after this one both clubs maintain their current table positions. Montreal 1st and Columbus 14th. The road is still long for the Crew but some strides were made yesterday.

----------
FOLLOW UP
Last game I looked a Justin Meram's heat map and asked the question; What position was he playing. Here is his from last week compared to Bernardo Anor's this week (click to enlarge):

Crew Rd 14: Meltdown

The Philadelphia Union scored in the 25th, 29th and 31st minutes during yesterday's match against the Columbus Crew. The game ended up at 3:0 but that short six minute flurry of goals is only part of the story.



1ST HALF
MLS midweek matches bunched up near the US Open Cup can lead to some flat affairs and this one started out no different. Crew looked like a slightly slower version of their hyperactive previous two games and the Union soaked it up... just like the Crew's opponents in the last two games.

Difference this week was that Philly looked to have prepared well. Letting the Crew run all around until they made a mistake and then pounce on the counter.

25th: It worked for the most part. The first goal was set up by Matias Sanchez as he gave away a horrible pass to Philly's Brian Carroll. From there Carroll ripped off a 40 yard shot that deflected off of Eric Gehrig and in for a goal. Funny note here is that Carroll raised his hand knowingly right after the deflection.

29th: From a Le Toux corner, Carroll was able to flick it on to Williams for a flying sideways kick (technical term) goal. Meram was caught doing God-knows-what. By "God", I mean the one he facetiously mentioned having to pray too for more goals after last week's Houston match.

31st: Glauber and Tyson Wahl lazily played the ball to Le Toux who streaked down the sideline and got a good cross off to Connor Casey dome for the goal.



The final 15 minutes of the half saw a Crew side broken.

2ND HALF : THE MELTDOWN
Lots of Changes for the Crew, particularly in defense. The starting back four of:

LB Wahl : CB Glauber : CB Gehrig : RB Barson

became

LB Barson : CB Glauber : CB George : RB Gehrig

All totaled, three positional changes and a subbed player. Grizzled soccer fans that go back to the old NASL days never even saw some thing like this.

It's immature behavior from the Crew coaching staff. Not only did they overreact, they also managed to embarrass the players and the entire organization.

Needless to say but the Crew just spun their wheels with this bizarre set of changes while Philly sort of played at half speed.

Eventually the game fizzled out.

----------
FINAL THOUGHTS
Warzycha should face severe punishment from the organization for this. I realize this is Major League Soccer but to make changes like that is an absolute lunacy and borders on disrespecting the game itself. I wouldn't even dare do this playing a video game.

These are professional athletes. They were having a bad game. It happens.

Among the backline changes we also were treated to another sub, Ben Speas. Ben had a quiet half with 44 touches 27 passes (6 incomplete). Ben was somewhat curiously pulled for Aaron Schoenfeld. I had seen Ben play in the previous Reserve match, he seemed up to speed.

I believe Ben is being misused and under developed. He is more of a Central Midfielder than wide, where he is now placed, and the Crew can't seem to leave him in for a full 90 minutes.

Here is a summary of his starts with the Crew going back to last year:

Mins Played : Date : Game : Result
45 : 6/5/2013 : CLB @ PHI : L 0-3
65 : 4/20/2013 : CLB @ CHI : L 0-1
72 : 4/14/2013 : CLB @ MTL : T 1-1
85 : 4/6/2013 : PHI @ CLB : T 1-1
88 : 3/23/2013 : CLB @ DC : W 2-1
79 : 3/16/2013 : SJ @ CLB : T 1-1
90 : 3/9/2013 : CLB @ VAN : L 1-2
64 : 10/28/2012 : TOR @ CLB : W 1-2

In only one of those games did he finish a full 90 minutes. This can be frustrating for a player, even when injured.

What position was Justin Meram playing against Philly?

From a result perspective I don't put too much into heat maps. Sometimes players are asked to play all over the pitch. But in the case where you have two central defensive mids, seeing a right mid with a map like this raises an eyebrow and further confirms that he is a attacking player and not a midfielder (nor has he been trained properly).

I like Meram, but it does look like he was playing way out of position. It likely had an effect on Higuain, Speas, Sanchez, and Tchani. I confirmed Meram's more central roll over at ESPN FC as well...



What position is that? Now, here is Federico Higuain's heat map from the same data source. They appear to be playing in the same roll.



I'm probably digging too much into things here. The data before the three goals would be more valuable.

As for after the first of the three, what fans could see is a complete deflation of the squad and it highlights the fact that important leaders are missing in Josh Williams, Chad Marshall, Danny O'Rourke and Eddie Gaven.

Recent results have put the Crew in a tough spot.

Crew Rd 13: Can't Win at Home.

The Columbus Crew can't manage to muster up a goal outside a finished penalty from Federico Higuain. Ends up as a draw at home and with it continue crummy home record in 2013.

1ST HALF
Columbus came out pressuring the Houston Dynamo all over the pitch. In the 18 yd box? Higuain makes a 30 yard sprint on the Dynamo 'keeper that had possession and flicks it to a nearby teammate. Dynamo defenders passing around the back four? Jairo Arrieta chasing the ball like a dog in the park chasing all the balls in the park.

Somewhere around the 30th minute Justin Meram mistimes a tackle on Kofi Sarkodie, Tyson Wahl decides to run in another direction, Matias Sanchez is lost and Tony Tchani comes trotting in his always on 3rd gear. Sarkodie makes a nice cross to an open Warren Creavalle who athletically shoots it into the opposite corner for a goal.

The match settled from that point a little. Crew players calmed down an the match finally too some shape.

2ND HALF
By this point the Dynamo had to make two subs, due in large part to the Crew's hyper active play.

The chances seemed endless for the Crew. In fact, they were. 22 total shots on the evening for them. None of them, save for the penalty that Higuain took, went in.

The game ended 1:1 and the Crew once again go away frustrated with lost points at home.

FINAL THOUGHTS
- 22 shots an no open play goals from the Crew. Only two open play goals at home on the year and already six games in.

- Houston played similarly to recent previous opponents. Columbus is in a weird hyper active type mode of playing. Run, run, run.

- Josh Williams was an odd scratch before the match. Reports have him not starting due to a sore calf. This isn't something very 'Josh Williams' like. We may never really know the real reason for him not starting.

- Columbus is in 6th place in the East (regardless of how you slice it, PPG or just pts). This is where I think they will probably wind up.

- Run, run, run, run.