Highlights and oddities of the week:

– The bottom two teams in the league won, and the two target forwards not in Bob Bradley’s U.S. plans scored goals.

– My Player of the Week vote lurched from Javier Morales (RSL) to Stefan Frei (TFC) and to Danny Mwanga (PHI) before landing with Shalrie Joseph (NE).

– Revolution goal-scorer Zack Schilawski’s name was spelled SHILAWSKI on the back of his jersey.

– MLSSoccer.com did a profile last week on pool goalkeeper Kevin Guppy, who usually trains with the Galaxy but has been with Chivas USA as the backup while Dan Kennedy is injured. Funny timing. Zach Thornton picked up a red card against D.C. United and will be suspended, so unless Kennedy’s ready to go or the Goats pick up another keeper, Guppy is set for a start. He didn’t play against United because all three subs had been used, forcing defender Dario Delgado into the net to face a PK.

– New England already is using a third-string goalkeeper, Bobby Shuttleworth, after a horrific injury to Preston Burpo.

– The Red Bulls, dealing with a rash of injuries, have tumbled from first in the East to almost out of the playoff spots. Going rapidly the other direction: defending champion Real Salt Lake.

– The Galaxy faced their biggest test of the season, traveling to East leader Columbus without Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle. The Crew had their national campers, Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers, back in the lineup. It’s official: No one can beat the Galaxy.

Lineups, notes, etc.

1. Los Angeles Galaxy (29 pts/11 games played)
– Won 2-0 at Columbus. No Buddle, no Donovan, no problem, though the Crew rang the post a couple of times.
– Lineup (4-4-1-1): Donovan Ricketts; A.J. DeLaGarza RB, Gregg Berhalter CB, Omar Gonzalez CB, Todd Dunivant LB; Chris Birchall DM, Sean Franklin RM, Michael Stephens LM, Jovan Kirovski AM; Mike Magee WF, Tristan Bowen F. Franklin, often used at the back, returns from a long-term left ankle injury in midfield, with Juninho out. Broadcast didn’t show positions, so we’re guessing.
– Injuries: Day to day: bruiser Dema Kovalenko (right hamstring strain), striker Alan Gordon (right quad strain), defender Leonardo (right quad strain).
– Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle are otherwise occupied.

2. Columbus Crew (20 / 9 gp)
– Lost 0-2 vs. Los Angeles, a little unlucky at times.
– Lineup (4-4-2): Will Hesmer; Jed Zayner RB, Andy Iro CB, Chad Marshall CB, Gino Padula LB; Brian Carroll DM, Eddie Gaven RM, Robbie Rogers LM, Adam Moffat AM; Guillermo Barros Schelotto WF, Steven Lenhart F. Marshall and Rogers return from U.S. camp, displacing Eric Brunner and Emmanuel Ekpo. The Padula-Danny O’Rourke left back shuffle continues.
– Injuries: O’Rourke has a right quad strain.

3. Real Salt Lake (19 / 10 gp)
– Won 4-1 vs. Kansas City
– Lineup (4-4-2): Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran RB, Jamison Olave CB, Nat Borchers CB, Chris Wingert LB; Jean Alexandre DM, Andy Williams RM, Will Johnson LM, Javier Morales AM; Alvaro Saborio F, Fabian Espindola F. Beltran replaces Robbie Russell, who came on as a sub. Alexandre fills in for Kyle Beckerman, a big test for the second-year player. Johnson for Ned Grabavoy. Espindola for Pablo Campos.
– Injuries: Beckerman (left foot strain).
– World Cup: Robbie Findley made the U.S. team and played well against Turkey.

4. San Jose Earthquakes (19 / 9 gp)
– Lost 1-3 vs. Toronto
– Lineup (4-4-2): Joe Cannon; Chris Leitch RB, Bobby Burling CB, Jason Hernandez CB, Ramiro Corrales LB; Joey Gjertsen RM, Brad Ring CM, Andre Luiz CM, Bobby Convey LM; Ryan Johnson F, Chris Wondolowski F. Ring for the injured Andre Luiz.
– Injuries: Andre Luiz, Ike Opara (right hamstring strain), Steve Beitashour (right hamstring strain), Arturo Alvarez (left hamstring strain), Joey Gjertsen (left quad strain).

5. Houston Dynamo (16 / 10 gp)
– Lost 2-3 vs. Philadelphia in the weekend shocker.
– Lineup (4-4-2): Pat Onstad; Richard Mulrooney RB; Bobby Boswell CB, Eddie Robinson CB, Mike Chabala LB; Lovel Palmer DM, Danny Cruz RM, Brian Mullan LM, Brad Davis AM; Luis Angel Landin F, Dominic Oduro F. No change. Brian Ching, left off the World Cup roster, appeared as a sub.
– Injuries: The big loss is Geoff Cameron (right knee), who had moved into central midfield.

