MLS handed Houston’s Ricardo Clark a nine-game suspension for his outrageous outburst against Carlos Ruiz of FC Dallas, in which the Dynamo midfielder firmly kicked Ruiz following a mid-air challenge. The nine-game suspension will keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.
Good thing the Dynamo has a deep central midfield, says Glenn Davis of the Houston Chronicle. The versatile veteran Richard Mulrooney makes a great central midfield understudy, Davis says, as he’s proved all year long when either Clark or Craig Waibel hasn’t been available. Davis says the veteran midfielder has proved to be a particularly savvy acquisition: “Imagine if the Clark incident had occurred without Mulrooney’s being available…no other [Houston player] could slide so easily into the task of replacing Clark.”
Mulrooney, who began the 2007 season at Toronto FC, this weekend will be faced with the task of containing L.A. Galaxy star Landon Donovan, who pays a visit to Robertson Stadium this weekend. “It’s a challenge,” he said of marking Donovan. “I can’t match his speed, so I have to keep him in front of me.” To be sure, it’s a far more important game for L.A. — still clinging to remote playoff hopes — than it is for Houston, which has already qualified and sits on top of the MLS standings in the West. The match will also be a Beckham-boosted sellout, even though the Galaxy star won’t be taking part.