Houston, D.C. bring back normalcy

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After one practice with his new club, Cam Weaver notched Houston's game-winning assist against Chivas USA last week. Then, three days later, he scored a pair on FC Dallas in a 3-1 victory. "We played against Cam a couple of times this season, and he gave us some problems," Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden told Free Kicks, clearly glad to have Weaver on his side. Houston has won eight out of its past nine matches and is tied for first place in the Western Conference with Chivas. "We started out a little slow, and we were playing OK, but not good enough to win games," Holden said. "Once we got a little bit of confidence, we got on a roll." With Weaver coming aboard, the roll should continue.

After surprising starts by Seattle and Chivas USA, life in MLS is returning to normal. Perennial powers D.C. United and Houston lead the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively, with Chicago and surging Columbus waiting in the wings just below United. To be fair, Chivas remains tied with Houston -- although the L.A. club has played two more matches -- and expansion Seattle is third, but both have stumbled in recent weeks and need to regain their form. For now, though, the traditionally strong clubs are making midseason runs.

Four teams -- Chivas USA, Chicago, Kansas City and New England -- will take a two-week break to compete in the 2009 SuperLiga, leaving 11 MLS squads to fill out the schedule. The week kicks off with a bang Wednesday as D.C. travels to Seattle, where the Sounders are 4-1-2. Just three days later, the Sounders visit struggling New York while United travels to Colorado. Filling out the docket are matches between Columbus and FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake and Houston, and Los Angeles and San Jose.