6. Colorado Rapids (16 / 9 gp)
– Won 1-0 vs. Seattle on a nice shove-and-score by Conor Casey.
– Last lineup (4-5-1, though graphic calls it 4-3-3): Matt Pickens; Marvell Wynne RB, Drew Moor CB, Julien Baudet CB, Danny Earls LB; Pablo Mastroeni DM, Jeff Larentowicz DM, Mehdi Ballouchy CM, Wells Thompson LM, Omar Cummings RM; Conor Casey F. No change.
– Injuries: Defender Kosuke Kimura (left ankle stress fracture) could be out a while. Winger Jamie Smith (right hamstring strain) is day to day, as is defender Scott Palguta (left calf strain).

7. Toronto FC (16 / 10 gp)
– Won 3-1 at San Jose. Stefan Frei with some saves and an unofficial assist. De Ro off the bench with two goals, including a literal empty-netter as Joe Cannon was caught upfield seeking the equalizer. The three passes to set up the three goals came from Toronto’s half of the field.
– Lineup (4-4-2): Stefan Frei; Dan Gargan RB, Adrian Cann CB, Nana Attakora CB, Nick Garcia LB; Jacob Peterson RM, Amadou Sanyang CM, Martin Saric CM, Nick LaBrocca LM; O’Brian White F, Chad Barrett F. Attakora in for Raivis Hscanovics, LaBrocca for Sam Cronin, White for Fuad Ibrahim.
– Injuries: Julian de Guzman (left hamstring strain), Ty Harden (right leg laceration), Emmanuel Gomez (knee).

8. New York Red Bulls (15 / 10 gp)
– Lost 2-3 at New England
– Lineup (4-4-2): Bouna Coundoul; Carlos Mendes RB, Mike Petke CB, Tim Ream CB, Danleigh Borman LB; Sinisa Ubiparipovic RM, Joel Lindpere CM, Seth Stammler CM, Roy Miller LM; Juan Pablo Angel F, Dane Richards F. With Lindpere’s return, Sinisa goes right, displacing Jeremy Hall. Straight switch at back: Mendes for Chris Albright.
– Injuries: attacker Mac Kandji (right foot metatarsal break), defender Kevin Goldthwaite (right adductor surgery), Giorgi Chirgadze (hip surgery), central midfielder Carl Robinson (right knee swelling), Brian Nielson (right knee pain), forward Salou Ibrahim (right hamstring strain).
– The Red Bulls don’t have any U.S. players, but reserve defender Andrew Boyens will play for New Zealand.

9. FC Dallas (12 / 10 gp)
– Drew 1-1 at Chicago
– Lineup (4-5-1): Kevin Hartman; Zach Loyd RB, George John CB, Ugo Ihemelu CB, Jair Benitez LB; Atiba Harris RM, Daniel Hernandez CM; Brek Shea LM; Dax McCarty AM, David Ferreira AM, Jeff Cunningham F. No changes; U.S. camper Heath Pearce not yet back in starting XI.

10. Seattle Sounders (12 / 11 gp)
– Lost 0-1 at Colorado. If it weren’t for bad luck, they’d have no luck at all. (Unfortunately, they also have no offense at all.)
– Lineup (4-3-3): Kasey Keller; James Riley RB, Tyrone Marshall CB, Jeff Parke CB, Leo Gonzalez LB; Patrick Ianni RM, Freddie Ljungberg CM, Brad Evans LM; Pat Noonan RF, Steve Zakuani LF, Fredy Montero F. Recently acquired Parke in for recently injured Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Evans in for Ianni, who switches sides and bumps Nathan Sturgis. Noonan for Sanna Nyassi.
– Injuries: Osvaldo Alonso (right quad strain), Michael Fucito (right knee contusion), Nate Jaqua (lower abdominal tear), Pete Vagenas (right quad strain), Brad Evans (left knee contusion), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (torn left ACL).

