Welcome to Monday morning (or afternoon for those on Euro time...). Reactions to the USA's demolition of Barbados are after the jump (or on your front page) and as always, a wrap up of the full day in Euro 2008 action goes up about 30 minutes or so after close of play.
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Considering how many players were away on World Cup qualifying duty it wasn't a bad weekend for MLS.

Hat tricks for Luciano Emilio and Edson Buddle, a couple of very good goals from Rohan Ricketts and a strong game from Kenny Cooper up front as FC Dallas got an important win over the Chicago Fire. Matt Reis’ midweek performance, including a saved penalty, helped lead the Revs once again.

Proof some MLS teams can survive the rigors of losing key players? Maybe not.

The flip side of the Toronto FC win was a poor performance by undermanned Colorado. The Red Bull New York situation continues to spiral downhill without Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna on the field. And even Chicago, which has looked so solid this year, never seemed to get going in the heat of Dallas on Sunday.

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As for those WCQ games, the biggest result came from Bermuda which upset Trinidad & Tobago 2-1 in their first leg match. There's absolutely no guarantee that the Bermudans can hold that lead in the return leg this week, but you can imagine how the Soca Warriors will be feeling the pressure when that kicks off. They became national heroes by reaching Germany 2006 ... an exit at this stage of the 2010 qualifying process would be a mighty blow.

Jamaica, however, discovered its former coach, Professor Rene Simoes, and also may have re-discovered how to qualify. There aren't that many new faces in Simoes' lineup and the Bahamas aren't exactly the toughest of opponents, but the Reggae Boyz look more like the 1998 team than the last two editions which failed to get to the finals.

The current resident genius may be Chile's Marcelo Bielsa, however. He doesn't have a ton of talent to choose from but the former boss of Argentina known for doing things his own way produced perhaps the best victory of the weekend when Chile defeated Bolivia, 2-0 in La Paz. No, Bolivia isn't much -- bottom of the South American group and all but dead in the water already -- but winning at La Paz, where no one wants to play 3,577 meters above sea level is an accomplishment.
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Had a chance to catch up with FC Dallas veteran Bobby Rhine last weekend when the club passed through Foxboro and was delighted to hear that the former UConn player intends to stay in soccer management when his playing days end.

Rhine told me that he already had talked with the club about a front office career and was outspoken lauding the direction both the team and MLS are taking toward youth development and growing their product.

Rhine's career path is exactly what MLS and US Soccer needs to encourage. If there is a crucial shortage in the game -- OK, I know about needing more American players and better referees -- it may be that we have not been able to develop our own set of administrators and coaches from within the pro game.

There hasn't been much time and it is good to see former players like Jeff Agoos and Garth Lagerwey in decision-making roles. MLS, especially, could do more to encourage players like Rhine to make the transition from the field to the front office.

A few years ago I advocated creating a roster spot for a veteran "player/coach/administrative intern" who could continue to train, be available for a limited number of games and not count against the team's salary cap or roster number.

The benefit should be obvious. A player like Rhine might indeed play another season, perhaps 10-12 games, but would be able to concentrate on learning the other side of the business. FC Dallas would benefit from a veteran's presence in the locker room and have a capable replacement available should national team calls or injury create roster problems. And the player would get invaluable experience in a different role, even have the time to discover exactly what part he can play in the game's future.

There is one person Rhine already knows he’d like to see involved in MLS: His former coach, UConn’s Ray Reid. “I didn’t have any problem coming into MLS [as a rookie] because I’d already been in a professional atmosphere,” notes Rhine. “I want the Huskies to win another national title.  I then would like to see coach move into the professional game.”