In our weekly peek around the league: DC United clears more shelf space for league honors, the Dynamo fret over a Ricardo Clark suspension and Columbus joins the shirt sponsor club.

Week 27

Eddie Johnson is bling-tastic. When his Kansas City Wizards traveled to Los Angeles recently to face off against Chivas USA, EJ found time to stop by a local jeweler, dropping a cool $85,000 on a brand-new watch, necklace and a jewel-encrusted mouthpiece.

In a league where a large chunk of players make $30,000 or less – and the minimum salary is $12,900 - its refreshing to know that at least some of them can afford to live like a real American athlete. For the record, Johnson is set to make $875,000 in 2007, the sixth-highest salary in the league, leaving him plenty of money to ponder future purchases.

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A pair of DC United players have been given accolades by the league for their recent form in helping the club go unbeaten over their last 11 league matches to regain the best overall record in MLS.

Brazilian midfielder Fred has been named Player of the Week for Week 26 on the strength of his goal and assist in United's 4-1 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday. The seventh DC player honored this year, Fred has tallied seven goals and seven assists in his first season in the league, second-best on his club in each category.

Teammate Luciano Emilio has picked up Player of the Month honors for September, scoring six goals in the month to boost United to a 4-0-2 record. Leading the league with 20 goals this season. Emilio is just three away from tying the club record, set by Raul Diaz Arce in 1996. He has thrice been named Player of the Week.

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The Columbus Crew are set to join the ranks of MLS teams with a shirt sponsorship deal. According to the club's website - TheCrew.com - the new jersey sponsor will be unveiled during a press conference at 2 pm ET on Thursday. When the deal is finalized, Columbus will become the seventh team in the league to reach such a deal, following in the footsteps of Real Salt Lake, the New York Red Bulls, the Houston Dynamo, Chivas USA, Toronto FC and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

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Two Toronto FC players have been called up to their respective national teams for upcoming matches.

Midfielder Carl Robinson, who has two goals and leads TFC with three assists, will suit up for Wales for the 42nd and 43rd times in his career as the Welsh team takes on Cyprus on October 13th and San Marino on October 17th in Euro 2008 qualifying.

Defender Andrew Boyens, with one goal and one assist in 21 games this season, will dress for New Zealand as they take on Fiji in World Cup qualifying, also on October 13th and 17th.

Both players should be back for Toronto FC's final game of their inaugural season in Major League Soccer on October 20th, a home tilt against the New England Revolution.

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New York Red Bulls forward and MLS MVP/Newcomer of the Year candidate Juan Pablo Angel may be nearing a recall to the Colombia national team. Manager Jorge Luis Pinto recently told reporters that Angel's debut season in MLS has caught his eye and could lead to a call-up as early as a November match against Argentina. "He has been improving and has a great competitive spirit that he lacked in England," Pinto said. "I have friends who inform me of his performance and I see the U.S. games from time to time."

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When it comes to winning close games, no team is better than the New England Revolution. Steve Nicol's club has compiled a 9-2-0 record in close league games, and his side also was victorious in the US Open Cup by a one-goal margin.

In contrast, Real Salt Lake goes down to defeat by a single goal more than any other team in the league, going 4-9-0 in the tight ones. Kansas City, Columbus and Los Angeles have all lost eight games by a goal this season.

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The Houston Dynamo will likely have to finish the season without midfielder Ricardo Clark. After lashing out at FC Dallas forward Carlos Ruiz in the 87th minute of Houston's 3-0 victory on Sunday, the US international faces a suspension and heavy fine for kicking Ruiz in the shoulder while he was on the ground.

Clark has played in 19 games this year for first place Houston, starting 18 of them. He has two goals and three assists to his credit, but may not get to add to those totals as he will likely be suspended for at least the rest of the regular season and possibly some or all of the postseason by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for his actions.