11. New England Revolution (11 / 11 gp)
– Won 3-2 vs. New York. The bad news was a horrific injury to goalkeeper Preston Burpo. Matt Reis hasn’t returned, so third-stringer Bobby Shuttleworth was pressed into action and made a couple of good saves.
– Lineup (4-4-2): Preston Burpo; Kevin Alston RB, Joseph Niouky CB, Pat Phelan CB, Seth Sinovic LB; Chris Tierney DM, Shalrie Joseph DM, Sainey Nyassi RM, Marko Perovic LM; Kheli Dube F, Zack Schilawski F. Niouky moves back for injured Cory Gibbs, Tierney moves up from LB for Niouky and Sinovic takes vacant spot. In the switch from 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2, Schilawski returns to lineup, Perovic goes left and Zak Boggs goes to bench.
– Injuries: Edgaras Jankauskas (hamstring), Darrius Barnes (right foot sprain), Michael Videira (ankle), Emmanuel Osei (right leg laceration), Matt Reis (shoulder, knee surgeries), Taylor Twellman (concussion). Gibbs (hamstring) was a late scratch.

12. Chicago Fire (10 / 9 gp)
– Drew 1-1 vs. Dallas
– Lineup (4-4-2): Andrew Dykstra; Dasan Robinson RB, C.J. Brown CB, Wilman Conde CB, Krzysztof Krol LB; Justin Mapp RM, Logan Pause CM, Baggio Husidic CM, Mike Banner LM; Patrick Nyarko F, Brian McBride F. They go 4-4-2, and they still won’t play former Fulham teammates McBride and Collins John together? McBride replaces John, Banner replaces Julio Martinez on the left, Nyarko moves up from RM, Mapp takes the RM spot and AM Marco Pappa is the odd man out.
– Injuries: Likely midfield starter John Thorrington (quad strain), starting right back Tim Ward (left calf strain), backup forward Calen Carr (quad strain).

13. Chivas USA (10 / 11 gp)
– Lost 2-3 at D.C. United on some horrid defensive lapses. The first goal saw a defender on the other side of the field keeping Andy Najar onside, the second was a near own goal, the third gave the ref a couple of fouls to choose from for a PK.
– Lineup (4-4-1-1): Zach Thornton; Marcelo Saragosa RB, Dario Delgado CB, Michael Umana CB, Mariano Trujillo LB; Michael Lahoud RM, Blair Gavin CM, Ben Zemanski CM, Jesus Padilla LM, Sacha Kljestan AM; Maicon Santos F. Braun for Maicon Santos. With Kljestan back, Saragosa moves from midfield to RB and Carlos Borja sits.
– Injuries: Maykel Galindo (left ankle sprain) returned to action and scored a wonderful goal. Ante Jazic (knee strain) could earn a spot at the back whenever he returns. Can goalkeeper Dan Kennedy (left hip strain) return to fill in for suspended Thornton next week?
– Bornstein stayed on the U.S. roster; Kljestan did not.

14. Kansas City Wizards (8 / 9 gp)
– Lost 1-4 at Salt Lake
– Lineup (4-3-3): Jimmy Nielsen; Jonathan Leathers RB, Matt Besler CB, Jimmy Conrad CB, Michael Harrington LB; Jack Jewsbury R/CM, Davy Arnaud L/CM, Josh Wolff AM; Teal Bunbury RF, Ryan Smith LF, Kei Kamara CF. Besler for Pablo Escobar. Wolff’s return bumps Graham Zusi.
– Injury: Zoltan Hercegfalvi (knee sprain) for a while; Stephane Auvray (right knee strain) day to day.
– Forward Roger Espinoza is playing for Honduras. Conrad and Wolff have both featured in the World Cup for the U.S. team but didn’t get the call this time.

15. Philadelphia Union (7 / 8 gp)
– Won 3-2 at Houston.
– Lineup (4-4-2): Chris Seitz; Cristian Arrieta RB, Michael Orozco CB, Danny Califf CB, Jordan Harvey LB; Stefani Miglioranzi DM, Shea Salinas RM, Fred LM, Kyle Nakazawa AM; Sebastien Le Toux F, Alejandro Moreno F.
– Injuries: Toni Stahl (left knee strain)

16. D.C. United (6 / 10 gp)
– Won 3-2 vs. Chivas USA
– Lineup (4-4-1-1): Bill Hamid; Jordan Graye RB, Carey Talley CB, Juan Manuel Pena CB, Rodney Wallace LB; Andy Najar RM, Stephen King CM, Clyde Simms CM, Chris Pontius LM, Santino Quaranta AM; Danny Allsopp F. Hamid returns from injury, displacing Troy Perkins. The rest of the changes: King for Kurt Morsink, Najar for Adam Cristman, Pontius for Christian Castillo, Quaranta for Jaime Moreno.
– Injuries: Hamid, Pontius, Quaranta and Najar are back. Luciano Emilio has more time to work his way back into the team. Still out and forcing some patchwork fixes at the back: Dejan Jakovic (right clavicle), Marc Burch (foot surgery), Bryan Namoff (post-concussion syndrome).